Version3.2.

UserManual
Radio

AT321_UMR_E1

AT321_UMR_E1

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Release:AT321_UMR_E1(January2014)
Copyright19972014Forsk.AllRightsReserved.
Publishedby:
Forsk
7ruedesBriquetiers
31700Blagnac,France
Tel:+33562747210
Fax:+33562747211
Thesoftwaredescribedinthisdocumentisprovidedunderalicenceagreement.Thesoftwaremayonlybeusedorcopiedunderthetermsandconditionsofthelicenceagreement.
Nopartofthecontentsofthisdocumentmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeanswithoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.
Theproductorbrandnamesmentionedinthisdocumentaretrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheirrespectiveregisteringparties.
Thepublisherhastakencareinthepreparationofthisdocument,butmakesnoexpressedorimpliedwarrantyofanykindandassumesnoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions.No
liabilityisassumedforincidentalorconsequentialdamagesinconnectionwithorarisingoutoftheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.

Atoll 3.2.1 User Manual

2014 Forsk

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

AT321_UMR_E1

TableofContents

TableofContents...................................................5
Introduction ......................................................31
AboutForsk ........................................................................................... 31
GettingHelp .......................................................................................... 31
PrintingHelpTopics .................................................................................. 31
AboutAtollDocumentation ............................................................................ 31
ContactingTechnicalSupport .......................................................................... 32

WorkingEnvironment ...............................................35

1.1
1.1.1
1.1.1.1
1.1.1.2
1.1.1.3
1.1.2
1.1.2.1
1.1.2.2
1.1.2.3
1.1.2.4

TheAtollWorkArea .................................................................................... 35
SelectingaWindow................................................................................... 36
SelectingaWindowTab .............................................................................. 36
SelectingaWindowfromtheWindowMenu ............................................................ 37
UsingtheWindowsdialogbox ........................................................................ 37
OrganisingtheAtollWorkspace......................................................................... 38
CreatingaNewMapWindow ......................................................................... 38
ArrangingToolandExplorerWindowsUsingtheMouse................................................... 38
UsingTabGroups ................................................................................... 39
ResettingtheWorkspaceLayouttotheDefaultView...................................................... 39

1.2
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.2.4
1.2.5

TheExplorerWindow................................................................................... 39
WorkingwiththeExplorerWindow ...................................................................... 40
WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer .......................................................................... 41
AutomaticallyHidingExplorerWindows.................................................................. 41
DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows......................................... 42
WorkingwithLayersUsingtheExplorerWindows .......................................................... 43

1.3
1.3.1
1.3.1.1
1.3.1.2
1.3.1.3
1.3.2
1.3.2.1
1.3.2.2
1.3.2.3
1.3.2.4
1.3.2.5
1.3.3
1.3.3.1
1.3.3.2

WorkingwithObjects................................................................................... 43
UsingtheObjectContextMenu......................................................................... 43
RenaminganObject................................................................................. 44
DeletinganObject .................................................................................. 44
DisplayingthePropertiesofanObject.................................................................. 44
ModifyingTransmittersandSitesontheMap ............................................................. 45
SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters ............................................................... 45
MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse ........................................................................ 45
MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation..................................................................... 46
ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse ................................................... 46
ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse......................................... 46
DisplayPropertiesofObjects ........................................................................... 47
DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects ............................................................... 47
ExamplesofUsingtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects ...................................................... 52

1.4
1.4.1
1.4.1.1
1.4.1.2
1.4.1.3
1.4.1.4
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.4.4
1.4.5
1.4.6
1.4.7
1.4.8
1.4.9
1.4.10

WorkingwithMaps ..................................................................................... 53
ChangingtheMapScale ............................................................................... 53
ZoomingInandOut ................................................................................. 53
ZoomingInonaSpecificArea......................................................................... 54
ChoosingaScale.................................................................................... 54
ChangingBetweenPreviousZoomLevels ............................................................... 54
UsingFullScreenMode ................................................................................ 54
MovingtheMapintheDocumentWindow ............................................................... 55
UsingthePanoramicWindow........................................................................... 55
CentringtheMapWindowonanObject .................................................................. 55
CentringtheMapWindowonaTableRecord.............................................................. 56
AdjustingtheMapWindowtoaSelection................................................................. 56
MeasuringDistancesontheMap ........................................................................ 56
DisplayingRulersAroundtheMap ....................................................................... 57
DisplayingtheMapScale............................................................................... 57

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

1.4.11
1.4.12
1.4.12.1
1.4.12.2
1.4.12.3
1.4.12.4
1.4.12.5
1.4.12.6
1.4.13
1.4.13.1
1.4.13.2
1.4.13.3
1.4.13.4
1.4.13.5
1.4.13.6
1.4.14
1.4.15

Forsk2014

DisplayingtheMapLegend.............................................................................57
UsingZonesintheMapWindow.........................................................................58
TheFilteringZone...................................................................................58
TheComputationZone ...............................................................................59
TheFocusZoneandHotSpots .........................................................................60
UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools ......................................................................61
UsingaPrintingZone ................................................................................63
UsingaGeographicExportZone .......................................................................63
EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints .......................................................................65
AddingaVectorLayer ................................................................................65
CreatingPolygons,Lines,andPoints ....................................................................65
EditingtheShapeofPolygonsandLines .................................................................66
CombiningorCroppingPolygonsUsingtheToolbar .......................................................66
EditingaPoint......................................................................................68
EditingContours,Lines,andPointsUsingtheContextMenu ................................................68
CopyingtheContentofaZoneintoAnotherApplication .....................................................69
MapWindowPointers.................................................................................69

1.5
1.5.1
1.5.1.1
1.5.1.2
1.5.2

WorkingwithCoveragePredictions ........................................................................70
OrganisingtheContentsofthePredictionsFolder..........................................................70
CreatingFoldersinthePredictionsfolder................................................................70
MovingaCoveragePredictionintoaFolder ..............................................................71
ExportingCoveragePredictionResults ....................................................................71

1.6
1.6.1
1.6.2
1.6.2.1
1.6.2.2
1.6.2.3
1.6.3
1.6.4
1.6.5
1.6.5.1
1.6.5.2
1.6.5.3
1.6.6
1.6.7
1.6.8
1.6.9
1.6.10

WorkingwithDataTables ................................................................................75
OpeningaDataTable ..................................................................................75
Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTableFields.............................................................76
AccessinganObjectTypesTableFields .................................................................76
AddingaFieldtoanObjectTypesDataTable............................................................77
DeletingaFieldfromanObjectTypesDataTable.........................................................77
OpeninganObjectsRecordPropertiesdialogboxfromaTable ...............................................78
DefiningtheTableFormat ..............................................................................78
EditingtheContentsofaTable..........................................................................81
EditingTableEntriesDirectlyintheTable................................................................81
CopyingandPastinginTables .........................................................................82
SearchingforandReplacingTextEntriesinTables ........................................................84
ViewingaStatisticalAnalysisofTableContents ............................................................85
ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets ............................................................85
ImportingTablesfromTextFiles .........................................................................87
ExportingTablestoXMLFiles ...........................................................................88
ImportingTablesfromXMLFiles.........................................................................89

1.7
1.7.1
1.7.2
1.7.2.1
1.7.2.2
1.7.2.3
1.7.3
1.7.4
1.7.5

PrintinginAtoll.........................................................................................89
PrintingDataTablesandReports ........................................................................89
PrintingaMap........................................................................................90
PrintingRecommendations ...........................................................................90
DefiningthePrintingZone ............................................................................90
DefiningthePrintLayout .............................................................................92
PreviewingYourPrinting...............................................................................94
PrintingaDockingWindow.............................................................................94
PrintingAntennaPatterns..............................................................................94

1.8
1.8.1
1.8.1.1
1.8.1.2
1.8.1.3
1.8.1.4
1.8.2
1.8.2.1
1.8.2.2
1.8.3
1.8.3.1
1.8.3.2
1.8.3.3
1.8.4
1.8.4.1
1.8.4.2

Grouping,Sorting,andFilteringData.......................................................................95
GroupingDataObjects .................................................................................95
GroupingDataObjectsbyaSelectedProperty............................................................95
ConfiguringtheGroupBySubmenu ....................................................................95
AdvancedGrouping..................................................................................96
ExamplesofGrouping ................................................................................97
SortingData..........................................................................................98
SortingDatainTables ................................................................................98
AdvancedSorting....................................................................................99
FilteringData.........................................................................................99
FilteringinDataTablesbySelection .................................................................. 100
AdvancedDataFiltering............................................................................ 101
RestoringAllRecords .............................................................................. 103
UserConfigurations ................................................................................. 103
SavingaUserConfiguration......................................................................... 104
LoadingaUserConfiguration ........................................................................ 104

AT321_UMR_E1

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

1.8.5
1.8.5.1
1.8.5.2
1.8.5.3
1.8.5.4
1.8.5.5
1.8.5.6
1.8.5.7
1.8.5.8
1.8.6
1.8.6.1
1.8.6.2
1.8.6.3
1.8.6.4
1.8.6.5
1.8.6.6
1.8.7
1.8.8

SiteandTransmitterLists ............................................................................. 105

CreatingaSiteorTransmitterList ..................................................................... 105
AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListintheNetworkExplorer ............................................. 106
AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListfromtheMapWindow .............................................. 106
AddingSitesorTransmitterstoaListUsingaZone....................................................... 106
EditingaSiteorTransmitterList...................................................................... 107
ImportingaSiteorTransmitterList.................................................................... 107
ExportingaSiteorTransmitterList .................................................................... 108
FilteringonaSiteorTransmitterList .................................................................. 108
FolderConfigurations ................................................................................ 108
CreatingaFolderConfiguration....................................................................... 108
ApplyingaSavedFolderConfiguration ................................................................. 109
ReapplyingtheCurrentFolderConfiguration ........................................................... 109
SavingaFolderConfigurationinanExternalFile......................................................... 109
LoadingaFolderConfigurationfromanExternalFile ..................................................... 109
DeletingaFolderConfiguration....................................................................... 110
CreatingandComparingViews ......................................................................... 110
FilteringDataUsingaFilteringZone..................................................................... 111

1.9
1.9.1
1.9.2
1.9.3
1.9.3.1
1.9.3.2
1.9.3.3
1.9.4
1.9.5
1.9.6
1.9.7

TipsandTricks........................................................................................ 111
UndoingandRedoing................................................................................. 111
RefreshingMapsandFolders.......................................................................... 111
SearchingforObjectsontheMap ...................................................................... 112
SearchingforaMapObjectbyItsName ............................................................... 112
SearchingforaMapObjectusingAnyTextProperty ..................................................... 112
SearchingforaPointontheMap..................................................................... 113
UsingtheStatusBartoGetInformation ................................................................. 113
SavingInformationDisplayedintheEventViewer ......................................................... 113
UsingIconsfromtheToolbar .......................................................................... 115
UsingShortcutsinAtoll............................................................................... 117

AtollProjects .....................................................121

2.1

BeforeStartingaRadioPlanningProject .................................................................. 121

2.2
2.2.1
2.2.1.1
2.2.1.2
2.2.1.3
2.2.2
2.2.2.1
2.2.2.2
2.2.2.3
2.2.2.4
2.2.2.5

CreatinganAtollDocument ............................................................................. 121

CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate ......................................................... 121
TemplatesAvailable................................................................................ 122
CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate ........................................................ 122
DefiningaNewAtollDocument ...................................................................... 123
WorkinginaMultiUserEnvironment................................................................... 126
TheAtollMultiUserEnvironment .................................................................... 126
CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaDatabase ........................................................ 127
WorkingWithaDocumentonaDatabase .............................................................. 128
RefreshinganAtollDocumentfromtheDatabase ....................................................... 130
ArchivingtheModificationsofanAtollDocumentintheDatabase ......................................... 130

2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2

MakingaBackupofYourDocument...................................................................... 133
ConfiguringAutomaticBackup......................................................................... 134
RecoveringaBackup ................................................................................. 134

2.4

MakingandSharingPortableAtollProjects................................................................ 135

GeographicData ..................................................139

3.1

GeographicDataTypes ................................................................................. 139

3.2

SupportedGeographicDataFormats ..................................................................... 141

3.3
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3
3.3.3.1
3.3.3.2
3.3.4
3.3.5
3.3.5.1

ImportingGeoDataFiles ............................................................................... 141

ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile................................................................. 142
ImportingaVectorformatGeoDataFile ................................................................ 143
ImportingMSIPlanetData ........................................................................... 144
ImportingOneMSIPlanetDataType................................................................. 144
ImportingaMSIPlanetDatabase.................................................................... 145
ImportingaWMSRasterformatGeoDataFile............................................................ 145
OrganisingGeoDataFiles............................................................................. 148
GroupingGeoDataFilesinFolders .................................................................... 148

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

3.3.5.2
3.3.5.3
3.3.6
3.3.7

CreatingFoldersforVectorsandImages............................................................... 148
MovingaVectororImageintoaDedicatedFolder...................................................... 149
EmbeddingGeographicData .......................................................................... 149
RepairingaBrokenLinktoaGeoDataFile............................................................... 150

3.4

DigitalTerrainModels ................................................................................. 150

3.5
3.5.1
3.5.2
3.5.3
3.5.4
3.5.5

ClutterClasses ....................................................................................... 150

AssigningNamestoClutterClasses..................................................................... 150
DefiningClutterClassProperties....................................................................... 151
AddingaClutterClass................................................................................ 153
RefreshingtheListofClutterClasses ................................................................... 153
DisplayingTotalSurfaceAreaperClutterClass ........................................................... 154

3.6

ClutterHeights....................................................................................... 154

3.7
3.7.1
3.7.2
3.7.3

Contours,Lines,andPoints ............................................................................. 154

ManagingtheDisplayofaVectorLayer ................................................................. 154
ManagingthePropertiesoftheVectorLayer ............................................................ 155
MovingaVectorLayertotheNetworkExplorer.......................................................... 155

3.8
3.8.1
3.8.2

ScannedImages...................................................................................... 156
ImportingSeveralScannedImages ..................................................................... 156
DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofScannedImages ....................................................... 156

3.9
3.9.1
3.9.2

PopulationMaps ..................................................................................... 157

ManagingtheDisplayofPopulationData ............................................................... 157
DisplayingPopulationStatistics........................................................................ 157

3.10
3.10.1
3.10.2
3.10.3
3.10.4
3.10.5

CustomGeoDataMaps................................................................................ 158
CreatingaCustomGeoDataMap ...................................................................... 158
AddingaFiletoaCustomGeoDataMap ................................................................ 159
ManagingthePropertiesofaCustomGeoDataMap...................................................... 160
DisplayingStatisticsonCustomGeoData ............................................................... 160
IntegrableversusNonintegrableData.................................................................. 160

3.11

DisplayingOnlineMaps ................................................................................ 161

3.12
3.12.1
3.12.2
3.12.2.1
3.12.2.2
3.12.2.3

SettingthePriorityofGeoData......................................................................... 162
SettingtheDisplayPriorityofGeoData ................................................................. 162
SettingthePriorityofGeoDatainCalculations........................................................... 163
Example1:TwoDTMMapsRepresentingDifferentAreas................................................ 163
Example2:ClutterClassesandDTMMapsRepresentingtheSameArea.................................... 164
Example3:TwoClutterClassMapsRepresentingaCommonArea ......................................... 164

3.13

DisplayingInformationAboutGeoData .................................................................. 165

3.14
3.14.1
3.14.2

GeographicDataSets.................................................................................. 165
ExportingaGeoDataSet ............................................................................. 166
LoadingaGeoDataSet .............................................................................. 166

3.15
3.15.1
3.15.1.1
3.15.1.2
3.15.1.3
3.15.1.4
3.15.2

EditingGeographicData ............................................................................... 167

EditingClutterClassMaps............................................................................ 167
CreatingaClutterPolygon .......................................................................... 167
EditingClutterPolygons............................................................................ 167
DisplayingtheCoordinatesofClutterPolygons......................................................... 168
DeletingClutterPolygons ........................................................................... 168
EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps................................................................ 168

3.16
3.16.1
3.16.1.1
3.16.1.2
3.16.2
3.16.3
3.16.4
3.16.5

SavingGeographicData................................................................................ 169
SavingModificationstoanExternalFile ................................................................. 170
ExportinganEditedClutterClassMapinaRasterFormatFile ............................................. 170
ExportinganEditedVectorLayerinVectorFormatFile .................................................. 171
UpdatingtheSourceFile ............................................................................. 171
CombiningSeveralRasterFilesintoOneFile ............................................................. 172
ExportinganEmbeddedFile .......................................................................... 172
CreatingaNewFilefromaLargerFile .................................................................. 173

4
4.1

Forsk2014

AntennasandEquipment.......................................... 177
WorkingWithAntennas ............................................................................... 177

AT321_UMR_E1

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.1.4
4.1.5
4.1.6
4.1.7

CreatinganAntenna ................................................................................. 177

ImportingPlanetFormatAntennas ..................................................................... 179
Importing3DAntennaPatterns........................................................................ 179
DisplayingAntennaPatternsWithaFixedScale ........................................................... 181
SmoothinganAntennaPattern ........................................................................ 181
SharinganAntenna.................................................................................. 181
PrintinganAntennaPattern........................................................................... 182

4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4

WorkingWithEquipment ............................................................................... 183

DefiningTMAEquipment ............................................................................. 183
DefiningFeederCables ............................................................................... 183
DefiningTransmitterEquipment ....................................................................... 183
UpdatingtheValuesforTotalLossesandtheTransmitterEquipmentNoiseFigure.............................. 184

CalculationsandPropagationModels .................................189

5.1
5.1.1
5.1.2
5.1.2.1
5.1.2.2
5.1.2.3
5.1.2.4
5.1.2.5
5.1.2.6
5.1.3
5.1.4
5.1.4.1
5.1.4.2
5.1.4.3
5.1.5
5.1.5.1
5.1.5.2
5.1.5.3
5.1.6
5.1.6.1
5.1.6.2
5.1.6.3
5.1.7
5.1.8
5.1.8.1
5.1.8.2
5.1.8.3
5.1.9
5.1.10
5.1.11
5.1.12
5.1.13
5.1.14

WorkingwithRadioPropagationModels.................................................................. 189
PropagationModelCharacteristics:Overview ............................................................ 189
TheStandardPropagationModel....................................................................... 190
StandardPropagationModelGuidelines ............................................................... 191
CalculatingDiffractionWiththeSPM.................................................................. 192
SampleValuesforSPMFormulas ..................................................................... 192
Calculatingf(clutter)withtheStandardPropagationModel ............................................... 193
ModellingFixedReceivers........................................................................... 194
DefiningtheParametersoftheStandardPropagationModel .............................................. 194
TheCrossWaveModel ................................................................................ 197
TheOkumuraHataPropagationModel .................................................................. 197
DefiningGeneralSettings(OkumuraHata) ............................................................. 198
SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(OkumuraHata)...................................................... 198
CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(OkumuraHata) ............................................ 198
TheCostHataPropagationModel ...................................................................... 199
DefiningGeneralSettings(CostHata) ................................................................. 199
SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(CostHata) .......................................................... 200
CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(CostHata)................................................. 200
TheITU5293PropagationModel...................................................................... 200
DefiningGeneralSettings(ITU5293).................................................................. 201
SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ITU5293) .......................................................... 201
CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ITU5293) ................................................. 201
TheITU3707PropagationModel...................................................................... 202
TheErcegGreensteinPropagationModel................................................................ 202
DefiningGeneralSettings(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))....................................................... 202
SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ErcegGreenstein(SUI)) ............................................... 203
CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ErcegGreenstein(SUI)) ...................................... 203
TheITU5265PropagationModel...................................................................... 203
TheWLLPropagationModel........................................................................... 204
TheLongleyRicePropagationModel.................................................................... 204
TheITU1546PropagationModel ....................................................................... 205
TheSakagamiExtendedPropagationModel .............................................................. 205
ManagingPropagationModels......................................................................... 206

5.2
5.2.1
5.2.2
5.2.3
5.2.4
5.2.5

DefiningRadioCalculationParameters .................................................................... 206

DefiningCalculationParametersforOneTransmitter...................................................... 207
DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforaGroupofTransmitters ....................................... 207
DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforAllTransmitters.............................................. 208
DefiningaDefaultPropagationModel................................................................... 209
DefiningaDefaultResolution .......................................................................... 209

5.3
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
5.3.4
5.3.5
5.3.6
5.3.6.1
5.3.6.2
5.3.6.3
5.3.6.4

ManagingPathLossMatrices............................................................................ 209
CalculatingPathLossMatrices......................................................................... 209
StoppingPathLossMatrixCalculation ................................................................... 210
SettingtheStorageLocationofPathLossMatrices ........................................................ 210
CheckingtheValidityofPathLossMatrices .............................................................. 211
OptimisingPathLossMatrixStorage.................................................................... 212
TuningPathLossMatricesUsingMeasurementData ...................................................... 213
DefiningtheAreatobeTuned........................................................................ 213
DefiningMaximumCorrectionsandThresholdsonPathLossTuning ........................................ 214
TuningPathLossMatricesUsingCWMeasurements..................................................... 215
TuningPathLossMatricesUsingDriveTestData ........................................................ 216

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
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Forsk2014

5.3.6.5
5.3.7

ManagingthePathLossTuningPoints ................................................................ 217

ExportingPathLossMatrices.......................................................................... 219

5.4
5.4.1
5.4.1.1
5.4.1.2
5.4.1.3
5.4.1.4
5.4.1.5
5.4.2
5.4.2.1
5.4.2.2
5.4.2.3
5.4.2.4
5.4.2.5

RadioPredictionTypes ................................................................................ 219

MakingPointPredictions ............................................................................. 220
StartingaPointAnalysis............................................................................ 220
TheViewsofthePointAnalysisTool .................................................................. 220
MovingtheReceiverontheMap..................................................................... 221
TakingIndoorLossesintoAccount.................................................................... 222
TakingShadowingintoAccountinPointAnalyses ....................................................... 222
MakingCoveragePredictions ......................................................................... 222
CreatingCoveragePredictions ....................................................................... 223
CalculatingCoveragePredictions..................................................................... 224
SavingDefinedCoveragePredictions ................................................................. 227
CalculatingIndoorCoverage......................................................................... 228
TakingShadowingintoAccount ...................................................................... 228

GSM/GPRS/EDGENetworks........................................ 233

6.1

DesigningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork ................................................................... 233

6.2
6.2.1
6.2.1.1
6.2.1.2
6.2.1.3
6.2.1.4
6.2.1.5
6.2.1.6
6.2.2
6.2.3
6.2.4
6.2.5
6.2.6
6.2.6.1
6.2.6.2
6.2.6.3
6.2.6.4
6.2.6.5
6.2.6.6
6.2.7
6.2.7.1
6.2.7.2
6.2.7.3
6.2.7.4
6.2.7.5
6.2.8
6.2.8.1
6.2.8.2
6.2.8.3
6.2.8.4
6.2.8.5
6.2.9
6.2.9.1
6.2.9.2
6.2.9.3
6.2.9.4
6.2.9.5
6.2.9.6
6.2.10
6.2.10.1
6.2.10.2
6.2.10.3
6.2.10.4
6.2.10.5
6.2.10.6
6.2.10.7

PlanningandOptimisingGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStations .................................................... 234

CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation............................................................... 235
DefinitionofaBaseStation ......................................................................... 235
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement .......................................................... 245
PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate ........................................................ 247
ManagingStationTemplates........................................................................ 248
DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation .................................................................. 253
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation ............................................................ 254
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations...................................................................... 255
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap..................................................... 256
DisplayTipsforBaseStations ......................................................................... 256
ModellingPacketswitchedTransmitters ................................................................ 257
CreatingaRepeater ................................................................................. 257
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ........................................................................ 257
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment .......................................................... 257
PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse........................................................ 258
CreatingSeveralRepeaters.......................................................................... 258
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................. 259
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters ............................................................... 261
CreatingaRemoteAntenna........................................................................... 261
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable................................................................. 261
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse ................................................. 262
CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas ................................................................... 262
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna.......................................................... 262
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters......................................................... 264
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations ................................................................ 264
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ........................................................ 265
CreatingaComputationZone ....................................................................... 266
AssigningaPropagationModel...................................................................... 267
SettingTransmittersasActive....................................................................... 269
TheCalculationProcess ............................................................................ 270
StudyingBaseStations ............................................................................... 270
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions.................................................................... 271
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults................................................................ 285
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics................................................... 286
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults ..................................................... 290
AnalysingSignalReceptionUsingthePointAnalysis..................................................... 290
ComparingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 291
PlanningNeighbours................................................................................. 295
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................. 295
DefiningExceptionalPairs .......................................................................... 296
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours ........................................................ 296
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically.................................................................. 297
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults ................................................................ 300
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperTransmitter..................................................... 305
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours...................................................... 309

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TableofContents

6.2.10.8
6.2.10.9

CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan ........................................................ 310

ExportingNeighbours ............................................................................... 311

6.3
6.3.1
6.3.2
6.3.3
6.3.3.1
6.3.3.2
6.3.3.3
6.3.3.4
6.3.3.5
6.3.4
6.3.5
6.3.5.1
6.3.5.2
6.3.5.3
6.3.5.4
6.3.5.5
6.3.5.6
6.3.6
6.3.6.1
6.3.6.2
6.3.7
6.3.7.1
6.3.7.2
6.3.7.3
6.3.7.4
6.3.7.5
6.3.7.6
6.3.7.7

StudyingNetworkCapacity.............................................................................. 311
ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData ............................................. 312
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData ...................................................................... 313
CreatingaTrafficMap ................................................................................ 313
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap ........................................................................ 314
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap .................................................................... 315
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2) ..................................................... 320
Converting2GNetworkTraffic ....................................................................... 322
ExportingCumulatedTraffic ......................................................................... 322
ExportingaTrafficMap............................................................................... 323
CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture.............................................................. 323
PrerequisitesforaTrafficCapture .................................................................... 324
CreatingaTrafficCapture ........................................................................... 324
GSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCaptureResults............................................................... 325
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument .......................................................... 326
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ......................................................................... 328
ModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCapture........................................................... 328
DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork............................................................... 329
DefiningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEDimensioningModel....................................................... 329
DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork ............................................................. 331
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ............................................................ 333
RadioResourceManagementinGSM.................................................................. 334
CreatingSimulations................................................................................ 336
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .......................................................... 337
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ............................................................ 339
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................. 340
UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults ........................................................... 341
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ......................................................................... 342

6.4
6.4.1
6.4.1.1
6.4.1.2
6.4.1.3
6.4.2
6.4.2.1
6.4.2.2
6.4.2.3
6.4.2.4
6.4.3
6.4.3.1
6.4.3.2
6.4.3.3
6.4.3.4
6.4.3.5
6.4.4
6.4.4.1
6.4.4.2
6.4.4.3
6.4.4.4
6.4.4.5
6.4.4.6
6.4.4.7

AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs ...................................................... 342

DefiningResourceRanges ............................................................................. 343
DefiningFrequencyBands,Domains,andGroups ........................................................ 343
DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups.................................................................... 345
DefiningHSNDomainsandGroups.................................................................... 347
AllocatingFrequenciesandBSICsManually............................................................... 348
AssigningBSICDomainstoTransmitters ............................................................... 348
AssigningBSICstoTransmittersManually .............................................................. 348
DefiningFrequencyDomainsforTransmitters........................................................... 349
AssigningFrequenciestoSubcells ..................................................................... 349
AFPPrerequisites(IM,Separations,Traffic,etc.) .......................................................... 353
InterferenceMatrices............................................................................... 354
ChannelSeparations ................................................................................ 365
ModellingTraffic ................................................................................... 370
AFPRelatedParametersintheSubcellsTable........................................................... 373
ModellingLayersandSubcells........................................................................ 375
AutomaticResourceAllocationUsinganAFPModule...................................................... 376
TheScopeoftheAFPandtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix............................................ 376
TheNetworkValidationProcess...................................................................... 377
RunninganAutomaticFrequencyAllocation ............................................................ 378
TheAFPProgressdialogbox ......................................................................... 383
TheResultsoftheAutomaticFrequencyAllocation ...................................................... 383
CommittingandExportingtheFrequencyPlan.......................................................... 390
AllocatingFrequenciesInteractively ................................................................... 391

6.5
6.5.1
6.5.2
6.5.2.1
6.5.2.2
6.5.2.3
6.5.2.4
6.5.2.5
6.5.3
6.5.3.1
6.5.3.2

TheAtollAFPModule.................................................................................. 394
UsingtheAtollAFPataBasicLevel ..................................................................... 395
UsingtheAtollAFP................................................................................... 396
AnOverviewoftheAFPCostFunction ................................................................. 397
SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule ......................................................... 403
FrequencyHoppingOverview........................................................................ 414
AzimuthOrientedAssignments(PatternAllocation,1/11/31/x) ......................................... 416
BSICAllocation .................................................................................... 417
AdvancedAFPusage ................................................................................. 417
OptimisingtheNumberofRequiredTRXs .............................................................. 418
CombiningInterferenceMatricesAccordingtoMaximumLikelihoodEstimation.............................. 424

11

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Forsk2014

6.5.3.3
6.5.3.4
6.5.3.5

TheStorageofaFrequencyPlaninAtoll............................................................... 429
AFPGuidelines .................................................................................... 430
TheRoleoftheAFPAdministrator.................................................................... 432

6.6
6.6.1
6.6.2
6.6.2.1
6.6.2.2
6.6.2.3
6.6.2.4
6.6.2.5
6.6.3
6.6.3.1
6.6.3.2
6.6.3.3
6.6.4
6.6.5
6.6.6
6.6.7
6.6.8
6.6.9
6.6.9.1
6.6.9.2
6.6.9.3
6.6.9.4
6.6.10

AnalysingNetworkQuality ............................................................................. 433

EvaluatingtheQualityofaFrequencyPlan .............................................................. 433
InterferenceCoveragePredictions..................................................................... 435
MakingDLQualityPredic onsBasedonCIorC(I+N)................................................... 436
MakingULQualityPredic onsBasedonC(I+N)........................................................ 439
StudyingInterferenceAreas ......................................................................... 441
AnalysingInterferenceAreasUsingthePointAnalysisTool............................................... 444
ExampleofAnalysingInterferenceUsingaPointAnalysis ................................................ 445
PacketSpecificCoveragePredictions ................................................................... 447
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyGPRS/EDGECodingSchemes ............................................ 447
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyPacketThroughput .................................................... 450
MakingaBLERCoveragePrediction .................................................................. 453
MakingaCircuitQualityIndicator(BER,FER,orMOS)CoveragePrediction ................................... 456
MakingaServiceAreaPrediction...................................................................... 459
StudyingInterferenceBetweenTransmitters ............................................................ 462
AuditingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEFrequencyPlan............................................................. 463
CheckingConsistencyinSubcells ...................................................................... 466
DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocation .................................................................... 467
UsingFindonMaptoDisplayChannelReuse........................................................... 467
DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings..................................... 468
GroupingTransmittersbyFrequencies ................................................................ 469
DisplayingtheChannelAllocationHistogram ........................................................... 469
CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork...................................... 470

6.7
6.7.1
6.7.2
6.7.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP............................................................ 473
GSMOptimisationObjectives......................................................................... 473
GSMQualityParameters............................................................................. 474
GSMQualityAnalysisPredictions...................................................................... 475

6.8
6.8.1
6.8.2
6.8.3
6.8.4
6.8.4.1
6.8.4.2
6.8.4.3
6.8.4.4
6.8.4.5
6.8.4.6
6.8.5
6.8.6
6.8.7
6.8.8

VerifyingNetworkCapacity............................................................................. 476
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath ...................................................................... 476
DisplayingDriveTestData ............................................................................ 478
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath............................................................ 479
NetworkVerification ................................................................................ 479
FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths................................................ 480
PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints .................................................... 481
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths.................................................. 482
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath ........................................................ 484
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter ........................................... 485
AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath .............................................................. 485
ExportingaDriveTestDataPath....................................................................... 487
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ....................................................... 487
GeneratingInterferenceMatricesfromaDriveTestDataPath .............................................. 487
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow ....................................................... 488

6.9
6.9.1
6.9.2
6.9.3
6.9.3.1
6.9.3.2
6.9.3.3
6.9.4
6.9.4.1
6.9.5
6.9.5.1
6.9.5.2
6.9.5.3
6.9.5.4
6.9.5.5
6.9.6
6.9.6.1
6.9.6.2
6.9.6.3

AdvancedConfiguration ............................................................................... 488

SettingHCSLayers .................................................................................. 488
ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations ................................................................ 489
CellTypes.......................................................................................... 492
TRXTypes ........................................................................................ 492
CreatingaCellType................................................................................ 493
ExamplesofCellTypes ............................................................................. 494
TRXConfiguration ................................................................................... 496
CreatingorImportingTRXConfiguration .............................................................. 496
CodecConfiguration ................................................................................. 497
OpeningtheCodecModeTable...................................................................... 497
CreatingorModifyingCodecConfiguration............................................................ 497
SettingCodecModeAdaptationThresholds............................................................ 498
SettingCodecModeQualityThresholds ............................................................... 499
UsingCodecConfigurationsinTransmittersandTerminals ............................................... 499
CodingSchemeConfiguration ......................................................................... 500
OpeningtheCodingSchemesTable .................................................................. 500
CreatingorModifyingaCodingSchemeConfiguration ................................................... 501
UsingCodingSchemeConfigurationinTransmittersandTerminals ........................................ 502

12

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TableofContents

6.9.6.4
6.9.6.5
6.9.7
6.9.7.1
6.9.8
6.9.8.1
6.9.8.2
6.9.9
6.9.9.1
6.9.9.2
6.9.9.3
6.9.10
6.9.11
6.9.12
6.9.12.1
6.9.13
6.9.14
6.9.14.1

AdaptingCodingSchemeThresholdsforaMaximumBLER................................................ 502
DisplayingCodingSchemeThroughputGraphs .......................................................... 503
TimeslotConfigurations............................................................................... 503
CreatingorModifyingaTimeslotConfiguration ......................................................... 504
AdvancedTransmitterConfigurationOptions............................................................. 504
DefiningExtendedCells............................................................................. 504
AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters ........................................................ 505
GSM/GPRS/EDGEMultiServiceTrafficData .............................................................. 509
ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEServices .................................................................. 509
ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypes ............................................................ 510
ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals ................................................................ 511
DefiningtheInterfererReceptionThreshold.............................................................. 512
AdvancedModellingofHoppingGaininCoveragePredictions............................................... 513
ModellingShadowing ................................................................................ 514
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass...................................................... 515
ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks................................................................. 515
ModellingIntertechnologyInterference................................................................. 515
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ....................................................................... 516

UMTSHSPANetworks ..............................................519

7.1

DesigningaUMTSNetwork ............................................................................. 519

7.2
7.2.1
7.2.1.1
7.2.1.2
7.2.1.3
7.2.1.4
7.2.1.5
7.2.1.6
7.2.2
7.2.3
7.2.4
7.2.5
7.2.6
7.2.6.1
7.2.6.2
7.2.6.3
7.2.6.4
7.2.6.5
7.2.6.6
7.2.7
7.2.7.1
7.2.7.2
7.2.7.3
7.2.7.4
7.2.7.5
7.2.8
7.2.8.1
7.2.8.2
7.2.8.3
7.2.8.4
7.2.8.5
7.2.9
7.2.9.1
7.2.9.2
7.2.9.3
7.2.9.4
7.2.9.5
7.2.9.6
7.2.9.7
7.2.9.8
7.2.9.9
7.2.9.10
7.2.10
7.2.10.1

PlanningandOptimisingUMTSBaseStations .............................................................. 520

CreatingaUMTSBaseStation.......................................................................... 521
DefinitionofaBaseStation.......................................................................... 521
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement........................................................... 528
PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate......................................................... 529
ManagingStationTemplates ......................................................................... 531
DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation................................................................... 536
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation............................................................. 537
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations ...................................................................... 539
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap ..................................................... 540
DisplayTipsforBaseStations.......................................................................... 540
CreatingDualBandandTriBandUMTSNetworks ......................................................... 540
CreatingaRepeater .................................................................................. 541
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ........................................................................ 541
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment ........................................................... 541
PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse ........................................................ 542
CreatingSeveralRepeaters .......................................................................... 542
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................. 542
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters ................................................................ 544
CreatingaRemoteAntenna ........................................................................... 545
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable .................................................................. 545
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse.................................................. 545
CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas.................................................................... 546
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna ........................................................... 546
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters ......................................................... 547
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations................................................................. 548
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument......................................................... 549
CreatingaComputationZone ........................................................................ 549
AssigningaPropagationModel ....................................................................... 550
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive................................................................. 552
TheCalculationProcess............................................................................. 553
StudyingBaseStations................................................................................ 553
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 553
UMTSCoveragePredictions.......................................................................... 561
HSDPACoveragePredictions ......................................................................... 579
HSUPACoveragePredictions ......................................................................... 581
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults ................................................................ 583
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics ................................................... 584
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults...................................................... 588
AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis................................................. 588
ComparingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 591
MakingaMultiPointAnalysis ........................................................................ 595
PlanningNeighbours ................................................................................. 598
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................. 599

13

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TableofContents

7.2.10.2
7.2.10.3
7.2.10.4
7.2.10.5
7.2.10.6
7.2.10.7
7.2.10.8
7.2.10.9
7.2.11
7.2.11.1
7.2.11.2
7.2.11.3
7.2.11.4
7.2.11.5
7.2.11.6

Forsk2014

DefiningExceptionalPairs .......................................................................... 599

ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours ........................................................ 599
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically.................................................................. 600
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults ................................................................ 603
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell............................................................ 608
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours...................................................... 611
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan ........................................................ 613
ExportingNeighbours.............................................................................. 614
PlanningScramblingCodes ........................................................................... 614
DefiningtheScramblingCodeFormat................................................................. 615
CreatingScramblingCodeDomainsandGroups ........................................................ 615
DefiningExceptionalPairsforScramblingCodeAllocation ................................................ 616
AllocatingScramblingCodes......................................................................... 616
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheScramblingCodePlan................................................... 619
DisplayingtheAllocationofScramblingCodes .......................................................... 620

7.3
7.3.1
7.3.2
7.3.2.1
7.3.2.2
7.3.2.3
7.3.2.4
7.3.2.5
7.3.3
7.3.4
7.3.4.1
7.3.4.2
7.3.4.3
7.3.4.4
7.3.4.5
7.3.4.6
7.3.4.7
7.3.4.8
7.3.4.9
7.3.5
7.3.5.1
7.3.5.2

StudyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................. 624

DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData..................................................................... 624
CreatingaTrafficMap ............................................................................... 624
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap ........................................................................ 625
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap................................................................... 627
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km) ..................................................... 631
Converting2GNetworkTraffic....................................................................... 633
ExportingCumulatedTraffic......................................................................... 633
ExportingaTrafficMap .............................................................................. 634
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ............................................................ 635
ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm.............................................................. 635
CreatingSimulations ............................................................................... 641
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap.......................................................... 642
DisplayingtheUserActiveSetontheMap ............................................................. 644
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation........................................................... 644
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations ................................................ 651
UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults .......................................................... 654
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument......................................................... 654
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease......................................................................... 656
AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation ................................................................... 657
MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults ........................................................... 657
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................. 657

7.4
7.4.1
7.4.2
7.4.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP............................................................ 658
UMTSOptimisationObjectives........................................................................ 659
UMTSQualityParameters............................................................................ 659
UMTSQualityAnalysisPredictions..................................................................... 660

7.5
7.5.1
7.5.2
7.5.3
7.5.4
7.5.4.1
7.5.4.2
7.5.4.3
7.5.4.4
7.5.4.5
7.5.4.6
7.5.5
7.5.6
7.5.7

VerifyingNetworkCapacity............................................................................. 662
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath ...................................................................... 662
DisplayingDriveTestData ............................................................................ 665
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath............................................................ 665
NetworkVerification ................................................................................ 665
FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths................................................ 666
PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints........................................................ 667
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths.................................................. 668
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath ........................................................ 670
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter ........................................... 670
AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath .............................................................. 671
ExportingaDriveTestDataPath....................................................................... 672
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ....................................................... 673
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow ....................................................... 673

7.6
7.6.1
7.6.2
7.6.2.1
7.6.2.2
7.6.3
7.6.3.1
7.6.3.2
7.6.3.3

CoplanningUMTSNetworkswithOtherNetworks ......................................................... 673

SwitchingtoCoplanningMode ....................................................................... 674
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject................................................ 675
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ...................................................................... 676
AnalysingCoveragePredictions ...................................................................... 676
PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation ....................................................... 679
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours............................................................... 680
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs ............................................................ 680
DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap ................................................ 680

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TableofContents

7.6.3.4
7.6.3.5
7.6.3.6
7.6.3.7
7.6.3.8
7.6.3.9
7.6.3.10
7.6.4
7.6.5
7.6.5.1
7.6.5.2
7.6.6

AddingandRemovingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap....................................... 681
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours .......................................... 682
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically.................................................... 682
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ..................................................... 684
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell.............................................. 685
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours........................................ 689
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan .......................................... 690
CreatingaUMTSSectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork ................................................ 691
UsingACPinaCoplanningProject ..................................................................... 692
CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup......................................................... 692
ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup............................................................ 693
EndingCoplanningMode ............................................................................. 693

7.7
7.7.1
7.7.2
7.7.3
7.7.3.1
7.7.3.2
7.7.4
7.7.4.1
7.7.4.2
7.7.4.3
7.7.5
7.7.5.1
7.7.5.2
7.7.5.3
7.7.6
7.7.6.1
7.7.6.2
7.7.6.3
7.7.7
7.7.8
7.7.9
7.7.10
7.7.10.1
7.7.11
7.7.11.1

AdvancedConfiguration ................................................................................ 693

ModellingInterCarrierInterference.................................................................... 694
DefiningFrequencyBands............................................................................. 694
TheGlobalNetworkSettings........................................................................... 695
TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox................................................ 695
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings ................................................................... 696
DefiningRadioBearers ............................................................................... 697
DefiningR99RadioBearers.......................................................................... 697
DefiningHSDPARadioBearers ....................................................................... 697
DefiningHSUPARadioBearers ....................................................................... 698
DefiningSiteEquipment .............................................................................. 698
CreatingSiteEquipment............................................................................. 699
DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandR99RadioBearer............................. 700
DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandHSUPARadioBearer.......................... 700
DefiningReceiverEquipment.......................................................................... 700
CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment ............................................................ 700
HSDPAUECategories............................................................................... 702
HSUPAUECategories ............................................................................... 702
DefiningHSDPASchedulers............................................................................ 703
MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems................................................................. 704
ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet ................................................................... 705
ModellingShadowing ................................................................................ 705
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutterClass................................ 705
ModellingIntertechnologyInterference................................................................. 706
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ....................................................................... 707

8
8.1
8.1.1
8.1.1.1
8.1.1.2
8.1.1.3
8.1.1.4
8.1.1.5
8.1.1.6
8.1.2
8.1.3
8.1.4
8.1.5
8.1.6
8.1.6.1
8.1.6.2
8.1.6.3
8.1.6.4
8.1.6.5
8.1.6.6
8.1.7
8.1.7.1
8.1.7.2
8.1.7.3
8.1.7.4
8.1.7.5
8.1.8

CDMA2000Networks ..............................................711
PlanningandOptimisingCDMABaseStations.............................................................. 711
CreatingaCDMABaseStation ......................................................................... 712
DefinitionofaBaseStation.......................................................................... 712
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement........................................................... 718
PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate......................................................... 720
ManagingStationTemplates ......................................................................... 721
DuplicatingofanExistingBaseStation ................................................................. 726
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation............................................................. 727
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations ...................................................................... 729
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap ..................................................... 730
DisplayTipsforBaseStations.......................................................................... 730
CreatingaDualBandandTriBandCDMANetwork ........................................................ 730
CreatingaRepeater .................................................................................. 730
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ........................................................................ 731
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment ........................................................... 731
PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse ........................................................ 732
CreatingSeveralRepeaters .......................................................................... 732
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................. 732
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters ................................................................ 734
CreatingaRemoteAntenna ........................................................................... 735
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable .................................................................. 735
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse.................................................. 735
CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas.................................................................... 736
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna ........................................................... 736
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters ......................................................... 737
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations................................................................. 737

15

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
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8.1.8.1
8.1.8.2
8.1.8.3
8.1.8.4
8.1.8.5
8.1.9
8.1.9.1
8.1.9.2
8.1.9.3
8.1.9.4
8.1.9.5
8.1.9.6
8.1.9.7
8.1.10
8.1.10.1
8.1.10.2
8.1.10.3
8.1.10.4
8.1.10.5
8.1.10.6
8.1.10.7
8.1.10.8
8.1.10.9
8.1.11
8.1.11.1
8.1.11.2
8.1.11.3
8.1.11.4

Forsk2014

SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ........................................................ 738

CreatingaComputationZone ....................................................................... 739
AssigningaPropagationModel...................................................................... 740
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive ................................................................ 742
TheCalculationProcess ............................................................................ 743
StudyingBaseStations ............................................................................... 743
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions.................................................................... 744
CDMACoveragePredictions......................................................................... 751
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults................................................................ 770
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics................................................... 771
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults ..................................................... 775
AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis ................................................ 775
ComparingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 778
PlanningNeighbours................................................................................. 782
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................. 783
DefiningExceptionalPairs .......................................................................... 783
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours ........................................................ 783
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically.................................................................. 784
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults ................................................................ 787
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell............................................................ 791
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours...................................................... 795
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan ........................................................ 796
ExportingNeighbours.............................................................................. 797
PlanningPNOffsets ................................................................................. 798
DefiningExceptionalPairsforPNOffsetAllocation ...................................................... 798
AllocatingPNOffsets............................................................................... 798
CheckingtheConsistencyofthePNOffsetPlan......................................................... 801
DisplayingtheAllocationofPNOffsets ................................................................ 802

8.2
8.2.1
8.2.2
8.2.2.1
8.2.2.2
8.2.2.3
8.2.2.4
8.2.2.5
8.2.3
8.2.4
8.2.4.1
8.2.4.2
8.2.4.3
8.2.4.4
8.2.4.5
8.2.4.6
8.2.4.7
8.2.4.8
8.2.4.9
8.2.5
8.2.5.1
8.2.5.2

StudyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................. 805

DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData..................................................................... 806
CreatingaTrafficMap ............................................................................... 806
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap ........................................................................ 806
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap................................................................... 808
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)..................................................... 812
Converting2GNetworkTraffic....................................................................... 814
ExportingCumulatedTraffic......................................................................... 815
ExportingaTrafficMap .............................................................................. 815
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ............................................................ 816
ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm.............................................................. 816
CreatingSimulations ............................................................................... 819
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap.......................................................... 820
DisplayingtheUserActiveSetontheMap ............................................................. 822
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation........................................................... 823
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations ................................................ 828
UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults .......................................................... 830
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument......................................................... 831
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease......................................................................... 833
AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation ................................................................... 833
MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults ........................................................... 833
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................. 834

8.3
8.3.1
8.3.2
8.3.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP............................................................ 835
CDMA2000OptimisationObjectives.................................................................... 835
CDMA2000QualityParameters........................................................................ 835
CDMA2000QualityAnalysisPredictions................................................................. 837

8.4
8.4.1
8.4.2
8.4.3
8.4.4
8.4.4.1
8.4.4.2
8.4.4.3
8.4.4.4
8.4.4.5
8.4.4.6

VerifyingNetworkCapacity............................................................................. 837
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath ...................................................................... 838
DisplayingDriveTestData ............................................................................ 840
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath............................................................ 840
NetworkVerification ................................................................................ 841
FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths................................................ 841
PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints........................................................ 843
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths.................................................. 844
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath ........................................................ 845
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter ........................................... 846
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter ........................................... 846

16

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TableofContents

8.4.4.7
8.4.5
8.4.6
8.4.7

AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath .............................................................. 846

ExportingaDriveTestDataPath ....................................................................... 848
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ....................................................... 848
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow ....................................................... 849

8.5
8.5.1
8.5.2
8.5.2.1
8.5.2.2
8.5.3
8.5.3.1
8.5.3.2
8.5.3.3
8.5.3.4
8.5.3.5
8.5.3.6
8.5.3.7
8.5.3.8
8.5.4
8.5.5
8.5.5.1
8.5.5.2
8.5.6

CoplanningCDMANetworkswithOtherNetworks ......................................................... 849

SwitchingtoCoplanningMode........................................................................ 850
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject ................................................ 851
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ....................................................................... 851
AnalysingCoveragePredictions....................................................................... 852
PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation........................................................ 854
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours ................................................................ 855
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs............................................................. 855
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours .......................................... 857
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically.................................................... 857
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ..................................................... 859
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell.............................................. 860
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours........................................ 863
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan .......................................... 865
CreatingaCDMASectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork ............................................... 866
UsingACPinaCoplanningProject ..................................................................... 867
CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup......................................................... 867
ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup............................................................ 867
EndingCoplanningMode ............................................................................. 868

8.6
8.6.1
8.6.2
8.6.3
8.6.4
8.6.4.1
8.6.4.2
8.6.5
8.6.6
8.6.6.1
8.6.6.2
8.6.7
8.6.7.1
8.6.7.2
8.6.8
8.6.8.1
8.6.8.2
8.6.9
8.6.10
8.6.10.1
8.6.11
8.6.12
8.6.12.1

AdvancedConfiguration ................................................................................ 868

DefiningIntercarrierInterference ...................................................................... 869
DefiningFrequencyBands............................................................................. 869
DefiningCarrierTypes................................................................................ 870
TheGlobalNetworkSettings........................................................................... 870
TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox................................................ 870
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings ................................................................... 871
ThroughputsAvailableforServicesinCDMA ............................................................. 871
The1xEVDORadioBearers ........................................................................... 872
DefiningtheForwardLink1xEVDORadioBearers....................................................... 872
DefiningtheReverseLink1xEVDORadioBearers ....................................................... 873
SiteEquipment ...................................................................................... 873
CreatingSiteEquipment............................................................................. 873
DefiningChannelElementConsumptionperCDMASiteEquipmentandRadioConfiguration.................... 874
ReceiverEquipment .................................................................................. 874
SettingReceiverHeight ............................................................................. 874
CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment ............................................................ 875
ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet ................................................................... 875
ModellingShadowing ................................................................................ 876
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutterClass................................ 877
CreatingPNOffsetDomainsandGroupsforPNOffsetAllocation ............................................ 878
ModellingIntertechnologyInterference................................................................. 878
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ....................................................................... 879

LTENetworks .....................................................883

9.1

DesigninganLTENetwork .............................................................................. 883

9.2
9.2.1
9.2.1.1
9.2.1.2
9.2.1.3
9.2.1.4
9.2.1.5
9.2.1.6
9.2.2
9.2.3
9.2.4
9.2.5
9.2.6
9.2.6.1
9.2.6.2

PlanningandOptimisingLTEBaseStations................................................................. 884
CreatinganLTEBaseStation........................................................................... 885
DefinitionofaBaseStation.......................................................................... 885
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement........................................................... 894
PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate..................................................... 896
ManagingStationTemplates ......................................................................... 897
DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation................................................................... 901
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation............................................................. 902
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations ...................................................................... 904
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap ..................................................... 904
DisplayTipsforBaseStations.......................................................................... 904
CreatingaMultibandLTENetwork..................................................................... 905
CreatingaRepeater .................................................................................. 905
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ........................................................................ 906
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment ........................................................... 906

17

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TableofContents

9.2.6.3
9.2.6.4
9.2.6.5
9.2.6.6
9.2.7
9.2.7.1
9.2.7.2
9.2.7.3
9.2.7.4
9.2.7.5
9.2.8
9.2.8.1
9.2.8.2
9.2.8.3
9.2.8.4
9.2.8.5
9.2.9
9.2.9.1
9.2.9.2
9.2.9.3
9.2.9.4
9.2.9.5
9.2.9.6
9.2.9.7
9.2.10
9.2.10.1
9.2.10.2
9.2.10.3
9.2.10.4
9.2.10.5
9.2.10.6
9.2.10.7
9.2.10.8
9.2.10.9

Forsk2014

PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse........................................................ 906
CreatingSeveralRepeaters.......................................................................... 907
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................. 907
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters ............................................................... 909
CreatingaRemoteAntenna........................................................................... 909
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable................................................................. 910
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse ................................................. 910
CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas ................................................................... 910
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna.......................................................... 910
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters......................................................... 912
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations ................................................................ 912
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ........................................................ 913
CreatingaComputationZone ....................................................................... 914
AssigningaPropagationModel...................................................................... 914
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive ................................................................ 916
TheCalculationProcess ............................................................................ 918
StudyingBaseStations ............................................................................... 918
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions.................................................................... 918
LTECoveragePredictions........................................................................... 927
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults................................................................ 944
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics................................................... 945
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults ..................................................... 949
AnalysingaCoveragePredictiontheUsingPointAnalysis ................................................ 949
ComparingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 953
PlanningNeighbours................................................................................. 957
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................. 957
DefiningExceptionalPairs .......................................................................... 958
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours ........................................................ 958
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically.................................................................. 958
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults ................................................................ 961
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell............................................................ 966
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours...................................................... 970
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan ........................................................ 971
ExportingNeighbours.............................................................................. 972

9.3
9.3.1
9.3.1.1
9.3.1.2
9.3.2
9.3.3
9.3.4
9.3.5
9.3.6
9.3.7
9.3.7.1
9.3.7.2
9.3.7.3
9.3.8
9.3.8.1
9.3.8.2
9.3.8.3
9.3.8.4

ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP............................................................ 972
WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices.................................................................... 972
CalculatingInterferenceMatrices.................................................................... 973
ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices ......................................................... 973
DefiningNeighbourRelationsandImportance ........................................................... 974
SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation ............................................................... 974
ConfiguringCostComponentWeights.................................................................. 975
PlanningFrequencies................................................................................ 975
PlanningPhysicalCellIDs ............................................................................. 977
DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap ................................................................. 979
UsingtheFindonMapTooltoDisplayAFPResults ...................................................... 980
DisplayingAFPResultsUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings ................................................ 981
GroupingTransmittersbyChannelsorPhysicalCellIDs .................................................. 981
AnalysingtheAFPResults ............................................................................ 982
CheckingtheConsistencyofaFrequencyPlan.......................................................... 982
CheckingtheConsistencyofthePhysicalCellIDPlan.................................................... 983
MakingaCellIdentifierCollisionZonesPrediction ...................................................... 986
AnalysingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingCoveragePredictions........................................... 987

9.4
9.4.1
9.4.2
9.4.2.1
9.4.2.2
9.4.2.3
9.4.2.4
9.4.2.5
9.4.3
9.4.4
9.4.4.1
9.4.4.2
9.4.5

StudyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................. 987

DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData..................................................................... 988
CreatingaTrafficMap ............................................................................... 988
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap ........................................................................ 988
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap................................................................... 990
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)..................................................... 995
Converting2GNetworkTraffic....................................................................... 997
ExportingCumulatedTraffic......................................................................... 997
ExportingaTrafficMap .............................................................................. 998
WorkingwithaSubscriberDatabase ................................................................... 998
CreatingaSubscriberList........................................................................... 998
PerformingCalculationsonSubscriberlists ........................................................... 1002
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ........................................................... 1002

18

AT321_UMR_E1

9.4.5.1
9.4.5.2
9.4.5.3
9.4.5.4
9.4.5.5
9.4.5.6
9.4.5.7
9.4.5.8
9.4.6

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm .....................................................................1003
CreatingSimulations...............................................................................1005
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .........................................................1007
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ...........................................................1010
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................1014
UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults .....................................................1017
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument ......................................................... 1018
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ........................................................................1020
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................... 1020

9.5
9.5.1
9.5.2
9.5.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP ............................................................1020
LTEOptimisationObjectives..........................................................................1021
LTEQualityParameters..............................................................................1022
LTEQualityAnalysisPredictions.......................................................................1024

9.6
9.6.1
9.6.2
9.6.3
9.6.4
9.6.4.1
9.6.4.2
9.6.4.3
9.6.4.4
9.6.4.5
9.6.4.6
9.6.5
9.6.6
9.6.7

VerifyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................1025
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath......................................................................1025
DisplayingDriveTestData............................................................................1028
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath ...........................................................1028
NetworkVerification................................................................................1029
FilteringMeasurementPointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths ............................................... 1029
PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints....................................................1030
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths ................................................. 1031
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath........................................................1032
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter...........................................1032
AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath .....................................................1032
ExportingaDriveTestDataPath ......................................................................1034
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ......................................................1034
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataAnalysisTool...................................................1035

9.7
9.7.1
9.7.2
9.7.2.1
9.7.2.2
9.7.3
9.7.3.1
9.7.3.2
9.7.3.3
9.7.3.4
9.7.3.5
9.7.3.6
9.7.3.7
9.7.3.8
9.7.4
9.7.5
9.7.5.1
9.7.5.2
9.7.6

CoplanningLTENetworkswithOtherNetworks ...........................................................1035
SwitchingtoCoplanningMode.......................................................................1035
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinanCoPlanningProject..............................................1037
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ......................................................................1037
AnalysingCoveragePredictions......................................................................1038
PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation.......................................................1040
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours ...............................................................1040
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs............................................................1041
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours .........................................1042
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically...................................................1043
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ....................................................1045
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell.............................................1046
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours....................................... 1049
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan .........................................1052
CreatinganLTESectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork ................................................1053
UsingACPinaCoplanningProject ....................................................................1053
CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup........................................................1054
ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup...........................................................1054
EndingCoplanningMode ............................................................................1054

9.8
9.8.1
9.8.2
9.8.2.1
9.8.2.2
9.8.2.3
9.8.3
9.8.4
9.8.5
9.8.6
9.8.7
9.8.8
9.8.9
9.8.10
9.8.10.1
9.8.11
9.8.12
9.8.13

AdvancedConfiguration ...............................................................................1055
DefiningFrequencyBands............................................................................1055
TheGlobalNetworkSettings..........................................................................1056
TheOptionsontheGlobalParametersTab............................................................1056
TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab........................................................1059
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings ..................................................................1059
DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers..................................................................1060
DefiningFrameConfigurations ........................................................................1060
DefiningLTERadioBearers...........................................................................1062
DefiningLTEQualityIndicators ........................................................................1062
DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment ....................................................................1062
DefiningLTESchedulers..............................................................................1066
DefiningLTEUECategories...........................................................................1068
SmartAntennaSystems..............................................................................1068
DefiningSmartAntennaEquipment..................................................................1069
MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems................................................................1070
IntercellInterferenceCoordination....................................................................1071
ModellingShadowing ...............................................................................1072

19

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TableofContents

9.8.13.1
9.8.14
9.8.14.1

Forsk2014

DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass .................................................... 1073

ModellingIntertechnologyInterference ............................................................... 1073
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ...................................................................... 1074

9.9

TipsandTricks ...................................................................................... 1075

9.10

GlossaryofLTETerms................................................................................ 1080

10

3GPPMultiRATNetworks ........................................ 1085

10.1

Designinga3GPPMultiRATNetwork................................................................... 1085

10.2
10.2.1
10.2.2
10.2.3
10.2.4
10.2.5
10.2.6
10.2.7
10.2.7.1
10.2.7.2
10.2.7.3
10.2.7.4
10.2.7.5
10.2.8
10.2.8.1
10.2.8.2
10.2.8.3
10.2.8.4
10.2.8.5
10.2.8.6
10.2.9
10.2.9.1
10.2.9.2
10.2.9.3
10.2.9.4
10.2.9.5
10.2.9.6
10.2.9.7
10.2.10
10.2.10.1
10.2.10.2
10.2.10.3

PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations .................................................................. 1087

CreatingaBaseStation ............................................................................. 1088
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations..................................................................... 1088
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap.................................................... 1088
DisplayTipsforBaseStations ........................................................................ 1089
CreatingaRepeater ................................................................................ 1089
CreatingaRemoteAntenna.......................................................................... 1089
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations ............................................................... 1090
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ....................................................... 1091
CreatingaComputationZone ...................................................................... 1091
AssigningaPropagationModel..................................................................... 1092
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive ............................................................... 1094
TheCalculationProcess ........................................................................... 1095
StudyingBaseStations .............................................................................. 1095
3GPPMultiRATPredictions ........................................................................ 1095
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults............................................................... 1097
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics.................................................. 1098
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults .................................................... 1102
ComparingCoveragePredictions .................................................................... 1102
MakingaMultipointAnalysis ...................................................................... 1106
PlanningNeighbours................................................................................ 1110
ImportingNeighbours ............................................................................. 1110
PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours ............................................................... 1111
PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours ............................................................... 1120
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults ............................................................... 1128
AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap ...................................................... 1133
DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap.............................................................. 1134
AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap.................................................... 1135
AllocatingResourcesina3GPPMultiRATNetwork...................................................... 1136
AllocatingResourcesinGSM ....................................................................... 1136
AllocatingResourcesinUMTS ...................................................................... 1136
AllocatingResourcesinLTE ........................................................................ 1136

10.3
10.3.1
10.3.2
10.3.3
10.3.3.1
10.3.3.2
10.3.3.3
10.3.4
10.3.4.1
10.3.4.2
10.3.4.3
10.3.4.4
10.3.4.5
10.3.5
10.3.6
10.3.7
10.3.8
10.3.8.1
10.3.8.2
10.3.8.3
10.3.8.4
10.3.8.5
10.3.8.6

StudyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................ 1136

ImportingOMCTrafficDatainGSM................................................................... 1137
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData.................................................................... 1137
ServiceandUserModelling .......................................................................... 1137
Modelling3GPPMultiRATServices ................................................................. 1138
Modelling3GPPMultiRATMobilityTypes ............................................................ 1138
Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals................................................................ 1139
CreatingaTrafficMap .............................................................................. 1139
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap ....................................................................... 1140
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap.................................................................. 1142
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km) .................................................... 1146
Converting2GNetworkTraffic...................................................................... 1148
ExportingCumulatedTraffic........................................................................ 1148
ExportingaTrafficMap ............................................................................. 1149
CalculatingandDisplayingaGSMTrafficCapture ........................................................ 1149
DimensioningaGSMNetwork........................................................................ 1149
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ........................................................... 1149
SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies ......................................................... 1150
CreatingSimulations .............................................................................. 1150
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap......................................................... 1152
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation.......................................................... 1154
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations ............................................... 1154
UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults..................................................... 1155

20

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TableofContents

10.3.8.7
10.3.8.8
10.3.9

AddingnewSimulationstoanAtollDocument.........................................................1156
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ........................................................................1157
AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation...................................................................1157

10.4
10.4.1
10.4.2
10.4.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP ............................................................1158
OptimisationObjectives .............................................................................1158
QualityParameters .................................................................................1158
QualityAnalysisMaps...............................................................................1158

10.5

VerifyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................1159

10.6

DisplayingElementsofOneAtollDocumentina3GPPMultiRATDocument ...................................1159

11

3GPP2MultiRATNetworks ....................................... 1163

11.1

Designinga3GPP2MultiRATNetwork ...................................................................1163

11.2
11.2.1
11.2.2
11.2.3
11.2.4
11.2.5
11.2.6
11.2.7
11.2.7.1
11.2.7.2
11.2.7.3
11.2.7.4
11.2.7.5
11.2.8
11.2.8.1
11.2.8.2
11.2.8.3
11.2.8.4
11.2.8.5
11.2.8.6
11.2.9
11.2.9.1
11.2.9.2
11.2.9.3
11.2.9.4
11.2.9.5
11.2.9.6
11.2.9.7
11.2.10
11.2.10.1
11.2.10.2

PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations...................................................................1164
CreatingaBaseStation ..............................................................................1165
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations .....................................................................1165
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap ....................................................1166
DisplayTipsforBaseStations.........................................................................1166
CreatingaRepeater .................................................................................1167
CreatingaRemoteAntenna ..........................................................................1167
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations................................................................1167
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument........................................................1168
CreatingaComputationZone .......................................................................1169
AssigningaPropagationModel ......................................................................1169
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive................................................................1171
TheCalculationProcess............................................................................1172
StudyingBaseStations...............................................................................1173
3GPP2MultiRATPredictions........................................................................1173
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults ...............................................................1175
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics ..................................................1176
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults.....................................................1180
ComparingCoveragePredictions ....................................................................1180
MakingaMultipointAnalysis .......................................................................1184
PlanningNeighbours ................................................................................1188
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................1189
PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours ................................................................1189
PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours ................................................................1197
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults................................................................1205
AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap ......................................................1210
DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap ..............................................................1211
AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap ....................................................1212
AllocatingResourcesina3GPP2MultiRATNetwork ......................................................1213
AllocatingResourcesinCDMA.......................................................................1213
AllocatingResourcesinLTE.........................................................................1213

11.3
11.3.1
11.3.2
11.3.2.1
11.3.2.2
11.3.2.3
11.3.3
11.3.3.1
11.3.3.2
11.3.3.3
11.3.3.4
11.3.3.5
11.3.4
11.3.5
11.3.5.1
11.3.5.2
11.3.5.3
11.3.5.4
11.3.5.5

StudyingNetworkCapacity.............................................................................1213
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData .....................................................................1213
ServiceandUserModelling...........................................................................1214
Modelling3GPP2MultiRATServices.................................................................1214
Modelling3GPP2MultiRATMobilityTypes............................................................1215
Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals................................................................1215
CreatingaTrafficMap ...............................................................................1216
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap .......................................................................1216
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap ...................................................................1218
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km).....................................................1222
Converting2GNetworkTraffic ......................................................................1224
ExportingCumulatedTraffic ........................................................................1224
ExportingaTrafficMap..............................................................................1225
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ...........................................................1225
SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies ..........................................................1226
CreatingSimulations...............................................................................1226
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .........................................................1227
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ...........................................................1228
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................1229

21

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11.3.5.6
11.3.5.7
11.3.5.8
11.3.6

Forsk2014

UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults..................................................... 1229
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument........................................................ 1230
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease........................................................................ 1231
AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation .................................................................. 1231

11.4
11.4.1
11.4.2
11.4.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP........................................................... 1232
OptimisationObjectives ............................................................................. 1232
QualityParameters................................................................................. 1232
QualityAnalysisMaps .............................................................................. 1232

11.5

VerifyingNetworkCapacity............................................................................ 1233

11.6

DisplayingElementsofOneAtollDocumentina3GPP2MultiRATDocument .................................. 1233

12

WiMAXBWANetworks ........................................... 1237

12.1

DesigningaWiMAXNetwork .......................................................................... 1237

12.2
12.2.1
12.2.1.1
12.2.1.2
12.2.1.3
12.2.1.4
12.2.1.5
12.2.1.6
12.2.2
12.2.3
12.2.4
12.2.5
12.2.6
12.2.6.1
12.2.6.2
12.2.6.3
12.2.6.4
12.2.6.5
12.2.6.6
12.2.7
12.2.7.1
12.2.7.2
12.2.7.3
12.2.7.4
12.2.7.5
12.2.8
12.2.8.1
12.2.8.2
12.2.8.3
12.2.8.4
12.2.8.5
12.2.9
12.2.9.1
12.2.9.2
12.2.9.3
12.2.9.4
12.2.9.5
12.2.9.6
12.2.9.7
12.2.10
12.2.10.1
12.2.10.2
12.2.10.3
12.2.10.4
12.2.10.5
12.2.10.6
12.2.10.7
12.2.10.8
12.2.10.9

PlanningandOptimisingWiMAXBaseStations ........................................................... 1238

CreatingaWiMAXBaseStation....................................................................... 1239
DefinitionofaBaseStation ........................................................................ 1239
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement ......................................................... 1246
PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate ................................................... 1247
ManagingStationTemplates....................................................................... 1248
DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation ................................................................. 1253
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation ........................................................... 1254
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations..................................................................... 1255
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap.................................................... 1256
DisplayTipsforBaseStations ........................................................................ 1256
CreatingaMultibandWiMAXNetwork ................................................................ 1257
CreatingaRepeater ................................................................................ 1257
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ....................................................................... 1257
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment ......................................................... 1258
PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse....................................................... 1258
CreatingSeveralRepeaters......................................................................... 1258
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................ 1259
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters .............................................................. 1261
CreatingaRemoteAntenna.......................................................................... 1261
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable................................................................ 1261
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse ................................................ 1262
CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas .................................................................. 1262
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna......................................................... 1262
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters........................................................ 1264
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations ............................................................... 1264
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ....................................................... 1265
CreatingaComputationZone ...................................................................... 1266
AssigningaPropagationModel..................................................................... 1266
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive ............................................................... 1268
TheCalculationProcess ........................................................................... 1270
StudyingBaseStations .............................................................................. 1270
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions................................................................... 1270
WiMAXCoveragePredictions....................................................................... 1278
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults............................................................... 1295
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics.................................................. 1296
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults .................................................... 1300
AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis ............................................... 1300
ComparingCoveragePredictions .................................................................... 1303
PlanningNeighbours................................................................................ 1307
ImportingNeighbours ............................................................................. 1308
DefiningExceptionalPairs ......................................................................... 1308
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours ....................................................... 1308
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically................................................................. 1309
CheckingAutomaticNeighbourAllocationResults ..................................................... 1312
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell........................................................... 1316
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours..................................................... 1320
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan ....................................................... 1321
ExportingNeighbours............................................................................. 1322

22

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12.3
12.3.1
12.3.1.1
12.3.1.2
12.3.2
12.3.3
12.3.4
12.3.5
12.3.6
12.3.7
12.3.8
12.3.8.1
12.3.8.2
12.3.8.3
12.3.9
12.3.9.1
12.3.9.2
12.3.9.3
12.3.9.4
12.3.9.5

ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP ...........................................................1322
WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices ...................................................................1323
CalculatingInterferenceMatrices ....................................................................1323
ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices......................................................... 1323
DefiningNeighbourRelationsandImportance ...........................................................1324
SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation...............................................................1324
ConfiguringCostComponentWeights ..................................................................1325
PlanningFrequencies ................................................................................1325
PlanningPreambleIndexes ...........................................................................1327
PlanningPermutationZonePermBases .................................................................1329
DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap.................................................................1331
UsingFindonMaptoDisplayAFPResults.............................................................1331
UsingTransmitterDisplaySettingstoDisplayAFPResults ................................................1333
GroupingTransmittersbyChannels,PreambleIndexes,ZonePermBases...................................1333
AnalysingtheAFPResults............................................................................1334
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheFrequencyPlan........................................................1334
CheckingtheConsistencyofthePreambleIndexPlan...................................................1336
CheckingtheConsistencyofDLandULZonePermBasePlans .............................................1338
MakingaCellIdentifierCollisionZonesPrediction......................................................1340
AnalysingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingCoveragePredictions...........................................1341

12.4
12.4.1
12.4.2
12.4.2.1
12.4.2.2
12.4.2.3
12.4.2.4
12.4.2.5
12.4.3
12.4.4
12.4.4.1
12.4.4.2
12.4.5
12.4.5.1
12.4.5.2
12.4.5.3
12.4.5.4
12.4.5.5
12.4.5.6
12.4.5.7
12.4.5.8
12.4.6

StudyingNetworkCapacity.............................................................................1341
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData .....................................................................1342
CreatingaTrafficMap ...............................................................................1342
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap .......................................................................1343
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap ...................................................................1344
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2) ....................................................1349
Converting2GNetworkTraffic ......................................................................1351
ExportingCumulatedTraffic ........................................................................1351
ExportingaTrafficMap..............................................................................1352
WorkingwithaSubscriberDatabase...................................................................1352
CreatingaSubscriberList ...........................................................................1352
PerformingCalculationsonSubscriberLists............................................................1356
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ...........................................................1356
WiMAXTrafficSimulationAlgorithm .................................................................1357
CreatingSimulations...............................................................................1358
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .........................................................1359
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ...........................................................1363
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................1367
UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults .....................................................1370
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument ......................................................... 1370
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ........................................................................1372
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................... 1372

12.5
12.5.1
12.5.2
12.5.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP ............................................................1373
WiMAXOptimisationObjectives.......................................................................1373
WiMAXQualityParameters ..........................................................................1374
WiMAXQualityAnalysisPredictions ...................................................................1375

12.6
12.6.1
12.6.2
12.6.3
12.6.4
12.6.4.1
12.6.4.2
12.6.4.3
12.6.4.4
12.6.4.5
12.6.4.6
12.6.5
12.6.6
12.6.7

VerifyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................1376
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath......................................................................1376
DisplayingDriveTestData............................................................................1379
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath ...........................................................1379
NetworkVerification................................................................................1380
FilteringMeasurementPointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths ............................................... 1380
PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints....................................................1381
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths ................................................. 1382
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath........................................................1383
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter...........................................1383
AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath .....................................................1384
ExportingaDriveTestDataPath ......................................................................1385
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ......................................................1385
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow ......................................................1386

12.7
12.7.1
12.7.2
12.7.2.1

CoplanningWiMAXNetworkswithOtherNetworks .......................................................1386
SwitchingtoCoplanningMode.......................................................................1386
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoplanningProject ...............................................1388
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ......................................................................1388

23

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12.7.2.2
12.7.3
12.7.3.1
12.7.3.2
12.7.3.3
12.7.3.4
12.7.3.5
12.7.3.6
12.7.3.7
12.7.3.8
12.7.4
12.7.5
12.7.5.1
12.7.5.2
12.7.6

Forsk2014

AnalysingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 1389

PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation ...................................................... 1391
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours.............................................................. 1391
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs ........................................................... 1392
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours ......................................... 1394
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically .................................................. 1394
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ................................................... 1396
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell ............................................ 1397
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours ...................................... 1400
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan........................................ 1401
CreatingaWiMAXSectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork ............................................. 1402
UsingACPinaCoplanningProject .................................................................... 1403
CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup ....................................................... 1403
ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup .......................................................... 1404
EndingCoplanningMode........................................................................... 1404

12.8
12.8.1
12.8.2
12.8.2.1
12.8.2.2
12.8.2.3
12.8.3
12.8.4
12.8.5
12.8.6
12.8.7
12.8.8
12.8.9
12.8.9.1
12.8.9.2
12.8.9.3
12.8.10
12.8.11
12.8.11.1
12.8.12
12.8.12.1

AdvancedConfiguration .............................................................................. 1404

DefiningFrequencyBands........................................................................... 1405
TheGlobalNetworkSettings ......................................................................... 1405
TheOptionsontheGlobalParametersTab ........................................................... 1405
TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab ....................................................... 1407
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings .................................................................. 1408
DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers ................................................................. 1409
DefiningFrameConfigurations ....................................................................... 1409
DefiningWiMAXRadioBearers ....................................................................... 1410
DefiningWiMAXQualityIndicators.................................................................... 1411
DefiningWiMAXReceptionEquipment ................................................................ 1411
DefiningWiMAXSchedulers ......................................................................... 1415
SmartAntennaSystems ............................................................................. 1417
OptimumBeamformer............................................................................ 1418
ConventionalBeamformer ......................................................................... 1418
DefiningSmartAntennaEquipment ................................................................. 1419
MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems ............................................................... 1420
ModellingShadowing ............................................................................... 1422
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass .................................................... 1422
ModellingIntertechnologyInterference ............................................................... 1422
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ...................................................................... 1423

12.9

TipsandTricks ...................................................................................... 1424

12.10

GlossaryofWiMAXTerms............................................................................. 1433

13

WiFiNetworks.................................................. 1439

13.1

DesigningaWiFiNetwork ............................................................................ 1439

13.2
13.2.1
13.2.1.1
13.2.1.2
13.2.1.3
13.2.1.4
13.2.1.5
13.2.1.6
13.2.2
13.2.3
13.2.4
13.2.5
13.2.6
13.2.6.1
13.2.6.2
13.2.6.3
13.2.6.4
13.2.6.5
13.2.7
13.2.7.1
13.2.7.2
13.2.7.3

PlanningandOptimisingWiFiAccessPoints ............................................................. 1440

CreatingaWiFiAccessPoint......................................................................... 1440
DefinitionofanAccessPoint ....................................................................... 1441
CreatingorModifyinganAccessPoint ............................................................... 1444
PlacingaNewAccessPointUsingaStationTemplate ................................................... 1446
ManagingStationTemplates....................................................................... 1447
DuplicatinganExistingAccessPoint ................................................................. 1450
StudyingtheProfileAroundanAccessPoint .......................................................... 1451
CreatingaGroupofAccessPoints..................................................................... 1453
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap.................................................... 1453
DisplayTipsforAccessPoints ........................................................................ 1454
CreatingaMultibandWiFiNetwork .................................................................. 1454
PreparingAccessPointsforCalculations ............................................................... 1454
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument ....................................................... 1455
CreatingaComputationZone ...................................................................... 1456
AssigningaPropagationModel..................................................................... 1456
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive ............................................................... 1458
TheCalculationProcess ........................................................................... 1460
StudyingAccessPoints .............................................................................. 1460
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions................................................................... 1460
WiFiCoveragePredictions......................................................................... 1466
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults............................................................... 1478

24

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TableofContents

13.2.7.4
13.2.7.5
13.2.7.6
13.2.7.7
13.2.8
13.2.8.1
13.2.8.2
13.2.8.3
13.2.8.4
13.2.8.5
13.2.8.6
13.2.8.7
13.2.8.8
13.2.8.9

GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics ..................................................1479
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults.....................................................1483
AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis................................................1483
ComparingCoveragePredictions ....................................................................1485
PlanningNeighbours ................................................................................1490
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................1490
DefiningExceptionalPairs..........................................................................1490
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours........................................................1491
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically .................................................................1491
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults................................................................1494
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell ...........................................................1499
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours ......................................................1502
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan .......................................................1504
ExportingNeighbours ..............................................................................1505

13.3
13.3.1
13.3.1.1
13.3.1.2
13.3.2
13.3.3
13.3.4
13.3.5
13.3.6
13.3.6.1
13.3.6.2
13.3.6.3
13.3.7
13.3.7.1
13.3.7.2

ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP ...........................................................1505
WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices ...................................................................1505
CalculatingInterferenceMatrices ....................................................................1505
ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices......................................................... 1506
DefiningNeighbourRelationsandImportance ...........................................................1507
SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation...............................................................1507
ConfiguringCostComponentWeights ..................................................................1507
PlanningFrequencies ................................................................................1507
DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap.................................................................1509
UsingFindonMaptoDisplayAFPResults.............................................................1509
UsingTransmitterDisplaySettingstoDisplayAFPResults ................................................1510
GroupingTransmittersbyChannels ..................................................................1510
AnalysingtheAFPResults............................................................................1511
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheFrequencyPlan........................................................1511
AnalysingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingCoveragePredictions...........................................1512

13.4
13.4.1
13.4.2
13.4.2.1
13.4.2.2
13.4.2.3
13.4.2.4
13.4.3
13.4.4
13.4.4.1
13.4.4.2
13.4.5
13.4.5.1
13.4.5.2
13.4.5.3
13.4.5.4
13.4.5.5
13.4.5.6
13.4.5.7
13.4.5.8
13.4.6

StudyingNetworkCapacity.............................................................................1512
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData .....................................................................1513
CreatingaTrafficMap ...............................................................................1513
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap .......................................................................1513
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap ...................................................................1515
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2) ....................................................1519
ExportingCumulatedTraffic ........................................................................1521
ExportingaTrafficMap..............................................................................1522
WorkingwithaSubscriberDatabase...................................................................1522
CreatingaSubscriberList ...........................................................................1523
PerformingCalculationsonSubscriberLists............................................................1526
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ...........................................................1526
WiFiTrafficSimulationAlgorithm ...................................................................1527
CreatingSimulations...............................................................................1528
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .........................................................1529
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ...........................................................1532
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................1535
UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults .....................................................1538
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument ......................................................... 1538
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ........................................................................1540
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................... 1540

13.5
13.5.1
13.5.2
13.5.3

OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP ............................................................1541
WiFiOptimisationObjectives.........................................................................1541
WiFiQualityParameters ............................................................................1541
WiFiQualityAnalysisPredictions .....................................................................1543

13.6
13.6.1
13.6.2
13.6.3
13.6.4
13.6.4.1
13.6.4.2
13.6.4.3
13.6.4.4
13.6.4.5

VerifyingNetworkCapacity ............................................................................1544
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath......................................................................1544
DisplayingDriveTestData............................................................................1546
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath ...........................................................1546
NetworkVerification................................................................................1547
FilteringMeasurementPointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths ............................................... 1547
PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints .......................................................1548
CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths ................................................. 1549
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath........................................................1549
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter...........................................1550

25

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Forsk2014

13.6.4.6
13.6.5
13.6.6
13.6.7

AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath ..................................................... 1550

ExportingaDriveTestDataPath...................................................................... 1551
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ...................................................... 1551
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow ...................................................... 1552

13.7
13.7.1
13.7.2
13.7.3
13.7.3.1
13.7.3.2
13.7.4
13.7.4.1
13.7.4.2
13.7.4.3
13.7.4.4
13.7.4.5
13.7.4.6
13.7.4.7
13.7.4.8
13.7.5
13.7.5.1
13.7.5.2
13.7.6

CoplanningWiFiNetworkswithOtherNetworks......................................................... 1552
SwitchingtoCoplanningMode ...................................................................... 1552
PerformingaTrafficOffloadAnalysis.................................................................. 1554
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoplanningProject............................................... 1555
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 1555
AnalysingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 1556
PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation ...................................................... 1558
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours.............................................................. 1558
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs ........................................................... 1558
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours ......................................... 1560
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically .................................................. 1561
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ................................................... 1562
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell ............................................ 1563
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours ...................................... 1566
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan........................................ 1568
UsingACPinaCoplanningProject .................................................................... 1569
CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup ....................................................... 1569
ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup .......................................................... 1570
EndingCoplanningMode........................................................................... 1570

13.8
13.8.1
13.8.2
13.8.2.1
13.8.2.2
13.8.3
13.8.4
13.8.5
13.8.6
13.8.7
13.8.8
13.8.8.1
13.8.9
13.8.9.1

AdvancedConfiguration .............................................................................. 1570

DefiningFrequencyBands........................................................................... 1570
TheGlobalNetworkSettings ......................................................................... 1571
TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab ....................................................... 1571
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings .................................................................. 1572
WiFiFrameConfigurations .......................................................................... 1572
DefiningWiFiRadioBearers ......................................................................... 1572
DefiningWiFiQualityIndicators...................................................................... 1573
DefiningWiFiReceptionEquipment .................................................................. 1573
MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems ............................................................... 1575
ModellingShadowing ............................................................................... 1576
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass .................................................... 1576
ModellingIntertechnologyInterference ............................................................... 1577
DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs ...................................................................... 1577

13.9

TipsandTricks ...................................................................................... 1578

14

TDSCDMANetworks............................................. 1583

14.1

DesigningaTDSCDMANetwork ....................................................................... 1583

14.2
14.2.1
14.2.1.1
14.2.1.2
14.2.1.3
14.2.1.4
14.2.1.5
14.2.1.6
14.2.2
14.2.3
14.2.4
14.2.5
14.2.6
14.2.6.1
14.2.6.2
14.2.6.3
14.2.6.4
14.2.6.5
14.2.6.6
14.2.7
14.2.7.1
14.2.7.2

PlanningandOptimisingTDSCDMABaseStations ........................................................ 1584

CreatingaTDSCDMABaseStation.................................................................... 1584
DefinitionofaBaseStation ........................................................................ 1585
CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement ......................................................... 1592
PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate ................................................... 1594
ManagingStationTemplates....................................................................... 1595
DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation ................................................................. 1600
StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation ........................................................... 1601
CreatingaGroupofBaseStations..................................................................... 1602
ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap.................................................... 1603
DisplayTipsforBaseStations ........................................................................ 1603
CreatingaDualBandTDSCDMANetwork.............................................................. 1604
CreatingaRepeater ................................................................................ 1604
OpeningtheRepeatersTable ....................................................................... 1605
CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment ......................................................... 1605
PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse....................................................... 1605
CreatingSeveralRepeaters......................................................................... 1606
DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater ................................................................ 1606
TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters .............................................................. 1608
CreatingaRemoteAntenna.......................................................................... 1608
OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable................................................................ 1609
PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse ................................................ 1609

26

AT321_UMR_E1

14.2.7.3
14.2.7.4
14.2.7.5
14.2.8
14.2.8.1
14.2.8.2
14.2.8.3
14.2.8.4
14.2.8.5
14.2.9
14.2.9.1
14.2.9.2
14.2.9.3
14.2.9.4
14.2.9.5
14.2.9.6
14.2.9.7
14.2.9.8
14.2.10
14.2.10.1
14.2.10.2
14.2.10.3
14.2.10.4
14.2.10.5
14.2.11
14.2.11.1
14.2.11.2
14.2.11.3
14.2.11.4
14.2.11.5
14.2.11.6
14.2.11.7
14.2.11.8
14.2.11.9
14.2.12
14.2.12.1
14.2.12.2
14.2.12.3
14.2.12.4
14.2.12.5
14.2.12.6
14.2.12.7
14.3
14.3.1
14.3.1.1
14.3.1.2
14.3.1.3
14.3.2
14.3.3
14.3.3.1
14.3.3.2
14.3.3.3
14.3.3.4
14.3.3.5
14.3.4
14.3.5
14.3.5.1
14.3.5.2
14.3.5.3
14.3.5.4
14.3.5.5
14.3.5.6
14.3.5.7
14.3.5.8
14.3.5.9
14.3.6

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas...................................................................1609
DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna ..........................................................1610
TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters ........................................................1611
PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations................................................................1611
SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument........................................................1612
CreatingaComputationZone .......................................................................1613
AssigningaPropagationModel ......................................................................1613
SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive................................................................1615
TheCalculationProcess............................................................................1616
StudyingBaseStations...............................................................................1617
SignalLevelCoveragePredictions ....................................................................1617
SignalQualityCoveragePredictions..................................................................1633
HSDPACoveragePredictions ........................................................................1650
DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults ...............................................................1652
GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics ..................................................1652
PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults.....................................................1656
AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis................................................1657
ComparingCoveragePredictions ....................................................................1657
PlanningFrequencies ................................................................................1661
SettingupNFrequencyMode.......................................................................1661
AllocatingFrequenciesAutomatically .................................................................1661
CheckingAutomaticFrequencyAllocationResults ......................................................1662
AllocatingCarrierTypesperTransmitter ..............................................................1663
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheFrequencyAllocationPlan............................................... 1663
PlanningNeighbours ................................................................................1664
ImportingNeighbours .............................................................................1664
DefiningExceptionalPairs..........................................................................1664
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours........................................................1665
AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically .................................................................1665
CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults................................................................1668
AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell ...........................................................1673
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours ......................................................1676
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan .......................................................1677
ExportingNeighbours ..............................................................................1678
PlanningScramblingCodes ...........................................................................1679
DefiningtheScramblingCodeFormat ................................................................1679
CreatingScramblingCodeDomainsandGroups........................................................1680
DefiningExceptionalPairsforScramblingCodeAllocation................................................1680
DefiningScramblingCodeRelativityClusters...........................................................1681
AllocatingScramblingCodes ........................................................................1681
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheScramblingCodePlan ..................................................1684
DisplayingtheAllocationofScramblingCodes .........................................................1684
StudyingNetworkCapacity.............................................................................1688
CalculatingTDSCDMANetworkCapacity...............................................................1688
CalculatingAvailableNetworkCapacity...............................................................1689
CalculatingRequiredNetworkCapacity...............................................................1689
DisplayingtheNetworkCapacityontheMap ..........................................................1690
DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData .....................................................................1690
CreatingaTrafficMap ...............................................................................1691
CreatingaSectorTrafficMap .......................................................................1691
CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap ...................................................................1693
CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2) ....................................................1697
Converting2GNetworkTraffic ......................................................................1699
ExportingCumulatedTraffic ........................................................................1699
ExportingaTrafficMap..............................................................................1700
CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations ...........................................................1700
TheMonteCarloSimulationAlgorithm ...............................................................1701
CreatingSimulations...............................................................................1703
DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap .........................................................1705
DisplayingtheUserBestServerontheMap ...........................................................1706
DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation ...........................................................1707
DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations................................................1711
UpdatingCellandTimeslotValueswithSimulationResults ............................................... 1713
AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument ......................................................... 1714
EstimatingaTrafficIncrease ........................................................................1716
MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults .................................................... 1716

27

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

Forsk2014

14.4
14.4.1
14.4.2
14.4.3
14.4.4
14.4.4.1
14.4.4.2
14.4.4.3
14.4.4.4
14.4.4.5
14.4.5
14.4.6
14.4.7

VerifyingNetworkCapacity............................................................................ 1717
ImportingaDriveTestDataPath ..................................................................... 1717
DisplayingDriveTestData ........................................................................... 1719
DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath........................................................... 1720
NetworkVerification ............................................................................... 1720
FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths............................................... 1721
PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints ................................................... 1721
DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath ....................................................... 1722
ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter .......................................... 1723
AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath ............................................................. 1723
ExportingaDriveTestDataPath...................................................................... 1725
ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData ...................................................... 1725
PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataAnalysisTool .................................................. 1726

14.5
14.5.1
14.5.2
14.5.2.1
14.5.2.2
14.5.3
14.5.3.1
14.5.3.2
14.5.3.3
14.5.3.4
14.5.3.5
14.5.3.6
14.5.3.7
14.5.3.8
14.5.4
14.5.5

CoplanningTDSCDMANetworkswithOtherNetworks .................................................... 1726

SwitchingtoCoplanningMode ...................................................................... 1726
WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject............................................... 1728
UpdatingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 1728
AnalysingCoveragePredictions ..................................................................... 1729
PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation ...................................................... 1731
ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours.............................................................. 1731
DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs ........................................................... 1732
ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours ......................................... 1734
AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically .................................................. 1734
DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap ................................................... 1736
AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell ............................................ 1737
CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours ...................................... 1740
CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan........................................ 1742
CreatingaTDSCDMASectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork .......................................... 1743
EndingCoplanningMode........................................................................... 1744

14.6
14.6.1
14.6.2
14.6.3
14.6.3.1
14.6.3.2
14.6.3.3
14.6.4
14.6.4.1
14.6.4.2
14.6.4.3
14.6.4.4
14.6.4.5
14.6.4.6
14.6.4.7
14.6.5
14.6.5.1
14.6.5.2
14.6.5.3
14.6.6
14.6.7
14.6.7.1
14.6.7.2
14.6.7.3
14.6.8
14.6.8.1

AdvancedConfiguration .............................................................................. 1744

ModellingIntercarrierInterference................................................................... 1744
DefiningFrequencyBands........................................................................... 1745
NetworkSettings .................................................................................. 1745
TheOptionsontheGlobalParametersTab ........................................................... 1745
TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab ....................................................... 1747
ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings .................................................................. 1747
SmartAntennaSystems ............................................................................. 1748
GridofBeams(GOB) .............................................................................. 1748
AdaptiveBeamModel............................................................................. 1750
ConventionalBeamformer ......................................................................... 1750
OptimumBeamformer............................................................................ 1750
StatisticalModel ................................................................................. 1750
ThirdPartySmartAntennaModels .................................................................. 1751
SmartAntennaEquipment ......................................................................... 1751
RadioBearers ..................................................................................... 1752
DefiningR99RadioBearers ........................................................................ 1752
DefiningHSDPARadioBearers ...................................................................... 1753
DefiningHSUPARadioBearers...................................................................... 1753
CreatingSiteEquipment............................................................................. 1754
ReceiverEquipment................................................................................ 1754
CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment.......................................................... 1754
HSDPAUECategories ............................................................................. 1755
HSUPAUECategories ............................................................................. 1755
ModellingShadowing ............................................................................... 1756
DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass .................................................... 1756

15
15.1
15.1.1
15.1.2
15.1.2.1
15.1.2.2
15.1.2.3
15.1.3

28

AutomaticCellPlanning .......................................... 1759

TheACPModuleandAtoll............................................................................. 1759
UsingQualityandCostObjectivesintheACP ........................................................... 1760
UsingZoneswithACP ............................................................................... 1760
UsingtheComputationZoneandtheFocusZone...................................................... 1760
UsingCustomZones .............................................................................. 1761
UsingtheFilteringZone ........................................................................... 1761
UsingWeightingMapswithACP ...................................................................... 1761

AT321_UMR_E1

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

15.1.4
15.1.5
15.1.5.1
15.1.5.2
15.1.6

ShadowingMarginandIndoorCoverage................................................................1761
ACPandAntennaMasking ...........................................................................1762
NativePropagationModels.........................................................................1762
NonNativePropagationModels .....................................................................1762
EMFExposure ......................................................................................1763

15.2
15.2.1
15.2.2
15.2.3

ConfiguringtheACPModule ...........................................................................1764
DefiningtheStorageLocationofACPSettings ...........................................................1764
DefiningtheAntennaMaskingMethod .................................................................1764
ConfiguringDefaultSettings..........................................................................1765

15.3
15.3.1
15.3.1.1
15.3.1.2
15.3.1.3
15.3.2
15.3.2.1
15.3.2.2
15.3.2.3
15.3.2.4
15.3.2.5
15.3.2.6

OptimisingCellPlanningwiththeACP ...................................................................1767
CreatinganOptimisationSetup .......................................................................1767
CreatingaNewOptimisationSetup ..................................................................1768
RunninganExistingOptimisationSetup ...............................................................1768
DuplicatinganExistingOptimisationSetup............................................................1768
DefiningOptimisationParameters .....................................................................1768
SettingOptimisationParameters ....................................................................1769
SettingObjectiveParameters .......................................................................1777
SettingNetworkReconfigurationParameters..........................................................1784
DefiningSiteSelectionParameters ...................................................................1794
DefiningAntennas.................................................................................1802
AddingCommentstotheOptimisationSetup..........................................................1807

15.4

RunninganOptimisationSetup.........................................................................1807

15.5

WorkingwithOptimisationsintheExplorerWindow.......................................................1809

15.6
15.6.1
15.6.1.1
15.6.1.2
15.6.1.3
15.6.1.4
15.6.1.5
15.6.1.6
15.6.1.7
15.6.2
15.6.3
15.6.3.1
15.6.3.2
15.6.3.3
15.6.3.4
15.6.3.5
15.6.3.6
15.6.3.7
15.6.4

ViewingOptimisationResults...........................................................................1811
ViewingOptimisationResultsinthePropertiesDialogBox .................................................1811
TheStatisticsTab .................................................................................1812
TheSectorsTab...................................................................................1813
TheGraphTab....................................................................................1814
TheQualityTab ...................................................................................1815
TheCapacityTab..................................................................................1816
TheChangeDetailsTab ............................................................................1817
TheCommitTab ..................................................................................1818
ComparingOptimisations ............................................................................1819
ViewingOptimisationResultsintheMapWindow........................................................1820
TheObjectiveAnalysisPredictions...................................................................1821
TheCapacityAnalysisPredictions ....................................................................1822
TheTechnologyLayerPredictions....................................................................1822
TheEMFExposurePredictions ......................................................................1823
ComparingPredictions .............................................................................1823
ChangingtheDisplayPropertiesofACPPredictions.....................................................1824
ExportingACPCoveragePredictions ..................................................................1825
ViewingOptimisationResultsUsingtheHistogram .......................................................1826

Index ..........................................................1827

29

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
TableofContents

30

Forsk2014

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Introduction

AT321_UMR_E1

Introduction
Atoll is a 64bit multitechnology wireless network design and optimisation platform that supports wireless operators
throughoutthenetworklifecycle,frominitialdesigntodensificationandoptimisation.
Atollsintegrationandautomationfeatureshelpoperatorssmoothlyautomateplanningandoptimisationprocessesthrough
flexiblescriptingandSOAbasedmechanisms.Atollsupportsawiderangeofimplementationscenarios,fromstandaloneto
enterprisewideserverbasedconfigurations.
ThisUserManualprovidesguidanceanddetailedinstructionstohelpyouuseAtolleffectively.

AboutForsk
Forskisanindependentcompanyprovidingradioplanningandoptimisationsoftwaresolutionstothewirelessindustrysince
1987.
In1997,ForskreleasedthefirstversionofAtoll,itsflagshipradioplanningsoftware.Sincethen,Atollhasevolvedtobecome
a comprehensive radio planning and optimisation platform and, with more than 5000 installed licenses worldwide, has
reachedtheleadingpositionontheglobalmarket.Atollcombinesengineeringandautomationfunctionsthatenableopera
torstosmoothlyandgraduallyimplementSONprocesseswithintheirorganisation.
Today,Forskisaglobalsupplierwithover300customersin100countriesandstrategicpartnershipswithmajorplayersinthe
industry.ForskdistributesandsupportsAtolldirectlyfromofficesandtechnicalsupportcentresinFrance,USA,andChinaas
wellasthroughaworldwidenetworkofdistributorsandpartners.
SincethefirstreleaseofAtoll,Forskhasbeenknownforitscapabilitytodelivertailoredandturnkeyradioplanningandopti
misationenvironmentsbasedonAtoll.
Tohelpoperatorsstreamlinetheirradioplanningandoptimisationprocesses,Forskprovidesacompleterangeofimplemen
tationservices,includingintegrationwithexistingITinfrastructure,automation,aswellasdatamigration,installation,and
trainingservices.

GettingHelp
TheonlinehelpsystemthatisinstalledwithAtollisdesignedtogiveyouquickaccesstotheinformationyouneedtousethe
producteffectively.ItcontainsthesamematerialastheAtoll3.2.1UserManual.
YoucanbrowsetheonlinehelpfromtheContentsview,theIndexview,oryoucanusethebuiltinSearchfeature.
YoucanalsodownloadthemanualsfromtheForskwebsite.

PrintingHelpTopics
Youcanprintindividualtopicsorchaptersfromtheonlinehelp.
Toprinthelptopicsorchapters:
1. InAtoll,clickHelp>HelpTopics.
2. IntheContentstab,expandthetableofcontents.
3. RightclickthesectionortopicthatyouwanttoprintandclickPrint.ThePrintTopicsdialogboxappears.
4. InthePrintTopicsdialogbox,selectwhatyouwanttoprint:

Ifyouwanttoprintasingletopic,selectPrinttheselectedtopic.
Ifyouwanttoprintanentiresection,includingalltopicsandsectionsinthatsection,selectPrinttheselected
headingandallsubtopics.

5. ClickOK.

AboutAtollDocumentation
ThefollowingPDFmanualsareavailableforAtollandAtollMicrowaveandcanbedownloadedfromtheForskwebsiteat:
http://www.forsk.com/support.

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Atoll3.2.1AdministratorManual
Atoll3.2.1DataStructureReferenceGuide
Atoll3.2.1TechnicalReferenceGuide

31

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Introduction

2014Forsk

Atoll3.2.1TaskAutomationGuide
Atoll3.2.1ModelCalibrationGuide

ToreadPDFmanuals,youcandownloadAdobeReaderfromtheAdobewebsiteat:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Hardcopymanualsarealsoavailable.Formoreinformation,contacttoyourForskrepresentative.

ContactingTechnicalSupport
Forsk provides global technical support for its products and services. To contact the Forsk support team, visit the Forsk
Supportwebsiteat:
http://www.forsk.com/support.
Alternatively,dependingonyourgeographiclocation,contactoneofthefollowingsupportteams:

ForskHeadOffice
ForregionsotherthanNorthandCentralAmericaandChina,contacttheForskHeadOfficesupportteam:

Tel.:+33562747225
Fax:+33562747211
Email:support@forsk.com

OpeningHours:MondaytoFriday9.00amto6.00pm(GMT+1:00)
Exceptonthefollowingbankholidaysin2013:January1st,April1st,May1st,May8th,May9th,May20th,August
15th,November1st,November11th,December25th

ForskUS
ForNorthandCentralAmerica,contacttheForskUSsupportteam:

Tel.:1888GOATOLL(18884628655)
Fax:13126744822
Email:support_us@forsk.com

OpeningHours:MondaytoFriday8.00amto8.00pm(EasternStandardTime)

ForskChina
ForChina,contacttheForskChinasupportteam:

Tel:+862085570016
Fax:+862085538285
Email:atollsupport@forsk.com.cn

OpeningHours:MondaytoFriday9.00amto5.30pm(GMT+08:00)Beijing,Chongqing,HongKong,Urumqi.

32

Chapter1
WorkingEnvironment
ThischapterpresentstheAtollworkingenvironmentand
explainsthetoolsandshortcutsavailable.

Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:

"TheAtollWorkArea"onpage35

"TheExplorerWindow"onpage39

"WorkingwithObjects"onpage43

"WorkingwithMaps"onpage53

"WorkingwithCoveragePredictions"onpage70

"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75

"PrintinginAtoll"onpage89

"Grouping,Sorting,andFilteringData"onpage95

"TipsandTricks"onpage111

Atoll3.2.1UserManual

34

2014Forsk

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Chapter1:WorkingEnvironment

AT321_UMR_E1

1 WorkingEnvironment
TheAtollworkingenvironmentisbothpowerfulandflexible.Itprovidesacomprehensiveandintegratedsetoftoolsand
featuresthatallowyoutocreateanddefineyourradioplanningprojectinasingleapplication.Atollincludesadvancedmulti
technologynetworkplanningfeatures(e.g.,CDMA/LTE),andacombinedsingleRAN,multiRATGSM/UMTS/LTEMonteCarlo
simulatorandtrafficmodel.Youcansavetheentireprojectasasinglefile,oryoucanlinkyourprojecttoexternalfiles.
The Atoll working environment uses familiar Windows interface components, with the ability to have several document
windowsopenatthesametime,supportfordraganddrop,contextmenus,andsupportforstandardWindowsshortcuts,for
example,forcuttingandpasting.Atollnotonlyenablesyoutocreateandworkonyourplanningproject,butalsooffersyou
awiderangeofoptionsforcreatingandexportingresultsbasedonyourproject.Theworkingenvironmentprovidesawide
selectionoftoolstofacilitateradioplanning,suchasatooltolocateeitherasite,apointonthemap,oravector.
TheNetworkexplorer,theGeoexplorer,andtheParametersexplorerplayacentralroleinAtoll.Theexplorerscontainmost
oftheobjectsinadocumentarrangedinfolders.
Usingtheexplorerwindows,youcanmanageallobjectsintheAtolldocument:sites,transmitters,calculations,etc.,aswell
asgeographicdatasuchastheDigitalTerrainModel(DTM),trafficmaps,andclutterclasses.Youcan,forexample,definevari
ouscoveragepredictionsorconfiguretheparametersordisplayofdataobjects.
Thecontentofthefoldersintheexplorerwindowscanbedisplayedintables,allowingyoutomanagelargeamountsofdata.
Youcansortandfilterthedatainatable,orchangehowthedataisdisplayed.Youcanalsoenterlargeamountsofinformation
intoatablebyimportingdataorbycuttingandpastingtheinformationfromanyWindowsspreadsheetintothetable.
ThemapistheworkingareaforyourdocumentandAtollprovidesmanytoolsforworkingwiththemap.Youcanchangethe
viewbymovingorzoominginoroutandyoucanchoosewhichobjectsaredisplayedandhowtheyaredisplayed.Youcan
alsoexportthecurrentdisplaydefinition,orconfiguration,touseitinotherdocuments.
ThischapterprovidesanoverviewoftheAtollworkingenvironment.
Thischapterexplainsthefollowingtopics:

"TheAtollWorkArea"onpage35
"TheExplorerWindow"onpage39
"WorkingwithObjects"onpage43
"WorkingwithMaps"onpage53
"WorkingwithCoveragePredictions"onpage70
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75
"PrintinginAtoll"onpage89
"Grouping,Sorting,andFilteringData"onpage95
"TipsandTricks"onpage111.

1.1 TheAtollWorkArea
TheAtollworkarea,showninFigure1.1onpage36,consistsofthemainwindowwherethemapwindowanddatatablesand
reportsaredisplayedandtheexplorerwindows.Theexplorerwindowscontainthedata,objects,andparametersofadocu
ment,arrangedinfolders.Itispresentedindetailin"TheExplorerWindow"onpage39.

35

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Chapter1:WorkingEnvironment

2014Forsk

Toolbar

Documentwindow
(map)
Workspace
Geoexplorer
(docked)

Panoramicwindow
(floating)

FindonMapwindow
(docked)
Figure1.1:Atolluserinterface
Atolloffersavarietyoftoolstohelpyouplananetworkandenablesyoutokeepallthetoolsyouneedopenatthesametime
tosimplifyyourwork.Additionally,youcanhaveseveralAtolldocumentsopenatthesametimeorseveraldifferentviewsof
thesamedocumentopenatthesametime.
YoucanmanagetheplacementandappearanceofthesetoolsandwindowstomakeyourusageofAtollasefficientaspossi
ble.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"SelectingaWindow"onpage36
"OrganisingtheAtollWorkspace"onpage38.

1.1.1 SelectingaWindow
Whenworkingonaproject,youusuallyhavemorethanonewindowopen.YoumighthaveseveralAtolldocumentsopen,or
youmighthaveseveralwindowsopeninonedocument,includingdatatablesandmorethanonemapwindow.
Windowtabsofdifferentdocumentsaredisplayedusingadifferentcolour.Thetabtitleofthecurrentlyselectedwindowis
displayed in bold characters. In order to avoid very long window tabs, window tab titles longer than approximately
40charactersaretruncated.However,thecompletetitleisvisibleintiptextdisplayedwhenthemouseisplacedoverthe
windowtab.ThetiptextalsodisplaysthepathtotheATLfiletowhichthewindowbelongs.
InAtollyoucanmovefromonedocumentwindowtoanotherinseveraldifferentways:

"SelectingaWindowTab"onpage36
"SelectingaWindowfromtheWindowMenu"onpage37
"UsingtheWindowsdialogbox"onpage37.

1.1.1.1 SelectingaWindowTab
InAtoll,allopenwindowsordatatablesareidentifiedbyatabatthetopofthemapwindowortabgroup(seeFigure1.2).
Toselectawindowtab:

36

Clickthetabofthewindowyouwanttoselect.

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
Chapter1:WorkingEnvironment

AT321_UMR_E1

Figure1.2:Windowtabs
Iftherearemorewindowsopenthancanbedisplayedatthetopofthemapwindow,youcanselectthewindowyouwant,
you can select the window you want from the Window menu (for more information, see "Selecting a Window from the
WindowMenu"onpage37)orusingtheWindowsdialogbox(formoreinformation,see"UsingtheWindowsdialogbox"on
page37).
Youcanalsorearrangethewindowsbyclickinganddraggingatabhorizontallytoanew
position.

1.1.1.2 SelectingaWindowfromtheWindowMenu
Whenyouhaveseveraldocumentwindows,datatables,ormapwindowsopen,youcanselectawindowusingtheWindow
menu.
ToselectawindowfromtheWindowmenu:
1. ClickWindow.TheWindowmenuappears.
2. SelectthewindowyouwanttoworkwithfromthelistintheWindowmenu.

YoucanalsoselectawindowbyclickingtheActiveFilesbutton(
)totherightofthe
tabsinthemapwindowandselectingthewindowfromthelistthatappears.

1.1.1.3 UsingtheWindowsdialogbox
AtolloffersaWindowsdialogboxtosimplifyworkingwithmultiplewindows.YoucanusetheWindowsdialogboxtoselect
adocumentwindowordatatablethatisalreadyopen,tocloseadocumentwindow,ortosavetheAtolldocumentassociated
withthatwindow.
TousetheWindowsdialogbox:
1. SelectWindow>Windows.TheWindowsdialogboxopens.
Selectingawindow:
a. SelectthewindowfromtheSelectlist.
b. ClickActivate.TheWindowsdialogboxclosesandtheselectedwindowismadetheactiveone.
Savingoneormoredocuments:
a. SelectthewindoworwindowsassociatedwiththedocumentsyouwanttosavefromtheSelectlist.
Youcanselectcontiguouswindowsbyclickingthefirstwindowanddraggingtothelastwindowoftheselection,
orbyclickingthefirstcell,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastwindow.Youcanselectnoncontiguouswindowsby
pressingCTRLandclickingeachwindowinthelistseparately.
b. ClickSave.Thedocumentsassociatedwiththeselecteddocumentwindowsaresaved.
Closingoneormorewindows:
a. SelectthewindoworwindowsyouwanttoclosefromtheSelectlist.
Youcanselectcontiguouswindowsbyclickingthefirstwindowanddraggingtothelastwindowoftheselection,
orbyclickingthefirstcell,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastwindow.Youcanselectnoncontiguouswindowsby
pressingCTRLandclickingeachwindowinthelistseparately.

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b. ClickCloseWindow(s).Theselecteddocumentwindowsareclosed.Ifoneofthewindowsisthelastdocument
windowopenofadocumentandthereareunsavedchanges,youareaskedwhetheryouwanttosavethechanges
beforeclosing.
2. ClickOKtoclosetheWindowsdialogbox.

1.1.2 OrganisingtheAtollWorkspace
Atollenablesyoutoorganisetheworkspacetobestsuityourneeds.Youcancreateseveralmapwindowsofthesameproject,
therebysimultaneouslyviewingseveralareasofthesameproject.Youcanalsorearrangethewindowsoftheworkspaceto
suityourneeds.Youcanmovethemtodifferentareasoftheworkspaceorgroupthem.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingaNewMapWindow"onpage38
"ArrangingToolandExplorerWindowsUsingtheMouse"onpage38
"UsingTabGroups"onpage39
"ResettingtheWorkspaceLayouttotheDefaultView"onpage39.

1.1.2.1 CreatingaNewMapWindow
WhenworkingonanAtollproject,especiallywhenyouareworkingonalarger,complexradioplanningproject,youmight
wanttobeabletoviewadifferentpartoftheprojectwithoutlosingthefocusontheoriginalarea.Atollenablesyoutoopen
severalmapwindowsofthesameproject.Thispermitsyoutoverifydataortovisuallycomparetwoseparateareasofthe
project.
Toopenanewmapwindow:

SelectWindow>NewMapWindow.AnewmapwindowofthecurrentAtollprojectopens.Youcanworkwiththe
newmapwindowasyouwouldwithanyAtollmapwindow.

1.1.2.2 ArrangingToolandExplorerWindowsUsingtheMouse
Whileworkingonaradioplanningproject,youwillnormallyhaveseveraltoolorexplorerwindowsopenatthesametime.
Atollenablesyoutousethemousetopositiontoolandexplorerwindowstooptimiseyourworkspace.Youcanclickthetitle
ofthetoolorexplorerthatyouwanttorepositionanddragittoanewpositionorfloatitovertheworkspace.
Toarrangetoolandexplorerwindowsusingthemouse:
1. Clickthetitleofthetoolorexplorer.

2. Dragthewindowicontowardsthenewposition.
ApositioningiconappearsovertheAtollworkspace.

3. Placethewindowiconoverthepartofthepositioningiconcorresponding
tothenewpositionofwindow.
AnoutlineappearsovertheAtollworkspacetoindicatethenewposition
ofthewindow.

Ifyoureleasethewindowiconwithoutplacingitoverpositioningicon,youcanfloatthe
toolorexplorerwindowovertheworkspace.

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4. Releasethemouse.
Thewindowtakesitsnewposition.

1.1.2.3 UsingTabGroups
When working with large numbers of documents or document windows, you can facilitate your work by arranging the
windowsingroupsoftabbedwindows.Onlymapwindowsdatatablescanbegroupedintabgroups;tabgroupsdonotapply
totoolsandexplorerwindows.
Tomoveadocumentwindowtoatabgroup:
1. Clickthetitleofthedocumentwindow.

2. Dragthewindowicontowardsthecentreofthemapwindow.

3. Releasethemouse.Acontextmenuappears.

4. Selectoneofthefollowingitemsfromthecontextmenu:

NewHorizontalTabGroup:Anewhorizontaltabgroupiscreatedandtheselecteddocumentwindowis
added.
NewVerticalTabGroup:Anewverticaltabgroupandtheselecteddocumentwindowisadded.

YoucanalsoaddadocumentwindowtoanewtabgroupbyclickingitstitleandthenselectingNewHorizontalTab
GrouporNewVerticalTabGroupfromtheWindowmenu.
Ifyoudragthewindowicontotheloweredgeorrightedgeofanexistingtabgroup
evenifthereisonlyonetabgroupanoutlineappearstoindicatethetabgroupthe
windowwillautomaticallybeaddedtowhenyoureleasethemouse.

1.1.2.4 ResettingtheWorkspaceLayouttotheDefaultView
Atolloffersauserinterfacethatcanbeeasilyandquicklycustomisedtosuityourneedsandyourcurrenttask.However,you
mightwanttoquicklyreturnthelayoutoftheworkspacetoitsdefaultsettings.
Toreturnthelayoutoftheworkspacetothedefaultsettings:

SelectWindow>ResetWindowLayout.Thisresetsthedisplayofallwindowsandtoolbarstotheirdefaultpositions
andsizes.

1.2 TheExplorerWindow
TheexplorerwindowplaysacentralroleinAtoll.Thetabsoftheexplorerwindowcontainthedataandobjectsofadocument,
arrangedinfolders.EachobjectandfolderintheNetwork,Geo,andParametersexplorershasacontextspecificmenuthat

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youcanaccessbyrightclicking.Youcanmodifyitemsatthefolderlevel,withchangesaffectingallitemsinthefolder,oryou
canaccessandedititemsindividually.Aswell,mostfoldercontentscanalsobeaccessedinatable,allowingyoutomanage
largeamountsofinformation.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

"WorkingwiththeExplorerWindow"onpage40
"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"AutomaticallyHidingExplorerWindows"onpage41
"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42
"WorkingwithLayersUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.

1.2.1 WorkingwiththeExplorerWindow
Therearethreemainexplorers:theNetworkexplorer,theGeoexplorer,andtheParametersexplorer;eachexplorerhas
objectsandfolderscontainingobjects.
Tomovefromonetabtoanother:

SelecttheexplorerattheleftoftheAtollworkingenvironment.

Youcanopenafolderinanexplorertoviewitscontents.EachfoldercontainingatleastoneobjecthasanExpand( )or
Contractbutton( )totheleftofitsname.
Toexpandafoldertodisplayitscontents:

ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofitsname.

Thethreeexplorersare:

TheNetworkExplorer:TheNetworkexplorerenablesyoutomanageradiodataandcalculations.Dependingon
themodulesinstalledwithAtoll,theNetworkexplorerhasthefollowingfolders:

TheGeoexplorer:TheGeoexplorerenablesyoutomanagegeographicdata.Thenumberoffoldersdependson
thenumberandtypesofgeographicaldatatypes(vectordata,scannedimages,etc.)youimportorcreate:

Clutterclasses
Clutterheights
Digitalterrainmodel
Populationdata
Anyothergeodatamap
Trafficmaps(GSM/GPRS/EDGE/TDMA,UMTSHSPA,CDMA2000,LTE,WiMAX,andWiFi)

TheParametersexplorer:TheParametersexplorerenablesyoutomanagethepropagationmodelsandaddi
tionalmodules.Itcontains:

40

Sites
Transmitters
Predictions
UMTSSimulations,CDMA2000Simulations,WiMAXSimulations,WiFiSimulations,orLTESimulations
Trafficanalysis(GSM/GPRS/EDGEprojectsonly)
Interferencematrices(GSM/GPRS/EDGE,LTE,andWiMAXprojectsonly)
Subscriberlists(LTE,WiMAX,andWiFiprojectsonly)
Multipointanalyses
Automaticcellplanningresults(GSM/GPRS/EDGE,UMTS,LTE,andWiMAXonly)
Hexagonaldesign
Microwavelinks
CWMeasurementsanddrivetestdata

PropagationModels:TheParametersexplorerhasaPropagationModelsfolderwiththefollowingpropagation
models:
AtollCrossWave
CostHata
ErcegGreenstein(SUI)
ITU1546
ITU3707(Vienna93)
ITU5265
ITU529
LongleyRice
MicrowaveITURP.452Model
MicrowavePropagationModel
OkumuraHata
StandardPropagationModel

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WLL
RadioNetworkEquipment:TheRadioNetworkEquipmentfoldercontainsantennamodels,transmittermodels,
repeaterandsmartantennaequipment,andwaveguides,cables,andfeeders.
TrafficParameters:TheTrafficParametersfoldercontainsservices,mobilitytypes,terminals,userprofiles,and
environments.
Network Settings: The Network Settingsfolder containsstation templates, frequencies and frequency bands,
bearers,receptionequipment,qualityindicators,etc.
Microwavelinknetworksettingsandequipment
TheAFPmodelsavailableinyourAtollinstallation.
AnyadditionalmodulecreatedusingtheAPI.

1.2.2 WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer
UsingtheSiteexplorer,youcanviewthetransmittersthatareonanysiteandthenviewthepropertiesofanytransmitter.
Thetransmittersoftheselectedsitearedisplayedinahierarchicalseriesoffolders(seeFigure1.3).
TodisplaytheSiteexplorer:

SelectView>SiteExplorer.TheSiteexplorerappears.

Figure1.3:TheSiteexplorer
TheSiteexplorerappearswhereitwaslastplaced.Ifyouresetthewindowlayout,itappearsasatabalongwiththeNetwork,
Geo,andParametersexplorers.
Todisplaythetransmittersonasite:
1. SelectthesiteinthemapwindoworintheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.
2. SelecttheSiteexplorer.ThesiteisdisplayedintheSiteexplorer.Thetransmitterslocatedonthatsitearedisplayed
infoldersidentifyingtheirradioplanningtechnology.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofafoldertoexpandthefolderandviewthecontents.

Youcanviewthepropertiesofatransmitter(orthepropertiesofoneofitscells,ifany)
displayedintheSiteexplorerbydoubleclickingit.

1.2.3 AutomaticallyHidingExplorerWindows
Byhavingtheexplorersvisible,youhaveimmediateaccesstotheirdataandobjects.Sometimes,however,thatyoumight
wantmoreofthemapwindowtobedisplayed.Atollenablesyoutoautohidetheexplorers,therebyenablingyoutoseemore
ofthemapwindow.Whenautohideisactivatedonanexplorerwindow,allthreeexplorerwindowsarereducedtovertical
tabsattheedgeoftheworkarea(seeFigure1.4).Thehiddenexplorersreappearswhenyoumovethepointeroverit.

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Figure1.4:AutohideactivatedfortheexplorerwindowsandforFindonMap
Toautohidetheexplorerwindows:

Intherighthandcorneroftheexplorerwindowtitlebar,besidetheCloseicon( ),clicktheAutohideicon(
Theexplorerwindowsarereducedtoverticaltabsattheedgeoftheworkarea(seeFigure1.4).

).

Youcandisplaytheexplorerwindowbyrestingthepointeroverthenameoftheexplorerwindow.
Todeactivateautohide:

In the righthand corner of the explorer title bar, beside the Close icon (
explorerwindowsarerestoredtotheirformerpositions.

), click the Autohide icon (

). The

Youcandisplaytheexplorerbyrestingthepointeroverthenameoftheexplorer.
Youcanalsoautohidemosttoolwindows,forexample,theFindonMapwindow,the
Legendwindow,theDriveTestDatawindow,etc.

1.2.4 DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows
Youcanusetheexplorerwindowstodisplayorhideobjectsonthemap.Byhidingonetypeofobject,anothertypeofobject
ismoreplainlyvisible.Forexample,youcouldhideallpredictionsbutone,sothattheresultsofthatpredictionaremore
clearlydisplayed.
Hiding an object affects only its visibility in the map window; it will still be taken into
considerationduringcalculations.

Tohideanobjectonthemap:
1. Selecttheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)thatcontainsthatobject.
2. Clearthecheckbox( )immediatelytotheleftoftheobjectname.Thecheckboxappearscleared(
isnolongervisibleonthemap.

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Youcanhidethecontentsofanentirefolderbyclearingthecheckboxtotheleftofthe
foldername.Whenthecheckboxofafolderappearsgreyed( ),itindicatesthatthe
foldercontainsbothvisibleandhiddenobjects.

1.2.5 WorkingwithLayersUsingtheExplorerWindows
InAtoll,themapismadeofobjectsarrangedinlayers.Thelayersonthetop(asarrangedontheNetworkandGeotabs)are
themostvisibleonthescreenandinprint.Thevisibilityofthelowerlayersdependsonwhichlayersareaboveandvisible(see
"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42)andonthetransparencyoftheselayers
(see"DefiningtheTransparencyofObjectsandObjectTypes"onpage49).
Tomovealayerupordown:
1. Selecttheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)thatcontainsthatobject.
2. Clickanddragtheobjecttoitsnewposition.Asyoudragtheobject,ahorizontalblacklineindicateswheretheobject
willremainwhenyoureleasethemousebutton(seeFigure1.5).

Figure1.5:Movingalayer
Beforeyouprintamap,youshouldpayattentiontothearrangementofthelayers.For
moreinformation,see"PrintingRecommendations"onpage90.

1.3 WorkingwithObjects
InAtoll,theitemsfoundintheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)anddisplayedonthemaparereferredto
asobjects.MostobjectsinAtollbelongtoanobjecttype.Forexample,atransmitterisanobjectofthetypetransmitter.
Atollenablesyoutocarryoutmanyoperationsonobjectsbyclickingtheobjectdirectlyorbyrightclickingtheobjectand
selectingtheoperationfromthecontextmenu.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"UsingtheObjectContextMenu"onpage43
"ModifyingTransmittersandSitesontheMap"onpage45
"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

1.3.1 UsingtheObjectContextMenu
InAtoll,anobjectscontextmenugivesyouaccesstocommandsspecifictothatobjectaswellastocommandsthatare
commontomostobjects.Inthissection,thefollowingcontextmenucommandscommontoallobjectstypesareexplained:

Rename:"RenaminganObject"onpage44.
Delete:"DeletinganObject"onpage44.
Properties:"DisplayingthePropertiesofanObject"onpage44.

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1.3.1.1 RenaminganObject
YoucanchangethenameofanobjectinAtoll.
Torenameanobject:
1. Rightclicktheobjecteitheronthemaporintheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer).Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectRenamefromthecontextmenu.
3. EnterthenewnameandpressENTERtochangethename.
InAtoll,objectssuchassitesortransmittersarenamedwithdefaultprefixes.Individual
objects are distinguished from each other by the number added automatically to the
defaultprefix.Youcanchangethedefaultprefixforsites,transmitters,andcellsbyediting
theAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

1.3.1.2 DeletinganObject
Youcandeleteobjectsfromeitherthemaporfromtheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer).
Todeleteanobject:
1. Rightclicktheobjecteitheronthemaporintheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer).Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Theselectedobjectisdeleted.

1.3.1.3 DisplayingthePropertiesofanObject
YoucanmodifythepropertiesofanobjectinthePropertiesdialogbox.
ToopenthePropertiesdialogboxofadataobject:
1. Rightclicktheobjecteitheronthemaporintheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer).Thecontext
menuappears.
Whenyouareselectingdataobjectsonthemap,itcanbedifficulttoensurethatthe
correctobjecthasbeenselected.
Whenasiteisselected,thesite(anditsname)issurroundedbyablackframe(
).
Whenatransmitterisselected,bothendsofitsiconhaveagreenpoint(
).
Whenthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickthetransmitters
inthemapwindowtoopenacontextmenuthatallowsyoutoselectthetransmitteryou
want(see"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
SwitchingBetweenPropertydialogboxes
YoucanswitchbetweenthePropertiesdialogboxesofitems(transmitters,antennas,sites,services,userprofiles,etc.)inthe
same folder or defined view in the explorer (the Network explorer or the Geo explorer) by using the browse buttons
(

)inthelowerleftcornerofeachPropertiesdialogbox:

:jumptothefirstiteminthelist

:jumptothepreviousiteminthelist

:jumptothenextiteminthelist

:jumptothelastiteminthelist

Ifyouhavemadeanychangestothepropertiesofanitem,Atollpromptsyoutoconfirmthesechangesbeforeswitchingto
thenextPropertiesdialogbox.
Youcanusethis,forexample,toaccessthepropertiesofcositetransmitterswithoutclosingandreopeningtheProperties
dialogbox.Switchingisperformedwithinthefolderor,ifyouhavecreatedaview,withintheview.Forexample:

44

Iftransmittersaregroupedbysite,youcanswitchonlywithinonesite(cositetransmitters).
Iftransmittersaregroupedbyaflag,youcanswitchonlywithinthisgroup.
Iftransmittersaregroupedbyactivityandbyaflag,youcanswitchonlywithintransmittershavingthesameactivity
andthesameflag.

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Thebrowsebuttonsarenotavailable:

Whencreatinganewitem.
WhenopeninganitemsPropertiesdialogboxbydoubleclickingitsrecordinatable.
Forrepeaterproperties.
Forpropagationmodelproperties.

TheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxisexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

1.3.2 ModifyingTransmittersandSitesontheMap
Inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughitmightbe
visibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthemap.You
canalsochangethepositionofasitebydraggingit,orbylettingAtollfindahigherlocationforit.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46

1.3.2.1 SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters
Ifthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,Atollenablesyoutoselectaspecifictransmitter.
Toselectoneofseveraltransmitterswiththesameazimuth:
1. In the map window, click the transmitters. A context menu appears with a list of the transmitters with the same
azimuth(seeFigure1.6).

Figure1.6:Selectingonetransmitter
2. Selectthetransmitterfromthecontextmenu.

Whenyouselectatransmitter,itappearswithagreenpointatbothendsoftheicon(
).
Whenoneofthetransmittersisalreadyselectedonthemap,rightclickingonitslocationwilldisplaythecontext
menuoftheselectedtransmitter.

1.3.2.2 MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse
YoucanmoveasitebyeditingthecoordinatesontheGeneraltaboftheSitePropertiesdialogbox,orbyusingthemouse.
Tomoveasiteusingthemouse:
1. Clickanddragthesitetothedesiredposition.Asyoudragthesite,theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentloca
tionarevisibleintheStatusbar.
2. Releasethesitewhereyouwouldliketoplaceit.Bydefault,Atolllocksthepositionofasite.Whenthepositionofa
siteislocked,Atollasksyoutoconfirmthatyouwanttomovethesite.
3. ClickYestoconfirm.
Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitequickly,youcanadjustthelocationmore
preciselybyeditingthecoordinatesontheGeneraltaboftheSitePropertiesdialogbox.

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1.3.2.3 MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation
Ifyouwanttoimprovethelocationofasite,intermsofreceptionandtransmission,Atollcanfindahigherlocationwithina
specifiedradiusfromthecurrentlocationofthesite.
TohaveAtollmoveasitetoahigherlocation:
1. Rightclickthesiteinthemapwindow.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectMovetoaHigherLocation.
3. IntheMovetoaHigherLocationdialogbox,entertheradiusoftheareainwhichAtollshouldsearchandclickOK.
Atollmovesthesitetothehighestpointwithinthespecifiedradius.

1.3.2.4 ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse
YoucansettheazimuthofatransmittersantennabymodifyingitontheTransmittertaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialog
box,oryoucanmodifyitonthemap,usingthemouse.Theazimuthisdefinedindegrees,with0indicatingnorth.
Theprecisionofthechangetotheazimuthdependsonthedistanceofthepointerfromthetransmittersymbol.Movingthe
pointerchangestheazimuthby:

1degreewhenthepointeriswithinadistanceof10timesthesizeofthetransmittersymbol.
0.1degreewhenthepointerismovedoutsidethisarea.

Tomodifytheazimuthoftheantennausingthemouse:
1. Onthemap,clicktheantennawhoseazimuthyouwanttomodify.
2. Movethepointertotheendoftheantennawithagreencircle( ).Anarcwithanarrow
appearsunderthepointer.
3. Clickthegreencircleanddragittochangetheantennasazimuth.
Thecurrentazimuthoftheantennaisdisplayedinthefarleftofthestatusbar.
4. Releasethemousewhenyouhavesettheazimuthtothedesiredangle.
The antennas azimuth is modified on the Transmitter tab of the Transmitter Properties
dialogbox.
Youcanalsomodifytheazimuthonthemapforalltheantennasonabasestationusingthemouse.
Tomodifytheazimuthofalltheantennasonabasestationusingthemouse:
1. Onthemap,clickoneoftheantennaswhoseazimuthyouwanttomodify.
2. Movethepointertotheendoftheantennawithagreencircle( ).Anarcwithanarrow
appearsunderthepointer.
3. HoldCTRLand,onthemap,clickthegreencircleanddragittochangetheantennasazimuth.
Thecurrentazimuthoftheantennaisdisplayedinthefarleftofthestatusbar.
4. Releasethemousewhenyouhavesettheazimuthoftheselectedantennatothedesired
angle.
TheazimuthoftheselectedantennaismodifiedontheTransmittertaboftheTransmitter
Propertiesdialogbox.Theazimuthoftheotherantennasonthebasestationisoffsetbythe
sameamountastheazimuthoftheselectedantenna.
Ifyoumakeamistakewhenchangingtheazimuth,youcanundoyourchangesbyusing
Undo(byselectingEdit>Undo,bypressingCTRL+Z,orbyclicking
undothechangesmade.

inthetoolbar)to

1.3.2.5 ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse
Bydefault,antennasareplacedonthesite.However,antennasareoccasionallynotlocateddirectlyonthesite,butashort
distanceaway.InAtoll,youcanchangethepositionoftheantennarelativetothesiteeitherbyadjustingtheDxandDy
parametersorbyenteringthecoordinatesoftheantennapositionontheGeneraltaboftheTransmitterPropertydialogbox.
DxandDyarethedistanceinmetresoftheantennafromthesiteposition.Youcanalsomodifythepositionoftheantenna
onthemap,usingthemouse.
Tomoveatransmitterusingthemouse:

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1. Onthemap,clickthetransmitteryouwanttomove.
2. Movethepointertotheendoftheantennawithagreenrectangle( ).Acrossappearsunder
thepointer.
3. Clickthegreenrectangleanddragittochangetheantennaspositionrelativetothesite.
Thecurrentcoordinates(xandy)oftheantennaaredisplayedinthefarrightofthestatus
bar.
4. Releasethemousewhenyouhavemovedtheselectedtransmittertothedesiredposition.
ThepositionoftheselectedtransmitterismodifiedontheGeneraltaboftheTransmitter
Propertiesdialogbox.
Ifyoumakeamistakewhenchangingthepositionofthetransmitter,youcanundoyour
changesbyusingUndo(byselectingEdit>Undo,bypressingCTRL+Z,orbyclicking
inthetoolbar)toundothechangesmade.

1.3.3 DisplayPropertiesofObjects
InAtoll,mostobjects,suchastransmittersorsites,belongtoanobjecttype.Howanindividualobjectappearsonthemap
dependsonthesettingsontheDisplaytaboftheobjecttypesPropertiesdialogbox.TheDisplaytabissimilarforallobject
typeswhoseappearancecanbeconfigured.Optionsthatareinapplicableforaparticularobjecttypeareunavailableonthe
DisplaytabofitsPropertiesdialogbox(seeFigure1.7).
Inthissection,thedisplayoptionsareexplained,followedbyafewexamplesofhowyoucanusethemwhileworkingonyour
Atolldocument(see"ExamplesofUsingtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage52).
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47
"ExamplesofUsingtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage52.

1.3.3.1 DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects
WhenyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofagroupofobjects,forexample,whenyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxof
theSitesfolder,theDisplaytabwillshowoptionsapplicabletoallobjectsinthatgroup(seeFigure1.7).

Figure1.7:TheDisplaytabforSites
WhenyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofanindividualobject,theDisplaytabwillonlyshowtheoptionsapplicabletoan
individualobject(seeFigure1.8).

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Figure1.8:TheDisplaytabforanindividualsite
Todefinethedisplaypropertiesofanobjecttype:
1. Rightclicktheobjecttypefoldereitheronthemaporintheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer).The
contextmenuappears
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheDisplaytab.Dependingontheobjecttype,thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48
"DefiningtheTransparencyofObjectsandObjectTypes"onpage49
"DefiningtheVisibilityScale"onpage50
"DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel"onpage50
"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51
"AddinganObjectTypetotheLegend"onpage51

4. Setthedisplayparameters.
5. ClickOK.
DefiningtheDisplayType
Dependingontheobjectselected,youcanchoosefromthefollowingdisplaytypes:unique,discretevalues,valueintervals,
orautomatic.
Tochangethedisplaytype:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. SelectthedisplaytypefromtheDisplayTypelist:

Unique: defines the same symbol for all objects of this type. By defining a unique symbol for an object type,
objectsofdifferenttypes,suchassitesortransmitters,areimmediatelyidentifiable.
i.

Tomodifytheappearanceofthesymbol,clickthesymbolinthetablebelow.TheSymbolStyledialogboxap
pears.Modifythesymbolasdesired.

ii. ClickOKtoclosetheSymbolStyledialogbox.

Discretevalues:definesthedisplayofeachobjectaccordingtothevalueofaselectedfield.Thisdisplaytypecan
beusedtodistinguishobjectsofthesametypebyonecharacteristic.Forexample,youcouldusethisdisplaytype
todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatypes,ortodistinguishinactivesitesfromactiveones.
Atoll applies colours automatically on 36colour cycles. As opposed to shading, this is
particularlyusefultodistinguishneighbouringzoneswhichhaveveryclosecolourvalues.
BysettingsomeoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,youcanconfigureAtolltolooponasmany
userdefinedcoloursasyouwant.Youcanalsooverrideuserdefinedcolours,ifany,and
forceshading(fromredtoblue)bysettinganotheroptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
iii. SelectthenameoftheFieldbywhichyouwanttodisplaytheobjects.
iv. YoucanclicktheActionsbuttontoaccesstheActionsmenu.Forinformationonthecommandsavailable,see
"UsingtheActionsButton"onpage49.

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v. Tomodifytheappearanceofasymbol,clickthesymbolinthetable.TheDisplayParametersdialogboxap
pears.Modifythesymbolasdesired.
vi. ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.

Valueintervals:definesthedisplayofeachobjectaccordingtosetrangesofthevalueofaselectedfield.Thisdis
playtypecanbeused,forexample,todistinguishpopulationdensity,signalstrength,andthealtitudeofsites.
i.

SelectthenameoftheFieldbywhichyouwanttodisplaytheobjects.

ii. Definetherangesdirectlyinthetablebelow.
iii. YoucanclicktheActionsbuttontoaccesstheActionsmenu.Forinformationonthecommandsavailable,see
"UsingtheActionsButton"onpage49.
iv. Tomodifytheappearanceofasymbol,clickthesymbolinthetableandmodifythesymbolintheDisplayPa
rametersdialogbox.
v. ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.

Automatic:onlyavailablefortransmitters;acolourisautomaticallyassignedtoeachtransmitter,ensuringthat
eachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.
i.

Clickthesymbolinthetablebelow.TheDisplayParametersdialogboxappears.

ii. Modifythesymbolasdesired.
iii. ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.

Whenyoucreateanewmapobject,forexample,anewsiteoranewtransmitter,
youmustclicktheRefreshbutton(
)toassignacolourtothenewlycreated
objectaccordingtothedisplaytype.
Youcandefinethedefaultsymbolusedforsitesandhowitisdisplayedbyediting
anoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

UsingtheActionsButton
TheActionsbuttonontheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutomodifythedisplaytypeasdefinedin"Defin
ingtheDisplayType"onpage48.
ToaccesstheActionsmenu:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. ClicktheActionsbutton.TheActionsmenugivesyouaccesstothefollowingcommands:

Properties:TheDisplayParametersdialogboxopens,whichenablesyoutodefinetheappearanceoftheselected
symbolinthetable.
Selectall:Allthevaluesinthetableareselected.
Delete:Theselectedvalueisremovedfromthetable.
Insertbefore:Whentheselecteddisplaytypeisvalueintervals,anewthresholdisinsertedinthetablebeforethe
thresholdselectedinthetable.
Insertafter:Whentheselecteddisplaytypeisvalueintervals,anewthresholdisinsertedinthetableafterthe
thresholdselectedinthetable.
Shading:TheShadingdialogboxappears.
When"ValueIntervals"istheselecteddisplaytype,youselectShadingtodefinethenumberofvalueintervals
andconfiguretheircolour.EntertheupperandlowerlimitsofthevalueintheFirstBreakandLastBreak
boxesrespectively,andenteravalueintheIntervalbox.DefinethecolourshadingbychoosingaStartColour
andanEndColour.Thevalueintervalswillbedeterminedbythesetvaluesandcolouredbyashadegoing
fromthesetstartcolourtothesetendcolour.
When"DiscreteValues"istheselecteddisplaytype,youselectShadingtochooseaStartColourandanEnd
Colour.
DisplayConfiguration:SelectLoadifyouwanttoimportanexistingdisplayconfiguration.SelectSaveifyouwant
tosavethedisplaysettingsofthecurrentobjectinadisplayconfigurationfile,sothatyoucansharethemwith
otherusersorusetheminotherdocuments.

DefiningtheTransparencyofObjectsandObjectTypes
Youcanchangethetransparencyofsomeobjects,suchaspredictions,andsomeobjecttypes,suchasclutterclasses,toallow
objectsonlowerlayerstobevisibleonthemap.

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Tochangethetransparency:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. MovetheTransparencyslidertotherighttomaketheobjectorobjecttypemoretransparentortothelefttomake
itlesstransparent.
DefiningtheVisibilityScale
Youcandefineavisibilityrangeforobjecttypes.Anobjectisvisibleonlyifthescale,asdisplayedontheMaptoolbar,iswithin
thisrange.Thiscanbeusedto,forexample,preventthemapfrombeingclutteredwithsymbolswhenyouareatacertain
scale.
Visibilityrangesaretakenintoaccountforscreendisplay,andforprintingandpreviewingprinting.Theydonotaffectwhich
objectsareconsideredduringcalculations.
Todefineanobjectvisibilityrange:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. EnteraVisibilityScaleminimuminthebetween1:textbox.
3. EnteraVisibilityScalemaximumintheand1:textbox.
DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel
Formostobjecttypes,suchassitesandtransmitters,youcandisplayinformationabouteachobjectintheformofalabelthat
isdisplayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfields
thatyouadd.
Todefinealabelforanobjecttype:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheLabelbox.TheFieldSelectiondialogboxappears(seeFigure1.9).

Figure1.9:Definingalabel
3. Selectthefieldsthatyouwanttodisplayinthelabel:
a. Toselectafieldtobedisplayedinthelabelfortheobjecttype,selectthefieldintheAvailableFieldslistandclick
tomoveittotheSelectedFieldslist.
b. ToremoveafieldfromtheSelectedFieldslist,selectthefieldintheSelectedFieldslistandclick
it.

toremove

c. Tochangetheorderofthefields,selectafieldandclick or tomoveitupordowninthelist.Theobjectswill
begroupedintheorderofthefieldsintheSelectedFieldslist,fromtoptobottom.
4. ClickOKtoclosetheFieldSelectiondialogboxandclickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Formostobjecttypes,youcanalsodisplayobjectinformationintheformoftiptextthat
isonlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Thisoptionhastheadvantage
ofnotfillingthemapwindowwithtext.Formoreinformationontiptext,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.

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DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText
Formostobjecttypes,suchassitesandtransmitters,youcandisplayinformationabouteachobjectintheformoftiptext
thatisonlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobject
typesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.
Intheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer),thetiptextdisplaysthetotalnumbersofitemspresentintheSites
andTransmittersfolders,andtheview.
Todefinetiptextforanobjecttype:
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheTipTextbox.TheFieldSelectiondialogboxappears(seeFigure1.9).
3. Selectthefieldswhichyouwanttodisplayinthetiptext:
a. Toselectafieldtobedisplayedinthetiptextfortheobjecttype,selectthefieldintheAvailableFieldslistand
click

tomoveittotheSelectedFieldslist.

b. ToremoveafieldfromtheSelectedFieldslist,selectthefieldintheSelectedFieldslistandclick
it.

toremove

Formostobjecttypes,youcanalsodisplayobjectinformationintheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Thisoptionhastheadvantageofkeepingobjectrelatedinfor
mationpermanentlyvisible.Formoreinformationontiptext,see"Defining theObject
TypeLabel"onpage50.
Onceyouhavedefinedthetiptext,youmustactivatethetiptextfunctionbeforeitappears.
Todisplaytiptext:

ClicktheDisplayTipsbutton(

)onthetoolbar.Tiptextwillnowappearwhenthepointerisovertheobject.

Ifyouhavemorethanonecoveragepredictiondisplayedonthemap,thetiptextdisplaysthetiptextforallthecoverage
predictionsavailableonapixeluptoamaximumof30lines.Youcanchangethisdefaultmaximumusinganoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
AddinganObjectTypetotheLegend
Youcandisplaytheinformationdefinedbythedisplaytype(see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48)inyourAtolldocu
ments legend. Only visible objects appear in the Legend window. For information on displaying or hiding objects, see
"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Forexample,ifontheDisplaytabofasignallevelprediction,theintervalsdefinedare:

Signallevel>=65
red
65>Signallevel>=105 shadingfromredtoblue(9intervals)
Signallevel<105
notshowninthecoverage.

TheentriesintheLegendcolumnwillappearintheLegendwindow.

Figure1.10:DefinedthresholdsastheywillappearintheLegend
Withvalueintervals,youcanenterinformationintheLegendcolumntobedisplayedonthelegend.Ifthereisnoinformation
enteredinthiscolumn,themaximumandminimumvaluesaredisplayedinstead.
1. AccesstheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
2. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckbox.Thedefineddisplaywillappearonthelegend.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowappears.

YoucanalsodisplaythecommentsdefinedinthepropertiesofacoveragepredictionintheLegendwindowbysettingan
optionintheAtoll.inifile.FormoreinformationaboutsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

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1.3.3.2 ExamplesofUsingtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesofhowdisplaypropertiesofobjectscanbeused:

"AutomaticDisplayTypeServerCoveragePredictions"onpage52
"ShadingSignalLevelCoveragePrediction"onpage52.

AutomaticDisplayTypeServerCoveragePredictions
Whenmakingabestserverprediction,Atollcalculates,foreachpixelonthemap,whichserverprovidesthebestreception.
Iftheselecteddisplaytypefortransmittersis"Automatic,"Atollcolourseachpixelonthemapaccordingtothecolourofthe
transmitterthatisbestreceivedonthatpixel.Thisway,youcanimmediatelyidentifythebestreceivedtransmitteroneach
pixel.Thefollowingtwofiguresshowtheresultsofthesamebestserverareaandhandovermargincoverageprediction.
InFigure1.11,thetransmitterdisplaytypeis"DiscreteValues,"withthesitenameasthechosenvalue.Thedifferencein
colourisinsufficienttomakeclearwhichtransmitterisbestreceivedoneachpixel.InFigure1.12,thetransmitterdisplaytype
is"Automatic."BecauseAtollensuresthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit,the
predictionresultsarealsoimmediatelyvisible.

Figure1.11:Valueintervaldisplaytype

Figure1.12:Automaticdisplaytype

Todisplaytheresultsofaservercoveragepredictionwiththetransmitterssettotheautomaticdisplaytype:
1. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheDisplaytab.
4. Select"Automatic"astheDisplayType.
5. ClickOK.
6. ClicktheRefreshbutton(

)toupdatethedisplayofthepredictionresults.

ShadingSignalLevelCoveragePrediction
Atolldisplaystheresultsofasignallevelpredictionasvalueintervals.Onthemap,thesevalueintervalsappearasdifferences
ofshading.YoucanusetheShadingcommandtodefinetheappearanceofthesevalueintervalstomaketheresultseasierto
readormorerelevanttoyourneeds.Forexample,youcanchangetherangeofdatadisplayed,theintervalbetweeneach
break,oryoucanchangethecolourstomaketheintervalsmorevisible.
Inthisexample,Figure1.13showstheresultsofthebestsignallevelplotfrom60dBmto105dBm.However,ifyouaremore
interestedinreceptionfrom80dBmto105dBm,youcanchangetheshadingtodisplayonlythosevalues.Theresultisvisi
bleinFigure1.14.

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Figure1.13:Shadingfrom60dBmto105dBm

Figure1.14:Shadingfrom80dBmto105dBm

Tochangehowtheresultsofasignallevelcoveragepredictionaredisplayed:
1. ExpandthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorerandrightclickthesignallevelprediction.Thecontextmenu
appears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheDisplaytab.
4. ClickActionstodisplaythemenuandselectShading.TheShadingdialogboxappears.
5. ChangethevalueoftheFirstBreakto"80".LeavethevalueoftheLastBreakat"105."
6. ClickOKtoclosetheShadingdialogbox.
7. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogboxandapplyyourchanges.

1.4 WorkingwithMaps
Atollhasthefollowingfunctionstohelpyouworkwithmaps:

"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53
"UsingFullScreenMode"onpage54
"MovingtheMapintheDocumentWindow"onpage55
"UsingthePanoramicWindow"onpage55
"CentringtheMapWindowonanObject"onpage55
"CentringtheMapWindowonaTableRecord"onpage56
"AdjustingtheMapWindowtoaSelection"onpage56
"MeasuringDistancesontheMap"onpage56
"DisplayingRulersAroundtheMap"onpage57
"DisplayingtheMapScale"onpage57
"DisplayingtheMapLegend"onpage57
"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65
"CopyingtheContentofaZoneintoAnotherApplication"onpage69.
"MapWindowPointers"onpage69.

1.4.1 ChangingtheMapScale
Youcanchangethescaleofthemapbyzoominginorout,byzoominginonaspecificareaofthemap,orbychoosingascale.
Atollalsoallowsyoutodefineazoomrangeoutsideofwhichcertainobjectsarenotdisplayed(see"DefiningtheVisibility
Scale"onpage50).

1.4.1.1 ZoomingInandOut
Atolloffersseveraltoolsforzoominginandoutonthemap.Whenyouzoominoroutonthemap,youdosobasedonthe
positionofthecursoronthemap.
Tozoominonthemap:
1. ClicktheZoomicon(

)ontheMaptoolbar(orpressCTRL+Q).

2. Clickthemapwhereyouwanttozoomin.

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You can also zoom in by pressing CTRL++, by selecting Zoom> ZoomIn from theView
menu,orbyholdingdowntheCTRLkeyandrotatingthemousewheelbuttonforward.

Tozoomoutonthemap:
1. ClicktheZoomicon(

)ontheMaptoolbar(orpressCTRL+Q).

2. Rightclickthemapwhereyouwanttozoomout.
YoucanalsozoomoutbypressingCTRL+,byselectingZoom>ZoomOutfromtheView
menu,orholdingdowntheCTRLkeyandrotatingthemousewheelbuttonbackward.

1.4.1.2 ZoomingInonaSpecificArea
Tozoominonaspecificareaofthemap:
1. ClicktheZoomAreaicon(

)ontheMaptoolbar(orpressCTRL+W).

2. Clickinthemapononeofthefourcornersoftheareayouwanttoselect.
3. Dragtotheoppositecorner.Whenyoureleasethemousebutton,Atollzoomsinontheselectedarea.

1.4.1.3 ChoosingaScale
Tochooseascale:
1. Clickthearrownexttothescalebox(

)ontheMaptoolbar.

2. Selectthescalefromthelist.
Ifthescalevalueyouwantisnotinthelist:
1. Clickinthescalebox(

)ontheMaptoolbar.

2. Enterthedesiredscale.
3. PressENTER.Atollzoomsthemaptotheenteredscale.

1.4.1.4 ChangingBetweenPreviousZoomLevels
Atollsavesthelastfivezoomlevels,allowingyoutoquicklymovebetweenpreviouszoomlevelsandzoomedareas.
Tomovebetweenzoomlevels:
)toreturntoazoomlevelyouhavealreadyused(orpressALT+).

ClickthePreviousZoombutton(

Onceyouhavereturnedtoapreviouszoomlevel,clicktheNextZoombutton(

)toreturntothelatestzoomlevel

(orpressALT+).

1.4.2 UsingFullScreenMode
Atollenablesyoutoexpandthemapwindowtofilltheentirecomputerscreen,temporarilyhidingtheexplorerwindowsand
thetoolbars.ThemenusremainvisibleandaCloseFullScreenbuttonappears,enablingyoutoquicklyreturntothenormal
view.
Toenablefullscreenmode:

SelectView>FullScreen.Themapwindowexpandstofillthecomputerscreen.
YoucanmovetheCloseFullScreenbuttonbyclickinganddraggingtheFullScreentitle
baraboveit.IfyouinadvertantlymovetheCloseFullScreenbuttonoffscreen,youcan
stillreturntothenormalviewbyselectingView>FullScreenagainorbypressingESC.

Withthetoolbarsandscrollbarshidden,youcanstillnavigatearoundthemapwindowusingthekeyboardshortcuts:

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CTRL+Q:SelectZoomIn/Outtool(leftclicktozoominandrightclicktozoomout)

CTRL+D:Movethemapinthemapwindow

ALT+:Previouszoomandlocationonthemap

ALT+:Nextzoomandlocationonthemap.

1.4.3 MovingtheMapintheDocumentWindow
Youcanmovethemapinthedocumentwindowusingthemouse.
Tomovethemapinthedocumentwindow:
1. ClicktheMoveMapWindowbutton(

)ontheMaptoolbar(orpressCTRL+D).

2. Movethepointeroverthemapanddragthemapinthedesireddirection.
Youcanalsomovethemapinthedocumentwindowbyplacingthepointeroverthemap,
pressingthemousewheel,anddraggingthemapinthedesireddirection.

1.4.4 UsingthePanoramicWindow
ThePanoramicwindowdisplaystheentiremapwithalloftheimportedgeographicdata.Adarkrectangleindicateswhatpart
ofthegeographicdataispresentlydisplayedinadocumentwindow,helpingyousituatethedisplayedareainrelationtothe
entiremap.
YoucanusethePanoramicwindowto:

Zoominonaspecificareaofthemap
Resizethedisplayedmaparea
Movearoundthemap.

Tozoominonaspecificareaofthemap:
1. ClickinthePanoramicwindowononeofthefourcornersoftheareayouwanttozoominon.
2. Dragtotheoppositecorner.Whenyoureleasethemousebutton,Atollzoomsinontheselectedarea.
Toresizethedisplayedmaparea:
1. ClickinthePanoramicwindowonacornerorborderofthezoomarea(i.e.,thedarkrectangle).
2. Dragthebordertoitsnewposition.
Tomovearoundthemap:
1. Clickinthezoomarea(i.e.,thedarkrectangle)inthePanoramicwindow.
2. Dragtherectangletoitsnewposition.

1.4.5 CentringtheMapWindowonanObject
Youcancentrethemaponanyselectedobject,forexample,atransmitter,asite,oneorallpredictions,oronanyzoneinthe
ZonesfolderintheGeoexplorer.Whencentringthemapwindowonanobjectthecurrentscaleiskept.
Youcanselecttheobjectinthemapwindoworintheexplorer.
Tocentrethemapwindowonaselectedobject:
1. Rightclicktheobjectinthemapwindoworintheexplorer.
2. SelectCentreinMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Ifyouwanttoquicklyfindanobject,suchasasite,onthemap,youcanselectitinthe
explorerandthenselecttheCentreinMapWindowcommand.

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1.4.6 CentringtheMapWindowonaTableRecord
Youcancentrethemaponanyrecordinthefollowingtables:

Sitestable
Transmitterstable
Anyvectortable.

Whencentringthemapwindowonanobjectthecurrentscaleiskept.
Tocentrethemapwindowonatablerecord:
1. Openthetable.
2. Rightclicktherecord.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCentreinMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

1.4.7 AdjustingtheMapWindowtoaSelection
YoucanadjustthemapwindowtodisplaythecontentsoftheSitesfolder(orofaview),orasetofmeasurementdatapoints,
oroneorallpredictions,oranyobjectorzoneintheGeoexplorer.Whenyouadjustthemapwindowtodisplayaselection,
Atolloptimisesthedisplaybychangingthescaleandpositionsothattheselection(forexample,thesites)iscompletely
displayedinthemapwindow.
Toadjustthemapwindowtoafolderortoanobjectintheexplorer:
1. Rightclickthefolderorobjectintheexplorer.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectAdjustMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanalsoadjustthemapwindowtoarecord(polygonorline)inavectortable.Themap
windowisthenadjustedsothatthepolygon(orline)entirelyoccupiesthedisplayedmap.

1.4.8 MeasuringDistancesontheMap
You can measure distances on the map by using the Distance Measurement tool. The Distance Measurement tool also
displaystheazimuthofalinesegment.YoucanalsousetheDistanceMeasurementtooltomeasuredistancebetweenseveral
pointsalongapolyline.Asyoumeasure,Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformation:

Path:Thetotaldistancebetweenthefirstpointandthelastpointofalinesegmentorapolyline.
Line:Thedistancebetweenthefirstpointandthepointersposition(foralinesegment),ordistancebetweenthelast
pointandthepointersposition(forapolyline).
Total:Thetotaldistancebetweenthefirstpointandthepointerslocation.
Azimuth:Theazimuthofthepointerspositionwithrespecttothefirstpointofalinesegment,orwithrespecttothe
lastpointofapolyline.

Tomeasureadistanceonthemapbetweentwopoints:
1. ClicktheDistanceMeasurementbutton(

)onthetoolbar.Themousecursorturnsintoascalecursor(

).

2. Clickthestartingpointonthemap.Theinformationdisplayedinthestatusbarchangesfrom"Ready"tothefollowing:

Figure1.15:DistanceMeasurementinformationinthestatusbar
AndthefollowingpopupappearsnexttothescalecursoriftheDisplayTipsbutton(

Figure1.16:DistanceMeasurementinformationinapopup

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3. Asyoumovethepointerawayfromthefirstpoint,Atollmarkstheinitialpositionandconnectsittothepointerwith
aline.Thestatusbardisplaysthedistancecoveredbythepointerthusfar("Path=0m"and"Line=Total"),andthe
azimuthofthepointerslocationwithrespecttothefirstpoint.Asyoumovethepointerawayfromthefirstpoint,the
measurement"Line"increasesfrom0mtothedistancecoveredbythepointerthusfar.
4. Clickthemapwhereyouwanttoendthemeasurement.
Thestatusbardisplaysthesameinformationasinstep2.(exceptthat"Path=Total"and"Line=0m").
5. Doubleclickanywhereonthemaptoexitdistancemeasurementandclearthelinesegmentfromthemap.
Tomeasureadistanceonthemapbetweenseveralpoints:
1. ClicktheDistanceMeasurementbutton(

)onthetoolbar.

2. Clickthefirstpointonthemap.Asyoumovethepointerawayfromthefirstpoint,Atollmarkstheinitialpositionand
connectsittothepointerwithaline.Thestatusbardisplaysthedistancemeasuredthusfar("Path=0m"and"Line
=Total"),andtheazimuthofthepointerslocationwithrespecttothefirstpoint.Asyoumovethepointerawayfrom
thefirstpoint,themeasurement"Line"increasesfrom0mtothedistancecoveredbythepointerthusfar.
3. Clickthenextpointonthemap.Thestatusbardisplaysthesameinformationasinstep2.(exceptthat"Path=Total"
and"Line=0m").
4. Continueclickingpointsuntilyouhaveclickedthelastpoint.IntheexampleshowninFigure1.17,"BRU062"isthe
firstpoint,"BRU069"isthelastpoint,thepointerslocationis567mawayfromthelastpointanditsazimuthis248
withrespecttothelastpoint.
5. Doubleclickanywhereonthemaptoexitdistancemeasurementandclearthepolylinefromthemap.

Figure1.17:Measurementdatainthestatusbar

1.4.9 DisplayingRulersAroundtheMap
Youcandisplayrulersaroundthemapinthedocumentwindow.
Todisplayorhiderulers:
1. InViewmenu,selectRulers>Top,Bottom,Left,Right,orAllRulerstoenableordisablethecorrespondingrulers.

1.4.10 DisplayingtheMapScale
Youcandisplaythemapscaleinthemapwindow.
Todisplaythemapscale:
1. SelectDocument>Properties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. InthePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheCoordinatestab.
3. UnderDisplayrulersandscale,selecttheScaleonmapcheckbox.
4. ClickOK.

1.4.11 DisplayingtheMapLegend
Youcandisplayamaplegend,whichcontainstheinformationontheobjecttypesthatyouhaveaddedtoit.Forinformation
onaddingobjecttypestothelegend,see"AddinganObjectTypetotheLegend"onpage51.

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Todisplaythelegend:

SelectView>LegendWindow.

1.4.12 UsingZonesintheMapWindow
IntheGeoexplorer,Atollprovidesyouwithasetoftoolscalledzones.Zonesareatypeofpolygon,whichcanbecreatedand
modified in the same way as contours, lines, or points. Zones can be used to define areas of the map for the following
purposes:

FilteringZone:Thefilteringzoneisagraphicalfilterthatrestrictstheobjectsdisplayedonthemapandinthe
Networkexplorertotheobjectsinsidethefilteringzone.Italsorestrictswhichobjectsareusedincalculationssuch
ascoveragepredictions,etc.
Formoreinformationonthefilteringzone,see"TheFilteringZone"onpage58.

ComputationZone:Inradioplanningprojects,thecomputationzoneisusedtodefinewhichbasestationsare
tobetakenintoconsiderationincalculationsandtheareawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredic
tions,etc.
Formoreinformationonthecomputationzone,see"TheComputationZone"onpage59.

FocusZoneandHotSpots:Withthefocuszoneandhotspots,youcanselecttheareasofcoveragepredictions
orothercalculationsonwhichyouwanttogeneratereportsandresults.
Formoreinformationonthefocuszoneandhotspots,see"TheFocusZoneandHotSpots"onpage60.

PrintingZone:Theprintingzoneallowsyoutodefinetheareatobeprinted.
Formoreinformationonprintingusingtheprintingzone,see"UsingaPrintingZone"onpage63.

GeographicExportZone:Thegeographicexportzoneisusedtodefinepartofthemaptobeexportedasabitmap.
Formoreinformationonthegeographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Zonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,ifyouhave
drawnazone,itwillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornotitsvisibilitycheckboxinthe
ZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorerisselected.Forexample,ifyouhavefilteredthesites
usingafilteringzone,thesitesoutsidethefilteringzonewillnotbetakeninto
considerationincoveragepredictions,evenifyouhaveclearedthefilteringzones
visibilitycheckbox.Youwillhavetodeletethezoneifyounolongerwanttoselectsites
usingafilteringzone.

Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"TheFilteringZone"onpage58
"TheComputationZone"onpage59
"TheFocusZoneandHotSpots"onpage60
"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61
"UsingaPrintingZone"onpage63
"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.

1.4.12.1 TheFilteringZone
ThefilteringzoneisagraphicalfilterthatrestrictstheobjectsdisplayedonthemapandintheNetworkexplorertotheobjects
insidethefilteringzone.Italsorestrictswhichobjectsareusedincalculationssuchascoveragepredictions,etc.Bylimiting
thenumberofsites,youcanreducethetimeandcostofcalculationsandmakevisualisationofdataobjectsonthemap
clearer.
Thefilteringzoneisappliedwhetherornotitisvisible.Inotherwords,ifyouhavedrawnazone,itwillbetakenintoaccount
whetherornotitsvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorerisselected.Youmustdeletethezoneifyouno
longerwanttorestricttheselectiontositeswithinthefilteringzone.
Tocreateafilteringzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.

3. RightclicktheFilteringZonefolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

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DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefilteringzone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefilteringzone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,
thefilteringzonewillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thefilteringzoneisdelimitedbyablueline.Thedataobjectsoutsideoftheselectedzonearefilteredout.Inthe
Networkexplorer,anyfolderwhosecontentisaffectedbythefilteringzoneappearswithaspecialicon(
catethatthefoldercontentshavebeenfiltered.

),toindi

Youcanalsocreateafilteringzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthefilteringzone.
Existingpolygon:YoucanuseanyexistingpolygonasafilteringzonebyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeo
explorerandUseAs>FilteringZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfilteringzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeoexplorerandselectingAddTo>FilteringZonefromthe
contextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafilteringzone.YoucanimportthepolygonbyrightclickingtheFilteringZone
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.

FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafilteringzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingtheFiltering
ZonefolderintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedafilteringzone,youcanuseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoeditthecontour.Formoreinformationon
thepolygoneditingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.
Youcansavethefilteringzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,inthe
followingways:

Savingthefilteringzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsavingthe
fiiltering zone in a user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefilteringzone:Youcanexportthefilteringzonebyrightclickingthe
FilteringZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthecontextmenu.

1.4.12.2 TheComputationZone
ThecomputationzonedefinestheareawhereAtollperformscalculations.Whenyoucreateacomputationzone,Atollcarries
outthecalculationforallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilterparameters),and
whose propagation zone intersects a rectangle containing the computation zone. Therefore, it considers sites inside the
computationzoneaswellassitesthatareoutsidethecomputationzoneiftheyhaveaninfluenceonthecomputationzone.
Inaddition,thecomputationzonedefinestheareawithinwhichthecoveragepredictionresultsaredisplayed.
Whenworkingwithalargenetwork,thecomputationzonecanrestrictyourcoveragepredictionstothepartofthenetwork
you are currently working on. By allowing you to reduce the number of sites studied, Atoll reduces both the time and
computerresourcesnecessaryforcalculations.Byconsideringsitesthatareinsidethecomputationzoneaswellassitesthat
areoutsidebutwhichhaveaninfluenceonthecomputationzone,Atollprovidesrealisticresultsforsitesthatareclosetothe
borderofthecomputationzone.
Ifnocomputationzoneisdefined,Atollperformscalculationsonallsitesthatareactiveandfilteredandfortheentireextent
ofthegeographicaldataavailable.
Thecomputationzoneisconsideredwhetherornotitisvisible.Inotherwords,ifyouhavedrawnacomputationzone,itis
takenintoaccountwhetherornotitsvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorerisselected.Youmustdelete
thezoneifyounolongerwanttodefineanareaforthecalculations.
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheZonesfolder.

3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thecomputationzonewillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:YoucanuseanyexistingpolygonasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeo
explorerandselectingUseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcompu
tationzonewithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeoexplorerandselectingAddTo>
ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingtheCom
putationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedacomputationzone,youcanuseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoeditit.Formoreinformationonthe
polygoneditingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneinauserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"on
page104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clickingtheComputationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthe
contextmenu.

1.4.12.3 TheFocusZoneandHotSpots
Thefocuszoneandhotspotscandefineanareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyou
canonlyhaveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,etc.,whereasthefocusandhotspotsaretheareastakeninto
considerationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Atollbasesstatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone.Ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollusesthecomputationzone.
However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadofdisplaying
statisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Atollconsidersthefocuszoneandhotspotswhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,ifyouhavedrawnafocuszone
orhotspot,itistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitsvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorerisselected.
Youmusttodeletethezoneifyounolongerwanttodefineanareaforthereports.
Afocuszonecanconsistofmorethanonepolygon.Thepolygonsofafocuszonemustnot
intersectoroverlapeachother.

Todefineafocuszoneorahotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

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3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.
Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocuszoneorhotspotinoneofthefollowingways:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthefocuszoneorhotspot.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygonasafocuszoneorhotspotbyrightclickingitonthemaporinthe
GeoexplorerandselectingUseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombine
anexistingfocuszoneorhotspotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeoexplorerand
selectingAddTo>FocusZoneorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocuszoneorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHot
SpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcan
importthename(intextformat)giventoeachzoneaswell.Additionally,becauseyoucanhaveseveralhotspots,you
canimportmorethanonepolygonintotheHotSpotfolder,witheachasaseparatehotspot.
FitZonetoMapWindow:Youcancreateafocuszoneorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingthe
FocusZoneorHotSpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspot,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocu
ment,inthefollowingways:

Saving the focus zone in the user configuration: For information on saving the
focuszoneinauserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhotspots
byrightclickingtheFocusZoneortheHotSpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerand
selectingExportfromthecontextmenu.

1.4.12.4 UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools
Atollprovidesseveralwaysofeditingacomputationzone,focuszone,hotspots,andfilteringzones.Youcaneditthesezones
byeditingthepointsthatdefinethem,bycombiningseveralpolygons,orbydeletingpartsofthepolygonsthatmakeupthese
zones.Whenyounolongerneedthezone,youcandeleteitfromthemap.
Thecomputation,focusandhotspotpolygonscancontainholes.Holeswithinpolygonalareasaredifferentiatedfromover
layingpolygonsbytheorderofthecoordinatesoftheirvertices.Thecoordinatesoftheverticesofpolygonalareasarein
clockwiseorder,whereasthecoordinatesoftheverticesofholeswithinpolygonalareasareincounterclockwiseorder.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

1.4.12.4.1

"EditingPolygonZones"onpage61
"RemovingaPolygonZone"onpage63.

EditingPolygonZones
Atollenablesyoutoeditapolygonzoneinseveraldifferentways.Thefirststepistoselectit,eith7erby:

SelectingthepolygonzoneintheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorer
Selectingthepolygonzonebyclickingitonthemap,or
SelectingthepolygonzonefromthelistintheVectorEditortoolbar.

Thesecondstepistoputthezoneineditingmode:

RightclickthezoneyouwanttoeditinthemapwindowandselectEditZonefromthecontextmenu,or

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RightclickthezoneintheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorerandselectEditZonefromthecontextmenu.
IfthezonehasbeenselectedfromthelistintheVectorEditortoolbar,itisautomatically
putineditingmode.

Onceyouhavethepolygonzoneineditingmode,youcanedititasexplainedinthefollowingsections:

"EditingthePointsofaPolygonZone"onpage62
"EditingPolygonZonesUsingtheToolbar"onpage62
"EditingPolygonZonesUsingtheContextMenu"onpage63.

EditingthePointsofaPolygonZone
Toeditapointofapolygonzone:
1. Putthepolygonzoneineditingmodeasexplainedin"EditingPolygonZones"onpage61.
2. Selectthepolygonzone.Youcannowedititby:

Movingapoint:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttomove.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. Dragthepointtoitsnewposition.

Addingapointtothepolygonzone:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepolygonzoneborderwhereyouwanttoaddapoint.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectInsertPointfromthecontextmenu.Apointisaddedtothepolygonzoneborderatthe
positionofthepointer.

Deletingapointfromapolygonzone:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttodelete.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectDeletePointfromthecontextmenu.Thepointisdeleted.
EditingPolygonZonesUsingtheToolbar
InAtoll,youcancreatecomplexpolygonzonesbyusingthetoolsontheVectorEditortoolbar.Thefiltering,computation,
andfocuszonepolygonscancontainholes.Holeswithinpolygonalareasaredifferentiatedfromoverlayingpolygonsbythe
orderofthecoordinatesoftheirvertices.Thecoordinatesoftheverticesofpolygonalareasareinclockwiseorder,whereas
thecoordinatesoftheverticesofholeswithinpolygonalareasareincounterclockwiseorder.
ToeditapolygonzoneusingtheiconsontheVectorEditortoolbar:
1. Putthepolygonzoneineditingmodeasexplainedin"EditingPolygonZones"onpage61.
2. Clickthecontourtoedit.TheVectorEditortoolbarhasthefollowingbuttons:

:Tocombineseveralpolygonzones:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheCombinebutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthenewpolygonzone.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthepolygonzone.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethepolygonzone.
v. Drawmorepolygonzonesifdesired.Atollcreatesagroupofpolygonsoftheselectedandnewcontours.If
polygonzonesoverlap,Atollmergesthem.

:Todeletepartoftheselectedpolygonzone:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheDeletebutton(

).

ii. Drawtheareayouwanttodeletefromtheselectedpolygonzonebyclickingonceonthemapwhereyouwant
tobegindrawingtheareatodelete.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthearea.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethearea.Atolldeletestheareafromtheselectedcontour.

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i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheIntersectionbutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthepolygonthatwilloverlaptheselectedone.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthepolygon.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethepolygon.Atollcreatesanewpolygonoftheoverlappingareaofthetwopolygons
anddeletesthepartsofthepolygonsthatdonotoverlap.

:Tosplittheselectedpolygonintoseveralpolygons:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheSplitbutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthepolygonthatwillsplittheselectedone.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthepolygon.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethepolygon.Atollseparatestheareacoveredbythepolygonfromtheselectedpolygon
andcreatesanewpolygon.
EditingPolygonZonesUsingtheContextMenu
Whenyouareeditingpolygonzones,youcanaccesscertaincommandsusingthecontextmenu.
Toeditapolygonzoneusingthecontextmenu:
1. Clickthepolygonzoneyouwanttoedit.
2. Rightclickthepolygonzonetodisplaythecontextmenuandselectoneofthefollowing:

Properties: Select Properties to open the Properties dialog box of the selected polygon zone. The Properties
dialogboxgivesthecoordinatesofeachpointthatdefinesthepositionandshapeofthepolygonzone.
InsertPoint:SelectInsertPointtoaddapointtotheborderofthecontouratthepositionofthepointer.
Move:
i.

SelectMovefromthecontextmenutomovethecontour,line,orpointonthemap.

ii. Movethecontour,line,orpoint.
iii. Clicktoplacethecontour,line,orpoint.

1.4.12.4.2

Quitedition:SelectQuitEditiontoexiteditingmode.

Delete:SelectDeletetoremovetheselectedcontour,line,orpointfromthemap.

RemovingaPolygonZone
Whenyounolongerneedapolygonzone,youcanremovethezoneandredisplayalldataobjects.
Toremoveapolygonzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.

3. Rightclickthefoldercontainingthezoneyouwanttoremove.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectDeleteZone.Thepolygonzoneisremovedandalldocumentdataisnowdisplayed.
YoucanalsodeleteitbyrightclickingitsborderonthemapandselectingDeletefrom
thecontextmenu.

1.4.12.5 UsingaPrintingZone
Theprintingzoneallowsyoutodefineanareatobeprinted.Forinformationonusingtheprintingzone,see"Definingthe
PrintingZone"onpage90.

1.4.12.6 UsingaGeographicExportZone
If you want to export part of the map as a bitmap, you can define a geographic export zone. After you have defined a
geographicexportzone,Atollallowsyoutoexportonlytheareacoveredbythezoneifyouexportthemapasarasterimage.
Todefineageographicexportzoneandexportthemap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheZonesfolder.

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3. RightclicktheGeographicExportZonefolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thezone
willbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.

FitZonetoMapWindow
Atollcreatesageographicexportzonethatfitsthemapwindow.

Thegeographicexportzoneisdelimitedbyalightpurpleline.Ifyouclearthegeographicexportzonesvisibilitycheck
boxintheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateageographicexportzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableinthe
VectorEditortoolbartodrawthegeogaphicexportzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygonasageographicexportzonebyrightclickingitonthemapor
intheGeoexplorerandselectingUseAs>GeographicExportZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombine
anexistinggeographicexportzonewithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeoexplorer
andselectingAddTo>GeographicExportZonefromthecontextmenu.The"effective"geographicexportzone
willbetherectangleencompassingtheseveralpolygonscomposingthegeographicexportzone.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,youcanimportitanduseitasageographicexport
zone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheGeographicExportZonefolderintheGeoexplorerandselecting
Importfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:Youcancreateageographicexportzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclicking
itonthemaporintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedageographicexportzone,youcanuseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoeditit.Formoreinfor
mationonthepolygoneditingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.
Youcansavethegeographicexportzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocu
ment,inthefollowingways:

Savingthegeographicexportzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationon
savingthegeographicexportzoneinauserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserCon
figuration"onpage104.
Exportingthegeographicexportzone:Youcanexportthegeographicexportzone
by rightclicking the Geographic Export Zone in the Geo explorer and selecting
Exportfromthecontextmenu.

Thegeographicexportzonecanonlyexportinrasterformat.Youcannotexportinraster
formatifthecoveragepredictionwasmadepertransmitter(forexample,coverage
predictionswiththedisplaytypesetbytransmitter,byatransmitterattribute,bysignal
level,bypathloss,orbytotallosses).Onlythecoverageareaofasingletransmittercan
beexportedinrasterformat.
5. SelectFile>SaveImageAs.TheMapExportdialogboxappears,withtheoptionGeographicexportzoneselected.
6. ClickExport.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
7. IntheSaveasdialogbox,selectadestinationfolder,enteraFilename,andselectafiletypefromtheSaveastypelist.
Thefollowingfileformatsaresupported:BMP,PNG,ArcViewGrid(TXT),TIFF,BIL,JPEG2000,andJPG.Ifyouwantto
usethesavedfileasadigitalterrainmodel,youshouldselecttheTIF,BIL,orTXTformat.WhensavinginBILformat,
Atollallowsyoutosavefileslargerthan2Gb.
8. ClickSave.TheExportedImageSizedialogboxappears.
9. Youcandefinethesizeoftheexportedimageinoneoftwoways:

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Scale:Ifyouwanttodefinethesizebyscale,selectScale,enterascaleinthetextboxandaresolution.Ifyouwant
toexporttheimagewithrulers,selectIncludeRulers.
Pixelsize:Ifyouwanttodefinethesizebypixelsize,selectPixelsize,andenterapixelsizeinthetextbox.
Ifyouwanttousetheexportedfileasadigitalterrainmodel,youmustdefinethesizeof
theexportedimagebypixelsize.Atollthencreatesageoreferencefilefortheexported
image.

10. ClickOK.

1.4.13 EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints
Atollusesdifferenttypesofpolygons,lines,andpointsinthemapwindow.Forexample,thezonessuchasthecomputation,
focuszoneandhotspot,describedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58,arespecifictypesofpolygons.Other
typesofpolygons,calledcontours,alongwithlinesandpoints,canbeusedtoaddadditionalinformationtogeographicdata.
Atollprovidesseveralwaysofeditingpolygons,lines,andpoints.Youcanmoveordeletethepointsthatdefinepolygons,
lines,andpoints.Youcaneditpolygonsbyeditingthepointsthatdefinethem,bycombiningseveralpolygons,orbydeleting
partsofthepolygons.
Polygons,includingthecomputation,focuszoneandhotspotpolygonscancontainholes.Holeswithinpolygonalareasare
differentiatedfromoverlayingpolygonsbytheorderofthecoordinatesoftheirvertices.Thecoordinatesoftheverticesof
polygonalareasareinclockwiseorder,whereasthecoordinatesoftheverticesofholeswithinpolygonalareasareincounter
clockwiseorder.
Whenyounolongerneedthepolygon,line,orpoint,youcandeleteitfromthemap.
Thissectionexplainsthedifferentwaysofeditingpolygons,lines,andpoints:

"AddingaVectorLayer"onpage65
"CreatingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65
"EditingtheShapeofPolygonsandLines"onpage66
"CombiningorCroppingPolygonsUsingtheToolbar"onpage66
"EditingaPoint"onpage68
"EditingContours,Lines,andPointsUsingtheContextMenu"onpage68.

1.4.13.1 AddingaVectorLayer
Youcanaddvectorobjectssuchaspolygons,linesorpointstogeographicalmapinformationinaprojectbyfirstcreatinga
vectorlayer.Youcanalsomodifycertaingeographicdatamaps,forexample,populationmaps,andcustomdata,byaddinga
vectorlayertothemandaddingpolygons,linesandpointsafterwards.Forinformationonmodifyingcertaingeographicdata
mapsbyaddingavectorlayer,see"EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps"onpage168.
ToaddavectorlayertotheGeoexplorer:

ClicktheNewVectorLayerbutton(

)ontheVectorEditortoolbar.

Atollcreatesafoldercalled"Vectors"intheGeoexplorer.
Forinformationonaddingvectorobjectssuchascontours,lines,andpointstothevectorlayer,see"CreatingPolygons,Lines,
andPoints"onpage65.

1.4.13.2 CreatingPolygons,Lines,andPoints
Onceyouhavecreatedavectorlayer,asexplainedin"AddingaVectorLayer"onpage65,youcanaddpolygons,lines,and
pointstoit.
Toaddapolygon,line,orpointtoavectorlayer:
1. RightclickthevectorlayerintheGeoexplorer.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.ThetoolsontheVectorEditortoolbarareavailable.
Youcanalsomakethevectortoolsavailablebyselectingthevectorlayertoeditfrom
theVectorEditortoolbarlist.BecauseAtollnamesallnewvectorlayers"Vectors"by
default,itmightbedifficulttoknowwhichvectorfolderyouareselecting.Byrenaming
eachvectorfolder,youcanensurethatyouselectthecorrectfolder.Forinformationon
renamingobjects,see"RenaminganObject"onpage44.
IftheVectorEditortoolbarisnotvisible,selectView>Toolbars>VectorEditor.

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3. ClickoneofthefollowingbuttonsontheVectorEditortoolbar:
NewPolygon:
a. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthecontour.
b. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthecontour.
c. Doubleclicktoclosethecontour.
NewRectangle:
a. Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectangle.
b. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectangle.
c. Releasethemousetocreatetherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Ifthepolygonorrectangleisonthevectorlayerofapopulationmap,orcustomdata,you
mustdefinethevaluethepolygonorrectanglerepresentsandmapthevectorlayer.For
moreinformation,see"EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps"onpage168.
NewLine:
a. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegintheline.
b. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheline.
c. Doubleclicktoendtheline.
NewPoint:Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttoplacethepoint.
4. PressESCtodeselectthecurrentlyselectedbuttonontheVectorEditortoolbar.

1.4.13.3 EditingtheShapeofPolygonsandLines
Youcanedittheshapeofpolygonsandlinesonthevectorlayer.
Toedittheshapeofpolygonsandlines:
1. Intheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)containingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayer
folder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectDrawfromthecontextmenu.ThevectortoolsontheVectorEditortoolbarareactivated.
Youcanalsoactivatethevectortoolsbyselectingthevectorlayertoeditfromthe
VectorEditortoolbarlist.

3. Selectthecontourorline.Youcanusethefollowingmethodstoeditthecontourorline:

Moveapoint:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttomove.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. Dragthepointtoitsnewposition.Ifyouareeditingarectangle,theadjacentpointsontherectanglechange
positionaswell,inorderfortherectangletoretainitsshape.

Addapointtoacontouroraline:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthecontourborderorlinewhereyouwanttoaddapoint.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectInsertPointfromthecontextmenu.Apointisaddedtothecontourborderorlineatthe
positionofthepointer.

Deleteapointfromacontouroraline:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttodelete.Thepointerchanges(

ii. RightclickandselectDeletePointfromthecontextmenu.Thepointisdeleted.

1.4.13.4 CombiningorCroppingPolygonsUsingtheToolbar
InAtoll,youcancreatecomplexcontoursbyusingthetoolsontheVectorEditortoolbar.

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ToeditavectorobjectusingtheiconsontheVectorEditortoolbar:
1. Intheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)containingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayer
folder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectDrawfromthecontextmenu.ThevectortoolsontheVectorEditortoolbarareactivated.
YoucanactivatethevectortoolsbyselectingthevectorlayertoeditfromtheVector
Editortoolbarlist.

3. Clickthecontourtoedit.TheVectorEditortoolbarenablesyoutoperformthefollowingfunctions:

:Tocombineanexistingcontourwithanewone:
i.

OntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheCombinebutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthenewcontour.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthecontour.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethecontour.
v. Drawmorecontoursifdesired.Atollcreatesagroupofpolygonsoftheselectedandnewcontours.Ifcontours
overlap,Atollmergesthem.

:Tocombinetwoexistingcontours:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheCombinebutton(

).

ii. Clickthecontourthatyouwanttocombinewiththeselectedone.Atollcombinesthetwoselectedcontours
intoasingleobject,mergingthemiftheyoverlap.

:Todrawaholeintheselectedcontour:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheDeletebutton(

).

ii. Clickonceinsidethecontourwhereyouwanttobegindrawingtheareatodelete.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthearea.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethearea.Atolldeletestheareafromtheselectedcontour.

:Todeleteanareaoftheselectedcontourthatisoverlappedbyanothercontour:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheDeletebutton(

).

ii. Clickthecontour(whichoverlapstheselectedcontour)todeletetheoverlappingareafromthefirstselected
contour.Atolldeletestheareacoveredbythesecondcontourfromthefirstcontour.

:Tocreateacontouroutoftheoverlappingareaofanexistingcontourandanewone:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheIntersectionbutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthecontourthatwilloverlaptheselectedone.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthecontour.
iv. Doubleclicktoclosethecontour.Atollcreatesanewcontouroftheoverlappingareaofthetwocontoursand
deletesthepartsofthecontoursthatdonotoverlap.

:Tocreateacontouroutoftheoverlappingareaoftwoexistingcontours:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheIntersectionbutton(

).

ii. Clickthecontour(whichoverlapstheselectedcontour)thatyouwanttointersectwiththefirstselectedcon
tour.Atollcreatesanewcontourfromtheareaofthetwocontoursthatoverlapsanddeletesthepartsofthe
contoursthatdonotoverlap.

:Tosplittheselectedcontourintotwocontours:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheSplitbutton(

).

ii. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthecontourthatwillsplittheselectedcontour.
iii. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthecontour.

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iv. Doubleclicktoclosethecontour.Atolldeletestheareadefinedbythenewlydrawncontourfromtheselected
contour,therebycreatingtwonewcontours.

:Tosplitoverlappingcontoursintothreecontours:
i.

IntheVectorEditortoolbar,clicktheSplitbutton(

).

ii. Clickthecontour(whichoverlapstheselectedcontour)thatyouwanttousetocropthefirstselectedcontour.
Atollseparatestheoverlappingareafromthefirstselectedcontour,therebycreatingthreecontours:thefirst
contourminustheareaoverlappedbythesecond,thesecondcontour(whichremainsunchanged,andathird
contourcreatedfromtheareadeletedfromthefirstselectedcontour.

1.4.13.5 EditingaPoint
Toeditapoint:
1. Intheexplorer(theNetworkexplorerortheGeoexplorer)containingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayer
folder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectDrawfromthecontextmenu.ThevectortoolsontheVectorEditortoolbarareactivated.
YoucanactivatethevectortoolsbyselectingthevectorlayertoeditfromtheVector
Editortoolbarlist.

3. Selectthepoint.Youcanusethefollowingmethodstoeditthepoint:

Movethepoint:
i.

Clickthepoint.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. Dragthepointtoitsnewposition.

Deletethepoint:
i.

Clickthepointyouwanttodelete.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thepointisdeleted.

1.4.13.6 EditingContours,Lines,andPointsUsingtheContextMenu
Whenyouareeditingcontours,lines,andpoints,youcanaccesscertaincommandsusingthecontextmenu.
Toeditavectorobjectusingthecontextmenu:
1. Clickthevectorobjectyouwanttoedit.
2. Rightclickthevectorobjecttodisplaythecontextmenuandselectoneofthefollowing:

Delete:SelectDeletetoremovetheselectedcontour,line,orpointfromthemap.
ConverttoLine:SelectConverttoLinetoconverttheselectedcontourtoaline.
ConverttoPolygon:SelectConverttoPolygontoconverttheselectedlinetoacontour.
OpenLine:SelectOpenLinetoremovethesegmentbetweenthelastandthefirstpoint.
CloseLine:SelectCloseLinetoaddasegmentbetweenthelastandthefirstpointoftheline.
InsertPoint:SelectInsertPointtoaddapointtotheborderofthecontouratthepositionofthepointer.
Move:
i.

SelectMovefromthecontextmenutomovethecontour,line,orpointonthemap.

ii. Movethecontour,line,orpoint.
iii. Clicktoplacethecontour,line,orpoint.

QuitEdition:SelectQuitEditiontoexiteditingmode.
Properties:SelectPropertiestoopenthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselectedcontour,line,orpoint.TheProp
ertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:

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General:TheGeneraltabdisplaysthenameofthevectorLayer,theSurfaceoftheobject,andanyProperties
ofthecontour,line,orpoint.
Geometry:Thistabdisplaysthecoordinatesofeachpointthatdefinesthepositionandshapeofthecontour,
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Onlythecommandsrelevanttotheselectedcontour,line,orpointaredisplayedinthe
contextmenu.

1.4.14 CopyingtheContentofaZoneintoAnotherApplication
Youcancopythecontentofoneofthefollowingzonesofthemapwindowintoadocumentcreatedusinganotherapplication:

Filteringzone
Focuszone
Computationzone
Hotspot
Printingzone
Geographicalexportzone

Tocopythecontentofazoneintoadocumentcreatedusinganotherapplication:
1. Selectthezoneinthemapwindow,orexpandtheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorerandselectthezone.
Youcancopythecontentsofthezoneinthefollowingways:

SelectEdit>Copy(orpressCtrl+C)tocopyabitmapimageoftheselectedzone,or

a. SelectEdit>AdvancedCopy.TheAdvancedCopydialogboxappears.
b. Selectoneofthefollowing:

Bitmapimage:SelectBitmapImagetocopythecontentsofthezoneasabitmapandthenselecteitherScreen
resolutionorCustomresolutionandenterthecustomresolutioninthetextbox.Thedefaultcustomresolu
tionis50m.
MetafileImage:SelectMetafileImagetocopythecontentsofthezoneasaWindowsmetafile.
GeoreferenceCoordinates:SelectGeoreferenceCoordinatestocopythegeoreferencecoordinatestothe
clipboard.Theywillbepastedasthecoordinates.

2. OpentheapplicationintowhichyouwanttopastetheimageandselectEdit>Paste(orpressCtrl+V).Thezoneofthe
mapispastedasanimage(orasgeoreferencecoordinates)intothenewdocument.

1.4.15 MapWindowPointers
InAtoll,thepointerappearsindifferentformsaccordingtoitsfunction.Eachpointerisdescribedbelow:
Appearance

Description

Meaning
Thezoneselectionpointerindicates:

Selectionarrow

Onthemap,thatyoucandefineazonetoprintorcopy
InthePanoramicwindow,thatyoucandefinethezonetobedisplayedonthe
map.
Todefineazone,clickanddragdiagonally.

Thepolygondrawingpointerindicatesthatyoucandrawazonetofiltereithersites
ortransmitters,drawcomputation/focus/hotspot/filtering/printing/geographic
Polygondrawing
exportzones,ordrawvectororrasterpolygonsonthemap.Todrawapolygon,click
pointer
oncetostart,andeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideof
thepolygon.Closethepolygonbyclickingtwice.
Therectangledrawingpointerindicatesthatyouthatcandrawcomputation/focus/
Rectangledrawing
hotspot/filtering/printing/geographicexportzones,ordrawvectororraster
pointer
rectanglesonthemap.Todefineazone,clickanddragdiagonally.
Hand

Thehandpointerindicatesthatyoucanmovethevisiblepartofthedisplayedmap.

Zoomtool

Thezoompointerindicatesthatyoucanclicktozoominandrightclicktozoomout
atthelocationofthemousepointer

Zoomarea

Thezoomareapointerindicatesthatyoucanzoominonanareaofthebyclicking
anddraggingtodefinethearea.

Newtransmitter

Thetransmitterpointerindicatesthatyoucanplaceatransmitteronthemapwhere
youclick.YoucanplacemorethanonestationbypressingCTRLasyouclickonthe
map.

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Description

Meaning

Pointanalysis

ThepointanalysispointerindicatesthatyouhaveselectedthePointAnalysistool
andhavenotyetchosenthefirstpoint.

Pointplaced
(Receiver)

Thepointplacedpointerindicatesthepositionofthereceiveronthemapthatis
usedforthepointtopointanalysis.TheresultsaredisplayedintheCW
MeasurementsorPointAnalysiswindow.

Pencil

Thepencilpointerindicatesthatyoucancreateapolygonalclutterzone,byclicking
oncetostartthepolygon,oncetocreateeachcorner,andbydoubleclickingto
closethepolygon.

Deletion

Thedeletionpointerindicatesthatyoucandeleteanewlycreatedpolygonalclutter
zonebyclickingitsborder.

Positionindicator

Thepositionindicatorpointerindicatesthatyoucanselecttheborderofapolygon.
Rightclickingthepolygonborderopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoaddapoint,
deletethepolygon,orcentrethemaponthepolygon.

Select/create
points

Theselect/createpointspointerindicatesthatyoucanmodifythepolygoninthe
mapwindow.Youcanaddanewpointandmodifythepolygoncontourbyclicking
ononeoftheedgesanddragging.Youcanmoveanexistingpointbyclickingand
dragginganexistingpoint.Youcanrightclicktoopenacontextmenutodeletea
point,deletethepolygon,orcentrethemaponthepolygon.

PlacingaCW
measurement
point

ThefirstCWmeasurementpointpointerindicatesthatyoucanclickapointonthe
maptocreatethefirstpointofaCWmeasurementpath.

Placingpointsina ThenextCWmeasurementpointpointerindicatesthatthefirstCWmeasurement
CWmeasurement pointhasbeensetandyoucannowclickotherpointsonthemap.Doubleclickto
path
endtheCWmeasurementpath.
Themeasurementpointerindicatesthatyoucanclickonthemaptosetthestart
Measurementson
pointofyourmeasurement.Asyoumovethepointer,thedistancebetweenthefirst
themap
pointandthepointerisdisplayedinthestatusbar.

Terrainsection

Theterrainsectionpointerindicatesthatyoucancreateaterrainsectionbyclicking
onceonthemaptocreatethefirstpointandoncemoretocreatethesecondpoint.
TheterrainprofilebetweenthetwopointsisdisplayedinthePointAnalysiswindow
andstoredunderTerrainSectionsintheGeoexplorer.

1.5 WorkingwithCoveragePredictions
Atollprovidesthefollowingfeaturestohelpyouorganisecoveragepredictionsandtoexporttheresultsinotherformats:

"OrganisingtheContentsofthePredictionsFolder"onpage70
"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

1.5.1 OrganisingtheContentsofthePredictionsFolder
WhenyoucreateacoveragepredictioninAtoll,itislistedunderPredictionsintheNetworkexplorer.Atollenablesyouto
organisethecreatedpredictionsinaseriesoffoldersthatyoucangivedescriptivenamesto.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingFoldersinthePredictionsfolder"onpage70
"MovingaCoveragePredictionintoaFolder"onpage71.

1.5.1.1 CreatingFoldersinthePredictionsfolder
AtollenablesyoutocreatefoldersunderPredictionsintheNetworkexplorer.Atollonlyallowsoneleveloffolders.Onceyou
havecreatedafolderunderPredictions,youcanmovecoveragepredictionsintoit.Formoreinformation,see"Movinga
CoveragePredictionintoaFolder"onpage71
TocreateafolderunderPredictions:
1. ClicktheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectNewFolderfromthecontextmenu.Atollcreatesanewfolder,Folder<X>,underPredictionswhere<X>isa
numberassignedbyAtollsequentially,accordingtothenumberoffolderswithdefaultnamesunderPredictions.
Youcanchangethenameofthefoldertogiveitamoredescriptivename.

1.5.1.2 MovingaCoveragePredictionintoaFolder
OnceyouhavecreatedfoldersunderPredictionsasexplainedin"CreatingFoldersinthePredictionsfolder"onpage70,you
canorganisethecoveragepredictionsbymovingthemintothesefolders.Atollalsoallowsyoutomovecoveragepredictions
fromonefoldertoanotherorfromafoldertothemainPredictionsfolder.
TomoveacoveragepredictionfromthemainPredictionsfoldertooneofitsfolders:
1. ClicktheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftPredictionstoexpandthefolder.

3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttomovetoafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMoveTofromthecontextmenu.TheMovetoFolderdialogboxappears.
5. SelectthenameofthefolderintheMovetoFolderdialogboxandclickOK.Thecoveragepredictionismovedtothe
selectedfolder.
The same procedure can be used to move a coverage prediction from one folder to
anotherorfromafoldertothemainPredictionsfolder.

YoucanalsousedraganddroptomoveanycoveragepredictiontothemainPredictionsfolderortoanyofitsfoldersby
draggingthecoveragepredictionoverthePredictionsfolderoroverthenameofthedestinationfolderanddroppingit.You
canonlydropacoveragepredictioninadestinationfolderwhenthisfolderishighlighted,asshowninFigure1.18.

Figure1.18:UsingdraganddroptomoveacoveragepredictiontoafolderunderPredictions

1.5.2 ExportingCoveragePredictionResults
InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninrasterorvectorformats.Exportedfilescanthenbe
importedasavectororrasterobjectinAtollorinanotherapplication.

Supported raster formats are: BMP, TIF, JPEG2000, ArcView grid, or Vertical Mapper (GRD and GRC). When
exportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.
Supportedvectorformatsare:ArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.

Coverage predictions must be displayed in the map window before they can be exported. For information on displaying
objectsinthemapwindow,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Whenyouexportacoveragepredictioninvectorformat,theexportedzoneisdelimitedbytherectangleencompassingthe
coverage.Youcanexporttheentirecoverageprediction,oryoucanexportadefinedareaofthecoverageprediction.
Allcoveragetypescanbeexported,however,youcannotexportacoveragepredictioninrasterformatifthecoveragepredic
tionwasmadepertransmitter(forexample,coveragepredictionswiththedisplaytypesetbytransmitter,byatransmitter
attribute,bysignallevel,bypathloss,orbytotallosses).Inthiscase,onlythecoverageareaofasingletransmittercanbe
exportedinrasterformat.
Youcanexportcoveragepredictionsseparatelyoryoucanexportseveralcoveragepredictionsatthesametime.Whenyou
exportmorethanonecoverageprediction,Atollsuggeststheformatsthatcanbeusedforallthecoveragepredictionstobe
exported.

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When coverage predictions are calculated by value intervals, the corresponding

numerical results are automatically stored in external files. The advantage is to avoid
recalculating a prediction when the legend is modified and to have a numerical
difference feature between basic predictions. For more information, see "External
StorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.
Toexportcoveragepredictionstoavectororrasterformat:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthePredictionsfolderandselectExportCoveragesfromthecontextmenu.The
CoverageExportdialogboxappears.
Youcanalsoexportdirectlyasinglecoverageprediction,thegeographicexportzone,or
partofthecoverageprediction:byrightclickingthepredictionand:

Toexporttheentirecoverageprediction,rightclickthecoveragepredictionyou
wanttoexport.
To export the geographic export zone, define the geographic export zone as
explainedin"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63,andrightclickthecov
eragepredictionthatyouwanttoexport.
To export part of the coverage prediction, expand the coverage prediction and
rightclickthepartofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoexport.

SelectExporttheCoveragefromthecontextmenu,thenintheSaveAsdialogbox,select
adestinationfolder,enteraFilename,andselectarasterorvectorformatfromtheSave
astypelist,andskiptostep5.
2. IntheCoverageExportdialogbox,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtothecoveragepredictionsyouwantto
export.Bydefault,Atollselectsthecheckboxesofallcoveragepredictionswhosevisibilitycheckboxisselectedinthe
Networkexplorer.
3. UnderOptions,youcandefinethefollowingparameters:

Directory:EnterthefolderyouwanttostoretheexportedcoveragepredictionsinorclicktheBrowsebuttonto
navigatetoit.
Format:SelectthefileformatyouwantAtolltoexportthecoveragepredictionsin.
Ifatleastoneoftheselectedcoveragepredictionswasnotcalculatedby"Valueintervals",onlyvectorformats
areavailable:

Figure1.19:Exportingmultiplecoveragepredictions(vectorformatsonly)
Ifalltheselectedcoveragepredictionswerecalculatedby"Valueintervals"withtheappropriateFieldsetting
(e.g.,"BestSignalLevel(dBm)"),rasterformatsareaddedtothelistofavailableformats:

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Figure1.20:Exportingmultiplecoveragepredictions(vectorandrasterformats)

Timestamp:IfyouselecttheTimestampcheckbox,Atollwilladdthedateandtimetothefilenameofeach
exportedcoverageprediction.
Resolution:Youcandefinearesolution(inmetres)fortheexportedcoveragepredictions.

4. ClickExporttoexporttheselectedcoveragepredictions.
5. Dependingontheoutputformatthatyouselected,specifythevectororrasterexportoptions:

IfyouselectedtheAGDformat,thecoveragepredictionfilesareexporteddirectlytothespecifieddirectory.
IfyouselectedavectorformatotherthanAGD,theVectorExportdialogboxopens.

Figure1.21:VectorExportdialogbox
IntheVectorExportdialogbox,specifythefollowingexportsettings:

CoordinateSystem:ClickChangetoselectadifferentcoordinatesystemfortheexportedcoverage.
Resolution:Youcanchangethegridresolutionoftheexportedcoverage.Thedefaultresolutionistheresolu
tionofthecoveragepredictionresults(assetinthecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogbox).
Filtering:Youcanapplyafiltertothecoveragepredictionexporttofillemptyandorphanpixelswithavalue
averagedfromsurroundingpixels.DefinetheleveloffilteringbymovingtheFilteringslider,orenteringthe
percentageinthetextbox.
Smoothing:YoucansmooththevectorsexportedbyasetpercentagebymovingtheSmoothingslider,or
enteringthepercentageinthetextbox.
WhenexportingapredictioncoverageinMIFformat,thetiptextwillbeexportedwithit
andwillbevisibleastiptextwhenyoureimporttheMIFfileinanotherAtollproject.For
informationondefiningtiptext,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.

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IfyouselectedtheBILrasterformat,theBILRasterExportdialogboxopens.

Figure1.22:TheBILRasterExportdialogbox
IntheBILRasterExportdialogbox,specifythefollowingexportsettings:

Image:SelectthisoptiontoexportinimageformatwiththefilteringdefinedunderFilter.WhentheImage
checkboxiscleared,thegeneratedBILfilecontainsrealvalues.

EntireProjectarea:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingonlytheareacoveredbytheprediction.
Thecomputationzone:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingtheentirecomputationzone.
Geographicexportzone:Selectthisoptiontoexporttherectangledefinedbythegeographicexportzone.
Filter:Filteringfillsemptyandorphanpixelswithavalueaveragedfromsurroundingpixels.Definethelevel
offilteringbymovingthesliderortypingapercentageinthetextbox.TheFilteroptionisenabledwhenthe
Imageoptionisselected.

IfyouselectedtheTXTrasterformat,theTXTRasterExportdialogboxopens.

Figure1.23:TheTXTRasterExportdialogbox
IntheTXTRasterExportdialogbox,specifythefollowingexportsettings:

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Format:SpecifytheNumberofdecimaldigitsandtheSeparator.
EntireProjectarea:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingonlytheareacoveredbytheprediction.
Thecomputationzone:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingtheentirecomputationzone.
Geographicexportzone:Selectthisoptiontoexporttherectangledefinedbythegeographicexportzone.

IfyouselectedarasterformatotherthanBILorTXT,theRasterExportdialogboxopens.

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Figure1.24:TheRasterExportdialogboxforotherrasterformats.
IntheRasterExportdialogbox,specifythefollowingexportsettings:

EntireProjectarea:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingonlytheareacoveredbytheprediction.
Thecomputationzone:Selectthisoptiontoexportarectanglecontainingtheentirecomputationzone.
Geographicexportzone:Selectthisoptiontoexporttherectangledefinedbythegeographicexportzone.
Filter:Filteringfillsemptyandorphanpixelswithavalueaveragedfromsurroundingpixels.Definethelevel
offilteringbymovingthesliderortypingapercentageinthetextbox.

6. ClickExporttofinishexportingthecoveragepredictionresults.Thecoveragepredictionfilesareexporteddirectlyto
thespecifieddirectory.
Whenyouexportseveralcoveragepredictionsatthesametime,Atolldoesnotconsider
thegeographicexportzone.Thelatterisonlytakenintoaccountforrasterformats.

1.6 WorkingwithDataTables
Atollstoresobjectdata(sites,transmitters,cells,repeaters,antennas,etc.)intheformoftables,containingallparameters
andcharacteristicsoftheobjects.Thedatacontainedinpredictionreportsisalsostoredintheformoftables.
Youcanaddcolumnstothedatatableandyoucandeletecertaincolumns.Whenyoucreateanewcolumn,youcancreatea
defaultvalueforafieldthatyoucreate.Youcanalsocreatealistofchoices(fortextfields)fromwhichtheusercanchoose
whenfillinginthefield.
Youcanfilter,sort,andgroupthedatacontainedinthesetables,andviewastatisticalanalysisofthedata.Youcanalsoexport
thedataorimportdataintotheAtolldatatables.Theoptionsforworkingwithdatatablesareavailablefromthecontext
menuorfromtheTabletoolbardisplayedabovethetable.
Youcanbrowsethedataintablesbyeitherusingtheverticalorhorizontalscrollbars,themousewheel,orbymovingthrough
thetablecellbycellusingthecursorkeysorthetabkey.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75
"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTableFields"onpage76
"EditingtheContentsofaTable"onpage81
"OpeninganObjectsRecordPropertiesdialogboxfromaTable"onpage78
"DefiningtheTableFormat"onpage78
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82
"ViewingaStatisticalAnalysisofTableContents"onpage85
"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87
"ExportingTablestoXMLFiles"onpage88
"ImportingTablesfromXMLFiles"onpage89.

1.6.1 OpeningaDataTable
Toopenadatatable:
1. SelecttheNetworkorParametersexplorer.
2. Rightclickthedatafolderforwhichyouwanttodisplaythedatatable.
3. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.

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1.6.2 Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTableFields
Thedataforeachobjecttypeisstoredintheformofadatatable.EverydatatableinAtolliscreatedwithadefaultsetof
columns,eachcorrespondingtoafield.Inthissection,thefollowingfunctionsareexplained:

"AccessinganObjectTypesTableFields"onpage76
"AddingaFieldtoanObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77
"DeletingaFieldfromanObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77

1.6.2.1 AccessinganObjectTypesTableFields
Thefieldscontainedinanobjecttypestablearedefinedinadialogbox.
Toaccessanobjecttypestablefields:
1. IntheNetworkorParametersexplorer,openthedatatableasdescribedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetableinthemapwindow.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectTableFieldsfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappearswhereyoucanviewtheexistingfieldsandaddor
deletenewones.
Thedialogboxdisplaysthefollowinginformationforeachtypeofdata(seeFigure1.25):

Name:Thenameofthefieldinthedatabase.
Legend:Thenameofthefieldasitappearsintheuserinterface.
Legendsofsomefieldsmaybefollowedby:

"(NOTUSED)"indicatingthatthefieldisnotusedinthecurrentAtollrelease.The
correspondingcolumnishiddeninthedatatable.
"(OBSOLETE)"indicatingthatthefieldisobsoleteandwillberemovedinafuture
Atollrelease.Thecorrespondingcolumnisnotavailableinthedatatable.

Type:Thetypeofthefield.
Size:Themaximumsizeofthefield.
Default:Thedefaultvalueofthefield.
Group:Alistofgroups(separatedbyasemicolons";")towhichthefieldbelongs.WhenopeninganAtolldocu
mentfromadatabase,youcanselectgroupsofcustomfieldstobeloadedfromthedatabase,insteadofloading
allcustomfields.

Figure1.25:TheTabletab
You can setdefault values andchoicelists for standard Atolldatabasefields.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.

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1.6.2.2 AddingaFieldtoanObjectTypesDataTable
Youcanaddacustomfieldtoanyobjecttypesdatatable.
Toaddacustomfieldtoanobjecttypesdatatable:
1. Accesstheobjecttypestablefieldsasexplainedin"AccessinganObjectTypesTableFields"onpage76.
2. ClickAdd.TheFieldDefinitiondialogboxappears(seeFigure1.26).
3. TheFieldDefinitiondialogboxhasthefollowingtextboxes:

Name:EntertheNameforthefieldthatwillappearinthedatabase
Type:Selectatypeforthefield(text,shortinteger,longinteger,single,double,true/false,date/time,orcurrency)
Size:TheSizefieldisonlyavailableifyouhaveselected"text"astheType.Enterasizeincharacters.
Group:Ifnecessary,youcandefinethegroupstowhichthiscustomfieldwillbelongseparatingeachgroupname
withasemicolon.WhenyouopenanAtolldocumentfromadatabase,youcanthenselectgroupsofcustomfields
tobeloadedfromthedatabase,insteadofloadingallcustomfields.
Legend:EnterthenameforthefieldthatwillappearintheAtolluserinterface.
Readonly:SelecttheReadonlycheckboxifyoudonotwantthecustomfieldtobemodifiableintheuserinter
face.
Defaultvalue:Ifnecessary,enteradefaultvaluethatwillappeareachtimeyoucreateanewrecordofthisobject
type.
Choicelist:TheChoicelistfieldisonlyavailableifyouhaveselected"text"astheType.Youcancreateachoice
listbyenteringthelistitemsintheChoicelisttextboxandpressingENTERaftereachlistitem,keepingeachchoice
onaseparateline.
SelecttheRestrictedcheckboxifyouwantthecustomfieldtoonlyacceptvalueslistedintheChoicelisttextbox.
CleartheRestrictedcheckboxifyouwanttoallowuserstoentervaluesotherthanthoseinthechoicelist.

4. ClickOKtoreturntotheobjecttypetable.
Userorcustomfieldsareforinformationonlyandarenotconsideredincalculations.You
canfindthesefieldsontheOtherPropertiestabofanobjecttypesPropertiesdialogbox.

Figure1.26:TheFieldDefinitiondialogbox

1.6.2.3 DeletingaFieldfromanObjectTypesDataTable
Youcandeletecustomfieldsfromanobjecttypesdatatable.Customfieldsarethefieldsthattheuseraddstoanobject
typesdatatable,asexplainedin"AddingaFieldtoanObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.
Todeleteacustomfieldfromanobjecttypesdatatable:

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Alldatastoredinthefieldislostwhenyoudeletethefielditself.Makesurethatyouare
notdeletingimportantinformation.

1. Accesstheobjecttypestablefieldsasexplainedin"AccessinganObjectTypesTableFields"onpage76.
2. Selectthecustomfieldthatyouwanttodelete.
Somefieldscannotbedeleted.IfyouselectafieldandtheDeletebuttonremains
unavailable,theselectedfieldisnotacustomfieldandcannotbedeleted.

3. ClickDelete.Thefieldisdeletedfromtheobjecttypesdatatable.

1.6.3 OpeninganObjectsRecordPropertiesdialogboxfroma
Table
YoucanopentheRecordPropertiesdialogboxofanobject,forexample,asite,antenna,transmitter,orcell,fromitsdata
table.
ToopentheRecordPropertiesdialogboxofanobject:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclicktherecordforwhichyouwanttoseetheproperties.
3. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
YoucanalsoopentheRecordPropertiesdialogboxbydoubleclickingtherecord.Toavoid
editingtherecordwhenyoudoubleclick,doubleclicktheleftmarginoftherecordinstead
oftherecorditself.YoucanalsoselecttherecordandclicktheRecordPropertiesbutton
(

)intheTabletoolbar.

1.6.4 DefiningtheTableFormat
Atollletsyouformatthedatatablestoimprovepresentationofthedata.Youcanchangetheformatofthedatatableby:

"FormattingtheColumnHeaders"onpage78
"FormattingTableCells"onpage79
"ChangingColumnWidthorRowHeight"onpage79
"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"onpage80
"FreezingorUnfreezingaColumn"onpage80
"MovingColumns"onpage81

FormattingtheColumnHeaders
Todefinetheformatofthecolumnheaders:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFormat>HeaderFormatfromthecontextmenu.TheFormatdialogboxappears.
4. TheFormatdialogboxhasthefollowingtabs:

Font:YoucanselecttheFont,Outline(thefontstyle),fontSize,Effects,andTextcolour.
Colour:YoucanselectthecolourofthecolumnheadersbyselectingaForegroundcolour,aBackgroundcolour,
andapatternfromthelistbox.Youcanalsoselecta3DEffectfortheheader.
Borders:YoucanselecttheBorder,theType,andtheColourforeachcolumnheader.
Alignment:YoucanselectboththeHorizontalandVerticalalignmentofthecolumnheadertext.TheAlignment
tabhasadditionaloptionsaswell,allowingyoutoenableWraptext,Autosize,andAllowenter.

5. ClickOK.

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FormattingTableCells
Todefinetheformatofthetablecells:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFormat>CellFormatfromthecontextmenu.TheFormatdialogboxappears.
4. TheFormatdialogboxhasthefollowingtabs:

Font:YoucanselecttheFont,Outline(thefontstyle),fontSize,Effects,andTextColour.
Colour:Youcanselectthebackgroundcolour(Interior)ofthecolumnheaders,byselectingaForegroundcolour,
aBackgroundcolour,andapatternfromthelistbox.Youcanalsoselecta3DEffectfortheheader.
Borders:YoucanselecttheBorder,theType,andtheColourforeachcolumnheader.
Alignment:YoucanselectboththeHorizontalandVerticalalignmentofthecolumnheadertext.TheAlignment
tabhasadditionaloptionsaswell,allowingyoutoenableWraptext,Autosize,andAllowenter.

5. ClickOK.
ChangingColumnWidthorRowHeight
Youcanchangethecolumnwidthandrowheightinadatatable.Whenyouchangethecolumnwidth,youchangethewidth
onlyfortheselectedcolumn.Whenyouchangetherowheight,however,youchangetherowheightforeveryrowinthe
table.
Tochangethecolumnwidth:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Clicktheborderseparatingtwocolumnheadersanddragtochangethecolumnwidth(seeFigure1.27).
Tochangetherowheight:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Clicktheborderseparatingtworowsanddragtochangetherowheight(seeFigure1.28).
Thewidthorheightofthecolumnsorrowschangeonceyoureleasethemouse.

Figure1.27:Changingcolumnwidth

Figure1.28:Changingrowheight

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DisplayingorHidingaColumn
Youcanchoosewhichcolumnsindatatablestodisplayorhide.
Todisplayorhideacolumn:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectDisplayColumnsfromthecontextmenuorclicktheDisplayColumnsbutton(
ColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears(seeFigure1.29).

)intheTabletoolbar.The

4. Todisplayacolumn,selectitscheckbox.
5. Tohideacolumn,clearitscheckbox.
YoucanalsohideacolumnbyrightclickingonitsheaderandselectingHideColumns
fromthecontextmenuorbyclickingtheHideColumnsbutton(
)intheTable
toolbar.YoucanhidemorethanonecolumnbypressingCTRLwhileselectingthe
columnsandthenclickingtheHideColumnsbutton(

).

6. ClickClose.

Figure1.29:TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox
FreezingorUnfreezingaColumn
InAtoll,youcanfreezeoneormorecolumnsofadatatablesothattheyalwaysremainvisibleasyouscrollhorizontally
throughthetable.Forexample,whilescrollingthroughtheSitestable,youmightwanttohavetheNamecolumnalwaysvisi
ble.Youcankeepthiscolumn,oranyothercolumnvisible,byfreezingit.
Tofreezeacolumn:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Selecttheheaderofthecolumnyouwanttofreeze.Clickanddragoverseveralheaderstoselectmorethanone
columntofreeze.
Youcanonlyfreezeadjacentcolumns.

3. RightclicktheselectedheaderorheadersandselectFreezeColumnsfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFreezeCol
umnsbutton(
)intheTabletoolbar.Frozencolumnsaregroupedtotheleftofthetableandseparatedfromother
columnswithaverticalredline.
Youcannotfreezeacolumninareporttable.

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Tounfreezecolumns:

RightclickthetableandselectUnfreezeAllColumnsfromthecontextmenuorclicktheUnfreezeAllColumnsbutton
(

)intheTabletoolbar.

MovingColumns
InAtoll,youcanchangethecolumnordersothatyoucangroupsimilarcolumnsorpresentdatainadeterminedorder.
Tomoveacolumn:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Selecttheheaderofthecolumnyouwanttomove.Clickanddragoverseveralheaderstoselectmorethanone
columntomove.
Youcanonlymoveseveralcolumnsatthesametimewhentheyareadjacent.

3. Clickagainontheselectedcolumnanddragtothedesiredarea.Asyoudragthecolumn,thepositionthecolumnwill
occupyisindicatedbyaredline(seeFigure1.30).

Figure1.30:Movingcolumns
4. Releasethemousebuttontoplacethecolumn.

ItmightbenecessarytoclickRefresh

intheMaptoolbarforyourchangestoappear.

1.6.5 EditingtheContentsofaTable
YoucaneditthecontentofatableinAtollinseveraldifferentways:

"EditingTableEntriesDirectlyintheTable"onpage81
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82
"SearchingforandReplacingTextEntriesinTables"onpage84.

1.6.5.1 EditingTableEntriesDirectlyintheTable
Toedittableentriesdirectlyinthetable:
1. ClicktheNetworkorParametersexplorer.
2. Rightclickthedatafolderofwhichyouwanttodisplaythedatatable.
3. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
4. Editthecontentofthetablebyenteringthevaluedirectlyinthefield(seeFigure1.31).
5. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedupdatingthetable.Yourchangesareautomaticallysaved.
Ifalistofoptionshasbeendefinedforafield,youcanselectavaluefromthelist(see
Figure1.32)orenteranewvalue.

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Figure1.31:Editingdatainthetransmittersdatatables

Figure1.32:Choosingdatainthetransmittersdatatables

1.6.5.2 CopyingandPastinginTables
InAtoll,youcancopyandpastedataintablesusingtheCopy(CTRL+C),Cut(CTRL+X),andPaste(CTRL+V)commandsonthe
Editmenu.Youcancopyandpastedatatocreatenewrecordsoryoucancopyandpastethesamedataintoseveralcells.
Inthissection,thefollowingisexplained:

1.6.5.2.1

"CopyingandPastingaTableRecord"onpage82
"PastingtheSameDataintoSeveralCells"onpage83.

CopyingandPastingaTableRecord
Youcancreateanewrecordintablesbycopyinganexistingrecord,pastingitintoanewrowandeditingthedetailsthatare
different.
EachrecordinatablemusthaveauniqueName.

Tocreateanewrecordbycopyingandpasting:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtherecordtoselecttheentirerow.
3. SelectEdit>Copytocopythetablerow.
4. ClickintheleftmarginofthetablerowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

)toselecttheentirerow.

5. SelectEdit>Pastetopastethecopieddataintothenewrow.Atoll,createsanewrecordfromthecopieddata.The
nameofthenewrecordisthesameasthatofthecopiedrecord,precededby"Copyof."Youcaneditthisname.

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1.6.5.2.2

PastingtheSameDataintoSeveralCells
Youcanpastethesamedataintoseveralcells,usingFillUporFillDown.
Topastethesamedataintoseveralcells:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Clickonthecellwiththedatayouwanttocopyanddragtoselectthecellsintowhichyouwanttocopythedata(see
Figure1.33).

Figure1.33:Selectingthecells
3. Copyintotheselectedcells:

Tocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells,rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>
FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(

)intheTabletoolbar(seeFigure1.34).

Figure1.34:Copyingthecontentsofthetopcell

Tocopythecontentsofthebottomcelloftheselectionintotheothercells,rightclicktheselectionandselect
Edit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUpbutton(

)intheTabletoolbar(seeFigure1.35).

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Figure1.35:Copyingthecontentsofthebottomcell

1.6.5.3 SearchingforandReplacingTextEntriesinTables
InAtoll,youcansearchforandreplacetextstringsinthetableentries:

1.6.5.3.1

"SearchingforTextEntriesinTables"onpage84
"ReplacingTextEntriesinTables"onpage84

SearchingforTextEntriesinTables
InAtoll,youcansearchfortextstringsinthetableentries.
Tosearchfortextstringsinatable:
1. PressCTRL+SHIFT+F.TheFinddialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoclicktheFindbutton(

)inthetabletoolbar.

2. IntheFindbutton,definewhatyouwanttofind:
a. EnterthetextyouwanttofindintheFindwhatbox.
b. SelectwhetheryouwanttosearchUporDownfromyourcurrentpositioninthetable.
c. Ifdesired,selecttheMatchcasecheckbox.
3. ClickFindNext.

1.6.5.3.2

ReplacingTextEntriesinTables
InAtoll,youcansearchforandreplacetextstringsinthetableentries.
Tosearchforandreplacetextstringsinatable:
1. PressCTRL+SHIFT+R.TheReplacedialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoclicktheReplacebutton(

)inthetabletoolbar.

2. IntheReplacebutton,definethetextyouwanttofindandreplace:
a. EnterthetextyouwanttofindintheFindwhatbox.
b. EnterthetextyouwanttoreplacethetextintheFindwhatboxintheReplacewithbox.
c. Ifdesired,selecttheMatchcasecheckbox.
3. ClickFindNext.AtollproceedstothenextentryofthetextenteredintheFindwhatbox.
Youcanreplacethetextfound:

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Replace:AtollreplacestheselectedtextwiththeentryintheReplacewithbox.

ReplaceAll:AtollreplacesalloccurrencesofthetextintheFindwhatboxwiththeentryintheReplacewithbox.

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1.6.6 ViewingaStatisticalAnalysisofTableContents
Youcanviewastatisticalanalysisofthecontentsofanentirecolumninatableorofthecontentsofaselectionofcells.
Toviewastatisticalanalysisoftablecontents:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Selectthecolumndatayouwanttoanalyse:
Toviewastatisticalanalysisofanentirecolumn:

Clickthecolumntitle.Theentirecolumnisselected.

Toviewastatisticalanalysisofaselectionofcellsinonecolumn:

Selectthecellsyouwanttoanalyse.Youcanselectcontiguouscellsbyclickingthefirstcellanddraggingtothe
lastcelloftheselectionyouwanttoanalyse,orbyclickingthefirstcell,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastcell.
YoucanselectnoncontiguouscellsbypressingCTRLandclickingeachcellinthecolumnseparately.
InAtollyoucanorganisedatainseveraldifferentways,allowingyoutoselectonly
certaindata.Formoreinformation,see"Grouping,Sorting,andFilteringData"on
page95.

3. Rightclicktheselectionofcells.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.36).

Figure1.36:TheStatisticsdialogbox
Thestatisticsdisplayeddependonthetypeofnumericaldataselected.IfyouleavetheStatisticsdialogboxopen,you
canviewthestatisticalanalysisofothercellsbyselectingtheminthetable.ThecontentsoftheStatisticsdialogbox
areupdatedautomatically.

1.6.7 ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets
YoucanexportentireAtolldatatables,orselectedcolumns,toASCIItextfiles(intextandcommaseparatedvalueformats),
MSExcelfiles(XLS),andXMLSpreadsheet2003files(XML).YoucanopenXMLSpreadsheet2003filesinMSExcel2003and
later.UnlikeXLSfiles,XMLSpreadsheetfilesarenotlimitedto65,536rowsand256columns.
Toexportatable:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheExportdialogboxappears.Youcanseehowtheexportedtablewillappear
inthePreviewpane(seeFigure1.37).

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Figure1.37:Exportingadatatable
4. SelecttheHeadercheckboxifyouwanttoexportthenamesofthecolumnswiththedata.
5. SelectaDecimalSymbolfromthelist.
6. SelectaFieldSeparatorfromthelist.
7. Selectthefields(displayedascolumnsinthetable)youwanttoexport.Youcandisplayallthefieldsbelongingtoa
tablebyclickingtheExpandbutton( )totheleftofthetablename.Youcanselectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthe
firstfield,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclicking
eachfieldseparately.
a. Toselectafieldtobeexported,selectthefieldintheAvailableFieldsboxandclick
portedFieldslist.AllfieldsintheExportedFieldslistwillbeexported.

tomoveittotheEx

b. ToremoveafieldfromthelistofExportedFields,selectthefieldintheExportedFieldslistandclick
moveit.

tore

c. Tochangetheorderofthefields,selectafieldandclick or tomoveitupordowninthelist.Thefieldsatthe
topoftheExportedFieldsappearattheleftoftheexportedtable.
YoucansavethechoicesyouhavemadeintheExportdialogboxasaconfigurationfileby
clickingtheSavebuttonatthetopofthedialogboxandenteringanameforthefileinthe
SaveAsdialogboxthatappears.Thenexttimeyouexportadatatable,youcanclickLoad
intheExportdialogboxtoopenyourconfigurationfilewiththesamesettingsyouused
thistime.
8. ClickExport.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
9. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist.
10. ClickSavetoexportthetable.
YoucanexporttheSitesandTransmitterstablestotextfilesbyselectingthefolderorviewintheNetworkexplorerandpress
ingCTRL+E.
Forinformationonimportingdataintoadatatable,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

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1.6.8 ImportingTablesfromTextFiles
YoucanimportdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intoAtolldatatables.
Toimportatable:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Rightclickthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheASCIItextfileyouwanttoopenandclickOpen.TheImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.38).

Figure1.38:Importinginformationintoadatatable
5. IfthefilewascreatedusingadifferentCoordinatesystem,clicktheBrowsebuttontoselectthecoordinatesystem
thefilewascreatedwith.Atollconvertsthecoordinatesintheimportedfiletomatchthecoordinatesystemusedin
theAtolldocument.
6. Enterthenumberofthefirstlineofdatainthe1stDataLinebox.
7. SelectaDecimalSymbolfromthelist.
8. SelectaFieldSeparatorfromthelist.
9. UnderFieldMapping,therearetwoheaderrows:

Source:Thecolumnheadersfromthetextfileyouareimporting.
Destination:ThecolumnheadersfromtheAtolldatatable.

AlignthecontentofthesourcefilewiththecontentofthedestinationfilebyclickingthecolumnheaderintheDesti
nation rowand selecting thecorrespondingcolumnfromtheAtoll datafile (seeFigure1.38). Select<Ignore>for
sourcefilecolumnsthatyoudonotwanttoimport.
Youcanchangethewidthofthecolumnstomakethecontentseasiertoworkwith.See
"ChangingColumnWidthorRowHeight"onpage79.

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YoucansavethechoicesyouhavemadeintheImportdialogboxasaconfigurationfileby
clickingtheSavebuttonatthetopofthedialogboxandenteringanameforthefileinthe
SaveAsdialogboxthatappears.Thenexttimeyouexportadatatable,youcanclickLoad
intheImportdialogboxtoopenyourconfigurationfilewiththesamesettingsyouused
thistime.
10. SelecttheModethatwillbeusedforimport:

Add:usethismodetoaddrecordsfromtheimportedfilewhicharemissinginthecurrenttable.Thisisthesafest
modeasrecordswhicharebothintheimportedfileandthecurrenttablewillnotbemodifiedinthecurrenttable.
Updateandadd:thismode(default)isidenticaltotheAddmodewiththeadditionthatthevaluesofrecordsin
thecurrenttablewillbeupdatedwiththecorrespondingvaluesfromtheimportedfile.

Anadditionalimportmodeisavailablewhenyouimportneighbour,secondaryantenna,andGSMTRXrecords:

Resetandadd:thismodeisidenticaltoUpdateandaddwiththeadditionthatexistingrecordswillbedeletedif
andwhentheimportedfileisfoundtocontaindataforthesametransmitterorcellinthecurrenttable.

11. Neighboursonly:Atthispoint,youcancomparetheneighbourdatayouwanttoimportwithexistingneighbourdata.
ClickCompare.Theneighbourlisttobeimportediscomparedwiththeexistingneighbourlistandacomparisonreport
isdisplayedintextfile,"NeighboursDeltaReport.txt",whichsumsupthechangesthatwouldoccurafterimport.
"NeighboursDeltaReport.txt"liststhefollowing:

Thedocumentnameandtherelationstype.
ThenumberofNeighbourLink(s)Creation(s)thatwilltakeplaceafterimport,i.e.importedneighbourrelations
whicharenotintheexistingneighbourlist,andalistoftheserelations.
ThenumberofNeighbourLink(s)Deletion(s)thatwilltakeplaceafterimport,i.e.existingneighbourrelations
whicharenotintheimportedneighbourlist,andalistoftheserelations.
AlistofNeighbourLink(s)Deletion(s)canonlybebuiltinResetandaddimportmode.

ThenumberofExistingNeighbourLink(s),i.e.existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheimported
neighbourlist,andalistoftheserelations.
AlistofExistingNeighbourLink(s)canonlybebuiltinUpdateandaddorResetandadd
importmodes.

12. ClickImport.ThecontentsareimportedinthecurrenttableaccordingtotheselectedimportMode.
YoucanimportdatafromtextfilesintotheSitesandTransmitterstablesbyselectingthe
correspondingfolderorviewintheNetworkexplorerandpressingCTRL+I.

Forinformationonexportingtheinformationinadatatableintoatextfile,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpread
sheets"onpage85.

1.6.9 ExportingTablestoXMLFiles
YoucanexportthedatatablesinyourAtolldocumenttoXMLfiles.YoucanuseXMLtoexchangeinformationbetweenAtoll
andtheOperationandMaintenanceCenter(OMC).
AtollcreatesoneXMLfileforeachexporteddatatable,andanindex.xmlfilethatcontainsthemappingbetweenthetables
thatwereexportedandtheXMLfilescorrespondingtoeachdatatable.Theindex.xmlfilealsostorestheinformationonthe
system(GSM,UMTS,etc.),thetechnology(TDMA,CDMA,TDSCDMA,etc.),andtheversionofAtollwithwhichtheXMLfiles
werecreated.FormoreinformationabouttheformatsoftheXMLfiles,seetheAdministratorManual.
ToexportallthedatatablesinyourdocumenttoXMLfiles:
1. SelectDocument>DataExchange>XMLExport.TheBrowseforFolderdialogboxappears.
2. SelectthefolderwheretheXMLfilesaretobestored.ClicktheMakeNewFolderbuttonifyouwanttocreateanew
foldertostoretheXMLfiles.
3. ClickOK.AllthedatatablesinthedocumentareexportedtoXMLfiles.

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ForinformationonimportingthedatatablesfromXMLfilesintoyourdocument,see"ImportingTablesfromXMLFiles"on
page89.

1.6.10 ImportingTablesfromXMLFiles
YoucanimportdatatablesintoyourAtolldocumentfromXMLfiles.YoucanuseXMLtoexchangeinformationbetweenAtoll
andtheOperationandMaintenanceCenter(OMC).
InorderforAtolltobeabletocorrectlyimportthedatatablesfromXMLfiles,theXMLfilesandthecurrentAtolldocument
mustusethesamesystem(GSM,UMTS,etc.),thetechnology(TDMA,CDMA,TDSCDMA,etc.),andtheAtollversionusedto
createtheXMLfilesmustbethesameastheversionusedtoimportthedata.Formoreinformationabouttheformatsofthe
XMLfiles,seetheAdministratorManual.
ToimportdatatablesintoyourdocumentfromXMLfiles:
1. SelectDocument>DataExchange>XMLImport.TheBrowseforFolderdialogboxappears.
2. Selectthefolderwheretheindex.xmlfileislocated.
3. ClickOK.ThedatatablesfromtheXMLfileslistedintheindex.xmlfileareimportedinthedocument.
Tablesareimportedinthesameordertheyappearintheindex.xmlfile.Donotmodifythe
orderoftablesintheindex.xmlfilebecausetheorderinwhichthedataisimportedisvery
important;somedatamustbeimportedbeforeotherdata.Forexample,antennasusedby
transmittersmustbeimportedbeforethetransmittersthemselves.
Whenthedatatablesareimported:

DatathatexistbothinthetablesandintheXMLfilesareoverwrittenbythedatafromtheXMLfiles.
DatathatexistonlyinthetablesandnotintheXMLfilesarenotdeletedfromthetables.
DatathatonlyexistintheXMLfilesandnotinthetablesareimportedfromtheXMLfilesasnewrecordsinthetables.

Oncetheimportiscomplete,Atollperformsadatabaseintegritycheckandaduplicaterecordschecktoensurethatthe
importdidnotcreatedatabaseproblems.
ForinformationonexportingthedatatablesinyourdocumenttoXMLfiles,see"ExportingTablestoXMLFiles"onpage88.

1.7 PrintinginAtoll
InAtoll,youcanprintanypartofyourdocument,includingmaps,datatables,documentreports,andantennapatterns.When
printingamap,Atollenablesyoutodefinetheareatobeprinted.Additionally,youcandefinethelayout,forexample,you
canaddalogoorgraphicitem,oralegend.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"PrintingDataTablesandReports"onpage89
"PrintingaMap"onpage90
"PrintingaDockingWindow"onpage94
"PrintingAntennaPatterns"onpage94.

1.7.1 PrintingDataTablesandReports
DatatablesandreportsarebothpresentedintabularformatinAtollandcan,therefore,beprintedinthesameway.
Ifyouwanttoseehowthetablewillappearonceprinted,see"PreviewingYourPrinting"onpage94.
Toprintatable:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Ifyouwanttoprintanareaofthetable,selectitbyclickinginonecorneroftheareaanddraggingdiagonallytothe
oppositecorner.
3. SelectFile>Print.
4. Ifyouwanttoprintonlyaselectedarea,chooseSelectedinthePrintdialogbox.
5. ClickOKtoprint.

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1.7.2 PrintingaMap
Atollcanprintmapsandgeneratehardcopiesofcoveragepredictions.Atollallowsyoutocustomiseandoptimiseprinted
mapsandsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.
Beforeprintingamap,youcanusethefollowingoptions:

Youcandefineanareaofthemaptobeprintedinoneofthefollowingways:

Byselectingtheprintarea(see"DefiningthePrintingZone"onpage90).
Bycreatingafocuszone(see"TheFocusZoneandHotSpots"onpage60)andthenoptingtoprintonlythecon
tentsofthefocuszone(see"DefiningthePrintLayout"onpage92).

Youcanacceptthedefaultlayoutoryoucanmodifytheprintlayout(see"DefiningthePrintLayout"onpage92).
Youcanpreviewhowthemapwillappearonceprinted(see"PreviewingYourPrinting"onpage94).
Printinggraphicsisamemoryintensiveoperationandcanputaheavyloadonyour
printer.Beforeprintingforthefirsttime,reviewthe"PrintingRecommendations"on
page90toavoidmemoryrelatedproblems.

Toprintamap:
1. Selectthedocumentwindowcontainingthemap.
2. Younowhavethefollowingoptionsbeforeprintingthemap:

Youcandefineanareaofthemaptoprintwithaprintingzone(see"DefiningthePrintingZone"onpage90)or
withafocuszone(see"TheFocusZoneandHotSpots"onpage60).
Youcanmodifytheprintlayout("DefiningthePrintLayout"onpage92).
Youcanpreviewhowthemapwillappearonceprinted(see"PreviewingYourPrinting"onpage94).

3. SelectFile>Print.
4. ClickOK.

1.7.2.1 PrintingRecommendations
Theappearanceofthemapisdeterminedbythearrangementandpropertiesoftheobjectsthemapcontains.ObjectsinAtoll
arearrangedinlayers.Thelayersonthetop(asarrangedontheNetworkandGeotabs)arethemostvisibleonthescreen
andinprint.Thevisibilityofthelowerlayersdependsonwhichlayersareaboveitandonthetransparencyoftheselayers
(forinformationontransparency,see"DefiningtheTransparencyofObjectsandObjectTypes"onpage49).
Beforeprintingamap,whenadocumentcontainssurfacelayers(rastermapsorpolygonalvectormaps),lines(vectorssuch
asroads,orairport),andpoints(measurements,etc.),organisethelayersfromtoptobottominthefollowingorder:

Points(vectors)
RoadsandLines(vectors)
Surfacepolygons(vectors)
Multiformatmapspopulation,trafficmaps(vectororraster),andothers
Clutterclassmaps(transparentrastermaps)
Images,DTM,orclutterheightmaps(nontransparentmaps).

Sitesandtransmittersmustbeabovealltheotherlayers.VisibleobjectsintheNetworkexplorer,forexample,sites,trans
mitters,andpredictions,aredisplayedaboveobjectsintheGeoexplorer.Toimproveperformance,youcanplacevector
layers,suchasroads,overpredictions.Thisensuresthatthosevectorlayersarevisiblewhenyouprintthemap.
ToplacevectorlayersoverpredictionsintheGeoexplorer:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclickthevectorlayeryouwanttomovetotheNetworkexplorer.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectMovetoNetworkfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
5. DragthevectorlayertoapositionabovePredictionsbutbelowSites,Antennas,andTransmitters.

1.7.2.2 DefiningthePrintingZone
Youcandefinetheareaofthemaptobeprintedbycreatingaprintingzone.
Tocreateaprintingzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

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3. RightclickthePrintingZonefolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinetheprintingzone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinetheprintingzone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,
theprintingzonewillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Theprintingzoneisdelimitedbyalightgreenline(seeFigure1.39).Ifyoucleartheprintingzonesvisibilitycheckbox
intheZonesfolderintheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.

Figure1.39:Printingzone
Youcanalsocreateaprintingzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawtheprintingzone.
Existingpolygon:YoucanuseanyexistingpolygonasaprintingzonebyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeo
explorerandselectingUseAs>PrintingZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingprintingzone
withanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheGeoexplorerandselectingAddTo>PrintingZone
fromthecontextmenu.The"effective"resultingprintingzonewillbetherectangleencompassingtheseveralpoly
gonscomposingtheprintingzone.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,youcanimportitanduseitasaprintingzone.You
canimportitbyrightclickingthePrintingZonefolderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontext
menu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateaprintingzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingthePrinting
ZonefolderandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedaprintingzone,youcanchangeitssizebydraggingtheedgesofthezonedisplayedontherulersof
themapwindow.YoucanalsouseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoedittheprintingzone.Formoreinformationonthepolygon
editingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.

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Youcansavetheprintingzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,inthe
followingways:

Savingtheprintingzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsavingthe
printing zone in a user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingtheprintingzone:Youcanexportthegeographicexportzonebyright
clickingthePrintingZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthecon
textmenu.

1.7.2.3 DefiningthePrintLayout
YoucanusethePrintSetupdialogboxtodefinehowyourmapwillappearwhenyouprintit.InthePrintSetupdialogbox,
youcanperformthefollowingactions:

Setthescaleofthemap.
Choosetoprinttherulerswiththemap.
Choosetoprinttheareaoutsidethefocuszone.
Choosetoprintthelegend.
Addatitle,comment,logo,header,orfooter.
Selectpapersizeandsource,aswellasthepageorientationandthemargins.

Thesesettingscanbesavedasaconfiguration,allowingyoutodefineastandardappearancewhichyoucanthenloadand
usethenexttimeyouprintasimilardocument.
Todefinetheappearanceofthemapwhenitisprinted:
1. SelectFile>PrintSetup.ThePrintSetupdialogboxappears.

Figure1.40:PrintSetupdialogbox
YoudefinetheprintsetuponthePagetab,theComponentstab,andtheHeader/Footertab.Youcanseeanychanges
youmakeintheschematicpreviewontherightsideofthePrintSetupdialogbox.
Ifyouhavepreviouslydefinedaconfigurationfilecontainingallthenecessarysettings,you
canclicktheLoadbuttonunderConfigurationfiletoimportthosesettings.

2. ClickthePagetabtodefinethepagesize,margins,andorientationandthescaleoftheprintedmap:
a. UnderOrientation,selectwhetherthepageshouldbeprintedinPortraitorLandscape.
b. UnderPaper,selecttheSizeofthepaperand,optionally,theSourceofthepaper.

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c. UnderScaling,definethescaleoftheprintedimageeitherbyselectingFittopage,orbyselectingScaleandde
finingthescale.
d. UnderMargins,setthemarginsofthepageinmillimetres.
3. ClicktheComponentstab.
a. UnderMap,youcandefinetheappearanceoftheprintedmap:

SelecttheRulerscheckboxifyouwanttoprintthemapwithascalearoundit.
SelecttheAreainsidefocuszoneonlycheckboxifyouonlywanttoprintthepartofthemapinsidethefocus
zone.

b. UnderLegend,youcandefinetheplacementofthelegend.

SelecttheLegendcheckboxifyouwanttoprintalegendwiththemap.

Click a button to set the Position of the legend. The buttons

insidethesquarewillplacethelegendontopofthemap.The
buttonsoutsideofthesquarewillplacethelegendoutsideofthe
map.

ClicktheFontbuttontoopentheFontdialogboxtodefinethefontofthelegend.

c. SelecttheCommentscheckboxifyouwanttoprintacommentwiththemapandsetitsPosition.Clickingthe
Propertiesbuttonopensadialogboxwhereyoucanentertextandsetvariablessuchasthecurrenttimeanddate.
Ifyouwantthecommenttoappearonthemap(andnotoutsideofit),selecttheOnthemapcheckbox.
4. ClicktheHeader/Footertabtosetthepositionofgraphicitems.
a. SelecttheMaptitlecheckboxtodefineatitleforthemapandsetitsPosition.ClickingthePropertiesbutton
opensadialogboxwhereyoucanentertextandsetvariablessuchasthecurrenttimeanddate.Ifyouwantthe
titletoappearonthemap(andnotoutsideofit),selecttheOnthemapcheckbox.
b. UnderLogo1andLogo2,youcandefinegraphicsthatappearforthemap.Thegraphicscanbeacompanylogo
orotherinformation,suchascopyrightinformation,intheformofaBMPgraphic.
i.

Fortheselectedlogocheckbox,clickthePropertiesbutton.TheLogodialogboxappears.
Bydefault,Atollsearchesforafilenamedlogo.bmpintheAtollinstallationfoldertouseasthedefaultheader
logo.However,youcanselectadifferentfile.

ii. IntheLogodialogbox,clickFile.TheOpendialogboxappears.
iii. SelecttheyourgraphicinBMPformatandclickOpen.
OnlyBMPgraphicscanbeusedaslogos.Ifyourlogoisinadifferentformat,youmustfirst
convertitusingagraphicsprogrammetotheBMPformat.

iv. SelectthecorrectWidthandHeight(inpixels).
v. ClickOK.
c. SelecttheHeader/FooterNotecheckboxifyouwanttodefineaheaderorfooterforthemapandsetitsPosition.
ClickingthePropertiesbuttonopensadialogboxwhereyoucanentertextandsetvariablessuchasthecurrent
timeanddate.Ifyouwanttheheaderorfootertoappearonthemap(andnotoutsideofit),selecttheOnthe
mapcheckbox.
5. YoucanpreviewhowyourmapwillappearwhenitisprintedbyclickingthePreviewbutton.Formoreinformation,
see"PreviewingYourPrinting"onpage94.
6. Onceyouhaveconfiguredyoursettings,clickOKtoclosethePrintSetupdialogbox,orclickPrinttoprintthedocu
ment.
YoucansavethecurrentsettingsasaconfigurationfilebyclickingtheSavebuttonunder
Configurationfile.Thisenablesyoutoreusethesamesettingsthenexttimebyloading
them.

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1.7.3 PreviewingYourPrinting
Whenyouwanttoprintmaps,datatables,orreports,youcanpreviewyourprinting.
Topreviewyourprinting:
1. Selectthemaportableyouwanttoprint.
2. SelectFile>PrintPreview.ThePrintPreviewwindowappears.YoucanalsoaccessthePrintPreviewwindowdirectly
fromthePrintSetupdialogboxbyclickingthePreviewbutton.
InthePrintPreviewtoolbar,youcan:

ClickthePrintbutton(

)toopenthePrintdialogbox.

ClicktheNextPageandPreviousPagebuttons( and )topreviewdifferentpagestoprint.Ifyourprintingzone

containsmorethanonepolygon,eachprintingzoneappearsonaseparatepage.

ClicktheToggleOne/TwoPagesDisplaybutton(

ClicktheZoomInbutton(

ClicktheZoomOutbutton(
)tozoomoutontheprintpreview.
ClickClosetoclosetheprintpreview.

)toswitchdisplayfromonetotwopagessidebyside.

)tozoominontheprintpreview.

1.7.4 PrintingaDockingWindow
Youcanprintthecontentofmanydockingwindowsusingthecontextmenu;selectingFile>Printonlyprintsthecontentsof
adocumentwindow,asexplainedin"PrintingaMap"onpage90.Thedockingwindowswhosecontentsyoucanprintare:

LegendWindow(formoreinformationonthistool,see"AddinganObjectTypetotheLegend"onpage51)
PointAnalysisTool
CWMeasurementAnalysisTool(formoreinformationonthistool,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibration
Guide.
DriveTestDataAnalysisTool

Toprintthecontentofadockingwindow:
1. Openthedockingwindowyouwanttoprint.

IfyouwanttoprintaPointAnalysiswindow,clickthetabyouwanttoprint.

2. Rightclickthewindowyouwanttoprint.
3. SelectPrintfromthecontextmenu.ThePrintdialogboxappears.
4. ClickOKtoprint.

1.7.5 PrintingAntennaPatterns
Youcanprintthehorizontalorverticalpatternofanantenna.
Toprintanantennapattern:
1. ClicktheParametersexplorer.
2. OpentheAntennastable:
ToopentheRFAntennastable:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftoftheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

b. RightclicktheAntennasfolder.
c. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
3. Rightclicktheantennawhosepatternyouwanttoprint.
4. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheHorizontalPatterntabortheVerticalPatterntab.
6. RightclicktheantennapatternandselectLinearorLogarithmicfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktheantennapatternandselectPrintfromthecontextmenu.

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1.8 Grouping,Sorting,andFilteringData
InAtollyoucanorganisedatainseveraldifferentways,allowingyoutoselectonlycertaindataandthen,forexample,modify
onlyselecteddataorruncalculationsontheselecteddata.Atollallowsyoutoquicklygroup,sort,orfilterdatabyoneor
multiplecriterion,orbyseveral.
Afteryouhavedefinedhowyouwillgroup,sort,orfilterdata,youcansavethisinformationasafolderconfiguration.
Inthissectionthefollowingwillbeexplained:

"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95
"SortingData"onpage98
"FilteringData"onpage99
"FolderConfigurations"onpage108
"CreatingandComparingViews"onpage110

1.8.1 GroupingDataObjects
YoucangroupobjectsaccordingtoaselectedpropertyintheNetworkexplorer.Theobjectstobegroupedcanbeinadata
folderorinaview(see"CreatingandComparingViews"onpage110).Youcanalsodefinethepropertiesbywhichyoucan
groupobjects.GroupingobjectsintheNetworkexplorerissimilartosortingdatainthedatatablebecauseitputsallrecords
withtheselectedpropertytogether.
Onceyouhavegroupeddataobjects,youcanaccesstheirPropertiesdialogboxfromthecontextmenutoeditpropertieson
allgroupedobjects.Youcansavethegroupingparametersasafolderconfiguration.Forinformation,see"FolderConfigura
tions"onpage108.
Thissectionexplains:

"GroupingDataObjectsbyaSelectedProperty"onpage95
"ConfiguringtheGroupBySubmenu"onpage95
"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

Forexamplesofgroupingdataobjects,see"ExamplesofGrouping"onpage97.

1.8.1.1 GroupingDataObjectsbyaSelectedProperty
YoucangroupdataobjectsbyaselectedpropertyusingtheGroupBycommandonthecontextmenu.
Togroupdataobjectsbyaselectedproperty:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderorviewwhoseobjectsyouwanttogroup.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. FromtheGroupBysubmenu,selectthepropertybywhichyouwanttogrouptheobjects.Theobjectsinthefolder
aregroupedbythatproperty.
If the range of properties available in the Group By submenu has been configured as
explainedin"ConfiguringtheGroupBySubmenu"onpage95,youcanselectadditional
propertiesbyselectingMoreFieldsfromtheGroupBysubmenu.Forinformationonusing
thedialogboxthatappears,see"ConfiguringtheGroupBySubmenu"onpage95.
Toundothegrouping:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderorviewwhoseobjectsyouhavegrouped.
3. Fromthecontextmenu,selectfromtheGroupBy>None.
See"ExamplesofGrouping"onpage97.

1.8.1.2 ConfiguringtheGroupBySubmenu
Some data objects, such as transmitters, have a large number of properties that will appear by default in the Group By
submenu.YoucanmakeiteasiertogroupdataobjectsbyconfiguringtheGroupBysubmenutodisplayonlytheproperties
thatarerelevantforgrouping.
ToconfiguretheGroupBysubmenu:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthefolderwhoseGroupBysubmenuyouwanttoconfigure.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. ClicktheConfigureMenubuttonnexttotheGroupByfieldthatshowshowthedataobjectsarepresentlygrouped.
TheMenuConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.41).

Figure1.41:TheMenuConfigurationdialogbox
6. SelectthefieldsyouwanttoappearintheGroupBysubmenu.Youcandisplayallthefieldsbelongingtoatableby
clickingtheExpandbutton( )totheleftofthetablename.Youcanselectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,
pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfield
separately.

ToselectafieldtoappearintheGroupBysubmenu,selectthefieldintheAvailablefieldslistandclick
moveittotheGroupingFieldslist.

to

ToremoveafieldfromthelistofGroupingFields,selectthefieldintheGroupingfieldslistandclick
removeit.

to

Tochangetheorderofthefields,selectafieldandclick or tomoveitupordowninthelist.Theobjectswill
begroupedintheorderofthefieldsintheGroupingfieldslist,fromtoptobottom.

7. ClickOKtoclosetheMenuConfigurationdialogboxandclickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.TheGroupBy
submenuwillnowcontainonlythefieldsyouselected.

1.8.1.3 AdvancedGrouping
Youcangroupdataobjectsbyoneormoreproperties,usingtheGroupBybuttononthePropertiesdialogbox.
Togroupdataobjectsbyoneormoreproperties:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderorviewwhoseobjectsyouhavegrouped.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. ClicktheGroupBybutton.TheGroupdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.42).

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Figure1.42:TheGroupdialogbox
6. Selectthefieldsbywhichyouwanttogrouptheobjects.Youcanselectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,
pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfield
separately.

Toselectafieldtobeusedtogrouptheobjects,selectthefieldintheAvailableFieldslistandclick
ittotheGroupingFieldslist.

ToremoveafieldfromthelistofGroupingFields,selectthefieldintheGroupingFieldslistandclick
removeit.

Tochangetheorderofthefields,selectafieldandclick or tomoveitupordowninthelist.Theobjectswill
begroupedintheorderofthefieldsintheGroupingFieldslist,fromtoptobottom.

tomove
to

7. ClickOKtoclosetheGroupdialogboxandclickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogboxandgrouptheobjects.
Toundothegrouping:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderorviewwhoseobjectsyouhavegrouped.
3. Fromthecontextmenu,selectfromtheGroupBy>None.

1.8.1.4 ExamplesofGrouping
ThisexampleshowsanAtolldocumentthatcontainsalargenumberofsitesandthereforetransmitters.Whileitiseasyto
seeonthemapwhichtransmittersarepartofwhichsite,intheNetworkexplorer,youcanonlyseeaverylonglistoftrans
mittersundertheTransmitterfolder.
ByrightclickingtheTransmitterfolderandselectingGroupBy>Site,youcangroupthetransmittersbythesitetheyare
locatedon.TheresultofgroupingcanbeseeninFigure1.43.

Figure1.43:Transmittersgroupedbysite
Youcanalsogroupobjectsbythecomputationorfocuszone.Younormallycreateacomputationorfocuszonewhenyou
wanttoconcentrateonagivensubsetoftransmitters,forexample,whenyouareworkingonacertainareaofthenetwork.
Bygroupingthembycomputationorfocuszone,thetransmittersyouareworkingonareimmediatelyvisibleundertheTrans
mitterfolder.

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ByrightclickingtheTransmitterfolderandselectingGroupBy>Polygon>FocusZone,youcangroupthetransmittersinthe
focuszonetogether.TheresultofgroupingcanbeseeninFigure1.43.Thetransmittersarenowintwogroups:thoseinside
thefocuszoneandthoseoutsidethefocuszone.

Figure1.44:Transmittersgroupedbysite

1.8.2 SortingData
InAtoll,youcansortthedocumentdataeitherinthedatatablesorusingtheSortfunctionofPropertiesdialogbox.Youcan
sortthedatainascending(AtoZ,1to10)ordescending(ZtoA,10to1)order.
Youcansortthedatabyeitheroneorbyseveralcolumns.Whenyousortdatabyseveralcolumns,Atollsortstherecordsby
thefirstcolumnandthen,withineachgroupofidenticalvaluesinthefirstcolumn,Atollthensortstherecordsbythesecond
column,andsoon.
Onceyouhavesorteddataobjects,youcansavethesettingsasafolderconfiguration.Forinformation,see"FolderConfigu
rations"onpage108.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"SortingDatainTables"onpage98
"AdvancedSorting"onpage99

1.8.2.1 SortingDatainTables
Whensortingdataintables,youcansortbyoneorseveralcolumns:

"SortingbyOneColumn"onpage98
"SortingbySeveralColumns"onpage98.

SortingbyOneColumn
Tosortdatainatablebyonecolumn:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Selecttheheaderofthecolumnthatyouwanttosorton.Theentirecolumnisselected.
3. Rightclickthecolumnheader.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selecthowyouwanttosort:

SortAscending:sortthedatatablerecordsfromthelowestvalueinthereferencecolumntothehighestvalue.

SortDescending:sortthedatatablerecordsfromthehighestvalueinthereferencecolumntothelowestvalue.
Youcanalsosortdatainatablebyselectingthecolumnasdescribedandthenclicking
eithertheSortAscending(

)orSortDescending(

)buttonsintheTabletoolbar.

SortingbySeveralColumns
Youcanonlysortinatablebyadjacentcolumns.Ifyouwanttosortbycolumnsthatarenotadjacent,youcanmovethe
columnsfirstasexplainedin"MovingColumns"onpage81.
Ifyouwanttosortdatabyseveralcolumnswithoutmovingthecolumns,youcanusethe
SortfunctiononthePropertiesdialogbox.Forinformation,see"AdvancedSorting"on
page99.
Tosortdatainatablebyseveralcolumns:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Clicktheheaderofthefirstcolumnanddragovertheadjacentcolumnsthatwillbeyoursortreferences.Theentire
columnisselected.
3. Rightclickthecolumnheaders.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. Fromthecontextmenu,selecthowyouwanttosort:

SortAscending:sortthedatatablerecordsfromthelowestvalueinthefirstreferencecolumntothehighest
value.

SortDescending:sortthedatatablerecordsfromthehighestvalueinthefirstreferencecolumntothelowest
value.
Youcanalsosortdatainatablebyselectingthecolumnasdescribedandthenclicking
eithertheSortAscending(

)orSortDescending(

)buttonsintheTabletoolbar.

1.8.2.2 AdvancedSorting
YoucansortdatabyseveralcriteriausingtheSortfunctionofthePropertiesdialogbox.
TosortdatausingtheSortfunctionofthePropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhosedatayouwanttosort.Thecontextmenuappears
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheGeneraltabinthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. ClicktheSortbutton.TheSortdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.45).
6. Forthefirstcolumnyouwanttosorton:
a. SelectthecolumnnamefromtheSortbylist.
b. Choosewhetheryouwanttosortinascendingordescendingorder.
7. Foreachothercolumnyouwanttosorton:
a. SelectthecolumnnamefromtheAndbylist.
b. Choosewhetheryouwanttosortinascendingordescendingorder.
8. ClickOK.

Figure1.45:TheSortdialogbox

1.8.3 FilteringData
InAtoll,youcanfilterdataaccordingtooneorseveralcriteria.Youcanfilterdatatoworkwithasubsetofdata,ortoreduce
theamountofrecordsdisplayedinlargedocuments.
Thefiltereddataobjectsarethedataobjectsthatremainafteryouhaveappliedyourfiltercriteria.
Youcansavethefilteringparametersasafolderconfiguration.Forinformation,see"FolderConfigurations"onpage108.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"FilteringinDataTablesbySelection"onpage100
"AdvancedDataFiltering"onpage101
"RestoringAllRecords"onpage103.

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1.8.3.1 FilteringinDataTablesbySelection
Youcanfilteradatatablebyselectingoneormorevalues.Onceyouhaveselectedoneormorevalues,youcanchooseto
viewonlyrecordsthathavethesamevalueoronlyrecordsthatdonothavethatvalue.
Tofilteradatatableononeormorefields:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. Selectthevaluetofilteron.YoucanselectmultiplevaluesbypressingCTRLasyouclicktheothervalues.
3. Rightclicktheselectedvalueorvaluesandselectoneofthefollowingfromthetablescontextmenu:

FilterbySelection:Allrecordswiththeselectedvalueorvaluesaredisplayed.Youcanmodifythefilteredrecords
ormakecalculationsonthemasyouwouldnormallydowiththeentiredatatable(seeFigure1.46onpage100).

FilterExcludingSelection:Allrecordswithouttheselectedvalueorvaluesaredisplayed.Youcanmodifythefil
teredrecordsormakecalculationsonthemasyouwouldnormallydowiththeentiredatatable(seeFigure1.47
onpage101).

Whenthedatainatablearefiltered,afiltericon( )appearsatthetopoftheleftmost
columnandinthecorrespondingcolumnheader(s),asshowninFigure1.46and
Figure1.47.Theiconintheleftmostcolumncanproveusefulwhenthecolumn
containingthefiltereddataisnotdisplayedduetoalargetablewidth.

Figure1.46:Filteringbyselection

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Figure1.47:Filteringexcludingselection
Youcanalsofilterdatainatablebyselectingthevaluesasdescribedandthenclicking
eithertheFilterbySelection(
toolbar.

)orFilterExcludingSelection(

)buttonsintheTable

1.8.3.2 AdvancedDataFiltering
YoucanspecifycomplexfiltersbycombiningfilteringconditionsonmultiplefieldsusingANDandORoperators.Advanced
datafilteringusesatabletoexpressthefilteringconditionswherecolumnsareusedtospecifythecriteriaforeachfieldand
thechoiceoftherowisusedtoexpressthelogicaloperators.Thefollowingprinciplesallowyoutoexpresscomplexcondi
tions:

ToexpressafilterononeorseveralfieldscombinedwithanANDoperator(forexample:a=1ANDb>5ANDb<10)
specifyallthecriteriaonasingleCriteriarow,asinFigure1.48.Inthefollowingexample,thefilteredtabledisplays
antennasforwhichthemanufacturernamestartswithKandforwhichthegainisbetween15and20dBi:

Figure1.48:TheAdvancedFiltertabConditionsonmultiplefieldscombinedwithanANDoperator

ToexpressafilteronasinglefieldcombinedwithanORoperator(forexample:a<1ORa>2)specifythefirstcriteria
ontheCriteriarowandothercriteriaontheOrrow,asinFigure1.49.Inthefollowingexample,thefilteredtabledis
playsantennasforwhichthegainiseither17,or18,orabove20dBi:

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Figure1.49:TheAdvancedFiltertabConditionsonasinglefieldcombinedwithanORoperator

ToexpressafilteronmultiplefieldscombinedwithanORoperator(forexample:a=1ORb=2)specifythefirstcriteria
inthefirstcolumnoftheCriteriarowandtheothercriteriaontheORrowofthenextcolumn,asinFigure1.50.You
cancombinetheORexpressionswithANDexpressions.Inthefollowingexample,thefilteredtabledisplaysantennas
forwhicheitherthemanufacturernamestartswithK,orthegainisbetween15and20dBi:

Figure1.50:TheAdvancedFiltertabConditionsonmultiplefieldscombinedwithANDandORoperators
Inthefilteringtable,thepriorityofANDandORconditionsisdefinedbycombiningthemfirsthorizontally,thenvertically.
Tocreateanadvancedfilter:
1. Openthedatatableasexplainedin"OpeningaDataTable"onpage75.
2. ClicktheAdvancedFilterbutton(

)intheTabletoolbar.TheFilterdialogboxappears.

YoucanalsoaccesstheFilterdialogboxbyclickingtheFilterbuttonofthetables
Propertiesdialogbox.

3. ClicktheFiltertab:
a. SelectaFieldfromthelist.
b. UnderValuestoInclude,youwillfindallthevaluesrepresentedintheselectedfield.Selectthecheckboxesnext
tothevaluesyouwanttoincludeinthefilter.ClickClearAlltoclearallcheckboxes.
MakingselectionsontheFiltertaboftheFilterdialogboxisequivalenttofilteringbyselec
tionasexplainedin"FilteringinDataTablesbySelection"onpage100.

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4. ClicktheAdvancedtab:
a. IntheColumnrow,selectthenameofthefieldtobefilteredfromthelist.Selectasmanyfieldsasyouwant(see
Figure1.48).Underneatheachfieldname,specifytheconditiononwhichthefieldwillbefilteredasexplainedin
thefollowingtable:
Formula

Dataiskeptinthetableonlyif

=X

ValueequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<>X

ValuenotequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<X

NumericalvalueislessthanX

>X

NumericalvalueisgreaterthanX

<=X

NumericalvalueislessthanorequaltoX

>=X

NumericalvalueisgreaterthanorequaltoX

=*X*

TextobjectsthatcontainX

=X*

TextobjectsthatstartwithX

TocombineconditionswithanANDoperator,entertheconditionsinseparatecolumnsonthesamerow.
TocombineconditionswithanORoperator,entertheconditionsonseparaterows.
5. ClickOKtofilterthedataaccordingtothecriteriayouhavedefined.

1.8.3.3 RestoringAllRecords
Afteryouhaveappliedfiltercriteriatorecords,youmaywanttocancelthefiltercriteriaanddisplayalltherecordsagain.
Torestoreallrecords:

ClicktheRemoveFilterbutton(

)intheTabletoolbar.

1.8.4 UserConfigurations
InAtoll,youcansavemanyparametersandsettingsinuserconfigurationsandthenloadtheminotherdocuments.User
configurationsareusedtostoreparametersandsettingsthatarenotstoredindatabases.Userconfigurationfilesenableyou
toensurethatallusersinamultiuserenvironmentusethesamesettings.
ThefileextensionofuserconfigurationfilesisCFG.ThefileextensionGEOis,however,usedifonlythegeographicdataset
orzonesarebeingsavedinauserconfigurationfile.UserconfigurationfilesareXMLfilesandcanbeopenedintextandXML
editors.
Youcansavethefollowinginformationinuserconfigurationfiles:

Geographicdataset:Fullpathsofimportedgeographicmaps,mapdisplaysettings(suchas,thevisibilityscale,trans
parency,tiptext,etc.),clutterdescription(code,name,height,standarddeviations,etc.),andrasteroruserprofile
trafficmapdescription.
Whenyousavethegeographicdatasetinauserconfigurationfile,thecoordinate
systemofallvectorgeographicdatamustbethesameasthatoftherastergeographic
data.

Mapcentreandzoomlevel:XandYcoordinatesofthecentreofthemapwindowandthezoomlevel.
Zones:Filtering,focus,computation,printing,andgeographicexportzonesinthecurrentdocument.
Folderconfigurations:Sort,group,andfiltersettings(thecurrentfolderconfiguration,evenifnotsaved,andother
definedconfigurationsforthefolders),thefilteringzone,thedisplaysettingsofnetworkdatafolders(includingmeas
urementdisplaysettings),andLTEandWiMAXAFPparameters(includingconstraintweightsforfrequencyplanning,
physicalcellIDplanning,andpreambleindexplanning).
AutomaticNeighbourAllocationParameters:Theinputparametersoftheautomaticneighbourallocation.
AutomaticScramblingCodeAllocationParameters:Theparametersoftheautomaticscramblingcodeallocation.
AutomaticPNOffsetAllocationParameters:TheparametersoftheautomaticPNoffsetallocation.
LTEAutomaticResourceAllocationParameters:ThecalculationoptionsthatareselectedwhenrunningtheLTEAFP.
WiMAX Automatic Resource Allocation Parameters: The calculation options that are selected when running the
WiMAXAFP.

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WiFiAutomaticResourceAllocationParameters:ThecalculationoptionsthatareselectedwhenrunningtheWiFi
AFP.
PredictionList:ThelistofpredictionsinthePredictionsfolderandtheirsettings(general,coverageconditions,and
display).
GSMAutomaticFrequencyPlanningParameters:CalculationoptionsselectedwhenstartingaGSMAFPsessionas
wellascalculationparametersusedforinterferencehistograms.
Macros:Fullpathsofanymacros.MacrosareloadedforentireAtollsessionsandnotforaspecificAtolldocument.
YoucanexportthemacrostoauserconfigurationevenifyoudonothaveanAtolldocumentopen.

Foradetaileddescriptionoftheuserconfigurationfile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104
"LoadingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

1.8.4.1 SavingaUserConfiguration
Youcancreateauserconfigurationbysavingtheselectedsettingstoanexternalfile.
Tosaveauserconfiguration:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Save.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.51).

Figure1.51:Savingauserconfiguration
2. Selectthecheckboxesofthesettingsthatyouwanttoexportaspartoftheuserconfiguration.
3. ClickOK.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenamefortheuserconfigurationfileandclickSave.Thefolderconfigurationhasbeensaved.

1.8.4.2 LoadingaUserConfiguration
YoucanloadauserconfigurationthatwascreatedbyyouoranotheruserintoyourcurrentAtolldocument.Iftheuserconfig
urationcontainsmacroinformation,itwillonlybeloadedifnodocumentiscurrentlyopen.WhenthereisnoAtolldocument
open,onlymacroinformationisloadedfromtheuserconfiguration.
Toloadauserconfiguration:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Load.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. Selecttheuserconfigurationfilewiththedatayouwanttouseinyourcurrentdocument.
3. ClickOpen.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.52).

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Figure1.52:Loadingauserconfiguration
4. Selectthecheckboxesofthesettingsthatyouwanttoload.
5. ClickOK.Theuserconfigurationisloadedintoyourcurrentdocument.

1.8.5 SiteandTransmitterLists
InAtoll,youcancreatelistsofsitesandtransmitters.Onceyouhavecreatedasiteortransmitterlist,youcanmodifythelist
anduseittofilterdatatobeabletoworkwithasubsetofdata,ortofacilitateworkingwithlargedocumentsbyreducingthe
numberofrecordsdisplayed.
Inamultiuserenvironment,sitelistscanbestoredinthedatabase.Whenyouopenadocumentfromadatabase,youcan
selectthesitestoloadaccordingtoanydefinedsitelists.Inalargeradioplanningproject,thisallowsyoutomoreeffectively
manageyourresourcesbyreducingtheunnecessarydatayouretrievefromthedatabase.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingaSiteorTransmitterList"onpage105
"AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListintheNetworkExplorer"onpage106
"AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListfromtheMapWindow"onpage106
"AddingSitesorTransmitterstoaListUsingaZone"onpage106
"EditingaSiteorTransmitterList"onpage107
"ImportingaSiteorTransmitterList"onpage107
"ExportingaSiteorTransmitterList"onpage108
"FilteringonaSiteorTransmitterList"onpage108.

1.8.5.1 CreatingaSiteorTransmitterList
Youcancreatelistsofsitesortransmittersthatyoucanthenusetofilterthedatadisplayed.
Tocreateasiteortransmitterlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhereyouwanttocreatethelist:
Sitelist:ifyouwanttocreateasitelist:
a. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSiteLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteListstableappears.
Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttocreateatransmitterlist:
a. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTransmitterLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterListstableappears.
3. EnterthenameofthenewlistintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

Youcancreateaseriesofblanksiteortransmitterlistsbyimportingatextfilewiththe
namesofthenewlists.YoucanimportthetextfilebyclickingtheActionsbuttononthe
SiteListsorTransmitterListsdialogboxandthenselectingImportfromthemenuthat
appears.Youcanalsoexportthenamesofallexistingsiteortransmitterlistsby
selectingExportfromthesamemenu.

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1.8.5.2 AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListintheNetworkExplorer
YoucanaddasiteortransmittertoalistbyselectingitfromtheNetworkexplorer.
Toaddasiteortransmittertoalist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofSitesorTransmittersfoldertoexpandthefolder.

3. Rightclickthesiteortransmitteryouwanttoaddtothelist.Thecontextmenuappears.
Sitelist:ifyouwanttoaddasitetoalist:

SelectAddSitetoaListfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappears.

Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoalist.

SelectAddTransmittertoaListfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappears.

4. Selectthenameofthelistfromthedialogbox.
Youcancreateanewlistbyenteringanameinthelistinsteadofselectingthename
fromthelist.Theselectedsiteortransmitterwillbeaddedtothenewlist.

5. ClickOK.Thesiteortransmitterisaddedtotheselectedlist.
YoucanquicklycreateacompletelistbyfirstfilteringthecontentsoftheSitesor
Transmittersfolderasexplainedin"FilteringData"onpage99.Then,byrightclicking
theSitesorTransmittersfolderandselectingSiteLists>AddSitestoaListor
TransmitterLists>AddTransmitterstoaListfromthecontextmenu,youcanaddthe
filteredcontentsoffoldertothelistyouselect.

1.8.5.3 AddingaSiteorTransmittertoaListfromtheMapWindow
Youcanaddasiteortransmittertoalistbyselectingitfromthemapwindow.
Toaddasiteortransmittertoalist:
1. Inthemapwindow,rightclickthesiteortransmitterthatyouwanttoaddtoalist.
Sitelist:ifyouwanttoaddasitetoalist:

SelectAddSitetoaListfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappears.

Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoalist.

SelectAddTransmittertoaListfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappears.

2. Selectthenameofthelistfromthedialogbox.
Youcancreateanewlistbyenteringanameinthelistinsteadofselectingthename
fromthelist.Theselectedsiteortransmitterwillbeaddedtothenewlist.

3. ClickOK.Thesiteortransmitterisaddedtotheselectedlist.

1.8.5.4 AddingSitesorTransmitterstoaListUsingaZone
Youcanaddthesitesortransmitterscontainedinazonetoasiteortransmitterlist.
Toaddthesitesortransmitterscontainedinazonetoalist:
1. Createazone(asexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58)thatcontainsthesitesortransmitters
thatyouwanttoaddtoalist.Youcanuseafiltering,computation,focus,hotspot,printing,orgeographicexportzone.
2. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclickthezoneandselectoneofthefollowingfromthecontextmenu:

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AddSitestoaList:SelectAddSitestoaListtoaddthesitesinthezonetoasitelist.Adialogboxappears.
AddTransmitterstoaList:SelectAddTransmitterstoaListtoaddthesitesinthezonetoasitelist.Adialogbox
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3. Selectthenameofthelistfromthedialogbox.
Youcancreateanewlistbyenteringanameinthelistinsteadofselectingthename
fromthelist.Theselectedsiteortransmitterwillbeaddedtothenewlist.

4. ClickOK.Thesitesortransmitterscontainedinthezoneareaddedtotheselectedlist.

1.8.5.5 EditingaSiteorTransmitterList
YoucaneditasiteortransmitterlistusingtheSiteListorTransmitterListtable.
Toeditasiteortransmitterlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhereyouwanttoeditthelist:
Sitelist:ifyouwanttoeditasitelist:
a. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSiteLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteListstableappears.
Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttoeditatransmitterlist:
a. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTransmitterLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterListstableappears.
3. SelectthenameofthelistyouwanttoeditandclickProperties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. Youcannoweditthelist:
Toaddasiteortransmittertothelist:

SelectthenameofthesiteortransmitterintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

Todeleteasiteortransmitterfromthelist:
a. Clickintheleftmarginoftherowcontainingthesiteortransmittertoselectit.
b. PressDELtodeletethesiteortransmitterfromthelist.
5. ClickOKwhenyouhavefinishededitingthesiteortransmitterlist.

1.8.5.6 ImportingaSiteorTransmitterList
YoucanimportasiteortransmitterlistfromatextfilebyusingtheSiteListorTransmitterListtable.
Toimportasiteortransmitterlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhereyouwanttoimportthelist:
Sitelist:ifyouwanttoimportasitelist:
a. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSiteLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteListstableappears.
Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttoimportatransmitterlist:
a. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTransmitterLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterListstableappears.
3. Select thename of the list into which you want toimportentries and click Properties. ThePropertiesdialogbox
appears.
4. InthePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
5. SelectthetextfilewiththesiteortransmitternamesyouwanttoimportandclickOpen.Thecontentsofthetextfile
areaddedtothelist.
6. ClickOKinthePropertiesdialogboxwhenyouhavefinishedimportingthefile.

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1.8.5.7 ExportingaSiteorTransmitterList
YoucanexportasiteortransmitterlisttoatextfileusingtheSiteListorTransmitterListtable.
Toexportasiteortransmitterlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhereyouwanttoexportthelist:
Sitelist:ifyouwanttoexportasitelist:
a. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSiteLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteListstableappears.
Transmitterlist:ifyouwanttoexportatransmitterlist:
a. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTransmitterLists>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterListstableappears.
3. SelectthenameofthelistyouwanttoexportandclickProperties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. InthePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheExportbutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. EnterafilenameandclickSave.Thesiteortransmitterlistissavedasatextfile.

1.8.5.8 FilteringonaSiteorTransmitterList
YoucanusesiteortransmitterliststofilterthecontentsoftheSitesandTransmittersfolders.
Tofilterfoldercontentsusingasiteortransmitterlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhosecontentsyouwanttofilter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheFilterbutton.TheFilterdialogboxappears.
5. Ifyouhavecreatedalist,therewillbeanadditionaltab:

Sites:ClicktheSiteListstab.
Transmitters:ClicktheTransmitterListstab.

6. Selectthecheckboxofthelistorliststhatyouwanttodisplay.
7. ClickOKtoclosetheFilterdialogbox.
8. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.Onlysitesortransmittersthatbelongtotheselectedlistarenowdisplayed
intheNetworkexplorerandinthemapwindow.

1.8.6 FolderConfigurations
InAtoll,theparametersthatdefinehowdatacontainedinafolderisgrouped,sorted,orfilteredarereferredtoasafolder
configuration.Youcandefinefolderconfigurationsandsavethem,whichallowsyoutoconsistentlyapplythesamegrouping,
filtering,orsortingcriteria.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingaFolderConfiguration"onpage108
"ApplyingaSavedFolderConfiguration"onpage109
"ReapplyingtheCurrentFolderConfiguration"onpage109
"SavingaFolderConfigurationinanExternalFile"onpage109
"LoadingaFolderConfigurationfromanExternalFile"onpage109
"DeletingaFolderConfiguration"onpage110.
Fortransmitters,thereisadefaultfolderconfigurationcalledSameasSitesFolder.You
canapplythisconfigurationtoarrangethetransmittersintheTransmittersfolderwiththe
sameparametersasthosedefinedforsites.

1.8.6.1 CreatingaFolderConfiguration
InAtoll,youcansavetheparametersthatdefinehowdatacontainedinafolderisgrouped,filtered,orsortedasafolder
configuration.

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Tocreateaconfiguration:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhosesettingsyouwanttosave.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheGeneraltabinthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. Ifyouhavenotyetdoneso,setthefollowingparametersasdesired:

GroupBy(see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95)
Sort(see"SortingData"onpage98)
Filter(see"FilteringData"onpage99).

6. UnderFolderconfiguration,clickSave.
7. EnterthenameoftheconfigurationintheSaveConfigurationdialogbox.
8. ClickOKtosavetheconfigurationandclickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Thesavedfolderconfigurationisonlyavailableforthecurrentfolderandcanbereappliedtothefolderbyselectingitfrom
theFolderConfigurationsubmenuonthefolderscontextmenu.

1.8.6.2 ApplyingaSavedFolderConfiguration
Youcanapplyafolderconfigurationthathasbeencreatedandsavedforthecurrentfolder.
Toapplyasavedfolderconfiguration:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefoldertowhichyouwanttoapplyafolderconfiguration.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. OntheFolderConfigurationsubmenu,selectthenameofthefolderconfigurationyouwanttoapply.Thefoldercon
figurationisappliedtothecurrentfolder.

1.8.6.3 ReapplyingtheCurrentFolderConfiguration
Ifyouhavegrouped,filtered,orsortedadatafolder,youhavecreatedandappliedafolderconfiguration.Ifyouthenaddor
modifydata,thepropertiesofthesemaynotmatchthefolderconfigurationthatyoupreviouslymadeonthedatafolder.In
thiscase,youcanreapplythesamefilterorsortsettingstothenewormodifieddata.
Toreapplythefolderconfiguration:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwhosefolderconfigurationyouwanttoreapply.
3. SelectUpdateFolderConfigurationfromthecontextmenu.Thepreviouslyconfiguredfolderconfigurationisreap
pliedtothedata.

1.8.6.4 SavingaFolderConfigurationinanExternalFile
Whenyoucreateafolderconfiguration,yousaveitinthecurrentATLdocument.However,youcansaveitaspartofauser
configurationinanexternalfile,sothatitcanbeusedinotherdocuments.
Tosaveafolderconfigurationinanexternalfile:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Save.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.51onpage104).
2. SelecttheFolderConfigurationcheckbox.
Ifyouwanttoexportotherconfigurationsatthesametime,selectthosecheckboxesaswell.
3. ClickOK.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenamefortheCFGfileandclickSave.Thefolderconfigurationhasbeensaved.

1.8.6.5 LoadingaFolderConfigurationfromanExternalFile
Onceyouhavesavedafolderconfigurationasexplainedin"SavingaFolderConfigurationinanExternalFile"onpage109,
youcanloaditintoyourcurrentdocument.
Toloadafolderconfiguration:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Load.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelecttheCFGfilewiththefolderconfigurationyouwanttoimport.
3. ClickOpen.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure1.52onpage105).

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4. SelecttheFolderConfigurationcheckbox.
Ifyouwanttoimportotherconfigurationsatthesametime,selectthosecheckboxesaswell.
5. ClickOK.Thefolderconfigurationisimported.

1.8.6.6 DeletingaFolderConfiguration
YoucandeleteafolderconfigurationfromtheAtolldocumentwhenyounolongerneedit.
Todeleteafolderconfiguration:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderwiththefolderconfigurationyouwanttodelete.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheGeneraltabinthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. UnderFolderconfiguration,selectthenameoftheconfigurationfromthelist.
6. ClickDelete.Thefolderconfigurationisdeleted.
Whenyoudeleteafolderconfiguration,Atolldoesnotaskforconfirmation;itisdeleted
immediately.

1.8.7 CreatingandComparingViews
You can compare the effects of different grouping, sorting, or filtering settings by creating views of object folders in the
Networkexplorerandapplyingdifferentsettingstoeachview.Eachviewcontainsacopyofthedataintheobjectfolderin
whichitwascreated.
Tocreateaviewofafolder:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthefolderyouwanttocreateaviewof.
2. SelectCreateViewfromthecontextmenu.Aviewiscreatedcontainingacopyoftheoriginalfoldercontent.
Youcannowperformthefollowingactionsontheview:

Grouping(see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95)
Sorting(see"SortingData"onpage98)
Filtering(see"FilteringData"onpage99).
Ifyouhavecreatedseveralviews,youcanrenameeachonetoprovideamore
descriptivename.Forinformationonrenaminganobject,see"RenaminganObject"on
page44.

Onceyouhaveperformedtheactionsoneachview,youcancomparethedifferencesbydisplayingeachview,withitsgroup
ing,sorting,orfilteringsettings,onthemap.Formoreinformationondisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"
onpage47.
Tocompareviews:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthecheckboxestotheleftofeachview.Thedataobjectsarenotdisplayedonthemap.
2. Selectthecheckboxofoneoftheviews,leavingthecheckboxesoftheotherviewscleared.Thedataobjectsofthe
selectedview,withitsassociatedgrouping,sorting,orfilteringsettings,aredisplayedonthemap.
3. Clear this check box and select the check box of a different view. How the objects are displayed on the map will
change,dependingonthedifferentgrouping,sorting,orfilteringsettingsoftheselectedview.
Youcanremoveviewsbydeletingthem.Whenyoudeleteaview,thedatacontainedarenotdeleted.Whenyoudeletethe
lastview,thedatareappearundertheinitialfolder.
Todeleteaview:

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If,afterdeletingthelastview,thedatadonotreappearundertheinitialfolder,youcan
refreshthedisplaybyrightclickingthefolderandselectingGroupBy>Nonefromthe
contextmenu.

1.8.8 FilteringDataUsingaFilteringZone
InAtoll,youcansimplifycalculationsbyusingapolygononthemaptolimittheamountofdataconsideredincalculations.
Bylimitingthenumberofsites,youcanreducethetimeandcostofcalculationsandmakethedisplayofdataobjectsonthe
mapclearer.Youcanselectapreexistingcomputationorfocuszoneasafilterzoneoryoucandrawanewfilteringzone.
Thedataobjectsfilteredbythepolygonarereflectedonthemapandinthedatatables.IntheNetworkexplorer,anyfolder
whosecontentisaffectedbythefilteringzoneappearswithaspecialicon(
beenfiltered.

),indicatingthatthefoldercontentshave

Whenyouhaveappliedapolygonfilter,youcanperformthefollowingactionsonthefiltereddata:

Grouping(see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95)
Sorting(see"SortingData"onpage98)
Filtering(see"FilteringData"onpage99).

Formoreinformationoncreatingandeditingafilteringzone,see"TheFilteringZone"onpage58.

1.9 TipsandTricks
ThissectionprovidesshortcutsandtrickstohelpyouworkmoreefficientlyinAtoll:

"UndoingandRedoing"onpage111
"RefreshingMapsandFolders"onpage111
"SearchingforObjectsontheMap"onpage112
"UsingtheStatusBartoGetInformation"onpage113
"SavingInformationDisplayedintheEventViewer"onpage113
"UsingIconsfromtheToolbar"onpage115
"UsingShortcutsinAtoll"onpage117.

1.9.1 UndoingandRedoing
YoucanundoorredomostactionsinAtolluptoamaximumof10actions.Ifyouperformanactionthatcannotbeundone,
suchassimulations,theUndoandRedohistoriesareerased.
Forexample,youcanundoorredo:

Mostmodificationsintheworkspace:suchascreating,deleting,andmovingasite,astationoragroupofstations,
modifyingtheantennaazimuth,movingatransmitter,ordeletingatransmitter,
TasksperformedintheExplorer:suchascreatinganddeletingobjects(sites,transmitters,antennas,repeatersor
remoteantennas,links,groupsofhexagons,measurementpaths,coveragepredictions,maps,propagationmodels,
etc.).
Tasksperformedintables:suchasaddingordeletingrecords,pastingintables.

Toundoanaction:

SelectEdit>Undo.

Toredoanactionthatyouhaveundone:

SelectEdit>Redo.

1.9.2 RefreshingMapsandFolders
Undercertaincircumstances,forexample,whenyouadddatathatisinconsistentwithanappliedfilter,thedatadisplayedon
themaporintheNetworkexplorermaynotbeactual.YoucanrefreshthedisplaytogetAtolltoreloadthedataandreapply
thecurrentfolderconfigurations.
TorefreshthedisplayoftheNetworkexplorerandthemap:

ClicktheRefreshbutton(

)onthetoolbarorpressF5.

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1.9.3 SearchingforObjectsontheMap
AtollprovidestheFindonMaptoolforfindingdataobjectsonthemap.Youcansearchforsomeobjects(sites,vectors,trans
mitters,repeaters)bytheirnameorbyanytextfield,usingFindonMap.YoucanalsouseFindonMaptosearchforapoint
onthemapbyitsXandYcoordinates,orbyitspostaladdress.Additionally,FindonMapenablesyoutofindtechnology
specificattributessuchasaBSICBCCHpairinGSM.UsingFindonMaptofindtechnologyspecificattributesiscoveredinthe
chapterforthattechnology.
Thissectionexplains:

"SearchingforaMapObjectbyItsName"onpage112
"SearchingforaMapObjectusingAnyTextProperty"onpage112
"SearchingforaPointontheMap"onpage113.

1.9.3.1 SearchingforaMapObjectbyItsName
YoucanuseFindonMaptosearchforthefollowingmapobjectsbyname:

Vectors
Sites
Transmitters
Repeaters
Remoteantennas
Transmittercells

TosearchforamapobjectbynameusingtheFindonMaptool:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,choosethemapobjectyouaresearchingfor:

Vector
Site
Transmitter
Repeater/Rem.Antenna
Cell

ThemapobjectyouselectappearsintheFieldbox.
3. Enterthenameoftheobjectinthetextboxmarkedwithanequalsign("=").Youcanuseanasterisk("*")asawild
cardbyenteringitasthefirstcharacter.Forexample,entering"*X*"willfindallnameswhichcontain"X".
AtollautomaticallybeginssearchinganddisplaystheresultsintheFindonMapwindow.
4. Selecttheobjectfromthelist.Atollcentresitinthemapwindow.Youcanalsorightclicktheobjectinthelisttodis
playthecontextmenufortheobject.

1.9.3.2 SearchingforaMapObjectusingAnyTextProperty
YoucanuseFindonMaptosearchforthefollowingmapobjectsusinganytext(i.e.,nonnumeric)property:

Vectors
Sites
Transmitters
Repeaters
Remoteantennas
Transmittercells

TosearchforamapobjectbyatextpropertyusingtheFindonMaptool:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,choosethemapobjectyouaresearchingfor:

Vector
Site
Transmitter
Repeater/Rem.antenna
Cell

3. FromtheFieldlist,selectthetextpropertyonwhichyouwanttosearch,forexample"SupportType"whenyouare
lookingfora"Site".
4. Enterthenameoftheobjectinthetextboxmarkedwithanequalsign("=").Youcanuseanasterisk("*")asawild
cardbyenteringitasthefirstcharacter.Forexample,entering"*X*"willfindallnameswhichcontain"X".

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AtollautomaticallybeginssearchinganddisplaystheresultsintheFindonMapwindow.
5. Selecttheobjectfromthelist.Atollcentresitinthemapwindow.Youcanalsorightclicktheobjectinthelisttodis
playthecontextmenufortheobject.

1.9.3.3 SearchingforaPointontheMap
YoucanuseFindonMaptosearchforapointbyitsXandYcoordinatesorbyitspostaladdress.
Makesurethatthecoordinatesystemusedinyourdocumentusesthesameprojection
systemasthetileserver.Failingtodosowillleadtoinappropriatebehaviourwhenan
onlinemapisspecified(disproportionateandbadlyrenderedmaptiles)asyoudragthe
mapawayfromtheareatargetedbythespecifiedprojectioncoordinatesystem.

1.9.3.3.1

SearchingforaPointontheMapbyitsCoordinates
TosearchforapointonthemapbyitsXandYcoordinates:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,choosePosition.
3. EntertheXandYcoordinatesofthepoint,usingthesameunitsasdefinedunderDisplayontheCoordinatestabof
theDocumentPropertiesdialogbox(see"ProjectionandDisplayCoordinateSystems"onpage124).
4. ClickSearch.Atollcentresthepointinthemapwindow.

1.9.3.3.2

SearchingforaPointontheMapbyitsFullorPartialPostalAddress
Tosearchforapointonthemapbyitsfullorpartialpostaladdress:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,chooseOnline.
3. EnterapostalAddress.Youcanspecifyafullorpartialaddress,e.g.streetname,precinct,city,county,country,etc.
4. ClickSearch.AtollautomaticallybeginssearchinganddisplaystheresultsintheFindonMapwindow.
5. Selectaresultfromthelist.Atollcentresitinthemapwindow.

1.9.4 UsingtheStatusBartoGetInformation
Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformation,ifavailable,aboutthecurrentpositionofthemousepointerinrightsideofthestatus
bar(seeFigure1.53):

thecurrentXYcoordinates(accordingtothedefineddisplaycoordinatesystem)
thealtitude(asdefinedintheDTM)
theclutterclass(asdefinedintheclutterclassesproperties)
theclutterheight(asdefinedintheclutterheightfile,orintheclutterclasses).

XYcoordinates

Altitude

Clutterclass

Figure1.53:Informationdisplayedinthestatusbar

1.9.5 SavingInformationDisplayedintheEventViewer
AtolldisplaysinformationaboutthecurrentdocumentintheEventViewer.TheEventViewerdisplaysinformation( ),
warning( ),anderror( )messages,aswellastheprogressofcalculations.Youcansavetheinformationdisplayedinthe
EventViewertoalogfile.

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TosaveeventsintheEventViewertoalogfile:
1. IftheEventViewerisnotdisplayed,selectView>EventViewertodisplayit.
2. ClicktheeventintheEventViewertoselectit.Clickanddragtoselectseveralevents.
3. Rightclicktheselectevent(s).Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveAs.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,selectadestinationfolder,enteraFilename,andselectafiletypefromtheSaveastypelist.
6. ClickOK.Theselectedeventsaresavedinthetextfile.
YoucanalsoautomaticallygeneratelogfilesforeachAtollsessionandselectthelevelofinformationdisplayedintheEvent
viewer.Formoreinformationaboutthesesettings,seetheAdministratorManual.

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1.9.6 UsingIconsfromtheToolbar
YoucanaccessmanycommandsinAtollbyclickingitsicononthetoolbar.Someofthemarealsolinkedtoshortcutkeys(see
"UsingShortcutsinAtoll"onpage117).
Thedifferenticonslocatedinthetoolbararelistedbelow:

IntheStandardtoolbar
OpentheProjectTemplatesdialogbox(CTRL+N)
OpentheOpendialogbox(CTRL+O)
Savethecurrentdocument(CTRL+S)
Newfromanexistingdatabase
Refreshfromdatabase
Savependingchangesindatabase
Importafile
Loadauserconfiguration
Saveauserconfiguration
Cuttheselecteddata(CTRL+X)
Copytheselecteddata(CTRL+C)
Pastethecontentoftheclipboard(CTRL+V)
Undothelastmodification(CTRL+Z)
Redothepreviousundonemodification(CTRL+Y)
Printthecurrentwindow(tableormap)(CTRL+P)
Previewthecurrentwindowbeforeprinting(tableormap)
OpentheAtollHelp

IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar
Stationtemplatecurrentlyselected
Createanewtransmitterorstationbasedonthecurrentlyselectedmodel
Createanewgroupofhexagonsbasedonthecurrentlyselectedstationtemplate
AnewhexagongroupiscreatedintheHexagonalDesignfolderifthecheckboxtotheleft
ofthisfolderisselectedwhenyoucreateanewstationoragroupofstations.Ifthecheck
boxisnotselected,youcancreateanewstationwithoutcreatingacorrespondinghexa
gongroup.
Createanewrepeaterorremoteantennaforthecurrentlyselectedtransmitter
Graphicallymanageneighboursfortheselectedtransmitter
OpenthePointAnalysiswindow
Calculateonlyinvalidmatrices,unlockedcoverages,andpendingsimulations(F7)
Forcethecalculationofallmatrices,unlockedcoverages,andpendingsimulations(CTRL+F7)
Stopthecalculationofallmatrices,unlockedcoverages,andpendingsimulations(ESC)

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IntheMaptoolbar
Refreshdisplayofmapandfolders(F5)
Selectanobjectanddisablezoomingandpanningtools.
Movethemap(CTRL+D)
Mapscalecurrentlyused
Previousview(zoomandlocation)(ALT+)
Nextview(zoomandlocation)(ALT+)
Zoominoroutonthemapandcentreonthecursorlocation(CTRL+Q)
Defineazoomareaonthemap(CTRL+W)
Displayaterrainsection
Measuredistancesonthemap
Turnontiptext
Findonthemap

IntheVectorEditortoolbar
Createanewvectorlayer(ineithertheGeoortheNetworkexplorer)
Selectthevectorlayertoedit
Drawanewpolygon
Drawanewrectangle
Drawanewline
Drawpoints
Combineseveralvectorpolygons
Cutoutareasinpolygons
Createnewpolygonfromoverlappingareas
Splitonepolygonalongthedrawnlines.

IntheWindowstoolbar
DisplaytheNetworkexplorer
DisplaytheGeoexplorer
DisplaytheParametersexplorer
DisplaytheEventViewer
DisplaytheLegendWindow
DisplaythePanoramicWindow

IntheTabletoolbar
Importdatafromafileintothetable
Exportdatafromthetabletoafile
Displaythepropertiesofthecurrentrecord

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Centrethecurrentrecordonthemap
Definewhichcolumnsshouldbedisplayed
Hidetheselectedcolumns
Freezetheselectedcolumns
Unfreezeallfrozencolumns
Filterbytheselectedfields
Filterexcludingallrecordswiththeselectedvalues
Defineanadvancedfilter
Removethefilter
Sorttheselectedcolumnsinascendingorder
Sorttheselectedcolumnsindescendingorder
Displaystatistics
Copythecontentsofthetopselectedrowintotherowsbelow
Copythecontentsofthebottomselectedrowintotherowsabove
Selecttheentiretable
Alignthecontentsoftheselectedcolumnstotheleft
Centrethecontentsoftheselectedcolumns
Alignthecontentsoftheselectedcolumnstotheright
Displaytheselectedcolumnsinbold
Displaytheselectedcolumnsinitalics
Findspecifiedtextinthetable
Replacespecifiedtextinthetable
Whenyouplacethecursoroveranicon,tiptextappears,givingashortdescription.

1.9.7 UsingShortcutsinAtoll
Atollprovidesmanyshortcutsthatenableyoutoaccesscommonlyusedtoolsandcommandsmorequickly.
Theshortcutsavailablearelistedbelow(someofthesamecommandscanbeaccessedusingatoolbaricon;see"UsingIcons
fromtheToolbar"onpage115):

UsingtheCTRLkey:

CTRL++:Zoominonthemap(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+:Zoomoutonthemap(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+A:Selectallrecordsinatable

CTRL+C:Copytheselecteddata(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+D:

andclickthemap)
andrightclickthemap)

Intables:Copythefirstcellofaselectiondownintoallselectedcells

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Inthemapwindow:Movethemapinthemapwindow(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+E:ExportthetableoftheselectedSitesorTransmittersfolderorviewtoatextfile.Formoreinformation,
see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

CTRL+F:

OpentheFindonMapwindowwhenthemapisactive(inthetoolbar,click

OpentheFinddialogboxwhenatableisactive(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+H:OpentheReplacedialogboxwhenatableisactive(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+I:ImportthetableoftheselectedSitesorTransmittersfolderorviewfromatextfile.Formoreinformation,
see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

CTRL+N:OpentheProjectTemplatesdialogbox(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+SHIFT+N:Createanewdocumentfromanexistingdatabase

CTRL+O:OpentheOpendialogbox(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+P:Printthecurrentwindow(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+Q:SelectZoomIn/Outtool(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+S:Savethecurrentactivedocument(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+U:Copythelastcellofaselectionupintoallselectedcells

)
)
)
)

CTRL+V:Pastethecontentoftheclipboard(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+W:Defineazoomareaonthemap(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+X:Cuttheselecteddata(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+Y:Redothepreviousundonemodification(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+Z:Undothelastmodification(inthetoolbar,click

)
)

UsingtheALTkey:

ALT+:Previouszoomandlocationonthemap(inthetoolbar,click

ALT+:Nextzoomandlocationonthemap(inthetoolbar,click

ALT+F8:OpentheAddinsandMacrosdialogbox

UsingtheFunctionKeys

F5:Refreshdisplayofmapandfolders(toolbar:select

F7:Calculateonlyinvalidmatrices,unlockedcoverages,andpendingsimulations(inthetoolbar,click

CTRL+F7:Forcethecalculationofallmatrices,unlockedcoverages,andpendingsimulations(inthetoolbar,click
)
YoucanalsoaccessmenusandcommandsbypressingtheALTkeyandtypingthe
underlinedletterinthemenuorcommandname.

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ThischapterexplainshowtostartanewAtollproject.

Inthischapter,thefollowingareexplained:

"BeforeStartingaRadioPlanningProject"onpage121

"CreatinganAtollDocument"onpage121

"MakingaBackupofYourDocument"onpage133

"MakingandSharingPortableAtollProjects"on
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2 AtollProjects
Whenyouwanttostartanewproject,youbaseitonatemplatethathasthedataandfolderstructurenecessaryforthetech
nologyyouareusing.OnceyouhavestartedyournewAtollproject,youcanmodifythenetworkparameterstomeetyour
particularneeds.Atollsuppliesanumberoftemplatesforvarioustechnologies.Youcanalsocreateyourowntemplatesby
openinganexistingtemplate,makingthechangesnecessarytomeetyourownneedsandthensavingitasanewtemplate.
Whenyouopenanexistingproject,youcanselectitfromtheFilemenuifitisoneofthelastprojectsyouhaveworkedon,
oryoucanopenitfromtheOpendialogbox.Atollcanworkwithlinkedgeographicdatafiles,soitmayhappenthatoneof
thelinkedfileswasmovedorrenamedsincethelasttimeyouworkedonthatproject.Atollenablesyoutofindthefileand
repairthelink.
Inthischapter,thefollowingareexplained:

"BeforeStartingaRadioPlanningProject"onpage121
"CreatinganAtollDocument"onpage121.

2.1 BeforeStartingaRadioPlanningProject
Foreveryradioplanningprojectyoumustassembletheinformationnecessary:

Radio equipment: sites, transmitters, antennas, repeaters, and other equipment. For more information on radio
equipment,seethetechnologyspecificchapters.
Radiodata:frequencybands,technologyspecificparameters,coordinatesystems,etc.Formoreinformationonradio
data,seethetechnologyspecificchapters.
Geographicdata:clutterclasses,clutterheights,DTM,populationmaps,etc.Formoreinformationongeographic
data,seeChapter3:GeographicData.

Oncethenecessarydatahasbeenassembled,youcancreatetheAtolldocument.

2.2 CreatinganAtollDocument
Whatevertheradiotechnologyyouwillbemodelling,youcreateanAtolldocumentinoneoftwoways:

Fromadocumenttemplate:YoucancreateanewAtolldocument,includingamultiRATdocument,fromatemplate.
Atollisdeliveredwithatemplateforeachtechnologyyouwillbeplanningfor.Forinformationoncreatingadocument
fromatemplate,see"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate"onpage121.
Youcanalsocreateyourowntemplatebybasingitonanexistingdocumentthatyouhavealreadycustomisedwith,
forexample,certaingeodataorantennas.

Fromanexistingdatabase:WhenyoucreateanewAtolldocumentfromadatabase,thedatabaseyouconnectto
has been created with the technology or technologies, in the case of a multiRAT document, and data you need.
Workingwithadatabaseallowsseveraluserstosharethesamedatawhileatthesametimemanagingdataconsist
ency.TheexactprocedureforcreatinganewAtolldocumentfromadatabasediffers,dependingonthedatabasecon
taining the data. Atoll canwork with several common databases. For information on starting a document from a
database,see"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaDatabase"onpage127.

2.2.1 CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate
YoucancreateanewAtolldocumentfromatemplate.Atollhasatemplateforeachtechnologyyouwillbeplanningfor.Each
templateprovidesdataandadatastructuresuitableforthetechnology.Forexample,thetablesandfieldsfortransmitters
aswellastheradioparametersavailabledifferaccordingtotheproject.Aswell,theobjectsthatareavailableareappropriate
forthetechnology.Forexample,UMTScellsareonlyavailableinUMTSdocumentsandTRXareonlyavailableinGSMTDMA
documents.
IfyoucreateamultiRATdocument,Atollenablesyoutoselectthemultipleradiotechnologiesyouwillbeplanningfor.Ina
multiRATdocument,thedataanddatastructuresforeachradiotechnologyplannedforaremadeavailableinthenewAtoll
document.
Onceyouhaveselectedtheappropriatetemplateforyourradioplanningproject,youconfigurethebasicparametersofthe
Atolldocument(see"DefiningaNewAtollDocument"onpage123).
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"TemplatesAvailable"onpage122
"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate"onpage122
"DefiningaNewAtollDocument"onpage123

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2.2.1.1 TemplatesAvailable
DependingonyourconfigurationofAtoll,thefollowingtemplatesareavailable:

GSM GPRS EDGE: This template can be used to model second generation (2G) mobile telecommunications using
TDMA(TimeDivisionMultipleAccess)technology.Thistemplatecanbeusedtomodelthefollowingtechnologies:

GSM(GlobalSystemforMobileCommunication):GSMisa2GtechnologybasedonTDMA.

GPRS(GeneralPacketRadioService):GPRSisapacketswitchedtechnologythatenablesdataapplicationson
GSMnetworks.Itisconsidereda2.5Gtechnology.

EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution): EDGE is an advancement for GSM/GPRS networks that triples
throughputs.BecauseitisbasedonexistingGSMtechnology,itallowsforasmoothupgradeforGSMoperators,
givingthemcapabilitiesapproachingthoseofa3Gnetwork,whileremainingwiththeexisting2Gsystem.Two
typesofEDGEareconsidered:standardEDGE(alsocalledEGPRS)andEDGEEvolution(EGPRS2).

CDMA20001xRTT1xEVDO:Thistemplatecanbeusedtomodelthirdgeneration(3G)mobiletelecommunications
basedonCDMA2000technology.CDMA2000isanevolutionofCDMA,orcodedivisionmultipleaccess.Thistemplate
canbeusedtomodelthefollowingtechnologies:

1xRTT(1xRadioTransmissionTechnology):1xRTTissometimesconsiderednotas3Gbutas2.5Gintermsof
mobiletelecommunications.Itoffersincreasedvoicecapacityascomparedto2Gtechnologies,butnotasmuch
aspure3Gsolutions.
1xEVDO(1xEvolutionDataOnly):1xEVDOisanevolutionofCDMA2000thatprovidesdatatransferratesof
over10timesthoseof1xRTT.Itisconsidereda3Gsolutionandaddresses,asitsnamesuggests,dataonly.

UMTSHSPA:UMTS(UniversalMobileTelecommunicationsSystem)andHSDPA(HighSpeedDownlinkPacketAccess)
andHSUPA(HighSpeedUplinkPacketAccess),collectivelyreferredtoasHSPA,arethirdgeneration(3G)mobiletel
ecommunicationsystemsbasedonWCDMA(WidebandCodeDivisionMultipleAccess)technology.AlthoughWCDMA
issimilarinimplementationtoCDMA,thetwotechnologiesareincompatible.UMTSandHSPAareusuallyimple
mentedinplaceandoverGSMnetworks.

TDSCDMA:TDSCDMA(TimeDivisionSynchronousCDMA)isa3GmobiletelecommunicationsystembasedonTime
DivisionDuplex(TDD)mode.TDSCDMAtransmitsuplinkanddownlinktrafficinthesameframeindifferenttime
slots.

WiMAX: Atoll WiMAX is a stateoftheart WiMAX and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) network planning tool
developedincooperationwithworldleadingWiMAXequipmentsuppliers.AtollWiMAXsupportsIEEE802.16e.

WiFi:AtollWiFienablesmodellingofIEEE802.11wirelesslocalareanetworks(WLAN)andtostudymobiletraffic
offloadingtoWiFinetworks.

LTE:Thistemplatecanbeusedtomodelthenewfourthgeneration(4G)networksbasedontheUTRANLTE(UMTS
TerrestrialRadioAccessNetworksLongTermEvolution)specificationsproposedbythe3GPP.AtollLTEstrictlyfol
lowsthelatest3GPPLTEspecifications,andhasbeendevelopedincollaborationwiththemarketleadingequipment
manufacturers.AtollLTEisthefirstandmostcomprehensiveLTEnetworkplanningtoolavailableonthemarket.

3GPPMultiRAT:Thistemplatecanbeusedtomodelthemostcommonmultitechnologyprojects.Whenstartinga
new3GPPmultiRATproject,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhichradiotechnologieswillbemodelledinthesameproject:
GSM,UMTS,andLTE.
ThemultiRATtemplatecanalsobeusedtocreateaGSM,UMTS,orLTEsingleRAT
document.ByusingthemultiRATtemplatetocreateasingleRATdocument,youwill
havetheflexibilityofbeingabletoaddadditionaltechnologiestothedocumentinthe
future.

2.2.1.2 CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate
Tocreateanewdocumentfromatemplate:
1. SelectFile>New>FromaDocumentTemplate.TheProjectTemplatesdialogboxappears.
2. SelectthetemplateonwhichyouwanttobaseyourdocumentandclickOK.Atollcreatesanewdocumentbasedon
thetemplateselected.

Ifthetemplateyouselectedwas"MultiRAT,"Atolldisplaysadialogboxenablingyoutoselecttheradiotechnol
ogiesyouwanttomodelinthenewdocument:GSM,UMTS,orLTE.

Figure2.1showsanewAtolldocumentbasedontheUMTSHSPAtemplate.TheNetworkexplorernowhasafolderstructure
suitableforaUMTSHSPAradioplanningproject,with,amongotherUMTSspecificelements,UMTSHSPAHSPAsimulations.
Figure2.2showsthecontentsoftheGeoexplorerofthenewdocument.Figure2.3showsthecontentsoftheParameters
explorer, with other UMTS HSPA parameters. The Antennas folder is expanded to show the UMTScompatible antennas
suggestedbyAtoll.Thesecanbemodifiedorreplaced.

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Figure2.1:NewAtolldocumentbasedonatemplate

Figure2.2:NewAtolldocumentGeoexplorer

Figure2.3:NewAtolldocumentParametersexplorer

WhenyoucreateanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,thedocumentisnotconnectedtoadatabase.
Toverifywhetherthedocumentisconnectedtoadatabase:

SelectDocument>Database>ConnectionProperties.Thefollowingmessageappears.

Figure2.4:Atemplatebaseddocumentisnotconnectedtoadatabase

2.2.1.3 DefiningaNewAtollDocument
OnceyouhavecreatedanewAtolldocumentasexplainedin"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate"onpage122,
youconfigurethebasicparametersoftheAtolldocument.Youcanacceptthedefaultvaluesforsomeparameters,suchas
basicmeasurementunits,butyoumustsetprojectionanddisplaycoordinatesystems.

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Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

2.2.1.3.1

"ProjectionandDisplayCoordinateSystems"onpage124
"SettingaCoordinateSystem"onpage125
"SelectingtheDegreeDisplayFormat"onpage125
"SettingMeasurementUnits"onpage125

ProjectionandDisplayCoordinateSystems
InAtoll,youdefinethetwocoordinatesystemsforeachAtolldocument:theprojectioncoordinatesystemandthedisplay
coordinatesystem.Bydefault,thesamecoordinatesystemisusedforboth.
Aprojectionisamethodforproducingallorpartofaroundbodyonaflatsheet.Thisprojectioncannotbedonewithout
distortion, thus the cartographer must choose the characteristic (distance, direction, scale, area or shape) which is to be
shown appropriatelyat the expenseof the other characteristics, or he mustcompromiseon severalcharacteristics1. The
projectedzonesarereferencedusingcartographiccoordinates(meter,yard,etc.).
Twoprojectionsystemsarewidelyused:

TheLambertConformalConicprojection:aportionoftheearthismathematicallyprojectedonaconeconceptually
secantatoneortwostandardparallels.Thisprojectiontypeisusefulforrepresentingcountriesorregionsthatlay
primarilyeasttowest.
TheUniversalTransverseMercatorprojection(UTM):aportionoftheearthismathematicallyprojectedonacylinder
tangenttoameridian(whichistransverseorcrosswisetotheequator).Thisprojectiontypeisusefulformappinglarge
areasthatareorientednorthsouth.

Ageographicsystemisnotaprojection,butarepresentationofalocationontheearth'ssurfacefromgeographiccoordinates
(degreeminutesecondorgrade)givingthelatitudeandlongitudeinrelationtotheoriginmeridian(ParisfortheNTFsystem
andGreenwichfortheED50system).Thelocationsinthegeographicsystemcanbeconvertedintootherprojections.
Atollhasdatabasesincludingmorethan980internationalcoordinatesystemreferences,adatabasebasedontheEuropean
PetroleumSurveyGroupandanotheroneregroupingonlyFrance'scoordinatesystems.Atollusesthecartographiccoordi
natesystemsforprojectionandeithercartographicorgeographiccoordinatesystemsfordisplay.
Themapsdisplayedintheworkspacearereferencedwiththesameprojectionsystemastheimportedgeographicdatafiles;
thus,theprojectionsystemdependsontheimportedgeographicfile.Bychoosingaspecificdisplaysystem,youcansee(using
therulersorstatusbars)thelocationofsitesonthemapinacoordinatesystemdifferentfromtheprojectioncoordinate
system.Youcanalsopositiononthemapsitesreferencedinthedisplaysystem:thecoordinatesareautomaticallyconverted
fromtheprojectionsystemtothedisplaysystemandthesiteisdisplayedonthemap.
Figure2.5showsthatthegeographicdatafileofBrusselswasimported.ThemapshowsBrusselsprojectedwiththeUTM
cartographicsystem(coordinatesinmetres).Ontheotherhand,sitecoordinatesaredisplayedintheWGS84geographical
system(coordinatesindegreesminutesseconds).

Figure2.5:UTMsystemusedwithWGS84system
Allimportedrastergeographicfilesmustbeusethesamecartographicsystem.Ifnot,you
mustconvertthemtoasinglecartographicsystem.

1.
Snyder,John.P.,MapProjectionsUsedbytheUSGeologicalSurvey,2ndEdition,UnitedStatesGovernmentPrinting
Office,Washington,D.C.,313pages,1982.

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2.2.1.3.2

SettingaCoordinateSystem
Becauseyouareworkingwithmaps,youmustsetacoordinatesystemforyourAtolldocument.Bydefault,projectionand
displaycoordinatesystemsarethesame,butyoucanchooseadifferentdisplaycoordinatesystemifyouwant.
Todefinethecoordinatesystem:
1. SelectDocument>Properties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. OntheCoordinatestab,clicktheBrowsebuttontotherightoftheProjectionfield.TheCoordinateSystemsdialog
boxappears.
3. IntheCoordinateSystemsdialogbox,selectacataloguefromtheFindinlist.Fortheprojectionsystem,onlycarto
graphicsystems(
)areavailable.
4. Selectacoordinatesystemfromthelist.
Ifyoufrequentlyuseaparticularcoordinatesystemyoucanaddittoacatalogueof
favouritesbyclickingAddtoFavourites.

5. ClickOK.TheselectedcoordinatesystemappearsintheProjectionfieldand,bydefault,intheDisplayfieldaswell.
6. Ifyouwishtosetadifferentcoordinatesystemforthedisplay,clicktheBrowsebuttontotherightoftheDisplayfield
andrepeatstep3.tostep5.Forthedisplaysystem,bothcartographicsystems(identifiedbythe
graphicsystems(

2.2.1.3.3

symbol)andgeo

)areavailable.

SelectingtheDegreeDisplayFormat
Atollcandisplaylongitudeandlatitudeinfourdifferentformats.Forexample:

265629.9N
26d56m29.9sN
26.93914N
+26.93914

Tochangethedegreedisplayformat:
1. SelectDocument>Properties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. OntheCoordinatestab,selecttheformatfromtheDegreeFormatlist.
3. ClickOK.
Thedegreeformatoptionsapplyonlytothegeographiccoordinatesystems.

2.2.1.3.4

SettingMeasurementUnits
WhenyoucreateanewAtolldocument,Atollsetscertainmeasurementunitsforreception,transmission,antennagain,
distance,heightandoffsettointernaldefaults.Youcanacceptthesedefaultmeasurementunits,oryoucanchangethem
usingthePropertiesdialogbox.
Tosetthemeasurementunits:
1. SelectDocument>Properties.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. OntheUnitstab,selectthedesiredunitforthefollowingmeasurements:

Radio:

Geo:

Radiatedpower:Selecteither"EIRP"(EffectiveIsotropicallyRadiatedPower)or"ERP"()
Antennagain:Selecteither"dBi"(decibel(isotropic))or"dBd"(decibel(dipole))
Transmission:Selecteither"dBm"(decibel(milliWatt)),"W"(Watt),or"kW"(kiloWatt)
Reception:Selecteither"dBm"(decibel(milliWatt)),"dBV"(decibel(microvolt)),"dBV/M"(decibel(micro
voltpermetre)),or"V/M"(voltspermetre)
Distance:Selecteither"m"(metres),"Km"(kilometres),or"mi"(miles)
Heightandoffset:Selecteither"m"(metres)or"ft"(feet)

Climate:

Temperature:Selecteither"C"(Celsius)or"F"(Fahrenheit)

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3. ClickOK.

2.2.2 WorkinginaMultiUserEnvironment
Amultiuserenvironmentisonewhereanumberofusers,orgroupsofusers,worksimultaneouslyongivenpartsofasingle,
large(perhapsnationwide)network.Differentusergroupsmightbeworkingonregionalorsmallersectionsofthenetwork.
Thissectiondescribesthedifferentcomponentsofmultiuserenvironmentsandoutlinestheirpurpose.
WhenyoucreateanewAtolldocumentfromadatabase,Atollloadsthedatatowhichyouhaverightsfromdatabaseinto
yournewdocumentandthendisconnectsitfromthedatabase.Theconnectiontothereferencedatabaseisreactivatedonly
whennecessary,thusensuringaccesstothedatabasebyotherusers.
Whenyouworkonadocumentcreatedfromadatabase,youareworkingondatathatyouaresharingwithotherusers.
Consequently,thereareissuesrelatedtosharingdatathatdonotarisewhenyouareworkingonastandalonedocument.
Forexample,whenyouarchiveyourchangestothedatabase,thechangesyouhavemademayoccasionallyinterferewith
changesotherusershavemadeandyouwillneedtoresolvethisconflict.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"TheAtollMultiUserEnvironment"onpage126
"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaDatabase"onpage127
"WorkingWithaDocumentonaDatabase"onpage128
"RefreshinganAtollDocumentfromtheDatabase"onpage130
"ArchivingtheModificationsofanAtollDocumentintheDatabase"onpage130.

2.2.2.1 TheAtollMultiUserEnvironment
AnAtollmultiuserenvironmentconsistsofthefollowingitems,connectedoveranetwork:

AcentralAtollproject:ThecentralAtollprojectcanonlybeaccessed,modified,andupdatedbytheAtolladminis
trator.ThroughthiscentralAtollproject,theAtolladministratorcanmanageallthedatasharedbyalltheindividual
Atollusersorgroupsofusers.

Shareddata:ShareddataisinitiallysetupbytheadministratorusingthecentralAtollprojectandarethenaccessed,
modified,workedon,andupdatedbytheAtollusersandtheadministrator.Theshareddataismainlyofthefollowing
threetypes:

Thecentraldatabase:ThecentraldatabasestoresalltheradiodataofalltheAtolluserdocuments.Itisinitiated
throughthecentralAtollprojectbytheadministrator,andisthensubdividedintosectionsonwhichusersor
groupsofuserscanworksimultaneously.Oncethedatabaseisinplace,userscanmodifytheirprojects,refresh
theirprojectsfromthedatastoredinthedatabase,andarchivetheirmodificationsinthedatabase.Theuseofa
databasemeansthatpotentialdataconflictsduetomodificationsfromotherusers,modifiedordeletedrecords,
forexample,canbedetectedandresolved.

Sharedgeographicdata:Sharedgeographicdatafilesareusuallystoredonacommonfileserverwithafastaccess
connection.Sincegeographicdatafilesareusuallylarge,theyareusuallylinkedtoanAtollfile,i.e.,theyarestored
externally,soastominimisethesizeoftheAtollfile.Userswhomodifygeographicdatalocally,forexample,
editingeditclutterortrafficintheirrespectiveprojects,usuallystorethesemodificationslocally,sincethesemod
ificationsrarelyhaveanimpactonotherusers.

Pathlossmatrices:ThepathlossmatricesarecalculatedthroughthecentralAtollprojectbytheadministrator
andcanbeupdatedonlybytheadministrator.Eachusercanreadthesepathlossdatabutcannotmodifythem.
IfusersmodifytheirAtolldocumentsinsuchawaythatthepathlossdatabecomesinvalidfortheirdocument,
anypathlossmatricescalculatedbytheseusersarestoredlocally,eitherembeddedintheATLfileorlinkedtoan
externalfile.Thesharedpathlossdataisnotmodified.
Sharedpathlossmatricesareupdatedwhenthecalculationadministratorperformsanupdate,takingintoac
countthemodificationsmadebyotheruserswhichhavebeenstoredandupdatedinthecentraldatabase.Shared
pathlossmatricesenableanumberofuserstoworkwithacentralisedpathlossmatricesfolder,containingpath
lossmatricescorrespondingtothecentralAtollproject.

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UserDocuments:Individualuserdocumentsareinitialisedbytheadministratorbutarelaterworkeduponandman
agedbyeachuser.UserdocumentsareAtollfileswhichareconnectedtothecentraldatabase,loadonlytherequired
partofthegeographicdata(asdefinedbytheCFGfile,forexample),andhaveaccesstothesharedpathlossmatrices
folder.

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Figure2.6:ComponentsofMultiuserEnvironments
Forinformationoncreatingandmaintainingthedatabase,seetheAdministratorManual.

2.2.2.2 CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaDatabase
Whenyoucreateanewdocumentfromadatabase,youmustconnecttothedatabase.Onceconnected,Atollloadsthedata
baseintoanewAtolldocument.Thentheconnectedisinterrupted.Anewconnectionwiththedatabasewillbecreatedonly
whennecessary,inordertoallowotherusersaccesstothedatabase.
Theexactprocedureofconnectingwiththedatabasediffersfromonedatabasetoanother.Atollcanworkwiththefollowing
databases:

MicrosoftAccess
MicrosoftSQLServer
Oracle
MicrosoftDataLinkfiles

Thefollowingsectionsgiveexamplesofconnectingtotwodifferentdatabasesandloadingdata:

"ConnectingtoaDatabase"onpage127.
"SelectingtheDatatoLoadFromtheDatabase"onpage128.

AnexampleofanewAtolldocumentcreatedfromadatabaseisshownin:

2.2.2.2.1

"WorkingWithaDocumentonaDatabase"onpage128

ConnectingtoaDatabase
Tocreateanewdocumentfromadatabase:
1. SelectFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.TheOpenfromaDatabasedialogboxappears.
2. IntheFilesoftypelist,selecttheoptioncorrespondingtothetypeofyourdatabase.Dependingonthetypeofthe
database,adialogboxmayappearwhereyoucanenteryourUserName,Password,andServer.

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BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanconfigureAtolltoalwaysusea
defineddatabasetype(MSAccess,SQLServer,orOracle).TheOpenfromaData
base dialog box will not appear. Instead the databasespecific authentication
dialogboxwillappearimmediately.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
Additionaldialogboxesmightopenaskingyoutochoosewhichprojectinthedata
basetoloadorwhichsitelisttoload.

3. ClickOK.TheDatatoLoaddialogboxappears,allowingyoutoselectthedatatoloadintoAtollasanewdocument
(see"SelectingtheDatatoLoadFromtheDatabase"onpage128).

2.2.2.2.2

SelectingtheDatatoLoadFromtheDatabase
Whenyoucreateanewdocumentfromadatabase,youcanselectthedatatobeloadedfromthedatabasetocreatethe
documentintheDatatoloaddialogbox.YoucanselectwhichProject,SiteList,CustomFieldsGroups,andNeighboursto
load.Ifyouloadtheintratechnologyortheintertechnologyneighbourlist,Atollwillalsoloadtheassociatedexceptional
pairstable.

Figure2.7:Selectingthedatatoload

2.2.2.3 WorkingWithaDocumentonaDatabase
Figure2.8showsanewAtolldocumentbasedcreatedfromadatabase.TheNetworkexplorernowhasafolderstructuresuit
ableforaUMTSradioplanningproject.TheSitesfolderisexpandedtoshowthatadocumentcreatedfromadatabasecan
haveadditionaldata,suchassites,unlikeadocumentcreatedfromatemplate.Thesecanbemodifiedorreplaced.Figure2.9
andFigure2.10showthecontentsoftheGeoandParameterstabsofthenewdocument,respectively.

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Figure2.8:NewAtolldocumentopenedfromadatabase
Thenewdocumentmightopenwithnositedisplayedinthemapwindow.Thisisbecause
thenorthwestpointoftheprojectisbydefaulttheaxisorigin.Youcanrecentrethedocu
mentonthedatadisplayedintheNetworkexplorerbyexpandingtheSitesfolder,right
clickinganysite,andselectingCentreinMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Figure2.9:NewAtolldocumentGeoexplorer

Figure2.10:NewAtolldocumentParametersexplorer

WhenyoucreateanAtolldocumentfromadatabase,youcanviewthecharacteristicsofthedatabaseconnection.
Toviewthecharacteristicsofthedatabaseconnection:
1. Select Document> Database> Connection Properties. The Database Connection dialog box appears (see
Figure2.11).
2. Youcannow:

Disconnectyourdocumentfromthedatabase.
Ifyoudisconnectyourdocumentfromthedatabase,itwillbebecomeastandalone
documentandyouwillnotbeabletoreconnectittothedatabase.

Modifyyourconnectiontothedatabase.

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Figure2.11:TheDatabaseConnectiondialogbox

2.2.2.4 RefreshinganAtollDocumentfromtheDatabase
Asyouareworkingonyourdocument,otheruserswhohaveaccesstothedatabasemayhavemodifiedsomeofthedata.You
canensurethatyouhavethemostrecentdatainyourdocumentbyrefreshingtheinformationfromthedatabase.How
frequently you refresh the document depends on how frequently the database is updated. If the database is updated
frequently,youshouldrefreshyourdocumentfrequentlyaswell,inordertocontinueworkingwiththemostuptodatedata.
TorefreshanAtolldocumentfromthedatabase:
1. SelectDocument>Database>RefreshFromtheDatabase.TheRefreshdialogboxappears.
2. Inthedialogbox,youcandooneofthefollowingifyouhavemodifiedyourdocumentbuthavenotyetsavedthose
changesinthedatabase:

Archiveyourchangesinthedatabase:Thisoptionallowsyoutoarchiveyourchangestotheserverinsteadof
refreshingyourdocumentfromtheserver.
Refreshunmodifieddataonly:Thisoptionallowsyoutorefreshfromthedatabaseonlythoseitemsthatyouhave
notmodifiedinyourdocument.
Cancelyourchangesandreloaddatabase:Thisoptionallowsyoutocancelanychangesyouhavemadeandstart
overfromthepointofthelastarchivetothedatabase.

If you chose Refresh unmodified data only or Cancel your changes and reload
database,Atollproceedswithoutaskingforconfirmation.
If you chose Archive your changes in the database, the Archive dialog box
appears.ForinformationonusingtheArchivedialogbox,see"ArchivingtheMod
ificationsofanAtollDocumentintheDatabase"onpage130.

3. Under Take into account, you can select the neighbour lists, Intratechnology Neighbours and Intertechnology
Neighbours,torefresh.
4. UnderModificationsSincetheLastRefresh,youcanselecttheGenerateReportcheckboxtocreateareportforthe
refreshprocess.
5. ClickOK.Thedocumentisrefreshedaccordingtotheselectedoptions.
Ifyouselectedtogenerateareport,AtollcreatesatextfileinCSV(CommaSeparatedValues)formatinthetemporaryfiles
systemfolder,andopensit.Youcanthenrenamethefileandsaveitwhereyouwant.Thereportlistsallthemodifications
(deletions,additions,andupdates)thatwerestoredinthedatabasesincethelasttimeyourefreshedoropenedyourdocu
ment.

2.2.2.5 ArchivingtheModificationsofanAtollDocumentintheDatabase
WhenyouareworkingonanAtolldocumentthatisattachedtoadatabase,youshouldfromtimetotimearchivethemodi
ficationsyouhavemadetothedataonthedatabase.Howfrequentlyyoushouldarchiveyourdocumentdependsonseveral
factors:theamountandsizeofchangesyoumake,thenumberofotherusersusingthedatabasewhomightbenefitfromyour
modifications,etc.Whatyoucanarchivedependsontheuserrightsthedatabaseadministratorhasgiventoyou.Forexample,
you can have read access to the antennas table, allowing you to create a new Atoll document with the given antennas.
However, because only the administrator canmodifythe properties of theantennas,you will not be able to archiveany
changesyoumaketotheantennaswithoutwriteaccesstothetable.
TheAtollarchivingprocessisflexible.Youcanarchiveallyourmodificationsoronlythesiterelatedmodifications.Aswell,
whenyouarearchiving,Atollshowsyouallmodificationsthatwillbearchivedand,ifyouwant,youcanarchiveonlysomeof
themorevenundomodificationsyouhavemadelocally.Occasionally,otherusersmighthavemodifiedsomeofthesame
dataand,whenyouarchiveyourchanges,Atollwillinformyouofthepossibleconflictsandhelpyouresolvethem.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"ArchivingAllModificationsintheDatabase"onpage131
"ArchivingOnlySiteRelatedDataintheDatabase"onpage131
"ResolvingDataConflicts"onpage131.

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2.2.2.5.1

ArchivingAllModificationsintheDatabase
Toarchiveallyourmodificationsinthedatabase:
1. SelectDocument>Database>Archive.TheArchivedialogboxappears(seeFigure2.12).
2. IntheArchivedialogbox,youcandothefollowing:

ClickRunAlltoarchiveallyourchangestothedatabase.
SelectoneitemunderPendingchangesandclickRuntoarchivetheselectedmodificationtothedatabase
SelectoneitemunderPendingchangesandclickDifferencestoviewthedifferencesbetweenthelocalitemand
theitemonthedatabase.
SelectoneitemunderPendingchangesandclickUndotorefreshthemodificationwiththeoriginaldatafromthe
database.

Figure2.12:TheArchivedialogbox
3. Ifsomeofthedatahasbeenmodifiedonthedatabasesinceyoulastrefreshed,Atollstopsthearchivingprocessand
asksyoutoresolvetheconflict.Forinformationonmanagingconflicts,see"ResolvingDataConflicts"onpage131.
4. Whenyouarefinishedarchiving,clickClose.

2.2.2.5.2

ArchivingOnlySiteRelatedDataintheDatabase
Atollallowsyoutoarchiveonlysiterelateddataifyouwant.Whichdataisarchiveddependsontheradiotechnologyyouare
workingwith.Forexample,inaUMTSHSPAradioplanningproject,thesiterelateddatais:sites,transmitters,cells,andneigh
bours.
Toarchiveonlythesiterelateddatainthedatabase:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectArchive.TheArchivedialogboxappearswithonlysiterelateddatadisplayed.
4. IntheArchivedialogbox,youcandothefollowing:

ClickRunAlltoarchiveallyourchangestothedatabase.
SelectoneitemunderPendingChangesandclickRuntoarchivetheselectedmodificationtothedatabase
SelectoneitemunderPendingChangesandclickDifferencestoviewthedifferencesbetweenthelocalitemand
theitemonthedatabase.
SelectoneitemunderPendingChangesandclickUndotorefreshthemodificationwiththeoriginaldatafromthe
database.

5. Ifsomeofthedatahasbeenmodifiedonthedatabasesinceyoulastrefreshed,Atollstopsthearchivingprocessand
asksyoutoresolvetheconflict.Forinformationonmanagingconflicts,see"ResolvingDataConflicts"onpage131.
6. Whenyouarefinishedarchiving,clickClose.

2.2.2.5.3

ResolvingDataConflicts
Atollenablesseveraluserstousethesamedatabasebyallowingusertoloadthedataandthenfreeingthedatabaseforother
users. However, this also creates the possibility of two users modifying the same data. When a second user attempts to
archivehischanges,Atollwarnsthemthatthedatahasbeenchangedsincetheylastrefreshedthedataandthatthereisa
conflict.
Atollcanresolvedataconflicts.WhenAtollfindsaconflict,itdisplaysthewarningwindowshowninFigure2.13.

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Figure2.13:Conflictwarning
Youhavethreeoptions:

Ignore:IfyouclickIgnore,Atollignoresitemscausingconflictsinthetablebeingarchived,archivesallothermodifi
cationsinthetable,andcontinueswiththenexttable.Youcanresolvetheconflictsafterthearchivingprocesshas
ended.However,ifconflictsarefoundinothertables,AtollwillwarnyouwiththeDatabaseTransferErrordialogbox
again.
IgnoreAll:IfyouclickIgnoreAll,Atollignoresallitemscausingconflictsinalltablesbeingarchived,andarchivesall
othermodifications.Youcanresolvetheconflictsafterthearchivingprocesshasended.
Abort: If you click Abort, the archiving process stops. You can attempt to resolve conflicts before restarting the
archivingprocess.

Whetheryouabortthearchiveprocesstoresolvetheconflictimmediately,orwaituntiltheendofthearchiveprocess,the
proceduretoresolvetheconflictisthesame.
Toresolvedataconflictsonebyone:
1. InthePendingChangespaneoftheArchivedialogbox,selecttheconflictyouwanttoresolveandclickResolve.There
aretwodifferenttypesofdataconflicts:

Onamodifiedrecord:Youareintheprocessofarchivingyourmodificationsonthedatabaseandanotheruser
hasmodifiedthesamedatasinceyoulastarchivedorrefreshedyourdata.Aconflictiscausedonlybydifferences
inthesamefieldofthesamerecordbetweenthedatabaseandthecurrentAtolldocument.
TheConflictinChangesdialogboxappears,withthefieldsinconflicthighlighted(seeFigure2.14).IntheConflict
inChangesdialogbox,youcanseethevalueofthefieldinthedatabaseintheDatabasevaluescolumn,aswell
asthevalueofthesamefieldinyourdocumentintheCurrentvaluescolumn.

Figure2.14:TheConflictinChangesdialogbox

Ifyouwanttooverwritethedatabasevaluewiththevalueofthesamefieldinyourdocument,selectthecheck
boxnexttothehighlightedchangeandclickOkay.Yourmodificationwillbewrittentothedatabase,overwrit
ingthevaluethere.

Ifyouwanttoacceptthevalueofthefieldinthedatabase,clearthecheckboxnexttothehighlightedchange
andclickOkay.Yourmodificationwillbelostandthevalueinthedatabasewillremainunchanged.

Onadeletedrecord:Youareintheprocessofarchivingyourmodificationsonthedatabaseandanotheruserhas
deletedarecordsinceyoulastarchivedorrefreshedyourdata.Forinformation,see"ResolvingDataConflicts"on
page131.
Atolldisplaysamessageexplainingthattherecordyouaretryingtoupdatehasbeendeletedfromthedatabase
(seeFigure2.15).Selectoneofthefollowing:

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Figure2.15:Conflictonadeletedrecord

Yes:SelectYestostoreyourmodificationsinthedatabase,therebyrecreatingthedeletedrecord.
No:SelectNotoabandonyourmodificationstothisrecordanddeletethisrecordfromyourdocument.
Cancel:SelectCanceltocancel.

2. ClickClosetoclosetheArchivedialogbox.
Toresolveallthedataconflicts:
1. In the Pending Changes pane of the Archive dialog box, select any conflict and click Resolve All. Atoll displays a
messageexplaininghowResolveAllworks(seeFigure2.16).Selectoneofthefollowing:

Figure2.16:Resolvingallthedataconflictssimultaneously

Yes:SelectYestoacceptallthemodificationsmadebyotherusersinthedatabaseandupdateyourdocument
withvaluesfromthedatabase.
No:SelectNotooverwritethemodificationsmadebyotherusersinthedatabasewiththevaluesfromyourdoc
ument.
Cancel:SelectCanceltocancel.

2. ClickClosetoclosetheArchivedialogbox.
Youshouldonlyresolveallthedataconflictswhenyouarecertainaboutthe
modifications.

2.3 MakingaBackupofYourDocument
Atollcancreateandautomaticallyupdatebackupsofdocumentsyouareworkingon.Onceyouhavesavedthedocument,
Atollcreatesabackupoftheoriginaldocumentandupdatesitatadefinedinterval.Forexample,foradocumentnamed"file
name.atl,"Atollwillcreateabackupfilecalled"filename.atl.bak"inthesamefolderastheoriginaldocument.Youcandefine
theupdateintervaleachtimeyoustartAtoll.
YoucanalsoconfigureAtolltocreateautomaticbackupsofexternalpathlossmatrices(LOSfiles)bysettinganoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Whenyouhaveactivatedautomaticbackup,Atollautomaticallycreatesabackupforeverydocumentopen.Consequently,if
youhavealotofdocumentsopen,thisoperationcantakealongtime.However,youcanoptimisetheprocessbyopening
largedocumentsinseparateAtollsessions,insteadofinthesameAtollsession.Thisalsoimprovesmemorymanagement
because each instance of Atoll has its own 2GB (under 32bit operating systems; 4GB under 64bit operating systems)
memoryallocation.IfyouopentwolargedocumentsinthesameAtollsession,thesedocumentswillusethesame2GB
memorypool.IfyouopenthemintwodifferentAtollsessions,eachdocumentwillhaveitsown2GBallocatedmemory.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ConfiguringAutomaticBackup"onpage134
"RecoveringaBackup"onpage134.

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2.3.1 ConfiguringAutomaticBackup
YoucansetupautomaticbackupforeachAtollsession.
Toconfigureautomaticbackup:
1. SelectTools>ConfigureAutoBackup.TheAutoBackupConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure2.17).

Figure2.17:AutoBackupConfigurationdialogbox
2. SelecttheActivateAutoBackupcheckbox.
3. SelectthePromptbeforestartingAutoBackupcheckboxifyouwantAtolltoaskyoubeforesavingthebackupof
yourfileeverytime(seeFigure2.18).
4. Enteratimeinterval,inminutes,betweenconsecutivebackupsintheAutomaticallysavebackupseverytextbox.
Itcantakealongtime toback uplargedocuments. Therefore,youshould setacorre
spondinglylongerintervalbetweenbackupswhenworkingwithlargedocumentsinorder
tooptimisetheprocess.
5. ClickOK.
IfyouselectedthePromptbeforestartingautomaticbackupcheckbox,Atollpromptsyoueachtimebeforebackingupthe
document.IfyouclickOK,Atollproceedstobackupallopendocuments.IfyouclickCancel,Atollskipsthebackuponce.

Figure2.18:Automaticbackupprompt
Theautomaticbackuptimerisstoppedwhilethepromptisdisplayed.AtolldisplaysamessageintheEventViewereverytime
abackupfileisupdated.Ifyouareperformingcalculations,i.e.,coveragepredictionsorsimulations,theautomaticbackupis
delayeduntilthecalculationshaveended.Thetimerstartsagainoncethecalculationsareover.Ifyousavetheoriginaldocu
mentmanually,thetimerisresetto0.

2.3.2 RecoveringaBackup
YoucaneasilyrecoveryourbackupdocumentandopenitinAtolljustlikeanyotherAtolldocument.
Torecoveryourbackupdocument:
1. UsingWindowsExplorer,navigatetothefoldercontainingyouroriginalAtolldocumentanditsbackup.
2. Iftheoriginaldocumentwasnamed"filename.atl,"thebackupdocumentwillbeinthesamefolderandwillbecalled
"filename.atl.bak".RenamethedocumentandremovetheBAKextension.Forexample,youcouldchangethename
to"filenamebackup.atl."
IfyoujustremovetheBAKextension,yourbackupfilewillhavethesamefilenameas
theoriginalfileandWindowswillnotallowyoutorenamethefile.Therefore,itissafer
togiveanewnametothebackupfileandkeeptheoriginalfileuntilyouaresurewhich
versionismostrecent.

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3. OpentherenamedbackupdocumentinAtoll.Youwillbeabletorecoveralltheworkuptothelasttimethebackup
wassaved.

2.4 MakingandSharingPortableAtollProjects
YoucancreateportableAtolldocumentsintwoways:

byembeddingallthegeographicdataintheATLfile,or
bycreatingacompressedarchive(ZIPfile)containingtheATLfileandallgeographicdatalinkedtotheAtolldocument.

Inmostworkingenvironments,geographicdatafilesarestoredonacommonfileserverandarelinkedtotheATLdocuments
ofdifferentusersoveranetwork.Oftenthesegeographicdatafilesarequitelarge,anditisnotfeasibletoembedthesefiles
inanATLfileforreasonsrelatedtofilesize,memoryconsumption,andperformance.Itis,therefore,moreusefultomakea
projectportablebycreatinganarchivethatcontainstheATLandallgeographicdatafiles.
AtollletsyoumakeanarchivecontainingtheATLfileandallgeographicdatadirectlyfromtheFilemenu.
TomakeanarchivecontainingtheATLfileandalllinkedgeographicdatafiles:
1. SelectFile>SavetoZip.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
2. Selectthefolderwherethecreatedarchiveistobestored,enteraFilenameforthearchivetobecreated,andselect
"ZipFiles(*.zip)"fromtheSaveastypelist.
AtollcreatesaZIPfilecontaining:

AcopyoftheATLfilewiththesamenameasthenameofthearchive(ZIPfile).
TheATLfileaddedtothearchivecontainsallthedatathatmightbeembeddedinit(pathlossmatrices,geographic
data,coveragepredictions,simulationresults,measurementdata,etc.).

A".losses"foldercontainingapathloss.dbffileandaLowRessubfolderwhichcontainsthepathloss.dbffilecorre
spondingtotheextendedpathlossmatrices.
Externallystoredpathlossmatricesarenotaddedtothearchivebecausetheyarenotnecessaryformakinga
portabledocument;theycanberecalculatedbasedonthenetworkandgeographicdataintheATLfile.Thepath
loss.dbffilesarestoredinthearchivebecausetheyareneededwhenreopeningthearchiveinAtoll.

A"Geo"folderwithallthelinkedgeographicdataavailableintheGeoexplorerfortheAtolldocument.
ThisfoldercontainssubfolderswiththesamenamesasthefoldersintheGeoexplorer.Geographicdatathatare
foundoutsidefoldersintheGeoexplorerarestoredinfilesundertheGeofolder,anddatapresentwithinfolders
intheGeoexplorerarestoredinsidetheirrespectivefolders.Ifthegeographicdatafileslinkedtothedocument
arelocatedonaremotecomputer,suchasafileserveroveranetwork,theyarefirstcopiedtothelocalcomputer
intheWindowstemporaryfilesfolderandthenaddedtothearchive.

Oncetheportablearchiveiscreated,youcanopenitdirectlyfromAtollwithoutfirsthavingtoextractitusinganothertool.
ToopenanarchivecontaininganATLfileandalllinkedgeographicdatafiles:
1. SelectFile>OpenfromZip.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelecttheZIPfilethatcontainstheATLfileandlinkedgeographicdatafiles.
3. ClickOpen.TheBrowseForFolderdialogboxappears.
4. SelectthefolderwhereyouwanttoextractthecontentsoftheZIPfile.
5. Click OK. Atoll extracts all the files from the archive to the selected folder. If necessary, it createsthe subfolders
requiredforextractingthecontentsoftheGeofolder.OnceAtollhasfinishedextractingfilesfromthearchive,it
openstheextractedATLfile.GeographicdataextractedfromthearchivearelinkedtotheATLfile.

Youdonotneedtohaveacompressionutility,suchasWinZiporWinRAR,installed
onthecomputerwhenworkingwitharchivedATLfiles.
Thehighestcompressionlevelisusedwhencreatingthearchive.

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Chapter3
GeographicData
Thischapterprovidesinformationonworkingwith Inthischapter,thefollowingareexplained:
geographicdatainanAtollproject.
"GeographicDataTypes"onpage139

"SupportedGeographicDataFormats"onpage141

"ImportingGeoDataFiles"onpage141

"DigitalTerrainModels"onpage150

"ClutterClasses"onpage150

"ClutterHeights"onpage154

"Contours,Lines,andPoints"onpage154

"ScannedImages"onpage156

"PopulationMaps"onpage157

"CustomGeoDataMaps"onpage158

"DisplayingOnlineMaps"onpage161

"SettingthePriorityofGeoData"onpage162

"DisplayingInformationAboutGeoData"onpage165

"GeographicDataSets"onpage165

"EditingGeographicData"onpage167

"SavingGeographicData"onpage169

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3 GeographicData
SeveraldifferentgeographicdatatypesareusedinanAtolldocument.Forexample:thedigitalterrainmodel(DTM),clutter
classes,clutterheights,onlinemaps,populationmaps,trafficdatamaps,andscannedimagesaretypesofthegeographicdata
thatyoucanimportorcreate.Somedatatypes,suchasclutterclasses,canbeusedtogivemorerealisticcalculations.Other
typessuchasscannedimages,areusedtocreateamorerealisticdisplayoftheregionunderstudy.
Youcanimportawidevarietyofbothvectorandrasterformatgeodatafiles.WhenyouimportageodatafileintoAtoll,you
candecideinwhichfolderitgoes.TheGeoexplorerwindowhasfoldersforthecommonlyuseddatatypes.Therefore,choos
ingafolderischoosingwhatthefilewillbeusedfor.Youcanalsocreateyourowndatatypebyimportingafileanddefining
whatdataistobeused.
OnceyouhaveimportedafileintotheAtolldocument,youcaneditthedata,definehowthegeodatawillbedisplayed.Atoll
alsoallowsyoutomanagemultiplefilesforasingledatatype,decidingthepriorityofdatafileswithdifferentinformationor
differentresolutions.YoucanalsodisplaygeodataoveritemsintheNetworkexplorer,eitherbytransferringthemtothe
Networkexplorer,orbyimportingthemdirectlytotheNetworkexplorer.
Youcanalsocreateandeditgeographicdata.Youcanaddavectorlayertocertaindatatypestowhichyoucanaddcontours,
lines,orpoints,createnewgeographicdata,ormodifyexistingdata.Youcanalsocreaterasterbasedgeographicdatasuch
astrafficmapsorclutterclasses.
Youcanexportmostgeodataobjects(forexample,DTM,clutterclasses,clutterheights,rasterpolygons,orvectorlayers)for
useinotherAtolldocumentsorinotherapplications.Atollalsoallowsyoutosavechangesyoumaketogeodataobjectsback
totheoriginalfiles.Thisenablesyoutoupdatetheoriginalfilesand,throughtheprocessofsavingthem,recompactthefile.
Thischapterexplainsthefollowingtopics:

"GeographicDataTypes"onpage139
"SupportedGeographicDataFormats"onpage141
"ImportingGeoDataFiles"onpage141
"ClutterClasses"onpage150
"ClutterHeights"onpage154
"DigitalTerrainModels"onpage150
"Contours,Lines,andPoints"onpage154
"ScannedImages"onpage156
"PopulationMaps"onpage157
"CustomGeoDataMaps"onpage158
"SettingthePriorityofGeoData"onpage162
"EditingGeographicData"onpage167
"SavingGeographicData"onpage169.

3.1 GeographicDataTypes
An Atoll document can contain several different geographic data types. Atoll supports a wide range of file formats for
geographicdatafiles.ThedifferentgeographicdatatypesplaydifferentrolesintheAtolldocument:

Geographicdatausedinpropagationcalculation:

Geographicdatausedindimensioning:

Trafficmaps

Geographicdatausedinstatistics:

Digitalterrainmodel
Clutterclasses
Clutterheights

Populationmaps
Custommaps

Geographicdatausedfordisplaypurposes:

Scannedmaps
Onlinemaps
Imagesfromwebmapservices(WMS)
Contours,lines,andpointsrepresenting,forexample,roads,railways,orregions.

Inthissection,thefollowingdatatypesaredescribed:

"DigitalTerrainModel"onpage140
"ClutterClasses"onpage140
"ClutterHeights"onpage140

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"Contours,Lines,andPoints"onpage140
"ScannedImages"onpage140
"PopulationMaps"onpage140
"TrafficDataMaps"onpage140
"CustomDataMaps"onpage140
"OnlineMaps"onpage141

DigitalTerrainModel
TheDTMdescribestheelevationofthegroundoversealevel.YoucandisplaytheDTMindifferentways:bysinglevalue,
discretevalues,orbyvalueintervals(see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47).
TheDTMisautomaticallytakenintoaccountbythepropagationmodelduringcomputations.
ClutterClasses
Theclutterclassgeodatafiledescribeslandcoverorlanduse.Clutterclassesaretakenintoaccountbythepropagationmodel
duringcomputations.
Eachpixelinaclutterclassfilecontainsacode(fromamaximumof256possibleclasses)whichcorrespondstoaclutterclass,
orinotherwordstoacertaintypeofgrounduseorcover.Theheightperclasscanbedefinedaspartoftheclutterclass,
however,theheightwillbedefinedasanaverageheightforeachclutterclass.Forinformationondefiningtheheightperclut
terclass,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.Clutterheightscanalsobedefinedbyaseparateclutterheights
file(see"ClutterHeights"onpage140).Aclutterheightmapcanrepresentheightmuchmoreaccuratelybecauseitallowsa
differentheighttobeassignedforeachpixelofthemap.
ClutterHeights
ClutterheightmapsdescribethealtitudeofclutterovertheDTMwithonealtitudedefinedperpixel.Clutterheightmapscan
offermorepreciseinformationthandefininganaltitudeperclutterclassbecause,inaclutterheightfile,itispossibletohave
differentheightswithinasingleclutterclass.
Whenclutteraltitudeisdefinedbothinclutterclassesandinaclutterheightmap,clutteraltitudeistakenfromtheclutter
heightmap.
Youcandisplaytheclutterheightmapindifferentways:bysinglevalue,discretevalues,orbyvalueintervals(see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47).
Theonlypropagationmodelsthatcantakeclutterheightsintoaccountincalculationsare
theStandardPropagationModel,CrossWave,andtheWLLmodel.

Contours,Lines,andPoints
Atollsupportscontours,lines,andpointstorepresentpolygonssuchasregions,orlinessuchasroadsorcoastlines,orpoints.
Theyareusedfordisplayonlyandhavenoeffectoncomputations.Contourscanalsobeusedtocreatefilteringpolygonsor
computationorfocuszones.
ScannedImages
Scannedimagesaregeographicdatafileswhichrepresenttheactualphysicalsurroundings,forexample,roadmapsorsatel
liteimages.Theyareusedtoprovideaprecisebackgroundforotherobjectsorforlessprecisemapsandareusedonlyfor
display;theyhavenoeffectoncalculations.
PopulationMaps
Populationmapscontaininformationonpopulationdensityoronthetotalnumberofinhabitants.Populationmapscanbe
usedinpredictionreportsinordertodisplay,forexample,theabsoluteandrelativenumbersofthepopulationcovered.
Populationmapshavenoeffectonpredictionandsimulationresults.
TrafficDataMaps
Trafficdatamapscontaininformationoncapacityandserviceusepergeographicarea.Trafficdatamapsareusedfornetwork
capacityanalyses.
CustomDataMaps
Youcanimportmanydifferenttypesoffilesfor,forexample,revenue,rainfall,orsociodemographicdata.Youcouldusethe
importeddatainpredictionreports.Forexample,youcoulddisplaythepredictedrevenuefordefinedcoverage.
Thisimporteddatahasnoeffectonpredictionandsimulationresults.

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OnlineMaps
Youcandisplayvarioustypesofonlinemapsinthemapwindow.FromtheGeoexplorer,youcanaccessthesemapsdirectly
orbyspecifyingtheirserverURLs.

3.2 SupportedGeographicDataFormats
Atollsupportsthefollowinggeographicdataformats:

DTMfilesinthefollowingformats:TIF(8or16bitinteger),BIL(8,16or32bitinteger,32bitfloat),Planet(16bit
integer),BMP(8bitinteger),GRDVerticalMapper(16bitinteger),andErdasImagine(8,16or32bitinteger,32bit
float)
Clutterheightfilesinthefollowingformats:TIF(8or16bitinteger),BIL(8,16or32bitinteger,32bitfloat),Planet
(16bitinteger),BMP(8bitinteger),GRDVerticalMapper(16bitinteger),andErdasImagine(8,16or32bitinteger,
32bitfloat)
Clutterclassandtrafficfilesinthefollowingformats:TIF(8bit),BIL(8bit),IST(8bit),BMP(8bit),Planet,GRCVertical
Mapper(8bit),andErdasImagine(8bit)
Vectordatafilesinthefollowingformats:AGD,DXF,Planet,SHP,MIF,andTAB.
Vectortrafficfilesinthefollowingformats:AGD,DXF,Planet,SHP,MIF,andTAB.
Scannedimagefilesinthefollowingformats:TIF(1to24bit),JPEG(1to24bit),JPEG2000(1to24bit),BIL(1to
24bit),IST(1to24bit),BMP(1to24bit),Planet,ErdasImagine(1to24bit),GRCVerticalMapper(1to24bit),and
ECW(8or24bit)
Populationfilesinthefollowingformats:TIF(16bit),BIL(16bit),IST(16bit),Planet,BMP(16bit),ErdasImagine
(16bit),GRD/GRCVerticalMapper(16bit),AGD,DXF,SHP,MIF,andTAB.
Otherdatainthefollowingformats:TIF(16bit),BIL(16bit),IST(16bit),Planet,BMP(16bit),ErdasImagine(16bit),
GRD/GRCVerticalMapper(16bit),AGD,DXF,SHP,MIF,andTAB.
Allimportedrastermapsmusthavethesameprojectioncoordinatesystem.

3.3 ImportingGeoDataFiles
YoucanimportthegeographicdatayouneedintothecurrentAtolldocument.Asexplainedin"SupportedGeographicData
Formats"onpage141,Atollsupportsavarietyofbothrasterandvectorfileformats.Whenyouimportanewgeodatafile,
AtollrecognisesthefileformatandsuggeststheappropriatefolderintheGeoexplorer.Youcanembedgeodatafilesinthe
Atolldocumentwhileyouareimportingthemorafterwards(see"EmbeddingGeographicData"onpage149).
YoucansharethepathsofimportedmapsanddisplaysettingswithotherusersbyusingAtollsuserconfigurationfiles.For
informationonexportingthepathsofyourdocumentsfilesortoimportthepathfromanotherdocumentusinguserconfig
urationfiles,see"GeographicDataSets"onpage165.
Theinstructionsinthissectiondonotapplytocustomgeodatamaps.Forinformationon
importingorcreatingacustomgeodatamap,see"CustomGeoDataMaps"onpage158.

Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142
"ImportingaVectorformatGeoDataFile"onpage143
"ImportingMSIPlanetData"onpage144
"ImportingaWMSRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage145
"GroupingGeoDataFilesinFolders"onpage148
"EmbeddingGeographicData"onpage149.
Youcanusedraganddroptoimportgeodatafilesintoadocument.Theformatis
automaticallyrecognisedandAtollpresentsyouwiththeappropriatedialogbox.

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3.3.1 ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile
AllrastergeodatafilesmustberepresentedinthesameprojectioncoordinatesystemastheAtolldocumentitself.
Toimportageographicdatafileinarasterformat:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. Selectthegeodatafileyouwanttoimport.
Youcanimportmorethanonegeodatafileatthesametime,providingthatthegeodatafilesareofthesametype.
Youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirstfile,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.You
canselectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfile.
3. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.1).
IftheVectorImportdialogboxappears,goto"ImportingaVectorformatGeoDataFile"
onpage143.

Dependingonthetypeofgeodatafileyouareimporting,chooseoneofthefollowingoptions:

DTM:SelectAltitudes(DTM)fromtheDataTypelist.
ClutterClasses:SelectClutterClassesfromtheDataTypelist.
ClutterHeights:SelectClutterHeightsfromtheDataTypelist.
ScannedImages:SelectImageorScanfromtheDataTypelist.
Population:
i.

SelectPopulationfromtheDataTypelist.TheUseaslistbecomesavailable.

ii. SelectfromtheUseaslistwhethertheimporteddataistobeinterpretedasaDensity(numberofinhabitants
persquarekilometre)orasaValue(numberofinhabitants).

CustomGeoData:See"CustomGeoDataMaps"onpage158.
TrafficDataMaps:SelectTrafficDensityfromtheDataTypelist.

4. Bydefault,theimportedfileislinkedtotheAtolldocument.ToembedthedatafileintheAtolldocument,selectthe
EmbedinDocumentcheckbox.Forinformationonembeddingfiles,see"EmbeddingGeographicData"onpage149.
5. ClickImport.ThegeodatafileisimportedandlistedintheGeoexplorer.
Whenyouimportatrafficdatamap,thetrafficmapsPropertiesdialogboxappears:
a. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmust
equal100.
b. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmust
equal100.
c. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
d. UnderClutterDistribution,enterforeachclutterclassthepercentageofindoorusers.
e. ForUMTSandCDMA,selectwhethertheusersareactiveintheUplink/Downlink,onlyintheDownlink,oronly
intheUplink.
f. ClickOK.

Figure3.1:Importingaclutterclassfile

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3.3.2 ImportingaVectorformatGeoDataFile
Whenyouimportgeodatafilesinvectorformat,theirgeographicsystemcanbeconvertedtothesystemusedbytheAtoll
document.Whenyouimportextremelylargevectorgeodatafiles,forexample,vectorfilesthatcoveranentirecountry,you
mustensurethatatleastthecentreoftheboundingboxdefiningthevectorfileiswithintheprojectioncoordinatesystem
definedfortheAtolldocument.
Toimportavectorformatgeographicdatafile:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. Selectthegeodatafileyouwanttoimport.
Youcanimportmorethanonegeodatafileatthesametime,providingthatthegeodatafilesareofthesametype.
Youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirstfile,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.You
canselectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfile.
3. ClickOpen.TheVectorImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4).
IftheFileImportdialogboxappears,goto"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"on
page142.

Dependingonthetypeofgeodatafileyouareimporting,chooseoneofthefollowingoptions:

VectorData:

SelectGeofromtheImporttolist.
Whenyou importvector data, youcansimultaneouslyimport thecorrespondingdisplayconfiguration file
(CFG)bysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Thedisplayconfigurationfilewillonlybeimportedifithasthe
samefilenameandifitislocatedinthesamedirectoryastheimportedvectorformatfile.Formoreinforma
tionaboutsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

Population:
i.

SelectPopulationfromtheImporttolist.

ii. UnderFieldstobeimported,thefirstlistcontainstheattributesofthepopulationvectordatafilethatyou
areimporting,andthesecondlistletsyouselectwhethertheattributecorrespondstopopulationdensityor
toanumberofinhabitants.
iii. Selectfromthefirstlistwhichfieldistobeimportedandfromthesecondlistwhethertheimportedfieldisa
Density(numberofinhabitantspersquarekilometreforpolygons,numberofinhabitantsperkilometrefor
lines,ornumberofinhabitantsforpoints)oraValue(numberofinhabitants)(seeFigure3.2andFigure3.3).

Figure3.2:Populationdensity(numberofinhabitants/km)

Figure3.3:Populationvalues(numberofinhabitantsperitempolygon/road/point)

CustomGeoData:

See"CustomGeoDataMaps"onpage158.

TrafficDataMaps:SelectTrafficMapsfromtheImporttolist.

4. Bydefault,theimportedfileislinkedtotheAtolldocument.ToembedthedatafileintheAtolldocument,selectthe
EmbedinDocumentcheckbox.Forinformationonembeddingfiles,see"EmbeddingGeographicData"onpage149.
5. ClickImport.ThegeodatafileisimportedandlistedintheGeoexplorer.

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Figure3.4:VectorImportdialogbox

YoucanimportellipsesandarcsfromMapInfofiles(MIFandTAB).Rectanglesare
interpretedaspolygons.
YoucandefinemappingsbetweenthecoordinatesystemusedfortheMapInfo/
ESRIvectorfiles,definedinthecorrespondingMIF/PRJfiles,andAtoll.Thisway,
whenyouimportavectorfile,Atollcandetectthecorrectcoordinatesystemauto
matically.Formoreinformationaboutdefiningthemappingbetweencoordinate
systems,pleaserefertotheAdministratorManual.

3.3.3 ImportingMSIPlanetData
MSIPlanetdataiscontainedinaseriesoffilesdescribedinindexfiles.TheindexfileisinASCIItextformatandcontainsthe
informationnecessarytoidentifyandproperlyinterpreteachdatafile.WhenyouimportMSIPlanetdata,youcanimport
eachtypeofdataseparately,byimportingthecorrespondingindexfile,oryoucanimportseveralMSIPlanetdatafilesat
thesametime,byimportingseveralindexfiles.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"ImportingOneMSIPlanetDataType"onpage144
"ImportingaMSIPlanetDatabase"onpage145.

3.3.3.1 ImportingOneMSIPlanetDataType
WhenyouwanttoimportacertaintypeofMSIPlanetdata,suchasaDTMorclutterheights,youimporttheindexfile
containingtheinformationnecessarytoimportthesetoffilescontainingthedata.
ToimportonetypeofMSIPlanetdata:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelecttheindexfileyouwanttoimportandclickOpen.TheDataTypedialogboxappears(seeFigure3.5).

Figure3.5:ImportinganMSIPlanetindexfile
3. SelectthetypeofdatayouareimportingandselecttheEmbedcheckboxifyouwanttoembedthedatainthecurrent
Atolldocument.
4. ClickOKtoimportthedataintothecurrentAtolldocument.

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3.3.3.2 ImportingaMSIPlanetDatabase
YoucanimportallavailableMSIPlanetdataatthesametimebyimportingallindexfiles.
ToimporttheMSIPlanetdatabase:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. Select"Planetdatabase"fromtheFilesofTypelist.ThePlanetDataImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.6).

Figure3.6:ImportinganMSIPlanetdatabase
3. Foreachtypeofdatathatyouwanttoimport:
a. Selectthecorrespondingcheckbox.
b. Ifyouwanttoembedthedata,selecttheEmbedcheckbox.
c. TolocatetheMSIPlanetindexfile,click

.TheOpendialogboxappears.

d. SelecttheMSIPlanetindexfileandclickOpen.Thepathandnameofthefileappearsinthecorrespondingfield
ofthePlanetDatatoBeImporteddialogbox.
4. Ifyouarealsoimportingnetworkdata,selectthenetworkTechnology.
5. Whenyouhaveselectedallthetypesofdatayouwanttoimport,clickOK.ThedataisimportedintothecurrentAtoll
document.

3.3.4 ImportingaWMSRasterformatGeoDataFile
YoucanimportrasterimagesfromaWebMapService(WMS)serverintoyourAtolldocument.TheimagescanbeinTIF,BMP,
PNG,orJPEGformats.Allimagesimportedatthesametimeareimportedasasingleimage.Beforeyouimportthem,youcan
arrangethembyplacingthemoreimportantimages,suchasroads,ontop;oryoucanplacetheleasttransparentimage
towardsthebottomsothattheotherimagesimportedatthesametimeremainvisible.
Theimagewillbereferencedinthedocument;itcannotbeembedded.OnlyWMSdatamappedwithaprojectionsystem(for
example,theLambertConformalConicortheUniversalTransverseMercatorprojection)canbeimported.Beforeimporting
animagefromaWMSserver,youmustensurethatthecoordinatesystemusedinyourdocumentisthesameprojection
systemsupportedbytheserver.Allrastergeodatafilesmustberepresentedinthesameprojectioncoordinatesystemas
thatusedbytheAtolldocumentitself.
Toimportageographicdatafilefromawebmapservice:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. FromtheFilesofTypelist,selectConnectiontoaWebMapServicesserver...(*.url).TheWebMapServicesData
Importdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheURLoftheWMSserverfromtheServerURLlistorenteritdirectly.

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Figure3.7:ServerURLlistintheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox
Thelist of WMS servers thatappears in the Server URL listis defined by entries inthe
Atoll.inifile.Forinformationondefiningtheseentries,seetheAdministratorManual.

4. ClicktheConnectbutton.AtollconnectstotheURLoftheWMSserveranddisplaystheinformationavailablealong
withadescriptionoftheservice(Figure3.7onpage146).

Figure3.8:ServerURLlistintheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox
5. IntheleftpaneoftheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox,clicktheExpandbutton(
youwanttoaddintherightpane.

)tonavigatetotheitem

6. Selectthecheckboxthatprecedestheimageortheimagegroup,i.e.agroupprecededbyanExpandbutton(
Theimagesyouselectareautomaticallylistedintherightpane.

Unlessyouselectoneorseveralimages,theimageorthegroupofimageslistedintherightpanewillbeimported.
Toselecttheimagesyouwanttoimport:
i.

Clickthefirstimage,pressSHIFT,andthenclickthelastimagetoselectcontiguousimages.

ii. PressCTRLandclickeachimageseparatelytoselectnoncontiguousimages.

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Figure3.9:ServerURLlistintheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox
7. Arrangetheorderinwhichyouwantmultipleimagestoappearbyselectingeachimageintherightpaneandclicking
tomoveittowardsthetopor tomoveittowardthebottom.Theimageswillbeimportedasasingleobjectand
theirappearancewilldependontheorderyoudefinehere.
8. Ifyouwant,youcanalsoclick

toreversetheorderofthelist.

9. ClickImportintheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox.TheWMSMapImportdialogboxappears.

Figure3.10:WMSMapImportdialogbox
ThefollowinginformationisgivenabouttheimportedWMSdata:

DataTypes:"ImageorScan"isselected.
Name:ThesuggestedNameisthenameoftheimagecurrentlyselectedintheleftpaneoftheWebMapServices
DataImportdialogbox(e.g"RasterFrance1/4000000"),orthenameofthetopfolderwhenmorethanone
imageisselected(e.g.ServeurGeosignal_0").Ifyouwant,youcanenteranewname(e.g."my_server").
GeographicCoordinates:ThegeographiccoordinatesthattheWMSdataisgiven.

10. IntheWMSMapImportdialogbox,clickImport.TheimageisimportedbyreferenceintotheAtolldocument.You
cannotembedaWMSimageinyourdocument.
Ifyouhadselectedmorethanoneimageoranimagegroup,Atollimportsthegroupasasingleobject.Youcannot
modifythisobject.Ifyouwanttoremoveoneoftheimagesoraddanotheroneyouwillhavetogothroughtheimport
processagain.
11. IntheWebMapServicesDataImportdialogbox,clickClose.
12. IntheOpendialogbox,clickCanceltoexit.

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3.3.5 OrganisingGeoDataFiles
Atollprovidesthefollowingfeaturestohelpyouorganisegeodatafiles:

"GroupingGeoDataFilesinFolders"onpage148
"CreatingFoldersforVectorsandImages"onpage148
"MovingaVectororImageintoaDedicatedFolder"onpage149

3.3.5.1 GroupingGeoDataFilesinFolders
Bydefault,whenyouimportscannedimagesandcontours,lines,andpoints,theyappeardirectlyintheGeoexplorer.Other
datafiles,suchasclutterclasses,arelistedtogetherinasingleClutterClassesfolder.Youcan,however,groupscannedimages
andcontours,lines,andpointsintofoldersaswell.
Oncegrouped,thesegeodatafilescanbedisplayedorhiddenandmovedmoreeasily.Theyretain,however,theirownindi
vidualdisplaysettings;thedisplaysettingscannotbemanagedatthefolderlevel.
Youcreatethefolderwhenyouimportthefirstgeodatafilethatwillbeimportedintoit.Whenyouimportthenextgeodata
file,eitherrasterorvector,youcanimportitdirectlyintothenewfolder.
Tocreateanewgeodatafolderwhenimporting:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelectthegeodatafileandclickOpen.Ifthefiletobeimportedisarasterfile,theFileImportdialogboxappears(see
Figure3.1).Ifthefiletobeimportedisavectorfile,theVectorImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4).
3. FromtheDataTypelist(ontheFileImportdialogbox)ortheImportTolist(ontheVectorImportdialogbox),select
NewfolderinGeo.TheNewFolderdialogboxappears.
If you want to import your file to the Network explorer, you can select New folder in
Network.

4. EnteranameforthefolderinFolderNameboxandclickOK.
5. ClickImport.Yourfileisimportedintothenewlycreatedfolder.
YoucannowimportothergeodatafilesintothisfolderbyselectingitfromtheDataTypelist(ontheFileImportdialogbox)
ortheImportTolist(ontheVectorImportdialogbox)whenyouimport.
YoucantransfergeodatathathasbeenimportedfromtheGeoexplorertotheNetwork
explorer,orviceversa.RightclickthedataintheExplorerwindowandselectMoveto
NetworkorMovetoGeo.

3.3.5.2 CreatingFoldersforVectorsandImages
AtollenablesyoutocreatefoldersforvectorsandimagesintheNetworkandGeoexplorers.Youcancreateasmanylevels
offoldersasyouwant.Onceyouhavecreatedavectororimagefolder,youcanmovevectorsandimagesintoit.Formore
information,see"MovingaVectororImageintoaDedicatedFolder"onpage149.
TocreateavectororimagefolderintheNetworkorGeoexplorer:
1. RightclickanywhereintheNetworkorGeoexplorer,exceptonafolderoracommand.ANewFolderforVectorsor
Imagespopupappears.
2. ClicktheNewFolderforVectorsorImagespopup.Atollcreatesanewfolder,Newfolder<X>,atthetopoftheNet
workorGeoexplorerwhere<X>isanumberassignedbyAtollsequentially,accordingtothenumberoffolderswith
defaultnamesinthecorrespondingfolder,seeFigure3.11onpage148.

Figure3.11:NewfolderforvectorsorimagesinNetworkandGeoexplorers

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Youcanchangethenameofthefoldertogiveitamoredescriptivename.

3.3.5.3 MovingaVectororImageintoaDedicatedFolder
OnceyouhavecreatedfoldersforvectorsorimagesintheNetworkorGeoexplorersasexplainedin"CreatingFoldersfor
VectorsandImages"onpage148,youcanorganisethevectorsandimagesbymovingthemintothesefolders.Atollallows
youtomovevectorsandimagesfromtherootlevelofthecorrespondingexplorertoafolder,orfromonefoldertoanother.
Tomoveavectororimagetoadedicatedfolder:
1. Selecttheexplorerwherethevectororimageyouwanttomovecanbeseen(NetworkorGeo).
2. Clickonthevectororimageyouwanttomoveand,withoutreleasingthemousebutton,dragthevectororimageand
dropitoverthenameofthedestinationfolder.Youcanonlydropavectororimageinadestinationfolderwhenthis
folderishighlighted,asshowninFigure3.12.

Figure3.12:Usingdraganddroptomoveavectororimagetoadedicatedfolder
Youcanalsomoveafolderofanylevelintoanotherfolder,aslongasthedestination
folderdoesnotbelongtothefolderyouwanttomove.

3.3.6 EmbeddingGeographicData
Bydefault,whenyouimportageodatafile,Atollcreatesalinktothefile.Youcan,however,choosetoembedthegeodata
fileinyourAtolldocument,eitherwhenyouimportitorlater.WhenAtollislinkedtoageodatafile,thegeodatafileremains
separateandmodifyingorsavingtheAtolldocumenthasnoeffectonthegeodatafile.Whenthegeodatafileisembedded
intheAtolldocument,itissavedaspartofthedocument.
Bothlinkingandembeddingpresentadvantagesanddisadvantages.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Ifyouareusingdistributedcalculations,youmustlinkyourgeodatafiles.Distributed
calculationswillnotworkwithembeddedgeodatafiles.Forinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
ToembedageodatafileinthecurrentAtolldocumentwhileyouareimporting:

SelecttheEmbedinDocumentcheckboxontheFileImportorVectorImportdialogbox.

ToembedageodatafilethatisalreadylinkedtothecurrentAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefileyouwanttoembedinthecurrentdocument.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. ClickEmbed.
6. ClickOK.ThegeodatafileisnowembeddedinthecurrentAtolldocument.

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3.3.7 RepairingaBrokenLinktoaGeoDataFile
Bydefault,whenyouimportageodatafile,Atollcreatesalinktothefile;thegeodatafileremainsseparateandmodifying
orsavingtheAtolldocumenthasnoeffectonthegeodatafile.If,however,thegeodatafileismoved,thelinkwillbebroken.
TorepairabrokenlinkfromwithintheAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.

Ifthegeodatafileisinafolder,suchastheClutterClasses,TrafficMaps,orDTMfolder,click toexpandthe
folder.

2. Rightclickonthegeodatafilewhoselinkyouwanttorepair.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheFindbutton.
5. Browsetothegeodatafile,selectitandclickOK.

3.4 DigitalTerrainModels
TheDigitalTerrainModel(DTM)isageographicdatafilerepresentingtheelevationofthegroundoversealevel.
TomanagethepropertiesoftheDTM:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDigitalTerrainModelfolder.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytabtodefinethedisplaypropertiesfortheDTM.

ForinformationonDisplaytabsettings,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

5. MovetheReliefslidertowardsFlat,ifyouwanttodisplayveryfewlittlereliefortowardsx6ifyouwanttoemphasise
thedifferencesinaltitude.
6. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.

3.5 ClutterClasses
Theclutterclassgeodatafiledescribeslandcoverorlanduse.
Eachpixelofaclutterclassfilecontainsacode(fromamaximumof256possibleclasses)whichcorrespondstoaclutterclass,
orinotherwordstoacertaintypeofgrounduseorcover.Theheightperclasscanbedefinedaspartoftheclutterclass,
howeverthisheightisonlyanaverageperclass.Aclutterheightmapcanrepresentheightmuchmoreaccuratelybecauseit
allowsadifferentheighttobeassignedforeachbinofthemap.Forinformationonclutterheightmaps,see"ClutterHeights"
onpage154.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AssigningNamestoClutterClasses"onpage150
"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151
"AddingaClutterClass"onpage153
"RefreshingtheListofClutterClasses"onpage153
"DisplayingTotalSurfaceAreaperClutterClass"onpage154.

3.5.1 AssigningNamestoClutterClasses
Theclutterclassfileidentifieseachclutterclasswithacode.Tomakeiteasiertoworkwithclutterclasses,youcanassigna
descriptivenametoeachclutterclassname.Whenaclutterclasshasadescriptivename,itisthenamethatappearsintip
textandreports.
WhenyouimportaclutterclassfileinBIL,TIF,JPEG2000,orIMPformat,Atollcanautomaticallyassignnamestoclutter
classesiftheclutterclassfilehasacorrespondingMNUfile.TheMNUfilecontainsalistwiththeclutterclasscodesandtheir
correspondingnames.FormoreinformationontheMNUfileformatandoncreatinganMNUfile,seetheTechnicalReference
Guide.
Toassignnamestoclutterclasses:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.

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3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. ClicktheDescriptiontabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. IntheNamecolumn,enterdescriptivetextforeachclassidentifiedintheCodecolumn.

3.5.2 DefiningClutterClassProperties
Theparametersareappliedinrelationtothelocationofthereceiverbeingstudiedandtheclutterclassofthereceiverloca
tion.TheseparameterscanbesetonthePropertiesdialogbox:
Todefineclutterclassproperties:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. ClicktheDescriptiontabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. EnteraNameandaverageHeight(m)foreachcode.

IfHeightisleftblank,propagationmodelsthatusethisvalueuse0bydefault.
If clutter class heights are modified, you must recalculate path loss matrices by
clickingForceCalculation(
lations.

)toapplythechangestoanypredictionsandsimu

6. Enter defaultvalues in the first row of thetable on theDescriptiontab. or information about each field, see the
descriptionsinthefollowingstep.
Thedefaultvaluesareusedifnocluttermapisavailable.Evenifthereisaclutterclassesmap,youcanselecttheUse
defaultvaluesonlycheckboxontheatthebottomoftheDescriptiontabtomakeAtollusethevaluesspecifiedin
thisrowinsteadofthevaluesdefinedperclutterclass.
7. Ifdesired,youcanenteravalueforeachofthefollowingfieldsapplicabletothecurrentdocument:

ForallAtolldocuments:

ForGSMGPRSEDGEdocuments:

ModelStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesonthepathloss,asrelatedtoauserdefined
celledgecoverageprobability.
IndoorLoss(dB):tobeappliedtothepathlossandusedincoveragepredictions,pointanalysis,andMonte
Carlosimulations.Usethissettingtodefineavalueofindoorlossperfrequency.Ifanetworkitemoperates
onafrequencyforwhichtheindoorlossisnotdefinedintheindoorlossgraph,anindoorlossvalueisinter
polatedfromthevaluesavailableinthegraph.
C/IStandardDeviation(DL)(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheC/Ivalues,asrelatedtoauserdefined
celledgecoverageprobability.
AdditionalTransmitDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtothe3dBgainifTxdiversityisactiveatthesubcelllevel.
AntennaHoppingGain(DL)(dB):toapplyonacalculatedC/Iifantennahoppingisactiveatthesubcelllevel.

ForUMTSHSPA,andCDMA20001xRTT1xEVDOdocuments:

Ec/IoStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEc/Iovalues,asrelatedtoauserdefined
celledgecoverageprobability.
DLEb/NtStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/Ntvalues,asrelatedtoauser
definedcelledgecoverageprobability.
ULEb/NtStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/Ntvalues,asrelatedtoauser
definedcelledgecoverageprobability.
%PilotFinger:tobeusedintheEc/Iocalculations.Thisfactorrepresentsthepercentageofenergyreceived
bythemobilepilotfinger.Mobileuserequipmenthasonesearcherfingerforpilot.Thesearcherfingerselects
onepathandonlyenergyfromthispathisconsideredassignal;energyfromothermultipathsisconsidered
as interference. For example, if 70% of the total energy is in one path and 30% of the energy is in other
multipaths,thenthesignalenergyisreducedto70%oftotalenergy).
OrthogonalityFactor:tobeusedtoevaluateDLEb/Nt.Thisparameterindicatestheremainingorthogonality
atthereceiver;itcanbemodelledbyavaluefrom0,indicatingnoremainingorthogonalitybecauseofmulti
path,to1,indicatingperfectorthogonality.
SpatialMultiplexingGainFactor:toapplytothespatialmultiplexinggainreadfromtheMaxSpatialMulti
plexingGaingraphsintheMIMOtabofreceptionequipment.
AdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtotheusersdownlinkHSPDSCHEc/Nt,iftheuseranditsreference
cellsupportstransmitdiversity.

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ForTDSCDMAdocuments:

ForWiMAXandWiFidocuments:

C/IStandardDeviation(DL)(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheC/(I+N)values,asrelatedtoauserde
finedcelledgecoverageprobability.
SUMIMOGainFactor:toapplytothespatialmultiplexinggainreadfromtheMaxSUMIMOGaingraphsin
theMIMOtabofreceptionequipment.
AdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtotheusersdownlinkC/(I+N),iftheuseranditsreferencecell
supporttransmitdiversity.
Additional Diversity Gain (UL) (dB): to add to the users uplink C/(I+N), if the user and its reference cell
supportreceivediversity.

FormultiRATdocuments:

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C/IStandardDeviation(DL)(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheC/(I+N)values,asrelatedtoauserde
finedcelledgecoverageprobability.
SUMIMOGainFactor:toapplytothespatialmultiplexinggainreadfromtheMaxSUMIMOGaingraphsin
theMIMOtabofreceptionequipment.
AdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtotheusersdownlinkC/(I+N),iftheuseranditsreferencecell
supporttransmissiondiversity.
Additional Diversity Gain (UL) (dB): to add to the users uplink C/(I+N), if the user and its reference cell
supportreceptiondiversity.

ForLTEdocuments:

PCCPCHEb/NtorC/IStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesonthePCCPCHEb/NtorC/I
values,asrelatedtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
DLEb/NtorC/IStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/NtorC/Ivalues,asrelated
toauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
ULEb/NtorC/IStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/NtorC/Ivalues,asrelated
toauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
DL Orthogonality Factor: to be used to evaluate DL Eb/Nt or C/I. This parameter indicates the remaining
orthogonalityatthereceiver;itcanbemodelledbyavaluefrom0,indicatingnoremainingorthogonality
becauseofmultipath,to1,indicatingperfectorthogonality.
UL Orthogonality Factor: to be used to evaluate UL Eb/Nt or C/I. This parameter indicates the remaining
orthogonalityatthereceiver;itcanbemodelledbyavaluefrom0,indicatingnoremainingorthogonality
becauseofmultipath,to1,indicatingperfectorthogonality.
SpreadingAngle():tobeusedindeterminingthecumulativedistributionofC/Igainsforstatisticalsmart
antennamodelling.

GSMModelStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesonthepathloss(fromGSMtransmitters
only),inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
GSMC/IStandardDeviation(DL)(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheC/Ivalues(fromGSMtransmitters
only),inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
GSMAdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtothe3dBgainifdiversityissetatthesubcelllevel(GSM
transmittersonly).
UMTSModelStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesonthepathloss(fromUMTScellsonly),
inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
UMTS Ec/Io Standard Deviation (dB): to calculate shadowing losses on the Ec/Io values (from UMTScells
only),inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
UMTSDLEb/NtStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/Ntvalues(fromUMTScells
only),inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
UMTSULEb/NtStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheEb/Ntvalues(fromUMTScells
only),inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
UMTS%PilotFinger:tobeusedintheEc/Iocalculations(fromUMTScellsonly).Thisfactorrepresentsthe
percentageofenergyreceivedbythemobilepilotfinger.(Mobileuserequipmenthasonesearcherfingerfor
thepilot.Thesearcherfingerselectsonepathandonlyenergyfromthispathisconsideredassignal;energy
fromothermultipathsisconsideredasinterference.Forexample,if70%ofthetotalenergyisinonepathand
30%oftheenergyisinothermultipaths,thenthesignalenergyisreducedto70%oftotalenergy).
UMTSOrthogonalityFactor:tobeusedtoevaluateDLEb/Nt(fromUMTScellsonly).Thisparameterindicates
theremainingorthogonalityatthereceiver;itcanbemodelledbyavaluefrom0,indicatingnoremaining
orthogonalitybecauseofmultipath,to1,indicatingperfectorthogonality.
UMTSSpatialMultiplexingGainFactor:toapplytothespatialmultiplexinggainreadfromtheMaxSpatial
MultiplexingGaingraphsontheMIMOtabofUMTSreceptionequipment.
UMTSAdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtotheusersdownlinkHSPDSCHEc/Nt,iftheusersmobile
andhisreferenceUMTScellsupporttransmitdiversity.
LTEModelStandardDeviation(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesonthepathloss(fromLTEcellsonly),in
relationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.

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LTEC/IStandardDeviation(DL)(dB):tocalculateshadowinglossesontheC/(I+N)values(fromLTEcellsonly),
inrelationtoauserdefinedcelledgecoverageprobability.
LTESUMIMOGainFactor:toapplytothespatialmultiplexinggainreadfromtheMaxSUMIMOGaingraphs
intheMIMOtabofLTEreceptionequipment.
LTEAdditionalDiversityGain(DL)(dB):toaddtotheusersdownlinkC/(I+N),iftheusersmobileandhis
referenceLTEcellsupporttransmitdiversity.
LTEAdditionalDiversityGain(UL)(dB):toaddtotheusersuplinkC/(I+N),iftheusersmobileandhisrefer
enceLTEcellsupportreceivediversity.

8. Ifyouwanttousedefaultvaluesforallclutterclasses,selecttheUseonlydefaultvaluescheckboxatthebottomof
theDescriptiontab.
9. ClicktheDisplaytabtodefinethedisplaypropertiesforclutterclasses.InadditiontotheDisplaytaboptionsdescribed
in"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47,eachclutterclassdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Byselectingor
clearingthevisibilitycheckbox,youcandisplayorhideclutterclassdisplaytypesindividually.
Selectingwhiteasthecolourforaclutterclassvalueorvalueintervalwillcausethatclutter
classvalueorvalueintervaltobedisplayedastransparent.

10. ClickOK.
YoucancopythedescriptiontableintoanewAtolldocumentafterimportingtheclutter
classesfile.Tocopythedescriptiontable,selecttheentiretablebyclickingthecellinthe
upperleftcornerofthetableandpressCTRL+C.OntheDescriptiontaboftheclutter
classesPropertiesdialogboxinthenewAtolldocument,pressCTRL+Vtopastethe
valuesinthetable.

3.5.3 AddingaClutterClass
Youcanaddanewclutterclasstoyourdocument.
Toaddanewclutterclasstotheyourdocument:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheDescriptiontabfromthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. Intheblankrowmarkedwith
column.

atthebottomofthetable,enteranunusednumberfrom1to255intheCode

6. Fillintheremainderofthefieldsasdescribedinstep5.andstep7.of"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
7. ClickOK.
Youcannowusethenewclutterclasswhenmodifyingtheclutterclassmap.Forinformationonmodifyingtheclutterclass
map,see"CreatingaClutterPolygon"onpage167.

3.5.4 RefreshingtheListofClutterClasses
Undercertaincircumstances,itcanhappenthatthelistofclutterclassesontheDescriptiontaboftheclutterclassesProper
tiesdialogboxcontainsunusedclutterclasses.Forexample,ifyouhaveimportedtwoclutterclassfilesandthendeletedone
ofthem,thelistofclutterclasseswillstillcontaintheclutterclassesofthedeletedfile,eveniftheyarenotusedintheremain
ingfile.Wheneveryouwanttoensurethatthelistofclutterclassesisaccurateandcurrent,youcanrefreshthelist.
Torefreshthelistoftheclutterclasses:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
4. SelecttheDescriptiontabfromthePropertiesdialogbox.
5. ClickRefresh.Atollremovestheunusedclutterclassesfromthelist.
6. ClickOK.

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3.5.5 DisplayingTotalSurfaceAreaperClutterClass
Youcandisplaythetotalsurfaceareacoveredbyeachclutterclassinthedocument.Atolldisplaysthesurfaceareacovered
byeachclutterclassinthefocuszoneifthereisone,inthecomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszoneand,ifthereisnofocus
orcomputationzone,Atolldisplaysthetotalsurfaceareacoveredbyeachclutterclassintheentiredocument.Thisinforma
tionisalsoavailableinpredictionreports.
Todisplaythesurfaceareacoveredbyeachclutterclass:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.
3. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.
TheStatisticsdialogboxappears,displayingthesurfacearea(Siinkm)ofeachclutterclass(i)anditspercentage(%
ofi)inthecomputationzoneorfocuszone,ifoneexists.
Si
% of I = -------------- 100
Sk

3.6 ClutterHeights
ClutterheightmapsdescribethealtitudeofclutterovertheDTM.Clutterheightfilesallowforahigherdegreeofaccuracy
becausetheyallowmorethanoneheightperclutterclass.Inaclutterheightfile,aheightisgivenforeachpointonthemap.
Ifyoudefineclutterheightasapropertyofclutterclasses,theheightisgivenasanaverageperclutterclass.
When a clutter height file is available, Atoll uses its clutter height information for calculations using certain propagation
models(theStandardPropagationModelandWLLmodel),fordisplay(intiptextandinthestatusline),andforCWmeasure
mentsandtestmobiledatapaths.Ifnoclutterheightfileexists,Atollusestheaverageclutterheightperclutterclassas
definedintheclutterclassesproperties(see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151).
Tomanagethepropertiesofclutterheights:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterHeightsfolder.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytabtodefinethedisplaypropertiesforclutterheights.

ForinformationonDisplaytabsettings,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

5. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Theclutterheightofthecurrentpointerpositionasgivenintheclutterheightfileorintheclutterclassesisdisplayedinthe
statusbar.

3.7 Contours,Lines,andPoints
InAtoll,youcanimportorcreatevectorobjectssuchascontours,lines,andpoints.Theimportedorcreatedvectorsareused
primarilyfordisplaypurposes,butpolygonscanbeusedasfilters,orcomputationorfocuszones.Vectorfilescanalsobeused
fortrafficmapsorforpopulationmaps.Theycanalsobeusedaspartofancustomgeodatamap(see"CustomGeoData
Maps"onpage158).
InanAtolldocument,vectorobjectssuchascontours,lines,andpointsarearrangedinvectorlayers.Whenyouimporta
vectorfile,with,forexample,roads,Atolladdsthefileasanewvectorlayercontainingallthevectorobjectsinthefile.The
vectorobjectdatacanbemanagedinthevectorlayertable.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"Workingwith
DataTables"onpage75.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ManagingtheDisplayofaVectorLayer"onpage154
"ManagingthePropertiesoftheVectorLayer"onpage155
"MovingaVectorLayertotheNetworkExplorer"onpage155.

3.7.1 ManagingtheDisplayofaVectorLayer
Importedgeographicvectorfilescanhavedifferentattributesdependingontheirfileformats.Atollcanuseadditionalinfor
mationrelatedtovectorsasdisplayparameters.Inaddition,Atollcanreadthreedimensionalvectordata.

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Tomanagethedisplayofavectorlayer:
1. ClicktheNetworkorGeoexploreronwhichthevectorlayerislocated.
2. Rightclickthevectorlayer.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Forinformationonusingthedisplaytab,see"DisplayProperties
ofObjects"onpage47.
You can manage the display of an individual vector object by rightclicking the vector
objectinthevectorlayerfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

3.7.2 ManagingthePropertiesoftheVectorLayer
Thepropertiesoftheobjectsonthevectorlayercanbemanagedintwoways:eitherfromatablecontainingallvectorsand
theirattributesorfromthePropertiesdialogbox.
VectorLayerTable
Allthevectorobjectsofavectorlayerandtheirattributesarelistedinthevectortable.
Toopenthevectorlayertable:
1. OntheExplorerwindowtabcontainingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayerfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Thevectortableappears.
YoucaneditthecontentsofthistableusingthecommandsfromthecontextmenuorfromtheEdit,Format,andRecords
menus.FormoreinformationoneditingtablesinAtoll,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
VectorLayerPropertiesdialogbox
ThevectorlayerPropertiesdialogboxhasthreetabs:aGeneraltab,aTabletab,andaDisplaytab.
ToopenthePropertiesdialogboxofavectorlayer:
1. OntheExplorerwindowtabcontainingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayerfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

Name:Thenameofthevectorlayer.Youcanrenamethevectorlayerusingthisfield.
SourceFile:ThecompletepathofthevectorlayerfileifthefileislinkedtotheAtolldocument;otherwisethefile
isdescribedasembedded.

Find:ClicktheFindbuttontoredefinethepathwhenthefileslocationhaschanged.
Embed:ClicktheEmbedbuttontoembedalinkedvectorlayerfileintheAtolldocument.

CoordinateSystem:Whenavectorlayerislinked,thecoordinatesystemusedisthefiles,asspecifiedwhenthe
filewasimported.Whentheavectorlayerisembedded,thecoordinatesystemusedisdocuments,asspecified
whenthefilewasembedded.

Change:ClicktheChangebuttontochangethecoordinatesystemofthevectorlayer.

Sort:ClicktheSortbuttontosortthedatacontainedinthevectorlayer.Forinformationonsorting,see"Advanced
Sorting"onpage99.

Filter: Click the Filter button to filter the data contained in the vector layer. For information on filtering, see
"AdvancedDataFiltering"onpage101.

4. ClicktheTabletab.YoucanusetheTabletabtomanagethevectorlayertablecontent.ForinformationontheTable
tab,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTableFields"onpage76.
5. ClicktheDisplaytab.YoucanusetheDisplaytabtomanagethevectorlayerdisplay.ForinformationontheTabletab,
see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

3.7.3 MovingaVectorLayertotheNetworkExplorer
InAtoll,allobjectsintheNetworkexplorer,suchastransmitters,antennas,andpredictions,aredisplayedoverallobjectsin
theGeoexplorer.Youmaywish,however,toensurethatcertaingeodata,forexample,majorgeographicalfeatures,roads,
etc.,remainvisibleinthemapwindow.YoucandothisbytransferringthegeodatafromtheGeoexplorertotheNetwork
explorerandplacingitabovedatasuchaspredictions.

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TotransferavectorlayertotheNetworkexplorer:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthevectorlayeryouwanttotransfer.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectMovetoNetworkfromthecontextmenu.ThevectorlayeristransferredtotheNetworkexplorer.
YoucantransferthevectorlayerbacktotheGeoexplorerbyrightclickingitintheNetworkexplorerandselectingMoveto
Geofromthecontextmenu.FormoreinformationaboutdisplaypriorityinAtoll,see"SettingthePriorityofGeoData"on
page162.

3.8 ScannedImages
Scannedimagesaregeographicdatafileswhichrepresenttheactualphysicalsurroundings,forexample,roadmapsorsatel
liteimages.Theyareusedtoprovideaprecisebackgroundforotherobjectsorforlessprecisemaps.Theyhavenoeffecton
calculations.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingSeveralScannedImages"onpage156
"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofScannedImages"onpage156.

3.8.1 ImportingSeveralScannedImages
YoucanimportscannedimagesintothecurrentAtolldocumentoneatatime,asexplainedin"ImportingGeoDataFiles"on
page141,oryoucanimportagroupofimagesbyimportinganindexfilelistingtheindividualimagefiles.Theindexfileisa
textfilewiththeinformationforeachimagefileonaseparateline.
Eachlinecontainsthefollowinginformation,withtheinformationseparatedbyaspace:

Filename:Thenameofthefile,withitspathrelativetothecurrentlocationoftheindexfile.
XMIN:ThebeginningXcoordinateofthefile.
XMAX:TheendXcoordinate,calculatedasXMIN+(numberofhorizontalbinsxbinwidth).
YMIN:ThebeginningYcoordinateofthefile.
YMAX:TheendYcoordinate,calculatedasYMIN+(numberofhorizontalbinsxbinwidth).
0:Thezerocharacterendsthesequence.

nice1.tif 984660 995380 1860900 1872280 0

nice2.tif 996240 1004900 1860980 1870700 0
Filename

XMIN

XMAX

YMIN

YMAX

Toimportanindex
1. SelectFile>Import.
2. SelecttheindexfileandclickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.1).
3. SelectImageorScanfromtheDataTypelist.
4. ClickImport.TheimagefilesimportedandlistedintheGeoexplorer.

3.8.2 DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofScannedImages
Becauseimportedimagescannotbemodified,theyhavefewerdisplayparametersthanotherobjecttypes.
Todefinethedisplaypropertiesofascannedimage:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthescannedimage.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.13).
4. SelecttheDisplaytabandsetthefollowingoptions:

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Colour:SelecteitherAutomatic,Shadesofgray,orWatermarkfromthelist.
TransparentColour:SelectWhitefromthelistifyouwishpartsofthescannedimagethatarecolouredwhiteto
betransparent,allowingobjectsinlowerlayerstobevisible.
Lightness:Movetheslidertolightenordarkenthescannedimage.
Contrast:Movetheslidertoadjustthecontrast.

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VisibilityScale:Enteravisibilityscaleminimuminthebetween1:textboxandmaximumintheand1:textbox.
Whenthedisplayedorprintedscaleisoutsidethisrange,thescannedimageisnotdisplayed.

5. ClickOK.

Figure3.13:ScannedimagePropertiesdialogbox

3.9 PopulationMaps
Populationmapscontaininformationonpopulationdensityoronthetotalnumberofinhabitants.
Populationmapscanbeusedinpredictionreportsinordertodisplay,forexample,theabsoluteandrelativenumbersofthe
populationcovered.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ManagingtheDisplayofPopulationData"onpage157
"DisplayingPopulationStatistics"onpage157.

3.9.1 ManagingtheDisplayofPopulationData
Youcanmanagethedisplayofpopulationdata.
Tomanagethedisplayofpopulationdata:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclickthePopulationfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheDisplaytabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Forinformationonusingthedisplaytab,see"DisplayProperties
ofObjects"onpage47.
Vectorpointsaddedtoavectorpopulationmaparenotdisplayedifthemapisdisplayed
bypopulationdensity.

3.9.2 DisplayingPopulationStatistics
Youcandisplaytherelativeandabsolutedistributionofpopulation,accordingtothedefinedvalueintervalsinthedisplay
properties(forinformationondefiningvalueintervals,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48),aswellasthetotalpopu
lation.Atolldisplaysthestatisticsforthefocuszoneifthereisone,forthecomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszoneand,if
thereisnofocusorcomputationzone,Atolldisplaysthestatisticsfortheentiredocument.
Todisplaythepopulationdistributionstatistics:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclickthePopulationfolder.
3. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappearswiththedistributionsofeachvalueinterval
definedinthedisplayproperties.

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Statisticsaredisplayedonlyforvisibledata.See"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMap
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.

3.10 CustomGeoDataMaps
YoucanimportmapsotherthanthedefaultmapsthatAtolluses.Forexample,youcanimportfilesfortherevenue,rainfall,
orsociodemographicdata.Dependingonthetypeofinformationdisplayed,youcoulduseitinpredictionreports.Forexam
ple,youcoulddisplaythepredictedrevenuefordefinedcoverage.
Thesemapscanberasterfilesof8,16,or32bitsperpixelorvectorformatfilesthatyouhaveeitherimportedorcreated
usingtheVectorEditortoolbar"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.
Youcreateancustomdatamapby:
1. Importingancustomgeodatafileandcreatingthecustomdatamapfolder.
2. Importingothercustomgeodatafilesintothenewlycreatedcustomdatamapfolder,ifmorethanonefilewillbe
usedforthiscustomgeodatamap.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingaCustomGeoDataMap"onpage158
"AddingaFiletoaCustomGeoDataMap"onpage159
"ManagingthePropertiesofaCustomGeoDataMap"onpage160
"DisplayingStatisticsonCustomGeoData"onpage160
"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"onpage160.

3.10.1 CreatingaCustomGeoDataMap
Thefirststepincreatingacustomgeodatamapisimportingthefirstfileandcreatingthecustomdatamapfolder.
Tocreateancustomgeodatamap:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelectthefirstgeodatafilethatwillbeapartofthecustomdatamapandclickOpen.

Iftheselectedfileisarasterfile,theFileImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.1).
Iftheselectedfileisavectorfile,theVectorImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4).

3. ClicktheAdvancedbutton.TheNewTypedialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4).
4. EnteraNameforthecustomgeodatamap.AtollcreatesafolderwiththisnameintheGeoexplorerandallother
filesofthenewcustomgeodatamapwillgoinhere.
5. UnderSupportedInputFormats,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtotheformatsofboththepresentfileandall
otherfilesthatwillconstitutethenewcustomgeodatamap:

8bitRaster
16bitRaster
32bitRaster
Vector
Ifyoudonotselectalltheformatsyouneednow,youwillnotbeabletoaddaformat
later.

6. UnderSupportedInputFormats,selectthecheckboxcorrespondingtothetypeofvalueofthepresentfileandall
otherfilesthatwillconstitutethenewcustomgeodatamap:

Classes(8bits):tocreateamapofvalueclasses(suchasclutterclasses)withclassesfrom0to255.
ShortInteger(16bits):tocreateamapwithwholevalues.
LongInteger(32bits):tocreateamapwithwholevalues.
Float(32bits):tocreateamapwithdecimalvalues.
Double(64bits):tocreateamapwithdecimalvalues.

7. SelecttheIntegrablecheckboxifyouwanttobeabletouseimporteddataasasurfacedensityvalueandshowcumu
lativecustomgeodatainpredictionreports.

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Touseimporteddataasasurfacedensityvalue,youmustselecttheIntegrable
checkbox.
Youcannotchangetheintegrablesettingonceyouhavecreatedyourcustomgeo
datamap.

8. ClickOK.
9. Iftheimportedfileisarasterfile,theFileImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.1onpage142);iftheimportedfile
isavectorfile,theVectorImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4onpage144):

FileImportdialogbox:FromtheUseaslist,selectwhetherthenewdataistobeusedaDensityorasaValue.
VectorImportdialogbox:UnderFieldstobeimported,selectfromthefirstlistwhichfieldistobeimportedand
fromthesecondlistwhethertheimportedfieldisaDensityoraValue(seeFigure3.2onpage143andFigure3.3
onpage143).
Ifthefileyoufirstimportwhenyoucreateyourcustomgeodatamapisan8bitraster
map,theUseasandFieldstobeimportedboxeswillnotbeavailableforanyfilethatis
importedintoyournewcustomgeodatamap.Thevaluesin8bitmapsarecodesand
notvaluessuchasdensities.

10. .ClickImport.AnewfolderiscreatedintheGeoexplorercontainingthegeodatafileyouimported.

Figure3.14:TheNewTypedialogbox

3.10.2 AddingaFiletoaCustomGeoDataMap
Onceyouhavecreatedthecustomgeodatamapbyimportingthefirstfile,youcanaddmorefilesthatwillbepartofthe
custommap.
Toaddafiletoancustomgeodatamap:
1. SelectFile>Import.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. SelectthegeodatafilethatyouwanttoaddtothecustomdatamapandclickOpen.

Iftheselectedfileisarasterfile,theFileImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.1).
i.

FromtheFileTypelist,selectthenameofthecustomgeodatamap.

ii. FromtheUseaslist,selectwhetherthenewdataistobeusedaDensityorasaValue.

Iftheselectedfileisavectorfile,theVectorImportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.4).
i.

FromtheImportTolist,selectthenameofthecustomgeodatamap.

ii. UnderFieldstobeimported,selectfromthefirstlistwhichfieldistobeimportedandfromthesecondlist
whethertheimportedfieldisaDensityoraValue(seeFigure3.2onpage143andFigure3.3onpage143).

Ifthefileyoufirstimportedwhenyoucreatedyourcustomgeodatamapwasan
8bitrastermap,theUseasandFieldstobeimportedboxeswillnotbeavailable
foranyfilethatisimportedintoyournewcustomgeodatamap.
Touseimporteddataasasurfacedensityvalue,youmustselecttheIntegrable
checkbox.

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3. Click Import. The file is added to the custom geo data file in the Geo explorer containing the geo data file you
imported.

3.10.3 ManagingthePropertiesofaCustomGeoDataMap
Tomanagethepropertiesofancustomgeodatamap:
1. RightclickthecustomgeodatamapintheGeoexplorer.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu:
3. Dependingontheimportedfiletypes,thefollowingtabsareavailable:

Description:Thistabliststheclassesofall8bitrasterfilescontainedinthecustomgeodatamap.Youmustenter
adifferentvalueforeachclass.
Table:ThistabenablesyoutomanagethecontentsoftheclasstablepresentedontheDescriptiontab.Forinfor
mationonworkingwiththeTabletab,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTableFields"onpage76.
DataMapping:Thistabenablesyoutoselectwhichvaluefromeachimportedvectorfileispartofthecustomgeo
datamap.TheimportedvectorfilesarelistedintheNamecolumn,withtherelevantdataselectedintheField
column.YoucanchangethisvaluebyselectinganothervaluefromtheFieldlist.Ifthecustomgeodatamapis
markedasintegrable(see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"onpage160),thereisalsoaDensitycheckbox.
IfthevalueintheFieldcolumnistobeconsideredasadensity,selecttheDensitycheckbox.
Display:Thistabenablesyoutodefinehowthecustomgeodatamapappearsinthemapwindow.Discretevalue
andvalueintervalaretheavailabledisplaytypes.
IntheFieldlist,displaybyvalueisnotpermittedifthecustomgeodatamaphas:

differentrastermapswithdifferentresolutions
bothlineandpolygonvectors
bothrasterandvectormaps.

IntheFieldlist,displaybydensityisnotpermittedifthecustomgeodatamapconsistsofvectorpointsorlines.
Forinformationonusingthedisplaytab,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

3.10.4 DisplayingStatisticsonCustomGeoData
Youcandisplaytherelativeandabsolutedistributionofeachvalueinterval(forinformationondefiningvalueintervals,see
"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48)ofancustomgeodatamap.Atolldisplaysthestatisticsforthefocuszoneifthereis
one,forthecomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszoneand,ifthereisnofocusorcomputationzone,Atolldisplaysthestatis
ticsfortheentiredocument.
Todisplaythestatisticsofancustomgeodatamap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthecustomgeodatamap.
3. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappearswiththedistributionsofeachvalueinterval.
Statisticsaredisplayedonlyforvisibledata.See"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMap
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.

3.10.5 IntegrableversusNonintegrableData
Integrabledatacanbesummedoverthecoverageareadefinedbytheiteminapredictionreport(forexample,bytransmitter
orthreshold).Thedatacanbevaluedata(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberof
customer/km,etc.).Forexample,iftheintegrabledatacomesfromarevenuemap,apredictionreportwouldindicate:

Thepercentageofcoverageforeachrevenueclassfortheentirefocuszone,andforeachsinglecoveragearea(trans
mitter,threshold,etc.),
Therevenueofthefocuszoneandofeachsinglecoveragearea,
Thepercentageoftherevenuemapcoveredfortheentirefocuszoneandforeachsinglecoveragearea.

Dataisconsideredasnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,
sociodemographicclasses,etc.
Intheexampleofasociodemographicclassesmap,apredictionreportwouldindicate:

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3.11 DisplayingOnlineMaps
Severaltypesofonlinemapscanbedisplayedinthemapwindow.Theseonlinemapshavenoeffectonpredictionandsimu
lationresults.
Aprojectioncoordinatesystemmustbespecifiedbeforeanonlinemapcanbedisplayed.
Youmustalsoensurethatthecoordinatesystemthatyouspecifyinyourdocumentisthe
same projection system that is supported by the tile server. If the coordinate systems
differ,maptilesmightbedisproportionatelyandbadlyrenderedwhenyoudragthemap
awayfromtheareatargetedbythespecifiedprojectioncoordinatesystem.

ThemaptilesthatyouloadintoAtollarestoredinaspecificcachedirectorynamedafter
thecorrespondingtileserver.Bydefault,thelocationofthiscacheis"%TEMP%\Online
Maps".YoucanchangethislocationbyeditingtheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,see
theAdministratorManual.
Todisplayanonlinemap:
1. Specifyaprojectioncoordinatesystem(see"SettingaCoordinateSystem"onpage125).
2. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheOnlineMapsfolder(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheAddaTileServerdialogboxappears.

Figure3.15:AddaTileServerdialogbox
4. IntheAddaTileServerdialogbox,setthefollowingoptions:

Name:Specifyanametoidentifythethirdpartytileserver.
ServerURL:EntertheURLofthethirdpartytileserver.

Youcanalsoaddanonlinemapfromalistofpredefinedtileservers(seeFigure3.16).Clickaniteminthelisttoauto
maticallyfilltheNameandServerURLfields.

Figure3.16:PredefinedTileServersforOnlineMaps
AserverURLincludesatilesetwhere:

"%z"representsthedetaillevel,and"%x"and"%y"thetilecoordinates,or
"%q"representsaquadkeyidentifyingasingletileataparticulardetaillevel.

5. ClickOKtoclosetheAddaTileServerdialogbox.Anewitem(
thatyouspecifiedintheAddaTileServerdialogbox.

)appearsintheOnlineMapsfolderwiththeName

6. In the Geo explorer, select the check box preceding the online map that you specified. The selected online map
appearsinthebackgroundofthemapwindowaccordingtothescalethatisdefinedinthetoolbar.

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3.12 SettingthePriorityofGeoData
AtollliststheimportedDTM,clutterclassortrafficobjectsintheirrespectivefoldersandcreatesaseparatefolderforeach
importedvectordatafileandscannedimage.Eachobjectisplacedonaseparatelayer.Thus,thereareasmanylayersas
importedobjects.ThelayersarearrangedfromtoptobottominthemapwindowastheyappearintheGeoexplorer.
ItisimportanttorememberthatallobjectsintheNetworkexplorer,suchastransmitters,antennas,andpredictions,are
displayedoverallobjectsintheGeoexplorer.

3.12.1 SettingtheDisplayPriorityofGeoData
Thereareseveralfactorsthatinfluencethevisibilityofgeodata:

Thedisplaycheckbox:ThecheckboximmediatelytotheleftoftheobjectnameintheGeoexplorercontrolswhether
ornottheobjectisdisplayedonthemap.Ifthecheckboxisselected( ),theobjectisdisplayed;ifthecheckboxis
cleared( ),theobjectisnotdisplayed.Ifthecheckbox,isselectedbutshaded( ),notallobjectsinthefolderare
displayed. For more information, see "Displaying or Hiding Objects on the Map Using the Explorer Windows" on
page42.
Theorderofthelayers:ThelayeratthetopoftheGeoexplorerisontopofallotherlayersinthemapwindow.Data
onlayersbelowisonlyvisiblewherethereisnodataonthetoplayerorifyouadjustthetransparencyoftheobjects
onthetoplayer.YoucanusedraganddroptochangetheorderoflayersbydraggingalayerintheGeoexplorer
towardsthetoporthebottomofthetab.
AllobjectsintheNetworkexplorer,suchastransmitters,antennas,andpredictions,are
displayedoverallobjectsintheGeoexplorer.Vectorgeodata,however,canbetrans
ferredtotheNetworkexplorer,wheretheycanbeplacedoverdatasuchaspredictions.
Inthisway,youcanensurethatcertainvectorgeodata,forexample,majorgeographical
features,roads,etc.,remainvisibleinthemapwindowFormoreinformation,see"Moving
aVectorLayertotheNetworkExplorer"onpage155.

Thetransparencyofobjects:Youcanchangethetransparencyofsomeobjects,suchaspredictions,andsomeobject
types,suchasclutterclasses,toallowobjectsonlowerlayerstobevisibleonthemap.Formoreinformation,see
"DefiningtheTransparencyofObjectsandObjectTypes"onpage49.
Thevisibilityrangeofobjects:Youcandefineavisibilityrangeforobjecttypes.Anobjectisvisibleonlyinthemap
windowifthescale,asdisplayedonthezoomtoolbar,iswithinthisrange.Formoreinformation,see"Definingthe
VisibilityScale"onpage50.

InFigure3.17,vectordata(includingthelinearvectorsHIGHWAYS,COASTLINE,RIVERLAKE,MAJORROADS,MAJORSTREETS,
RAILWAYSandAIRPORT),clutterclasses,DTMandscannedimagehavebeenimportedandaUMTSenvironmenttrafficmap
hasbeeneditedinsidethecomputationzone.Inthemapwindow,thelinearobjects(ROADS,RIVERLAKE,etc.)arevisibleboth
insideandoutsidethecomputationzone.Theclutterclasslayerisvisibleintheareawherethereisnotrafficdata(outside
thecomputationzone).Ontheotherhand,theDTMlayerwhichisbeneaththeclutterclasslayerandthescannedmapwhich
isbeneaththeDTMlayer,arenotvisible.

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Figure3.17:DisplayingGeodatalayers

3.12.2 SettingthePriorityofGeoDatainCalculations
Thepriorityofgeodataincalculationsisdeterminedinmuchthesamewayasitisfordisplay.
WhenyoumakecalculationsinAtoll,thedatatakenintoaccountineachfolder(ClutterClasses,DTM,etc.)isthedatafrom
thetopdown.Inotherwords,Atolltakestheobjectontopandobjectsbelowonlywherethereisnodatainhigherlevels;
whatisusediswhatisseen.
Thevisibilityinthecontextofcalculationsmustnotbeconfusedwiththedisplaycheckbox
( ).Evenifthedisplaycheckboxofanobjectiscleared( ),sothattheobjectisnot
displayed on the map, it will still be taken into consideration for calculations. The only
caseswhereclearingthedisplaycheckboxmeansthatthedatawillnotbeusedarefor
populationdatainreports,andforcustomgeodatamaps.
Objectfolders,forexample,theDTM,clutterclasses,clutterheights,andtrafficdensityfolders,cancontainmorethanone
dataobject.Theseobjectscanrepresentdifferentareasofthemaporthesamepartsofthemapwiththesameordifferent
resolutions.Thereforeforeachfolder,youshouldplacetheobjectswiththebestdataatthetop.Thesearenormallythe
objectswhichcovertheleastareabuthavethehighestresolution.Forexample,whencalculatingcoverageinanurbanarea,
youmighthavetwoclutterclassfiles:onewithahigherresolutionforthedowntowncore,wherethedensityofusersis
higher,andonewithalowerresolutionbutcoveringtheentirearea.Inthiscase,byplacingtheclutterclassfileforthedown
towncoreoverthefilewiththelowerresolution,Atollcanbaseitscalculationsforthedowntowncoreontheclutterclass
filewiththehigherresolution,usingthesecondfileforallothercalculations.
Populationmapsandcustomgeodatamaps,bothofwhichcanbeusedinpredictionreportsfollowthesamerulesofcalcu
lationpriority.
ThefollowingsectionsprovideexamplesthatillustratehowdataisusedinAtoll:

"Example1:TwoDTMMapsRepresentingDifferentAreas"onpage163
"Example2:ClutterClassesandDTMMapsRepresentingtheSameArea"onpage164
"Example3:TwoClutterClassMapsRepresentingaCommonArea"onpage164.

3.12.2.1 Example1:TwoDTMMapsRepresentingDifferentAreas
Inthisexample,therearetwoimportedDTMfiles:

"DTM1representsagivenareaandhasaresolutionof50m.
DTM2representsadifferentareaandhasaresolutionof20m.

Inthisexample,thefileorderoftheDTMfilesintheExplorerwindowdoesnotmatterbecausetheydonotoverlap;inboth
Case1andCase2,Atollwilltakeallthedatafromboth"DTM1and"DTM2intoaccount.

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Explorerwindow

Workspace

Case1
DTM

DTM2(20m)
DTM1(50m)

Case2
DTM

DTM1(50m)
DTM2(20m)

Figure3.18:MultilayermanagementincalculationstwoDTMmapsrepresentingdifferentareas

3.12.2.2 Example2:ClutterClassesandDTMMapsRepresentingtheSameArea
Inthisexample,therearetwoimportedmaps:

AclutterclassmapcalledClutter.
ADTMmapcalledDTM.

IndependentlyoftheorderofthetwomapsintheExplorerwindow,AtollusesboththeclutterandDTMdataincalculations.
InCase1,theclutterclassmapisontopoftheDTMmap.InCase2,theDTMmapisontopoftheclutterclassmap.Inboth
Case1andCase2,AtollwilluseboththeclutterandDTMdataincalculations.
Explorerwindow

Workspace

Case1
Clutterclasses

Clutter
DTM

DTM
Case2
DTM

DTM
Clutterclasses

Clutter
Figure3.19:MultilayermanagementincalculationsClutterandDTMmapsrepresentingthesamearea

3.12.2.3 Example3:TwoClutterClassMapsRepresentingaCommonArea
Inthisexample,therearetwoimportedclutterclassesmaps:

"Clutter1"representsalargeareawitharesolutionof50m.
"Clutter2"representsasmallerareawitharesolutionof20m.Thisareaisalsocoveredby"Clutter1"

Inthecaseoftwoclutterclassmaps,AtollusestheorderofthemapsintheClutterClassesfolderintheGeoexplorerto
decidewhichdatatouse.InCase1,"Clutter2"isontopof"Clutter1".Atollwillthereforeusethedatain"Clutter2"where
it is available, and the data from "Clutter1" everywhere that is covered by "Clutter1" but not by "Clutter2." In Case2,
"Clutter1"isontopandcompletelycovers"Clutter2."Therefore,Atollwillonlyusethedatafrom"Clutter1."

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Explorerwindow

Workspace

Case1
Clutterclasses

Clutter2(20m)

Clutter1(50m)

Case2
Clutterclasses

Clutter1(50m)

Clutter2(20m)

Figure3.20:Multilayermanagementincalculationstwocluttermapsrepresentingthesamearea

3.13 DisplayingInformationAboutGeoData
Youcandisplayinformationaboutageodatamapbyusingtiptext.Forinformationonhowtodisplayinformationintiptext,
see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Todisplayinformationaboutthegeodataintiptext:

Holdthepointeroverthegeodatauntilthetiptextappears.Thesurfaceareaisonlygivenforclosedpolygons.

TiptextonlyappearswhentheTipTextbutton(

)onthetoolbarhasbeenselected.

3.14 GeographicDataSets
InAtoll,onceyouhaveimportedgeographicdataanddefinedtheirparameters,youcansavemuchofthisinformationina
user configuration file. Then, another user, working on a similar Atoll document, can import the user configuration file
containingthepathstotheimportedgeographicdataandmanyofthedefinedparameters.
Whenyousavethegeographicdatasetinauserconfiguration,yousave:

thepathsofimportedgeographicmaps
mapdisplaysettings(visibilityscale,transparency,tipstext,etc.)
clutterdescription(code,name,height,standarddeviations,etc.)
rasteroruserprofiletrafficmapdescription.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ExportingaGeoDataSet"onpage166
"LoadingaGeoDataSet"onpage166.
Youcansaveandloadothertypesofinformationwithuserconfigurationfilesaswell.For
information,seetheAdministratorManual.

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3.14.1 ExportingaGeoDataSet
Whenyousaveageodatasetinauserconfigurationfile,theinformationlistedin"GeographicDataSets"onpage165issaved
intoafile.
Vectorsmustbeinthesamecoordinatesystemastherastermaps.

Tosaveageodatasetinauserconfigurationfile:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Save.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.21).
2. IntheUserConfigurationdialogbox,selecttheGeographicDataSetcheckbox.

Figure3.21:TheUserConfigurationdialogbox
3. ClickOK,TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavethefileandenteraFilename.
5. ClickOK.

3.14.2 LoadingaGeoDataSet
When you load a user configuration file containing a geo data set, the information listed in "Geographic Data Sets" on
page165isloadedintoyourcurrentAtolldocument.
ToloadauserconfigurationfilecontainingageodatasetintoyourcurrentAtolldocument:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Load.TheOpendialogboxappears.
2. Browsetotheuserconfigurationfile,selectitandclickOpen.
3. TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears.
Whenyouloadauserconfigurationfileincludingageographicdataset,Atollchecksiftherearealreadygeographic
datainthecurrentAtolldocument.Ifso,theoptionDeleteexistinggeodataappearswithotheroptionsintheUser
Configurationdialogbox.
4. IntheUserConfigurationdialogbox,selectthecheckboxesoftheitemsyouwanttoloadintoyourcurrentAtolldoc
ument.
5. IfyoualreadyhavegeographicdatainyourcurrentAtolldocumentandwouldliketoreplaceitwithanydatainthe
userconfigurationfileyouareloading,selecttheDeleteexistinggeodatacheckbox.
Ifyoudonotwanttoreplaceexistinggeodatawithimporteddata,cleartheDeleteexistinggeodatacheckbox.
6. ClickOK.
YoucanautomaticallystartAtollwithauserconfigurationfilebynamingthefile"Atoll.cfg"
andplacingitinthesamefolderastheAtollexecutable.YoucanalsoedittheWindows
shortcuttoAtollandadd"cfg<CFG_file>"where"<CFG_file>"isthefullpathtotheuser
configurationfile.

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3.15 EditingGeographicData
InAtoll,youcaneditgeodatathatyouhaveimportedoryoucancreategeodataby,forexample,addingavectorlayerto
thePopulationfolderandthenaddingpolygons.
Thefollowingtypesofgeographicdatacanbeedited:

Clutterclasses(formoreinformation,"EditingClutterClassMaps"onpage167)
Contours,lines,andpoints(formoreinformation,"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65)
Populationmaps,iftheyareinvectorformat,i.e.ErdasImagine(16bit),AGD,DXF,SHP,MIF,orTABformat(formore
information,"EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps"onpage168)
Trafficdatamaps
Customdatamaps(formoreinformation,"EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps"onpage168).

3.15.1 EditingClutterClassMaps
Clutterclassmapsandcertaintrafficmapsarerastermaps.Youcaneditthesemapsbycreatingormodifyingpolygons.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingaClutterPolygon"onpage167
"EditingClutterPolygons"onpage167
"DisplayingtheCoordinatesofClutterPolygons"onpage168.
"DeletingClutterPolygons"onpage168

3.15.1.1 CreatingaClutterPolygon
InAtoll,youcanmodifyimportedclutterclassmapsorcreateyourownmapsbyaddingdataintheformofpolygons.Youcan
latereditandexportthepolygonsyouhavecreated.Allmodificationsyoumaketoclutterclassmapsaretakenintoaccount
bypropagationmodelcalculations.
Tocreateapolygon:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.TheEditortoolbarappearswithaclutterortrafficlist,apolygondrawingtool
apolygondeletiontool

,andaClosebutton(seeFigure3.22).

Figure3.22:Editortoolbar
4. Fromthelist,selecttheclutterclassforthepolygonyouwanttocreate.
ClutterclassesaredefinedontheDescriptionstaboftheclutterclassesPropertiesdialog
box.

5. Clickthepolygondrawingbutton(

).Thepointerchangestoapencil(

).

6. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthepolygon.
7. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthepolygon.
8. Doubleclicktoclosethepolygon.
Youcancopytheexactcoordinatesofaclosedpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemapand
selectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

3.15.1.2 EditingClutterPolygons
Youcaneditclutterpolygonsbymovingexistingpointsofthepolygonorbyaddingordeletingpoints.

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Toeditclutterpolygons:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.TheEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure3.22).
4. Selectthepolygon.Youcannowedittheclutterpolygonby:

Movingapoint:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttomove.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. Dragthepointtoitsnewposition.

Addingapoint:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepolygonborderwhereyouwanttoaddapoint.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectInsertPointfromthecontextmenu.Apointisaddedtotheborderatthepositionofthe
pointer.

Deletingapoint:
i.

Positionthepointeroverthepointyouwanttodelete.Thepointerchanges(

).

ii. RightclickandselectDeletePointfromthecontextmenu.Thepointisdeleted.

3.15.1.3 DisplayingtheCoordinatesofClutterPolygons
Todisplaythecoordinatesofthepointsdefiningthepolygonarea:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.TheEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure3.22).
4. RightclickthepolygonandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappearswiththecoor
dinatesofthepointsdefiningthepolygonandthetotalarea.
You can select and copy the coordinates displayed in the Properties dialog box of the
polygon.

3.15.1.4 DeletingClutterPolygons
Youcandeleteclutterpolygons.
Todeleteaclutterpolygon:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.TheEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure3.22).
4. Clickthepolygondeletiontool(

).Thepointerchanges(

).

5. Clickthepolygonyouwanttodelete.Thepolygonisdeleted.

3.15.2 EditingPopulationorCustomDataMaps
Somegeographicdatamaps,forexamplepopulationmaps,andcustomdata,aremadeupofindividualvectorobjects.You
canmodifyandcreatethesegeodatamapsbyaddingavectorlayerandthenaddingvectorobjects(contours,lines,and
points)tothislayer.
Tocreateavectorlayerandvectorobjectsonageodatamap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclickthePopulationorCustomDatafoldertowhichyouwanttoaddavectorlayer.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAddVectorLayerfromthecontextmenu.Anewdataobjectcalled"Vectors"iscreatedintheselectedgeodata
objectfolder.

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4. Rightclickthenewvectorlayer.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.ThevectortoolsontheVectorEditortoolbarareactivated.
Youcanalsoactivatethevectortoolsbyselectingthevectorlayertoeditfromthe
VectorEditortoolbarlist.BecauseAtollnamesallnewvectorlayers"Vectors"by
default,itmightbedifficulttoknowwhichVectorsfolderyouareselecting.Byrenaming
eachvectorsfolder,youcanensurethatyouselectthecorrectfolder.Forinformationon
renamingobjects,see"RenaminganObject"onpage44.

6. Todrawapolygon,clicktheNewPolygonbutton(

)ontheVectorEditortoolbar:

a. Clickonceonthemapwhereyouwanttobegindrawingthecontour.
b. Clickeachtimeyouchangeanglesontheborderdefiningtheoutsideofthecontour.
c. Doubleclicktoclosethecontour.
7. Todrawarectangle,clicktheNewRectanglebutton(

)ontheVectorEditortoolbar:

a. Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectangle.
b. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectangle.
c. Releasethemousetocreatetherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
8. RightclickthenewpolygonorrectangleandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
9. Enteravalue:

Population:EnteravalueinthePopulationfieldtoindicatethenumberofinhabitantsorthepopulationdensity.
CustomDataMap:Thevalueyouenterwilldependonthetypeofcustomdatamapyoucreated.

10. PressESCtodeselecttheNewPolygon(

)ortheNewRectangle(

)buttonontheVectorEditortoolbar.

11. ForAtolltoconsiderthenewvectorlayeraspartofthedatamap,youmustmapthevectorlayer.RightclickthePop
ulationorCustomDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
12. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
13. ClicktheDataMappingtab.Forthefollowinggeodata:

PopulationMap:
i.

IntheFieldcolumn,"Population"isselectedbydefault.

ii. Ifthevectorlayercontainsapopulationdensity,selectthecheckboxintheDensitycolumn.Ifthevectorlayer
indicatesthenumberofinhabitants,andnotthepopulationdensity,clearthecheckboxintheDensitycol
umn.

CustomDataMap:Thedatayoumapwilldependonthetypeofcustomdatamapyoucreated.

Youcaneditthevectorobjectsasexplainedin"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.

3.16 SavingGeographicData
AtollallowsyoutosaveyourgeographicdatafilesseparatelyfromsavingtheAtolldocument.Atollsupportsavarietyofboth
raster and vector file formats (for more information, see "Supported Geographic Data Formats" on page141). Saving a
geographicfileseparatelyfromsavingtheAtolldocumentenablesyouto:

Savemodificationsyouhavemadetoanexternalfile:Ifyouhavemademodificationstogeodata,youcanexport
themtoanewexternalfile.
Updatethesourcefilewithmodificationsyouhavemade:IfyouhavemademodificationstoageodatatypeinAtoll,
youcansavethesechangestothesourcefile.
Combineseveralrasterfilesintoonefile:IfyouhaveseveralsmallrasterfilesinonefolderoftheGeoexplorer,you
cansavethemasonefile.
ExportanembeddedfiletobeusedinanotherAtolldocumentorinanotherapplication:Youcansaveafiletoan
externalfile,inthesameformatorinanotherone.
Createanewfilefrompartofalargerone:Youcanselectpartofcertaingeodatatypesandthensavetheselected
partasanewfile.

Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"SavingModificationstoanExternalFile"onpage170
"UpdatingtheSourceFile"onpage171

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"CombiningSeveralRasterFilesintoOneFile"onpage172
"ExportinganEmbeddedFile"onpage172
"CreatingaNewFilefromaLargerFile"onpage173

3.16.1 SavingModificationstoanExternalFile
InAtoll,youcansaveyourmodificationstoanexternalfile.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"ExportinganEditedClutterClassMapinaRasterFormatFile"onpage170
"ExportinganEditedVectorLayerinVectorFormatFile"onpage171.

3.16.1.1 ExportinganEditedClutterClassMapinaRasterFormatFile
Youcanexportclutterclassmodificationsinarasterformatfile,eitherinthesameformatasusedinthecurrentAtolldocu
ment,orinadifferentrasterformat.Youcanalsochoosetoexporttheentireclutterclassgeodata,thepartcontainingthe
computationzone,orjustyourmodificationstothegeodata.
Whenyouhavemademodificationstoarasterformatgeodatafile,exportingeithertheentiregeodataorjustyourmodifi
cationsallowsyoutosavethosemodificationstoanexternalfile.
Toexportclutterclassmodificationsinarasterformatfile:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheClutterClassesfolder.
3. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavethefile,enteranameforthefile,andselect
thefileformatfromtheSaveastypelist.Youcanselectfromoneofthefollowingfileformats:

BMPFiles(*.bmp):WhenyouselectBMPformat,AtollautomaticallycreatesthecorrespondingBPWfilecon
tainingthegeoreferenceinformation.
PNG Files (*.png):When you select PNG format, Atoll automatically creates the corresponding PGW file con
tainingthegeoreferenceinformation.
ArcViewGridFiles(*.txt,*.asc):TheArcViewtextformatisintendedonlyforexport;nocorrespondinggeoref
erencefileiscreated.
TIFFFiles(*.tif):Whenyouselecttaggedimagefileformat,AtollautomaticallycreatesthecorrespondingTFWfile
containingthegeoreferenceinformation.
BILFiles(*.bil):WhenyouselecttheBILformat,AtollautomaticallycreatesthecorrespondingHDRfilecontaining
thegeoreferenceinformation.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2Gb.
VerticalMapperFiles(*.grc,*.grd):FileswiththeextensionGRCorGRDareVerticalMapperfiles.Whenexporting
inGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2Gb.

5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.23).

Figure3.23:Exportdialogbox
6. UnderRegion,selectoneofthefollowing:

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TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexporttheentireclutterclassgeodatafile,includinganymod
ificationsyouhavemadetothegeodata.Theexportedgeodatafilewillreplacethegeodatafileinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
OnlyPendingChanges:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportarectanglecontaininganymodificationsyouhavemade
totheclutterclasses.TheexportedgeodatafilewillbeaddedasanewobjecttotheClutterClassesgeodata
folder.
The Computation Zone: This option allows you to export the clutter class geo data contained by a rectangle
encompassingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.Theexportedgeodatafile
willbeaddedasanewobjecttotheselectedgeodatafolder.

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7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.Thesug
gestedresolutionvalueisdefinedbythefollowingcriteria:

Ifoneobjecthasbeenmodified,thesuggestedresolutionistheresolutionofthemodifiedobject.
Ifseveralobjectshavebeenmodified,thesuggestedresolutionisthehighestresolutionofthemodifiedobjects.
Ifthereisnoinitialclutterclassobject,theresolutionwillequalthehighestresolutionoftheDTMmaps.
IftheAtolldocumentinwhichyoucreatedtheclutterclassfilehasnoDTM,nootherclutterclassgeodatafile,
ortrafficobjects,thesuggestedresolutionis100m.

8. ClickOK.Theselecteddataissavedinanexternalfile.

3.16.1.2 ExportinganEditedVectorLayerinVectorFormatFile
Youcanexportaneditedvectorlayerasavectorformatfile.Avectorlayercancontaincontours,lines,andpoints.Alongwith
vectorlayersyouhaveaddedtotheGeoexplorer,thefollowingmapscanbeexportedasvectorformatfiles:

Vectorformatpopulationmaps
Vectorformatcustommaps.

Onceyousaveavectorlayer,theexportedfilereplacesthevectorlayerasalinkedfile.Youcanembedthefileafterwards
(see"EmbeddingGeographicData"onpage149).
Youcansimultaneouslyexportthedisplayconfigurationfile(CFG)oftheeditedvector
layerbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Theexporteddisplayconfigurationfilewill
havethesamefilenameandwillbesavedinthesamedirectoryastheexportedvector
formatfile.FormoreinformationaboutsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seethe
AdministratorManual.
Toexportavectorlayer:
1. OntheExplorerwindowtabcontainingthevectorlayer,rightclickthevectorlayerfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
3. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavethefile,enteranameforthefile,andselect
thefileformatfromtheSaveastypelist.Youcanselectfromoneofthefollowingfileformats:

AGD:TheAtollGeographicDataformatisanAtollspecificformat.AsaformatcreatedforAtoll,Atollcanread
AGDfilesfasterthantheothersupportedvectorformats.
SHP:TheArcViewvectorformatcanbeusedforvectorlayerscontainingonlypolygons,onlylines,oronlypoints.
Ifavectorfilehasacombinationofpolygons,lines,andpoints,youshouldusetheAGD,MIF,orTABformats
instead.
MIFandTAB:MapInfoformats.

4. ClickSaveintheSaveAsdialogbox.TheVectorExportdialogboxappears,displayingthecurrentcoordinatesystem
andallowingyoutochangethecoordinatesystembyclickingChange.
5. ClickExport.Thevectorlayerissavedintheformatandwiththenameyouspecifiedandtheexportedfilereplaces
thevectorlayerinthecurrentdocumentasalinkedfile.

3.16.2 UpdatingtheSourceFile
WhileworkingonanAtolldocument,youmaymakechangestogeodata.IfthegeodatafileisembeddedintheAtolldocu
ment,Atollsavesthechangesautomaticallywhenyousavethedocument.Ifthegeodatafileislinked,Atollpromptsyouto
savethechangeswhenyouclosethedocument.
Toupdatethesourcefileofalinkedgeodatafile:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefoldercontaininggeodatafilewhosesourcefileyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSavefromthecontextmenu.Thelinkedfileisupdated.
Youwillnotbewarnedthatyouarereplacingthecurrentfile.Therefore,ensurethatyou
wanttoreplacethecurrentfilebeforeproceedingtothefollowingstep.Ifyoudonot
wanttoreplacethecurrentfile,youcansaveyourchangestoanexternalfile("Exporting
anEditedVectorLayerinVectorFormatFile"onpage171).

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3.16.3 CombiningSeveralRasterFilesintoOneFile
Incertaincircumstances,forexample,afterimportinganMSIPlanetindexfile,youmayhaveseveralgeodatafilesofthe
sametype.Youcancombinetheseseparatefilestocreateonesinglefile.Thefileswillbecombinedaccordingtotheirorder
fromthetopdowninthefolderintheGeoexplorer.Ifthefilesoverlaponthemap,thecombinedfilewillshowthefileonthe
top.
Youcancreateaonefilefromasectionofthefollowinggeodatatypes:

Digitalterrainmodel
Clutterclasses
Clutterheights
Scannedmaps

Tocombineindividualfilesintoanewfile:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderofthegeodatafilesyouwanttocombineintoonefile.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenameandselectafiletypefromtheSaveastypelist.
5. ClickOK.TheExportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.24).
6. UnderRegion,selectTheEntireProjectArea.Thisoptionallowsyoutosavetheentireareacoveredbythegeodata
files,includinganymodificationsyouhavemadetothegeodata.
7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.Thesug
gestedresolutionvalueisthehighestresolutionofallobjects.
8. ClickOK.Theselecteddataissavedasanewfile.

3.16.4 ExportinganEmbeddedFile
YoucanexportanembeddedgeodatafiletobeusedinadifferentAtolldocument,orinadifferentapplication.Whenyou
exportanembeddedfile,AtollreplacestheembeddedfileinthecurrentAtolldocumentwiththenewlyexportedfile.
Toexportanembeddedgeodatafile:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderoftheembeddedgeodatafileyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenameandselectafiletypefromtheSaveastypelist.
5. ClickOK.
Ifthegeodatafileisavectorfile,theVectorExportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.24).

Figure3.24:TheVectorExportdialogbox
a. TheVectorExportdialogboxdisplaysthecoordinatesystemofthefile.Tochangethecoordinatesystemusedfor
theexportedfile,clickChange.TheCoordinateSystemsdialogboxappears.ForinformationontheCoordinate
Systemsdialogbox,see"SettingaCoordinateSystem"onpage125.
b. ClickExport.Thegeodatafileisexportedwiththeselectedcoordinatesystem.
Ifthegeodatafileisarasterfile,theExportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.25).

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Figure3.25:Exportdialogbox
a. UnderRegion,selectoneofthefollowing:

TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexporttheentirerasterformatgeodatafile,includingany
modificationsyouhavemadetothegeodata.TheexportedfilewillreplacetheembeddedfileintheGeoex
plorer.
OnlyPendingChanges:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportarectanglecontaininganymodificationsyouhave
madetothegeodata.Theexportedfilewillbeaddedasanobjectinthegeodatafolder.
TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthegeodatacontainedbyarectangleencompassing
thecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.Theexportedfilewillbeaddedasan
objectinthegeodatafolder.

b. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
c. ClickOK.Theselecteddataissavedinanexternalfile.

3.16.5 CreatingaNewFilefromaLargerFile
Youcancreateanewfilefromasectionofalargerfile.YoucanusethisnewfileinthesameAtolldocument,orinanewAtoll
document.Tocreateanewfile,youmustfirstdefinetheareabycreatingacomputationzone.
Youcancreateanewfilefromasectionofthefollowinggeodatatypes:

Digitalterrainmodel
Clutterclasses
Clutterheights
Scannedmaps
Populationmaps

Tocreateanewfilefromasectionofalargerfile:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. Rightclickthefolderoftheembeddedgeodatafileyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenameandselectafiletypefromtheSaveastypelist.
5. ClickOK.TheExportdialogboxappears(seeFigure3.24).
6. UnderRegion,selectTheComputationZone.Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthegeodatacontainedbyarectangle
encompassingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.Theexportedgeodatafilewill
beaddedasanewobjecttotheselectedgeodatafolder.
7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
8. ClickOK.Theselecteddataissavedasanewfile.

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Chapter4
Antennasand
Equipment
Thischapterprovidestheinformationtoworkwith Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
antennasandequipmentinAtoll.
"WorkingWithAntennas"onpage177

"WorkingWithEquipment"onpage183

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4 AntennasandEquipment
Atollmodelstheequipmentthatisusedtocreateanetwork,alongwiththecharacteristicsthathaveabearingonnetwork
performance.
Thischapterexplainshowtoworkwithantennasandotherequipmentsuchastowermountedamplifiers,feedercables,and
basetransceiverstationequipment:

"WorkingWithAntennas"onpage177
"WorkingWithEquipment"onpage183

4.1 WorkingWithAntennas
Atollenablesyoutoworkwithantennasinmanyways.Tocreateanewantenna,youcanimportthedatanecessaryfrom
externalsources,suchasfromaspreadsheetorfromaPlanetformatfile.Onceyouhavecreatedanantenna,youcanimprove
signallevelpredictionbysmoothingthehighattenuationpointsoftheverticalpattern.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatinganAntenna"onpage177
"ImportingPlanetFormatAntennas"onpage179
"Importing3DAntennaPatterns"onpage179
"DisplayingAntennaPatternsWithaFixedScale"onpage181.
"SmoothinganAntennaPattern"onpage181.
"PrintinganAntennaPattern"onpage182.

4.1.1 CreatinganAntenna
EachAtollprojecttemplatehasantennasspecifictothetechnologysupportedbythetemplate.Aswell,Atollallowsyouto
createantennasandsettheparameterssuchasmanufacturer,gain,horizontalpattern,andverticalpattern.
Whenyoucreateanewantenna,youcancopythehorizontalandverticalantenna
patternsfromaspreadsheetorwordprocessor.

Tocreateanantenna:
1. ClicktheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclickontheAntennasfolder.Thecontextmenuopens.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheAntennas:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanenterinformationinthefollowingfields:

Name:Ifnecessary,modifythedefaultname.
Physicalantenna:Thenameofthephysicalantennatowhichtheantennamodelbelongs.Aphysicalantennamay
haveoneormoreantennamodels(patterns),correspondingtodifferentelectricaldowntilts.Ifyouwanttoflaga
physicalantennaasobsolete,addtheword"obsolete"(notcasesensitive)tothenameofthephysicalantenna.
PhysicalantennasflaggedasobsoletearenotlistedamongavailableantennasintheAntennaSelectionAssistant.
ItisstronglyrecommendedtoenteranameinthePhysicalantennafield.Atollusesthis
entrytogroupantennamodelsintophysicalantennas.

Manufacturer:Thenameoftheantennamanufacturer.
HalfpowerBeamwidth:Thehalfpowerbeamwidthoftheantennaistheapertureofitshorizontalpatterncor
responding to the pattern attenuation of 3dB. This field is used by the Antenna Selection Assistant to filter
antennasandmustbecorrectlyset(i.e.,consistentwiththedefinedantennapattern)ifyouwanttheantennato
beavailableintheAntennaSelectionAssistantforatransmitter.
Gain:Theantennasisotropicgain.
Pattern: This specifies the antenna Electrical Tilt and Electrical Azimuth. Atoll automatically calculates these
valuesifthefieldsareleftblankorhaveavalueof"0."ThesefieldsareusedbytheAntennaSelectionAssistant

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tofilterantennas,andmustbecorrectlyset(i.e.,consistentwiththedefinedantennapattern)ifyouwantthe
antennatobeavailableintheAntennaSelectionAssistantforatransmitter.
Frequencies:ThisspecifiestheMinandMaxoperatingfrequenciesoftheantenna.Thesefieldsareusedbythe
AntennaSelectionAssistanttofilterantennasandtosuggestantennasthatarecompatiblewiththeoperating
frequencyofthetransmitter.
Comments:Anyadditionalinformationontheantenna.

6. ClicktheHorizontalPatterntab.TheHorizontalPatterntabhasatabledescribingthehorizontalantennapatternin
termsoftheattenuationindB(Att.)perAngleandagraphicalrepresentationofthepattern.Atollallowsyoutoenter
antennapatternattenuationsforasmanyas720angles.Therefore,attenuationvaluescanalsobedefinedforangles
otherthanintegervaluesfrom0to359.Ifyouhavethehorizontalpatterninaspreadsheetortextdocument,you
cancopythedatadirectlyintothetable:
a. Switchtothedocumentcontainingthehorizontalpattern.
b. Selectthecolumnscontainingtheanglesandattenuationvaluesofthehorizontalpattern.
c. Copytheselecteddata.

Figure4.1:Copyinghorizontalpatternvalues
d. SwitchtoAtoll.
e. ClicktheupperleftcelloftheCopolarSectiontabledescribingthehorizontalpattern.
f. PressCTRL+Vtopastethedatainthetable.

Ifthereareblankrowsinyourdatasheet,Atollinterpolatesthevaluesinordertoobtainacompleteandre
alisticpattern.
Whenperformingacalculationalonganangleforwhichnodataisavailable,Atollcalculatesalinearinterpo
lationfromtheexistingpatternvalues.
WhenAtollperformslinearinterpolationsonantennapatternattenuation,interpolations
arecalculatedinWattsbydefault.YoucanchangethissettingtodBbyaddinganoption
intheAtoll.inifile.FormoreinformationonchangingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seethe
AdministratorManual.

g. ClickApplytodisplaythepatternofthevaluesyouhavepastedin.
7. ClicktheVerticalPatterntab.TheVerticalPatterntabhasatabledescribingtheverticalantennapatternintermsof
theattenuationindB(Att.)perAngleandagraphicalrepresentationofthepattern.Atollallowsyoutoenterantenna
patternattenuationsforasmanyas720angles.Therefore,attenuationvaluescanalsobedefinedforanglesother
thanintegervaluesfrom0to359.Ifyouhavetheverticalpatterninaspreadsheetortextdocument,youcancopy
thedatadirectlyintothetableasdescribedinstep6.
8. ClickOK.
Atollcheckswhethertheverticalandhorizontalpatternsarecorrectlyalignedattheextremities.Theantennapatternsare
correctlyalignedwhen:

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thehorizontalpatternattenuationat0isthesameastheverticalpatternattenuationattheelectricaltiltangle,and
thehorizontalpatternattenuationat180isthesameastheverticalpatternattenuationatthe"180minuselectrical
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4.1.2 ImportingPlanetFormatAntennas
YoucanimportPlanetformatantennasbyimportinganindexfilelistingtheindividualantennafilestobeimported.Standard
Atollfieldsaredirectlyimported.OtherfieldsareimportedforinformationonlyandareaccessibleontheOtherProperties
taboftheAntennaPropertiesdialogbox.
Ifyouareworkingwithadatabase,youwillhavetocreatetherequiredfieldsbeforeyouimportthePlanetformatantennas.
Formoredetails,seetherelevanttechnicalnote.
ToimportPlanetformatantennas:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheAntennasfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
5. Select"Planet2DAntennaFiles(index)"fromtheFilesoftypelist.
6. SelecttheindexfileyouwanttoimportandclickOpen.Theantennasareimported.
Atollcheckswhethertheverticalandhorizontalpatternsarecorrectlyalignedattheextremities.Theantennapatternsare
correctlyalignedwhen:

thehorizontalpatternattenuationat0isthesameastheverticalpatternattenuationattheelectricaltiltangle,and
thehorizontalpatternattenuationat180isthesameastheverticalpatternattenuationatthe"180minuselectrical
tilt"angle.

4.1.3 Importing3DAntennaPatterns
Youcanimportthreedimensionalantennapatternsintheformoftextfiles.Thethreedimensionalantennapatternsyou
importaresavedintheAntennastable.
Duringcalculations,Atollinterpolatesthedataofantennasforwhichonlyhorizontalandverticalcrosssectionsareavailable
tocreateathreedimensionalpattern.Whenyouimportathreedimensionalantennapattern,eventhoughonlyhorizontal
andverticalsectionsoftheantennapatternaredisplayed,Atollconservesalltheinformationandcanuseitdirectly;Atoll
doesnotthereforeneedtointerpolatetorecreatethethreedimensionalantennapattern.
Thetextfilemusthavethefollowingformat:

Antennadescription:Threeseparatevaluesarenecessarytodescribethethreedimensionalantennapattern.The
columnscontainingthevaluescanbeinanyorder:

Azimuth:Therangeofvaluesallowableisfrom0to360,withthesmallestallowableincrementbeing1.
Tiltangle:Therangeofvaluesallowableisfrom90to90,orfrom0to180,withthesmallestallowableincre
mentbeing1.
Attenuation:Theattenuation(indB).

Thetextfiledescribingtheantennacanalsocontainaheaderwithadditionalinformation.Whenyouimporttheantenna
patternyouindicatewheretheheaderendsandwheretheantennapatternitselfbegins.
Toimportthreedimensionalantennapatternfiles:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheAntennasfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.
6. ClickOpen.TheSetupdialogboxappears(seeFigure4.2).

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Figure4.2:Importinga3Dantennapattern
7. Ifyoualreadyhaveanimportconfigurationdefiningthedatastructureoftheimportedfile,youcanselectitfromthe
Configurationlist.Ifyoudonothaveanimportconfiguration,continuewithstep8.
a. UnderConfiguration,selectanimportconfigurationfromtheConfigurationlist.
b. Continuewithstep11.
8. UnderName,youcandefineanamefortheimportedantennapattern.ThisnamewillappearintheAntennasfolder
intheNetworkexplorer.Ifnonameisdefined,Atollwillusethefilenameasthenameoftheantenna:

Ifthenameoftheantennaisinthefile,checktheValuereadinthefilecheckboxandenteraKeywordidentifying
thenamevalueinthefile.
Ifyouwanttoenteranamefortheantenna,cleartheValuereadinthefilecheckboxandenteraname.

9. UnderGain,youcandefinetheantennagain.Ifnogainisdefined,Atollassumesthatthegainis"0."

Ifthegainoftheantennaisinthefile,checktheValuereadinthefilecheckboxandenteraKeywordidentifying
thegainvalueinthefile.
Ifyouwanttoenteragainfortheantenna,cleartheValuereadinthefilecheckboxandenteragainvalue.

10. UnderDiagram,youdefinethestructureoftheantennapatternfile.Asyoumodifytheparameters,theresultsare
displayedinthetable.

1stPattern:Selectthefirstrowofthefilecontainingdataontheantennapattern.
FileTiltRange:Selectthetiltrangeinthefile.Thetiltrangecanbemeasuredfromtoptobottomorfrombottom
totopandfrom0to180orfrom90to90.
FieldSeparator:Selectthecharacterthatisusedinthefiletoseparatefields("","<tab>",";")
DecimalSymbol:Selectthedecimalsymbol.

11. InthetableunderDiagram,clickthetitleineachcolumninthetableandselectthedatatype:Azimuth,Tilt,Attenu
ation,or<Ignore>.Asyoumodifytheparameters,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
YoucansavethechoicesyouhavemadeintheSetupdialogboxasaconfigurationfileby
clickingtheSavebuttonatthetopofthedialogboxandenteringanamefortheconfigu
ration.Thenexttimeyouimportathreedimensionalantennapatternfile,youcanselect
thesamesettingsfromtheConfigurationfilelist.
12. ClickImport.TheantennapatternsareimportedintothecurrentAtolldocument.

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4.1.4 DisplayingAntennaPatternsWithaFixedScale
Atolldisplaystheverticalandhorizontalantennapatternsusingascalethatisautomaticallyadjustedtothehighestandthe
lowestattenuationvaluesoftheantennabeingdisplayed.Youcan,however,displayallantennasusingafixedscaleinorder
tovisuallycompareorprintantennapatterns.
Tosettheantennapatterndisplayscale:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheAntennasfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDisplayPatternsUsingaFixedScalefromthecontextmenu.
AtolldeterminesthelowestandthehighestantennaattenuationvaluesofalltheantennasintheAntennasfolder,
andusesthesevaluestosetthepatternscale.Antennapatternsofalltheantennasarenowdisplayedusingthisscale.

4.1.5 SmoothinganAntennaPattern
Empiricalpropagationmodels,suchastheStandardPropagationModel(SPM),requireantennapatternsmoothinginthe
verticalplanetobettersimulatetheeffectsofreflectionanddiffraction,which,therefore,improvessignallevelprediction.In
Atoll,youcansmoothantennasverticalaswellashorizontalpatterns.
Youshouldmakeacopyoftheantennabeforesmoothingitsverticalpattern.Youcan
makeacopyoftheantennabyopeningtheAntennastableandcopyingandpastingthe
antennadataintoanewrow.Forinformationondatatables,see"WorkingwithData
Tables"onpage75.
Tosmooththeverticalorhorizontalpatternofanantenna:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheAntennasfolder.
4. Rightclicktheantennawhosepatternyouwanttosmooth.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
6. SelecttheVerticalPatternortheHorizontalPatterntab.
7. Rightclickthegraphicalrepresentationofthepattern.Thecontextmenuappears.
8. SelectSmoothfromthecontextmenu.TheSmoothingParametersdialogboxappears.
9. EnterthefollowingparametersandclickOKtosmooththeverticalpattern:

MaxAngle:Enterthemaximumangle.Smoothingwillbeappliedtothesectionoftheverticalpatternbetween0
andthemaximumangle(clockwise).
PeaktoPeakDeviation:Entertheattenuationvaluestowhichsmoothingwillbeapplied.Atollsmoothsallatten
uationvaluesgreaterthanorequaltothepeaktopeakdeviationwiththedefinedcorrectionfactor.
Correction:Enterthecorrectionfactorbywhichtheattenuationvalueswillbesmoothed.

10. ClickOK.

4.1.6 SharinganAntenna
You can share the antenna associated with a transmitter, a repeater, or a remote antenna with any other transmitter,
repeater,orremoteantennabelongingtothesamesingleRANormultiRATAtolldocument,ortoanotherAtolldocument
inacoplanningconfiguration.Sharedantennasarelocatedonsiteswiththesameposition.Whenchangesaremadetothe
positionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesame
changestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedassharingthesameantenna.
Toshareanantennawithanothertransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickatransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. ClickShareAntennaWithinthecontextmenu.TheAntennaSharingassistantappears.

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Figure4.3:AntennaSharingassistant
TheAntennaSharingassistantcontainsatablewithalistofcandidatetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennas
(i.e.candidateslocatedonsiteswiththesameposition),alongwiththecorrespondingphysicalparameters.
Thebottomframecontainsthephysicalparametersofthetransmitter,repeater,orremoteantennathatyouselected
onthemap.
5. Inthetable,selectacandidatetransmitter,repeater,orremoteantennabyclickingitinthe"Transmitter"column:

If the candidate already hasasharedantennaID,youwillsee that IDin the "SharedAntenna"columnandit

appearsgreyedinthefieldbesideSharedantennaatthetopoftheAntennaSharingassistant.
IfthecandidatedoesnothaveasharedantennaID,youcanenteranIDinthefieldbesideSharedantennaatthe
topoftheAntennaSharingassistant,asshowninFigure4.3.

6. ClickOKtoclosetheAntennaSharingassistant.
Asaresult,theobjectyouselectedintheNetworkexplorernowsharestheantennaassociatedwiththeobjectyou
selectedintheAntennaSharingassistant,andbothobjectsaresuperimposedonthemap.Ifyounowusethemouse
to change the azimuth of the shared antenna (see "Changing the Azimuth of the Antenna Using the Mouse" on
page46),theobjectssharingthatantennawillmovetogetheronthemap.
Youcanalsospecifyasharedantennaforatransmitter,arepeater,oraremoteantenna
intheSharedantennafieldontheGeneraltaboftheirPropertiesdialogboxes.

4.1.7 PrintinganAntennaPattern
Youcanprintthehorizontalorverticalpatternofanantenna.
Toprintanantennapattern:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheAntennasfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheAntennastableappears.
5. IntheAntennastable,rightclicktheantennawhosepatternyouwanttoprint.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheHorizontalPatterntabortheVerticalPatterntabtodisplaytheantennapatternyouwanttoprint.
8. RightclicktheantennapatternandselectLinearorLogarithmicfromthecontextmenu.
9. RightclicktheantennapatternagainandselectPrintfromthecontextmenu.

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4.2 WorkingWithEquipment
Youcandefinethecomponentsofabasestationandmodifytheirpropertiesintheirrespectivetables.Atollusestheseprop
ertiestocalculatethedownlinkanduplinklossesandtransmitternoisefigureinUMTS,CDMA2000,WiMAX,orLTE.InGSM,
Atoll calculates the downlink losses only. These parameters can be automatically calculated from the properties of the
componentsortheycandefinedbytheuser.
Basestationsubsystemsconsistofthefollowingcomponents:

Towermountedamplifier:Towermountedamplifiers(TMAs,alsoreferredtoasmastheadamplifiers)areusedto
reducethecompositenoisefigureofthebasestation.TMAsareconnectedbetweentheantennaandthefeeder
cable.TodefineaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feedercables:FeedercablesconnecttheTMAtotheantenna.Todefinefeedercables,see"DefiningFeederCables"
onpage183.
Transmitterequipment:Todefinetransmitterequipment,see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.

4.2.1 DefiningTMAEquipment
Thetowermountedamplifier(TMA)isusedtoreducethecompositenoisefigureofthebasestation.Onceyouhavedefined
aTMA,youcanassignittoindividualtransmitters.
Tocreateatowermountedamplifier:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheTMAfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTMAtableappears.
5. In the table, create one TMA per row. For information on using data tables, see "Working with Data Tables" on
page75.ForeachTMA,enter:

Name:EnteranamefortheTMA.ThisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectaTMA.
NoiseFigure(dB):EnteranoisefigurefortheTMA.
ReceptionGain(dB):Enterareception(uplink)gainfortheTMA.Thismustbeapositivevalue.
TransmissionLosses(dB):Entertransmission(downlink)lossesfortheTMA.Thismustbeapositivevalue.

4.2.2 DefiningFeederCables
FeedercablesconnecttheTMAtotheantenna.Onceyouhavedefinedfeedercables,youcanassignthemtoindividualtrans
mitters.
Tocreatefeedercables:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. RightclicktheFeedersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheFeedertableappears.
5. Inthetable,createonefeederperrow.Forinformationondatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
Foreachfeeder,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthefeedercable.Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectafeeder
cable.
LossperLength:Enterthelosspermeterofcable.Thismustbeapositivevalue.
ConnectorReceptionLoss:Entertheconnectorreceptionloss.Thismustbeapositivevalue.
ConnectorTransmissionLoss:Entertheconnectortransmissionloss.Thismustbeapositivevalue.

4.2.3 DefiningTransmitterEquipment
TransmitterequipmentismodelledforUMTS,CDMA2000,TDSCDMA,WiMAX,andLTE.InGSM,onlythedownlinklossesare
modelled.
Onceyouhavedefinedtransmitterequipment,itcanbeassignedtoindividualtransmitters.
Tocreatetransmitterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

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3. RightclicktheTransmitterEquipmentfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterEquipmenttableappears.
5. Inthetable,createoneentryperrow.Forinformationondatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.For
eachtransmitterequipmententry,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthetransmitterequipment.Thisnameappearsinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselect
transmitterequipment.
NoiseFigure(dB):Enterthenoisefigureforthetransmitterequipment.ThisvalueisnotusedinGSMGPRSEDGE
documents.
DownlinkLossesDuetotheConfiguration(dB):Enterthelossesondownlinkduetothetransmitterequipment
configuration.
UplinkLossesDuetotheConfiguration(dB):Enterthelossesonuplinkduetothetransmitterequipmentconfig
uration.ThisvalueisnotusedinGSMGPRSEDGEdocuments.
CDMARhoFactor(%):EntertheCDMARhofactor,asapercentage.TheCDMARhofactorenablesAtolltotake
intoaccountselfinterferenceproducedbythetransmitterequipment.Becauseequipmentisnotperfect,aninput
signalwillexperiencesomedistortion,consequentlytheoutputsignalwillbenotbeidentical.Thisfactordefines
howmuchdistortionthesystemgenerates.Entering100%meansthesystemisperfect(thereisnodistortion)and
theoutputsignalwillbe100%identicaltotheinputsignal.Ontheotherhand,ifyouspecifyavaluedifferentfrom
100%,Atollwillconsiderthatthetransmittedsignalisnot100%signalandthatitcontainsasmallpercentageof
interferencegeneratedbytheequipment("selfinterference").Atollusesthisparametertoevaluatethesignal
tonoiseratiointhedownlink.
ThisvalueisonlyusedinCDMAbasedtechnologies(CDMA2000,UMTS,andTDSCDMA).ItisnotusedinGSM,
WiMAX,andLTEdocuments.

4.2.4 UpdatingtheValuesforTotalLossesandtheTransmitter
EquipmentNoiseFigure
Onceequipmentisdefinedandassignedtoatransmitter,Atollcanevaluatedownlinkanduplinktotallossesandthetotal
noisefigure.
Atollusestheentryofthetransmitterequipmentasthereferencepointwhenevaluatingtotallossesandthetotalnoise
figure.ThetransmitterequipmentnoisefigureusedbyAtollistheonespecifiedinthetransmitterequipmentproperties.
Transmitter reception losses include feeder reception losses, connector reception losses, miscellaneous reception losses,
antennadiversitygain,TMAbenefitgain(ascalculatedwiththeFriistransmissionequation),andanadditionallossmodelling
thenoiserisegeneratedfromrepeaters(ifany).Transmittertransmissionlossesincludefeedertransmissionlosses,connector
transmissionlosses,miscellaneoustransmissionlosses,andTMAtransmissionlosses.Formoreinformationonthetotalnoise
figureandontransmitterreceptionandtransmissionlosses,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Youcanassignequipmenttoatransmitter:

UsingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,availablebyclickingtheEquipmentbuttonontheTransmittertabof
thetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox,or
UsingtheTransmitterstable,availablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.

WhenyouassignequipmenttoatransmitterusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,Atollupdatestherealvalues
whenyouclickOKandclosethedialogbox.WhenyouassignequipmenttoatransmitterusingtheTransmitterstable,Atoll
doesnotupdatetherealvaluesautomatically.
Toupdatetherealvalues(totallossesandtransmitterequipmentnoisefigure)withthecalculatedvaluesofalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCalculations>UpdateLossesandNoiseFiguresfromthecontextmenu.
Toupdatetherealvalues(totallossesandtransmitterequipmentnoisefigure)withthecalculatedvaluesofagroupoftrans
mitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. ClickGroupbyinthecontextmenuandselectthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmittersfromthe
Groupbysubmenu.Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterswhoserealvaluesyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.

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7. IntheTransmitterstable,selectthevaluesyouwanttoupdateinthefollowingcolumnsandpressDEL:

TransmissionLoss(dB)
ReceptionLoss(dB)
NoiseFigure(dB)

Atollautomaticallyrecalculatesandupdatesthesevalues.

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Chapter5
Calculationsand
PropagationModels
Thischapterprovidestheinformationtoworkwith Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
calculationsinAtoll.
"WorkingwithRadioPropagationModels"onpage189

"DefiningRadioCalculationParameters"onpage206

"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209

"RadioPredictionTypes"onpage219

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5 CalculationsandPropagationModels
Onceyouhavecreatedanetwork,youcanmakepredictions.Therearetwotypesofpredictions:

Pointpredictions:ThePointAnalysistoolallowsyoutopredict,atanypointonthemap,theprofilebetweenaref
erencetransmitterandareceiver,thevalueofthesignallevelsofthesurroundingtransmitters,anactivesetanalysis
forUMTS,CDMA2000,andTDSCDMAprojectsandaninterferenceanalysisforGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects.
Coveragepredictions:Youcancalculatestandardcoveragepredictions,coveragebytransmitter,coveragebysignal
levelandoverlappingzones,andspecificcoveragepredictionssuchasinterferencepredictionsforGSM/GPRS/EDGE
projectsorhandover,orserviceavailabilityforUMTS,CDMA2000,andTDSCDMAprojects.Manycustomisationfea
turesoncoveragepredictionsareavailableinordertomaketheiranalysiseasier.

Atoll facilitates the calculation of coverage predictions with support for multithreading and distributed calculating. The
progressofthecalculationscanbedisplayedintheEventViewerwindoworinalogfile.
Atollalsoallowsyoutousepolygonalzonestolimittheamountofresourcesandtimeusedforcalculations.Thepolygonal
zones,suchasthefilteringzoneandthecomputationzone,helpyoutorestrictcalculationstoadefinedsetoftransmitters,
andtolimitcalculationsandcoveragepredictions.
Dependingonthetypeofprojectyouareworkingon,youcanchoosebetweenthepropagationmodelsavailableinAtoll.

5.1 WorkingwithRadioPropagationModels
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"PropagationModelCharacteristics:Overview"onpage189
"TheStandardPropagationModel"onpage190
"TheCrossWaveModel"onpage197
"TheOkumuraHataPropagationModel"onpage197
"TheCostHataPropagationModel"onpage199
"TheITU5293PropagationModel"onpage200
"TheITU3707PropagationModel"onpage202
"TheErcegGreensteinPropagationModel"onpage202
"TheITU5265PropagationModel"onpage203
"TheWLLPropagationModel"onpage204
"TheLongleyRicePropagationModel"onpage204
"TheITU1546PropagationModel"onpage205
"TheSakagamiExtendedPropagationModel"onpage205
"ManagingPropagationModels"onpage206.

5.1.1 PropagationModelCharacteristics:Overview
EachpropagationmodelavailableinAtollissuitedforcertainconditions,frequenciesandradiotechnologies.Thefollowing
tablesummarisesthefrequencyband,necessarygeodata,andrecommendeduseofeachpropagationmodel.
Model

FrequencyRange

GeoDataTakenintoAccount

RecommendedUse

ITU3707Vienna93

100400MHz

Terrainprofile

d>10km
Lowfrequencies
Broadcast

ITU1546

303000MHz

Terrainprofile

1<d<1000km
Landandmaritimemobile,
broadcast

ITU5265(theoretical)

3010000MHz

Terrainprofile

Fixedreceivers
WLL

WLL

3010000MHz

Terrainprofile
Deterministicclutter

Fixedreceivers
WLL,Microwavelinks,WiMAX

1501000MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter(atthereceiver)

1<d<20km
GSM900,CDMA2000,LTE

OkumuraHata
(Automaticcalibration
available)

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Model

FrequencyRange

GeoDataTakenintoAccount

RecommendedUse

15002000MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter(atthereceiver)

1<d<20km
GSM1800,UMTS,CDMA2000,
LTE

3001500MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter(atthereceiver)

1<d<100km
GSM900,CDMA2000,LTE

1503500MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter

1<d<20km
GSM,UMTS,CDMA2000,
WiMAX,LTE,WiFi

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter(atthereceiver)

Urbanandsuburbanareas
100m<d<8km
FixedWiMAX,WiFi

30008000MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalclutter

1<d<20km
WiMAX,LTE,WiFi

2005000MHz

Terrainprofile
Statisticalordeterministicclutter
3Dbuildingandlinevectors
(optional)
Specificmorphology,facetsand
graphsdatafiles(optional)

Allcelltypes(mini,smalland
macrocells)
GSM,UMTS,CDMA2000,
WiMAX,LTE,WiFi

1503500MHz

Buildingdatabase
Terrainprofile
Clutter
Diffraction
Reflection

0.02<d<35km
GSM900,GSM1800,UMTS,
WiMAX,LTE

CostHata
(Automaticcalibration
available)
ITU5293
StandardPropagation
Model
(Automaticcalibration
available)
ErcegGreenstein(SUI) 19006000MHz
SakagamiExtended
(Automaticcalibration
available)

CrossWaveModel

WinPropProMan

5.1.2 TheStandardPropagationModel
TheStandardPropagationModel(SPM)isbasedontheHataformulasandissuitedforpredictionsinthe150to3500MHz
bandoverlongdistances(fromoneto20km).ItisbestsuitedtoGSM900/1800,UMTS,andCDMA2000radiotechnologies.
TheStandardPropagationModelisbasedonthefollowingformula:
K 1 + K 2 Log d + K 3 Log H Txeff + K 4 DiffractionLoss + K 5 Log d Log H Txeff +
P R = P Tx

K 6 H Rxeff + K 7 Log H Rx eff + K clutter f clutter + K hill LOS

where:

PR

receivedpower(dBm)

PTx

transmittedpower(EIRP)(dBm)

K1

constantoffset(dB)

K2

multiplyingfactorforLog(d)

distancebetweenthereceiverandthetransmitter(m)

K3

multiplyingfactorforLog(HTxeff)

H Tx

K4

effectiveheightofthetransmitterantenna(m)

multiplyingfactorfordiffractioncalculation.K4mustbeapositivenumber
DiffractionLoss lossesduetodiffractionoveranobstructedpath(dB)
K5
multiplyingfactorforLog(HTxeff)xLog(d)

K6

multiplyingfactorforHRxeff

K7

multiplyingfactorforLog(HRxeff)

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H Rx

Kclutter

multiplyingfactorforf(clutter)

f(clutter)

averageofweightedlossesduetoclutter

Khill,LOS

correctivefactorforhillyregions(=0incaseofNLOS)

eff

mobileantennaheight(m)

Theseparameterscanbedefinedonthetabs(Parameters,andClutter)oftheStandardPropagationModelPropertiesdialog
box.YoucanalsouseawizardtocalibratetheStandardPropagationModel.ForinformationontheAutomaticCalibration
Wizard,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibrationGuide.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"StandardPropagationModelGuidelines"onpage191
"CalculatingDiffractionWiththeSPM"onpage192
"SampleValuesforSPMFormulas"onpage192
"Calculatingf(clutter)withtheStandardPropagationModel"onpage193
"ModellingFixedReceivers"onpage194
"DefiningtheParametersoftheStandardPropagationModel"onpage194.

5.1.2.1 StandardPropagationModelGuidelines
Clutterinformationcanbeevaluatedinbothdiffractionlossandf(clutter).Topreventthemodelfromevaluatingclutterinfor
mationtwice,chooseoneofthefollowingapproaches:

Approach#1:Ifyouspecifylossesperclutterclass,donotconsiderclutteraltitudesindiffractionlossoverthetrans
mitterreceiverprofile.Thisapproachisrecommendediftheclutterheightinformationisstatistical(i.e.,wherethe
clutterisroughlydefinedandwithoutadefinedaltitude).
BecausetheStandardPropagationModelisastatisticalpropagationmodel,thisapproach
isrecommended.

Approach#2:Ifyouconsiderclutteraltitudes,donotdefinealossperclutterclass.Inthiscase,f(clutter)willbe"0;"
lossesduetoclutterwillonlybetakenintoaccountinthecalculateddiffraction.Thisapproachisrecommendedifthe
clutteraltitudeinformationissemideterministic(i.e.,wheretheclutterisroughlydefinedwithanaveragealtitude
perclutterclass)ordeterministic(i.e.,wheretheclutterissharplydefinedwithanaveragealtitudeperclutterclass
orwherethereisaclutterheightfile).
Iftheclutterheightinformationisanaverageheightdefinedforeachclutterclass,youmustspecifyareceiverclear
anceperclutterclass.Bothgroundandclutteraltitudeareconsideredalongthewholetransmitterreceiverprofile
exceptoveraspecificdistancearoundthereceiver(clearance),inwhichAtollbasesitscalculationsonlyontheDTM.
Theclearanceinformationisusedtomodelstreetsbecauseitisassumedthatthereceiverisinthestreet.
Itisnotnecessarytodefinereceiverclearanceiftheheightinformationisfromaclutterheightfile.Inthiscase,the
clutterheightinformationisaccurateenoughtobeusedwithoutadditionalinformationsuchasclearance;Atollcalcu
latesthepathlossifthereceiverisinthestreet(ifthereceiverheightishigherthantheclutterheight).Ifthereceiver
heightislowerthantheclutterheight,thereceiverisassumedtobeinsideabuilding.Inthiscase,Atolldoesnot
consideranydiffractionforthebuilding(oranyclearance)buttakesintoaccounttheclutterclassindoorlossasan
additional penetration loss. Nevertheless, Atoll does consider diffraction caused by surrounding buildings. In
Figure5.1onpage192thisdiffractionisdisplayedwithagreenline.
Toconsiderindoorlossesinsideabuildingwhenonlyusingadeterministiccluttermap
(i.e.,aclutterheightmap),disabletheIndoorCoverageoptionwhencreatinga
prediction.Iftheoptionisenabled,indoorlossesareaddedtwice(oncefortheentire
receptionclutterclassandonceasindoorlosses).

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Figure5.1:Diffractioncausedbysurroundingbuildingswhenthereceiverisindoors

5.1.2.2 CalculatingDiffractionWiththeSPM
YoucansettheparametersusedtocalculatediffractionlossesontheParametersandCluttertabsoftheStandardPropaga
tionModelPropertiesdialogbox.
IntheParametersexplorer,youcandefinethecalculationmethodusedfordiffractionandtheK4factor.Thefollowingmeth
odsareavailable:

Deygout
EpsteinPeterson
Deygoutwithcorrection
Millington

ThemethodsforcalculatingdiffractionarebasedonthegeneralmethodforoneormoreobstaclesdescribedintheITU5265
recommendations.CalculationsincludethecurvatureoftheEarth.Alongthetransmitterreceiverprofile,youcanchooseto
considereitherthegroundaltitudeonlyorboththegroundaltitudeandtheclutterheight.Ifyouchoosetoconsiderclutter
height,Atollextractsinformationfromtheclutterheightsfile.Otherwise,itusesanaverageclutterheightspecifiedforeach
clutterclass.Whenclutterheightinformationisstatistical,Atollalsousesclearancevaluesforeachclutterclasstoestablish
streetmodels.Fordetailedinformationoneachmethod,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Toconsiderheightswhencalculatingdiffraction:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickStandardPropagationModel.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheCluttertab.
6. UnderHeights,selectoneofthefollowingforCluttertakenintoaccountindiffraction:

1Yes:Select"1Yes"ifyouwantheightsfromtheclutterheightstobetakenintoaccountontopoftheDTM
whencalculatingdiffraction.
0No:Select"0No"ifyouwantdiffractiontobecalculatedusingonlytheDTM.

7. ClickOK.

5.1.2.3 SampleValuesforSPMFormulas
ThefollowingtablegivessomepossiblevaluesfortheconstantsusedintheStandardPropagationModelformulas.

K1

192

Minimum

Typical

Maximum

Variable

Variable

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Minimum

Typical

Maximum

K2

20

44.9

70

K3

20

5.83

20

K4

0.5

0.8

K5

10

6.55

K6

K7

10

ItisrecommendedtosetK6to0,anduseK7insteadofK6.K6isamultiplicativecoefficienttoavalueindB,whichmeansthat
slightvariationsinK6haveconsiderableimpactonthepathloss.
K1isaconstant;itsvaluedependsontheradiofrequency.ThefollowingtablegivessomepossiblevaluesforK1.
Frequency(MHz)

K1

935

12.5

1805

22

1930

23

2110

23.8

1900

23

2300

24.7

2500

25.4

2700

26.1

3300

27.8

3500

28.3

Itsvalueisheavilyinfluencedbythevaluesgiventolossesperclutterclass.

5.1.2.4 Calculatingf(clutter)withtheStandardPropagationModel
Theaverageofweightedlossesduetoclutter,f(clutter),isdefinedasfollows:
n

f clutter =

Li wi
i=1

where
L:lossduetoclutter.
w:weight.
n:numberofpointstakenintoaccountovertheprofile.
Thelossesduetoclutterarecalculatedforthemaximumdistancefromthereceiver,definedasMaximumDistanceonthe
CluttertaboftheStandardPropagationModelPropertiesdialogbox.WhentheMaximumDistanceisdefinedas"0",Atoll
onlyconsidersthelossesonthepixelwherethereceiverislocated.OntheCluttertab,eachclutterclassisassignedlosses
andaweightingfunction,enablingAtolltogiveaweighttoeachpoint.Formoreinformation,seetheTechnicalReference
Guide.
ThelossesperclutterclasscanbecalculatedusingtheAutomaticCalibrationWizard.For
informationontheAutomaticCalibrationWizard,seetheMeasurementsandModelCali
brationGuide.

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Thefollowingtablegivestypicalvaluesforlosses(indB)perclutterclass:
ClutterClass

Losses(dB)

Denseurban

from4to5

Woodland

from2to3

Urban

Suburban

from5to3

Industrial

from5to3

Openinurban

from6to4

Open

from12to10

Water

from14to12

TheStandardPropagationModelisbasedonHataformulas,whicharevalidforanurban
environment.Thevaluesaboveareconsistentwithanurbanenvironmentbecauselosses
of0dBareindicatedforanurbanclutterclass,withpositivevaluesformoredenseclutter
classesandnegativevaluesforlessdenseclutterclasses.

5.1.2.5 ModellingFixedReceivers
Thefollowingaresuggestionsfordefiningtheheightoffixedreceivers:

Youcanmodelthereceiverasalwaysbeingabovetheclutter,byselecting"1Yes"fortheReceiveronTopofClutter
optionontheCluttertaboftheStandardPropagationModelPropertiesdialogbox.Thereceiverheightwillthenbe
sumoftheclutterheightandthereceiverheight.Thisoptioncanbeusedtomodelreceiversontopofbuildings,for
example.
You can define a specific receiver height for each clutter class in the Rx Height column on the Clutter tab of the
StandardPropagationModelPropertiesdialogbox.Or,youcanselect"(default)"forthereceiverheight.Whencre
atingacoverageprediction,AtollwillthenreadthereceiverheightontheCalculationParameterstaboftheNetwork
SettingsPropertiesdialogboxintheParametersexplorer.

5.1.2.6 DefiningtheParametersoftheStandardPropagationModel
YoucandefinetheparametersoftheStandardPropagationModelusingtheStandardPropagationModelPropertiesdialog
box.
Default values have been assigned to the multiplying factors. The default values corre
spondtotherural(quasiopen)OkumuraHataformulavalidforafrequencyof935MHz.
The values for K values can be calculated using an automatic or assisted calibration
method.Formoreinformation,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibrationGuide.
TodefinethecalculationsparametersoftheStandardPropagationModel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickStandardPropagationModel.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab(seeFigure5.2).

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Figure5.2:StandardPropagationModelParameterstab
UnderNearTransmitter,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

MaximumDistance:Setthemaximumdistanceforareceivertobeconsiderednearthetransmitter.Ifthedis
tancebetweenthereceiverandthetransmitterisgreaterthanthesetdistance,thereceiverisconsideredfarfrom
thetransmitter.
K1losandK2los:EntertheK1andK2valuesthatwillbeusedforcalculationswhenthereceiverisinthetrans
mitterlineofsight.
K1nlosandK2nlos:EntertheK1andK2valuesthatwillbeusedforcalculationswhenthereceiverisnotinthe
transmitterlineofsight.

UnderFarfromTransmitter,thevaluesyousetwillbeusedforallreceiverswhosedistancefromthetransmitteris
greaterthanthedistancespecifiedinMaximumDistanceunderNearTransmitter.Youcansetthefollowingparam
eters:

K1losandK2los:EntertheK1andK2valuesthatwillbeusedforcalculationswhenthereceiverisinthetrans
mitterlineofsight.
K1nlosandK2nlos:EntertheK1andK2valuesthatwillbeusedforcalculationswhenthereceiverisnotinthe
transmitterlineofsight.
TheLOSisdefinedbynoobstructionalongthedirectraybetweenthetransmitterandthe
receiver.

UnderEffectiveAntennaHeight,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Method:SelectthemethodthatwillbeusedtocalculateHTxeff,theeffectiveantennaheight.
YoucanusetheAutomaticCalibrationWizardtoselectthebestmethodforcalculating
theeffectiveTxantennaheight.ForinformationontheAutomaticCalibrationWizard,see
theMeasurementsandModelCalibrationGuide.

Distance min. and Distance max.: The Distance min. and Distance max. are set to 3,000m and 15,000m
(accordingtoITUrecommendations)forfrequenciesunder500MHzandto0mand15,000m(accordingtoITU
recommendations)forhighfrequencymobilecommunications.Thesevaluesareonlyusedforthe"AbsSpotHt"
andthe"EnhancedSlopeatReceiver"methods.Formoreinformationonhowthesevaluesareused,seetheTech
nicalReferenceGuide.

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K3:EntertheK3value.

UnderDiffraction,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Method:Selectthemethodthatwillbeusedtocalculatediffraction.
K4:EntertheK4value.

UnderOtherParameters,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

K5:EntertheK5value.
K6:EntertheK6value.
ItisrecommendedtosetK6to0,anduseK7insteadofK6.K6isamultiplicativecoefficienttoavalueindB,which
meansthatslightvariationsinK6haveconsiderableimpactonthepathloss.

K7:EntertheK7value.
Kclutter:EntertheKcluttervalue.
HillyTerrainCorrectionFactor:Select"1Yes"totaketheHillyTerrainCorrectionFactorintoaccount.Other
wise,select"0No".TheHillyTerrainCorrectionFactorcorrectspathlossforhillyregionswhentransmitterand
receiverare inLOS.For more information onthe Hilly TerrainCorrection Factor, seethe Technical Reference
Guide.
LimitationtoFreeSpaceLoss:WhenusingaHatabasedpropagationmodel,itispossibletocalculateatheoretical
pathlossthatendsupbeinglowerthanthefreespaceloss.InAtoll,youcandefineanyHatabasedpropagation
modeltonevercalculateapathlossthatislowerthanthecalculatedfreespacelossperpixel.Select"1Yes"if
youwantthepropagationmodeltolimitthepathlosscalculatedperpixeltothecalculatedfreespaceloss.
Profiles:Selectthemethodtobeusedtoextracttheprofile.Ifyouselect"1Radial,"Atollestablishesaprofile
between each transmitter and each point located on its calculation perimeter (as defined by the calculation
radius)andthenusesthenearestprofiletomakeapredictiononapointinsidethecalculationperimeter.This
process is called radial optimisation. If you select "2Systematic," Atoll systematically determines a profile
betweeneachtransmitterandeachpointinitscalculationarea.Thismethodrequiresasignificantlylongercalcu
lationtime,therefore,youshouldchoose"1Radial"ifyouwantashortercalculationtime.
GridCalculation:Select"0Centred"ifyouwantAtolltoperformthecalculationsatthecentreofeachpixelor
select"1Bottomleft"ifyouwantAtolltoperformthecalculationsatthelowerleftofeachpixel.

6. ClicktheCluttertab(seeFigure5.3).

Figure5.3:StandardPropagationModelCluttertab
UnderClutterTakenintoAccount,youcansetthefollowingparametersunderHeights:

Cluttertakenintoaccountindiffraction:Select"1Yes"ifyouwanttheclutterheightstobetakenintoaccount
whencalculatingdiffraction.
Receiverontopofclutter:Select"1Yes"ifyouwanttoconsiderthatthereceiverislocatedontopoftheclutter,
forexampleiffixedreceiversarelocatedonbuildingrooftops.
Indoorcalculationsonly:Select"1Yes"tocreatecoveragepredictionsbasedonindoorcalculationsonly.

UnderClutterTakenintoAccount,youcansetthefollowingparametersunderRange:

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Max.distance:Setthemaximumdistancefromareceivertobeconsideredwhencalculatingf(clutter).
Weightingfunction:Selectaweightingfunctiontobeusedwhencalculatingf(clutter).Itenablesyoutoweigh
lossesforeachpixelbetweenareceiverandamaximumdistance.Formoreinformationonweightingfunctions,
seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderParametersperclutterclass,youcansetthefollowingparametersforeachclutterclass:

Losses:Ifnecessary,enterthelossesforeachclutterclasstobeconsideredwhencalculatingf(clutter).
Clearance:Ifnecessary,enteraclearancearoundeachreceiverforeachclutterclass.Theclearanceinformation
isusedtomodelstreetswhenitisassumedthatthereceiverisinthestreet.Theclearanceisusedtocalculate
diffractionwhenstatisticalclutterisconsidered.
Rx Height: If necessary, enter a specific receiver height for each clutter class. Alternatively, you can select
"(default)"forthereceiverheight.Whencreatingacoverageprediction,AtollreadsthereceiverheightontheCal
culationParameterstaboftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxintheParametersexplorer.

7. ClickOK.

5.1.3 TheCrossWaveModel
CrossWaveisahighperformanceuniversalpropagationmodelthatcanbeappliedtoallwirelesstechnologies(GSM,UMTS,
WiMAX,LTE,etc.)andfrequencyrangesfrom200MHzto5GHz.Itsupportsanytypeofmicro,mini,andmacrocellsandall
typesofenvironmentwithoutrestriction(denseurban,urban,suburban,rural,etc.).
TheCrossWavemodelreliesongeographicaldatatodetermineaverticalprofileoftheterrainbetweenatransmitteranda
receiverandprovidesrealisticmodellingbycombiningthethreefollowingcriteria:

Verticaldiffractionusingelaborateclutterinformation.
Reflectiononmountains.
Horizontalguidedpropagation.

Figure5.4:PropagationphenomenaandCrossWave
CrossWavesupportsautomatictuningbasedonCWmeasurements,butisalsostatisticallyprecalibratedbyincorporating
measurementsfromvariouscountriesandenvironmenttypes.CrossWavebenefitsfromseveralyearsofexperienceinmodel
lingofbasiccomponents(antennaandprofilemodelling)andautomatictuning(multilinearregression,neuronalnetworks,
etc...).Althoughhighlycomplex,theCrossWavemodelcombinesaccuracy,performance,versatility,androbustness.
CrossWaveisdevelopedbyOrangeLabsandisdistributedandsupportedbyForskasan
optionalcomponentforAtoll.Forlicensinginformation,contactyourForskrepresenta
tive.ForinformationoninstallingandusingtheCrossWavepropagationmodel,seethe
CrossWaveusermanual.

5.1.4 TheOkumuraHataPropagationModel
TheOkumuraHatamodelissuitedforpredictionsinthe150to1000MHzbandoverlongdistances(fromoneto20km).Itis
bestsuitedtoGSM900andCDMA1xRTTradiotechnologies.
Hatamodelsingeneralarewelladaptedtotheurbanenvironment.Youcandefineseveralcorrectiveformulasandassociate
aformulawitheachclutterclasstoadapttheHatamodeltoawidevarietyofenvironments.Youcanalsodefineadefault
formulatobeusedwhennolandusedataisavailable.Additionally,youcanconsiderdiffractionlossesbasedontheDTM.

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Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningGeneralSettings(OkumuraHata)"onpage198
"SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(OkumuraHata)"onpage198
"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(OkumuraHata)"onpage198.

5.1.4.1 DefiningGeneralSettings(OkumuraHata)
TosetgeneralparametersontheOkumuraHatapropagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickOkumuraHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingsettings:

Adddiffractionloss:TheOkumuraHatapropagationmodelcantakeintoaccountlossesduetodiffraction,using
a1knifeedgeDeygoutmethod,andusingthegroundaltitudegivenintheDTM.Fordetailedinformationonthe
Deygoutmethod,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Thecalculationstakethecurvatureoftheearthintoaccount.
Select"1Yes"ifyouwantthepropagationmodeltoaddlossesduetodiffraction.Youcanweightthisdiffraction
for each Hata environment formula (see "Creating or Modifying Environment Formulas (OkumuraHata)" on
page198)
Limitationtofreespaceloss:WhenusingaHatabasedpropagationmodel,itispossibletocalculateatheoretical
pathlossthatendsupbeinglowerthanthefreespaceloss.InAtoll,youcandefineanyHatabasedpropagation
modeltonevercalculateapathlossthatislowerthanthecalculatedfreespacelossperpixel.Select"1Yes"if
youwantthepropagationmodeltolimitthepathlosscalculatedperpixeltothecalculatedfreespaceloss.

6. ClickOK.

5.1.4.2 SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(OkumuraHata)
TheOkumuraHatamodelcalculatespropagationbyusinganenvironmentformulaappropriatetoeachclutterclass.Youcan
assignadefaultformulathatAtollcanuseforallclutterclassesforwhichyouhavenotassignedanenvironmentformulaor
ifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
Toselectenvironmentformulas:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickOkumuraHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. UnderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selecttheDefaultformularow.Underthisgrid,choosetheappropriate
formulaintheformulascrollinglist.
Atollusesthedefaultenvironmentformulaforcalculationsonanyclutterclasstowhichyouhavenotassignedan
environmentformulaorifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
7. ForeachclutterclassunderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaformulafromthelist.
8. ForeachclutterclassunderAdditionalLossesperClutterClass,enteranoptionalcorrection(indB).Thiscorrection
actsasanadditionallossonthelosscalculatedbythechosenformula.
Forinformationonmodifyingtheselectedformula,see"Creating orModifying EnvironmentFormulas(Okumura
Hata)"onpage198.
9. ClickOK.
CorrectiontermscanbeevaluatedusingtheAutomaticCalibrationWizard.Forinforma
tionontheAutomaticCalibrationWizard,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibration
Guide.

5.1.4.3 CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(OkumuraHata)
TheOkumuraHatapropagationmodelprovidesseveralenvironmentalformulastosimulatevariousenvironments.Youcan
modifyexistingenvironmentalformulasusedbytheOkumuraHatapropagationmodeloryoucancreatenewenvironmental
formulas.

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Tocreateormodifyanenvironmentformula:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickOkumuraHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. ClicktheFormulasbutton.TheFormulasdialogboxappears.Youcandothefollowing:

Add:Tocreateanewformula,clicktheAddbuttonandmodifytheparametersoftheformula.
Delete:Todeleteaformula,selecttheformulaandclicktheDeletebutton.
Modify:Tomodifyanexistingformula,selecttheformulaandmodifytheparameters.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheFormulasdialogbox.
8. ClickOK.

You can weight the diffraction loss by setting the diffraction multiplying factor
withintherange[0;1].
Constant values and a diffraction multiplying factor can be evaluated using the
AutomaticCalibrationWizardforeachenvironmentformula.Forinformationon
theAutomaticCalibrationWizard,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibration
Guide.

5.1.5 TheCostHataPropagationModel
TheCostHatamodelissuitedforcoveragepredictionsinthe1500to2000MHzbandoverlongdistances(fromoneto20km).
ItisbestsuitedtoDCS1800andUMTSradiotechnologies.
Hatamodelsingeneralarewelladaptedtotheurbanenvironment.Youcandefineseveralcorrectiveformulasandassociate
aformulawitheachclutterclasstoadapttheHatamodeltoawidevarietyofenvironments.Youcanalsodefineadefault
formulatobeusedwhennolandusedataisavailable.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningGeneralSettings(CostHata)"onpage199
"SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(CostHata)"onpage200
"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(CostHata)"onpage200.

5.1.5.1 DefiningGeneralSettings(CostHata)
TosetgeneralparametersontheCostHatapropagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickCostHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingsettings:

Adddiffractionloss:TheCostHatapropagationmodelcanconsiderlossesduetodiffractionbyusingbotha1
knifeedgeDeygoutmethod,andthegroundaltitudeprovidedbytheDTM.FordetailedinformationontheDey
goutmethod,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.ThecalculationstakethecurvatureoftheEarthintoaccount.
Select"1Yes"ifyouwantthepropagationmodeltoaddlossesduetodiffraction.Youcanweightthisdiffraction
for each Hata environmental formula (See "Creating or Modifying Environment Formulas (CostHata)" on
page200)
Limitationtofreespaceloss:WhenusingaHatabasedpropagationmodel,itispossibletocalculateatheoretical
pathlossthatendsupbeinglowerthanthefreespaceloss.InAtoll,youcandefineanyHatabasedpropagation
modeltonevercalculateapathlossthatislowerthanthecalculatedfreespacelossperpixel.Select"1Yes"if
youwantthepropagationmodeltolimitthepathlosscalculatedperpixeltothecalculatedfreespaceloss.

6. ClickOK.

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5.1.5.2 SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(CostHata)
TheCostHatapropagationmodelcanuseanenvironmentformulaappropriatetoeachclutterclasswhencalculating.Youcan
assignadefaultformulathatAtollcanuseforallclutterclassesforwhichyouhavenotassignedanenvironmentformulaor
ifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
Toselectenvironmentformulas:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickCostHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. UnderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selecttheDefaultformularow.Underthisgrid,choosetheappropriate
formulaintheformulascrollinglist.
Atollusesthedefaultenvironmentformulaforcalculationsonanyclutterclasstowhichyouhavenotassignedan
environmentformulaorifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
7. ForeachclutterclassunderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaformulafromthelist.
8. ForeachclutterclassunderAdditionalLossesperClutterClass,enteranoptionalcorrection(indB).Thiscorrection
actsasanadditionallossonthelosscalculatedbythechosenformula.
9. ClickOK.

5.1.5.3 CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(CostHata)
SeveralenvironmentformulasareavailablewiththeCostHatapropagationmodeltomodeldifferentenvironments.Youcan
modifyexistingenvironmentformulasusedbytheCostHatapropagationmodelorcreatenewenvironmentalformulas.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironmentformula:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickCostHata.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. ClicktheFormulasbutton.TheFormulasdialogboxappears.Youcandothefollowing:

Add:Tocreateanewformula,clicktheAddbuttonandmodifytheparametersoftheformula.
Delete:Todeleteaformula,selecttheformulaandclicktheDeletebutton.
Modify:Tomodifyanexistingformula,selecttheformulaandmodifytheparameters.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheFormulasdialogbox.
8. ClickOK.

You can weight the diffraction loss by setting the diffraction multiplying factor
withintherange[0;1].
ConstantvaluesanddiffractionmultiplyingfactorcanbeevaluatedusingtheAuto
maticCalibrationWizardforeachenvironmentformula.Forinformationonthe
Automatic Calibration Wizard, see the Measurements and Model Calibration
Guide.

5.1.6 TheITU5293PropagationModel
TheITU5293modelissuitedforpredictionsinthe300to1500MHzbandoverlongdistances(fromoneto100km).Itisbest
suitedtotheGSM900radiotechnology.
Hatamodelsingeneralarewelladaptedtotheurbanenvironment.Youcandefineseveralcorrectiveformulasandassociate
aformulawitheachclutterclasstoadapttheHatamodeltoawidevarietyofenvironments.Youcanalsodefineadefault
formulatobeusedwhennolandusedataisavailable.Inaddition,forlongdistances20km<d<100km),themodelusesauto
maticallyacorrectiveformulaasdefinedintherecommendation.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

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"SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ITU5293)"onpage201
"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ITU5293)"onpage201.

5.1.6.1 DefiningGeneralSettings(ITU5293)
TosetgeneralparametersontheITU5293propagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU529.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingsettings:

Adddiffractionloss:TheITU5293propagationmodelcantakeintoaccountlossesduetodiffraction,usinga1
knifeedgeDeygoutmethod,andusingthegroundaltitudegivenintheDTM.FordetailedinformationontheDey
goutmethod,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Thecalculationstakethecurvatureoftheearthintoaccount.
Select"1Yes"ifyouwantthepropagationmodeltoaddlossesduetodiffraction.
Limitationtofreespaceloss:WhenusingaHatabasedpropagationmodel,itispossibletocalculateatheoretical
pathlossthatendsupbeinglowerthanthefreespaceloss.InAtoll,youcandefineanyHatabasedpropagation
modeltonevercalculateapathlossthatislowerthanthecalculatedfreespacelossperpixel.Select"1Yes"if
youwantthepropagationmodeltolimitthepathlosscalculatedperpixeltothecalculatedfreespaceloss.

6. ClickOK.

5.1.6.2 SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ITU5293)
TheITU5293propagationmodelcanuseanenvironmentformulaappropriatetoeachclutterclasswhencalculating.Youcan
assignadefaultformulathatAtollcanuseforallclutterclassesforwhichyouhavenotassignedanenvironmentformulaor
ifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
Toselectenvironmentformulas:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU529.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. UnderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaDefaultformula.
Atollusesthedefaultenvironmentformulaforcalculationsonanyclutterclasstowhichyouhavenotassignedan
environmentformulaorifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
7. ForeachclutterclassunderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaformulafromthelist.
Forinformationonmodifyingtheselectedformula,see"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ITU5293)"on
page201.
8. ClickOK.

5.1.6.3 CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ITU5293)
SeveralenvironmentformulasareavailablewiththeITU5293propagationmodeltomodeldifferentenvironments.Youcan
modifyexistingenvironmentformulasusedbytheITU5293propagationmodelorcreatenewenvironmentalformulas.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironmentformula:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU529.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. ClicktheFormulasbutton.TheFormulasdialogboxappears.Youcandothefollowing:

Add:Tocreateanewformula,clicktheAddbuttonandmodifytheparametersoftheformula.
Delete:Todeleteaformula,selecttheformulaandclicktheDeletebutton.
Modify:Tomodifyanexistingformula,selecttheformulaandmodifytheparameters.

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7. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheFormulasdialogbox.
8. ClickOK.

5.1.7 TheITU3707PropagationModel
TheITU3707modelisbasedontherecommendationsoftheVienna1993internationalconferenceontelecommunications
networkcoordination.Thismodelissuitedforpredictionsinthe100to400MHzbandoverlongdistances(over10km),such
asinbroadcastpredictions.Itusestheterrainprofiletocalculatepropagation.
TheonlyparameteryoucandefinewiththeITU3707(Vienna93)modelisthepercentageoftimeduringwhichtherealfield
ishigherthanthesignallevelcalculatedbythemodel(1%,10%,or50%ofthetime).Thevalue50%isusuallyusedforcover
agepredictions,whereas1%isusuallyusedforinterferencepredictions.
Tosetthepercentageoftimeduringwhichtherealfieldishigherthanthesignallevel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU370.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.
6. UnderCalculateexceededsignalduring,selectoneofthefollowing:

50%ofthetime
10%ofthetime
1%ofthetime

7. ClickOK.
WhenusingtheITU3707model,donotdefinethecelledgecoverageprobabilityinthe
coveragepredictionpropertieswithavalueotherthan50%,orcelledgecoverageproba
bilitywillbeconsideredtwice.

5.1.8 TheErcegGreensteinPropagationModel
The ErcegGreenstein (SUI) propagation model is suited for predictions in the 1900 and 6000MHz range over distances
between100mand8km.TheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodelissuitedforWiMAX(IEEE802.16e).
TheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodeliswelladaptedforsuburbanenvironment.Youcandefineseveralcorrective
formulasandassociateaformulawitheachclutterclasstoadaptthemodeltoawiderangeofenvironments.Youcanalso
defineadefaultformulatobeusedwhennolandusedataisavailable.Youcanalsosetadefaultformulawhichisusedwhen
noclutterdataisavailable.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningGeneralSettings(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))"onpage202
"SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))"onpage203
"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))"onpage203.

5.1.8.1 DefiningGeneralSettings(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))
TosetgeneralparametersontheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickErcegGreenstein(SUI).Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingsettings:

202

Adddiffractionloss:TheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodelcantakeintoaccountlossesduetodiffrac
tion,usinga1knifeedgeDeygoutmethod,andusingthegroundaltitudegivenintheDTM.Fordetailedinforma
tionontheDeygoutmethod,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Thecalculationstakethecurvatureoftheearth
intoaccount.Select"1Yes"ifyouwantthepropagationmodeltoaddlossesduetodiffraction.
Limitationtofreespaceloss:WhenusingtheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodel,itispossibletocalculate
atheoreticalpathlossthatendsupbeinglowerthanthefreespaceloss.InAtoll,youcandefinetheErcegGreen

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stein(SUI)propagationmodeltonevercalculateapathlossthatislowerthanthecalculatedfreespacelossper
pixel.Select"1Yes"ifyouwantthepropagationmodeltolimitthepathlosscalculatedperpixeltothecalculated
freespaceloss.
7. ClickOK.

5.1.8.2 SelectinganEnvironmentFormula(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))
TheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodelcanuseanenvironmentformulaappropriatetoeachclutterclasswhencalcu
lating.YoucanassignadefaultformulathatAtollcanuseforallclutterclassesforwhichyouhavenotassignedanenviron
mentformulaorifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
Toselectenvironmentformulas:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickErcegGreenstein(SUI).Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. UnderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaDefaultformula.
Atollusesthedefaultenvironmentformulaforcalculationsonanyclutterclasstowhichyouhavenotassignedan
environmentformulaorifyoudonothaveclutterclassesinyourAtolldocument.
7. ForeachclutterclassunderFormulasassignedtoclutterclasses,selectaformulafromthelist.
Forinformationonmodifyingtheselectedformula,see"CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ErcegGreen
stein(SUI))"onpage203.
8. ClickOK.

5.1.8.3 CreatingorModifyingEnvironmentFormulas(ErcegGreenstein(SUI))
SeveralenvironmentformulasareavailablewiththeErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodeltomodeldifferentenviron
ments.YoucanmodifyexistingenvironmentformulasusedbytheErcegGreenstein(SUI)propagationmodelorcreatenew
environmentalformulas.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironmentformula:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickErcegGreenstein(SUI).Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheConfigurationtab.
6. ClicktheFormulasbutton.TheFormulasdialogboxappears.Youcandothefollowing:

Add:Tocreateanewformula,clicktheAddbuttonandmodifytheparametersoftheformula.
Delete:Todeleteaformula,selecttheformulaandclicktheDeletebutton.
Modify:Tomodifyanexistingformula,selecttheformulaandmodifytheparameters.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheFormulasdialogbox.
8. ClickOK.

5.1.9 TheITU5265PropagationModel
TheITU5265modelissuitableforpredictionsinthe30to10,000MHzbandwithfixedreceivers.
AccordingtotheITU5265recommendations:

Iftherearenoobstacles,propagationtakesplaceinfreespace
Ifthereisanobstacle,attenuationduetodiffractionwillbetakenintoaccount.Themodelusestheterrainprofileand
adiffractionmechanism(3knifeedgeDeygoutmethod),optionallywithcorrection,tocalculatepathloss.

TosettheparametersontheITU5265propagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU526.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.
6. Ifdesired,selecttheApplytoempiricalcorrectioncheckboxandenteraformulathatwillbeusedasacorrectionwith
theDeygoutmethod.Otherwise,theDeygoutmethodwillbeusedwithoutcorrection.
7. ClickOK.

5.1.10 TheWLLPropagationModel
TheWLLpropagationmodelisdesignedforradiolocalloopapplicationsinthe3010,000MHzband.Themodelisderived
fromtheITU5265model.
AlongtheTxRxprofile,bothgroundaltitudeandclutterheightareconsideredtocalculatediffractionlosses.Atolltakesclut
terheightinformationinclutterheightsfileifavailableintheATLdocument.Otherwise,itconsidersaverageclutterheight
specifiedforeachclutterclassintheclutterclassesfiledescription.IftheATLdocumentdoesnotcontainanyclutterheight
fileandnoaverageheightperclutterclassisspecified,Atollwillconsidergroundaltitudeonly.
TosettheparametersontheWLLpropagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickWLL.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Freespaceloss:Youcanmodifytheparametersoftheformulausedtocalculatepathlossinfreespace.
Lineofsightonly:IftheLineofsightonlyoptionisselected,Atollchecksforeachpixelifthereceiverisinthe
transmitterlineofsight.Thereceiverisconsideredtobeinthetransmitterlineofsightif100%oftheFresnelhalf
ellipsoidisclear,inotherwords,ifnoobstacleisonthetransmitterreceiverprofile.Ifthereceiverisnotinthe
transmitterlineofsight,noresultsatallwillbedisplayed.IftheLineofsightonlyoptionisnotselected,Atollcal
culatesthepathlossforeachpixel,usingtheformuladefinedinthedialogbox.
IfyouselecttheLineofsightonlyoptionandthereceiverisnotinthetransmitterlineof
sight,noresultsatallwillbedisplayedbecauseAtollwillonlyshowresultsforthelineof
sight.

Transmitterclearance:Youcansettheclearancearoundthetransmitter.Thisclearancecanbeused,forexample,
tomodelstreetsinareaswheretheclutterclassfiledoesnotshowenoughdetail.Itwillbetakenintoconsidera
tionwhencalculatingdiffraction.Thedefaultvalueis20m.
Receiverdefaultclearance:Youcansetthedefaultclearancearoundthereceiver.Thisdefaultclearancewillbe
usedforeachclutterclasswherethereceiverclearanceisnotspecified.Thisclearancewillbetakenintoconsid
erationwhencalculatingdiffraction.Thedefaultvalueis20m.
Diffractionmultiplyingfactor:Youcansetthemultiplyingfactorforthediffractionlosses.Thefinaldiffraction
lossesaredeterminedbymultiplyingthediffractionlossescalculatedusingthe3obstacleDeygoutmethodbythe
Diffractionmultiplyingfactor.
Receiverheightperclutterclass:Youcansetaheightforthereceiverforeachclutterclass.BecausetheWLLprop
agationmodelisdesignedfornetworkswithimmobilereceivers,thereceiversareoftenontopofbuildings.This
optionallowsyoutospecifyaheightwhichwillbeaddedtotheclutterclass.
Receiverclearanceperclutterclass:Youcansetaclearancearoundthereceiverforeachclutterclass.Thisclear
ancewillbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingdiffraction.

6. ClickOK.

5.1.11 TheLongleyRicePropagationModel
LongleyRiceisatheoreticalmodel suitedforpredictionsinthe40MHzbandin flatareas.TheLongleyRicepropagation
modelusestheterrainprofiletocalculatepropagation.However,theparametersoftheLongleyRicepropagationmodelcan
besetusingdistanceandanadditionallossvalue.
TosettheparametersontheLongleyRicepropagationmodel:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickLongleyRice.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.
6. UnderAddtopropagationloss,entertheformulathatwillbeusedtocalculateadditionallosses(inflatterrain,a
valueof"0"meansasignaldecreasinginalinearfashionasafunctionofdistance)."dkm"intheformulaisthedistance
inkilometresfromthetransmitter.
7. ClickOK.

5.1.12 TheITU1546PropagationModel
TheITU1546propagationmodelisbasedontheITURP15462recommendations.Thismodelissuitedforpredictionsinthe
30to3000MHzbandoverdistancesfrom1to1000km.Itisappropriateforpointtoareapredictionssuchasbroadcastand
landandmaritimemobileservices,andfixedservicesemployingpointtomultipointsystems.Itusestheterrainprofileto
calculatepropagation.
BecausethispropagationmodelisbasedongraphsgivingthefieldstrengthasafunctionofdistanceprovidedintheITU
recommendationsfordifferentoperatingfrequencies,theonlyparametersyouhavetodefineforthismodelare:

thepercentageoftimeduringwhichtherealfieldstrengthishigherthanthesignallevelcalculatedbythemodel(1%,
10%,or50%ofthetime),and
thetypeofpathoverwhichthesignallevelistobepredicted(landinurbanorsuburbanzones,landotherzones,or
sea).

Tosetthepropagationmodelparameters:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. RightclickITU1546.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheParameterstab.
6. UnderCalculateSignalLevelExceededDuring,selectoneofthefollowing:

50%ofthetime
10%ofthetime
1%ofthetime

7. UnderTypeofPath,selectoneofthefollowing:

Land(UrbanorSuburbanZones)
Land(OtherZones)
Sea

8. SelectUseclutteraltitudeifyouwanttotaketheheightoftheclutterintoaccountindiffraction.Theheightofthe
clutterwillbetakenfromtheClutterHeightfolder,ifclutterheightsareavailable.Otherwisetheaverageheightof
eachclutterclasswillbeusedwhenevaluatingdiffraction.Ifthisboxisunselected,thediffractionisevaluatedusing
onlytheDTM.
9. ClickOK.
Formoreinformation,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuideandtheITURP.1546recommendation.

5.1.13 TheSakagamiExtendedPropagationModel
TheSakagamiextendedpropagationmodelisbasedonasimplifiedversionoftheextendedSakagamiKuboipropagation
model.TheSakagamiextendedpropagationmodelisvalidforfrequenciesabove3GHz.
The SakagamiKuboi propagation model requires detailed information about the environment, such as the widths of the
streetswhere thereceiver islocated,the angles formedbythe street axes and the directions of the incident waves, the
heights of the buildings close to the receiver, etc. The SakagamiKuboi propagation model is valid for frequencies below
2.2GHz.StudieshaveshownthattheSakagamiKuboipropagationmodelcanbeextendedtofrequencieshigherthan3GHz,
whichalsoallowstheinputrequiredbythemodeltobesimplified.Thesamestudiesshowthatthepathlosspredictedbythe
extendedmodelisalmostindependentoftheinputparameterssuchasstreetwidthsandangles.
ThepathlosscalculationformulaoftheSakagamiextendedpropagationmodelissimilartotheformulaoftheStandardProp
agationModel.InAtoll,thismodelisinfactacopyoftheStandardPropagationModelwiththefollowingvaluesassignedto
theKcoefficients:

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KCoefficient

ValueAssigned

K1

65.4(calculatedfor3.5GHz)

K2

40

K3

30

K4

K5

K6

K7

FormoreinformationonworkingwiththeStandardPropagationModel,see"TheStandardPropagationModel"onpage190.

5.1.14 ManagingPropagationModels
The propagation models available for the current Atoll document can be found in the Propagation Models folder in the
Parametersexplorer.Youcanmanagethepropagationmodelswiththecommandsavailableonthecontextmenu.
TomanagethepropagationmodelsofthecurrentAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePropagationModelsfolder.
3. Rightclickthepropagationmodelyouwanttomanage.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Selectoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontextmenu:

Properties: The Properties dialog box appears. You can view the general information about the propagation
modelontheGeneraltab:

Name:Thenameofthepropagationmodel,asdisplayedinthePropagationModelsfolder
Signature:ThesignatureisassignedtothepropagationmodelbyAtoll.Eachtimeyoumodifytheparameters
oftheselectedpropagationmodel,Atollchangesthesignature.Thesignatureofthepropagationmodelused
tocalculateasetofpathlossmatricesisstoredwiththematrices.ThisenablesAtolltoverifythevalidityof
thepathlossmatrices.
WhenpathlossmatricesarenotembeddedintheAtolldocumentbutarestoredexternally,thesignatureis
foundintheMODEL_SIGfieldofthePathloss.dbffile.Thenameofthepropagationmodelusedisfoundinthe
MODEL_NAMEfieldofthePathloss.dbffile.
Description:Youcanenteradescriptionorcommentsinthisfield.

Duplicate:Theselectedpropagationmodelisduplicated.ItappearsinthePropagationModelsfolderwiththe
samename,precededby"Copyof."
Copy:Theselectedpropagationmodeliscopied.Youcanpasteit,withitscurrentsettingsintoanewAtolldocu
mentbyopeningthedocument,clickingtheParametersexplorerandpressingCTRL+V.
IfthereisalreadyapropagationmodelintheAtolldocumentwiththesamenameasthe
oneyouaretryingtopaste,Atollwilldisplayawarningandwillnotallowyoutooverwrite
theexistingpropagationmodel.

Delete:Theselectedpropagationmodelisdeleted.
Rename:Youcanenteranewnamefortheselectedpropagationmodel.

5.2 DefiningRadioCalculationParameters
Atoll uses the propagation model defined for each transmitter to calculate losses along the transmitterreceiver path.
Dependingonthetypeofpredictionyoumake,Atolleithercalculatesthepathlossatanypointofthemapinrealtime,orit
calculatesapathlossmatrixforeachtransmitterthatwillbeconsideredinpredictions.Thepathlossmatrixcontainsasetof
pathlossvaluescalculatedoneachpixeloveraspecificarea.Itiscalculatedbasedonasetofthreeparametersdefinedfor
thetransmitter:

Thepropagationmodel
Thecalculationradius
Theresolution.

Byusingacalculationradius,Atolllimitsthescopeofcalculationstoadefinedarea.

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Atollenablesyoutocalculatetwopathlossmatrices:amainandanextendedone.Byusingtwosetsofcalculationparame
ters,Atollallowsyoutocalculatehighresolutionpathlossmatricesclosertothetransmitterwithonepropagationmodel,
whilereducingcalculationtimeandstoragesizebyusinganextendedmatrixwithalowerresolutionandanotherpropagation
model.Atollwillcalculatetheextendedmatrixonlyifyoudefineallthreeparameters:propagationmodel,calculationradius,
andresolution.
Ifyoudonotdefineacalculationradiusforthemainpropagationmodelandifyoudonotassignanextendedpropagation
model,Atollusesthepredictionminimumthresholdtodefinethecalculationradiusforeachtransmitter.However,thiscan
leadtolengthycalculationtimes.Underthesecircumstances,Atolldoesnotassignacalculationradiustotransmitters.This
ispossiblewhenyouletAtollcalculatetheoptimisedmainorextendedcalculationradiibasedonuserdefinedminimum
receivedsignallevels.Asanconsequence,thediskstoragededicatedtopathlossmatricescanbedrasticallyreduced.For
moreinformation,see"OptimisingPathLossMatrixStorage"onpage212.
Whencreatingcoveragepredictions,youcandefineacoverageresolutionthatisdifferent
fromtheresolutiondefinedforthepathlossmatrices.

Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningCalculationParametersforOneTransmitter"onpage207
"DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforaGroupofTransmitters"onpage207
"DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforAllTransmitters"onpage208
"DefiningaDefaultPropagationModel"onpage209
"DefiningaDefaultResolution"onpage209.

5.2.1 DefiningCalculationParametersforOneTransmitter
InAtoll,youcandefinecalculationparameters,inotherwords,thepropagationmodel,resolution,andcalculationradius,for
eachtransmitter.
Todefinemainandextendedcalculationparametersforonetransmitter:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignmainandextendedcalculationparameters.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePropagationtab.
6. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

8. ClickOK.Theselectedcalculationparameterswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.

5.2.2 DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforaGroupof
Transmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcandefiningthesamecalculationparametersforseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommon
parametersandthendefiningthecalculationparameters.
Todefinemainandextendedcalculationparametersforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectfromtheGroupbysubmenuofthecontextmenuthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.

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You cangrouptransmittersby severalpropertiesby using theGroup By button onthe

Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmittersforwhichyouwanttodefinemainandextendedcalculationparameters.Thecon
textmenuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthecalculationparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

MainPropagationModel
MainCalculationRadius
MainResolution
ExtendedPropagationModel
ExtendedCalculationRadius
ExtendedResolution

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.
Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

5.2.3 DefiningtheSameCalculationParametersforAll
Transmitters
InAtoll,youcanchooseonesetofcalculationparametersandassignthemtoalltransmitters.
Todefinethesamecalculationparametersforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.
5. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. ClickOK.Theselectedcalculationparameterswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixtoanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"Defining Calculation Parameters for One Transmitter" on page207 will override this
entry.Youcanalsooptimisethepathlossmatrixradiiasexplainedin"OptimisingPathLoss
MatrixStorage"onpage212.

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5.2.4 DefiningaDefaultPropagationModel
Whenyouassignapropagationmodeltoatransmitter,youcanchoose"(DefaultModel)"fromthelistofthepropagation
modelsavailable.Atollwillthencalculatepathlossusingthedefaultpropagationmodelsetfortheproject.
TodefinethedefaultpropagationmodelfortheAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePredictionstab.
5. SelectaDefaultPropagationModelfromthelist.
6. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelwillbeusedforpredictionsforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."

5.2.5 DefiningaDefaultResolution
Whentheresolutionofthepathlossmatrixisnotdefinedinthetransmitterproperties,Atollusesthedefaultresolutionset
fortheAtolldocument.Additionally,thisresolutionisusedasthedefaultcoverageresolutionwhenyoucreateanewcover
ageprediction.
TodefinethedefaultresolutionoftheAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePredictionstab.
5. EnteraDefaultResolution.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcansetAtolltousethecurrentlydefined
defaultresolutionifyouclearthevalueenteredintheResolutiontextboxwhenyou
createacoverageprediction.Thatway,ifyouhavemanycoveragepredictions,youcan
changetheirresolutionbychangingthedefaultresolutionandrecalculatingthe
coveragepredictions.Atollwillthencalculatethemusingtheupdatedresolution.For
informationonchangingentriesintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
6. ClickOK.

5.3 ManagingPathLossMatrices
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CalculatingPathLossMatrices"onpage209
"StoppingPathLossMatrixCalculation"onpage210
"SettingtheStorageLocationofPathLossMatrices"onpage210
"CheckingtheValidityofPathLossMatrices"onpage211
"OptimisingPathLossMatrixStorage"onpage212
"TuningPathLossMatricesUsingMeasurementData"onpage213
"ExportingPathLossMatrices"onpage219.

5.3.1 CalculatingPathLossMatrices
Whenyoucalculateacoverageprediction,Atollautomaticallycalculatesnonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesbefore
calculatingtheprediction.Thiscantakealotoftimeiftherearemanypathlossmatricesthatmustbecalculated.Conse
quently,youcancalculatepathlossmatricesseparately,whenyouhavemoretimeandcomputerresourcesavailable.In
multiuserenvironments,theadministratorisresponsibleforsharedpathlossmatricesandcancalculatethemseparately.
Userscanthenbasecalculationsontheupdatedsharedpathlossmatrices.
Whenyoucalculateacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesonlythenonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesthatintersect
therectanglecontainingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.Whenyoumanuallycalculate
thepathlossmatricesasdescribedinthissection,Atolldoesnottakethecomputationzoneintoconsideration;itcalculates
allnonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesofactiveandfilteredtransmitters.

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Tocalculatepathlossmatrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCalculations>CalculatePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.Atollcalculatesallnonexistentandinvalid
pathlossmatricesofactiveandfilteredtransmitters.
Youcancalculatethenonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesforalltransmitters,forasingletransmitter,orforadefined
groupoftransmitters,byexpandingtheTransmittersfolderrightclickingeitherthesingletransmitterorthedefinedgroup
oftransmittersandselectingCalculations>CalculatePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcalculatespathlossmatricesofcolocatedcositetransmittersinasinglestep,i.e.,persite,insteadofcalculatingeach
transmittersmatrixseparately.Thecalculationofpathlossescomprisestwomutuallyindependentcomponents:
1. Thepathlossduetoelectromagneticwavepropagationaroundthetransmitter.Thiscomponentiscalculatedbyprop
agationmodels.
2. Attenuationduetoantennapattern(masking).Thiscomponentisindependentofthepropagationcalculation.
Thefirstcomponent,whichisthemosttimeconsuming,isthesameforallcolocatedcositetransmitters.Therefore,by
calculatingpathloss matricesper site,Atoll isable toprovide short calculationtimes.Atollgeneratesseparate pathloss
matrixresultsforeachtransmitter,combiningbothcomponentsofpathlosscalculations.Colocatedcositetransmittersare
transmitterswiththesamesite,antennaheight,DX,DY,mainandextendedpropagationmodels,mainandextendedcalcu
lationradii,andmainandextendedcalculationresolutions.
Bydefault,thepersitepathlosscalculationisenabledinAtoll64bitanddisabledinAtoll32bit.Youcanenableanddisable
thisoptionasneededusingtheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
YoucanpreventAtollfromcalculatingoneormorepathlossmatricesbylockingthem.You
canlockpathlossmatricesusingthePropagationtaboftheTransmittersdialogbox.You
canlockasinglepathlossmatrixbyselectingthecheckboxintheLockedcolumn,ormore
thanonebyselectingseveralpathlossmatricesandthenselectingLockfromthecontext
menu.

5.3.2 StoppingPathLossMatrixCalculation
Dependingonthesizeofthepathlossmatrices,itcantakealongtimeandalotofcomputerresourcestocalculatethem.If
necessary,youcanstopcalculationatanypoint.
Tostopcalculations:

ClicktheStopCalculationsbutton(
)inthetoolbar.Atollimmediatelystopsallongoingcalculations.Theresultsof
calculationsthathavealreadybeencompleted,however,willbesaved.

5.3.3 SettingtheStorageLocationofPathLossMatrices
Pathlossmatricescanbestoredinternally,intheAtolldocument,ortheycanbestoredexternally.Storingpathlossmatrices
intheAtolldocumentresultsinamoreportablebutsignificantlylargerdocument.Inthecaseoflargeradioplanningprojects,
embeddingthematricescanleadtolargedocumentswhichuseagreatdealofmemory.Therefore,inthecaseoflargeradio
planning projects, saving your path loss matrices externally will help reduce the size of the file and the use of computer
resources.
Usingcentralisedpathlossmatricesisrecommendedinamultiuserenvironmentwhenseveralusersareworkingonthesame
radioplanningdocument.Inthiscase,theradiodataisstoredinadatabase.Anadministratorresponsibleforcalculations
calculatesthepathlossmatricesoftheentireprojectandsavestheminanexternalfolderaccessibletoallusers.Thisfolder
isreadonlyandsharedbyallusers.Whenuserschangetheirradiodataandrecalculatepathlossmatrices,thechangestothe
pathlossmatricesarestoredlocally;thecentralisedpathlossmatricesarenotmodified.Inotherwords,theusercanread
theinformationfromthesharedpathlossmatricesbutanychangeshemakeswillbestoredlocally,eitherintheATLfileor
inaprivateexternalfolder.Centralisedpathlossmatriceswillberecalculatedbytheadministratorandwilltakeintoconsid
erationthechangesmadebyalluserstotheradiodata.Formoreinformationonworkinginamultiuserenvironment,see
theAdministratorManual.
Whenyousavethepathlossmatricestoanexternaldirectory,Atollcreates:

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ADBFfilewithvalidityinformationforallthemainmatrices.
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Tosetthestoragelocationofthepathlossmatrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OnthePredictionstab,underPathLossMatrixStorage,youcansetthelocationforyourprivatepathlossmatrices:

PrivateDirectory:ThePrivateDirectoryiswhereyoustorepathlossmatricesyougenerateor,ifyouareloading
pathlossmatricesfromasharedlocation,whereyoustoreyourchangestosharedpathlossmatrices.
ClickthebuttonbesidePrivateDirectory(
)andselectEmbeddedtosavethepathlossmatricesintheAtoll
document,orBrowsetoselectadirectorywhereAtollcansavethepathlossmatricesexternally.
Whenyousavethepathlossfilesexternally,theexternalfilesareupdatedassoonas
calculationsareperformedandnotonlywhenyousavetheAtolldocument.Inorderto
keepconsistencybetweentheAtolldocumentandthestoredcalculations,youshould
savetheAtolldocumentbeforeclosingit,ifyouhaveupdatedthepathlossmatrices.

SharedDirectory:WhenyouareworkinginamultiuserAtollenvironment,theprojectdataisstoredinadata
baseandthecommonpathlossmatricesarestoredinadirectorythatisaccessibletoallusers.Anychangesyou
makewillnotbesavedtothisdirectory;theywillbesavedinthelocationindicatedinPrivateDirectory.Thepath
lossmatricesintheshareddirectoryareupdatedbyauserwithadministratorrightsbasedontheupdatedinfor
mationinthedatabase.Formoreinformationonshareddirectories,seeTheAdministratorManual.
Thesharedpathlossmatricesmustbeunlockedinorderforuserstobeabletowork
withthem.Theadministratorcancheckwhethersharedpathlossmatricesareunlocked
ornotinthePropagationtaboftheTransmittersfoldersPropertiesdialogbox.

5. ClickOK.

5.3.4 CheckingtheValidityofPathLossMatrices
Atollautomaticallychecksthevalidityofthepathlossmatriceswhencalculatinganycoverageprediction.Ifyouwant,you
cancheckwhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingacoverageprediction.
Tocheckwhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalid:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.ThepathlossmatrixinformationislistedintheAvailableResultstable.
5. Selectoneofthefollowingdisplayoptions:

Displayallthematrices:Allpathlossmatricesaredisplayed.
Displayonlyinvalidmatrices:Onlyinvalidpathlossmatricesaredisplayed.

TheAvailableResultstableliststhefollowinginformationforeachdisplayedpathlossmatrix:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
Locked:IftheLockedcheckboxisselected,thepathlossmatrixwillnotbeupdatedevenifthepathlossmatrices
arerecalculated.
Valid:Thisisabooleanfieldindicatingwhetherornotthepathlossmatrixisvalid.
ReasonforInvalidity:Ifthepathlossmatrixisindicatedasbeinginvalid,thereasonisgivenhere.
Size:Thesizeofthepathlossmatrixforthetransmitter.
File:Ifthepathlossmatrixisnotembedded,thelocationofthefileislisted.
Tuned:IftheTunedcheckboxhasbeenselected,theinitialpathlossmatrixobtainedbythepropagationmodel
hasbeentunedbytheuseofrealmeasurementpoints.See"TuningPathLossMatricesUsingMeasurementData"
onpage213formoreinformation.

6. ClicktheStatisticsbuttontodisplaythenumberofpathlossmatricestoberecalculated.TheStatisticsdialogbox
appears(seeFigure5.5)withthetotalnumberofinvalidpathlossmatricesandthereasonsforinvalidity,aswellasa
summaryofthereasonsforinvalidity.

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Figure5.5:Pathlossmatrixstatistics

5.3.5 OptimisingPathLossMatrixStorage
Asexplainedin"DefiningRadioCalculationParameters"onpage206,youcanassigncalculationradiiformainandextended
matrices,eitherforeachtransmitter,foragroupoftransmittersorforallthetransmittersinaproject.Thepathlossmatrices
arethencalculatedfromthetransmittertothedistancedefinedbythecalculationradii.Insomecases,consideringthemini
mumsignalrequiredfromthepointofviewofthereceiver,calculatinglargepathlossesservesnopurposeandhasnegative
consequencesintermsofcalculationtimeandthestorageofpathlossmatrices.
InAtoll,youcan reevaluatethe calculationradiiof existingpathlossmatrices by truncatingvalueswhichwould lead to
unnecessaryreceivedsignallevels.
Tooptimisethecalculationradiusofthemainorextendedpathlossmatrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCalculations>OptimisePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.
4. Selectthematrices(mainorextended)forwhichyouwanttoreevaluatethecalculationradius.
5. Foreachselectedmatrix,entertheminimumsignallevelwhicharetobeusedduringmatrixreduction.Aftercalcula
tion,Atollwillfilteroutthepathlossesleadingtosignallevelslowerthanthesethresholds.Ifyouenterahigher
thresholdforextendedmatricesthanthatforthemainmatrices,thelowerone(thatforthemainmatrices)willbe
usedforextendedmatricesaswell.
6. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginsevaluatingthecalculationradii.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatrices
arevalidbeforeoptimisingtheirradius.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atolldoesnotoptimisetheirradius.
InformationaboutthecalculationofthepathlossmatrixradiiarelistedintheAvailableResultstable.
7. Selectoneofthefollowingdisplayoptions:

Displayallresults:Allpathlossmatrices,includingthosewhichdonotneedoptimisation,aredisplayed.
Displaymodifiedradiionly:Onlypathlossmatricesforwhichtheradiushavetobeoptimisedaredisplayed.

TheAvailableResultstableliststhefollowinginformationforeachdisplayedtransmitter:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
MainRadius:Theradiusofthemainpathlossmatrixbeforeoptimisation.
OptimisedMainRadius:Theradiusofthemainpathlossmatrixafteroptimisation.
ExtendedRadius:Theradiusoftheextendedpathlossmatrixbeforeoptimisation.
OptimisedExtendedRadius:Theradiusoftheextendedpathlossmatrixafteroptimisation.

8. SelecttheCommitcheckboxforeachtransmitterforwhichyouwanttocommittheoptimisedradius(orradii).You
canselectone,several,oralltheresultsandrightclickinordertoselect,ignoreorcommittheresults.
9. ClickCommit.Thecalculationradius(orradii)foralltransmitterswhoseCommitcheckboxisselectedisupdated.
ClearingtheMainmatricesorExtendedmatricescheckboxatthetopofthedialogboxwillnotpreventthemainor
extendedmatricesfrombeingupdatedifthegivencheckboxwasselectedbeforeyouclickedtheCalculatebutton.If
thecalculationradiiofextendedmatricesarechanged,theextendedmatricesaredeletedandwillneedtoberecal
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Invalidmatricescannotbeoptimisedandhavetobecalculatedpriortotheopti
misationprocess(see"CalculatingPathLossMatrices"onpage209formoreinfor
mation). Invalid (or nonexistent) matrices are displayed in red in the available
resultslist.
Eveniftheradiuscanbeevaluated(andcommittedtothetransmitterproperties),
pathlossesarenotoptimisedforlockedmatricesormatricesinashareddirectory
(see"SettingtheStorageLocationofPathLossMatrices"onpage210formore
information).Thesematricesaredisplayedingreyintheavailableresultslist.
Youcanalsooptimisepathlossmatricesusingthecontextmenuofatransmitter
orgroupoftransmitters.Onlythematricesoftheselectedtransmitterortransmit
terswillbeoptimised.

5.3.6 TuningPathLossMatricesUsingMeasurementData
InAtoll,thepathlossmatricesarecalculatedusingthepropagationmodelandparametersdefinedasexplainedin"Defining
RadioCalculationParameters"onpage206.However,theresultscalculatedbyapropagationmodelcanvaryfromactual
measurements.AtollallowsyoutouseavailabledrivetestdatapathsandCWmeasurementstoincreasetheaccuracyof
calculatedpathlossmatrices.WhenAtollappliesmeasurementdatatopathlossmatrices,itfirststripstheeffectofthe
antennapatternfromthedata.Therefore,iftheantennaparameterschange,thesamemeasurementdatacanbeusedto
tunethepathlossmatricesbecausetheeffectoftheantennapatternisnotpresentinthedata.
Atollusestheselectedmeasurementdatatotuneauserdefinedellipticalareaaroundeachmeasurementpoint.Themain
axisoftheellipseisorientedinthedirectionofthetransmitterorrepeater.
Atollsmoothsthedifferencesbetweentunedpathlossmatrixpointsanduncorrectedpathlossmatrixpointsusinganaverage
errorcalculatedbetweeneachmeasuredvalueandthecorrespondingvalueinthepathlossmatrices.
Whenyouusemeasurementdatatotunepathlossmatrices,theresultsarestored
locally.Ifyouareusingsharedpathlossmatrices,theseresultswillbeautomatically
deletedwhenyoumakeacalculationiftheFullResyncPrivSharedoptionissetinthe
Atoll.inifile.Ifyouareusingsharedpathlossmatrices,youshoulddisablethisoption
beforetuningpathlossmatricesusingmeasurementdata.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
Whenusingmeasurementdatatotunepathlossmatrices,youneedtohavevalidpathlossmatrices(formoreinformation
onpathlossmatrixvalidity,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209):
1. Definetheellipticalareaaroundthemeasurementpointasexplainedin"DefiningtheAreatobeTuned"onpage213.
2. Selectthemeasurementdatatobeusedtotunethepathlossmatrices:

CWMeasurements:YouselecttheCWmeasurementsfromtheCWMeasurementsfolderasexplainedin"Tuning
PathLossMatricesUsingCWMeasurements"onpage215.TheselectedCWmeasurementswillbeusedtotune
thepathlossmatricescalculatedforthesiteonwhichtheCWmeasurementsweremade.
DriveTestData:YouselectthedrivetestdatapathfromtheDriveTestDatafolderasexplainedin"TuningPath
LossMatricesUsingDriveTestData"onpage216.Theselectedmeasurementsfromdrivetestdatapathwillbe
usedtotunethepathlossmatricescalculatedfortheselectedtransmitter.

Atollreplacesexistingpathlossmatriceswiththetunedmatriceswhichremainvalidaslongastheradioconfigurationofthe
networkdoesnotchange.Atollcreatesanexternalfoldercontainingthecatalogueofallthetuningpathsasexplainedin
"ManagingthePathLossTuningPoints"onpage217.Byactivatingordeactivatingthetuningpaths,youcanselectthetuning
pathtobeappliedtotheexistingpathlossmatrices.Therefore,evenifthepathlossisrecalculated,thepathlossisautomat
icallyretunedusingtheactivetuningpaths.

5.3.6.1 DefiningtheAreatobeTuned
Atolltunesthepath lossmatrices over an elliptical area around each measurementpoint.The main axis ofthe ellipseis
orientedinthedirectionofthetransmitter.
Todefinetheellipticalareaaroundeachmeasurementpoint:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthemeasurementtypethatyouwillusetotunethepathlossmatrices:

CWMeasurements:IfyouaregoingtouseCWmeasurementstotunethepathlossmatrices,rightclicktheCW
Measurementsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
DriveTestData:Ifyouaregoingtousedrivetestdatatotunethepathlossmatrices,rightclicktheDriveTest
Datafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectthePathLossTuningParameterstab(seeFigure5.6).

Figure5.6:Definingtheellipsefortuningpathlossmatrices
5. UnderTuningEllipse,setthefollowingparameters:

RadiusoftheAxisParalleltoProfile:Entertheradiusoftheellipseaxisorientedinthesamedirectionasthetrans
mitter(orrepeater).
RadiusoftheAxisPerpendiculartoProfile:Entertheradiusoftheellipseaxisperpendiculartothetransmitter
(orrepeater).

6. ClickOK.

5.3.6.2 DefiningMaximumCorrectionsandThresholdsonPathLossTuning
Pathlosstuningisdoneintwosteps,asdescribedintheTechnicalReferenceGuide:
1. Correctionoftheentirepathlossmatrix:
Ameanerroriscalculatedbetweeneachmeasuredvalueandthecorrespondingpixelinthepathlossmatrix.Mean
erroriscalculatedforeachpathlossmatrix(mainandextended)ofeachtransmitter.Thismeanerroristhenapplied
toallthepixelsinthematrix.Thistuningisdonetosmoothlocalcorrections(step2)ofmeasuredvaluesandnotthe
tunedpixelsthemselves.
2. Localcorrectionforeachmeasuredvalue.
InAtoll,youcansetatuningrangeinordertolimitthetuninginthecasethedifferencebetweenthemeasurementsandthe
predictedmeasurementsistoogreat.Inaddition,youcandefinealevelunderwhichthemeasuredsignalstrengthisnotused
forpathlosstuning.
Todefinethetuningrangeandthemeasurementthresholdforpathlosstuning:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclickthemeasurementtypethatyouwillusetotunethepathlossmatrices:

CWMeasurements:IfyouaregoingtouseCWmeasurementstotunethepathlossmatrices,rightclicktheCW
Measurementsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
DriveTestData:Ifyouaregoingtousedrivetestdatatotunethepathlossmatrices,rightclicktheDriveTest
Datafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectthePathLossTuningParameterstab.
5. UnderTuningRange,setthefollowingparameters:

Maximumtotalcorrection(dB):Enterthemaximumadmissiblemeanerrorinstep1ofthepathlosstuningpro
cess.
Maximumlocalcorrection(dB):Enterthemaximumadmissiblelocalerrorinstep2ofthepathlosstuningpro
cess.
Minimummeasurementthreshold(dBm):Enterthemeasuredsignallevelunderwhichmeasurementsarenot
takenintoaccountforthepathlosstuning.

6. ClickOK.

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5.3.6.3 TuningPathLossMatricesUsingCWMeasurements
AtollallowsyoutouseavailableCWmeasurementstoincreasetheaccuracyofcalculatedpathlossmatrices.
TouseCWmeasurementstotunepathlossmatrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selecthowyouwanttotunethepathlossmatrices:
Totunethepathlossmatrixforasingletransmitter:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCWMeasurementfolder.
b. IntheCWMeasurementfolder,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthesitefoldercontainingtheCWmeas
urementpathyouwanttousetotunethepathlossmatrices.
c. RightclicktheCWmeasurementpathinthesitefolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.Atollimmediatelybeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatri
cesforthetransmitteronwhichtheCWmeasurementwasmade.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewer
window.
Totunethepathlossmatricesforalltransmitters:
a. RightclicktheCWMeasurementfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.TheMeasurementPathSelectiondialogboxappears(see
Figure5.7).

Figure5.7:SelectingallCWmeasurementpaths
c. UnderMeasurementPaths,selectAll.
d. ClickOK.AtollbeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatricesforalltransmittersonwhichCWmeasurementsareavail
able.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
TotunethepathlossmatricesforselectedtransmittersusingselectedCWmeasurementpaths:
a. RightclicktheCWMeasurementfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.TheMeasurementPathSelectiondialogboxappears(see
Figure5.7).
c. UnderMeasurementPaths,selecttheoptionbesidethelistofCWmeasurements.
d. Selectthecheckboxcorrespondingtoeachtransmitterforwhichyouwanttotunethepathlossmatrices.
Forsometransmitters,morethanoneCWmeasurementmayexist.Inthiscase,selectingthecheckboxforthe
transmitterwillselectalltheCWmeasurements.IfyoudonotwanttouseallCWmeasurements,clicktheExpand
button( )toexpandthetransmitterlistandthenselectthesingleCWmeasurementsyouwanttouse.
e. ClickOK.AtollbeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatricesforalltransmittersonwhichCWmeasurementsareavail
able.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
Forrepeaters,Atollalsotunesthepathlossmatrixofboththedonortransmitterandthe
repeater.Thecontributionoftherepeateranddonortothemeasuredvalueiscalculated
basedontheratioofcalculatedvaluesbetweentherepeatersignalandthedonorsignal.
Eachevaluatedcontributionisthenusedasinputtotunethepathlossmatrixofeachitem.

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5.3.6.4 TuningPathLossMatricesUsingDriveTestData
Atollallowsyoutouseavailabledrivetestdatapathstoincreasetheaccuracyofcalculatedpathlossmatrices.
Tousedrivetestdatatotunepathlossmatrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selecthowyouwanttotunethepathlossmatrices:
Totunethepathlossmatrixusingasingledrivetestdatapath:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
b. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttousetotunethepathlossmatrices.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.ThePathLossTuningdialogboxappears(seeFigure5.8).

Figure5.8:PathLossTuningdialogbox
d. ClicktheForthefollowingtransmitterslist.Thelistopens.
e. Selectthecheckboxforeachtransmitterwhosepathlossmatrixyouwanttotune.
f. ClicktheSelectthemeasuredsignallevelslist.Thelistopens.
g. ForeachtransmitterselectedfromtheForthefollowingtransmitterslist,selectthecheckboxforeachmeasured
signalstrengththatwillbeusedtotunethepathlossmatrices.
h. ClickOK.AtollbeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatricesforthetransmitteronwhichtheCWmeasurementwas
made.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
Totunethepathlossmatricesusingalldrivetestdatapaths:
a. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.TheMeasurementPathSelectiondialogboxappears(see
Figure5.9).

Figure5.9:SelectingallCWmeasurementpaths
c. UnderMeasurementPaths,selectAll.

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d. ClicktheForthefollowingtransmitterslist.Thelistopens.
e. Selectthecheckboxforeachtransmitterwhosepathlossmatrixyouwanttotune.
f. ClicktheSelectthemeasuredsignallevelslist.Thelistopens.
g. ForeachtransmitterselectedfromtheForthefollowingtransmitterslist,selectthecheckboxforeachmeasured
signalstrengththatwillbeusedtotunethepathlossmatrices.
h. ClickOK.AtollbeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatricesforthetransmitteronwhichtheCWmeasurementwas
made.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
Totunethepathlossmatricesforselectedtransmittersusingselecteddrivetestdatapaths:
a. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectTunePathLossMatricesfromthecontextmenu.TheMeasurementPathSelectiondialogboxappears(see
Figure5.9).
c. UnderMeasurementPaths,selecttheoptionbesidethelistofdrivetestdatapaths.
d. Selectthecheckboxcorrespondingtothedrivetestdatayouwanttousetotunethepathlossmatrices.
e. ClicktheForthefollowingtransmitterslist.Thelistopens.
f. Selectthecheckboxforeachtransmitterwhosepathlossmatrixyouwanttotune.
g. ClicktheSelectthemeasuredsignallevelslist.Thelistopens.
h. ForeachtransmitterselectedfromtheForthefollowingtransmitterslist,selectthecheckboxforeachmeasured
signalstrengththatwillbeusedtotunethepathlossmatrices.
i.

ClickOK.AtollbeginsoptimisingthepathlossmatricesforthetransmitteronwhichtheCWmeasurementwas
made.TheprogressisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
For repeaters, Atoll tunes the path loss matrix of both the donor transmitter and the
repeater.Thecontributionoftherepeateranddonortothemeasuredvalueiscalculated
basedontheratioofcalculatedvaluesbetweentherepeatersignalandthedonorsignal.
Eachevaluatedcontributionisthenusedasinputtotunethepathlossmatrixofeachitem.

5.3.6.5 ManagingthePathLossTuningPoints
Aftertuningthepathlossmatrices,Atollcreatesatuningmeasurementfileforeachtransmitterinafolderwiththeextension
".tuning".The.ptstuningfilecontainsaheaderandalistofpointsdefiningthemeasurementdatapathexcludingtheantenna
losses which means that the measurement data remains valid even if the antenna parameters change. A tuning file can
containseveralmeasurementpaths,sothatseveralcalibrationscanbeappliedsuccessivelyonapathlossmatrixandstored
inasingletuningfile.Allthetuningfilesarestoredasacatalogueinthecurrentproject.Eachsingletuningpathcanbeacti
vatedordeactivatedinordertobeautomaticallyappliedtopathlossmatrices,evenafterrecalculation.
Tuningfilesarestoredinthesamewayaspathlossmatrices,asexplainedin"SettingtheStorageLocationofPathLossMatri
ces"onpage210.Theycanbesavedonanetworkandsharedbetweenusers.
Tomanagethecatalogueofthetuningpathlossdata:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.ThepathlossmatrixinformationislistedintheAvailableResultstable.
5. Selectoneofthefollowingdisplayoptions:

Displayallthematrices:Allpathlossmatricesaredisplayed.
Displayonlyinvalidmatrices:Onlyinvalidpathlossmatricesaredisplayed.

TheAvailableResultstableliststhefollowinginformationforeachdisplayedpathlossmatrix:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitterorrepeater.
Locked:Ifthecheckboxisselected,thepathlossmatrixwillnotbeupdatedevenifthepathlossmatricesare
recalculated.
Valid:Thisisabooleanfieldindicatingwhetherornotthepathlossmatrixisvalid.
ReasonforInvalidity:Ifthepathlossmatrixisindicatedasbeinginvalid,thereasonisgivenhere.
Size:Thesizeofthepathlossmatrixforthetransmitter.
File:Ifthepathlossmatrixisnotembedded,thelocationofthefileislisted.
Tuned:Ifthecheckboxisselected,theinitialpathlossmatrixobtainedbythepropagationmodelhasbeentuned
bytheuseofrealmeasurementdata.

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6. SelectthetuningpathlossmatricesyouwanttomanageusingtheavailablecataloguebyholdingCTRLandclickthe
correspondinglineintheAvailableResultstableandthenrightclicking.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectPathLossTuningPointsfromthecontextmenu.ThePathLossTuningPointsdialogboxappears.

Figure5.10:PathLossTuningCatalogue
8. Selectoneofthefollowingdisplayoptions:

All:Allthetuningpathsaredisplayed.
ActiveOnly:Onlytheactivetuningpathsaredisplayed.

TheAvailableResultstableliststhefollowinginformationforeachdisplayedtuningpath,assumingeachtransmitter
(orrepeater)canhaveseveralonescomingfromeitherthesameordifferentmeasurementpaths:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitterorrepeater.
File:Thelocationofthetuningfile.
Name:Thenameofthetuningentry.EachentryisautomaticallynamedbyAtollbasedonthesourceofthetuning
data.YoucaneditthenamebyrightclickingthelineandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
Active:Youcanseteachtuningpathasactivebyselectingthecheckbox.Onlyactiveentriesareusedtotunethe
pathlossmatrices.Whenseveralentriesareactiveandthereforeappliedtothesametransmitter(orrepeater),
theapplicabletuningsonthepathlossmatrixarerealisedinturnfromthetoptothebottomofthecatalogue.
No.points:Displaysthenumberofmeasurementpointsonthetuningpath.
XRadius(m):Displaystheradiusoftheellipseaxisorientedinthesamedirectionasthetransmitter(orrepeater)
duringthetuningsession.
YRadius(m):Displaystheradiusoftheellipseaxisperpendiculartothetransmitter(orrepeater)duringthetuning
session.
Gain(dB):Displaysthegainofthemeasurementreceiver.
Max.totalcorrection(dB):Displaystheuserdefinedmaximumadmissibletotalcorrection.
Max.localcorrection(dB):Displaystheuserdefinedmaximumadmissiblelocalcorrection.
Min. Threshold (dBm): Displays the userdefined level under which measurement values are not taken into
accountforpathlosstuning.
Totalcorrection(dB):Displaysthemeanerrorbetweeneachmeasuredvalueanditscorrespondingpixelinthe
pathlossmatrix.Thisisthecorrectionwhichisappliedgloballytoallthematricesduringthefirststepofpathloss
tuning.Formoreinformation,pleaserefertotheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Valid:Thisisabooleanfieldindicatingwhetherornotthemeasurementpathdata(excludingtheantennainfor
mation)arevalid.
ReasonforInvalidity:Ifthemeasurementpathdataisindicatedasbeinginvalid,thereasonisgivenhere.
Comments:Additionalcommentsreferringtothemeasuremententryaregiveninthisfield.Youcaneditthecom
mentbyrightclickingthelineandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
Whenpathlosstuningentriesarechanged(e.g.,activatedordeleted)Atollsuggestsdelet
ingthecorrespondingpathlossmatrices.

Youcanimporttuningfilestoreplaceanexistingtuningortobenefitfromapathlosstuningdonebyanotheruser.ThePTS
filesareimportedusingaDBFfilecontainingalltheinformationrelativetomatricesandtheirtuning.
Toimportapathlosstuningcatalogue:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.ThepathlossmatrixinformationislistedintheAvailableResultstable.

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5. SelectthetuningpathlossmatricesforwhichyouwanttoimporttuningfilesbyholdingCTRLandclickthecorre
spondinglineintheAvailableResultstableandthenrightclicking.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectImportPathLossTuningCataloguefromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheDBFpathlosstuningcataloguefileyouwanttoimport.
8. ClickOpen.TheexistingPTSfilesarereplacedbytheonesreferencedinthecataloguefile.Anyadditionalfilesinthe
DBFcataloguefileareadded.YoucanworkwiththeimportedPTSfileswiththesameoptionsasfilesfromatuning
carriedoutinthecurrentproject.

5.3.7 ExportingPathLossMatrices
Youcanexportpathlossmatricesifyouwanttousethedatainanotherapplication.
ToexportpathlossmatricesfromAtoll:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.ThepathlossmatrixinformationislistedintheAvailableResultstable.
5. RightclicktheAvailableResultstableandselectSelectAllfromthecontextmenu.
6. RightclicktheAvailableResultstableandselectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheCalculationResultsExportdialog
boxappears(seeFigure5.11).
7. Setthefollowingexportparameters:

Directory:EnterthedirectoryyouwanttostoretheexportedpathlossmatricesinorclicktheBrowsebutton
(
)tonavigatetoit.Thedirectorymustalreadyexist.
ExportedValues:Selectthevaluesthataretobeexported:PathLoss(dB),SignalLevel(dBm),SignalLevel(dBV),
orSignalLevel(dBV/m).
Format:Select theformatoftheexporteddata:BILFiles (*.bil),TXTFiles(*.txt)(Separator:tab), orCSVFiles
(*.csv)(Separator:";").

Figure5.11:Exportingpathlossmatrices
8. ClickOKtoexportthepathlossmatrices.

5.4 RadioPredictionTypes
TherearetwotypesofpredictionsavailableinAtoll:

PointpredictionsusingthePointAnalysistool:Itallowsyoutopredict,atanypointonthemap,theprofilebetween
areferencetransmitterandareceiver,thevalueofthesignallevelsofthesurroundingtransmitters,qualityandinter
ferenceanalysisforanytechnology,scramblingcode(orPNOffset)collisionanalysisinUMTS/HSPA(orCDMA2000)
projects.
Coveragepredictions:Youcancalculatestandardcoveragepredictions,coveragebytransmitter,coveragebysignal
levelandoverlappingzones,andspecificcoveragepredictionssuchasinterferencepredictionsforGSM/GPRS/EDGE
projectsorhandover,serviceavailability,etc.forUMTS,CDMA2000andTDSCDMAprojects.Manycustomisationfea
turesoncoveragepredictionsareavailableinordertomaketheiranalysiseasier.

Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"MakingPointPredictions"onpage220
"MakingCoveragePredictions"onpage222.

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5.4.1 MakingPointPredictions
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"StartingaPointAnalysis"onpage220
"TheViewsofthePointAnalysisTool"onpage220
"MovingtheReceiverontheMap"onpage221
"TakingIndoorLossesintoAccount"onpage222
"TakingShadowingintoAccountinPointAnalyses"onpage222.

5.4.1.1 StartingaPointAnalysis
Tomakeapointanalysis:
1. SelectTools>PointAnalysis.ThePointAnalysiswindowappearsandthepointerchanges(
receiver.Thisreceiverisplacedatthecentreoftheactivemap.

)torepresentthe

Ifatransmitterwasalreadyselectedonthemap,alineappearsconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthereceiver.
2. SelecttheviewofthePointAnalysiswindowcorrespondingtothetypeofpointpredictionyouwanttomake.For
information on the views available in the Point Analysis window, see "The Views of the Point Analysis Tool" on
page220.

5.4.1.2 TheViewsofthePointAnalysisTool
YoucanaccessseveralviewsfromthePointAnalysistool.Theseviewsenableyoutomakeseveraldifferentpointpredictions.
Theviewsavailabledependontheradiotechnologyofthecurrentdocument.WhenopeningthePointAnalysis,youcan
selecttheappropriateviewfromthelistlocatedatthetopleftpartofthewindow:

TheProfileView:
TheProfileview(
)isavailableinthePointAnalysistoolforGSM/GPRS/EDGE,CDMA,UMTS,TDSCDMA,WiMAX,
WiFi,andLTEprojects.
TheProfileviewofthePointAnalysistooldisplaystheprofilebetweenareferencetransmitterandthereceiver.As
well,Atolldisplaysthesignallevelofthereceivedsignalfromtheselectedtransmitter.Youcanalsodisplaythepath
lossortotallossesoftheselectedtransmitter.Inthisview,theresultsarecalculatedinrealtime.

TheReceptionView:
The Reception view (
) is available in the Point Analysis tool for GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA, UMTS, TDSCDMA,
WiMAX,WiFi,andLTEprojects.InmultiRATprojects,thereareasmanyReceptionviewsastherearetechnologies.
TheReceptionviewofthePointAnalysistooldisplaysthepredictedsignallevelfromdifferenttransmittersinthe
formofabarchart,fromthehighestpredictedsignallevelonthetoptothelowestoneonthebottom.Thecalcula
tionsarebasedonthepathlossmatrices.Eachbarisdisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitteritrepresents.
Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthepointertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmittersthey
represent.Thebestserverforthepointeristhetransmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestsignallevel.
Ifyouletthepointerrestonanarrow,thesignallevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthepointerloca
tionisdisplayedinthetiptext.

TheASAnalysisView:
TheASAnalysisview(

)isavailableinthePointAnalysistoolforCDMAandUMTSprojects.

TheASAnalysisviewdisplaysinformationonthepilotquality(EcI0),whichisthemainparameterusedtodefinethe
mobileactiveset,theconnectionstatus,andtheactivesetoftheprobemobile.

TheInterferenceView:
TheInterferenceview(
)isavailableinthePointAnalysiswindowforGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,WiMAX,andLTE
projects.InamultiRATprojectswhereGSMandLTEarepresent,thereisonereceptionwindowforeachofthese
technologies.
TheInterferenceviewdisplays,intheformofabargraph,thesignalleveloftheselectedtransmitter,ablackbarindi
catingthetotalinterferenceexperiencedbythereceiver,andbarsrepresentingtheinterferencereceivedfromeach
interferer.
Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthereceivertowardseachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitters
theyrepresent.Ifyouletthepointerrestonanarrow,theinterferencelevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtrans
mitteratthereceiverlocationwillbedisplayedintiptextalongwithinformationonthechannelbeinginterferedand
thetypeofinterference,i.e.,cooradjacentchannel.

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ThePNOffsetCollisionView:
ThePNOffsetCollisionview(

)isavailableinthePointAnalysistoolforCDMAprojects.

ThePNOffsetCollisionviewofthePointAnalysistoolgivesyouinformationonthereceptionforanypointonthe
mapwherethereisPNOffsetcollision.

TheSCCollisionView:
TheSCCollisionview(

)isavailableinthePointAnalysistoolforUMTSprojects.

TheSCCollisionviewofthePointAnalysistoolgivesyouinformationonreceptionforanypointonthemapwhere
thereisscramblingcodecollision.

TheDetailsView:
TheDetailsview(
)isavailableinthePointAnalysistoolforGSM/GPRS/EDGE,CDMA,UMTS,TDSCDMA,WIMAX,
andLTEprojects.InMultiRATprojects,thereareasmanyResultsviewsastherearetechnologies.
TheDetailsviewdisplaysthecurrentpositionandheightofthereceiver,theclutterclassitislocatedon.Inaddition,
italsodisplays:

inGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,youcanselecttodisplaytheresultsonaspecificHCSlayer(orall).Youcanalsoeval
uateeitherC/IorC/I+Nvalueswheretheinterferencesareduetoanycombinationbetweenadjacentchannels,
cochannelsorexternalsources.AtolldisplaysforeachtransmitteritsBCCHsignallevel,theBCCHC/I,themost
interfered mobile station allocation (TRX, MAL or MALMAIO depending on the hopping mode) and its corre
spondingC/I.

inCDMAprojects,youcanselecttodisplaytheresultsforaspecificterminal,service,mobility,carrier,DLrate,
andULrate.Atolldisplaysforeachtransmitteritssignallevel(orRSCP),itspathloss,Ec/Io,C/I,DLandULEb/Nt
values,PNoffsets.

inUMTS/HSPAprojects,youcanselecttodisplaytheresultsforaspecificterminal,service,mobility,carrier.Atoll
displaysforeachtransmitteritssignallevel,Ec/Io,DLandULEb/Ntvalues,scramblingcodes.

inTDSCDMAprojects,Atolldisplaysforeachtransmitteritssignallevel.

inWiMAXprojects,youcanselecttodisplaytheresultsforaspecificterminal,service,mobility.Atolldisplaysfor
eachtransmitteritspreambleindex,itspreamblesignalC,C/NandI.

inLTEprojects,youcanselecttodisplaytheresultsforaspecificterminal,service,mobility.Atolldisplaysforeach
transmitteritsphysicalcellID,itsreferencesignalLevel,itsRSRPanditsRSI.

5.4.1.3 MovingtheReceiverontheMap
Whenyoumakeapointanalysis,thepointer(
ofthereceiverinseveralways:

)representsthereceiverinthemapwindow.Youcanchangetheposition

Youcanmovethereceivermanually
Youcanenterthecoordinatesofthenewposition
Youcanplacethereceiveronaselectedsite.

Tochangethepositionofthereceivermanually:

Clickanddragthereceivertochangetheposition.Releasethemousebuttontoplacethereceiver.
Youcanmovethereceiveragainbyclickinganddraggingitasecondtime.

Toenterthecoordinatesofaposition:
1. Rightclickthereceiver(

)inthemapwindow.Thecontextmenuappears.

2. SelectCoordinatesfromthecontextmenu.TheReceiverPositiondialogboxappears.
3. EntertheXandYcoordinatesofthepositionandclickOK.Thereceivermovestothespecifiedposition.
Toplacethereceiveronaselectedsite:
1. Rightclickthereceiver(

)inthemapwindow.Thecontextmenuappears.

2. SelectTargetSitefromthecontextmenu.TheTargetSitedialogboxappears.
3. SelectthesiteonwhichyouwanttoplacethereceiverfromtheNamelistandclickOK.Thereceivermovestothe
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5.4.1.4 TakingIndoorLossesintoAccount
InAtollyoucancalculateindoorpredictionsbytakingindoorlossesintoconsideration.Youcandefinedefaultindoorlosses
forallclutterclasses,oryoucandefinedifferentindoorlossesforeachclutterclasssothatthecharacteristicsofeachclutter
classaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.
Totakeindoorlossesintoaccountwhenmakingapointanalysis:
1. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)atthetopofthePointAnalysisview.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

2. SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlossestothetotalpathloss.

5.4.1.5 TakingShadowingintoAccountinPointAnalyses
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapathcausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbythepropagation
model.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinreceptiondue
tothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevalueandaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbegreaterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationwiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffectofshadowingand
therebyprovidepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditionallossesorgainscausedbyshad
owingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlossescalculatedbythepropagation
model.
Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
ForinformationonsettingthemodelstandarddeviationandtheCIstandarddeviationsforeachclutterclassorforallclutter
classes,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
Youcantakeshadowingintoaccountwhenyouaremakingapointanalysis.
Totakeshadowingintoaccountwhenmakingapointanalysis:
1. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)atthetopofthePointAnalysisview.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

2. SelecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.Atollcalculatesthe
shadowingusingtheappropriatestandarddeviationdefinedperclutterclass.

5.4.2 MakingCoveragePredictions
Acoveragepredictiondisplaystheresultsofdefinedcoverageconditions.Itiscalculatedusingthepathlossmatricesandis
basedoncoverageconditionsandcoverageresolutions.Aftercalculation,Atolldisplaystheresultsasagraphicalrepresenta
tionofthepixelsforwhichthedefinedcoverageconditionsaresatisfied.
Atolloffersthefollowinggeneralcoveragepredictions,availableforalltechnologies:

Coveragebytransmitter(DL)
Coveragebysignallevel(DL)
Coveragebyoverlappingzones(DL).

Atollalsoofferstechnologyspecificcoveragepredictions,describedinthetechnologyspecificchapters,forexample:

InterferencepredictionsinGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects
CodingschemeandthroughputpredictionsforGPRS/EDGE
UMTSorCDMA2000coveragepredictions.

Atollgivesyoualargeflexibilityoverhowtheresultsofyourcoveragepredictionaredisplayed.Youcanselectwhichattrib
utesshouldbedisplayedonthemapandhowtheyaredisplayed.Aswell,youcandefineinformationtobedisplayedinthe
legend,inthelabel,orintiptext.Furthermore,Atollalsoallowsyoutofilter,sort,orgroupresultsbeforedisplayingthem.
Atolloffersseveraloptionsandwaysenablingyoutocreateandworkwithcoveragepredictions.Thissectioncoversthe
followingtopics:

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"CreatingCoveragePredictions"onpage223
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226
"CalculatingCoveragePredictions"onpage224
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226
"SavingDefinedCoveragePredictions"onpage227.

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5.4.2.1 CreatingCoveragePredictions
InAtoll,youcancreateacoveragepredictionusingseveraldifferentmethods.Eachmethodhasitsownadvantages.For
example,youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionandsetalloftheparameters.Oryoucanbaseanewcoverageprediction
onanexistingone.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingacoveragepredictionareexplained:

5.4.2.1.1

"CreatingaNewCoveragePrediction"onpage223
"DuplicatingaCoveragePrediction"onpage223
"CloningaCoveragePrediction"onpage223.

CreatingaNewCoveragePrediction
Whenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction,youcanselectthetypeofcoveragepredictionandsetalltheparametersthat
defineit.Thenewlycreatedcoveragepredictionisnotautomaticallycalculated.
Tocreateacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectacoveragepredictionfromthePredictionTypesdialogboxandclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionProperties
dialogboxappears.
ThePropertiesdialogboxforacoveragepredictioncommontoalltechnologieshasthreetabs:

Generaltab:Youcanrenamethecoverageprediction,definethecoverageresolution,andaddcomments.Aread
onlyUniqueIDisgeneratedforeachcoveragepredictionatcreationtime.
Youcanalsodefinegroup,sort,andfiltercriteria;thesecriteriawillapplytothecoveragedisplay,nottheresults.

Conditiontab:Youcandefinetheparametersofthecoverageprediction.
Displaytab:Youcandefinehowcoveragepredictionresultswillbedisplayed.

5. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Formoreinformationoncalculatingcoveragepredictions,see"CalculatingCoveragePredictions"onpage224.

5.4.2.1.2

DuplicatingaCoveragePrediction
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbyduplicatinganexistingcoverageprediction.Whenyouduplicateanexisting
coverageprediction,thecoveragepredictionyoucreatewillhavethesamecoverageanddisplaysettingsastheoriginalone.
Duplicatingacoveragepredictionisawaytoquicklycreateanewcoveragepredictionwiththesamesettingsasanoriginal
one.Thenewlycreatedcoveragepredictionisnotautomaticallycalculated.
AnewreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedfortheduplicatedcoverageprediction.

Toduplicateanexistingcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.AnewcoveragepredictionappearsinthePredictionsfolderwiththesame
nameastheoriginalcoverageprediction,precededby"Copyof."Theduplicatedcoveragepredictionhasthesame
coverageanddisplaysettingsastheoriginalone.
Forinformationoncalculatingcoveragepredictions,see"CalculatingCoveragePredictions"onpage224.

5.4.2.1.3

CloningaCoveragePrediction
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbycloninganexistingcoverageprediction.Whenyoucloneanexistingcoverage
prediction,Atollcreatesacopyofthecoveragepredictionwiththecalculatedcoverage.Youcanthenchangethedisplay,
providingthattheselectedparameterdoesnotinvalidatethecalculatedcoverageprediction.Cloningisusefuliftheexisting

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coveragepredictionhasadisplaybydiscretevalues(e.g.,coveragebytransmitterwithadisplaybytransmitter)andifyou
wantanewcoveragepredictionwithanotherdisplaybydiscretevalues(e.g.,displaybyRNCorBSC).Inthiscase,Atollmaps
theresultstotheselectedfieldandyoudonotneedtorecalculatethecoverageprediction.Ontheotherhand,cloningisnot
relevantifyouchangethedisplayfromadiscretefieldtovalueintervals,inwhichcase,youmustrecalculatethecoverage
prediction.
AnewreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedfortheclonedcoverageprediction.

Tocloneanexistingcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttoclone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectClonefromthecontextmenu.AnewcoveragepredictionappearsinthePredictionsfolderwiththesamename
astheoriginalcoverageprediction,precededby"Cloneof."Theclonedcoveragepredictionnotonlyhasthesame
coverageanddisplaysettingsastheoriginalone,butkeepsthesameresultsaswell.
5. Rightclicktheclonedcoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheDisplaytab.
8. OntheDisplaytab,keeptheDisplayType"DiscreteValues"selected.
9. SelectanothervaluefromtheFieldlisttochangethevaluedisplayed.
10. ClickOKtoapplythenewdisplayparameter.

5.4.2.2 CalculatingCoveragePredictions
Afteryouhavedefinedacoverageprediction,youcancalculateit.Atollallowsyoutodefineandcalculatecoveragepredic
tionsintwoseparatesteps.Thisenablesyoutocreateoneorseveralcoveragepredictionsatonetime,andthencalculate
themlater,whenyoudonotneedthecomputerresources.
Beforecalculatingoneormorecoveragepredictions,youcancreateacomputationzone.Thecomputationzoneisusedto
definetheareawhereAtollcarriesoutcalculations.Whenyoucreateacomputationzone,Atollcarriesoutthecalculation
forallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilterparameters),andwhosepropagation
zoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Therefore,ittakesintoconsiderationbasestationsinsideand
basestationsoutsidethecomputationzoneiftheyhaveaninfluenceonthecomputationzone.Inaddition,thecomputation
zonedefinestheareawithinwhichthecoveragepredictionresultswillbedisplayed.
Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.Inotherwords,ifyouhavedrawnacomputationzone,
itwillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornotitsvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorerisselected.Youwill
havetodeletethecomputationzoneifyounolongerwanttodefineanareaforcalculations.
Whenworkingwithalargenetwork,thecomputationzoneallowsyoutorestrictyourcoveragepredictionstothepartofthe
networkyouarecurrentlyworkingon.Byallowingyoutoreducethenumberofbasestationsstudied,Atollreducesboththe
timeandcomputerresourcesnecessaryforcalculations.Aswell,bytakingintoconsiderationbasestationswithinthecompu
tationzoneandbasestationsoutsidethecomputationzonebutwhichhaveaninfluenceonthecomputationzone,Atollgives
yourealisticresultsforbasestationsthatareclosetotheborderofthecomputationzone.
Ifthereisnocomputationzonedefined,Atollmakesitscalculationsonallbasestationsthatareactiveandfilteredandfor
theentireextentofthegeographicaldataavailable.
Forinformationoncreatingacomputationzone,see"TheComputationZone"onpage59.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

5.4.2.2.1

"CalculatingSeveralCoveragePredictions"onpage224
"CalculatingaSingleCoveragePrediction"onpage225
"ForcingCalculations"onpage225
"StoppingCalculations"onpage225
"LockingCoveragePredictions"onpage225.

CalculatingSeveralCoveragePredictions
Whenyouhaveseveraldefinedcoveragepredictions,youcanstartcalculationwhenyouwantandAtollwillcalculatethem
oneaftertheother.

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Whenyoucalculatecoveragepredictions,onlyunlockedcoveragepredictionsarecalculated.Unlockedcoveragepredictions
are displayed in the Predictions folder with the unlocked icon (
predictions,see"LockingCoveragePredictions"onpage225.

). For information on locking and unlocking coverage

Tocalculatecreatedcoveragepredictions:

ClicktheCalculatebutton(
)inthetoolbar.WhenyouclicktheCalculatebutton,Atollfirstcalculatesnonexistent
andinvalidpathlossmatricesandthen,unlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.
TheprogressofthecalculationsisdisplayedintheEventViewerwindow.
Aftercalculation,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow,ifthecoveragepredictionsvisibilitycheckboxhas
beenselected.

5.4.2.2.2

CalculatingaSingleCoveragePrediction
Tocalculateasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttocalculate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculatefromthecontextmenu.
Atollfirstcalculatesnonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesandthen,thecoveragepredictionevenifthisonehas
beenpreviouslylocked.
Aftercalculation,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow,ifthecoveragepredictionsvisibilitycheckboxhas
beenselected.

5.4.2.2.3

ForcingCalculations
Whenyouhaveseveraldefinedcoveragepredictions,youcanstartcalculationwhenyouwantandAtollwillcalculatethem
oneaftertheother.Normally,Atollonlyrecalculatesnonexistentandinvalidpathlossmatricesbeforecalculatingcoverage
predictions.Ifyouwant,youcanmakeAtollrecalculateallpathlossmatrices,includingvalidones.
Whenyoucalculatecoveragepredictions,onlyunlockedcoveragepredictionsarecalculated.Unlockedcoveragepredictions
are displayed in the Predictions folder with the unlocked icon (
predictions,see"LockingCoveragePredictions"onpage225.

). For information on locking and unlocking coverage

ToforceAtolltorecalculateallpathlossmatricesbeforecalculatingcoveragepredictions:

ClicktheForceCalculatebutton(
)inthetoolbar.WhenyouclicktheForceCalculatebutton,Atollfirstremoves
existingpathlossmatrices,recalculatesthemandthencalculatesunlockedcoveragespredictions.
Aftercalculation,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow,ifthecoveragepredictionsvisibilitycheckboxhas
beenselected.

5.4.2.2.4

StoppingCalculations
WhenAtollhasbeguntocalculatecoveragepredictions,youcanstopthecalculationatanygivenpoint.Thiscanbeusefulif,
forexample,youwanttochangeoneofthecoveragepredictionsorifyoudontwanttocalculatethecoveragepredictions
atthattime.
Tostopcalculations:

5.4.2.2.5

ClicktheStopCalculationsbutton(
)inthetoolbar.Atollimmediatelystopsallongoingcalculations.Theresults
ofcalculationsthathavealreadybeencompleted,however,willbesaved.

LockingCoveragePredictions
Coveragepredictionsarelockedbydefaultassoonastheyhavebeencalculated.Then,whenyoucalculatenewcoverage
predictions,onlyunlockedcoveragepredictionsarecalculated.Lockingacoveragepredictionretainstheinformationascalcu
latedundergivenconditions(e.g.,beforeanewbasestationiscreatedorbeforeoptimisingthenetwork).Italsosavestime
bylimitingunnecessaryrecalculation.
TopreventAtollfromautomaticallylockingcoveragepredictionsaftercalculatingthem,
youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.ini
file,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Tolockacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttolock.Thecontextmenuappears.
UnlockedcoveragepredictionsaredisplayedinthePredictionsfolderwiththeunlockedicon(

4. SelectPredictionLockedfromthecontextmenu.
Theiconchangestothelockedicon(
)andthePredictionLockediteminthecontextmenunowappearschecked.
ThecoveragepredictionisnowlockedandwillnotbecalculatedwhentheCalculatebuttoninthetoolbarisclicked.
However,ifyouselectCalculatefromthecoveragepredictionscontextmenu,Atollwillfirstunlockthecoverage
predictionandthencalculateit.
YoucanlockallunlockedcoveragepredictionsusingthePredictionsfolderscontextmenu.

5.4.2.2.6

UnlockingCoveragePredictions
Coveragepredictionsarelockedbydefaultassoonastheyhavebeencalculated.Youcanunlockasinglecoverageprediction.
Tounlockacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttounlock.Thecontextmenuappears.
LockedcoveragepredictionsaredisplayedinthePredictionsfolderwiththelockedicon(

).

4. SelectPredictionLockedfromthecontextmenu.
Theiconchangestotheunlockedicon(

)andthePredictionLockediteminthecontextmenuisnolongerselected.

YoucanunlockalllockedcoveragepredictionsusingthePredictionsfolderscontextmenu.

5.4.2.2.7

ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults
WhenacoveragepredictioniscalculatedbyvalueintervalsandiftheFieldsettingisrelevant(i.e.afieldcalculatedbythe
coveragepredictionandnotavaluetakenfromthedatabase),thenumericalresultsarestoredinBILformatoutsidetheATL
file,inthefollowingfolder:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}
Where"<GUID>"isareadonlyUniqueIDgeneratedforeachcoveragepredictionwhenitiscreated(seeGeneraltabinthe
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox).ThisIDiswrittentothecorrespondingXMLfile,between"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tags.
Thestringcombiningtheabovepathandthelongestfilenamemustnotexceed260char
acters.

UntilyousaveyourATLdocument,thefollowingpath(includingatemporary"\~"folder)isusedinsteadoftheabovepath:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\~\{<GUID>}
Whentheyexist,theseexternallystorednumericalresultsspareyoutheneedtorecalculateacoveragepredictionwhenthe
legendismodifiedandtheyprovideyouwithanumericaldifferencefeaturebetweenbasicpredictions.
Thestorageofnumericalresultsmayrequireadditionaldiskspacewhenyourdocument
containsseveralcoveragepredictionsandtransmitters,and/orwhenhighresolutionsare
used.Ifyouhavelimiteddiskspace,youcandisablethisfeaturebyaddinganoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.
The"{<GUID>}"folderalwayscontainsatleastoneXMLfile,oneBILfile,andoneHDRfile.
Forexample,whenaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)predictioniscalculatedby"ValueIntervals"withFieldsetto"Numberof
Servers",thefollowingfilesarecreated:

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<prediction_name>.HDR

IfyoudeleteinAtollallthecoveragepredictionscalculatedby"Valueintervals"
andsavethedocument,theentire"<ATL_name>.studies"foldercorrespondingto
thisdocumentwillbedeleted.
If you delete in Atoll one of several coverage predictions calculated by " Value
intervals", the corresponding "{<GUID>}" folder will be deleted automatically
withouttheneedforsavingthedocument.

ExceptfortheGUID,theexternallystoredcoveragepredictionsresultscanbeimportedascustomisedcoveragepredictions.
Formoreinformationonimportingcustomisedcoveragepredictions,see"SavingDefinedCoveragePredictions"onpage227.
"PerTransmitter"CoveragePredictions
Somecoveragepredictionsarecalculatedona"pertransmitter"basis.Inthiscase,aBILfileandtheassociatedHDRfileare
generatedforeachtransmitter,andaDBFfileiscreatedwithareferencetoeachtransmittersHDRandBILresultsfiles.
Forexample,whenaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)predictioniscalculatedby"ValueIntervals"withFieldsetto"DLPathLoss
(dB)",thefollowingfilesarecreated:

<prediction_name>.XML
<transmitter_name>.BIL(oneBILfilepertransmitter)
<transmitter_name>.HDR(oneHDRfilepertransmitter)
<prediction_name>.DBF

"Global"CoveragePredictions
Somecoveragepredictionsmayidentifyserversintheirresultsmatrices(e.g.bestserver,firstserverinactiveset,etc.).Inthis
case,anotherSVR.BILfilecontainingtheserveridentifiersisgeneratedalongwiththeassociatedSVR.HDRfile.Moreover,
eachtransmitternameandthecorrespondingidentifierarestoredinanSVR.MNUfile.
Forexample,whenaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)predictioniscalculatedby"ValueIntervals"withFieldsetto"BestSignal
Level(dBm)",thefollowingfilesarecreated:

<prediction_name>.XML
<prediction_name>.BIL
<prediction_name>.HDR
<prediction_name>.SVR.BIL
<prediction_name>.SVR.HDR
<prediction_name>.SVR.MNU

5.4.2.3 SavingDefinedCoveragePredictions
Onceyouhavedefinedacoverageprediction,youcanuseitagaininotherAtolldocuments,eitherbyusingthecoverage
predictiontocreateacustomisedcoveragepredictionorbysavingitscoverageanddisplayparametersinauserconfigura
tion.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

5.4.2.3.1

"SavingaCoveragePredictionasaCustomisedCoveragePrediction"onpage227
"SavingaDefinedListofPredictionsinaUserConfigurationFile"onpage228.

SavingaCoveragePredictionasaCustomisedCoveragePrediction
Onceyouhavedefinedacoverageprediction,youcanuseitasacustomisedcoverageprediction.Thiscoverageprediction
willbeavailabletoyouinthePredictionTypesdialogboxthenexttimeyouwanttocreateanewcoverageprediction.The
initialparametersofthecoveragepredictionwillbethesameasthecoveragepredictionitisbasedonbut,whenyouselect
itinthePredictionTypesdialogbox,Atollallowsyoutomodifythem.
Tosaveacoveragepredictionasacustomisedcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttosaveasacustomisedcoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveasCustomisedPredictionfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
IntheSaveAsdialogbox,AtollproposesanameandlocationfortheXMLfile(studies.XMLbydefault)thatwillcontain
thecustomisedcoverageprediction.YoucanacceptthedefaultvaluesoryoucanchangethenameandsavetheXML
fileinanyfolderyouhavewriteaccessto.
5. ClickSave.AtollsavesthecoveragepredictionintheselectedXMLfile.

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Thenexttimeyoucreateanewcoverageprediction,thecustomisedcoveragepredictionwillbeavailableatthebottomof
thelist,underthefullpathandfilenameoftheXMLfile(seeFigure5.12).IfyouhaveotherXMLtemplatefiles,youcanclick
theCustomisedPredictionsbuttonandselectitintheOpendialogbox.

Figure5.12:PredictionTypesdialogbox
Coveragepredictions stored in the XMLtemplatefiles are also directlyavailable inthe Calculations menuof the context
menusoftheTransmittersfolder,ofagroupoftransmitters,andofasingletransmitter.
Inamultiuserenvironment,theadministratorcanmakecustomisedpredictionsavailableforalltheusersbysavingtheXML
fileintheAtollinstallationdirectory.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

5.4.2.3.2

SavingaDefinedListofPredictionsinaUserConfigurationFile
YoucansavethedefinedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolderinauserconfigurationfile.Youcanthenimportthis
userconfigurationfileintoanotherAtolldocument.Allthecoveragepredictionsintheuserconfigurationwillthenbeavail
ableinthePredictionsfolderofthenewAtolldocumentandcanbecalculated.
ToexportauserconfigurationwiththecoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder:
1. SelectTools>UserConfiguration>Save.TheUserConfigurationdialogboxappears.
2. SelectthePredictionListcheckbox,aswellasthecheckboxofanyotherinformationyouwanttosaveaspartofthe
userconfiguration.
3. ClickOK.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. EnteraFilenamefortheuserconfigurationfileandclickSave.Thefolderconfigurationissaved.
For information on loading the user configuration into another Atoll document, see "Loading a User Configuration" on
page104.

5.4.2.4 CalculatingIndoorCoverage
InAtollyoucancalculateindoorcoveragebytakingtheindoorlossesintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedperclutter
class.Youcandefineadefaultindoorlossesvalueforallclutterclasses.Or,youcandefineadifferentindoorlossesvaluefor
eachclutterclasses,totakethecharacteristicsofeachclutterclassintoconsideration.
Tocalculateindoorcoveragewhenmakingacoverageprediction:

Whencreatingthecoverageprediction,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxontheConditiontabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Theindoorlossesdefinedfortheclutterclasseswillbeaddedtothetotalpathloss
foreachpixel.

5.4.2.5 TakingShadowingintoAccount
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapaththatiscausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbytheprop
agationmodel.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinrecep
tionduetothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevalueandaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbegreaterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationwiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffectofshadowingand
therebycreatecoveragepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditionallossesorgainscaused
byshadowingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlossescalculatedbytheprop
agationmodel.

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Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
ForinformationonsettingthemodelstandarddeviationandtheCIstandarddeviationsforeachclutterclassorforallclutter
classes,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.

Whencreatingthecoverageprediction,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox.Then,youcandefine
theCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

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Chapter6
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Networks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.
"DesigningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage233

"PlanningandOptimisingGSM/GPRS/EDGEBase
Stations"onpage234

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage311

"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"
onpage342

"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394

"AnalysingNetworkQuality"onpage433

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page473

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage476

"AdvancedConfiguration"onpage488

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6 GSM/GPRS/EDGENetworks
AtollenablesyoutocreateandmodifyallaspectsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.Onceyouhavecreatedthenetwork,Atoll
offersmanytoolstoletyouverifythenetwork.Basedontheresultsofyourtests,youcanmodifyanyoftheparametersdefin
ingthenetwork.
TheprocessofplanningandcreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkisoutlinedin"DesigningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"on
page233.Creatingthenetworkofbasestationsisexplainedin"PlanningandOptimisingGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStations"on
page234.Allocatingneighboursisalsoexplained.Inthissection,youwillalsofindinformationonhowyoucandisplayinfor
mationonbasestationsonthemapandhowyoucanusethetoolsinAtolltostudybasestations.
In "Studying Network Capacity" on page311, using traffic maps to study network capacity is explained. Creating traffic
captures and simulations using the traffic map information and dimensioning the network using these results is also
explained.
Usingdrivetestdatapathstoverifythenetworkisexplainedin"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage476.Filteringimported
drivetestdatapaths,andusingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.

6.1 DesigningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork
Figure6.1depictstheprocessofplanningandcreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.

Figure6.1:PlanningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkworkflow
ThestepsinvolvedinplanningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkaredescribedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure6.1.
1. Openanexistingradioplanningdocumentorcreateanewone(

).

YoucanopenanexistingAtolldocumentbyselectingFile>Open.
CreatinganewAtolldocumentisexplainedinChapter2:AtollProjects.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters(

).

Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingelementsofbasestations:

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage245
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage245
"ApplyingaNewCellType"onpage246.

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Youcanalsoaddbasestationsusingabasestationtemplate(see"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page247).
3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions(

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage271

4. EstimatetherequirednumberofTRXs(

)inoneofthefollowingways:

)andusethemasabasisfordimensioning(
))(see"StudyingNet
Youcanimportorcreatetrafficmaps(
workCapacity"onpage311).
YoucandefinethemmanuallyeitherontheTRXstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxorintheSubcells
).

table(see"ModifyingaSubcell"onpage246)(
5. Allocateneighbours,automaticallyormanually(

).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage295.

6. SinceyouknowtherequirednumberofTRXs,manuallyorautomaticallycreateafrequencyplan(

"AllocatingFrequenciesandBSICsManually"onpage348(

"AutomaticResourceAllocationUsinganAFPModule"onpage376(

).

)
).

7. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions(

).

Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedonatrafficmap(
and
)(see
"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage311).
Youcandefinethemmanually("ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData"onpage312)
(

).

8. Withthefrequencyplan,analysethefrequencyplan(

"AuditingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEFrequencyPlan"onpage463
"CheckingConsistencyinSubcells"onpage466
"DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocation"onpage467.

9. MakeGSM/GPRS/EDGEspecificcoveragepredictions(

).

)andthecorrespondingpredictionreports(

).

"AnalysingNetworkQuality"onpage433.

6.2 PlanningandOptimisingGSM/GPRS/EDGEBase
Stations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcanstartanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnosites,orfromadatabase
withasetofsites.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatesitesandmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.InaGSM/GPRS/EDGEproject,youmustalsoaddsubcellstoeachtransmitter.Asubcellreferstothe
characteristicsofagroupofTRXsonatransmitter.
Atollletsyoucreateonesiteortransmitteratatime,orcreateseveralatoncebyusingastationtemplate.Usingastation
template,youcancreateoneormorebasestationsatthesametime.InAtoll,abasestationreferstoasitewithitstransmit
ters,antennas,equipment,subcells,andTRXs.
Atollallowsyoutomakeavarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelortransmittercoveragepredictions.Theresults
ofcalculatedcoveragepredictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,orstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbyallowingyoutocreateservices,users,userprofiles,environments,andtermi
nals.Thisdatacanbethenusedtomakequalitypredictions,suchasinterferencepredictions,orcircuitorpacketdedicated
predictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

234

"CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation"onpage235
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage255
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage256
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage256

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"CreatingaRepeater"onpage257
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage261
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage264
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage270
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage295.

6.2.1 CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation
WhenyoucreateaGSM/GPRS/EDGEsite,youcreateonlythegeographicalpoint;youmustaddthetransmittersafterwards.
Thesite,withthetransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcelltype,iscalledabasestation.
Inthissection,eachelementofabasestationisdescribed.Ifyouwanttoaddanewbasestation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.Ifyouwanttocreateormodifyoneoftheelementsofabasestation,see"Creating
orModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage245.Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofbasestations,Atollallowsyouto
import them from another Atoll document or from an external source. For information, see "Creating a Group of Base
Stations"onpage255.
Thissectionexplainsthevariouspartsofthebasestationprocess:

"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage235
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage245
"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage247
"ManagingStationTemplates"onpage248
"DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation"onpage253.

6.2.1.1 DefinitionofaBaseStation
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,subcells.Youwillusuallycreateanewbasestationusingastationtemplate,asdescribedin"PlacingaNewStationUsing
aStationTemplate"onpage247.Thissectiondescribesthefollowingelementsofabasestationandtheirparameters:

6.2.1.1.1

"SiteDescription"onpage235
"TransmitterDescription"onpage236
"SubcellDefinition"onpage239
"TRXDefinition"onpage244.

SiteDescription
TheparametersofasitecanbefoundinthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.ThePropertiesdialogboxhasonetab:

TheGeneraltab(seeFigure6.2):

Figure6.2:NewSitedialogbox

Name:Atollautomaticallyentersadefaultnameforeachnewsite.Youcanmodifythedefaultnamehere.Ifyou
wanttochangethedefaultnamethatAtollgivestonewsites,seetheAdministratorManual.
Position:Bydefault,Atollplacesthenewsiteatthecentreofthemapwindow.Youcanmodifythelocationof
thesitehere.
Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitewithprecision,youcanalsoplacesitesusing
themouseandthenpositionthempreciselywiththisdialogboxafterwards.For
informationonplacingsitesusingthemouse,see"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"on
page45.

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Altitude:Thealtitude,asdefinedbytheDTMforthelocationspecifiedunderPosition,isgivenhere.Youcan
specifytheactualaltitudeunderReal,ifyouwant.Ifanaltitudeisspecifiedhere,Atollwillusethisvalueforcal
culations.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

TransmitterDescription
TheparametersofatransmittercanbefoundinthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Whenyoucreateatransmitter,the
Propertiesdialogboxhasfourtabs:theGeneraltab,theTransmittertab,theTRXstab,theAFPtab(see"AllocatingFrequen
cies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342),andtheConfigurationstab.Onceyouhavecreatedatransmitter,itsProp
ertiesdialogboxhasfouradditionaltabs:theIntraTechnologyNeighbourstab(see"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsing
theIntraTechnologyNeighboursTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"onpage306),theIntertechnologyNeigh
bourstab),thePropagationtab(seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels),andtheDisplaytab(see"DisplayProp
ertiesofObjects"onpage47).

TheGeneraltab:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthetransmitterafterthesiteitison,addinganunderscoreandanumber.Youcan
enteranameforthetransmitter,butforthesakeofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.Ifyouwant
tochangethewayAtollnamestransmitters,seetheAdministratorsManual.
ID:YoucanenteranIDforthetransmitter.Thisisauserdefinablenetworklevelparameterforcellidentification.
Site:YoucanselecttheSiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Onceyouhaveselectedthesite,youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Forinforma
tiononthesitePropertiesdialogbox,see"SiteDescription"onpage235.YoucanclicktheNewbuttontocreate
anewsiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.
Sharedantenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn
chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.Thisfieldisalsousedformultibandtransmitterstosynchroniseantennaparametersfordifferentfre
quencybands.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters"onpage505.
UnderHCSLayer:

YoucanselecttheHCSLayer(HierarchicalCellStructurelayer)forthetransmitter.
OnceyouhaveselectedtheHCSlayer,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontoopenthepropertiesoftheHCSlayer.
YoucanenteraspecificHCSlayerthresholdforthistransmitter.ThethresholddefinedintheHCSLayerprop
ertiesisconsideredonlyifnovalueisenteredinthisfield.
ForinformationontheHCSlayerPropertiesdialogbox,see"SettingHCSLayers"onpage488.

UnderAntennaPosition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantennas(mainandsecondary):

236

RelativetoSite:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionsasoffsetswithrespecttothesite
location,andthenenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

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TheTransmittertab(seeFigure6.3):

Figure6.3:TransmitterdialogboxTransmittertab

Active:Ifthistransmitteristobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Activetransmittersaredisplayed
inredintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer.
Onlyactivetransmittersaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.

TransmitterType:IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitterasapotentialserveraswellasaninterferer,set
thetransmittertypetoIntraNetwork(ServerandInterferer).IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitteronly
asaninterferer,setthetypetoInterNetwork(InterfererOnly).NocoverageforanInterfererOnlytransmitter
willbecalculatedforcoveragepredictions.
Thisenablesyoutomodelthecoexistenceofdifferentnetworksinthesamegeographicarea.Formoreinforma
tiononhowtostudyinterferencebetweencoexistingnetworks,see"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"
onpage515.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthe
transmitter.Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothe
transmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhen
youclicktheEquipmentbutton.
OntheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure6.4),theequipmentyouselectandthegainsandlosses
youdefineareusedtoinitialisetotaltransmitterULandDLlosses:

TMA:Youcanselectatowermountedamplifier(TMA)fromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccess
thepropertiesoftheTMA.ForinformationoncreatingaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feeder:Youcanselectafeedercablefromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
ofthefeeder.Forinformationoncreatingafeedercable,see"DefiningFeederCables"onpage183.
Transmitter:YoucanselecttransmitterequipmentfromtheTransmitterlist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebutton
toaccessthepropertiesofthetransmitterequipment.Forinformationoncreatingtransmitterequipment,
see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.
FeederLength:Youcanenterthefeederlengthattransmissionandreception.
MiscellaneousLosses:Youcanentermiscellaneouslossesattransmissionandreception.Thevalueyouenter
mustbepositive.

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Figure6.4:TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
Anylossrelatedtothenoiseduetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculated
losses.AtollalwaystakesthevaluesintheRealboxesintoconsiderationinpredictioneven
iftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.Theinformationinthereal
NoiseFigurereceptionboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquip
mentSpecificationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealTotalLossesattransmissionand
receptionandtherealNoiseFigureatreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbe
positive.

Power:UnderPower,youcanselecttoentereitherPowerorEIRP(EffectiveIsotropicalRadiatedPower).Ifyou
selectEIRP,youcanenterthevalueyourself,withoutdefiningpowerandlossesforthetransmitter.
IfyouselectPower,Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassigned
tothetransmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhen
youclicktheEquipmentbutton.AtollcalculatesEIRPwiththefollowingformula:
EIRP=Power+GainDLLosses

Antennas:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftheremoteantennaissituatedonabuilding,theheightentered
mustincludetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasmatchingthe
currentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludetheop
eratingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

238

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power,whichisthepercentageof
powerreservedforthisparticularantenna.Forexample,foratransmitterwithonesecondaryantenna,ifyou
reserve40%ofthetotalpowerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

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TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

TheConfigurationstab(seeFigure6.5):

Figure6.5:TransmitterdialogboxConfigurationstab

UnderGPRS/EDGEProperties,youmustselecttheGPRS/EDGETransmittercheckboxifthetransmitterisgoing
tobeapacketswitchedcapabletransmitter.YoucanselectaCodingSchemeConfigurationfromthelist.Youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheconfiguration.Forinformationoncreatingacodingscheme
configuration,see"CodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage500.
WhenyoumodelEDGEEvolutiononthetransmittersideAtollhastoconsider:

The support of high order modulations and the use of turbo codes in specific
codingschemeswhichcanbefoundintheselectedGPRS/EDGEConfiguration.

Inaddition,EDGEEvolutioncanbemodelledontheterminalsidethrough:

The support of dual antenna terminals (Mobile Station Receive Diversity) and
enhanced single antenna terminals (Single Antenna Interference Cancellation).
AtolloffersastatisticalmodellingofthesethroughtheuseofanEDGEevolution
configuration, with the effect of SAIC or diversity already included both in the
coding scheme admission thresholds and on the throughput versus C (or CI)
graphs.
Thesupportofmulticarrierswhichcanbesetupontheterminalside.

For more information, see "Creating or Modifying a GSM/GPRS/EDGE Terminal" on

page511.

6.2.1.1.3

UnderGSM Properties, you canselect Codec Configuration fromthelist. You canclick the Browse button to
accessthepropertiesofthecodecconfigurationassignedtotheGSMtransmitter.Forinformationoncreatinga
codingschemeconfiguration,see"CodecConfiguration"onpage497.

SubcellDefinition
InAtoll,asubcellreferstothecharacteristicsofagroupofTRXsonatransmittersharingthesameradiocharacteristics,the
samequality(C/I)requirements,andothersettings.
Theinitialsettingsofasubcellofatransmitterdependonthecelltypeselectedforthetransmitter.Assigningadifferentcell
type to a transmitter changes the characteristics of the subcells (for information on the cell type, see "Cell Types" on
page492).Oncethecelltypehasbeenselected,theinitialvaluesofthesubcell,takenfromthecelltype,canbemodified,
withtheexceptionoftheTRXtype.Ifyoumodifythecelltypeafterwards,foralltransmittersbasedonthatcelltype,Atoll
offersyouthechoiceofkeepingcurrentparametersorresettingthemtothenewcelltypeparameters.
ThepropertiesrelatedtosubcellsarefoundontheTRXstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichitis
assigned.

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Priortodefiningasubcell,youmaywanttodefinetheminimumandmaximumrangeofextendedsubcells.Youcandothat
throughtheGeneraltabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:

UnderExtendedCells,youcanentertheminimumandmaximumrangeofanextendedsubcell.Normally,coverage
ofaGSMcellislimitedtoa35kmradius.ExtendedGSMcellsenabletheoperatortoovercomethislimitbytakingthis
delayintoconsiderationwhendefiningthetimingadvanceforusersintheextendedcells.Extendedcellsmaycover
distancesfrom70to140kmfromthebasestation.Formoreinformationonextendedcells,see"DefiningExtended
Cells"onpage504.

Min.Range:Youcanenterthedistancefromthetransmitteratwhichcoveragebegins.
Max.Range:Youcanenterthemaximumrangefromthetransmitterofitscoverage.
Althoughcoveragecanberestrictedwithinthesetminimumrangeandmaximumrange,
interferencefromthetransmitterisnotlimitedwithintheseranges.

TheTRXstabhasthefollowingsubcellrelatedoptions:

UnderCellType:

Name:YoucanselectthenameoftheCellTypeonwhichthetransmitterssubcellswillbebasedfromthelist.You
canclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthecelltype.
RelevantFrequencyBand:TheRelevantFrequencyBanddisplaysthefrequencybandthatwillbeusedtocalcu
latethepathlossmatrixforthetransmitter.ThefrequencybandisthebandusedbytheBCCHTRXtypeunder
Subcell(TRXgroups)Settingsonthesametab.
CellReselectOffset:TheoffsetwhichisappliedtothereceptionthresholdtodeterminetheReselectCriterion
(C2)inidlemode.TheC2valueisusedtoselectaserverandasadisplayparameterincoveragepredictions.
Max.No.ofTRXs:ThemaximumnumberofTRXsthatthetransmittercanhave.Thevalueenteredherewillbe
takeninsteadoftheglobalvaluedefinedduringdimensioning.

UnderIdentification:

BSICDomain:YoucanselecttheBSIC(BaseStationIdentityCode)domainfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheselectedBSICdomain.ForinformationonBSICdomains,see"DefiningBSIC
DomainsandGroups"onpage346.
BSIC:TheBSIC(BaseStationIdentityCode)colourcodeisassociatedwithadefinedBCCHsothatamobilecan
identifythebasestationtowhichbothaparticularBCCHandBSICareassigned.TheBSICisderivedfromtheNCC
(NetworkColourCode)andtheBCC(BTSColourCode).
ToassignaBSICnumbertothecurrenttransmitter,youcanassignanumberfromtheBSICDomainbyselecting
itfromthelist.YoucanalsoentertheBSICnumberintheformatNCCBCC.WhenyouclickApply,Atollconverts
theenteredNCCBCCnumberintothesinglenumberBSICformat.ForinformationontheBSIC,see"Definingthe
BSICFormat"onpage345.

BCCH:TheBCCHtextboxdisplaysthefrequencyoftheBCCH(TS0oftheBCCHTRX)ofthecurrenttransmitter.If
theBCCHsubcell,underSubcell(TRXGroups)SettingsontheTRXstab,isinsynthesisedfrequencyhopping(SFH)
mode,youcanentertheMALchannelwhichwillbeTS0.
NCCBCC:TheNCC(NetworkColourCode),identifyingtheoperator,andtheBCC(BTSColourCode),identifying
thebasestationaredisplayedintheNCCBCCtextbox.TheNCCandBCCareintegersfrom0to7.

UnderSubcells,theinformationdisplayeddependsonthetypeofsubcellinformationselectedfromtheDisplaylist,
StandardData,TrafficData,AFPIndicators:

Standard:Theinformationdisplayedisthestandardinformationdefiningthesubcell.Theinitialsettingsarefrom
theselectedcelltypeandcanbemodifiedwiththeexceptionoftheTRXType:

TRXType:TheTRXTypecanbeoneofthedefaultTRXtypesavailableintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojecttem
plate:
BCCH:Thebroadcastcontrolchannel(BCCH)carrier
TCH:Thedefaulttraffic(TCH)carrier
TCH_EGPRS:TheEDGEtraffic(TCH_EGPRS)carrier.
TCH_INNER:Theinnertraffic(TCH_INNER)carrier.

FrequencyDomain:ThefrequencydomainassignedtotheTRXgroup.Onlychannelsbelongingtothisfre
quencydomainwillbeallocatedtoTRXsofthisgroupduringmanualorautomaticfrequencyplanning.
ThefrequencydomainsassignedtotheBCCHsubcellandtotheTCHsubcellmustrefer
ence the same frequency band, unless you are modelling multiband transmitters. For
informationonmultibandtransmitters,see"AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmit
ters"onpage505.

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ExcludedChannels:Thedefinedfrequencydomaincanhave,aspartofitsdefinition,alistofexcludedchan
nels.AdditionexcludedchannelsforthissubcellcanbeaddedintheExcludedChannelscolumn.
RequiredTRXs:ThenumberofTRXsrequiredforthesubcell.ForsubcellswiththeBCCHTRXType,thenumber
ofrequestedTRXsmustbe"1,"thedefaultvalue.ForsubcellswiththeTCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNERTRX
Type,thevalueintheRequiredTRXscolumnisaresultofnetworkdimensioning,whichdependsonthetraffic
demandandtherequiredquality.
DLTrafficLoad:TheDLusagerateofTRXswithinasamesubcellpool;itsvaluemustbefrom0to1.Thevalue
intheDLTrafficLoadcolumncanbeeitheruserdefined,obtainedfromMonteCarlosimulations,ortheresult
ofnetworkdimensioning,inwhichcaseitwillbethesamevalueforallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.
BCCHandTCH).ThetrafficloadisusedtocalculateDLinterferenceandinautomaticfrequencyplanning.
ULTrafficLoad:TheULusagerateofTRXs;itsvaluemustbefrom0to1.ThevalueintheULTrafficLoad
columncanbeeitheruserdefinedorobtainedfromMonteCarlosimulations.Thetrafficloadisusedtocalcu
lateULinterference.
DLPowerReduction(dB):Thereductionofpowerrelativetothetransmitterpower.TheDLPowerReduction
isusedtomodelthepowerreductionofTCHTRXs,TCH_EGPRSandTCH_INNERTRXs.TCH_INNERTRXsare
concentricsubcells,inotherwords,subcellsthattransmitapowerlowerthanthatusedbytheBCCHTRXand
byTCHTRXs.
DLpowerreductioncanalsobeusedtomodelinasimplewaythecoveragereductionof
a1800subcellcomparedtotheBCCH900subcell,assumingthatallsubcellsaretransmit
tingatthesamepower.Atollalsoenablesadvancedmultibandtransmittermodelling.For
moreinformation,see"AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters"onpage505and
theAdministratorManual.

ReceptionThreshold(dBm):Thereceptionthresholddefinestheminimumreceptionlevelforthesubcell.I
canbeusedastheminimumsubcellreceptionsensitivityifthelinkbudgetiscorrectlydefined.
C/IThreshold(dB):TheminimumsignalqualityfortheTRXType.TheC/IThresholdcanbeusedininterfer
encepredictionsandintheAFP.
MeanPowerControlGain(dB):Theaveragereductionininterferenceduetopowercontrolindownlink.This
gainisusedwhencalculatinginterferencegeneratedbythesubcell.Interferencegeneratedbythesubcellis
reducedbythisvalueduringC/Icalculations.ThisvaluecanbeuserdefinedortheresultofMonteCarlosimu
lations.
Timeslot Configuration: The timeslot configuration defines the distribution of circuit, packet and shared
timeslots for the subcell. For information on timeslot configurations, see "Timeslot Configurations" on
page503.
DTXSupported:TheDTXSupportedcheckboxisselectedifthesubcellsupportsDTX(DiscontinuousTrans
mission)technology.SubcellssupportingDTXcanreducetheinterferencetheyproducebythedefinedvoice
activityfactor.
HoppingMode:ThefrequencyhoppingmodesupportedbytheselectedTRXtype.Thehoppingmodecanbe
either"BaseBandHopping"mode(BBH)or"SynthesisedHopping"mode(SFH).Iffrequencyhoppingisnot
supported,select"NonHopping."
AllocationStrategy:Theallocationstrategyusedduringmanualorautomaticfrequencyplanning.Thereare
twoavailableallocationstrategies:
Free:AnyofthechannelsbelongingtothefrequencydomaincanbeassignedtoTRXs.
GroupConstrained:Onlychannelsbelongingtoasamefrequencygroupinthefrequencydomaincanbeas
signed.YoucanusethePreferredFrequencyGrouptodefinethepreferredgroupoffrequencieswhenusing
theAFP.

DefaultTRXConfiguration:ThedefaultTRXconfigurationselectedinthiscolumnisappliedtoallTRXsbelong
ingtothesubcell.ByselectingthedefaultTRXconfiguration,themaximumnumberofcodingschemesinGPRS
andinEDGEissetattheTRXtypelevel.YoucanalsodefinetheTRXconfigurationforeachTRX.
EDGE Power Backoff (dB): The average power reduction for EDGE transmitters due to 8PSK, 16QAM and
32QAMmodulationsinEDGE.ThishasanimpactontheEDGEservicezonewhichcanbeseenintrafficanalysis
andEDGEpredictions.
DiversityMode:Thetypeofdiversitysupportedbythesubcell("None,""TxDiversity,"or"AntennaHopping").
If you select "Tx Diversity," the signal is transmitted as many times that there are antennas. If you select
"AntennaHopping,"thesignalistransmittedsuccessivelyoneachantenna.In"TxDiversity"mode,transmit
tingonmorethanoneantenna,thesignalexperiencesagainof3dB.Foralldiversitymodes,anadditional
transmissiondiversitygaincanbedefinedperclutterclassinordertocorrectlymodelgainduetotheenvi
ronment(formoreinformation,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151).Theresultinggainwill
increasetheC/Ivalueattheterminalservedbytheconsideredsubcell.
MaxMALLength:Themaximumlengthofthemobileallocationlist(MAL),inotherwords,themaximum
numberofchannelsallocatedtotheTRXsofthesubcellduringautomaticfrequencyplanningiftheHopping
ModeiseitherSFH(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping)andiftheAllocationStrat
egyisFree.

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Synchronisation: The value entered in the Synchronisation column is used during frequency hopping;
frequencyhoppingissynthesisedamongallTRXsofsubcellswiththesamestringofcharactersintheSynchro
nisationcolumn.Bydefault,thenameofthesiteisusedasthevalueintheSynchronisationcolumn,synchro
nisingfrequencyhoppingforallTRXsonthesamesite.However,youcan,forexample,enterdifferentvalues
foreachsubcelltodefinesynchronisationatthesubcelllevel,ordifferentvaluesforeachgroupofsitesto
definesynchronisationbysitesgroup.
HSNDomain:Onlyhoppingsequencenumbers(HSN)belongingtotheselectedHSNdomainwillbeallocated
tosubcellsduringmanualorautomaticfrequencyplanning.TheHSNsareallocatediftheHoppingModeis
eitherSFH(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping).
HSN:Thehoppingsequencenumber(HSN)ofthesubcell.AllTRXsofthesubcellhavethesameHSN.TheHSN
canbeenteredmanuallyorallocatedautomatically.ThisparameterisusediftheHoppingModeiseitherSFH
(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping).
LockHSN:WhentheLockHSNcheckboxisselected,thesubcellscurrentlyassignedHSNiskeptwhenanew
AFPsessionisstarted.
AcceptedInterferencePercentage:Themaximumlevelofinterferenceallowableduringautomaticfrequency
planning.Theinterferenceisdefinedasapercentageofareaortraffic,asdefinedduringthecalculationofthe
interferencematrices.
Preferred Frequency Group: When the Group Constrained allocation strategy is selected, in any hopping
mode(includingnonhopping),theAFPtriestoassignfrequenciesfromthepreferredgroupduringautomatic
allocation.ThepreferredfrequencygroupisasoftconstraintusedbytheAFPtoassignfrequenciestoTRXs.
When the AFP is unable to assign a frequency from the preferred group, and allocates a frequency from
outsidethegroup,acorrespondingcostistakenintoaccount.Thepreferredgroupcanalsobetheresultof
allocationiftheAFPmodelisabletoallocatepatternsbasedontheazimuth.
AFPWeight:EnteranAFPweight.TheAFPweightisusedtoincreaseordecreasetheimportanceofasubcell
duringautomaticfrequencyplanning.Thevaluemustbearealnumber.ThehighertheAFPweightis,the
highertheconstraintontheTRXtype.TheAFPweightartificiallymultipliesthecostwhichhastobeminimised
bytheAFP.
Lock Required TRXs: This option can be used by an AFP model which has the capability to optimise (i.e.,
increaseordecrease)thenumberofrequiredTRXswheretheonlygoalismaximisingtheamountofcorrectly
servedtraffic.Inotherwords,youmighthavefewerTRXsthanrequirediftheyarenotsubjecttoanyinterfer
enceandtheamountofcorrectlyservedtrafficwillbelarger.Whenyouselectthisoption,thenumberof
requiredTRXsisblockedforthatsubcell.
Ifsomesubcellfieldsareempty(e.g.,HSNdomain,frequencydomain,C/IThreshold),Atoll
usesthedefaultvaluesoftheselectedCelltype.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaCell
Type"onpage493.

TrafficData:Theinformationdisplayeddescribesthetrafficofthecell.Becausesubcellssharethetrafficofthe
transmitter,inmostcases,thetrafficdataforallTRXsisdisplayedtogether.Allfieldscanbemodifiedwiththe
exceptionoftheTRXType,EffectiveRateofTrafficOverflow,andTrafficLoad.

TRXType:TheTRXTypecanbeoneofthedefaultTRXtypesavailableintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojecttem
plate:
BCCH:Thebroadcastcontrolchannel(BCCH)carrier
TCH:Thedefaulttraffic(TCH)carrier
TCH_EGPRS:TheEDGEtraffic(TCH_EGPRS)carrier.
TCH_INNER:Theinnertraffic(TCH_INNER)carrier.

CircuitDemand(Erlangs):ThecircuitdemandindicatestheamountofErlangsnecessarytoabsorbthecircuit
switcheddemand.Thisvaluecanbeeitheruserdefinedortheresultofatrafficcapture,inwhichcaseitwill
bethesamevalueforallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.,BCCHandTCH).
PacketAverageDemand(TS):Thepacketdemandindicatestheamountoftimeslotsnecessarytoabsorbthe
packetswitcheddemand.Thisvaluecanbeeitheruserdefinedortheresultofatrafficcapture,inwhichcase
itwillbethesamevalueforallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.,BCCHandTCH).
Circuitandpacketdemandscanbeimportedintothistablefromarealnetwork.Thesevaluewillthenbetaken
intoaccountfordimensioningorKPIcalculationifthesecalculationsarenotbasedonthedefaulttrafficcap
ture.

242

HalfRateTrafficRatio(%):Thepercentageofhalfratevoicetrafficinthesubcell.Thisvalueisusedtocalcu
latethenumberoftimeslotsrequiredtorespondtothevoicetrafficdemand.Thisvaluecanbeuserdefined
ortheresultofMonteCarlosimulations.
TargetRateofTrafficOverflow(%):Thetargetrateoftrafficoverflowisusedduringtrafficanalysistodistrib
utethetrafficbetweensubcellsandlayers.Thetrafficlocatedintheinnerzoneorintheservicezoneofahigh
prioritycell(seethefiguresbelow)contributestothetrafficdemandoftheinnersubcellorthehighpriority
cellrespectively.Ifthetargetrateoftrafficoverflowisgreaterthan0,apartofthistrafficisreinjected,so

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thatitalsocontributestothedemandofouterzone(ortothelowprioritycellrespectively).Thekeyperfor
manceindicatorscalculation(anddimensioningprocess)transformsthetrafficdemandintoaserveddemand
ononehandandaneffectiveoverflowontheotherhand.Ifeffectiveoverflowratesarehigherthantarget
overflowrates,itmeansthereisacapacityreserve.Ifitistheotherwayaround,itmeansthatmoreTRXsare
needed.Ifratesareequal,thenetworkiscorrectlyoptimised.

Figure6.6:Overflowbetweenconcentriccells

Figure6.7:OverflowbetweenHCSlayers
Thetargetrateoftrafficoverflowandthehalfratetrafficratiomustbethesamefor
BCCHandTCHsubcells.IfthevaluesaredifferentforBCCHandTCHsubcells,Atollwill
usethevaluesforthetargetrateoftrafficoverflowandthehalfratetrafficratiofrom
theBCCHsubcell.

EffectiveRateofTrafficOverflow(%):Thepercentageoftrafficoverflowingfromasubcell.Theeffectiverate
oftrafficoverviewisaresultofthecalculationofkeyperformanceindicators.
DLTrafficLoad:TheDLusagerateofTRXswithinasamesubcellpool;itsvaluemustbefrom0to1.Thevalue
intheDLTrafficLoadcolumncanbeeitheruserdefined,obtainedfromMonteCarlosimulations,ortheresult
ofnetworkdimensioning,inwhichcaseitwillbethesamevalueforallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.
BCCHandTCH).ThetrafficloadisusedtocalculateDLinterferenceandinautomaticfrequencyplanning.
ULTrafficLoad:TheULusagerateofTRXs;itsvaluemustbefrom0to1.ThevalueintheULTrafficLoad
columncanbeeitheruserdefinedorobtainedfromMonteCarlosimulations.Thetrafficloadisusedtocalcu
lateULinterference.
FinalBlockingProbability(%):Keyperformanceindicator(KPI)calculatedusingatrafficcaptureandtheAFP
module.ThisKPIisalsopartofasimplifiedtrafficmodelusedbytheAFPmodule.

AFPIndicators:TheinformationdisplayedcomesfromtheresultsofanAFPmodel;itisdisplayedforinforma
tionalpurposesonlyandcannotbeedited.

TRXType:TheTRXTypeisoneofthedefaultTRXtypesavailableintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojecttemplate:
BCCH:Thebroadcastcontrolchannel
TCH:Thedefaulttrafficchannel
TCH_EGPRS:TheEDGEtrafficchannel
TCH_INNER:Theinnertrafficchannel.

TotalCost:ThetotalcostisthecombinationoftheAFPSeparationCost,theAdditionalCost,andtheAFPCon
gestioncost.
AFPSeparationCost:Theseparationcostisthecosttothesystemwhenseparationrulesarenotrespected
betweensubcellpools.Ifseparationconstraintsareviolated,thishasadirecteffectontheinterferencelevel.
AdditionalCost(Interference,Modification,Group):Theadditionalcostiscombinationofothercostssuchas
interference,thecostofcarryingmodifications,andnotrespectingthepreferredTRXgroup.
AFPBlockingCost:TheAFPblockingcostisthepartofthecostwheretrafficisconsideredasblockeddueto
alackofresources.
SoftBlocking(TotalCostBlocking):TotalcostminustheAFPblockingcost.
AFPCongestion:TheAFPcongestionisthesoftblockingcost,anestimationofthelevelofcongestionfora
poolofsubcells(e.g.,BCCHandTCHareconsideredasapoolofsubcellssincetheyaremanagedtogether).In
otherwords,ahighlycongestedpoolofsubcellswillbeasourceofahighlevelofinterference.

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6.2.1.1.4

ThesubcellsoftheentireGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumentarefoundintheSubcells
Table:StandardData.YoucanopentheSubcellsTable:StandardDatabyright
clicking the Transmitters folder in the Network explorer and then selecting
Subcells>SubcellsTable:StandardDatafromthecontextmenu.Inaddition,you
canaccessspecificviewsofthesubcelltable.Thetablecontainingtheinformation
regardingtrafficdata,ortheAFPindicators,canbeaccessedbyrightclickingthe
TransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandthenselectingSubcells>Subcells
Table:Trafficdata(orAFPIndicators)fromthecontextmenu.
YoucanrunasubcellaudittoverifytheconsistencyofdatabetweentheSubcell
and Transmitter tables. As well, this audit can correct unrealistic subcell values
(see"CheckingConsistencyinSubcells"onpage466formoreinformation).

TRXDefinition
InAtoll,theTRXreferstothetransmission/receptioncard.InGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,frequenciesandchannelsaredefined
usingTRXs.Innonhoppingorbasebandhoppingmode,asinglefrequencyorchannelcanbeassignedtoeachTRX.Insynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode,morethanonefrequencycanbeassignedtoeachTRX.
ThenumberoftimeslotssupportedbyaTRXdefinesthemultiplexingfactorofthefrequencyusingthatTRX.
InAtoll,TRXsaremodelledusingdefinedTRXtypes.ThreeTRXtypesareavailableintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojecttemplate:

BCCH:Thebroadcastcontrolchannel(BCCH)carrier
TCH:Thedefaulttraffic(TCH)carrier
TCH_EGPRS:TheEDGEtraffic(TCH_EGPRS)carrier.
TCH_INNER:Theinnertraffic(TCH_INNER)carrier.

TheTRXsandtheirpropertiesarefoundonTRXstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichtheyareassigned.
TheTRXsoftheentireGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumentarefoundintheTRXsTable.Youcan
accesstheTRXsTablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer
andthenselectingSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.
TheTRXstabhasthefollowingTRXrelatedoptions:

UnderTRXs,thetablelistseachTRXallocatedtothetransmitter.Theinitialsettingsarefromtheselectedcelltype
andcanbemodified.Youcansortthecontentofeachcolumnasdescribedin"SortingDatainTables"onpage98,on
eachcolumnofthetable.

Index:ThisistheidentificationnumberoftheTRX.Thenumbermustbeanintegerandcanbeuserdefinedor
assignedautomaticallybyAtollwhenyouclosethedialogbox.
TRXType:TheTRXTypecanbeoneofthedefaultTRXtypesavailableintheGSMGPRSEDGEprojecttemplate:

244

BCCH:Thebroadcastcontrolchannel(BCCH)carrier
TCH:Thedefaulttraffic(TCH)carrier
TCH_EGPRS:TheEDGEtraffic(TCH_EGPRS)carrier.
TCH_INNER:Theinnertraffic(TCH_INNER)carrier.

Channels:ThechannelsallocatedtotheTRX.Youmustspecify1channelperTRXifthehoppingmodefortheTRX
typeis"NonHopping"or"BaseBandHopping,"andmorethanonechannelperTRXifthehoppingmodeforthe
TRXtypeis"SynthesisedHopping."Youcanenterchannelsdirectly(separatingthemwithacomma,asemicolon,
oraspace)oryoucanenterarangeofchannelsseparatingthefirstandlastchannelwithahyphen(forexample,
entering"15"correspondsto"12345").Youcanalsoselectachannelfromthelistwhichoffersyouchannels
fromthefrequencydomainassignedtotheTRXtypethatthisTRXisbasedon.
MAIO:TheMAIO(MobileAllocationIndexOffset)isusedinfrequencyhopping(BBHorSFH)toavoidintrasite
collisionscausedbytwositesusingthesameoradjacentchannels.Thisvalueisanintegerrangingfrom0andN1
(where"N"isthenumberofchannelsusedinthehoppingsequence).YoucanentertheMAIOoritcanbeallo
catedautomaticallyusingtheAFP.
LockChannelsandMAIO:WhentheLockChannelsandMAIOcheckboxisselected,theTRXscurrentlyassigned
channelsandMAIOarekeptwhenanewAFPsessionisstarted.
TRXConfiguration:TheselectedTRXConfigurationdefinesthehighestpossiblecodingschemeindexnumberin
GPRSandinEDGE.FortheTRXconfigurationtobeusedfully,theterminalmustbecapableofusingacodingindex
numberthatisashighasthatoftheTRXconfiguration.Otherwise,capacitywillbelimitedbythehighestindex
numbersupportedbytheterminal.
EDGEPowerBackoff(dB):TheaveragepowerreductionforEDGEtransmittersdueto8PSK,16QAMand32QAM
modulationsinEDGE.ThishasanimpactontheEDGEservicezonewhichcanbeseenintrafficanalysesandEDGE
predictions.
TRXRank:TheTRXrankisdeterminedbytheAFP.ItindicatesthequalityofthatTRX.ThehighertheTRXrank,the
higherthecost,intermsoftheriskofinterference.Inotherwords,whenyouaretryingtoimprovethesolution
proposedbytheAFPtool,youmustconcentrateontheTRXswiththehighestTRXrankfirst.

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Intertechnology DL Noise Rise (dB): Thisnoiserise represents the interference created by the mobiles of an
externalnetworkonthemobilesservedbythisTRXonthedownlink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountin
allinterferencebasedcalculationsinvolvingthisTRX.Formoreinformationonintertechnologyinterference,see
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage515.
IntratechnologyULNoiseRise(dB):Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbythemobilesofthecur
rentnetworkoverthisTRXontheuplink.ThevaluecanbeeitheruserdefinedorobtainedfromMonteCarlosim
ulations.ThisnoiseriseisusedtocalculateULinterference.

6.2.1.2 CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cellsandTRXs.Thissectiondescribeshowtocreateormodifythefollowingelementsofabasestation:

6.2.1.2.1

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage245
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage245
"ApplyingaNewCellType"onpage246
"ModifyingaSubcell"onpage246
"CreatingorModifyingaTRX"onpage247.

CreatingorModifyingaSite
Youcanmodifyanexistingsiteoryoucancreateanewsite.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasite,describedin"SiteDescrip
tion"onpage235,throughthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.HowyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhether
youarecreatinganewsiteormodifyinganexistingsite.
Tocreateanewsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select New from the context menu. The Sites: New Record Properties dialog box appears (see Figure6.2 on
page235).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage235.
5. ClickOK.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThesitesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage235.
6. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsitesatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingsites,you
candoitquicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSitestable.Youcanopen
theSitestablebyrightclickingtheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

6.2.1.2.2

CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter
Youcanmodifyanexistingtransmitteroryoucancreateanewtransmitter.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,itsinitial
settingsarebasedonthedefaultstationtemplatedisplayedintheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Youcanaccessthepropertiesof
atransmitter,describedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage236,throughthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Howyou
accessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewtransmitterormodifyinganexistingtransmitter.
Tocreateanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitters:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure6.3).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.

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5. ClickOK.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,Atollautomaticallyassignsacelltypebasedonthedefaultstationtem
plate. For information on modifying the properties inherited from a cell type, see "Applying a New Cell Type" on
page246.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.
6. ClickOK.

6.2.1.2.3

If you are creating several transmitters at the same time, or modifying several
existing transmitters, you can do it more quickly by editing or pasting the data
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyright
clickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpenTable
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"Copying
andPastinginTables"onpage82.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecon
textmenu.

ApplyingaNewCellType
InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,thesubcellsaredefinedbythecelltype.Byselectingadifferentcelltype,youcanchangetheexisting
subcellstothesubcellsdefinedbythenewcelltype.Atollwillthencreatethesubcellsthatexistinthenewcelltypeand
removethesubcellsthatdonotexistinthenewcelltype.Ifthesamesubcellsexistinthenewcelltype,Atolloffersyouthe
choiceofkeepingcurrentparametersorresettingthemtothosefoundinthenewcelltype.
Toapplyanewcelltype:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoapplyanewcelltype.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTRXstab.
6. UnderCellType,selecttheNameofthecelltypeonwhichthetransmitterssubcellswillbebasedfromthelist.You
canclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthecelltype.
7. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SubcellDefinition"onpage239ofthecelltypeanditssubcells.
8. ClickOK.
Ifyouareapplyinganewcelltypetoseveraltransmittersatthesametime,ormodifying
severalexistingtransmitters,youcandoitmorequicklybyeditingorpastingthedata
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyrightclicking
theTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpenTablefromthe
contextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastingin
Tables"onpage82.

6.2.1.2.4

ModifyingaSubcell
Youcanmodifytheparametersofanexistingsubcell.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasubcell,describedin"SubcellDefini
tion"onpage239,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterwherethesubcellislocated.
Tocreateormodifyasubcell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateasubcellorwhosesubcellyouwanttomodify.Thecontext
menuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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5. SelecttheTRXstab.
6. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SubcellDefinition"onpage239.
7. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsubcellsatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexisting
subcells,youcandoitmorequicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSubcells
table.YoucanopentheSubcellstablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderinthe
NetworkexplorerandselectingSubcells>SubcellsTable:StandardDatafromthe
contextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastingin
Tables"onpage82.

6.2.1.2.5

CreatingorModifyingaTRX
WhenaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkisfirstcreated,TRXsareassignedaspartofthedimensioningprocess.Oncethenetwork
exists,youcanaddTRXsmanuallytoeitherexistingornewtransmitters.YoucanalsomodifyexistingTRXs.Youcanaccess
thepropertiesofaTRX,describedin"TRXDefinition"onpage244,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterthe
TRXisassignedto.
TocreateormodifyaTRX:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. RightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateaTRXorwhoseTRXyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTRXstab.
6. UnderTRXs:

IfyouarecreatinganewTRX,entertheparametersdescribedin"TRXDefinition"onpage244intherowmarked
withtheNewRowicon(
).
IfyouaremodifyinganexistingTRX,modifytheparametersdescribedin"TRXDefinition"onpage244.

7. ClickOK.
IfyouarecreatingseveralTRXsatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingTRXs,you
candoitmorequicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheTRXstable.Youcan
opentheTRXstablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer
andselectingSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopying
andpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

6.2.1.3 PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate
InAtoll,astationisdefinedasasitewithoneormoretransmitterssharingthesameproperties.WithAtoll,youcancreatea
networkbyplacingstationsbasedonstationtemplates.Thisallowsyoutobuildyournetworkquicklywithconsistentparam
eters,insteadofbuildingthenetworkbyfirstcreatingthesite,thenthetransmitters,andfinallybyaddingsubcellsandTRXs.
Toplaceanewstationusingastationtemplate:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.

2. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

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3. Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyouwouldliketo
placethenewstation.Theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationare
visibleintheStatusbar.

4. Clicktoplacethestation.

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouclick
theNewStationbutton.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"Changing
theMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaysitstiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofstationsusingaAtolltemplate.Youdothisbydefininganareaonthemapwhereyouwantto
placethestations.Atollcalculatestheplacementofeachstationaccordingtothedefinedhexagonalsubcellradiusinthe
stationtemplate.Forinformationondefiningthesubcellradius,see"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage249.
Toplaceaseriesofstationswithinadefinedarea:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
2. ClicktheHexagonalDesignbutton(
),totheleftofthetemplatelist.Ahexagonaldesignisagroupofstationscre
atedfromthesamestationtemplate.
3. Drawazonedelimitingtheareawhereyouwanttoplacetheseriesofstations:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Atollfillsthedelimitedzonewithnewstationsandtheirhexagonalshapes.Stationobjectssuchassitesandtransmit
tersarealsocreatedandplacedintotheirrespectivefolders.
Youcan work with the sites andtransmittersin thesestationsas you work with any station object,adding,for example,
anotherantennatoatransmitter.
PlacingaStationonanExistingSite
Whenyouplaceanewstationusingastationtemplateasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page247,thesiteiscreatedatthesametimeasthestation.However,youcanalsoplaceanewstationonanexistingsite.
Toplaceastationonanexistingsite:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.
2. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
3. ClicktheNewStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

4. Movethepointertothesiteonthemap.Whentheframeappearsaroundthesite,indicatingitisselected,clickto
placethestation.

6.2.1.4 ManagingStationTemplates
AtollcomeswithGSM/GPRS/EDGEstationtemplates,butyoucanalsocreateandmodifystationtemplates.Thetoolsfor
workingwithstationtemplatescanbefoundontheRadioPlanningtoolbar(seeFigure6.8).

Figure6.8:TheRadioPlanningtoolbar
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage249
"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage249
"CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother"onpage252
"ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate"onpage252
"DeletingaStationTemplate"onpage253.

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6.2.1.4.1

CreatingaStationTemplate
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,youcancreateitbybasingitonthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthe
templateyouwanttocreate.Therefore,youcancreateanewtemplatebyonlymodifyingtheparametersthatdiffer.
Tocreateastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationTemplatestable,rightclickthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyou
wanttocreate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

8. SelectPastefromthecontextmenu.Thestationtemplateyoucopiedinstep5.ispastedinthenewrow,withthe
Nameofthenewstationtemplategivenasthesameasthetemplatecopiedbutprecededby"Copyof".
9. Edittheparametersofthenewstationtemplateinthetableorasexplainedin"ModifyingaStationTemplate"on
page249.

6.2.1.4.2

ModifyingaStationTemplate
YoucanmodifyastationtemplatedirectlyintheStationTemplatestable,oryoucanopenthePropertiesdialogboxforthat
stationtemplateandmodifytheparametersinthedialogbox.
Tomodifyastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. Rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThestationtemplatesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Onthistab(seeFigure6.9),youcanmodifythefollowing:theName
ofthestationtemplate,thenumberofSectors,eachwithatransmitter,theHexagonRadius,i.e.,thetheoretical
radiusofthehexagonalareacoveredbyeachsector,theHCSLayer,theCellType,theMax.TRXs/Sector,theMin.
Range,theMax.Range,andtheBSICDomain.

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Figure6.9:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxGeneraltab

UnderMainAntenna,youcanmodifythefollowing:theHeight/Groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,the
heightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustincludetheheightof
building),themainantennaModel,1stSectorAzimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectorsareoffsetto
offercompletecoverageofthearea,andtheMechanicalDowntiltfortheantennas.
ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectricaldowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderPropagation,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolutionforboththe
MainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:Calculationsand
PropagationModels.

UnderComments,youcanaddadditionalinformation.Theinformationyouenterwillbethedefaultinformation
intheCommentsfieldofanytransmittercreatedusingthisstationtemplate.

8. ClicktheTransmittertab.Onthistab(seeFigure6.10),youcanmodifythefollowing:

TransmitterType:IfyouwantAtolltoconsidertransmitterscreatedusingthistemplateaspotentialserversas
wellasinterferer(s),setthetransmittertypetoIntraNetwork(ServerandInterferer).IfyouwantAtolltocon
sidertransmitterscreatedusingthistemplateonlyasinterferers,setthetypetoIntraNetwork(InterfererOnly).
NocoverageforanInterfererOnlytransmitterwillbecalculatedforcoveragepredictions.
Thisenablesyoutomodelthecoexistenceofdifferentnetworksinthesamegeographicarea.Formoreinforma
tiononstudyinginterferencebetweencoexistingnetworks,see"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"on
page515.

UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthetransmitter.Atollcalcu
lateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothetransmitter.Equipment
canbeassignedbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyouclicktheEquipment
button.
ForinformationontheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.

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Power:UnderPower,youcanselecttoentereitherPowerorEIRP(EffectiveIsotropicalRadiatedPower).Ifyou
selectEIRP,youcanenterthevalueyourself,withoutdefiningpowerandlossesforthetransmitter.
IfyouselectPower,Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassigned
tothetransmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhen
youclicktheEquipmentbutton.AtollcalculatesEIRPwiththefollowingformula:
EIRP=Power+GainDLLosses

Figure6.10:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxTransmittertab
Ifyouwanttransmitterscreatedwiththisstationtemplatetobeactivebydefault,selecttheActivecheckbox.
9. ClicktheConfigurationstab.Onthistab(seeFigure6.11),youselecttheconfigurationusedforGSMandGPRS/EDGE
stations.

Under GPRS/EDGE Properties, you must select the GPRS/EDGE Transmitter check box if the transmitters are
goingtobepacketswitchedcapabletransmitters,selectaCodingSchemeConfigurationfromthelist.Forinfor
mationoncreatingacodingschemeconfiguration,see"CodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage500.
WhenyoumodelEDGEEvolutiononthetransmittersideAtollhastoconsider:

The support of high order modulations and the use of turbo codes in specific
codingschemeswhichcanbefoundintheselectedGPRS/EDGEConfiguration.

Inaddition,EDGEEvolutioncanbemodelledontheterminalsidethrough:

The support of dual antenna terminals (Mobile Station Receive Diversity) and
enhanced single antenna terminals (Single Antenna Interference Cancellation).
AtolloffersastatisticalmodellingofthesethroughtheuseofanEDGEevolution
configuration, with the effect of SAIC or diversity already included both in the
coding scheme admission thresholds and on the throughput versus C (or CI)
graphs.
Thesupportofmulticarrierswhichcanbesetupontheterminalside.

For more information, see "Creating or Modifying a GSM/GPRS/EDGE Terminal" on

page511.

For all transmitters, you can select a codec configuration from the list. For information on creating a coding
schemeconfiguration,see"CodecConfiguration"onpage497.

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Figure6.11:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxConfigurationstab
10. ClicktheNeighbourstab.Onthistab(seeFigure6.12),youcanmodifytheMaxNumberofIntraTechnologyNeigh
boursandtheMaxNumberofIntertechnologyNeighbours.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"Planning
Neighbours"onpage295.

Figure6.12:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxNeighbourstab
11. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Sitestable,orifyouhavedefinedanadditionalfieldintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogbox.
12. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsaveyour
changes.

6.2.1.4.3

CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother
YoucancopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplatebyusingtheStationTemplatestable.
Tocopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationsTemplatestable,copythesettingsintherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttocopy
fromandpastethemintotherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.

6.2.1.4.4

ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate
Tomodifyafieldinastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTabletab.
6. Forinformationonadding,deleting,andeditinguserdefinedfields,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTable
Fields"onpage76).
7. Whenyouhavefinished,ClickOK.

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6.2.1.4.5

DeletingaStationTemplate
Todeleteastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheStationTemplatesfolder.
4. IntheStationTemplatesfolder,rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thetemplateisdeleted.

6.2.1.5 DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation
Youcancreatenewbasestationsbyduplicatinganexistingbasestation.Whenyouduplicateanexistingbasestation,thebase
stationyoucreatewillhavethesametransmitter,subcell,TRXparametervaluesastheoriginalbasestation.Ifnositeexists
whereyouplacetheduplicatedbasestation,Atollwillcreateanewsitewiththesameparametersasthesiteoftheoriginal
basestation.Duplicatingabasestationallowsyouto:

Quicklycreateanewbasestationwiththesamesettingsastheoriginalbasestationinordertostudytheeffectofa
newbasestationonthecoverageandcapacityofthenetwork,and
Quicklycreateahomogeneousnetworkwithstationsthathavethesamecharacteristics.

Toduplicateanexistingbasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

SelectDuplicate>WithoutNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationwithout
theintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.
SelectDuplicate>WithNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationalongwith
thelistsofintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.

5. Placethenewbasestationonthemapusingthemouse:

Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyou
wouldliketoplacetheduplicate.TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatus
bar(seeFigure6.13).

Figure6.13:Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite

Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointerovertheexistingsite
whereyouwouldliketoplacetheduplicate.Whenthepointerisoverthesite,thesiteisautomaticallyselected.
TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatusbar(seeFigure6.14).

Figure6.14:Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite

Toplacethebasestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyou
select Duplicate from the context menu. For information on using the zooming
tools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaystiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

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6. Clicktoplacetheduplicatebasestation.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanewsite,thesite,transmitters,
subcells,andTRXsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthesite,transmitters,subcells,andTRXsofthe
originalbasestationwitheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmitters,subcells,andTRXsoftheduplicate
basestationhavethesamesettingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedon
anexistingsite,thetransmitters,subcells,andTRXsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthetransmitters,
subcells,andTRXsoftheoriginalbasestationwitheachnameprecededbythenameofthesiteonwhichtheduplicate
wasplaced.
Alltheremoteantennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anyduplicatedremoteantennasandrepeaterswillretainthesamedonortransmitteras
theoriginal.Ifyouwanttheduplicatedremoteantennaorrepeatertouseatransmitter
ontheduplicatedbasestation,youmustchangethedonortransmittermanually.
YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofduplicatebasestationsbypressingandholdingCTRLinstep6.andclickingtoplaceeach
duplicatebasestation.
Formoreinformationonthesite,transmitter,subcell,andTRXproperties,see"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage235.

6.2.1.6 StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation
InAtoll,youcanmakeaprofileanalysistostudyobstaclesalongthepathbetweenareferencetransmitterandanypointon
themap.Atolldisplaysthegeographicprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoidindi
catingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayedallowingyoutostudyobstructionstoradiosignalsalongthepath.
Youcanalsostudypropagationlossesalongtheprofileaswellasthesignallevelreceivedatthepoint.Beforestudyingpath
lossalongaprofile,youmustassignapropagationmodeltothetransmitter.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioand
geographicdataintoaccountandcalculateslossesalongthetransmitterreceiverpath.Theprofileiscalculatedinrealtime,
usingthepropagationmodel,allowingyoutostudytheprofileandgetapredictionontheselectedpoint.Forinformationon
assigningapropagationmodel,see"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage267.
Tostudytheprofilebetweenatransmitterandareceiver:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. ClickthePointAnalysisTool(
pointerchanges(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcanmovethereceiver
tochangethecurrentpositionorrightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontext
menu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
TargetSite:Selectasitefromthelisttoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheProfileview.
5. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
mitterandthereceiver.

)toviewthegeographicprofilebetweenthetrans

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.Atolldisplaystheprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoid
indicatingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayed.Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverisdisplayedatthe
topoftheProfileview.
6. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
transmitterandthereceiver.

)againtoviewtheradiosignalpathbetweenthe

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.AblueellipsoidindicatestheFresnelzonebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver,withagreenline
indicatingthelineofsight(LOS).AtolldisplaystheangleoftheLOSreadfromtheverticalantennapattern.Alongthe
profile,ifthesignalmeetsanobstacle,theobstaclecausesattenuationwithdiffractiondisplayedbyaredverticalline
(iftheusedpropagationmodelisabletocalculatediffraction).Themaindiffractionedgeistheonethatintersectsthe
Fresnelellipsoidthemost.Propagationmodelsthatusea3knifeedgeDeygoutdiffractionmethodmayalsodisplay
twoadditionaldiffractionedges.Thetotalattenuationisdisplayedabovethemaindiffractionedge.
TheresultsoftheanalysisaredisplayedatthetopoftheProfileview:

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Thereceivedsignalstrengthfromtheselectedtransmitterforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower
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Theshadowingmarginandtheindoorloss(ifselected)
Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver.

YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsatthetopoftheProfileview:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.YoucanclickthePropertiesbutton(
propertiesdialogbox.
Subcell:Selectthesubcelltobeanalysed.

Options:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)toopenthetransmitter

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,youcan:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelectSignallevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResulttypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
LinkBudget:ClicktheLinkBudgetbutton()todisplayadialogboxwiththelinkbudget.
DetailedReport:ClicktheDetailedReportbutton()todisplayatextdocumentwithdetailsonthedisplayedpro
fileanalysis.ThedetailedreportisonlyavailablefortheStandardPropagationModel.

Figure6.15:PointAnalysisToolProfileview
7. Toendthepointanalysis,clickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbaragain.

6.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation"onpage235,oryoucan
createoneorseveralbasestationsbyusingstationtemplatesasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"
onpage247.However,ifyouhavealargedataplanningprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdata
intoyourcurrentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdataandpasteitinto thetablesinyourcurrent Atolldocument. Whenyoucreateagroupofbase
stationsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdatainthe
Transmitterstable,andsubcelldataintheSubcellstable,inthatorder.

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Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavedataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintothetablesin
thecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatandthen
importitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhat
valuesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andsubcelldataintheSubcellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
YoucanquicklycreateaseriesofbasestationsforstudypurposesusingtheHexagonal
Design tool (
) on the Radio Planning toolbar. For information, see "Placing a New
StationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.

6.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe
map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
ifthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensacontext
menuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orbylettingAtoll
findahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

6.2.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atollallowstoyoutodisplayinformationaboutbasestationsinanumberofdifferentways.Thisenablesyounotonlyto
displayselectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe
visible;toomuchinformationwillleadtoacluttereddisplay.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivesites.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolourtoeach
transmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.Forinforma
tionondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

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6.2.5 ModellingPacketswitchedTransmitters
Bydefault,transmittersarenotpacketcapableinAtollGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocuments.Therefore,whenmodellingaGPRS/
EDGEcapablenetwork,itisimportanttocorrectlyconfigureit:
1. Verifythedefinitionoftheexistingcodingschemes(see"OpeningtheCodingSchemesTable"onpage500).
2. Correctlydefinethecodingschemeconfiguration(see"CreatingorModifyingaCodingSchemeConfiguration"on
page501).
3. For each packetcapable transmitter, select the GPRS/EDGE Transmitter check box to identify the transmitter as
GPRS/EDGEcapable(see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236).
4. ChooseconfigurationfromtheCodingSchemeConfigurationlistthatisconsistentwiththetransmittersconfigura
tion, and that is also consistent with other parameters, such as, HCS layers, frequency bands, and cell types. For
example,ifthecelltypeassignedtothetransmitteris"ConcentricCell1800,"itwouldbeillogicaltochoose"GPRS
900"astheconfiguration(see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236).

6.2.6 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalmightbecarriedbydifferenttypesoflinkssuchasradiolinkormicrowavelink.Theserversideretransmitsthereceived
signal.
WhenAtollmodelsGSMrepeaters,themodellingfocusesontheadditionalcoveragethesesystemsprovidetotransmitters
inthedownlink.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage257
"CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment"onpage257
"PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage258
"CreatingSeveralRepeaters"onpage258
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater"onpage259
"TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters"onpage261.
Broadbandrepeatersarenotmodelled.Atollassumesthatallcarriersfromthe3Gdonor
transmitterareamplified.

6.2.6.1 OpeningtheRepeatersTable
RepeatersandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRepeaterstable.
ToopentheRepeaterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRepeaters>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterstableappears.

6.2.6.2 CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment
Youcandefinerepeaterequipmenttobeassignedtoeachrepeaterinthenetwork.
Tocreaterepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. EnterthefollowingintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

):

a. EnteraNameandManufacturerforthenewequipment.
b. EnteraNoiseFigure(dB).Therepeatercausesariseinnoiseatthedonortransmitter,sothenoisefigureisused
tocalculatetheULlosstobeaddedtothedonortransmitterULlosses.Thenoisefiguremustbeapositivevalue.

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c. EnterminimumandmaximumrepeateramplificationgainsintheMin.GainandMaxGaincolumns.Theseparam
etersenableAtolltoensurethattheuserdefinedamplifiergainisconsistentwiththelimitsoftheequipmentif
thereareany.
d. EnteraGainIncrement.Atollusestheincrementvaluewhenyouincreaseordecreasetherepeateramplifiergain
usingthebuttonstotherightoftheAmplificationbox(
box.

)ontheGeneraltaboftherepeaterPropertiesdialog

e. EnteraMax.DownlinkPower.Thisparameterisusedtoensurethatthedownlinkpowerisnotexceededafter
amplificationbytherepeater.

f. Ifdesired,enteranInternalDelayandComments.Thesefieldsareforinformationonlyandarenotusedincalcu
lations.
Tomodifyrepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. Changetheparametersintherowcontainingtherepeaterequipmentyouwanttomodify.

6.2.6.3 PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearepeater,youcanaddittoanexistingsite,
orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.Atollsupportscascadingrepeaters,inotherwords,repeatersthatextendthe
coverageofanotherrepeaterorofaremoteantenna.
Tocreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Select the donor transmitter, repeater, or remote antenna. You can select it from the Transmitters folder in the
Networkexplorer,ordirectlyonthemap.
2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRepeaterfromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetherepeater.Therepeaterisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)inthesame
colourasthedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.Iftherepeaterisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanempty
icon.Bydefault,therepeaterhasthesameazimuthasthedonor.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesameinformation
asdisplayedforthedonor.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestherepeaterandthedonor.Intheexplorerwindow,the
repeaterisfoundintheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerunderitsdonortransmitter,repeater,orremote
antenna.
For information on defining the properties of the new repeater, see "Defining the Properties of a Repeater" on
page259.

Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

6.2.6.4 CreatingSeveralRepeaters
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachrepeaterarestoredintheRepeaterstable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanother
Atolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRepeaterstableinyourcurrentAtolldocu
ment.
TopastetheinformationintotheRepeaterstable:
1. OpentheRepeaterstableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage257.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRepeaterstable.

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Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

6.2.6.5 DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater
Todefinethepropertiesofarepeater:
1. Rightclicktherepeatereitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRepeaterstable(forinformationonopeningtheRepeat
erstable,see"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage257).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

YoucanchangetheNameoftherepeater.Bydefault,repeatersarenamed"SiteX_Y_RepZ"where"X"isthedonor
sitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotherepeaterwhenitwascreated.

Ifthedonorisaremoteantennaoranotherrepeater,then"RepZ"isprecededby
"RemA_"or"RepB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorremoteantennaand
thedonorrepeater.
InMultiRATdocuments,arepeatersnameis"SiteX_T_Y_RepZ"where"T"stands
forthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE).

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,aremoteantenna,
oranotherrepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtherepeaterislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialog
boxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedAntenna(coverageside)fieldfortherepeater.Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythe
transmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedonthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposition
andthatshareanantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltof
oneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
Thisfieldisalsousedformultibandtransmitterstosynchroniseantennaparametersfor
differentfrequencybands.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedModellingofMultiBand
Transmitters"onpage505.

UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftherepeater,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterrelativetothesite
itselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterbyitsXYcoordinates.
YoucanselectequipmentfromtheEquipmentlist.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxof
theequipment.
YoucanchangetheAmplificationGain.Theamplificationgainisusedinthelinkbudgettoevaluatetherepeater
totalgain.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectaLinkType.

IfyouselectMicrowaveLink,entertheLinkLossesandproceedtostep5.
IfyouselectAir,selectaPropagationModelandenterthePropagationLossesorclickCalculatetodetermine
theactualpropagationlossesbetweenthedonorandtherepeater.Ifyoudonotselectapropagationmodel,
thepropagationlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeaterarecalculatedusingtheITU5265
propagationmodel.
Whenyoucreateanoffairrepeater,itisassumedthatthelinkbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeat
erhasthesamefrequencyasthenetwork.
Ifyouwanttocreatearemoteantenna,youmustselectOpticalFibreLink.

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IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderAntenna:

Model:ThetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproper
tiesoftheantenna.
ClickingtheSelectbuttonopenstheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MechanicalAzimuthandMechanicalDowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
You can click the Calculate button to update the mechanical azimuth and mechanical
downtilt values after changing the repeater donor side antenna height or the repeater
location.IfyouchooseanothersiteorchangesitecoordinatesintheGeneraltab,click
ApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderFeeders:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.
5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiverepeaters(displayedinredintheTransmittersfolderintheNetwork
explorer)arecalculated.
UnderTransmission,entertheavalueforEIRP(EffectiveIsotropicallyRadiatedPower)orclickCalculatetodeter
minetheactualgains.AtollcalculatestheEIRPwiththefollowingformula:
EIRP=Power+GainLosses
Even if the EIRP is a DL parameter, Atoll can extract the corresponding gain from the
knowledgeofthevarioustransmissiongainsandlosses.Thisgainisthenreusedtoevalu
ateULpowerusedinanyULcalculation.

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.ClicktheBrowsebutton
toaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryantennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,Additionalelectricaldowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

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UnderLosses,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sincerepeatersaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetthepropagation
parameters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolution
forboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristicsoftherepeater(model,
calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.Forinformationonpropagation
models,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

6.2.6.6 TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainrepeaterparameters:

You can update the calculated azimuth and downtilt of the donorside antennas of all repeaters by selecting
Repeaters>CalculateDonorSideAzimuthsandTiltsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanupdatetheEIRP(EffectiveIsotropicallyRadiatedPower)ofallrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>Calculate
EIRPfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheEIRPofselectedrepeatersbycreatingacustom
Booleanfieldnamed"FreezeTotalGain"intheRepeaterstableandsettingthevalueofthe
fieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRepeaters>CalculateEIRPfromtheTrans
mitterscontextmenu,AtollwillonlyupdatetheEIRPforrepeaterswiththecustomfield
"FreezeTotalGain"setto"False."

YoucanupdatethepropagationlossesofalloffairrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateDonorSidePropa
gationLossesfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
Youcanselectarepeateronthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingthe
Mouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsing
theMouse"onpage46).

6.2.7 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticalfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmightwanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation
that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage257.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage261
"PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage262
"CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas"onpage262
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna"onpage262
"TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters"onpage264.

6.2.7.1 OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable
TheremoteantennasandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.
ToopentheRemoteAntennastable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRemoteAntennas>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRemoteAntennastableappears.

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6.2.7.2 PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearemoteantenna,youcanaddit
toanexistingbasestationwithoutantennas,orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.
Tocreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Selectthedonortransmitter.YoucanselectitfromtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer,ordirectlyon
themap.
Ensurethattheremoteantennasdonortransmitterdoesnothaveanyantennas.

2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRemoteAntennafromthemenu.
)
4. Clickthemaptoplacetheremoteantenna.Theremoteantennaisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
inthesamecolourasthedonortransmitter.Iftheremoteantennaisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanemptyicon.By
default,theremoteantennahasthesameazimuthasthedonortransmitter.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesame
informationasdisplayedforthedonortransmitter.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestheremoteantennaandthedonor
transmitter.
Forinformationondefiningthepropertiesofthenewremoteantenna,see"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemote
Antenna"onpage262.

Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

6.2.7.3 CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachremoteantennaarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.Youcancreateseveralremote
antennasatthesametimebypastingtheinformationintotheRemoteAntennastable.

Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpaste
itintotheRemoteAntennastableinyourcurrentAtolldocument.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

6.2.7.4 DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna
Todefinethepropertiesofaremoteantenna:
1. Rightclicktheremoteantennaeitherdirectlyonthemap,orfromtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

262

YoucanchangetheNameoftheremoteantenna.Bydefault,remoteantennasarenamed"SiteX_Y_RemZ"where
"X"isthedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotheremoteantenna
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Ifthedonorisarepeateroranotherremoteantenna,then"RemZ"isprecededby
"RepA_"or"RemB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorrepeaterandthedonor
remoteantenna.
InMultiRATdocuments,aremoteantennasnameis"SiteX_T_Y_RemZ"where
"T"standsforthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE).

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,anotherremote
antennaorarepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtheremoteantennaislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopenstheProperties
dialogboxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedAntenna(coverageside)fieldfortheremoteantenna.Thisfieldisusedto
identifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedonthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposi
tion.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennas.Shared
antennasarelocatedonthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposition.Whenchangesaremadetotheposition
offset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthe
samechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftheremoteantenna,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennarelativeto
thesiteitselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennabyitsXYcoordi
nates.
Aremoteantennadoesnothaveequipment.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectOpticalFibreLinkandentertheFibreLosses.

5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiveremoteantennas(displayedinredintheTransmittersfolderintheNet
workexplorer)arecalculated.
UnderTransmission,entertheavalueforEIRP(EffectiveIsotropicallyRadiatedPower)orclickCalculatetodeter
minetheactualgains.AtollcalculatestheEIRPwiththefollowingformula:
EIRP=Power+GainLosses
Even if the EIRP is a DL parameter, Atoll can extract the corresponding gain from the
knowledgeofthevarioustransmissiongainsandlosses.Thisgainisthenreusedtoevalu
ateULpowerusedinanyULcalculation.

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftheremoteantennaissituatedonabuilding,theheightentered
mustincludetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

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UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheselected
feeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sinceremoteantennasaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetpropaga
tionparameters,aswithtransmitters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,
Radius,andResolutionforboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristics
oftheremoteantenna(model,calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.
Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

6.2.7.5 TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainremoteantennaparameters:

You can update the EIRP (Effective Isotropically Radiated Power) of all remote antennas by selecting Remote
Antennas>CalculateEIRPfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheEIRPofselectedremoteantennasbycreatinga
customBooleanfieldnamed"FreezeTotalGain"intheRemoteAntennastableandsetting
thevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRemoteAntennas>Calculate
EIRP from the Transmitters context menu, Atoll will only update the EIRP for remote
antennaswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"setto"False."

Youcanselectaremoteantennaonthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsing
theMouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSite
UsingtheMouse"onpage46).

6.2.8 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.
Figure6.16givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure6.16,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

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Figure6.16:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage265
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage266
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage267
"SettingTransmittersasActive"onpage269
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage270

6.2.8.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmightcoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,runningcalculationsovertheentirenetwork
wouldnotonlytakealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothesitesthatyouareinter
estedinandgenerateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofsitesinvolvedincalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredsites
Youcansimplifytheselectionofsitestobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfiltersitesaccordingtooneormorefields,
oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreateagraphicfilterby
eitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphicfilters,see"Filter
ingDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswiththecharacteristics
youwanttostudy.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmightnotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite

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configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitstheresultingcalculatedcoverage.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
theareawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,interferencematrices,etc.,whilethefocus
zoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage266.
Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

6.2.8.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thecomputationzonewillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
5. SelectDrawfromthecontextmenu.
6. Drawthecomputationzone:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzoneusingoneofthefollowingmethods:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZoneto
MapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedacomputationzone,youcanuseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoeditit.Formoreinformationonthe
polygoneditingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

266

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clickingtheComputationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthe
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6.2.8.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Aswell,youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedasforalltrans
mitterswherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."
Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage268,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage268,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.
2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage267,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwillassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
If,afterassigningapropagationmodeltoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupof
transmitters,youassignapropagationmodelglobally,youwilloverridethepropagation
modelsthatyouhadpreviouslyassignedtoindividualtransmittersortoagroupof
transmitters.
3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"AssigningaDefaultPropagation
ModelforCalculations"onpage269,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemain
propagationmodelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropa
gationmodel,thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Inthissection,thefollowingmethodsofassigningapropagationmodelareexplained:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage267
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage268
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage268
"AssigningaDefaultPropagationModelforCalculations"onpage269.
Ifyouaremodellingmultibandtransmitters,youcanassignadifferentpropagationmodel
toeachfrequencyband.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedModellingofMultiBand
Transmitters"onpage505.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanchooseapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.
5. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Ifyousetadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage268afterhavingassigneda
propagationmodeltoalltransmitters,youwilloverridethisentry.

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AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectfromtheGroupBysubmenuofthecontextmenuthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
You cangrouptransmittersby severalpropertiesby using theGroup By button onthe
Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

MainPropagationModel
MainCalculationRadius(m)
MainResolution(m)
ExtendedPropagationModel
ExtendedCalculationRadius(m)
ExtendedResolution(m)

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button( )intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesyouhavepreviously
madeglobally.Thepropagationmodelsettingsapplytoallthesubcellsonthesametransmitter.Forexample,iftheBCCHis
a900MHzsubcell,thesamepropagationmodelisalsoassignedtoaTCH_INNER1800MHzsubcell.Bydefiningamultiband
transmitter,youcanassignpropagationmodelrelatedsettingsthatareoptimisedtothefrequencybandofeachsubcellwhen
morethanonefrequencybandisusedonatransmitter.Formoreinformationonmultibandtransmitters,see"Advanced
ModellingofMultiBandTransmitters"onpage505.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePropagationtab.

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6. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

8. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.
AssigningaDefaultPropagationModelforCalculations
Youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedasforalltransmitterswhosemain
propagationmodelis"(Defaultmodel)."
Toassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePredictionstab.
5. SelectaDefaultPropagationModelfromthelist.
6. EnteraDefaultResolution.Whenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction,thedefaultresolutionisthevalueyouenter
here.
BymakingthenecessaryentryintheAtoll.inifile,ifyouclearthevalueenteredinthe
Resolutionboxwhenyoucreateacoverageprediction,Atollwillcalculatethecoverage
predictionusingthecurrentlydefineddefaultresolution.Thatway,ifyouhavemany
coveragepredictions,youcanchangetheirresolutionbychangingthedefaultresolution
andrecalculatingthecoveragepredictions.Atollwillthencalculatethemusingthe
updatedresolution.ForinformationonchangingentriesintheAtoll.inifile,seethe
AdministratorManual.
7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelwillbeusedforcalculationsforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."

6.2.8.4 SettingTransmittersasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters),andwhosepropagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Beforeyouruncalcula
tions,youmustensurethatallthetransmittersonthesitesyouwanttostudyhavebeenactivated.Intheexplorerwindow,
activetransmittersareindicatedwitharedicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapand

inactivetransmittersareindicatedwithanemptyicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandonthemap.

Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetseveraltransmittersasactivebyactivating
themfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmittersfromtheTransmitterstable,orbyselectingthe
transmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.
Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectActiveTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitterisnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolderandright
clickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttosetasactive.Thecontextmenuappears.

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Forinformationongroupingdataobjects,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.

3. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectOpenTable.TheTransmitterstableappearswitheachtransmittersparametersinasecondrow.
4. Foreachtransmitterthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.
3. Rightclickthefolderofthezoneyouwillusetoselectthetransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

4. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
Onceyouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbeextremelytimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Conse
quently,Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.YoucaninstalltheAtoll
computingserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethecomputingserverapplicationisinstalledona
workstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.For
informationondistributedcalculations,seetheAdministratorManual.

6.2.8.5 TheCalculationProcess
Whenyoucreateacoveragepredictionandcalculateit,eitherbyclickingtheCalculatebuttononthecoverageprediction
propertiesdialogboxorbyclickingtheCalculatebutton(

),Atollfollowsthefollowingprocess:

1. Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesexistand,ifso,whethertheyarevalid.Theremustbevalid
pathlossmatricesforeachactiveandfilteredtransmitterwhosepropagationradiusintersectstherectanglecontain
ingthecomputationzone.
Forinformationonwhatcanaffectthevalidityofcalculatedpathlossmatrices,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
2. Ifthepathlossmatricesdonotexistorarenotvalid,Atollcalculatesthem.Therehastobeatleastoneunlockedcov
eragepredictioninthePredictionsfolder.Ifnot,AtollwillnotcalculatethepathlossmatriceswhenyouclicktheCal
culatebutton(

).

3. AtollcalculatesallunlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
Predictionsfolder.

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthe

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates allpathloss matrices, unlocked coverages, andpendingsimula
tions.

)inthetoolbar.

6.2.9 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthesetparameters.Coveragepredictionsongroupsof
basestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverageprediction
tothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougettheresultsquickly.Youcanexpandyourcoverageprediction
toanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.

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Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage264.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage271
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage285
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage286
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage290
"AnalysingSignalReceptionUsingthePointAnalysis"onpage290
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage291

6.2.9.1 SignalLevelCoveragePredictions
Atolloffersaseriesofstandardcoveragepredictionsthatarecommontoallradiotechnologies.Coveragepredictionsspecific
toGSM/GPRS/EDGEarecoveredin"InterferenceCoveragePredictions"onpage435and"PacketSpecificCoveragePredic
tions"onpage447.
Onceyouhavecreatedandcalculatedacoverageprediction,youcanusethecoveragepredictionscontextmenutomake
thecoveragepredictionintoacustomisedpredictionwhichwillappearinthePredictionTypesdialogbox.Youcanalsoselect
Duplicatefromthecoveragepredictionscontextmenutocreateacopy.Byduplicatinganexistingpredictionthathasthe
parameters you wanttostudy,you can create a newcoverage prediction more quickly than by creatinga new coverage
prediction.Ifyoucloneacoverageprediction,byselectingClonefromthecontextmenu,youcancreateacopyofthecover
agepredictionwiththecalculatedcoverage.Youcanthenchangethedisplay,providingthattheselectedparameterdoesnot
invalidatethecalculatedcoverageprediction.
Youcanalsosavethelistofalldefinedcoveragepredictionsinauserconfiguration,allowingyouorotheruserstoloaditinto
anewAtolldocument.Whenyousavethelistinauserconfiguration,theparametersofallexistingcoveragepredictionsare
saved;notjusttheparametersofcalculatedordisplayedones.Forinformationonexportinguserconfigurations,see"Saving
aUserConfiguration"onpage104.
Thefollowingstandardcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

6.2.9.1.1

"StudyingDLSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage271
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyDLSignalLevel"onpage274
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyULSignalLevel"onpage275
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277
"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage284.

StudyingDLSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation
Asyouarebuildingyourradioplanningproject,youmightwanttochecktheDLcoverageofanewbasestationwithouthaving
tocalculatetheentireproject.Youcandothisbyselectingthesitewithitstransmittersandthencreatinganewcoverage
prediction.
ThissectionexplainshowtocalculatetheDLsignallevelcoverageofasinglesite.ADLsignallevelcoveragepredictiondisplays
thesignalofthebestserverforeachpixeloftheareastudied.
YoucanusethesameproceduretostudytheDLsignallevelcoverageofseveralsitesby
groupingthetransmitters.Forinformationongroupingtransmitters,see"GroupingData
ObjectsbyaSelectedProperty"onpage95.
TostudytheDLsignallevelcoverageofasinglebasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthetransmitterfolderandselectGroupBy>Sitesfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmittersarenowdis
playedintheTransmittersfolderbythesiteonwhichtheyaresituated.
Ifyouwishtostudyonlysitesbytheirstatus,atthisstepyoucouldgroupthembystatus.

3. Selectthepropagationparameterstobeusedinthecoverageprediction:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
b. Rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudy.Thecontextmenuappears.

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c. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Atableappearswiththepropertiesoftheselectedgroupoftransmit
ters.
d. Inthetable,youcanconfiguretwopropagationmodels:oneforthemainmatrix,withashorterradiusandahigh
erresolution,andanotherfortheextendedmatrix,withalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Bycalculatingtwo
matricesyoucanreducethetimeofcalculationbyusingalowerresolutionfortheextendedmatrixandyoucan
obtainmoreaccurateresultsbyusingpropagationmodelsbestsuitedforeachdistanceforthemainandextended
matrices.
e. IntheMainMatrixcolumn:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

f. Ifdesired,intheExtendedMatrixcolumn:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

g. Closethetable.
4. Rightclicktheobjecteitherintheexplorerwindoworonthemap.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudyandselectCalculations>Createa
NewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
ThePredictionTypesdialogboxliststhecoveragepredictionsavailable.TheyaredividedintoStandardPredictions,
suppliedwithAtoll,andCustomisedPredictions.Unlessyouhavealreadycreatedsomecustomisedpredictions,the
CustomisedPredictionslistwillbeempty.
6. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. YoucanconfigurethefollowingparametersinthePropertiesdialogbox:

Generaltab:YoucanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theResolution,andyoucanadda
Comment.Theresolutionyousetisthedisplayresolution,notthecalculationresolution.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformation
onfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingasocalled"global"cover
ageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).

Toimprovememoryconsumptionandoptimisethecalculationtimes,youshouldsetthedisplayresolutionsof
coveragepredictionsaccordingtotheprecisionrequired.Thefollowingtableliststhelevelsofprecisionthatare
usuallysufficient:

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SizeoftheCoveragePrediction

DisplayResolution

CityCentre

5m

City

20m

County

50m

State

100m

Country

Accordingtothesizeofthe
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Conditionstab:ThecoveragepredictionparametersontheConditionstaballowyoutodefinetheDLsignalsthat
willbeconsideredforeachpixel(seeFigure6.17).

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectSubcellCThresholdtousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includ
ingthedefinedpowerreduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrangeorGlobalCThresholdtoentera
thresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.17,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbabil
ity.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

Figure6.17:Conditionsettingsforasignallevelcoverageprediction

Displaytab:Youcanmodifyhowtheresultsofthecoveragepredictionwillbedisplayed.

UnderDisplayType,select"ValueIntervals."
UnderField,select"Bestsignallevel."Selecting"All"or"Bestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyou
thesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"Bestsignallevel"
necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
Youcanchangethevalueintervalsandtheirdisplayedcolour.Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,
see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
YoucancreatetiptextwithinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionbyclickingtheBrowsebuttonnextto
theTipTextboxandselectingthefieldsyouwanttodisplayinthetiptext.
YoucanselecttheAddtoLegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedvalueintervalstothelegend.
Ifyouchangethedisplaypropertiesofacoveragepredictionafteryouhavecalculatedit,
youmaymakethecoveragepredictioninvalid.Youwillthenhavetorecalculatethecover
agepredictiontoobtainvalidresults.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Thesignallevel
coveragepredictioncanbefoundinthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
folder.WhenyouclicktheCalculatebutton(

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthePredictions

),Atollonlycalculatesunlockedcoveragepredictions(

).

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MakingaCoveragePredictionbyDLSignalLevel
AcoveragepredictionbyDLsignallevelallowsyoutopredictthebestDLsignalstrengthateachpixel.Youcanbasethecover
ageonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbyDLsignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.18).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.

InFigure6.18,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

Figure6.18:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyDLsignallevel
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.

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Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbybestsignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbeintheformofthresh
olds.Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbysignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbearrangedaccordingto
transmitter.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.Selecting"All"
or"Bestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyouthesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebest
serverineithercase.Selecting"Bestsignallevel"necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure6.19).

Figure6.19:CoveragepredictionbyDLsignallevel
Youcanalsodisplaythebestidlemodereselectioncriterion(C2)byselecting"BestC2"on
theDisplaytab.Thisallowsyoutocomparethecoverageinidlemodewiththecoverage
in dedicated mode. For more information on coverage predictions in idle mode, See
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestIdleModeReselection
Criterion(C2)"onpage282.

6.2.9.1.3

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyULSignalLevel
AcoveragepredictionbyULsignallevelallowsyoutopredicttheULsignalstrengthatatransmitter,onauserdefinedservice
area,fromauserdefinedterminallocatedoneachpixel.Youcanbasethecoverageonthesignallevelortotallosseswithin
adefinedrange.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbyULsignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(UL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.20).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinehowthetransmitterserviceareas
willbeevaluated.
UnderDLCoverageConditions,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsideredviathefollowingparameters:

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.

InFigure6.20,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.ThisoptiondefinestheserveratwhichtheULsignalleveliseval
uated.
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

IntheTerminallist,selectwhichterminaltypeistobeconsideredoneachpixel.TheULtransmittedpoweris
basedonthemaxpoweroftheselectedterminal,gainsandlosses.TheULsignallevelisthenaresultofthisoutput
powerreducedbythepathlosswhichisidenticaltotheoneinDL
For information on the Terminal Specifications dialog box, see "Modelling GSM/GPRS/EDGE Terminals" on
page511.

Figure6.20:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyULsignallevel
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbybestsignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbeintheformofthresh
olds.Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbysignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbearrangedaccordingto
transmitter.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.Selecting"All"
or"Bestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyouthesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebest
serverineithercase.Selecting"Bestsignallevel"necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalculation.

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8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure6.21).

Figure6.21:CoveragepredictionbyULsignallevel
Youcanalsobasethetransmitterserviceareasonthebestidlemodereselectioncriterion
(C2)byselecting"BestC2"ontheDisplaytab.Thisallowsyoutocomparethecoveragein
idlemodewiththecoverageindedicatedmode.Formoreinformationoncoveragepredic
tionsinidlemode,See"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBest
IdleModeReselectionCriterion(C2)"onpage282.

6.2.9.1.4

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterallowsyoutopredictwhichserveristhebestateachpixel.Youcanbasethecoverage
onthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
Thetypeofserveryoubasethecoveragepredictionondeterminethetypeofcoveragepredictionbytransmitteryoumake.
Inthissection,thefollowingscenariosareexplained:

"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestSignalLevel"onpage277
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestSignalLevelbyHCSLayer"onpage279
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitteronHCSservers"onpage280
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterforHighestPriorityHCSServer"onpage281
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestIdleModeReselectionCriterion(C2)"onpage282.

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestSignalLevel
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictionbytransmitteronthebestsignallevel,Atollwillconsiderthebestsignalleveloneach
pixel.Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevelismoresuitableforanetworkthatdoesnothave
HCSlayers.IfthenetworkhasHCSlayers,acoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevelcangivemislead
ingresultsasthebestsignalonanypixelwillusuallybeonamacrolayer,althoughnotalluserswillnecessarilyconnecttoit.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.

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5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.22).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedowarrow
buttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.22,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"BestSignalLevel"totakethebestsignallevelfromallserversonalllayersintoconsideration
(formoreinformation,see"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

Figure6.22:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbytransmitter
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

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Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
Youcanalsopredictwhichserverissecondbestserveroneachpixelbyselecting"Second
Best Signal Level" on the Conditions tab and selecting "Discrete Values" as the Display
Typeand"Transmitter"astheFieldontheDisplaytab.
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestSignalLevelbyHCSLayer
WhenyoubaseacoveragepredictionbytransmitteronthebestsignallevelbyHCSlayer,Atollwillconsiderthebestsignal
levelbyHCSlayeroneachpixel.GroupingtheresultsbyHCSlayerwillallowyoutoquicklyselectwhichHCSlayerisdisplayed.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevelperHCSlayer:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
a. ClicktheGroupBybutton.TheGroupdialogboxappears.
b. Select"HCSLayers"intheAvailableFieldslistandclick

tomoveittotheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlist.

c. ClickOKtoclosetheGroupdialogbox.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.22).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.22,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"BestSignalLevelperHCSLayer"totakethebestsignallevelfromallserversoneachHCS
layerintoconsideration(formoreinformation,see"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489).

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EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Youcanselectwhich
HCSlayertodisplaybyclickingtheExpandbutton( )toexpandthecoveragepredictioninthePredictionsfolderandthe
selectingonlythevisibilitycheckboxoftheHCSlayeryouwanttodisplay.
You can also predict which server is second best server per HCS layer on each pixel by
selecting"Second BestSignalLevel per HCS Layer" on theConditionstabandselecting
"DiscreteValues"astheDisplayTypeand"Transmitter"astheFieldontheDisplaytab.
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitteronHCSservers
WhenyoubaseacoveragepredictionbytransmitteronHCSservers,AtollwillconsiderthebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeron
eachpixel,assumingthecelledgeofeachlayerisdefinedbytheHCSthreshold.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitteronHCSservers:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.22).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.22,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnteraHOmarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterforHighestPriorityHCSServer
WhenyoubaseacoveragepredictionbytransmitterforhighestpriorityHCSservers,Atollwillconsiderthebestsignallevel
ofthehighestpriorityoneachpixel,assumingpriorityisacombinationofthepriorityfieldandtheminimumthresholdper
HCSlayer.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitterforhighestpriorityHCSservers:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;

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forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.22).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.22,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"HighestpriorityHCSserver"totakethebestsignallevelofalltheseversonthehighestpri
orityHCSlayerintoconsideration,assumingthepriorityofthelayerisdefinedbyitspriorityfieldanditssignal
levelexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevelorspecificallyforeachtransmitter
(formoreinformation,see"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBestIdleModeReselectionCriterion(C2)
WhenyoubaseacoveragepredictionbytransmitteronthebestC2,Atollwillconsiderthebestsignallevelinidlemode.Such
typeofcoveragecanbeused:

tocompareidleanddedicatedmodebestserversforvoicetraffic
todisplaytheGPRS/EDGEbestserver(basedontheGSMidlemode)

ThepathlosscriterionC1usedforcellselectionandreselectionisdefinedby:
C1=BCCHReceptionlevelBCCHReceptionThreshold
Thepathlosscriterion(GSM03.22)issatisfiedifC1>0.ThereselectioncriterionC2isusedforcellreselectiononlyandis
definedby:
C2=C1+CellReselectOffset
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.23).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallBCCHsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevel
range.
InFigure6.23,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"BestIdleModeReselectionCriterion(C2)"toconsiderthebestC2fromallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

Figure6.23:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonBestC2
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmitter.
Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

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8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

6.2.9.1.5

MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones
Overlappingzones(dl)arecomposedofpixelsthatare,foradefinedcondition,coveredbythesignalofatleasttwotransmit
ters.Youcanbaseacoveragepredictionofoverlappingzonesonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefined
range.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectOverlappingzones(dl)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.24).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.24,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.

284

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthesignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnteraHOmarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

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Figure6.24:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"Numberof
servers"isselectedbydefault.Eachoverlappingzonewillthenbedisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothenumber
ofserversreceivedperpixel.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
By changing the parameters selected on the Conditions tab and by selecting different
resultstobedisplayedontheDisplaytab,youcancalculateanddisplayinformationother
thanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.

6.2.9.2 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
TheresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyou
createdthecoverageprediction(step7.of"StudyingDLSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage271).Ifseveral
coveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itmightbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwish
toanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformation
onmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingtoolsareexplained:

6.2.9.2.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage285
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText"onpage286

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtoLegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

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DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText
Youcangetinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformationdisplayedin
thetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step7.of"StudyingDLSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage271).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure6.25).

Figure6.25:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

6.2.9.3 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.

6.2.9.3.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage286
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage287
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage289
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage289

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocusandhotspotsdefineanareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucanonly
haveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.Focusandhotspotsaretakenintoaccount
whetherornottheyarevisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocusandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,etc.,whilethefocusandhotspotsaretheareastakeninto
considerationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoveragepredictionreport,itgivestheresultsforthe
focuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.
Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.

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Youcanalsocreateafocusorhotspotasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocusorhotspotbyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocuszoneorhot
spotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>Hot
SpotorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocusorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHotSpots
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcanimport
thenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocusorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZonetoMap
Windowfromthecontextmenu.

Onceyouhavecreatedafocusorhotspot,youcanuseAtollspolygoneditingtoolstoeditit.Formoreinformationonthe
polygoneditingtools,see"UsingPolygonZoneEditingTools"onpage61.
Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspots,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocu
ment,inthefollowingways:

Saving the focus zone in the user configuration: For information on saving the
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhotspots
byrightclickingtheFocusZoneortheHotSpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerand
selectingExportfromthecontextmenu.

Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocusorhotspotbyimportingapopulation
map.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"
onpage142.

6.2.9.3.2

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage286.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage289.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:

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Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default, theranges which do not contain any pixels do not appear in the report.By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.

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3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.
Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

6.2.9.3.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page287,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalcolumnswillappearontherightoftheexported
coveragereportifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.

6.2.9.3.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.
Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage286.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramoftheareadefinedby
thefocuszone(seeFigure6.30).

UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.

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UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

Figure6.26:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

6.2.9.4 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,JPEG2000,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRD
andGRC)formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invector
formats,youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoveragepre
dictionresults,see"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

6.2.9.5 AnalysingSignalReceptionUsingthePointAnalysis
Onceyouhavecalculatedthecoverageprediction,youcanusethePointAnalysistool.
1. ClickthePointAnalysisTool(
pointerchanges(
2. SelectReception(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.
)fromthelistatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow.(seeFigure6.27).

ThepredictedsignallevelfromdifferenttransmittersisreportedintheReceptionviewintheformofabarchart,from
thehighestpredictedsignallevelonthetoptothelowestoneonthebottom.Eachbarisdisplayedinthecolourof
thetransmitteritrepresents.Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthepointertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthe
colourofthetransmitterstheyrepresent.Thebestserverofthepointeristhetransmitterfromwhichthepointer
receivesthehighestsignallevel.Ifyouletthepointerrest,thesignallevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmit
teratthepointerlocationisdisplayedinthetiptext.
AtthetopoftheReceptionview,youcanselecttheSubcellandtheHCSLayertobeanalysed.Ifyouselectnothing
fromtheHCSLayerlist,thesignalsfromallHCSlayerswillbestudied.

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Figure6.27:PointAnalysiswindowReceptionview
3. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,youcanclickoneofthefollowingbuttons:

:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationsOptionsdialogbox.Youcanchangethefollowing:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

:ClicktheCopybutton(
)tocopytheReceptionview.YoucanthenpastethecontentsoftheReception
viewasagraphicintoagraphiceditingorwordprocessingprogramme.
:ClickthePrintbutton(

)toprinttheReceptionview.

YoucanalsoselecttheDetailsview(
)togetmoreinformation.TheDetailsviewdisplaysthecurrentpositionandheight
ofthereceiver,theclutterclassitissituatedon,andforeachtransmitteritsBCCHsignallevel,theBCCHC/I,themostinter
feredmobilestationallocation(TRX,MALorMALMAIOdependingonthehoppingmode)anditscorrespondingC/I.

6.2.9.6 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
changesyoumakeaffectthenetwork.
Inthissection,therearetwoexamplestoexplainhowyoucancomparetwosimilarpredictions.Youcandisplaytheresults
ofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

Intersection:Thisdisplayshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscoveredby
bothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplayshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixelscovered
byatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
byonlyonepredictionareblue).
Difference:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredbyonly
the first prediction with another colour and pixels covered only by the second prediction with a third colour (for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplayshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.Thisdis
playoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.
6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.
Inthissection,thefollowingexamplesareexplained:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage292
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage293.

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Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyDLSignal
Level"onpage274.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure6.28.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthe
figure.

Figure6.28:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewbasestationisadded,eitherbycreatingthesiteandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatingaGSM/GPRS/
EDGEBaseStation"onpage235,orbyplacingastationtemplate,asexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStation
Template"onpage247.Oncethenewsitebasestationbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,but
thenitwillbeimpossibletocomparethetwopredictions.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopied
byselectingDuplicatefromitscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewsite(seeFigure6.29).

Figure6.29:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.

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TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Toseethechangesthataddinganewbasestationmade,chooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure6.30,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenew
basestation.

Figure6.30:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions
Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTrans
mitter"onpage277.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure6.31.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscovering
itsareapoorly.TheareaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure6.31.

Figure6.31:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork

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Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwillbeimpos
sibletocomparethetwopredictions.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictionbycanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefrom
itscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure6.32).

Figure6.32:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
propagation,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
covered by both predictions in one colour and all pixels covered by only one predictions in another colour. The
increaseincoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure6.33,showsclearlytheincreaseincoverageduetothe
changeinantennatilt.

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Figure6.33:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

6.2.10 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachtransmittermanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedonthe
parametersthatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thetransmittertowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferred
toasthereferencetransmitter.Thetransmittersthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferredtoaspotential
neighbours.Whenallocatingneighboursautomaticallytoallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonly
tothetransmitterswithinthefocuszoneandconsidersaspotentialneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhosepropa
gationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighboursonly
tothetransmitterswithinthecomputationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanautomaticallyallocateneighbourstoallthetransmitters
inthedocument,oryoucandefineagroupoftransmitterseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersinthe
explorerwindowandautomaticallyallocateneighbourstothedefinedgroup.Forinformationoncreatingafocuszone,see
"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage286.Forinformationongroupingtransmitters
intheexplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
AtollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesinaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork:

Intratechnologyneighbours:IntratechnologyneighboursaretransmittersdefinedasneighboursthatalsouseGSM/
GPRS/EDGE.
Intertechnologyneighbours:Intertechnologyneighboursaretransmittersdefinedasneighboursthatuseatech
nologyotherthanGSM/GPRS/EDGE.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingNeighbours"onpage295
"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage296
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage296
"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage297
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage300
"AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperTransmitter"onpage305
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours"onpage309
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan"onpage310
"ExportingNeighbours"onpage311.

6.2.10.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusing
theNeighbourstable.

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ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheGSMTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

6.2.10.2 DefiningExceptionalPairs
InAtoll,youcandefineneighbourconstraintsthatcanbetakenintoconsiderationduringtheautomaticallocationofneigh
bours.Exceptionalpairscanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenyoumanuallyallocateneighbours.
Todefineexceptionalpairsofneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappears.
4. Rightclickthetransmitterforwhichyouwanttodefineneighbourconstraints.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
7. UnderExceptionalPairs,createanewexceptionalpairintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

):

a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theexceptionpairslistcannowbeedited.
b. SelectthetransmitterfromthelistintheNeighbourscolumn.
c. IntheStatuscolumn,selectoneofthefollowing:

Forced:Theselectedcellwillalwaysbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.
Forbidden:Theselectedcellwillneverbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.

8. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedcreatingthenewexceptionalpair.
9. ClickOK.
You can also create exceptional pairs using the Exceptional Pairs of IntraTechnology
Neighbours table.Youcanopenthistableby rightclickingtheTransmittersfolderand
selectingNeighbours>IntraTechnology>ExceptionalPairs.

6.2.10.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintratechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
Iftheprojectisasingletechnologydocument:
a. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImpor
tanceWeightingdialogboxappears.
IftheprojectisamultiRATdocument:
a. RightclicktheGSMTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectNeighbours>GSM>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceWeighting
dialogboxappears.
2. OntheIntraTechnologyNeighbourstab,youcansetthefollowingimportancefactors:

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DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
AdjacencyFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeingadjacent
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ForceIntraHCSAdjacentsasNeighboursand/orForceInterHCSAdjacentsasNeighbourscheckboxesinthe
AutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.Forinformationonautomaticneighbourallocation,see"Allocating
NeighboursAutomatically"onpage297.
CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedinautomaticneighbourallocationifyou
selecttheForceCositeTransmittersasNeighbourscheckboxintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
Forinformationonautomaticallyallocatingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage297.

3. ClickOK.

6.2.10.4 AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically
AtollcanautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighboursinaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.Atollallocatesneighboursbased
ontheparametersyousetintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
ToautomaticallyallocateintracarrierGSM/GPRS/EDGEneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. OntheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

MaxIntersiteDistance:Setthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencetransmitterandapossibleneighbour.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

Maxno.ofNeighbours:Setthemaximumnumberofintracarrierneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoatrans
mitter.Thisvaluecanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheTransmitters
table,inwhichcasethevalueintheTransmitterstableisused.

5. UnderUseCoverageConditions:
a. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobasetheimportanceevaluationonadistancecriterion,or
b. SelecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtosetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheirref
erencetransmitter.
ClickDefinetoopentheCoverageConditionsdialogboxandchangethecoverageconditionsinwhichyouwant
toautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasoftransmittersforautomatic
neighbourallocation.
MinBCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAandpossi
bleneighbourcellB.
HandoverStart:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatesthebeginningofthehandovermargin.Thehandover
startmustbeoutsideofthebestserverareaofthereferencetransmitter(seeFigure6.34).
HandoverEnd:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatestheendofthehandovermargin.Thehandoverendmust
exceedthevalueenteredfortheHandoverStart.ThehigherthevalueenteredfortheHandoverEnd,the
longerthelistofpotentialneighbours(seeFigure6.34).TheareabetweentheHandoverStartandtheHand
overEndconstitutestheareainwhichAtollwillsearchforneighbours.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

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Figure6.34:Thehandoverareabetweenthereferencetransmitterandthepotentialcandidate
DefinewhetherAtollselectspotentialcandidatesbywhosehandoverzonesharedwiththereferencetransmitter
hasthegreatestsurfaceareaorthegreatestcircuittraffic.Todothat,selectwhichoptiontoTakeIntoAccount:

CoveredArea:Ifyouselectthisoption,Atollwillselectthepotentialcandidateswhosehandoverzoneshared
withthereferencetransmitterhasthegreatestsurfacearea.
Covered Traffic: If you select this option, Atoll will select the potential candidates whose handover zone
sharedwiththereferencetransmittercoversthemostcircuittraffic(Erlangs).Atollconsidersthetrafficmaps
usedforthedefaulttrafficanalysistocalculatethecoveredtraffic.
%MinCoveredArea:Enter,inpercentage,theamountofcoveredareaorcoveredtrafficofthereference
transmitterscoveragethatanothertransmittermustcovertobeconsideredasapotentialcandidate.The
%Min.CoveredAreaisthepercentageoftheareadescribedbyS A S B inFigure6.34.

6. Selectthedesiredcalculationparameters:

ForceCositeTransmittersasNeighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttransmitterslocatedonthesamesite
asthereferencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.
ForceIntraHCSAdjacentsasNeighbours:Selectthischeckboxtoautomaticallyconsiderasneighboursthetrans
mittersthathaveintraHCSadjacencywiththereferencetransmitter.Atransmitterisconsideredadjacentifthere
isatleastonepixelinthereferencetransmitterscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourtransmitterisbest
serverorsecondbestserver(respectingthehandovermargin).
ForceInterHCSAdjacentsasNeighbours:Selectthischeckboxtoautomaticallyconsiderasneighboursthetrans
mittersthathaveinterHCSadjacencywiththereferencetransmitter.Atransmitterisconsideredadjacentifthere
isatleastonepixelinthereferencetransmitterscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourtransmitterisbest
serverorsecondbestserver(respectingthehandovermargin).
ForceSymmetry:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inotherwords,any
referencetransmitterisapossibleneighbourofallthetransmittersthatareitsneighbours.
Iftheneighbourslistofatransmitterisfull,thereferencetransmitterwillnotbeaddedas
aneighbourofthattransmitterandthattransmitterwillberemovedfromthereference
transmittersneighbourslist.YoucanforceAtolltokeepthattransmitterinthereference
transmittersneighbourslistbyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,
seetheAdministratorManual.

ForceExceptionalPairs:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttotoforceorforbidtheneighbourrelationsdefinedin
theExceptionalPairstable.Forinformationonexceptionalpairs,see"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage296.
DeleteExistingNeighbours:SelectthischeckboxifyouwantAtolltodeleteallcurrentneighbourswhenallo
catingneighbours.Ifyoudonotselectthischeckbox,Atollwillnotdeleteanyexistingneighbourswhenautomat
icallyallocatingneighbours;itwillonlyaddnewneighbourstothelist.

7. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingintratechnologyneighbours.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhether
thepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculates
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OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Transmitter:Thenameofthereferencetransmitter.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencetransmitter.
MaximumNumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencetransmittercanhave.
Neighbour:Thetransmitterthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeparametersdefinedinthepreviousstep.Neighboursare
rankedfromthemosttotheleastimportant.
Bydefault,theneighbourimportancecalculatedwithrespecttodistanceisbasedonthe
global Max intersite distance setting for all neighbour candidates. As a consequence,
there can be cases where the calculated importance is different when the global Max
intersitedistanceismodified.YoucanavoidthatbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile
toforceAtolltoprioritiseindividualdistancesbetweenreferencetransmittersandtheir
respectiveneighbourcandidates.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedthepossibleneighbourtransmitter(identifiedintheNeighbourcolumn)to
thereferencetransmitter(identifiedintheTransmittercolumn):

CoSite
Adjacent(intraHCSadjacency)
AdjacentLayer(interHCSadjacency)
Symmetric
Coverage
Existing

Coverage:Theamountofreferencetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageand
insquarekilometres.
Adjacency(intraHCSadjacency):Theareaofthereferencetransmitter,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,
wheretheneighbourtransmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.

8. SelecttheCommitcheckboxforeachneighbouryouwanttoassigntoatransmitter.YoucanusemanyofAtollstable
shortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.
AtthispointyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument.
Tocomparetheproposedandexistingneighbourlists:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype,
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberof deleted neighbour relations (neighbour relationsnot proposed intheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

9. ClickCommit.AlltheneighbourswhoseCommitcheckboxisselectedareassignedtothereferencetransmitters.
NeighboursarelistedintheIntraTechnologyNeighbourstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.
By default, the automatic neighbour allocation compares the defined Max intersite
distance with the effective intertransmitter distance. As a consequence, there can be
caseswheretherealdistancebetweenassignedneighboursishigherthantheMaxinter
sitedistance,becausetheeffectivedistanceissmaller.YoucanforceAtolltocomparethe
MaxintersitedistancewiththerealintersitedistancebyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.ini
file.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Aforbiddenneighbourwillnotbelistedasaneighbourunlesstheneighbourrela
tionalreadyexistsandtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisclearedwhen
you start the new allocation. In this case, Atoll displays a warning in the Event
Viewerindicatingthattheconstraintontheforbiddenneighbourwillbeignored
bythealgorithmbecausetheneighbouralreadyexists.
WhenForceexceptionalpairsandForcesymmetryareselected,Atollconsiders
the constraints on exceptional pairs in both directions in order to respect sym
metry.Ontheotherhand,iftheneighbourrelationisforcedinonedirectionand
forbiddenintheotherone,symmetrycannotberespected.Inthiscase,Atolldis
playsawarningintheEventViewer.
Youcansaveautomaticneighbourallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.
For information on saving automatic neighbour allocation parameters in a user
configuration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

Atollalsoenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocateneighbourstoasinglebasestationortransmitter:

6.2.10.4.1

"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation"onpage300
"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter"onpage300.

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation
Whenyoucreateanewbasestation,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthetransmitters
ofthenewbasestationandothertransmitterswhosecoverageareaintersectswiththecoverageareaofthetransmittersof
thenewbasestation.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewbasestation:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,groupthetransmittersbysite,asexplainedin"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewbasestation.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page297.

6.2.10.4.2

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter
Whenyouaddanewtransmitter,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthetransmitterand
othertransmitterswhosecoverageareaintersectswiththecoverageareaofthenewtransmitter.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewtransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAllocateNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page297.

6.2.10.5 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

6.2.10.5.1

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage300
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaTransmitter"onpage304.

DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Incoplanningmode,youcanalsodisplayintraand/orintertechnologyneighbourrela
tionstostudyhandoverpossibilities.

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Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofatransmitteronthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.

Figure6.35:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
3. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckboxandclickthecorrespondingBrowsebutton.
TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.

Figure6.36:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
a. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourallneighbourlinksofatransmitterwithauniquecolour.

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Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,neighbourfrequencyband,neighbourcelltype,orneighbourHCS
layer.
When"Transmitter"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolouris
determinedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargettransmitter.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksaccordingtotheir"Importance",asdeter
minedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachtransmitterneighbourpairby
firstcreatinganewfieldofType"Integer"intheIntraTechnologyNeighbourtablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Byselectingorclearingthevisibilitycheckbox,youcan
displayorhideneighbourlinkdisplaytypesindividually.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
b. SelecttheAddtoLegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTipTextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
4. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
5. UnderAdvanced,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitteris
thereferencetransmitterandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitterandtheneighbour.

6. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

7. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedtransmitter.
8. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
9. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

10. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
11. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

12. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

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In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected

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transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure6.37).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure6.37:DisplayingNeighbourLinks
Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformationfortheselectedtransmitter(e.g."Site22_3"inFigure6.38):

Symmetricneighbourrelationsoftheselectedtransmitterareindicatedbyasimpleline,e.g.Site20_1.
Outwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtotheneighbour,e.g.Site1_2.
Inwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtothereferencecell,e.g.Site9_3.

AsshowninFigure6.38,neighbourlinksarecolouredaccordingtowhichtransmitteristheneighbour:

ThesymmetricandoutwardlinksforSite22_3arecolouredliketheneighbours,i.e.Site20_1andSite1_2.
TheinwardlinksforSite22_3arecolouredlikethereferencetransmitter,i.e.Site22_3isaneighbourofSite9_3.

Figure6.38:Symmetric,outward,andinwardneighbourlinks
InFigure6.39,neighbourlinksaredisplayedaccordingtotheneighbourfrequencyband.Youcanview900900and
9001800neighbourlinks.Here,allneighbourrelationsaresymmetrical.

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Figure6.39:900900and9001800NeighboursofSite22_3(0)
Youcandisplayforced/forbiddenneighboursorexceptionalpairs(definedwithAFP)by
clickingtheArrowbuttonbesidetheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)andselecting
ForcedNeighbours,ForbiddenNeighbours,orExceptionalPairs(AFP).

6.2.10.5.2

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaTransmitter
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareasofatransmittersneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicavailableintheNeighbours
table.
Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofatransmitter:
1. Create, calculate, and display a "Coverage by transmitter (DL)" prediction, with the Display Type set to "Discrete
Values" and the Field set to Transmitter (for information on creating a coverage by transmitter prediction, see
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
menuappears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Thecontext

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure6.35 on
page301.
4. UnderIntratechnologyneighbours,selecttheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.
5. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
appears.SeeFigure6.36onpage301.
a. FromtheDisplaytypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofatransmittersneighbourswithauniquecolour.
Discrete values: Select this option to colour the transmitters neighbours coverage areas automatically or
accordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reasonorsource.
When"Transmitter"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,thecoverageareasofa
transmitters neighbours are determined automatically according to the colour of the
sourceortargettransmitter.

Valueintervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourthetransmittersneighbourscoverageareasaccordingtotheir
"Importance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.

b. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTipTextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachcoveragearea.
c. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
7. UnderAdvanced,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

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Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitteris
thereferencetransmitterandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.

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Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitterandtheneighbour.

8. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

9. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedtransmitter.
10. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
11. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

12. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofatransmitterwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
13. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

14. Clickatransmitteronthemaptodisplaythecoverageofeachneighbour.Whenthereismorethanonetransmitter
withthesameazimuthonthesite,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyouto
selectthetransmitteryouwant(see"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

Figure6.40:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
15. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
RadioPlanningtoolbar.

)inthe

6.2.10.6 AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperTransmitter
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofneighboursbyallocating
ordeleting neighbourspercell.Youcanallocateor deleteneighboursdirectly on themap orusing theIntraTechnology
NeighbourstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheIntraTechnologyNeighboursTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialog
box"onpage306
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable"onpage306
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap"onpage308.

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AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheIntraTechnologyNeighboursTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
ToallocateordeleteGSM/GPRS/EDGEneighboursusingtheIntraTechnologyNeighbourstabofthetransmittersProperties
dialogbox:
1. Onthemap,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheIntraTechnologyNeighbourstab.
4. Ifdesired,youcanenterthemaximumnumberofneighboursintheMaxNumberofNeighbourstextbox.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistcannowbeedited.
b. UnderList,selectthetransmitterfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon
(
).
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheTransmittercolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
5. ClickOK.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteGSM/GPRS/EDGEneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

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Toallocateaneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencetransmitterintheTransmittercolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSymmetrisefromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthetransmitterin
theNeighbourcolumnandthetransmitterintheTransmittercolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectSymmetrisefromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsideration:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanaddordeletesomeforcedneighboursorsomeforbiddenneighboursusingthe
ExceptionalPairsofIntraTechnologyNeighbourstable.Youcanopenthistable,select
the exceptional pairs, rightclick the table and select Force Exceptional Pairs from the
contextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.

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c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.
Toaddorremoveintratechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintratechnologyneighbours
onthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage300.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
theintratechnologyneighbourslist.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitters
fromtheintratechnologyneighbours.
Toaddanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertotheintratechnologyneighbourlistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toaddaninwardneighbourrelation:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
betweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetric
relationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.

308

Whenthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuthonasite,clicking
thetransmitterinthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselect
the transmitter you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).
Youcanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclicking
thearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadio
Planning toolbar and selecting either Forced Neighbours or Forbidden Neigh
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6.2.10.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedneighbours,Atollcancalculatethe
importanceofeachneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.ThisweightisusedbytheAFP.Ifyouhaveonlypartial
importancevalues,youcanuseAtollinordertocompletethispartialinformation.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Evaluationdialogboxappears.
4. UnderImportance:
a. EntertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnotbeconsideredas
potentialneighbours.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
b. Selectthefactorstobetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheimportance(forinformationondefiningim
portancefactors,see"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage296):

Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedonthesame
siteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.
TakeIntoAccountIntraHCSAdjacency:SelectthischeckboxtoverifythatintraHCSneighboursareadjacent
totheirreferencetransmitterswhencalculatingimportance.
TakeIntoAccountInterHCSAdjacency:SelectthischeckboxtoverifythatinterHCSneighboursareadjacent
totheirreferencetransmitterswhencalculatingimportance.

5. UnderUseCoverageConditions:
a. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobasetheneighbourallocationonadistancecriterionandskipthe
followingstep,or
b. SelecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtosetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheirref
erencecells.
ClickDefinetoopentheCoverageConditionsdialogboxandchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
MinBCCHSignalLevel:Entertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencetransmitter
andtheneighbour.
HandoverStart:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatesthebeginningofthehandovermargin.Thehandover
startmustbeoutsideofthebestserverareaofthereferencetransmitter(seeFigure6.34).
HandoverEnd:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatestheendofthehandovermargin.Thehandoverendmust
exceedthevalueenteredfortheHandoverStart(seeFigure6.34).ThehigherthevalueenteredfortheHand
overEnd,thelongerthelistofpotentialneighbours(seeFigure6.34).TheareabetweentheHandoverStart
andtheHandoverEndconstitutestheareainwhichAtollwillsearchforneighbours.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

SelectwhetherAtolldefinestheimportanceofneighboursbythesizeofthehandoverzonesharedwiththeref
erencetransmitterorbytheamountofcircuittraffic.Todothat,selectwhichoptiontoTakeIntoAccount:

CoveredArea:Ifselected,Atolldefinesimportanceaccordingtothesizeofthehandoverzonesharedwith
thereferencetransmitter
CoveredTraffic:Ifselected,Atolldefinesimportanceaccordingtotheamountofcircuittraffic(inErlangs).

Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.

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YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
6. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Transmitter:Thenameofthereferencetransmitter.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep4.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedavalueintheImportancecolumn.

CoSite
Adjacent(intraHCSadjacency)
AdjacentLayer(interHCSadjacency)
Symmetric
Coverage

Coverage:Theamountofreferencetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageand
insquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitter,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneighbour
transmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.
Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

7. ClickCommit.TheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationarecommittedintheNeighbourstable.

6.2.10.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallo
cationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheneighbourallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntraTechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

AverageNo.ofNeighbours:SelecttheAverageNo.ofNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
EmptyLists:SelecttheEmptyListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
FullLists:Whichcellshavingthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafull
neighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedfor
eachtransmitterintheTransmitterstable.
Lists>MaxNumber:Whichcellshavingmorethanthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximum
numberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheTransmit
terstable.
MissingCosites:SelecttheMissingCositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneigh
bours.
MissingSymmetrics:SelecttheMissingSymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance Between Neighbours: Select the Distance Between Neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.
SameBCCH:SelecttheSameBCCHcheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethesameBCCH.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

310

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)pertransmitterfor
theplanaudited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberoftransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)

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Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberoftransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneigh
bourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER|

|TRANSMITTER||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberoftransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingmorethan
Ynumberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheTransmitterstableis
empty, the Full Lists check and the Lists> Max Number check use the Default Max.
Numbervaluedefinedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NEIGHBOUR|

|TRANSMITTER||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

NeighbourswiththesameBCCH:X;totalnumberofneighbourshavingthesameBCCH.
Syntax:

|TRANSMITTER||NUMBER||NEIGHBOUR||NEIGHBOUTBCCH||NEIGHBOURBSIC|

6.2.10.9 ExportingNeighbours
TheneighbourdataofanAtolldocumentisstoredinaseriesoftables.Youcanexporttheneighbourdatatouseitinanother
applicationorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportneighbourdata:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursandthenselecttheneighbourtablecontainingthedatayouwanttoexportfromthecontextmenu:

Intratechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintratechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intertechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintertechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intratechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intratechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.
Intertechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intertechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.

4. Whentheselectedneighbourstableopens,youcanexportthecontentasdescribedin"ExportingTablestoTextFiles
andSpreadsheets"onpage85.

6.3 StudyingNetworkCapacity
InAtoll,youcanstudythenetworkcapacityofaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkbystudyingthetrafficdemand,whichisaprereq
uisitefordimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork,thatthenetworkcanhandle.Thereareseveraldifferentwaystostudy
trafficdemand:

OMCtrafficdata:YoucanuseOMCtrafficdatatocalculatetrafficdemandandimportthetrafficdemandintothe
SubcellsTable:TrafficData.
Trafficcaptures:Youcanimporttrafficdemandinformationfromtrafficmapsandthenusethisinformationtocreate
atrafficcapture.

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Simulations:Likeforthetrafficcaptures,youcanimporttrafficdemandfromtrafficmapsandthenusethisinforma
tiontocreateoneorseveralsimulations.

Atrafficcaptureisbasedonamacroscopicdescriptionoftrafficasdefinedbyoneormoretrafficmaps.Inatrafficcapture,
thetotaltrafficisbrokendownpertransmitter,respectingthecompatibilitybetweenthetrafficandthetransmitter.For
example,iftwotransmitterscoverthesametraffic:

thetrafficcanbetreatedastrafficdemandforeach,or
thetrafficcanbetreatedastrafficdemandforonlyoneofthetwo,takingintoconsiderationthemaximumspeed
definedperlayer(forexample,trafficwithahighspeedmobilitytypewillnotbeallocatedtoamicrolayer),frequency
bands,etc.

Theresultofthetrafficcaptureisthedemandpertransmitter,brokendownbysubcell,service,terminal,andmobility,in
termsofKbpsforpacketswitchedtraffic(maximumbitrateorconstantbitrate)andErlangsforcircuitswitchedtraffic.This
breakdownismadeontheservicezonesdefinedforeachsubcell,asdefinedbytheparameterssetontheConditionstabof
thetrafficcapturesPropertiesdialogbox.
Comparedtoatrafficcapture,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofvoiceorpacketusersatagivenpointintime.
Thedistributionofusersatagivenmomentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvarious
networkparameterssuchastheULandDLC/(I+N)foreachmobile,therequiredpowerandtheobtainedcoding(codecor
codingscheme)ofthemobile,theDL/ULTrafficLoad,themeanpowercontrolgain,theDLDTXgainandtheHalfratetraffic
ratioofeachsubcell.Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.
Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesametrafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbe
different,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhavevariationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshotto
another.
Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsmust
beprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapshavebeencreated,youcanmakesimulationsof
thenetworktraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData"onpage312
"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage313
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage313
"CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture"onpage323
"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage329.
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage333

6.3.1 ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:Traffic
Data
Asexplainedin"SubcellDefinition"onpage239,subcelldataisdisplayedinthreesubcelltables:StandardData,TrafficData,
andAFPData.ThedataintheSubcellsTable:TrafficDatacanbeusedforavarietyofdifferentpurposesinAtoll:

Fordimensioningpurposes
Tocalculatequalityindicators
FortheAFP
Toevaluateandallocateneighbours
Ininterferencepredictions.

YoucanuseOMCtrafficdataasasourceofaccuratetrafficdataandimportitintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData.Thefirst
stepinusingOMCtrafficdataisensuringthatthedataisavailableinaformusablebyAtoll.Normally,OMCtrafficdatais
measuredinkbitsinsteadoftimeslots.
Themajordrawbackofthismethodisthefactthat,inmanycases,thepacketswitchedOMCtrafficdemandisavailablein
kbitsinsteadoftimeslotunits.InordertocorrectlytranslateKbitsintotimeslots,youmustcreatetrafficmapsasdescribedin
thesectionsbelow.Thetrafficcapturewillanalysetheradioconditionsateachpoint,definingthecodingschemes,modula
tion,andbitrates,inordertocalculatehowmanytimeslotsarerequiredforagivendemandsofkbits.
ItisverycommontousetrafficmapsbasedonOMCdatapertransmitterforthepurpose
ofretrievinginterferencematricesbasedontraffic.Thebestmethodofworkingwithan
AFPistousetheOMCdataofthesubcellstableandtogenerateinterferencematrices
basedonclutterweightingasexplainedin"CalculatinganInterferenceMatrixBasedon
ClutterWeighting"onpage358.
Oncethedatahasbeenconvertedintotimeslots,youcanimportitintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData.

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ToimportOMCtrafficdataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>SubcellsTable:TrafficDatafromthecontextmenu.TheSubcellsTable:TrafficDataopens.
AftermodifyingtheavailableOMCdatatochangeitfromservedtraffictotrafficdemand,youcanimportthefollowingdata
intotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData:

VoicedemandinErlangs
Packetswitcheddemandintimeslots
Halfratetrafficratio.

FormoreinformationonworkingwithdatatablesinAtoll,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

6.3.2 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinstudyingnetworkcapacityisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallof
theparametersofnetworkuse,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

CodecModes:Codecsareusedbythenetworktocompressvoiceand,asaconsequence,toincreasethevoicetraffic
inthenetwork.TheCodecModestablelistsalltheavailablecodecmodes.Codecmodescanbeselectedaccordingto
radioconditions.MappingsbetweenqualityandcodecmodesarelistedintheCodecconfigurationtable.Youcan
createnewcodecconfigurationsandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheCodecConfigurationtable.Forinformationon
codecmodeconfigurations,see"CodecConfiguration"onpage497.

CodingSchemes:CodingSchemesareusedbythenetworkforcarryingpacketswitcheddata.TheCodingSchemes
tablelistsalltheavailablecodingschemes.CodingSchemescanbeselectedaccordingtoradioconditions.Mappings
betweenqualityandcodingschemesarelistedintheCodingSchemesconfigurationtable.Youcancreatenewcoding
schemeconfigurationsandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheCodingSchemeConfigurationtable.Forinformationon
codingschemeconfigurations,see"CodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage500.
Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasvoice,VoIP,mobileinternetaccess,etc.,availabletosubscribers.
Theseservicescanbeeithercircuitswitchedorpacketswitched.Therearetwotypesofpacketswitchedservices:
max.bitrateorconstantbitrate(e.g.,VoIP).Foreachservice,qualitytargets,suchasqualityofserviceinErlangsfor
circuitswitchedservices,aredefinedfornetworkdimensioning.Forinformationonmodellingenduserservices,see
"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEServices"onpage509.
Mobilitytypes:InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanageconnec
tions:amobileusedbyadrivermovingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesameHCSlayer.
For information on creating a mobility type, see "Creating or Modifying a GSM/GPRS/EDGE Mobility Type" on
page510.
Terminals:InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobile
phone,aPDA,oracarsonboardnavigationdevice.Itisdefinedtoensurecompliancybetweentransmitterequip
mentandsupportedfrequencybandsandGPRS/EDGEparameters.Forinformationoncreatingaterminal,see"Cre
atingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal"onpage511.

6.3.3 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
AtollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmapsforGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm2)

Thesemapscanbecreatedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficdatasourcesasfollows:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
throughputandErlangsineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Trafficisspreadover
the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either Erlangs for circuit
switched services or constant bit rate packetswitched services and Kbps for maximum bit rate packetswitched
services.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage314.

Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on

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page317,"ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage319,and"CreatingaUserProfileEnvi
ronmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage319.

Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatuses,oritcorrespondstoaparticular
activity status. For more information, see "Importing a User Density Traffic Map" on page320, "Creating a User
DensityTrafficMap"onpage321,"Converting2GNetworkTraffic"onpage322and"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"on
page322.

6.3.3.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThissectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.
YoucaninputeitherthethroughputdemandorErlangs.Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterisrequiredtocreatethistraffic
map.Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveacoveragepredictionbytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateandcalculateit.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.
Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectSectorTrafficMap.
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.Youcanchoosebetween:
a. UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs,TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses)orNumberofUsersperActivity
Statustousetheminsimulations.
b. Downlinkthroughput/ErlangsforGSMtrafficanalysistouseitintrafficcaptures.Continuewiththefollowing
step.
6. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
7. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
8. EnterthedatarequiredintheSectorTrafficMapdialogbox:

IfyouhaveselectedUplinkandDownlinkThroughputs,enterthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkanddownlink
foreachsectorandforeachlistedservice.
IfyouhaveselectedTotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses),enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeach
sectorandforeachlistedservice.
IfyouhaveselectedNumberofUsersperActivityStatus,enterthenumberofinactiveusers,thenumberofusers
activeintheuplink,inthedownlinkandintheuplinkanddownlink,foreachsectorandforeachservice.
IfyouhaveselectedDownlinkthroughput/ErlangsforGSMtrafficanalysis,enterforeachserviceintheappro
priatecolumn:

Forcircuitservices(voice),enteravalueinErlangs.
Forpacketservices(maximumbitrate),entertheminimumthroughputinKbps.
For packet services (constant bit rate, such as VoIP), enter a value in Erlangs. Erlangs are internally trans
formedintoKbpsbymultiplyingthevaluebytheserviceguaranteedbitrateperuser.
YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
10. SelecttheTraffictab.Enterthefollowing:
a. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmust
equal100.
b. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmust
equal100.

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c. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enteraweighttospreadthetrafficovertheclutterclasses.
11. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficfolder.
Youcanmodifythesectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifythesectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonlivedatathatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.
6. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
7. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
8. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enteraweighttospreadthetrafficovertheclutterclasses.
9. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifiedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandErlangs,onthemapafterwards.Youcanupdatetrafficpersector
mapsifyouaddorremoveabasestationorifyoumodifytheclutterclassesortheirdistribution.Youmustfirstrecalculate
the coverage prediction by transmitter. For more information, see "Making a Coverage Prediction by Transmitter" on
page277.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverageprediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdatethetrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonlivedatathatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectUpdatefromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
6. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
IfdesiredyoucanupdatethevaluesunderTerminals(%),Mobilities(%),andClutterDistribution.
7. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage322.

6.3.3.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Therecanalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreatetrafficmapsbasedonuserprofilesandenvironments.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentsubscribercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhich
areinturndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration(forcircuitswitchedorconstantbitratepacket
switchedcalls)ordownlinkanduplinkvolume(formaxbitratepacketswitchedcalls).
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofsubscribersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvi
ronmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofsubscribers
withthesameprofileperkm).
Thesections"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"onpage317,"ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"
onpage319and"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage319describehowtousetrafficdatafrom
themarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingUserProfiles"onpage316
"ModellingEnvironments"onpage316.

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ModellingUserProfiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausermightbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butno
webbrowsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandweb
browsing.
Tocreateauserprofile:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheUserProfilesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Forinformationonservices,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEServices"on
page509.
Terminal:Selectaterminalfromthelist.Forinformationonterminals,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETermi
nals"onpage511.
Calls/Hour: For circuitswitched services and constant bit rate packetswitched services, enter the average
numberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Thecallsperhourisusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.Forthese
services,onecalllasting1000secondspresentsthesameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Forpacketswitchedservices(max.bitrate),theCalls/Hourvalueisdefinedasthenumberofsessionsperhour.
Asessionislikeacallinthatitisdefinedastheperiodoftimebetweenwhenauserstartsusingaserviceandwhen
hestopsusingaservice.Inpacketswitchedservices,however,hemightnotusetheservicecontinually.Forex
ample,withawebbrowsingservice,asessionstartswhentheuseropenshisbrowsingapplicationandendswhen
hequitsthebrowsingapplication.Betweenthesetwoevents,theusermightbedownloadingwebpagesandoth
ertimeshemightnotbeusingtheapplication,orhemightbebrowsinglocalfiles,butthesessionisstillconsid
eredasopen.Asession,therefore,isdefinedbythevolumetransferredintheuplinkanddownlinkandnotbythe
time.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

Duration:Forcircuitswitchedservicesandconstantbitratepacketswitchedservices,entertheaverageduration
ofacallinseconds.Forpacketswitchedservices,thisfieldisleftblank.
DLVolume:Formaxbitratepacketswitchedservices,entertheaveragedownlinkvolumepersessioninkilo
bytes.
ULVolume:Formaxbitratepacketswitchedservices,entertheaverageuplinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

ModellingEnvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofsubscriberswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassign
aweighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.
TocreateormodifyaGSM/GPRS/EDGEenvironment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheEnvironmentsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

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5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. EnteraNameforthenewGSM/GPRS/EDGEenvironment.
7. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycombi
nationthatthisGSM/GPRS/EDGEenvironmentwilldescribe:

User:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombinationof
userprofileandmobilitytype.

8. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
9. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithasubscriberdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000subscrib
ers.Theareaiscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"andforBuild
ingis"4."Giventherespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclassand800in
theBuildingclutterclass.

6.3.3.2.1

ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
vector.
Tocreateauserprofiletrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileDensitiesfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage319.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.ThetrafficmapsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure6.41).UnderTrafficFields,youcanspecifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,their
mobilitytype(kmh),andtheirdensity.Ifthefileyouareimportinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacter
isticsbyidentifyingthecorrespondingfieldsinthefile.Ifthefileyouareimportingdoesnothavedatadescribingthe
userprofile,mobility,ordensity,youcanassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.

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Figure6.41:TrafficmapPropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
Defineeachofthefollowing:

UserProfile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera
densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflinesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.

12. UnderClutterDistribution,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

13. ClickOKtofinishimportingthetrafficmap.

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6.3.3.2.2

ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Tocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileEnvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage319.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(8bit):TIF,JPEG2000,BIL,
IST,BMP,PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,orErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.ThetrafficmapsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheDescriptiontab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthesenumbersandliststhemintheCode
column.
12. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheenvironmentsavailablearethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"ModellingEnvironments"onpage316.
13. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.

6.3.3.2.3

CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapbasedonbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileEnvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure6.42).

Draw Map

Delete

Figure6.42:EnvironmentMapEditortoolbar
7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

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DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surfacearea)andrelative
(percentageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,
statisticsaredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficfolder.
3. Rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby:% of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
5. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

6.3.3.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)orbasedon2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitofsurface,
i.e.,thedensityofusers,asinput.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage320
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage321.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanalsobecreatedfromsectortrafficmapsinordertoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusers
perunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage322.

6.3.3.3.1

ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwillconsider
xusersperpixelduringtrafficanalyses,wherexdependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobility
type,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedontheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(No.Users/km2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationthatyouwanttoinput:

320

Allactivitystatuses:SelectAllactivitystatusesifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithany
activitystatus.
Activeinuplink:SelectActiveinuplinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:SelectActiveindownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:SelectActiveinuplinkanddownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesaden
sityofuserswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactiveifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.
DownlinkuserdensityforGSMtrafficanalysis:SelectDownlinkuserdensityforGSMtrafficanalysisifthemap
youareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedownlinkonly,andwithaviewtouseitinatrafficcap
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Thefirst5trafficmaptypesabovearededicatedtosimulationswhereasthelastonecan
beonlyusedfortrafficcaptures.

6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage319.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,JPEG2000,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.ThetrafficmapsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab.
12. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
13. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
14. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal100.
15. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficfolder.

6.3.3.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserdensitytrafficmapbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmapperuserdensity:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(Numberofusersperkm2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationprovidedinthemap:

AllActivityStatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivitystatus.
ActiveinUplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplinkonly.
ActiveinDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedownlinkonly.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofuserswithbothuplinkand
downlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.
DownlinkuserdensityforGSMtrafficanalysis:Selectthisoptionifthemapprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly,andwithaviewtouseitinatrafficcapture.
Thefirst5trafficmaptypesabovearededicatedtosimulationswhereasthelastonecan
beonlyusedfortrafficcaptures.

6. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.
8. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
9. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
10. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal100.
11. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficfolder.
12. Rightclickthetrafficmap.Thecontextmenuappears.

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13. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.
14. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbarinordertodrawcontours.Formoreinformationonhowtoedit
contours,see"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.AtollcreatesanitemcalledDensityvaluesintheUser
DensityMapfolder.
15. RightclickthetrafficmapintheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
16. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
17. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.,thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.
18. RightclickthetrafficmapintheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
19. SelectEditfromthecontextmenutoendediting.

6.3.3.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
extractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutter
weightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.
Tocreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficfolder.
3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwanttocreateuserdensitytrafficmaps.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCreateDensityMapsfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcreatesasmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsasthenumberofservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuser
densitymapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedin
thedocument.

6.3.3.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsastrafficmapsperuserdensityintoyourGSM/GPRS/EDGE
document.Thesemapscanthenbeusedintrafficcaptureslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage322,andforinformation
onimportingtrafficmapsperuserdensity,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage320.
Toimporta2GtrafficmapintoaGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument:
1. Createasectortrafficmapinyour2Gdocumentforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandone
forcircuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatinglivedatatrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTraffic
Map"onpage314.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage322.
3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2toyourGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumentasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinfor
mationonimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage320.

6.3.3.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.Duringexport,
Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensity.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,orVertical
Mapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtrafficmapcan
thenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmapandusedfortrafficanalysis.Formoreinformationontrafficanalysis,see
"CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture"onpage323.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
6. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

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TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentireproject.

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TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.

7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

8. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.
Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,select"Circuitservices"toexporttrafficusinganycircuitservice,
orselect"Packetservices"toexporttrafficusinganypacketservice.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

AllActivityStatuses:Selectthisoptiontoexportalluserswithoutanyfilterbyactivitystatus.
Uplink:Selectthisoptiontoexportterminalsthatareactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:Selectthisoptiontoexportterminalsthatareactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:Selectthisoptiontoexportonlyterminalswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptiontoexportonlyinactiveterminals.

9. IntheSelectTrafficMapstoBeUsedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
10. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

6.3.4 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.
6. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportRegion:

EntireProjectArea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
OnlyPendingChanges:Savesonlythemodificationsmadetothemap.
ComputationZone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

6.3.5 CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture
InAtoll,youcancreateatrafficcapturefromanexistingtrafficmaptoanalysetrafficatthetransmitterlevel.Whenyoucalcu
lateatrafficcapture,thetrafficfromtheselectedmapsisdistributedtoalltransmittersaccordingtothecriteriadefinedfor
eachtransmitter,aswellastheTrafficParameters:services,mobilitytypes,terminals,anduserprofiles.
Forexample,anGPRS/EDGEenabledtransmitterwillbeallocatedthedatausertrafficwhereasatransmitternotcapableof
GPRS/EDGEwillonlycarryGSMvoicetraffic.
Similarly,auserusingaGSM900bandmobilephonewillnotbeallocatedtoatransmitterthatonlyfunctionsontheDCS1800
band.
Bycreatingdifferenttrafficcapturesusingdifferentcriteriatorepresentdifferentconditions,youcananalysenetworktraffic
underthevarioussituations.
Youcandefineoneofthetrafficcapturesasthedefaulttrafficcapture.Itcanbeusedto:

dimensionaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork
calculateKPI
calculateinterferencematrices
allocateneighboursaccordingtooverlappingtraffic.

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Insteadofusingadefaulttrafficcapture,youcanimporttheactualnetworktrafficdirectlyintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData
(see"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage329formoreinformation).
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"PrerequisitesforaTrafficCapture"onpage324
"CreatingaTrafficCapture"onpage324
"GSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCaptureResults"onpage325
"EstimatingaTrafficIncrease"onpage328
"ModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCapture"onpage328.

6.3.5.1 PrerequisitesforaTrafficCapture
Tosuccessfullycreateatrafficcapture,youmustensurethatyouhavethefollowinginformation:

Avalidtrafficmap(see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage313)
CorrectGPRSrelatedparameters(see"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage245),including:

GPRS/EDGEcapacityselected
GPRS/EDGEcapableconfigurationselected
Correctpackettrafficrelatedparameters

Targetratefortrafficoverflowdefinedforsubcells(see"SubcellDefinition"onpage239)
Correctlydefinedservicezones(see"CreatingaTrafficCapture"onpage324)
CorrectlydefinedHCSlayers(see"SettingHCSLayers"onpage488).

6.3.5.2 CreatingaTrafficCapture
Tocreateatrafficcapture:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficAnalysisfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.AtrafficcapturePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanchangethefollowing:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamestrafficcapturessequentially.Youcanchangetheassignedname.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.
Filter:YoucanselectthetransmitterstobeconsideredinthetrafficcapturebyclickingtheFilterbutton.Forinfor
mationonusingtheFilterdialogbox,see"AdvancedDataFiltering"onpage101.

5. ClicktheTraffictab.Youcanenterthefollowing:

GlobalScalingFactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).Forinformationon
usingtheglobalscalingfactor,see"EstimatingaTrafficIncrease"onpage328.

SelectTrafficMapstoBeUsed:Eachavailabletrafficmapintheprojectcanbeusedforthecurrenttrafficcapture
byassigningitstraffictoallHCSlayers(defaultmode)orbyrestrictingitsspreadtoaspecificHCSlayer.Inorder
tomakethetrafficcapture,youmustselectatleastonetrafficmapandassignitstraffictoasingleHCSlayeror
toall.
AssigningtraffictoallHCSlayersmeansthatforagiventrafficmap,itstrafficwilloverflowfromlowesttohighest
prioritylayersasexplainedin"SubcellDefinition"onpage239andinFigure6.7onpage243.Ifthetrafficofamap
isassignedtoaspecificlayer,itstrafficisonlycapturedonthatlayerandthetrafficonlyoverflowswithinconcen
triccells.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeatrafficcaptureonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthe
sametype.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage313.

6. ClicktheConditionstab.TheparametersontheConditionstabdefinehowtheservicezoneforeachtransmitterand
thenumberoftimeslotsforcircuitandpacketserviceswillbecalculated.
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameterstodefinehowtheserviceareaofeachtransmitterwillbe
calculated:

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UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."

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IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedtothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
Ifshadowingistakenintoaccount,theCIstandarddeviationperclutterclassisusedto
estimatetheshadowinglossesonthecalculatedCIvalues.

8. UnderGPRS/EDGE,youcansettheparameterstodefinehowthenumberoftimeslotsforcircuitandpacketservices
willbecalculated.Selectoneofthefollowingtodefinehowthecalculationsinthetrafficcapturearegoingtobe
made:

SelectCalculationsBasedonCifyouwanttobasethetrafficcaptureonCN.Continuetostep14.
SelectCalculationsBasedonCIandcontinuewiththefollowingstep.

9. SelecttheDTXtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseristalkinginthe
VoiceActivityFactortextbox,ifyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakeninto
account.
10. FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,co
channels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreasedbythe
adjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwill
allowyoutoconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

11. SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasuserdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

12. SelecttheIdealLinkAdaptationcheckboxifyouwantthecodingschemethatoffersthehighestthroughputfora
givenCorCItobeselected.Otherwise,Atollwillchoosethecodingschemebyconsideringonlythecodingscheme
admissionthresholdintermsofCand/orCI.
13. SelecttheThermalNoiseTakenintoAccountcheckboxifyouwantAtolltoconsiderthermalnoise.
14. ClickCalculate.
Afterthetrafficcapturehasbeencompleted,twonewtabsappearonthetrafficcapturePropertiesdialogboxwith
theresults.Foradetailedexplanationoftheresults,see"GSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCaptureResults"onpage325.

6.3.5.3 GSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCaptureResults
AfteryouhavecalculatedaGSM/GPRS/EDGEtrafficcapture,asdescribedin"CreatingaTrafficCapture"onpage324,two
newtabs,ResultsperTransmitterandResultsperSubcell,appearonthetrafficcapturePropertiesdialogbox:

ResultsperTransmitter:TheresultsontheResultsperTransmittertabgivethetrafficallocatedtoeachtransmitter:

Circuitdemand(Erlangs):ThetotalcircuitswitchedtrafficdemandinErlangsforthattransmitter.Thisiscalcu
latedbysummingthecircuitswitchedtrafficinErlangsperpixelinthetransmittercoveragearea.
Circuitaveragedemand(Timeslots):Theaveragedemandoncircuittimeslotstakesintoconsiderationtheeffect
ofhalfratecircuitswitchedtrafficcarriedbythetransmitter,i.e.,ittakesintoconsiderationthefactthat2half
rateusersareequivalentto1fullrateuserintermsofErlangsoftraffic.
Packetdemand(Kbps):Thetotaltrafficdemandinkilobitspersecondgeneratedbythepacketswitchedusers
withinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.
Packetaveragedemand(Timeslots):Thenumberoftimeslotsneededtomeetthepackettrafficdemanddepends
onthemaximumthroughputthatapackettimeslotcansupport.

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AveragePacketTimeslotCapacity(Kbps):Theaveragepackettimeslotcapacityiscalculatedaccordingtothe
propagationconditionsoneachpixelofthetransmittercoveragearea.Whencalculatingthetrafficcapture,you
canchoosetobasethisoncarrierpoweroroninterference(CorCI).

ResultsperSubcell:TheresultsontheResultsperSubcelltabgivethetrafficpersubcell.Foreachsubcell(exceptfor
theBCCH,whichcapturesthesametrafficasthecorrespondingTCH),Atollindicatesthetypesoftrafficassignedby
service,mobility,andterminalanddisplays:

PacketDemand(Kbps):Thetotaltrafficdemandinkilobitspersecondgeneratedbythepacketswitchedusers
withinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.
CircuitDemand(Erlangs):ThetotalcircuitswitchedtrafficdemandinErlangs.Incaseofcircuitswitchedservices,
itdependswhetherthesubcellsupportshalfratetraffic.
Ifthepercentageofhalfratetrafficofthesubcellis0,theaveragedemandincircuittimeslotswillbethesameas
thetrafficdemandinErlangsandthenumberofusedtimeslotswillbethesameasthetrafficdemand.Ifthereis
acertainpercentageofhalfratetraffic,thenumberofusedtimeslotswilldependonthepercentageoftrafficus
inghalfrateconnections.

Averagedemand(Timeslots):Theaveragenumberoftimeslotsneededtomatchthedemandincircuitswitched
andpacketswitchedtraffic.
Thedemandinpackettimeslotsdependsonthemaximumthroughputthatatimeslotcansupport.Therefore,it
dependsontheaveragetimeslotcapacitywithinthetransmittercoveragearea,whichinturndependsonthe
propagationconditions.
Thetrafficcaptureresultsprovidetrafficpertransmitter.Youcanretrievetheamountof
traffic(Erlangsforcircuitservices,Kbpsformaxbitratepacketservices)definedinthe
inputtrafficmapinoutputasfollows:
1. CreateasectortrafficmapperHCSlayer(see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"on
page314) based on a best server coverage prediction (HCS server option with
0dBHOmargin).Asaresult,youwillhaveasmanysectortrafficmapsasthe
numberofHCSlayers.
2. Createatrafficcapture(HCSserveroptionwith0dBHOmargin)wherethetraffic
ofeachmapisassignedtoitsrespectivelayer(see"CreatingaTrafficCapture"on
page324).
Asaresult,eachtransmitterwillhavethesameamountoftraffic(Erlangsforcircuit
services,Kbpsformaxbitratepacketservices)asthetransmitterintheselectedtraffic
mapsusedforinput.Constantbitrateservicescannotbetreatedinthesamewaysince
theirinputtrafficisstatedinErlangswhereasthecorrespondingdemandisevaluatedin
Kbpsaswithanyotherpacketswitchedservice.

Formoreinformationonhowtheresultsarecalculatedandontheformulasused,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

6.3.5.4 AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Whenyouhavecreatedasimulationorgroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimula
tionstotheAtolldocument.InAtoll,therearethefollowingwaysofaddingnewsimulations:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroupofsimulations.Itthengenerates
anewuserdistributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddasimulationtoagroupofsimulations,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage327.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distributionbetweensimulationsisdifferent.Trafficparameterchangescanbetakenintoaccount.Finally,radiodata
modifications (new transmitters, changes to the antenna azimuth, etc.) are always taken into account during the
powercontrol(orthroughput/powercontrol)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage327.

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UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0)Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu
tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However,anymodificationstotrafficparametersandradiodataaretakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrolsim
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Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationtoagroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"CreatingaNew
SimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber"onpage328.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesthenewgroupwiththesamesimula
tionparametersastheonesusedtogeneratetheoriginalgroup.Youcanthenmodifythesimulationparameters
beforecalculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage328.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoaddasimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

6. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toreplayanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,someparametersoriginallyusedtocalcu
latethegroupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparam
eterscanbechangedforthereplayedgroup.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.

6. OntheTraffictabofthedialogbox,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccount
trafficparameterchangesinthereplayedsimulation.
7. OntheAdvancedtab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Maxnumberofiterations:Enterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatshouldruntomakeconvergence.
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiter
ations.
DLpowercontrolgain:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinkpowercontrolgainthatmustbereached
betweentwoiterations.
ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwoitera
tions.

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8. ClickCalculate.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewSimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
5. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Theintegermustbethesame
generatorinitialisationnumberasusedinthegroupofsimulationswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributions
youwanttouseinthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerror
distributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillbe
usedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
6. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage336.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"Duplicatinga
SimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage328.
DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimulationsappears.
Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage336.

6.3.5.5 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateatrafficcapture,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesituationyouarecreating
thenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformanceofthenetwork
againstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.Forexample,
settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofile
trafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Createatrafficcaptureby:

Creatinganewtrafficcaptureasexplainedin"CreatingaTrafficCapture"onpage324.
ModifyanexistingtrafficcapturebyrightclickingatrafficcaptureintheTrafficAnalysisfolderoftheNetwork
explorerandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

6.3.5.6 ModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCapture
Atolloffersseveraloptionstomodifyatrafficcaptureonceyouhavecreateditasexplainedin"CreatingaTrafficCapture"on
page324.Aswell,youcanuseatrafficcaptureforoneofseveralcalculations.Youcanaccesstheseoptionsusingthetraffic
capturescontextmenu:
Toaccesstheoptionsforatrafficcapture:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficAnalysisfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficcapture.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. Selectoneofthefollowingfromthecontextmenu:

Properties:SelectPropertiestoopenthetrafficcapturesPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanreviewtheresultsofthe
trafficcapture,orchangetheparametersandrecalculatethetrafficcapture.Foradescriptionoftheresults,see
"GSM/GPRS/EDGETrafficCaptureResults"onpage325.Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"Cre
atingaTrafficCapture"onpage324.
Default:SelectDefaulttosetthecurrenttrafficcaptureasthedefaulttrafficcapture.Thedefaulttrafficcapture
( )istheoneusedto:
dimensionaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork(see"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage329)
calculateKPIs(see"CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage470)
calculateinterferencematrices(see"InterferenceMatrices"onpage354)
allocateneighboursaccordingtooverlappingtraffic(see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage297)
Calculate:SelectCalculatetocalculateanewtrafficcapture(i.e.,onethatyoucreatedbutclosedwithoutcalcu
lating)ortorecalculateanexistingtrafficcapturetowhichyouhavemadechanges.
Delete:SelectDeletetodeletethecurrenttrafficcapture.
Thetrafficcaptureisdeletedimmediately;thereisnoopportunitytoconfirmorcancel
theaction.

Rename:SelectRenametorenamethecurrenttrafficcapture.

6.3.6 DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork
ThedimensioningprocessallowsyoutocalculatethenumberofTRXsrequiredtomeetthetrafficneedsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGE
network.Dimensioningiscarriedoutusingtheparametersdefinedintheselecteddimensioningmodelandoneither:

thedefaulttrafficcapturebasedononeormoretrafficmaps,or
thecurrenttrafficdatapresentinthesubcellstable,

Duringdimensioning,AtollevaluatesanumberofTRXssoastohaveenoughcircuittimeslots(sharedanddedicated)tomatch
thecircuittrafficdemandwiththequalityrequirementsdefinedincircuitswitchedservices(ErlangBorC).Then,Atollcalcu
lateshowmanyTRXsmustbeaddedtomeetpackettrafficdemand,usingthequalitychartsdefinedinthedimensioning
model.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEDimensioningModel"onpage329
"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage331.

6.3.6.1 DefiningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEDimensioningModel
Thedimensioningmodelisthedefinitionoftheparametersthatwillbeusedduringthedimensioningprocess.Youcanmodify
anexistingdimensioningmodeloryoucancreateanewdimensioningmodel.
Tocreateormodifyadimensioningmodel:
1. Ifyouarecreatinganewdimensioningmodel:
a. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
c. RightclicktheDimensioningModelsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheDimensioningModels:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(see
Figure6.2onpage235).
2. Ifyouaremodifyingthepropertiesofanexistingdimensioningmodel:
a. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
c. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDimensioningModelsfolder.
d. Rightclickthedimensioningmodelyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
e. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:AtollassignsaNametothedimensioningmodel.Youcanchangethedefaultname,ifdesired.

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Max.NumberofTRXsperTransmitter:EnterthemaximumnumberofTRXsthatatransmittercanhave.During
dimensioning,thisvalueisusedfortransmittersforwhichthisvalueisnotdefinedontheTRXstaboftheProper
tiesdialogbox(see"SubcellDefinition"onpage239).

UnderCircuit:

QueuingModel:EnterthequeuingmodelforGSMvoicecalls(ErlangBorErlangC).

UnderPacket:

Min.numberofpacketdedicatedtimeslotspertransmitter:Entertheminimumnumberofdedicatedpacket
switchedtimeslotsthatmustbereservedforeachtransmitter.
Max.numberofadditionalTRXsforpacketservices:EnterthemaximumnumberofTRXsthatcanbeaddedfor
thesubcelltosatisfythedemandforpacketswitchedservicesafterAtollhasdimensionedthecircuitswitched
services.
KPIstoTakeintoAccount:Selectthekeyperformanceindicatorsyouwanttakenintoaccountduringdimen
sioning.ThevaluesofthekeyperformanceindicatorsaredefinedbythequalitygraphsontheQualityGraphstab
ofthedimensioningmodelPropertiesdialogbox.

Min.Throughput:SelecttheMin.Throughputcheckboxifyouwanttotakeminimumrequiredthroughput
(ortheguaranteedbitrateforconstantbitratepacketswitchedservices)intoaccountwhenperformingdi
mensioning.
FromthepointofviewofaGPRS/EDGEuser,throughputistheaveragemaximumthroughputexperiencedby
themobileterminalduringadatacall.Ifthereismorethanoneusermultiplexedonthesametimeslot,which
occurs when the system accommodates many users, each multiplexed user will experience a reduction in
throughput.Thisreductioninthroughputisdescribedbythereductionfactordefinedinthereductionfactor
graph.Areductionfactorof1,oralmost1,meansthateachuserhasthemaximumthroughputthatatimeslot
canofferinagivenenvironment(themaximumthroughputpertimeslot,inturn,dependsonthecarrierpow
erand/orCIratioatagivenlocation).Asthesystemloadincreases,thereductionfactorstartsdecreasing,
correspondingtothedecreaseinthroughputperuser.

Max.BlockingRate:SelecttheMax.BlockingRatecheckboxifyouwanttotakeblockingprobabilityinto
accountwhenperformingdimensioning.
TheblockingprobabilityandthedelayintheGPRS/EDGEsystemarecloselyrelated.Auserstartstoexperi
encemoredelayinservicewhenthesystemisnearsaturationandtheincomingpacketsareplacedinawait
ingqueueastherearenoresourcesavailableforimmediatetransfer.Thisbufferingofpacketsisrelatedto
the load of the system. The blocking probability is the probability that an incoming packet be placed in a
queue.Thedelayistheaveragedelaythepacketwillundergoduetoblockingasitwaitsitsturntobetrans
mittedwhenresourcesareavailable.
InGPRSandEDGE,theterm"systemload"referstotheratioofthenumberofusedpacket
timeslotstothenumberofpacketswitching(sharedanddedicated)timeslotsavailablein
thesystem.

Max.Delay:SelecttheMax.Delaycheckboxifyouwanttotakedelayintoaccountwhenperformingdimen
sioning.
Thedelayistheaveragedelaythepacketwillundergoduetoblockingasitwaitsitsturntobetransmitted
whenresourcesareavailable.
Thedelaycanberestrictedtoanallowedmaximuminthepropertiesoftheservice.
IfthedimensioningmodeltakesintoaccountallthreeKPIs,thefollowingconditionsare
satisfiedwhenthenumberofTRXstoaddforpacketserviceiscalculated:

Thethroughputmustbegreaterthantheminimumthroughput(ortheguaranteed
bitrateforconstantbitratepacketswitchedservices)evenifareductionfactoris
appliedtothethroughput.
Thedelayandtheblockingratemustbelowerthanthemaximumdelayandmax
imumblockingrate,respectively.

4. ClicktheQualityChartstab.TheQualityChartstabdisplaysthethroughputreductionfactor,delay,andblocking
probabilitygraphsusedfordimensioningpacketswitchedtraffic.Thegraphsarecalculatedasafunctionofthesystem
load,whichisdefinedastheratioofthenumberofusedpackettimeslotstothenumberofpacketswitching(shared
anddedicated)timeslotsavailableinthesystem.
Youcanmodifyorreplacethequalitygraphswithgraphsgeneratingusingathirdpartysimulator.

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Ifthequalitygraphsaremodifiedincorrectly,thedimensioningandqualityanalysis
resultsthatarebasedonthequalitygraphswillalsobeincorrect.

Forthemoment,Atolldoesnotprovideadefaultdelaygraph;ifdesired,youcan
enteryourownvalues.
Theblockingrategraphisbasedonausermultiplexingfactorof8.Theusermulti
plexing factor corresponds to the number of timeslots on a GSM/GPRS/EDGE
frame.

5. ClickOK.

6.3.6.2 DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork
YoucandimensionaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkonceyouhavethenecessaryinformation:

Eitheradefaulttrafficcapture(forinformationoncreatingatrafficcapture,see"CalculatingandDisplayingaTraffic
Capture"onpage323)oralternativelyapopulatedtrafficdatapartofthesubcellstable(see"SubcellDefinition"on
page239).
Ifyouhavemodifiedthetrafficmap,trafficparameters,ortransmitterproperties(e.g.,
calculationarea,codingschemeconfiguration,etc.),sincecreatingthetrafficcapture,you
mustrecalculatethetrafficcapturebeforedimensioning.

Adimensioningmodel(forinformationoncreatingaormodifyingadimensioningmodel,see"DefiningaGSM/GPRS/
EDGEDimensioningModel"onpage329).

TodimensionaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectTraffic>Dimensioningfromthecontextmenu.TheDimensioning/KPIsdialogboxappears(seeFigure6.43).

Figure6.43:TheDimensioningdialogbox
4. UnderDimensioningparameters,selectthedimensioningmodelfromtheModellist.

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5. UnderTraffic(circuitandpacketdemand),selectwhetherthedimensioningistobebasedonthetrafficdemandcom
putedinthedefaulttrafficcaptureoffromthecurrentvalues(circuitandpacketdemands)inthesubcellstable.

Ifyouselected"Fromsubcelltable,"youwilldefinethefollowingadditionalparameters:

Specifytheminimumthroughputreductionfactorthatcanbeacceptedinthenetwork.Whencalculatinga
trafficcapture,thisparameterisevaluated(butnotdisplayed)duringthecalculation.Theminimumthrough
putreductionfactormodelsthefactthatattheuserlevel,theuserthroughputcanbereducedduetohow
muchitwillbemultiplexedwithotherusers.Inotherwords,thisparameterwillbeaffectedbythetrafficload
whichisaconsequenceofthedimensioning.
UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentages
mustequal100.
UnderCircuitServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofcircuitserviceusedinthemap.Thetotal
percentagesmustequal100.
UnderPacketServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofpacketserviceusedinthemap(assumingthe
packetservicesconsistofmaxbitrateandconstantbitratepacketservices).Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.

6. ClickCalculatetodimensionthenetwork.
TheoutputofthedimensioningappearsintheDimensioningdialogbox,underResults.Somecolumnsarehiddenby
default.YoucanselectwhichcolumnstodisplaybyclickingtheDisplayedColumnsbuttonandselectingorclearing
thecheckboxofthecolumns.ThefollowingresultsaregivenforeachtransmitterintheTransmittercolumn:

TRXType:Foreachtransmitter,theresultsaregivenbyTRXtype(e.g.,BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSandTCH_INNER).
Together,theTransmitterandTRXTypecolumnsidentifythesubcell.

InitialrequirednumberofTRXs:ThisistherequirednumberofTRXsbeforedimensioning.Forexample,thisvalue
mightcomefromtheactualnumberofTRXsoritmightbetheresultofanestimatethenumberofrequiredTRXs.

RequiredNumberofTRXs:ThenumberofTRXsrequiredtosatisfyboththesubcell'scircuitswitchedandpacket
switchedtraffic,whiletakingintoaccountthequalityofservicecriterionassignedforeach.
TherequirednumberofTRXsisthemostimportantresultofthedimensioningprocess.Ifthenumberofrequired
TRXsexceedsthemaximumnumberofTRXspertransmitter,Atolldisplaystheresultsforthesubcellinred.

RequiredTRXstoadd:TherequiredTRXstoaddisthedifferencebetweentheobtainedrequirednumberofTRXs
(beforethedimensioningprocess)andtheinitialrequirednumberofTRXs.Ifthevalueispositive,itmeansthat
thecurrentdimensioningprocesshasevaluatedthanmoreTRXsthantheinitialestimatedvalueareneededto
absorbthetraffic.

Load(%):Theaveragedemandintimeslots(packetandcircuit),dividedbythetotalnumberoftimeslotsavailable.
ItrepresentstheaverageoccupancyoftheTRXs.Thisparameterisoneoftheprincipalresultsofdimensioning
alongwiththenumberofTRXs.Itisassignedtosubcellpoolswhencommittingtheresultsofdimensioning.

MultiplexingFactor:TheuserorTemporaryBlockFlow(TBF)multiplexingfactor.Themultiplexingfactorisan
inputofthedimensioningprocess.Itcorrespondstothenumberofpacketswitchedserviceusersthatcanbemul
tiplexedontothesametimeslotinGPRSandEDGE.

MaximumNumberofTRXsperTransmitter:ThemaximumnumberofTRXsthatatransmittercansupportisan
inputofthedimensioningprocess.Thisparameterisprovidedbytheequipmentmanufacturer.Thevaluecanbe
setforeachtransmitterortakenfromthedimensioningmodelfortransmitterswherethisvalueisnotset.

TargetRateofTrafficOverflow(%):Thisinputparameterdefinesthepercentageoftrafficthatisallowedtoover
flowfromonesubcelltoanotherincasethetrafficassignedtothissubcellisgreaterthanthemaximumtraffic
thatitcanaccommodate.Itcanbeconsideredananticipationofthepercentageoftrafficthatwillberejected
fromhigherprioritysubcellsorlayerstolowerones.Thevalueisspecifiedforeachsubcell.

HalfrateTrafficRatio(%):Thisinputparameterisdefinedpersubcellandindicatesthepercentageofsubcell
trafficthatuseshalfrateaccess.
IfthevaluesaredifferentforBCCHandTCHsubcells,Atollwillusethevaluesforthetargetrateoftrafficoverflow
andthehalfratetrafficratiofromtheBCCHsubcell.

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Packetdemand(Kbps):ThePacketTrafficDemandisthetotaltrafficdemandinkilobitspersecondgeneratedby
packetswitchedserviceuserswithinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.Thisparametercomesfromthetraffic
captureorfromtheSubcellstable,dependingonthesourceyouchoseforthetrafficdemand.Itisassignedto
subcellpoolswhencommittingtheresultsofdimensioning.

Packet average demand (Timeslots): The number of timeslots needed to satisfy the packet traffic demand
dependsonthemaximumthroughputthatapackettimeslotcansupport.

CircuitDemand(Erlangs):TheCircuitTrafficDemandisthetotaltrafficdemandinErlangsgeneratedbycircuit
switchedserviceuserswithinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.Thisparametercomesfromthetrafficcapture
orfromthesubcellstable,dependingontheuserselectionforthetrafficdemandsource.Itisassignedtosubcell
poolswhencommittingtheresultsofdimensioning.

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Circuitaveragedemand(Timeslots):TheAverageDemandinCircuitTimeslotsiscalculatedtakingintoaccount
theeffectofhalfratecircuitswitchedtraffic:twohalfrateusersareequivalenttoonefullrateuser.

ServedCircuitTraffic(Erlangs):TheServedCircuitTrafficisthecircuitswitchedtrafficinErlangsthatthesubcell
canpotentiallyserve,ifthedimensioningresultsareapplied.Theservedcircuitswitchedtrafficiscircuittraffic
demandlesstheeffectiveoverflowedcircuittraffic.

ServedPacketTraffic(Kbps):TheServedPacketTrafficisthepacketswitchedtrafficinkilobitspersecondthat
thesubcellcanpotentiallyserve,ifthedimensioningresultsareapplied.Theservedpacketswitchedtrafficis
packettrafficdemandlesstheeffectiveoverflowedpackettraffic.

EffectiveRateofTrafficOverflow(%):TheEffectiveRateofTrafficOverflowistheactualrateoftrafficthatis
rejectedbythesubcellbecauseofalackofpackettimeslots.InaGSMnetwork,thevalueisthesameasthe
blockingprobability.Inamorecomplexnetwork,thisvalueincludesthetrafficoverflowfromallservices.
ForErlangB,theeffectiverateoftrafficoverflowcorrespondstotheeffectiveblockingrate.Thisvalueiscalculat
edfromtherequirednumberofcircuittimeslots(bothsharedandcircuittimeslots)andthecircuittrafficdemand
inErlangBtables.
ForErlangC,theeffectiverateoftrafficoverflowiszeroexceptifthemaximumnumberofTRXsisexceeded.The
effectiveblockingrateisinferredfromtherequirednumberofcircuittimeslots(bothsharedandcircuittimeslots)
andthecircuittrafficdemandinErlangCtables.

CircuitBlockingRate(/Delay)(%):TheCircuitBlockingRateisthegradeofservice(GoS)indicatorforcircuit
switchedtraffic.Itcanbeeithertherateatwhichcallsareblocked(ErlangB)ordelayed(ErlangC),dependingon
whichqueuingmodelthedimensioningmodeluses.

Minimum Throughput Reduction Factor (%): The Minimum Throughput Reduction Factor is the lowest
throughput reduction factor that can still guarantee service availability. The Minimum Throughput Reduction
Factorisoneofthecriteriaforpacketswitchedtrafficdimensioning.Itiscalculatedusingtheparametersdefined
fortheservices:theminimumservicethroughput(ortheguaranteedbitrateforconstantbitratepacketswitched
services);themaximumnumberoftimeslotsperconnection;therequiredavailability;andtheperpixeltimeslot
capacityofthesubcellcoveragearea.Thisparameteriscalculatedwhenmakingthetrafficcaptureorisuser
defined,dependingonthesourceoftrafficdemandonwhichthedimensioningisbased.

ThroughputReductionFactor(%):TheThroughputReductionFactoriscalculatedfromthequalitychartsusing
thepacketloadandavailableconnectionsforeachsubcell.Thisreductionfactormustbegreaterthanthemin
imumthroughputreductionfactorforpacketswitchedservicesfortheseservicestobesatisfactorilyavailablein
thesubcell.

MaximumDelay(s):TheMaximumDelayisthedefineddelayinsecondsthatmustnotbeexceededfortheser
vicequalitytobeconsideredsatisfactory.

Delay(s):TheDelayisakeyperformanceindicator(KPI)calculatedusingthequalitygraphs,theload,andthe
numberofconnectionsavailable.Thisdimensioningoutputmustnotexceedthemaximumdelaydefinedforthe
serviceforserviceavailabilitytobeconsideredsatisfactory.

MaximumPacketBlockingRate(/Delay)(%):TheMaximumPacketBlockingRateisdefinedforeachpacketser
viceandisthehighestprobabilitythattheservicewillbeblockedthatisacceptableintermsofserviceavailability.

PacketBlockingRate(Delay)(%):ThePacketBlockingRateisadimensioningoutputandmustnotexceedthe
MaximumPacketBlockingRatedefinedfortheserviceforserviceavailabilitytobeconsideredsatisfactory.

6.3.7 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
Onceyouhavemodelledthenetworkservicesandusersandhavecreatedtrafficmaps,youcancreatesimulations.Thesimu
lationprocessconsistsoftwosteps:
1. Obtainingarealisticuserdistribution:AtollgeneratesauserdistributionusingaMonteCarloalgorithm;thisuser
distributionisbasedonthetrafficdatabaseandtrafficmapsandisweightedbyaPoissondistributionbetweensimu
lationsofthesamegroup.
Eachuserisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andanactivitystatusbyrandomtrial,accordingtoaprobabilitylaw
thatusesthetrafficdatabase.
Theuseractivitystatusisanimportantoutputoftherandomtrialandhasdirectconsequencesonthenextstepof
thesimulationandonthenetworkinterferences.Ausercanbeeitheractiveorinactive.Bothactiveandinactiveusers
consumeradioresourcesandcreateinterference.
Finally,anotherrandomtrialdeterminesuserpositionsintheirrespectivetrafficzone(possiblyaccordingtotheclut
terweightingandtheindoorratioperclutterclass).
2. Modellingnetworkregulationmechanisms:AtollmanagestheGSMresourcesasdescribedin"RadioResourceMan
agementinGSM"onpage334

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6.3.7.1 RadioResourceManagementinGSM
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

6.3.7.1.1

"MSADefinition"onpage334
"GSMSimulationProcess"onpage334.

MSADefinition
Inordertounderstandthedifferencebetweeneachfrequencyhoppingmodefromthepointofviewofamobile,youcan
considertheMobileStationAllocation.MSAischaracterisedbythepairchannellistandMAIO.Inthefollowing,thisconcept
ofMSAwillbeusedtocharacterisetheinterferenceandresourcessetofamobile.
Fornonhopping(NH)mode,thechannellistis1channel.Forbasebandhopping(BBH)orsynthesisedfrequencyhopping
(SFH),thechannellistcorrespondstothemobileallocationlist(MAL).
ForBBH,channelsofMALbelongtothesameTRXtype.
Examples:
ForNH,youhave:
TRXindex

Channellist

MAIO

MSA

53

(53,*)

54

(54,*)

ForBBH,ifyouassumeTRXsbelongtothesameTRXtype,youhave:
TRXindex

Channellist

MAIO

MSA

53

([53,54,55],0)

54

([53,54,55],1)

55

([53,54,55],2)

TRXindex

Channellist

MAIO

MSA

53545556

([53,54,55,56],2)

53545556

([53,54,55,56],3)

ForSFH,youhave:

Therefore,fromthepointofviewofamobilestation,BBHandSFHworkinthesameway.AnMSAwillbeattachedtoeach
mobileconsideredduringthesimulationandthelevelofinterferencewillbeevaluatedonthisMSA.

6.3.7.1.2

GSMSimulationProcess
Figure6.44showstheGSMsimulationalgorithm.ThespecificsimulationprocessinGSMconsistsofthefollowingsteps:

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Figure6.44:GSMsimulationalgorithm
Foreachsimulation,thesimulationprocessperformsthefollowingactions:
1. Itsetsinitialvaluesforthefollowingparameters:
a. Mobiletransmissionpowerissettothemaximummobilepower.
b. CelltrafficloadsforeachMSAandtransmitteraresettotheiraveragecurrentvalueintheTransmitterstable(one
trafficloadvaluepersubcell).
Foreachiterationk,thesimulationprocessdoesthefollowing:
2. Foreachcircuitswitchedmobile,thesimulation:
a. DeterminestheserverandtheMSAtowhichthecircuitswitchedmobileisattached(whichisthesameinuplink
anddownlink).
b. DeterminesthedownlinkanduplinkC/(I+N)foreachofthesemobiles.
c. DeterminesMSAcodecmodesindownlinkanduplinkandperformsthecorrespondingtargetpowercontrols.
3. Foreachpacketswitchedmobile,thesimulation:
a. DeterminestheserverandtheMSAtowhichthepacketswitchedmobileisattached(whichisthesameinuplink
anddownlink).
b. DeterminesthedownlinkanduplinkC/(I+N)foreachofthesemobiles.
c. DeterminesMSAcodingschemeindownlinkanduplink,evaluatesthenumbersofnecessarytimeslotstoreach
theminimumdownlinkanduplinkthroughputdemands(definedintherequestedservice)oftheusersrandomly
rankedandperformsthecorrespondingtargetpowercontrols.ThenumberoftimeslotsinDLandULareobviously
notlinked.

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4. Itequallysharestheremainingresourcestopacketswitcheduserswhodidnotreachtheirmaximumthroughput
demands.Resourcesandthroughputsarefinallyassignedtoeachpacketswitcheduser.
5. ItupdatestheDLtrafficloads,powercontrolgains,DTXgains,andhalfratetrafficratiosofallthesubcellsaccording
totheresourcesinuseandthetotalresources.
6. ItupdatestheULtrafficloadsofallthesubcellsandtheULnoiserisesofalltheTRXsaccordingtotheresourcesinuse
andthetotalresources.
7. Itperformsaconvergencetesttoseewhetherthedifferencesbetweenthecurrentandthenewloadsandnoiserises
arewithintheconvergencethresholds.
8. Repeatstheprevioussteps(fromstep2.tostep7.)fortheiterationk+1usingthenewcalculatedloadconditionsas
thecurrentloadandnoiserise.
Attheendofthesimulations,activeuserscanbeconnectedinthedirectioncorrespondingtotheiractivitystatusif:

Theyhaveaservingcellassigned
Foracircuitswitched(orpacketswitched)service,hehasacodecmode(orcodingscheme)correspondingtohis
activitystatus
Heisnotrejectedduetoresourcesaturation.

Ifusersarerejectedduringserverdetermination,thecauseofrejectionis"NoCoverage".Ifusersarerejectedbecausequality
istoolowtoobtainanycodecmodeorcodingscheme,thecauseofrejectionis"NoService".Ifusersarerejectedbecause
theycannotbeallocatedasufficientnumberofresourcestoobtainthecodecmodeorcodingscheme,thecauseofrejection
is"ResourceSaturation,"i.e.,allofthecellsresourceswereusedupbyotherusers.

6.3.7.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutomodelGSMnetworkregulationmechanismsinordertominimiseinterferenceandmaxim
isecapacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameandCommentsforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.
5. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowing:

Numberofsimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreatedatthesame
timearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.

6. OntheTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

Globalscalingfactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps),throughputs/usersornumberofusers(forsectortrafficmaps)orden
sityofusers(fortrafficdensitymaps).

Selecttrafficmapstobeused:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage313.

7. OntheAdvancedtab,underGeneratorinitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter
"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerrordistributionisrandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuser
andshadowingerrordistributionisusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
Usingthesamegenerateduserdistributionforseveralsimulationscanbeusefulwhen
youwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonlyoneparameter
changes.
8. UnderConvergenceontheAdvancedtab,enterthefollowingparameter:

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Maxnumberofiterations:Enterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatshouldruntomakeconvergence.
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
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ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiter
ations.
DLpowercontrolgain:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinkpowercontrolgainthatmustbereached
betweentwoiterations.
ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwoitera
tions.

9. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittocalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulationandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutcalculatingit.YoucancalculateitlaterclickingtheCalculate
button(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.

6.3.7.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Youcanusethemaptodisplaythedistributionoftrafficthatisgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferentparameters.
Forexample,youcandisplaythetrafficaccordingtoaservice,activitystatusoranyoutputofthesimulation.
Youcansetthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtodiscretevaluesandtheselectthevaluetobedisplayed.Or,you
canselectthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtovalueintervals,andthenselecttheparameterandthevalueinter
valsthataretobedisplayed.Youcanalsodefinethecoloursoftheiconandtheiconitself.
Forinformationonchangingdisplaycharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistribution:

"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage337
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage338.
Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeodataandpredictions.
Formoreinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows"onpage42.

6.3.7.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyconnectionstatus(seeFigure6.45).

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Figure6.45:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyconnectionstatus

6.3.7.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice(seeFigure6.46).

Figure6.46:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyservice

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6.3.7.4 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage336,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(
wanttoaccess.

)toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresultsyou

4. Rightclickthesimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Theamountof
detailavailablewhenyoudisplaytheresultsdependsonthelevelofdetailyouselectedfromtheInformationto
retainlistontheGeneraltabofthepropertiesdialogboxforthegroupofsimulations.Formoreinformationonthe
differentoptions,seestep5.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage336.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Demand:UnderDemand,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandtheULandDLthroughputsthatallactiveuserscouldtheoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataonconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
includerejectedusersonly.Thesefiguresaredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthe
networkdesign.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus)isgiven.

TheSitestab:TheSitestabcontainsthefollowinginformationpersite:

DLandULThroughputforEachService:Thethroughputinkbitssforeachservice.Theresultisdetailedonthe
downlinkanduplinkonlywhenrelevant.

TheSubcellstab:TheCellstabcontainsthefollowinginformation,pertransmitterandTRXType:

FrequencyDomain:Thefrequencydomainassignedtothesubcell.
DLPowerReduction(dB):ThepowerreductionappliedtotheconsideredsubcellcomparedtotheBCCHpower.
DLTrafficLoad:TheobtainDLtrafficloadwhichrepresentstheaverageoccupancyofthesubcelltimeslotsinDL.
ULTrafficLoad:TheobtainULtrafficloadwhichrepresentstheaverageoccupancyofthesubcelltimeslotsinUL.
MeanPowerControlGain(dB):TheaveragegainduetotheDLpowercontrolinordertoreduceinterference.
DLDTXGain(dB):ThegainduetoDTXusersinactivity.
HalfRateTrafficRatio(%):Thepercentageofhalfratevoicetrafficinthesubcell.
DTXsupported:TheabilityofsubcelltosupportDTXmode.ForBCCHsubcells,thisboxshouldremaincleared.If
thisboxisselected,aDLDTXgaincanbeobtained.

TheTRXstab:TheTRXstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

HoppingMode:ThehoppingmodeofthesubcelltowhichtheTRXbelongs
Channels:ThechannellisttowhichtheTRXispartof.Incaseofnonhopping,itcorrespondstoauniquechannel.
Incaseofanyhoppingmode,itcorrespondstoaMAL.
MAIO:TheMAIOdefinedatthisTRXincaseofSFHonly
TRXRank:TherankassignedtotheTRXduringanautomaticfrequencyallocation
IntratechnologyULNoiseRise(dB):theresultingnoiserisecausedbythesurroundingULtrafficattheTRX.This
resultistheoutputwhichcanbecommittedtotheTRXstable.

TheMobilestab:TheMobilestabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect(thegeographicpositionisdeterminedbythesecond
randomtrial).
Service:Theserviceassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Terminal:Theassignedterminal.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheterminaland
theuserprofile.
UserProfile:Theassigneduserprofile.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheter
minalandtheuserprofile.

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Mobility:Themobilitytypeassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
ActivityStatus:Theactivitystatusassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistri
bution.
ConnectionStatus:Theconnectionstatusindicateswhethertheuserisconnectedorrejectedattheendofthe
simulation.Ifconnected,theconnectionstatuscorrespondstotheactivitystatus.Ifrejected,therejectioncause
isgiven.
Server:ThetransmitterservingthemobileonitsMSA.
HCSLayer:TheHCSLayeroftheservingcell
BestServerSignalLevel(dBm):Thereceivedsignalstrengthoftheservingcell.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedbythetransmittermobilelink.
TRXType:TheTRXtypeofthesubcelltowhichthemobileisattached.
DLRequestedThroughput(kbps):TheDLmaxthroughputdemanddefinedintheservice.
DLObtainedThroughput(kbps):TheDLobtainedthroughputdependingontheresourcesallocatedtotheuser.
Thisvaluemustbebetweentheminimumandthemaximumthroughputdemands.
ULRequestedThroughput(kbps):TheULmaxthroughputdemanddefinedintheservice.
ULObtainedThroughput(kbps):TheULobtainedthroughputdependingontheresourcesallocatedtotheuser.
Thisvaluemustbebetweentheminimumandthemaximumthroughputdemands.
Timeslots(DL):thenumberofDLtimeslotsused.Itshouldbe0ifitisnotconnected.Thenforcircuitswitched
services,dependingontheservedcodecmode,itcanbe0,5or1,buthastobethesameasforUL.Forpacket
switchedservices,thisisthenumberoftimeslotscorrespondingtotheDLtotalobtainedthroughput.
Timeslots(UL):thenumberofULtimeslotsused.Itshouldbe0ifitisnotconnected.Thenforcircuitswitched
services,dependingontheservedcodecmode,itcanbe0,5or1,buthastobethesameasforDL.Forpacket
switchedservices,thisisthenumberoftimeslotscorrespondingtotheULtotalobtainedthroughput.
InitialC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):TheC/(I+N)oftheservedMSAattheuserlocationinthedownlinkbeforepowercontrol.
FinalC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):TheC/(I+N)oftheservedMSAattheuserlocationinthedownlinkafterpowercontrol.
TargetThreshold(DL)(dB):TheDLC/(I+N)togetthecoding(codingschemeofcodecmode)atthecurrentloca
tion.
InitialC/(I+N)(UL)(dB):TheC/(I+N)oftheservedMSAattheservingcellintheuplinkbeforepowercontrol.
FinalC/(I+N)(UL)(dB):TheC/(I+N)oftheservedMSAattheservingcellintheuplinkafterpowercontrol.
TargetThreshold(UL)(dB):TheULC/(I+N)togetthecoding(codingschemeofcodecmode)attheservingcell.
MobileTotalPower(dBm):Themobiletotalpowercorrespondstothetotalpowertransmittedbytheterminal.
Channels:Thechannelorlistofchannelsallocatedtothemobilestationduringthesimulation.Ithastobe1
channelincaseof"NonHopping"andalistofchannelincaseoffrequencyhopping.
MAIO:TheMobileAllocationIndexOffsetassignedincaseoffrequencyhopping(BBHorSFH)toavoidintrasite
collisionscausedbytwositesusingthesameoradjacentchannels.Thisvaluehastobeanintegerrangingfrom0
andN1(where"N"isthenumberofchannelsusedinthehoppingsequence)
CodecorCodingscheme(DL):Accordingtothecapabilityofboththebasestationandtheterminal,thisvalueis
eitherthecodecmode(foracircuitswitchedservice)orthecodingscheme(forapacketswitchedservice)served
attheterminal.
CodecorCodingscheme(UL):Accordingtothecapabilityofboththebasestationandtheterminal,thisvalueis
eitherthecodecmode(foracircuitswitchedservice)orthecodingscheme(forapacketswitchedservice)served
atthecell.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Theglobalscalingfactor
Themaximumnumberofiterations
TheDLtrafficloadconvergencethreshold
TheULtrafficloadconvergencethreshold
TheDLpowercontrolconvergencethreshold
TheULnoiseriseconvergencethreshold
Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

6.3.7.5 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage336,youcandisplaytheaverage
resultsofthegroup.Ifyouwanttodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationofagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingle
Simulation"onpage339.
Toaccesstheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwanttoaveragetheresults.

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4. SelectAverageSimulationandfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthegroupofsimulations.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogboxcontainsimu
lationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveraged.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Demand:UnderDemand,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandtheULandDLthroughputsthatallactiveuserscouldtheoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataonconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
includerejectedusersonly.Thesefiguresaredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthe
networkdesign.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus)isgiven.

TheSites(Average)tab:TheSites(Average)tabcontainsthefollowingaverageinformationpersite:

DLandULThroughputforEachService:Thethroughputinkbitssforeachservice.Theresultisdetailedonthe
downlinkanduplinkonlywhenrelevant.

TheSubcells(Average)tab:TheSubcells(Average)tabcontainsthefollowingaverageinformationpertransmitter
andTRXType:

FrequencyDomain:Thefrequencydomainassignedtothesubcell.
DLPowerReduction(dB):ThepowerreductionappliedtotheconsideredsubcellcomparedtotheBCCHpower.
DLTrafficLoad:TheobtainDLtrafficloadwhichrepresentstheaverageoccupancyofthesubcelltimeslotsinDL.
ULTrafficLoad:TheobtainULtrafficloadwhichrepresentstheaverageoccupancyofthesubcelltimeslotsinUL.
MeanPowerControlGain(dB):TheaveragegainduetotheDLpowercontrolinordertoreduceinterference.
DLDTXGain(dB):ThegainduetoDTXusersinactivity.
HalfRateTrafficRatio(%):Thepercentageofhalfratevoicetrafficinthesubcell.
DTXsupported:TheabilityofsubcelltosupportDTXmode.ForBCCHsubcells,thisboxshouldremaincleared.If
thisboxisselected,aDLDTXgaincanbeobtained.

TheTRXs(Average)tab:TheTRXstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

HoppingMode:ThehoppingmodeofthesubcelltowhichtheTRXbelongs
Channels:ThechannellisttowhichtheTRXispartof.Incaseofnonhopping,itcorrespondstoauniquechannel.
Incaseofanyhoppingmode,itcorrespondstoaMAL.
MAIO:TheMAIOdefinedatthisTRXincaseofSFHonly
TRXRank:TherankassignedtotheTRXduringanautomaticfrequencyallocation
IntratechnologyULNoiseRise(dB):theresultingnoiserisecausedbythesurroundingULtrafficattheTRX.This
resultistheoutputwhichcanbecommittedtotheTRXstable.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Theglobalscalingfactor
Themaximumnumberofiterations
TheDLtrafficloadconvergencethreshold
TheULtrafficloadconvergencethreshold
TheDLpowercontrolconvergencethreshold
TheULnoiseriseconvergencethreshold
Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

6.3.7.6 UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage336,youcan
updatevaluesforeachsubcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.Thefollowingvaluesareupdated:

Subcelltrafficloads(ULandDL)
DLPowercontrolgains
DTXgains
Halfratetrafficratios

Inaddition,youalsocanupdatetheintratechnologyULnoiserisecalculatedforeachTRXduringthesimulation.

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ToupdatesubcellandTRXsvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. Displaythesimulationresults:
Todisplaytheresultsforagroupofsimulations:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

c. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
d. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthegroupofsimulations.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogboxcontainsimu
lationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveraged.
Todisplaytheresultsforasinglesimulation:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

c. ClicktheExpandbutton(
youwanttoaccess.

)toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresults

d. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheSubcellsortheTRXstab.
3. OntheSubcellstab,clickCommitResults.
Thefollowingvaluesareupdatedforeachsubcell:

Subcelltrafficloads(DLandUL)
DLPowercontrolgains
DTXgains
Halfratetrafficratios.

ThefollowingvalueisupdatedforeachTRX:

IntratechnologyULnoiserise.

6.3.7.7 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesitu
ationyouarecreatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformance
ofthenetworkagainstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironment
anduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Create a simulation or group of simulations by creating a new simulation or group of simulations as described in
"CreatingSimulations"onpage336.
2. ClicktheTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)ortheusers/throughputs(forsectortraffic
maps).

6.4 AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,and
MAIOs
TheallocationofresourcesisanimportantpartofplanningandoptimisingaGSMnetwork.Theresourcesfrequencies,
BSICs,HSNs,andMAIOscanbeallocatedmanually,automatically,orinteractively.Theseresourcesarelimited,conse
quentlyeachresourcewillhavetobeusedmorethanonce,althoughidenticalinstancesofthesameresourcecannotbeused
closetoeachother.
Theresourcesareallocatedondifferentlevels:

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Thechannel,MAIO,andMALareallocatedattheTRXlevel:eachTRXrequiresonechannel(orMAL)andoneMAIO.
TheHSNisallocatedatthesubcelllevel:eachsubcellperformingfrequencyhoppingrequiresanHSN(howevercells
thatdonotperformfrequencyhoppingdonotneedtobeallocatedanHSN).TheallocationofHSNsismanagedusing
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TheBSICisallocatedatthecelllevelandtheBSICBCCHpairisusedtoidentifythetransmittersinthenetwork.The
allocationofBSICsismanagedusingdomainsandgroups.

Frequenciesaremanagedonthreedifferentlevels:frequencybands,andthendomains,andfinallygroups.
ThefrequencybandisthehighestlevelandisdefinedbythefrequenciesallocatedtoGSM/GPRS/EDGEintheareacovered
by the project. It can therefore be considered as a fixed item. The frequency bands usually follow the Absolute Radio
FrequencyChannelNumber(ARFCN)standards.Thefrequencybandsaremainlyusedforbasestationandterminalcompat
ibility.Afrequencydomainisasubsetofthefrequenciescontainedbythefrequencyband.Thefrequencydomaincancontain
oneormoregroups.Whilethefrequencybandisfixed,frequencygroupsanddomainscanbedefinedandmodified.
Thesecondlevelonwhichfrequenciesaremanaged,andthehighestlevelonwhichBSICsandHSNsaremanaged,isthe
domain.Themainroleofthedomainistolimittheresourcestothesubsetofthoseresourcesavailable.ForBSICsandHSNs,
thedomainisthehighestlevelonwhichtheycanbemanaged.Muchlikefrequencydomains,BSICandHSNdomainscan
containoneormoregroups.However,whiletheresourcesdefinedinafrequencydomainarelimitedbythefrequencyband
thedomainbelongsto,theresourcesinaBSICorHSNdomainaredefinedbytheGSMstandard.
Thelowestlevelatwhichfrequencies,BSICs,andHSNsaremanagedisatthegrouplevel.Agroupbelongstoadomain.All
frequenciesinagroupmustbelongtothefrequencybandthedomainbelongsto.InthecaseofBSICorHSNgroups,the
entriesmustbevalidBSICorHSNnumbers.
Thissectionbeginswithanexplanationofhowtomanuallyallocateresources.Bybeginningwithmanualallocation,youwill
haveabetterunderstandingofhowAtollmanagesthevariousresources.
Whentheprojectistoolargeorwhentherearetoomanyvariablestocoordinate,manuallyallocatingresourceswillbetoo
timeconsumingandcomplex.Atthatpoint,youwillprobablyneedtouseAutomaticFrequencyPlanning(AFP).Byallocating
resources efficiently within defined parameters, the AFP can enhance network performance. However, before you can
performanautomaticallocation,youmustbecertainthattheprerequisiteshavebeenfilled:youmusthavevalidinterfer
encematrices,youmustdeterminethenumberofrequiredTRXs,andyoumustdefineseparationrulesandqualitytargets.
Alongwithmanualandautomaticallocation,AtollalsoallowsyoutoallocateresourcesusingInteractiveFrequencyPlanning
(IFP). The IFP enables you to verify the frequency allocation of each transmitter and interactively improve an existing
frequencyplanbyselectingthemostappropriatechannelstoassigntoindividualTRXs.TheIFPusestheinstalledAFPmodule
tocalculatethecostsassociatedwiththecurrentandmodifiedfrequencyplans.
ByusingtheAFPtoallocatechannelsandfindthebestsolutionintermsofallocatedchannels,i.e.,thefrequencyallocation
thatprovidesthelowestoverallcost,theIFPletsyouuseyourknowledgeofthenetworktoimprovethefrequencyplan
proposedbytheAFP.
AutomaticandinteractiveallocationareimplementedusinganAFPmodule.ManyAFPmodulesworkwithAtoll.Because
eachmoduleisdifferent,inthissectiononlythegeneralallocationprocesswillbedescribed.
FormoreinformationontheoptionalAtollAFPmodule,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningResourceRanges"onpage343
"AllocatingFrequenciesandBSICsManually"onpage348
"AFPPrerequisites(IM,Separations,Traffic,etc.)"onpage353
"AutomaticResourceAllocationUsinganAFPModule"onpage376.

6.4.1 DefiningResourceRanges
InAtoll,whenyouallocateresourcessuchasfrequenciesandBSICs,youdosousingdomainsandgroups.Thedomainsand
groupsdefinetherangeofresourcesthatcanbeusedbythetransmitter,subcell,orTRX.Usingdefinedrangesofresources
facilitatesbothallocationandmanagementofresources.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningFrequencyBands,Domains,andGroups"onpage343
"DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups"onpage345
"DefiningHSNDomainsandGroups"onpage347

6.4.1.1 DefiningFrequencyBands,Domains,andGroups
InGSM/GPRS/EDGE projects,youcanmanage frequenciesbydefiningfrequencydomainsand groups basedonstandard
frequencybands.Afrequencydomainconsistsofoneorseveralfrequencygroups.Thefrequencydomaininturnbelongsto
afrequencyband.Afrequencygroupisasetofchannels.Afrequencygroupcanbelongtooneorseveralfrequencydomains.
Frequencyplanning,bothmanualandautomatic,isbasedonthefrequencydomainsassignedtotheTRXtypesindefinedcell
types.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage344
"DefiningFrequencyDomainsandGroups"onpage344.

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DefiningFrequencyBands
Frequencybandsrepresentthedefinedfrequencythatfrequencydomainsandgroupsreferto.InaGSM/GPRS/EDGEproject,
thefrequencybandsareusuallyfixeditems,whereasdomainsandgroupscanbedefinedandmodifiedtorespondtothe
needsoftheproject.
ThepropertiesoffrequencybandscanbeaccessedfromtheFrequencyBandstable.
Todefineafrequencyband:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.
4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickBands.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheFrequencyBandstableappears.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineafrequencyband(forinfor
mationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

Name:Enteranameforthefrequency,forexample,"GSM1900."Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxes
whenyouselectafrequencyband.
Frequency(MHz):Entertheaveragefrequency.
ChannelWidth(kHz):Enterthewidth,inkHz,thateachchannelwillcover.
Firstchannel:Enterthenumberofthefirstchannelinthisfrequencyband.
Lastchannel:Enterthenumberofthelastchannelinthisfrequencyband.
Excludedchannels:Enterthechannelsthatwillnotbeincludedinthisfrequencyband,eventhoughtheyare
betweenthefirstandlastchannels.
Multiplexingfactor:Enterthemultiplexingfactorofthefrequencyband.Theusermultiplexingfactorcorresponds
tothenumberoftimeslotsinaGSM/GPRS/EDGEframe.
Maxchannelnumber:Enterthemaximumchannelnumberafterwhichthechannelnumbercountrestartsat0.
TheGSM900frequencybandinAtollincludesthePGSM(primitiveGSM),RGSM(GSMforrailways),andEGSM
(extendedGSM)bands,i.e.,channelsfrom1to124(PGSM),from955to974(RGSM),andfrom975to1023and
0(EGSM).Thechannelnumbers0and1023willbeconsideredadjacentifyouenteraMaxChannelNumberof
1024forthisfrequencyband.
YoucanalsomodifythepropertiesofafrequencybandusingitsPropertiesdialogbox.You
canopenthefrequencybandPropertiesdialogboxbydoubleclickingtheleftmarginof
therowwiththefrequencyband.ThefrequencybandPropertiesdialogboxhasaGeneral
tabwhichallowsyoutomodifythepropertiesdescribedabove,aFrequencyDomainstab
whichindicatesthefrequencydomainsthatbelongtothefrequencyband,and,ifuser
definedfieldshavebeenaddedtotheFrequencyBandstable,anOtherPropertiestab.

TheabsoluteradiofrequencychannelnumbersaredeterminedinAtollwiththefollowingequation:
ARFCNofX=FirstChannelNumber+(ChannelFrequencyofXFirstChannelFrequency)/200kHz

6.4.1.1.2

DefiningFrequencyDomainsandGroups
InaGSM/GPRS/EDGEproject,thefrequencybandsareusuallyfixeditems,whereasdomainsandgroupscanbedefinedand
modifiedtorespondtotheneedsoftheproject.FrequencydomainsarelinkedtoTRXtypes.Frequencygroupsareusedin
frequencyallocation.
Todefinefrequencydomainsandgroups:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.
4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickDomains.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheFrequencyDomainstableappears.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineafrequencydomain(for
informationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

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Name:Enteranameforthefrequencydomain,forexample,"GSM1900domain."Thisnamewillappearinother
dialogboxeswhenyouselectafrequencydomain.
FrequencyBand:Selectthefrequencybandthedomainwillbelongtofromthelist.

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7. SelecttherowcontainingthefrequencydomainandclickthePropertiesbutton(
quencydomainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.Thefre

InthefrequencydomainsPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythepropertiesofthefrequencydomainandcreate
frequencygroups.
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineafrequency
8. UnderGroups,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
group(forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

Name:Enteranameforthefrequencygroup,forexample,"GSM1900domainGroup1."Thisnamewillappearin
otherdialogboxeswhenyouselectafrequencygroup.
Min.:Enterthenumberofthefirstchannelinthisfrequencygroup.
Max.:Enterthenumberofthelastchannelinthisfrequencygroup.
Step:Enterthevalueintervalbetweenchannelsinthisfrequencygroup.
Excluded:Enterthechannelsthatyoudonotwanttouseinthisfrequencygroup.Youcanenterorpastealistof
channels;thevaluesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,orasemicolon,oraspace.Youcanalsoentera
rangeofchannelstobeexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthefirstandlastchanneloftherangeseparatedby
ahyphen.Forexample,entering520525correspondstoentering520521522523524525.
Extra:Entertheadditionalchannels,outsidethefirstandlastchannelsofthegroup,thatyouwanttouseinthis
frequencygroup.Youcanenterorpastealistofchannels;thevaluesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,or
asemicolon,oraspace.Youcanalsoenterarangeofchannelstobeexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthe
firstandlastchanneloftherangeseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering520525correspondstoentering
520521522523524525.

9. ClickOKtoclosethefrequencydomainsPropertiesdialogbox.
10. ClicktheClosebutton( )toclosetheFrequencyDomainstable.
YoucanassociatefrequencygroupstofrequencydomainsusingtheFrequencyGroups
table.YoucanopentheFrequencyGroupstablebyexpandingtheGSMNetworkSettings
folderintheParametersexplorer,expandingtheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickingGroups
andselectingOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
Althougheachgroupnameinasinglefrequencydomainmustbeunique,youcanusethe
samegroupnameindifferentfrequencydomains.

6.4.1.2 DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups
InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,theBaseStationIdentityCode(BSIC)isassignedtoaBCCHtoidentifythetransmitteronwhichtheBCCH
islocated.BSICsaremadeavailableaccordingtocountryandarea.ThemobileusestheBSIC,whichcanbeineitherdecimal
oroctalformat,todistinguishoneBCCHfromBCCHsonnearbytransmitters.TheBSICiscomposedofaNetworkColourCode
(NCC)andaBTSColourCode(BCC).BSICsaremodelledusingdomainsandgroupswhichcanbedefinedandmodified:

Adomainconsistsofoneormoregroups.
AgroupisadefinedsetofBSICs.ABSICgroupcanbelongtooneormoreBSICdomains.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.4.1.2.1

"DefiningtheBSICFormat"onpage345
"DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups"onpage346.

DefiningtheBSICFormat
TheBSICiscomposedofaNetworkColourCode(NCC)combinedwithaBTSColourCode(BCC).BoththeNCCandtheBCCare
integersfrom0to7,makingatotalof64possibleBSICs.Theyarebrokendowninto8groups(onegroupforeachpossible
NCC)of8BSICs.ForeachNCCBCCpair,theresultingBSICnumbercanbeineitherdecimaloroctalformat.

Decimalformat:Indecimalformat,allnumbersfrom0to9canbeusedtodefinetheBSIC.BecauseboththeNCCand
theBCCareinoctalformat(usingthenumbersfrom0to7),theircombinedvaluemustbeconvertedtodecimal
formatwiththefollowingequation:
NCCx8+BCC
TheresultingvalueistheBSICindecimalformat.Forexample,theNCCBCCpair32resultsinadecimalBSICvalueof
26.

Octalformat:BoththeNCCandtheBCCarealreadyinoctalformat(usingthenumbersfrom0to7),sotheycanbe
combineddirectlytoexpresstheresultingBSIC.Forexample,theNCCBCCpair32resultsinanoctalBSICvalueof32.
Theoctalformatismorecommonlyusedthanthedecimalformat.

InAtoll,youdefinetheformatgloballyfortheentireGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.

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Whenyouimportdrivetestdata,youmustensurethatthedefinedBSICformatisthe
sameasthatofthedrivetestdatabeforeyouimportthedata.

TodefinetheBSICformatforaGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheBSICsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFormatandselectoneofthefollowing:

6.4.1.2.2

Decimal
Octal

DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups
BSICsaremodelledusingdomainsandgroupswhichcanbedefinedandmodified.Adomainconsistsofoneormoregroups.
YoumustassignaBSICdomaintoeachtransmitter.AgroupisadefinedsetofBSICs.ABSICgroupcanbelongtooneormore
BSICdomains.GroupsareusedduringautomaticBSICallocation.
Todefinefrequencydomainsandgroups:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheBSICsfolder.
4. IntheBSICsfolder,rightclickDomains.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheBSICsDomainstableappears.TheBSICDomainstablecontainsadefaultdomaincalled"ALL
BSICs;"itcontainsall64BSICsdividedinto8groups.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),enterthenameofthenewBSICdomain.

7. Select the row containing the BSIC domain and click the Properties button (
domainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.

) in the Table toolbar. The BSIC

IntheBSICdomainsPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythepropertiesoftheBSICdomainandcreateBSICgroups.
8. UnderGroups,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineaBSICgroup
(forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):
WhendefiningtheBSICgroup,ensurethattheenteredvaluesareconsistentwiththe
definedBSICformat(see"DefiningtheBSICFormat"onpage345).

Name:EnteranamefortheBSICgroup.ThisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectaBSICgroup.
Min.:EnterthefirstBSICinthisBSICgroup.
Max.:EnterthelastBSICinthisBSICgroup.
Step:EnterthevalueintervalbetweenBSICsinthisBSICgroup.
Excluded:EntertheBSICsthatyoudonotwanttouseinthisBSICgroup.YoucanenterorpastealistofBSICs;the
valuesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,orasemicolon,oraspace.YoucanalsoenterarangeofBSICsto
beexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthefirstandlastBSICoftherangeseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,
entering05correspondstoentering012345.
Extra:EntertheadditionalBSICs,outsidethefirstandlastBSICsofthegroup,thatyouwanttouseinthisBSIC
group.YoucanenterorpastealistofBSICs;thevaluesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,orasemicolon,
oraspace.YoucanalsoenterarangeofBSICstobeexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthefirstandlastBSIC
oftherangeseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering05correspondstoentering012345.

9. ClickOKtoclosetheBSICdomainsPropertiesdialogbox.
10. ClicktheClosebutton( )toclosetheBSICDomainstable.

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YoucanassociateBSICgroupstoBSICdomainsusingtheBSICGroupstable.Youcanopen
theBSICGroupstablebyexpandingtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolderintheParameters
explorer,expandingtheBSICsfolder,rightclickingGroupsandselectingOpenTablefrom
thecontextmenu.
AlthougheachgroupnameinasingleBSICdomainmustbeunique,youcanusethesame
groupnameindifferentBSICdomains.

6.4.1.3 DefiningHSNDomainsandGroups
InAtoll,bothbasebandhopping(BBH)andsynthesisedfrequencyhopping(SFH)aresupportedinGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects.
BBHandSFHaremodelledusingthehoppingsequencenumber(HSN)alongwithotherparameterssuchastheMALandthe
MAIOs.
The HSN describes the frequency hopping sequence. It can have one of 64 different values (from 0 to 63). Frequency
sequencesarepseudorandom,exceptforHSN"0,"wherefrequenciesareusedoneaftertheother(cyclichopping).InAtoll,
HSNsaremodelledintheformofHSNdomainsandgroups:

AdomainconsistsofoneormoreHSNgroups.
AgroupisadefinedsetofHSNs.AHSNgroupcanbelongtooneormoreHSNdomains.

ManualandautomaticHSNallocationisbasedontheHSNdomainsassignedtoTRXtypesincelltypes;whenyoudefineacell
type,youmustassignanHSNdomaintoeachTRXtype.TheassignedHSNdomainwillbeusedasaconstraintduringauto
maticHSNallocation.
Todefinefrequencydomainsandgroups:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheHSNsfolder.
4. IntheHSNsfolder,rightclickDomains.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheHSNsDomainstableappears.TheHSNDomainstablecontainsadefaultdomaincalled"ALL
HSNs;"itcontainsall64HSNs.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),enterthenameofthenewHSNdomain.

7. Select the row containing the HSN domain and click the Properties button (
domainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.

) in the Table toolbar. The HSN

IntheHSNdomainsPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythepropertiesoftheHSNdomainandcreateHSNgroups.
8. UnderGroups,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineaHSNgroup
(forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

Name:EnteranamefortheHSNgroup.ThisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectaHSNgroup.
Min.:EnterthefirstHSNinthisHSNgroup.
Max.:EnterthelastHSNinthisHSNgroup.
Step:EnterthevalueintervalbetweenHSNsinthisHSNgroup.
Excluded:EntertheHSNsthatyoudonotwanttouseinthisHSNgroup.YoucanenterorpastealistofHSNs;the
valuesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,orasemicolon,oraspace.YoucanalsoenterarangeofHSNsto
beexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthefirstandlastHSNoftherangeseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,
entering05correspondstoentering012345.
Extra:EntertheadditionalHSNs,outsidethefirstandlastHSNsofthegroup,thatyouwanttouseinthisHSN
group.YoucanenterorpastealistofHSNs;thevaluesmustbeseparatedwitheitheracomma,orasemicolon,
oraspace.YoucanalsoenterarangeofHSNstobeexcludedfromthisgroup,byenteringthefirstandlastHSN
oftherangeseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering05correspondstoentering012345.

9. ClickOKtoclosetheHSNdomainsPropertiesdialogbox.
10. ClicktheClosebutton( )toclosetheHSNDomainstable.
YoucanassociateHSNgroupstoHSNdomainsusingtheHSNGroupstable.Youcanopen
theHSNGroupstablebyexpandingtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolderintheParameters
explorer,expandingtheHSNsfolder,rightclickingGroupsandselectingOpenTablefrom
thecontextmenu.
AlthougheachgroupnameinasingleHSNdomainmustbeunique,youcanusethesame
groupnameindifferentHSNdomains.

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6.4.2 AllocatingFrequenciesandBSICsManually
Normally,whenyouallocatefrequenciesandBSICsforanentireproject,youwillallocatethemautomatically.However,Atoll
enablesyoutoallocatefrequenciesandBSICsmanually,forexample,whenyouaddnewbasestationsorwhenyoumodify
frequenciesorBSICsthathavealreadybeenallocated.
WhenyouallocatefrequenciesorBSICs,youfirstdefinearangeoffrequenciesorBSICsforthetransmitter.Youwillthen
assign frequencies or BSICs that respect the defined range. In Atoll, ranges of frequencies and BSICs are modelled using
domainsandgroups.
ForinformationoncreatingormodifyingfrequencyorBSICdomainsandgroups,see"DefiningResourceRanges"onpage343.
Inthissection,settingarangeoffrequenciesorBSICsisexplained,aswellasmanuallyassigningfrequenciesorBSICsfromthe
definedrange:

"AssigningBSICDomainstoTransmitters"onpage348
"AssigningBSICstoTransmittersManually"onpage348
"DefiningFrequencyDomainsforTransmitters"onpage349
"AssigningFrequenciestoSubcells"onpage349.

6.4.2.1 AssigningBSICDomainstoTransmitters
Beforeyou assignaBSICtoatransmitter,youdefinetherangeofpossibleBSICsforthattransmitterbyassigningaBSIC
domain.ForinformationoncreatingormodifyingBSICdomainsandgroups,see"DefiningBSICDomainsandGroups"on
page346.
ToassignaBSICdomaintoatransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. RightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignaBSICdomain.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
inthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. SelecttheTRXstab.
6. UnderIdentification,selecttheBSICDomainfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
oftheselectedBSICdomain.
7. ClickOK.

6.4.2.2 AssigningBSICstoTransmittersManually
Normally,youwillallocateBaseStationIdentityCodes(BSICs)automaticallyforanentireproject.However,youcanallocate
BSICsmanually,forexample,whenyouaddnewbasestationsorwhenyoumodifyBSICsthathavealreadybeenallocated.
TheBSICiscomposedoftheNetworkColourCode(NCC)andtheBTSColourCode(BCC).BoththeNCCandBCCmustbewhole
numbersfrom0to7.
ThecombinationoftheBSICandBCCH(inotherwords,thefrequencyoftheBCCH)permittopreciselyidentifyatransmitter.
Overgreaterdistances,aBSICBCCHpaircanberepeated.
ToallocateaBSICtoatransmittermanually:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. RightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignaBSIC.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
inthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. SelecttheTRXstab.

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6. UnderIdentification,selecttheBSICfromthelist.TheBSICsavailableinthelistwillbethoseavailableinthedefined
BSICdomain.
You can enter a value in the BSIC field, however, it must be a BSIC that is part of the
selectedBSICDomainandinthecorrectBSICformat(forinformationontheBSICformat,
see"DefiningtheBSICFormat"onpage345).Aswell,youcanenteraBSICintheformat
ofaNCCBCC.WhenyouclickOKorApply,AtollwillconvertitintothesingledigitBSIC
format.
OnceyouhaveselectedtheBSIC,theNCCBCCisdisplayed.
7. ClickOK.

6.4.2.3 DefiningFrequencyDomainsforTransmitters
Beforeyouassignafrequencytoatransmitter,youdefinetherangeofpossiblefrequenciesforthattransmitterbyassigning
afrequencydomaintothetransmitterssubcells.
InAtoll,youdefinetherangeoffrequenciesthatcanbeassignedtoatransmitterbyassigningfrequencydomainstothetrans
mitterssubcells.Bydefault,atransmitterssubcells,basedontheselectedcelltype(forinformation,see"ApplyingaNew
CellType"onpage246),alreadyhaveanassignedfrequencydomain.However,youcanchangeasubcellsfrequencydomain.
Ifyouselectadifferentcelltypeafterhavingmodifiedanyoftheparametersofasubcell,Atolloffersyouthechoiceofkeep
ingcurrentparametersorresettingthemtothosefoundinthecelltype.
Forinformationoncreatingormodifyingfrequencydomainsandgroups,see"DefiningFrequencyDomainsandGroups"on
page344.
Tochangethefrequencydomainassignedtoatransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignafrequencydomain.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
inthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. SelecttheTRXstab.
6. UnderSubcells,select"Standard"fromtheDisplaylist.ThestandardtablelistseachTRXgroupdefinedinthecelltype
selectedunderCellTypeontheTRXstab.
7. SelectaFrequencyDomainfromthelist.OnlychannelsbelongingtothisfrequencydomainwillbeallocatedtoTRXs
ofthisgroupduringautomaticormanualfrequencyplanning.
ThefrequencydomainsassignedtotheBCCHsubcellandtotheTCHsubcellmustrefer
encethesamefrequencyband.IfthetransmitterhasmorethanonesubcellwiththeTRX
typeTCH,onlyonemustreferencethesamefrequencybandastheBCCHsubcell.
8. Ifdesired,addExcludedChannels.Thedefinedfrequencydomaincanhave,aspartofitsdefinition,alistofexcluded
channels.AdditionexcludedchannelsforthissubcellcanbeaddedintheExcludedChannelscolumn.
9. ClickOK.
If you are defining frequency domains for several transmitters, you can group them by
frequencyband(forinformationongroupingtransmitters,see"GroupingDataObjects"on
page95)andthenopentheTransmitterstablefortheselectedtransmittersandassignthe
frequencydomaintoalltransmittersatthesametime.Forinformationonworkingwith
datatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

6.4.2.4 AssigningFrequenciestoSubcells
InaGSM/GPRS/EDGEproject,frequenciesaremodelledusingchannels.ThechannelsareassignedtotheTRXsofeachsubcell.
IfyourAtolldocumentrepresentsanexistingnetwork,frequenciesmightalreadyhavebeenassignedtomanyofthetrans

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mitters.YoucanthenimporttheexistingfrequencylistintoyourcurrentAtolldocument.Youcanalsoexportthefrequency
listfromthecurrentAtolldocument.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.4.2.4.1

"ImportingaFrequencyList"onpage350
"AddingNewTRXstoaDocument"onpage350
"DisplayingtheFrequencyPlan"onpage351
"ExportingtheFrequencyList"onpage351.

ImportingaFrequencyList
IfyourAtolldocumentrepresentsanexistingGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork,frequenciescanalreadyhavebeenassignedtomany
ofthetransmitters.YoucanimporttheexistingfrequencylistintoyourcurrentAtolldocument.Youcanthencompletethe
datafornewTRXseithermanuallyorusingtheAFP.
ThefrequencylistyouimportmustbeaTXTorCSVfileandthedatamustbearrangedinamannercompatiblewithAtoll.The
imported file must contain the transmitter name and the TRX type to identify the TRX to which the frequencies will be
assigned.Whenyouimportafrequencylistforanetworkwithnonhoppingorbasebandhoppingonly,youonlyneedto
importthechannelsandtheTRXtypes.Ifthenetworkhassynthesisedfrequencyhopping,evenifnotallsubcellsusesynthe
sisedfrequencyhopping,youwillalsohavetoimporttheMAIO,theHSN,andthesynchronisation.
WhenAtollimportsthedata,itwilladdTRXsthatdonotyetexistintheAtolldocumenttoexistingtransmitters.Ifsomesites
andtransmittersdonotyetexistintheAtolldocument,youmustcreatethembeforeyouimportthefrequencylist.Forinfor
mationoncreatingsitesandtransmitters,see"CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation"onpage235.
Toimportanexistingfrequencylist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTRXstableappears.
4. Importthefileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
Thefileimportedmustcontain,ataminimum,thetransmitternameandTRXtypetoidentifytheTRXtowhichthe
frequencieswillbeassigned,andthechannels,identifyingthefrequencies.InthecaseofSFH,thechannelswillconsti
tutetheMAL.Additionally,ifthehoppingmodeisSFH,thefileimportedmustalsocontaintheMAIO.
IfthehoppingmodeisBBHorSFH,continuewithstep5.
5. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectSubcells>SubcellsTable:StandardDatafromthecontextmenu.TheSubcellstableappears.
7. Importthefileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
Thefileimportedmustcontain,ataminimum,thetransmitternameandTRXtypetoidentifytheTRX.Whenthe
hoppingmodeisBBHorSFH,filemustalsocontainthesynchronisationandtheHSN.
IfyouwanttoimporttheBSICatthesametime,youcanalsoimportthefrequencylistinto
theTransmitterstable,whichyoucanopenbyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderand
selectingOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
Ifyouaremodifyingthefrequencylistofasingletransmitter,itiseasiertomodifythe
informationdirectlyontheTRXstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Formore
information,see"SubcellDefinition"onpage239.

6.4.2.4.2

AddingNewTRXstoaDocument
YoucanaddTRXstoexistingtransmitterseitherbyusingtheTRXstabofthetransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orbyusing
theTRXstable.
IfyouareaddingTRXstoasingletransmitter,itiseasiertousethetransmitterPropertiesdialogbox.
ToaddTRXsusingtheTRXstabofthetransmitterPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoaddaTRX.
YoucanalsoselectthetransmitterintheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer.

2. Rightclickthetransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.

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4. ClicktheTRXstab.
5. UnderTRXs,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
page244.

),entertheparametersdescribedin"TRXDefinition"on

6. ClickOK.
IfyouareaddingTRXstoseveraltransmitters,itiseasiertousetheTRXstable.
ToaddTRXsusingtheTRXstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTRXstableappears.
4. ScrolldowntotherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

5. IntheTransmittercolumn,selectthetransmittertowhichtheTRXswillbeadded.
6. Entertheparametersdescribedin"TRXDefinition"onpage244.

6.4.2.4.3

DisplayingtheFrequencyPlan
Youcandisplayormodifythenetworkfrequencyplan,thatisthechannelsallocatedtoeachTRX,byopeningtheTRXstable.
ToopentheTRXstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTRXstableappears.
If you want, you can export the frequency plan. For information on exporting the frequency plan, see "Exporting the
FrequencyList"onpage351.

6.4.2.4.4

ExportingtheFrequencyList
Youcanexportthenetworkfrequencylist,thatisthechannelsallocatedtoeachTRX,usingtheTRXstable.Theexportedfile
mustcontainthetransmitternameandtheTRXtypetoidentifytheTRXtowhichthefrequenciesareassigned.
Toexportthefrequencylist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>TRXsTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTRXstableappears.
4. Exportthefileasexplainedin"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.
IfthehoppingmodeisBBHorSFH,continuewithstep5.
5. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectSubcells>SubcellsTable:StandardDatafromthecontextmenu.TheSubcellstableappears.
7. Exportthefileasexplainedin"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.
Thefileexportedmustcontain,ataminimum,thetransmitternameandTRXtypetoidentifytheTRXtowhichthe
frequenciesareassigned,theHSN,andthesynchronisation.

6.4.2.4.5

AssigningFrequenciesManuallyUsingtheMap
UsingAtoll,youcanallocatefrequenciesmanuallyonthemap.Whenallocatingfrequenciesusingthismethod,youmust
ensurethatneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationonallocatingneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"on
page295.
Toallocatefrequenciesmanuallyusingthemap:
1. Createanddisplayacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestsignallevelandsetthedisplaytodiscrete
valuesbytransmitter.Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitterBasedontheBest
SignalLevel"onpage277.
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. SelectNeighbours fromthecontextmenu.

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Ifyoudisplaythecoverageareasoftheneighbours,youcanseenotonlytheneighbours
on the map but their coverage as well. This will enable you to see more clearly where
frequenciesusedbytheneighbourscouldcauseinterference.Youcandisplaythecoverage
areasofneighboursbyclickingthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton
(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbarandselectingDisplayOptionsfromthemenu.Inthe
NeighbourDisplaydialogboxthat appears, youcanselect the Display Coverage Areas
option.
4. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
5. FromtheFindlist,select"GSMChannel."
6. IntheChannellist,enterachannelthatyouwouldliketoallocate.
7. SelectthecheckboxestodefinewhereyouwantAtolltosearchfortheselectedchannel:

UsedasBCCH
UsedasTCH

8. SelecttheAdjacentchannelscheckboxifyouwantAtolltodisplayadjacentchannelsaswellastheselectedchannel.
9. ClicktheSearchbutton.Themapwindowdisplaysthecoverageareaswiththeselectedchannelalongwithcoverage
areasusingadjacentchannels,ifyouselectedtheAdjacentchannelscheckbox.
Byrepeatingthesearchwithotherchannelsyoucanfindafrequencywithfewadjacentchannelsclosebythatyou
canallocatetotheselectedtransmitter.
Inthefollowingexample,channel11wouldnotbeagoodchoicebecauseitisusedbyaneighbour.Channels10and12are
adjacentchannelsthatarealsousedbyneighboursoftheselectedtransmitter.

Figure6.47:Scanningforfrequencies
Ontheotherhand,channel14wouldbeagoodchoiceandcouldbeallocated.Neitherchannel14noreitheroftheadjacent
channels(13and15)areallocatedtoneighboursoftheselectedtransmitter.

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Figure6.48:Scanningforfrequencies

6.4.3 AFPPrerequisites(IM,Separations,Traffic,etc.)
InAtoll,youcanuseanAutomaticFrequencyPlanning(AFP)moduletoallocatefrequenciesandBSICs,aswellastheMAL,
MAIO,andHSN.
TheAutomaticFrequencyPlanning(AFP)moduleassignsfrequenciesaccordingtotrafficdemand(asindicatedbythenumber
ofrequiredTRXs)andrespectingqualityrequirementswiththeaimofreducinginterference.AtollcanuseanoptionalAtoll
AFPmoduleaswellthirdpartyAFPtools.
TheAFPattemptstoallocateresourcesinanoptimalfashion,i.e.,itattemptstoallocateresourcesinawaythatminimises
interferenceandcomplieswithasetofuserdefinedconstraints.Thetwomaintypesofconstraintsareseparationconstraints
and interference. The AFP assigns a cost to each constraint and then uses a costbased algorithm to evaluate possible
frequencyplansandfindthefrequencyplanwiththelowestcosts.AlthoughyoucanruntheAFPwithoutaninterference
matrix,allocationwillbecalculatedwithouttakinginterferenceintoconsideration,i.e.,withoutconsideringoneofthemost
importantconstraints.
Whenyouassignfrequenciesmanually,youdonotneedaninterferencematrix,traffic,orseparationrules;youwillbeusing
yourknowledgeofthenetwork.Ontheotherhand,whenyouassignfrequenciesautomatically(orinteractively)youneedto
supplytheadditionalinformationtotheAFP.

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Figure6.49:InputdatafortheAFP
Inthissection,theAFPinputrecordsareexplained.Aswell,bothaquickandalonger,moreaccurateprocessoffindingthe
necessaryinformationforeachrecordisexplained.ThequalityoftheresultsgivenbytheAFPdependsonthequalityofthe
input,thereforeitisveryimportantthatyouunderstandandpreparetheinputbeforerunningtheAFP.Thiswillenableyou
tochoosethelevelofcomplexitythatcorrespondstothedesiredaccuracyoftheresults.
ThefollowingAFPinputrecordsareexplainedinthissection:

"InterferenceMatrices"onpage354
"ChannelSeparations"onpage365
"ModellingTraffic"onpage370
"AFPRelatedParametersintheSubcellsTable"onpage373
"ModellingLayersandSubcells"onpage375.

6.4.3.1 InterferenceMatrices
InAtoll,theprobabilityofinterferencebetweenpairsofsubcellsisstoredinaninterferencematrix.Aninterferencematrix
canbethoughtofastheprobabilitythatauserconnectedtoaninterferedsubcellwillreceiveagivenC/Ilevelwheretheonly
interference("I")istheinterferencecomingfromtheinterferersubcell.
The set of active interference matrices will be combined by the AFP to provide interference estimations for each pair of
subcells.YoucanusemorethanoneinterferencematrixinanAtolldocument.Theinterferencematricesthemselvescanbe
createdusingthedatafromdifferentsources(propagation,OMCdata,drivetests,orotherplanningtools)andcanbeacti
vatedordeactivated,asnecessary.
Atollallowsforagreatdealofflexibilityininterferencematrixuse,whichinturnenablesvaryinglevelsofcomplexitywiththe
AFP:

Level1:TheAFPcanbaseitscalculationsonneighbourrelationsandworkwithoutaninterferencematrix
Level2:Youcancalculateaninterferencematrixbasedonuniformtrafficspreading
Level3:Youcancalculateaninterferencematrixwithclutterweighting
Level4:YoucanuseOMCordrivetestbasedinterferencematrices
Level5:Youcanuseanycombinationoflevels2,3,and4.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.4.3.1.1

"CalculatingaSimpleInterferenceMatrix"onpage354
"CalculatingInterferenceMatricesforLargeNetworks"onpage356
"CalculatinganInterferenceMatrixBasedonClutterWeighting"onpage358
"InterferenceMatricesBasedonOMCStatistics"onpage358
"ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices"onpage359
"DefiningTypeDependantQualityIndicatorsonInterferenceMatrices"onpage360
"AnalysingInterferenceMatrices"onpage362
"GeneratingReportsonInterferenceMatrices"onpage364
"SelectingInterferenceMatricesfortheFrequencyAllocationProcess"onpage364.

CalculatingaSimpleInterferenceMatrix
Youcanusesimpleinterferencematricesasaneffectivebackgroundconstraintsystem.Theycanbecalculatedonanation
widescale.

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Tocalculateaninterferencematrix:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheInterferenceMatricesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheInterferenceCalculationdialogboxappears.
4. IntheInterferenceCalculationdialogbox,setthefollowingoptionsunderServicearea:

Server:Select"HCSServers"inordertocorrectlyconsiderHCSprioritiesforservicezoneselection.Selecting"All"
isnotrecommendedbecausetheresultsarenotsignificantlybetterundermostcircumstancesandthecalculation
consumesagreatdealofresources.orwith"bestidlemodereselectioncriterion(C2)",(onlyforpacketswitched
IM).Formoreinformation,see"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489.
Withamargin:EnterahandovermarginintheWithamargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability
(see"ReliabilityRecommendations"onpage355).Usingshadowingisrecommended.

5. UnderTrafficspreading,youcanselectwhetheryouwanttocalculateinterferenceonthepercentageofinterfered
trafficoronthepercentageofinterferedarea:

Basedonthemapsusedinthedefaulttrafficcapture:Ifyouchoosethisoption,Atollwillcalculateinterference
ontheinterferedtrafficforeachpairofsubcells(interferedinterferer).
Uniform(probabilityexpressedin%ofinterferedarea):Ifyouchoosethisoption,Atollwillcalculateinterference
ontheinterferedareasforeachpairofsubcells(interferedinterferer).Thismethodcannotaccuratelyconsider
localconcentrationoftraffic,butisfasterthancalculatinginterferencebasedonmaps.

6. ClickOKtostartthecalculation.
TheresultsofthecalculationcanbefoundinanewitemintheInterferencesMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Bydefault,thenewinterferencematrixisactive.
Changingcertaintransmitterorsubcellproperties,suchaspowerreduction,reception
threshold,transmitterpower,orEIRP,willmakeinterferencematricesinvalid.Ifyou
changetransmitterorsubcellproperties,youwillhavetorecalculatetheinterference
matrices.
ReliabilityRecommendations
Occasionally,theconstraintsyouhavesetfortheAFParenotstrongenough.Iftheconstraintsarenotstrongenough:

TheunlockedpartoftheAFPcostwillbe0and,becauseofthis,theAFPwillstops.
Frequencieswillbereusedintoocloseproximitytoeachotherintheresultingfrequencyplan.
Thedistributionoffrequencyusewillnotbeevenandsomefrequencieswillseldombeused.

Tocorrectanunacceptabledistributionoffrequencies,youwillhavetocreateamorereliableinterferencematrix,thereby
puttingmoreconstraintsontheAFP.
Thebestwaytocreateamorereliableinterferencematrixistoincreasethecelledgecoverageprobabilityandrecalculate
theinterferencematrices.Whenthereliabilityrequirementisraised,thepartofthestandarddeviationisreducedfromthe
signal("C")whencalculatingtheC/IdistributionforeachIMentry.ThisgivesalowerC/Iforeachgiven"reuse"andtherefore
alowerprobabilityofmeetingtherequiredC/Itargetand,consequently,moreinterference.Raisingtheinterferenceinthe
interferencematrixincreasestheconstraintsplacedontheAFP.
Youshouldalsoverifythatthestandarddeviation'sdefaultvalueisproperlydefinedandthatitisproperlydefinedinallclutter
classes.ThisstepisparticularlyimportantforAtolldocumentsconvertedfromolderversionsorconnectedtoadatabase.

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Figure6.50:Modelstandarddeviation:defaultvalue

6.4.3.1.2

Meanpowercontrolgainsarenottakenintoaccountwhencalculatinginterfer
encematrices.Theyareonlyappliedwhentheinterferencematricesareusedin
calculations(IFP,AFP,etc.).Thesameisthecasewiththepoweroffset.
Whenyoucalculateaninterferencematrix,youwouldexpecttohavefullinterfer
enceforalltransmittersoverwhichtheAFPwillperformacostcalculation.The
interferencematrixscopeisthereforedefinedbytheAFPscopewhichisdescribed
in"TheScopeoftheAFPandtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix"onpage376.

CalculatingInterferenceMatricesforLargeNetworks
Calculating interference matrices is very resource intensive. If you have a very large network, calculating an interference
matrixthatcoverstheentirenetworkcanrequiremorecomputerresourcesthanareavailable.Itismoreefficienttocreate
alowresolutioninterferencematrixonanationwidescale,possiblysplittingthenetworkintopartialinterferencematrices
ifnecessary.Onceyouhavealowresolutioninterferencematrixthatcoverstheentirenetwork,youcanaddhighresolution
interferencematricesthatcoverthecities.MergingIMsdoesnotaffecttheefficiencyoftheAtollAFP.Ifnecessary,inorder
toproperlyoptimisethefrequencyplan,youcanthenaddclutterweightedinterferencematricescalculatedoverthedifficult
areassothattheyarecorrectlymodelled.Lastbutnotleast,youcanaddidlemodeIMstomodelthebehaviourofpacket
switcheddata.
AllactiveIMsaremergedbytheAFPandloadedintomemoryonlywhenneeded.
Toreduceresourceconsumption:
1. Modifythedefaultresolutionand/ortheminimuminterfererreceptionthreshold.Theseglobalparametershavea
stronginfluenceontheIMcalculationprocess.Whensettingthepathlossresolutionandsizeappropriateforthe
interferencematrices,forexample,usearesolutionthatisthedoubleofpathlossdata:

Tomodifythedefaultresolution:
i.

SelecttheNetworkexplorer.

ii. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
iii. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
iv. OnthePredictionstab,settheDefaultresolution.
ThedefaultresolutionisusedduringtheIMintegrationcalculationandissavedwiththeIM.

Tomodifytheminimuminterfererreceptionthreshold:
i.

SelecttheParametersexplorer.

ii. RightclicktheNetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
iii. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
iv. OntheCalculationParameterstab,settheMin.interfererreceptionthreshold.
Thisthresholddefinesthelevelfromwhichallinterferersareignored.Ifyouincreaseitto115dBor110dB,
youwillloseverylittleinterferenceinformation,butcalculationswillbemuchfaster.
2. Definealargehandovermargin,forexample,2to4dB:

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3. SaveIMsandcoveragepredictions,etc.,externally,ifpossible:

TosaveIMsexternally,see"StoringInterferenceMatricesExternally"onpage360.
To save coverage predictions externally, see "External Storage of Coverage Prediction Numerical Results" on
page226.

4. Deletecoveragepredictionsthatarenolongerneeded:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
c. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.
Ifyouhavemultibandtransmitters,keepinmindthatthemultibandpathlossoption(see
"AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters"onpage505)createsalotofoverhead
whentheinterferencematrixiscalculated.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Guide.Formoreinformationonreducingresourceconsumption,see"Performanceand
MemoryIssuesinBigProjects"intheAdministratorGuide.
Ifyouhavemorethan20,000transmittersinyournetwork,youmightneedtocalculateseveralsmallerinterferencematrices.
Undermostcircumstances,including1,000to2,000transmittersineachinterferencematrixisthemostefficient.
Tocalculateinterferencematricesforalargenetwork:
1. Createacomputationzonethatcoverspartofthenetwork.Forinformationoncreatingacomputationzone,see
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage266.InFigure6.51,thecomputationzoneisindicatedbytheredoutline.

Figure6.51:Thefirstcomputationzone
2. Calculateaninterferencematrixfortheareacoveredbythecomputationzoneasexplainedin"CalculatingaSimple
InterferenceMatrix"onpage354.
3. Createanewcomputationzonethatpartlyoverlapstheareacoveredbythefirstcomputationzone.InFigure6.52,
theareacoveredbythefirstcomputationzoneisindicatedbytheblackoutline.

Figure6.52:Thesecondcomputationzone
4. Calculateaninterferencematrixfortheareacoveredbythecomputationzone.
5. Repeatstep1.tostep4.untilhavecreatedinterferencematricesfortheentirenetwork,asshowninthefollowing
figures.

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ThecomputationzonesdonotneedtooverlapbecausetheAFPscopeextendsbeyondthe
computationzone.Formoreinformation,see"TheScopeoftheAFPandtheScopeofthe
InterferenceMatrix"onpage376.

6.4.3.1.3

CalculatinganInterferenceMatrixBasedonClutterWeighting
Calculatinganinterferencematrixbasedonclutterweightingdeliversalargeincreaseinquality.However,youshouldbe
awarethatthisprocessisrelativelytimeconsumingandthereforenotsuitedfornationwidecalculations.Itisbettersuited
tolocalfrequencyallocationswherefrequencyallocationisdifficult.Bydefault,Atollgivesahigherprioritytothistypeof
interferencematrixwhencombininginterferencematrices,soaninterferencematrixbasedonclutterweightingcanbeused
withotherinterferencematricesthatarelessprecise.
Tocreateaninterferencematrixbasedonclutterweighting:
1. Createatrafficmodel.
a. Createauserprofileforanactiveuserwithvoiceservice,withcallslastingatotalof3,600secondsperhour(i.e.,
1Erlang).Forinformationoncreatingauserprofile,see"ModellingUserProfiles"onpage316.
b. Createanenvironmentusingthisuserprofilewithadensityof1andpedestrianmobilitytype.Forinformationon
creatinganenvironment,see"ModellingEnvironments"onpage316.
c. Assignappropriateclutterweightingtotheenvironment.
d. IntheGeoexplorer,createanewUserProfileTrafficMapbasedonUserProfileEnvironments.
i.

FromtheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbar,selecttheenvironmentcreatedinstep2.

ii. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
)anddrawthepolygonencompassingthecomputationzone.Thisraster
mapnowappearsintheTrafficfolder.
iii. Namethemap"TemporaryIMmap."
Forinformationoncreatingauserprofiletrafficmap,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"on
page319.
2. Createatrafficcaptureusingthetemporarytrafficmap.

Setthistrafficcapturetobethedefaulttrafficcapture.

Forinformationoncreatingatrafficcapture,see"CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture"onpage323.
3. Calculatetheinterferencematrix.

6.4.3.1.4

When calculating the interference matrix, select the option Traffic spreading based on the maps used in the
defaulttrafficcaptureintheIMcalculationdialogbox.

InterferenceMatricesBasedonOMCStatistics
An OMC interference matrix is an interference matrix created using a statistical analysis of the RXLEV measurements
performedbythemobilesinthenetwork.TheAtollAFPcanfullyemploythistypeofinterferencematrix.
ThemainadvantageofaninterferencematrixbasedonOMCstatisticsisthat,inmanycases,theOMCdatabaseistheonly
reliablesourceofnetworkinformation.However,anOMCbasedIMalsohasacertainnumberofinherentweaknesses.

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OMCIMscanbebasedonreselectionmobilemeasurementsoruponHOmobilemeasurements.Inmostcases,theHOmobile
measurementsareusedtocreatetheinterferencematrix.ThemainweaknessofthisapproachisthatHOmobilemeasure
mentsarelimitedtothelistofneighbours,andthatthislistislimitedinsize.
Toovercomethisconsiderablelimitation,theOMCcantemporarilyapplyneighbours.However,whenthisisdone,thestatis
ticalanalysismusttakeintoaccountthepartialtimeoverwhicheachtemporaryneighbouristested.
AnotherlimitationwhichappliestoallOMCstatisticbasedinterferencematricesisthefactthattheBSICBCCHpairisthe
meansusedtoidentifyatransmitter.TheBSICBCCHpairsaresufficientforidentifyingaserverorapotentialstrongneighbour
forHOcandidate,buttheyarenotsufficienttoidentifyaninterferer.
ThefinallimitationisthesimplefactthattheBCCHplanhasaneffectontheIMwhentheIMiscalculated:iftwotransmitters
interferebuthavethesameBCCH,theirinterferencewillnotbepresentintheOMCinterferencematrix.
ThislimitationcanbeavoidedbyaddingtheBCCHplantotheIMscope.ThisallowstheAtollAFPtoensurethatcertaininter
ferenceentries,(ormorepreciselynointerferenceentries)have0likelihood,andwillsupplementtheinformationwithprop
agationinterferenceinformation.

6.4.3.1.5

ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices
Youcanimportinterferencematricesfromandexportthemtothefollowingformats:

IM0:Onematrixperline
IM1:OneCIthresholdandprobabilitypairperlineforeachinterfered/interferingsubcellpair.
IM2:Onlycochannelandadjacentchannelinterferencevalues.
CLC:Onevalueperline.Theaccompanyingdictionary(DCT)filegivesthecorrespondencebetweenthetransmitter
identifiersandthetransmitternames.
Other:ForskprovidesimportmacrosforotherIMformats.ForinformationontheseorotherIMformats,contactyour
Forskrepresentative.

Formoreinformationontheinterferencematrixfileformats,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingInterferenceMatrices"onpage359
"StoringInterferenceMatricesExternally"onpage360
"ExportingInterferenceMatrices"onpage360.

ImportingInterferenceMatrices
AtollsupportsIM0,IM1,IM2,andCLCinterferencematrixfiles.Atollalsosupportsasimplifiedformatthatgivestheinter
feredsubcell,theinterferingsubcell,thecochannelinterferenceprobability,andtheadjacentchannelprobability.Formore
informationonthesimplifiedformat,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Whenyouimportseveralinterferencematricesthatdescribethesameinterferedinterfererpairs,Atollonlytakesthefirst
descriptionofthepair.Whendescriptionsofthesameinterferedinterfererpairarefoundinsubsequentfiles,thedescription
isignored.
Atolldoesnotperformavaliditycheckontheimportedinterferencefile;youmustthereforeensurethattheimportedinfor
mationisconsistentwiththecurrentconfiguration.Furthermore,Atollonlyimportsinterferencematricesforactivetrans
mitters.
Toimportinterferencematrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. SelectthefiletypefromtheFilesofTypelist.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.
IfyouareimportingaCLCfile,AtolllooksfortheassociatedDCTfileinthesamedirectory.Whenthisfileisunavaila
ble,AtollassumesthatthetransmitteridentifiersintheCLCfilearethesameasthetransmitternames.
6. ClickOpen.AmessageappearsaskingwhetherAtollshouldmergetheimportedinterferencematrixintotheGSM/
GPRS/EDGEdocument:

ClickYestosavetheimportedinterferencematrixintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.
WhenyousaveanimportedinterferencematrixintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument,youcanstillchoosetosave
ittoanexternalfilelinkedtotheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.Forinformation,see"StoringInterferenceMatrices
Externally"onpage360.

ClickNotostoretheinterferencematrixexternally,butlinkedtotheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.

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7. TheinterferencematricesareimportedintothecurrentAtolldocumentandappearasnewitemsintheGSMInter
ferenceMatricesfolder.
Youcanalsoextractinterferencematricesfromrealnetworkdata.Usingdrivetestdata
pathsinwhichthesignalstrengthsofseveraltransmittershavebeenmeasuredateach
point,AtollcangenerateinterferencematrixfilescontainingprobabilitiesofCIpertrans
mittersubcellpair(see"GeneratingInterferenceMatricesfromaDriveTestDataPath"on
page487).
StoringInterferenceMatricesExternally
YoucansaveinterferencematricestoexternalfilesthatarelinkedtotheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.Linkinginterference
matricestotheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumentcanreducefilesizewhentheAtolldocumentisextremelylarge.
BecausetheinterferencematricesarestoredexternallyinASCIformat,readingandwritingtofilecanbetimeconsuming.
WhenAtollreadsanexternallystoredIM,itremainsinmemory.Therefore,toimproveAFPperformance,itisrecommended
toembedinterferencematrices.Youshouldonlysaveinterferencematricesexternallywhentheprojectfileisgettinglarge
(forexample,whentheprojectfileexceeds2Gb).Tostoreaninterferencematrixexternally:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixyouwanttostoreexternally.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. On the General tab, under Interference Matrices Storage, click the Externalise button. A confirmation message
appears.
6. ClickYestoconfirm.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
7. SelectthefiletypefromtheSaveasTypelist.
8. EntertheFilenameandclickSave.TheinterferencematrixisstoredexternallybutremainslinkedtotheGSM/GPRS/
EDGEdocument.
ExportingInterferenceMatrices
AtollsupportsIM0,IM1,IM2,andCLCinterferencematrixfiles.
Toexportinterferencematrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. SelectthefiletypefromtheSaveasTypelist.
6. EntertheFilenameandclickSave.Theinterferencematrixisexported.

6.4.3.1.6

DefiningTypeDependantQualityIndicatorsonInterferenceMatrices
As explained in "Interference Matrices" on page354, you can calculate several individual interference matrices for large
networkswiththeintentionofrecombiningthemasuniqueC/Iprobabilities.Inthesameway,youcancombineseveralinter
ferencematricesofdifferenttypesaccordingtotheirqualityindicatorsandthestrategydefinedbytheAFPmoduleused.For
moreinformationonhowtheoptionalAtollAFPmodulecombinesthedatafrommorethanoneinterferencematrix,see"The
AtollAFPModule"onpage394.
Youcancreateorimport9differenttypesofinterferencematrices:
1. Interferencematricesbasedonpathloss(propagationdata)matrices
Theirreliabilitydependsontheaccuracyandcorrectnessofnetworkandgeodata.
2. InterferencematricesbasedonreselectionstatisticsfromtheOMC
Theirreliabilityisusuallylowduetothedifferencebetweenthelocationswheremobilesareswitchedonandwhere
theyareactuallyusedtoaccessthenetwork.
3. InterferencematricesbasedonhandoverstatisticsfromtheOMC
Theirreliabilityisusuallylowduetothefactthatinterferenceismeasuredonlyamongexistingneighbours(which
mightnotbecorrectlyassigned).Thistypeofinterferencematrixishighlycorrelatedwiththeneighbourrelations.It
canbeusedtoremoveexcessiveneighbourconstraints.However,itcannotbeusedtocompleteanymissingneigh

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bour information. Another reason for low reliability is that interference information is collected from handover
regionsonly,insteadoffromtheservicearea.
4. InterferencematricesbasedonRXLEVstatisticsfromtheOMC(neighboursaswellastemporaryneighbours)
Theycanbeaverygoodsourceofinterferenceinformationiftheyarestatisticallystablebecausetheyarenotsensi
tivetodataerrors.Ontheotherhand,theyhavemanydisadvantages,suchas:

TransmitterswiththesameBSICandBCCHcannotbedifferentiated.
TransmittershavingthesameBCCHwillneverhaveaninterferenceentry.
Informationislostwhenmorethan6interferersexistatanylocation.
IfmanyinterfererssharethesameBCCH,theyincreaseeachothersinterferencelevels.
HCSlayerscancauseproblemsbecausetherearemoreserversatanypoint,macrolayerserversarestronger,or
acorrectionmarginmightbeintroducedforsomeequipment,etc.

Thistypeofinterferencematrixcanbecreatedusinganextendedneighbourslist.
5. Interferencematricesbasedondrivetestdata
Reliability can be low because usually the drive test data sampling zone and the traffic model are not related.
Secondly,themeasurementsarecarriedoutforexistingneighbours.
6. InterferencematricesbasedonCWmeasurements
Theirreliabilitycanbelowbecausethemeasurementsusuallydonotreflectthetrafficmodel.However,thissource
ofinformationcanbeveryreliableforasubsetoftransmittersthatwereproperlyscanned.CarryingoutCWmeas
urementsisexpensivewhichmeansthatthecollectedinformationisoftenpartialoroutofdate.
7. Interferencematricesbasedonscandatadrivetests
Theyarehighlyreliableandanexcellentsourceofinformation,butarenotusefulinaradioplanningtoolbecauseno
informationisavailabletomaptransmitterstothereceivedsignalsatanypixel.
8. Upperboundinterferencematrix
Thesourceofthistypeofinterferencematrixisnotdefined.Itcanbebasedonuserexperience.Theinformation
containedinthisinterferencematrixisusedasanupperlimit,i.e.,ifthisinterferencematrixindicatesacertainlevel
ofinterference,itshouldnotbeexceededbecauseotherinterferencematricesshowhigherinterference.Ifanupper
boundinterferencematrixdoesnotcontaininformationaboutanentry,itisignored.
9. Lowerboundinterferencematrix
Thesourceofthistypeofinterferencematrixisnotdefined.Itcanbebasedonuserexperience.Theinformation
contained in this interference matrix is used as a lower limit. This type of interference matrix can be very useful
becauseyoucaneditentriesinthisinterferencematrix,andbecertainthattheinterferencewillbeatleastashighas
thevalueyouentered.Thisapproachcanbeusedwhenuserexperienceshowsacertainlevelofinterferencewhich
theradionetworkplanningtoolisunabletocalculate.
Todefinetheinterferencematrixtype:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixforwhichyouwanttodefinethetype.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheInterferenceMatrixPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. OntheAdvancedtab,selecttheInterferenceMatrixTypefromthelist.
Dependingonthematrixtype,thequalityindicatorsavailableintheAdvancedtabinclude:

Formatricesbasedonpathloss(propagationdata)matrices:

Thestandarddeviation
Theresolution
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.
Matricesbasedonpropagationcanstoreadditionalinformation,suchasserverselection
ortheHOmarginvalue,ifshadowinghasbeentakenintoaccountfortheircalculationand,
ifso,thecelledgecoverageprobability.ThisinformationcanthenbeusedbytheAFPfor
some calculations. For more information, see "The Cost Tab" on page404 and "The
AdvancedTab"onpage413.

FormatricesbasedonreselectionstatisticsfromtheOMC:

Thestatisticduration
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

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FormatricesbasedonhandoverstatisticsfromtheOMC:

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofpointscollectedateachmatrixcalculationpoint.

FormatricesbasedonCWmeasurements:

Thestatisticduration
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Formatricesbasedondrivetestdata:

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofpointscollectedateachmatrixcalculationpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

FormatricesbasedonRXLEVstatisticsfromtheOMC:

2014Forsk

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofpointscollectedateachmatrixcalculationpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Formatricesbasedonscandatadrivetests:

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofpointscollectedateachmatrixcalculationpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Thecontextinwhichaninterferencematrixwascreatedisnotpartoftheinterferencematrixfiles.Youmustthereforesetup
thetypeandqualityindicatorsoftheinterferencematrixmanually.

6.4.3.1.7

AnalysingInterferenceMatrices
TheAtollAFPenablesyoutoanalyseinterferencematricesfordifferenttransmittersandtheirTRXs.Foranyselectedtrans
mitteranditsTRX,youcanusetheAFPmoduletodisplaylistsofinterferingandinterferedtransmitters,theirTRXs,andthe
correspondingcosts.TheAFPmodulealsodisplaystheinterferencerelationsbetweentransmittersinthemapwindow.Co
channelandadjacentchannelinterferencesaretreatedseparately.Youcandisplayallorstronglyinterferedandinterfering
transmitters,andinterferedandinterferingneighbourtransmitters.
Toanalyseinterferencematrices:
1. SelectTools>IFP.TheIFPwindowappears.
2. SelecttheInterferenceMatrixAnalysisfromthelistatthetopoftheIFPwindow.
3. SelectatransmitterfromtheTransmitterlist.
Youcanalsoselectatransmitterbyclickingitssymbolinthemapwindow.

4. SelecttheTRXtypefromtheSubcellslist.
5. SelectanAFPmodulefromtheAFPModulelist.
6. Ifyouwanttomodifyparametersthatwillinfluencefrequencyplanningbeforerunningthetool,selectoneofthefol
lowingfromtheParameterslist:

AFPModuleProperties:Forinformationontheoptions,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
AFPParameters:IntheAFPLaunchingParametersdialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:
i.

UnderTrafficloads,indicatewhethertheAFPshouldtaketrafficloadsFromthesubcellstableoruseloads
Basedonthedefaulttrafficcaptureresults.

ii. IfyouwanttheAFPtoconsiderdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportitincalculatingthe
interference,selecttheDTXcheckboxandentertheVoiceactivityfactor.
iii. SelecttheLoadallthesubcellsinvolvedinseparationconstraintscheckboxifyouwantallsubcellspotential
lyinvolvedtobeloaded.
iv. SelecttheLoadallthepotentialinterfererscheckboxifyouwantallpotentialinterfererstobeloaded.Ifthis
checkboxisnotselected,thecostfunctionwillconsistonlyoftheseparationviolationcost.

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SeparationRules:Forinformationontheoptions,see"ChannelSeparations"onpage365.
ExceptionalPairs:Forinformationontheoptions,see"ChannelSeparations"onpage365.
IntraTechnologyNeighbours:Forinformationontheoptions,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage295.

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7. ClickCalculate.TheinterferenceprobabilityvaluesaredisplayedintherightmostcolumnoftheInterferenceMatrix
Analysistab.
ThetoolcalculatesanddisplaysinterferenceprobabilitiesusingtheactiveinterferencematricesavailableintheGSM
InterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.IftheinterferencematricesintheGSMInterferenceMatrices
folderareinactiveorifinterferencematricesarenotavailable,theanalysistoolonlycalculatesanddisplaystheinter
ferencefromatransmitteranditsTRXsonitself.
Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthestudiedtransmittertoeachinterferedorinterferingtransmitteraredisplayed.
Thecolourofthearrowisthesameasthecolourofthestudiedtransmitter.Theprobabilitiesofinterferenceare
displayedascaptionsforthearrows.Thethicknessofthearrowsareindicatetheinterferenceprobability.
8. Selecttheinterferenceinformationtodisplayintherightmostcolumn:

UndertheStatuscolumn,youcandisplaytheinterferencematrixinformationwiththestudiedtransmitterasthe
VictimortheInterferer.
UndertheFrequencyReusecolumn,youcandisplayCochannelorAdjacentChannelinterferenceinformation
forthestudiedtransmitter.
UndertheFilteringcolumn,youcandisplaytheStronglyInterfered,AllInterfered,ortheNeighbourViolations
ofthestudiedtransmitter.YoucanchoosemorethanoneoftheseoptionsbypressingandholdingCTRLand
clickingeachoption.

Thefollowingfiguresillustratethedisplayofinterferenceinformation.

Figure6.53:Displayinginterferenceinformation

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Figure6.53:Displayinginterferenceinformation

6.4.3.1.8

GeneratingReportsonInterferenceMatrices
YoucangeneratereportsononeoralloftheinterferencematricesintheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"GeneratingaReportonaSingleInterferenceMatrix"onpage364
"GeneratingaReportonAllInterferenceMatrices"onpage364.

GeneratingaReportonaSingleInterferenceMatrix
Togenerateareportonasingleinterferencematrix:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixonwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheInterferenceMatrixScopedialogboxappearswiththereport
details:

Atablewiththenumberoftimesthelistedtransmitterhasbeeninterfered
Thetotalnumberofentriesintheselectedinterferencematrix
Thenumberoftransmitterscoveredbytheinterferencematrix
Theaveragenumberofinterferersperinterferedsubcellintheinterferencematrix.

GeneratingaReportonAllInterferenceMatrices
InordertogenerateareportonalltheinterferencematricesintheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheInterferenceMatrixScopedialogboxappearswiththereport
details:

6.4.3.1.9

Atablewiththenumberoftimesthelistedtransmitterhasbeeninterfered
Thetotalnumberofentriesintheselectedinterferencematrices
Thenumberoftransmitterscoveredbytheinterferencematrices
Theaveragenumberofinterferersperinterferedsubcellintheinterferencematrices.

SelectingInterferenceMatricesfortheFrequencyAllocationProcess
WhenyouallocatefrequenciesautomaticallyorinteractivelyusingtheAFPinGSM/GPRS/EDGE,theallocationprocessuses
interferencematrices.Youcanselectwhichinterferencematricestheautomaticorinteractivefrequencyallocationprocess
willbebasedon.Whenyouusemorethanoneinterferencematrix,theAFPcombinesthedata.Formoreinformationonhow
theoptionalAtollAFPmodulecombinesthedatafrommorethanoneinterferencematrix,see"TheAtollAFPModule"on
page394.

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Toactivateaninterferencematrixtobeusedforanautomaticfrequencyallocation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixyouwanttouseinanautomaticfrequencyallocation.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectActivatefromthecontextmenu.Theselectedinterferencematrixisnowactiveandwillbeusedthenexttime
youuseanAFP.
YoucandeactivatetheinterferencematrixbyrightclickingitandselectingDeactivatefromthecontextmenu.
Whenyouhaveseveralactiveinterferencematricesinaproject,onlythoseintersecting
theAFPscopewillbeloadedinordertoavoidconsumingmorememorythannecessary
duringtheAFPprocess.The"RAMConsumption"fieldintheinterferencematrixproper
tiesdialogboxindicateshowmuchmemorytheinterferencematrixwilltake.Forembed
dedmatrices,theAFPloadsthemonlyduringtheAFPprocess,sothe"RAMConsumption"
fieldwillalwaysbezero.Forexternalmatrices,theAFPreadsthemtochecktheirscope
and then decides whether they are to be loaded into memory or not, so, the "RAM
Consumption"fieldwillalwaysbeanonzerovalue(afterrunningtheAFP).Asaresult,it
isrecommendedtoembedinterferencematricesaslongasthedocumentfilesizeisnot
excessivelylarge.

6.4.3.2 ChannelSeparations
ChannelseparationsdefinehowmanychannelsshouldseparatedifferentTRXsundersetcircumstances.Channelseparations
arenecessaryifyouareusingautomaticfrequencyplanning.Carefullydefiningchannelseparationswillhelpyouincreasethe
efficientuseofchannelsinyournetwork.
DefiningchannelseparationsisathreestepprocessinAtoll.
Instep1,yousetgeneralseparationrulesthatdefinethechannelseparationthatshouldexistbetweenTRXsonthesame
transmitter,samesite,orbetweenneighbours.
Instep2,youdefineseparationrulesfortheTRXsofspecificpairsoftransmitters.Duringautomaticfrequencyplanning,the
separation rules can be overridden by the specific entries in the Exceptional Separation Constraints table. You can edit
constraintsdirectlyfromtheAFPoutputdialogbox.TheExceptionalSeparationConstraintstableisautomaticallyupdated
withanychangesyoumakeintheAFPoutputdialogbox.
Instep3,youensurethatyourneighbourrelationconstraintsarecorrectlyweightedbytheneighbourimportance.
Inthissection,creatingseparationrulesandexceptionalseparationconstraintsisexplained.Aswell,displayingandmodifying
exceptionalseparationconstraintsonthemapisexplained:

6.4.3.2.1

"DefiningSeparationRules"onpage365
"ImportingSeparationRules"onpage365
"DefiningExceptionalFrequencySeparations"onpage366
"DisplayingExceptionalFrequencySeparationsontheMap"onpage366
"AddingorRemovingExceptionalFrequencySeparationsUsingtheMouse"onpage367.

DefiningSeparationRules
YoucandefineseparationrulesthatsetthechannelseparationthatshouldexistbetweenpairsofTRXsonthesametrans
mitter,samesite,orbetweenneighboursafterafrequencyallocation.
Todefineseparationrules:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFrequencyPlan>SeparationRulesfromthecontextmenu.TheSeparationRulestableappears.
4. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
todefine:

6.4.3.2.2

),selectthefollowingparametersforeachseparationruleyouwant

TypeofRelation:Selectthetypeofrelation,cotransmitter,cosite,orneighbour,betweenthetwoTRXs.
TRXType:SelectthefirstTRXtype.
TRXType2:SelectthesecondTRXtype.
DefaultMin.Separation:EntertheminimumdifferenceinchannelsthatmustexistbetweenthetwoTRXtypes.
Entering"0"meansthattheycanusethesamechannel.

ImportingSeparationRules
Ifyouhaveanexistingsetofseparationrules,youcanimportthemintoyourGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument.

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Toimportseparationrules:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFrequencyPlan>SeparationRulesfromthecontextmenu.TheSeparationRulestableappears.
4. Importthefileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

6.4.3.2.3

DefiningExceptionalFrequencySeparations
Theseparationrulesapplytotheentirenetwork.However,inafewcases,theseparationrulesmightnotapplytospecific
pairsofTRXs.Inthiscase,youcansetexceptionalfrequencyseparationstodefinechannelseparationsthatapplytospecific
pairsofTRXs.Duringautomaticfrequencyplanning,theseparationrulesarefirstconsidered,buttheycanbeoverriddenby
specificentriesintheExceptionalSeparationConstraintstable.
Todefineexceptionalfrequencyseparations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Frequency Plan> Exceptional Pairs from the context menu. The Exceptional Separation Constraints table
appears.
4. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
todefine:

),selectthefollowingparametersforeachseparationruleyouwant

Transmitter:SelectthetransmitteronwhichtheTRXinTRXTypeislocated.
TRXType:SelectthefirstTRXtype.
Transmitter2:SelectthetransmitteronwhichtheTRXinTRXType2islocated.
TRXType2:SelectthesecondTRXtype.
Separation:EntertheminimumdifferenceinchannelsthatmustexistbetweenthetwoTRXtypes.Entering"0"
meansthattheycanusethesamechannel.
YoucanalsodefineexceptionalpairsfromtheAFPresults.Subcellswhichdonotrespect
separation constraints can be defined as exceptional pairs in order to force the AFP to
modifyitsallocationpriorityandtoavoidthisviolation.See"TheResultsoftheAutomatic
FrequencyAllocation"onpage383formoreinformation.

6.4.3.2.4

DisplayingExceptionalFrequencySeparationsontheMap
YoucandisplaytheexceptionalfrequencyseparationsdefinedintheExceptionalSeparationConstraintstableonthemap.
Todisplaytheexceptionalfrequencyseparations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Frequency Plan> Display Options from the context menu. The Separation Constraint Display dialog box
appears.
4. SelecttheTransmitter1TRXTypeandtheTransmitter2TRXTypetodisplay.
Whenyouselect"All"aseitherTransmitter1TRXTypeorTransmitter2TRXType,Atoll
doesnotdisplayallTRXtypes.Ratheritdisplaysonlyexceptionalfrequencyseparationsfor
whichtheTRXtypeconstraintisdefinedas"All."
5. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

6. SelectExceptionalPairs(AFP)fromthecontextmenu.
7. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

8. Click a transmitter on the map to display the exceptional frequency separations. If the selected transmitter has
definedexceptionalfrequencyseparationsthatfitthedisplayoptions,Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformation(see
Figure6.54):

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The exceptional frequency separations of the selected transmitter are indicated by a heavy line in the same
colourastheothertransmitterinthedefinedpair.
Thedefinedminimumchannelseparationisindicatedbesidethelinelinkingthetwotransmitters.

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Figure6.54:Displayingexceptionalfrequencyseparations
9. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)again.

Youcandefineexceptionalpairsdirectlyonthemap.Forinformation,see"Addingor
RemovingExceptionalFrequencySeparationsUsingtheMouse"onpage367.

6.4.3.2.5

AddingorRemovingExceptionalFrequencySeparationsUsingtheMouse
Youcanaddandremovedefineexceptionalfrequencyseparationsdirectlyonthemap.
Todefineanexceptionalfrequencyseparationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Frequency Plan> Display Options from the context menu. The Separation Constraint Display dialog box
appears.
4. InTransmitter1TRXTypelistandTransmitter2TRXTypelist,selecttheTRXtypeforwhichyouwanttodefinesep
arationconstraints.
5. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

6. SelectExceptionalPairs(AFP)fromthecontextmenu.
7. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

).

8. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaystheexistingexceptionalfrequencyseparationsforthistrans
mitter.
Youcandothefollowing:

Toaddanexceptionalfrequencyseparation:PressCTRLandclickonthesecondtransmitter.Adialogboxappears
where you enter the minimum separation between the transmitters. When you click OK, the exceptional fre
quencyseparationiscreatedandindicatedbyaheavylineinthesamecolourasthesecondtransmitter.Themin
imumseparationisindicatednexttothelink.Theexceptionalseparationconstraintisautomaticallyaddedtothe
ExceptionalSeparationConstraintstable.
Toremoveanexceptionalfrequencyseparation:PressCTRLandclickonthesecondtransmitterofanexisting
exceptionalfrequencyseparation.Theexceptionalfrequencyseparationisremovedfromthemapandfromthe
ExceptionalSeparationConstraintstable.

9. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)again.

Youcandisplaythecoverageareasofexceptionalpairsinmuchthesamewayasyou
woulddisplaythecoverageofatransmittersneighbours,withtheexceptionthatyou
selectExceptionalPairs(AFP)whenyouclickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationson
theMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Formoreinformation,see
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaTransmitter"onpage304.

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AdjustingtheRelativeImportanceofNeighbours
Inmanycases,neighbourrelationsarethestrongestconstraintsontheAFP.TheneighbourimportancefieldoftheNeigh
bourstableenablestheAFPtopartiallyignoreweakordistantneighboursandconcentratemoreonthemoreimportant
neighbours.
Neighbourimportancecanbeeither:

calculatedbyAtoll
imported,basedonOMCstatistics,or
importedandcompletedbyacalculationperformedinAtoll

Thissectiongivesseveralexamplesofhowyoucanadjusttherelativeimportanceofneighbours.
ReviewtheneighbourallocationbeforerunningtheAFP.Oftenpoorlydefinedneighbour
relationsarethecauseofapoorlydefinedfrequencyplan.

Example1:AutomaticNeighbourAllocation
Youcancalculateneighbourimportancebyautomaticallyallocatingneighboursasexplainedin"AllocatingNeighboursAuto
matically"onpage297.Atollsdefaultvalueswhenautomaticallyallocatingneighboursare:

CoverageFactor:1%to30%
AdjacencyFactor:30%to60%
CositeFactor:60%to100%

IfyouarerunninganautomaticneighbourallocationsothatAtollcanusethecalculatedneighbourcalculationintheAFP,you
shouldchangethevalues:

CoverageFactor:1%to81%
AdjacencyFactor:20%to90%
CositeFactor:70%to100%
Changing the defaultvalues changestheprioritydefinitions ofthe neighbourallocation
algorithm.Formoreinformation,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

Figure6.55:Automaticneighbourallocation

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Afteryouhaveruntheautomaticneighbourallocation,andtheautomaticneighbourallocationhascalculatedtheneighbour
importance,youcancommittheresultsandruntheAFP.
Example2:ImportingNeighbourImportance
Thereareseveralpossibleexternalsourcesofneighbourimportance.Forexample:

OMCHOstatistics
Testmobiledatameasurements(providingthemeasurementsignoreinterferencebetweennonneighbours).

Aswithanysourceofinformation,itisuptotheusertoprepareandimportthisexternaldata.Neighbourimportanceismeas
uredintermsofprobabilities.
Example3:CompletingorUpdatingtheNeighbourImportanceInformation
Afteraddingnewsites,orinordertoresolvehandoverproblems,youmightneedtorunanewautomaticneighbouralloca
tion.However,whenyourunanautomaticneighbourallocation,Atollrecalculatesallexistingneighbourrelationsandover
writes existing neighbour importance values. If the changes to the network were only minimal, you can assume that the
existingneighbourrelationsandweightswereaccurate.Youcanalsoassumethatthenewlycalculatedneighbourrelations
andimportancevaluesarelessimportant,becausetheyareonlyminormodificationstoaworkingsystem.
Youcanpreservetheexistingneighbourrelationsandimportancevalueswhileatthesametimecreatingneighbourrelations
for the new sites by first exportingtheexistingneighbourrelations,running anautomatic neighbour allocationtocreate
neighbourrelationsalongwiththeirweights,andthenreimportingtheoriginalneighbourrelationsandweights.Atollwill
thenreplacethenewlycalculatedneighbourrelationsandweightswiththeoriginalvalueswheretheyexist.
Toextendanneighbourallocationwhilepreservingexistingneighbourrelations:
1. Export the current intratechnology neighbour relations once to a file called AllCurrentNei.txt using the Export
commandontheNeighbourstable'scontextmenu.Forinformationonexportingatable,see"ExportingTablesto
TextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.
2. ExporttheintratechnologyneighbourrelationsasecondtimetoafilecalledAllCurrentNei_Importance.txt,thistime
selectingtheneighbourrelationswithareliableneighbourimportance.
3. Import the AllCurrentNei.txt file into the Exceptional Pairs of Intratechnology Neighbours table. This will set all
existingneighbourrelationstoforced,whichisaprerequisitetoextendinganexistingneighbourallocation.Forinfor
mationonimportingthecontentsofatextfileintoatable,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
4. SettheimportanceweightingintheNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogboxinordertokeepthevaluesassigned
forimportancebelowacertainvalue.Forexample,ifyouwantallimportancevaluestobeunder50%,youcansetthe
MaxImportancevaluesasindicatedinFigure6.56.Forinformationonsettingtheimportanceweighting,see"Config
uringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage296.
5. Runanautomaticneighbourallocationtoallocateneighbourstonewsitesandassignimportancetoneighbourrela
tionsthatdonotalreadyhaveanimportanceassigned.Forinformationondefiningandrunninganautomaticneigh
bourallocation,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage297.

Figure6.56:Settingneighbourimportanceweighting
AsyoucanseeinFigure6.56,theimportanceassignedtoallnewneighbourrelationswillbeweak.
6. Committheallocation.
7. ImporttheAllCurrentNei.txtfileintotheNeighbourstable.WhenAtollpromptsyoutodeleteexistingneighbours,
clickNo.
InFigure6.57,youcanseethatneighbourrelationsnowincludeoldneighbourrelationswithahigherimportanceandnew
neighbourrelationswithalowerimportanceautomaticallycalculatedbyAtoll.

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Figure6.57:Neighbourstable
Example4:ImportingPartialSourcesofNeighbourImportance
Youcanimportpartialsourcesofneighbourimportance.Thedata,intheformofaprobabilityfrom0to1,areimportedinto
theImportancecolumnoftheNeighbours.
Ifyournetworkstatisticsdonotprovideyouwiththeimportanceofneighbours,youcancalculateneighbourimportance
usingotherstatistics.YoucanthenimportthiscalculatedimportanceintoAtollwhereitcanbeusedbytheAFP.
Forexample,ifyouhavestatisticsonthenumberofhandoversbetweentwosectors,youcancalculatetheimportanceofthe
differentneighboursofeachcellusingthesestatistics.Forexample,ifyouhavetwosectors,AandB,andyouuseXtorepre
sentthe"AverageActivityofaRelationship"inthenetwork,i.e.,thesumofallhandoversforallsectorsdividedbythenumber
ofneighbourrelationships.IfthenumberofhandoversfromsectorB(neighbourofsectorA)isY,theimportanceofsectorB
forsectorAcanbecalculatedusingthefollowingequation:

Impor tan ce =

1ifY X
Y
---- IfY X
X

Thisway,whenarelationshiphasanaboveaveragenumberofhandovers,itsimportancewillbethehighestpossibleinAtoll,
i.e.,100%.Otherwise,itsimportancewillbebelowaverage.

6.4.3.3 ModellingTraffic
Whenallocatingfrequencies,informationfromtheinterferencematrixisoftenusedalongwithAFPtraffic.InAtoll,thesetwo
recordsarenotcorrelated.FormoreinformationonwhyinterferencematricesandAFPtrafficarenotcorrelatedinAtoll,see
"AFPGuidelines"onpage430.
TheAFPusestraffictodifferentiatebetweenheavilyloadedTRXs(whichwouldgenerateahighcostiftheyareinterfered)
andTRXswithalowload(whichcanbeinterferedwithoutgeneratingahighcost).Inotherwords,theAFPtrafficmodelis
basicallyaweightingsystem.InmoreadvancedAFPuse,AFPtrafficcanbeused,forexample,tooptimisethenumberofTRXs
andestimateblocking.
AFPtrafficinputwillbedescribedinthissection.TrafficisoneofthemostimportantAFPinputsbecause:

TheAFPwilltrytoassigntherequirednumberofTRXs.ThenumberofrequiredTRXsisanimportantpartoftheAFP
trafficinformation.
Thecostofinterferenceisproportionaltothetrafficload.
Forfrequencyhopping,theinterferencecausedbyagiveninterfererusuallyincreaseswhenitstrafficloadincreases.
Atitsmostadvancedlevel,theAtollAFPcanoptimisethetradeoffsbetweeninterferedtrafficandblockedtraffic
(i.e.,whentheAFPispermittedtoadaptthenumberofTRXstothespectrumavailabilityconditions).

ThereismorethanonemethodofprovidingtrafficinformationtotheAFP.Inthissection,themethodsofprovidingtraffic
informationareexplainedfromthesimplesttothemostadvanced.
Method1:SettingAllTrafficLoadsto1
Whenalltrafficloadsaresetto"1,"theamountoftrafficisdeterminedexclusivelybythenumberofrequiredTRXs.Asa
result,allTRXsareconsideredequally.Thismethodhastobeusedwhenevertheonlyinformationyouhaveisthenumberof
requiredTRXs.

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Method2:EnteringTrafficLoadsManually
InthismethodofprovidingtrafficinformationtotheAFP,theAFPtrafficisdeterminedbythemanuallyenteredtrafficload
values,andbythemanuallyenterednumberofrequiredTRXs.Thedisadvantageofthismethodisthatthisinformationmust
usuallybecalculatedandenteredmanually;itisnoteasytoobtainautomatically.Ifyouhaveaccesstothisinformation,you
canusethismethod.
Method3:ImportingTrafficLoadsfromOMCData
ThismethodisrecommendedforusewiththeAtollAFP,however,itisnotsupportedbyallexternalAFPsuppliers.Usingthis
method,theAFPconsidersthenumberofrequiredTRXsasarecommendationonly.Theactualtrafficdemandistakenfrom
theSubcellstable,wherethedatahasbeenupdatedusingtrafficdemandssuppliedbytheOMC(see"ImportingOMCTraffic
DataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData"onpage312).
TousethetrafficinformationintheSubcellsTable:TrafficData:
1. OntheCosttaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox,selecttheoptionBasedonthetrafficdemand(from
subcelltableordefaulttrafficcapture)(seeFigure6.58).FormoreinformationontheAtollAFPModuleProperties
dialogbox,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.

Figure6.58:SettingtheoptionontheCosttab
2. OntheGlobalParameterstaboftheAFPwizarddialogbox,selecttheoptionFromsubcelltableunderTraffic(Subcell
load,demandandtargetrateoftrafficoverload)(seeFigure6.59).FormoreinformationontheAtollAFPModule
Propertiesdialogbox,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.

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Figure6.59:SettingtheoptionontheGlobalParameterstaboftheAFPdialogbox
3. OntheAFPModelandAllocationstabofthefirstAFPdialogbox,selecttheoptionOptimisationofthenumberof
TRXsunderStrategies.FormoreinformationontheAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox,see"TheAtollAFPModule"
onpage394.
Method4:ExtractingTrafficfromTrafficMaps
Inthismethod,youusetrafficmaps,butyourelyonexternaldimensioningtodeterminethenumberofrequiredTRXs.
ThismethodalsorequiresyoutocreateatrafficcapturebeforelaunchingtheAFP.Thetrafficcapturewillprovideananalysis
oftrafficatthetransmitterlevel,therebytransformingthetrafficmapsintotheloadestimatesthatarerequiredfortheAFP.
Thetrafficmodelisamapandgivesprobabilistictrafficestimatesperpixel.TheAFPneedseithertrafficdemandsorloads.In
bothcase,itneedsthisinformationatthesubcellorcelllevel.Thetrafficcaptureisresponsibleforthisconversion.
UsingatrafficmodelisanenhanceduseofAtoll.Youmustbesurethatyourtrafficmodellingiscorrectandcompatiblewith
theservicezonemodelling.Youmustalsobeawareofmobilitycompatibilities,servicecompatibilities,mobilecompatibilities,
andlayerdefinitions.
Theinherentcomplexitiesofworkingwithatrafficmodeldiscouragemanyusersfromworkingwithatrafficmodel,even
thoughtheoreticallythisisthebestwayofplanningaGSMnetwork.
Itisevenpossibletorestricttheuseofacertainmap(orsetofmaps)toacertainHCSlayer.Wehighlyrecommendtheusage
ofthisfeaturesinceitreducesthiscomplexity(see"CreatingaTrafficCapture"onpage324).
Inordertousethisoption,youmustdothefollowing:

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OntheGlobalParameterstaboftheAFPdialogbox,selectBasedondefaulttrafficcaptureresultsunderTraffic(see
Figure6.60).

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Figure6.60:Selectingthedefaulttrafficcaptureresultsasthesourceoftraffic
Method5:UsingaTrafficModelwithDimensioning
With this method you use a traffic model along with dimensioning (see "Dimensioning a GSM/GPRS/EDGE Network" on
page331).
UsuallythenumberofrequiredTRXsisaninput.ThenumberofrequiredTRXscanbestrictorlightlymodified.Ifyoudecide
touseAtoll'sdimensioningmodeltodeterminethenumberofrequiredTRXs:

Thoroughlytestyourtrafficmodelandnetwork.
Carryoutthedimensioning,verifytheresults,andcommitit.

BycommittingtherequirednumberofTRXsyouhavealreadycommittedtheloadandthedemandinformationtothecells
orsubcells.YouarenowreadytousetheAFP.

6.4.3.4 AFPRelatedParametersintheSubcellsTable
ManyoftheparametersusedbytheAFParereaddirectlyfromsubcellsettingsmadeintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.You
canmodifytheseparametersgloballyorforindividualtransmittersbeforerunningtheAFP.Otherparametersarecalculated
whenyoudimensiontheGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.
BeforeyoucanusetheAFPtool,youneedtoknowthenumberofrequiredTRXs.YoucandimensionthenetworktoletAtoll
automaticallycalculateandupdatetherequirednumberofTRXsneededpersubcellforeachtransmitterofthenetwork,or
youcanentertheinformationmanually.ForinformationonlettingAtollautomaticallycalculateandupdatetherequired
numberofTRXsneededpersubcell,see"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage329.Forinformationonadding
TRXsmanually,see"CreatingorModifyingaTRX"onpage247.
Whenyoudimensionthenetwork,Atollalsocalculatestherequirednumberofshared,circuit,andpackettimeslotsrequired
forallTRXsofthesubcell.
TheotherAFPrelevantparametersinthenetworkconcernthesubcellsandrelatedTRXs.InAtoll,asubcellreferstothechar
acteristicsofagroupofTRXsonatransmittersharingthesameradiocharacteristics,thesamequality(C/I)requirements,and
othersettings.
Thefollowingsubcellsettingscanbemodifiedgloballybymodifyingthecelltypeorforaspecifictransmitterbymodifyingthe
parametersunderSubcellsontheTRXstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Theparametersaredisplayedinthree
differenttablesunderSubcells:StandardData,forthestandardinformationdefiningasubcell,TrafficData,forinformation
describingthetrafficinthecell,andAFPindicators,forinformationresultingfromrunninganAFPmodel.Forinformationon
modifyingcelltypes,see"CellTypes"onpage492.Forinformationonmodifyingtransmitterproperties,see"Creatingor
ModifyingaTransmitter"onpage245.
ThefollowingarethemostimportantAFPrelevantparametersunderSubcellsontheTRXstabofthetransmittersProperties
dialogbox:

TrafficLoad:TheTrafficLoadindicatestheusagerateofTRXs;itsvaluemustbefrom0to1.ThevalueintheTraffic
Loadcolumncanbeeitheruserdefinedortheresultofnetworkdimensioning,inwhichcaseitwillbethesamevalue

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forallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.,BCCHandTCH).Thetrafficloadisusedtocalculateinterferenceandin
automaticfrequencyplanning.
TotalCircuitDemand:ThecircuitdemandindicatestheamountofErlangsnecessarytoabsorbthecircuitswitched
demand.Thisvaluecanbeeitheruserdefinedortheresultofatrafficcapture,inwhichcaseitwillbethesamevalue
forallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.,BCCHandTCH).ThisvaluecanbeusedbyanadvancedAFPmodeltoopti
misethenumberofTRXsandmaximisetheamountofcorrectlyservedtraffic.TheTotalCircuitDemandisfoundin
theTrafficDatatable.
TotalPacketDemand:Thepacketdemandindicatestheamountoftimeslotsnecessarytoabsorbthepacketswitched
demand.Thisvaluecanbeeitheruserdefinedortheresultofatrafficcapture,inwhichcaseitwillbethesamevalue
forallsubcellscoveringthesamearea(e.g.BCCHandTCH).ThisvaluecanbeusedbyanadvancedAFPmodeltoopti
misethenumberofTRXsandmaximisetheamountofcorrectlyservedtraffic.TheTotalPacketDemandisfoundin
theTrafficDatatable.
C/IThreshold(dB):TheminimumsignalqualityfortheTRXType,underwhichthesubcellinterfaceistakenintocon
sideration.TheC/IThresholdisfoundintheStandardtable.
ReceptionThreshold(dBm):TheminimumreceivedsignalfortheTRXType.TheReceptionThresholdisfoundinthe
Standardtable.
FrequencyDomain:(includingexcludedchannels),fromwhichtheAFPtoolcanchoosefrequencies.TheFrequency
DomainisfoundintheStandardtable.TheRelevantFrequencyBandusedbythemodelwhenassigningcelltypesto
transmittersisalsovisibleontheTRXstab,butisaparameterofthecelltypeandcannotbechangedhere.

TheotherAFPrelevantparametersunderSubcellsontheTRXstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxare:

Allocation Strategy: The allocation strategy used during manual or automatic frequency planning. The Allocation
StrategyisfoundintheStandardtable.Therearetwoavailableallocationstrategies:

Free:AnyofthechannelsbelongingtothefrequencydomaincanbeassignedtoTRXs.
Group Constrained: Only channels belonging to the same frequency group in the frequency domain can be
assigned.YoucanusethePreferredFrequencyGrouptodefinethepreferredgroupoffrequencieswhenusing
theAFP.

Preferred Frequency Group: When the Group Constrained allocation strategy is selected, in any hopping mode
(includingnonhopping),theAFPtriestoassignfrequenciesfromthepreferredgroupduringautomaticallocation.The
preferredfrequencygroupisasoftconstraintusedbytheAFPtoassignfrequenciestoTRXs.WhentheAFPisunable
toassignafrequencyfromthepreferredgroupandallocatesafrequencyfromoutsidethegroup,acorresponding
costistakenintoaccount.ThepreferredgroupcanalsobetheresultofallocationiftheAFPmodelisabletoallocate
patternsbasedonazimuth.ThePreferredFrequencyGroupisfoundintheStandardtable.
Max.MALLength:Themaximumlengthofthemobileallocationlist(MAL),inotherwords,themaximumnumberof
channelsallocatedtotheTRXsofthesubcellduringautomaticfrequencyplanningiftheHoppingModeiseitherSFH
(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping)andiftheAllocationStrategyisFree.TheMax.MAL
LengthisfoundintheStandardtable.
HoppingMode:ThefrequencyhoppingmodesupportedbytheselectedTRXtype.Thehoppingmodecanbeeither
"BaseBandHoppingmode(BBH)"or"SynthesisedHoppingmode(SFH)."Iffrequencyhoppingisnotsupported,select
"NonHopping."TheHoppingModeisfoundintheStandardtable.
If SFH is the frequency hopping mode, the settings in the AFP module must match the
settingsinthesubcell.ForinformationonconfiguringtheoptionalAtollAFPmodule,see
"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.

Synchronisation:TheSynchronisationisusedduringfrequencyhopping;frequencyhoppingissynchronisedamong
allTRXsofsubcellswiththesamestringofcharactersintheSynchronisationcolumn.Bydefault,thenameofthesite
isusedasthevalueintheSynchronisationcolumn,synchronisingfrequencyhoppingforallTRXsonthesamesite.
TheSynchronisationisfoundintheStandardtable.
DTXSupported:TheDTXSupportedcheckboxisselectedifthesubcellsupportsDTX(DiscontinuousTransmission)
mode.SubcellssupportingDTXcanreduceinterferencetheyproduceaccordingtothedefinedvoiceactivityfactor.
DTXdoesnotapplytotheBCCHsinceitisassumedthattheBCCHisalwaysonair.TheDTXSupportedcheckboxis
foundintheStandardtable.
LockrequiredTRXs:ThisoptioncanbeusedbyanAFPmodelwhichhasthecapabilitytooptimise(i.e.,increaseor
decrease)thenumberofrequiredTRXswheretheonlygoalismaximisingtheamountofcorrectlyservedtraffic.In
otherwords,youmighthavefewerTRXsthanrequirediftheyarenotsubjecttoanyinterferenceandtheamountof
correctlyservedtrafficwillbelarger.Whenyouselectthisoption,thenumberofrequiredTRXsisblockedforthat
subcell.TheLockrequiredTRXsoptionisfoundintheStandardtable.

Althoughyoucanmanuallysetthevaluesofthefollowingrequiredtimeslotnumbers,thesevaluesarecalculatedduringthe
dimensioningprocess.OntheAFPtabofatransmittersPropertiesdialogbox,underParametersrelatedtoautomaticplan
ning,youcansettheweightandreusedistancetobeusedfortheselectedtransmitterduringtheAFP:

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Weight:EntertheAFPweight.TheAFPweightisusedtoincreaseordecreasetheimportanceofasubcellduringauto
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ontheTRXtype.TheAFPweightartificiallymultipliesthecostfunctionwhichhastobeminimisedbytheAFP.The
WeightisfoundintheStandardtable.
Reusedistance:Enterareusedistance.Thereusedistanceistakenintoconsiderationwhenassigningfrequenciesor
BSIC.Usingaminimumreusedistancecanhelpcompensateforinaccuraciesintheinterferencematricesorother
inputdata.

Ifcertainresourceshavealreadybeenallocated,ontheAFPtabofatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxyoucanchooseto
locktheresourcesthathavealreadybeenallocatedtotheselectedtransmitter.Duringautomaticfrequencyplanning,these
resources,whichcanbeallocatedaspartoftheprocess,willnotbechanged.

Lock Channels and MAIO: When the Lock Channels and MAIO check box is selected, the transmitters currently
assignedchannelsandMAIOarekeptwhenanewAFPsessionisstarted.OntheTRXstab,underTRXs,youcanlock
thechannelsandMAIOforindividualTRXsassignedtothetransmitter.
LockHSN:WhentheLockHSNcheckboxisselected,thetransmitterscurrentlyassignedHSNiskeptwhenanewAFP
sessionisstarted.OntheTRXstab,underSubcell(TRXGroups)Settings,youcanlocktheHSNforindividualsubcells
assignedtothetransmitter.
LockBSIC:WhentheLockBSICcheckboxisselected,thetransmitterscurrentlyassignedBSICiskeptwhenanewAFP
sessionisstarted.

UnderExceptionalseparationconstraintswithothertransmitters,ontheAFPtabofatransmittersPropertiesdialogbox,
youcanenterexceptionalseparationconstraintswithothertransmitters.Exceptionalseparationconstraintsyouenterhere
alsoappearintheExceptionalSeparationConstraintstable.Forinformationoncreatingexceptionalseparationconstraints,
see"DefiningExceptionalFrequencySeparations"onpage366.
ByaddingtwooptionsintheAtoll.inifile,youcanforcetheAtollAFPmodeltorestrict
channelallocationtoalimitedspectrumforeachtransmitterinthesamewaythatitis
implementedonsomeequipment.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

6.4.3.5 ModellingLayersandSubcells
Thereareseveraldifferentmethodsthatyoucanusetocorrectlymodellayersandsubcells.Thesemethodsofferdifferent
levelsofaccuracyandcanhelpyoutoincreasethespectralefficiencyofyournetwork.
Method1:ThesimplestmethodofmodellinglayersandsubcellsistouseonlyoneHCSlayerandonlytwoTRXtypes(i.e.,
BCCHandTCH)foralltransmitters.
Method2:ThesecondmethodinvolvesmodellingHCSlayersinamorecompletefashion.
HCSlayersplayseveralrolesinAtoll.TheirmostimportantroleisrelatedtothewayAtollmanagestrafficmaps.Different
layershavedifferentprioritiesandmobilitylimitations.Aswell,youcanmanagetrafficoverflowbyallowingtraffictoflow
fromonelayertoanother.Theobjectiveofistomodelthebehaviourofarealnetwork,wheretwopotentialserversthatdo
notbelongtothesamelayerusuallydonotcompetetobethebestserver.
Whencalculatinganinterferencematrix,orwhenmakinganinterferencecoverageprediction,HCSlayersareusedtocreate
servicezonemapswhichareusedasthebasisofthesecalculations.Iftwotransmittersbelongtodifferentlayers,theycan
bothservethesamepixelevenifthereceivedsignalofoneismuchstrongerthanthereceivedsignaloftheother.Forequal
HOmargins,moreHSClayersmeanmoreoverlappinginthenetwork.Astheoverlappingincreases,theconstraintlevelinthe
interferencematrixandtheamountofinterferenceinaninterferencepredictionalsoincrease.
Whenusingthismethod,youmuststudytheprioritymechanisminyournetwork,bothinthereselectionprocessandinthe
handoverprocess.DefinethecorrespondingHCSlayersonceyouknowitsworking.Whenusingatrafficmap,youmustensure
thatthereareenoughmobilitytypestomodelhighspeedandlowspeedmobilities.
Method3:Withthismethod,youstudythesettingsoftheTCHTRXsandhowtheymanageradioresources.Theremightbe
differencesbetweentheTRXsonatleastoneofthefollowingitems:

Whethertransmissionpowerismaximumoraverage
Whetherreceptionismanagedbyreceptionlevelorbydistance
Schedulingpriority
Whetherthesubcellhandlespacketswitchedorcircuitswitchedtraffic
Qualityrequirementforhighbitratecodingschemes.
Spectralrestrictions(oftenpresentwiththeGSMextendedfrequencies)
Frequentuseofhighbitratemodulations
WhethertheBCCHismultibandorsingleBCCH.

AcustomiseddefinitionofmultisubcelltransmitterscanpermittheAFPtoexploitthesedifferences.Thisisoftencalledthe
underlayoverlaylayout,(orintelligentunderlayoverlay).Fordetailedinformationonthetechnicalaspectsofcelltypedefi
nition,see"CellTypes"onpage492.
Withthismethod,thereismorethanonewaytoimprovetheaccuracyofthenetworkmodel.Thecommonpointisthefact
thattheyallrequiremultisubcelltransmitters.Theoretically,thesecombinedmethodsshouldprovideover40%additional
spectrumefficiency(40%inthecaseofvoice,forpacketswitchedservicesitcanbemuchhigher).However,youcanassume

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thatthegainsarelowerwhentheHCSlayersareintelligentlydefined.Inotherwords,ifyouimprovetheefficientuseofspec
trumbyaccuratelydefiningtheHCSlayers,youcannotgetanequivalentamountthroughtheaccuratedefinitionofconcen
triccells.
ConcentriccellsarenecessarywheneversomeTRXshaveabiggerinterferenceareathanothers,orwhensomeTRXsserve
trafficwhichismorewidelyspreadthanothers,orwhensomeTRXsareusedformorerobustservicesthanothers,(i.e.,for
serviceswhichdonotneedashighaqualityasothers).
Eachoftheserefinements,aloneorcombined,canreducetheconstraintlevel,leadingtoamuchbetterfrequencyplan.
Method4:Withthismethod,youllhavetocheckthenetworkasdescribedinthissectionbeforestartingtheAFP:
1. Createatrafficmapbasedonenvironments,usinganappropriateclutterweighting.Forinformationoncreatingan
environmentbasedtrafficmap,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage319.
2. ImportthecurrentfrequencyplanintoyourAtolldocument.Forinformationonimportingafrequencyplanintoan
Atolldocument,see"ImportingaFrequencyList"onpage350.
3. Createatrafficcaptureandcalculateit.Forinformationoncreatingatrafficcapture,see"CalculatingandDisplaying
aTrafficCapture"onpage323.
4. PerformaKPIcalculationandcommitit.ForinformationonKPIcalculation,see"CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndica
torsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage470.
5. Adjustthetrafficcoefficientinthetrafficcapturesothattheaverageleveloftrafficloadsiscorrect.
6. Studythecaseswheretrafficloadsareeithertoolowortoohigh.Thiscaneasilybemanagedbycolouringtransmitters
accordingtotheirtrafficload.Thereasonsforthiscanbethefollowing:

Ahighprioritycellistakingallthetrafficfromanothercell.ThismeansthattheHCSparametersinAtolldonot
reflectreality.
Thereexistacellthatisnolongerusedand,infact,hasbeenremovedfromtheOMCbutstillexistsintheAtoll.
Thiscellisabsorbingthetrafficandreducesto0theloadofanothercell.
Otherparametersarenotcorrect:Height,power,tilt,etc.

6.4.4 AutomaticResourceAllocationUsinganAFPModule
There are several different ways, of differing levels of complexity, to automatically allocate resources. In "The Atoll AFP
Module"onpage394,thesedifferentmethodsofautomaticallyallocatingresourcesareexplained.Inthissection,thebasic
informationnecessarytoautomaticresourceallocation,regardlessofthelevelofoptimisation,isexplained.
TheAutomaticFrequencyPlanning(AFP)toolisadesignedtoperformlargescaleandsmallscaleresourceallocation.Itcan
addorremoveTRXsandassignfrequenciesorMALlistsaswellasMAIOs.TheAFPcanalsoassigntheHSN,theBSIC,various
KPIs,andpreferredgroupnames.
WhentheAFPassignsresources,ittakestrafficdemand,separationconstraints,andinterferencelimitationsintoconsidera
tion.AtollallowstheuseofthirdpartyAFPtools.
TheAFPattemptstocreateanoptimalresourceallocation,i.e.,anallocationthatminimisesinterferenceandcomplieswith
asetofuserdefinedconstraints.MostAFPsassignacosttothevariousconstraintsandthenusecostbasedalgorithmsto
evaluatepossiblefrequencyplansandtofindthefrequencyplanwiththelowestcosts.Thecostfunctioncanbedifferentfrom
oneAFPtoanother.ThecostfunctionoftheAtollAFPmoduleisdescribedin"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
ThequalityofthefinalresourceallocationdependsonthelevelofpreparationyoumakefortheAFP.Anadvancedlevel
requiresanunderstandingofthecostfunction,thealgorithm,andtheparametersspecifictothatmodule.Therefore,inthis
section,onlybasicpreparationisexplainedsinceitiscommontoallAFPmodulesthatworkwithAtoll.Advanceduseofthe
AtollAFPisexplainedin"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
BeforeusingtheAFPforautomaticresourceallocation,youshouldunderstandthefollowing:

ThescopeoftheAFP(i.e.,inotherwords,theareaandparametersthatwillbeaffectedbytheAFP).Formoreinfor
mation,see"TheScopeoftheAFPandtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix"onpage376.
ThenetworkvalidationprocessthattakesplacebeforetheAFPstarts.Formoreinformation,see"TheNetworkVali
dationProcess"onpage377.
AnunderstandingoftheAFPdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"RunninganAutomaticFrequencyAllocation"on
page378
TheAFPresults.UnderstandingthedisplayedAFPresultsenablesyoutoassesstheproposedfrequencyplanbefore
committingthefrequencyplan.Formoreinformation,see"TheResultsoftheAutomaticFrequencyAllocation"on
page383.

6.4.4.1 TheScopeoftheAFPandtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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6.4.4.1.1

TheScopeoftheAFP
YoucanthinkofthescopeoftheAFPas,firstandforemost,thetransmittersthatareactiveandfilteredandwithinthefocus
zoneandthecomputationzone.ThisistheareathattheAFPwillbeaffecting.Thesecondpartofthescopeisthepartwhich
willbetakenintoconsiderationbytheAFPbutwillnotbeaffected.Thissecondpartincludestheneighboursofanytransmit
terswithinthefocusandcomputationzones,andanytransmitterwhosecalculationradiusintersectsthecalculationradius
ofanytransmitterthatisalreadywithintheAFPscope.
Forexample,inagivenproject,therearethreegroupsoftransmitters:

Active:TheActivegroupincludesallactivetransmittersthatarefilteredintheTransmittersfolderandintheSites
folder.
Selected:TheSelectedgroupisasubgroupoftheActivegroupandcontainsallthetransmittersinthefolderfrom
whichtheAFPwasstartedandthatarelocatedinsidethefocuszoneandthecomputationzone.
Ring:TransmittersthatarepartoftheActivegroup,butnotpartoftheSelectedgroupbelongtotheRinggroupif
theyaffecttransmittersintheActivegroup.Forexample,neighboursoftransmittersintheSelectedgroupwouldbe
in the Ring group, as would the second transmitter of an exceptional pair. Additionally, if some transmitters are
definedasinterferersonly(see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236),theyarepartoftheAFPscopebecausethey
mightaffectthetransmitterstowhichfrequencieswillbeallocatedbuttheirfrequencyplancannotbemodified.
Finally,ifBSICarebeingassigned,allsecondorderneighboursareintheRinggroupaswell.Finally,ifinterferenceis
takenintoaccountduringtheAFPprocess(byselectingtheLoadallinterfererspropagatinginthefocuszonecheck
box),anytransmitterwhosecalculationradiusintersectsthecalculationradiusofatransmitterintheSelectedgroup,
isincludedintheRinggroup.Ifasitehasalargecalculationradius(e.g.20km),apotentiallylargenumberoftrans
mitterscanbeloadedintotheRinggroup.

Inthisexample,theSelectedandRinggroupsarebothloadedintothenetworkandformtheAFPscope.However,thetrans
mittersintheRinggrouparelocked;theAFPrelatedparameters(BSIC,HSN,MAL,MAIO,andchannels)cannotbechanged.
AsforthetransmittersintheSelectedgroup,theAFPcanassignanyoftheresourcesspecifiedintheAFPdialogbox,withthe
followingexceptions:

Youcanlockindividualtransmittersforchannel(andMAL),HSNorBSICassignment.
YoucanlockindividualTRXsforchannel(andMAL)assignment.
YoucanlockindividualsubcellsforHSNassignment.
InAtoll'sAFP,lockedTRXsarereportedaslockedduringcostcalculation,howevertheAFP
canstillmodifythecostoflockedTRXsunderthefollowingcircumstances:ifthelocked
TRXhasabadneighbourrelation(intermsofcost)withanotherTRXwhichisnotlocked,
Atoll'sAFPreportstotheuserwhichpartofthecostcanbemodifiedandwhichpartcan
not.

6.4.4.1.2

TheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix
Thescopeofeachindividualinterferencematrixdependsonhowitwasdefinedandcreated.Ifyougenerateareportonthe
GSMInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer,thereportwillshowacombinedscopeofallactiveinterference
matrices in the folder. For more informationon the definitionof the interferencematrix, see"InterferenceMatrices"on
page354.
IntermsoftheAFP,thescopeoftheinterferencematrixisthesameasthatoftheAFP,asdescribedin"TheScopeoftheAFP"
onpage377.Inotherwords,thescopeoftheinterferencematrixduringanautomaticresourceallocationincludesthetrans
mittersthatareactiveandfilteredandwithinthefocuszoneandthecomputationzone,aswellthetransmitterswhichwill
betakenintoconsiderationbytheAFPbutwillnotbeaffected.
Including the transmitters that are not affected by the AFP (but that affect other transmitters during the allocation of
resources)canbequitedemandingoncomputerresources.Bydrawingafilteringzonearoundallofthetransmitterstowhich
resourcesaretobeallocated(theSelectedgroupintheexamplegivenin"TheScopeoftheAFP"onpage377),youcancause
theAFPtoignoretransmittersoutsideofthegroupofaffectedtransmittersintheinterferencematrixzone.

6.4.4.2 TheNetworkValidationProcess
BeforetheAFPbeginstheautomaticresourceallocationprocess,itverifiesthenetworkandthedata.Bybeginningwitha
verification,theAFPcansavetimebyfindingpotentialproblemsbeforetheallocationprocessactuallystarts.IftheAFPfinds
aproblem,itdisplaysamessagewiththewarningorerrorintheEventViewer(seeFigure6.61).Itishighlyrecommendedto
correctanyproblemsindicatedinthesemessagesbeforeyoucontinuewiththeAFPprocess.

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Figure6.61:Warningsanderrorsduringnetworkvalidationphase
YoucanviewtheentiremessagebydoubleclickingitintheEventViewer,Atollthendisplaysthemessageinaseparatedialog
box(seeFigure6.62).

Figure6.62:MessagefromEventViewer
ThefollowingtablecontainsafewexamplesoftherangechecksperformedbytheAFP:
RangeCheck

Values

LowestandhighestpossibleHSN

063

Limitonthenumberofdifferentfrequency
domains

10,000

LowestandhighestBSIC

077

Maximumrequiredchannelsatasubcell

62

LowestandhighestvalueforAFPweight

0100

DefaultvalueforAFPweight

LowestandhighestvalueforminC/I

225

DefaultvalueforminC/I

12

Maximumpoweroffset

25

Highestreceptionthreshold

50

Lowestreceptionthreshold

116

Defaultvalueforreceptionthreshold

102

Limitonseparationrequirements

Mustbe<=7

LimitonthenumberofTRXsinatransmitter

50

Comments

Eachexclusionoffrequenciesatatransmitter
mightcreateanewdomain

UsediftheAFPweightisoutofdomain

Usediftheparameterisoutofrange

Usediftheparameterisoutofrange

6.4.4.3 RunninganAutomaticFrequencyAllocation
Youcanperformautomaticfrequencyplanningonalltransmittersoronlyonadefinedgroupoftransmitters.Allthetrans
mitterstargetedbytheautomaticfrequencyplanning,includingpotentialinterferersandtransmittersthatarepartofsepa

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rationconstraints,aretakenintoaccountbutresourcesareonlyallocatedtothenonlockeditems(i.e.,subcellsorTRXs)of
theselectedtransmitters.
TorunanAFPsession:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderorclicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolderandrightclicka
groupoftransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFrequencyPlan>AutomaticAllocationfromthecontextmenu.ThefirstpageoftheAFPdialogboxappears
withtheAFPModelandAllocationstab(seeFigure6.63).

Figure6.63:AFPdialogbox(firstpage:"AFPModelandAllocations")
a. Select"AtollAFPModule"fromtheAFPModulelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesof
theselectedAFPmodule.
WhentheAFPfirststarts,AtollfirstensuresthattheselectedAFPmoduleiscorrectlyinstalled,followingwhich
AtolldeterminesthecapabilitiesoftheAFPmodule.ItisthecapabilitiesoftheAFPmodulewhichdetermine
whichresourcesyoucanallocateusingtheAFP.
b. UnderResourcestoAllocate,selectthecheckboxesoftheresourcesyouwanttoallocate.Theselectionsyou
makewilldependonthehoppingmodeofyournetwork:

MAL:TheMALisusedbysubcellsthathaveeithertheBBHortheSFHhoppingmode.Youmustalsoallocate
MAIO,HSN,andchannels.
MAIO:TheMAIOisusedbysubcellsthathaveeithertheBBHortheSFHhoppingmode.Youmustalsoallocate
MAL,HSN,andchannels.
Channels:Allsubcellsmustbeallocatedchannels,independentlyoftheirhoppingmode.
HSN:TheHSNisusedbysubcellsthathaveeithertheBBHortheSFHhoppingmode.Youmustalsoallocate
MAL,MAIO,andchannels.
BSIC:TheBSICisusedbyalltransmitters,independentlyofthehoppingmode.
Atoll will not create TRXs without channels. Therefore, if you do not allocate MAL and
MAIO,alltheSFHsubcellsareconsideredlockedandnoTRXswillbecreatedforthem.By
thesametoken,ifyouallocateonlyMALandMAIO,allNHandBBHsubcellswillbeconsid
eredlockedandnoTRXswillbecreated.

c. UnderStrategies,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtotheallocationstrategiesyouwanttheAFPtouse.

OptimisationofthenumberofTRXs:Whensubcellshavelowtrafficloadsandarelocatedinazoneofheavy
spectralcongestion,reducingthenumberofTRXstoassigncanpresentanadvantage.Ontheotherhand,

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whensomesubcellshaveahightrafficdemand,theAFPmayincreasethenumberofTRXscomparedtowhat
isrequiredinordertoreducetheamountofblockedtraffic.

Azimuthoriented allocation (Pattern 1/X): The azimuthoriented allocation strategy consists of allocating
preferredfrequencygroupstogroupconstrainedsubcellsaccordingtotheazimuthofthesubcell.Ifthefre
quencygroupsarecorrectlyconfigured(i.e.,ifXcomparablysizedfrequencygroupsforXazimuths),thenthe
patternofallocationwillbe1/X.Ifthegeometryofthenetworkisincompatiblewithanazimuthorientedal
location,theAFPwillnotattempttoallocatepreferredfrequencygroups.

d. UnderIndicatorstoallocate,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtotheindicatorsyouwanttheAtollAFPto
allocate.

TRXRank:TheAFPcancalculatetheTRXrankofeachTRX.ThehighertheTRXrank,thehigherthecost,in
termsoftheriskofinterference..
SubcellIndicators:AFPcost,congestion,blockingandseparationcostcanbeestimatedbytheAFPmodule
perpoolofsubcells(e.g.,aBCCHpooloraTCHpool).Theseindicatorsareawayofpreciselyestimatingthe
allocationqualityatthesubcelllevelandprovidesomedirectionstoimprovetheplan,ifnecessary.

e. SelecttheLoadallinterfererspropagatinginthefocuszonecheckboxifyouwanttheAFPscopetobeextended
toincludeallpotentialinterferers.FormoreinformationontheAFPscope,see"TheScopeoftheAFPandthe
ScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix"onpage376.
4. ClickNext.ThesecondpageoftheAFPdialogboxappearswiththeSeparationstab(seeFigure6.65).Onthispage,
youcanmodifythenetwork'sdefaultseparationrequirementsaswelltheexceptionalpairs.Formoreinformationon
theseparationrequirements,see"DefiningExceptionalFrequencySeparations"onpage366.Formoreinformation
ontheexceptionalpairs,see"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage296.

Figure6.64:TheAFPdialogbox(secondpage:"Separations")
5. ClickNext.ThethirdpageoftheAFPdialogboxappearswiththeGlobalParameterstab(seeFigure6.64).

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Figure6.65:TheAFPdialogbox(thirdpage:"GlobalParameters")
6. UnderAllocationofsubcellsoftype,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtothesubcellsforwhichresourceswillbe
allocatedtoTRXs.
MissingTRXswillnotbecreatedforanysubcellnotselectedunderAllocationofsubcells
oftype.

7. UnderLockingofexistingTRXsoftype,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtothesubcellsforwhichyouwantthe
existingTRXstobelockedduringallocation.TheexistingTRXswillnotbeaffected.
YoucanlocktheresourcesallocatedtoindividualTRXsineithertheTransmitterstable,the
StandardDataSubcellstable,theTRXstable,orthePropertiesdialogboxofeachtrans
mitter.
8. UnderTraffic(Subcellload,demandandtargetrateoftrafficoverflow),selectthesourceofthetrafficinformation:

FromSubcellstable:ThetrafficinformationintheSubcellstablecancomefromoneofthreesources:

Theinformationcouldhavebeenenteredmanually
Theinformationcouldhavecomefromdimensioning
TheinformationcouldhavecomefromaKPIcalculation.
IfthetrafficinformationintheSubcellstableistheresultofaKPIcalculationyoumustbe
aware that, during a KPI calculation, Atoll divides the captured traffic by the timeslot
capacityoftheexistingnumberofTRXs,whereastheAFPrequiresthetraffictobedivided
bythetimeslotcapacityoftherequirednumberofTRXs.

Basedondefaulttrafficcaptureresults.

9. IfyouwanttheAFPtoconsiderdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportitincalculatingtheinterfer
ence,selecttheDTXcheckboxandentertheVoiceactivityfactor.
10. IfyouwanttheAFPtoconsiderreusedistanceasafactorininterference,selecttheReusedistancecheckboxand,if
desired,changetheDefaultvalue.
YoucanenterareusedistanceforeachtransmitterintheReuseDistancecolumnofthe
Transmitterstable.

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11. ClickOK.TheAFPverifiestheparametersyouhavedefined.TheAFPdialogboxthatappears(seeFigure6.67)givesa
summaryoftheverificationprocessaswellasthemessagesdisplayedintheEventViewer.

Figure6.66:TheAFPdialogbox(lastpage:"Validation")
12. AdjusttheConvergenceslideraccordingtowhatyouwantAFPtoprovide:

eitherquickresultsattheexpenseofquality,or
moreaccurateresultsattheexpenseofspeed.

InAtoll,convergenceisoneofthelastparametersyousetbeforerunningtheAFP.Intheory,anexhaustiveexplora
tionofallcostreductionpossibilitiesbytheAFPcouldlastindefinitely;therefore,whenyouruntheAFP,youmust
defineaconvergencecriterion.Whenconvergencetimehasexpired(orevenbeforeifyouaresatisfiedwiththecost
reductionatthatpoint),youcanstoptheAFP.Thequalityofthefinalresultsisdeterminedbythespeedtoquality
ratioyouspecifiedwiththeConvergencesliderandbythesizeofthenetwork.
13. Ifdesired,enteraRandomGeneratorInitialisation.Ifyousettherandomgeneratorinitialisationto"0",thecalcula
tionswillberandom.Ifyousetthegeneratorinitialisationtoanyothervalue,theresultswillbedeterministic,i.e.,
usingthesamevalueagainwillresultinthesameresultswiththesamedocument.
AllAFPcalculationsaredeterministicatthestart,eveniftherandomgeneratorinitialisa
tionissetto"0."Theeffectoftherandomseedcanonlybeobservedafteracertaintime.
Ifyouwanttheautomaticallocationprocesstoshowtheeffectofrandomallocation,you
mustlettheAFPcalculateuntilcomputationtimehaselapsed.
14. ClickCalculate.TheAFPProgressdialogboxappears(seeFigure6.67).
ReadthemessagesintheEventViewercarefullybeforeclickingCalculate.Theremight
beissuesthatyouneedtoaddressbeforeyoucansuccessfullyrunanAFP.

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Figure6.67:TheAFPProgressdialogbox
ForinformationontheAFPProgressdialogboxandontheprocessofallocatingfrequenciesandresources,see"TheAFP
Progressdialogbox"onpage383.

6.4.4.4 TheAFPProgressdialogbox
WhenrunninganAFP,thefirststep,explainedin"RunninganAutomaticFrequencyAllocation"onpage378,isdefiningthe
parametersthattheAFPwilluse.WhenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheparametersandclickedCalculateonthefinaldialog
box,theAFPbeginsitscalculationsandtheAFPProgressdialogboxappears(seeFigure6.67).
TheAFPProgressdialogboxhasthreetabs:

General:OntheGeneraltab,youwillfindinformationonthecurrentstatusoftheAFP,withtheelapsedCPUtime,
theremainingCPUtimecorrespondingtothespeedtoqualityratioyouspecifiedwiththeConvergenceslider,and
thenumberofsolutionsevaluatedtothatpoint.
CPUtimeisbasedononecalculationthread.SincetheAFPusesmorethanonethreadin
mostmulticorecomputers,theCPUtimeisactuallyabout2.5timesfasterthanrealtime.

QualityIndicators:OntheQualityIndicatorstab,youwillfindasummaryofthecurrentModifiablecost,Totalcost,
andTotaltraffic,withdetailsforeachfrequencyplancurrentlyretainedbytheAFPgivenintheformofatable.You
canselectwhatinformationisdisplayedinthetablebyclickingtheDisplayOptionsbutton.Thefollowingoptionsare
availableforeachcomponentofthecost(total,separation,intermodulation,blocking,additional,taxes,spectrum
modification,etc.):

SummedCosts
ModifiableCosts
LockedCosts

Histogram:OntheHistogramtab,youcandisplayhistogramsofthefrequencycostandusagedistributionforboth
the initial plan and best plan. The histogram represents the channels as a function of the frequency of their use.
Movingthepointeroverthehistogramdisplaysthecostorfrequencyofuseofeachchannel.Theresultsarehigh
lightedsimultaneouslyintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragginginthe
Zoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.

YoucanpauseorstoptheAFPprocessatanytimebyclickingthePause/Stopbutton.WhenyouclickthePause/Stopbutton,
theDetailsdialogboxappears.ForinformationontheDetailsdialogbox,see"TheResultsoftheAutomaticFrequencyAllo
cation"onpage383.
YoucancontinuetheAFPprocess,ifyouwant,byclickingtheResumebuttonintheDetailsdialogbox.

6.4.4.5 TheResultsoftheAutomaticFrequencyAllocation
When the AFP process has completed, or when you have stopped the process by clicking the Pause/Stop button, the
frequencyplanproposedbytheAFPisdisplayedintheDetailsdialogbox(seeFigure6.68).BecausetheDetailsdialogbox
opensinaseparatewindow,youcanreturntoyourAtolldocumentwhileitisdisplayed.Thisallowsyoutoverifyyournetwork

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datawhileyouresolveseparationconstraintviolationsandbeforeyoucommittheautomaticfrequencyallocation.Transmit
terslocatedwithinthefocuszonearelistedintheDetailsdialogbox.Ifthefocuszoneisnotavailable,theresultsaredisplayed
forallthetransmitterswithinthecomputationzone.
TheDetailsdialogboxiscomposedofthefollowingtabs:

6.4.4.5.1

"TheSummaryTab"onpage384
"TheAllocationTab"onpage384
"TheSubcellsTab"onpage389
"TheHistogramTab"onpage390

TheSummaryTab
TheSummarytab(seeFigure6.68)showstheprogressoftheAFPplanandtheimprovementsobtainedbycomparingthe
initialplan(i.e.,asitexistedbeforerunningtheAFP)andthebestplan.Inaddition,youcanverifyallthecostcomponentsfor
eachsolutionwhichhasimprovedtheplanintheAFPProgressdialogbox(seeFigure6.67).

Figure6.68:SummarytaboftheAFPDetailsdialogbox
AFPcostunitsaretrafficunits.IntheInitialplanandBestplanframes(Figure6.68),theTrafficcorrectlyservedisthetotal
trafficminustheTotalCost.
InFigure6.68,theTrafficcorrectlyservedforthebestplanis7095.7,whichcorrespondsto7192.3minus96.6.

6.4.4.5.2

TheAllocationTab
TheAllocationtab(seeFigure6.67)showstheresultsoftheallocationandenablesyoutoeditthefrequencyplancreatedby
theAFP.Theresultsaredisplayedbytransmitter,TRXtype,andTRXandarecolourcoded.Therearetwocolourfamilies:
Incaseofanimportantseparationconstraintviolation:

Red:Theresourcehasbeenmodifiedbutthereisanimportantseparationconstraintviolation.
Purple:Theresourcehasbeencreatedbutthereisanimportantseparationconstraintviolation.
By adding someoptionsintheAtoll.ini file,youcan set the thresholdabovewhichthe
importantseparationconstraintviolationswillbedisplayedinred.

Else:

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Lightblue:Theresourceislockedandhasnotbeenmodified.
Green:Theresourcehasbeenmodifiedrespectingseparationconstraints.

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Black:Theresourcehasbeennotmodified.
Blue:Theresourcehasbeencreatedrespectingseparationconstraints.
Brown:Theresourcehasnotbeenmodifiedbutthereisaseparationconstraintviolation.

Additionally,iftheAFPhasremovedresourcessuchasTRXsinordertoobtainthelowestblockingcost,theinitialresource
valueisdisplayedbutitscorrespondinglineisdithered.Inthesecircumstances,theresources(e.g.,theTRXs)aredeletedfrom
theTRXstable.

Figure6.69:AllocationtaboftheAFPDetailsdialogbox("Allviolations"and"Importantviolationsonly")
Whenyoumovethepointeroveraresourceinthetable,thecorrespondingtiptextdisplaysthereasonforthestatusindicated
bythecolour(seeFigure6.70).

Figure6.70:Detailsinthetiptextofanimportantviolation
Under Display, for each combination of transmitter (Transmitter column), subcell (TRX Type column), and TRX (Index
column),Atolldisplaysthefollowingcolumns,dependingontheresourcesyouselectedtoallocate(see"RunninganAuto
maticFrequencyAllocation"onpage378):

BSIC
HSN
Channels

TheTRXRankcolumnindicatesthequalityoftheTRXinthatsubcell.ThehighertheTRXrank,thehigherthecost,intermsof
riskofinterference.Inotherwords,whenyouaretryingtoimprovethesolutionproposedbytheAFP,youmustconcentrate
ontheTRXswiththehighestTRXranks.YoucanhidetheTRXRankcolumnbyclickingtheDisplayOptionsbuttonanddese
lectingDisplayAFPIndicators.

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Separationconstraintviolations,ifany,arelistedintheSeparationsviolationscolumn.Todisplaythedetailsofaseparation
constraintviolation:
1. ClicktheviolationintheSeparationsviolationscolumn.Amessageboxappearsdisplayingdetailsabouttheviolation
(seeFigure6.71onpage386).
2. ClickYesifyouwanttodefinethepaircurrentlyinviolationasanexceptionalpair.Becauseseparationconstraints
betweenexceptionalpairshavemoreweightthandefaultseparationconstraints,youwillbeabletoreruntheAFP
andforceittotrytoavoidthisviolation.
OrclickNotoclosethemessageboxwithoutdefiningthepaircurrentlyinviolationasanexceptionalpair.

Figure6.71:SeparationConstraintViolationmessagebox
ThebottomoftheAllocationtabdisplaysthemessagesrelatedtothelastsolution(whichmaynotbethebestsolution)as
wellaspotentiallyrelatedallocationproblems.
ResolvingAllImportantSeparationConstraintViolationsatOnce
Youcanresolveallimportantseparationconstraintviolationsatonce.Whenyoudothat,AtolldeletesalltheTRXscausing
importantseparationconstraintviolations.
Toresolveallimportantseparationconstraintviolationsatonce:
1. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectResolveImportantConstraintViolationsfromthecontextmenu.
ResolvingSeparationConstraintViolationsManually
IntheDetailsdialogbox,youcanresolvethedisplayedseparationconstraintviolationsusingtheChannelAssignmentcolumn
ontheAllocationtab.TheChannelAssignmentcolumnindicateswhethertheassignedvalueisanewvalueortheinitial
value. The Channel Assignment column enables you resolve separation constraint violations by choosing the Delete TRX
option.
WhenyouselectoneoftheoptionsintheChannelAssignmentcolumn,AtollupdatesnotonlytheaffectedTRX,butalsothe
separationconstraintviolationsofallotherTRXsaffectedbythechange.
Asyoumodifythecurrentfrequencyallocationplan,youcandisplaytheAFPplanasitappearedbeforemodifications,or
beforetheinitialfrequencyplaniftherewasone.
Tochangethedisplayedplan:

ClicktheDisplayOptionsbuttonandselectoneofthefollowing:

386

DisplaythePlantobeCommitted:Whenyouselectthisoption,Atolldisplaysthefrequencyplanasitnowstands,
inotherwords,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanwithyourmodifications.YoucanonlymodifytheentriesintheChannel
Assignmentcolumninthecurrentplan.
DisplaytheFinalAFPPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanasitstoodbeforeyoubegan
makingmodifications.
DisplaytheInitialPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaysthefrequencyplanbeforetheAFPsession.

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YoucancancelallthemodificationsyouhavemadetothecurrentAFPplan.
TocancelallthemodificationsyouhavetothecurrentAFPplan:

ClicktheActionsbuttonandselectResetChannelAllocation.

YoucanautomaticallyresolveseparationconstraintviolationsbyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselectingResolveConstraint
Violations.Formoreinformation,see"ResolvingSeparationConstraintViolationsAutomatically"onpage387.
ResolvingSeparationConstraintViolationsAutomatically
Youcanalsoresolvetheseparationconstraintviolationsautomatically.Whenyouresolveseparationconstraintviolations
automatically,AtolldeletestheTRXsthatrespondtosetcriteriaandthatareinvolvedintheviolations.
Toresolveseparationconstraintviolationsautomatically:
1. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectResolveConstraintViolationsfromthecontextmenu.TheConstraintViolationsResolutiondialogboxappears
(seeFigure6.72onpage388).
3. UnderTRXstotakeintoaccount,selectoneofthefollowing:

AlltheTRXs:AtollwilldeleteallTRXsthatdonotrespecttheseparationconstraints.
OnlytheTRXsmodifiedbytheAFP:AtollwilldeleteonlyTRXsthatweremodifiedbytheAFPthatdonotrespect
theseparationconstraints.

4. UnderViolationtypestoconsider,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtotheseparationconstraintviolationsthat
youwantAtolltotakeintoconsideration:

Cotransmitter:TRXsonthesametransmitter.
Cosite:TRXsonthesamesite.
Neighbours:TRXsonneighbouringtransmitters.
Exceptionalpairs:TRXsontransmittersthatarepartofanexceptionalpair.

5. UnderCollisionProbabilities,selectthecollisionprobabilityyouwantAtolltotakeintoconsideration:

All:SelectthisoptionifyouwantAtolltoconsiderallcochannelandadjacentchannelcollisionprobabilities.
Ifthecochannelcollisionprobabilityis>=:SelectthisoptionandenteravalueifyouwantAtolltoconsiderco
channelcollisionprobabilitiesgreaterthanorequaltothedefinedvalue.
Ifthecooradjacentchannelcollisionprobabilityis>=:SelectthisoptionandenteravalueifyouwantAtollto
considercochannelandadjacentcollisionprobabilitiesgreaterthanorequaltothedefinedvalue.

6. UnderTRXtypes,selectthecheckboxesoftheTRXtypesyouwantAtolltotakeintoconsideration:

ApplytocontrolchannelTRXs:Ifyouselectthisoption,controlchannelTRXs(i.e.,BCCHTRXs)willbedeleted.
ApplytootherTRXs:Ifyouselectthisoption,TRXsonnoncontrolchannelTRXtypes(i.e.,TCH,TCH_EGPRSor
TCH_INNER)willbedeleted.

7. Click OK. Atoll deletes the TRXs that are involved in the separation constraint violations and that respond to the
definedcriteria.

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Figure6.72:ConstraintViolationsResolution
DefiningtheDisplayoftheAllocationTab
YoucansortthecontentsofthetableontheAllocationtabbyusingthecontextmenuorbyselectinganoptiondisplayedby
clickingtheDisplayOptionsbutton.
Bydefault,thecontentsofthetableunderDisplayaresortedbythecontentoftheTransmitterscolumn.Ifdesired,youcan
sortthecontentofthetablebyanyothercolumn,suchas,forexample,theBSICcolumn.
Tosortthecontentsofthetable:
1. Rightclickthenameofthecolumnbywhichyouwanttosortthecontentsofthetable.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectSortAscendingorSortDescendingfromthecontextmenu.
Atollenablesyoutofilterthecontentsofthetabletodisplayonlyaselectionofdata.
Tofilterthecontentsofthetable:
1. Rightclickthecellinthetablecontainingthedataonwhichyouwanttofilterthecontentofthetable.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. Selectoneofthefollowingfromthecontextmenu:

FilterbySelection:Whenyouselectthisoption,allrecordswiththeselectedvalueorvaluesaredisplayed.
FilterExcludingSelection:Whenyouthisoption,allrecordswithouttheselectedvalueorvaluesaredisplayed.
AdvancedFilter:Whenyouselectthisoption,theFilterdialogboxappears.UsingtheFilterdialogbox,youcan
useadvanceddatafilteringtocombineseveralcriteriaindifferentfieldstocreatecomplexfilters.Formoreinfor
mationonadvanceddatafiltering,see"AdvancedDataFiltering"onpage101.

Ifyouhavefilteredinformation,youcanremovethefilteranddisplayallthedataagainbyrightclickingacellinthetable
underDisplayandselectingRemoveFilterfromthecontextmenu.
YoucanalsodefinehowthecontentsontheAllocationtabaredisplayedbyclickingtheDisplayOptionsbuttonandselecting
oneoftheoptionsthatappear:

YoucanselectthecolumnsthatwillappearontheAllocationtab:

388

Cells:selectCellstodisplaytheBSICcolumn.
Subcells:selectSubcellstodisplaytheTRXTypeandHSNcolumns.
TRXs:selectTRXstodisplaytheTRXTypecolumnandthefollowingcolumns:
Index
Channels
MAIO
SeparationViolations:whereyoucanclickthehypertext,ifany,todisplayamessageboxlistingtheviolations
TRXRank
ChannelAssignment:whereyoucanchoosetokeeptheinitialvalue,assignthenewvalue,ordeletetheTRX
(see"ResolvingSeparationConstraintViolationsManually"onpage386).

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andthefollowingcolumnswhenDisplayOptions>DisplayDetailedConstraintViolationsisselected:
WiththeTRX:whereyoucanclickthehypertext,ifany,tojumptotheTRXcausingtheviolation
P(cochannel)
P(adjacent)

YoucanDisplayAFPIndicatorsifyoucalculatedthemduringtheAFPsession.

Youcanselectoneofthefollowingplanstoappearinthetable:

DisplaythePlantoBeCommitted:TheplantobecommittedrepresentstheresultsobtainedfromtheAFPand
yourpossiblemodifications(deletionofallocatedresources,rollbacktoinitialvalues,etc.).Onlythisplancanbe
committedtothenetwork.
DisplaytheFinalAFPPlan:TheAFPplanshowsthegrossresultsoftheAFPsession,inotherwords,thefinal
resultsofthebestplan.Whenthisplanisdisplayed,theCommitbuttonisnotavailable.Tomakeitavailable,
selecttheoptionDisplaythePlantoBeCommitted.
DisplaytheInitialPlan:TheinitialplanshowsthenetworkfrequencyplanbeforetheAFPsession.Thisplanisthe
onebeforeyoucommitanyAFPresults,inotherwords,thecurrentplan.

YoucanDisplayAllocatedTransmittersOnly.

YoucanDisplayDetailedConstraintViolations.Inthismode,thehyperlinksunderSeparationViolationsareremoved
(andthecorrespondingviolationsarelistedinfull)andthreeadditionalcolumnsappearontheright:

WiththeTRX:containshyperlinks,eachindicatingwhichTRXofwhichtransmitteriscausingtheviolation.Ifyou
clickahyperlink,youwilljumpdirectlytothecellcontainingtheindexoftheTRXcausingtheviolation.
P(cochannel):probabilityoftheviolationbeingdueacochannel.
P(adjacent):probabilityoftheviolationbeingduetoanadjacentchannel.

YoucanDisplayImportantViolationsOnly.Thisoptioncanproveveryusefulwhentoomanylowimportanceviola
tionsaredisplayedontheAllocationtab.Inthismode,youcanchoosetodeletethefaultyTRXsindividually(see
"ResolvingSeparationConstraintViolationsManually"onpage386)orallatonce(see"ResolvingAllImportantSep
arationConstraintViolationsatOnce"onpage386).
ByaddingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,youcanspecifythethresholdsabovewhichimpor
tantviolationswillbehighlighted.

Youcanselectoneofthefollowingplanstoappearinthetable:

6.4.4.5.3

CotransmitterViolations:Selectthisoptiontoshow/hidecotransmitterseparationconstraintviolations.
CoSiteViolations:Selectthisoptiontoshow/hidecositeseparationconstraintviolations.
NeighbourViolations:Selectthisoptiontoshow/hideneighbourseparationconstraintviolations.
ExceptionalPairViolations:Selectthisoptiontoshow/hideexceptionalpairseparationconstraintviolations.

TheSubcellsTab
TheSubcellstab(seeFigure6.73)showsthesubcellindicators,thevariationofthenumberofrequiredTRXs(andcorrespond
ingtrafficloads),andtheallocatedpreferredfrequencygroupsestimatedbytheAFPmodel,ifyouselectedtheseoptions
whenstartingtheAFP.Foreachparameter,thetablegivestheinitialandfinalresults.Whencommittingthem,theyare
assignedtothecorrespondingsubcells.
IftheAFPhasbeenrunwiththeazimuthorientedallocationstrategy,theSubcellstabwillalsodisplaythepreferredgroups.
Ifthegeometryofthenetworkwasincompatiblewithanazimuthorientedallocation,theAFPwillnotattempttoallocate
frequencygroups.

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Figure6.73:SubcellstaboftheAFPDetailsdialogbox

6.4.4.5.4

TheHistogramTab
OntheHistogramtab(seeFigure6.74),youcandisplayhistogramsofthefrequencycostandusagedistributionforboththe
initialplanandbestplan.Thehistogramrepresentsthechannelsasafunctionofthefrequencyoftheiruse.Movingthe
pointeroverthehistogramdisplaysthecostorfrequencyofuseofeachchannel.Theresultsarehighlightedsimultaneously
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.YoucanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddraggingintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.
Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
Details

Figure6.74:TheHistogramtabofthedialogbox

6.4.4.6 CommittingandExportingtheFrequencyPlan
OnceyouhavemadethenecessarymodificationstothefrequencyplancreatedbytheAFP,youcancommitthefrequency
plantothenetworkorexportthefrequencyplantoafile.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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6.4.4.6.1

CommittinganAutomaticFrequencyPlan
Tocommitthecurrentlydisplayedfrequencyplan:
1. SelecttheAllocationtab.
2. EnsurethatthecurrentlydisplayedfrequencyplanistheoneyouwanttocommitbyclickingtheDisplayOptions
buttonandselectingthedesiredfrequencyplan:

DisplaythePlantobeCommitted:Whenyouselectthisoption,Atolldisplaysthefrequencyplanasitnowstands,
inotherwords,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanwithyourmodifications.YoucanonlymodifytheentriesintheChannel
Assignmentcolumninthecurrentplan.
DisplaytheFinalAFPPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanasitstoodbeforeyoubegan
makingmodifications.
DisplaytheInitialPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaysthefrequencyplanbeforetheAFPsession.

3. ClickCommit.

6.4.4.6.2

ExportinganAutomaticFrequencyPlan
Toexportthecurrentlydisplayedfrequencyplan:
1. SelecttheAllocationtab.
2. Ensure that the currently displayed frequency plan isthe one you want to export byclickingthe Display Options
buttonandselectingthedesiredfrequencyplan:

DisplaythePlantobeCommitted:Whenyouselectthisoption,Atolldisplaysthefrequencyplanasitnowstands,
inotherwords,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanwithyourmodifications.YoucanonlymodifytheentriesintheChannel
Assignmentcolumninthecurrentplan.
DisplaytheFinalAFPPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanasitstoodbeforeyoubegan
makingmodifications.
DisplaytheInitialPlan:Whenyouselectthisoption,AtolldisplaysthefrequencyplanasitwasaftertheAFP
stopped,inotherwords,AtolldisplaystheAFPplanwithoutyourmodifications.

3. ClicktheActionsbuttonandselectExportResults.TheExportdialogboxappears.
4. Exportthefrequencyplanasexplainedin"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.
Ifyouarenotsatisfiedwiththecurrentfrequencyplan,youcanclicktheResumebutton
torestarttheAFPprocessfromthelastproposedsolutioninordertotrytoimproveit.

6.4.4.7 AllocatingFrequenciesInteractively
TheAtollInteractiveFrequencyPlanning(IFP)toolenablesyoutoverifythefrequencyallocationoftransmittersonebyone,
andimproveanexistingfrequencyplanbylettingyouselectthemostappropriatechannelstoassigntoTRXs.TheIFPtool
usesanAFPmoduletocalculatethecostsassociatedwiththecurrentandmodifiedfrequencyplans.Formoreinformation
ontheoptionalAtollAFPmodule,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
Whereasanautomaticfrequencyplanningmodule(AFP)providesacompletesolutionintermsofallocatedchannels,i.e.,the
bestfrequencyallocationthatprovidesthelowestoverallcost,theIFPletsyouuseyourknowledgeofthenetworktoimprove
thefrequencyplanproposedbytheAFP.
InFigure6.75,youcanseethattheTCHfrequency36isinterferedbyaTCHTRXbelongingtoBRU078_G3andBRU079_G1.
InFigure6.76,youcanseethatthecandidatereplacementchannel19isbetter,evenifitisalsointerferedbyBRU079_G2.
Thebestcandidateisthereforechannel21.

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Figure6.75:TCHchannel36interferedbyTCHsofBRU078_G3andBRU079_G1

Figure6.76:Candidatereplacementchannel35
ToallocatefrequenciesinteractivelyusingtheIFP:
1. SelectTools>IFP.TheIFPwindowappears.
2. SelecttheChannelAllocationandAnalysisviewfromthetopoftheIFPwindow.
3. SelectatransmitterfromtheTransmitterlistorbyclickingitssymbolinthemapwindow.
4. SelecttheTRXtypefromtheTRXslist.
5. SelectanAFPmodulefromtheAFPModulelist.

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6. Ifyouwanttomodifyparametersthatwillinfluencefrequencyplanningbeforerunningthetool,clickGeneralParam
etersbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingoptionsfromthemenu:

AFPModuleProperties:Forinformationontheoptions,see"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.
AFPParameters:
IntheAFPLaunchingParametersdialogbox,
i.

UnderTrafficLoads,indicatewhethertheAFPshouldtaketrafficloadsFromtheSubcellsTableoruseloads
Basedonthedefaulttrafficcaptureresults.

ii. IfyouwanttheAFPtoconsiderdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportitincalculatingthe
interference,selecttheDTXcheckboxandentertheVoiceActivityFactor.
iii. SelectDisplaybestcandidatesonlyifyouwanttolimitthenumberofsolutionstobecalculatedanddisplayed.
Selectingthisoptionmightreducecalculationtimeforlargenetworks.
iv. SelecttheLoadallthesubcellsinvolvedinseparationconstraintscheckboxifyouwantallsubcellspotential
lyinvolvedtobeloaded.
v. SelecttheLoadallinterfererspropagatinginthefocuszonecheckboxifyouwantallpotentialinterferersto
beloaded.Ifthischeckboxisnotselected,thecostfunctionwillconsistonlyoftheseparationviolationcost.

SeparationRules:Forinformationontheoptions,see"ChannelSeparations"onpage365.
ExceptionalPairs:Forinformationontheoptions,see"ChannelSeparations"onpage365.
IntratechnologyNeighbours:Forinformationontheoptions,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage295.

7. ClickCalculate.TheIFPcalculatesanddisplaysthecostofthecurrentchannelallocationfortheselectedtransmitter.
ThetoolcalculatesanddisplaysinterferenceprobabilitiesusingtheactiveinterferencematricesavailableintheGSM
InterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.IftheinterferencematricesintheGSMInterferenceMatrices
folderarenotactiveorifinterferencematricesarenotavailable,theanalysistoolonlycalculatesanddisplaysthe
interferencefromatransmitteranditsTRXsonitself.
Inthemapwindow,arrowsaredisplayedfromtheselectedtransmittertoeachinterferedorinterferingtransmitter.
Thecolourofthearrowisthesameasthecolourofthestudiedtransmitter.Theprobabilitiesofinterferenceare
displayedascaptionsforthearrows.Thethicknessofthelinesindicatestheinterferenceprobability.
DifferentinformationandoptionsareavailabledependingonthehoppingmodeoftheselectedtransmittersTRXs:

Nonhoppingmode:
ThefirstcolumndisplaysthenumberofexistingandrequiredTRXsandliststheexistingTRXsoftheselectedtype
forthetransmitterbeingstudiedalongwiththefrequencyassignedtothemandthecostoftheallocation.
Thesecondcolumndisplaysthenumberofcandidatechannelsavailable,andliststhesechannelsalongwiththe
costsforthechannelsiftheywereallocatedtotheselectedtransmitter.
TheFilteringcolumnletsyouselecttheinterferenceinformationtobedisplayedinthefourthcolumn,theCost
ComponentsandIndicatorscolumn.YoucandisplaytheMajorSeparationViolations,SeparationViolations,In
terferenceViolations,ortheNeighbourViolationsoftheselectedtransmitter.Youcanchoosemorethanoneof
theseoptionsbypressingandholdingCTRLandclickingeachoption.
TheLastcolumndisplaysthevariousdetailsaboutthewaythecostisevaluated(trafficload,costcomponents).
Inaddition,itdisplaystheinterferenceprobabilitiesbetweentheTRXoftheselectedtransmitterandtheinterfer
ingTRXsusingtheselectedoptionsintheFilteringcolumn.

Basebandhoppingmode:
ThefirstcolumndisplaysthenumberofexistingandrequiredTRXs,andliststheexistingTRXsoftheselectedtype
forthetransmitterbeingstudiedalongwiththefrequencyandMALassignedtothem,andthecostofthealloca
tion.
Thesecondcolumndisplaysthenumberofcandidatechannelsavailable,andliststhesechannelsalongwiththe
MALsandcostsiftheywereallocatedtotheselectedtransmitter.
TheFiltercolumnletsyouselecttheinterferenceinformationtobedisplayedinthefourthcolumn,theProbabil
itycolumn.YoucandisplaytheHighSeparationViolations,SeparationViolations,InterferenceViolations,orthe
NeighbourViolationsoftheselectedtransmitter.Youcanchoosemorethanoneoftheseoptionsbypressingand
holdingCTRLandclickingeachoption.
TheLastcolumndisplaysthevariousdetailsaboutthewaythecostisevaluated(trafficload,costcomponents).
Inaddition,itdisplaystheinterferenceprobabilitiesbetweentheTRXoftheselectedtransmitterandtheinterfer
ingTRXsusingtheselectedoptionsintheFilteringcolumn.

Synthesisedhoppingmode:
ThefirstcolumnliststheexistingTRXsoftheselectedtransmitter,thefrequenciesusedbytheseTRXsinSFH
mode,theMAIOassignedtoeachTRX,andthecostoftheallocation.

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TheFiltercolumnletsyouselecttheinterferenceinformationtobedisplayedinthefourthcolumn,theProbabil
itycolumn.YoucandisplaytheHighSeparationViolations,SeparationViolations,InterferenceViolations,orthe
NeighbourViolationsoftheselectedtransmitter.Youcanchoosemorethanoneoftheseoptionsbypressingand
holdingCTRLandclickingeachoption.
TheLastcolumndisplaysthevariousdetailsaboutthewaythecostisevaluated(trafficload,costcomponents).
Inaddition,itdisplaystheinterferenceprobabilitiesbetweentheTRXoftheselectedtransmitterandtheinterfer
ingTRXsusingtheselectedoptionsintheFilteringcolumn.
Youcanobtainmoreinformationonanyselecteditemofanycolumnbydoubleclickingonit.Asanexample,youcandouble
clickonacostvalueinordertodisplaydetailsasshownbelow:

Figure6.77:IFPDetailedInformationWindow
UsingtheIFP,youcancreateanewTRXandassignachanneltoit,deleteanexistingTRX,andreplacethecurrentchannel
assignedtoanexistingTRX.
TocreateanewTRXandassignachanneltoit:
1. SelectNewTRXfromthelistofTRXsinthefirstcolumn.
2. Selectachannelfromthelistofcandidatechannelsinthesecondcolumn.
3. ClickCreate.AnewTRXiscreatedintheselectedtransmitterwiththechannelyouselected.
TodeleteanexistingTRX:
1. SelecttheTRXthatyouwanttodeletefromthelistofTRXsinthefirstcolumn.
2. ClickDelete.TheselectedTRXisdeletedfromthetransmitter.
ToreplacethecurrentchannelassignedtoanexistingTRX:
1. SelecttheTRXtowhichyouwanttoassignadifferentchannelfromthelistofTRXsinthefirstcolumn.
2. Selectachannelfromthelistofcandidatechannelsinthesecondcolumn.
3. ClickReplace.ThecandidatechannelwillbeassignedtotheexistingTRX.
Thechangesthatyoumakearetakenintoaccountimmediatelyandupdatedresultsaredisplayed.

6.5 TheAtollAFPModule
ThemainroleoftheAtollAutomaticFrequencyPlanner(AFP)isassigningfrequencies(i.e.,channels)tothenetworkinsuch
awaythatoverallnetworkqualityisoptimised.AsGSMhasevolved,manyimprovementshavebeenintegratedintothetech
nology;improvementssuchastheimplementationofbasebandandsynthesisedfrequencyhopping,discontinuoustransmis
sion,andnetworksynchronisation.Theseimprovementshaveledtoamorecomplicatedfrequencyplanningprocessand,
therefore,totheneedforanAFPthatisadvancedenoughtohelpthefrequencyplannerthroughtheentirefrequencyplan
ningprocess.
TheAtollAFPisanadvancedAFPthatcantakealargenumberofconstraintsanddirectivesintoconsiderationwhenallocating
resources.SomeoftheconstraintsitcanworkwithareARFCNseparationrequirementsbetweentransmitters,interference
relations,HSNassignmentmethods,frequencydomainconstraints,agivenfractionalloadtomaintain,etc.TheAFPdepends
onavarietyofinputdata,suchastheinterferencematrix,neighbourrelations,trafficinformation,etc.
TheAtollAFPmoduleisimplementedusingsimulatedannealing,taboosearch,graphheuristics,andmachinelearning.It
managesitstimeresourcestomatchtheconvergencedefinedbytheuser.Ifthecorrespondingcomputationtimeishigh,the

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modulewillusepartofthistimeto"learn"thenetwork.Duringthelearningphase,themoduleadjustsitsinternalparameters.
Afterthelearningphase,theAFPwillswitchtoarandomisedcombinatorialsearchphase.
TheAtollAFPmoduleperformsnetworklearningbyexecutingmanyfastanddeterministicinstancesoftheAFP.Theinstance
thatresultsinthebestperformancecanbesavedbothinthedocumentandinthedatabase.Ifthisexperienceisconserved,
thenexttimethatanAFPisexecuted,itwillstartwherethelearningprocessended:itwillusetheparameterprofileofthe
bestsolutionstoredintheAFPmodel.Formoreinformationonhowstoringnetworklearningimprovesthealgorithm,see
starthereXREF.
Themostimportantpartofnetworklearningaretheparameterscontrollingtradeoffsbetweenthevariouspartsofthealgo
rithm.Forexample,youcanbasecandidateselectiononinterferenceonlybychoosingfrequenciesthatdonotinterfereand
arenotinterfered.Oryoucanbasecandidateselectiononlyonavailabilityreductionbychoosingfrequenciesthatdonot
reducetheavailabilityofnoninterferedfrequenciesinthesurroundingTRXs.
InAtoll'sAFPthetwocriteriaarecombinedandtheirrelativeweightispartoftheAFPexperience.TheadvantageoftheAtoll
AFPisthatitsimplifiesthedecisionfortheuserbycombiningtheinputrecordsandpresentingtheuserwithasimpleresult,
suchastrafficloadortotalcost,onwhichtobasehisdecisions.
Beforecontinuing,ensurethatyouarefamiliarwiththeprerequisiteinformationexplainedin"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,
HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Intheprevioussections,thebasicrecordsoftheAFPusagewerepresented.Inthissection,themoreadvancedaspects,as
wellaswhatisspecifictoAtoll'sAFPmodulearepresented.
Thecontentispresentedaccordingtolevelofcomplexity.
Thereforethissectionisorganisedaccordingtothelevelofcomplexity:

"UsingtheAtollAFPataBasicLevel"onpage395
"UsingtheAtollAFP"onpage396
"AdvancedAFPusage"onpage417.

6.5.1 UsingtheAtollAFPataBasicLevel
Inthissection,youwillfindtheinformationnecessarytoruntheAtollAFPtosolveasimpleproblem,ortoevaluateahypo
thetical"Whatif"scenario.
IfyouareunfamiliartheAFPcostfunctionorhowitsparametersareset,youcanusetheAtollAFPwithitsdefaultvalues.If
youarenewtotheAtollAFP,youshouldfollowtherecommendationsinthissection.AsanewuseroftheAtollAFP,theonly
parameteryoushouldalteristhecostofmodifyingaTRXandtheintermodulationtax.TheothersettingsoftheAFPmodel
shouldbeleftasis.
WhenyouusetheAFPatthemostbasiclevel,youshouldnotworrytoomuchaboutthecostfunction.Theonlythingthatis
importantisthattheactualcostisreduced.Iftheactualcostdoesnotgodown,orifyouwanttoreducethecostevenmore,
see"AnOverviewoftheAFPCostFunction"onpage397formoreinformationaboutthecostfunction.
Normally,thefirststepinusingtheAtollAFP,istoconfiguretheparametersoftheAtollAFPmodule.WhenyouusetheAFP
atthemostbasiclevel,youonlyneedtosetthebasic,mostimportantparameters.
TosetthebasicparametersoftheAtollAFPmodule:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheAFPModulesfolder.
4. RightclicktheAtollAFPModule.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. SelecttheCosttab(seeFigure6.78).

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Figure6.78:TheCosttaboftheAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox
7. SelecttheModifiedTRXcheckboxtorestrictthenumberofmodificationstotheexistingplan.
8. SelecttheIntermodulationTaxcheckboxinordertotryavoidingtheseproducts.
9. ClickOKtosaveyourchangestotheAFPmoduleandclosetheAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox.
AlltheotherAFPsettingsshouldbeleftwiththeirdefaultvalues.
TorunasimpleAFPprocess:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Frequency Plan> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The AFP dialog box appears with the AFP
ModelandAllocationstabdisplayed.
4. OntheAFPModelandAllocationstab,clickNextwithoutmodifyinganyoftheoptions.TheSeparationstabappears.
5. OntheSeparationstab,clickNextwithoutmodifyinganyoftheseparationrulesandwithoutdefininganyexceptional
pairs.TheGlobalParameterstabappears.
6. OntheGlobalParameterstab,selectFromsubcellstableunderTraffic(loadanddemand).Inthethirdpageofthe
AFPwizard,extractthetrafficdatafromthesubcellstable.
7. ClearallthecheckboxesunderLockingofexistingTRXsoftypeandcleartheDTXcheckbox.
8. ClickOK.ThefinalAFPdialogboxappears.
9. SettheConvergencetoarelativelyshortperiod,i.e.movethecorrespondingsliderclosertoSpeedthantoQuality.
For more information on running an automatic frequency allocation, see "Automatic Resource Allocation Using an AFP
Module"onpage376.

6.5.2 UsingtheAtollAFP
MostusersoftheAFPusetheAtollAFPatarelativelysophisticatedlevel,assigningfrequencies,optimisingTRXs,andtaking
intoaccountalloftheconstraintsonfrequencyuseinaGSMnetwork.Thissectionexplainsthebasicconceptsnecessaryto
successfullyworkingwiththeAFPandexplainstheparametersoftheAtollAFPmodule.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"FrequencyHoppingOverview"onpage414
"AzimuthOrientedAssignments(PatternAllocation,1/11/31/x)"onpage416
"BSICAllocation"onpage417.

6.5.2.1 AnOverviewoftheAFPCostFunction
TheAtollAFPcostfunctionmapstwofrequencyplans(theinitialandthefinalfrequenciesplans)toasinglenumber:theAFP
cost.Atoll'sAFPcostfunctionhastheadvantageofbeingTRXbased.ItiscalculatedforeachTRXandthenaddedup.Itcorre
spondstotheservedtrafficofeachTRXs.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.5.2.1.1

"TheCostFunctionasaCombinationofSeparationViolationandInterferenceProbabilities"onpage397
"CountingBadTRXs(Nodes)InsteadofBadRelations(Edges)"onpage397
"TheCostofEachTRX"onpage398
"CostofEachSubcell"onpage398
"AnExampleofSeparationViolationCostwithFrequencyHopping"onpage398
"InterferenceCost"onpage399
"ProbabilisticCostCombination"onpage400
"TheCostofMissingandCorruptedTRXs"onpage400
"CostofOutofdomainFrequencyAssignment"onpage401
"PreferredGroupCost"onpage401
"IntermodulationCost"onpage401
"QualityTarget"onpage402
"QualityTarget"onpage402
"AFPShadowing"onpage403.

TheCostFunctionasaCombinationofSeparationViolationandInterferenceProbabilities
ThecostfunctionoftheAtollAFPhastwomaincomponents:thecostforviolationsofseparationconstraintsandthecostof
creatinginterference.
TheAtollAFPgiveseachseparationviolationthecostequivalenttoacertainamountofinterference,makingitpossibleto
addbothcostsandminimisetheirtotal.Forexample,youcandecidethataseparationviolationof1coststhesameasx%of
interferedtraffic.Thisisweightedbythetypeofviolation(forexample,cotransmitterseparationviolationshaveahigher
impactthanneighbourseparationviolations).Bydefiningequivalencebetweenthesedissimilarmeasurements,youcanadd
separationviolationandinterferencecostsusingtheircommonunit,i.e.,thepercentageofinterferedtraffic.
Followingthisprinciple,allothercostcomponentsarecalculatedinthesameway:

6.5.2.1.2

Thecostcomponentduetoallocationchanges
ThecostcomponentofallocatingTRXsthatbelong(ornot)toapreferredfrequencygroup(ifsuchagroupisdefined)
ThecostcomponentofmissingorextraTRXscomparedtothenumberofrequiredTRXs
ThecostcomponentofcorruptedTRXs
Thecostcomponentofassignedfrequenciesthatarenotintheassigneddomain
Thecostcomponentofblockedtraffic(calculatedonlywhenyousettheAFPtooptimisethenumberofrequiredTRXs)
Thecostcomponentofintermodulation.

CountingBadTRXs(Nodes)InsteadofBadRelations(Edges)
In the following example, each separation violation represents an edge and each TRX a node. The two frequency plans
proposedinthisexampledonotrespectallseparationrequirementsforallTRXs,meaningthattheyallhavebadnodesand
badedges.Theydemonstratethedifferencebetweenminimizingthenumberofbadedgesorthenumberofbadnodes.
Thenetworkinthisexampleconsistsof6TRXs,allhavingaseparationconstraintof1witheachother(i.e.,6nodes,15edges):
Case1

Case2

F1isused4times;F2andF3areused
onetimeeach.

F1,F2,andF3areusedtwotimes
each.

Numberofseparationviolationsis6
(6badedges)

Numberofseparationviolationsis3
(3badedges)

TwoTRXshavegoodassignments

NoTRXhasagoodassignment

Thespectrumisnotequallyused

Thespectrumisequallyused

Thisexampleshowstheparticularityofthenodeorientedcostapproach.AtollAFPisnodeorientedbydefault.Youcanset
Atoll'sAFPtobeedgeoriented.Thethreemainadvantagesofthenodeorientedapproachare:

Thecostfunctionhasunitswhichareeasytounderstand:interferedtraffic.

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IthasagreatercapacitytooptimisethenumberofTRXs.
IthastheabilitytorespectaTRXbasedqualitytarget,i.e.,todisregardinterferenceataTRXbelowacertainvalue.

ThenodeorientedapproachprovidesabettercorrespondencebetweentheAFPcostandthenetworkquality.

6.5.2.1.3

TheCostofEachTRX
TheAFPcostisaddedupforeachTRXaccordingtothefollowinglogic:

IfTRX iscorrupted,thecostofbeingcorruptedisaddedtothetotalcost,andmultipliedbyT( ),whereT( )isan

estimateofthetraffictimeslotsforTRX weightedbytheAFPweightforthisTRX.
IfTRX ismissing(i.e.,iftherequirednumberofTRXsandtheactualnumberofTRXsisdifferent),thecostofthe
missingTRXisaddedtothetotalcost,andmultipliedbyT( ).
IfTRX hasfrequenciesassignedtoitthatdonotbelongtoitsdomain,thecostisaddedtothetotalcost,andmul
tipliedbyT( ).
Otherwise,theseparationcost,theinterferencecost,thechangingload,andthepreferredgrouprespectratioofthis
TRXareaddedtogether(probabilistically)andaddedtothetotalcost,andmultipliedbyT( ).
Ifthisamountisverysmall,itisdiscarded(formoreinformation,see"QualityTarget"onpage402).

YoucancontroltheAFPcosttargetbydeterminingthevalueofthecostfunctionparameters.Someoftheseparametersare
partofthedatamodel,e.g.,"MaximumMALLength"and"MinimumC/I",whileothersbelongtotheAFP.

6.5.2.1.4

CostofEachSubcell
When you use the AFP to optimise the number of required TRXs, the cost function is adapted: the traffic load becomes
dependentonthenumberofTRXs.Moreover,ablockedcostcomponentisused.Forthepurposesofthissection,youcan
assumethatthecostofeachsubcellcorrespondstoallcaseswheretheallocationstrategydoesnotincludetheoptimisation
ofthenumberofTRXs.
TheAFPcostisthecostoftheentireloadednetwork,notonlythecostoftheselectedor
nonlocked TRXs. In many cases, the AFP is authorised to change only a part of the
network. Therefore, the part of the cost corresponding to the nonlocked part of the
networkandthepartofthecostcorrespondingtothelockedpartofthenetworkareindi
cated.

6.5.2.1.5

AnExampleofSeparationViolationCostwithFrequencyHopping
Inthisexample,theinterferencecostisignoredinordertomaketheseparationviolationcosteasiertounderstand.Theexam
pleusesaTRXwithonlyoneseparation.
Inthisexample,Sijrepresentstherequiredseparationbetweentwotransmitters.Iff1isassignedatiandf2atjsuchthat
,theseparationconstraintisnotsatisfied.Aseparationconstraintviolationcanbestrongorweak.Forexam
ple,thepairoffrequencies1and2violatesaseparationrequirementof3.Thepairoffrequencies1and3violatethisrequire
mentaswellbutisstillabettersolutionthan1and2and,therefore,shouldhavealowercost.
FrequenciesthatarepartofaMALwithalowfractionalloadandthatviolateaseparationconstraintshouldnotbeweighted
thesameasfornonhoppingseparationviolations.Infact,theseparationcomponentisweightedbytheburstcollisionprob
ability,whichisthemultiplicationofthevictim'sfractionalloadandtheinterferer'sfractionalload.

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Figure6.79:TheSeparationtaboftheAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox
Inthisexample,thereisanetworkwithtwoTRXsonthesamecell.Thefirst,TRXi,hasaMALreferredtoasMALi.Itisinterfered
byTRXkwithMALk.TRXiandTRXkhaveaseparationrequirementof2.TheirMALlengthsare5and4,respectively.Unfortu
nately,oneoftheirfrequenciesisthesame(i.e.,theseparationis0),whileallotherfrequenciesarecorrect.Foracochannel
violationwhentherequiredseparationis2,thecostoftheseparationviolationis90%,asindicatedinFigure6.79onpage399.
BecauseonlyonechannelofeachTRXcausesinterference,andthelengthofMALiis5andthelengthofMALiis4,thecollision
probabilityis1/20.Therefore,thecosttoconsiderisdividedby20:90/20or4.5%foreachTRX.
Becausethisexampleusesfrequencyhopping,thereisanadditionalhoppinggainwhichprovidesaslightcostreduction.The
exactgainisobtainedfromtheFrequencydiversitygaintableontheAdvancedtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialog
box.ThegainvaluesaregivenindB,andbecausethetwoTRXshavedifferentMALlengths,theyhavedifferentdiversitygains:
againof1.4foraMALlengthof5andagainof1.2foraMALlengthof4(assumingthedefaultvalueswerenotchanged).
Thediversitygainof1.4dBisappliedtotheseparationcostusingthefollowingequation:

10

1.4
--------
10

1.38

.ForTRXi,thisresult

inggainis4.5%1.38,or3.25%.
= 3.41% .Thecostwillbealittlelargerbecausethegainissmaller.
ForTRXk,thecostwillbe ------ ----------------------- 1.2 10
1
90
20 10

Inordertocalculatetheexactcontributiontotheseparationcostcomponent,thesevaluesaremultipliedbythetrafficload
(Erlangs/timeslot)andbythenumberoftrafficcarriertimeslotsforeachTRX.Assumingthetrafficloadis1andthateachTRX
has8trafficcarriertimeslots,theresultis(8x3.25+8x3.41),orabout0.5ErlangsforthetwoTRXscombined.
Inthisexample,theAFPweightwasassumedtobe1,thetrafficloadswereassumedtobe
1,noDTXwasused,nootherinterferenceorseparationviolationwascombinedwiththe
given cost, the global separation cost was set to 1, and the cotransmitter separation
weightwassetto1aswell.

6.5.2.1.6

InterferenceCost
TrafficonaTRXisinterferedifandonlyifinterferingtransmittersusethesamechanneloranadjacentchannel.Eachcaseof
reusereducestheamountofgoodtrafficandincreasestheinterferencecost.Thereuseisweightedbytheglobalinterference
weightingfactor,andtakesintoaccounttheburstcollisionprobability.
Thisexampleexplainshowasingleinterferencecostcomponentiscalculated.Inthisexample,thenetworkcontainsonlytwo
TRXsbelongingto[TX1,BCCH]and[TX2,BCCH].Theinterferencematrixentrybetweenthesetwosubcellsisgivenintheform
ofaCDF,acumulativedensityfunction,displayedinFigure6.80.

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Figure6.80:Theinterferencematrixentrybetween[TX1,BCCH]and[TX2,BCCH]
YoucanseethattheprobabilityofC/I(BCCHofTX2affectingtheBCCHofTX1)beinggreaterthan0is100%.Theprobability
ofhavingaC/Iatleastequalto31dBis31.1%.IntheSubcellstable,theMinC/IfieldoftheTX1'sBCCHsubcellofis12.There
fore,foraC/Ilevelof12dB,theprobabilityofinterferenceis6.5%(becausethisrequirementhasaprobabilityof93.5%of
beingfulfilled).
Inordertobeconvertedintocost,theprobabilityofinterference6.5%mustbemultipliedbythenumberoftimeslots,their
loads,andtheAFPweight.

6.5.2.1.7

ProbabilisticCostCombination
Inthisexample,TRX issubjecttoaseparationviolationcausingacostof30%ofT( )(whereT( )isanestimateofthe
traffictimeslotsforTRX weightedbytheAFPweightforthisTRX)andinaddition,aco/adjacentchannelreusecausingthis
TRXtobe40%interfered.Thesecostsarecombinedusingaprobabilisticapproach.
Inthisexample,theprobabilityofthesecostsoccurringarep(Violation)withavalueof0.3andp(Interference)withavalue
of0.4.Thecostofthetwotogetherisgivenby:
1 1 p violation 1 p Interference = 0.58 or 58%

P1,P2,.PnarethecostsoftheprobabilityofaviolationofaTRX(oneforeachof"n"violations).
Pn+1,Pn+2,.PmarethecostsoftheprobabilityofinterferenceofaTRX(oneforeachof"mn"interferences).
Pm+1isthechangingTRXcostdescribedbelow:
n

ThecostofseparationforthisTRXistherefore: 1 1 P i

TheadditionalcostofthisTRXis: 1

m+1

i=1

1 Pi 1 1 Pi
i=1

i=1

Theinterferencecostusesthe"minC/I"value,definedatthesubcelllevel,forwhichitmighthavepreciseinterferenceinfor
mation.ItcanapplyvariousgainstothisC/Iqualitytargetduetofrequencyhoppingand/orDTX.

6.5.2.1.8

TheCostofMissingandCorruptedTRXs
Itiseasytohavea0costsolutionifthecriterionoftherequirednumberofTRXsisnotfulfilled(forexample,byremovingall
TRXs).ThisisthemainpurposeofthemissingTRXcost.Bydefault,theexacttrafficthatamissingTRXwassupposedtocarry
willbecountedasacost.However,youcanincreasethiscost(by200%forexample)ifnecessary.
CorruptedTRXsareTRXswheretheassignmentisunusablebytheAFP.AfewexamplesofcorruptedTRXswouldbe:

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TRXswithanemptychannellist
ATRXwithaMALwithoutHSNorwithoutaMAIOforsynthesisedhopping.
ATRXassignedaninvalidfrequency.
AnonhoppingorbasebandhoppingTRXwithaMALthathasmorethanonefrequency.

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Bydefault,100%ofthetrafficthatacorruptedTRXissupposedtocarryisconsideredimpaired.
Insomecases,correctingtheassignmentofresourcesforagroupofcorruptedTRXswillnotonlyresultintheseTRXsbeing
consideredcorruptedbutmanyotherTRXsthat,otherwise,wouldhavecorrectlyassignedresources,willalsobeconsidered
corrupted.
WhenyouenabletheoptimisationofthenumberofTRXs,thecostsformissingTRXsand
corruptedTRXschangetoafixedvalue.FormissingTRXs,thisvaluemultipliestheabsolute
differencebetweenthenumberofassignedTRXsandthenumberofrequiredTRXs.
IfyoudonotenabletheoptimisationofthenumberofTRXs,theweightsformissingand
corruptedTRXsaremultipliedbythetraffic(timeslots,load,andAFPweight).

6.5.2.1.9

CostofOutofdomainFrequencyAssignment
IfaTRXisassignedoutofdomainfrequencies(channels)buthascorrectARFCNs,itwillhaveadoubleinfluenceonthecost:

6.5.2.1.10

Theusualcostofinterference,separation,ormodification,and
Anadditionalcostofhavingoutofdomainchannels,multipliedbythenumberoffrequenciesoutofdomainand
dividedbytheMALlength.

PreferredGroupCost
Ifasubcell'sallocationstrategyisgroupconstrained,orifitshoppingmodeissynthesisedhopping,thecostcouldbeinflu
encedbyapreferredfrequencygroupinthefollowingways:

Whenapreferredfrequencygroupisassignedinthesubcelltable,allfrequenciesnotbelongingtothisgrouparecon
sideredasinterferedifassignedtoTRXsofthissubcell.
IfanazimuthorientedpatternisrequiredbytheAFP,thentheAFPitselfwillchoosethepreferredfrequencygroups.
TheAFPwillcorrelateitschoicewiththeazimuthdirection.

Thegroupconstraintweightismeanttobekeptverylow.Otherwiseitbecomesequivalenttoadomainconstraint.
Thegroupconstraintweightinconvertedintoacostasfollows:eachuseofanoutofgroupfrequencyisequivalenttoasmall
amountofinterference.Thisinterferenceisthencombinedwiththeothersourcesofinterferenceandmultipliedbythetraffic
(timeslots,load,andAFPweight).

6.5.2.1.11

IntermodulationCost
Thepurpose of this costcomponentisto avoid cases whereintermodulationcancauseproblems.Itis therefore defined
slightlymorestrictlythaninrealcaseswhereintermodulationeffectsoccur.
Theintermodulationviolationsaresummarisedasatax,sincetheyalwayshaverelativelylowinterferenceprobabilities.
Thistaxisappliedwhenthecombinationofallocatedfrequenciesgeneratesafrequencyalreadyallocatedwithinthesame
site.Theweightofthetaxdependsonthetypeofcombination(order,harmonics,orvariousamplificationspreadingviola
tion), on whether the combination of DL frequencies affects UL frequencies, or whether the intermodulation takes place
withinasamesite,transmitterorequipment.
[WHATTHESQUEAKDOESARFCNHAVETODOWITHINTHISCONTEXT?]EachARFCNcarriernumberreferstotwophysical
frequencies:theuplinkfrequencyandthedownlinkfrequency.ThetranslationfunctionfromARFCNtofrequencyisgivenby
theARFCNstandard.
Eachphysicalfrequencyusedinasitecouldbesubjecttoasecond(orthird)orderoraVASP(VariousAmplificationSpreading
Violation)intermodulationseparationviolation.
Iftherearetwofrequencies,XandYwhereX<Y,thefollowingtabledescribestheseparationconstraint:
ConstraintOrder

Condition

ConstraintAppliedTo

Secondorder(Harmonics)

Y=2X

XandY

VASP

Y<X+600kHz

XandY

Iftherearethreefrequencies,f1,f2,f,thefollowingtabledescribestheseparationconstraint:
ConstraintOrder

Condition

ConstraintAppliedTo

Secondorder

f=f1+f2

f,f1andf2

Thirdorder

f=2f1f2
f=f12f2

f,f1andf2

Theprecedingtablessummarisefivetypesofviolations.Eachtypehasadefaultweight:

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ConstraintType

Weight

SecondOrder

0.02

Harmonics

0.01

VASP

0.0002

Thirdorder

0.002

ThecostsdetaileduptothispointareaddedtogetherandweightedwiththeintermodulationweightW,theUL/DLcompo
nentweight,andtheequipmentsharingweight.
Ineachintermodulationviolationthereisaninterferingfrequency(orfrequencies)andaninterferedfrequency.Inallthe
preceding equations except the VASP, the generator frequency is on the right side of the equations while the interfered
frequencyisontheleftsite.TheVASPcasecorrespondstotwoviolations:inthefirst,thelowerfrequencyisthegenerator,
andthehigherfrequencyistheinterfered.
Itisassumedthatthegeneratorfrequenciesareeitherallontheuplinkorallonthedownlink,otherwise,noviolationis
considered.Theinterferedfrequencycanbeadownlinkoruplinkfrequencyaswell.Therefore,thereare4casesforwhich4
weightswillmultiplytheviolationcost.
Generator
Frequencies

Interfered
Frequencies

Weight

Description

DL

UL

HighpoweramplificationpollutioninterfereswiththeRX,causing
animportantnoiserise

UL

UL

Highpowerreceivedsignalsgenerateanintermodulation
productonaweaklyreceivedinterferedfrequency

DL

DL

Downlinkpowercontrolisactiveovertheinterferedfrequency
butisnotactiveoverthegenerators,whichgeneratehighnoise
ontheinterferedsignal

UL

DL

Thistypeofinteractioncanbeignored

Thefinalweightconcernstheequipmentsharing.Thisaspecthasacrucialeffectontheimportanceofintermodulation.In
Atoll,itisassumedthatsharingasiteimpliessharingatransmitterandthatsharingafeederandantennaimpliescocell
cohabitation.
Forcocellintermodulation(generatingfrequenciesaswellasIMbelongtothesamecell)theintermodulationcostismulti
pliedby5.

6.5.2.1.12

QualityTarget
Itisoftennecessarytodealwithsmallandlargeamountsofinterferencedifferently.Forexample,anoperatormightprefer
tohave10transmitterswith2%interferedtrafficoneach,ratherthantohave2transmitterswith10%interferedtrafficon
each.
OntheCosttaboftheAtollAFPPropertiesdialogbox,youcanchoosetoignoretheinterferenceandseparationcoststhat
donotadduptothevalueoftheAcceptedInterferencePercentagesetintheSubcellstableforeachsubcellbyclearingthe
Summed cost of all TRXs check box. TRXs that have a lower percentage of interference than the Accepted Interference
Percentageareconsideredtohavenointerferenceandareexcludedfromthetotalcost.Inotherwords,theAFPdismisses
anyTRXwhosequalityisbetterthanthequalitytarget,enablingittoconcentratetheoptimisationontheTRXsthatreally
needimprovement.

6.5.2.1.13

MinimumReuseDistance
TheAtollAFPcantakeintoconsiderationaminimumreusedistancewhenassigningfrequenciesorBSIC.Usingaminimum
reusedistancecanhelpcompensateforinaccuraciesintheinterferencematricesorotherinputdata.Thereusedistanceis
consideredasasoftconstraint.Becausethereusedistanceisanestimationofpossibleinterference,itisaddedtotheinter
ferenceprobability.
Theminimumreusedistanceiscombinedasataxwiththeinterferenceprobabilityasfollows:
1 1 i 1 d

where i istheinterferenceprobabilityand d istheminimumreusedistance.

Inthefollowingexample,theinterferenceprobabilityis0.12andthereusedistance0.023:
1 1 0.12 1 0.023 = 0.14024

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ThetaxonreusedistanceisdefinedontheProtectiontaboftheAtollAFPPropertiesdialogbox.Thetaxappliedonreuse
distanceisassociatedwithanyadditionalprotectionagainstadjacentchannelreuse.Thegreatertheadditionalprotection
againstadjacentchannelreusedefinedontheProtectiontab,thegreaterthedistancetax.
Thenumberofrelationsbasedondistancetakenintoconsiderationforeachtransmitterislimitedforperformancereasons.
Youcandefinethemaximumnumberofrelationsbysettingthe"GlobalDistanceMatrixDegreeUB"optionintheAtoll.inifile.
ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

6.5.2.1.14

AFPShadowing
ShadowingisimportantfortheAFP.WithinthecontextoftheAFP,shadowingisimplementedbysettingthedefinitionof
interferenceasFlexibleontheProtectiontaboftheAtollAFPPropertiesdialogbox.Shadowingissoimportantthatinsome
casesitisenabledautomatically,forexample,iftheinterferencematricesthemselveswerenotcalculatedwithshadowing.
AFPshadowingisappliedinrelationtothequalitythreshold.Whenenabled,traffichavingC/Iconditionsslightlyworsethan
therequiredthresholdisnotconsidered100%interfered.Atthesametime,traffichavingC/Iconditionsthatareonlyslightly
betterthanthethresholdisnotconsideredas100%good.
ThisshadowingisperformedbyrepeatedlyaccessingtheCDFfunctionasexplainedin"InterferenceCost"onpage399.

6.5.2.2 SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule
YoucandefinetheAtollAFPspecificparametersusedwhencalculatingthecostandsetsomeguidelinesfortheAtollAFP
modulebyusingtheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox.
ToopentheAtollAFPmodulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheAFPModulesfolder.
4. RightclicktheAtollAFPModulefolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxappears.
TheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxconsistsof10tabs:General,Cost,SeparationWeights,InterferenceMatrices,
HSN,MAL,Execution,Spacing,Protections,andAdvanced.TheCost,SeparationWeights,InterferenceMatrices,Protec
tions,and Advancedtabs include parameters that are taken intoaccount whenestimating the cost. The Finalisationtab
providesoptionsonhowtheAFPruns.TheothertabsareusedtodefinetheallocationstrategiesforHSN,MAL,MAIO,and
BSICsassignedbytheAFP.
YoucanmakecopiesoftheAtollAFPmoduleandsetdifferentparametersforeachcopy.Allcopieswillbeavailableineach
AFPsession.Inotherwords,youwillbeabletochoosefromthelistofallAtollAFPmodules,eachwithitsowndefinedparam
eters.
ThesettingsofeachAtollAFPmodulearesavedintheAtolldocumentbuttheycanalsobearchivedinthedatabasesothat
allusersconnectedtothesamecentraliseddatabasecanusethem.FormoreinformationonarchivingAtollAFPmodule
settings,seetheAdministratorManual.
ForinformationonsettingtheparametersoneachofthetabsoftheAtollAFPmodule,seethefollowing:

6.5.2.2.1

"TheGeneralTab"onpage403
"TheCostTab"onpage404
"TheSeparationstab"onpage405
"TheInterferenceMatricesTab"onpage406
"TheHSNTab"onpage407
"TheMALTab"onpage408
"TheFinalisationtab"onpage410
"TheReusetab"onpage411
"TheProtectionTab"onpage411
"TheAdvancedTab"onpage413

TheGeneralTab
TheGeneraltaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutochangethenameoftheAtollAFPmodule.For
example,ifyouhavecreatedacopyoftheAtollAFPandmodifiedsomeparametersinordertocustomisethecopyfora
specificsituation,youcangivethecopyadescriptivename.
TodisplaytheGeneraltaboftheAtollAFPmodulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheGeneraltab.
3. ChangethenameoftheAtollAFPmodule.

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TheCostTab
TheCosttaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefinethedifferentcomponentsthatmakeupthe
globalcost.AcomponentwillbetakenintoconsiderationbytheAFPifitisselected.Ifitscostorweightis"0,"itwillnotbe
takenintoconsideration.
Themostimportantparametersonthistabaretheinterferenceandseparationweights.Theseareusedasmultiplicative
factorsforeachincidenceofinterferenceorviolation.Inotherwords,theseparameterscanreducecost.Ifthesetwoparam
etershavelowvalues(forexample,0.1forinterferenceand0.035forseparation),theAFPwillbeforcedtoworkusingan
edgeorientedstrategy,whichisnotthebestapproach.Bydefault,interferencecostsarelessimportantthanseparationviola
tioncosts.
ThesecondmostimportantparameteristhecostofmodifyingaTRX.Thisparametershouldbesetifthenonlockedpartof
thenetworkistobechangedaslittleaspossible.Theexampleinthefollowingtableshowshowthisparametercanaffect
totalcosts.Inthisexample,thereisanetworkwithatotalof90transmitters.15ofthesetransmittersarelocked.Outofa
totalof257requiredTRXs,only193goodTRXshavealreadybeenallocated.Thisleaves64TRXsthatwillhavetobecreated
andallocatedaffectingtheother193aslittleaspossible:
Cost

Effect

ForacostofchangingaTRX=1

AFPchangedonly98TRXS

ForacostofchangingaTRX=0.3

AFPchangedonly129TRXS

ForacostofchangingaTRX=0.1

AFPchangedonly139TRXS

ForacostofchangingaTRX=0

AFPchanged162TRXS

SelectingtheSummedcostofallTRXscheckboxmakestheAFPtakethecostofallTRXsintoaccount,whetherornotthey
exceedthisqualitytarget.Ifyouclearthischeckbox,theAFPwillonlytakeintoaccountthecostsofTRXswhichdonotfulfil
thequalitythresholdsdefinedintheircorrespondingsubcells.Inotherwords,theAFPdismissesanyTRXwhosequalityis
betterthanthequalitytarget,enablingittoconcentratetheoptimisationontheTRXsthatreallyneedimprovement.
TodisplaytheCosttaboftheAtollAFPmodulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheCosttab(seeFigure6.81).

Figure6.81:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxCosttab

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3. UnderTaxperTRX,setthefollowingparameters:

ForeachmissingorextraTRX:Ifdesired,selectthecheckboxtomakeitactiveandsetthecostforeachmissing
orunnecessaryTRX.
ForeachcorruptedTRX:Ifdesired,selectthecheckboxtomakeitactiveandsetthecostforeachcorruptedTRX.
ForeachTRXwithfrequenciesoutsideitsdomain:Ifdesired,selectthecheckboxtomakeitactiveandsetthe
costforeachTRXthathasfrequenciesallocatedtoitthatdonotbelongtoitsdomain.

4. Ifdesired,selecttheIntermodulationCost(order2and3)checkboxtomakeitactiveandsetthecosteachapplied
tothetotalcosteachtimeintermodulationmightoccurbecauseoftheallocatedfrequencies.
5. UnderTRXComponent,setthefollowingparameters:

Interference:SetthecostforinterferenceforeachTRX.FormoreinformationontheAFPandinterference,see
"InterferenceCost"onpage399.
Separation:SetthecostforseparationviolationforeachTRX.FormoreinformationontheAFPandseparation
violation,see"AnExampleofSeparationViolationCostwithFrequencyHopping"onpage398.
ModifiedTRX:Ifdesired,selectthecheckboxtomakeitactiveandsetthecostofmodifyingaTRX.Formoreinfor
mationonthecostofmodifyingaTRX,see"TheCostofMissingandCorruptedTRXs"onpage400.
Outsidepreferredgroup:Ifdesired,selectthecheckboxtomakeitactiveandsetthecostofanallocatedfre
quencybeingoutsideofthepreferredgroup.Formoreinformationonthecostofusingafrequencyoutsideofthe
preferredgroup,see"PreferredGroupCost"onpage401.

6. Ifdesired,selecttheSummedcostofallTRXscheckboxtomakeitactive.TheAFPwilltakeintoaccountthesummed
costofallTRXs,includingthosethatfulfilthequalitythresholdsdefinedintheircorrespondingsubcells.
7. UnderTraffic,selectthetrafficsourcetheAFPwilluseduringoptimisation:

6.5.2.2.3

Basedonthetrafficdemand(fromtheSubcellstableordefaulttrafficcapture):Ifyouchoosetousethetraffic
demand,theAFPwilluseeitherthetrafficdemanddefinedintheSubcellstableorthedefaulttrafficcapture
(dependingonwhatyouselectwhenyouruntheAFPoptimisation).
Basedonthetrafficdemandcalculatedfromtrafficload,numberofrequiredTRXs,blockingprobability,and
ErlangBformula:Ifyouchoosetousethisoption,theAFPwillcalculatethetrafficdemandfromthetrafficload,
thenumberofrequiredTRXs,theblockingprobability,andtheErlangBformula.

TheSeparationstab
TheSeparationstaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefineaweightforeachtypeofseparation
constraintviolationorpartialviolation.
Youcanassignaweightbetween0and1forthefollowingtypesofseparationconstraintviolations:

Cocellseparationviolations
Cositeseparationviolations
Neighbourhoodseparationviolations
Exceptionalpairseparationviolations

ThePartialseparationconstraintviolationssectionenablesyoutodefinethecostoftheactualseparation("k")whenadiffer
entseparation("s")isrequired.YoucandefinethepercentageoftrafficofeachTRXtobeconsideredinforapartialseparation
constraintviolation.YoucanalsoaddandremovepartialseparationconstraintsusingtheAddSeparationandRemoveSepa
rationbuttonsatthebottomofthetab.
TodisplaytheSeparationstaboftheAtollAFPmodulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheSeparationstab(seeFigure6.82).

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Figure6.82:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxSeparationstab
UnderPartialseparationconstraintviolations,youcanedittheconditionsdefiningapartialseparationconstraint.
Youcanhaveupto7separations.
Toedittheseparationconditions:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )totheleftoftheseparation.
b. ClicktheentryintheValuecolumnandenterapercentagecorrespondingtotheamountoftraffic.
Toremoveaseparation:

ClicktheRemoveseparationbutton.Atollremovesthelastseparation.

Toaddaseparation:

ClicktheAddseparationbutton.AtolladdsaseparationentrytotheendofthelistunderPropertiesandfillsin
defaultvaluesforeach"k"value.

3. Ifdesired,modifytheweightforeachofthefollowing:

6.5.2.2.4

Cotransmitterviolations
Cositeviolations
Violationsbetweenneighbours
Violationsbetweenexceptionalpairs

TheInterferenceMatricesTab
TheInterferenceMatricestaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefineweightsthatareusedto
definehowinterferencematricesarecombined.
TheAtollAFPcombinesinterferencematricesbyfirstloadingthepartofactiveinterferencematricesthatintersectsthescope
of the AFP. The AFP then combines the information by performing a weighted average of all entries for each pixel. The
weightedaverageiscalculatedbymultiplyingthefollowingthreecomponentspresentontheInterferenceMatricestab:

WhethertheinterferencematrixiswithinthescopeoftheAFP
Thetypeofinterferencematrix
Theinterferencematrixqualityindicators

FormoreinformationonhowAtollcombinesinterferencematrices,seetheAdministratorManual.

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TodisplaytheInterferenceMatricestaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheInterferenceMatricestab(seeFigure6.83).

Figure6.83:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxInterferenceMatricestab
Thefirstcomponentincombininginterferencematricesiswhetheragiveninterferencematrixentryiswithinthe
scopeoftheAFP.
3. UnderThetypeofinterferencematrix,definetheparametersforeachsection:

Overlappingareabasedonpathlossmatrices

OMCstatistics

6.5.2.2.5

Signallevelmeasurements(RXLEV),neighboursonly
Signallevelmeasurements(RXLEV),neighboursandextendedneighbours
Basedonreselection

Measurementanalysis

Ratioofoverlappingsurface
Ratioofoverlappingtraffic

Basedondrivetestdata
BasedonCWmeasurements
Basedonscanmeasurements

UnderComponentdependingontheinterferencematrixqualityindicators,theActivecheckboxisselectedand
cannotbecleared.TheAtollAFPalwaysincludesthequalitymatrixspecifictoeachtypeofinterferencematrixwhen
combininginterferencematrices.

TheHSNTab
The HSN tab of the Atoll AFP Module Properties dialog box enables you to define how the HSN will be allocated when
synchronisedfrequencyorbasebandhoppingisused.

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TodisplaytheHSNtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheHSNtab(seeFigure6.84).

Figure6.84:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxHSNtab
3. UnderAllocation,selecthowtheHSNwillbeallocated:

6.5.2.2.6

BySubcell
ByTransmitter
BySite
Free.

TheMALTab
TheMALtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefineMobileAllocationListpatternsandlength
prioritieswhensynchronisedfrequencyorbasebandhoppingisused.
TheMALtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutoenableordisablegeneralautomaticadjustment
forMobileAllocationListpatternsandlengthprioritieswhensynchronisedfrequencyorbasebandhoppingisused.

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TodisplaytheMALtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
1. ClicktheMALtab.TheGeneralautomaticadjustment(Recommended)checkboxisselectedbydefault,therefore
hidingtheremainingcontentoftheMALtab.
1. CleartheGeneralautomaticadjustment(Recommended)checkboxtodisplaytheMALsettings(seeFigure6.85).

Figure6.85:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxMALtab
2. UnderMALallocationtype,selecthowtheMALwillbeallocatedforgroupsofsynchronisedsubcells.

SameMALforallthesubcellsofasynchronisedset,or
DifferentMALswithinasynchronisedset.

3. UnderMALlength,settheconstraintsthattheAtollAFPwillfollowtodefinetheMALlength:
a. Thefirstconstraintconcernsgroupconstrainedsubcells:thechoiceofMALlengthforgroupconstrainedsubcells
islimited.Onlythegrouplengthsofeachsubcellfrequencydomaincanbechosen.
b. SelecteitherMaxMALlengthorAdjustMALlengths.IfyouselectMaxMALlength,youdonotneedtosetany
otherconstraints.
IfyouselectMaxMALLength,itisnotnecessarytosetanyotherconstraints.

c. IfyouselectedAdjustMALlengths,setthefollowingparameterstodefinehowtheAtollAFPwillsetMALlengths:
i.

DefinethevaluethatMALlength/Domainsizemustnotbeequaltoorgreaterthan.

ii. IfyouselectedDifferentMALswithinasynchronisedsetastheMALallocationtypeinstep6.5.2.2.7,youcan
selectaLongorShortMALStrategy(withtheoptionofkeepingMALlongenoughtoallowacertainpattern).

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iii. DefineaTargetfractionalloadandselecttheAutomaticadjustmentcheckboxifyouwanttogivetheAFP
thepossibilityofmodifyingthisvalueautomatically.ThefractionalloadistheratioofthenumberofTRXswith
agivenMALoverthenumberoffrequenciesinthesameMAL.
ItisrecommendedthatyoulettheAFPautomaticallyadjustthetargetfractionalload.

6.5.2.2.7

TheFinalisationtab
TheFinalisationtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefinethebehaviouroftheAtollAFP
modulewhenitreachestheendofthecalculationtime.
TodisplaytheFinalisationtaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheFinalisationtab(seeFigure6.86).

Figure6.86AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxFinalisationtab
3. UnderTargetCPUtime,selecthowtheAFPusesthecomputationtimecorrespondingtotheConvergencecriterion
definedintheAFPdialogbox:

Fixedduration:IfyouselectFixedDuration,theAFPstopswhenthistimehaselapsed.Ifastablesolutionhas
beenfoundpriortothislimit,theallocationstops.Fixeddurationcorrespondstotheminimumamountoftime
youreservefortheAFPtofindthebestsolution.
Directiveduration:ThisistheAtollAFP'sdefault.IfyouselectDirectiveduration,theConvergencecriterionyou
setintheAFPdialogboxisusedbytheAFPtoestimatethemethodswhichwillbeusedtofindthebestsolution.
IfthecorrespondingCPUtimeislongenough,theAFPwillattempttomodifyitsinternalcalibrationtobetter
matchthenetworkonwhichfrequenciesandresourcesarebeingallocated.
IfthecorrespondingCPUtimeisshorter,theAFPwillselectasmallernumberofmethodsandwillnotcalibrate
itsinternalparameters.
IftheAFPfindsastablesolutionbeforetheendofthecorrespondingCPUtime,theAFPwillstop.Ontheother
hand,ifconvergencehasnotbeenreachedbytheendofthecorrespondingCPUtime,theAFPwillcontinue.

4. UnderResultAssignment,selecthowtheAFPassignstheresultsoncetheautomaticallocationhasstopped:

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6.5.2.2.8

AutomaticAssignment:TheAFPautomaticallyassignsthebestplantothedocument.Thisapproachisrecom
mendedifAutoBackupisenabled.

TheReusetab
TheReusetaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefineanallocationstrategyiftheselectedallo
cationstrategyis"free."
TodisplaytheReusetaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheReusetab(seeFigure6.87).

Figure6.87:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxReusetab
3. UnderPattern,definethepatterntobeusedtoassignfrequencygroupstosectors.Theassignedpatternisdefined
by"1/n,"where"n"isthenumberoflargerfrequencygroupsinthedomain.Ifthefrequencydomainhasfewerthan
"n"groups,thepatternisignored.
4. UnderBSIC,definethediversityofBSICuseforfrequencyhopping:

Min.:TheAFPchoosesthemostcompactschemepermittedbytheconstraints.
Max.:TheAFPattemptstodistributetheBSICshomogeneously.

5. UnderChannels,definethespacingbetweenchannelstobeusedbetweenchannelsduringallocation:

Automatic:TheAFPoptimiseschannelspacingtominimisethecost.
Max.:TheAFPusestheentirespectrum.Thisoptionisrecommendedwiththemodellingisnotaccurate.
Min.:Thisoptionisrecommendedwhenapartofthespectrumistobesavedforfutureuse.

6. UnderMAIO,definetheMAIOallocationstrategyforfrequencyhopping:

6.5.2.2.9

Staggered:TheMAIOsassignedtoTRXsofasubcellareevenlyspaced.
Free:TheAFPmodulefreelyassignsMAIOs.

TheProtectionTab
TheProtectiontaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxenablesyoutodefineadditionalstrategiestoevaluateinter
ference.

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TodisplaytheProtectiontaboftheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogbox:
1. OpentheAtollAFPModulePropertiesdialogboxasexplainedin"SettingtheParametersoftheAtollAFPModule"
onpage403.
2. ClicktheProtectiontab(seeFigure6.87).

Figure6.88:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxProtectionstab
3. UnderAdditionalprotectionagainstadjacentchannelreuse,selectthelevelofadditionalprotectionyouwantthe
AFPtouseagainstadjacentchannelreuse:

None:noadditionalprotectionisadded.
Weak:1.5dBisappliedtotheinitialprotection.
Strong:2.5dBisappliedtotheinitialprotection.

Formoreinformationaboutprotectionagainstadjacentchannelreuse,see"AdjacencySuppression"onpage413.
4. UnderInterferencedefinitionwithrespecttotherequiredqualitythreshold,setaC/Iweightingmarginaroundthe
requiredqualitythresholdinorderfortheAFPtoconsiderthetraffichavingclosetothresholdC/Iconditionsasnei
ther100%satisfactorynor100%corrupted.Formoreinformation,"InterferenceCost"onpage399.

Rigid:IfyouselectRigid,theAFPwillevaluateinterferenceonlyatthedefinedqualitythreshold.
Intermediate:IfyouselectIntermediate,theAFPwillevaluateinterferenceat3referencepoints:thedefined
qualitythreshold,andat+/2dBofthequalitythreshold.
Flexible: If you select Flexible, the AFP will evaluate interference at 5 reference points: the defined quality
threshold,at+/2dBofthequalitythreshold,andat+/4dBofthequalitythreshold.SelectingFlexiblehasthe
sameeffectasshadowing.
Forinterferencematricesbasedonpropagation,Atollcandeterminewhethertheyhave
beencalculatedwithshadowing.Ifshadowinghasnotbeentakenintoaccount,theAFP
canadaptitssettingstomorerealisticallymodelthenetwork.Inotherwords,ifyoudonot
take shadowing into consideration when calculating the interference matrix, Atoll can
automaticallychangeitsdefinitionofinterferencefromrigidtointermediate,orevento
flexible.

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AdjacencySuppression
AdjacencysuppressionisdefinedasthedifferencebetweentherequiredC/IandtherequiredC/A(C/Abeingthe"Carrierto
AdjacentIntensityratio").Bydefaultthisissetto18dBfollowingtheGSMspecification.YoucanchangethisvalueintheProp
ertiesdialogboxoftheNetworkSettingsfolder.
WhenthevalueofthisparameterisusedintheAFP(toextracttheinterferencecausedbyanadjacentchannel)youcanapply
asmallsafetymargin,temporarilyreducingthe18dBto16.5,orevento15.5.ThissafetymarginisappliedonlyintheAFP;
Atoll'spredictionscontinuetoapplythefulladjacencysuppression.
Forinterferencematricesbasedonpropagation,Atollcandeterminewhethertheyhave
beencalculatedwithahandovermargin.Ifthemarginhasnotbeenused,theAFPcan
adaptitssettingstomorerealisticallymodelthenetwork.Inotherwords,ifyoudonot
take the handover margin into consideration when calculating the interference matrix,
Atollcanautomaticallychangetheadjacentchanneladditionalprotectionfromnoneto
weakortostrong.

6.5.2.2.10

TheAdvancedTab
Inthenextsection,wesawhowthefractionalloadistakenintoaccount:IfonlyonefrequencyinaMALisinterferedorhas
aseparationviolationandtheMALlengthis5,thentheTRXcosteffectwillbe1/5(i.e.,20%)interfered.Thismeansthecost
willbe5timessmallerthaniftheentireMALwascomposedoffrequencieswhichareinterferedorhaveaseparationviolation.
IntheAFP,thefractionalloaddirectlyaffectsthecost.Forexample,iftheMALlengthisn,andoneofthefrequencieshasa
costofX,thenfortheentireMALthecostwillbeX/n.IfthissameMALisrepeatedinmTRXsofthetransmitter,thenthecost
willbeX*m/n.
AlthoughyoucouldcreateverylongMALinordertoreducethesizeofm/n,thisisaninappropriatesolution.
Becauseofthefactthatthemorenisbig,themorewehavecosteffects:

Wehavemorefrequenciesoverwhichthecosteffectsarecounted.
Itishardertofindcleanfrequenciessinceallfrequenciesareusedallover.

ThemoretheMALsarelong,thelesswehavethebeneficeofFDMprinciplewhichisthemainsourceoftheGSMspectral
efficiency.
Itisthereforeeasytoproveandtodemonstratethatthefractionalloadcostallalonewillprivilegenonhoppingandbaseband
hoppingplans,wherethefractionalloadis1.(m=n)
Thiscorrespondstothecasewhereallgainsare0intheadvancedpropertypagebelow:

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Figure6.89:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxAdvancedtab
ThetablesinthispageenableyoutodefinetheInterferenceandFrequencydiversitygainsinthecaseoffrequencyhopping,
whicharesupplementarygains.
ThesegainsmodelthenonlineareffectsoftheC/Idiversityonthequality(FER,BLER).Duetofastfading,andchannelburst
interleaving.
Whensettingnon0gainsinthesetables(asbydefault),boththeInterferencediversitygainandthefrequencydiversitygain
arecombinedinordertoreducetheinterferenceprobability.Ontheotherhand,whenitcomestoseparationcalculation,
onlytheInterferencediversitygainsareconsidered.
Theotheroptionsinthispageweregroupedintoitbecausetheyshareonlyonecharacteristic:Theyarealladministrator
parameters.Ifyouwishtochangesomethinginthispage,pleasereadthemanualuntiltheendofthischapter.

6.5.2.3 FrequencyHoppingOverview
AFPiscapableofperformingbothfreeMALassignment(sometimescalledadhoc),aswellaspredefinedMALassignment.
Theinstructionindicatingtheassignmentmodetobeusedisatsubcelllevel:i.e.differentsubcellcaneachindicateadifferent
assignmentmode.Infreeassignmentmode,theAFPisfreetoassignanyMAL(assumingofcoursethatitbelongstothe
domain,andnottoolong).ThelengthofMAL,theHSNsandtheMAIOsareassignedincompliancewiththeuser'sdirectives.
Iftheassignmentmodeisgroupconstrained,theAFPcanonlyassignoneofthepredefinedgroupsinthedomain.

6.5.2.3.1

TheCaseofSynthesisedHopping+GroupConstrained
Ifyouareworkingonagroupconstrainedassignmentmode,thesuccessofyourassignmentwillstronglydependsonthedefi
nitionofthegroupsinthedomain.Werecommendyouworkasfollowing:
Step1:decidewhatwillbetheMALlength(s)thatyourdomainwillpermit.
ChoosingasingleMALlengthisacurrentoption.ChoosingmultipleMALlengthsisoftencalledMPR:MultiplepatternReuse.
ThemoreMALlengthsyouhavethemoreoptimisedwillbeyourallocation.WerecommendMPR.
Step2:Foreachlengthyouhavechosen,createasmanygroupsaspossiblehavingthespecificlengthandifpossible,covering
theentiredomain.
Example,Foradomainof60frequencies,create:
3groupsof20frequencieseach(mainlyreservedforthepreferredgroupallocationofanazimuthorientedallocation)
10groupswith12frequencieseach+12groupsof10frequencieseach(willbeusedinheavytrafficcasesorin"HSNbysite"
cases).Wearegivinganexamplewheretherearesomanygroupsthatsomeofthemmustoverlap.Inadditionwecould
define20groupswith6frequencieseach,24groupsof4frequencieseach,andeven30groupswith4frequencieseach.

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Bythuseachfrequencywillbelongtoanaverageof11groups.Donothesitatetocreategroups,theAFPlikesgroups.When
manygroupsaredefined,thequalityisalmostasgoodaswithfreeassignment.

6.5.2.3.2

Currently,theAFPalwaysassignsthesameMALtoallTRXswithinasubcell.
The"groupconstrained"assignmentmodeisapplicableforSFHonly.InNHand
BBH,thegroupconstrainedmodewillonlyconcerntherespectofthepreferred
group.Whichisadifferentissue.
Thereisnocontradictionbetweenprofferedgrouprespectandthepredefined
MALassignmentinSFH.Whenbotharerelevant,eachofthepredefinedMALscan
bemoreorlessincludedinthepreferredgroupandthereforemoreorless"pre
ferred".
Whenazimuthorientedpatternallocationisperformedatthesametimeaspre
definedMALallocation,onlythebiggestgroupsinthedomainwillbeusedforthe
pattern,whilethesmalloneswillbeusedforMALassignment.

AnAtom=APerfectlySynchronisedSetofEquiHSNSFHSubcells
AnatomisasetofsynchronisedsubcellsthatsharethesameHSN,thesamefrequencydomainandhavethesamelength
MAL.TheMAIOassignmentofanatommanagesthefrequencycollisionsbetweentheMALsoftheatom.Ifanatomcontains
morethanonesubcell,theAFPmayassigntoitpartiallydifferentMALs(dependingonauserdefinableoption)butitwill
alwaysconsiderthefactthatthesubcellsaresynchronised.AtomscanbedeterminedbytheuserorbytheAFPviatheHSN
allocation.Somerestrictionsonthisdefinitionexistduetosomeextremecases:

Iftwosubcellshavedifferentdomains,theycannotbelongtothesameatom.
Iftwosubcellshavedifferentlimitationson"MaxMALLength",theycannotbelongtothesameatom.

AwarningisgeneratedwhenHSNassignmentdirectivescontradictwiththeserestrictions.
YoucanforcetheAFPtoalwaysassignthesameMALamongthesubcellsoftheAtom.
WhencalculatingthecostofaTRXinanAtom:
ItispossiblethatnoneofthecoAtomTRXsinterferewiththegivenTRX.Thisisthemostcommoncase,anditisduetothe
factthatthe"onair"frequenciesareneverthesame.However,itispossiblethatintraAtominterferenceexists.Inthatcase,
theburstcollisionwhichiscalculatedconformtotheMAIOdefinitions,multipliestheinterferenceprobability.

6.5.2.3.3

SynchronousNetworks
Throughworkingatatomlevel,andconsultingauserdefinedsynchronisationreferencegiveninthesubcelltable,theAFP
canfullyexploitthebenefitsofsynchronisationinaGSMnetwork.ItiscapableofextendingAtomsbeyondthelimitofasite
and,bydoingso,usingtheMAIOassignmenttofurtherresolveviolationsorinterference.(Forthisyoumustchoosethefree
HSNassignmentoption,andenabletheHSNassignment).

6.5.2.3.4

OptimisingHoppingGains
IftheAFPwasgivenadegreeoffreedomwhenchoosingMALlengths,itmayoptforlongerMALlengths.Inthisway,itcan
profitmorefromthehoppinggains.Ontheotherhand,itmightbeincreasinglyhardtofindfrequenciesfortheseMALsThe
advancedpage,theMALpage,andtheHSNpageintheAFPpropertypagesprovidesthecapacitytocontrolthisconvergence.
Formoredetails,seetheadvancedpagedescription.
In interference limited network, the defaulthoppinggainvalues are notsufficientlystrong to causetheAFP toconverge
towardlongMALs.

6.5.2.3.5

FractionalLoad
TheAtollAFPusestheuserdefinedfractionalloadasaguidewhenassigningtheHSNanddeterminingtheMALlength.A
fractionalloadofXisobtainedifthenumberofTRXsusingacertainMALisonlyXtimesthelengthoftheMAL.InAtoll,frac
tionalloaddoesnottakethetrafficloadintoconsideration.
Becausethefractionalloadcannotalwaysbemet,thisparameterisconsideredaguideratherthanaconstraint.Whenitcan
bemet,theAFPchooseseitheraMALlength1/XtimeslongerthanthenumberofTRXsinthebiggestsubcelloftheatomor
aMALlength1/XtimeslongerthanthesumofallTRXsintheatom.Thesearecalled"theshortMALstrategy"and"thelong
MALstrategy"respectively.YoucanchoosebetweenthetwointheMALtabofthepropertiesdialogbox.Thevalueofthe
fractionalloadparametercanalsobeeditedand,furthermore,itcanevenbeautomaticallycalibratedbytheAFP.

Fractionalloadis1forBasebandhopping.
TheMALlengthhasanupperlimitdefinedinthe"MaxMALlength"parameterof
thesubcelltable.TheusercaninstructtheAFPtostrictlyusethisvalue(seethe
MALpageintheAFPpropertypages).

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DomainUseRatio
BothHSNassignmentandMALlengthdeterminationprocessesaretunedtoavoidexceedingauserdefinedDomainUse
Ratio.DomainUseRatioistheMALlengthdividedbythetotalnumberoffrequenciesinthedomain.Forexample,a1/1reuse
patternhasafrequencyreuseratioof1.A4/12reusepatterncanhaveareuseratiobetween1/4and1/12,dependingon
whetherallTRXsinasitehavethesameMAL(andHSN)ornot.

6.5.2.3.7

HSNAllocation
TheAFPassignsHSNsatsubcelllevel.ItchoosesdifferentHSNsforinterferingandnonsynchronoussubcells.Forsynchronous
subcells(usuallywithinasite),theAFPcanopttoassignthesameHSNanddifferentMAIOswithinthesetofsameHSN
subcells.
AccordingtotheadaptedconventiononHSNsforBBHTRXs,theAFPallocatesdifferentHSNstotheBCCHTRXandTCHTRXs.
The1stHSNcorrespondstotimeslots1through7oftheBCCHandTCHTRXs,andthesecondHSNcorrespondstothetimeslot
0oftheTCHTRXsonly.ThesecondHSNisusedinpredictions.

TheusercancontroltheHSNallocationsothatitperformsoneofthefollowing:

6.5.2.3.8

AssignsthesameHSNtoallsubcellsofasite
AssignsthesameHSNtoallsubcellsofatransmitter
AssignspairwisedifferentHSNsifapairofsubcellshavemutualinterference.
OptimiseHSNassignmentsothatthefrequencyassignmentisbetter(freeHSN).

MAIOAllocation
TheAFPassignsMAIOstoTRXssothatthesameMALcanbereusedwithinasubcell,withinatransmitterorevenwithina
site.Theseparationrequirementsmustbesatisfiedforfrequenciesthatareonair,atallframenumbers.Thecostfunction
averagesthecostuponallframenumbersinthesynchronisedcaseanduponallcollisionprobabilitiesinthenonsynchronised
case.

6.5.2.4 AzimuthOrientedAssignments(PatternAllocation,1/11/31/x)
InordertounderstandwhatapatternallocationintheAtoll AFP is,youmustfirstread thepreviouschapters, sincethe
patternallocationinAtollisperformedasfollowing:
1. TheAFPfirstassignspreferredgroupstoalldemandingsubcells
2. TheAFPassignswhateverneedstobeassigned,tryingtorespectthesepreferredgroups,asexplainedinthecost
description.
TheconditionsforgettingapreferredgroupfromtheAFParethefollowing:

Thesubcellsmustbeorinsynthesisedhoppingmode,ormusthaveagroupconstrainedallocationdirective.Thiscon
ditionisalsotheconditionthatdeterminesweatherauserdefinedpreferredgroupcanimpactthecost.
ThepatterndirectiveintheAFPpropertypagesdefinesifwearedoing1/1,1/3or1/5patternallocation.Bydefault
itissetto1/3.WewillnowrefertoitsvalueasX.
TheAFPgroupweightmustnotbe0.
OnlytheXbiggestgroupsinthedomainwillbeconsideredascandidatesfortheprofferedgroupallocation.
OnlytransmittersintheAFPscopewillgetapreferredgroup.
TheAFPassignedpreferredgroupwilloverwritewhateveruseddefinedpreferredgroup.
Onlytransmittersthatarenotlonelyintheirsitewillbeentitledtoapreferredgroup:

ThepatternallocationassociatestheXmaindirectionaxeswiththeXbiggestgroupsinthedomains

416

Notlonelymeansthatothertransmittersofthesameband,andlayer,(andalsoactive),existinthesite.
Itassumesthesegroupsaredisjoint.
Itfindsthemainaxisazimuthasthemostcommuneazimuth,andthenitspanstheotherdirectionssothatallthe
Xaxesareequispread.
Itmatcheseachdirectionalaxistoagroup.

TheAFPwillonlyallocateapreferredgroupifthetransmittersazimuthisclearlyalignedwithoneofthedirectional
axes.
Evenifonly50%ofthesubcellsreceiveapreferredgroup,theallocationcanbeverystronglyimpactedbecauseof
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Werecommendusingthisbecauseitregulatestheassignments,andhelpstheAFPtoexistlocalminima.Besuretoalways
have3biganddisjointgroupsinyourdomain.
(IfthemajorityofyoursitesareXsectorial,Xshouldreplace3).
Werecommendnotimposingthepatternverystronglyonyournetwork.Itshouldbekeptasaguideline.

6.5.2.5 BSICAllocation
TheBSICallocationalgorithmoftheAFPincludesbothhardandsoftconstraints.Thehardconstraintiseasiertosatisfybut
must not be violated. A hardconstraint violation is equivalent to an error, and corresponds to handover failures in the
network.Thesoftconstraintismoredifficulttofullysatisfy,andviolationsofthesoftconstraintcanexistinanoperating
network.Asoftconstraintviolationisequivalenttoawarning.
Thehardandsoftconstraintscanbedefinedasfollows:

HardConstraint:ThesameBSICmustnotbeallocatedtotwotransmittersthat:

havethesameBCCHfrequency
and

havefirstorsecondorderneighbourrelations.

ItisonlybasedonfirstandsecondorderneighbourrelationsandBCCHcochannelreuse.

SoftConstraint:ThesameBSICshouldnotbeallocatedtotwotransmittersthat:

havethesameoradjacentBCCHfrequencies
and

havefirstorsecondorderneighbourrelations,orinterfereeachother.

Itisbasedonfirstandsecondorderneighbourrelations,interferencematrices,andcoandadjacentchannelBCCH
reuse.Thismeansthatthesoftconstraintismoredemandingthanthehardconstraint,andhasahigherprobability
ofnotbeingsatisfied.
IftheAFPisunabletosatisfythesoftconstraints,theBSICallocationalgorithmassignsthe"leastinterfering"BSICto
transmittersdependingontheinterferenceandseparationrelations.ThisleadstoincreasingthesameBSIC+BCCH
reusedistanceasmuchaspossible.
Intheprecedingdefinitions,allneighbourrelationsbetweentransmittersareconsidered,independentlyofthedirection,as
showninFigure6.90onpage417.

Figure6.90NeighbourRelations
Thesameappliesfortheinterferencerelation;i.e.,twotransmittersareconsideredtointerfereeachotherwhetherthefirst
interferesthesecond,thesecondinterferesthefirst,orbothinterferemutually.
Duringtheallocation,theAFPcountsthenumberoftimesitwasunabletoallocateaBSICduetoaconstraintthatwasnot
satisfied.
TheAFPrespectstheBSICdomainsdefinedfortransmittersandtakesintoaccounttheBSICspacingstrategyselectedonthe
ReusetaboftheAFPpropertiesdialogbox:

Min.:TheAFPassignstheminimumpossiblenumberofBSICsthatsatisfiestheconstraints.
Max.:TheAFPassignsasmanyBSICsaspossiblewhilekeepingthemevenlydistributed.

6.5.3 AdvancedAFPusage
Wheneveranetworkbecomesspectrumwiselimited,frequencyplanningbecomesthemostcostefficientwaytooptimise
itsperformance.
TheAFPusageinthesecasesmustevolveinordertoincludethemoreadvancedcapacitiesoftheAFP.

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6.5.3.1 OptimisingtheNumberofRequiredTRXs
OneofthetwonewallocationstylesistheoneinwhichtheAFPispermittedtooptimisethenumberofrequiredTRXs.When
thisoptionisselected,theAFPmayreducethenumberofTRXscomparedtothenumberofrequiredTRXsinordertomaxim
isetheamountofcorrectlyservedtraffic,andconsequently,reducethelevelofinterferences.Inthesameway,forhighly
trafficloadedsubcells,theAFPmayincreasethenumberofTRXscomparedtowhatisrequiredinordertoreducetheblocked
traffic.
Thecircuitandpacketdemandarethetwomaininputsusedforestimatingtheblockingrates.Theycanbeeitherdirectly
extractedfromthesubcelltable,orcomefromthedefaulttrafficcapture,orbereestimatedbytheAtollAFPModule.Itwill
performdoitusingtheoldtrafficload,andthenumberofrequiredTRXsasinput.
Whateverthemethodis,whenthetrafficdemandisknown,theAtollAFPModulemayvarythenumberofTRXsinsubcells
andforeachitwillcalculates:

Theblockingprobability
Theservedcircuitandpackettraffic
Theresultingtrafficloads.

ThegoaloftheAFPistodeterminethebesttradeoffbetweentheblockingduetointerferences(alsocalledsoftblocking)
andtheblockingduetotraffic(alsocalledhardblocking)bytheoptimisationofthenumberofTRXs.
InordertocontroltheprocessofoptimisingthenumberofTRxs,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

IncreasingthemissingTRXtaxinfluencestheAtollAFPModuletorespectthenumberofrequiredTRXs.
IncreasingtheinterferenceweightinfluencesthecreationofasmallnumberofTRXs
Inthecaseofhighvaluesoftrafficloads(whichforcestheAtollAFPModuletocreateextraTRXs),reducingthemax
imumblockingratelimitsthenumberofextraTRXs.

ThisstrategymayalsoaffecttheinitialsubcellloadsandKPIswouldhavetoberecalculatedaftertheautomaticfrequency
planningprocess.
Inthischapter,wewillexplaintheentireprocess,sothatyoufullyunderstandthisoptimizationcapacityandbythusunder
standhowtocontrolit.

6.5.3.1.1

SoftBlockingVersusHardBlocking
InPerformanceEnhancementsinaFrequencyHoppingGSMNetwork,theauthorssuggest(ashavemanyothers)thatnetwork
qualityisatradeoffbetweensoftblockingandhardblocking.1Softblockingisduetointerferencerelatedeffects(suchas
droppedcalls),whichisaddressedbyfrequencyplanning,whilehardblockingisduetocircuitshortageduringthebusiestperi
odswhichisaddressedbydimensioning.
OnecostcomponentoftheAFPmodelshardblocking(dimensioning),basedontheErlangBtheory.TheAFPisthereforecapa
bleoffindingtheoptimaltradeoffpointbetweensoftandhardblocking.Thetradeoffpointisnotaglobalone,butrather
isspecifictoeachTRX.
TheissueofdimensioningduringtheAFPprocessisdiscussedinthefollowingsections:

"TheAdvantageofCombiningDimensioningandFrequencyPlanning"onpage418
"TheAFPandLocalFrequencyAvailability"onpage419.

TheAdvantageofCombiningDimensioningandFrequencyPlanning
Giventhedifficultyinherentincombiningdimensioningandfrequencyplanning,itisoftentemptingtodoeachseparately.
However,bycombingdimensioningandfrequencyplanning,asdonebytheAtollAFP,youcanexploitlocalvariationsofsoft
versushardblockingmeasureandtherebybetterenhanceofnetworkcapacity.Theadvantageofadjustingthenumberof
TRXswhilemakinganautomaticfrequencyallocationisdemonstratedin"ExampleofCombiningDimensioningandFrequency
Planning"onpage421.
Thebasicadvantageofcombiningthetwoisthatyoucanavoidtheneedtomanuallyfindatargetblockingrate.

Whenevaluatingtheresultingfrequencyplan,itisimportanttokeepinmindhowthisfrequencyplanwascreated:itwas
createdtomaximisethecorrectlyservedtrafficinsteadoftryingtosimplyminimisetheinterferedtraffic.Forexample,if
1.
Thomas Toftegaard Nielsen and Jeroen Wigard, Performance Enhancements in a Frequency Hopping GSM
Network(Springer,2000),68.

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planAhasmoreTRXsthanplanB,itispossiblethataninterferencepredictionforplanAwilldisplaymoreinterference,even
ifplanAisthebestplan.Itconsistsonthepositiveattitude:tryingtomaximisethecorrectlyservedtrafficinsteadoftryingto
minimisetheinterferedtraffic.
TheAFPandLocalFrequencyAvailability
Combiningbothsoftandhardblocking,theAFPoptimisestheamountofcorrectlyservedtrafficforeachindividualtransmit
terusingfrequenciesavailabletoit.Inthisexample,thereisatransmitterwithtwosubcells:TCHandBCCH.Thetwosubcells
absorbthetrafficdemandtogether.Letusassumethatthetrafficdemandconsistsof25Erlangsofcircuitswitchedtraffic,
and5timeslotsofpacketswitchedtraffic.LetusalsoassumethattherequirednumberofTCHTRXsis2with1BCCHTRX.
TheAFPcouldjustassign3TRXsinthiscell,exactlyasrequired,oritcouldstudyafewadditionalpossibilities:

Assignonly2TRXs,therebyreducinginterference.
Assign4TRXs(oneadditionalTRX),therebyreducingtheblockingrate.

TheAFPcalculatesthebestoptionasfollows:
1. Itcalculatestheavailablenumberofcircuits(dependingontheHRhalfrateratio).
2. ThenitcalculatestheblockingrateusingtheErlangBequationandthecircuitswitcheddemand.
3. OncetheAFPhascalculatedhowmuchtrafficisserved,itcancalculatethetrafficload(from0to1,with"1"corre
spondingtoafullload).
4. Withthetrafficloadcalculated,theAFPcancalculatetheinterferencecostaswellasthehardblockingcost.
Thecostrepresentingtheinterferencedependsonwhichfrequencieswereassigned.ThemoreTRXsthereare,theharderit
istofindfrequenciesthatarefreefrominterference.
Inthisexample,thelocallyavailablefrequenciesareasfollows:
Only2frequencies(f1andf2)havelowinterference(i.e.,probabilityofinterference=10%).Onefrequency(f3)hasamedium
levelofinterference(20%).Onefrequency(f4)hasahighlevelofinterference(30%).Alltheotheravailablefrequenciesare
evenmoreheavilyinterfered.
Theentireprocessissummarisedinthetablebelow:
Number
ofcircuits

Blocked
Traffic
(Timeslots)

Traffic Interferedtraffic
load
onf1andf2
(%)
(Timeslots)

2TRXs:using
f1andf2.

21

7.4

100%

1.5

0:Sinceitis
notused

0:Sinceitis
notused

Frequency
plan2:

3TRXs:using
f1,f2andf3.

32.2

0.55

97.7%

1.46

1.56

0:Sinceitis
notused

Frequency
plan3:

4TRXs:using
f1,f2,f3,and
f4.

43.4

0:No
blocking
with4TRXs.

74%

1.1

1.18

1.77

Frequency
Plan

TRXs

Frequency
plan1:

Interfered
trafficonf3
(Timeslots)

Interfered
trafficonf4
(Timeslots)

The best plan depends on the locally available frequencies: if there was less interference, the AFP would have chosen
frequencyplan3.Iff3andf4whereheavilyinterfered,theAFPwouldhavechosenfrequencyplan1.BecausetheAFPtriesto
minimisewhatisinboldinthetableabove(i.e.,theblockedandinterferedtraffic),itchoosesfrequencyplan2(inwhichthe
figuresinboldaddupto3.57timeslots).

6.5.3.1.2

TheSourcesofTrafficDemandUsedbytheAFP
TheAtollAFPoneofseveralsourcesfortrafficdemand:trafficdemandcanbetakenfromtrafficcaptures,asisthecasewith
trafficloads,ortrafficdemandcanbeenteredintotheSubcellstableusingdatafromtheOMC,ortheAFPcanusetrafficloads
tocalculatetrafficdemand(ifmaintainingcompatibilitywitholderdocumentsisaconcern).

"TrafficCapturesasaSourceofTrafficDemand"onpage419
"OMCDataasaSourceofTrafficDemand"onpage420
"TrafficLoadsasaSourceofTrafficDemand"onpage420

TrafficCapturesasaSourceofTrafficDemand
Ifyouchoosetousetrafficmaps,atrafficcapturecansupplythetrafficdemand.Then,byperformingdimensioningoraKPI
calculation,thisinformationiscommittedintotheSubcellstable.Afterwards,whenrunninganautomaticfrequencyalloca
tion,youcanthenchoosetohavetheAFPusethetrafficinformationfromthedefaulttrafficcaptureorfromtheSubcells
table.

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OMCDataasaSourceofTrafficDemand
ThetrafficdemandcancomefromtheOMCandbeimportedintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficDatatable.Formoreinformation
onimportingOMCtrafficintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficDatatable,see"ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:
TrafficData"onpage312.
TheSubcellsTable:TrafficDatatablesAspecifictableisdefinedinordertoabsorbOMCtrafficreadings.Toopenit:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Subcells> Subcells Table: Traffic Data from the context menu. The Traffic data part of the Subcells table
appears.
ByimportingSubcellsTable:TrafficDatatableintothefieldsfortheBCCHandTCHsubcells(whichsharethesamefieldas
theyareassumedtosharethesametrafficmanagementunit)andintotheTCH_INNERsubcellsfield,wheretheyexist,you
supplytheAFPwithyourOMCtraffic.
TrafficLoadsasaSourceofTrafficDemand
TheAFPcanusetrafficloadstocalculatethetrafficdemand(ifmaintainingcompatibilitywitholderdocumentsisaconcern).
Previously,theAFPusedthefield"trafficload"andthenumberofrequiredTRXsasitstrafficsource.Whentherequired
numberofTRXsisadjusted,thecostfunctionwillcontinuetobethesame.Whentheadjustmentisrequested,theAFPcan
baseitsdemandonthetrafficload,inawaythatpermitstheusertomaintaincompatibilitywiththeoldtrafficmodel.

6.5.3.1.3

HowtocontroltheoptimizationsothatitallocatesmoreorlessTRXs?
ThereareseveralmechanismsbywhichyoucansettheAFPtoallocatemoreorfewerTRXs:youcanmodifythetrafficdemand
tohavemoreorfewerTRXsallocated,youcanmodifytheweightsfortheinterferenceandseparationviolationcosts,oryou
canmodifythetaxformissing(orsuperfluous)TRXs.
IncreasingtheTrafficDemandtoIncreaseTRXAllocation
Themoredemandexists,thehigherwillbethepressureontheAFPtoallocatemoretransmitters.Assaidabove,thedemand
cancomefromthetrafficmodel,fromthesubcelltable,orfromthetrafficloadvalues.Ifdemandcomefromthetraffic
capture,youcanincreasedemandbyrecalculatingthecapturewithahighertrafficcoefficients.Ifdemandcomesfromthe
OMC,youcanboostitbyusingaspreadsheet.Ifdemandcomesfromtrafficloadsyoucandothefollowing:
IntheAFPpropertypages,whereyouindicatethatthedemandshouldberegeneratedfromthetrafficloads,youarealso
requestedtoboundtheactualblockingrate(actualwithrespecttothenumberofrequiredtransmitters).Thisisbecauseof
thefollowingreason:
Ifyourservedtrafficloadis100%,theoretically,onlyaninfinitecircuitdemandcangeneratesuchaload

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Figure6.91:AFPModulePropertiesdialogboxCosttab
The5%inthisscreenshotmeanthatthetrafficdemandcanexceedtheservedtrafficbynomorethan5%.
By Increasing this measure we increase the difference between served traffic and traffic demand, yet only in the heavily
loadedtransmitters.Becauseinthiscasewheretheservedtrafficisaconstantinformationsource,thismeansthatdemand
increases,whichimpliestheneedformoretransmitters.
Youcanmodifythecostpenaltyforinterferenceandseparationviolation.HighcostputspressureontheAFPtoallocateless
transmitters.
Youcanmodifythetaxformissing(orextra)transmitters.Thetaxisasimplecostpenaltythatsoftlylimitsthefreedomofthe
AFPinthisnewdomain.Thehigherthetax,themoretheoriginal"numberofrequiredTRXs"isrespected.
Adedicatedlockingflagatthesubcelllevelallowsyoutoshutdownthenewcapacityplanningwhenyoualreadyknowthe
exactnumberoftransmittersthatisrequired.

6.5.3.1.4

ExampleofCombiningDimensioningandFrequencyPlanning
Thefollowingexampledemonstratestheadvantagesofcombiningdimensioningandfrequencyplanning:

"LessInterference"onpage421
"ReadjustingtheNumberofTRXstoMatchOMCTraffic"onpage423
"FrequencyDomainandFrequencyBandBalancing"onpage423.

LessInterference
Theexampleshowsthatinterferencecanbegreatlyreduced.Thefollowinggraphsshowtheeffectofadjustingthenumber
ofTRXsontheinterferedandservedtraffic,comparedtotheinitialdimensioning.

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Figure6.92:EffectsofadjustingthenumberofTRXsontraffic
Thepreceding4frequencyplanswereallgeneratedusingexactly50frequencies.Allothernetworkparametersremainedthe
same.

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Intheplan"Dim76TRXs"manyTRXswereremovedbytheAFP(76outof820).RemovingtheTRXsreducedinterferenceby
aconsiderablemarginbuthadnoimpactontheamountofservedtrafficbecausereducingTRXswasonlyconsideredifthe
transmitter'sloadwaslow.
ReadjustingtheNumberofTRXstoMatchOMCTraffic
Inarealnetwork,itisoftennecessarytoreadjustthenumberofTRXstomatchevolutionofthetraffic.
Atypicalsituationisthefollowingsnapshot;takenbeforeanyadaptationismade.

Figure6.93:NumberofrequiredTRXsvs.ErlangDemand
ItisnormalthatnotalltransmittershavingthesamenumberofTRXshavethesametrafficdemands,thereforethetraffic
loadswilloftenvaryfromonetransmittertoanother.
OncetheAFPperformsitsoptimisation,thetrafficloadsbecomemoreuniform,ascanbeobservedinthefollowinggraph.

Figure6.94:LoadcomparisonbeforeandafterTRXadjustment
FrequencyDomainandFrequencyBandBalancing
AcommonpracticeistosplitthefrequencydomainsandreserveonefrequencydomainforBCCH,oneforTCH,andonefor
EGPRS(whenused).Aswell,frequencybandsanddomainsarereservedfortheHCSlayer.Whenthenetworkisdimensioned
duringanautomaticfrequencyallocation,thenumberofTRXsisadaptedwithoutmodifyingthedivisions.

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Figure6.95:FrequencyreusebalancingwithorwithoutTRXnumberadjustment
Inthisexample,mostTRXsthatwereremovedwereremovedinthe900band(Inthefirsthalfofthegraph,theredlineis
almostalwaysbelowtheblueline.)

6.5.3.2 CombiningInterferenceMatricesAccordingtoMaximumLikelihood
Estimation
Ingeneral,forafixedsetofdataandunderlyingstatisticalmodel,themethodofmaximumlikelihoodselectsvaluesofthe
modelparametersthatproduceadistributionthatgivestheobserveddatathegreatestprobability(i.e.,parametersthat
maximisethelikelihoodfunction).
The AFP uses maximumlikelihood estimation to combine different interference matrices. Different types of interference
matriceshavedifferentweakpoints.Whencombininginterferencematrices,themostimportantaspectisdifferentiating
betweennointerferenceandunknowninterference(i.e.,betweensituationswhereitcanbeproventhatthereisnointerfer
enceandsituationswhereitcannotbeknownwhetherthereisinterference).Maximumlikelihoodestimationselectsthe
valuesfromdifferentinterferencematricesthatwouldhavethegreatestprobabilityofresultingintheobservabledata.Addi
tionaltotheinterferencematrixitself,Atollusesinformationaboutthetypeofinterferencematrix,itsqualityindicators,and
itsscope.
ThefollowingsectionsexplainthemaximumlikelihoodcombinationperformedbytheAtollAFPModule.Beforedescribing
thecombinationprocess,thescopeandcontextofinterferencematricesisexplained.

6.5.3.2.1

InterferenceMatrixContext
Thecontextofaninterferencematrixreferstothefollowingpropertiesassociatedwitheachmatrix:

Thenameoftheinterferencematrix(andcomments,ifany)
Theexternalfilename(ifthematrixisanexternalfile)
Whethertheinterferencematrixisactiveornot
Thetypeoftheinterference(formoreinformationonthetypesofinterferencematrices,"DefiningTypeDependant
QualityIndicatorsonInterferenceMatrices"onpage360)
Thequalityindicators(dependentonthetypeofinterferencematrix)

Thecontextofaninterferencematrixisusedmainlytoindicatethestatisticalqualityofftheinterferencematrixsothatthe
AFPcanweighttheinformationreadfromtheinterferencematrixaccordingly.
AtollsupportsawidenumberofAFPtools.Theinterferencematrixcombinationprocess,whichisapartofthecostfunction,
canbedifferentindifferentAFPtools.Theconceptofaninterferencematrixcontextpermitsacommonrepresentationand
significanceoftheparametersinfluencingthecombinationprocess.Theseparametersare,therefore,describedasasetof
qualityindicators,withmeaningfulunits,suchasthenumberofmeasurementdays,standarddeviation,calculationresolu
tion,andwhethertheinterferencematrixisbasedontrafficorsurfacearea.
Theninepredefinedtypesofinterferencematricesaredividedintofourgroupswithrespecttotheirqualityindicatorrepre
sentation:OMCbased,drivetestbased,propagationbased,andothers.TheGeneraltaboftheInterferenceMatrixProper
tiesdialogboxgivesyouaccesstothisinformation:

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Figure6.96:DefinitionofInterferenceMatrixTypes
Dependingonthematrixtype,thequalityindicatorsavailableontheAdvancedtabinclude:

Formatricesbasedonpathloss(propagationdata)matrices:

FormatricesbasedonreselectionstatisticsfromtheOMC:

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofmeasurementpointsinthetestmobiledatathatcorrespondtoasinglematrixcalculation
point.

FormatricesbasedonCWmeasurements:

Thestatisticduration
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Formatricesbasedontestmobiledata

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofmeasurementpointsinthehandoverstatisticsthatcorrespondtoasinglematrixcalcula
tionpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

FormatricesbasedonRXLEVstatisticsfromtheOMC:

Thestatisticduration
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

FormatricesbasedonhandoverstatisticsfromtheOMC:

Thestandarddeviation
Theresolution
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
TheaveragenumberofCWmeasurementpointsthatcorrespondtoasinglematrixcalculationpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Formatricesbasedonscandatadrivetests:

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Thestandarddeviation,dependingontheequipmentqualityandmeasurementpostprocessing
Theaveragenumberofmeasurementpointsinthescandatadrivetestdatathatcorrespondtoasinglematrix
calculationpoint
Thevolumeofinformation
Whethertheinterferenceinformation(probabilities)correspondtotrafficorsurfacearea.

Thecontextofaninterferencematrixisnotsystematicallyincludedintheinterferencematrixfiles.ThatiswhyAtollasksthe
usertosetupthetypeandqualityindicatorsoftheinterferencematrixmanually.

6.5.3.2.2

InterferenceMatrixScope
ThescopeofaninterferencematrixisthecorrespondencebetweenatransmitterIDandthefollowinginformation:

Thenameofthetransmitter
TheBSIC(asitwaswhentheIMstatisticsweregathered)
TheBCCH(asitwaswhentheIMstatisticsweregathered)
Thepercentageofcoverageofthevictimthatistakenintoconsiderationintheinterferencematrix
Thepercentageofcoverageoftheinterfererthatistakenintoconsiderationintheinterferencematrix

Figure6.97:Interferencematrixscope
Themostimportantinformationofthescopeisthepercentageofvictimcoverageandthepercentagleofinterferercoverage.
Inordertounderstandtheirsignificanceaswellastheiruse,youshouldbearinmindthatinterferencematricesmustprovide
interferenceinformationbetweeneachpairofsubcellsinthenetwork.Alargeamountofmemorywouldberequiredfora
simplesequentialrepresentationoftheinterferencematrix,whichwouldmakeitimpossibletoworkwithsuchinterference
matricesinlargenetworks.Therefore,entriesinaninterferencematrixonlyexistwhenthereisinterferencebetweenagiven
pairofsubcells.
Ifanentry(i,j)doesnotexistintheinterferencematrix,therearetwopossibleexplanations:

Eitherjdoesnotinterferewithi(nointerference),
Ortheinterferenceinformationismissingintheinterferencematrixbecauseatleastoneofthetwowasoutofthe
scopeoftheinterferencematrix(unknowninterference).

Inotherwords,thelackofinformationcanbeinterpretedaseithernointerferenceorasunknowninterference.
Ifthereisonlyoneinterferencematrix(i.e.,onlyonesourceofinterferenceinformation)thennointerferenceisthesameas
unknowninterference.
Ifthereismorethanoneinterferencematrix,theinformationmissinginonematrixmightbeavailableinanother.Therefore,
itbecomesveryimportanttodistinguishbetweenthetwocasesinordertointelligentlycombinedifferentinterferencematri
ces.

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Forexample,ifyouhavethreeinterferencematricesand,foragivenpairofsubcells,youhave60%interferenceinone,
unknowninterferenceinthesecond,andunknowninterferenceinthethird,theresultinginterferencewhenthethreematri
cesarecombinedwillbe60%.However,ifforthesamepairofsubcells,youhave60%interferenceinone,nointerferencein
thesecond,andnointerferenceinthethird,theresultinginterferencewhenthethreematricesarecombinedwillbeonly
20%.
Theidealmethodfordifferentiatingbetweennointerferenceandunknowninterferencewouldbetokeepamatrixofvalues
inmemory,whichwouldindicatethereliabilityofeachmatrixentry,andtherebyindicatetheentriesforwhichtheinterfer
enceis"Unknown"asunreliableentries.Unfortunately,thiswouldbecompletelyimpracticalbecausethismatrixofvalues
wouldbetoolargetoworkwith.
Therefore,Atollimplementsaslightlyrestrictedapproachforstoringthescopeofinterferencematrices.Interferencematri
cescontaintworeliabilityindicatorsattransmitterlevel,i.e.,thereliabilitywhenatransmitteristhevictim,andthereliability
whenitistheinterferer.Thisinformationisstoredinthecolumns%ofVictimCoverageand%ofInterfererCoverage.
Thereliabilityofanentry(i,j)iscalculatedasfollows:
VictimCoverage(Transmitter(i))*InterfererCoverage(Transmitter(j))
Thisimplementationissimpleandsufficientforthemostinterferencematrices.
CreationoftheInterferenceMatrixScope
Thescopeofaninterferencematrixiscreatedbythetoolthatcreatestheinterferencematrix.Iftheinterferencematrixis
createdbyAtoll,theAFPscopewillbesettotheinitialsetofvictims,correspondingtoSEL+RING(see"TheScopeoftheAFP
andtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix"onpage376).Thismeansthatevenwhenonlyonetransmitterispresentinsidethe
computationzone,manyothertransmittersmightbetakenintoaccount.Atolladdsallpotentialinterfererstothisset,and
calculatestheinterferencematrixentriesbetweenallpairsofthisset.Thissetbecomesthescopeoftheinterferencematrix,
with100%atbothvictimandinterferercoverage.
OthersoftwarecanbeusedtoedittheinterferencematrixscopeusingthegeneralAPIfeatures,orbysavingtheinterference
matrixasaCLCfileandeditingit.TheCLCfileformatcanstorealltheinterferencematrixinformation(seetheTechnicalRefer
enceGuideformoreinformation).

ThescopesoftheinterferencematricesareautomaticallycreatedwhenoldCLC,
IM0,IM1,orIM2filesareimported.ThescopeiscreatedusingthecurrentBSIC
andBCCHallocation,andfindingthesetofallvictimsandthesetofallinterferers.
The interference matrix scope internally manages the transmitter IDs. When
exchanginginformationwithaCLCfile,theseID'sarevisibletotheuser.Theyare
arbitrarynumbersusedtoindextheinterferencematrixentries.Evenifanaddin
isusedtocreatetheinterferencematrix,theassociationoftransmitternamesto
IDsiscarriedoutbyAtoll.Theaddinwillassociatetheinterferenceinformationto
pairsoftransmitterID's.
TheCLCandDCTfileshavethesamemappingoftransmitternamestotransmitter
IDs.TherearenorestrictionsontransmitterIDsaslongastheyareuniqueintegers
under231.

Twopossibilities(examples)foreditingtheinterferencematrixinformationcouldbe:

Anaddinthatimportsaninterferencematrixshouldknowitsscope.Forexample,ifitisanOMCaddin,andtheOMC
covers50transmitters,thescopewillcontain50transmitters.TheirindexeswillbesuppliedbyAtollonceaddedto
thescope.Thepercentageofvictimandinterferercoverageshouldbe100%.
WhengeneratinganinterferencematrixfromCWmeasurements,theremightbeafewtransmitterswhichwerecor
rectlyscannedandothersthatwerenot.Inthiscase,thecorrectlyscannedtransmitterswouldhavegoodpercentage
ofvictimandinterferercoverage,whiletheotherswouldnot.

UseoftheBSICandBCCHintheScope
TheBSICandBCCHfieldsinthescopeareusedforthecaseswheretheBSICandBCCHallocation,duringtheperiodwhenthe
interferencematrixinformationwasgathered,wasdifferentfromthecurrentBSICandBCCHallocation.

6.5.3.2.3

KeepingtheInterferencematrixUptoDate
Aninterferencematrixisnolongervalidoncethenetworkhaschanged.However,currentlythisfactisleftundertheuser
responsibility.Atollwilltrytoperformsomematrixmaintenanceinordertoreduceoverhead,yetthishelpisnotguaranteed.
starthere
WhenaCLCfile(anditscorrespondingDCT)areimported,thetransmitterindexesinthefilescanbearbitrary.Inorderto
improveaccesstime,AtollchangestheseindexestotheADOrecordIDasindex.
When you rename or delete a transmitter, or when the ADO index is changed, the interference matrix is automatically
updated,andsavedwhentheAtolldocumentissaved.

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Insteadofupdatingtheinterferencematrixeverytimeatransmitterisrenamedordeleted,Atollstorestheeventsinmemory,
andupdatestheinterferencematrixonlywhenitisused.ItcheckstheADOrecordID'sand,iftheyhavebeenchanged,the
changesaretakenintoaccount.
WhenanInterferencematrixisexternalised,Atolldoesnotalwaysmanagetokeepitupdatedasdescribedabove.
CalculateyourInterferenceMatricesasoftenasyoucalculateyourpathlossmatrices.

6.5.3.2.4

InterferenceMatrixCombinationinAtollAFPModule
Interferencematricesarecombinedinamannerthatfollowsthesetwoimportantguidelines:

The cost function definition does not change. If earlier, interference values were read from a single interference
matrix.Now,theyarereadfrommorethanoneinterferencematrix.
WhentheinterferencematricesarecorrectlymanagedinAtoll,nofurtherparameterisation(weighting)isrequired.

TheInterferenceMatricestab(see"TheInterferenceMatricesTab"onpage406)availableintheAtollAFPModuleproperties
dialogboxdisplaysandletstomodifytheweightsthatcontroltheinterferencematrixcombination.
Theinterferencematrixcombinationiscarriedoutasfollows:
1. TheAtollAFPModuleasksAtolltoloadasubsetoftheactiveinterferencematricesofthedocument.Thissubsetis
determinedbycomparingeachinterferencematrixscopewiththeAFPscope.Onlytheinterferencematriceswhose
scopeintersectstheAFPscopeareloaded.
2. TheAtollAFPModulethenreadsthescopeandcontextinformationofeachloadedinterferencematrix.
Theinterference,p(i,v,x),ofsubcelli(interferer)onsubcellv(victim)foragivenC/Ilevelx,canbereadfrommore
thanoneinterferencematrix.
3. TheAtollAFPModulecombinesallthevaluesofp(i,v,x)byperformingaweightedaverage.Therefore,itcalculates
asmanyweightsasthenumberofp(i,v,x)entriesforapixel.These"reliabilityweights"arecalculatedbymultiplying
thefollowingthreecomponents:
a. ComponentquantifyingthemembershiptotheAFPscope:
VictimCoverage(Transmitter(v))xInterfererCoverage(Transmitter(i))
ForinterferencematricesbasedonOMCstatistics,ifthescopeindicatesthatbothiandvhadthesameBCCH,the
componentwillbe0.
b. Componentdependingontheinterferencematrixtype.
c. Componentdependingontheinterferencematrixqualityindicators:The"ReliabilityCalculation".Theequations
aredifferentforthedifferentclassesoftypessincethequalityindicatorsaredifferentaswell:
i.

Interferencematrixbasedonpropagation:
75
7.5
Component C = --------------- -------r + 25

Where isthestandarddeviationofthepropagationmodel,andristhecalculationresolution.Aresolution
of50mandastandarddeviationof7.5dBgivesaweightof1.
ii. InterferencematrixbasedonmeasurementsfromtheOMCperformedduringndays:
1+n
Component C = ---------------3

Whichgivesaweightof1for8daysofmeasurements.
iii. Interferencematrixbasedondrivetestanalysis:
0.4

1 + n r + 1
Component C = --------------------------------------------4 + 1

3parametersdeterminetheweight:
i.Thestandarddeviation ,whichisassumedtobelowerthantheoneofapropagationmodel.
ii.Thenumberofmeasurementsconsideredateachcalculationpoint,r
iii.Thenumberofcalculationpointspertransmitter,n
iv. Interferencematricesofothertypesdonotparticipateintheweighting,sincetheyareorUpperboundIMs
orLowerboundsIMs.

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6.5.3.3 TheStorageofaFrequencyPlaninAtoll
Atollstoresasinglefrequencyplan.ItisstoredinitsTRXtablerecords,andalsoinitssubcellandtransmittertables.Some
AFPQualityindicatorscanevenbestoredintheSitetable.
Inthischapterwewilldepictthevariousissuesconcerningthisstorage.
TheTRXtableenablessupportofthefollowingitems:

AnexternalIDspaceoftheTRXsofatransmitter(importantforimportandexportutilities).
MAL/channelatTRXlevel.
MAIOatTRXlevel.
Finelocking:TheusercanlockspecificTRXsinanunlockedtransmitter.

TheTRXtabledoesnotcontainan"active"field.Therefore,allTRXsinitshouldcontainavalidfrequencyorMALandareall
consideredtobeonair.ItisbettertoremoveaTRXrecordthanremovingonlythefrequencyorMALfromitschannelslist.
TherearecertainfactorswhichaffecttheAFPdirectivesthatcanbesetatdifferentlevelsintheGSMproject:

DuringanAFPoptimisation,thechannelsandMAIOcurrentlyassignedtoaTRXwillnotbechangediftheTRXislocked
intheTRXstableorifthetransmitterislockedintheTransmitterstable.
TheAFPweighingcanbesetatthetransmitterlevelandatthesubcelllevel.ThefinalAFPweightwillbetheproduct
ofbothweights(i.e.,thetransmitterAFPweightmultipliedbythesubcellAFPweight).
Thedomaindefinitioncanbemodifiedatthesubcelllevelbydefiningexcludedchannels.

SomeAFPrelevantentriescanbefoundintheTRXs,Subcells,andTransmitterstables,creatingacertainlevelofredundancy:

The channel list in the Transmitters table is a combination of all channels appearing in the TRXs of a transmitter
(dependingonthehoppingmodesusedandthenumberofsubcells).
Thehoppingmodeofatransmitteristhehoppingmodeofitsdefaulttrafficcarrier(theTCHTRXType).
Thefrequencybandofthetransmitter(theoneusedbythepropagationmodel),isreadfromthedomainoftheBCCH
subcellofthetransmitter.

Atollconsidersthelowestlevelofinformationastheaccuratesource.Forexample:

AtollautomaticallyupdatestheTRXstableifthechannellistofatransmitterintheTransmitterstableismodified.
Thefrequencybandofatransmittercannotbeedited.

In cases where the data management is perfectly controlled (for example, when several users are working on the same
project),itcanhappenthatissuesofconsistencycanoccur.Inthatcase,youmightwanttorunasubcellauditasexplainedin
"CheckingConsistencyinSubcells"onpage466toverifywhereconsistencyhasbeenlostandhowtocorrectit.

6.5.3.3.1

AFPPerformanceIndicators(AFPPI's)
TheAFPcanbeusedtogeneratedifferentAFPperformanceindicators(AFPPI's).TheAFPPIsarevisibleintheAFPresults
window,andoncecommitisapplied,theycanbeseeninAtoll'sTRXs,subcells,transmittersandsitestables.Themostimpor
tantAFPPIsarefoundinthesubcelltable,andarenowvisibleinadedicatedreadonlytableview.
TheTRXRankPIandItsUse
TheAFPTRXRankprovidesarankingoftheTRXsinasubcell.IfaTRXrankishigh,itimpliesthatthefrequency(channel)corre
spondingtothisTRXhasbadusageconditions.TRXranksindicatethebestandworstqualityTRXsineachsubcell.Thebest
TRXmightbeacandidateforextensiveGPRSorEDGEusage.TheworstTRXwillbetheTRXthatispotentiallyremovable.The
OMCmightuserank(orpreference)informationforbetterRRM(firstchargethegoodTRXs,onlyafterchargethebadones).

Rank=1isthebestrank.
TRXRankisthecorrespondingfieldintheTRXtable.

AsitisduringanAFPprocessthatfrequenciesandMALs/MAIOsfordifferentTRXsofasubcellarechosen,theAFPtoolstores
andmanipulatestheinformationaboutTRXsingoodandinbadconditions.
IfyouchooseAFPRankindicatortobeallocatedwhenstartinganAFPsession,eachcostimprovingsolutionwillgothrougha
TRXrankassignment.Ifnoimprovingplanisfound,TRXrankwillbeassignedfortheinitialplan(likeBSIC).TRXrankingwithin
asubcellisperformedonthebasisofTRXcosts.
ATRXwillbeconsideredlockedforTRXRankassignmentifandonlyifitisnotselectedforAFPallocationorifithasbeen
locked.
TheTheoryof"Scheduling"inFrequencyPlanning
TRX rank is Atoll's AFP implementation of "Scheduling", which can help increase performance in certain particular cases.
Example:imaginethecasewhereacellanditsneighbourarenotloadedwithtrafficatthesametime(forexample,astadium

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anditsparkinglot).Insuchcases,itispossibletodecreasecallblockingbyaddingoneortwodirtyTRXstotheconcernedcells.
(assumingcleanTRXsdonotexistforspectralreasons).Whatyouwillneedtodoisthefollowing:
1. YouneedanOMCthatcanbeinformedabouttheTRXranking,andthatknowsnottousethebadTRXswhenloadis
normalorlow.Theygetintouseonlywhentheloadishigh.
2. Youneedtorelaxtheinterferencematrixentriesandtheseparationrelationconstraintsbetweenthetwooppositely
correlatedcells.
3. YouneedtoruntheAFPwithTRXrank.
ThespectralefficiencyofschedulingcannotbefullyacquiredbyrealtimeRRM,sincethelatestisofacausticnature.Youcan
besuretoobtainabiggergainiftheschedulingorderispredefined.

6.5.3.3.2

TheAFPCostPerformanceIndicators
TotalcostandseparationviolationcostcomponentattheTRX,subcell,transmitter,andsitelevelscanbecalculatedand
displayedasAFPperformanceindicators.Thesearethecumulatedtotalcostsandthecumulatedseparationviolationcosts
ofeachTRX,subcell,transmitterandsite.
Inordertobeabletocomputeanddisplaytheseresults,youmustaddAFP_COSTandAFP_SEP_COSTfields(oftypeSINGLE)
totheTRX,TransmittersandSitestables.AFP_COSTfieldandAFP_SEP_COSTfieldcorrespondtothetotalcostandseparation
costcomponentrespectively.TheseAFPperformanceindicatorsareavailableinthelistofAFPperformanceindicatorstobe
computedavailablewhenlaunchingtheAFPtool.
TheAFPcostassignmenttotheTRXs,subcells,transmittersandsitesiscarriedoutatthesametimeastheTRXrankassign
ment. Once a frequency planis committed, the nextinstance of the AFPcan concentratemore on the problematic TRX/
subcell/transmitter/sitetoimproveresults.Aswell,thiscanautomaticallylimitthemodificationscopetotheproblematic
cells/sites.Thiscandeliverasignificantqualitygain.

6.5.3.3.3

TheAFPSubcellPerformanceIndicators
FourAFPperformanceindicatorscanbecommittedinto4subcellfields.Thesefieldsarethendisplayedinaseparateviewof
thesubcelltable.AndalsoinaseparatepageintheAFPoutputdialogbox.

6.5.3.4 AFPGuidelines
Inthissection,thereareafewmethodsthatwillhelpyouusetheAFPmoreefficiently.

6.5.3.4.1

"FocusingtheAFPontheProblematicAreas"onpage430
"LearningtheNetworkwhileSolvingHardSpots"onpage430
"BetterUnderstandingthePointAnalysisTool"onpage431
"WhyAren'ttheTrafficLoadsIncorporatedintheInterferenceMatrix?"onpage432.

FocusingtheAFPontheProblematicAreas
Inthissmallparagraphweproposeasimplestrategyforobtainingimprovedfrequencyplans.LetusassumethatwehaveX
hoursofavailablecomputationtime:

First,welaunchtheAFPduringX/2hours,then;westopitandcommittheresults(ifgood).
LockallTRXsinthenetwork.
Findtheareasthatgenerateproblems.Forexample,somesiteswithseparationviolations.
Unlocktheworst10sites.
Foreachsuchsite,unlock24neighbouringtransmitters.
RuntheAFPforanadditionalX*30minutes(theremaininghalfofthetime).

AmoresimplewaytodetectthehardspotsisbycommittingcellorsitelevelKPIstothecorrespondingtables.Theprinciple
remainsthesame:LettheAFPworkonlyonthesmallpartwheretheinterferenceisstrongest.

6.5.3.4.2

LearningtheNetworkwhileSolvingHardSpots
1. Applythistechniquetonetworkshaving12000to120000Erlangs(2500to25000TRXs).MakesurethattheAFPis
configuredtomaintainitslearnedexperience(executionpageintheAFPpropertypages).
2. RuntheAFPforatleast10solutions,ontheentirenetwork,specifyingashorttimeperiod,committheplanknowing
itisofbasicquality.Ifthisqualitysatisfiesyou,youdonotneedtocontinue.
3. Findtheareasthatgenerateproblems.Forexample,somesiteswithseparationviolations,highcongestion,orhigh
interferences.
4. Createacalculationzonearoundtheseareas.
5. Createafilteringzoneincludingthecomputationzone+thefirstringofneighbours.
6. Makesurethatthisrepresentativepartofthenetworkisnottoobignortoosmall.Forexample:100to200transmit
tersinthecomputationzone,plusanadditional50to100oflockedneighbours.

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7. Specifyalongexecutiontime(1500to4000minutes)andlettheAFPworkonthecoreforthisentiretargettime.The
targettimeshouldbelongenoughfortheAFPtogenerateatleast800solutions.TheAFPshouldberunusingacost
forchangingtheTRXchannel.(wewanttominimisethenumberofchanges).
8. Assumingthatthelongexecutiononasmallareahadimprovedtheresult,committheplan.
9. Ifnot,reducethecostofchangingaTRX,orreducethenumberoflockedtransmitters,orboth.Repeatthetwopre
viousstepsuntilanimprovinglongexecutionisachieved.
10. NowyoucanruntheAFPonentirenetwork.KeepthesamecostforchangingaTRX,sothatthebasicplanobtained
inthebeginningisnottoostronglymodified.
IfstepN10hasprovidedagoodplanthenitmightbeworthwhilesharingyourAFPexperiencewithalltheotherusers:

6.5.3.4.3

DuplicateyourAFPmodel.
Giveameaningfulnametotheduplicatedmodel.
Initsexecutionpropertypage,switchofftheexperiencelearningoption.(Sothatthismodeldoesnotgetalteredby
otherAFPusers)
ArchivetodatabasethenewAFPmodel,yetnottheoldone.ThenewmodelcanbeusedbytheotherAFPusers.The
oldmodelwhichyoudidn'tarchiveisnotaffectedbyyourmodifications.

BetterUnderstandingthePointAnalysisTool
Itisoftenusefultoknowwhatexactlycausesinterferenceconditionsatapoint.Thisisoneoftheimportantrolesofthepoint
analysistool.Yetbecauseofitscomplexity,someusersareafraidtouseit,whichisapity.Thepointanalysisiscomplicated
onlybecauseitisaveryrichtool.ItprovidestheuserwiththeinformationofhowaretheinterferersofaTRXatapoint,what
are the different gains (power offsets, burst collision probability, DTX, adjacency suppression), and how do the different
componentscombinetoa"totalinterference"onachanneloronamobileallocation.
Example1:CombinationofInterferenceEffects
Thisfiguredepictsthecasewhereonecochannelandtwoadjacentchannelinterferersarecombinedtocreatetotalinterfer
ence(thegainvalue(theemptypart18dB)showsthattheyareadjacent).Foreachofthetwoadjacentinterferers,C/I>12
dB,whilefortheircombination,thetotalinterference,C/I<12dB.Thisexampledemonstratesthefactthatgeographicinter
ferencecombinationismoreaccuratethantheinterferencecostoftheAFP.Assumingtherequiredqualitytobe12dB,this
specificpointwouldnotcontributetotheAFPcost,whileitwouldbeconsideredasinterferedintheinterferencecoverage
prediction.

Figure6.98:CombinationofInterferenceEffects
Example2:CountingStrongInterferenceOnlyOnce
Inthiscase,twostronginterferencesarecombinedtocreateanextrastrongtotalinterference.C/Iisveryweakforbothinter
ferers.Therefore,thepointunderanalysiscontributestobothIMentries,whichareconsideredintheAFPcost.Thisexample

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demonstrates the fact that geographic interference combination is more accurate than the interference cost of the AFP
becauseofcountingthispointonlyonceasaninterferedpoint(andnottwiceasintheAFP).

Figure6.99:CountingStrongInterferenceOnlyOnce

6.5.3.4.4

WhyAren'ttheTrafficLoadsIncorporatedintheInterferenceMatrix?
Atollmaintainsthetrafficloadseparatefromtheinterferenceinformation.Beforejustifyingthischoicewemustdepictthe
twoalternatives:

Themixedoption:Theinterferenceinformationcontainsthetrafficinformationaswell.Inthisway,eachIMentrywill
containthequantityoftrafficinterferedifacochanneloradjacentchannelreuseexists.
Theseparatedoption:TheAFPhasseparateaccesstotrafficloadinformationandtointerferenceprobabilities(Asin
Atoll).

Themainreasonsforchoosingthesecondimplementationarethefollowing:

Option2isasupersetthatcontainsoption1.Butoption1,beingasubset,doesnotcontainoption2(i.e.oncethe
informationaremixedtheycannotbeseparated).
Itdoesnotcreateanyoverhead(thesizeoftheadditionalinformationisnegligiblecomparedtothesizeoftheIM).
Ithelpskeepingtheunitdefinitionssimpler.
ItfacilitatesmergingIMswithdifferenttrafficunits.
Thetrafficinformationcanbeusedforweightingtheseparationviolationcomponent,aswellastheinterferencecom
ponent.
ThetrafficloadcanbeusedindecidingwhetheraTRXcanbeleftuncreated.
ThegainintroducedbythetrafficloadoftheinterfererdependsonthehoppingmodeandtheMALlength.Incorpo
ratingthisgainintheIM(asaresultofthemixedoption)meansthattheIMsbecomehoppingmodeandMALsize
dependent.ThisisabadideasincetheAFPshouldbeabletochangetheMAL.Andtheusershouldbeabletochange
thehoppingmodewithoutrecalculatingtheIM.Inaddition,anIMcalculatedexternallytoAtoll,withanonhopping
BCCHcanbeusedforthehoppingTCH.

6.5.3.5 TheRoleoftheAFPAdministrator
TheAFP administratoris acorporate AFP expert.TheAFP administratorevaluatestheAFP and decideshow it shouldbe
configured.TheAFPadministratorhasaverypowerfulcontroltoolwhichisthecentraliseddatabasewherepredefinedand
preconfiguredAFPmodelscanbepublished.

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6.6 AnalysingNetworkQuality
WhenyouareworkingonaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork,youcananalysethequalityofthenetworkusingthecoveragepredic
tionsprovidedinAtoll.
ForGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworks,Atollprovidesbothcircuitandpacketspecificcoveragepredictionsaswellasqualityindica
torpredictionsforbothGSMandGPRS/EDGE.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"EvaluatingtheQualityofaFrequencyPlan"onpage433
"InterferenceCoveragePredictions"onpage435
"PacketSpecificCoveragePredictions"onpage447
"MakingaCircuitQualityIndicator(BER,FER,orMOS)CoveragePrediction"onpage456
"MakingaServiceAreaPrediction"onpage459
"StudyingInterferenceBetweenTransmitters"onpage462
"AuditingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEFrequencyPlan"onpage463
"CheckingConsistencyinSubcells"onpage466
"DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocation"onpage467
"CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage470

6.6.1 EvaluatingtheQualityofaFrequencyPlan
CreatinganAFPcompatibleinterferencecoveragepredictionisthemostpreciseandobjectivewayofevaluatingthequality
ofthefrequencyplan.ItismoreprecisethantheAFPcostestimationbecauseitisbasedonthecalculatedradioconditions
ateachpointandnotoninterferencematrices.ItisalsomoreobjectivebecauseitdoesnotdependontheAFPmoduleused
tocreatethefrequencyplanevaluated.
WhenyoucreateanAFPcompatibleinterferencecoverageprediction,youmustobservethefollowingrules(forinformation
ondefiningandcalculatinganinterferedzonescoverageprediction,see"StudyingInterferenceAreas"onpage441:

SelectInterferedZones(DL)asthecoveragepredictionfromthePredictionTypesdialogbox.
Usethesameserviceareamodelwhencalculatingtheinterferedzonescoveragepredictionthatyouusedwhencal
culatingtheinterferencematrices.

Figure6.100:Generatinginterferencematrices

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Figure6.101:Conditionsettingsforaninterferedzonescoverageprediction
Forexample,ifyoucalculatetheinterferencematricesontheHCSserverswithamarginof4dB,shadowing,andacelledge
coverageprobabilityof75%asshowninFigure6.100,youshouldusethesamesettingswhencreatingtheinterferedzones
coverageprediction(seeFigure6.101):

UnderCoverageConditions,usethedefaultsettingsforSubcellCthresholdandServer.
UnderInterferenceConditions,usethedefaultsettingsfortheSubcellCIthreshold.
UnderInterferenceConditions,usethesameDTXdefinitionasyouusedwhenyourantheAFP.
UnderInterferenceConditions,select"Fromsubcelltable"fortheTrafficLoad,andselecttheDetailedResultscheck
box.

Afterdefiningandcalculatingthecoveragepredictionasexplainedin"StudyingInterferenceAreas"onpage441,generatea
reportasexplainedin""GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage287.WhentheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
boxappears,selectthecheckboxescorrespondingtothefollowingcolumns(seeFigure6.101):

Servedload(timeslotsweightedbytheAFPweight)
Servedload(timeslotsweightedbythehalfratetrafficratio).

Figure6.102:Definingthereportontheinterferedzonescoverageprediction
TheresultingreportisshowninFigure6.103.

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Figure6.103:Thereportontheinterferedzonescoverageprediction
Thereportdisplays:thefollowing:

ForeachTRX,agivenamountoftrafficisspreaduniformlyovertheTRXservicezone.
PartofthistrafficisinterferedbecausetheC/Iconditionsarebad.Thepartthatisinterferedisaddedupinthereport.
InFigure6.103,theinterferedtrafficforchannel25isoutlinedinred.
ThetotalamountoftrafficperTRXisthesumof:

Servedload(timeslotsweightedbytheAFPweight):ThetrafficloadismultipliedfirstbytheAFPcostfactorand
thenmultipliedbythenumberoftimeslots.
Servedload(Erlangsweightedbythehalfratetrafficratio):Thetrafficloadismultipliedfirstbythenumberof
timeslotsandthenmultipliedby1/(1Halfofthehalfrateratio)

ThetotalamountoftrafficperTRXisgiveninparentheses,andadded.Thisway,youcanseetheratiobetweeninterfered
trafficandthetotalamountoftraffic.ThefinalratioisoutlinedingreeninFigure6.103.
Atoll'sAFPcostfunctionisgivenusingthesameunitsasthoseusedtodisplaythedatainthecolumncalledServedload
(TimeslotsweightedbytheAFPweight)
ThereportdisplayedinFigure6.103isTRXbasedandisthereforemuchmoreprecisethanworstcasesurfaceestimations
thatareusuallyobservedwhenyoulookattheresultsofacoveragepredictioninthemapwindow.

Figure6.104:Considerationsinfrequencyplanning

6.6.2 InterferenceCoveragePredictions
Theinterferencecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissectiondependontheexistenceofafrequencyplan.Ifyouhavenot
yetallocatedfrequencies,youmustdosobeforecarryingoutanyofthecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissection.For
informationoncreatingafrequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Eachoftheinterferencecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissectioncanbecarriedoutbasedonafixednoisevalueorbased
onthesettingsforaparticularterminal.Forinformationondefiningaterminal,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"
onpage511.

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ThefollowingGSMspecificcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

"MakingDLQualityPredic onsBasedonCIorC(I+N)"onpage436
"MakingULQualityPredic onsBasedonC(I+N)"onpage439
"StudyingInterferenceAreas"onpage441.

YoucanalsostudyinterferenceareasbyusingthePointAnalysiswindow:

"AnalysingInterferenceAreasUsingthePointAnalysisTool"onpage444
"ExampleofAnalysingInterferenceUsingaPointAnalysis"onpage445.

Atollalsoenablesyoutomodelinterferencecomingfromanexternalproject.Formoreinformation,see"ModellingInter
technologyInterference"onpage515.

6.6.2.1 MakingDLQualityPredictionsBasedonCIorC(I+N)
InAtoll,youcanmakeDLqualitypredictionsbasedonCIorC(I+N)levelsoncechannelshavebeenallocated.Ifyouhavenot
yetallocatedfrequencies,youmustdosobeforecarryingoutthecoveragepredictiondescribedinthissection.Forinforma
tiononcreatingafrequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
ThecoveragebyDLCIlevelpredictionenablesyoutodetermineDLCIlevelsfortransmitterssharingeitheranidenticalchan
neloranadjacentchannelwithothertransmittersasafunctionofthecarriertointerferenceratio.Ifdesired,youcanlimit
thequalitycoveragepredictiontoaspecificchannel.YoucancalculatethisDLcoveragebyCIorbyCI+N."N"isthereceiver
totalnoiseandisdefinedasthethermalnoise(setto121dBm)+noisefigure.WhenyoucalculatethecoveragebyDLCI+N,
youcanselectwhetherthenoisefigureusedisafixedvalueorthenoisevaluesetforaselectedterminal.
IfDetailedResultsisselectedontheConditionstab,thefollowingresultsaredisplayedperpixel,dependingonthehopping
modesetforthesubcellscoveredbythecoverageprediction:

Nonhoppingmode:ATRXchanneloftheselectedTRXtype(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Basebandhopping:TheMALofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Synthesisedfrequencyhopping:TheMALMAIOofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).

TomakeacoveragepredictionbyDLCIlevels:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyC/ILevel(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.105).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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Figure6.105:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyDLC/Ilevels
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
orspecificallyforeachtransmitter.Whenyouselect"HCSServers"or"All,"theremightbeareaswhereseveral
transmittersexperienceinterference.Onthesepixels,severalDLCIvaluesarecalculated.Therefore,ontheDis
playtab,youselecttodisplayeitherthelowestDLCIlevelorthehighestDLCIlevel(formoreinformation,see
"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedonlytothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,setthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
YoucandefineaChannelforwhichAtollwillcalculateinterferenceinthisqualitycoverageprediction.Whenyou
defineachannel,bydefaultAtollignoresallTRXsusingbasebandorsynthesisedhopping.IfyoucleartheNon
HoppingOnlycheckbox,allTRXsusingthedefinedchannelareconsideredpotentialvictims.IftheNonHopping
OnlycheckboxisclearedandthedefinedchannelisinaMAL,interferencewillbecalculatedfortheentireMAL.
Whenyoudefineachannel,AtollusesittoidentifyonlyvictimTRXs;allTRXsaretakeninto
accountasinterferers.

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)asthelowerendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendoftheCIrange.

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Selecteither"CI"or"C(I+N)".
Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)astheupperendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsastheupperendoftheCIrange.
ThedefinedCIvaluesdefinetherangeofCIvaluestobedisplayed.Valuesoutsideofthis
rangearenotdisplayed.
YoucannotselectSubcellC/IThresholdasboththelowerandtheupperendoftheCI
rangetobeconsidered.

SelectwhetheryouwantthedefinedDLCIorCI+NconditiontobeSatisfiedBy:

AtleastoneTRX:WhenyouselecttheoptionAtleastoneTRX,thedefinedinterferenceconditionmustbe
satisfiedbyatleastoneTRXonagivenpixelfortheresultstobedisplayedonthatpixel.
TheworstTRX:WhenyouselecttheoptionTheworstTRX,Atollselectstheworstresultsforeachpixel.Ifthe
worstresultsdonotsatisfythedefinedinterferencecondition,theresultswillnotbedisplayedonthatpixel.
TheseoptionsareavailableonlyifalowerC/IThresholdisset.

Ifyouhaveselected"C/(I+N)",youcandefinethevaluetobeaddedtotheinterference.Thedefinednoisefigure
isaddedtothethermalnoisevalue(definedbydefaultat121dBm)tocalculatethevalueofN.Selectoneofthe
following:

BasedonTerminal:SelectBasedonTerminalifyouwanttousethenoisefiguredefinedforaterminaland
selecttheterminalfromthelist.
FixedValue:SelectFixedValueifyouwanttoenteravalueandthenenterthenoisefigureinthetextbox.

9. IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccountduringthecalculationof
interference,selecttheDTXtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseris
talkingintheVoiceActivityFactortextbox.
10. SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

11. FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhetherinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,cochan
nels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreasedbytheadja
centchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwill
allowyoutoconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

12. SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthesised
frequencyhoppingmode.

13. ClicktheDisplaytab.
ForacoveragepredictionbyDLCIlevels,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"CIlevel(dB)"is
selectedbydefault.
Ifyouselected"HCSServers"or"All"fromtheServerlistontheConditionstab,therecanbeareaswhereseveral
transmittersexperienceinterference.Onthesepixels,severalCIvaluesarecalculated.Therefore,youcanbasethe
resultsdisplayedoneithertheField"Min.CIlevel(dB)"or"Max.CIlevel(dB)"aswellasthe"CIlevel(dB)"Field.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

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14. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
By changing the parameters selected on the Conditions tab and by selecting different
resultstobedisplayedontheDisplaytab,youcancalculateanddisplayinformationother
thanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.

6.6.2.2 MakingULQualityPredictionsBasedonC(I+N)
InAtoll,youcanmakeULqualitypredictionsbasedonC(I+N)levelassumingonecanestimatetheULnoiseriseateachTRX.
ThisULnoiseriserepresentstheULeffectsofterminalsoversurroundingTRXs.Thisvaluecanbepopulatedmanuallybutmay
alsobeoneofthesimulationouputs.Asaconsequence,thetotalinterferenceoveraTRXisthecombinationofitsULnoise
riseandthereceivertotalnoise.InthecaseofBaseBandHopping,aMALaveragenoiseriseisused.
IfDetailedResultsisselectedontheConditionstab,thefollowingresultsaredisplayedperpixel,dependingonthehopping
modesetforthesubcellscoveredbythecoverageprediction:

Nonhoppingmode:ATRXchanneloftheselectedTRXtype(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Basebandhopping:TheMALofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Synthesisedfrequencyhopping:TheMALMAIOofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).

TomakeacoveragepredictionbyULCIlevels:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyC/ILevel(UL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.106).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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Figure6.106:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyULC/Ilevels
7. UnderDLCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
orspecificallyforeachtransmitter.
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedonlytothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
SelecttheterminaltypetobeconsideredoneachpixelbyselectingitfromtheTerminallist.TheULtransmitted
powerisbasedonthemaxpoweroftheselectedterminal,gainsandlosses.
For information on the Terminal Specifications dialog box, see "Modelling GSM/GPRS/EDGE Terminals" on
page511.

8. UnderULInterferenceCondition,setthefollowingparameters:

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)asthelowerendoftheC(I+N)range.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendoftheC(I+N)range.You
mayalsoletthisfieldblankinordernottoconsideranylowerC(I+N)boundary.
Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)astheupperendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsastheupperendoftheCIrange.You
mayalsoletthisfieldblankinordernottoconsideranyupperC(I+N)boundary.
ThedefinedCIvaluesdefinetherangeofCIvaluestobedisplayed.Valuesoutsideofthis
rangearenotdisplayed.

9. SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

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NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.

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SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthesised
frequencyhoppingmode.

10. ClicktheDisplaytab.
ForacoveragepredictionbyULCIlevels,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"CIlevel(dB)"is
selectedbydefault.
Ifyouselected"HCSServers"or"All"fromtheServerlistontheConditionstab,therecanbeareaswhereseveral
transmittersexperienceinterference.Onthesepixels,severalCIvaluesarecalculated.Therefore,youcanbasethe
resultsdisplayedoneithertheField"Min.CIlevel(dB)"or"Max.CIlevel(dB)"aswellasthe"CIlevel(dB)"Field.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
11. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
By changing the parameters selected on the Conditions tab and by selecting different
resultstobedisplayedontheDisplaytab,youcancalculateanddisplayinformationother
thanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.

6.6.2.3 StudyingInterferenceAreas
InAtoll,youcanstudyinterferencezonesoncechannelshavebeenallocated.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,you
mustdosobeforecarryingouttheinterferedzonescoverageprediction.Forinformationoncreatingafrequencyplan,see
"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Youcancreateaninterferedzonescoveragepredictiontopredictareaswheretransmitterssufferinterferencecausedby
othertransmittersusingthesamechanneloranadjacentchannel.AtollcalculatestheCIleveloneachpixelwherereception
conditionsaresatisfied.Ofthese,AtollcalculatesthecoverageforpixelswherethecalculatedCIislowerthanthedefined
upperlimit.Thepixeliscolouredaccordingtotheselectedattributeoftheinterferedtransmitterattribute.
IfDetailedResultsisselectedontheConditionstab,thefollowingresultsaredisplayedperpixel,dependingonthehopping
modesetforthesubcellscoveredbythecoverageprediction:

Nonhoppingmode:ATRXchanneloftheselectedTRXtype(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Basebandhopping:TheMALofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).
Synthesisedfrequencyhopping:TheMALMAIOofthesubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER).

Tomakeacoveragepredictionbyinterferedzones:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectInterferedZones(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

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6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.107).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

Figure6.107:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyinterferedzones
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:
SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
InFigure6.105,aGlobalCThresholdlessthanorequalto105dBmwillbeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandtheCIstandarddeviationper
clutterclass)areappliedonlytothevaluesforC.Shadowingmarginsarenottakenintoaccountindetermining
thevaluesforinterference.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

8. UnderInterferenceConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
YoucandefineaChannelforwhichAtollwillcalculateinterferenceinthisqualitycoverageprediction.Whenyou
defineachannel,bydefaultAtollignoresallTRXsusingbasebandorsynthesisedhopping.IfyoucleartheNon
HoppingOnlycheckbox,allTRXsusingthedefinedchannelareconsideredpotentialvictims.IftheNonHopping
OnlycheckboxisclearedandthedefinedchannelisinaMAL,interferencewillbecalculatedfortheentireMAL.
Whenyoudefineachannel,AtollusesittoidentifyonlyvictimTRXs;allTRXsaretakeninto
accountasinterferers.

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Selecteither"CI"or"C(I+N)".
Clickthedownarrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)asthelowerendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendoftheCIrange.

SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)astheupperendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsastheupperendoftheCIrange.

Ifyouhaveselected"C/(I+N)",youcandefinethevaluetobeaddedtotheinterference.Thedefinednoisefigure
isaddedtothethermalnoisevalue(definedat121dBm)tocalculatethevalueofN.Selectoneofthefollowing:

BasedonTerminal:SelectBasedonTerminalifyouwanttousethenoisefiguredefinedforaterminaland
selecttheterminalfromthelist.
FixedValue:SelectFixedValueifyouwanttoenteravalueandthenenterthenoisefigureinthetextbox.

9. IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccountduringthecalculationof
interference,selecttheDTXtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseris
talkingintheVoiceActivityFactortextbox.
10. SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

11. FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,co
channels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreasedbythe
adjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwill
allowyoutoconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

12. SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthesised
frequencyhoppingmode.

13. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictionbyinterferedzones,theDisplayType"DiscreteValues"basedontheField"Transmitter"is
selectedbydefault.IntheNetworkexplorer,thecoveragepredictionresultsarearrangedbyinterferedtransmitter.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytodisplaythequalityreceivedoneachinterferedarea:

Thequalityreceivedoneachinterferedarea:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"C/ILevel(dB)"as
theField.IntheNetworkexplorer,thecoveragepredictionresultsarefirstarrangedbyinterferedtransmitterand
thenbyC/Ilevel.

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
14. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

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BychangingtheparametersselectedontheConditionstabandbyselectingdif
ferent results to be displayed on the Display tab, you can calculate and display
informationotherthanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.
Asexplainedin"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage287,youcan
displayapredictionreportontheinterferedpredictionsindicatingtheamountof
correctlyservedtrafficoutofthetotaltrafficcoveredbythecoverageprediction
by selecting the options Served load (Timeslots weighted either by the AFP
weight or by the Half rate traffic ratio) after having calculated the prediction
report.
Thetotalservedload(TimeslotsweightedbytheAFPweight)isobtainedbythe
productbetweenthenumberoftimeslots,theAFPweightandthetrafficload.
Thetotalservedload(TimeslotsweightedbytheHRRatio)isobtainedbytheprod
uctbetweenthenumberoftimeslots, 1 1 HR 2 andthetrafficload.
Theactualloadsgivenbythereportcomefromtheratiobetweenthecoveredarea
andthetotalservicearea.

6.6.2.4 AnalysingInterferenceAreasUsingthePointAnalysisTool
InAtoll,youcanstudytheinterferersofatransmitterusingthePointAnalysis.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,you
mustdosobeforeusingthePointAnalysistostudyinterferers.Forinformationoncreatingafrequencyplan,see"Allocating
Frequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Tomakeapointanalysistostudyinterferenceareas:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. ClickthePointAnalysisTool(
pointerchanges(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcannowdothefollowing:

Movethereceivertochangethecurrentposition.
Rightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontextmenu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
CenteronaSite:SelectasiteintheSiteSelectiondialogboxtoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheInterferenceview.
TheInterferenceviewdisplays,intheformofabargraph,thesignalleveloftheselectedtransmitter,ablackbarindi
catingthetotalinterferenceexperiencedbythereceiver,andbarsrepresentingtheinterferencereceivedfromeach
interferer.Theinformationdisplayedinthebargraphdependsonthehoppingmodeofthesubcellidentifiedinthe
leftmarginofthegraph:

InNonHoppingMode,youcanstudytheinterferenceleveloneitheraspecificchanneloronthemostinterfered
oneofeitherofaspecificsubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER)oralloftheselectedtransmitter.
InBaseBandHoppingMode,youcanstudytheinterferenceleveloneitheraspecificMALoronthemostinter
feredoneofeitherofaspecificsubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER)oralloftheselectedtransmitter.
InSynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode,youcanstudytheinterferenceleveloneitheraspecificMALMAIOpair
oronthemostinterferedoneofeitherofaspecificsubcell(BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSorTCH_INNER)orallofthe
selectedtransmitter.

Figure6.108onpage446givesanexampleoftheInterferenceview.Thesignallevelofthetransmitter,Site10_3,is
95.61dBandisindicatedbyaredbar.Theblackbarindicatesthetotalinterferenceexperiencedbythereceiver
(98.65dB). The seven interferers are responsible for 102.69dB (olive green), 103.06dB (yellow), 107.31dB
(purple),111.56dB(olivegreen),115.38dB(green),115.50dB(pink),and117.13dB(olivegreen).Thebarsindi
catingtheinterferencecausedbySite17_1andSite15_1areonlypartiallyfilled.Theentirebarindicatestheinterfer
ence that could potentially be caused by the transmitter whereas the filled part of the bar indicates the actual
interferencecaused.Atransmittersactualinterferencecanbelowerthanitspotentialinterference:

Ifitusessynthesisedfrequencyhoppingmode(reductionduetofractionalload)
Ifitusesadjacentchannels(reductionduetoadjacentchannelprotection)
IfthesubcellitismodellingisaTRX_INNERsubcell(reductionduetoloweroffset).

Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthereceivertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmittersthey
represent.Theinterferencelevelsatthereceiverfromtransmittersaredisplayedascaptionsforthesearrows.Ifyou
letthepointerrestonanarrow,theinterferencelevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthereceiver
locationwillbedisplayedinthetiptextalongwithinformationonthechannelbeinginterferedandthetypeofinter
ference,i.e.,cochanneloradjacentchannelinterference.

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Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionallytakenintoaccountinthetotalinter
ference.Thisoptionrequiresactivationthroughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.
5. YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsatthetopoftheInterferenceview:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.Thetransmittersinthelistaresortedintheorderofdecreasing
signallevelreceivedatthepointerlocation.
Subcell:Selectthesubcelltype(orALL)tobeanalysed.
TRX: Select whether you want the interference to be studied on a specific item (channel, MAL or MALMAIO
accordingtothehoppingmode)orthemostinterfereditem.
Interference:Selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,cochannels,orfrom
both.
Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinformation,see
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.ByaddinganoptionintheAtoll.ini
file,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwillallowyoutoconsiderornot
intertechnologyinterference.

InterferenceMethod:SelectwhethertheinterferenceiscalculatedbyCIorbyC(I+N).

6. RightclicktheInterferenceviewandselectPropertiestodisplaytheAnalysisPropertiesdialogbox.Thisdialogbox
isavailablefromthecontextmenuonalltabsofthePointAnalysisToolwindow.Youcanchangethefollowing:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
SelectSignalLevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResultTypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

7. ClicktheDetailstab.
TheDetailstabdisplaysthecurrentpositionandheightofthereceiver,theclutterclassitissituatedon,andforeach
transmitter,itssignallevel,thetotallevelofinterferences(I)overitssubcells,theelementarylevelofDLinterference
ofeachinterferer,andtheresultingtotalDLC/I(orC/I+N).
Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthereceivertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmittersthey
represent.Theinterferencelevelsatthereceiverfromtransmittersaredisplayedascaptionsforthesearrows.Athick
blacklinefromthepointertoitsbestserverisalsodisplayedinthemapwindow.Thebestserverofthepointeristhe
transmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestsignallevel.Ifyouletthepointerrestonanarrow,theinter
ferencelevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthereceiverlocationwillbedisplayedinthetiptext
alongwithinformationonthechannelbeinginterferedandthetypeofinterference,i.e.,cochanneloradjacentchan
nel.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionallytakenintoaccountinthetotalinter
ference.Thisoptionrequiresactivationthroughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.
8. YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsatthetopoftheDetailstab:

HCSLayer:SelecttheHCSlayertobeanalysed.
Interference:Selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,cochannels,orfrom
both.
Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinformation,see
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.ByaddinganoptionintheAtoll.ini
file,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxallowingyoutoincludeornotsuchinter
ference.

InterferenceMethod:SelectwhethertheinterferenceiscalculatedbyCIorbyC(I+N).Thermalnoiseistaken
intoaccountinthesecondmethodonly.

Foreachtransmitter,youcandisplaytheinterferenceoneachsubcelloronthemostinterferedone.Youcanclickthe
Expandbutton( )ofeachtransmitterordertoexpandthelistofallitsinterferersandtheirindividualIandC/Ilevels.

6.6.2.5 ExampleofAnalysingInterferenceUsingaPointAnalysis
WhenyouusethePointAnalysistostudytheinterferersofatransmitter,theInterferenceviewdisplays,intheformofabar
graph,thesignalleveloftheselectedtransmitter,ablackbarindicatingthetotalinterferenceexperiencedbythereceiver,
andbarsrepresentingthesignallevelsfromeachinterferercontributingtototalinterference.Thebarsrepresentingthesignal
levelofthetransmitteroroftheinterferersconsistoftwoparts:asolidpartwhichindicatesthereceivedsignalorinterfer

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ence,andanoutlinedpartwhichindicatestheamountofsignalorinterferencereduction.Thesignallevelofthetransmitter
canbereducedduetosubcellpowerreduction.Foreachinterferer,interferencecanbereduced:

Ifitusessynthesisedfrequencyhoppingmode(reductionduetofractionalload)
Ifitusesadjacentchannels(reductionduetoadjacentchannelprotection)
IfthesubcellitismodellingisaTRX_INNERsubcell(reductionduetoloweroffset).

Inthisexample,thestudiedtransmitterisSite10_3.Potentialinterferencefromallinterferers(bothcochannelandadjacent
channel)receivedonallitsTRXsisstudied;inotherwords,theworstcaseisstudied.Therequestedcelledgecoverageprob
abilityis75%.AswithinterferedzonescoveragepredictionsandcoveragepredictionsbyCIlevels,Atollanalysesthemost
interferedchannelofthestudiedtransmitterifitisusingnonhoppingmodel.

Figure6.108:PointAnalysisToolInterferenceview
Thetransmittersinthisexamplearethefollowing:

BRU038_G2hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheTCHTRX.
BRU099_G1hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheTCHTRX.
BRU005_G1hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel16isassignedtotheBCCHTRX.
BRU063_G1hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheBCCHTRX.
BRU096_G3hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheBCCHTRX.
BRU061_G3hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheBCCHTRX.
BRU094_G3hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel17isassignedtotheTCHTRX.
BRU065_G3hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel18isassignedtotheTCHTRX.
BRU006_G3hastwosubcells:oneofTRXtypeBCCHandoneofTRXtypeTCH.Neitherhasapowerreductiondefined.
Channel16isassignedtotheTCHTRX.
Nonhoppingmodeisassignedtotheallthesubcells,whatevertheTRXtypeis(BCCHorTCH).

ThePointAnalysisgivesthefollowingresults:

ThesignallevelofthetransmitterBRU038_G2is81.33dBmandisindicatedbyalightgreenbar.Itcouldhavebeen
75.94dB,butwasdecreasedby5.39dBduetotheshadowingmargin.Onlythesignallevel(C)isreducedbytheshad
owingmargin(ascalculatedbythecelledgecoverageprobabilityandtheCIstandarddeviationdefinedperclutter
class).Theinterferencelevel(I)isnotaffectedbytheshadowingmargin.
Theblackbarindicatesthetotalinterferenceexperiencedbythereceiver(84.74dB).Atollcalculatestheinterference
levelbyconsidering100%ofthevoiceactivityfactorandtrafficload.NeitherDTX,northetrafficloadofTRXsaretaken
intoaccountinevaluatingtheinterferencelevels.
Theeightinterferersareresponsiblefor86.56dB(DarkBlue),93.94dB(Green),95.13dB(Cyan),96.44dB(Light
Green),101.56dB(Orange),103.13dB(Yellow),107.06dB(Yellow)and109.19dB(Green).Thebarsindicatingthe
interferencecausedbyBRU005_G1,BRU065_G3andBRU006_G3areonlypartiallyfilled.Anentirebarindicatesthe
interferencethatcouldpotentiallybecausedbythetransmitterwhereasafilledpartofthebarindicatestheactual
interferencecaused.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionallydisplayed.Thisoptionrequiresacti
vationthroughchangesinthedatabase.Whenavailable,theintratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterfer
encelevelisdisplayedasabarwiththetitleformat"InterfererName:I3(firstchannel,secondchannel)".Formore
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AtthetopoftheInterferenceview,thenameofthemostinterferedchannelonBRU038_G2ischannel17andtheC/Ireceived
is3.41dB.Ananalysisoftheinterferersgivesthefollowinginformation:

ThebarsrepresentingBRU099_G1,BRU063_G1,BRU096_G3,BRU061_G3andBRU094_G3arefull.Ontwooutoffive
transmitters,channel17isassignedtotheTCHTRXofthetransmitter.Fortheotherthreetransmitters,channel17is
assignedtotheBCCHTRX.Theyare,therefore,cochannelinterferers.Nopowerreductionisdefined,thereforethe
interferenceisnotreduced.
ThebarsrepresentingBRU065_G3,BRU006_G3andBRU005_G1arepartlyfull.Thebarsareonlypartlyfullbecause
theinterferenceisreduced:onthesetransmitters,channel17isnotassigned;channel16isassignedtotheBCCHTRX
ofBRU005_G1andtotheTCHTRXofBRU006_G3.Inaddition,channel18isassignedtotheTCHTRXofBRU065_G3.
Theyare,therefore,adjacentchannelinterferersandtheirinterferenceisreducedbytheadjacentchannelprotection
levelof18dB(thedefaultvaluedefinedintheGSMNetworkSettingsproperties).Nopowerreductionisdefinedfor
thissubcell.Ifapowerreductionof3dBhadbeendefinedforthissubcell,theinterferencewouldhavebeenreduced
byanadditional3dB.Afractionalloadmightbeanotherreasonforreducedinterference.

6.6.3 PacketSpecificCoveragePredictions
Thepacketspecificcoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissectioncanuseanexistingfrequencyplan.Ifyouhavenotyetallo
catedfrequencies,youcandosobeforecarryingoutanyofthecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissection.Forinformation
oncreatingafrequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Thecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissectioncanonlybemadeontransmittersthatarepacketcapable,inotherwords,
GPRSorEDGEcapabletransmitters.Forinformationondefiningpacketcapabilitiesonatransmitter,see"CreatingorModi
fyingaTransmitter"onpage245.
Eachofthepacketspecificcoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissectioncanbecarriedoutbasedonafixednoisevalueor
basedonthesettingsforaparticularterminalaswellasthesettingsforaparticularmobility.Forinformationondefininga
terminal,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.Forinformationondefiningamobility,see"Modelling
GSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypes"onpage510.
Thefollowingpacketspecificcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyGPRS/EDGECodingSchemes"onpage447
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyPacketThroughput"onpage450
"MakingaBLERCoveragePrediction"onpage453

6.6.3.1 MakingaCoveragePredictionbyGPRS/EDGECodingSchemes
InAtoll,youcanmakeacoveragepredictionoftheGPRS/EDGEcodingschemes,whetherchannelshavebeenallocatedor
not.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,youcandosobeforecarryingoutthecoveragepredictiondescribedinthis
section. For information on creating a frequency plan, see "Allocating Frequencies, BSICs, HSNs, MALs, and MAIOs" on
page342.
YoucanmakeacoveragepredictionofthecodingschemesforeitherGPRS,forEDGE,orforboth.Thechoiceofcodingscheme
isbasedontheDLradioconditions(C,CandC/I,orC/N,C/NandC/(I+N)).Therefore,thebetterthevaluesforCandCIare,
thehigherthethroughputoftheselectedcodingschemewillbe.
Aswell,youcanrestrictthecoveragepredictiontoaselectedterminalormobilityortoacombinationofterminalandmobil
ity.Whenyourestrictthecoveragepredictiontoaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCI
graphsfortheselectedterminal,aswellasonitsnoisefigure.Aswell,Atollrespectstheterminalsdefinedcodingscheme
limit.Whenyouselectamobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmittershavethecodingschemeconfigurationthatcansupport
theselectedmobilityandthecodingschemethresholdforthatmobility.Forinformationondefiningaterminal,see"Model
lingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.
Acoveragepredictionbycodingschemesenablesyoutodeterminethecodingschemeassignedtotransmitterssharingeither
anidenticalchanneloranadjacentchannelwithothertransmitters.CodingschemesareassignedaccordingtotheDLradio
condition(i.e.,C,CandC/I,withorwithoutthermalnoise)andoptionallyaccordingtoaspecifichoppingmode,frequency
band,mobilitytypeandMAL(See"CreatingorModifyingaCodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage501formoreinformation).
TomakeacoveragepredictionbyGPRS/EDGEcodingschemes:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyGPRS/EDGECodingScheme(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.109).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

Figure6.109:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyGPRS/EDGEcodingscheme
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandtheCIstandarddeviationper
clutterclass)areappliedonlytothevaluesforC.Shadowingmarginsarenottakenintoaccountindetermining
thevaluesforinterference.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,youcandefinehowAtollwillcalculateinterferencefortheGPRS/EDGEcodingscheme
coverageprediction.

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If,underGPRS/EDGE,youselectCandnotCIforthecoverageprediction,theonlyoption
youneedtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXs
list.
Youcanselectthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccount,selecttheDTXtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseristalkingintheVoiceActivityFactor
textbox.
SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,
cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreased
bytheadjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwill
allowyoutoconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode.

9. UnderGPRS/EDGE,setthefollowingparameters:

FromtheCodingSchemeslist,selectthetechnologyonwhichthecodingschemecalculationwillbebased:

All:IfyouselectAll,bothGPRScodingschemesandEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.
GPRS:IfyouselectGPRS,onlyGPRScodingschemeswillbeused.
EDGE:IfyouselectEDGE,onlyEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.DependingontheselectedGPRS/EDGE
configurations,EDGEcodingschemescanbeofthetypeEGPRS(StandardEDGE)orEGPRS2(EDGEEvolution).

SelectwhetheryouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononCorCandCI.IfyouselectC,theonlyoptionyou
needtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXslist.
Ifdesired,selectwhichTerminalyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoveragepredictionon.Whenyourestrict
thecoveragepredictiontoaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCIgraphsforthe
selectedterminal,aswellasonitsnoisefigure.Aswell,Atollrespectstheterminalsdefinedcodingschemelimit.
Ifdesired,selectwhichMobilityyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoveragepredictionon.Whenyouselecta
mobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmittershavethecodingschemeconfigurationthatcansupporttheselected
mobilityandrelativethreshold.
EnteraNoiseFigure.Bydefault,anoisefigureof8dBisusedifnoterminalisselected.
SelecttheThermalNoiseTakenintoAccountcheckboxifyouwantAtolltoconsiderthermalnoise.
SelecttheIdealLinkAdaptationcheckboxifyouwantthecodingschemethatoffersthehighestthroughputto
beselected.Otherwise,Atollwillchoosethecodingschemeaccordingtosignallevelandquality.

10. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictionbycodingschemes,theDisplayType"DiscreteValues"basedontheField"CodingSchemes"
isselectedbydefault.Ifdesired,youcanbasethedisplayin"ValueIntervals"theField"BestCodingSchemes,"in
whichcase,Atolldisplaysthebestcodingschemeforeachpixel.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
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11. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

6.6.3.2 MakingaCoveragePredictionbyPacketThroughput
InAtoll,youcanmakeacoveragepredictionofthepacketthroughputorquality,whetherchannelshavebeenallocatedor
not.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,youcandosobeforecarryingoutthecoveragepredictiondescribedinthis
section. For information on creating a frequency plan, see "Allocating Frequencies, BSICs, HSNs, MALs, and MAIOs" on
page342.
YoucancalculatethefollowingtypesofpredictionsusingthePacketQualityandThroughputAnalysis(DL)prediction:

RLCthroughputpertimeslot:Basedonthecodingschemedeterminedoneachpixel(see"MakingaCoveragePredic
tionbyGPRS/EDGECodingSchemes"onpage447)andthecalculatedquality,AtollextractstheRLCthroughputper
timeslotasdefinedinthecodingschemeconfigurationassignedtotransmitters.
Applicationthroughputpertimeslotforaselectedservice:UsingtheRLCthroughputpertimeslotandtheapplication
throughputparameters(scalingfactorandoffset)definedfortheselectedservice(see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/
GPRS/EDGEService"onpage509),Atollevaluatesthethroughputpertimeslotontheapplicationlayer.
EffectiveRLCThroughputforaselectedserviceterminalpair:UsingtheRLCthroughputpertimeslot,Atollcaneval
uateamaximumthroughputforaselectedterminal,assumingthattheterminalusesseveraltimeslotstotransmitthe
packetswitcheddata.ThenumberoftimeslotsusedbytheterminalisgivenbytheproductofthenumberofDL
timeslotspercarrierandthenumberofsimultaneouscarriers(forEDGEevolutionterminals)asdefinedintheter
minalproperties(see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal"onpage511).Forexample,foranEDGE
evolutionterminalusing4DLtimeslotsonacarrierand2simultaneouscarriers,themaximumthroughputwillbe8
timesthecorrespondingRLCthroughputpertimeslot.Inaddition,thenumberoftimeslotspercarrierdefinedinthe
terminalcanbelimitedbythemaximumnumberoftimeslotspermittedfortheconsideredservice(see"Creatingor
ModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEService"onpage509).
Application Throughput for a selected serviceterminal pair: Using the application throughput per timeslot for a
selectedservice,Atollcanevaluateamaximumthroughputforaselectedterminal,assumingthattheterminaluses
severaltimeslotstotransmitthepacketswitcheddata.Thenumberoftimeslotsusedbytheterminalisgivenbythe
productofthenumberofDLtimeslotspercarrierandthenumberofsimultaneouscarriers(forEDGEevolutionter
minals)asdefinedintheterminalproperties(see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal"onpage511).
Forexample,foranEDGEevolutionterminalusing4DLtimeslotsonacarrierand2simultaneouscarriers,themax
imumthroughputwillbe8timesthecorrespondingapplicationthroughputpertimeslot.Inaddition,thenumberof
timeslotspercarrierdefinedintheterminalcanbelimitedbythemaximumnumberoftimeslotspermittedforthe
consideredservice(see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEService"onpage509).
ApplicationthroughputperUserforaselectedserviceterminalpairandconsideringthereductionfactorobtained
fromaselecteddimensioningmodel:Usingthemaximumthroughputforaselectedserviceterminal,Atollcaneval
uateanenduserthroughputbyapplyingareductionfactorexpressingtheactualcapacityoftheservingtransmitter
anditsoccupancytothemaximumthroughput.Thereductionfactorisobtainedfromthedimensioningmodelgraphs
(see"DefiningaGSM/GPRS/EDGEDimensioningModel"onpage329)andisthefunctionofthenumberofavailable
connectionsandthesubcelltrafficload.Thenumberofconnectionsistheratiobetweenthenumberofavailable
packettimeslots(thesumofdedicatedpacketswitchedandsharedtimeslots)andthenumberofterminaltimeslots
(asseenabove).

YoucanmakeathroughputcoveragepredictionforeitherGPRS,forEDGE,orforboth.Aswell,youcanrestrictthecoverage
predictiontoaselectedterminalormobilityortoacombinationofterminalandmobility.Whenyourestrictthecoverage
predictiontoaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCIgraphsfortheselectedterminal.As
well,Atollrespectstheterminalsdefinedcodingschemelimit.Whenyouselectamobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmitters
havethecodingschemeconfigurationthatcansupporttheselectedmobility.Atollcanusethenoisefiguredefinedforthe
selectedterminalorauserdefinednoisefigureifnoterminalisselectedorifthecalculationsarebasedonaninterpolation
of the values for CI and C(I+N). For information on defining a terminal, see "Modelling GSM/GPRS/EDGE Terminals" on
page511.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbypacketthroughputpertimeslot:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPacketQualityandThroughputAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.

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5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.110).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

Figure6.110:ConditionsettingsforaPacketThroughputcoverageprediction
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthesignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandtheCIstandarddeviationper
clutterclass)areappliedonlytothevaluesforC.Shadowingmarginsarenottakenintoaccountindetermining
thevaluesforinterference.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

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SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,youcandefinehowAtollwillevaluateinterferenceforthecodingschemeandconse
quentlythethroughputs.
If,underGPRS/EDGE,youselectBasedonCforthecoverageprediction,theonlyoption
youneedtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXs
list.
Youcanselectthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccount,selecttheDTXtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseristalkingintheVoiceActivityFactor
textbox.
SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,
cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreased
bytheadjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwill
allowyoutoconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

9. UnderGPRS/EDGE,setthefollowingparameters:

FromtheCodingSchemeslist,selectthetechnologyforwhichthepacketthroughputpertimeslotcalculationwill
becalculated:

All:IfyouselectAllbothGPRScodingschemesandEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.
GPRS:IfyouselectGPRSonlyGPRScodingschemeswillbeused.
EDGE:Ifyou selectEDGE onlyEDGEcodingschemes will be used.Depending on the selectedGPRS/EDGE
configurations,EDGEcodingschemescanbeofthetypeEGPRS(StandardEDGE)orEGPRS2(EDGEEvolution).

SelectBasedonCifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononC.IfyouselectBasedonC,theonlyoptionyou
needtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXslist.Otherwise,selectBased
onCI.
Ifdesired,selectwhichTerminalyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictionon.Whenyourestrictthecoverage
predictiontoaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCIgraphsfortheselectedter
minal.Aswell,Atollrespectstheterminalsdefinedcodingschemelimitandnoisefigure.Selectingaterminalis
obligatoryifyouaremakingamaximumoruserthroughputcoveragepredictionbecauseitisnecessarytoknow
thenumberterminaltimeslots.
Ifdesired,selectwhichMobilityyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoveragepredictionon.Whenyouselecta
mobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmittershavethecodingschemeconfigurationthatcansupporttheselected
mobility.
EnteraNoiseFigure.Bydefault,thenoisefigureis8dB.
SelecttheThermalNoiseTakenintoAccountcheckboxifyouwantAtolltoconsiderthermalnoise.
Ifyouwanttodisplayeitheranapplicationthroughput/timeslotcoverageprediction,oramaximumoranend
userthroughputcoverageprediction,selecttheservicefromwhichtheapplicationthroughputparameterswillbe
extracted.
SelecttheIdealLinkAdaptationcheckboxifyouwantthecodingschemethatoffersthehighestthroughputper
timeslotforagivenCorCandCItobeselected.Otherwise,Atollwillchoosethecodingschemebyconsidering
onlythecodingschemeadmissionthresholdintermsofCand/orCI.

10. UnderApplicationThroughputperUser,selectthedimensioningmodelfromwhichtheloadreductionfactorcanbe
extractedinordertodisplayanenduserthroughputprediction.

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11. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictionbypacketthroughput,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"EffectiveRLC
Throughput/Timeslot"isselectedbydefault.Ifdesired,youcanchangethevaluesdisplayedbyselectingoneofthe
followingvaluesfromtheFieldlist:

EffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslot:EachlayershowstheEffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslotthatatransmitter
cancarryononetimeslotperpixel.
MaxEffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslot:TheresultingcoverageprovidesthemaximalEffectiveRLCThroughput/
Timeslotoneachpixelfromthepreviousdisplay.
AverageEffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslot:GivestheaverageEffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslotthatthetrans
mittercancarryononetimeslotaveragedoneachpixel.IftherearedifferentcoverageareasfordifferentTRXs,
thiscoveragepredictionwillcalculatetheunionofthesecoveragesanddisplaytheaveragevaluesoverthesecov
erageareas,whereastheothercoveragepredictionsforEffectiveRLCThroughput/Timeslotperformanintersec
tionofthesecoveragezones,keepingtheminimumvalueofthroughputperpixel.
ApplicationThroughput/Timeslot:Eachlayershowstheapplicationthroughput/timeslotthatatransmittercan
carryononetimeslotforaparticularserviceperpixel.
Max Application Throughput/Timeslot: The resulting coverage provides the maximal application throughput/
timeslotoneachpixelforaparticularserviceprovidedbyaspecificterminalfromthepreviousdisplay.
Average Application Throughput/Timeslot: The average application throughput/timeslot that the transmitter
cancarryononetimeslotaveragedoneachpixelforaparticularservice.Iftherearedifferentcoverageareasfor
differentTRXs,thiscoveragepredictionwillcalculatetheunionofthesecoveragesanddisplaytheaveragevalues
overthesecoverageareas,whereastheothercoveragepredictionsforapplicationthroughput/timeslotperform
anintersectionofthesecoveragezones,keepingtheminimumvalueofthroughputperpixel.
EffectiveRLCThroughput:EachlayershowsthemaxRLCthroughputthatatransmittercanprovidetoaselected
terminalperpixel.
MaxEffectiveRLCThroughput:TheresultingcoverageprovidesthemaximalRLCthroughputoneachpixelfrom
thepreviousdisplay.
AverageEffectiveRLCThroughput:GivestheaverageRLCthroughputthatatransmittercanprovidetoaselected
terminalaveragedoneachpixel.IftherearedifferentcoverageareasfordifferentTRXs,thiscoverageprediction
willcalculatetheunionofthesecoveragesanddisplaytheaveragevaluesoverthesecoverageareas,whereasthe
othercoveragepredictionsformaxRLCthroughputperformanintersectionofthesecoveragezones,keepingthe
minimumvalueofthroughputperpixel.
ApplicationThroughput:Eachlayershowsthethroughputthatatransmittercanprovidetoaselectedterminal
perpixel.
MaxApplicationThroughput:Theresultingcoveragegivesthemaximalthroughputoneachfromtheprevious
display.
AverageApplicationThroughput:Givestheaveragethroughputthatthetransmittercanprovidetoaselectedter
minalaveragedoneachpixel.IftherearedifferentcoverageareasfordifferentTRXs,thiscoveragepredictionwill
calculatetheunionofthesecoveragesanddisplaytheaveragevaluesoverthesecoverageareas,whereasthe
othercoveragepredictionsforthroughputperformanintersectionoverthesecoveragezoneskeepingthemin
imumvalueofthroughputperpixel.
ApplicationThroughputperUser:Eachlayershowsthethroughputthatatransmittercanprovidetoauserona
pixel,consideringloadreductionfactors.
MaxApplicationThroughputperUser:Theresultingcoveragegivesthemaximaluserapplicationthroughputon
eachpixelfromthepreviousdisplay.
AverageApplicationThroughputperUser:Theaveragethroughputthatthetransmittercanprovidetoauser
averagedoneachpixel.IftherearedifferentcoverageareasfordifferentTRXs,thiscoveragepredictionwillcal
culatetheunionofthesecoveragesanddisplaytheaveragevaluesoverthesecoverageareas,whereastheother
coverages for throughput perform an intersection over these coverage zones, keeping the minimum value of
throughputperpixel.

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
12. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

6.6.3.3 MakingaBLERCoveragePrediction
InAtoll,youcanmakeacoveragepredictionoftheblockerrorrate(BLER)measuredpertransmitter,whetherchannelshave
beenallocatedornot.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,youcandosobeforecarryingoutthecoverageprediction

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describedinthissection.Forinformationoncreatingafrequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,and
MAIOs"onpage342.
TheBLERisdeterminedafterAtolldetermineswhichcodingschemeistobeselectedforagivenCorCandCI.Whenthe
codingschemehasbeendetermined,1BLERrepresentstheefficiencyfactorappliedtothemaximumthroughputofthe
codingschemetoobtaintheservedthroughput.TheBLERcanbedeterminedforeachpixel.
YoucanmakeaBLERcoveragepredictionforeitherGPRS,forEDGE,orforboth.Aswell,youcanrestrictthecoveragepredic
tiontoaselectedterminalormobilityortoacombinationofterminalandmobility.Whenyourestrictthecoverageprediction
toaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCIgraphsfortheselectedterminal.Aswell,Atoll
respectstheterminalsdefinedcodingschemelimit.Whenyouselectamobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmittershavethe
codingschemeconfigurationthatcansupporttheselectedmobility.Atollcanusethenoisefiguredefinedfortheselected
terminalorauserdefinednoisefigureifnoterminalisselectedorifthecalculationsarebasedonaninterpolationofthe
valuesforCIandC(I+N).Forinformationondefiningaterminal,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.
TomakeaBLERcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPacketQualityThroughputAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.111).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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Figure6.111:ConditionsettingsforaBLERcoverageprediction
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedtothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,youcandefinehowAtollwillcalculateCIfortheBLERcoverageprediction.
If,underGPRS/EDGE,youselectBasedonCforthecoverageprediction,theonlyoption
youneedtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXs
list.
Youcanselectthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccount,selecttheDTXtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseristalkingintheVoiceActivityFactor
textbox.
SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

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FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,
cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreased
bytheadjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optioninthefile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwillallowyou
toconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

9. UnderGPRS/EDGE,setthefollowingparameters:

FromtheCodingSchemeslist,selectthetechnologyforwhichthepacketthroughputpertimeslotcalculationwill
becalculated:

All:IfyouselectAllbothGPRScodingschemesandEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.
GPRS:IfyouselectGPRSonlyGPRScodingschemeswillbeused.
EDGE:Ifyou selectEDGE onlyEDGEcodingschemes will be used.Depending on the selectedGPRS/EDGE
configurations,EDGEcodingschemescanbeofthetypeEGPRS(StandardEDGE)orEGPRS2(EDGEEvolution).

SelectBasedonCifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononC.IfyouselectBasedonC,theonlyoptionyou
needtoselectunderInterferenceConditionistheTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXslist.Otherwise,selectBased
onCI.
Ifdesired,selectwhichTerminalyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictionon.Whenyourestrictthecoverage
predictiontoaselectedterminal,AtollbasesthecoveragepredictionontheCandCIgraphsfortheselectedter
minal,aswellasonitsnoisefigure.Aswell,Atollrespectstheterminalsdefinedcodingschemelimit.
Ifdesired,selectwhichMobilityyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoveragepredictionon.Whenyouselecta
mobility,Atollconsiderswhichtransmittershavethecodingschemeconfigurationthatcansupporttheselected
mobilityandrelativethreshold.
EnteraNoiseFigure.Bydefault,anoisefigureof8dBisusedifnoterminalisselected.
SelecttheThermalNoiseTakenintoAccountcheckboxifyouwantAtolltoconsiderthermalnoise.
SelecttheIdealLinkAdaptationcheckboxifyouwantthecodingschemethatoffersthehighestthroughputto
beselected.Otherwise,Atollwillchosethecodingschemeaccordingtosignallevelandquality.

10. ClicktheDisplaytab.
ForaBLERcoverageprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.Selectoneofthefollowing
valuesfromtheFieldlist:

BLER(%):Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtotheblockerrorratemeasuredpertransmitter.Ifthethroughput
pertimeslotisgreaterthanthemaximumthroughputpertimeslot,theBLERis0%.
MaxBLER:Givesthecoverageaccordingtothemaximumblockerrorrateperpixelforeachtransmitter.

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
11. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

6.6.4 MakingaCircuitQualityIndicator(BER,FER,orMOS)
CoveragePrediction
InAtoll,youcanmakeacircuitqualityindicatorcoveragepredictionbasedonthebiterrorrate(BER),theframeerasurerate
(FER),orthemeanopinionscore(MOS).Thecircuitqualityindicatorcoveragepredictionsrefertothecodecconfiguration
assignedtoatransmitteror,optionally,toaterminal.Forinformationonusingcodecconfigurationintransmittersandtermi
nals,see"UsingCodecConfigurationsinTransmittersandTerminals"onpage499.
Thecircuitqualityindicatorcoveragepredictioncanuseanexistingfrequencyplan.Ifyouhavenotyetallocatedfrequencies,
youcandosobeforecarryingoutanyofthecoveragepredictionsdescribedinthissection.Forinformationoncreatinga
frequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.

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Eachofthecircuitspecificpredictionsdescribedinthissectioncanbecarriedoutbasedonafixednoisevalueorbasedon
thesettingsforaparticularterminalaswellasthesettingsforaparticularmobility.Forinformationondefiningaterminal,
see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.Forinformationondefiningamobility,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/
EDGEMobilityTypes"onpage510.
Thecircuitqualityindicatorcoveragepredictiondisplaystheareaswheretheselectedcircuitqualityindicator(BER,FER,or
MOS)forthetransmittersatisfiestheuserdefinedcriteria.ThequalityindicatoriscalculatedusingCNorCNandC(I+N)and
theadaptationorqualitythresholdsdefinedforthecodecconfigurationoneachtransmitter.Transmittersthathavenocodec
configurationdefinedarenottakenintoconsiderationinthiscoverageprediction.Ifatransmitterhasacodecconfiguration,
Atollproceedsasfollows:

Ifaterminaltypeisnotdefinedordoesnothavecodecconfigurationassigned,Atollconsidersthecodecconfiguration
assignedtothetransmitteronly.
Iftheterminalandthetransmitterhavedifferentcodecconfiguration,Atolldeterminestheintersectionofthecodec
modescontainedinthetransmitterandterminalcodecconfiguration.Thecodecmodeisthenselectedaccordingto
the calculated CN or CN and CI+N on and optionally according to a specific hopping mode, frequency band,
mobilitytypeandMAL(See"CreatingorModifyingCodecConfiguration"onpage497formoreinformation)each
pixel.Foragivenqualityoragivencodecmode,lookuptablesdefinedincodecconfigurationprovidethecircuit
qualityindicator(BER,FER,orMOS)displayedasaresult.

Thequalityindicatorusedforideallinkadaptationisdeterminedbythecodecconfigurationassignedtothetransmitters.
Tomakeacircuitqualityindicatorcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCircuitQualityIndicatorAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.112).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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Figure6.112:ConditionsettingsBLERcoverageprediction
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedtothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
SelecttheDetailedResultscheckboxifyouwanttodisplaydetailedresultspertransmitter.Theresultsdisplayed
dependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:

NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,youcandefinehowAtollwillcalculateinterferenceforthethroughputpertimeslot
coverageprediction.
If, under Quality Indicators Calculation, you select Calculations Based on CN for the
coverageprediction,theonlyoptionyouneedtoselectunderInterferenceConditionis
theTRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXslist.
Youcanselectthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccount,selecttheDTXtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichauseristalkingintheVoiceActivityFactor
textbox.
SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

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100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,
cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreased
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Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optioninthefile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwillallowyou
toconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

9. UnderQualityIndicatorsCalculation,setthefollowingparameters:

SelectCalculationsBasedonCNifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononCN.IfyouselectCalculations
BasedonCNforthecoverageprediction,theonlyoptionyouneedtoselectunderInterferenceConditionisthe
TRXtypetoconsiderfromtheTRXslist.Thecodecmodeisselectedonlyaccordingtosignallevel.
SelectCalculationsBasedonC(I+N)ifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononCNandC(I+N).
Ifdesired,selectwhichTerminalyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictionon.Whenyourestrictthecoverage
predictiontoaselectedterminalandtheterminaltypeandthetransmitterhavedifferentcodecconfiguration,
Atolldeterminestheintersectionofthecodecmodescontainedinthetransmitterandterminalcodecconfigura
tion.ThecodecmodeisthenselectedaccordingtothecalculatedCNorCNandCI+Noneachpixel.Foragiven
qualityoragivencodecmode,lookuptablesdefinedincodecconfigurationprovidethecircuitqualityindicator
(BER,FER,orMOS)displayedasaresult.
Ifdesired,selectwhichMobilityyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoveragepredictionon.Whenyouselecta
mobility,Atollconsidersthecodecmodeapplicablefortheselectedmobilityonthecodecconfiguration.
EnteraNoiseFigure.Bydefault,anoisefigureof8dBisusedifnoterminalisselected.

10. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracircuitqualityindicatorcoverageprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.Selectone
ofthefollowingvaluesfromtheFieldlist:

BER:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtothebiterrorratemeasuredpertransmitter.
FER:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtotheframeerasureratemeasuredpertransmitter.
MOS:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtothemeanopinionscoremeasuredpertransmitter.
MaxBER:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtothemaximumbiterrorrateperpixelofthecoveringtransmitters.
MaxFER:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtothemaximumframeerasurerateperpixelofthecoveringtrans
mitters.
MaxMOS:Thecoverageiscolouredaccordingtothemaximummeanopinionscoreperpixelofthecovering
transmitters.

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
11. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Theresultsofcircuit
qualityindicatorcoveragepredictionsbasedonBER,FER,orMOSarebrokendownbytransmitter,asyoucanseebyclicking
theExpandbutton( )toexpandtheresultsofthecoveragepredictionafteryouhavecalculatedit.Theresultsofcircuitqual
ityindicatorcoveragepredictionsbasedonMaxBER,MaxFER,orMaxMOSarebrokendownbythreshold.

6.6.5 MakingaServiceAreaPrediction
ServiceAreaAnalysis(DL)andServiceAreaAnalysis(UL)coveragepredictionscalculatethetrafficchannelqualitywhen
usingthemaximumpowerallowed,i.e.,themaximumtrafficchannelpowerallowedpercellfordownlinkandthemaximum
terminalpowerforuplink.Intheprediction,thedownlinkoruplinkserviceareaislimitedbythemaximumallowedpower
andbythepilotquality.Ifthereceivedpilotqualityisinsufficient,thetrafficchannelqualityisnotdisplayed.Mobilehandover
statusisconsideredtoevaluatethedownlinkanduplinktrafficchannelquality.Atollcombinesthesignalfromeachtransmit
terintheprobemobileactiveset.
TheEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)coveragepredictioncalculatestheintersectionzonebetweenthepilotreception
area, and the uplink and downlink service areas. In other words, the effective service area prediction calculates where a
serviceactuallyisavailablefortheprobemobile.
Foracircuitswitchedservice,theaimofaserviceareapredictionistoshowtheareaswhere,accordingtotheradiocondi
tions,acodecmodecanbeobtained,asexplainedin"MakingaCircuitQualityIndicator(BER,FER,orMOS)CoveragePredic
tion"onpage456.

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Forapacketswitchedservice,theaimofaserviceareapredictionistoshowtheareaswhere,accordingtotheradiocondi
tions,acodingschemecanbeobtained,asexplainedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyGPRS/EDGECodingSchemes"on
page447.
Youcanmakeserviceareaanalysiscoveragepredictionswhetherchannelshavebeenallocatedornot.Ifyouhavenotyet
allocatedfrequencies,youcandosobeforecarryingoutthecoveragepredictiondescribedinthissection.Forinformationon
creatingafrequencyplan,see"AllocatingFrequencies,BSICs,HSNs,MALs,andMAIOs"onpage342.
Youcanalsorestrictthecoveragepredictiontoaselectedterminalormobilityortoacombinationofterminalandmobility.
Whenyourestrictthecoveragepredictiontoaselectedterminal,thecoveragepredictionisbasedontheCandCIgraphsfor
the selected terminal, as well as on its noise figure. The defined codec mode (or coding scheme) limit of the terminal is
respected.Whenyouselectamobility,thetransmittersthathaveacodec(orcodingscheme)configurationthatsupportsthe
selectedmobilityandthecodecmode(orcodingscheme)thresholdforthatmobilityareconsidered.Forinformationon
definingaterminal,see"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononaservicearea:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectoneofthefollowingpredictionsandclickOK:

ServiceAreaAnalysis(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(UL)
EffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)

ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe"<GUID>"and"</GUID>"tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"<prediction_name>.XML"file(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
forcoveragepredictionscalculatedbyvalueintervalswithrelevantFieldsettings:
C:\<ATL_path>\<ATL_name>.studies\{<GUID>}. For more information, see
"ExternalStorageofCoveragePredictionNumericalResults"onpage226.

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionissavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure6.112).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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Figure6.113:ConditionsettingsforServiceAreacoverageprediction
7. UnderCoverageConditions,setthefollowingparameters:

UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevel
or specifically for each transmitter (for more information, see "Comparing Service Areas in Calculations" on
page489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
Shadowingmargins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviation
perclutterclass)areappliedtothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

8. UnderInterferenceCondition,youcandefinehowinterferenceisevaluatedforthecodecmode(orcodingscheme)
selection.
Youcanselectthefollowingparameters:

YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderasapotentialvictimbyselectingitfromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeissupportedbytheTRXs,selectDTXtakenintoaccountandinthe
Voiceactivityfactor,enterthepercentageoftimeduringwhichausertalks.
SelecttheTrafficloadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:

100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.

FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchannels,
cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,isdecreased
bytheadjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optioninthefile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwillallowyou
toconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

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9. UnderGPRS/EDGE,setthefollowingparameters:

FromtheCodingSchemeslist,selectthetechnologyforwhichthepacketthroughputpertimeslotcalculationwill
becalculated:

All:IfyouselectAll,bothGPRScodingschemesandEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.
GPRS:IfyouselectGPRS,onlyGPRScodingschemeswillbeused.
EDGE:IfyouselectEDGE,onlyEDGEcodingschemeswillbeused.DependingontheselectedGPRS/EDGE
configurations,EDGEcodingschemescanbeofthetypeEGPRS(StandardEDGE)orEGPRS2(EDGEEvolution).

SelectIdealLinkAdaptationtoselectthecodingschemethatoffersthehighestthroughput.Otherwise,Atoll
choosesthecodingschemeaccordingtosignallevelandquality.

10. UnderCoding,setthefollowingparameters:

SelectCalculationsBasedonCNifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononCN.IfyouselectCalculations
basedonCNforthecoverageprediction,theonlyoptiontoselectunderInterferenceconditionsistheTRXtype
to consider from the TRXs list. The codec mode (or coding scheme) is selected according to signal level and
receivernoiseN.
SelectCalculationsBasedonC(I+N)ifyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictiononCNandC(I+N).
Ifnecessary,selecttheTerminalonwhichyouwanttobasethecoverageprediction.Whenyourestrictthecov
eragepredictiontoaselectedterminalandtheterminaltypeandthetransmitterhavedifferentcodec(orcoding
scheme)configurations,Atolldeterminestheintersectionofthecodecmodes(orcodingschemes)containedin
thetransmitterandterminalcodec(orcodingscheme)configuration.Thecodecmode(orcodingscheme)isthen
selectedaccordingtothecalculatedCNorCNandCI+Noneachpixel.
Ifnecessary,selecttheMobilityonwhichyouwanttobasethecodingschemecoverageprediction.Whenyou
selectamobility,Atollconsidersthecodecmode(orcodingscheme)applicablefortheselectedmobilityonthe
codecconfiguration.
EnteraNoiseFigure.Bydefault,anoisefigureof8dBisusedifnoterminalisselected.
SelectwhichServiceyouwanttobasethecoveragepredictionon.Ifyouselectacircuitswitchedservice,theser
vicewillbeservedifatleastonecodecmodecanbeselected.Ifyouselectapacketswitchedservice,theservice
willbeservedifatleastonecodingschemecanbeselected.

11. ClicktheDisplaytab.
OnlytheDisplayType"Unique"isavailable.Pixelsarecoveredwithauniquecolouriftheselectedservicecanbe
providedontheconsideredpixel.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
12. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

6.6.6 StudyingInterferenceBetweenTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanusetheTxtoTxInterferencetooltostudytheeffectsofaninterferingsignalfromonetransmitteronthe
signalofanyothertransmitterwithinthecomputationzone.Youcanrestricttheinterferencetoasetthresholdoryoucan
baseitonaselectedcoverageprediction.UsingacoveragepredictionenablesyoutocomparetheresultsoftheTxtoTx
Interferencetooltotheresultsoftheselectedcoverageprediction.
YoumusthaveacomputationzonedefinedtousetheTxtoTxInterferencetool.Forinfor
mationoncreatingacomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage266.

Todisplayinterferencebetweentransmittersonthemap:
1. ClickTools>TxtoTxInterference.TheTxtoTxInterferencewindowappears.
2. UnderTransmitters:

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SelectthetransmitterwhosesignalisinterferedfromtheVictimlistorclicktheVictimbutton(
thetransmitterbyclickingitonthemap.

)andselect

SelectthetransmitterwhosesignalisinterferingfromtheInterfererlistorclicktheInterfererbutton(
selectthetransmitterbyclickingitonthemap.

)and

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Thevictimandinterferertransmittersaredisplayedonthemapwithspecificicons(

and

).

3. UnderCoverageconditions,selectwhatyouaregoingtobasetheinterferencecalculationon:

Signallevel:Enterasignalthreshold.
Basedonprediction:Selectthecoveragepredictiononwhichyouwanttobasetheinterferencecalculation.

4. Click Calculate. The interference will be displayed on the map if you have selected the Visible check box (see
Figure6.114).

Figure6.114:TheSectortoSectorInterferenceTool
Atollallowsyoutodisplaytheinterferencebetweentransmittersinahistogram.
Todisplayinterferencebetweentransmittersinahistogram:

Afteryouhavecalculatedtheinterferenceasexplainedearlierinthissection,clicktheHistogrambutton.TheStatis
ticswindowappears.

UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

6.6.7 AuditingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEFrequencyPlan
WhenyouhaveassignedfrequenciestotheTRXs,eithermanuallyorautomatically,youcanmakeanauditofthefrequency
plan.TheauditallowsyoutoverifytheconsistencyandvalidityofthefollowingGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkparameters:

Thetransmitterstobeallocated:Thetransmitterstobeallocated,orTBAtransmitters,aretheactiveandfiltered
transmittersbelongingtothetransmittersfolderfromwhichtheAFPwasstartedandthatarelocatedwithinthefocus
zone.
Thepotentialinterferers:Thepotentialinterferersaretransmitterswhosecalculationradiusintersectsthecalcula
tionradiusofanyTBAtransmitter.
TransmittersinvolvedintheseparationconditionswithTBAtransmitters:Thesearetheneighbours,cositetrans
mitters,transmittersorsubcellsofexceptionalpairsand,incaseofBSICallocation,neighboursofneighbours.

Thefrequencyplanauditautomaticallycheckscertainpointsandallowsyoutodefineadditionalpointstobeverified.The
pointswhichareautomaticallyverifiedare:

EachtransmitterhasasingleBCCHTRXdefined.
Subcellparametersrespectthecelltypeonwhichthesubcellisbased.
TRXparametersrespecttheTRXtypeonwhichtheTRXisbased.
Nofrequency,HSN,orBSICdomainisempty.
ForsubcellswherethehoppingmodeisNHorBBH,eachTRXhasasingle,uniquefrequency.
ForsubcellswherethehoppingmodeisSSH,eachTRXhasadefinedfrequencylist.

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ForsubcellswherethehoppingmodeisSSH,themaximumMALlengthisrespected.
ForsubcellswherethehoppingmodeisSSH,theMAIOislowerthanthenumberoffrequenciesintheMAL.
Thenumberoftimeslotspersubcellislowerthanorequaltothemultiplexingfactor(or,fortheBCCHsubcell,the
numberoftimeslotsequalsthemultiplexingfactorminusone).
Thenumberoftimeslotspersubcellisbe0.
Thenonexistenceofmultibandtransmitterswhenthesearenotexpectedtobepresent.
InmultiRATnetworks,detectionofUMTSintertechnologyneighbourtransmitterswithidenticalscramblingcodes.
InmultiRATnetworks,detectionofLTEintertechnologyneighbourswithidenticalphysicalcellIDs.

Youcanconfigurethefrequencyplanaudittoverifythefollowingpointsaswell:

Frequencydomainsbelongtotheassignedfrequencyband.
Thecurrentfrequencyplanrespectstheassignedallocationstrategy(freeorgroupconstrained).
Theallocatedresources,thefrequency,HSN,orBSIC,belongtotheassigneddomain.
Thereisconsistencybetweentheexcludedchannelsdefinedatthesubcellandtheassignedchannels.
Theexceptionalseparationconstraintsarerespected.
NotransmitterhasthesameBSICBCCHpairasoneofitsneighbours.
NotransmitterhastwoneighbourswiththesameBSICBCCHpair.
Itishighlyrecommendedtorunfrequencyplanauditsonaregularbasis.

Tomakeafrequencyplanaudit:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFrequencyPlan>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheFrequencyPlanAuditdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheGeneraltab.
a. UnderLoading,selectthesubcellstobeconsidered:

Loadallthesubcellsinvolvedinseparationconstraints:Selectthischeckboxifyouwantalltransmitters
involved in separation constraints to be considered in the audit. You can review and modify separation
constraintsandexceptionalpairsontheSeparationtabofthedialogbox(seestep5.).
Loadallinterfererspropagatinginthefocuszone:Selectthischeckboxifyouwantallpotentialinterferers
tobeconsideredintheaudit.Checkthisboxtoloadallthepotentialserverspotentiallyinvolvedininterfer
enceswithserverstobenormallytakenintoaccountthroughthecomputationzone.

b. UnderOptionalChecking,selectthecheckboxesofthedomainconstraintsyouwanttohaveverifiedbytheaudit:

Frequencies:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythatthecurrentfrequencyplanrespectsthe
assignedfrequencydomains.
HSN:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythattheassignedHSNsbelongtotheassignedHSN
domains.
CompliancewiththeAllocationStrategy:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythatthecurrent
frequencyplanrespectstheassignedallocationstrategy(freeorgroupconstrained).
BSIC:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythattheassignedBSICsbelongtotheassignedBSIC
domains.

c. SelecttheSeparationConstraintscheckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythatthecurrentlydefinedseparation
constraintsarerespected.YoucanreviewandmodifyseparationconstraintsandexceptionalpairsontheSepa
rationtabofthisdialogbox(seestep5.).WhentheSeparationConstraintscheckboxisnotcleared,youcanse
lectanAFPmodulenexttoViolationsImportanceandclicktheBrowsebuttontodisplayitsPropertiesdialogbox.
d. Selectthe(BSIC,BCCH)pairscheckboxifyouwanttheaudittoverifythefollowing:

ThatnotransmitterhasthesameBSICBCCHpairasoneofitsneighbours.
ThatnotransmitterhastwoneighbourswiththesameBSICBCCHpair.

5. ClicktheSeparationstabifyouwanttodefine/modifyseparationconstraintsandexceptionalseparationconstraints:
a. ClicktheExceptionalPairsbuttontoopentheExceptionalSeparationConstraintsdialogboxanddefineexcep
tionalfrequencyseparationstodefinechannelseparationsthatapplytospecificpairsofTRXs.Duringautomatic
frequencyplanning,theseparationrulesarefirstconsidered,buttheycanbeoverriddenbyspecificentriesinthe
Exceptional Separation Constraints table. For information on defining exceptional separation constraints, see
"DefiningExceptionalFrequencySeparations"onpage366.
b. Whenyouhavefinishedenteringexceptionalseparationconstraints,clickClosetoclosetheExceptionalSepara
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c. InthetableontheSeparationstab,enterormodifytheseparationrules.Theseparationrulessetthechannelsep
arationthatshouldexistbetweenpairsofTRXsonthesametransmitter,samesite,oronadjacentsites.Forinfor
mationondefiningseparationrules,see"DefiningSeparationRules"onpage365.
6. ClicktheDetailedResultstabtoselectthetypeofinformationyouwantinthereport.

ErrorMessages:Ifyouselectthischeckbox,theauditdisplaysglobalwarningsanderrormessages,aswellasa
summaryofseparationconstraintviolationsbytransmitter/subcell/TRXpairandbyTRX.
WarningsRelatedtoSeparations:Ifyouselectthischeckbox,theauditdisplaysadescriptionofeachseparation
constraintviolation.
AdditionalWarnings:Ifyouselectthischeckbox,theauditdisplaysadditionaldetailedwarnings.
PostponetheGlobalSummaryandPartoftheTests:Youcanselectthischeckboxforfasterdisplayoftheresults.
Theauditresultswillbedisplayedimmediatelyandyoucangeneratetheglobalsummaryatthatpoint.

7. ClickOKtostarttheaudit.TheCheckingPlanningConsistencydialogboxappears(seeFigure6.115).Theresultsare
giveninagridunderSeparationViolations.UnderMessagesarethedetailedresultsasdefinedinstep6.
YoucandefinethedisplayoftheAllocationtabfromtheDisplayOptionsmenu.Formoreinformation,see"Defining
theDisplayoftheAllocationTab"onpage388.
IfyouhadselectedtoPostponetheGlobalSummaryandPartoftheTestsinstep6.,theMessagesareawillbeempty.
YoucangenerateglobalsummarynowbyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselectingGeneratetheGlobalSummary.

Figure6.115:CheckingPlanningConsistencydialogbox
Theresultsarelistedinatablebytransmitter,TRXtype,andTRXandarecodedbycolour.Channelsinblackpresentnosepa
rationviolations.Channelsinredpresentimportantseparationviolations.YoucanDisplayImportantViolationsOnly.This
optioncanproveveryusefulwhentoomanylowimportanceviolationsaredisplayed.
Separationconstraintviolations,ifany,arelistedintheSeparationsviolationscolumn.Todisplaythedetailsofaseparation
constraintviolation:
1. ClicktheviolationintheSeparationsviolationscolumn.Amessageboxappearsdisplayingdetailsabouttheviolation.
2. ClickOKtoclosethemessagebox.
3. Or,ifyouareaskedto"ReinforceconstraintsontheseviolationsbyusingExceptionalPairs":

ClickYesifyouwanttodefinethepaircurrentlyinviolationasanexceptionalpair.Becauseseparationconstraints
betweenexceptionalpairshavemoreweightthandefaultseparationconstraints,youwillbeabletorerunthe
AFPandforceittotrytoavoidthisviolation.
OrclickNotoclosethemessageboxwithoutdefiningthepaircurrentlyinviolationasanexceptionalpair.

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6.6.8 CheckingConsistencyinSubcells
WhennetworkdataisimportedintoanAtolldocument,inconsistenciescanoccurbetweenparametersthatcanbedefined
onthesubcellandTRXandparametersthatcanbedefinedonthetransmitter.Additionally,somesubcellvalueswhichare
eitherusedinanAFPorinpredictionscanbeoutsideanacceptablerange.Thiscanleadto,forexample,unrealisticresultsor
longcalculationtimes.YoucanperformanauditontheconsistencyofalloftheseparametersandhaveAtollautomatically
correcttheseproblemsaswell.
Foreachtransmitter,Atollchecksthat:

ThenumberofTRXsintheTransmitterstablecorrespondstothenumberofTRXsdefinedforthistransmitterinthe
TRXstable.
ThelistofchannelsusedbythetransmitterconsistsofallthechannelsassignedtoTRXsofthetransmitter.
TheBCCHofthetransmitteristhesameasthechannelassignedtotheBCCHTRXofthetransmitter.
ThenumberofrequiredTRXsindicatedintheTransmitterstableequalsthesumofrequiredTRXsofthetransmitters
subcells.
ThehoppingmodeofthetransmittercorrespondstothehoppingmodedefinedforitsTCHsubcell.

Foreachsubcell,Atollchecksthefollowingvalues:numberofrequiredTRXs,numberofrequiredBCCHs,trafficload,recep
tionthreshold,minC/I,halfratetrafficratio,meanpowercontrolgain,DLpowerreduction,AFPweight,targetrateoftraffic
overflow,maxpercentageofinterference,maximumMALlength.
Tomakeasubcellaudit:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheSubcellAuditdialogboxappears.
4. UnderConsistencyofredundantvaluesinthetransmitters,subcells,andTRXstables,selecttheAuditthevalues
andgenerateareportintheEventViewercheckbox.AnyproblemsfoundbytheauditwillbedisplayedintheEvent
Viewergroupedbytransmitter.
5. IfyouwantAtolltoupdatethetransmitterparametersthatareinconsistentwiththeirsubcellsandTRXs,selectthe
Fixinconsistenciesbetweentransmittersandtheirsubcellscheckbox.
6. Under Compatibility of the main subcell values, select the Audit the values and generate a report in the Event
Viewercheckbox.WarningswillbedisplayedintheEventViewerforinconsistentvalues:

IfthenumberofrequiredTRXsisgreaterthan31
IfthenumberofrequiredBCCHsisnot1
Ifthetrafficloadislessthan<0.1
Ifthereceptionthresholdisgreaterthan60dBmorislessthan112dBm
IftheminC/Iisgreaterthan18dB
Ifthehalfratetrafficratioisgreaterthan100%orislessthan0
Ifthemeanpowercontrolgainisgreaterthan16dB
IftheDLpowerreductionisgreaterthan25dBorislessthan0dB
IftheAFPweightisgreaterthan3orislessthan0.2
Ifthetargetrateoftrafficoverflowisgreaterthan100orislessthan0
Iftheacceptedinterferencepercentageisgreaterthan100orislessthan1
ifthemaximumMALlengthisgreaterthan62.

7. IfyouwantAtolltofixthesubcellvaluesasfollows,selecttheFixincompatibilitiesfoundinthemainvaluescheck
box.

IfthenumberofrequiredTRXsisgreaterthan62orislessthan1,itisreplacedby1
IfthenumberofrequiredBCCHsisnot1,itisreplacedby1
Ifthetrafficloadisgreaterthan1orislessthan0,itisreplacedby1
Ifthereceptionthresholdisgreaterthan50dBmorislessthan116dBm,itisreplacedby102dBm
IftheminimumC/Iisgreaterthan25dB,itisreplacedby12
Ifthehalfratetrafficratioisgreaterthan100%orlessthan0,itisreplacedby40%
Ifthemeanpowercontrolgainisgreaterthan32dBorlessthan0dB,itisreplacedby4
IftheDLpowerreductionisgreaterthan25dBorlessthan0dB,itisreplacedby0
IftheAFPweightisgreaterthan100orlessthan0,itisreplacedby1
Ifthetargetrateoftrafficoverflowisgreaterthan100orlessthan0,itisreplacedby0
Iftheacceptedinterferencepercentageisgreaterthan100orlessthan1,itisreplacedby1
IfthemaximumMALlengthisgreaterthan62,itreplacedby62.

8. ClickOK.
Ifyouchoosetofixtheincompatiblevalues,AtolldisplaysthereportintheEventViewer.Valuesthatareinconsistentare
changedandAtolldisplayswarningstoinformyouofunrealisticvalues.

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6.6.9 DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocation
Atollprovidesseveraltoolsthatenableyoutoviewthefrequencyallocation.Youcanusethesetoolstoanalyseafrequency
planbydisplayingtheoveralldistributionofchannelsorchannelandBSICuseonthemap.Youcanalsosearchforchannels
orBSICs.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"UsingFindonMaptoDisplayChannelReuse"onpage467
"DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings"onpage468
"GroupingTransmittersbyFrequencies"onpage469
"DisplayingtheChannelAllocationHistogram"onpage469.

6.6.9.1 UsingFindonMaptoDisplayChannelReuse
InAtoll,youcanuseFindonMaptosearchforBCCHandnonBCCHchannels,andBSICs.TheFindonMaptoolallowsyouto
viewchannelandBSICreuseonthemap.
FindonMapenablesyoutofindtransmittersusingagivenchannel,BSICorNCCBCC,orcombinationofHSNandMAIO.If
youhavealreadycalculatedanddisplayedacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestserver,withtheresults
displayedbytransmitter,thesearchresultswillbedisplayedbytransmittercoverage.Channelreuseandanypotentialprob
lemswillthenbeclearlyvisible.Forinformationoncoveragepredictionsbytransmitter,see"MakingaCoveragePrediction
byTransmitter"onpage277.
ByincludingtheBCCH,BSIC,andchannellistofeachtransmitterinthetransmitterlabel,
thesearchresultswillbeeasiertounderstand.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
SearchingforChannels
YoucanuseFindonMaptosearchforachannel.Youcansearchinallchannels,incontrolchannels,orinnoncontrolchan
nels.
TofindachannelusingFindonMap:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"GSMChannel."
3. IntheChannellist,enterachannelthatyouwouldliketoallocate.
4. DefinewhereyouwantAtolltosearchfortheselectedchannel:

UsedasBCCH:AtollwillsearchforthechannelwhenusedasaBCCH.
UsedasTCH:AtollwillsearchforthechannelwhenusedasaTCH.

Bydefault,FindonMapdisplaysonlycochannelsubcells.Ifyouwantadjacentchannelstobedisplayedaswell,select
theAdjacentchannelscheckbox.
5. ClickSearch.
WhenyousearchforbothBCCHandTCHTRXtypes,transmitterswiththesamechannelforBCCHaredisplayedinred.
TransmitterswiththesamechannelforanyTCHaredisplayedinorange.Transmitterswithtwoadjacentchannels
(i.e.,achannelhigherandachannellower)aredisplayedinyellow.Transmitterswithaloweradjacentchannelare
displayedingreen;transmitterswithahigheradjacentchannelaredisplayedingreen.Coloursusedforcochannel
casestakeprecedenceoverthecoloursusedforadjacentchannels.Allothertransmittersaredisplayedasgreylines.
WhenyousearchfortheBCCHorTCHTRXtypes,transmitterswiththesamechannelaredisplayedinred.Transmit
terswithtwoadjacentchannels(i.e.,achannelhigherandachannellower)aredisplayedinyellow.Transmitterswith
aloweradjacentchannelaredisplayedingreen;transmitterswithahigheradjacentchannelaredisplayedingreen.
Coloursusedforcochanneltakeprecedenceoverthecoloursusedforadjacentchannels.Allothertransmittersare
displayedasgreylines.
IfyouclearedtheAdjacentchannelscheckbox,transmittersusingthesamechannelaredisplayedinred;allothers,
includingtransmitterswithadjacentchannels,aredisplayedasgreylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetDisplaybuttonintheSearchToolwindow.

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SearchingforaCombinationofTRXandSubcellParameters
YoucanuseFindonMaptosearchforacombinationofTRXandsubcellparameters:achannel,BSICorNCCBCC,aswellas
HSNandMAIO.
TofindaBSICBCCHpairusingFindonMap:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"BSICBCCHPair."
3. Selecttheparametersonwhichyouwanttosearch:

BCCHchannel:EnteraBCCHchannelnumber.IfyoudonotenteraBCCHchannelnumber,Atollwillsearchall
specifiedchannelsaccordingtotheotherparameters.

BSICorNCCBCC:EntereitheraBSICoravaluefortheNCCandfortheBCC.

4. ClickSearch.
Transmittersthatmatchthedefinedsearchparametersaredisplayedinred.Allothertransmittersaredisplayedas
greylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetDisplaybuttonintheSearchToolwindow.
TofindacombinationofTCHchannelandHSNorMAIOusingFindonMap:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"ChannelHSN/MAIOPair."
3. SelecttheChannel/BSIC/HSN/MAIOtab.
4. FromtheChannellist,selectthechannelnumber.
5. Selecttheparametersonwhichyouwanttosearch:

HSN:IfyouwanttosearchforachannelnumberandanHSN,selectHSNandselectanHSNnumber.
MAIO:IfyouwanttosearchforachannelnumberandaMAIO,selectMAIOandselectaMAIOnumber.

6. ClickSearch.
Transmittersthatmatchthedefinedsearchparametersaredisplayedinred.Allothertransmittersaredisplayedas
greylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetDisplaybuttonintheSearchToolwindow.

6.6.9.2 DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings
Youcanusethedisplaycharacteristicsoftransmitterstodisplayfrequencyallocationrelatedinformationonthemap.
Todisplayfrequencyallocationrelatedinformationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Youcandisplaythefollowinginformationpertransmitter:

BCCH:TodisplaytheBCCHofatransmitter,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"BCCH"astheField.
BSIC:TodisplaytheBSICofatransmitter,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"BSIC"astheField.

Youcandisplaythefollowinginformationinthetransmitterlabelortiptext:

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BCCH:TodisplaytheBCCHofatransmitterssubcells,select"BCCH"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinition
dialogbox.
BSIC:TodisplaytheBSICofatransmitter,select"BSIC"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
Channels:Todisplaythechannelsallocatedtoatransmitter,select"Channels"fromtheLabelorTipTextField
Definitiondialogbox.
HSN:TodisplaytheHSNallocatedtoatransmitterssubcells,select"HSN"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefi
nitiondialogbox.
MAIO:TodisplaytheMAIOallocatedtoatransmitterssubcells,select"MAIO"fromtheLabelorTipTextField
Definitiondialogbox.
Celltype:Todisplaythecelltypeallocatedtoatransmitter,select"Celltype"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDef
initiondialogbox.
RequiredTRXsperTransmitterorSubcell:TodisplaythenumberofrequiredTRXspertransmitterorpersubcell,
select"RequiredTRXs"or"Subcell:RequiredTRXs,"respectively,fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialog
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NumberofTRXsAssigned:TodisplaythenumberofTRXsassignedtoatransmitter,select"NumberofTRXs"from
theLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
FrequencyBand:Todisplaythefrequencybandassignedtoatransmitter,select"FrequencyBand"fromtheLabel
orTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
GPRS/EDGE:TodisplaywhichtransmittersareGPRS/EDGEcapable,select"GPRS/EDGE"fromtheLabelorTip
TextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
Coding Scheme Configuration: To display the coding scheme configuration assigned to a transmitter, select
"CodingSchemeConfiguration"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
CodecConfiguration:Todisplaythecodecconfigurationassignedtoatransmitter,select"CodecConfiguration"
fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
Becauselabelsarealwaysdisplayed,youshouldavoiddisplayingtoomuchinformationat
thesametime.

5. ClickOK.
Forinformationondisplayoptions,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

6.6.9.3 GroupingTransmittersbyFrequencies
YoucangrouptransmittersintheNetworkexplorerbytheirchannellistorbytheirfrequencyband,orbyboth.
Togrouptransmittersbychannelsorbyfrequencyband:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltab,clickGroupBy.TheGroupdialogboxappears.
5. UnderAvailableFields,selecttheparameteryouwanttogrouptransmittersby:

Frequencyband
Channels

6. Click
toaddtheparametertotheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlist.Theselectedparameterisaddedtothelist
ofparametersonwhichthetransmitterswillbegrouped.
7. Ifyoudonotwantthetransmitterstobesortedbyacertainparameter,selectitintheGroupthesefieldsinthisorder
listandclick
grouped.

.Theselectedparameterisremovedfromthelistofparametersonwhichthetransmitterswillbe

8. ArrangetheparametersintheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlistintheorderinwhichyouwantthetransmittersto
begrouped:
a. Selectaparameterandclick tomoveituptothedesiredposition.
b. Selectaparameterandclick tomoveitdowntothedesiredposition.
9. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheGroupdialogbox.

6.6.9.4 DisplayingtheChannelAllocationHistogram
Atollhasafrequencydistributionanalysistool.Youcanopenthefrequencydistributionanalysistoolbyrightclickingthe
Transmitters folder in the Network explorer and then selecting Frequency Plan> Channel Distribution from the context
menu.Thefrequencydistributionanalysistoolgivesyouathreecolumntablewith:

Thechannelnumber
Theload(i.e.,thenumberofoccurencesweightedbythefractionalload)
Thenumberoftimesthatchannelisused.

The load is the same as the number of TRXs if synthesised hopping is not used. When synthesised hopping is used, the
frequencyloadisthesumof1/(MALlength)ofalltheTRXsusingthisfrequency.
ThescopeofthistoolisthesameasthescopeoftheAFP.FormoreinformationontheAFPscope,see"TheScopeoftheAFP
andtheScopeoftheInterferenceMatrix"onpage376.
ThefrequencyloaddistributioncanbedisplayedasahistogrambyclickingtheHistogrambutton.Thehistogramissimilarto
theoneontheHistogramtabintheAFPProgressdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"TheHistogramTab"onpage390.

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TheRelationshipBetweenUniformDistributionandQuality
Youshouldbeawarethatuniformdistributionisnotalwayssynonymouswithquality.Whileitisclearthatinsomecasesthe
frequencyusagedistributioncanbeaqualityindicator,itisnotalwaysthecase.ForthisreasontheAtollAFPdoesnothave
acostdedicatedtononuniformityofspectraluse.ThereforeAtollAFPcancreatenonuniformfrequencydistributions.

Whenthefrequencyassignmentproblem(FAP)iseasy,theAFPreachesa0costsolutionandstopsimmediately.Ifit
wasinstructedtousetheminimumspectrumpossible,theAFPwillusethesmallerARFCNsmorethanthelargerones
(andwillleavethelargestARFCNsuntouched,forfutureuse).Otherwise,theAFPwilltrytospreadspectrumuse.By
defaultthisdirectiveisfreeforAFPtuning.
Inmanycases,alargevolumeofallocationconstraintsexistsforadjacentchannelreuse.Thetwoendchannels,(the
biggestandthesmallestinthedomain),havefewerconstraints,becausetheyhaveonlyoneadjacentchannelinuse,
andarethereforeheavilyused.Theadjacentchannels(thesecondinthedomain,andtheonebeforethebiggestin
thedomain)areusedlessoftenthantheothersbecausetheyeachhaveaheavilyusedadjacentchannel.Becausethe
thirddomainfrequencyisadjacenttoaseldomusedchannel,itwillbeusedmoreoftenthanusual.Inthecaseofa
continuousdomain,whichissmall,andwhosesizeisimpair,thiseffectwillresonatestronglyandwillprovideasig
nificantreductioninusageofthesecond,fourth,sixth,etc.,frequenciesofthedomain.

Afteryouhavemanuallyorautomaticallyallocatedfrequencies,youcanviewchannelallocationintheformofatableora
histogram.Foreachchannelused,Atolldisplaysboththechannelload(i.e.,thenumberoftimesthechannelisused,weighted
bythefractionalload)andthetotalnumberoftimesthechannelisused.Theinformationinthetablecaneitherbecopiedor
exportedforuseinanotherapplication.
Todisplaythechannelallocationtableorhistogram:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFrequencyPlan>ChannelDistribution.TheChannelUseStatisticstableappears.
4. Youcandothefollowing:

Export:ClicktheExportbuttontoopentheExportdialogboxandexporttheChannelUseStatisticstablecontents
asaTXT,CSV,orXLSfile.ForinformationonusingtheExportdialogbox,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesand
Spreadsheets"onpage85.
Histogram:ClicktheHistogrambuttontodisplaytheDistributionHistogramdialogbox.Thehistogramrepresents
thechannelsasafunctionofthefrequencyoftheiruse.Youcanmovethepointeroverthehistogramtodisplay
thefrequencyofuseofeachchannel.TheresultsarehighlightedsimultaneouslyintheZoomonselectedvalues
list.YoucanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddraggingintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominon
theselectedvalues.
IntheDistributionHistogramdialogbox,youhavethefollowingoptions:

Copy:ClicktheCopybuttontocopythehistogramtotheclipboard.Youcanpastethehistogramasagraphic
intoanotherapplication,forexample,awordprocessor.
Print:ClickthePrintbuttontoprintthehistogram.

6.6.10 CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsofaGSM/GPRS/
EDGENetwork
Atollallowstheusertocalculateandanalysekeyperformanceindicators(KPI),suchasthereductionfactor,theblocking
probability,andthedelay,thatarecurrentlydefinedforthenetwork.Thisallowsyoutoverifyhowwellthenetworksatisfies
basicperformancecriteria.
Tocalculatekeyperformanceindicators:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectTraffic>DimensioningandKPICalculationfromthecontextmenu.TheDimensioning/KPIsdialogboxappears
(seeFigure6.116).

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Figure6.116:TheDimensioning/KPIdialogbox
4. UnderDimensioningParameters,selectthedimensioningmodelthatwillbeusedfortheKPIcalculationfromthe
Modellist.YoucanaccesstheparametersoftheselecteddimensioningmodelbyclickingtheBrowsebutton.
5. UnderTraffic(CircuitandPacketDemand),selectwhethertheKPIcalculationwillbebasedonthetrafficdemandcal
culatedinthedefaulttrafficcaptureorthecurrentvalues(circuitandpacketdemands)intheSubcellstable.

IfyouselectFromsubcelltable,definethefollowingadditionalparameters:

SpecifytheMinimumthroughputreductionfactorthatcanbeacceptedinthenetwork.Whenrunningatraf
ficcapture,thisparameterisevaluated(butnotdisplayed)duringthecalculation.Theminimumthroughput
reductionfactormodelsthefactthat,attheuserlevel,theuserthroughputcanbereducedbecauseofhow
muchitwillbemultiplexedwithotherusers.Inotherwords,thisparameterwillbeaffectedbythetrafficload
whichisaconsequenceofdimensioning.
UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentages
mustequal100.
UnderCircuitServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofcircuitserviceusedinthemap.Thetotal
percentagesmustequal100.
UnderPacketServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofpacketserviceusedinthemap(assumingthe
packetismadeofmaximumbitrateandconstantbitratepacketservices).Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.

6. ClickCalculatetocalculatetheKPIcalculation.
TheoutputofthecalculationappearsintheKPICalculationdialogboxunderResults.Youcanselectwhichcolumns
todisplaybyclickingtheDisplayedColumnsbuttonandselectingorclearingthecheckboxofthecolumns.Thefollow
ingresultsaregivenforeachtransmitterintheTransmittercolumn:

TRXType:Foreachtransmitter,theresultsaregivenbyTRXtype(e.g.,BCCH,TCH,TCH_EGPRSandTCH_INNER).
Together,theTransmitterandTRXTypecolumnsidentifythesubcell.

NumberofTRXs:ThenumberofTRXsassignedforboththesubcell'scircuitswitchedandpacketswitchedtraffic,
whiletakingintoaccountthequalityofservicecriterionassignedforeach.

Load(%):Theaveragedemandintimeslots(packetandcircuit),dividedbythetotalnumberoftimeslotsavailable.
ItrepresentstheaverageoccupancyoftheTRXs.Thisparameterisoneoftheprincipalresultsofdimensioning
alongwiththenumberofTRXs.Inaddition,thisparametermighthavebeenupdatedbyanAFPmodelwhichis
capableofoptimising(i.e.,reduceorincrease)thenumberofrequiredTRXs.Thisresultsinthesubcellloadbeing
modified.

MultiplexingFactor:TheuserorTemporaryBlockFlow(TBF)multiplexingfactor.Themultiplexingfactorcorre
spondstothenumberoftimeslotsperframe.

MaximumNumberofTRXsperTransmitter:ThemaximumnumberofTRXsthatatransmittercansupportisan
inputoftheKPIcalculation.Thisparameterisprovidedbytheequipmentmanufacturer.Thevaluecanbesetfor
eachtransmitterortakenfromthedimensioningmodelfortransmitterswherethisvalueisnotset.

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TargetRateofTrafficOverflow(%):Thisinputparameterdefinesthepercentageoftrafficthatisallowedtoover
flowfromonesubcelltoanotherincasethetrafficassignedtothissubcellisgreaterthanthemaximumtraffic
thatitcanaccommodate.Itcanbeconsideredananticipationofthepercentageoftrafficthatwillberejected
fromhigherprioritysubcellsorlayerstolowerones.Thevalueisspecifiedforeachsubcell.

HalfrateTrafficRatio(%):Thisinputparameterisdefinedpersubcellandindicatesthepercentageofsubcell
trafficthatuseshalfrateaccess.
IfthevaluesaredifferentforBCCHandTCHsubcells,Atollwillusethevaluesforthetargetrateoftrafficoverflow
andthehalfratetrafficratiofromtheBCCHsubcell.

Packetdemand(Kbps):ThePacketTrafficDemandisthetotaltrafficdemandinkilobitspersecondgeneratedby
packetswitchedserviceuserswithinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.

Packet average demand (timeslots): The number of timeslots needed to satisfy the packet traffic demand
dependsonthemaximumthroughputthatapackettimeslotcansupport.

Average Number of Timeslots per Connection (Packet): This input parameter defines the average number of
timeslots used by packetswitchedtraffic users while accessing services. Packetswitched services allow up to
eight timeslots per connection. The average number of timeslots per connection corresponds to the average
numberofdownlinktimeslots(multipliedbythenumberofsimultaneouscarriersinEDGEEvolution,ifany)over
whichasinglemobileterminalcancommunicateatonetime.

CircuitDemand(Erlangs):TheCircuitTrafficDemandisthetotaltrafficdemandinErlangsgeneratedbycircuit
switchedserviceuserswithinthecoverageareaofthetransmitter.
For concentric cell types, the traffic demand on TCH subcells is different from the one
calculatedduringthetrafficcapture.Forconcentriccelltypes,thetrafficdemandonTCH
subcellsiscalculatedfromthetrafficdemandofthecaptureandtheeffectiverateoftraffic
overflow.

Circuitaveragedemand(timeslots):TheAverageDemandinCircuitTimeslotsiscalculatedtakingintoaccount
theeffectofhalfratecircuitswitchedtraffic:twohalfrateusersareequivalenttoonefullrateuser.

AverageNumberofTimeslotsperConnection(Circuit):TheAverageNumberofTimeslotsperConnection(Cir
cuit)isaninputparameter.Thenumberoftimeslotsperconnectionis"1"forfullratetraffic,otherwiseitdepends
onthehalfratetrafficratio.
Atpresent,Atollonlymodelscircuitcallsusing1timeslotperconnection;thisparameterisforforwardcompati
bility.

ServedCircuitTraffic(Erlangs):TheServedCircuitTrafficisthecircuitswitchedtrafficinErlangsthatthesubcell
canserve.
Theservedcircuitswitchedtrafficiscircuittrafficdemandlesstheeffectiveoverflowedcircuittraffic.

ServedPacketTraffic(Kbps):TheServedPacketTrafficisthepacketswitchedtrafficinkilobitspersecondthat
thesubcellcanserve.

Theservedpacketswitchedtrafficispackettrafficdemandlesstheeffectiveoverflowedpackettraffic.

EffectiveRateofTrafficOverflow(%):TheEffectiveRateofTrafficOverflowistheactualrateoftrafficthatis
rejectedbythesubcellandoverflowsbecauseofalackofpackettimeslots.InaGSMnetwork,thevalueisthe
sameastheblockingprobability.Inamorecomplexnetwork,thisvalueincludesthetrafficoverflowfromallser
vices.
IncaseofErlangB,theeffectiverateoftrafficoverflowcorrespondstotheeffectiveblockingrate.Thisvalueis
calculatedfromtherequirednumberofcircuittimeslots(bothsharedandcircuittimeslots)andthecircuittraffic
demandinErlangBtables.
IncaseofErlangC,theeffectiverateoftrafficoverflowiszeroexceptifthemaximumnumberofTRXsisexceeded.
Theeffectiveblockingrateisinferredfromtherequirednumberofcircuittimeslots(bothsharedandcircuittimes
lots)andthecircuittrafficdemandinErlangCtables.

472

ProbabilityofCircuitBlockingRate(orDelay)(%):TheCircuitBlockingRateisthegradeofservice(GoS)indicator
forcircuitswitchedtraffic.Itcanbeeithertherateatwhichcallsareblocked(ErlangB)ordelayed(ErlangC),
dependingonwhichqueuingmodelthedimensioningmodeluses.

Minimum Throughput Reduction Factor (%): The Minimum Throughput Reduction Factor is the lowest
throughput reduction factor that can still guarantee service availability. The Minimum Throughput Reduction
Factorisoneofthecriteriaforpacketswitchedtrafficdimensioning.Itiscalculatedusingtheparametersdefined
for the services: the minimum service throughput; the maximum number of timeslots per connection; the
requiredavailability;andtheperpixeltimeslotcapacityofthesubcellcoveragearea.Thisparameteriscalculated
whenmakingthetrafficcaptureorisuserdefineddependingonthesourceoftrafficdemandonwhichtheKPI
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ThroughputReductionFactor(%):TheThroughputReductionFactoriscalculatedfromthequalitychartsusing
thepacketloadandavailableconnectionsforeachsubcell.Thisreductionfactormustbegreaterthanthemin
imumthroughputreductionfactorforpacketswitchedservicesfortheseservicestobesatisfactorilyavailablein
thesubcell.

Maximum Packet Delay (s): The Maximum Packet Delay is the defined delay in seconds that must not be
exceededfortheservicequalitytobeconsideredsatisfactory.

PacketDelay(s):TheDelayisakeyperformanceindicator(KPI)calculatedusingthequalitygraphs,theload,and
thenumberofconnectionsavailable.Thisdimensioningoutputmustnotexceedthemaximumdelaydefinedfor
theserviceforserviceavailabilitytobeconsideredsatisfactory.

MaximumProbabilityofPacketDelay(%):TheMaximumProbabilityofPacketDelayisdefinedforeachpacket
serviceandisthehighestprobabilitythattheservicewillbeblockedthatisacceptableintermsofserviceavaila
bility.

ProbabilityofPacketDelay(Delay)(%):TheProbabilityofPacketDelayisadimensioningoutputandmustnot
exceedtheMaximumProbabilityofPacketDelaydefinedfortheserviceforserviceavailabilitytobeconsidered
satisfactory.

7. ClickCommittoassigntheloadandtheeffectiverateoftrafficoverflowtothesubcells.
KPIcalculationisbasedonatrafficcapture.Modificationstotrafficmaps,trafficparame
ters,andtransmitterproperties(e.g.,calculationarea,codingschemeconfiguration,etc.)
haveaninfluenceonthetrafficcapture.Therefore,ifyoumodifysomeofthesedata,you
mustrecalculatethetrafficcapturebeforecalculatingKPIs.

6.7 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigningGSMnetworkstoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimal
networksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.AtollACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistofcandidate
sitesortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanalsobeusedincoplanningprojectswherenetworksusing
differentradioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandtransmissionpower.AtollACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitial
planningstageofaGSMnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.Atoll
ACPnotonlytakestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.
AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.
AtollACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyou
havedefinedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithm
totestmanynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.AtollACPpresentsthe
changesorderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetof
thesuggestedchanges.
AtollACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecifictoGSMnetworksareexplained:

"GSMOptimisationObjectives"onpage473
"GSMQualityParameters"onpage474
"GSMQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage475.

6.7.1 GSMOptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetworkreconfiguration.Theobjec
tivesdependonthetechnologyusedbytheprojectandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsinAtoll.
Atoll.InprojectsusingGSM,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingobjectivesareproposed:

GSMCoverage
GSMCellDominance

YoucanalsocreatethefollowingobjectivesfromthecontextmenuofObjectivesinthelefthandpaneoftheObjectivestab:

GSMCINRCochannel
GSM1stNthDifference
CustomCoverage

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YoudefinetheoptimisationobjectivesusingtheObjectivestaboftheACPSetupdialogbox.Forinformationonsettingobjec
tiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.

6.7.2 GSMQualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplay
optionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswill
beusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.
InprojectsusingGSM,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingQualityparametersareproposedin
thePixelRulesframeoftheobjectivespropertiespages:

BCCHSignalLevel
Overlap
BestServerDistance
CINRCochannel
1st2ndDifference
1stNthDifference

TodefinethequalityparametersforGSM:
1. OpentheSetupPropertiesdialogboxtodefinetheoptimisationasexplainedin"CreatinganOptimisationSetup"on
page1767.
2. ClicktheObjectivestab.
3. UnderParameters,expandtheGSMfolder.
Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfiguration.Ifyou
basethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcoloursdefined
intheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfile
forACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverage
prediction.ForinformationonsettingACPpredictiondisplayoptionsasthedefault,see"ChangingtheDisplayProp
erties of ACP Predictions" on page1824. For information on saving a configuration file, see "Configuring Default
Settings"onpage1765.
4. ClickonCINRCochanneltodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyC/Ilevel.
SelectwhattheobjectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatecoveragebyC/Ilevelusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.

5. ClickonBCCHSignalLeveltodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebysignallevel.
SelectwhattheobjectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebysignallevelusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.

6. ClickonOverlap/1stNthtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverageandcov
erageby1stNthdifference.
Overlappingcoverage:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverage,selectwhattheobjectiveevaluation
willbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluateoverlappingcoverageusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoveragepredic
tion.OnlycoveragepredictionsdisplayingaNumberofServersperpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
ManualConfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,settheMinimumsignallevelto"SubcellCThreshold"(recep
tionthresholddefinedpersubcell)or"GlobalCThreshold"andspecifytheOverlapthresholdmargintobe
usedforallsubcells.

Coverageby1stNthdifference:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluatecoverageby1stNthdifference,selectwhatthe
objectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

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CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluatecoverageby1stNthdifferencebasedontheparametersusedtocalculatetheselectedprediction.
OnlyAtollpredictionsdisplayinga"NumberofServers"perpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
SincethereisnocoveragepredictiontypeinAtollequivalenttoACPsGSM1stNthDifferenceobjective,the
parametersrecoveredbyACPfromtheselectedAtollpredictionarelimitedtotheminimumsignalleveland
thepredictionshading.ThenumberofserversmustalwaysbespecifiedmanuallynexttoNo.servers.

ManualConfiguration: Ifyou selectthisoption, settheMinimum signallevelto"SubcellCThreshold"or

"GlobalCThreshold"andspecifytheNo.serversthresholdmargintobeusedforallsubcells.

Inbothcases,thevalueyouspecifynexttoNo.serversdetermines"Nth"intheGSM1stNthDifferenceobjective.
ForinstanceifyousetNo.serversto4,thenthe"1st4thDifference"qualityparameterwillbeautomaticallyse
lectedbydefaultintheQualitycolumnoftheGSM1stNthDifferencepropertiespage.

AllowedvaluesforNo.serversrangefrom3to100,withonlyonevalueavailablepertechnology.
The"1st2ndDifference"qualityparameter(basedonNo.servers=2)isprovidedbydefault.

6.7.3 GSMQualityAnalysisPredictions
ThequalityanalysispredictionsenableyoutodisplaytheBCCHqualityandoverlappingcoveragepredictionsintheAtollmap
window.ThesepredictionsarethesameasthosedisplayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.
ThequalityanalysispredictionscreatedinACPareequivalenttothosecreatedbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions.The
correspondencetablebelowshowstheACPpredictionsandtheirequivalentsinAtoll.

QualityAnalysisPredictioninACP

EquivalentPredictioninAtoll
FieldsettingforDisplayType="ValueIntervals"

BCCHSignalLevel

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)(1)
"BestSignalLevel(dBm)"

Overlap

OverlappingZones(DL)(2)
"NumberofServers"

CINRCochannel

CoveragebyC/ILevel(DL)(3)
"C/ILevel(dB)"

(1)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyDLSignalLevel"onpage274.
(2)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage284.
(3)BCCHCoChannelinterferencemode.See"MakingDLQualityPredic

onsBasedonCIorC(I+N)"onpage436.

Making these predictions available within ACP enables you to quickly validate the optimisation results without having to
committheresultsandthencalculateacoveragepredictioninAtoll.TheACPpredictionsdisplayresultsverysimilartothose
thatAtollwoulddisplayifyoucommittedtheoptimisationresultsandcalculatedAtollcoveragepredictions,however,before
basinganydecisiontocommittheoptimisationresultsonthepredictionsproducedbyACP,youshouldkeepthefollowing
recommendationsinmind:

YoushouldverifytheresultswithadifferentAtollcoverageprediction,suchastheinterferedzonesprediction.
ACPgeneratedpredictionsaregeneratedusingtheentiresetofproposedchanges.Theydonottakeintoaccountthe
changesubsetdefinedontheChangeDetailstab.
Thepredictionsareonlyprovidedfortheusedorrequestedcarrier(GSM900,GSM1800,etc.)separately.
Evenaftercommittingtheoptimisationresults,smalldifferencescanappearbetweentheACPpredictionsandthe
predictionsresultingfromAtollcoveragepredictions.

YoucanviewtheexactBCCHvalueonanypixelbylettingthepointerrestoverthepixel.TheBCCHvalueisthendisplayedin
tiptext.
ForACPOverlappingZonespredictions,youcanspecifythebestserverthreshold:

byenteringavaluenexttoMinimumSignalLevelintheOverlap/1stNthpropertiespage.
orbysettingthe"param.gsm.overlap.minRxLevel"parameterwiththesamevalueintheACP.inifile.

Fortheoverlappingzonesprediction,youcansetthebestserverthresholdontheObjectivestabofthesetupProperties
dialogbox,intheParameterssectionunderGSM>Overlap/1stNth(see"ConfiguringDefaultSettings"onpage1765),or
bysettingthe"CellOverlap"parameterintheACP.inifile.
Foreachnetworkqualitycoverageprediction,ACPoffersapredictionshowingtheinitialnetworkstate,thefinalnetwork
state,andapredictionshowingthechangesbetweentheinitialandfinalstate.

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6.8 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
AnimportantstepintheprocessofcreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkisverifyingthecapacityofthenetwork.Thisisdone
usingmeasurementsofthestrengthofthepilotsignalindifferentlocationswithintheareacoveredbythenetwork.This
collectionofmeasurementsiscalledadrivetestdatapath.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage476
"DisplayingDriveTestData"onpage478
"DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath"onpage479
"NetworkVerification"onpage479
"ExportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage487
"ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData"onpage487
"PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow"onpage488.

6.8.1 ImportingaDriveTestDataPath
InAtoll,youcananalysedrivetestsbyimportingdrivetestdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(withtabs,commas,semicolons,
orspacesasseparator),TEMSFICSPlanetexportfiles(withtheextensionPLN),orTEMStextexportfiles(withtheextension
FMT).
ForAtolltobeabletousethedatainimportedfiles,theimportedfilesmustcontainthefollowinginformation:

Thepositionofdrivetestdatapoints.Whenyouimportthedata,youmustindicatewhichcolumnsgivetheabscissa
andordinate(XYcoordinates)ofeachpoint.
Informationidentifyingscannedcells(forexample,servingsubcells,neighboursubcells,oranyothersubcells).Trans
mittersmaybeidentifiedbytheirIDsortheirBCCHandBSIC.

Youcanimportasingledrivetestdatafileorseveraldrivetestdatafilesatthesametime.Ifyouregularlyimportdrivetest
datafilesofthesameformat,youcancreateanimportconfiguration.Theimportconfigurationcontainsinformationthat
definesthestructureofthedatainthedrivetestdatafile.Byusingtheimportconfiguration,youwillnotneedtodefinethe
datastructureeachtimeyouimportanewdrivetestdatafile.
Toimportoneorseveraldrivetestdatafiles:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. Youcanimportoneorseveralfiles.Selectthefileorfilesyouwanttoopen.
Ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile,youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirst
fileyouwanttoimport,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.You
canselectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfileyouwanttoimport.
5. ClickOpen.TheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogboxappears.
FileswiththeextensionPLN,aswellassomeFMTfiles(createdwithpreviousversionsof
TEMS)areimporteddirectlyintoAtoll;youwillnotbeaskedtodefinethedatastructure
usingtheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.
6. Ifyoualreadyhaveanimportconfigurationdefiningthedatastructureoftheimportedfileorfiles,youcanselectit
fromtheImportconfigurationlistontheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.Ifyoudonothave
animportconfiguration,continuewithstep7.
a. UnderImportconfiguration,selectanimportconfigurationfromtheImportconfigurationlist.
b. Continuewithstep10.

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Whenimportingadrivetestdatapathfile,existingconfigurationsareavailablein
theFilesoftypelistoftheOpendialogbox,sortedaccordingtotheirdateofcre
ation.AfteryouhaveselectedafileandclickedOpen,Atollautomaticallyproposes
aconfiguration,ifitrecognisestheextension.Ifseveralconfigurationsareassoci
atedwithanextension,Atollchoosesthefirstconfigurationinthelist.
Thedefinedconfigurationsarestored,bydefault,inthefile"NumMeasINIFile.ini",
locatedinthedirectorywhereAtollisinstalled.FormoreinformationontheNum
MeasINIFile.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthenewdrivetestdatapathaftertheimportedfile.Youcanchangethisnameif
desired.
UnderReceiver,settheHeightofthereceiverantennaandtheGainandLosses.
UnderMeasurementConditions,

Units:Selectthemeasurementunitsused.
Coordinates:Bydefault,AtollimportsthecoordinatesusingthedisplaysystemoftheAtolldocument.Ifthe
coordinatesusedinthefileyouareimportingaredifferentthanthecoordinatesusedintheAtolldocument,
youmustclicktheBrowsebuttonandselectthecoordinatesystemusedinthedrivetestdatafile.Atollwill
thenconvertthedataimportedtothecoordinatesystemusedintheAtolldocument.

8. ClicktheSetuptab(seeFigure6.117).

Figure6.117:TheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox
a. UnderFile,enterthenumberofthe1stMeasurementRow,selectthedataSeparator,andselecttheDecimal
Symbolusedinthefile.
b. ClicktheSetupbuttontolinkfilecolumnsandinternalAtollfields.TheDriveTestDataSetupdialogboxappears.
c. UnderMeasurementpointposition,selectthecolumnsintheimportedfilethatgivetheXCoordinatesandthe
YCoordinatesofeachpointinthedrivetestdatafile.
YoucanalsoidentifythecolumnscontainingtheXYcoordinatesofeachpointinthedrive
testdatafilebyselectingthemfromtheFieldrowofthetableontheSetuptab.

d. IfyouareimportingdrivetestdatabyIDastransmitteridentifiers:

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UnderServeridentification,selectByID

ii. IntheByIDidentifierbox,enterastringfoundinthecolumnnamethatidentifiesthecellIdsofscannedtrans
mitters.Forexample,ifthestring"Cell_ID"isfoundinthecolumnnamesthatidentifytheCell_IDofscanned
transmitters,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforthecolumnwiththisstringinthecolumnname.
e. IfyouareimportingdatausingBSICandBCCHastransmitteridentifiers:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByBSIC/BCCH.

ii. IntheBSICidentifierbox,enterastringthatisfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingtheBSICsofthescanned
subcells.Forexample,ifthestring"BSIC"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingtheBSICofthescanned
subcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforcolumnswiththisstringinthecolumnname.
iii. In the BCCH identifier box, enter a string that is found in the column names identifying the BCCH of the
scannedsubcells.Forexample,ifthestring"BCCH"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingtheBCCHof
scannedsubcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforcolumnswiththisstringinthecolumnname.
IfthereisnoBCCHinformationcontainedinthedrivetestdatafile,leavetheBCCHidentifierboxempty.
iv. IntheBSICformatlist,selectthescramblingcodeformat,"Decimal"or"Octal."
f. ClickOKtoclosetheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox.

IfyouhavecorrectlyenteredtheinformationunderFileontheSetuptab,andthe
necessaryvaluesintheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox,Atollshouldrecogniseall
columnsintheimportedfile.Ifnot,youcanclickthenameofthecolumninthe
tableintheFieldrowandselectthecolumnname.Foreachfield,youmustensure
thateachcolumnhasthecorrectdatatypeinorderforthedatatobecorrectly
interpreted.ThedefaultvalueunderTypeis"<Ignore>".Ifacolumnismarkedwith
"<Ignore>",itwillnotbeimported.
ThedatainthefilemustbestructuredsothatthecolumnsidentifyingtheBCCH
andtheBSICareplacedbeforethedatacolumnsforeachsubcell.OtherwiseAtoll
willnotbeabletoproperlyimportthefile.

9. Ifyouwanttosavethedefinitionofthedatastructuresothatyoucanuseitagain,youcansaveitasanimportcon
figuration:
a. OntheSetuptab,underImportconfiguration,clickSave.TheConfigurationdialogboxappears.
b. Bydefault,Atollsavestheconfigurationinafilecalled"NumMeasINIfile.ini"foundinAtollsinstallationfolder.If
youcannotwriteintothatfolder,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontochooseadifferentlocation.
c. EnteraConfigurationnameandanExtensionofthefilesthatthisimportconfigurationwilldescribe(forexample,
"*.csv").
d. ClickOK.
Atollwillnowselectthisimportconfigurationautomaticallyeverytimeyouimportadrivetestdatapathfilewith
theselectedextension.Ifyouimportafilewiththesamestructurebutadifferentextension,youwillbeableto
selectthisimportconfigurationfromtheImportconfigurationlist.

Youdonothavetocompletetheimportproceduretosavetheimportconfigura
tionandhaveitavailableforfutureuse.
WhenimportingaCWmeasurementfile,youcanexpandtheNumMeasINIfile.ini
filebyclickingtheExpandbutton( )infrontofthefileunderImportconfigura
tiontodisplayalltheavailableimportconfigurations.Whenselectingtheappro
priateconfiguration,theassociationsareautomaticallymadeinthetableatthe
bottomofthedialogbox.
Youcandeleteanexistingimportconfigurationbyselectingtheimportconfigura
tionunderImportconfigurationandclickingtheDeletebutton.

10. ClickImport,ifyouareonlyimportingasinglefile,orImportAll,ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile.Themobile
dataisimportedintothecurrentAtolldocument.

6.8.2 DisplayingDriveTestData
WhenyouhaveimportedthedrivetestdataintothecurrentAtolldocument,youcandisplayitinthemapwindow.Then,
youcanselectindividualdrivetestdatapointstoseeinformationaboutthetransmittersatthatlocation.

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Todisplayinformationaboutasingledrivetestdatapoint:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Selectthedisplaycheckboxbesidethedrivetestdatayouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.Thedrivetestdatais
displayed.
4. Clickandholdthedrivetestdatapointonwhichyouwantserverandneighbourinformation.Atolldisplaysanarrow
pointingtowardstheservingtransmittersandneighbours(seeFigure6.122onpage485),withanumberidentifying
theserverasnumberedinthedrivetestdata.Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumberandthe
arrowaredisplayedinthesamecolourasthetransmitter.Forinformationonchangingthedisplaytypeto"Auto
matic,"see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

6.8.3 DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath
DrivetestdatapathshavethestandardAtolldisplaydialogboxtoallowyoutodefinethedisplayaccordingtoanyavailable
attribute,tomanagepermanentlabelsonthemap,tiptexts,andthelegend.
Toopenthedisplaydialogboxofadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathwhosedisplayyouwanttodefine.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.
5. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Eachsinglepointcanbedisplayedbyauniqueattribute,oraccordingto:

atextorintegerattribute(discretevalue)
anumericalvalue(valueinterval).

Inaddition,alastoptionisavailablewhichpermitstodisplaypointsaccordingtomorethanonecriterionatatime.Byselect
ingAdvancedDisplayfromtheDisplayType,adialogboxopensinwhichyoucandefinethefollowingdisplayforeachsingle
pointofthemeasurementpath:

asymboltypeaccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolcolouraccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolsizeaccordingtoanyattribute

Withsuchsettings,youcan,forexample,displayasignallevelbycolour,chooseasymboltypeforTransmitter1(circle,trian
gle,cross,etc.)andasizeaccordingtothealtitude.

FastDisplayforcesAtolltousethelightestsymboltodisplaypoints.FastDisplay
isusefulwhenyouhaveaverylargeamountofpointswhichwouldrequireagreat
amountofcomputerresourcestodisplay.
UsingAdvancedDisplayonsymbolsispossibleonlyiftheFastDisplaycheckbox
iscleared.
YoucansortdrivetestdatapathsinalphabeticalorderintheNetworkexplorerby
selectingSortAlphabeticallyfromtheDriveTestDatacontextmenu.
Youcansavethedisplaysettings(suchascoloursandsymbols)ofadrivetestdata
pathinauserconfigurationfiletomakethemavailableforuseonanotherdrive
testdatapath.Tosaveorloadtheuserconfigurationfile,clicktheActionsbutton
ontheDisplaytabofthepathpropertiesdialogboxandselectSaveorLoadfrom
theDisplayConfigurationsubmenu.

6.8.4 NetworkVerification
TheimporteddrivetestdataisusedtoverifytheGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.Toimprovetherelevanceofthedata,Atollallows
youtofilteroutincompatibleorinaccuratepoints.Youcanthenusethedataforcoveragepredictions,eitherbycomparing
theimportedmeasurementswithpreviouslycalculatedcoveragepredictions,orbycreatingnewcoveragepredictionsusing
theimporteddrivetestdata.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths"onpage480
"PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints"onpage481
"CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths"onpage482
"DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath"onpage484

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"ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter"onpage485
"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage485.

6.8.4.1 FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths
Whenusingadrivetestdatapath,somemeasuredpointsmightpresentvaluesthataretoofaroutsideofthemedianvalues
tobeusefulincalibration.Aswell,testpathsmightincludetestpointsinareasthatarenotrepresentativeofthedrivetest
datapathasawhole.Forexample,atestpaththatincludestwoheavilypopulatedareasmightalsoincludetestpointsfrom
themorelightlypopulatedregionbetweenthetwo.
InAtoll,youcanfilteroutpointsthatareincompatiblewiththepointsyouarestudying,eitherbyfilteringouttheclutter
classeswheretheincompatiblepointsarelocated,orbyfilteringoutpointsaccordingtotheirproperties.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsbyclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

AllDriveTestDatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
OnlyoneDriveTestDatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontext
menuappears.

3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementFilterdialogboxappears.
4. InthePerClutterwindow,underFilter,clearthecheckboxesoftheclutterclassesyouwanttofilterout.Onlythe
clutterclasseswhosecheckboxisselectedwillbetakenintoaccount.
5. Ifyouwanttokeepthemeasurementpointsthatareinsidethefocuszone,selecttheUsefocuszonetofiltercheck
box.
6. Ifyouwanttopermanentlyremovethemeasurementpointsoutsidethefilter,selecttheDeletePointsOutsideFilter
checkbox.
Ifyoupermanentlydeletemeasurementpointsandlaterwanttousethem,youwillhavetoreimporttheoriginalmeasure
mentdata.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsusingafilter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

AllDriveTestDatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
OnlyoneDriveTestDatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontext
menuappears.

3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementFilterdialogboxappears.
4. ClickMore.TheFilterdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheFiltertab:
6. SelectaFieldfromthelist.
7. UnderValuestoInclude,youwillfindallthevaluesrepresentedintheselectedfield.Selectthecheckboxesnextto
thevaluesyouwanttoincludeinthefilter.ClickClearAlltoclearallcheckboxes.
8. ClicktheAdvancedtab:
9. IntheColumnrow,selectthenameofthecolumntobefilteredonfromthelist.Selectasmanycolumnsasyouwant
(seeFigure6.118).

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Figure6.118:TheFilterdialogboxAdvancedtab
i.

Underneatheachcolumnname,enterthecriteriaonwhichthecolumnwillbefilteredasexplainedinthefol
lowingtable:
Formula

Dataiskeptinthetableonlyif

=X

valueequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<>X

valuenotequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<X

numericalvalueislessthanX

>X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanX

<=X

numericalvalueislessthanorequaltoX

>=X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanorequaltoX

*X*

textobjectswhichcontainX

*X

textobjectsendwithX

X*

textobjectswhichstartwithX

ii. ClickOKtofilterthedataaccordingtothecriteriayouhavedefined.
Combinationsoffiltersarefirstmadehorizontally,thenvertically.Formoreinformationonfilters,see"Ad
vancedDataFiltering"onpage101.
iii. ClickOKtoapplythefilterandclosethedialogbox.
Youcanupdateheights(oftheDTM,andclutterheights)andtheclutterclassofdrivetest
data points after adding new geographic maps or modifying existing ones by selecting
RefreshGeoDatafromthecontextmenuoftheDriveTestDataPathsfolder.

6.8.4.2 PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints
Topredictthesignallevelondrivetestdatapoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttocreatethepointprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderPointpredictions,selectPointSignalLevelandclickOK.ThePointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogboxappears
(seeFigure6.119).

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Figure6.119:PointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogbox
Theerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevelscanbecalculatedandaddedtothedrivetestdatatable.
6. Ifyouwanttocalculateerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,underSelectsignallevelsforerrorcal
culations,selectthenamesofthecolumnsrepresentingmeasuredsignallevelvaluesinthedrivetestdatatablefor
whichyouwanttocalculatetheerrors(seeFigure6.120).Ifyoudonotwanttoaddthisinformationtothedrivetest
datatable,continuewithstep7.

Figure6.120:Selectingmeasuredsignallevelsforwhicherrorswillbecalculated
7. ClickOK.Anewpointpredictioniscreatedfortheselecteddrivetestdatapath.
8. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapath.Thecontextmenuappears.
9. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
IfyouchosetohaveAtollcalculatetheerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,newcolumnsareaddedtothe
drive test data table for the predicted point signal level from the serving cell and the errors between the measured and
predictedvalues.

Figure6.121:DriveTestDataTableafterPointSignalLevelPrediction(withErrorCalculations)
New columns are also added for the predicted point signal level from each neighbour cell and the errors between the
predictedandmeasuredvalues.ThevaluesstoredinthesecolumnscanbedisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.For
moreinformationontheDriveTestDataanalysistool,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage485.
Thepropagationmodelusedtocalculatethepredictedpointsignallevelsistheoneassignedtothetransmitterforthemain
matrix.Formoreinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

6.8.4.3 CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths
Youcancreatethefollowingcoveragepredictionsforalltransmittersoneachpointofadrivetestdatapath:

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CoveragebyC/ILevel(DL)

Tocreateacoveragepredictionalongadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatatowhichyouwanttoaddacoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderStandardPredictions,selectoneofthefollowingcoveragepredictionsandclickOK:

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:
SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.

UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.
IfyouselectShadowingTakenIntoAccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
YoucanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsiderbyselectingitfromtheReceptionfromSubcellslist.

CoveragebyC/I:ClicktheConditionstab.

OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsideredforeachpixel.Youcanclickthedown
arrowbuttonandselectoneofthefollowingthresholds:
SubcellCThreshold:tousethereceptionthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpower
reduction)asthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
GlobalCThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendofthesignallevelrange.
UnderServer,select"HCSservers"totakethebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelintoconsideration,
assumingthissignalleveloneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayer
levelorspecificallyforeachtransmitter.Whenyouselect"BestSignalLevelperHCSLayer"or"All,"there
mightbeareaswhereseveraltransmittersexperienceinterference.Onthesepixels,severalCIvaluesare
calculated.Therefore,ontheDisplaytab,youselecttodisplayeitherthelowestCIlevelorthehighestCI
level(formoreinformation,see"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489).
EnterahandovermarginintheWithaMargintextbox.Thedefaultvalueis"4dB."
IfyouselectShadowingTakenintoAccount,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.Shadowing
margins(dependingontheenteredcelledgecoverageprobabilityandthemodelstandarddeviationperclut
terclass)areappliedtothevaluesforC.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
UnderInterferenceConditions,youcanselectwhichTRXtypetoconsideraspotentialvictimbyselectingit
fromtheInterferedSubcellslist.
Select"CI"or"C(I+N)".Onthesameline,clickthedownarrowbuttonsontheleftandontherightandselect
oneofthefollowingthresholds:
SubcellC/IThreshold:tousetheCIthresholdspecifiedforeachsubcell(includingthedefinedpowerreduc
tion)asthelowerendoftheCIrange.
GlobalC/IThreshold:toenterathresholdtobeusedforallsubcellsasthelowerendoftheCIrange.
YoucannotselectSubcellC/IThresholdasboththelowerandtheupperendoftheCI
rangetobeconsidered.

SelectwhetheryouwantthedefinedinterferenceconditiontobeSatisfiedBy:
AtleastoneTRX:Whenyouselectthisoption,thedefinedinterferenceconditionmustbesatisfiedbyatleast
oneTRXonagivenpixelfortheresultstobedisplayedonthatpixel.
TheworstTRX:Whenyouselectthisoption,Atollselectstheworstresultsforeachpixel.Iftheworstresults
donotsatisfythedefinedinterferencecondition,theresultswillnotbedisplayedonthatpixel.
IfyouselectedC/(I+N),youcandefinethevaluetobeaddedtotheinterference.Thedefinednoisefigureis
addedtothethermalnoisevalue(definedat121dBm)tocalculatethevalueofN.Selectoneofthefollowing:
BasedonTerminal:tousethenoisefiguredefinedforaterminalandselecttheterminalfromthelist.
FixedValue:toenteravalueandthenenterthenoisefigureinthetextbox.
IfyouwantdiscontinuoustransmissionmodeforTRXswhichsupportittakenintoaccountduringthecalcula
tionofinterference,selecttheDTXtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterthepercentageoftimeduring
whichauseristalkingintheVoiceActivityFactortextbox.

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SelecttheTrafficLoadthatwillbeusedtocalculateinterference:
100%:Themaximumtrafficload(subcellsentirelyloaded).
Fromsubcelltable:Thesubcelltrafficloadasdefinedorascalculatedduringdimensioning.
FromtheInterferenceSourceslist,selectwhethertheinterferenceshouldbecalculatedfromadjacentchan
nels,cochannels,orfromboth.Theadjacentchanneleffectonthevictimchannel,i.e.,theinterference,is
decreasedbytheadjacentchannelprotectionlevel.

Intertechnologyinterferenceistakenintoaccountbydefault.Formoreinforma
tion, see "Modelling Intertechnology Interference" on page706. By adding an
optioninthefile,youcanaddanIntertechnologycheckboxwhichwillallowyou
toconsiderornotintertechnologyinterference.
Intratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferencecanalsobeoptionally
taken into account in the total interference. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

Select the Detailed Results check box if you want to display detailed results per transmitter. The results
displayeddependonthesubcellfrequencyhoppingmode:
NonHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedforonechannelofeachTRXinnonhoppingmode.
BaseBandHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALofeachsubcellinbasebandhoppingmode.
SynthesisedFrequencyHoppingMode:TheresultsaredisplayedfortheMALMAIOofeachsubcellinsynthe
sisedfrequencyhoppingmode.

6. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthecoverageprediction,clickOK.
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbyrepeatingtheprocedurefromstep1.tostep6.foreachnewcoverage
prediction.
7. Whenyouhavefinishedcreatingnewcoveragepredictionsforthesedrivetestdata,rightclickthedrivetestdata.The
contextmenuappears.
8. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
Anewcolumnforeachcoveragepredictionisaddedinthetableforthedrivetestdata.Thecolumncontainsthe
predictedvaluesoftheselectedparametersforthetransmitter.Thepropagationmodelusedistheoneassignedto
thetransmitterforthemainmatrix(forinformationonthepropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandProp
agationModels).
YoucandisplaytheinformationinthesenewcolumnsintheDriveTestDatawindow.Formoreinformationonthe
DriveTestDatawindow,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage485.

6.8.4.4 DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath
AssumingsomepredictionshavebeencalculatedalongaDriveTestDatapath,youcandisplaythestatisticsbetweenthe
measuredandthepredictedvaluesonaspecificmeasurementpath.
TodisplaythestatisticsforaspecificDriveTestDatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttodisplaycomparativestatistics.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Display Statistics from the context menu. The Measurement and Prediction Fields Selection dialog box
appears.
5. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheFortheTransmitterslist.
6. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthepreviouslypredictedvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeof
valuecanbecomparedatatime(signallevelorquality).
7. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthemeasuredvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeofvaluecanbe
comparedatatime(signallevelorquality).Themeasuredandtheselectedvalueshavetomatchup.
8. Entertheminimumandmaximummeasuredvalues.Statisticsaredonewithdrivetestdatapointswherethemeas
uredvaluesarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
9. ClickOK.
Atollopensapopupinwhichtheglobalstatisticsbetweenmeasurementsandpredictionsaregivenoverallthefiltered(or
not)pointsofthecurrentdrivetestdatapaththroughthemeanerror,itsstandarddeviation,therootmeansquareandthe
errorcorrelationfactor.Thestatisticsarealsogivenperclutterclass.

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6.8.4.5 ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter
Youcanextractaspecificfieldforaspecifictransmitteroneachpointofanexistingdrivetestdatapath.Theextractedinfor
mationwillbeaddedtoanewcolumninthetableforthedrivetestdata.
Toextractafieldfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttoextractafield.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFocusonaTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.TheFieldSelectionforaGivenTransmitterdialogboxappears.
5. SelectatransmitterfromtheOntheTransmitterlist.
6. ClicktheFortheFieldslist.Thelistopens.
7. Selectthecheckboxbesidethefieldyouwanttoextractfortheselectedtransmitters.
Atollcandisplaythesevenserversperpoint.Ifyouwanttodisplayforexample,thepoint
signallevel,remembertoselectthecheckboxforthepointsignallevelforallserversinthe
FortheFieldslist.Thenewcolumnwillthendisplaythepointsignallevelfortheselected
transmitterforallserversifavalueexists.
8. ClickOK.Atollcreatesanewcolumninthedrivetestdatapathdatatablefortheselectedtransmittersandwiththe
selectedvalues.

6.8.4.6 AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath
InAtoll,youcananalysevariationsindataalonganydrivetestdatapathusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.Youcanalsouse
theDriveTestDatawindowtoseewhichcellistheservingcellforagiventestpoint.
ToanalysedatavariationsusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. ClickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyseandselectDriveTestDatafromtheToolsmenu.TheDriveTestData
windowappears(seeFigure6.122)

Figure6.122:TheDriveTestDatawindow

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4. ClickDisplayatthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.TheDisplayParametersdialogboxappears(seeFigure6.123).

Figure6.123:TheDisplayParametersdialogbox
5. IntheDisplayParametersdialogbox:

SelectthecheckboxnexttoanyfieldyouwanttodisplayintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Ifyouwish,youcanchangethedisplaycolourbyclickingthecolourintheColourcolumnandselectinganew
colourfromthepalettethatappears.
ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
Youcanchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourofmorethanonefieldatatime.Youcan
selectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield
youwanttoimport.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclicking
eachfield.Youcanthenchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourbyrightclickingonthe
selectedfieldsandselectingthechoicefromthecontextmenu.
TheselectedfieldsaredisplayedintheDriveTestDatawindow.

6. Youcandisplaythedatainthedrivetestdatapathintwoways:

ClickthevaluesintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Clickthepointsonthedrivetestdatapathinthemapwindow.

Thedrivetestdatapathappearsinthemapwindowasanarrowpointingtowardstheservingcell,withanumberiden
tifyingthebestserver(seeonpage485).Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumberandthe
arrowaredisplayedinthesamecolourasthetransmitter.Forinformationonchangingthedisplaytypeto"Auto
matic,"see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
7. YoucandisplayasecondYaxisontherightsideofthewindowinordertodisplaythevaluesofavariablewithdif
ferentordersofmagnitudethantheonesselectedintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.Youcanselectthesecondary
YaxisfromtherighthandlistonthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.Theselectedvaluesaredisplayedinthecol
oursdefinedforthisvariableintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
8. YoucanchangethezoomleveloftheDriveTestDatawindowdisplayintheDriveTestDatawindowinthefollowing
ways:

Zoominorout:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.

ii. SelectZoomInorZoomOutfromthecontextmenu.

Selectthedatatozoominon:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowononeendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.

ii. SelectFirstZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.
iii. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowontheotherendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.
iv. SelectLastZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowzoomsinonthedatabetween
thefirstzoompointandthelastzoompoint.
9. ClickthedataintheDriveTestDatawindowtodisplaytheselectedpointinthemapwindow.Atollwillrecentrethe
mapwindowontheselectedpointifitisnotpresentlyvisible.

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IfyouopenthetableforthedrivetestdatayouaredisplayingintheDriveTestData
window,Atollwillautomaticallydisplayinthetablethedataforthepointthatis
displayedinthemapandintheDriveTestDatawindow(seeFigure6.122onpage485).

6.8.5 ExportingaDriveTestDataPath
Youcanexportdrivetestdatapathstovectorfiles.
Toexportadrivetestdatapathtoavectorfile:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. EnteraFilenameforthedrivetestdatapathandselectaformatfromtheSaveastypelist.
6. ClickSave.Thedrivetestdatapathisexportedandsavedinthefile.

6.8.6 ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData
YoucangenerateCWmeasurementsfromdrivetestdatapathsandextracttheresultstotheCWMeasurementsfolder.
TogenerateCWmeasurementfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExtractCWMeasurementsfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementExtractiondialogboxappears.
5. UnderExtractCWMeasurements:
a. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheFortheTransmitterslist.
b. SelectthefieldthatcontainstheinformationthatyouwanttoexporttoCWmeasurementsfromtheFortheFields
list.
6. UnderCWMeasurementCreationParameters:
a. EntertheMin.NumberofPointstoExtractperMeasurementPath.CWmeasurementsarenotcreatedfortrans
mittersthathavefewerpointsthanthisnumber.
b. EntertheminimumandmaximumMeasuredSignalLevels.CWmeasurementsarecreatedwithdrivetestdata
pointswherethesignallevelsarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
7. ClickOK.AtollcreatesnewCWmeasurementsfortransmitterssatisfyingtheparameterssetintheCWMeasurement
Extractiondialogbox.
FormoreinformationaboutCWmeasurements,seetheMeasurementsandModelCalibrationGuide.

6.8.7 GeneratingInterferenceMatricesfromaDriveTestDataPath
YoucangenerateinterferencematricesfromdrivetestdatapathsandextracttheresultstotheInterferenceMatrixfolder.
TogenerateInterferenceMatricesfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExtractInterferenceMatricesfromthecontextmenu.TheInterferenceMatrixExportdialogboxappears.
5. UnderStorageFile:
a. ClicktheBrowsebuttontoselectthepathandthenameoftheinterferencematrixfiletobegenerated.
b. SelectthefieldthatcontainsthesignallevelinformationthatyouwantAtolltoconvertintoC/Ivaluesfromthe
Selectthemeasuredsignallevelslist.
6. ClickOK.AtollcreatesanewinterferencematrixitemintheInterferenceMatrixfolderwhichcanbeusedlikeany
otherinterferencematrix(See"InterferenceMatrices"onpage354).

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6.8.8 PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow
YoucanprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow,usingthecontextmenuintheDriveTestDatawindow.
ToprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyse.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpentheAnalysisToolfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowappears(seeFigure6.122on
page485).
5. Definethedisplayparametersandzoomlevelasexplainedin"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage485.
6. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.Thecontextmenuappears.
ToexporttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
b. OpenthedocumentintowhichyouwanttopastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.
c. PastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindowintothenewdocument.
ToprinttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectPrintfromthecontextmenu.ThePrintdialogboxappears.
b. ClickOKtoprintthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.

6.9 AdvancedConfiguration
Inthissection,thefollowingadvancedconfigurationoptionsareexplained:

"SettingHCSLayers"onpage488
"ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations"onpage489
"CellTypes"onpage492
"TRXConfiguration"onpage496
"CodecConfiguration"onpage497
"CodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage500
"TimeslotConfigurations"onpage503
"AdvancedTransmitterConfigurationOptions"onpage504
"GSM/GPRS/EDGEMultiServiceTrafficData"onpage509
"DefiningtheInterfererReceptionThreshold"onpage512
"AdvancedModellingofHoppingGaininCoveragePredictions"onpage513
"ModellingShadowing"onpage514
"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"onpage515

6.9.1 SettingHCSLayers
YoucanmodelhierarchicalnetworksinAtollbydefininghierarchicalcellstructure(HCS)layers.HCSlayersaredefinedbythe
followingparameters:

Priority
Layerreceptionthreshold
Maximumspeed.

Thepriorityandlayerreceptionthresholdareusedtodeterminethebestserveroneachpixel.Whenthereareseveralpossi
bletransmitters,thebestserverwillbedeterminedbythepriority.Iftherearetransmittersondifferentlayershavingthe
samepriority,thetransmitterforwhichthedifferencebetweenthereceivedsignallevelandthelayerreceptionthreshold
willbeselectedasthebestserver.Transmitterswhosereceivedsignallevelisbelowthelayerreceptionthresholdwillbe
rankedbysignallevel,butwillnotbechosenasbestserver.TheHCSlayerreceptionthresholdisconsideredonlyifnospecific
HCSlayerreceptionthresholdhasbeendefinedatthetransmitterlevel(ontheGeneraltabofthetransmittersProperties
dialogbox).
YoucansetAtolltoselectthetransmitterwiththehighestreceivedsignallevelastheserv
ingtransmitterbychanginganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformationonchanging
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
ThemaximumspeedisusedtoselectHCSlayerusersaccordingtothespeeddefinedinthemobility.

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TodefineHCSlayers:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheHCSLayersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheHCSLayerstableappears.
5. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineaHCSlayer(forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

Name:EnteranamefortheHCSlayer.ThisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectaHCSlayer.
Priority:EnterapriorityfortheHCSlayer."0"isthelowestpriority.
Max.Speed(km/h):EnteramaximummobilityspeedfortheHCSlayer.
LayerReceptionThreshold(dBm):EnteradefaultlayerreceptionthresholdindBm.Thisthresholdcanbeused
asaborderfortheHCSlayerinsomepredictionswhentheHCSserveroptionisselected.

6.9.2 ComparingServiceAreasinCalculations
Foranycoverageprediction,trafficanalysis,orinterferencematrixcalculation,transmitterserviceareascanbedefineddiffer
entlyaccordingtotheserverselectionmadeontheConditionstabofthedialogboxusedtodefinethecalculation.Onthe
Conditionstab,youcanselect:

All:Allserverswillbetakenintoconsideration.
BestSignalLevel:Thebestsignallevelfromallserversonalllayerswillbetakenintoconsideration.
SecondBestSignalLevel:Thesecondbestsignallevelfromallserversonalllayerswillbetakenintoconsideration.
BestSignalLevelperHCSLayer:ThebestsignallevelfromallserversoneachHCSlayerwillbetakenintoconsidera
tion.
SecondBestSignalLevelperHCSLayer:ThesecondbestsignallevelfromallserversoneachHCSlayerwillbetaken
intoconsideration.
HCSServers:ThebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelwillbetakenintoconsideration,assumingthesignallevel
oneachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevelorspecificallyforeachtrans
mitter.
HighestPriorityHCSServer:ThebestsignallevelofalltheseversonthehighestpriorityHCSlayerwillbetakeninto
consideration,assumingthepriorityofthelayerisdefinedbyitspriorityfieldanditssignallevelexceedstheminimum
HCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevelorspecificallyforeachtransmitter.
BestIdleModeReselectionCriterion(C2):ThebestC2fromallserverswillbetakenintoconsideration.

Aserverisconsideredonapixelifitscalculatedsignallevelexceedsthelowerboundaryofthesignalleveldefinedeitherglob
allyontheConditionstabofthecoveragepredictionorspecificallyforeachsubcellincoverageprediction,trafficanalysis,
andinterferencematrixcalculations.
Selectingtheservertobetakenintoconsiderationretainsoneorseveralserversoneachpixel,accordingtoacombinationof
HCSlayerproperties(layerpriority,maximumspeedallowedonthelayer,layeradmissionthreshold)andthecalculatedsignal
leveloneachpixel.
ExampleofServiceAreas
Inthisexample,thefollowingnetworkisused:

3trisectorbasestationsonamicrolayer
1omnibasestationonamacrolayer
1omnibasestationonanumbrellalayer

Theumbrellalayerisdefinedtooverlapthemacrolayer,whichoverlapsthemicrolayer.
TheHCSlayersaredefinedwiththefollowingcharacteristics:
Name

Priority(0:Lowest)

MaxSpeed(km/h)

LayerReceptionThreshold(dBm)

MacroLayer

100

90

MicroLayer

10

84

UmbrellaLayer

300

105

Thesubcellreceptionthresholdis102dBmforthemicrocellsand105dBmforthemacroandtheumbrellacells.Three
mobilitytypesaredefinedinthisproject:Pedestrian(3km/h),50km/hand90km/h
Theresultingservicesareasaredisplayedinthefollowinggraphicsforeachselection.

All:Allserversaretakenintoconsideration

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CompositeCoverage

UmbrellaLayerCoverage

MacroLayerCoverage

MicroLayerCoverage

Figure6.124:CoveragebyTransmitter(DL)onAlltheservers
Figure6.124showstheserviceareasofallthetransmitterswithoutanylayerstakenintoconsideration.Eachcellisconsidered
individuallyandthelimitofitscoverageisdefinedbyitssubcellreceptionthresholds.Overlappingispossiblebetweentrans
mittersandbetweenHCSlayers.

BestSignalLevel:Thebestsignallevelfromallserversonalllayersistakenintoconsideration.

CompositeCoverage

UmbrellaLayerCoverage

MacroLayerCoverage

MicroLayerCoverage

Figure6.125:CoveragebyTransmitter(DL)fortheBestSignalLevel
Figure6.125showstheserviceareasofthetransmittershavingthebestsignalleveloneachpixel,withoutanylayertaken
intoconsideration.Cellsareincompetitioniftheircalculatedsignallevelishigherthanthesubcellreceptionthresholds.Over
lappingbetweentransmittersandbetweenHCSlayersisnotpossible.

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CompositeCoverage

UmbrellaLayerCoverage

MacroLayerCoverage

MicroLayerCoverage

Figure6.126:CoveragebyTransmitter(DL)fortheBestSignalLevelperHCSLayer
Figure6.126showstheserviceareasofthetransmittershavingthebestsignalleveloneachpixel,foreachHCSlayer.Cells
areincompetitionperlayeriftheircomputedsignallevelishigherthanitssubcellreceptionthresholds.Overlappingbetween
HCSlayersispossible,butoverlappingbetweentransmittersonagivenHCSlayerisnotpossible.

HCSServers:ThebestsignallevelbyHCSlayeroneachpixelistakenintoconsideration,assumingthesignallevelon
eachlayerexceedstheminimumHCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevelorspecificallyforeachtrans
mitter.

CompositeCoverage

UmbrellaLayerCoverage

MacroLayerCoverage

MicroLayerCoverage

Figure6.127:CoveragebyTransmitter(DL)fortheHCSServers
Figure6.127showstheserviceareasofthetransmittershavingthebestsignalleveloneachpixel,foreachHCSlayer.Cells
areincompetitionperlayerassumingtheircalculatedsignallevelishigherthanthesubcellreceptionthresholdsandtheHCS
layerreceptionthreshold.OverlappingbetweenHCSlayersispossible,butoverlappingbetweentransmittersonagivenHCS
layerisnotpossible.
Inthecaseabove,themicrolayeroverlapsthemacrolayeranditsbordersaredefinedbythemaximumbetweenthesubcell
receptionthresholds(102dBm)andthemicrolayerthreshold(84dBm),i.e.84dBm.Inaddition,themacrolayeroverlaps
theumbrellalayeranditsbordersaredefinedbythemaximumbetweenthesubcellreceptionthresholds(105dBm)andthe

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macrolayerthreshold(90dBm),i.e.90dBm.Theumbrellalayerisdisplayedwhenitssignallevelexceedsthemaximum
betweenthesubcellreceptionthresholdsandtheumbrellalayerthreshold,i.e.105dBm.

HighestPriorityHCSServer:ThebestsignallevelofalltheseversonthehighestpriorityHCSlayeraretakenintocon
sideration,assumingthepriorityofthelayerisdefinedbyitspriorityfieldanditssignallevelexceedstheminimum
HCSthresholddefinedeitherattheHCSlayerlevelorspecificallyforeachtransmitter.

CompositeCoverage

UmbrellaLayerCoverage

MacroLayerCoverage

MicroLayerCoverage

Figure6.128:CoveragebyTransmitter(DL)fortheHighestPriorityHCSServer
Figure6.128showstheserviceareasofthetransmittershavingthebestsignalleveloneachpixel,onthehighestpriorityHCS
layer.ThepriorityHCSlayeristhelayerforwhichthepriorityvalueisthehighestandforwhichthecalculatedsignallevelis
higher than its subcell reception thresholds and the HCS layer reception threshold. Overlapping between HCS layers and
betweentransmittersofagivenHCSlayerisnotpossible.
Iftwolayershavethesamepriority,thetrafficisservedbythetransmitterforwhichthe
differencebetweenthereceivedsignalstrengthandtheHCSthresholdisthehighest.The
waycompetitionismanagedbetweenlayerswiththesameprioritycanbemodified.For
moreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

6.9.3 CellTypes
AcelltypeisadefinedsetofTRXtypes.Thecelltype,withitsTRXtypes,constitutesthebasicconfigurationofatransmitter
inGSM/GPRS/EDGE.Bychangingthecelltypeassignedtoatransmitterorstationtemplate,youchangeitsbasicconfigura
tion.YoucancreatecelltypesandassigndifferentexistingTRXtypestothem.
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

"TRXTypes"onpage492
"CreatingaCellType"onpage493
"ExamplesofCellTypes"onpage494.

6.9.3.1 TRXTypes
Bydefault,theAtollGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumenttemplatehasthreetypesofTRXs:

BCCH:TheBCCHTRXtypeistheBCCHcarrier
TCH:TheTCHTRXtypeisthedefaulttrafficcarrier
TCH_EGPRS:TheTRXtypeistheEDGEtrafficcarrier.
TCH_INNER:TheTRXtypeistheinnertrafficcarrier.

Ifnecessary,youcandefineadditionalTRXtypesbycreatingthemintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocumenttemplate.Thetemplate
islocatedinthetemplatesdirectory,withintheAtollinstalldirectory,andiscalled"GSMGPRSEDGE.mdb."Forinformation
ontheAtolldocumenttemplate,seetheAdministratorManual.

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6.9.3.2 CreatingaCellType
AcelltypemusthaveaBCCHTRXtypeforthebroadcastcontrolchannelandaTCHTRXtypeforthedefaulttrafficcarrier;it
canalsohaveaTCH_INNERorTCH_EGPRSTRXtype.YoucannothavemorethanoneinstanceofagivenTRXtypeinacell
type.
Tocreateacelltype:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheCellTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheCellTypestableappears.
5. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
dialogboxeswhenyouselectacelltype.

),enterthenameofthenewcelltype.Thisnamewillappearinother

6. SelecttherowcontainingthecelltypeandclickthePropertiesbutton(
ertiesdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.ThecelltypesProp

InthecelltypesPropertiesdialogbox,youcanaddanddefinetheTRXtypesthatwillconstitutethecelltype.
7. UnderTRXTypes,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstodefineaTRX
type(forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

TRXType:SelectaTRXtypefromthelist.
FrequencyDomain:Selectafrequencydomainfromthelist.Onlychannelsbelongingtothisfrequencydomain
willbeallocatedtoTRXsofthisTRXtypeduringautomaticormanualfrequencyplanning.
DLPowerReduction:Enteravalueforthereductionofpowerrelativetothetransmitterpower.Thedownlink
powerreductioncanbeusedtomodelinnersubcells.
ReceptionThreshold(dBm):EnteraminimumreceivedsignalforthisTRXtype.
C/IThreshold(dB):EnteraminimumsignalqualityforthisTRXtype.TheC/IThresholdcanbeusedininterference
predictionsandintheAFP.
DTXSupported:IftheTRXtypesupportsDTX(DiscontinuousTransmission)technology,selecttheDTXSupported
checkbox.SubcellssupportingDTXcanreduceinterferencetheyproduceaccordingtothedefinedvoiceactivity
factor.ThisoptionhasnoimpactonBCCHTRXtype.
TimeslotConfiguration:Selectatimeslotconfigurationfromthelist.Thetimeslotconfigurationdefinesthedis
tributionofcircuit,packetandsharedtimeslotsforthesubcell,respectingthenumberofTRXs.
HalfRateTrafficRatio(%):EnterthepercentageofhalfratevoicetrafficinforthisTRXtype.Thisvalueisusedto
calculatethenumberoftimeslotsrequiredtorespondtothevoicetrafficdemand.
Thetargetrateoftrafficoverflowandthehalfratetrafficratiomustbethesamefor
BCCHandTCHTRXtypes.IfthevaluesaredifferentforBCCHandTCHTRXtypes,Atoll
willusethevaluesforthetargetrateoftrafficoverflowandthehalfratetrafficratio
fromtheBCCHTRXtype.

TargetRateofTrafficOverflow(%):Enterthetargetrateoftrafficoverflow.Thetargetrateoftrafficoverflowis
usedduringtrafficanalysistodistributethetrafficbetweensubcellsandlayers.Thevalueisthepercentageofcan
didatetrafficoverflowingtoasubcellwithalowerpriority.Ithasanimpactonthetrafficcapturebetweeninner
andoutersubcells,andbetweenmicroandmacrolayers.Inotherwords,Thetargetrateoftrafficoverflowcan
beconsideredtoanestimationoftheallowedpercentageoftrafficrejectedfromsubcellsorlayersofhigherpri
oritytosubcellsorlayersoflowersubcells(seeFigure6.7).
Ifthetrafficoverflowtargetissettoavaluelowerthanthegradeofservice,itmeansthat
thetrafficrejected(accordingtothequeuingmodelselectedinthedimensioningmodel:
ErlangBorErlangC)willbelostandwillnotoverflowtoothersubcells.

HoppingMode:SelectthefrequencyhoppingmodesupportedbythisTRXtype.Thehoppingmodecanbeeither
"BaseBandHoppingmode(BBH)"or"SynthesisedHoppingmode(SFH)."Iffrequencyhoppingisnotsupported,
select"NonHopping."
AllocationStrategy:Selecttheallocationstrategyusedduringmanualorautomaticfrequencyplanning.Thereare
twoavailableallocationstrategies:

Free:AnyofthechannelsbelongingtothefrequencydomaincanbeassignedtoTRXs.
Group Constrained: Only channels belonging to a same frequency group in the frequency domain can be
assigned.Youcan usethe PreferredFrequencyGrouptodefinethepreferredgroupoffrequencieswhen
usingtheAFP.

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Max.MALLength:Enterthemaximumlengthofthemobileallocationlist(MAL),inotherwords,themaximum
numberofchannelsallocatedtotheTRXsofsubcellsbasedonthisTRXtypeduringautomaticfrequencyplanning
iftheHoppingModeiseitherSFH(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping)andiftheAllo
cationStrategyisFree.
HSNDomain:SelecttheHSNdomainforthisTRXtype.Onlyhoppingsequencenumbers(HSN)belongingtothe
selectedHSNdomainwillbeallocatedtosubcellsduringautomaticormanualfrequencyplanning.TheHSNsare
allocatediftheHoppingModeiseitherSFH(SynthesisedFrequencyHopping)orBBH(BaseBandHopping).
LockHSN:IftheHSNassignedtothisTRXtypeistobekeptwhenanewAFPsessionisstarted,selecttheLockHSN
checkbox.
AFPWeight:EnteranAFPweight.TheAFPweightisusedtoincreaseordecreasetheimportanceofasubcell
duringautomaticfrequencyplanning.Thevaluemustbearealnumber.ThehighertheAFPweightis,thehigher
theconstraintontheTRXtype.TheAFPweightartificiallymultipliesthecostfunctionwhichhastobeminimised
bytheAFP.
%Max.Interference:Enterthemaximumlevelofinterferenceallowableduringautomaticfrequencyplanning.
Theinterferenceisdefinedasapercentageofareaortraffic,asdefinedduringthecalculationoftheinterference
matrices.
MeanPowerControlGain(dB):Theaveragereductionininterferenceduetopowercontrolindownlink.Thisgain
isusedwhencalculatinginterferencegeneratedbythesubcell.Interferencegeneratedbythesubcellisreduced
bythisvalueduringC/Icalculations.
DefaultTRXConfiguration:SelectthedefaultTRXconfigurationforthisTRXtype.ItwillapplytoallTRXsbelonging
toasubcellbasedonthisTRXtype.ByselectingthedefaultTRXconfiguration,themaximumnumberofGPRSand
EDGEcodingschemesissetattheTRXtypelevel.YoucanalsodefinetheTRXconfigurationforeachTRX.
EDGEPowerBackoff(dB):EntertheaveragepowerreductionforEDGEtransmittersdueto8PSK,16QAMand
32QAMmodulationsinEDGE.ThishasanimpactontheEDGEservicezonewhichcanbeseenintrafficanalysis
andEDGEpredictions.
DiversityMode:Thetypeofdiversitysupportedbythesubcell("None,""TxDiversity,"or"AntennaHopping").If
youselect"TxDiversity,"thesignalistransmittedasmanytimesasthereareantennas.Ifyouselect"Antenna
Hopping,"thesignalistransmittedsuccessivelyoneachantenna.In"TxDiversitymode,"transmittingonmore
thanoneantenna,thesignalexperiencesagainof3dB.Foranydiversitymode,anadditionaltransmissiondiver
sitygaincanbedefinedperclutterclassinordertocorrectlymodelgainduetotheenvironment(see"Defining
ClutterClassProperties"onpage151formoreinformation).TheresultinggainwillincreasetheC/Ivalueatthe
terminalservedbytheconsideredsubcell.
An Other Properties tab appears on the Properties dialog box if you have added user
definedfieldstotheCellTypestable.

8. ClickOKtoclosethecelltypesPropertiesdialogbox.
9. ClicktheClosebutton( )toclosetheCellTypestable.

6.9.3.3 ExamplesofCellTypes
WhenyoucreateanewGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocument,somecelltypesareprovidedbydefault.Inthissection,theparameters
fortwoexamplesofcelltypesaregiven:

"NormalCellType"onpage494
"ConcentricCellType"onpage495.

NormalCellType
AnormalcelltypeconsistsoftwoTRXtypes:

BCCHTRXtype
TCHTRXtype

Thefollowingtabledescribestheparameterstobespecifiedforeachhoppingmode.

494

Parameter

WhereUsedinAtoll

Frequencydomain
MaximumMAL(MobileAllocation
List)length

Hoppingmode
Nonhopping

BBH

SFH

Automaticormanualfrequency
planning

Automaticfrequencyplanning

Notused

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Parameter

WhereUsedinAtoll

Allocationstrategy

Hoppingmode
Nonhopping

BBH

SFH

Automaticormanualfrequency
planning

C/Ithreshold

Interferencepredictions,
Automaticfrequencyplanning

Acceptedinterferencepercentage

Automaticfrequencyplanning

DLpowerreduction

Signallevelpredictions

=0forBCCH
=0forTCH

=0forBCCH
=0forTCH

=0forBCCH
=0forTCH

Hoppingmode

Interferencepredictions

NonHopping

BaseBand
Hopping

Synthesised
Hopping

Receptionthreshold

Signallevelpredictions

AFPweight

Automaticfrequencyplanning

HSNdomain

Automaticfrequencyplanning

Notused

LockHSN

Automaticfrequencyplanning

DTXsupported

Automaticfrequencyplanning,
Interferencepredictions

Halfratetrafficratio

Trafficanalysis

Targetrateoftrafficoverflow

Trafficanalysis

Timeslotconfiguration

Dimensioning

DefaultTRXconfiguration

Trafficanalysis,
Packetpredictions

EDGEPowerBackoff

Trafficanalysis,
Packetpredictions

DiversityMode

Signallevelpredictions

ConcentricCellType
AconcentriccelltypeconsistsofthreeTRXtypes:

BCCHTRXtype
TCHTRXtype
TCH_INNER

Thefollowingtabledescribestheparameterstobespecifiedforeachhoppingmode.

Parameter

WhereUsedinAtoll

Frequencydomain

Hoppingmode
Nonhopping

BBH

SFH

Automaticormanualfrequency
planning

MaximumMAL(MobileAllocation
List)length

Automaticfrequencyplanning

Notused

Allocationstrategy

Automaticormanualfrequency
planning

C/Ithreshold

Interferencepredictions,
Automaticfrequencyplanning

Acceptedinterferencepercentage

Automaticfrequencyplanning

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Parameter

WhereUsedinAtoll

Hoppingmode
Nonhopping

BBH

SFH

=0forBCCH
=>0forTCH
<>0for
TCH_INNER

=0forBCCH
=>0forTCH
<>0for
TCH_INNER

DLpowerreduction

Signallevelpredictions

=0forBCCH
=>0forTCH
<>0for
TCH_INNER

Hoppingmode

Interferencepredictions

NonHopping

BaseBand
Hopping

Synthesised
Hopping

Receptionthreshold

Signallevelpredictions

AFPweight

Automaticfrequencyplanning

HSNdomain

Automaticfrequencyplanning

Notused

LockHSN

Automaticfrequencyplanning

DTXsupported

Automaticfrequencyplanning,
Interferencepredictions

Halfratetrafficratio

Trafficanalysis

Targetrateoftrafficoverflow

Trafficanalysis

Timeslotconfiguration

Dimensioning

6.9.4 TRXConfiguration
InGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,codingschemesaremodelledusingaTRXconfiguration.ForeachTRX,youcandefineamaxi
mumcodingschemeforGPRSorforEDGE.Themaximumnumberofcodingschemescanalsobedefinedperterminal,ifthe
terminalisGPRSorEDGEcapable.CapacitywillbelimitedbythelowerofthemaximumcodingschemesdefinedfortheTRX
configurationandfortheterminal.Forexample,ifthehighestcodingindexnumberdefinedontheterminalislowerthanthe
valuedefinedontheTRXconfiguration,capacitywillbelimitedbythehighestindexnumbersupportedbytheterminal.
Thecodingschemeindexnumberisaninputintrafficcaptures(and,therefore,indimensioning)andinGPRScoveragepredic
tions.Itisimportanttokeepinmindthat,beforedimensioning,inotherwords,beforeTRXshavebeenallocatedtotransmit
ters,theTRXconfigurationdefinedpersubcellisusedincalculations.However,onceTRXshavebeenallocated,thevaluefor
theTRXconfigurationisreadfromtheTRXs.TheTRXconfiguration,andanyparametersorlimitations,willhavebedefined
againfortheTRXs.Otherwise,theconfigurationwillnotbetakenintoaccountduringcalculations.
Inthissection,thefollowingisdescribed:

"CreatingorImportingTRXConfiguration"onpage496.

6.9.4.1 CreatingorImportingTRXConfiguration
InAtoll,youcancreateorimportaTRXconfigurationforGSM/GPRS/EDGEdocuments.
TocreateanewTRXconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheTRXConfigurationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheTRXConfigurationstableappears.
5. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),enterthefollowingparameterstocreateaTRXconfiguration(for
informationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75):

Name:SelectaTRXtypefromthelist.
Max.GPRSCS:EnterthemaximumnumberofcodingschemesthattheGPRScompatibleconfigurationcanuse.
Max.EDGECS:EnterthemaximumnumberofcodingschemesthattheEDGEcompatibleconfigurationcanuse.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

IfyouhaveaTRXconfigurationdataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintotheTRXConfigu
rationtableinthecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatand
thenimportitintotheTRXConfigurationtableofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyouto
selectwhatvaluesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.

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ToimportanewTRXconfiguration:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNetworkSettings>TRXConfigurations.TheTRXConfigurationtableappears.TheHSNDomainstablecontains
aentrycalled"Standard."
4. RightclicktheTRXConfigurationtable.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.Forinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"
onpage87.

6.9.5 CodecConfiguration
InAtoll,youcanmodelconfigurationsofvoicecodecsforGSMnetworks.Thecodecconfigurationsaremodelledwithcodec
configurationandtheirparametersareusedincoveragepredictionsconcerningvoicequalityindicators.
YoucancreatedifferentcodecconfigurationsfordifferentActiveCodecmodeSets(ACS).Forexample,acertaincodecconfig
urationmighthavefullrateandhalfratecodecmodesdefinedfor12.2Kbps,7.4Kbps,5.9Kbps,and4.75Kbps.Thisconfig
urationwouldthenonlybecompatiblewiththedefinedmodes.
Whenthecodecconfigurationdoesnothavethecapacityforideallinkadaptation,adaptationthresholdsareusedincalcu
lations(see"SettingCodecModeAdaptationThresholds"onpage498).Whenthecodecconfigurationhasthecapacityfor
ideallinkadaptation,qualitythresholdsareusedincalculations(see"SettingCodecModeQualityThresholds"onpage499).
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

"OpeningtheCodecModeTable"onpage497
"CreatingorModifyingCodecConfiguration"onpage497
"SettingCodecModeAdaptationThresholds"onpage498
"SettingCodecModeQualityThresholds"onpage499
"UsingCodecConfigurationsinTransmittersandTerminals"onpage499.
Codec configurations can be adapted in order to create an advanced model of the
frequencyhoppinggaineffectonthequalityindicatorpredictions(see"AdvancedModel
lingofHoppingGaininCoveragePredictions"onpage513).

6.9.5.1 OpeningtheCodecModeTable
Youcanaccessthetablecontainingallthecodecmodeswhichcanbeusedtocreateormodifyandcodecconfigurations.This
tableisreadonlyandcannotbeedited.
ToopentheCodecModetable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodecModesfolder.
4. IntheCodecModesfolder,rightclickList.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodecModetableappears.Itdisplaysthefollowinginformation:

Name:Thenameofthecodecmode.
CodecType:Thespecifictypeofaspeechcodingalgorithm,appliedonaspecificradioaccesstechnology(e.g.,FR
orAMR).
HalfRate:ThecodecmodeishalfrateifthecheckboxunderHalfRateisselected.
PowerBackoff:ThecodecmodehaspowerbackoffifthecheckboxunderPowerBackoffisselected.
MaxThroughput(Kbps):Themaximumthroughputpertimeslotcorrespondingtotheselectedcodecmode.
Priority:Foragivenquality,inanonideallinkadaptationmode,ifseveralcodecmodesarepossible,theonewith
thehighestpriority(i.e.,thehighestnumber)isretained.

6.9.5.2 CreatingorModifyingCodecConfiguration
YoucreateacodecconfigurationbycreatinganewentryintheCodecConfigurationtable.Additionalparameters,suchas
theadaptationthresholdsandthequalitythresholds,canbesetinthePropertiesdialogboxforthecodecconfiguration.The
additionalparametersareexplainedinthefollowingsections:

"SettingCodecModeAdaptationThresholds"onpage498
"SettingCodecModeQualityThresholds"onpage499

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Tocreateormodifyacodecconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodecModesfolder.
4. IntheCodecModesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodecConfigurationstableappears.
6. Ifyouarecreatinganewcodecconfiguration,enterthenameofthecodecconfigurationintherowmarkedwiththe
NewRowicon(
).Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectacodecconfiguration.
Ifyouaremodifyinganexistingcodecconfiguration,continuewiththefollowingstep.
7. Setthefollowingparametersforthecodecconfiguration:

IdealLinkAdaptation:SelecttheIdealLinkAdaptationcheckboxifyouwantthecodecmodethatoffersthebest
qualityindicator(BER,FER,orMOS)tobeselected.Otherwise,Atollwillchoosethecodecmodewiththehighest
priorityfromthoserequiringanadaptationthresholdlowerthanthecalculatedqualIty(CNorCNandCI+N).
QIforIdealLinkAdaptation:SelectthequalityindicatortobeusediftheIdealLinkAdaptation checkbox is
selected.
ReferenceNoise(dBm):Enterthereceivernoisethatprovidedthemapping(thresholdscodecs).Incoveragepre
dictions,foraspecificterminalleadingtoanotherreceivertotalnoise,thethresholdswillbeshiftedbythenoise
difference.
YoucanaddnewfieldstotheCodecConfigurationtablebyrightclickingthetableand
selecting Table Fields from the context menu. The new fields will appear in the Codec
ConfigurationtableandontheOtherPropertiestaboftheselectedcodecconfigurations
Propertiesdialogbox.

6.9.5.3 SettingCodecModeAdaptationThresholds
AGSMnetworkhasavarietyofdifferentcodecmodesthatallowittooptimiseresourceusage.Thesecodecmodesinclude
FullRate(FR),HalfRate(HR),EnhancedFullRate(EFR),andmanyAdaptiveMultiRate(AMR)modesandcanbeseeninthe
readonlycodecmodetable(See"OpeningtheCodecModeTable"onpage497).AGSMnetwork,withdifferentcodecconfig
urationsondifferenttransmitters,candynamicallyallocateandmanageresourcesbasedoninterferencelevels.
YoucandefinequalitythresholdsforeachcodecmodecompatiblewiththecodecconfigurationintheAdaptationThresholds
tabinthecodecconfigurationPropertiesdialogbox.Thesethresholdsareusedincalculationswhenthecodecconfiguration
doesnothavethecapacityforideallinkadaptation.
Todefinethecodecmodeadaptationthresholdstobeusedwhenthecodecconfigurationdoesnothavethecapacityforideal
linkadaptation:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodecModesfolder.
4. IntheCodecModesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodecConfigurationstableappears.
6. In the Codec Configuration table, rightclick the record describing the codec configuration for which you want to
defineadaptationthresholds.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecodecconfigurationPropertiesdialogboxappears.
8. SelecttheAdaptationThresholdstab.Eachcodecmodeadaptationthresholdhasthefollowingparameters:

498

CodecMode:Thecodecmode.
Mobility:Themobilitytowhichthecodecmodeadaptationthresholdcorresponds.Youcanselect"All"ifyou
wantittoapplytoallmobilities.
FrequencyHopping:Thetypeoffrequencyhoppingtowhichthecodecmodeadaptationthresholdcorresponds.
Youcanselect"All"ifyouwanttheadaptationthresholdtoapplytoanytypeoffrequencyhopping.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandtowhichthecodecmodeadaptationthresholdcorresponds.Youcanselect
"All"ifyouwantittoapplytoanyfrequencyband.
AdaptationThreshold(dB):Entertheadaptationthresholdforthecodecmode.Adaptationthresholdsareused
forcodecmodeselectionwhenthecodecconfigurationdoessupportideallinkadaptation.
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Youcancreateanewadaptationthresholdbyenteringtheparametersintherowmarked
withtheNewRowicon(
).

9. ClickOK.

6.9.5.4 SettingCodecModeQualityThresholds
YoucandefinequalitythresholdsforeachcodecmodecompatiblewiththecodecconfigurationintheAdaptationThresholds
tabinthecodecconfigurationPropertiesdialogbox.Thesethresholdsareusedincalculationswhenthecodecconfiguration
hasthecapacityforautomaticmodeselection.
ThequalityindicatorsthatcanbeusedwithcodecconfigurationareBitErrorRate(BER),FrameErrorRate(FER),andMean
OpinionScore(MOS).Youcandefineeachaqualitythresholdforeachqualityindicator,incombinationwithspecificcodec
modes,mobilities,frequencyhoppingmodes,andfrequencybands,asafunctionofCNandCI+N.
Thesequalitythresholdsareusedincalculationswhencodecconfigurationhasthecapacityforideallinkadaptation.Thequal
itythresholdchosenrespectsthecombinationofcodecmodes,mobilities,frequencyhoppingmodes,andfrequencybands
aswellastheselectedqualityindicator.
Todefinethecodecmodequalitygraphstobeusedwhenthecodecconfigurationhasthecapacityforautomaticmodeselec
tion:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodecModesfolder.
4. IntheCodecModesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodecConfigurationstableappears.
6. In the Codec Configuration table, rightclick the record describing the codec configuration for which you want to
defineadaptationthresholds.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecodecconfigurationPropertiesdialogboxappears.
8. SelecttheQualityGraphstab.Eachqualityindicatorgraphhasthefollowingparameters:

QualityIndicator:Thequalityindicator.
CodecMode:Thecodecmodetowhichthequalityindicatorgraphcorresponds.
Mobility:Themobilitytowhichthequalityindicatorgraphcorresponds.Youcanselect"All"ifyouwantittoapply
toallmobilities.
FrequencyHopping:Thetypeoffrequencyhoppingtowhichthequalityindicatorgraphcorresponds.Youcan
select"All"ifyouwantittoapplytoalltypesoffrequencyhopping.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandtowhichthequalityindicatorgraphcorresponds.Youcanselect"All"ifyou
wantittoapplytoallfrequencybands.
QI=f(C/N):ThevaluesofthegraphdefiningtheselectedqualityindicatorthresholdasafunctionofCN.Youcan
viewthegraphandedititsvaluesbyselectingtherowcontainingthequalityindicatorandclickingtheCNGraph
button.
QI=f(C/I):ThevaluesofthegraphdefiningtheselectedqualityindicatorthresholdasafunctionofCI.Youcan
viewthegraphandedititsvaluesbyselectingtherowcontainingthequalityindicatorandclickingtheCIGraph
button.
If intratechnology third order intermodulation interference is taken into account, Atoll assumes that the CI
graphs include the effect of this interference whereas the CN graphs do not. This option requires activation
throughchangesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

MALLength:Themobileallocationlistlengthtowhichthequalityindicatorgraphcorresponds.
Youcancreateanewqualityindicatorthresholdbyenteringtheparametersintherow
markedwiththeNewRowicon(
).

9. ClickOK.

6.9.5.5 UsingCodecConfigurationsinTransmittersandTerminals
InAtoll,codecconfigurationscanbeassignedtotransmittersandterminals.Ifacodecconfigurationisassignedonboththe
transmitterandterminal,Atolltakesthecodecmodescommontobothandfindsthepossiblemodes,usingtheterminalside
thresholdsifthedefinedthresholdsaredifferentontransmitterandterminalsides.Ifnocodecconfigurationisdefinedeither

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atthetransmitterorintheterminal,thetransmitterwillnotbeconsideredinthespecificqualityindicatorscoveragepredic
tion.
Toassignacodecconfigurationtoatransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignthecodecconfiguration.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
onthemapandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheConfigurationstab.
6. UnderGSMProperties,selecttheCodecConfigurationfromthelist.
Toassignacodecconfigurationtoaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTerminalsfolder.
4. Rightclicktheterminaltowhichyouwanttoassignthecodecconfiguration.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheterminalsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. SelecttheCodecConfigurationfromthelist.

6.9.6 CodingSchemeConfiguration
InAtoll,youcanmodelacodingschemeconfigurationwithcodingschemesandtheirrelatedthresholds.AnyGPRS/EDGE
capabletransmittersmusthaveacodingschemeconfigurationassignedtothem.
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

"OpeningtheCodingSchemesTable"onpage500
"CreatingorModifyingaCodingSchemeConfiguration"onpage501
"UsingCodingSchemeConfigurationinTransmittersandTerminals"onpage502
"AdaptingCodingSchemeThresholdsforaMaximumBLER"onpage502
"DisplayingCodingSchemeThroughputGraphs"onpage503.
Youcanadaptcodingschemeconfigurationsinordertocreateanadvancedmodelofthe
frequencyhoppinggaineffectontheGPRS/EDGEpredictions(see"AdvancedModellingof
HoppingGaininCoveragePredictions"onpage513).

6.9.6.1 OpeningtheCodingSchemesTable
Youcanaccessthetablecontainingallthecodingschemesthatcanbeusedtocreateormodifyandcodingschemeconfigu
rations.Thistableisreadonlyandcannotbeedited.
ToopentheCodingSchemestable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodingSchemesfolder.
4. IntheCodingSchemesfolder,rightclickList.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodingSchemestableappears.Itdisplaysthefollowinginformation:

Name:Thenameofthecodingscheme:

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CS:CodingschemesforGPRS
MCS:ModulationandcodingschemesforEGPRS(EDGE)
DAS:DownlinkcodingschemesforEGPRS2A(EDGEEvolution)
DBS:DownlinkcodingschemesforEGPRS2B(EDGEEvolution)

Number:Thecodingschemenumber.Bydefaultthelimitis4inGPRS,9inGPRS,and12inGPRS2(EDGEevolution)

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Technology:Thetechnologythecodingschemecanbeusedfor:GPRSorEDGE.EGPRSandEGPRS2(EDGEevolu
tion)aregroupedtogetherintoEDGE.
Modulation:Themodulationofthecodingscheme.Foranycodingschemeexcepttheonesusingthemodulations
GMSK(GPRS)andQPSK(DBS5andDBS6inEGPRS2),apowerbackoffisappliedontheGPRS/EDGEservicearea.
Coding:Thecodingoftheselectedcodingscheme.CodingisconvolutionalforGPRSandEGPRS,turboforEGPRS2
(EDGEevolution).
PeakRLCThroughput/Timeslot(Kbps):Foragivenquality,ifseveralcodecmodesarepossible,theonewiththe
highestpriority(highestnumber)isretained.

6.9.6.2 CreatingorModifyingaCodingSchemeConfiguration
YoucreateacodingschemeconfigurationbycreatinganewentryintheCodingSchemeConfigurationstable.Thecoding
schemethresholdsforacodingschemeconfigurationcanbesetinitsPropertiesdialogbox.
Tocreateormodifyacodingschemeconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodingSchemesfolder.
4. IntheCodingSchemesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodingSchemeConfigurationstableappears.
6. Ifyouarecreatinganewcodingschemeconfiguration,enterthenameofthecodingschemeconfigurationintherow
markedwiththeNewRowicon(
).Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectacodingscheme
configuration.
Ifyouaremodifyinganexistingcodingschemeconfiguration,continuewiththefollowingstep.
7. Setthefollowingparametersforthecodingschemeconfiguration:

Technology:Selectthetechnologythatthisconfigurationcanbeusedwith:GPRS/EDGEorjustGPRS.
ReferenceNoise(dBm):Enterthetotalnoiseatthereceiver.ThereferencenoiseisusedtoconvertvaluesofCin
graphstovaluesofCN.
YoucanaddnewfieldstotheCodingSchemeConfigurationstablebyrightclickingthe
tableandselectingTableFieldsfromthecontextmenu.Thenewfieldswillappearinthe
Coding Scheme Configurations table and on the Other Properties tab of the selected
codingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogbox.

8. In the Coding Scheme Configurations table, rightclick the record describing the coding scheme configuration for
whichyouwanttodefineadaptationthresholds.Thecontextmenuappears.
9. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
ThecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxhasaGeneraltabwhichallowsyoutomodifytheproperties
describedabove.
10. SelecttheThresholdstab.Eachcodingschemethresholdhasthefollowingparameters:

CodingScheme:Thecodingscheme.
CSelectionThreshold(dBm):Thesignalleveladmissionthresholdforthecorrespondingcodingschemewhenthe
ideallinkadaptationoptionisclearedinGPRS/EDGEcoveragepredictions.
C/ISelectionThreshold(dB):TheC/Iadmissionthresholdforthecorrespondingcodingschemewhentheideal
linkadaptationoptionisclearedinGPRS/EDGEcoveragepredictions.
EffectiveRLCThroughput=f(C)(Kbps):Thevaluesofthegraphdefiningthethroughputpertimeslotasafunction
ofC.Youcanviewthegraphandedititsvaluesbyselectingtherowcontainingthecodingschemeandclickingthe
CGraphbutton.
EffectiveRLCThroughput=f(C/I)(Kbps):Thevaluesofthegraphdefiningthethroughputpertimeslotasafunc
tionofCI.Youcanviewthegraphandedititsvaluesbyselectingtherowcontainingthecodingschemeand
clickingtheCIGraphbutton.
If intratechnology third order intermodulation interference is taken into account, Atoll assumes that the CI
graphsincludetheeffectofthisinterferencewhereastheCgraphsdonot.Thisoptionrequiresactivationthrough
changesinthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.

FrequencyHopping:Thetypeoffrequencyhoppingtowhichthiscodingschemeapplies.Youcanselect"All"if
youwantittoapplytoalltypesoffrequencyhopping.
Mobility:Themobilitytowhichthiscodingschemeapplies.Youcanselect"All"ifyouwantittoapplytoallmobil
ities.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandtowhichthiscodingschemeapplies.Youcanselect"All"ifyouwantitto
applytoallfrequencybands.

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MALLength:Themobileallocationlistlengthtowhichthecodingscheme(anditsrelatedqualitythresholds)
applies.
You can create a new coding scheme threshold by entering the parameters in the row
markedwiththeNewRowicon(
).

11. ClickOK.
Thethroughputpertimeslotgraphsaredefinedforgivenfrequencyhoppingmode,mobil
itytypeandfrequencyband.Thesegraphswillbetakenintoaccountinacoveragepredic
tion if these parameters correspond to the ones defined in that coverage prediction.
Otherwise,Atollwillusethegraphsforwhichnoneoftheseparametershasbeendefined.
Ifnosuchgraphexists,Atollwillconsiderthatthecorrespondingcodingschemeisnot
definedduringthecalculations.

6.9.6.3 UsingCodingSchemeConfigurationinTransmittersandTerminals
InAtoll,acodingschemeconfigurationcanbeassignedtotransmitters.Ifacodingschemeconfigurationisassignedonboth
thetransmitterandterminal,Atolltakesthecodingschemeconfigurationcommontobothandfindsthepossiblemodes,
using the terminalside thresholds if the defined thresholds are different on transmitter and terminal sides. If no coding
schemeconfigurationisdefinedeitheratthetransmitterorintheterminal,thetransmitterwillnotbeconsideredincertain
qualityindicatorscoveragepredictions.
Toassignacodingschemeconfigurationtoatransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignthecodingschemeconfiguration.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
onthemapandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheConfigurationstab.
6. UnderGPRS/EDGEProperties,selecttheGPRS/EDGETransmittercheckbox.
7. SelecttheCodingSchemeConfigurationfromthelist.
Toassignacodingschemeconfigurationtoaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTerminalsfolder.
4. Rightclicktheterminaltowhichyouwanttoassignthecodingschemeconfiguration.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheterminalsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. SelecttheGPRSConfigurationfromthelist.

6.9.6.4 AdaptingCodingSchemeThresholdsforaMaximumBLER
YoucanhaveAtollautomaticallycalculatethereceptionandCIthresholdsforacodingschemeconfiguration.Youenterthe
acceptableBlockErrorRate(BLER)inthecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxandAtollcalculatesthethresh
olds required to ensure that the defined BLER is never exceeded. The admission threshold corresponds to 1BLER
Xmax.throughoutcalculatedforthecodingscheme.
TocalculatethereceptionandC/Ithresholdsforacodingschemeconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodingSchemesfolder.
4. IntheCodingSchemesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.

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5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodingSchemeConfigurationstableappears.
6. IntheCodingSchemeConfigurationstable,rightclicktherecordofthecodingschemeconfigurationforwhichyou
AtolltoautomaticallycalculatereceptionandCIthresholds.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
8. SelecttheThresholdstab.
9. UnderCalculatetheThresholdstoGettheFollowingBLERValue,enteravalueintheBLERtextboxandclicktheCal
culatebutton.AtollcalculatesthethresholdsrequiredtosatisfytheenteredBLER.
10. ClickOKtoclosethecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxandsavethenewthresholdvalues.

6.9.6.5 DisplayingCodingSchemeThroughputGraphs
InGPRS/EDGEtechnology,codingschemesarelinkedwithdatatransmissionredundancylevels.Withcodingschemes,two
typesofinformationistransmitted:userdataanderrorcorrectiondata.Thereisatradeoffbetweenaccuratedatatransmis
sionandtransmissionthroughputs.Lowerrorcorrectionofferspotentiallyhighertransmissionthroughputs,butalsoahigher
riskofdataloss.Ontheotherhand,ahighrateoferrorcorrectionensuressaferdatatransmission,butmeansalowertrans
missionrate.
Codingschemesaredefinedtoobtainthebestcompromisebetweenthetransmissionrateandthesafetyofthedatasent.
ThatiswhyeachcodingschemehasanoptimumworkingrangedependingoneitherCorCIvalues.Thisoptimumrangecan
beseeninthecodingschemethroughputgraphsforeachdefinedcodingschemeconfiguration.Thegraphsshowthethrough
putasafunctionofradioconditions(CandC/I)ascalculatedusingblockerrorrates.Thegraphscanhelpchooseacoding
schemesuitabletoradioconditions.
TodisplaythegraphofthethroughputasafunctionofCorCIforagivencodingscheme:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheCodingSchemesfolder.
4. IntheCodingSchemesfolder,rightclickConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCodingSchemeConfigurationstableappears.
6. In the Coding Scheme Configurations table, rightclick the record describing the coding scheme configuration for
whichyouAtolltoautomaticallycalculatereceptionandCIthresholds.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecodingschemeconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
8. SelecttheThresholdstab.
9. Selectthecodingschemeforwhichyouwanttodisplayathroughputgraphandclickoneofthefollowing:

CGraph:ClicktheCGraphbuttontodisplayagraphdefiningthethroughputasafunctionofC.
C/IGraph:ClicktheC/IGraphbuttontodisplayagraphdefiningthethroughputasafunctionofCI.

Ifintratechnologythirdorderintermodulationinterferenceistakenintoaccount,AtollassumesthattheCIgraphs
includetheeffectofthisinterferencewhereastheCgraphsdonot.Thisoptionrequiresactivationthroughchanges
inthedatabase.Formoreinformation,contactsupport.
10. ClickOKtoclosethedialogbox.

6.9.7 TimeslotConfigurations
YoucancreatetimeslotconfigurationsthatcanbeusedtoallocatedifferenttimeslottypestoTRXs.Atimeslotconfiguration
describeshowcircuit,packet,andsharedtimeslotswillbedistributedinasubcell,dependingonthenumberofTRXs.Shared
timeslotsareusedforbothcircuitswitchedandpacketswitchedcalls.
Thedistributionanddefinitionoftimeslotconfigurationshaveaninfluenceonthenetworkdimensioningresultsand the
calculationofKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs).
TimeslotconfigurationsareassignedtoeachTRXtypeofeachcelltype.IfthereisnotimeslotconfigurationassignedtoaTRX
type,thefieldsdefinedatthesubcelllevel"Numberofpacket(circuitorshared)timeslots"areused.

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Inthissection,thefollowingisexplained:

"CreatingorModifyingaTimeslotConfiguration"onpage504.

6.9.7.1 CreatingorModifyingaTimeslotConfiguration
Tocreateormodifyatimeslotconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheTimeslotConfigurationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheTimeslotConfigurationstableappears.
5. Ifyouarecreatinganewtimeslotconfiguration,enterthenameofthetimeslotconfigurationintherowmarkedwith
theNewRowicon(
).Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectatimeslotconfiguration.
Ifyouaremodifyinganexistingtimeslotconfiguration,continuewiththefollowingstep.
6. SelecttherowcontainingthetimeslotconfigurationandclickthePropertiesbutton(
timeslotconfigurationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.The

UnderMappingbetweenTRXnumbersandtimeslotconfigurations,eachrowcorrespondstoadistributionoftimes
lotsandisidentifiedbyanindexnumber.Duringdimensioning,Atolldeterminesthenumberofcircuitandpacket
timeslotsrequiredtomeetthetrafficdemand.AtollusesthetimeslotconfigurationtodeterminehowmanyTRXsare
neededtomeettheneedintimeslots.If,duringdimensioning,therearenotenoughindexnumbersinthetimeslot
configuration,Atollreusesthelastindexnumberinthetimeslotconfiguration.
7. InthetimeslotconfigurationsPropertiesdialogbox,enterthefollowinginformationforeachindexnumber:

Number of Shared Timeslots: The number of timeslots that can be used for both circuitswitched (GSM) and
packetswitched(GPRSandEDGE)services.
NumberofCircuitTimeslots:Thenumberoftimeslotsthatcanbeusedonlyforbothcircuitswitched(GSM)ser
vices.
NumberofPacketTimeslots:Thenumberoftimeslotsthatcanbeusedonlyforpacketswitched(GPRSandEDGE)
services.
InGSM/GPRS/EDGEthetotalnumberoftimeslotsperindexnumbermustnotexceed8for
timeslotconfigurationsintendedforTCHTRXsand7fortimeslotconfigurationsintended
forBCCHTRXs.

8. ClickOKtoclosethetimeslotconfigurationsPropertiesdialogbox.
9. ClicktheClosebutton( )toclosetheListofTimeslotConfigurationstable.

6.9.8 AdvancedTransmitterConfigurationOptions
Atolloffersseveraloptionstohelpyouconfiguremorecomplextransmittersituations.Theseoptionsareexplainedinthis
section:

"DefiningExtendedCells"onpage504
"AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters"onpage505.

6.9.8.1 DefiningExtendedCells
GSMcellsusuallycoveranareawithina35kmradius.But,asuserlocationsandtheirdistancesfromthebasestationvary,
andradiowavestravelataconstantspeed,thesignalfromuserswhoarefurtherthan35kmfromthebasestationcanbe
delayedbyalmostanentiretimeslot.Thisdelaycreatesinterferencewiththesignalontheadjacenttimeslot.
ExtendedGSMcellsenabletheoperatortoovercomethislimitbytakingthisdelayintoconsiderationwhendefiningthe
timingadvanceforusersintheextendedcells.Extendedcellscancoverdistancesfrom70to140kmfromthebasestation.
Inanetworkwithextendedcells,Atollwillcalculatecoveragepredictionsfromtheextendedcellsdefinedminimumtomaxi
mumrange,butwillcalculateinterferencecausedbytheextendedcellbeyondtheseranges,inwardsandoutwards.
Todefineanextendedcell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitterforwhichyouwanttodefineanextendedcell.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
onthemapandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. UnderExtendedCells,setaMin.RangeandaMax.Rangefortheextendedcell.
7. ClickOK.

6.9.8.2 AdvancedModellingofMultiBandTransmitters
InAtollGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,allsubcellssharethesamefrequencybandbydefault.However,bychanginganoptionin
theAtoll.inifile,youcanmodeltransmitterswithmorethanonefrequencyband.Formoreinformationonchangingoptions
intheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
OnceyouhavesetthemultibandoptionintheAtoll.inifileandrestartedAtoll,youcanmodifythepropertiesofexisting
transmitterstochangethemtomultibandtransmittersorcreateamultibandtransmittertemplate.Therelevantproperties
ofallmultibandtransmitterscanbeaccessedinaspecialtable.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.9.8.2.1

"DefiningaMultibandTransmitter"onpage505
"CreatingaMultiBandTemplate"onpage506
"AccessingtheMultiBandPropagationParametersTable"onpage508.

DefiningaMultibandTransmitter
Eachsubcellonatransmitterisassignedafrequencydomain.AftermakingthenecessarychangesintheAtoll.inifile,youmust
changethefrequencydomainofoneormorenonBCCHsubcellstoadomainonafrequencybandthatisdifferentfromthe
frequencybandusedbytheBCCH.Youcanthenmodifythefrequencybandspecificsettings:

Antennatype,height,mechanicalandadditionalelectricaldowntilt,
Equipmentlosses
Propagationmodelsandpathlossmatrices.

Thissettingsaretakenintoaccountin:

Coveragepredictions
Trafficcapture
Dimensioning
Interferencematrices.

Todefinethepropagationsettingsforafrequencybandusedbyasubcell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttochangetoamultibandtransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoaccessatransmittersPropertiesdialogboxbyrightclickingthetransmitter
onthemapandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheTRXstab.
6. UnderSubcells,select"Standard"fromtheDisplaylist.ThestandardtablelistseachTRXgroupdefinedinthecelltype
selectedunderCellTypeontheTRXstab.
7. ChangetheFrequencyDomainforoneoftheTRXstoafrequencybandbelongingtoadifferentfrequencyband.
8. IntheSubcellstable,selecttherowoftheTRXandclicktheFrequencyBandPropagationbutton.Thefrequencyband
propagationPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. ClicktheGeneraltab.Thefollowingparametersaredisplayed:

Name:Thenameiscomposedofthemultibandtransmitterthissubcellbelongstofollowedbythefrequency
band,separatedby"@".Thisfieldcannotbeedited.
ID:TheIDisauserdefinablenetworklevelparameterforcellidentification.YoucanenteranIDthatisdifferent
fromthenameofthebasetransmitter.

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Site:TheSiteonwhichthebasetransmitterislocated.Thisfieldcannotbeedited.
SharedAntenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn
chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantenna:

RelativetoSite:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionasanoffsetwithrespecttothe
sitelocation,andthenenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

10. ClicktheTransmittertab.Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

TotalLosses:YoucanenteravalueforTotalLossesorletAtollcalculatelossesaccordingtothecharacteristicsof
theequipmentassignedtothetransmitter.TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxcanbeaccessedbyclicking
theEquipmentbutton.
Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedtothe
altitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustinclude
theheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.Theotherfields,Azimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,andAdditional
ElectricalDowntilt,displayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and %Power,which isthe percentageof
powerreservedforthisparticularantenna.Forexample,foratransmitterwithonesecondaryantenna,ifyou
reserve40%ofthetotalpowerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

11. ClickthePropagationtab.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,and
ResolutionforboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.
12. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Transmitterstable.
13. ClickOK.

6.9.8.2.2

CreatingaMultiBandTemplate
Ifyouwillbecreatingnewmultibandbasestations,youcanfirstcreateamultibandtemplatewiththenecessaryparame
ters,includingthepropagationmodelparametersforeachsubcellusingadifferentfrequencyband.
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,AtollbasesitonthestationtemplateselectedintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialog
box.Thenewstationtemplatehasthesameparametersastheoneitisbasedon.Therefore,byselectingtheexistingstation
templatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyouwanttocreate,youcancreateanewtemplatebyonlymodi
fyingtheparametersthatdiffer.
Tocreateamultibandtemplate,youmusthaveanappropriatemultibandcelltypeto
assigntothetemplate.Ifyouhavenotalreadycreatedamultibandcelltype,youmustdo
sobeforecreatingthetemplate.Forinformationoncreatingacelltype,see"Creatinga
CellType"onpage493.
ItisassumedthatyouhavealreadysetthemultibandtransmitteroptionintheAtoll.inifileandrestartedAtollbeforebegin
ningthisprocedure.
Tocreateamultibandtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectManagement...fromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatesManagementdialogboxappears.
5. UnderAvailableTemplates,selectthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyouwantto
createandclickAdd.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. Createthemultibandtemplate:
a. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
b. IntheNametextbox,givethetemplateadescriptivename.
c. FromtheCellTypelist,selectthemultibandcelltypethatcorrespondstothetypeofstationtemplateyouare
creating.
d. Makeanyothernecessarychangestothestationtemplateparameters.Forinformationontheparametersavail
able,see"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage249.
e. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsave
yourchanges.
7. Setthepropagationparametersforeachfrequencybandinthemultibandtemplate:
a. SelectthemultibandtemplateyouhavejustcreatedandclickAdd.Becausethestationtemplateyouselectedis
a multiband template, the New Station Template dialog box appears with the following options (see
Figure6.129):

Addanewstationtemplate:IfyouselectthisoptionandclickOK,Atollcreatesanewstationtemplatebased
ontheselectedone.
Addanewmultibandstationtemplateforthefrequencyband:IfyouselectthisoptionandclickOK,Atoll
allowsyoutosetthepropagationparametersfortheselectedfrequencyband.

Figure6.129:NewStationTemplatedialogbox
b. SelectAddanewmultibandstationtemplateforthefrequencyband,chooseafrequencybandfromthelistand
clickOK.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
OntheGeneraltab,youcansettheantennaandpropagationparametersfortheselectedfrequencyband(see
Figure6.130):

UnderMainAntenna,youcanmodifythefollowing:theHeight/Groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,
theheightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustinclude the
heightofbuilding),themainantennaModel,1stSectorAzimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectors
are offset tooffercomplete coverageofthearea,the Mechanical Downtilt,andthe Additional Electrical
Downtiltfortheantennas.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderPropagation,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolutionforboth
theMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:Calcula
tionsandPropagationModels.

OntheTransmittertab,underTransmission,youcansettheTotallosses.Atollcalculatesthelossesaccordingto
thecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothetransmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedusingtheEquipment
SpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyouclicktheEquipmentbutton.ForinformationontheEquipment
Specificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.

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Figure6.130:PropertiesdialogboxforfrequencybandofamultibandtemplateGeneralTab
OntheTransmittertab,underTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthe
transmitterforthisspecificfrequencyband.Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsof
theequipmentassignedtothetransmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdi
alogboxwhichappearswhenyouclicktheEquipmentbutton.
ForinformationontheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.

Figure6.131:PropertiesdialogboxforfrequencybandofamultibandtemplateTransmitterTab
8. ClickOK.ThepropertiesdefinedforthefrequencybandappearintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxwitha
namecomposedofthemultibandtemplatetheybelongtofollowedbythefrequencyband,separatedby"@".
9. Repeatstep7.foreveryfrequencybandmodelledbythemultibandtemplate.

6.9.8.2.3

AccessingtheMultiBandPropagationParametersTable
InaGSM/GPRS/EDGEmultibanddocument,youcanaccessthepropertiesofallmultibandtransmittersusingtheMulti
BandPropagationParameterstable.
ToopentheMultiBandPropagationParameterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectSubcells>MultiBandPropagationParametersfromthecontextmenu.TheMultiBandPropagationParam
eterstableappears.MultibandtransmittersareidentifiedintheTransmittercolumn,withthesubcellsusingafre
quencybandotherthanthemainfrequencybandforthattransmitteridentifiedwithanamecomposedofthemulti
bandtransmittertheybelongtofollowedbythefrequencyband,separatedby"@".

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6.9.9 GSM/GPRS/EDGEMultiServiceTrafficData
InAtoll,youcandefinethetrafficdataintheGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork.Thedatawillbeusedindifferentnetworkcalcula
tions,suchas,dimensioningandcoveragepredictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEServices"onpage509
"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypes"onpage510
"ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals"onpage511.

6.9.9.1 ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEServices
YoucanmodelbothcircuitandpacketswitchedGSM/GPRS/EDGEservices.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.9.9.1.1

"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEService"onpage509
"DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGEServicesTable"onpage510

CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEService
You can define the various user services in GSM/GPRS/EDGE documents. The services can be circuitswitched or data
switched.CurrentlytheonlycircuitswitchedserviceinaGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkisaGSMvoiceservicethatusesasingle
timeslot.Thequalityrequirementparametersofservicesaremostlyusedinthedimensioningprocess.
Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheServicesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. EditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewservice:

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucanchangethenametosomethingmoredescriptive.
ActivityFactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkactivityfactorsareusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofactivityforeach
userduringMonteCarlosimulations.
AverageRequestedThroughput:Youcanentertheaveragerequestedthroughputforuplinkanddownlink.This
throughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Howtheaveragerequestedthroughput
isusedinAtolldependsonthetypeofservice:

Circuit:Thisthroughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Itisusedinsimulations
duringuserdistributiongenerationtocalculatethenumberofusersattemptingaconnectionandtodeter
minetheiractivitystatus.
Packet:Thisthroughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Itisusedinsimulations
duringuserdistributiongenerationtocalculatethenumberofusersattemptingaconnectionandtodeter
minetheiractivitystatus.

6. ClicktheParameterstabtodefinethenewservice.
7. Type:YoucanselecteitherCircuit,Packet(MaxBitRate)orPacket(ConstantBitRate)astheservicetype.Ifyou
selectCircuit,theonlyotherapplicableparameterisMax.ProbabilityofBlocking(orDelay)(ErlangBorC,respec
tively).
8. Priority:Enterapriorityforthisservice."0"isthelowestpriority.
9. Max.UL/DLThroughputdemand:ThemaximumUL/DLthroughputsperuserisusedinthesimulationprocessfor
GPRS/EDGEnetworks.
10. Min.ULThroughputdemand:TheminimumthroughputperuserisusedinthesimulationprocessforGPRS/EDGE
networks.
11. Min.DLThroughputdemand:Theminimumthroughputperuserisusedindimensioningandsimulationprocesses
forGPRS/EDGEnetworks.
12. Max.ProbabilityofBlocking(orDelay):Themaximumblockingratedefinesthecallblockingorcallqueuingratefor
theGSMvoiceservicesandtheprobabilityofdelayedpacketsforGPRS/EDGEdataservices.

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13. Max.PacketDelay:Themaximumperiodoftimethatapacketcanbedelayedbeforetransmission.
14. RequiredAvailabilityforMinimumThroughput:Thepercentageofcellcoveragewheretheminimumthroughput(or
theguaranteedbitrateforconstantbitratepacketswitchedservices)perusermustbeavailable.Thisvalueisalso
usedindimensioning.
15. Max.NumberofTimeslotspercarrier:Themaximumnumberoftimeslotspercarrierisusedduringdimensioningto
limitthenumberoftimeslotsthatcanbeassignedtoauserusingthisserviceonacarrier.Thisparameterappliesto
packetswitchedservices.ForconstantbitratepacketswitchedservicessuchasVoIP,thisparameterhastobesetto
"1".
16. UnderApplicationThroughput,youcandefinetheScalingFactorandtheOffset.Thethroughputscalingfactorand
offsetareusedtodeterminetheuserorapplicationlevelthroughputinRLCthroughputortimeslotcoveragepredic
tion.Theseparametersmodelheaderinformationandothersupplementarydatathatdonotappearattheapplica
tionlevel.
17. ClickOK.

6.9.9.1.2

DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGEServicesTable
YoucandisplaytheparametersofalltheservicesintheServicestable.Youcanmodifyanyoftheparametersorcreateanew
service.
TodisplaytheServicestable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheServicesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheServicestableappears.ForinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

6.9.9.2 ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypes
InamultilayerGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork,thespeedtheuseristravellingisoneofthemostimportantcriteriainallocating
theusertoaserver.Amobileusertravellingatahighspeedisusuallyallocatedachannelonthemacrolayerratherthanon
themicrolayerinordertominimisesignallingandsystemloadandtospreadthetrafficoverseverallayers.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.9.9.2.1

"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityType"onpage510
"DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypesTable"onpage510.

CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityType
Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. OntheGeneraltab,youcanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordProperties
dialogbox:

Name:Enterormodifythedescriptivenameforthemobilitytype.
Speed:Enterormodifyanaveragespeedforthemobilitytype.Inahierarchicalnetwork,amaximumspeedis
definedforeachHCS(HierarchicalCellStructure)layer.Anymobilitythatexceedsthedefinedmaximumspeed
willnotbecapturedbythatlayerbutpassedontothelayerabove

6. ClickOK.

6.9.9.2.2

DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGEMobilityTypesTable
YoucandisplaytheparametersofallthemobilitytypesintheMobilityTypestable.Youcanmodifyanyoftheparametersor
createanewmobilitytype.

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TodisplaytheMobilityTypestable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypestableappears.Forinformationonworkingwithtables
inAtoll,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

6.9.9.3 ModellingGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminals
InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,ora
carsonboardnavigationdevice.InAtoll,aterminalismodelledintermsofitsGSMandGPRS/EDGErelevantparameters.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

6.9.9.3.1

"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal"onpage511
"DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminalsTable"onpage512.

CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal
InGSM/GPRS/EDGE,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,ora
carsonboardnavigationdevice.
Thefollowingparametersareusedinpredictions:

Maximumterminalpower
Mainandsecondarybands
Noisefigures
Technology
CodecandCodingSchemerelatedsettings
DTXcapability

Theterminalminimumpowerisonlyusedforsimulations.
Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheTerminalsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameter:

Name:Youcanchangethenameoftheterminal.

6. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Min.Power:Settheminimumtransmissionpower.Theminimumandmaximumtransmissionpowermakeupthe
dynamicrangeforuplinkpowercontrol.
MaxPower:Setthemaximumtransmissionpower.
DTX:TheDTXcheckboxisselectediftheterminalsupportsDTX(DiscontinuousTransmission)technology.
MainBand:Theprimaryfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatible.
SecondaryBand:Thesecondaryfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatible.Thecompatiblefrequency
bandsareusedtoallocatetheusertoatransmitterusingthatfrequencybandifthenetworkisamultibandnet
work.
NoiseFigure:Thenoisecausedbytheterminal.This valueisaddedtothethermalnoise(setto121dBmby
default)inpredictionswhenstudyingCNorCI+NinsteadofCorCI.
Technology:Thetechnologywithwhichtheterminaliscompatible.YoucanchooseamongGSM,GPRS(i.e.,GSM/
GPRS),orGPRS/EDGE(i.e.,GSM/GPRS/EDGE).
CodecConfiguration:Selectthecodecconfigurationfortheterminal.Thisparameterisoptional.

Ifyouchose"GSM,""GPRS,"OR"GPRS/EDGE"underTechnology,setthefollowingparametersunderGPRS\EDGE:

CodingSchemeConfiguration:IftheterminalisGPRSorEDGEcompatible,selectthecodingschemeconfigura
tionfortheterminal.Thisparameterisoptional.
Max.GPRSCS:IftheterminalisGPRScompatible,setthemaximumnumberofcodingschemesthattheterminal
canuse.

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Max.EDGECS:IftheterminalisEDGEcompatible,setthemaximumnumberofcodingschemesthattheterminal
canuse.
ThehighestnumberofGPRS(orEDGE)codingschemesavailabletotheterminalislimited
bythemaximumnumberofGPRS(orEDGE)codingschemesdefinedfortheTRXconfigu
rationassignedtoatransmitter.

NumberofDLTimeslotspercarrier:IftheterminalisGPRSorEDGEcompatible,youcanenterthemaximum
numberofdownlinktimeslotstheterminalcanuseonacarrier.Terminalsusingonlycircuitswitchedserviceswill
useonlyonedownlinktimeslot.UsingmorethanoneDLtimeslothasaneffectinthedimensioningprocess(see
"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage331formoreinformation).
NumberofSimultaneousCarriers:IftheterminalisEDGEevolutioncompatible(EGPRS2),youcanenterthemax
imum number of simultaneous carriers the terminal can use. Terminals using either circuitswitched services,
GPRS,orEGPRSpacketswitchedserviceswilluseonlyonecarrieratatime.Usingmorethanonecarrierhasan
effectinthedimensioningprocess(see"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage331formoreinfor
mation).
WhenyoumodelEDGEEvolutionontheterminalsideAtollhastoconsider:

The support of highorder modulations and the use of turbo codes in specific
codingschemeswhichcanbefoundintheselectedGPRS/EDGEconfiguration.
Thesupportofmulticarrierswhichcanbesetupontheterminalside.
The support of dual antenna terminals (mobile station receive diversity) and
enhanced single antenna terminals (single antenna interference cancellation).
AtolloffersastatisticalmodellingofthesethroughtheuseofanEDGEevolution
configuration, with the effect of SAIC or diversity already included both in the
coding scheme admission thresholds and on the throughput versus C (or CI)
graphs.

7. ClickOK.

6.9.9.3.2

DisplayingtheGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminalsTable
YoucandisplaytheparametersofalltheterminalsintheTerminalstable.Youcanmodifyanyoftheparametersorcreatea
newterminal.
TodisplaytheTerminalstable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheTerminalsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTerminalstableappears.Forinformationonworkingwithtablesin
Atoll,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

6.9.10 DefiningtheInterfererReceptionThreshold
InAtoll,youcandefinealimitonthereceivedsignallevel.ThislimitisusedbyAtolltolimittheinputofinterferersincalcu
lations.Whentheinterfererreceptionthresholdisset,theperformanceofcalculationsbasedonCI,suchascoveragebyCI
level,interferedzones.andGPRS/EDGEpredictionscanbeimproved.Aswell,theperformanceofcalculationsusingtheInter
ferenceviewofthePointAnalysiswindow,trafficanalyses,andinterferencehistogramscanalsobeimproved.
Thisvalueisusedasafiltercriteriononinterferers.Atollwilldiscardallinterfererswithasignallevellowerthanthisvalue.
Todefinetheinterfererreceptionthreshold:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. RightclicktheGSMNetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheGSMNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheCalculationsParameterstab.
5. UnderCalculationLimitation,enteranInterfererReceptionThresholdindBm.
6. ClickOK.

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6.9.11 AdvancedModellingofHoppingGaininCoveragePredictions
Usingfrequencyhoppinghasanadvantagefromthepointofviewofinterferenceinthewayinterferencecanbesmoothed
overseveralfrequencies.Inaddition,radiolinkresistancetofastfadingisincreasedanditsefficiencyisoptimised.Because
thiseffectofhoppingcanbenoticedonvoicequalityandonthroughput,youcandefinespecificadmissionthresholdsfor
codecmodesandcodingschemesaccordingtospecificMALlengths.
IfyouwantAtolltotakeadvancedmodellingofhoppinggainsincoveragepredictions,theadministrator(oryou,ifyouhave
administrator rights) has to add the field MAL_LENGTH to the CodecQualityTables and EGPRSQuality tables. Adding this
customfieldprovidesaMAL_LENGTHcolumninthedefinitionofeachcodecconfiguration(QualityGraphstab)andeach
codingschemeconfiguration.
Forcodecconfigurations,itmeansthatyoucandefineaspecificcodecmodegraphperMALlengthwherethegraphefficiency
increasesastheMALlengthincreases,too(seeFigure6.132onpage513).

Figure6.132:CodecConfigurationProperties:QualityGraphstab(withMALlengthdefinition)
Inqualityindicatorscoveragepredictions(see"MakingaCircuitQualityIndicator(BER,FER,orMOS)CoveragePrediction"on
page456),Atollwillextract,foraspecifiedqualityindicatorandagivencodecmode,thequalityindicatorvaluecorrespond
ingtotheMALofthereceiverbeingstudied.IfgraphsforthemobileMALlengtharenotdefined,Atollselectsthegraphsto
whichtheMALlengthisthemostsimilar,i.e.:

ifthemobileMALlengthexceedsalltheMALlengthsdefinedinthequalityindicatorgraphs,theclosestMALlength
isselected;
ifthemobileMALlengthisbetweentwoMALlengthsdefinedinthequalityindicatorgraphs,Atollcarriesoutaninter
polationonthegraphstoextracttheappropriatequalityindicatorvalue.

Forcodingschemeconfigurations,itmeansthatyoucandefineaspecificcodingschemegraphperMALlengthwherethe
graphefficiencyincreaseswhereastheMALlengthincreasestoo(SeeFigure6.133onpage514).

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Figure6.133:CodingSchemeConfigurationProperties(withMALlengthdefinition)
InGPRS/EDGEcoveragepredictions(see"PacketSpecificCoveragePredictions"onpage447),Atollwillextract,foragiven
codingscheme,thethroughputcorrespondingtotheMALofthestudiedreceiver.IfgraphsforthemobileMALlengtharenot
defined,AtollselectsthegraphsforwhichtheMALlengthisthemostsimilar,i.e.:

ifthemobileMALlengthexceedsalltheMALlengthsdefinedinthecodingschemegraphs,theclosestMALlengthis
selected;
ifthemobileMALlengthisbetweentwoMALlengthsdefinedinthecodingschemegraphs,Atollcarriesoutaninter
polationonthegraphstoextracttheappropriatethroughput.

Foramoreprecisedescriptionofthesefields,seetheAdministratorManual.

6.9.12 ModellingShadowing
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapaththatiscausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbytheprop
agationmodel.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinrecep
tionduetothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevalueandaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbegreaterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationwiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffectofshadowingand
therebycreatecoveragepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditionallossesorgainscaused
byshadowingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlossescalculatedbytheprop
agationmodel.
Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
InGSM/GPRS/EDGEprojects,thestandarddeviationofthepropagationmodelisusedtocalculateshadowingmarginson
signallevels.YoucanalsocalculateshadowingmarginsonCI.Forinformationonsettingthemodelstandarddeviationand
theCIstandarddeviationsforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
ShadowingcanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenAtollcalculatesthesignallevel(C)andthesignaltonoiseratio(CI)for:

Apointanalysis(see"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage254)
Acoverageprediction(see"StudyingDLSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage271,"Interference
CoveragePredictions"onpage435,"PacketSpecificCoveragePredictions"onpage447,and"MakingaCircuitQuality
Indicator(BER,FER,orMOS)CoveragePrediction"onpage456)
Neighbours(see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage297)
Trafficcapture(see"CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture"onpage323).

Youcandisplaytheshadowingmarginsperclutterclass.Forinformation,see"DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutter
Class"onpage515.

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6.9.12.1 DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass
Todisplaytheshadowingmarginsperclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectShadowingMarginsfromthecontextmenu.TheShadowingMarginsdialogboxappears.
4. Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

CellEdgeCoverageProbability:Entertheprobabilityofcoverageattheedgeofthecell.Thevalueyouenterin
thisdialogboxisforinformationonly.
StandardDeviation:Selectthetypeofstandarddeviationtobeusedtocalculatetheshadowingmargin:

FromModel:Themodelstandarddeviation.Atollwilldisplaytheshadowingmarginonthesignallevel.
CI:TheCIstandarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheshadowingmarginontheCIlevel.

5. ClickCalculate.Thecalculatedshadowingmarginisdisplayed.
6. ClickClosetoclosethedialogbox.

6.9.13 ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks
InAtoll,youcanstudytheeffectofinterferencereceivedbyyournetworkfromotherGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworks.Theinter
feringGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetworkcanbeadifferentpartofyourownnetwork,oranetworkbelongingtoanotheroperator.
Tostudyinterferencefromcoexistingnetworks:
1. Importtheinterferingnetworkdata(sites,transmitters,andcells)intoyourdocumentasexplainedin"Creatinga
GroupofBaseStations"onpage255.
2. Fortheinterferingnetworkstransmitters,settheTransmitterTypetoIntraNetwork(InterfererOnly)asexplained
in"TransmitterDescription"onpage236.
During calculations, Atoll will consider the transmitters of type IntraNetwork (Interferer Only) when calculating
interference.Thesetransmitterswillnotserveanypixel,subscriber,ormobile,andwillonlycontributetointerfer
ence.
Modellingtheinterferencefromcoexistingnetworkswillbeasaccurateasthedatayouhavefortheinterferingnetwork.If
theinterferingnetworkisapartofyourownnetwork,thisinformationwouldbereadilyavailable.However,iftheinterfering
networkbelongstoanotheroperator,theinformationavailablemightnotbeaccurate.

6.9.14 ModellingIntertechnologyInterference
AnalysesofGSMnetworkscoexistingwithothertechnologynetworkscanbecarriedoutinAtoll.Intertechnologyinterfer
encemaycreateconsiderablecapacityreductioninaGSMnetwork.Atollcantakeintoaccountinterferencefromcoexisting
networksincalculations.

Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink:InterferencecanbereceivedbymobilesinaGSMnetworkonthe
downlinkfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseof
sameoradjacentcarriers,widebandnoise(thermalnoise,phasenoise,modulationproducts,andspuriousemissions),
andintermodulation.InAtoll,youcandefineinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsfordifferenttechnologies
(CDMA,TDMA,OFDM).Thesegraphsarethenusedforcalculatingtheinterferencefromtheexternalbasestations
onmobiles.Thisinterferenceistakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.Formoreinforma
tion,see"DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs"onpage516.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficientsepa
rationbetweentheuplinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandthedownlinkfrequencyusedbyyourGSM
network.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.Theeffectofthisinterferenceismodelled
inAtollusingtheIntertechnologyDLNoiseRisedefinableforeachTRXintheGSMnetwork.Thisnoiseriseistaken
intoaccountinallinterferencebasedcalculations.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyDLNoiseRise,see
"TRXDefinition"onpage244.

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Figure6.134:Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink

6.9.14.1 DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs
InterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsonmobilesofyourGSMnetworkcanbecalculatedbyAtoll.Atollusesthe
intertechnologyinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsforcalculatingtheinterferencelevels.AnIRFgraphrepresentsthe
variationoftheAdjacentChannelInterferenceRatio(ACIR)asafunctionoffrequencyseparation.ACIRisdeterminedfrom
theAdjacentChannelSuppression(ACS)andtheAdjacentChannelLeakageRatio(ACLR)parametersasfollows:
1
ACIR = ------------------------------------1
1
------------- + ----------------ACS ACLR

AnIRFdependson:

Theinterferingtechnology(TDMA,CDMA,andOFDM)
Theinterferingcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Theinterferedcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Thefrequencyoffsetbetweenbothcarriers(MHz).

IRFsareusedbyAtolltocalculatetheinterferencefromexternalbasestationsonlyiftheAtolldocumentcontainingtheexter
nalbasestationsislinkedtoyourGSMdocument,i.e.,whenAtollisincoplanningmode.
TodefinetheintertechnologyIRFsinthevictimnetwork:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactors.Thecontext
menuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteroneinterferencereductionfactorgraphperrow.ForeachIRFgraph,enter:

Technology:Selectthetechnologyusedbytheinterferingnetwork.
InterfererBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferingnetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthelinkeddocument.
VictimBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferednetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthemaindocument.
ReductionFactors(dB):ClickthecellcorrespondingtotheReductionFactors(dB)columnandthecurrentrowin
thetable.TheReductionFactors(dB)dialogboxappears.

Enter the interference reduction factors in the Reduction (dB) column for different frequency separation,
Freq.Delta(MHz),valuesrelativetothecentrefrequencyofthechannel(carrier)usedinthemaindocument.

Reductionvaluesmustbepositive.
Ifyouleavereductionfactorsundefined,Atollassumesthereisnointerference.

6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefininginterferencereductionfactors,clickOK.

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UMTSHSPANetworks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseaUMTSHSPAnetwork.
"DesigningaUMTSNetwork"onpage519

"PlanningandOptimisingUMTSBaseStations"on
page520

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage624

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page658

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage662

"CoplanningUMTSNetworkswithOtherNetworks"on
page673

"AdvancedConfiguration"onpage693

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7 UMTSHSPANetworks
AtollenablesyoutocreateandmodifyallaspectsofaUMTSHSPA(HSDPAandHSUPA)network.Onceyouhavecreatedthe
network,Atolloffersmanytoolstoletyouverifythenetwork.Basedontheresultsofyourtests,youcanmodifyanyofthe
parametersdefiningthenetwork.
TheprocessofplanningandcreatingaUMTSHSPAnetworkisoutlinedin"DesigningaUMTSNetwork"onpage519.Creating
thenetworkofbasestationsisexplainedin"PlanningandOptimisingUMTSBaseStations"onpage520.Allocatingneighbours
andscramblingcodesisalsoexplained.Inthissection,youwillalsofindinformationonhowyoucandisplayinformationon
basestationsonthemapandhowyoucanusethetoolsinAtolltostudybasestations.
In"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage624,usingtrafficmapstostudynetworkcapacityisexplained.Creatingsimulations
usingthetrafficmapinformationandanalysingtheresultsofsimulationsisalsoexplained.
Usingdrivetestdatapathstoverifythenetworkisexplainedin"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage662.Filteringimported
drivetestdatapaths,andusingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.Filteringimporteddrivetestdatapaths,and
usingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.

7.1 DesigningaUMTSNetwork
Figure7.1depictstheprocessofplanningandcreatingaUMTSHSPAnetwork.
1
Open an Existing Project
or Create a New One
2
Network Configuration
- Add Network Elements
- Change Parameters
3
Basic Predictions
(Best Server, Signal Level)
4
Neighbour Allocation

5a
Traffic Maps

5c

5b
Monte-Carlo
Simulations

User-defined values
5
Cell Load
Conditions
6a

6
UMTS/HSPA Predictions

Prediction Study Reports

7

Scrambling Code Plan

Figure7.1:PlanningaUMTSnetworkworkflow
ThestepsinvolvedinplanningaUMTSHSPAnetworkaredescribedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure7.1.
1. Openanexistingradioplanningdocumentorcreateanewone(

).

YoucanopenanexistingAtolldocumentbyselectingFile>Open.
CreatinganewanewAtolldocumentisexplainedinChapter2:AtollProjects.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters(

).

Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingbasestationelements:

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage528
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage528
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.

Youcanalsoaddbasestationsusingabasestationtemplate(see"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page529).

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3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions(

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage553

4. Allocateneighbours,automaticallyorindividually(

).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage598.

5. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions(

).

Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedonatrafficmap( 5a and 5b )(see

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage624).
YoucandefinethemmanuallyeitherontheCellstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxorintheCells
table(see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529)(

5c

).

6. MakeUMTSspecificcoveragepredictionsusingthedefinedcellloadconditions(

).

"UMTSCoveragePredictions"onpage561
"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579
"HSUPACoveragePredictions"onpage581.

7. Allocatescramblingcodes(

).

"PlanningScramblingCodes"onpage614.

7.2 PlanningandOptimisingUMTSBaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcanstartanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnosites,orfromadatabase
withasetofsites.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatesitesandmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.InaUMTSproject,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtransmitter.Acellreferstothecharacteristicsof
acarrieronatransmitter.
Antenna
- Azimuth
- Mechanical tilt

TMA
Antenna
- Height

Feeder Cable

Transmitter
- Noise figure
- Power

Site
- X, Y coordinates

Figure7.2:Atransmitter
Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellatatime,orcreateseveralatoncebycreatingastationtemplate.Usinga
stationtemplate,youcancreateoneormorebasestationsatthesametime.InAtoll,abasestationreferstoasitewithits
transmitters,antennas,equipment,andcells.
Atollallowsyoutomakeavarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelortransmittercoveragepredictions.Theresults
ofcalculatedcoveragepredictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,orstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbyallowingyoutocreateservices,users,userprofiles,environments,andtermi
nals.Thisdatacanbethenusedtomakequalitypredictions,suchaseffectiveservicearea,noise,orhandoverstatuspredic
tions,onthenetwork.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"CreatingaUMTSBaseStation"onpage521
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage539
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage540
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage540
"CreatingDualBandandTriBandUMTSNetworks"onpage540
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage541
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage545
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage548
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage553
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage598
"PlanningScramblingCodes"onpage614.

7.2.1 CreatingaUMTSBaseStation
WhenyoucreateaUMTSsite,youcreateonlythegeographicalpoint;youmustaddthetransmittersandcellsafterwards.
Thesite,withthetransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcellsiscalledabasestation.
Inthissection,eachelementofabasestationisdescribed.Ifyouwanttoaddanewbasestation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage529.Ifyouwanttocreateormodifyoneoftheelementsofabasestation,see"Creating
orModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage528.Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofbasestations,Atollallowsyouto
import them from another Atoll document or from an external source. For information, see "Creating a Group of Base
Stations"onpage539.
Thissectionexplainsthevariouspartsofthebasestationprocess:

"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage521
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage528
"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage529
"ManagingStationTemplates"onpage531
"DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation"onpage536
"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage537.

7.2.1.1 DefinitionofaBaseStation
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Youwillusuallycreateanewbasestationusingastationtemplate,asdescribedin"PlacingaNewStationUsinga
StationTemplate"onpage529.Thissectiondescribesthefollowingelementsofabasestationandtheirparameters:

7.2.1.1.1

"SiteDescription"onpage521
"TransmitterDescription"onpage522
"CellDescription"onpage525.

SiteDescription
TheparametersofasitecanbefoundinthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.ThePropertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:

TheGeneraltab(seeFigure7.3):

Figure7.3:NewSitedialogbox

Name:Atollautomaticallyentersadefaultnameforeachnewsite.Youcanmodifythedefaultnamehere.Ifyou
wanttochangethedefaultnamethatAtollgivestonewsites,seetheAdministratorManual.
Position:Bydefault,Atollplacesthenewsiteatthecentreofthemapwindow.Youcanmodifythelocationof
thesitehere.

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Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitewithprecision,youcanalsoplacesitesusing
themouseandthenpositionthempreciselywiththisdialogboxafterwards.For
informationonplacingsitesusingthemouse,see"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"on
page45.

Altitude:Thealtitude,asdefinedbytheDTMforthelocationspecifiedunderPosition,isgivenhere.Youcan
specifytheactualaltitudeunderReal,ifyouwant.Ifanaltitudeisspecifiedhere,Atollwillusethisvalueforcal
culations.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

TheUMTStab:

MaxNumberofUplinkChannelElements:Themaximumnumberofphysicalradioresourcesforthecurrentsite
intheuplink.BydefaultAtollentersthemaximumpossible(256).
MaxNumberofDownlinkChannelElements:Themaximumnumberofphysicalradioresourcesforthecurrent
siteinthedownlink.BydefaultAtollentersthemaximumpossible(256).
MaxIubUplinkBackhaulThroughput:ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputforthecurrentsiteintheuplink.
MaxIubDownlinkBackhaulThroughput:ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputforthecurrentsiteinthedown
link.
Equipment:Youcanselectequipmentfromthelist.Tocreatenewsiteequipment,see"CreatingSiteEquipment"
onpage699.
Ifnoequipmentisassignedtothesite,Atollconsidersthefollowingdefaultvalues:

7.2.1.1.2

Rakeefficiencyfactor=1
MUDfactor=0
Carrierselection=ULminimumnoise
Downlinkanduplinkoverheadresourcesforcommonchannels=0
TheoptionASRestrictedtoNeighboursisnotselected,andAtollusesonechannelelementontheuplinkor
downlinkforanyserviceduringpowercontrolsimulation.

TransmitterDescription
TheparametersofatransmittercanbefoundinthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Whenyoucreateatransmitter,the
Propertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGeneraltabandtheTransmittertab.Onceyouhavecreatedatransmitter,itsProp
ertiesdialogboxhasthreeadditionaltabs:theCellstab(see"CellDescription"onpage525),thePropagationtab(seeChap
ter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels),andtheDisplaytab(see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47).

TheGeneraltab:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthetransmitterafterthesiteitison,addinganunderscoreandanumber.Youcan
enteranameforthetransmitter,butforthesakeofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.Ifyouwant
tochangethewayAtollnamestransmitters,seetheAdministratorManual.
Site:YoucanselecttheSiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Onceyouhaveselectedthesite,youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Forinforma
tiononthesitePropertiesdialogbox,see"SiteDescription"onpage521.YoucanclicktheNewbuttontocreate
anewsiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.

FrequencyBand:YoucanselectaFrequencyBandforthetransmitter.Onceyouhaveselectedthefrequency
band,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheband.Forinformationonthefrequencyband
Propertiesdialogbox,see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage694.

Sharedantenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn
chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.Thisfieldisalsousedformultibandtransmitterstosynchroniseantennaparametersfordifferentfre
quencybands.

UnderAntennaPosition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantennas(mainandsecondary):

522

RelativetoSite:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionsasoffsetswithrespecttothesite
location,andthenenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

MaxRange:Youcandefineamaximumcoveragerangeforthetransmitter.

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TheTransmittertab(seeFigure7.4):

Figure7.4:TransmitterdialogboxTransmittertab

Active:Ifthistransmitteristobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Activetransmittersaredisplayed
inredintheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Onlyactivetransmittersaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthe
transmitter.Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothe
transmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhen
youclicktheEquipmentbutton.
OntheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure7.5),theequipmentyouselectandthegainsandlosses
youdefineareusedtoinitialisetotaltransmitterULandDLlosses:

TMA:Youcanselectatowermountedamplifier(TMA)fromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccess
thepropertiesoftheTMA.ForinformationoncreatingaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feeder:Youcanselectafeedercablefromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
ofthefeeder.Forinformationoncreatingafeedercable,see"DefiningFeederCables"onpage183.
Transmitter:YoucanselecttransmitterequipmentfromtheTransmitterlist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebutton
toaccessthepropertiesofthetransmitterequipment.Forinformationoncreatingtransmitterequipment,
see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.
FeederLength:Youcanenterthefeederlengthattransmissionandreception.
MiscellaneousLosses:Youcanentermiscellaneouslossesattransmissionandreception.Thevalueyouenter
mustbepositive.
ReceiverAntennaDiversityGain:Youcanenterareceiverantennadiversitygain.Thevalueyouentermust
bepositive.

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Figure7.5:TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
Anylossrelatedtothenoiseduetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculated
losses.AtollalwaystakesthevaluesintheRealboxesintoconsiderationinpredictioneven
iftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.Theinformationinthereal
NoiseFigurereceptionboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquip
mentSpecificationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealTotalLossesattransmissionand
receptionandtherealNoiseFigureatreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbe
positive.

Antennas:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsalltheantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Themechanicalandadditionalelectricaldowntiltsdefinedforthemainantenna
arealsousedforthecalculationsofsmartantennas.

UnderDiversity,youcanselectthenumberoftransmissionandreceptionantennaportsusedforMIMO(No.
of ports). MIMO systems are supported by some HSDPA bearers (following improvements introduced by
release7ofthe3GPPUTRAspecifications,referredtoasHSPA+).Formoreinformationonhowthenumber
ofantennaportsareused,see"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage704.
R99bearersonlysupporttransmitandreceivediversities.Youcandefinethetransmitdiversitymethodfrom
theTransmissionlistwhenmorethanonetransmissionantennaportisavailable.Thereceivediversitymeth
oddependsonthenumberofreceptionantennaportsselected(2RXfortworeceptionantennaportsand4RX
forfourreceptionantennaports).

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UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power,whichisthepercentageof
powerreservedforthisparticularantenna.Forexample,foratransmitterwithonesecondaryantenna,ifyou
reserve40%ofthetotalpowerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

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7.2.1.1.3

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

CellDescription
InAtoll,acellisdefinedasacarrier,withallitscharacteristics,onatransmitter;thecellisthemechanismbywhichyoucan
configureaUMTSmulticarriernetwork.Inotherwords,atransmitterhasonecellforeverycarrier.
Whenyoucreateatransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesonecellforthetransmitter.Thefollowingexplainstheparameters
ofaUMTScell,includingtheparametersforHSDPAandHSUPAfunctionality.Asyoucreateacell,Atollcalculatesappropriate
valuesforsomefieldsbasedontheinformationyouhaveentered.Youcan,ifyouwant,modifythesevalues.
ThepropertiesofaUMTScellarefoundonCellstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichitisassigned.
YoucanalsodisplaythepropertiesofacellbydoubleclickingthecellintheSiteexplorer.
SeeFigure1.3onpage41.

ThefollowingHSDPAoptionsapplytoallthecellsofthetransmitter:

Multicellmode:Selectwhetherthetransmittersupportscarrieraggregationinthedownlink(DLmulticell),orinthe
downlinkandintheuplink(UL/DLmulticell).Whenmulticellisactive,theusercansimultaneouslyconnecttoseveral
carriersofthetransmitterfordatatransfer(uptoeightcarriersinthedownlinkandtwocarriersintheuplink)andbe
assignedHSDPAandHSUPAbearersineachofthecells.TheR99ADPCHbeareristransmittedononeofthecells,
whichiscalledtheanchorcell.Themaximumnumberofcellstowhichtheusercansimultaneouslyconnectdepends
ontheHSDPAandHSUPAUEcategoriesoftheterminal.

InterCarrierPowerSharing:YoucanenablepowersharingbetweencellsbyselectingtheInterCarrierPowerSharing
checkboxunderHSDPAandenteringavalueintheMaximumSharedPowerbox.InorderforInterCarrierPower
Sharingtobeavailable,youmusthaveatleastoneHSDPAcarrierwithdynamicpowerallocation.
InterCarrierPowerSharingenablesthenetworktodynamicallyallocateavailablepowerfromR99onlyandHSDPA
carriersamongHSDPAcarriers.
WhenyouselectInterCarrierPowerSharingandyoudefineamaximumsharedpower,theMaxPowerofeachcell
isusedtodeterminethepercentageofthetransmitterpowerthatthecellcannotexceed.
ThemostcommonscenarioiswhereyouhaveR99onlycellsthatarenotusing100%oftheirpowerandcanshareit
withanHSDPAcarrier.Tousepowersharingefficiently,youshouldsettheMaxPoweroftheHSDPAcellstothesame
valueastheMaximumSharedPower.Forexample,iftheMaximumSharedPowerisdefinedas43dBm,theMax
PowerofallHSDPAcellsshouldbesetto43dBminordertobeabletouse100%oftheavailablepower.Inthiscase,
allofanR99cellsunusedpowercanbeallocatedtotheHSDPAcell.

Thefollowingparameterscanbesetforeachindividualcellofthetransmitter:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthecellafteritstransmitter,addingthecarriernumberinparentheses.Ifyouchange
transmitternameorcarrier,Atolldoesnotupdatethecellname.Youcanenteranameforthecell,butforthesake
ofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.IfyouwanttochangethewayAtollnamescells,seetheAdmin
istratorManual.
ID:YoucanenteranIDforthecell.Thisisauserdefinablenetworklevelparameterforcellidentification.
Carrier:Thenumberofthecarrier.
Whentransmittersthatcontainmultiplecellsaregroupedbycarrier,Atollsortsthecells
bycarrier,whichgroupstogethertransmittersthatusethesamesetofcarriers.However,
it is sometimes necessary to differentiate transmitters by the order in which channel
numbersareassignedtothecells.ForinstructionsonhowtoforceAtolltoconsiderthe
cellorderwhengroupingbycarriercapability,contacttechnicalsupport.

Active:Ifthiscellistobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.
MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumavailabledownlinkpowerforthecell.
PilotPower(dBm):Thepilotpower.
SCHpower(dBm):Theaveragepowerofboththesynchronisationchannels(PSCHandSSCH).

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TheSCHpowerisonlytransmitted110ofthetime.Consequently,thevalueenteredfor
theSCHpowershouldonlybe110ofitsvaluewhentransmitted,inordertorespectits
actualinterferenceonotherchannels.

OtherCCHpower(dBm):Thepowerofothercommonchannels(PCCPCH,SCCPCH,AICH).
ASThreshold(dB):Theactivesetthreshold.ItistheEcI0marginincomparisonwiththeEcI0ofthebestserver.Itis
usedtodeterminewhichcells,apartfromthebestserver,willbepartoftheactiveset.
MinRSCP(dBm):TheminimumpilotRSCPrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothecell.ThepilotRSCPiscompared
withthisthresholdtodeterminewhetherornotausercanbeconnectedtothecell.
DLMaxThroughputperUser(kbps):Thedownlinkmaxthroughputperuserinkbps.TheDLmaxthroughputperuser
isthemaximumconnectionrateinthedownlinkforauser.TheDLandULpeakthroughputsaretakenintoaccount
duringpowercontrolsimulation.
ULMaxThroughputperUser(kbps):Theuplinkmaxthroughputperuserinkbps.TheULmaxthroughputperuseris
themaximumconnectionrateintheuplinkforauser.TheDLandULpeakthroughputsaretakenintoaccountduring
powercontrolsimulation.
MaxDLLoad(%Pmax):Thepercentageofthemaximumdownlinkpower(setinMaxPower)nottobeexceeded.This
limitwillbetakenintoaccountduringthesimulationiftheoptionDLLoadisselected.IftheDLloadoptionisnot
selectedduringasimulation,thisvalueisnottakenintoconsideration.
MaxULLoadFactor(%):Themaximumuplinkloadfactornottobeexceeded.Thislimitcanbetakenintoaccount
duringthesimulation.
TotalPower(dBmor%):Thetotaltransmittedpowerondownlinkisthetotalpowernecessarytoservetheusers.
Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
Bydefault,thetotalpowerissetasanabsolutevalue.Youcansetthisvalueasapercent
ageofthemaximumpowerofthecellbyrightclickingtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder
intheParametersexplorerandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Then,onthe
Global Parameters tab of the Properties dialog box, under DL Load, you can select
%Pmax.Thetotalpowervalueisautomaticallyconvertedandsetasapercentageofthe
maximumpower.

526

ULLoadFactor(%):Theuplinkcellloadfactor.Thisfactorcorrespondstotheratiobetweentheuplinktotalinterfer
enceandtheuplinktotalnoise.Theuplinkcellloadfactorisaglobalvalueandincludestheintertechnologyuplink
interference.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
ULReuseFactor:Theuplinkreusefactorisdeterminedfromuplinkintraandextracellinterference(signalsreceived
bythetransmitterrespectivelyfromintraandextracellterminals).Thisistheratiobetweenthetotaluplinkinterfer
enceandtheintracellinterference.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
ScramblingCodeDomain:Thescramblingcodedomaintowhichtheallocatedscramblingcodebelongs.Thisandthe
scramblingcodereusedistanceareusedbythescramblingcodeplanningalgorithm.
SCReuseDistance:Thescramblingcodereusedistance.Thisandthescramblingcodedomainareusedbythescram
blingcodeplanningalgorithm.
PrimaryScramblingCode:Theprimaryscramblingcode.
SCLocked:Thestatusoftheprimaryscramblingcodeallocatedtothecell.IftheSCLockedcheckboxischecked,the
automaticallocationtoolconsidersthatthecurrentprimaryscramblingcodeisnotmodifiable.
Comments:Ifdesired,youcanenteranycommentsinthisfield.
MaxNumberofIntracarrierNeighbours:Themaximumnumberofintracarrierneighboursforthiscell.Thisvalueis
usedbytheintracarrierneighbourallocationalgorithm.
MaxNumberofIntercarrierNeighbours:Themaximumnumberofintercarrierneighboursforthiscell.Thisvalueis
usedbytheintercarrierneighbourallocationalgorithm.
MaxNumberofIntertechnologyNeighbours:Themaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursforthiscell.
Thisvalueisusedbytheintertechnologyneighbourallocationalgorithm.
IntertechnologyULNoiseRise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferenceonthiscellontheuplinkcreatedbythe
mobilesandbasestationsofanexternalnetwork.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinuplinkinterference
basedcalculationsinvolvingthiscellinthesimulation.Itisnotusedinpredictions(ASAnalysisandcoveragepredic
tions).Inpredictions,AtollcalculatestheuplinktotalinterferencefromtheULloadfactorwhichincludesintertech
nologyuplinkinterference.Formoreinformationonintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnology
Interference"onpage706.
IntertechnologyDLNoiseRise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbymobilesofanexternalnetwork
onthemobilesservedbythiscellonthedownlink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterfer
encebasedcalculationsinvolvingthiscell.Formoreinformationonintertechnologyinterference,see"Modelling
IntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.
Neighbours:Youcanaccessadialogboxinwhichyoucansetbothintratechnology(intracarrierandintercarrier)
andintertechnologyneighboursbyclickingtheBrowsebutton.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"Planning
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TheBrowsebuttonmaynotbevisibleintheNeighboursboxifthisisanewcell.Youcan
maketheBrowsebuttonappearbyclickingApply.

HSPASupport:TheHSPAfunctionalitysupportedbythecell.YoucanchoosebetweenNone(i.e.,R99only),HSDPA,
HSPA(i.e.,HSDPAandHSUPA)orHSPA+.
WhenHSDPAissupported,thefollowingfieldsareavailable:

HSDPADynamicPowerAllocation:Ifyouaremodellingdynamicpowerallocation,theHSDPADynamicPower
Allocationshouldbechecked.Duringasimulation,AtollfirstallocatespowertoR99usersandthendynamically
allocatestheremainingpowerofthecelltotheHSPDSCHandHSSCCHofHSDPAbearerusers.Attheendofthe
simulation,youcancommitthecalculatedavailableHSDPApowerandtotalpowervaluestoeachcell.
Inthecontextofdynamicpowerallocation,thetotalpowercannotexceedthemaximum
powerminusthepowerheadroom.

AvailableHSDPAPower(dBm):Whenyouaremodellingstaticpowerallocation,theHSDPADynamicPowerAllo
cationcheckboxisclearedandtheavailableHSDPApowerisenteredinthisbox.Thisisthepoweravailablefor
theHSPDSCHandHSSCCHofHSDPAbearerusers.
PowerHeadroom(dB):ThepowerheadroomisareserveofpowerthatAtollkeepsforDedicatedPhysicalChan
nels(DPCH)incaseoffastfading.Duringsimulation,HSDPAbeareruserswillnotbeconnectedifthecellpower
remainingafterservingR99usersislessthanthepowerheadroomvalue.
HSSCCHDynamicPowerAllocation:IfyouaremodellingdynamicpowerallocationtheHSSCCHDynamicPower
AllocationcheckboxshouldbecheckedandavalueshouldbeenteredinHSSCCHPower(dBm).Duringpower
control,AtollwillcontrolHSSCCHpowerinordertomeettheminimumqualitythreshold(asdefinedforeach
mobilitytype).ThevalueenteredinHSSCCHPower(dBm)isthemaximumpoweravailableforeachHSSCCH
channel.ThecalculatedpowerforeachHSDPAbeareruserduringthesimulationcannotexceedthismaximum
value.
HSSCCHPower(dBm):ThevalueforeachHSSCCHchannelwillbeusedifyouaremodellingdynamicpowerallo
cation.IfyouhaveselectedtheHSSCCHDynamicPowerAllocationcheckboxandmodellingdynamicpowerallo
cation,thevalueenteredhererepresentsamaximumforeachHSDPAbeareruser.Ifyouhavenotselectedthe
HSSCCHDynamicPowerAllocationcheckboxandaremodellingstaticpowerallocation,thevalueenteredhere
representstheactualHSSCCHpowerperHSSCCHchannel.
NumberofHSSCCHChannels:ThemaximumnumberofHSSCCHchannelsforthiscell.EachPacket(HSDPA
BestEffort),Packet(HSDPAVariableBitRate),Packet(HSPABestEffort),andPacket(HSPAVariableBitRate)
userconsumesoneHSSCCHchannel.Therefore,atanygiventime(overatimetransmissioninterval),thenumber
ofHSDPAbeareruserscannotexceedthenumberofHSSCCHchannelspercell.
HSDSCH transmissions without an accompanying HSSCCH are performed for Packet
(HSPAConstantBitRate)users.Therefore,thenumberofHSSCCHchannelsisnottaken
into account when managing the number of Packet (HSPA Constant Bit Rate) users
connectedatagiventime.

Min.NumberofHSPDSCHCodes:TheminimumnumberofOVSFcodesavailableforHSPDSCHchannels.This
valuewillbetakenintoaccountduringsimulationsinordertofindasuitablebearer.
MaxNumberofHSPDSCHcodes:ThemaximumnumberofOVSFcodesavailableforHSPDSCHchannels.This
valuewillbetakenintoaccountduringsimulationsandcoveragepredictionsinordertofindasuitablebearer.
MaxNumberofHSDPAUsers:ThemaximumnumberofHSDPAbearerusers[i.e.,Packet(HSDPABestEffort)
users,Packet(HSDPAVariableBitRate)users,Packet(HSPABestEffort)users,Packet(HSPAVariableBit
Rate)users,andPacket(HSPAConstantBitRate)users]thatthiscellcansupportatanygiventime.
NumberofHSDPAUsers:ThenumberofHSDPAbearerusersisanaverageandcanbeusedforcertaincoverage
predictions.Youcanenterthisvalueyourself,orhavethevaluecalculatedbyAtollusingasimulation.Dualcell
HSDPAusersarecountedonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
HSDPASchedulerAlgorithm:TheschedulingtechniquethatwillbeusedtoranktheHSDPAbeareruserstobe
served.YoucanselecttheschedulerfromthelistofschedulersavailableintheSchedulerstable.Formoreinfor
mation,see"DefiningHSDPASchedulers"onpage703.
MIMOSupport:TheMIMOmethodusedbythecellwhenitsupportsHSPA+.YoucanchoosebetweenNone,
TransmitDiversity,orSpatialMultiplexing.

WhenHSUPAissupported,thefollowingfieldsarealsoavailable:

DLHSUPAPower:Thepower(indBm)allocatedtoHSUPADLchannels(EAGCH,ERGCH,andEHICH).Thisvalue
mustbeenteredbytheuser.

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MaxNumberofHSUPAUsers:ThemaximumnumberofHSUPAbearerusers(i.e.,Packet(HSPABestEffort)
users,Packet(HSPAVariableBitRate)usersandPacket(HSPAConstantBitRate)users)thatthiscellcansup
portatanygiventime.
ULLoadFactorDuetoHSUPA(%):TheuplinkcellloadcontributionduetoHSUPA.Thisvaluecanbeasimulation
resultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
NumberofHSUPAUsers:ThenumberofHSUPAbearerusersisanaverageandcanbeusedforcertaincoverage
predictions.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
Bydefault,theSCHpower,theCCHpower,theHSSCCHpowerandtheHSUPApowerare
setasabsolutevalues.Youcansetthesevaluesasrelativetothepilotpowerbyrightclick
ingtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolderintheParametersexplorerandselectingProperties
fromthecontextmenu.Then,ontheGlobalParameterstabofthePropertiesdialogbox,
underDLPowers,youcanselectRelativetoPilot.TheSCHpower,theCCHpower,theHS
SCCHpower,andtheHSUPApowervaluesareautomaticallyconvertedandsetasrelative
tothepilotpower.

7.2.1.2 CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.
Thissectiondescribeshowtocreateormodifythefollowingelementsofabasestation:

7.2.1.2.1

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage528
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage528
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.

CreatingorModifyingaSite
Youcanmodifyanexistingsiteoryoucancreateanewsite.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasite,describedin"SiteDescrip
tion"onpage521,throughthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.HowyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhether
youarecreatinganewsiteormodifyinganexistingsite.
Tocreateanewsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select New from the context menu. The Sites: New Record Properties dialog box appears (see Figure7.3 on
page521).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage521.
5. ClickOK.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSitesfolder.

3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThesitesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage521.
6. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsitesatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingsites,you
candoitquicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSitestable.Youcanopen
theSitestablebyrightclickingtheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

7.2.1.2.2

CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter
Youcanmodifyanexistingtransmitteroryoucancreateanewtransmitter.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,itsinitial
settingsarebasedonthedefaultstationtemplatedisplayedintheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Youcanaccessthepropertiesof
atransmitter,describedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage522,throughthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Howyou
accessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewtransmitterormodifyinganexistingtransmitter.

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Tocreateanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitters:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure7.4).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage522.
5. ClickOK.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellbasedonthedefaultstationtemplate.
Forinformationoncreatingacell,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage522.
6. ClickOK.

7.2.1.2.3

If you are creating several transmitters at the same time, or modifying several
existing transmitters, you can do it more quickly by editing or pasting the data
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyright
clickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpenTable
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"Copying
andPastinginTables"onpage82.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecon
textmenu.

CreatingorModifyingaCell
Youcanmodifyanexistingcelloryoucancreateanewcell.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofacell,describedin"CellDescrip
tion"onpage525,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterwherethecellislocated.
Tocreateormodifyacell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

3. Rightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateacellorwhosecellyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheCellstab.
6. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"CellDescription"onpage525.
7. ClickOK.

Ifyouarecreatingormodifyingseveralcellsatthesametime,youcandoitmore
quicklybyeditingthedatadirectlyintheCellstable.YoucanopentheCellstable
by rightclicking the Transmitters folder in the Network explorer and selecting
Cells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Youcaneithereditthedatainthetable,
paste data into the table (see "Copying and Pasting in Tables" on page82), or
importdataintothetable(see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87).
Ifyouwanttoaddacelltoanexistingtransmitteronthemap,youcanaddthecell
byrightclickingthetransmitterandselectingNewCellfromthecontextmenu.

7.2.1.3 PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate
InAtoll,astationisdefinedasasitewithoneormoretransmitterssharingthesameproperties.WithAtoll,youcancreatea
networkbyplacingstationsbasedonstationtemplates.Thisallowsyoutobuildyournetworkquicklywithconsistentparam
eters,insteadofbuildingthenetworkbyfirstcreatingthesite,thenthetransmitters,andfinallybyaddingthecells.
Toplaceanewstationusingastationtemplate:

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1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.

2. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyouwouldliketo
placethenewstation.Theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationare
visibleintheStatusbar.

4. Clicktoplacethestation.

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouclick
theNewStationbutton.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"Changing
theMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaysitstiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofstationsusingaAtolltemplate.Youdothisbydefininganareaonthemapwhereyouwantto
placethestations.Atollcalculatestheplacementofeachstationaccordingtothedefinedhexagonalcellradiusinthestation
template.Forinformationondefiningthecellradius,see"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage531.
Toplaceaseriesofstationswithinadefinedarea:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
2. ClicktheHexagonalDesignbutton(
),totheleftofthetemplatelist.Ahexagonaldesignisagroupofstationscre
atedfromthesamestationtemplate.

3. Drawazonedelimitingtheareawhereyouwanttoplacetheseriesofstations:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Atollfillsthedelimitedzonewithnewstationsandtheirhexagonalshapes.Stationobjectssuchassitesandtransmit
tersarealsocreatedandplacedintotheirrespectivefolders.
Youcan work with the sites andtransmittersin thesestations as you work with any station object,adding,for example,
anotherantennatoatransmitter.
PlacingaStationonanExistingSite
Whenyouplaceanewstationusingastationtemplateasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page529,thesiteiscreatedatthesametimeasthestation.However,youcanalsoplaceanewstationonanexistingsite.
Toplaceastationonanexistingsite:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.
2. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
3. ClicktheNewStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

4. Movethepointertothesiteonthemap.Whentheframeappearsaroundthesite,indicatingitisselected,clickto
placethestation.

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7.2.1.4 ManagingStationTemplates
AtollcomeswithUMTSstationtemplates,butyoucanalsocreateandmodifystationtemplates.Thetoolsforworkingwith
stationtemplatescanbefoundontheRadioPlanningtoolbar(seeFigure7.6).

Figure7.6:TheRadioPlanningtoolbar
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

7.2.1.4.1

"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage531
"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage531
"CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother"onpage536
"ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate"onpage536
"DeletingaStationTemplate"onpage536.

CreatingaStationTemplate
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,AtollbasesitonthestationtemplateselectedintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialog
box.Thenewstationtemplatehasthesameparametersastheoneitisbasedon.Therefore,byselectingtheexistingstation
templatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyouwanttocreate,youcancreateanewtemplatebyonlymodi
fyingtheparametersthatdiffer.
Tocreateastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationTemplatestable,rightclickthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyou
wanttocreate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

8. SelectPastefromthecontextmenu.Thestationtemplateyoucopiedinstep5.ispastedinthenewrow,withthe
Nameofthenewstationtemplategivenasthesameasthetemplatecopiedbutprecededby"Copyof".
9. Edittheparametersofthenewstationtemplateinthetableorasexplainedin"ModifyingaStationTemplate"on
page531.

7.2.1.4.2

ModifyingaStationTemplate
YoucanmodifyastationtemplatedirectlyintheStationTemplatestable,oryoucanopenthePropertiesdialogboxforthat
stationtemplateandmodifytheparametersinthedialogbox.
Tomodifyastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. Rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThestationtemplatesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Onthistab(seeFigure7.7),youcanmodifythefollowing:theName
ofthestationtemplate,thenumberofSectors,eachwithatransmitter,andtheHexagonRadius,i.e.,thetheoretical
radiusofthehexagonalareacoveredbyeachsector.

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Figure7.7:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxGeneraltab

UnderMainAntenna,youcanmodifythefollowing:theHeight/Groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,the
heightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustincludetheheightof
building),themainantennaModel,1stSectorAzimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectorsareoffsetto
offercompletecoverageofthearea,andtheMechanicalDowntiltfortheantennas.
ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectricaldowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderPropagation,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolutionforboththe
MainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:Calculationsand
PropagationModels.

UnderComments,youcanaddadditionalinformation.Theinformationyouenterwillbethedefaultinformation
intheCommentsfieldofanytransmittercreatedusingthisstationtemplate.

8. ClicktheTransmittertab.Onthistab(seeFigure7.8),iftheActivecheckboxisselected,youcanmodifythefollowing:

UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanclicktheEquipmentbuttontoopentheEquipmentSpecificationsdialog
boxandmodifythetowermountedamplifier(TMA),feedercables,ortransmitterequipment.Forinformationon
theEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage522.

TheinformationintherealTotalLossesintransmissionandreceptionboxesiscalculatedfromtheinformation
youenteredintheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure7.5onpage524).Anylossrelatedtothenoise
duetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculatedlosses.AtollalwaysconsidersthevaluesintheReal
boxesinpredictionseveniftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.Youcanmodifythereal
TotalLossesattransmissionandreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbepositive.

The information in the real Noise Figure reception box is calculated from the information you entered in the
EquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealNoiseFigureatreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyou
entermustbepositive.

UnderDiversity,youcanselectthenumberoftransmissionandreceptionantennaportsusedforMIMO(No.of
ports).MIMOsystemsaresupportedbysomeHSDPAbearers(followingimprovementsintroducedbyrelease7
ofthe3GPPUTRAspecifications,referredtoasHSPA+).Formoreinformationonhowthenumberofantenna
portsareused,see"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage704.
R99bearersonlysupporttransmitandreceivediversities.Youcandefinethetransmitdiversitymethodfromthe
Transmissionlistwhenmorethanonetransmissionantennaportisavailable.Thereceivediversitymethodde

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pendsonthenumberofreceptionantennaportsselected(2RXfortworeceptionantennaportsand4RXforfour
receptionantennaports).

Figure7.8:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxTransmittertab
9. ClicktheWCDMA/UMTStab.Onthistab(seeFigure7.9),youmodifytheCarriers(eachcorrespondingtoacell)that
thisstationsupports.Forinformationoncarriersandcells,see"CellDescription"onpage525.

YoucanselecttheCarriernumbersforeachsectorofthestationtemplate.Toselectthecarrierstobeaddedto
thesectorsofabasestationcreatedusingthisstationtemplate:
i.

ClicktheBrowsebutton.TheCarriersperSectordialogboxappears.

ii. IntheCarriersperSectordialogbox,selectthecarrierstobecreatedforeachsectorofthestation.
iii. ClickOK.

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Figure7.9:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxWCDMA/UMTStab

UnderPrimaryScramblingCode,youcanmodifytheReuseDistanceandthescramblingcodeDomain.
UnderPower,youcanselectthePowerSharedBetweenCellscheckbox.Aswell,youcanmodifythePilot,the
SCH,theOtherCCHpowers,andtheASThreshold.
UnderSimulationConstraints,youcanmodifytheMaxPower,theMaxDLLoad(definedasapercentageofthe
maximumpower),theDLMaxThroughput/User,theMaxULLoadFactor,andtheULMaxThroughput/User.
Under Load Conditions, you can modify theTotalTransmitted Power,theUL LoadFactor,andthe ULReuse
Factor.
UnderIntertechnologyInterferences,youcanmodifytheULandDLnoiserisewhichrespectivelymodelthe
effectofterminalsandstationsofanexternalnetworkonthenetworkcellsandtheeffectofterminalsofan
externalnetworkinterferingthemobilesservedbythenetworkcells.Formoreinformationonintertechnology
interferences,See"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.
YoucanalsomodifytheNumberofUplinkandDownlinkChannelElements,theMaxIubUplinkandDownlink
BackhaulThroughputsandselecttheEquipment.

10. ClicktheHSPA/HSPA+tab.
Onthistab(seeFigure7.10),youcandefinetheHSPAfunctionalitysupportedbythecells.Youcanchoosebetween
None(i.e.,R99only),HSDPA,HSPA(i.e,HSDPAandHSUPA),HSPA+.WhenHSDPAfunctionalityissupported,youcan
modifythefollowingunderHSDPA(formoreinformationonthefields,see"CellDescription"onpage525):

534

Multicellmode:Youcanselectwhetherthetransmittersupportscarrieraggregationinthedownlink(DLmulti
cell),orinthedownlinkandintheuplink(UL/DLmulticell).Whenmulticellisactive,userscansimultaneously
connecttoseveralcarriersofthetransmitterfordatatransfer(uptoeightcarriersinthedownlinkandtwocarriers
intheuplink).
YoucanselecttheAllocationStrategy(StaticorDynamic).IfyouselectStaticastheAllocationStrategy,youcan
entertheavailableHSDPAPower.IfyouselectDynamicastheAllocationStrategy,AtollallocatestheHSDPA
powertocellsduringthesimulation.AtollfirstallocatespowertoR99usersandthendynamicallyallocatesthe
remainingpowerofthecelltotheHSPDSCHandHSSCCHofHSDPAbearerusers.Attheendofthesimulation,
youcancommitthecalculatedavailableHSDPApowerandtotalpowervaluestoeachcell.
UnderHSPDSCH,youcanmodifytheMin.andMaxNumberofCodesandthePowerHeadroom.

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UnderHSSCCH,youcanselecttheAllocationStrategy(StaticorDynamic)andtheNumberofChannels.Ifyou
selectStaticastheAllocationStrategy,youcanentertheHSSCCHPower.
UnderScheduler,youcanmodifytheAlgorithm,theMaxNumberofUsers,theNumberofUsers.ForthePro
portionalFairscheduler,toedittheMUGgraph,see"DefiningHSDPASchedulers"onpage703.

UnderHSUPA,ifHSUPAfunctionalityissupported,youcanmodifythefollowing(formoreinformationonthefields,
see"CellDescription"onpage525):

YoucanmodifytheDLPower,theULLoad,theMaxNumberofUsers,andtheNumberofUsers.

Figure7.10:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxHSDPAtab
11. ClicktheNeighbourstab.Inthistab(seeFigure7.11),youcanmodifytheMaxNumberofIntraandInterCarrier
NeighboursandtheMaxNumberofIntertechnologyNeighbours.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"Plan
ningNeighbours"onpage598.

Figure7.11:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxNeighbourstab
12. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Sitestable,orifyouhavedefinedanadditionalfieldintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogbox.
13. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsaveyour
changes.

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CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother
YoucancopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplatebyusingtheStationTemplatestable.
Tocopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationsTemplatestable,copythesettingsintherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttocopy
fromandpastethemintotherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.

7.2.1.4.4

ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate
Tomodifyafieldinastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTabletab.
6. Forinformationonadding,deleting,andeditinguserdefinedfields,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTable
Fields"onpage76).
7. Whenyouhavefinished,ClickOK.

7.2.1.4.5

DeletingaStationTemplate
Todeleteastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheStationTemplatesfolder.

4. IntheStationTemplatesfolder,rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thetemplateisdeleted.

7.2.1.5 DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation
Youcancreatenewbasestationsbyduplicatinganexistingbasestation.Whenyouduplicateanexistingbasestation,thebase
stationyoucreatewillhavethesametransmitter,andcellparametervaluesastheoriginalbasestation.Ifnositeexistswhere
youplacetheduplicatedbasestation,Atollwillcreateanewsitewiththesameparametersasthesiteoftheoriginalbase
station.Duplicatingabasestationallowsyouto:

Quicklycreateanewbasestationwiththesamesettingsastheoriginalbasestationinordertostudytheeffectofa
newbasestationonthecoverageandcapacityofthenetwork,and
Quicklycreateahomogeneousnetworkwithstationsthathavethesamecharacteristics.

Toduplicateanexistingbasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSitesfolder.

3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

SelectDuplicate>WithoutNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationwithout
theintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.
SelectDuplicate>WithOutwardNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestation
alongwiththelistsofintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.

5. Placethenewbasestationonthemapusingthemouse:

536

Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyou
wouldliketoplacetheduplicate.TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatus
bar(seeFigure7.12).

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Figure7.12:Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite

Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointerovertheexistingsite
whereyouwouldliketoplacetheduplicate.Whenthepointerisoverthesite,thesiteisautomaticallyselected.
TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatusbar(seeFigure7.13).

Figure7.13:Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouselect
Duplicatefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see
"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaystiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

6. Clicktoplacetheduplicatebasestation.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanewsite,thesite,transmitters,
andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheduplicatebasestationhavethesame
settingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanexistingsite,thetransmit
ters,andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthetransmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnameprecededbythenameofthesiteonwhichtheduplicatewasplaced.
Alltheremoteantennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anyduplicatedremoteantennasandrepeaterswillretainthesamedonortransmitteras
theoriginal.Ifyouwanttheduplicatedremoteantennaorrepeatertouseatransmitter
ontheduplicatedbasestation,youmustchangethedonortransmittermanually.
YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofduplicatebasestationsbypressingandholdingCTRLinstep6.andclickingtoplaceeach
duplicatebasestation.
Formoreinformationonthesite,transmitter,andcellproperties,see"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage521.

7.2.1.6 StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation
InAtoll,youcanmakeaprofileanalysistostudyobstaclesalongthepathbetweenareferencetransmitterandanypointon
themap.Atolldisplaysthegeographicprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoidindi
catingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayedallowingyoutostudyobstructionstoradiosignalsalongthepath.
Youcanalsostudypropagationlossesalongtheprofileaswellasthesignallevelreceivedatthepoint.Beforestudyingpath
lossalongaprofile,youmustassignapropagationmodeltothetransmitter.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioand
geographicdataintoaccountandcalculateslossesalongthetransmitterreceiverpath.Theprofileiscalculatedinrealtime,
usingthepropagationmodel,allowingyoutostudytheprofileandgetapredictionontheselectedpoint.Forinformationon
assigningapropagationmodel,see"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage550.
Tostudytheprofilebetweenatransmitterandareceiver:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. Click the Point Analysis button (
pointerchanges(

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. The Point Analysis window appears and the

)torepresentthereceiver.

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3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcanmovethereceiver
tochangethecurrentpositionorrightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontext
menu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
TargetSite:Selectasitefromthelisttoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheProfileview.
5. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
mitterandthereceiver.

)toviewthegeographicprofilebetweenthetrans

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.Atolldisplaystheprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoid
indicatingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayed.Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverisdisplayedatthe
topoftheProfileview.
6. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
transmitterandthereceiver.

)againtoviewtheradiosignalpathbetweenthe

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.AblueellipsoidindicatestheFresnelzonebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver,withagreenline
indicatingthelineofsight(LOS).AtolldisplaystheangleoftheLOSreadfromtheverticalantennapattern.Alongthe
profile,ifthesignalmeetsanobstacle,theobstaclecausesattenuationwithdiffractiondisplayedbyaredverticalline
(iftheusedpropagationmodelisabletocalculatediffraction).Themaindiffractionedgeistheonethatintersectsthe
Fresnelellipsoidthemost.Propagationmodelsthatusea3knifeedgeDeygoutdiffractionmethodmayalsodisplay
twoadditionaldiffractionedges.Thetotalattenuationisdisplayedabovethemaindiffractionedge.
TheresultsoftheanalysisaredisplayedatthetopoftheProfileview:

Thereceivedsignalstrengthfromtheselectedtransmitterforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower
Thepropagationmodelused
Theshadowingmarginandtheindoorloss(ifselected)
Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver.

YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsatthetopoftheProfileview:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.YoucanclickthePropertiesbutton(
propertiesdialogbox.
Carriers:Selectthecarriertobeanalysed.

Options:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

538

)toopenthetransmitter

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,youcan:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelectSignallevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResulttypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

LinkBudget:ClicktheLinkBudgetbutton(

)todisplayadialogboxwiththelinkbudget.

)todisplayatextdocumentwithdetailsonthedisplayed
DetailedReport:ClicktheDetailedReportbutton(
profileanalysis.ThedetailedreportisonlyavailablefortheStandardPropagationModel.

Atoll3.2.1UserManual
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Figure7.14:PointAnalysisProfileview
7. Toendthepointanalysis,clickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbaragain.

7.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaUMTSBaseStation"onpage521,oryoucancreateone
or several base stations by using station templates as explained in "Placing a New Station Using a Station Template" on
page529.However,ifyouhavealargedataplanningprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdatainto
yourcurrentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdataandpasteitinto thetablesinyourcurrent Atolldocument. Whenyoucreateagroupofbase
stationsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdatainthe
Transmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavedataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintothetablesin
thecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatandthen
importitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhat
valuesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

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YoucanquicklycreateaseriesofbasestationsforstudypurposesusingtheHexagonal
DesigntoolontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Forinformation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage529.

7.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe
map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
iftherethereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensa
contextmenuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orby
lettingAtollfindahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

7.2.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atollallowstoyoutodisplayinformationaboutbasestationsinanumberofdifferentways.Thisenablesyounotonlyto
displayselectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe
visible;toomuchinformationwillleadtoacluttereddisplay.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivesites.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolourtoeach
transmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.Forinforma
tionondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

and

).

7.2.5 CreatingDualBandandTriBandUMTSNetworks
WithAtoll,youcanmodeldualbandandtribandUMTSnetworksinonedocument(e.g.,networkconsistingof2100MHz
and900MHztransmitters).CreatingadualbandortribandUMTSnetworkconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. Definingthefrequencybandsinthedocument(see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage694).
2. Selectingandcalibratingapropagationmodelforeachfrequencyband(seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagation
Models).
3. Assigning a frequency band, with its propagation model, to each transmitter (see "Transmitter Description" on
page522).
4. Definingthefrequencybandswithwhichterminalsarecompatible(see"ModellingTerminals"onpage564).

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7.2.6 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalcan becarriedby differenttypesoflinks suchasaradio link oramicrowave link. Theserversideretransmits the
receivedsignal.
WhenAtollmodelsUMTSrepeaters,themodellingfocuseson:

Theadditionalcoveragethesesystemsprovidetotransmittersinthedownlink.
Thenoiserisegeneratedatthedonortransmitterbytherepeater.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage541
"CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment"onpage541
"PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage542
"CreatingSeveralRepeaters"onpage542
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater"onpage542
"TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters"onpage544.
Broadbandrepeatersarenotmodelled.Atollassumesthatallcarriersfromthe3Gdonor
transmitterareamplified.

7.2.6.1 OpeningtheRepeatersTable
RepeatersandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRepeaterstable.
ToopentheRepeaterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRepeaters>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterstableappears.

7.2.6.2 CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment
Youcandefinerepeaterequipmenttobeassignedtoeachrepeaterinthenetwork.
Tocreaterepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. EnterthefollowingintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

):

a. EnteraNameandManufacturerforthenewequipment.
b. EnteraNoiseFigure(dB).Therepeatercausesariseinnoiseatthedonortransmitter,sothenoisefigureisused
tocalculatetheULlosstobeaddedtothedonortransmitterULlosses.Thenoisefiguremustbeapositivevalue.
c. EnterminimumandmaximumrepeateramplificationgainsintheMin.GainandMaxGaincolumns.Theseparam
etersenableAtolltoensurethattheuserdefinedamplifiergainisconsistentwiththelimitsoftheequipmentif
thereareany.
d. EnteraGainIncrement.Atollusestheincrementvaluewhenyouincreaseordecreasetherepeateramplifiergain
usingthebuttonstotherightoftheAmpliferGainbox(
box.

)ontheGeneraltaboftherepeaterPropertiesdialog

e. EnterthemaximumpowerthattheequipmentcantransmitonthedownlinkintheMaxDownlinkPowercolumn.
ThisparameterenablesAtolltoensurethatthedownlinkpowerafteramplificationdoesnotexceedthelimitof
theequipment.
f. Ifdesired,enteraMaxUplinkPower,anInternalDelayandComments.Thesefieldsareforinformationonlyand
arenotusedincalculations.

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Tomodifyrepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. Changetheparametersintherowcontainingtherepeaterequipmentyouwanttomodify.

7.2.6.3 PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearepeater,youcanaddittoanexistingsite,
orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.Atollsupportscascadingrepeaters,inotherwords,repeatersthatextendthe
coverageofanotherrepeaterorofaremoteantenna.
Tocreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Select the donor transmitter, repeater, or remote antenna. You can select it from the Transmitters folder in the
Networkexplorer,ordirectlyonthemap.
2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRepeaterfromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetherepeater.Therepeaterisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)inthesame
colourasthedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.Iftherepeaterisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanempty
icon.Bydefault,therepeaterhasthesameazimuthasthedonor.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesameinformation
asdisplayedforthedonor.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestherepeaterandthedonor.Intheexplorerwindow,the
repeaterisfoundintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorerunderitsdonortransmitter,repeater,orremote
antenna.
For information on defining the properties of the new repeater, see "Defining the Properties of a Repeater" on
page542.

Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

7.2.6.4 CreatingSeveralRepeaters
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachrepeaterarestoredintheRepeaterstable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanother
Atolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRepeaterstableinyourcurrentAtolldocu
ment.
TopastetheinformationintotheRepeaterstable:
1. OpentheRepeaterstableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage541.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRepeaterstable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

7.2.6.5 DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater
Todefinethepropertiesofarepeater:
1. Rightclicktherepeatereitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRepeaterstable(forinformationonopeningtheRepeat
erstable,see"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage541).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.

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3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Name:YoucanchangetheNameoftherepeater.Bydefault,repeatersarenamed"SiteX_Y_RepZ"where"X"is
thedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotherepeaterwhenitwas
created.

Ifthedonorisaremoteantennaoranotherrepeater,then"RepZ"isprecededby
"RemA_"or"RepB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorremoteantennaand
thedonorrepeater.
InMultiRATdocuments,arepeatersnameis"SiteX_T_Y_RepZ"where"T"stands
forthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE)..

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,aremoteantenna,
oranotherrepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtherepeaterislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialog
boxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedantenna(coverageside)fieldfortherepeater.Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythe
transmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposition
andthatshareanantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltof
oneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftherepeater,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterrelativetothesite
itselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterbyitsXYcoordinates.
YoucanselectequipmentfromtheEquipmentlist.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxof
theequipment.
YoucanchangetheAmplificationGain.Theamplificationgainisusedinthelinkbudgettoevaluatetherepeater
totalgain.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectaLinkType.

IfyouselectMicrowaveLink,entertheLinkLossesandproceedtostep5.
IfyouselectAir,selectaPropagationModelandenterthePropagationLossesorclickCalculatetodetermine
theactualpropagationlossesbetweenthedonorandtherepeater.Ifyoudonotselectapropagationmodel,
thepropagationlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeaterarecalculatedusingtheITU5265
propagationmodel.
Whenyoucreateanoffairrepeater,itisassumedthatthelinkbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeat
erhasthesamefrequencyasthenetwork.
Ifyouwanttocreatearemoteantenna,youmustselectOpticalFibreLink.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderAntenna:

Model:ThetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproper
tiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsalltheantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofthebuilding.
MechanicalAzimuthandMechanicalDowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
You can click the Calculate button to update the mechanical azimuth and mechanical
downtilt values after changing the repeater donor side antenna height or the repeater
location.IfyouchooseanothersiteorchangesitecoordinatesintheGeneraltab,click
ApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

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IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderFeeders:
i.

Type:ThetypeoffeederisvisibleintheTypelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesof
thefeeder.

ii. Length:EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.
5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiverepeaters(displayedinredintheTransmittersfolderintheNetwork
explorer)arecalculated.
TotalGain:enterthegain(indownlinkanduplink)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactualgaininbothdirec
tions.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverageSidetabs,clickApplybefore
clickingtheCalculatebutton.

Indownlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachpower(pilotpower,SCHpower,etc.).
Inuplink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachterminalpower.

Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeater,donorcharacteristics
(donorantennagain,receptionfeederlosses),amplificationgain,andcoveragecharacteristics(coverageantenna
gain,transmissionfeederlosses).

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsalltheantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sincerepeatersaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetthepropagation
parameters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolution
forboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristicsoftherepeater(model,
calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.Forinformationonpropagation
models,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

7.2.6.6 TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainrepeaterparameters:

544

You can update the calculated azimuth and downtilt of the donorside antennas of all repeaters by selecting
Repeaters>CalculateDonorSideAzimuthsandTiltsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanupdatetheULandDLtotalgainsofallrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateGainsfromtheTransmit
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YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedrepeatersby
creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Repeaters table and
settingthevalueofthefieldto"True".Afterwards,whenyouselectRepeaters>Calculate
GainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,AtollwillonlyupdatetheULandDLtotalgains
forrepeaterswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"setto"False".

YoucanupdatethepropagationlossesofalloffairrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateDonorSidePropa
gationLossesfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
Youcanselectarepeateronthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingthe
Mouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsing
theMouse"onpage46).

7.2.7 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticalfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmaywanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation
that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage541.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage545
"PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage545
"CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas"onpage546
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna"onpage546
"TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters"onpage547.

7.2.7.1 OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable
TheremoteantennasandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.
ToopentheRemoteAntennastable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRemoteAntennas>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRemoteAntennastableappears.

7.2.7.2 PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearemoteantenna,youcanaddit
toanexistingbasestationwithoutantennas,orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.
Tocreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Selectthedonortransmitter.YoucanselectitfromtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer,ordirectlyonthe
map.
Ensurethattheremoteantennasdonortransmitterdoesnothaveanyantennas.

2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRemoteAntennafromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetheremoteantenna.Theremoteantennaisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)
inthesamecolourasthedonortransmitter.Iftheremoteantennaisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanemptyicon.By
default,theremoteantennahasthesameazimuthasthedonortransmitter.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesame
informationasdisplayedforthedonortransmitter.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestheremoteantennaandthedonor
transmitter.
Forinformationondefiningthepropertiesofthenewremoteantenna,see"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemote
Antenna"onpage546.

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Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

7.2.7.3 CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachremoteantennaarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,
eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastablein
yourcurrentAtolldocument.
TopastetheinformationintotheRemoteAntennastable:
1. OpentheRemoteAntennastableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage545.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

7.2.7.4 DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna
Todefinethepropertiesofaremoteantenna:
1. Rightclicktheremoteantennaeitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRemoteAntennastable(forinformationonopen
ingtheRemoteAntennastable,see"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage545).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Name:YoucanchangetheNameoftheremoteantenna.Bydefault,remoteantennasarenamed"SiteX_Y_RemZ"
where"X"isthedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotheremote
antennawhenitwascreated.

Ifthedonorisarepeateroranotherremoteantenna,then"RemZ"isprecededby
"RepA_"or"RemB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorrepeaterandthedonor
remoteantenna.
InMultiRAT documents, a remoteantennas name is"SiteX_T_Y_RemZ" where
"T"standsforthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE).

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,anotherremote
antenna,orarepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtheremoteantennaislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopenstheProperties
dialogboxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedAntenna(coverageside)fieldfortheremoteantenna.Thisfieldisusedto
identifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththe
same position and that share an antenna. The entry in the field must be the same for all such transmitters,
repeaters,andremoteantennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,
ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,
repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftheremoteantenna,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennarelativeto
thesiteitselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennabyitsXYcoordi
nates.
Aremoteantennadoesnothaveequipment.

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4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectOpticalFibreLinkandentertheFibreLosses.

5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiveremoteantennas(displayedinredintheUMTSTransmittersfolderinthe
Networkexplorer)arecalculated.
TotalGain:enterthegain(indownlinkanduplink)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactualgaininbothdirec
tions.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverageSidetabs,clickApplybefore
clickingtheCalculatebutton.

Indownlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachpower(pilotpower,SCHpower,etc.).
Inuplink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachterminalpower.

Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtheremoteantenna.

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftheremoteantennaissituatedonabuilding,theheightentered
mustincludetheheightofthebuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsalltheantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sinceremoteantennasaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetpropaga
tionparameters,aswithtransmitters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,
Radius,andResolutionforboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristics
oftheremoteantenna(model,calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.
Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

7.2.7.5 TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainremoteantennaparameters:

YoucanupdatetheULandDLtotalgainsofallremoteantennasbyselectingRemoteAntennas>CalculateGainsfrom
theTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedremoteantennas
by creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Remote Antennas
tableandsettingthevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRemote
Antennas>CalculateGainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,Atollwillonlyupdate
theULandDLtotalgainsforremoteantennaswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"set
to"False."

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Youcanselectaremoteantennaonthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsing
theMouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSite
UsingtheMouse"onpage46).

7.2.8 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.
Figure7.15givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure7.15,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

Figure7.15:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage549
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage549
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage550
"SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive"onpage552
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage553.

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7.2.8.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmaycoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,calculatingtheentirenetworkwouldnotonly
takealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothesitesthatyouareinterestedinand
generateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofsitesinvolvedincalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredsites
Youcansimplifytheselectionofsitestobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfiltersitesaccordingtooneormorefields,
oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreateagraphicfilterby
eitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphicfilters,see"Filter
ingDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswiththecharacteristics
youwanttostudy.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmaynotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite
configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitstheresultingcalculatedcoverage.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
theareawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlo,powercontrolsimulations,etc.,
whilethefocuszoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage549.

Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

7.2.8.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheZonesfolder.

3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethecomputationzone.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thecomputationzonewillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZoneto
MapWindowfromthecontextmenu.

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Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clickingtheComputationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthe
contextmenu.

7.2.8.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Aswell,youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedforalltransmitters
wherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."
Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage551,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage551,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.
2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage550,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwilllaterassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
Whenyouassignapropagationmodelglobally,youoverrideanyselectionyoumight
havealreadymadetoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters.

3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"DefiningaDefaultPropagation
Model"onpage209,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropagationmodel,
thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage550
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage551
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage551.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanchooseapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.
5. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.

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Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage551willoverridethisentry.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectfromtheGroupbysubmenuofthecontextmenuthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
You can group transmitters by several properties by using the GroupBy button on the
Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

4. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

MainPropagationModel
MainCalculationRadius(m)
MainResolution(m)
ExtendedPropagationModel
ExtendedCalculationRadius(m)
ExtendedResolution(m)

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesmadeglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePropagationtab.

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6. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

8. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.

7.2.8.4 SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters),andwhosepropagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Beforeyourunningcalcu
lations,youmustensurethatallthetransmittersonthesitesyouwanttostudyhavebeenactivated.Intheexplorerwindow,
activetransmittersareindicatedwitharedicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapand

inactivetransmittersareindicatedwithanemptyicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandonthemap.

InAtoll,youcanalsosetindividualcellsonatransmitterasactiveorinactive.
Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveby
activatingthemfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmitterscellsfromtheCellstable,orbyselecting
thetransmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.
Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectActiveTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitterisnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolderandright
clickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttosetasactive.Thecontextmenuappears.

3. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectOpenTable.TheTransmitterstableappearswitheachtransmittersparametersinasecondrow.
4. Foreachtransmitterthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
TosetmorethanonecellasactiveusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTable.TheCellstableappearswitheachcellsparametersinarow.
4. Foreachcellthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.
3. Rightclickthefolderofthezoneyouwillusetoselectthetransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

4. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.

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Onceyouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbeextremelytimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Conse
quently,Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.YoucaninstalltheAtoll
computingserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethecomputingserverapplicationisinstalledona
workstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.For
informationondistributedcalculations,seetheAdministratorManual.

7.2.8.5 TheCalculationProcess
WhenyoucreateacoveragepredictionandclicktheCalculatebutton(

),Atollfollowsthefollowingprocess:

1. Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesexistand,ifso,whethertheyarevalid.Theremustbevalid
pathlossmatricesforeachactiveandfilteredtransmitterwhosepropagationradiusintersectstherectanglecontain
ingthecomputationzone.
2. Ifthepathlossmatricesdonotexistorarenotvalid,Atollcalculatesthem.Therehastobeatleastoneunlockedcov
eragepredictioninthePredictionsfolder.IfnotAtollwillnotcalculatethepathlossmatriceswhenyouclicktheCal
culatebutton(

).

3. AtollcalculatesallunlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
Predictionsfolder.

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton
(

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthe

)inthetoolbar.

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates all path loss matrices, unlocked coverages, and pending simula
tions.

7.2.9 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthesetparameters.Coveragepredictionsongroupsof
basestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverageprediction
tothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougettheresultsquickly.Youcanexpandyourcoverageprediction
toanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.
Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage548.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage553
"UMTSCoveragePredictions"onpage561
"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579
"HSUPACoveragePredictions"onpage581
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage583
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage584
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage588
"AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis"onpage588
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage591
"MakingaMultiPointAnalysis"onpage595

7.2.9.1 SignalLevelCoveragePredictions
Atolloffersaseriesofstandardcoveragepredictionsbasedonthemeasuredsignallevelateachpixel;otherfactors,suchas
interference,arenottakenintoconsideration.CoveragepredictionsspecifictoUMTSarecoveredin"UMTSCoveragePredic
tions"onpage561,"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579,and"HSUPACoveragePredictions"onpage581.
Onceyouhavecreatedandcalculatedacoverageprediction,youcanusethecoveragepredictionscontextmenutomake
thecoveragepredictionintoacustomisedpredictionwhichwillappearinthePredictionTypesdialogbox.Youcanalsoselect
Duplicatefromthecoveragepredictionscontextmenutocreateacopy.Byduplicatinganexistingpredictionthathasthe
parameters you wanttostudy,you can create a newcoverage prediction more quickly than by creatinga new coverage
prediction.Ifyoucloneacoverageprediction,byselectingClonefromthecontextmenu,youcancreateacopyofthecover

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agepredictionwiththecalculatedcoverage.Youcanthenchangethedisplay,providingthattheselectedparameterdoesnot
invalidatethecalculatedcoverageprediction.
Youcanalsosavethelistofalldefinedcoveragepredictionsinauserconfiguration,allowingyouorotheruserstoloaditinto
anewAtolldocument.Whenyousavethelistinauserconfiguration,theparametersofallexistingcoveragepredictionsare
saved;notjusttheparametersofcalculatedordisplayedones.Forinformationonexportinguserconfigurations,see"Saving
aUserConfiguration"onpage104.
Thefollowingstandardcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

7.2.9.1.1

"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage554
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage556
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage558
"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage559.

StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation
Asyouarebuildingyourradioplanningproject,youmightwanttocheckthecoverageofanewbasestationwithouthaving
tocalculatetheentireproject.Youcandothisbyselectingthesitewithitstransmittersandthencreatinganewcoverage
prediction.
Thissectionexplainshowtocalculatethesignallevelcoverageofasinglesite.Asignallevelcoveragepredictiondisplaysthe
signalofthebestserverforeachpixeloftheareastudied.
You can use the same procedure to study the signal level coverage of several sites by
groupingthetransmitters.Forinformationongroupingtransmitters,see"GroupingData
ObjectsbyaSelectedProperty"onpage95.
Tostudythesignallevelcoverageofasinglebasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderandselectGroupby>Sitefromthecontextmenu.Thetransmittersarenowdis
playedintheTransmittersfolderbythesiteonwhichtheyaresituated.
Ifyouwanttostudyonlysitesbytheirstatus,atthisstepyoucouldgroupthemby
status.

3. Selectthepropagationparameterstobeusedinthecoverageprediction:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

b. Rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudy.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Atableappearswiththepropertiesoftheselectedgroupoftransmit
ters.
d. Inthetable,youcanconfiguretwopropagationmodels:oneforthemainmatrix,withashorterradiusandahigh
erresolution,andanotherfortheextendedmatrix,withalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Bycalculatingtwo
matricesyoucanreducethetimeofcalculationbyusingalowerresolutionfortheextendedmatrixandyoucan
obtainmoreaccurateresultsbyusingforthemainandextendedmatricespropagationmodelsbestsuitedfor
eachdistance.
e. Forthemainpropagationmodel:

SelectaMainPropagationModel
EnteraMainCalculationRadiusandMainResolution.

f. Ifdesired,fortheextendedpropagationmodel:

SelectanExtendedPropagationModel
EnteranExtendedCalculationRadiusandExtendedResolution.

g. Closethetable.
4. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudyandselectCalculations>Createa
NewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
ThePredictionTypesdialogboxliststhepredictionsavailable.TheyaredividedintoStandardPredictions,supplied
withAtoll,andCustomisedPredictions.Unlessyouhavealreadycreatedsomecustomisedcoveragepredictions,the
CustomisedPredictionslistwillbeempty.
5. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.

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6. YoucanconfigurethefollowingparametersinthePropertiesdialogbox:

Generaltab:YoucanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theResolution,andyoucanadda
Comment.Theresolutionyousetisthedisplayresolution,notthecalculationresolution.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformation
onfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingaso
called"global"coverageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).
Toimprovememoryconsumptionandoptimisethecalculationtimes,youshouldsetthedisplayresolutionsof
coveragepredictionsaccordingtotheprecisionrequired.Thefollowingtableliststhelevelsofprecisionthatare
usuallysufficient:

SizeoftheCoveragePrediction

DisplayResolution

CityCentre

5m

City

20m

County

50m

State

100m

Country

Accordingtothesizeofthe
country

Conditionstab:ThecoveragepredictionparametersontheConditionstaballowyoutodefinethesignalsthatwill
beconsideredforeachpixel(seeFigure7.16).

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansetthesignallevelrangetobeconsidered.InFigure7.16,asignal
levellessthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsidersignallevelsfromallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequency
bandstohavethecarrierselectedaccordingthecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.The
coveragepredictiondisplaysthestrengthofthereceivedpilotsignal.

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Figure7.16:Conditionsettingsforasignallevelcoverageprediction

Displaytab:Youcanmodifyhowtheresultsofthecoveragepredictionwillbedisplayed.

UnderDisplayType,select"ValueIntervals."
UnderField,select"BestSignalLevel."Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyou
thesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignal
Level"necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
Youcanchangethevalueintervalsandtheirdisplayedcolour.Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,
see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
YoucancreatetiptextwithinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionbyclickingtheBrowsebuttonnextto
theTipTextboxandselectingthefieldsyouwanttodisplayinthetiptext.
YoucanselecttheAddtoLegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedvalueintervalstothelegend.
Ifyouchangethedisplaypropertiesofacoveragepredictionafteryouhavecalculatedit,
youmaymakethecoveragepredictioninvalid.Youwillthenhavetorecalculatethecover
agepredictiontoobtainvalidresults.

7. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Thesignallevel
coveragepredictioncanbefoundinthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
folder.WhenyouclicktheCalculatebutton(

7.2.9.1.2

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthePredictions

),Atollonlycalculatesunlockedcoveragepredictions(

).

MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel
Acoveragepredictionbysignallevelallowsyoutopredictthebestsignalstrengthateachpixel.Youcanbasethecoverage
onthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbysignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingasocalled"global"cover
ageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).

6. OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsideredforeachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure7.17,asignallevel
lessthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands
tohavethecarrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.Thecov
eragepredictiondisplaysthestrengthofthereceivedpilotsignal

Figure7.17:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbysignallevel
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. UnderDisplayType,select"ValueIntervals."UnderField,select"BestSignalLevel."Thecoveragepredictionresults
willbeintheformofthresholds.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyouthesameresultsbecauseAtolldis
playstheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"necessitates,however,thelongesttime
forcalculation.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately..
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure7.18).

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Figure7.18:Coveragepredictionbysignallevel
Youcanrunaspecificpredictionstudydisplayingacoveragebypilotsignallevelforagiven
terminal, service, mobilityand carrier as explained in "Studying Pilot Signal Quality" on
page568.

7.2.9.1.3

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterallowstheusertopredictwhichserveristhebestateachpixel.Youcanbasethecover
ageonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsideredforeachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure7.19,asignallevel
lessthanorequalto120dBmorgreaterthen85dBmisconsidered.
UnderServer,select"Bestsignallevel."
YoucanalsodefineaMargin.Atollwillthenconsiderthebestsignalleveloneachpixelandanyothersignallevel
withinthedefinedmarginofthebestone.

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YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands
tohavethecarrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.

Figure7.19:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbytransmitter
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
Youcanalsopredictwhichserverissecondbestserveroneachpixelbyselecting"Second
bestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabsetting"DiscreteValues"astheDisplayTypeand
"Transmitter"astheFieldontheDisplaytab.

7.2.9.1.4

MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones
Overlappingzones(DL)arecomposedofpixelsthatare,foradefinedcondition,coveredbythesignalofatleasttwotrans
mitters.Youcanbaseacoveragepredictionofoverlappingzonesonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefined
range.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectOverlappingzones(DL)andclickOK.TheOverlappingzones(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsideredforeachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure7.20,asignallevel
lessthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.

UnderServer,select"Bestsignallevel"anddefineaMargin.Atollwillthenconsiderthebestsignalleveloneach
pixelandanyothersignallevelwithinthedefinedmarginofthebestone.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands
tohavethecarrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.Thecov
eragepredictiondisplaysthestrengthofthereceivedpilotsignal

Figure7.20:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"Numberof
Servers"isselectedbydefault.Eachoverlappingzonewillthenbedisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothenumber
ofserversreceivedperpixel.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictiondisplayingthenumberofservers,youcannotexport
thevaluesperpixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

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OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
By changing the parameters selected on the Conditions tab and by selecting different
resultstobedisplayedontheDisplaytab,youcancalculateanddisplayinformationother
thanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.

7.2.9.2 UMTSCoveragePredictions
UMTScoveragepredictionsavailableinAtollareusedtoanalysethesignalqualityandinterference.Forthepurposesofthese
coveragepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferinguserwithadefinedservice,mobilitytype,andterminal.These
areexplainedinthefollowingsection:

"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.

InUMTS,thequalityofthesignalandthesizeoftheareathatcanbecoveredareinfluencedbythenetworkload.Asthe
networkloadincreases,theareaacellcaneffectivelycoverdecreases.Forthisreason,thenetworkloadmustbedefinedin
ordertocalculateUMTSspecificpredictions.
Ifyouhavetrafficmaps,youcandoaMonteCarlosimulationtomodelpowercontrolandevaluatethenetworkloadfora
generateduserdistribution.Ifyoudonothavetrafficmaps,AtollcancalculatethenetworkloadusingtheULloadfactorand
DLtotalpowerdefinedforeachcell.
Inthissection,theUMTSspecificcoveragepredictionswillbecalculatedusingULloadfactorandDLtotalpowerparameters
definedatthecelllevel.Forthepurposesofthesepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferinguserwithadefined
service,mobilitytype,andterminal.
Beforemakingacoverageprediction,youwillhavetosettheULloadfactorandDLtotalpower.Theseareexplainedinthe
followingsections:

"SettingtheULLoadFactorandtheDLTotalPower"onpage567.

Thissectionexplainsthecoveragepredictionsavailableforanalysingthesignalqualityandinterference.Thefollowingare
explained:

7.2.9.2.1

"StudyingPilotSignalQuality"onpage568
"StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage569
"StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage571.
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicators"onpage572
"StudyingtheTotalNoiseLevelontheDownlink"onpage574
"StudyingPilotPollution"onpage575
"StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkInterference"onpage576.
"MakingaHandoffStatusCoveragePrediction"onpage577.

ServiceandUserModelling
Beforeyoucanmodelservices,youmustalreadyhaveR99radiobearersdefinedinyourAtolldocument.Onlythefollowing
R99radiobearerparametersareusedinpredictions:

MaxTCHPower(dBm)
Thetypeofbearer.

ForinformationondefiningR99radiobearers,"DefiningR99RadioBearers"onpage697.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingServices"onpage561
"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage564
"ModellingTerminals"onpage564.

ModellingServices
Servicesarethevariousservicesavailabletosubscribers.Theseservicescanbeeithercircuitswitchedorpacketswitched
services.Thissectionexplainshowtocreateaservice.However,onlythefollowingparametersareusedinpredictions:

R99bearerparameters
Downgradingcapabilities
Handovercapabilities
HSPAcapabilities
Bodyloss

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HSPAapplicationthroughputparameters

Beforeyoucanmodelservices,youmusthavedefinedR99bearers.ForinformationondefiningR99radiobearers,see"Defin
ingR99RadioBearers"onpage697.
Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

3. RightclicktheServicesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. EditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewservice:

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucanchangethenametosomethingmoredescriptive.
ActivityFactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkactivityfactorsareusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofactivityforeach
userduringMonteCarlosimulations.Forpacketswitchedservices,thisparameterisusedwhenworkingwith
sectortrafficmapsanduserdensitytrafficmaps.Forcircuitswitchedservices,theparameteristakenintoconsid
erationwithalltrafficmaps.
AverageRequestedThroughput:Youcanentertheaveragerequestedthroughputforuplinkanddownlink.This
throughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Itisusedinsimulationsduringuserdis
tributiongenerationtocalculatethenumberofusersattemptingaconnectionandtodeterminetheiractivity
status.

6. ClicktheUMTStabtodefinethenewservice.
7. SelectanR99RadioBearerfromthelist.IfyouwanttoeditthesettingsoftheselectedR99radiobearer,clickthe
BrowsebuttontoopenthebearersPropertiesdialogbox.
8. SelectaserviceType:

Circuit(R99):Forcircuitservices,selectCircuit(R99).
Packet(R99):ForpacketservicesthatcanonlyuseR99channels,selectPacket(R99).
Packet(HSDPABestEffort):ForbesteffortapplicationsthatcanuseHSDPAchannels,selectPacket(HSDPA
BestEffort).
TheHSDPAserviceislinkedtoaR99bearerinordertomanagetheconnectiontotheR99
dedicatedchannelADPCH.

Packet(HSPABestEffort):ForbesteffortapplicationsthatcanuseHSDPAandHSUPAchannels,selectPacket
(HSPABestEffort).
Packet(HSDPAVariableBitRate):ForvariablebitrateservicesusingHSDPAchannels,selectPacket(HSDPA
VariableBitRate).
Packet(HSPAVariableBitRate):ForvariablebitrateservicesusingHSPAchannels,selectPacket(HSPAVari
ableBitRate).
Packet(HSPAConstantBitRate):ForconstantbitrateservicesusingHSPAchannels,selectPacket(HSPACon
stantBitRate).

9. Foralltypesofservices,definethefollowingparameters:

Preferred/AllowedCarriers:Youcanselectoneoftheavailablecarriersorallcarriers.Thespecifiedcarrieriscon
sideredinsimulationwhenadmittingatransmittertothemobileactiveset.Ifyouselect"PreferredCarriers"and
thetransmitterusesthespecifiedcarrier,Atollselectsit.Otherwise,itwillchooseanotherone,usingthecarrier
selectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.Thecarrierspecifiedfortheserviceisnotusedinpre
dictions (i.e., AS analysis and coverage predictions). In predictions, Atoll considers the carrier selection mode
definedinthesiteequipmentproperties.Ifnopreferredcarrierisspecifiedintheserviceproperties,itwillcon
siderthecarrierselectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.
Ifyouselect"AllowedCarriers"Atollwillonlyusethedefinedcarriers.Iftheyarenotavailable,servicewillbere
jected.

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BearerDowngrading:SelecttheBearerdowngradingcheckboxiftheservicesupportsbearerdowngradingon
uplinkanddownkink.BearerdowngradingisnotallowedforPacket(HSDPAVariableBitRate)andPacket(HSPA
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SoftHandoffAllowed:SelecttheSoftHandoffAllowedcheckboxifyouwantthenetworktobeabletousesoft
handoffwiththisservice.
HSDPAchannelsdonotusesofthandovereveniftheSoftHandoffAllowedcheckboxis
selected.IfyouwanttheHSUPAservicetobeoperatedusingsofthandover,selecttheSoft
HandoffAllowedcheckbox.SofthandoverwillbeappliedtoR99andHSUPAchannels
only.

Priority:Enterapriorityforthisservice."0"isthelowestpriority.
BodyLoss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,in
avoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.

10. IfyouselectedCircuit(R99)astheTypeinstep8.,continuetostep13.IfyouselectedPacket(R99),Packet(HSDPA
BestEffort),Packet(HSPABestEffort),Packet(HSPAConstantBitRate),Packet(HSDPAVariableBitRate),or
Packet(HSPAVariableBitRate)astheTypeinstep8.,clickthePacketbuttontodefinetheparametersusedto
determinetheprobabilityofactivityforeachuserduringMonteCarlosimulations.Theseparametersareusedwhen
workingwithuserprofiletrafficmapsonly.ClickthePackettab.
InthePacketdialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparametersforpacketswitchedservices:

UnderBLER,youcandefinethefollowing:

UnderSession,youcanset:

AverageNumberofPacketCalls:Entertheaveragenumberofpacketcallsintheuplinkanddownlinkduring
onesession.
AverageTimeBetweenTwoPacketCalls:Entertheaveragetimebetweentwopacketcalls(inmilliseconds)
intheuplinkanddownlink.

UnderPacketCalls,youcanset:

EfficiencyFactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkefficiencyfactorsareusedtodeterminedurationofusagebythe
userduringMonteCarlosimulations.

Min.Size(Kbytes):Entertheminimumsizeofapacketcallinkilobytesintheuplinkanddownlink.
MaxSize(Kbytes):Enterthemaximumsizeofapacketcallinkilobytesintheuplinkanddownlink.
AverageTimeBetweenTwoPackets(ms):Entertheaveragetimebetweentwopacketsinmillisecondsinthe
uplinkanddownlink.

UnderPacket,youcanset:

Size(Bytes):Enterthepacketsizeinbytesintheuplinkanddownlink.

11. ClickCommittosaveyourchangesandclosethePacketdialogboxwhenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparameters.
12. IfyouselectedanypacketserviceastheTypeinstep8.,setthefollowingparameters:
UnderApplicationThroughput:

Set a Scaling Factor between the application throughput and the RLC (Radio Link Control) throughput and a
throughputOffset.Theseparametersmodeltheheaderinformationandothersupplementarydatathatdoesnot
appearattheapplicationlevel.

ForPacket(HSDPABestEffort)services,setthefollowingparametersunderHSPAParameters:

EDPCCH/ADPCHActivityFactor:ThedownlinkEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorisusedtoestimatetheaverage
poweronADPCHchannels.

ForPacket(HSPABestEffort)services,setthefollowingparametersunderHSPAParameters:

EDPCCH/ADPCHActivityFactor:TheuplinkanddownlinkEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorsareusedtoestimate
theaveragepoweronEDPCCHandADPCHchannels.

ForPacket(HSPAConstantBitRate)service,setthefollowingparametersunderHSPAParameters:

EDPCCH/ADPCHActivityFactor:TheEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorisusedtoestimatetheaveragepoweron
ADPCHchannels.
MinThroughputDemand:Entertheminimumrequiredbitratethattheserviceshouldhaveinordertobeavail
ableintheuplinkanddownlink.

ForPacket(HSDPAVariableBitRate)service,setthefollowingparametersunderHSPAParameters:

EDPCCH/ADPCHActivityFactor:ThedownlinkEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorisusedtoestimatetheaverage
poweronADPCHchannels.
MaxThroughputDemand:Enterthemaximumbitratethattheservicecanrequireinthedownlink.
MinThroughputDemand:Entertheminimumrequiredbitratethattheserviceshouldhaveinordertobeavail
ableinthedownlink.

ForPacket(HSPAVariableBitRate)service,setthefollowingparametersunderHSPAParameters:

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EDPCCH/ADPCHActivityFactor:TheuplinkanddownlinkEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorsareusedtoestimate
theaveragepoweronEDPCCHandADPCHchannels.
MaxThroughputDemand:Enterthemaximumbitratethattheservicecanrequireintheuplinkanddownlink.
MinThroughputDemand:Entertheminimumrequiredbitratethattheserviceshouldhaveinordertobeavail
ableintheuplinkanddownlink.

TheuplinkanddownlinkEDPCCH/ADPCHactivityfactorshavebeensetto0.1and
cannot be changed. These values are used to estimate the average power on
EDPCCHandADPCHchannels.
VariableBitRateusersareprocessedasBestEffortuserswhennovalueisdefined
fortheminandmaxthroughputdemands.

13. ClickOK.
ModellingMobilityTypes
InUMTS,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanagetheactiveset:amobileusedbysomeone
travellingacertainspeedandamobileusedbyapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.EcI0
requirementsandEb/Nttargetsperradiobearerandperlink(upanddown)arelargelydependentonmobilespeed.
Thefollowingparametersareusedinpredictions:

EcI0threshold
HSSCCHEcNtThreshold

Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

3. RightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. OntheGeneraltab,youcanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordProperties
dialogbox:

Name:Enterormodifythedescriptivenameforthemobilitytype.
Speed:Enterormodifyanaveragespeedforthemobilitytype.Thisfieldisforinformationonly;theaveragespeed
isnotusedbyanycalculation.

6. OntheParameterstab,youcanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordProp
ertiesdialogbox:

EcI0Threshold:UnderActiveSetManagement,enterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitter
toentertheactiveset.Thisvaluemustbeverifiedforthebestserver.
HSSCCHEcNtThreshold:UnderHSDPA,enterormodifytheminimumqualityrequiredinorderfortheHSDPA
linktobeavailable.ThisparameterisusedbyAtolltodeterminetheHSSCCHpowerwhentheuserhasselected
dynamic allocation in the cell properties. For static allocation, Atoll calculates the HSSCCH EcNt from the
HSSCCHpowersetinthecellpropertiesandcomparesittothisthreshold.ThisfieldisonlyusedwithHSDPA.

7. ClickOK.
ModellingTerminals
InUMTS,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracarsonboard
navigationdevice.
Thefollowingparametersareusedinpredictions:

564

Receiverequipment
Mainandsecondarybands
Maximumterminalpower
Gainandlosses
Noisefigures
Activesetsize
DLrakefactor
CDMARhofactor

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Compressedmodecapability
HSPAcapabilityandHSPAspecificcategories:

UEcategory
Numberofreceptionantennaports
MUDfactor(forHSDPAonly).

Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

3. RightclicktheTerminalsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameter:

Name:Youcanchangethenameoftheterminal.

6. ClicktheParameterstab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:
UnderTransmission/Reception:

UMTSEquipment:Selectatypeofreceptionequipmentfromthelist.
You can create a new type of reception equipment by using the Reception Equipment
table.YoucanopenopentheReceptionEquipmenttablebyclickingtheExpandbutton
( )toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder,andthenrightclickingtheReception
EquipmentfolderandselectingOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.

Min.Power:Settheminimumtransmissionpower.Theminimumandmaximumtransmissionpowermakeupthe
dynamicrangeforuplinkpowercontrol.
MaxPower:Setthemaximumtransmissionpower.
Gain:Settheantennagain.
Losses:Setthereceptionlosses.
ActiveSetSize:Settheactivesetsize.Theactivesetsizeisthemaximumnumberoftransmitterstowhichater
minalcanbeconnectedatonetime.
DLRakeFactor:SettheDLrakefactor.ThisenablesAtolltomodeltherakereceiveronDL.
Therakeefficiencyfactor,usedforcalculatingrecombinationinuplinkhastobesetinthe
site equipment properties. For information on setting site equipment properties, see
"CreatingSiteEquipment"onpage699.

CDMARhofactor(%):ThisparameterenablesAtolltotakeintoaccounttheselfinterferenceproducedbythe
terminal.Becausehardwareequipmentisnotperfect,theinputsignalexperiencessomedistortionwhichaffects,
inturn,theoutputsignal.Thisfactordefineshowmuchdistortionthesystemgenerates.Entering100%means
thesystemisperfect(thereisnodistortion)andtheoutputsignalwillbe100%equaltotheinputsignal.Onthe
otherhand,ifyouspecifyavaluedifferentthan100%,Atollconsidersthatthetransmittedenergyisnot100%
signalandcontainsasmallpercentageofinterferencegeneratedbytheequipment,i.e.,selfinterference.Atoll
considersthisparametertocalculatethesignaltonoiseratiointheuplink.

Compressed Mode Supported: Check the Compressed Mode Supported check box if the terminal uses com
pressedmode.Compressedmodeisgenerallyusedtopreparehardhandoverofuserswithsinglereceivertermi
nals.

UnderFrequencyBands:

MainBand:SelectthefrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminalNoiseFigure
forthemainfrequency.
SecondaryBand:Selectasecondfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminal
NoiseFigureforthesecondfrequency.LeavetheSecondaryBandfieldemptyiftheterminalworksonlyonone
frequencyband.
ThirdBand:SelectathirdfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminalNoise
Figureforthethirdfrequency.LeavetheThirdBandfieldemptyiftheterminalworksonlyontwofrequency
bands.

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Therearetwodifferentwaysofdefiningmultibandterminals.Dependingontheconfigu
ration,AtollprocessesmultibandterminalusersdifferentlyintheMonteCarlosimula
tion.

Thefirstmethodconsistsofdefiningmain,secondaryandthirdfrequencybands.
ThisenablesyoutogivedifferentprioritiestothefrequencybandsintheMonte
Carlosimulation(themainfrequencybandwillhavethehighestpriority).Auser
withsuchatribandterminalwillbeconnectedtotransmittersusingthemainfre
quencybandifcarriersonthisfrequencybandarenotoverloaded.Incaseofover
loading,hewillbeconnectedtotransmittersusingthesecondaryfrequencyband
andsoon.
Thesecondconsistsofselecting"All"asmainfrequencyband.Thismeansthatthe
terminalworksonanyfrequencybandwithoutanypriority.Inthiscase,theuser
canbeconnectedtotransmittersusinganyfrequencyband.

In coverage predictions, both configurations give the same results. The priority of
frequencybandsisnottakenintoaccount.
SelectthetypeofHSPASupporttheterminalhas:None(i.e.,R99supportonly),HSDPA(i.e.,singlebandHSDPAand
R99intheuplink),HSPA(i.e.,singlebandHSDPAandHSUPA),DBHSDPA(i.e.,dualbandHSDPAandR99intheuplink)
orDBHSPA(i.e.,dualbandHSDPAandsinglebandHSUPA).IfyouselectDBHSDPAorDBHSPA,makesurethatyou
havedefinedaterminalcompatiblewithseveralfrequencybands.
IftheterminalsupportsHSDPA,youcandefinetheHSDPAparametersunderHSDPA:

UECategory:SelecttheHSDPAuserequipmentcategoryoftheterminal.
MUDFactor:Enteramultiuserdetectionfactor(MUD).MUDisbasedonanalgorithmusedtoimprovemobile
receivercapacity.ItreducesintracellinterferenceandallowsforhigherEcNt.MUDismodelledbyacoefficient
from0to1;thisfactorisconsideredincalculatingDLinterference.IfMUDisnotsupported,enter"0."
NumberofReceptionAntennaPorts:Selectthenumberofreceptionantennaportsavailableontheterminalfor
MIMO.

IftheterminalsupportsHSUPA,youcandefinetheHSUPAparametersunderHSUPA:

UECategory:SelecttheHSUPAuserequipmentcategoryoftheterminal.

7. ClickOK.
Youcanmodelterminalswiththefollowingcapabilities:
Terminal

DLConnection

ULConnection

R99
1HSDPAcarrier
1frequencyband

R99

HSDPAterminal

1frequencyband

HSPAterminal

R99
1HSDPAcarrier
1frequencyband

R99
1HSUPAcarrier
1frequencyband

DCHSPAterminal

R99
2HSDPAcarriers
1frequencyband

R99
2HSUPAcarriers
1frequencyband

MCHSPAterminal

R99
8HSDPAcarriers
1frequencyband

R99
2HSUPAcarriers
1frequencyband

DBMCHSPAterminal

R99
8HSDPAcarriers
2frequencybands

R99
2HSUPAcarriers
1frequencyband

Tomodelthevariousterminalslistedabove,youhavetosetthefollowingparameters:

566

HSDPAterminal:Select"HSDPA"astheHSPAsupportandanHSDPAUEcategoryfromCategory1to20.
HSPAterminal:Select"HSPA"astheHSPAsupport,chooseanHSDPAUEcategoryfromCategory1to20,andan
HSUPAUEcategoryfromCategory1to8.
DCHSPAterminal(dualcellHSPA):Choose"HSPA"astheHSPAsupport,selectanHSDPAUEcategoryfromCategory
21to28,andaDCHSUPAUEcategoryfromCategory8to9.
MCHSPA(multicellHSPA)terminal:Choose"HSPA"astheHSPAsupport,selectanHSDPAUEcategoryfromCate
gory21to36,andaDCHSUPAUEcategoryfromCategory8to9.

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DBMCHSPA(dualbandmulticellHSPA)terminal:Choose"DBHSPA"astheHSPAsupport,selectanHSDPAUEcat
egoryfromCategory21to36,aDCHSUPAUEcategoryfromCategory8to9,anddefineatleasttwoFrequency
bands.

Glossary
Intherestofthisdocument,thefollowingtermsdescribetheusersandtheservices:

R99users:TheCircuit(R99)andPacket(R99)serviceusers.TheserequireanR99bearer.
HSDPAusers:TheusersthatonlysupportHSDPA.ThesehaveanHSDPAcapableterminalandoneofthefollowing
services:

Packet(HSDPABestEffort),
Packet(HSDPAVariableBitRate).

HSDPAusersrequireanR99bearer(i.e.theADPCHradiobearer)andanHSDPAbearer.

HSPAusers:TheusersthatsupportbothHSDPAandHSUPA.ThesehaveanHSPAcapableterminalandoneofthe
followingservices:

Packet(HSPABestEffort),
Packet(HSPAVariableBitRate),
Packet(HSPAConstantBitRate).

HSPAusersrequireanR99bearer(i.e.theEDPCCH/ADPCHradiobearer),anHSDPAbearerandanHSUPAbearer.

7.2.9.2.2

DCHSPAusers:ThedualcellHSPAusers.UserswithDCHSPAcapableterminalsthatcansimultaneouslyconnectto
twoHSPAcellsofthetransmitterfordatatransfer.TheR99ADPCHbeareristransmittedononeofthecells,which
iscalledtheanchorcell.TheusercanbeassignedHSDPAandHSUPAbearersineachofthecells.
MCHSPAusers:ThemulticellHSPAusers.UserswithMCHSPAcapableterminalsthatcansimultaneouslyconnect
toseveralHSPAcellsofthetransmitterfordatatransfer.TheR99ADPCHbeareristransmittedononeofthecells,
whichiscalledtheanchorcell.TheusercanbeassignedHSDPAandHSUPAbearersineachofthecells.
DBMCHSPAusers:ThedualbandmulticellHSPAusers.UserswithDBMCHSPAcapableterminalsthatcansimul
taneouslyconnecttoseveralHSPAcellsoncosite transmittersusing differentfrequency bands.The R99 ADPCH
beareristransmittedononeofthecells,whichiscalledtheanchorcell.TheusercanbeassignedHSDPAandHSUPA
bearersineachofthecells.
BEservices:BestEffortservices.
VBRservices:VariableBitRateservices.
CBRservices:ConstantBitRateservices.CBRservicesdonotsupportmulticellmode.

SettingtheULLoadFactorandtheDLTotalPower
IfyouaresettingtheULloadfactorandtheDLtotalpowerforasingletransmitter,youcansettheseparametersontheCells
tabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.However,youcansettheULloadfactorandtheDLtotalpowerforallcells
usingtheCellstable.
TosettheULloadfactorandtheDLtotalpowerusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Enteravalueinthefollowingcolumns:

TotalPower(dBm)
ULLoadFactor(%)
Foradefinitionofthevalues,see"CellDescription"onpage525.

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforallcellsinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

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StudyingPilotSignalQuality
Apilotsignalqualitypredictionenablesyoutoidentifyareaswherethereisatleastonetransmitterwhosepilotqualityis
receivedsufficientlywelltobeaddedtotheprobemobileactiveset.
AtollcalculatesthebestpilotqualityreceivedoneachpixelwherethepilotsignallevelexceedsthedefinedminimumRSCP
threshold.Then,dependingonthecoveragepredictiondefinition,itcomparesthisvalueeithertotheEcI0thresholddefined
fortheselectedmobilitytype,ortouserdefinedEcI0thresholds.Thepixeliscolourediftheconditionisfulfilled(inother
words,ifthebestEcI0ishigherthantheEcI0mobilitythresholdorspecifiedEcI0thresholds).
Tomakeapilotsignalqualityprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPilotQualityAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThePilotQualityAnalysis(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure7.23).
Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoingtobebasedonload
conditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULloadfactorandtheDL
totalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
Ifyouwantthepilotsignalqualitypredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccount
checkboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

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Figure7.21:Loadconditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononpilotquality
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Forapilotsignalqualityprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"EcI0(dB)"isselectedby
default.Eachpixelisdisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothepilotsignalquality.Forinformationondefiningdisplay
properties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

Whereatleastonetransmitterisintheactiveset:Select"Unique"astheDisplayType.
Whereatleastonetransmitterisintheactiveset,withinformationonthebestserver:Select"DiscreteValue"
astheDisplayTypeand"Transmitter"astheField.
Thepilotsignallevel:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Ec(dBm)"astheField.
ThepilotqualityrelativetotheEcI0threshold:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"EcI0margin
(dB)"astheField.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.4

StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)
Atollcalculatesthetrafficchannelquality(asdefinedbyEbNt)whenusingthemaximumpowerallowed,i.e.,themaximum
trafficchannelpowerallowedpercellfordownlinkandthemaximumterminalpowerforuplink.Inthecoverageprediction,
thedownlinkoruplinkserviceareaislimitedbythemaximumpowerallowedandbythepilotquality.Ifthereceivedpilot
qualityisinsufficient,Atollwillnotdisplaythetrafficchannelquality.Themobilehandoverstatusistakeninconsiderationto
evaluatethedownlinkanduplinktrafficchannelquality(EbNt).Atollcombinesthesignalfromeachtransmitterintheprobe
mobileactiveset.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononservicearea(Eb/Nt)downlinkoruplink:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectoneofthefollowingpredictionsandclickOK:

ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)

ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)predictiontotakeintoconsid
erationcircumstanceswhentheR99bearerisdowngraded.Whendowngradingisenabledandiftheselectedservice
supportsbearerdowngrading,Atollwillconsideronlythelowestradiobearer.

Figure7.22:Loadconditionsettingsforaservicearea(Eb/Nt)prediction
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraservicearea(Eb/Nt)coverageprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"MaxEbNt(dB)"
isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationtheservicearea(EbNt)downlinkoruplink
predictionmakesavailable.Eachpixelisdisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothetrafficchannelquality.Forinfor
mationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

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The traffic channel quality relative to the EbNt threshold: Select "Value Intervals" as the Display Type and
"EbNtMargin(dB)"astheField.
ThepowerrequiredtoreachtheEbNtthreshold:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Required
Power(dB)"astheField.
WheretrafficchannelqualityexceedstheEbNtthresholdforeachmobilitytype:OntheConditionstab,select
"All"astheMobilityType.TheparametersontheDisplaytabareautomaticallyset.

Foraservicearea(EbNt)(DL)coverageprediction,youcanalsodisplaythefollowingresults:

TheR99effectiveRLCthroughput:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"EffectiveRLCThroughput
(kbps)"astheField.
TheR99applicationthroughput:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"ApplicationThroughput(kbps)"
astheField.

Foraservicearea(EbNt)(UL)coverageprediction,youcanalsodisplaythefollowingresult:

Thegainduetosofthandover:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"SoftHandoverGain"astheField.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.5

StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea
Theeffectiveserviceareaistheintersectionzonebetweenthepilotreceptionarea,andtheuplinkanddownlinkserviceareas.
Inotherwords,theeffectiveserviceareapredictioncalculateswhereaserviceactuallyisavailablefortheprobemobile.
Tomakeaneffectiveserviceareaprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. Select Effective Service Area Analysis (EbNt) (DL+UL) and click OK. The Effective Service Area Analysis (EbNt)
(DL+UL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.

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Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontotakeintoconsid
erationcircumstanceswhentheR99bearerisdowngraded.Whendowngradingisenabledandiftheselectedservice
supportsbearerdowngrading,Atollwillconsideronlythelowestradiobearer.

Figure7.23:Loadconditionsettingsforaneffectiveservicearea(Eb/Nt)(DL+UL)prediction
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraneffectiveserviceareaprediction,theDisplayType"Unique"isselectedbydefault.Thecoveragepredictionwill
displaywhereaserviceactuallyisavailablefortheprobemobile.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see
"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.6

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicators
Youcancreateaqualitypredictionbasedonagivenqualityindicators(BER,BLER,orFER).Thecoveragepredictionwillshow
foreachpixelthemeasurementoftheselectedqualityindicator.
Thistypeofcoveragepredictionisnotavailableinthelistofstandardpredictions;youcan,however,usequalityindicatorsin
apredictionbyfirstensuringthattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeencorrectlysetandthencreatingacover
ageprediction,selectingdisplayparametersthatusethesequalityindicators.
Beforeyoudefinethequalityprediction,youmustensurethattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeencorrectly
set.
Tochecktheparametersofthequalityindicators:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclickQualityIndicators.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheQualityIndicatorstableappears.
ForeachqualityindicatorintheNamecolumn,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

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UsedforCircuitServices:SelecttheUsedforCircuitServicescheckboxifthequalityindicatoristobeusedfor
circuitservices.
MeasuredParameterforQualityIndicator:Fromthelist,selecttheparameterthatwillbemeasuredtoindicate
quality.
InterpolatedQualityIndicator:SelecttheInterpolatedQualityIndicatorcheckboxifyouwantAtolltointerpo
latebetweentwoexistingQIvalues.CleartheInterpolatedQualityIndicatorcheckboxifyouwantAtolltotake
theclosestQIvalue.

5. ClosetheQualityIndicatorstable.
6. IntheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder,rightclicktheReceptionEquipmentfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheReceptionEquipmenttableappears.
"Standard"isthedefaultreceptionequipmenttypeforallterminals.
8. Doubleclickthereceptionequipmenttypeforwhichyouwanttoverifythecorrespondencebetweenthemeasured
qualityandthequalityindicator.ThereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. ClicktheQualityGraphstab.
10. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachR99Bearer.YoucaneditthevaluesintheDLandULQuality
IndicatorTablesbyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheDownlink
QualityGraphsortheUplinkQualityGraphsbuttons.
11. ClickOKtoclosethereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox.
Onceyouhaveensuredthattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeencorrectlyset,youcanusethemeasuredqual
itytocreateaqualityprediction.Howyoudefineacoveragepredictionaccordingtothemeasuredqualityindicatordepends
severalparameters:

ThesettingsmadeintheQualityIndicatorstable
Theserviceyouwanttostudy
Thequalityindicatoryouwanttouse(BER,BLER,orFER)
Thecoveragepredictionyouwanttouse(PilotQualityAnalysisDownlink,theServiceAreaAnalysisDownlink,orSer
viceAreaAnalysisUplink).

Inthefollowingexample,youwillcreateaqualitypredictionshowingBLER,forauseronfoot,andwithmobileinternetaccess.
TocreateaqualitypredictionshowingBLERforauseronfoot,andwithmobileinternetaccess:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)andclickOK.TheServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)Propertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

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Terminal:SelecttheappropriateterminalformobileInternetaccessfromtheTerminallist.
Service:Select"MobileInternetAccess"fromtheServicelist.
Mobility:Select"Pedestrian"fromtheMobilitylist.
Carrier:Selectaspecificcarrieror"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"tohavethecarrierselectedaccordingto
thecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.

Ifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)(DL)predictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)downlinkpredictiontotakeinto
considerationcircumstanceswhentheR99bearerisdowngraded.Whendowngradingisenabledandiftheselected
servicesupportsbearerdowngrading,Atollwillconsideronlythelowestradiobearer.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Select"Valueintervals"astheDisplayTypeand"BLER"astheField.Theexactfieldvaluewilldependonthename
given in the Quality Indicators table. For information on defining display properties, see "Display Properties of
Objects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
AtollcalculatesforeachpixeltheDLtrafficchannelquality(EbNt)(providedwhenusingthemaximumtrafficchannelpower
allowed).Then,itcalculatesthecorrespondingBLERvaluefromthequalitygraph(BLER=f(DLEbNt)).Thepixeliscolouredif
theconditionisfulfilled(i.e.,ifBLERisevaluatedasbeinghigherthanthespecifiedthreshold).
TheBLERisalsousedintheservicearea(DL)prediction(asdescribedin"StudyingDown
linkandUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage569)inordertoevaluateR99peakRLCand
applicationthroughputs.

7.2.9.2.7

StudyingtheTotalNoiseLevelontheDownlink
Inthecoveragebytotalnoiselevel(DL)prediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswherethedownlinktotalnoiseor
thedownlinknoiseriseexceedsasetthreshold.
Tomakeadownlinktotalnoiseordownlinknoiseriseprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectTotalNoiseLevelAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.TheTotalNoiseLevelAnalysis(DL)dialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.

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6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,andService,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmustalsoselect
whichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best"carrier
selectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foradownlinktotalnoiseordownlinknoiseriseprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.
TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationthedownlinktotalnoiseordownlinknoiserisepredictionmakes
available.

Coveragebytotalnoiseonthedownlink:Whenmakingapredictiononthetotalnoiselevelonthedownlink,
selectoneofthefollowingintheFieldlist:

Min.NoiseLevel
AverageNoiseLevel
MaxNoiseLevel

Coveragebynoiseriseonthedownlink:Whenmakingapredictiononthenoiseriseonthedownlink,selectone
ofthefollowingintheFieldlist:

Min.NoiseRise
AverageNoiseRise
MaxNoiseRise

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.8

StudyingPilotPollution
Atransmitterwhichfulfilsallthecriteriatoenteramobilesactivesetbutwhichisnotadmittedbecausetheactivesetlimit
hasalreadybeenreachedisconsideredapolluter.
InthePilotPollutionAnalysisprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswheretheprobemobileisinterferedbythe
pilotsignalfrompollutertransmitters.
Tomakeapilotpollutionprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPilotPollutionAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThePilotPollutionAnalysis(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
Ifyouwantthepilotpollutionpredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccount
checkboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
ForaPilotPollutionAnalysisprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"andtheField"NumberofPolluters"are
selectedbydefault.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.9

StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkInterference
Intheintertechnologydownlinknoiseprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswherethedownlinknoiseornoise
risefromexternalbasestationsandmobilesexceedsasetthreshold.Formoreinformationonthemodellingofintertechnol
ogyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.
Tomakeanintertechnologydownlinknoiseornoiseriseprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectIntertechnologyInterferenceLevelAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.
Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoingtobebasedonload
conditionstakenfromasimulation.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminalandaService,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmustalsoselect
whichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best"carrier
selectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
Ifyouwantthepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxand
enterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
TheDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationthe
predictionmakesavailable,NoiseLevelorNoiseRise.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.2.10

MakingaHandoffStatusCoveragePrediction
Inthehandoffstatuscoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaysthezoneswhereahandoffcanbemade.Forahand
overtobepossible,theremustbeapotentialactivetransmitter,i.e.,atransmitterthatfulfilsallthecriteriatoenterthe
mobileactiveset,andtheservicechosenbytheusermustbeavailable.
Youcanalsousethehandoffstatuscoveragepredictiontodisplaythenumberofpotentialactivetransmitters.
Tomakeahandoffstatuscoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectHandoffZones(DL)andclickOK.TheHandoffZones(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
Ifyouwantthehandoffstatuscoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.ThesettingsyouselectontheDisplaytabdeterminetheinformationthatthecoveragepredic
tionwilldisplay.
Todisplaythehandoffstatus:
a. Select"DiscreteValues"fromtheDisplayTypelist.
b. Select"Status"fromtheFieldlist.Dependingontheactivesetsizeoftheterminalandtheservicecapabilitiesin
termsofsofthandover,thecoveragepredictioncandisplaythefollowingvalues:

Nohandoff:onecellinthemobileactiveset.
Softer:twocellsinthemobileactivesetbelongingtothesamesite.
Soft:twocellsinthemobileactiveset,onefromSiteAandtheotherfromSiteB.
SofterSofter:threecellsinthemobileactiveset,belongingtothesamesite.
SofterSoft:threecellsinthemobileactiveset,twofromSiteAandthethirdonefromSiteB.
SoftSoft:threecellsinthemobileactiveset,onefromSiteA,onefromSiteBandonefromSiteC.
Notconnected:nocellinthemobileactiveset.

Todisplaythenumberofpotentialactivetransmitters:
a. Select"ValueIntervals"fromtheDisplayTypelist.
b. Select"PotentialActiveTransmitters"fromtheFieldlist.Thecoveragepredictionwilldisplaythenumberofpo
tentialactivetransmitters.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

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7.2.9.3 HSDPACoveragePredictions
The HSDPA predictions allow you to study many HSDPArelated parameters, depending on the parameters defined. Each
HSDPAbeareruserisassociatedtoanR99dedicatedchannelADPCHintheuplinkanddownlink,andmustfirstinitiateaA
DPCHconnectioninordertobeabletouseHSDPAchannels.Inthecoverageprediction,theHSDPAserviceareaislimitedby
thepilotqualityandtheADPCHquality.TheparametersusedasinputfortheHSDPAcoveragepredictionsaretheavailable
HSDPApower,andthetotaltransmittedpowerforeachcell.Ifthecoveragepredictionisnotbasedonasimulation,these
valuesaretakenfromthecellproperties.Forinformationaboutthecellparameters,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"on
page529.Forinformationontheformulasusedtocalculatedifferentthroughputs,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
TomakeanHSDPAcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectHSDPAQualityandThroughputAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.TheHSDPAQualityandThroughputAnalysis(DL)
Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.ForanHSDPAcoveragepredic
tion,underTerminal,youmustchoseanHSDPAcapableterminaland,underService,youmustchoseaservicewith
HSDPA.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrieror
forthe"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefined
forthesiteequipment.
UnderHSDPAradiobearer,selecteither"All"toconsiderallpossibleHSDPAradiobearersinthepredictionoran
HSDPAradiobearerindextocalculateapredictionforacertainbearer.DisplayoptionsavailableintheDisplaytab
dependonwhatyouhaveselectedhere.
Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

TomodelaDCHSPAuser:SelectaDCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewithHSPA,and
"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"asthecarrier.
TomodelaMCHSPAuser:SelectaMCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewithHSPA,
and"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"asthecarrier.
TomodelaDBMCHSPAuser:SelectaDBMCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewith
HSPA,and"BestHSPA(Allbands)"asthecarrier.

Ifyouwanttoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercent
ageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.

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YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.ThesettingsyouselectontheDisplaytabdeterminetheinformationthatthecoveragepredic
tionwilldisplay.
Ifyouhaveselected"All"astheHSDPAradiobearerintheConditionstab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ToanalysetheuplinkanddownlinkADPCHqualitiesonthemap:

ToanalysetheHSSCCHqualityorpower:

ThemaximumDLADPCHqualityrelativetotheEbNtthreshold:Select"MaxDLADPCHEbNt(dB)"asthe
Field.AtolldeterminesdownlinkADPCHqualityatthereceiverforthemaximumtrafficchannelpoweral
lowedforthebestserver.
ThemaximumULADPCHqualityrelativetotheEbNtthreshold:Select"MaxULADPCHEbNt(dB)"asthe
Field.AtolldeterminesuplinkADPCHqualityatthereceiverforthemaximumterminalpowerallowed.
TheHSSCCHpowerperHSSCCHchannelrelativetothepowerthreshold:Select"HSSCCHPower(dBm)"as
theField.ThisdisplayoptionisrelevantonlyifHSSCCHpowerisallocateddynamically.
TheHSSCCHEcNtperHSSCCHchannelrelativetotheEcNtthreshold:Select"HSSCCHEcNt(dBm)"asthe
Field.ThisdisplayoptionisrelevantonlyifHSSCCHpowerisallocatedstatically.

TomodelfastlinkadaptationforasingleHSDPAbeareruserorforadefinednumberofHSDPAbearerusers:
ForasingleHSDPAbeareruser,AtollconsidersoneHSDPAbeareruseroneachpixelanddeterminesthebestHS
DPAbearerthattheusercanobtainbyconsideringtheentireavailableHSDPApowerofthecell.

TheHSPDSCHEc/NtrelativetotheEcNtthreshold:Select"HSPDSCHEc/Nt"astheField.Atollcalculates
thebestHSPDSCHEcNtoneachpixel.
Thechannelqualityindicator(CQI)relativetotheEcNtthreshold:Select"CQI"astheField.Atolldisplays
eithertheCPICHCQIortheHSPDSCHCQI,dependingontheoptionselectedunderHSDPAontheGlobal
Parameters tab of the UMTS Network Settings Properties dialog box (see "The Options of the Network
SettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage695).

IfyouaremodellinganMCHSPAuser,thebestcarrierisdeterminedaccordingtothecarrierselectioncriterion
definedinthesiteequipment.Thesecondarycarriersmustbelongtothesametransmitterandarechosenamong
theadjacentcarriersaccordingtotheCQI.Whentwoadjacentcarriersareavailable,theonewiththehighestCQI
valueisselected.AtollselectssecondarycellsaslongasHSDPAcarriersareavailableinthetransmitterandthe
maximumnumberofcellstowhichtheusercansimultaneouslyconnectisnotexceeded.
IfyouaremodellingaDBMCHSPAuser,thebestcarrieramongallsupportedfrequencybandsisselectedaccord
ingtothecarrierselectioncriteriondefinedinthesiteequipment.Thesecondarycellsaretakeninthesameband
asthebestcarrier(i.e.,theybelongtothesametransmitter),aslongascarriersareavailable.Then,ifadditional
carriersarerequiredandiftherearenomorecarriersavailableinthistransmitter,Atollselectsthecarriersina
transmitterusingthesecondfrequencyband.Withinonefrequencyband,thesecondarycellsarefirstselected
accordingtoanadjacencycriterionandthen,accordingtotheCQIvalue.Whentwoadjacentcarriersareavailable,
AtolltakestheonewiththehighestCQIvalue.
ForMCHSPAandDBMCHSPAusers,allselectedcarriersaretakenintoconsiderationtocalculatethethrough
puts.

ThepeakMACthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"PeakMACThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Atoll
calculatesthepeakMACthroughputfromthetransportblocksizeoftheselectedHSDPAbearer.
TheEffectiveMACthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"EffectiveMACThroughput(kbps)"asthe
Field.TheEffectiveMACthroughputiscalculatedfromthepeakMACthroughput.
ThepeakRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"PeakRLCThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Atoll
displaysthepeakRLCthroughputthattheselectedHSDPAbearercanbesuppliedwith.ThepeakRLCthrough
putisacharacteristicoftheHSDPAbearer.
TheeffectiveRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"EffectiveRLCThroughput(kbps)"astheField.
AtollcalculatestheeffectiveRLCthroughputfromthepeakRLCthroughput.
TheaverageeffectiveRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"AverageEffectiveRLCThroughput
(kbps)"astheField.
Theapplicationthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"ApplicationThroughput(kbps)"astheField.
UsingthepeakRLCthroughput,theBLER,theHSDPAservicescalingfactor,andthethroughputoffset,Atoll
calculates the application throughput. The application throughput represents the net throughput without
coding(redundancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).

Inordertobecovered,VBRserviceusershavetoobtainanHSDPAbearerwithapeakRLCthroughputexceeding
theirminimumthroughputdemands.WhenthepeakRLCthroughputofthebestHSDPAbearerexceedstheuser
maximumthroughputdemand,theHSDPAbearerisdowngradeduntilthepeakRLCthroughputislowerthanthe
maximumthroughputdemand.
MCHSPAuserswithVBRservicesarenotcoverediftheycannotobtaintheminimumthroughputdemandontheir
bestcarrier.

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AtollcanconsiderseveralHSDPAbearerusersperpixel.Whenthecoveragepredictionisnotbasedonasimula
tion,thisvalueistakenfromthecellproperties.AtollconsidersthedefinednumberofHSDPAbeareruserson
eachpixelanddeterminesthebestHSDPAbearerthateachusercanobtain.Thecoveragepredictionresultsdis
playedaretheaverageresultsforoneuser.TheavailableHSDPApowerofthecellissharedbetweentheHSDPA
bearerusers.IfyouaremodellingasinglebandorDBMCHSPAuser(wherenisthenumberofcellstowhichthe
userisconnected),thefollowingthroughputsarecalculatedforthenbestcarriersdependingonthecarrierse
lectioncriteriondefinedinthesiteequipment.
Youcandisplaythefollowingresults:

TheaverageeffectiveMACthroughputperuserrelativetothethreshold:Select"EffectiveMACThroughput
perUser(kbps)"astheField.AtollcalculatestheaverageMACthroughputperuserfromthefromtheMAC
throughputofeachuser.
TheaverageeffectiveRLCthroughputperuserrelativetothethreshold:Select"EffectiveRLCThroughput
perUser(kbps)"astheField.AtollcalculatestheaverageRLCthroughputperuserfromtheRLCthroughput
ofeachuser.
Theaverageapplicationthroughputperuserrelativetothethreshold:Select"ApplicationThroughputper
User(kbps)"astheField.UsingthepeakRLCthroughput,theBLER,theHSDPAservicescalingfactor,andthe
throughputoffset,Atollcalculatestheaverageapplicationthroughputperuserfromtheapplicationthrough
putofeachuser.

IfyouhaveselectedanHSDPAradiobearerindexastheHSDPARadioBearerontheConditionstab,youcandisplay
thefollowingresults:

WhereacertainpeakRLCthroughputisavailablewithdifferentcelledgecoverageprobabilities:OntheCondi
tionstab,donottakeshadowingintoconsiderationandselectaspecificHSDPAradiobearerindex.OntheDisplay
tab, the Display Type "Value Intervals"based ontheField"CellEdge Coverage Probability (%)" is selectedby
default.

WhennovalueisdefinedintheCellstableforthetotaltransmittedpowerandthenumberofHSDPAbearerusers,
Atollusesthefollowingdefaultvalues:

Totaltransmittedpower=50%ofthemaximumpower(i.e,40dBmifthemaximumpowerissetto43dBm)
NumberofHSDPAbearerusers=1

Ontheotherhand,nodefaultvalueisusedfortheavailableHSDPApower;thisparametermustbedefinedbythe
user.
Forinformationonselectingthebestbearer,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Forinformationondefiningdisplay
properties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.4 HSUPACoveragePredictions
TheHSUPAcoveragepredictionallowsyoutostudyseveralHSUPArelatedparameters.EachHSUPAbeareruserisassociated
withanR99dedicatedtrafficchannelinthedownlinkanduplink(i.e.,theADPCHEDPCCHR99bearer),andmustfirstinitiate
thisconnectioninordertobeabletouseHSUPAchannels.Inthecoverageprediction,theHSUPAserviceareaislimitedby
thepilotqualityandADPCHEDPCCHquality.TheparametersusedasinputfortheHSUPApredictionsaretheuplinkload
factortheuplinkreusefactor,theuplinkloadfactorduetoHSUPAandthemaximumuplinkloadfactorforeachcell.Ifthe
coveragepredictionisnotbasedonasimulation,thesevaluesaretakenfromthecellproperties.Forinformationaboutthe
cellparameters,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.Forinformationontheformulasusedtocalculaterequired
EDPDCHEc/Nt,requiredterminalpower,anddifferentthroughputs,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
TomakeanHSUPAcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectHSUPAQualityandThroughputAnalysis(UL)andclickOK.TheHSUPAQualityandThroughputAnalysis(UL)
Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.ForanHSUPAcoveragepredic
tion,underTerminal,youmustchoseanHSUPAcapableterminaland,underService,youmustchoseaservicewith
HSUPA.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrieror
forthe"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefined
forthesiteequipment.
Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

TomodelaDCHSPAuser:SelectaDCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewithHSPA,and
"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"asthecarrier.
TomodelaMCHSPAuser:SelectaMCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewithHSPA,
and"BestHSPA(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"asthecarrier.
TomodelaDBMCHSPAuser:SelectaDBMCHSPAcapableterminalastheTerminal,aBEorVBRServicewith
HSPA,and"BestHSPA(Allbands)"asthecarrier.

HSUPAResources:AtollcancalculatetheHSUPAcoveragepredictioninoneoftwoways:

Forasingleuser:AfterallocatingcapacitytoallR99users,theentireremainingloadwillbeallocatedtoasingle
HSUPAbeareruser.
SharedbyHSUPAusersdefinedorcalculatedpercell:AfterallocatingcapacitytoallR99users,theremaining
loadofthecellwillbesharedequallybetweenalltheHSUPAbearerusers.Whenthecoveragepredictionisnot
basedonasimulation,thenumberofHSUPAbearerusersistakenfromthecellproperties.Thedisplayedresults
ofthecoveragepredictionwillbeforoneuser.

Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
WhennovalueisdefinedintheCellstable,Atollusesthefollowingdefaultvaluesforinputparameters:

Uplinkloadfactor=50%
Uplinkreusefactor=1
UplinkloadfactorduetoHSUPA=0%
Maximumuplinkloadfactor=75%
NumberofHSUPAusers=1

7. ClicktheDisplaytab.ThesettingsyouselectontheDisplaytabdeterminetheinformationthatthecoveragepredic
tionwilldisplay.Youcansetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

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TherequiredEDPDCHEcNtrelativetothethreshold:Select"RequiredEDPDCHEcNt(dB)"astheField.Atoll
selectsthebestHSUPAbearerwhoserequiredEDPDCHEcNtdoesnotexceedthemaximumEDPDCHEcNt
allowed.TherequiredEDPDCHEcNtisapropertyoftheselectedHSUPAbearer.
Thepowerrequiredfortheselectedterminalrelativetothethreshold:Select"RequiredTerminalPower(dBm)"
astheField.AtollcalculatestherequiredterminalpowerfromtherequiredEDPDCHEcNt.

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ThepeakMACThroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"PeakMACThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Atollcal
culatesthepeakMACthroughputfromthetransportblocksizeoftheselectedHSUPAbearer.
ThepeakRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"PeakRLCThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Atolldis
playsthepeakRLCthroughputthattheselectedHSUPAbearercansupply.ThepeakRLCthroughputisaproperty
oftheHSUPAbearer.
TheguaranteedRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"MinRLCThroughput(kbps)"astheField.
TheaverageRLCthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"AverageRLCThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Atoll
calculatestheaverageRLCthroughputontheuplinkusingtheearlyterminationprobabilities,definedintheter
minalsreceptionequipment,tomodelHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest).
Theapplicationthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"ApplicationThroughput(kbps)"astheField.Using
thepeakRLCthroughput,theBLER,theHSUPAservicescalingfactor,andthethroughputoffset,Atollcalculates
theapplicationthroughput.Theapplicationthroughputrepresentsthenetthroughputwithoutcoding(redun
dancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).
Theaverageapplicationthroughputrelativetothethreshold:Select"AverageApplicationThroughput(kbps)"as
theField.Atollcalculatestheaverageapplicationthroughputontheuplinkusingtheearlyterminationprobabil
ities,definedintheterminalsreceptionequipment,tomodelHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest).

Tobeconnectedtotwocarriersintheuplink,DCHSPA,MCHSPAandDBMCHSPAusersmustfirstinitiateaconnec
tiontoseveralcarriersinthedownlink.Thebestcarrieristheoneselectedinthedownlink.Thesecondarycarrier
belongstothesametransmitter;itisthesecondbestcarrieramongtheadjacentcarriersselectedinthedownlink.All
selectedcarriersaretakenintoconsiderationtocalculatethethroughputs.
Inordertobecovered,VBRusershavetoobtainanHSUPAbearerwithapeakRLCthroughputexceedingtheirmini
mumthroughputdemands.WhenthepeakRLCthroughputofthebestHSUPAbearerexceedstheusermaximum
throughputdemand,theHSUPAbearerisdowngradeduntilthepeakRLCthroughputislowerthanthemaximum
throughputdemand.
DCHSPA,MCHSPAandDBMCHSPAuserswithVBRservicesarenotcoverediftheycannotobtaintheminimum
throughputdemandontheirbestcarrier.
Forinformationonselectingthebestbearer,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Forinformationondefiningdisplay
properties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

7.2.9.5 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
TheresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyou
createdthecoverageprediction(step6.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage554).Ifseveral
coveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itmightbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwant
toanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformation
onmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingtoolsareexplained:

7.2.9.5.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage583
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText"onpage583

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtoLegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

7.2.9.5.2

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText
Youcangetinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformationdisplayedin
thetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step6.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage554).

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Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure7.24).

Figure7.24:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingthetiptext

7.2.9.6 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.

7.2.9.6.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage584
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage585
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage587
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage587

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocuszoneandhotspotsdefineanareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucan
onlyhaveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlo,powercontrolsimulations,etc.,whilethefocus
zoneandhotspotsaretheareastakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoverage
predictionreport,itgivestheresultsforthefocuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheZonesfolder.

3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpots,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.The
contextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocuszoneorhotspotasfollows:

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)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocuszoneorhotspotbyrightclickingitand
selectingUseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocus
zoneorhotspotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAdd
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Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocuszoneorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZonefolder
orHotSpotsintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcan
importthenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocuszoneorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZone
toMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspotsinthefollowingways,sothatyoucanuseitina
differentAtolldocument:

Saving the focus zone in the user configuration: For information on saving the
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhotspots
byrightclickingtheFocusZoneortheHotSpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerand
selectingExportfromthecontextmenu.

Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotbyimportingapopula
tionmap.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoData
File"onpage142.

7.2.9.6.2

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage584.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage587.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.

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Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default, theranges which do not contain any pixels do not appear in the report.By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.
3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.

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Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

7.2.9.6.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page585,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.

7.2.9.6.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.
Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage584.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthePredictionsfolder.

3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramoftheareadefinedby
thefocuszone(seeFigure7.25).

UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

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Figure7.25:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

7.2.9.7 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,JPEG2000,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRD
andGRC)formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invector
formats,youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoveragepre
dictionresults,see"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

7.2.9.8 AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcanusethePointAnalysistooltoverifyit.Ifyoudo,beforeyoumakethepoint
analysis,ensurethecoveragepredictionyouwanttoverifyisdisplayedonthemap.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

7.2.9.8.1

"StudyingSignalReception"onpage588
"MakinganActiveSetAnalysis"onpage589
"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality"onpage590

StudyingSignalReception
TheReceptionviewofthePointAnalysistoolgivesyouinformationonthepilotsignallevelsforanypointonthemap.The
analysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.Thedownlinkand
uplinkloadconditionscanbetakenfromtheCellstableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.
Tomakeareceptionanalysis:
1. Click the Point Analysis button (
pointerchanges(

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. The Point Analysis window appears and the

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. AtthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow,selecttheReceptionview(seeFigure7.26).
ThepredictedsignallevelfromthetransmittersisreportedintheReceptionviewintheformofabarchart,fromthe
highestpredictedsignallevelonthetoptothelowestoneonthebottom.Thenameofthetransmitterisfollowedby
thecarriernumber(betweenparentheses).Eachbarisdisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitteritrepresents.Inthe
mapwindow,arrowsfromthepointertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitterstheyrepre
sent.Athickblacklinefromthepointertoitsbestserverisalsodisplayedinthemapwindow.Thebestserverofthe

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pointeristhetransmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestsignallevel.Ifyouletthepointerrest,thesignal
levelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthepointerlocationisdisplayedinthetiptext.
3. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,selectthecarriertobeanalysed.Youcanmakethepredictionforaspecificcarrier,
orselect"Best(AllBands/SpecificBand)"toconsiderthebestcarrierofallbandsorthebestcarrierofaparticular
band.

Figure7.26:PointAnalysisReceptionview
4. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,youcanclickoneofthefollowingbuttons:

:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Youcanchangethefollowing:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

:ClicktheCopybutton(
)tocopytheReceptionview.YoucanthenpastethecontentsoftheReception
viewasagraphicintoagraphiceditingorwordprocessingprogramme.

:ClickthePrintbutton(

)toprinttheReceptionview.

Ifyouwishtogetthedetailsaboutthereceivedsignallevelsandqualityintheformofatable,youcanusetheDetailsview
ofthePointAnalysistool(see"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality"onpage590).

7.2.9.8.2

MakinganActiveSetAnalysis
TheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonthepilotquality(EcI0)(whichisthemainparam
eterusedtodefinethemobileactiveset),theconnectionstatus,andtheactivesetoftheprobemobile.Resultsaredisplayed
foranypointofthemapwherethepilotsignallevelexceedsthedefinedminimumRSCP.Theanalysisisprovidedforauser
definableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobilityandaservice.
Forinformationonthecriteriaforbelongingtotheactiveset,see"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage705.
Tomakeanactivesetanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappears(seeFigure7.28).

2. SelecttheASAnalysisviewatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow.
3. AtthetopoftheASAnalysisview,select"CellsTable"fromLoadconditions.
4. IfyouaremakinganASanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoveragepre
diction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Service,andMobilitystudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. SelecttheCarriertobeconsidered.YoucanmaketheASanalysisforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best(All/Main/
Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
c. SelecttheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifbearerdowngradingwasselectedinthecoverageprediction.When
downgradingisenabledandiftheselectedservicesupportsbearerdowngrading,Atollwillconsideronlythelow
estradiobearer.
d. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

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e. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeanactivesetanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Asyoumovethepointer,Atollindicatesonthemapwhichisthebestserverforthecurrentposition(seeFigure7.27).

Figure7.27:Pointanalysisonthemap
InformationonthecurrentpositionisgivenontheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindow.SeeFigure7.28for
anexplanationofthedisplayedinformation.

Figure7.28:PointAnalysisToolASAnalysisview
Thebargraphdisplaysthefollowinginformation:

Thepilotquality(EcI0)ofalltransmittersusingtheselectedcarrier(thecolourofthebarcorrespondstothe
colourofthetransmitteronthemap).
Thethresholdsoftheactiveset(EcI0threshold,bestserveractivesetthreshold).Theportionofthegraphwith
thegreybackgroundindicatesthetransmittersintheactiveset.
ThepilotandtheavailabilityofserviceonUL,DL,HSDPA,andHSUPA.

Ifthereisatleastonesuccessfulconnection(forpilot,DL,UL,HSDPA,orHSUPA),doubleclickingtheiconsintheright
handframewillopenadialogboxwithadditionalinformation.
6. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
7. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

7.2.9.8.3

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality
InAtoll,youcangetdetailsabouttheserversintheformofatableusingthePointAnalysistool.TheDetailsviewgivesyou
informationonsignallevels,Ec/Io,andEb/Ntonanypointonthemap.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobe
receiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.ThedownlinkanduplinkloadconditionscanbetakenfromtheCells
tableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.

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Tomakeadetailedanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(
pointerchanges(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelecttheDetailsview.
3. AtthetopoftheDetailsview,select"Cellstable"fromLoad.
4. Ifyouaremakingadetailedanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoverage
prediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Mobility,andServicestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. SelecttheCarriertobeconsidered.YoucanmaketheASanalysisforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best(All/Main/
Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
c. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)intheDetailsviewtoolbar.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

EdittheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

d. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeadetailedanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
TheDetailsviewdisplaysthefollowinginformationintheformofatable:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitterfromwhichthereceivedsignallevelsaredisplayed.Thecellsarelisted
indecreasingorderofRSCP.
Distance(m):Thedistancefromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
ScramblingCode:Thescramblingcodeofthetransmitter.
PathLoss(dB):Thepathlossfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
RSCP(dBm):Thereceivedpilotsignallevelfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Ec/Io(dB):TheEc/Iofromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Eb/NtDL(dB):ThedownlinkEb/Ntfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Eb/NtUL(dB):TheuplinkEb/Ntfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.

6. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

7.2.9.9 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
changesyoumakeaffectthenetwork.
Inthissection,therearetwoexamplestoexplainhowyoucancomparetwosimilarpredictions.Youcandisplaytheresults
ofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

Intersection:Thisdisplayshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscoveredby
bothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplayshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixelscovered
byatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
byonlyonepredictionareblue).
Difference:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredbyonly
the first prediction with another colour and pixels covered only by the second prediction with a third colour (for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplayshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.Thisdis
playoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.

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6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.
Inthissection,thefollowingexamplesareexplained:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage592
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage593.

Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignal
Level"onpage556.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure7.29.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthe
figure.

Figure7.29:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewbasestationisadded,eitherbycreatingthesiteandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatingaUMTSBase
Station"onpage521,orbyplacingastationtemplate,asexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page529.Oncethenewsitebasestationbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwould
beimpossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselectingDupli
catefromitscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewsite(seeFigure7.30).

Figure7.30:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwopredictions.

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Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Inordertoseewhatchangesaddinganewbasestationmade,youshouldchooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure7.31,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenew
basestation.

Figure7.31:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions
Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTrans
mitter"onpage558.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure7.32.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscovering
itsareapoorly.TheareaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure7.32.

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Figure7.32:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork
Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbe
impossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictionbycanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefromits
contextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculated,toshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure7.33).

Figure7.33:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
coverage,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
coveredbybothpredictionsinonecolourandallpixelscoveredbyonlyonepredictioninanothercolour.Theincrease
incoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.

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5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure7.34,showsclearlytheincreaseincoverageduetothe
changeinantennatilt.

Figure7.34:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

7.2.9.10 MakingaMultiPointAnalysis
InAtoll,youcancarryoutcalculationsonlistsofpointsrepresentingsubscribersandanalysethem.Theseanalysescanbe
usefulforverifyingnetworkQoSatsubscriberlocationsincaseofincidents(calldrops,lowthroughputs,etc.)reportedby
users.Moreover,someuserequipmentmayfeedbackanumberofnetworkmeasurementsattheirlocations.Thismayhelp
verifynetworkqualitywithouttheneedformeasurementcampaignsattheexpenseoftheoperator.
Anumberofparametersarecalculatedforeachpoint,notjustforthebestserverbutforallpotentialservers.Theseparam
etersincludethepathloss,RSCP,EcIo,DLEbNt,andULEbNt.Theloadconditionsarefixedbytheuser,eitherreadfrom
theCellstableorfromatrafficsimulation.Theresultsprovidedbythisanalysisarethesameasavailableforonepointinthe
DetailsviewofthePointAnalysistool.
ShadowingmarginsarecalculatedforthecelledgecoverageprobabilitydefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthePoint
Analysistool.TheIndoorCoveragecheckboxinthisdialogboxisalsotakenintoaccount.
Allthepointsareconsideredtohavethesameheight,whichisthereceiverheightdefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthe
UMTSNetworkSettingsfolder,i.e.,thereceiverheightatwhichpathlossmatricesarecalculated.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

7.2.9.10.1

"CreatingaMultipointAnalysis"onpage595.
"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage596.
"AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysisUsingtheMouse"onpage597
"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage597
"ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis"onpage597
"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"onpage597.
"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder"onpage598.

CreatingaMultipointAnalysis
Whenyoucreateanewmultipointanalysis,youcansetalltheparametersthatdefineit.Thenewlycreatedanalysisisnot
automaticallycalculated.
Tocreateanewmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewAnalysisfromthecontextmenu.TheAnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheGeneraltab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

Name:Thenameoftheanalysis.Youcanchangethenameoftheanalysisifdesired.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

5. ClicktheConditionstab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

LoadConditions:Selecttheloadconditionstobeusedintheanalysis.Ifyouselect"(CellsTable),"thecalculations
arenotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation;Atollwillusethecellloadsdefinedinthe
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Whenyoubaseananalysisonsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationsfromtheLoad
Conditionslist.

Carrier:Selectthecarrierforwhichyouwanttheanalysistobecarriedout.Youcaneitherselect"Best"oroneor
morecarriernumbersfromthelist.The"Best"carrierwilldependonthecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthe
siteequipment.
BearerDowngrading:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttopermitbearerdowngrading.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsidershadowingandenteraCellEdgeCov
erageProbability.
Indoorcoverage:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass

6. ClickthePointstab.Hereyoucancreatethelistofpointsonwhichthemultipointanalysiswillbemade.Eachpoint
inthelistisdefinedbyitsXandYcoordinates,aHeight(m),aService,aTerminal,andaMobility.Youcan:

Importalistofpoints.See"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage597.
Copyandpasteanexistinglistofpoints.

Createpointsinthelistbyeditingthetable:intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),createeachpoint
byenteringitsXandYcoordinatesandassigningitaservice,aterminal,andamobility.
Youcanalsocreatepointsusingthemouse.Formoreinformation,See"AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysis
UsingtheMouse"onpage597.

Thecoordinatesmustbeintheformatusedbythedisplaycoordinatesystemofthe
document.Forinformationonchangingthecoordinatesystem,see"SettingaCoor
dinateSystem"onpage126.

7. ClicktheDisplaytabanddefinethedisplaypropertiesofmultipointanalysisresults.Forinformationonchangingdis
playcharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Youcaneitherrunthenewmultipointanalysisimmediatelyoryoucancreateitandrunitlater:

7.2.9.10.2

Calculate:ClickCalculatetoruntheanalysisimmediately.Oncecalculationiscomplete,anewAnalysisNfolder
appears under Multipoint Analysis in the Network explorer. For information on how to access the analysis
results,see"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage596.

OK:ClickOKtocreatetheanalysiswithoutrunningit.AnewAnalysisNfolderappearsunderMultipointAnalysis
intheNetworkexplorer.

AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults
Toaccesstheresultsofamultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthefoldercontainingtheanalysiswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.

4. Rightclicktheanalysis.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. Select Analysis Results from the context menu. The Analysis N Properties dialog box appears. The results table
includesthefollowinginformation:

596

PositionId:PositionIDofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Height(m):Heightofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Service:Theservicesassignedtotheusers.
Terminal:Theterminalsassignedtotheusers.
Mobility:Themobilitytypesassignedtotheusers.
Cell:Namesofthepotentialservingcells.
Distance(m):Distancesfromthepotentialservingcells.
PathLoss(dB):Pathlossescorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
RSCP(dBm):ReceivedSignalCodePowerscorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
Ec/Io(dB):Ec/Iocorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
DLEb/Nt(dB):DownlinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ULEb/Nt(dB):UplinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ScramblingCode:Scramblingcodescorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.

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To hide one or more columns in the Analysis N Properties dialog box, click the Actions
buttonandselectDisplayedColumns.IntheColumntobeDisplayeddialogbox,clearthe
checkboxescorrespondingtothecolumnsyouwanttohide.
6. ClickClose.

7.2.9.10.3

AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysisUsingtheMouse
Youcanusethemousetoaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. RightclicktheAnalysisNtowhichyouwanttoaddpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectAddPointsfromthecontextmenu.Thepointerchangestopointadditionmode(

).

5. Movethemouseoverthemapwindowandclickoncetocreateeachpointyouwanttoadd.
6. PressESCorclicktheNewpointbutton(

)intheVectorEditortoolbartofinishaddingpoints.

Toplacepointsmoreaccurately,beforeclickingthemap,youcanzoominonthemap.
Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.

7.2.9.10.4

ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis
Youcanimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. RightclicktheAnalysisNinwhichyouwanttoimportalistofpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheAnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePointstab.
6. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectImportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTables
fromTextFiles"onpage87.

7.2.9.10.5

ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis
EachlistofpointsinaAtolldocumentisstoredinaseparatetable.Youcanexportalistofpointstouseitinanotherapplica
tionorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportalistofpoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. RightclicktheAnalysisNinwhichyouwanttoimportalistofpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheAnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePointstab.
6. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectExportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablesto
TextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

7.2.9.10.6

CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder
AtollenablesyoutocreatefoldersunderMultipointAnalysisintheNetworkexplorer.Suchfoldersmaycontainoneormore
analysescarriedoutononelistofpoints.Atollonlyallowsoneleveloffolders.OnceyouhavecreatedafolderunderMulti
pointAnalysis,youcanmovemultipointanalysesintoit.Formoreinformation,see"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoa
Folder"onpage598.

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TocreateafolderunderMultipointAnalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewFolderfromthecontextmenu.Atollcreatesanewfolder,"Folder<X>",underMultipointAnalysiswhere
"<X>"isanumberassignedbyAtollsequentially,accordingtothenumberoffolderswithdefaultnamesunderMulti
pointAnalysis.
Youcanchangethenameofthefoldertogiveitamoredescriptivename.

7.2.9.10.7

MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder
OnceyouhavecreatedfoldersunderMultipointAnalysisasexplainedin"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"
onpage597,youcanorganisethemultipointanalysesbymovingthemintothesefolders.Atollalsoallowsyoutomove
multipointanalysesfromonefoldertoanotherorfromafoldertothemainMultipointAnalysisfolder.
TomoveamultipointanalysisfromthemainMultipointAnalysisfoldertooneofitsfolders:
1. ClicktheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftofMultipointAnalysistoexpandthefolder.

3. UsedraganddroptomoveanymultipointanalysistothemainMultipointAnalysisfolderortoanyofitsfolders.
Todothat,dragthemultipointanalysisovertheMultipointAnalysisfolderoroverthenameofthedestination
folderanddropit.

7.2.10 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachcellmanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedontheparameters
thatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thecelltowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferredtoasthereference
cell.Thecellsthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferredtoaspossibleneighbours.Whenallocatingneighbours
toallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthefocuszoneandconsidersaspossi
bleneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhosepropagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputation
zone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthecomputationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanuseautomaticallocationonallcellsinthedocument,
oryoucandefineagroupofcellseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow.Forinfor
mationoncreatingafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage584.For
informationongroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
AtollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesinaUMTSnetwork:

IntratechnologyNeighbours:IntratechnologyneighboursarecellsdefinedasneighboursthatalsouseUMTS.Intra
technologyneighbourscanbedividedinto:

IntracarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoverusingthesamecarrier.
IntercarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoverusingadifferentcarrier.

Intertechnology Neighbours: Intertechnology neighbours are cells defined as neighbours that use a technology
otherthanUMTS.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"ImportingNeighbours"onpage599
"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage599
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage599
"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage600
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage603
"AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell"onpage608
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours"onpage611
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan"onpage613
"ExportingNeighbours"onpage614.

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7.2.10.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusing
theNeighbourstable.
ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheUMTSTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

7.2.10.2 DefiningExceptionalPairs
InAtoll,youcandefineneighbourconstraintsthatwillbetakenintoconsiderationduringtheautomaticallocationofneigh
bours.Exceptionalpairscanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenyoumanuallyallocateneighbours.
Todefineexceptionalpairsofneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Rightclickthecellforwhichyouwanttodefineneighbourconstraints.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
7. UnderExceptionalPairs,createanewexceptionalpairintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

):

a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theexceptionalpairlistbecomeseditable.
b. SelectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourscolumn.
c. IntheStatuscolumn,selectoneofthefollowing:

Forced:Theselectedcellwillalwaysbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.
Forbidden:Theselectedcellwillneverbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.

8. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedcreatingthenewexceptionalpair.
9. ClickOK.
You can also create exceptional pairs using the Exceptional Pairs of IntraTechnology
Neighbourstable.Youcanopenthis tablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderand
selectingNeighbours>IntraTechnology>ExceptionalPairs.

7.2.10.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintratechnologyneighbours(intra
andintercarrier)andintertechnologyneighbours(forinformationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnical
ReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstab.Onthistab,youcansetthefollowingimportancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
AdjacencyFactor(intracarrierimportanceconfigurationonly):Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofa
possibleneighbourtransmitterbeingadjacenttothereferencetransmitter.TheAdjacencyFactorwillbeusedif
youselecttheForceadjacenttransmittersasneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallo

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cation. For information on automatically allocating neighbours, see "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page600.
CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage600.

5. ClickOK.
You can configure the importance factors for intertechnology neighbours by selecting
Neighbours> Intertechnology> Configure Importance from the context menu of the
Transmittersfolder.

7.2.10.4 AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically
AtollcanautomaticallyallocatebothintraandintercarrierneighboursinaUMTSnetwork.Atollallocatesneighboursbased
ontheparametersyousetintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanpreventAtollfromallocatingintercarrier
neighbourstocellslocatedonsiteswhoseequipmentdoesnotsupportthecompressed
mode.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
ToautomaticallyallocateintraandintercarrierUMTSneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstab.Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Max.IntersiteDistance:Setthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbour.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Max.No.ofNeighbours:Setthemaximumnumberofintracarrierneighbours(inintracarrierallocation)orinter
carrierneighbours(inintercarrierallocation)thatcanbeallocatedtoacell.Thisvaluecanbeeithersetherefor
alltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
CoverageConditions:Thecoverageconditionsmustberespectedforacelltobeconsideredasaneighbour.Click
Definetochangethecoverageconditions.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowing
parameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:EntertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAand
possibleneighbourcellB.
Min.EcI0:Entertheminimum EcI0whichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAinanoverlappingarea.Refer
encecellAmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheoverlappingarea.
EcI0Margin:EnterthemaximumdifferenceofEcI0betweenreferencecellAandpossibleneighbourcellB
intheoverlappingarea.
DLLoadContributingtoI0:YoucanletAtollbasetheinterferenceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedin
thepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentageofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

%Min.CoveredArea:Entertheminimum,inpercentage,thatapossibleneighbourcellscoverageareamust
overlapthereferencecellscoveragearea.

5. Selectthedesiredcalculationparameters:

600

Carriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers(Atoll
willallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers).
Forcecositecellsasneighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwantcellswhicharelocatedonthesamesiteasthe
referencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.

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Forceadjacentcellsasneighbours(intracarrierallocationonly):Selectthischeckboxifyouwantcellsthatare
adjacenttothereferencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.Acellisconsideredadjacentifthere
isatleastonepixelinthereferencecellscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourcellisbestserverorsecond
bestserverinthereferencecellsactiveset(respectingthehandovermargin).
Forcesymmetry:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inotherwords,aref
erencecellwillbeapossibleneighbourofallofthecellsthatareitsneighbours.
Iftheneighbourslistofacellisfull,thereferencecellwillnotbeaddedasaneighbourof
thatcellandthatcellwillberemovedfromthereferencecellsneighbourslist.Youcan
forceAtolltokeepthatcellinthereferencecellsneighbourslistbyaddinganoptionin
theAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Forceexceptionalpairs:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttobeabletoforceorforbidneighbourrelationsdefined
intheExceptionalPairstable.Forinformationonexceptionalpairs,see"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage599.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectthischeckboxifyouwantAtolltodeleteallcurrentneighbourswhenallocating
neighbours.IfyoudonotselecttheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckbox,Atollwillnotdeleteanyexistingneigh
bourswhenautomaticallyallocatingneighbours;itwillonlyaddnewneighbourstothelist.

6. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingintracarrierneighbours.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthe
pathlossmatricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculates
them.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencecell.
MaximumNumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencecellcanhave.
Neighbour:Thecellthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencecell.
Importance (%): The importance. For information on defining neighbour importance, see "Configuring Impor
tanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage599.
Bydefault,theneighbourimportancecalculatedwithrespecttodistanceisbasedonthe
global Max intersite distance setting for all neighbour candidates. As a consequence,
there can be cases where the calculated importance is different when the global Max
intersitedistanceismodified.YoucanavoidthatbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile
toforceAtolltoprioritiseindividualdistancesbetweenreferencecellsandtheirrespective
neighbourcandidates.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedthepossibleneighbourcell,asidentifiedintheNeighbourcolumn,tothe
referencecell,asidentifiedintheCellcolumn.

Cosite
Adjacency(intracarrierallocationonly)
Symmetry
Coverage
Existing

RelationType:Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation("Intracarrier"or"Intercarrier").
Coverage:Theamountofreferencecellscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandsquare
kilometres.
Adjacency(intracarrierallocationonly):Theareaofthereferencecell,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,
wheretheneighbourcellisbestserverorsecondbestserver.

7. SelecttheCommitcheckboxforeachneighbouryouwanttoassigntoacell.YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshort
cuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours(thosewhoseCommitcheckboxisselected)iscom
paredwiththeexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighbours
DeltaReport.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype

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Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
The numberofdeleted neighbour relations(neighbour relationsnot proposedintheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

8. ClickCommit.AlltheneighbourswhoseCommitcheckboxisselectedareassignedtothereferencecells.Neighbours
arelistedontheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstabofeachcellsPropertiesdialogbox.
By default, the automatic neighbour allocation compares the defined Max intersite
distancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,therecanbecaseswhere
therealdistancebetweenassignedneighboursishigherthantheMaxintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectivedistanceissmaller.YoucanforceAtolltocomparetheMaxinter
sitedistancewiththerealintersitedistancebyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.For
moreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Aforbiddenneighbourwillnotbelistedasaneighbourunlesstheneighbourrela
tionalreadyexistsandtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisclearedwhen
you start the new allocation. In this case, Atoll displays a warning in the Event
Viewerindicatingthattheconstraintontheforbiddenneighbourwillbeignored
bythealgorithmbecausetheneighbouralreadyexists.
WhentheoptionsForceexceptionalpairsandForcesymmetryareselected,Atoll
considerstheconstraintsbetweenexceptionalpairsinbothdirectionsinorderto
respectsymmetry.Ontheotherhand,iftheneighbourrelationisforcedinone
directionandforbiddenintheotherone,symmetrycannotberespected.Inthis
case,AtolldisplaysawarningintheEventViewer.
Youcansaveautomaticneighbourallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.
For information on saving automatic neighbour allocation parameters in a user
configuration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

Atollalsoenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocateneighbourstoasinglebasestationortransmitter:

7.2.10.4.1

"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation"onpage602
"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter"onpage602.

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation
Whenyoucreateanewbasestation,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthe
newbasestationandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectswiththecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewbasestation.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewbasestation:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,groupthetransmittersbysite,asexplainedin"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewbasestation.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>IntratechnologyNeighbours>AutomaticAllocationfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomatic
NeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page600.

7.2.10.4.2

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter
Whenyouaddanewtransmitter,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthenew
transmittersandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectsthecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewtransmitter.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewtransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAllocateNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page600.

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7.2.10.5 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

7.2.10.5.1

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage603
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell"onpage606.

DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Incoplanningmode,youcanalsodisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelationstostudy
handoverpossibilities.

Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofacellonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.

Figure7.35:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
3. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckboxandclicktheBrowsebuttonbesideit.The
NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.

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Figure7.36:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
a. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttocolourallneighbourlinksofacellwithauniquecolour.
Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,relationtype,orneighbourcarrier.Inthiscase,youcanview
intracarrierandintercarrierneighbourrelationsonthemap.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksaccordingtotheir"Importance",asdeter
minedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftheType"Integer"intheIntraTechnologyNeighbourtablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Byselectingorclearingthevisibilitycheckbox,youcan
displayorhideneighbourlinkdisplaytypesindividually.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
b. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
4. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
5. UnderAdvanced,selecttheneighbourrelationsthatyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellistherefer
encecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedcell
andtheneighbour.

6. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

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None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.

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Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

7. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
8. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
9. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

10. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
11. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

12. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure7.37).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure7.37:DisplayingNeighbourLinks
Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformationfortheselectedcell(e.g."Site22_3(0)"inFigure7.38):

Symmetricneighbourrelationsoftheselectedcellareindicatedbyasimpleline,e.g.Site20_1(0).
Outwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtotheneighbour,e.g.Site1_2(0).
Inwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtothereferencecell,e.g.Site9_3(0).

AsshowninFigure7.38,neighbourlinksarecolouredaccordingtowhichcellistheneighbour:

ThesymmetricandoutwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredliketheneighbours,i.e.Site20_1(0)andSite1_2(0).
TheinwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredlikethereferencecell,i.e.Site22_3(0)isaneighbourofSite9_3(0).

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Figure7.38:Symmetric,outward,andinwardneighbourlinks
InFigure7.39,neighbourlinksaredisplayedaccordingtotheneighbourcarrier.Youcanviewintracarrierandinter
carrierneighbourlinks.Here,allneighbourrelationsaresymmetrical.

Figure7.39:IntracarrierandInterCarrierNeighboursofSite14_3(0)
Youcandisplayeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclickingthearrow
( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbarand
selectingeitherForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.

7.2.10.5.2

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareaofacellsneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicintheNeighbourstable.
Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofacell:
1. Create,calculate,anddisplaya"Coveragebytransmitter"prediction,withtheDisplayTypesetto"DiscreteValues"
andtheFieldsetto"Transmitter"(forinformationoncreatingacoveragebytransmitterprediction,see"Makinga
CoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage558).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure7.35 on
page603.
4. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.

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5. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
appears.SeeFigure7.36onpage604.
a. FromtheDisplaytypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofatransmittersneighbourswithauniquecolour.
Discrete values: Select this option to colour the transmitters neighbours coverage areas automatically or
accordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,orrelationtype.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,thecoverageareasofacellsneigh
boursaredeterminedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofthecellsneighboursaccordingtheir"Impor
tance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.

b. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTipTextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachcoveragearea.
c. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
7. UnderAdvancedintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellistherefer
encecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedcell
andtheneighbour.

8. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlycelllabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmittersProp
ertiesdialogbox.

9. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
10. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
11. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

12. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
13. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

14. Clickatransmitteronthemaptodisplaythecoverageofeachneighbour.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthe
transmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant
(see"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Onlyintracarrierneighbourcoverageareasaredisplayed.

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Figure7.40:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
15. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
RadioPlanningtoolbar.

)inthe

7.2.10.6 AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofneighboursbyallocating
ordeletingneighbourspercell.YoucanallocateordeleteneighboursdirectlyonthemaporusingtheCellstaboftheTrans
mitterPropertiesdialogbox.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"onpage608
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable"onpage609
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap"onpage610.

AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
ToallocateordeleteUMTSneighboursusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemap,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Ifdesired,youcanenterthemaximumnumberofneighboursinthefollowingboxes:

Maxnumberintercarrier
Maxnumberintracarrier

Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.

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d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteUMTSneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

Toallocateaneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricalneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricalneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecell
intheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetrical:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.

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Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsideration:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanaddordeletesomeforcedneighboursorsomeforbiddenneighboursusingthe
ExceptionalPairsofIntraTechnologyNeighbourstable.Youcanopenthistable,select
theexceptionalpairs,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairsinthecontext
menu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.
Toaddorremoveintratechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintratechnologyneighbours
onthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage603.

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Toaddasymmetricalneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
theintratechnologyneighbourslist.
Toremoveasymmetricalneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitters
fromtheintratechnologyneighbours.
Toaddanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertotheintratechnologyneighbourlistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toaddaninwardneighbourrelation:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingSHIFTandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.Thenpress
CTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricinter
technologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.

Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthe
mapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Youcanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclicking
thearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadio
Planning toolbar and selecting either Forced Neighbours or Forbidden Neigh
bours.

7.2.10.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedneighbours,Atollcancalculatethe
importanceofeachneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.Thisvalueisusedtodefinearankfordifferentneighbours
intheAFPprocess.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Evaluationdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheIntracarrierNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspossibleneighbours.

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Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

6. UnderImportance,selectthefactorstobetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheimportance(forinformation
ondefiningimportancefactors,see"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage599):

Takeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactorcheckboxtoverifythat
neighboursareadjacenttotheirreferencetransmitterswhencalculatingimportance.
Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneigh
boursarelocatedonthesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.

7. Under Coverage Conditions, you can set the coverage conditions between neighbours and their reference cells.
ClickingDefineopenstheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethe
followingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecellandthe
neighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlappingcov
erage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlappingcov
erage.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomargintodefinetheareaofcoverageoverlappingbetweenUMTScells.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinterfer
enceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefined
perfrequencyperclutterclass.

8. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
9. UnderImportance,selecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedon
thesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance(forinformationondefiningimportancefactors,see
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage599):
10. Under Coverage Conditions, you can set the coverage conditions between neighbours and their reference cells.
ClickingDefineopenstheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethe
followingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecellandthe
neighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlappingcov
erage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlappingcov
erage.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomargintodefinetheareaofcoverageoverlappingbetweenUMTScells.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinterfer
enceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefined
perfrequencyperclutterclass.

11. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
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12. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetableoneachtab.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation:

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Adjacency
Symmetry
Coverage

Coverage:Theamountofreferencetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageand
insquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitter,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneighbour
transmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.Thisinformationisnotrelevantforintercarrierneighboursand
isthereforenotpresentontheIntercarrierNeighbourstab.
Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

13. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

7.2.10.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallo
cationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintratechnologyneighbourallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

NeighbourhoodType:SelectwhetheryouwanttoperformanauditonIntraCarrierorInterCarrierneighbour
relations.
AverageNo.ofNeighbours:SelecttheAverageNo.ofNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
EmptyLists:SelecttheEmptyListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
FullLists:Whichcellshavingthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafull
neighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedfor
eachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Lists>MaxNumber:Whichcellshavingmorethanthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximum
numberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCells
table.
MissingCosites:SelecttheMissingCositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneigh
bours.
MissingSymmetrics:SelecttheMissingSymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance Between Neighbours: Select the Distance Between Neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatmustnotbeexceeded.

5. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

|CELL|

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

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Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanY
numberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFullListscheckandtheLists>MaxNumbercheckusetheDefaultMaxNumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|
Youcanperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourallocationplanbyselecting
Neighbours>Intertechnology>AuditfromtheTransmittersfoldercontextmenu.

7.2.10.9 ExportingNeighbours
TheneighbourdataofanAtolldocumentisstoredinaseriesoftables.Youcanexporttheneighbourdatatouseitinanother
applicationorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportneighbourdata:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>andthenselecttheneighbourtablecontainingthedatayouwanttoexportfromthecontext
menu:

Intratechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintratechnology(intracarrierandintercar
rier)neighboursinthecurrentAtolldocument.
Intertechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintertechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intratechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intratechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.
Intertechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intertechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.

4. Whentheselectedneighbourstableopens,youcanexportthecontentasdescribedin"ExportingTablestoTextFiles
andSpreadsheets"onpage85.

7.2.11 PlanningScramblingCodes
InUMTS,512scramblingcodesareavailable,numberedfrom0to511.AlthoughUMTSscramblingcodesaredisplayedindeci
malformatbydefault,theycanalsobedisplayedandcalculatedinhexadecimalformat,inotherwordsusingthenumbers0
to9andthelettersAtoF.
Atollfacilitatesthemanagementofscramblingcodesbylettingyoucreategroupsofscramblingcodesanddomains,where
eachdomainisadefinedsetofgroups.
Youcanalsoassignscramblingcodesmanuallyorautomaticallytoanycellinthenetwork.
Onceallocationiscompleted,youcanauditthescramblingcodes,viewscramblingcodereuseonthemap,andmakeananal
ysisofscramblingcodedistribution.
TheprocedureforplanningscramblingcodesforaUMTSprojectis:

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Preparingforscramblingcodeallocation

"DefiningtheScramblingCodeFormat"onpage615
"CreatingScramblingCodeDomainsandGroups"onpage615
"DefiningExceptionalPairsforScramblingCodeAllocation"onpage616.

Allocatingscramblingcodes

"AutomaticallyAllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCells"onpage617
"AllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCellsManually"onpage619.

"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheScramblingCodePlan"onpage619.

Displayingtheallocationofscramblingcodes

"UsingFindonMaptoDisplayScramblingCodeAllocation"onpage620
"DisplayingScramblingCodeAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings"onpage620
"GroupingTransmittersbyScramblingCode"onpage621
"DisplayingtheScramblingCodeAllocationHistogram"onpage621
"MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionZonesPrediction"onpage622.
"MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionAnalysis"onpage623

Withinthecontextofprimaryscramblingcodeallocation,"neighbours"referto
intracarrierneighbours.
Accordingto3GPPspecifications,the512possiblescramblingcodescanbebroken
down into groups, each containing 8codes. Because the term "group" in Atoll
referstouserdefinedsetsofscramblingcodes,thesegroupsof8codeseachare
referredtoas"clusters"inAtoll.Aswell,Atollallowsyoutochangethenumberof
codesinacluster.

7.2.11.1 DefiningtheScramblingCodeFormat
Scramblingcodescanbedisplayedindecimalorhexadecimalformat.Theselectedformatisusedtodisplayscramblingcodes
indialogboxesandtablessuchasintheDomainsandGroupstables,theCellstable,andtheScramblingCodeAllocation
dialogbox.
ThedecimalformatisthedefaultformatinAtoll.Theaccepteddecimalvaluesarefrom0to511.Thedecimalformatisalso
used,evenifyouhavechosenthehexadecimalformat,tostorescramblingcodesinthedatabaseandtodisplayscrambling
codedistributionortheresultsofascramblingcodeaudit.
Thehexadecimalformatusesthenumbers0to9andthelettersAtoFforitsbasecharacters.InAtoll,hexadecimalvalues
areindicatedbyalowercase"h"followingthevalue.Forexample,thehexadecimalvalue"3Fh"is"63"asadecimalvalue.
Youcanconvertahexadecimalvaluetoadecimalvaluewiththefollowingequation,whereA,B,andCaredecimalvalues
withinthehexadecimalindexranges:
2

A 16 + B 16 + C

Forexample,thehexadecimalvalue"3Fh"wouldbecalculatedasshownbelow:
2

0 16 + 3 16 + 15 = 63

TodefinethescramblingcodeformatforanAtolldocument:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. RightclicktheScramblingCodesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFormatfromthecontextmenuandselecteitherDecimalorHexadecimal.

7.2.11.2 CreatingScramblingCodeDomainsandGroups
Atollfacilitatesthemanagementofscramblingcodesbylettingyoucreatedomains,eachcontaininggroupsofscrambling
codes.
TheprocedureformanagingscramblingcodesinaUMTSdocumentconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. Creatingascramblingcodedomain,asexplainedinthissection.
2. Creatinggroups,eachcontainingarangeofscramblingcodes,andassigningthemtoadomain,asexplainedinthis
section.
3. Assigningascramblingcodedomaintoacellorcells.Ifthereisnoscramblingcodedomain,Atollwillconsiderall512
possiblescramblingcodeswhenassigningcodes.

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Tocreateascramblingcodedomain:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheScramblingCodesfolder.

4. RightclickDomainsintheScramblingCodesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheDomainstableappears.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),enteraNameforthenewdomain.

7. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewdomainandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
8. Doubleclickthedomaintowhichyouwanttoaddagroup.ThedomainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. UnderGroups,enterthefollowinginformationforeachgroupyouwanttocreate.

Name:Enteranameforthenewscramblingcodegroup.
Min.: Enter the lowest available primary scrambling code in this groups range. The minimum and maximum
scramblingcodesmustbeenteredintheformat,decimalorhexadecimal,setfortheAtolldocument(forinfor
mationonsettingthescramblingcodeformat,see"DefiningtheScramblingCodeFormat"onpage615).
Max:Enterthehighestavailableprimaryscramblingcodeinthisgroupsrange.
Step:Entertheseparationintervalbetweeneachprimaryscramblingcode.
Excluded:Enterthescramblingcodesinthisrangethatyoudonotwanttouse.
Extra:Enteranyadditionalscramblingcodes(i.e.,outsidetherangedefinedbytheMin.andMaxfields)youwant
toaddtothisgroup.Youcanenteralistofcodesseparatedbyeitheracomma,semicolon,oraspace.Youcan
alsoenterarangeofscramblingcodesseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering,"1,2,35"meansthatthe
extrascramblingcodesare"1,2,3,4,5."

10. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewgroupandaddanewblankrowtothetable.

7.2.11.3 DefiningExceptionalPairsforScramblingCodeAllocation
Youcanalsodefinepairsofcellswhichcannothavethesameprimaryscramblingcode.Thesepairsarereferredtoasexcep
tionalpairs.Exceptionalpairsareusedalongwithotherconstraints,suchasneighbours,reusedistance,anddomains,inallo
catingscramblingcodes.
Tocreateapairofcellsthatcannothavethesamescramblingcode:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Primary Scrambling Codes> Exceptional Pairs. The Exceptional Separation Constraints table appears. For
informationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
4. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),selectonecellofthenewexceptionalpairintheCellcolumnand
thesecondcellofthenewexceptionalpairfromtheCell_2column.
5. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewexceptionalpairandaddanewblankrowtothetable.

7.2.11.4 AllocatingScramblingCodes
AtollcanautomaticallyassignscramblingcodestothecellsofaUMTSnetworkaccordingtosetparameters.Forexample,it
takesintoaccountthedefinitionofgroupsanddomainsofscramblingcodes,theselectedscramblingcodeallocationstrategy
(clustered, distributed per cell, distributed per site and one cluster per site), minimum code reuse distance, and any
constraintsimposedbyneighbours.
YoucanalsoallocatescramblingcodesmanuallytothecellsofaUMTSnetwork.
Inthissection,thefollowingmethodsofallocatingscramblingcodesaredescribed:

"DefiningAutomaticAllocationConstraintViolationCosts"onpage616
"AutomaticallyAllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCells"onpage617
"AllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCellsManually"onpage619.

DefiningAutomaticAllocationConstraintViolationCosts
Youcandefinethecostsofthedifferenttypesofconstraintsusedintheautomaticscramblingcodeallocationalgorithm.
Todefinethedifferentconstraintviolationcosts:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectPrimaryScramblingCodes>ConstraintCosts.TheConstraintViolationCostsdialogboxappears.Inthisdialog
boxyoucandefinethefollowingcostsofconstraintviolationsfortheautomaticallocationprocess(thecostisavalue
from0to1):

UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,youcansettheconstraintviolationcostfor1stOrder,2ndOrder,and3rd
Orderneighbours.
UnderDistributedperSiteStrategy,youcansettheconstraintviolationcostforintratechnologyneighboursthat
are1stor2ndOrderUsingtheSameCluster.
ReuseDistance:Enterthemaximumcostforreusedistanceconstraintviolations.
ExceptionalPair:Enterthecostforexceptionalpairconstraintviolations.
CommonIntertechnologyNeighbour:Enterthecostforintertechnologyneighbourconstraintviolations.

4. ClickOK.Theconstraintviolationcostsarestoredandwillbeusedintheautomaticallocation.
AutomaticallyAllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCells
Theallocationalgorithmenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocateprimaryscramblingcodestocellsinthecurrentnetwork.You
canchooseamongseveralautomaticallocationstrategies.Theactualautomaticallocationstrategiesavailablewilldependon
yournetworkandoptionsselectedintheAtoll.inifile.FormoreinformationontheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Formoreinformationonautomaticallocationstrategies,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

Clustered:Thepurposeofthisstrategyistochooseforagroupofmutuallyconstrainedcells,scramblingcodesamong
aminimumnumberofclusters.Inthiscase,Atollwillpreferentiallyallocateallthecodesfromthesamecluster.
DistributedperCellAllocation:Thisstrategyconsistsinusingasmanyclustersaspossible.Atollwillpreferentially
allocatecodesfromdifferentclusters.
OneClusterperSite: Thisstrategyallocatesoneclustertoeachbasestation,then,onecodeoftheclustertoeachcell
ofeachbasestation.Whenalltheclustershavebeenallocatedandtherearestillbasestationsremainingtobeallo
cated,Atollreusestheclustersatanotherbasestation.
DistributedperSite:Thisstrategyallocatesagroupofadjacentclusterstoeachbasestationinthenetwork,then,one
clustertoeachtransmitterofthebasestationaccordingtoitsazimuthandfinallyonecodeoftheclustertoeachcell
ofeachtransmitter.Thenumberofadjacentclusterspergroupdependsonthenumberoftransmittersperbasesta
tionyouhaveinyournetwork;thisinformationisrequiredtostartallocationbasedonthisstrategy.Whenallthe
groupsofadjacentclustershavebeenallocatedandtherearestillbasestationsremainingtobeallocated,Atollreuses
thegroupsofadjacentclustersatanotherbasestation.

Toautomaticallyallocateprimaryscramblingcodes:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPrimaryScramblingCodes>AutomaticAllocation.ThePrimaryScramblingCodesdialogboxappears.

UnderConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsonautomaticscramblingcodeallocation.

ExistingNeighbours:SelecttheExistingNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoconsiderintracarrierneighbour
relationsandthenchoosetheneighbourhoodleveltotakeintoaccount:
Neighboursofacellarereferredtoasthefirstorderneighbours,neighboursneighboursarereferredtoas
thesecondorderneighboursandneighboursneighboursneighboursasthethirdorderneighbours.
FirstOrder:Nocellwillbeallocatedthesamescramblingcodeasitsneighbours.
SecondOrder:Nocellwillbeallocatedthesamescramblingcodeasitsneighboursoritssecondorderneigh
bours.
ThirdOrder:Nocellwillbeallocatedthesamescramblingcodeasitsneighboursoritssecondorderneigh
boursoritsthirdorderneighbours.
Atollcanonlyconsiderneighbourrelationsifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationonal
locatingneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage598.
Atollcantakeintoaccountintertechnologyneighbourrelationsasconstraintswhenallo
cating scrambling codes to the UMTS neighbours of a GSM transmitter. In order to
consider intertechnology neighbour relations in scrambling code allocation, you must
maketheTransmittersfolderoftheGSMAtolldocumentaccessibleintheUMTSAtoll
document.ForinformationonmakinglinksbetweenGSMandUMTSAtolldocuments,see
"CreatingaUMTSSectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork"onpage691

AdditionalOverlappingConditions:SelecttheAdditionalOverlappingConditionscheckbox,ifyouwantto
setoverlappingcoveragecriteria.Ifcellsmeettheoverlappingconditionstoenterthereferencecellsactive
set,theywillbenotallocatedthesamescramblingcodeasthereferencecell.ClickDefinetochangetheover
lappingconditions.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

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Min.PilotSignalLevel:EntertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAand
possibleneighbourcellB.
Min.EcI0:Entertheminimum EcI0whichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAinanareawithoverlapping
coverage.ReferencecellAmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlapping
coverage.
EcI0Margin:EnterthemaximumdifferenceofEcI0betweenreferencecellAandpossibleneighbourcellB
intheareawithoverlappingcoverage.
DLLoadContributingtoI0:YoucanletAtollbasetheinterferenceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedin
thepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentageofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.
Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

ReuseDistance:SelecttheReuseDistancecheckbox,ifyouwanttotheautomaticallocationprocesstocon
siderthereusedistanceconstraint.EntertheDefaultreusedistancewithinwhichtwocellsonthesamecarrier
cannothavethesameprimaryscramblingcode.
Areusedistancecanbedefinedatthecelllevel(inthecellPropertiesdialogboxorinthe
Cells table). If defined, a cellspecific reuse distance will be used instead of the value
enteredhere.

FromtheStrategylist,youcanselectanautomaticallocationstrategy:

ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckbox,ifyouwanttotheautomaticallocationprocessto
considertheexceptionalpairconstraints.
Clustered
DistributedperCell
OneClusterperSite
DistributedperSite

Carrier:SelecttheCarrieronwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youmaychooseonecarrier(Atollwillassign
primaryscramblingcodestotransmittersusingtheselectedcarrier)orallofthem.
No.ofCodesperCluster:Accordingto3GPPspecifications,thenumberofcodesperclusteris8.Ifyouwant,you
canchangethenumberofcodespercluster.
Whentheallocationisbasedonadistributedstrategy(DistributedperCellorDistributedperSite),thisparame
tercanalsobeusedtodefinetheintervalbetweentheprimaryscramblingcodesassignedtocellsonasamesite.
ThedefinedintervalisappliedbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformationaboutsettingoptions
intheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

UseaMaxofCodes:SelecttheUseaMaxofCodescheckboxtomakeAtollusethemaximumnumberofcodes.
For example, if there are two cells using the same domain with two scrambling codes, Atoll will assign the
remainingcodetothesecondcelleveniftherearenoconstraintsbetweenthesetwocells(forexample,neigh
bourrelations,reusedistance,etc.).Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,Atollonlycheckstheconstraints,andallocates
thefirstrankedcodeinthelist.
DeleteExistingCodes:SelecttheDeleteExistingCodescheckboxifyouwantAtolltodeletecurrentlyallocated
scramblingcodesandrecalculateallscramblingcodes.Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,Atollwillkeepcurrently
allocatedscramblingcodesandwillonlyallocatescramblingcodestocellsthatdonotyethavecodesallocated.
AllocateCarriersIdentically:SelecttheAllocateCarriersIdenticallycheckboxifyouwantAtolltoallocatethe
sameprimaryscramblingcodetoeachcarrierofatransmitter.Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,Atollallocates
scramblingcodesindependentlyforeachcarrier.

4. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingscramblingcodes.
OnceAtollhasfinishedallocatingscramblingcodes,thecodesarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnewlyallo
catedscramblingcodes.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Cell:Thenameofthecell.
Code:Theprimaryscramblingcodeallocatedtothecell.
Cluster:Theclusterthescramblingcodebelongsto.

5. ClickCommit.Theprimaryscramblingcodesarecommittedtothecells.

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Youcansaveautomaticscramblingcodeallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.For
informationonsavingautomaticscramblingcodeallocationparametersinauserconfigu
ration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

Ifyouneedtoallocatescramblingcodestothecellsonasingletransmitter,youcan
allocate them automatically by selecting Allocate Scrambling Codes from the
transmitterscontextmenu.
Ifyouneedtoallocatescramblingcodestoallthecellsongroupoftransmitters,
you can allocate them automatically by selecting Primary Scrambling Codes>
AutomaticAllocationfromthetransmittergroupscontextmenu.

AllocatingScramblingCodestoUMTSCellsManually
Whenyouallocatescramblingcodestoalargenumberofcells,itiseasiesttoletAtollallocatescramblingcodesautomatically,
as described in "Automatically Allocating Scrambling Codes to UMTS Cells" on page617. However, if you want to add a
primaryscramblingcodetoonecellortomodifytheprimaryscramblingcodeofacell,youcandoitbyaccessingtheproper
tiesofthecell.
ToallocateascramblingcodetoaUMTScellmanually:
1. On the map, rightclick the transmitter to whose cell you want to allocate a scrambling code. The context menu
appears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheCellstab.
4. EnteraPrimaryScramblingCodeinthecellscolumn.
5. ClickOK.

7.2.11.5 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheScramblingCodePlan
Onceyouhavecompletedallocatingscramblingcodes,youcanverifywhethertheallocatedscramblingcodesrespectthe
specifiedconstraintsbyperforminganauditoftheplan.Thescramblingcodeauditalsoenablesyoutocheckforinconsisten
ciesifyouhavemadesomemanualchangestotheallocationplan.
Forinstance,ascramblingcodeauditwilldetectthefollowinginamultiRATnetwork:

LTEintertechnologyneighbourtransmitterswithidenticalphysicalcellIDs
GSMintertechnologyneighbourtransmitterswithidenticalBSICBCCHpairs.
Whensuchneighboursaredetected,amessageinthefollowingformisdisplayedintheEventsexplorer:
"Intertechnology(BSIC,BCCH)collision.Bothoftransmitters<Site9_GSM_2>and<Site8_GSM_2>areneighboursof
LTEtransmitter<Site0_LTE_2>.TheirBSICis2andtheirBCCHis726."
Itishighlyrecommendedtorunscramblingcodeauditsonaregularbasis.

Toperformanauditoftheallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPrimaryScramblingCodes>Audit.TheCodeandClusterAuditdialogboxappears.
4. IntheCodeandClusterAuditdialogbox,selecttheallocationcriteriathatyouwanttocheck:

No.ofCodesperCluster:Enterthenumberofscramblingcodespercluster.
Neighbours:SelectNeighbourstocheckscramblingcodeconstraintsbetweencellsandtheirneighboursandthen
choosetheneighbourhoodleveltotakeintoaccount:

FirstOrder:Atollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamescramblingcodeasanyofitsneighbours.
SecondOrderNeighbours:Atollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamescramblingcodeasanyofitsneighbours
oranyoftheneighboursofitsneighbours.
ThirdOrderNeighbours:Atollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamescramblingcodeasanyofitsneighboursor
anyoftheneighboursofitsneighboursoranyoftheneighboursofitssecondorderneighbours.

Thereportwilllistthecellsandtheneighboursthatdonotmeetanyoftheseconstraints.Inaddition,itwillindi
catetheallocatedprimaryscramblingcodeandtheneighbourhoodlevel.

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NeighboursinDifferentClusters:IfyouselecttheNeighboursindifferentclusterscheckbox,Atollwillcheckthat
neighbourcellshavescramblingcodesfromdifferentclusters.Thereportwilllistanyneighbourcellsthatdohave
scramblingcodesfromthesamecluster.
Domain Compliance: If you select the Domain Compliance check box, Atoll will check if allocated scrambling
codesbelongtodomainsassignedtocells.Thereportwilllistanycellswithscramblingcodesthatdonotbelong
todomainsassignedtothecell.
SiteDomainsNotEmpty:IfyouselecttheSiteDomainsNotEmptycheckbox,Atollwillcheckforandlistbase
stationsforwhichtheallocationdomain(i.e.,thelistofpossiblescramblingcodes)isnotconsistentwiththe"One
clusterpersite"strategy.IfthereisabasestationwithNcells,Atollwillcheckthatthedomainsassignedtothe
cellscontainatleastoneclusterconsistingofNcodes.Ifyouplantoautomaticallyallocatescramblingcodesusing
the"OneClusterperSite"strategy,youcanperformthistestbeforehandtochecktheconsistencyofdomains
assignedtocellsofeachbasestation.
OneClusterperSite:IfyouselecttheOneClusterperSitecheckbox,Atollwillcheckforandlistbasestations
whosecellshavescramblingcodescomingfrommorethanonecluster.
Distance:IfyouselecttheDistancecheckboxandsetareusedistance,Atollwillcheckforandlistthecellpairs
thatdonotrespectthereusedistancecondition.Foranycellpair,Atollusesthelowestofthereusedistance
valuesdefinedinthepropertiesofthetwocellsandthevaluethatyousetintheCodeandClusterAuditdialog
box. Cell pairs that do not respect the reuse distance condition are listed in increasing order of the distance
betweenthem.Theprimaryscramblingcodeandthereusedistancearealsolistedforeachcellpair.
ExceptionalPairs:IfyouselecttheExceptionalPairscheckbox,Atollwillcheckforanddisplaypairsofcellsthat
arelistedasexceptionalpairsbutstillusethesamescramblingcode.

5. ClickOK.AtolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinatextfilecalledCodeCheck.txt,whichitopensattheendoftheaudit.
Foreachselectedcriterion,Atollgivesthenumberofdetectedinconsistenciesanddetailseachofthem.

7.2.11.6 DisplayingtheAllocationofScramblingCodes
Onceyouhavecompletedallocatingscramblingcodes,youcanverifyseveralaspectsofscramblingcodeallocation.Youhave
severaloptionsfordisplayingscramblingcodes:

"UsingFindonMaptoDisplayScramblingCodeAllocation"onpage620
"DisplayingScramblingCodeAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings"onpage620
"GroupingTransmittersbyScramblingCode"onpage621
"DisplayingtheScramblingCodeAllocationHistogram"onpage621
"MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionZonesPrediction"onpage622.
"MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionAnalysis"onpage623

UsingFindonMaptoDisplayScramblingCodeAllocation
InAtoll,youcansearchforscramblingcodesandscramblingcodegroupsusingtheFindonMaptool.Resultsaredisplayed
inthemapwindowinred.
Ifyouhavealreadycalculatedanddisplayedacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestserver,withtheresults
displayedbytransmitter,thesearchresultswillbedisplayedbytransmittercoverage.Scramblingcodesandscramblingcode
groupsandanypotentialproblemswillthenbeclearlyvisible.Forinformationoncoveragepredictionsbytransmitter,see
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage558.
TofindscramblingcodesorscramblingcodegroupsusingtheFindonMaptool:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"ScramblingCode."
3. Selectwhatyouwhatyouwanttosearchfor:

Scramblingcode:Ifyouwanttofindascramblingcode,selectScramblingcodeandselectitfromthelist.
SCGroup:Ifyouwanttofindascramblingcodegroup,selectSCgroupandselectitfromthelist.

4. SelectthecarrieryouwanttosearchonfromtheForcarrierlist,orselect"(All)"tosearchinallcarriers.
5. ClickSearch.Transmitterswithcellsmatchingthesearchcriteriaaredisplayedinred.Transmittersthatdonotmatch
thesearchcriteriaaredisplayedasgreylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetDisplaybuttonintheFindonMapwindow.
DisplayingScramblingCodeAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings
Youcanusethedisplaycharacteristicsoftransmitterstodisplayscramblingcoderelatedinformation.
Todisplayscramblingcoderelatedinformationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.

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4. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Youcandisplaythefollowinginformationpertransmitter:

Primaryscramblingcode:Todisplaytheprimaryscramblingcodeofatransmitterscell,select"Discretevalues"
astheDisplayTypeand"Cells:PrimaryScramblingCode"astheField.
Rangesofprimaryscramblingcodes:Todisplayrangesofprimaryscramblingcodes,select"Valueintervals"as
theDisplayTypeand"Cells:PrimaryScramblingCode"astheField.
Scramblingcodedomain:Todisplaythescramblingcodedomainofatransmitterscell,select"Discretevalues"
astheDisplayTypeand"Cells:ScramblingCodeDomain"astheField.

YoucandisplaythefollowinginformationinthetransmitterlabelortiptextbyclickingtheLabelorTipTextBrowse
button:

Primaryscramblingcode:Todisplaytheprimaryscramblingcodeofatransmitterscellinthetransmitterlabelor
tiptext,"Cells:PrimaryScramblingCode"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
Scramblingcodedomain:Todisplaytheprimaryscramblingcodedomainofatransmitterscellinthetransmitter
labelortiptext,"Cells:ScramblingCodeDomain"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldSelectiondialogbox.
Scramblingcodereusedistance:Todisplaythescramblingcodereusedistanceofatransmitterscellinthetrans
mitterlabelortiptext,"Cells:SCReuseDistance"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldSelectiondialogbox.

5. ClickOK.
Forinformationondisplayoptions,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
GroupingTransmittersbyScramblingCode
YoucangrouptransmittersintheNetworkexplorerbytheirprimaryscramblingcode,theirscramblingcodedomain,orby
theirscramblingcodereusedistance.
Togrouptransmittersbyscramblingcode:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltab,clickGroupby.TheGroupdialogboxappears.
5. UnderAvailableFields,scrolldowntotheCellsection.
6. Selecttheparameteryouwanttogrouptransmittersby:

ScramblingCodeDomain
PrimaryScramblingCode
SCReuseDistance

7. Click
toaddtheparametertotheGroupingFieldslist.Theselectedparameterisaddedtothelistofparameters
onwhichthetransmitterswillbegrouped.
8. Ifyoudonotwantthetransmitterstobesortedbyacertainparameter,selectitintheGroupingFieldslistandclick
.Theselectedparameterisremovedfromthelistofparametersonwhichthetransmitterswillbegrouped.
9. ArrangetheparametersintheGroupingFieldslistintheorderinwhichyouwantthetransmitterstobegrouped:
a. Selectaparameterandclick tomoveituptothedesiredposition.
b. Selectaparameterandclick tomoveitdowntothedesiredposition.
10. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheGroupdialogbox.
Ifatransmitterhasmorethanonecell,Atollcannotarrangethetransmitterbycell.Trans
mittersthatcannotbegroupedbycellarearrangedinaseparatefolderundertheTrans
mittersfolder.
DisplayingtheScramblingCodeAllocationHistogram
Youcanuseahistogramtoanalysetheuseofallocatedscramblingcodesinanetwork.Thehistogramrepresentsthescram
blingcodesorscramblingcodeclustersasafunctionofthefrequencyoftheiruse.
Todisplaythescramblingcodehistogram:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectPrimaryScramblingCodes>CodeDistribution.TheDistributionHistogramsdialogboxappears.
Eachbarrepresentsascramblingcodeoracluster,itsheightdependingonthefrequencyofitsuse.
4. SelectScramblingCodestodisplayscramblingcodeuseandClusterstodisplayscramblingcodeclusteruse.
5. Movethepointeroverthehistogramtodisplaythefrequencyofuseofeachscramblingcodeorcluster.Theresults
arehighlightedsimultaneouslyintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.
YoucanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddraggingintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominonthe
selectedvalues.
MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionZonesPrediction
Youcanmakeascramblingcodecollisionzonepredictiontoviewareascoveredbycellsusingthesamescramblingcode.Atoll
checksoneachpixelifthebestservingcellandthecellsthatfulfilallcriteriatoentertheactiveset(withoutanyactiveset
sizelimitation)havethesamescramblingcode.Ifso,Atollconsidersthatthereisascramblingcodecollision.
Tomakeascramblingcodecollisionzoneprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectScramblingCodeCollisionZones(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.AtollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingtheULload
factorandtheDLtotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwantthescramblingcodecollisionzonepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Forascramblingcodecollisionzoneprediction,theDisplayType"DiscreteValues"basedontheField"Transmitter"
isselectedbydefault.Eachpixelwherethereisscramblingcodecollisionisdisplayedwiththesamecolourasthat
definedfortheinterferedtransmitter.Intheexplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsarefirstarrangedby
interferedtransmitterandthenbyinterferer.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayProperties
ofObjects"onpage47.

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Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

Thenumberofinterferersforeachtransmitter:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"No.ofInter
ferersperTransmitter"astheField.Intheexplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsarearrangedbyinter
feredtransmitter.
Thetotalnumberofinterferersononepixel:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"No.ofInterferers"
astheField.Intheexplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsarearrangedaccordingtothenumberof
interferers.

8. ClicktheCalculatebutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbartocalculatethescramblingcodecollisionzonepredic
tion.Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
MakingaScramblingCodeCollisionAnalysis
TheSCCollisionstabofthePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonreceptionforanypointonthemapwherethere
isscramblingcodecollision.Scramblingcodecollisionoccursifthebestservingcellandthecellsthatfulfilallcriteriatoenter
theactiveset(withoutanyactivesetsizelimitation)havethesamescramblingcode.Whenthereisascramblingcodecolli
sion,Atolldisplaysthepilotquality(EcI0)receivedfrominterferedandinterferertransmitters.
TheanalysisisbasedontheULloadpercentageandtheDLtotalpowerofeachcell.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefin
ableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.
Youcanmakeascramblingcodecollisionanalysistoverifyascramblingcodecollisionzoneprediction.Inthiscase,beforeyou
makethescramblingcodecollisionanalysis,ensurethecoveragepredictionyouwanttouseinthescramblingcodecollision
analysisisdisplayedonthemap.
Tomakeascramblingcodecollisionanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappears.

2. AtthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow,selecttheSCCollisionsview.
3. AtthetopoftheSCCollisionsview,select"CellsTable"fromLoadconditions.
4. Ifyouaremakingascramblingcodecollisionanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditions
ofthecoverageprediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Service,andMobilitystudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. SelecttheCarrierstudiedinthecoverageprediction.
c. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Youcanchangethefollowing:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability,and,select
"EcI0"fromtheShadowingMarginlist.
SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

d. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Ifyouaremakingascramblingcodecollisionanalysistomakeapredictiononadefined
point,youcanusetheinstructionsinthissteptodefineauser.

5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeascramblingcodecollisionanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
6. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
7. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

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7.3 StudyingNetworkCapacity
AUMTSnetworkautomaticallyregulatespoweronbothuplinkanddownlinkwiththeobjectiveofminimisinginterference
andmaximisingnetworkcapacity.InthecaseofHSDPA,thenetworkusesADCHpowercontrolintheuplinkanddownlink
andafastlinkadaptation(inotherwords,theselectionofanHSDPAbearer)inthedownlink.Atollcansimulatethesenetwork
regulationmechanisms,therebyenablingyoutostudythecapacityoftheUMTSnetwork.
InAtoll,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofR99andHSPAusersatagivenpointintime.Thedistributionofusers
atagivenmomentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvariousnetworkparameterssuchas
theactivesetforeachmobile,therequiredpowerofthemobile,thetotalDLpowerandDLthroughputpercell,andtheUL
loadpercell.Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.
Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesametrafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbe
different,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhavevariationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshotto
another.
Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsmust
beprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapshavebeencreated,youcanmakesimulationsof
thenetworktraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage624
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage624
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage635
"AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation"onpage657.

7.3.1 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinmakingasimulationisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallofthe
parametersofnetworkuse,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

R99radiobearers:Bearerservicesareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.TheR99RadioBearertablelists
alltheavailableradiobearers.YoucancreatenewR99radiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheR99Radio
Bearertable.ForinformationondefiningR99radiobearers,see"DefiningR99RadioBearers"onpage697.
Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasvoice,mobileinternetaccess,etc.,availabletosubscribers.These
servicescanbeeithercircuitswitchedorpacketswitched.Forinformationonmodellingenduserservices,see"Mod
ellingServices"onpage561.
Mobilitytype:InUMTS,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanagetheactiveset:amobile
usedbyadrivermovingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.EcI0
requirementsandEbNttargetsperradiobearerandperlink(uplinkordownlink)arelargelydependentonmobile
speed.Forinformationoncreatingamobilitytype,see"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage564.
Terminals:InUMTS,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,
oracarsonboardnavigationdevice.Forinformationoncreatingaterminal,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage564.

7.3.2 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
Atollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmaps.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm)

Thesemapscanbecreatedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficdatasourcesasfollows:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
thenumberofusersorthethroughputineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Traffic
is spread over the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either the
throughputsintheuplinkandinthedownlinkorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusorthetotalnumberofusers
(includingallactivitystatuses).Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage625.

Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on
page627.

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Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatuses,oritcorrespondstoaparticular
activitystatus.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage632.

7.3.2.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThissectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterisrequiredtocreatethistrafficmap.Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveacoverageprediction
bytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateoneandcalculateit.Youcanalsocreateacoveragebytransmitterforeach
technologyofthenetworkandassignthecorrespondingtechnologytraffic.Youcancreateasmanymapsasyouwantand
theycanbecombinedinsimulationsifselected.
Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.
Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectSectorTrafficMap.
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.Youcanchoosebetweenthefollowing:

UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses)
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus

6. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
7. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
8. EnterthedatarequiredintheSectorTrafficMapdialogbox:

UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs:enterthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkanddownlinkforeachsectorand
foreachlistedservice.
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses):enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeachsectorandforeach
listedservice.
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus:enterthenumberofinactiveusers,thenumberofusersactiveintheuplink,
inthedownlinkandintheuplinkanddownlink,foreachsectorandforeachservice.
YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Figure7.41:TrafficmappropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
10. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure7.41).
UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
11. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusers.

12. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
Youcanmodifyasectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifyasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonthelivedatathatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

6. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

7. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifiedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandthenumberofusers,onthemapafterwards.Youcanupdate
sectortrafficmapsifyouaddorremoveabasestation.Youmustfirstrecalculatethecoveragepredictionbytransmitter.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverage
prediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdateasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectUpdatefromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
6. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Ifyouwant,youcanupdatethevaluesontheTraffictabunderTerminals(%)andMobilities(%),andontheClutter
tabunderDistributionperclutterclass.

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7. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage633.

7.3.2.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Theremightalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreateuserprofiletrafficmaps.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentsubscribercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhich
areinturndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration(forcircuitswitchedservices)oruplinkanddownlink
volume(forpacketswitchedservices).
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofsubscribersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvi
ronmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofsubscribers
withthesameprofileperkm).
ThefollowingsectionsdescribehowtousetrafficdatafromthemarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"Modellinguserprofiles"onpage627
"Modellingenvironments"onpage628.

Modellinguserprofiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausermightbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butno
webbrowsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandweb
browsing.
Tocreateormodifyauserprofile:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheUserProfilesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. IntheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Fordetails,see"ModellingServices"onpage561.
Terminal:Selectaterminalfromthelist.Fordetails,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage564.
Calls/Hour:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragenumberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Thenumber
ofcallsperhourisusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.Forcircuitswitchedservices,onecalllasting1000sec
ondspresentsthesameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Forpacketswitchedservices,theCalls/Hourvalueisdefinedasthenumberofsessionsperhour.Asessionislike
acallinthatitisdefinedastheperiodoftimebetweenwhenauserstartsusingaserviceandwhenhestopsusing
aservice.Inpacketswitchedservices,however,hemaynotusetheservicecontinually.Forexample,withaweb
browsing service, a session starts when the user opens his browsing application and ends when he quits the
browsingapplication.Betweenthesetwoevents,theusermightbedownloadingwebpagesandothertimeshe
maynotbeusingtheapplication,orhemightbebrowsinglocalfiles,butthesessionisstillconsideredasopen.A
session,therefore,isdefinedbythevolumetransferredintheuplinkanddownlinkandnotbythetime.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

Duration:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragedurationofacallinseconds.Forpacketswitchedser
vices,thisfieldisleftblank.
ULVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaverageuplinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

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DLVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaveragedownlinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

6. ClickOK.Theuserprofileiscreated.
Modellingenvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofsubscriberswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassign
aweighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.Youcanalsospecifythepercentageofindoorsubscribersforeach
clutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepath
lossesofindoormobiles.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheEnvironmentsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
a. EnteraNameforthenewenvironment.
b. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycom
binationthatthisenvironmentwilldescribe:

UserProfile:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombination
ofuserprofileandmobilitytype.

6. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
a. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk =

Numberofusersintheclutterk

N Area =

NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk =

Weightofclutterk

Sk =

Surfaceareaofclutterk(inkm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithasubscriberdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000sub
scribers.Theareaiscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"and
forBuildingis"4."Giventherespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclass
and800intheBuildingclutterclass.
b. Ifyouwantyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
7. ClickOK.Theenvironmentiscreated.

7.3.2.2.1

ImportingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
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Toimportauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page632.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.
8. ClickOpen.TheVectorImportdialogboxappears.
a. UnderImportto,youcanchoosetoimportyourtrafficmapinafolderotherthanTrafficMaps(defaultfolder).
b. ClicktheImportbutton.Theimportedtrafficmapappearsunderthefolderyouselected.
Tomodifythepropertiesofauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclickthetrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxoftheselectedtrafficmapappears.
5. Select the Traffic tab. Under Traffic fields, you can specify the user profiles to be considered, their mobility type
(kmh),andtheirdensity.Ifthefileyouaremodifyinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacteristicsbyiden
tifyingthecorrespondingfieldsinthefile.Ifthefileyouaremodifyingdoesnothavedatadescribingtheuserprofile,
mobility,ordensity,youcanassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.
Defineeachofthefollowing:

Userprofile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera
densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflinesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.

6. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
7. ClickOKtofinishmodifyingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

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CreatingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Tocreateauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
6. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheUserProfileDensityTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.UnderTrafficfields,specifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,theirmobilitytype(kmh),and
theirdensity.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap:

Userprofile:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwantto
assignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselect
theuserprofileintheChoicecolumn.
Mobility:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
amobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselectthe
mobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
adensityofyourchoice,select"Byvalue"andenteradensityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuser
profileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"density"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itrefersto
thenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforpolygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseof
linesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemapconsistsofpoints.

8. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
9. ClickOKtofinishcreatingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

7.3.2.2.3

ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Toimportauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"ClickOKtofinishimportingtheuserprofile
environmentsbasedtrafficmap."onpage630.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(8bit):TIF,JPEG2000,BIL,
IST,BMP,PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheUserProfileEnvironmentTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. SelecttheTraffictab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthenumbersandliststhemunderCode.
10. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheavailableenvironmentsarethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"Modellingenvironments"onpage628.
11. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
12. ClickOKtofinishimportingtheuserprofileenvironmentsbasedtrafficmap.

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7.3.2.2.4

CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmapbasedonbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure7.42).

DrawMap

DeleteMap

Figure7.42:EnvironmentMapEditortoolbar
7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

7.3.2.2.5

DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentsbasedTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surface)andrelative(percent
ageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,statistics
aredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby: % of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
5. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

7.3.2.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)oron2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,the
densityofusers,asinput.Thiscanbeeitherthedensityofusersperactivitystatusorthedensityofusersincludingallactivity
statuses.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage631
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage632.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanbecreatedfromsectortrafficmapsinordertoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusers
perunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.for
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage633.

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ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwilldistribute
xusersperpixelduringthesimulations,wherexdependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobility
type,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedontheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
Toimportauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserdensitytrafficmap(no.users/km2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

Allactivitystatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
Activeinuplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedown
linkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswith
bothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page632.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,JPEG2000,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

12. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

13. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.

7.3.2.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(Numberofusersperkm2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

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AllActivityStatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
ActiveinUplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplinkonly.

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ActiveinDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedownlink
only.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithboth
uplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

8. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

9. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
10. Rightclickthetrafficmap.Thecontextmenuappears.
11. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.
12. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbartodrawcontours.Formoreinformationoneditingcontours,see
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.
AtollcreatesanitemcalledDensityvaluesintheUserDensityMapfolder.
13. RightclicktheDensityvaluesitemintheUserDensityMapfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
14. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
15. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.,thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.
16. Rightclicktheitem.Thecontextmenuappears.
17. SelectEditfromthecontextmenutoendediting.

7.3.2.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
displaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweighting
definedforthesectortrafficmaps.
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmapfromasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwanttocreateuserdensitytrafficmaps.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCreateDensityMapsfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcreatesasmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsasthereareservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuserdensity
mapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedinthedocu
ment.

7.3.2.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsasuserdensitytrafficmapsintoyourUMTSdocument.These
mapscanthenbeusedintrafficsimulationslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage633,andforinformation
onimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage631.
Toimporta2GtrafficmapintoaUMTSdocument:
1. Createasectortrafficmapinyour2Gdocumentforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandone
forcircuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatingsectortrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"
onpage314.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage633.

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3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2inyourUMTSdocumentasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinformationon
importinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage631.

7.3.2.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.Duringexport,
Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensities.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,orVertical
Mapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtrafficmapcan
thenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmap.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
6. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentireproject.
TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.

7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

8. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.
Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,select"Allcircuitservices"toexporttrafficusinganycircuitser
vice,"Allpacketservices"toexporttrafficusinganypacketservice,orselectthespecifictypeofservice:HSDPA,
HSUPA,mobileinternetaccess,multimediamessagingservice,videoconferencing,orvoice.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusestoexportalluserswithoutanyfilterbyactivitystatus.
Uplink:SelectUplinktoexportmobilesactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:SelectDownlinktoexportmobilesactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:SelectUplink/Downlinktoexportonlymobileswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactivetoexportonlyinactivemobiles.

9. IntheSelectTrafficMapstoBeUsedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
10. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

7.3.3 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.
6. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportRegion:

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EntireProjectArea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
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ComputationZone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

7.3.4 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
Onceyouhavemodelledthenetworkservicesandusersandhavecreatedtrafficmaps,youcancreatesimulations.Thesimu
lationprocessconsistsoftwosteps:
1. Obtainingarealisticuserdistribution:AtollgeneratesauserdistributionusingaMonteCarloalgorithm;thisuser
distributionisbasedonthetrafficdatabaseandtrafficmapsandisweightedbyaPoissondistributionbetweensimu
lationsofthesamegroup.
Eachuserisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andanactivitystatusbyrandomtrial,accordingtoaprobabilitylaw
thatusesthetrafficdatabase.
Theuseractivitystatusisanimportantoutputoftherandomtrialandhasdirectconsequencesonthenextstepof
thesimulationandonthenetworkinterferences.Ausercanbeeitheractiveorinactive.Bothactiveandinactiveusers
consumeradioresourcesandcreateinterference.
Then,Atollrandomlyassignsashadowingerrortoeachuserusingtheprobabilitydistributionthatdescribestheshad
owingeffect.
Finally,anotherrandomtrialdeterminesuserpositionsintheirrespectivetrafficzone(possiblyaccordingtotheclut
terweightingandtheindoorratioperclutterclass).
2. Modelling network power control: Atoll uses a power control algorithm for R99 users, and an algorithm mixing
ADPCHpowercontrolandfastlinkadaptationforHSDPAbearerusersandanadditionalloopmodellingnoiserise
schedulingforHSUPAbearerusers.Thepowercontrolsimulationalgorithmisdescribedin"ThePowerControlSimu
lationAlgorithm"onpage635.

7.3.4.1 ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm
Thepowercontrolalgorithm(seeFigure7.43)simulatesthewayaUMTSnetworkregulatesitselfbyusinguplinkanddownlink
powercontrolsinordertominimiseinterferenceandmaximisecapacity.HSDPAusersarelinkedtotheADPCHradiobearer
(anR99radiobearer).Therefore,thenetworkusesaADPCHpowercontrolonULandDLandthenitperformsfastlinkadap
tationonDLinordertoselectanHSDPAradiobearer.ForHSPAusers,thenetworkfirstusesaEDPCCH/ADPCHpowercontrol
onULandDL,checksthatthereisanHSDPAconnectionondownlinkandthencarriesoutnoiseriseschedulinginorderto
selectanHSUPAradiobeareronuplink.Atollsimulatesthesenetworkregulationmechanismswithaniterativealgorithmand
calculates,foreachuserdistribution,networkparameterssuchascellpower,mobileterminalpower,activesetandhandoff
statusforeachterminal.Duringeachiterationofthealgorithm,alltheusersselectedduringtheuserdistributiongeneration
(1ststep)attempttoconnectonebyonetonetworktransmitters.Theprocessisrepeateduntilthenetworkisbalanced,i.e.,
untiltheconvergencecriteria(onULandDL)aresatisfied.

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Figure7.43:Schematicviewofsimulationalgorithm
AsshowninFigure7.43,thesimulationalgorithmisdividedinthreeparts.AllusersareevaluatedbytheR99partofthealgo
rithm.HSDPAandHSPAusers,unlesstheyhavebeenrejectedduringtheR99partofthealgorithm,arethenevaluatedbythe
HSDPApartofthealgorithm.Finally,HSPAusers,unlesstheyhavebeenrejectedduringtheR99orHSDPApartsofthealgo
rithm,arethenevaluatedbytheHSUPApartofthealgorithm.
IntheHSDPAportionoftheMonteCarlosimulation,AtollprocessesMCHSPAusersasDC
HSPAusersiftheyareconnectedtomorethantwocarriers.Otherwise,theyareconsid
eredassinglecellHSDPAusers.
Onthesamehand,aDBMCHSPAuserwillbemanaged:

Either as a singlecell HSPA user if the best carrier and all the other carriers to
whichheisconnectedareontwodifferentfrequencybands.
OrasaDCHSPAuserifthebestcarrierandatleastoneoftheothercarriersarein
thesamefrequencyband.

IntheHSUPAportion,AtollprocessesallusersassinglecellHSPAusers.
Therefore,wewillonlydifferentiatesinglecellandDCHSPAusersinthenextsections.

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DescriptionoftheR99PortionoftheSimulation
TheR99partofthealgorithmsimulatespowercontrol,congestionandradioresourcecontrolperformedforR99bearersfor
allusers.Atollconsiderseachuserintheorderestablishedduringthegenerationoftheuserdistributionanddetermineshis
best server and his active set. Atoll first calculates the required terminal power in order to reach the EbNt threshold
requestedbytheR99beareronUL,followedbytherequiredtrafficchannelpowerinordertoreachtheEbNtthreshold
requestedbytheR99beareronDL.Aftercalculatingpowercontrol,Atollupdatesthecellloadparameters.Atollthencarries
outcongestionandradioresourcecontrol,verifyingthecellULload,thetotalpowertransmittedbythecell,thenumberof
channelelements,theIubthroughputandOVSFcodesconsumedbythecell.
InDCHSDPA,ADPCHisonlytransmittedononeofthetwocarriers(calledtheanchorcarrier).Therefore,DCHSPAusers
consumethesameamountofR99resourcesassinglecellHSDPAusers.TheR99bearerisallocatedtoDCHSPAusersontheir
bestservingcell.
Atthispoint,userscanbeeitherconnectedorrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

Thesignalqualityisnotsufficient:

Onthedownlink,eitherthepilotsignallevelislowerthanthedefinedminimumRSCPthresholdorthepilotquality
isnothighenough(nocellintheuseractiveset):thestatusis"EcI0<(EcI0)min"
Onthedownlink,thepowerrequiredtoreachtheuserisgreaterthanthemaximumallowed:thestatusis"Ptch>
PtchMax"
Ontheuplink,thereisnotenoughpowertotransmit:thestatusis"Pmob>PmobMax"

Evenifconstraintsabovearerespected,thenetworkcanbesaturated:

Themaximumuplinkloadfactorisexceeded(atadmissionorcongestion):thestatusiseither"AdmissionRejec
tion"or"ULLoadSaturation"
Therearenotenoughchannelelementsonsite:thestatusis"Ch.EltsSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputonsiteisexceeded:thestatusis"IubThroughputSaturation"
Thereisnotenoughpowerforcells:thestatusis"DLLoadSaturation"
TherearenomoreOVSFcodesavailable:thestatusis"OVSFCodeSaturation"

DescriptionoftheHSDPAPortionoftheSimulation
IntheHSDPApart,AtollprocessesHSDPAandHSPAusers.TheHSDPApartofthealgorithmsimulatesfastlinkadaptation,
theschedulingofHSDPAbearerusers,andradioresourcecontrolondownlink.
ForDCHSPAusers,fastlinkadaptationisdoneonceforeachcarrier.ForaDCHSPAuser,thefirstcarrieristheoneselected
intheR99partaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethodchoseninthesiteequipment,andthesecondcarrieristheonethat
providesthebestCQI.Therefore,DCHSPAusershavetwoHSDPAbearers(possiblydifferentonesdependingontheavailable
HSDPApowerineachcell),andconsumeHSDPAresourcesinbothcells.Theirthroughputsarethesumofthethroughputs
providedbythetwoHSDPAbearers.
HSDPAbearerselectionisbasedonlookuptables,availablebydoubleclickingthecorrespondingentryintheReception
Equipmenttable,foundintheTerminalscontextmenu.HSDPAbearerselectiondependsonreportedCQI,UEandcellcapa
bilitiesasdetailedinthefollowingdiagramme.

[
Figure7.44:HSDPAbearerselection
TheHSDPAandHSSCCHpowersofacellareevaluatedbeforecalculatingHSPDSCHEcNt.TheavailableHSDPApower(the
powerdedicatedtoHSSCCHandHSPDSCHofHSDPAbearerusers)ofacellcanbeeitherfixed(staticallyallocated)ordynam
icallyallocated.Ifitisdynamicallyallocated,thepowerallocatedtoHSDPAdependsonhowmuchpowerisrequiredtoserve
R99traffic.Inotherwords,thepoweravailableafterallcommonchannels(includingthepowerfordownlinkHSUPAchannels)
andallR99traffichavebeenservedisallocatedtoHSPDSCHandHSSCCHofHSDPAbearerusers.Similarly,thepowerper
HSSCCHcanbeeitherfixedordynamicallyallocatedinordertoattaintheHSSCCHEcNtthreshold.UsingtheHSSCCHand
HSDPApowers,AtollevaluatestheHSPDSCHpower(thedifferencebetweentheavailableHSDPApowerandtheHSSCCH
power),calculatestheHSPDSCHEcNtand,fromthat,thecorrespondingCQI(fromthegraphCQI=f(HSPDSCHEcNt)defined
fortheterminalreceptionequipmentandtheusermobility).Then,AtollreadsthebestHSDPAbearerassociatedtothisCQI
(i.e.,itreadstheBestBearer=f(HSPDSCHCQI)fromthetabledefinedfortheterminalreceptionequipmentandtheuser
mobility)andchecksifitiscompatiblewiththeuserequipmentandcellcapabilities.Ifcompatible,AtollselectstheHSDPA
bearer.Otherwise,itdowngradestheHSDPAbearertoaloweroneuntiltheselectedHSDPAbeareriscompatiblewiththe
userequipmentandcellcapabilities.ForBEserviceusers,theselectedHSDPAbeareristhebestHSDPAbearerthattheuser
canobtain.
ForVBRserviceusers,AtolldowngradestheHSDPAbearertoaloweroneiftheassociatedpeakRLCthroughputexceedsthe
maximumthroughputdemanddefinedfortheservice.DowngradingoccursuntilthepeakRLCthroughputoftheselected
HSDPAbearerislowerthanthemaximumthroughputdemand.Additionally,theselectedHSDPAbearermustprovideapeak
RLCthroughputhigherthantheminimumthroughputdemanddefinedfortheservice.

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For CBR service users, HSSCCHless operation (i.e., HSDSCH transmissions without any accompanying HSSCCH) is
performed.Inthiscase,theUEisnotinformedaboutthetransmissionformatandhastoreverttoblinddecodingofthetrans
portformatusedontheHSDSCH.ComplexityofblinddetectionsintheUEisdecreasedbylimitingthetransmissionformats
thatcanbeused(i.e.,theHSDPAbearersavailable).Therefore,onlyHSDPAbearersusingQPSKmodulationandamaximum
oftwoHSPDSCHchannelscanbeselectedandallocatedtotheuser.Additionally,theselectedHSDPAbearermustprovidea
peakRLCthroughputhigherthantheminimumthroughputdemanddefinedfortheservice.
TwoCQIvaluesarecalculatedforDCHSPAusers,oneforeachcarrier,andtwoHSDPAbearersaredetermined.
CBRserviceusershavethehighestpriorityandareprocessedfirst,intheorderestablishedduringthegenerationoftheuser
distribution.TheschedulermanagesthemaximumnumberofuserswithineachcellandsharesthecellsavailableHSDPA
powerbetweentheusers.AtolldeterminestheHSDPAbearerforeachuser.TheselectedHSDPAbearermustprovideapeak
RLCthroughputhigherthantheminimumthroughputdemanddefinedfortheservice.Toachievethehighestcellcapacity,
theschedulercanholdseveralpacketsoveraTTI(TransmissionTimeInterval).Atollmodelsthis"intelligentscheduling"by
allowingseveralCBRserviceuserstosharethesameHSDPAbearer.Then,AtollcalculatestheHSDPAbearerconsumptionfor
eachuserandtakesintoaccountthisparameterwhenitdeterminestheresourcesconsumedbytheuser(i.e.,theHSDPA
powerused,thenumberofOVSFcodes,andtheIubbackhaulthroughput).AtollchecksifenoughcodesandIubbackhaul
throughputareavailablefortheuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberofOVSFcodesdefinedforthecellandthe
maximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteinthedownlink).Ifnot,AtollallocatesalowerHSDPAbearer("down
grading")whichneedsfewerOVSFcodesandconsumeslowerIubbackhaulthroughput.IfnoOVSFcodesareavailable,the
user is rejected. At the same time, if the maximum Iub backhaul throughput allowed on the site in the downlink is still
exceeded,theuserisrejected.
Atthispoint,CBRserviceuserscanbeconnectedorrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

ThemaximumnumberofHSDPAbeareruserspercellisexceeded:thestatusis"HSDPASchedulerSaturation"
The lowest HSDPA bearer they can obtain does not provide a peak RLC throughput higher than the minimum
throughputdemand:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
TheHSSCCHsignalqualityisnotsufficient:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
TherearenomoreOVSFcodesavailable:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteinthedownlinkisexceeded:thestatusis"HSDPAResource
Saturation"

AfterprocessingtheCBRserviceusers,AtollprocessestheremainingHSDPAbearerusers(i.e.,HSDPAVBRandBEservice
users,andHSPAVBRandBEserviceusers),withoutexceedingthemaximumnumberofuserswithineachcell.
VBRserviceusershavethehighestpriorityandaremanagedbeforeBEserviceusers.Foreachtypeofservice,thescheduler
rankstheusersaccordingtotheselectedschedulingtechnique:

MaxC/I:"n"users(where"n"correspondstothemaximumnumberofHSDPAbearerusersdefinedforthecellminus
thenumberofCBRserviceusersinthecell)arescheduledinthesameorderasinthesimulation(i.e.,inrandom
order).Then,theyaresortedindescendingorderbythechannelqualityindicator(CQI).
RoundRobin:Usersarescheduledinthesameorderasinthesimulation(i.e.,inrandomorder).
ProportionalFair:"n"users(where"n"correspondstothemaximumnumberofHSDPAbearerusersdefinedforthe
cellminusthenumberofCBRserviceusersinthecell)arescheduledinthesameorderasinthesimulation(i.e.,in
randomorder).Then,theyaresortedindescendingorderaccordingtoarandomparameterwhichcorrespondstoa
combinationoftheuserrankinthesimulationandthechannelqualityindicator(CQI).

Then,usersareprocessedintheorderdefinedbytheschedulerandtheremainingcellsHSDPApower(i.e.,theHSDPApower
availableafterallCBRserviceusershavebeenserved)issharedbetweenthem.AtollchecksifenoughcodesandIubbackhaul
throughputareavailablefortheuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberofOVSFcodesdefinedforthecellandthe
maximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteinthedownlink).Ifnot,AtollallocatesalowerHSDPAbearer("down
grading")whichneedsfewerOVSFcodesandconsumeslowerIubbackhaulthroughput.
ForVBRservices,ifnoOVSFcodesareavailable,theuserisrejected.Atthesametime,ifthemaximumIubbackhaulthrough
putallowedonthesiteinthedownlinkisstillexceeded,theuserisrejected.
Atthispoint,VBRserviceuserscanbeconnectedorrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

ThemaximumnumberofHSDPAbeareruserspercellisexceeded:thestatusis"HSDPASchedulerSaturation"
The lowest HSDPA bearer they can obtain does not provide a peak RLC throughput higher than the minimum
throughputdemand:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
TherearenomoreHSSCCHchannelsavailable:thestatusis"HSSCCHChannelsSaturation"
TheHSSCCHsignalqualityisnotsufficient:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
TherearenomoreOVSFcodesavailable:thestatusis"HSDPAResourceSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteinthedownlinkisexceeded:thestatusis"HSDPAResource
Saturation"

ForBEservices,ifnoOVSFcodesareavailable,theuserisdelayed.Atthesametime,ifthemaximumIubbackhaulthroughput
allowedonthesiteinthedownlinkisstillexceededevenbyusingthelowestHSDPAbearer,theuserisdelayed.

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Atthispoint,BEserviceuserscanbeconnected,rejected,ordelayed.TheyarerejectedifthemaximumnumberofHSDPA
beareruserspercellisexceeded(statusis"HSDPASchedulerSaturation")anddelayedif:

TheycannotobtainthelowerHSDPAbearer:thestatusis"NoCompatibleBearer"
TheHSSCCHsignalqualityisnotsufficient:thestatusis"HSDPAPowerSaturation"
TherearenomoreHSSCCHchannelsavailable:thestatusis"HSSCCHChannelsSaturation"
TherearenomoreOVSFcodesavailable:thestatusis"OVSFCodeSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteinthedownlinkisexceeded:thestatusis"IubThroughput
Saturation"

DescriptionoftheHSUPAPortionoftheSimulation
IntheHSUPApart,AtollprocessesHSPAuserswhoareconnectedtoanHSDPAbearerorweredelayedinthepreviousstep.
Itmanagesthemaximumnumberofuserswithineachcell.CBRserviceusershavethehighestpriorityandareprocessedfirst,
intheorderestablishedduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.Then,AtollconsidersVBRserviceusersintheorder
establishedduringthegenerationoftheuserdistributionandlastly,itprocessesBEserviceusersintheorderestablished
duringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.TheHSUPApartofthealgorithmsimulatesanadmissioncontrolontheHSUPA
bearerusersfollowedbynoiseriseschedulingandradioresourcecontrol.
AtollfirstselectsalistofHSUPAbearersthatarecompatiblewiththeuserequipmentcapabilitiesforeachHSUPAbeareruser.
ForCBRserviceusers,thelistisrestrictedtoHSUPAbearersthatprovideapeakRLCthroughputhigherthantheminimum
throughputdemand.Then,duringadmissioncontrol,Atollchecksthatthelowestcompatiblebearerintermsoftherequired
EDPDCHEcNtdoesnotrequireaterminalpowerhigherthanthemaximumterminalpowerallowed.
Then,AtollperformsthenoiseriseschedulingonCBRserviceusers,followedbyaradioresourcecontrol.Thenoiserisesched
ulingalgorithmattemptstoevenlysharetheremainingcellloadbetweentheusersadmittedinadmissioncontrol;interms
ofHSUPA,eachuserisallocatedarighttoproduceinterference.Theremainingcellloadfactoronuplinkdependsonthemaxi
mumloadfactorallowedonuplinkandhowmuchuplinkloadisproducedbytheservedR99traffic.Fromthisvalue,Atoll
calculatesthemaximumEDPDCHEcNtallowedandcanselectanHSUPAbearer.TheHSUPAbearerisselectedbasedonthe
valuesinalookuptable,anddependsonthemaximumEDPDCHEcNtallowedandonUEcapabilities.
You can open the HSUPA Bearer Selection table by clicking the Expand button ( ) to
expand the UMTS Network Settings folder in the Parameters explorer, and then right
clickingtheReceptionEquipmentfolderandselectingOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
AtollselectsthebestHSUPAbearerfromtheHSUPAcompatiblebearers,inotherwords,theHSUPAbearerwiththehighest
potentialthroughputwheretherequiredEDPDCHEc/NtislowerthanthemaximumEDPDCHEcNtallowedandtherequired
terminal power is lower than the maximum terminal power. In this section, the potential throughput refers to the ratio
between the peak RLC throughput and the number of retransmissions. When several HSUPA bearers are available, Atoll
selectstheonewiththelowestrequiredEDPDCHEcNt.
SeveralCBRserviceuserscansharethesameHSUPAbearer.AtollcalculatestheHSUPAbearerconsumptionforeachuser
andtakesintoaccountthisparameterwhenitdeterminestheresourcesconsumedbyeachuser(i.e.,theterminalpower
used,thenumberofchannelelementsandtheIubbackhaulthroughput).
Finally,AtollcarriesoutradioresourcecontrolonCBRserviceusers.AtollcheckstoseeifenoughchannelelementsandIub
backhaulthroughputareavailablefortheHSUPAbearerassignedtotheuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberof
channelelementsdefinedforthesiteandthemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplink).Ifnot,
AtollallocatesalowerHSUPAbearer("downgrading")whichneedsfewerchannelelementsandconsumeslowerIubbackhaul
throughput. If no channel elements are available, the user is rejected. On the same hand, if the maximum Iub backhaul
throughputallowedonthesiteintheuplinkisstillexceededevenbyusingthelowestHSUPAbearer,theuserisrejected.
Atthispoint,CBRserviceuserscanbeeitherconnected,orrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

ThemaximumnumberofHSUPAbeareruserspercellisexceeded:thestatusis"HSUPASchedulerSaturation".
TheterminalpowerrequiredtoobtainthelowestcompatibleHSUPAbearerexceedsthemaximumterminalpower
intheadmissioncontrol:thestatusis"Pmob>PmobMax".
ThelowestcompatibleHSUPAbearertheycanobtaindoesnotprovideapeakRLCthroughputhigherthanthemin
imumthroughputdemand:thestatusis"HSUPAAdmissionRejection".
Therearenomorechannelelementsavailable:thestatusis"Ch.EltsSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplinkisexceeded:thestatusis"IubThroughput
Saturation".

Then,AtollprocessesVBRserviceusers.Fortheseusers,thelistofcompatiblebearersisrestrictedtoHSUPAbearersthat
provideapeakRLCthroughputbetweenthemaximumandtheminimumthroughputdemands.Atollperformsanewnoise
riseschedulinganddistributestheremainingcellloadfactoravailableafterallCBRserviceusershavebeenserved.Fromthis
value,AtollselectsanHSUPAbearerforeachVBRserviceuser.
Finally,AtollcarriesoutradioresourcecontrolonVBRserviceusers.AtollcheckstoseeifenoughchannelelementsandIub
backhaulthroughputareavailablefortheHSUPAbearerassignedtotheuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberof
channelelementsdefinedforthesiteandthemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplink).Ifnot,

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AtollallocatesalowerHSUPAbearer("downgrading")whichneedsfewerchannelelementsandconsumeslowerIubbackhaul
throughput. If no channel elements are available, the user is rejected. On the same hand, if the maximum Iub backhaul
throughputallowedonthesiteintheuplinkisstillexceededevenbyusingthelowestHSUPAbearer,theuserisrejected.
Atthispoint,VBRserviceuserscanbeeitherconnected,orrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

ThemaximumnumberofHSUPAbeareruserspercellisexceeded:thestatusis"HSUPASchedulerSaturation".
TheterminalpowerrequiredtoobtainthelowestcompatibleHSUPAbearerexceedsthemaximumterminalpower
intheadmissioncontrol:thestatusis"Pmob>PmobMax".
ThelowestcompatibleHSUPAbearertheycanobtaindoesnotprovideapeakRLCthroughputhigherthanthemin
imumthroughputdemand:thestatusis"HSUPAAdmissionRejection".
Therearenomorechannelelementsavailable:thestatusis"Ch.EltsSaturation".
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplinkisexceeded:thestatusis"IubThroughput
Saturation".

Then,AtollprocessesBEserviceusers.Itperformsanewnoiseriseschedulinganddistributestheremainingcellloadfactor
availableafterallCBRandVBRserviceusershavebeenserved.Fromthisvalue,AtollselectsanHSUPAbearerforeachBE
serviceuser.Then,AtollchecksthateachBEserviceuserhasobtainedtheaveragerequestedthroughput(definedinthe
propertiesoftheservice).
Finally,Atollcarriesoutradioresourcecontrol,verifyingwhetherenoughchannelelementsandIubbackhaulthroughputare
availablefortheHSUPAbearerassignedtotheuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberofchannelelementsdefined
forthesiteandthemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplink).Ifnot,AtollallocatesalowerHSUPA
bearer("downgrading")whichneedsfewerchannelelementsandconsumeslowerIubbackhaulthroughput.Ifnochannel
elementsareavailable,theuserisrejected.Onthesamehand,ifthemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesite
intheuplinkisstillexceededevenbyusingthelowestHSDPAbearer,theuserisrejected.
Atthispoint,BEserviceuserscanbeeitherconnected,orrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

ThemaximumnumberofHSUPAbeareruserspercellisexceeded:thestatusis"HSUPASchedulerSaturation".
TheterminalpowerrequiredtoobtainthelowestcompatibleHSUPAbearerexceedsthemaximumterminalpower
intheadmissioncontrol:thestatusis"Pmob>PmobMax".
Therearenomorechannelelementsavailable:thestatusis"Ch.EltsSaturation"
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputallowedonthesiteintheuplinkisexceeded:thestatusis"IubThroughput
Saturation".

BearerDowngrading
Ifyouselecttheoption"BearerDowngrading,"whencreatingasimulation,R99,HSDPAandHSUPAserviceuserscanbedown
gradedundercertaincircumstances.Whenthedowngradingisallowed,AtolldoesnotrejectR99,HSDPAandHSPAusers
directly;itdowngradesthemfirst.
TheR99toR99bearerdowngradingoccurswhen:

Thecellresourcesareinsufficientwhentheuserisadmitted

Thecellresourcesareinsufficientduringcongestioncontrol

Themaximumuplinkloadfactorisexceeded
Themaximumuplinkloadfactorisexceeded
Thereisnotenoughpowerforcells
Therearenotenoughchannelelementsonthesite
ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputonthesiteisexceeded
TherearenomoreOVSFcodesavailable

Theusermaximumconnectionpowerisexceededduringpowercontrol:

Onthedownlink,themaximumtrafficchannelpowerisexceeded
Ontheuplink,themaximumterminalpowerisexceeded

Forallthesereasons,theusersR99bearerwillbedowngradedtoanotherR99bearerofthesametype(sametrafficclass).
Upon admission and during power control, downgrading is only performed on the user who causes the problem. During
congestioncontrol,theproblemisatthecelllevelandtherefore,downgradingisperformedonseveralusersaccordingto
theirservicepriority.Userswiththelowestpriorityserviceswillbethefirsttobedowngraded.
IfR99bearerdowngradingdoesnotfixtheproblem,theuserwillberejected.
ForanHSDPAbeareruser,downgradingistriggereduponadmission(intotheR99portion)whenthebestservingcelldoes
notsupportHSDPAtraffic.Whenthishappens,theHSDPAbeareruserwillnotbeabletogetanHSDPAbearerandwillbe
downgradedtoanR99bearerofthesametypeastheADPCHbearerandtheuserwillbeprocessedasanR99user.
ForanHSUPAbeareruser,downgradingistriggereduponadmission(intotheR99portion)whenthebestservingcelldoes
notsupportHSUPAtraffic.Whenthishappens,theHSUPAbeareruserwillnotbeabletogetanHSUPAbearerandwillbe
downgradedtoanR99bearerofthesametypeastheEDPCCH/ADPCHbearerandtheuserwillbeprocessedasanR99user.

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7.3.4.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutostudythecapacityofyourUMTSHSPAnetworkandmodelthedifferentnetworkregulation
mechanismsinordertominimiseinterferenceandmaximisecapacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.Youmusthaveatleastonetraffic
maporsubscriberlistinyourdocumenttobeabletoperformsimulations.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations,andsomeComments
ifyouwant.
5. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Numberofsimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreatedatthesame
timearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Informationtoretain:Youcanselectthelevelofdetailthatwillbeavailableintheoutput:

OnlytheAverageSimulationandStatistics:Noneoftheindividualsimulationsaredisplayedoravailablein
thegroup.Onlyanaverageofallsimulationsandstatisticsisavailable.
Somecalculationanddisplayoptionsavailableforcoveragepredictionsarenotavailable
whentheoption"OnlytheAverageSimulationandStatistics"isselected.

NoInformationAboutMobiles:Allthesimulationsarelistedandcanbedisplayed.Foreachofthem,aprop
erties window containing simulation output, divided among four tabs Statistics, Sites, Cells, and Initial
Conditionsisavailable.
Standard Information About Mobiles: All the simulations are listed and can be displayed. The properties
windowforeachsimulationcontainsanadditionaltabwithoutputrelatedtomobiles.
Detailed Information About Mobiles: All the simulations are listed and can be displayed. The properties
windowforeachsimulationcontainsadditionalmobilerelatedoutputontheMobilesandMobiles(Shadow
ingValues)tabs.
Whenyouareworkingonverylargeradioplanningprojects,youcanreducememory
consumptionbyselectingOnlytheAverageSimulationandStatisticsunderInformation
toretain.

6. UnderLoadconstraintsontheGeneraltab,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulation:

NumberofCEs:SelecttheNumberofCEscheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthenumberofchannelelements
definedforeachsite.
Iubthroughputs:SelecttheIubthroughputscheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthemaximumIubbackhaul
throughputsdefinedforeachsite.
Numberofcodes:SelecttheNumberofcodescheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthenumberofOVSFcodes
availableeachcell.
ULloadfactor:IfyouwanttheULloadfactortobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheULloadfactorcheck
box.
MaxULloadfactor:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinkcellloadfactor,clickthebutton
(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaximumuplinkcellloadfactor.Ifyouwanttousethe

maximumuplinkcellloadfactorasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxand
selectDefinedpercell.
DLload(%Pmax):IfyouwanttheDLloadtobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheDLload(%Pmax)check
boxandenteramaximumdownlinkcellloadintheMaxDLloadbox.
MaxDLload(%Pmax):Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinkcellload,asapercentage
ofthemaximumpower,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaximum
downlinkcellload,asapercentageofthemaximumpower.Ifyouwanttousethemaximumdownlinkcellload
factorasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton(

)besidetheboxandselectDefinedpercell.

7. UnderBearernegotiationontheGeneraltab,checktheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttopermitbearer
downgradingduringthesimulation.Whenaconstraintisnotrespected,userradiobearerswithservicessupporting
bearerdowngradingaredowngraded.Iftheconstraintisstillnotsatisfiedafterdowngrading,usersarerejected.If

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downgradingisnotselected,userswillberejectedimmediately,startingwithuserswiththelowestservicepriority,if
aconstraintcannotberespected.
8. OntheTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

Globalscalingfactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).

Selecttrafficmapstobeused:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage624.

9. ClicktheAdvancedtab.

Generatorinitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,the
userandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowing
errordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
Usingthesamegenerateduserandshadowingerrordistributionforseveralsimulations
canbeusefulwhenyouwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonly
oneparameterchanges.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
Maxnumberofiterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconver
gence.
ULconvergencethreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
uplinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLconvergencethreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
downlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

10. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittocalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulationandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutcalculatingit.YoucancalculateitlaterclickingtheCalculate
button(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.Youcannowusethe
completedsimulationsforspecificUMTSandHSDPAcoveragepredictions(see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimula
tionResults"onpage657)orforanASanalysisusingthePointAnalysiswindow(see"MakinganASAnalysisofSimulation
Results"onpage657).

7.3.4.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemapthedistributionofthetrafficgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferent
parameters.Youcan,forexample,displaythetrafficaccordingtoservice,activitystatus,pilotsignalstrength,orsofthandover
gain.
Youcansetthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtodiscretevaluesandtheselectthevaluetobedisplayed.Or,you
canselectthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtovalueintervals,andthenselecttheparameterandthevalueinter
valsthataretobedisplayed.Youcanalsodefinethecoloursoftheiconandtheiconitself.
Forinformationonchangingdisplaycharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistribution:

"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyHandoverStatus"onpage642
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage643
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage644.
Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeodataandpredictions.
Forinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows"onpage42.

7.3.4.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyHandoverStatus
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Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbythehandoverstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"HOStatus(Sites/No.Transmit
tersAct.Set)"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyhandoverstatus(seeFigure7.45).

Figure7.45:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyhandoverstatus

7.3.4.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyconnectionstatus(seeFigure7.46).

Figure7.46:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyconnectionstatus

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DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice(seeFigure7.47).

Figure7.47:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyservice

7.3.4.4 DisplayingtheUserActiveSetontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemaptheactivesetforeachusergeneratedbyasimulation.
Todisplaytheactivesetforauser:

Onthemap,clickandholdtheiconoftheuserwhosebestandsecondbestserversyouwanttodisplay.
Theserversintheusersactivesetareconnectedtotheuserwithlinesthesamecolourastheservingtransmitter.
Thebestserverisindicatedwiththenumber"1",thesecondbestwithnumber"2"andsoon.Figure7.48showsa
userwiththreeserversinhisactiveset.

Figure7.48:Theactivesetofauser

7.3.4.5 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage641,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

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3. ClicktheExpandbutton(
wanttoaccess.

)toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresultsyou

4. Rightclickthesimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Theamountof
detailavailablewhenyoudisplaytheresultsdependsonthelevelofdetailyouselectedfromtheInformationto
retainlistontheGeneraltabofthepropertiesdialogboxforthegroupofsimulations.Formoreinformationonthe
differentoptions,seestep5.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage641.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Demand:UnderDemand,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandtheULandDLthroughputsthatallactiveuserscouldtheoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andULandDLthrough
puts)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataonconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
includerejectedusersonly.Thesefiguresaredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthe
networkdesign.
Thenumberandthepercentageofdelayedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonfordelay.
ThenumberandpercentageofR99bearerusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperfrequencyband
foramultibandnetwork,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andtheULandDLtotalthroughputsthey
generate.ThesefiguresincludeR99usersaswellasHSDPAandHSPAusers(sinceallofthemrequestanR99
bearer);theyaredeterminedintheR99partofthealgorithm.Thisdataisalsoprovidedbyservice.
ThetotalnumberandthepercentageofconnecteduserswithanHSDPAbearer,thenumberofusersper
frequencybandforamultibandnetwork,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andtheDLtotalthroughput
thattheygenerate.HSDPAandHSPAserviceusersareconsideredbecausetheyallrequestanHSDPAbearer,
exceptPacket(HSPAConstantRate).
ThetotalnumberofconnectedHSUPAbearerusersandthepercentageofuserswithanHSUPAbearer,the
numberofusersperfrequencybandforamultibandnetwork,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,and
the UL total throughput they generate. Only HSPA service users are considered, except Packet (HSPA
ConstantRate).

TheSitestab:TheSitestabcontainsthefollowinginformationpersite:

MaxNo.ofDLandULCEs:ThemaximumnumberofchannelelementsavailableonuplinkanddownlinkforR99
bearersrequestedbytheusers.
No.ofDLandULCEsUsed:ThenumberofchannelelementsrequiredonuplinkanddownlinkforR99bearersto
handlethetrafficofcurrentsimulation.
No.ofDLandULCEsDuetoSHOOverhead:Thenumberofextrachannelelementsduetosofthandover,on
uplinkanddownlink.
CarrierSelection:Thecarrierselectionmethoddefinedonthesiteequipment.
DownlinkandUplinkOverheadCEs/Cell:Theoverheadchannelelementspercellonthedownlinkandonthe
uplink,definedonthesiteequipment.
ASRestrictedtoNeighbours:Whethertheactivesetisrestrictedtoneighboursofthereferencecell.Thisoption
isselectedonthesiteequipment.
RakeFactor:Therakefactor,definedonthesiteequipment,enablesAtolltomodelarakereceiverondownlink.
MUDFactor:Themultiuserdetectionfactor,definedonthesiteequipment,isusedtodecreaseintracellinter
ferenceonuplink.
CompressedMode:Whethercompressedmodeissupported.Thisoptionisdefinedonthesiteequipment.
MaxIubDownlinkandUplinkBackhaulThroughput(kbps):ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputinthedown
linkanduplink.
IubDownlinkandUplinkBackhaulThroughput(kbps):TheIubbackhaulthroughputrequiredondownlinkand
uplinktohandlethetrafficofcurrentsimulation.
OverheadIubThroughput(kbps):theIubthroughputrequiredbythesiteforcommonchannelsinthedownlink.
ItcorrespondstotheoverheadIubthroughputpercell(definedonthesiteequipment)multipliedbythenumber
ofcellsonthesite.
HSDPAIubBackhaulOverhead(%):Thisparameterisdefinedonthesiteequipment.Itcorrespondstotheper
centageoftheHSDPAbearerpeakRLCthroughputtobeaddedtothepeakRLCthroughput.Thetotalvaluecor
respondstotheIubbackhaulthroughputrequiredbytheHSDPAbearerusersforHSChannelsinthedownlink.

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NbofRecommendedE1/T1/EthernetLink:ThenumberofE1/T1/EthernetlinksrequiredtoprovidethetotalIub
backhaulthroughput.
InstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps).
InstantaneousHSDPAMACThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAMACthroughput(kbps).
DLandULThroughputforEachService:Thethroughputinkbitssforeachservice.Theresultisdetailedonthe
downlinkanduplinkonlywhenrelevant.

TheCellstab:TheCellstabcontainsthefollowinginformation,persite,transmitter,andcarrier:

MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
PilotPower(dBm):Thepilotpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
SCHpower(dBm):TheSCHpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
OtherCCHpower(dBm):Thepowerofothercommonchannels.ItincludestheotherCCHpowerandtheDL
HSUPApowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
AvailableHSDPAPower(dBm):TheavailableHSDPApowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.Thisisthepower
availablefortheHSPDSCHandHSSCCH.ThevalueiseitherfixedbytheuserwhentheHSDPApowerisallocated
statically,orbyasimulationwhentheoptionHSDPAPowerDynamicAllocationisselected.
ASThreshold(dB):Theactivesetthresholdasdefinedincellproperties
Gain(dBi):Thegainasdefinedintheantennapropertiesforthattransmitter.
ReceptionLosses(dB):Thereceptionlossesasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
TransmissionLosses(dB):Thetransmissionlossesasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
NoiseFigure(dB):Thenoisefigureasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties
TotalTransmittedR99Power(dBm):ThetotaltransmittedR99poweristhepowertransmittedbythecellon
commonchannels(Pilot,SCH,otherCCH),HSUPAchannels(EAGCH,ERGCH,andEHICH)andR99trafficdedi
catedchannels.
TransmittedHSDPAPower(dBm):TheHSDPApowertransmittedbythecellonHSDPAchannels.Itcorresponds
totheHSDPApowerusedtoserveHSDPAbearerusers.
TotalTransmittedPower(dBm):ThetotaltransmittedpowerofthecellisthesumofthetotaltransmittedR99
powerandthetransmittedHSDPApower.IfHSDPApowerisallocateddynamically,thetotaltransmittedpower
cannotexceedthemaximumpowerminusthepowerheadroom.
When the constraint "DL load" is set and HSDPA power is statically allocated, the total
transmittedpowercannotexceedthemaximumDLload(definedeitherinthecellproper
ties,orinthesimulation).Ontheotherhand,ifHSDPApowerisallocateddynamically,the
controliscarriedoutontheR99transmittedpower,whichcannotexceedthemaximum
DLload.

646

ULTotalNoise(dBm):Theuplinktotalnoisetakesintoaccountthetotalsignalreceivedatthetransmitterona
carrierfromintraandextracellterminalsusingthesamecarrierandadjacentcarriers(uplinktotalinterference)
andthethermalnoise.
MaxULLoadFactor(%):Themaximumuplinkloadfactorthatthecellcansupport.Itisdefinedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox.
MaxDLLoad(%Pmax):Themaximumpercentageofpowerthatthecellcanuse.Itisdefinedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox.
ULloadfactor(%):Theuplinkcellloadfactorcorrespondstotheratiobetweentheuplinktotalinterferenceand
theuplinktotalnoise.Iftheconstraint"ULloadfactor"hasbeenselected,ULcellloadfactorisnotallowedto
exceedtheuserdefinedmaximumULloadfactor(eitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulationcreationdialog
box).
DLLoadFactor(%):TheDLloadfactorofthecellicorrespondstotheratio(DLaverageinterference[duetotrans
mittersignalsonthesameandadjacentcarriers]forterminalsinthetransmitteriarea)(DLaveragetotalnoise
[duetotransmittersignalsandtothermalnoiseofterminals]forterminalsinthetransmitteriarea).
ULandDLNoiseRise(dB):Theuplinkanddownlinknoiserisesarecalculatedfromuplinkanddownlinkloadfac
tors.Thesedataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
DLR99Load(%Pmax):ThepercentageofpowerusedforR99channelsisdeterminedbythetotaltransmitted
R99powermaximumpowerratio(powerstatedinW).Whentheconstraint"DLload"issetandHSDPApoweris
allocateddynamically,theDLR99LoadcannotexceedtheuserdefinedMaxDLLoad(definedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulation).
ReuseFactor(UL):Theuplinkreusefactoristheratiobetweentheuplinktotalinterferenceandtheintracell
interference.
ReuseEfficiencyFactor(UL):Theuplinkreuseefficiencyfactoristhereciprocaloftheuplinkreusefactor.
NumberofULandDLRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinkscorrespondstothenumberofusertransmitterlinks
onthesamecarrier.Thisdataiscalculatedonuplinkandondownlinkandindicatesthenumberofuserscon
nectedtothecellonuplinkanddownlink.Becauseofhandover,asingleusercanuseseveralradiolinks.
Connection Success Rate (%): The connection success rate gives the ratio of connected users over the total
numberofusersinthecell.
HSDPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):ThisisthenetHSDPAthroughputwithoutcoding(redundancy,overhead,
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Min.HSDPAPeakRLCThroughput(kbps):TheminimumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputcorrespondstothelowest
ofpeakRLCthroughputsobtainedbyHSDPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.ForDCHSPAusers,thisisthe
lowerofthetwominimumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputs.
MaxHSDPAPeakRLCThroughput(kbps):ThemaximumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputcorrespondstothehighest
ofpeakRLCthroughputsobtainedbyHSDPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.ForDCHSPAusers,thisisthe
higherofthetwomaximumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputs.
Avg. Instantaneous HSDPA Throughput (kbps): The average instantaneous HSDPA throughput (kbps) is the
averagenumberofkbitspersecondthatthecellsupportsondownlinktoprovideoneconnecteduserwithan
HSDPAbearer.TheHSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
InstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps):TheinstantaneousHSDPAthroughput(kbps)isthenumberofkbitsper
secondthatthecellsupportsondownlinktoprovidesimultaneousconnecteduserswithanHSDPAbearer.The
HSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
InstantaneousHSDPAMACThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAMACthroughput(kbps)thatthecell
carries.TheHSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
No. of Simultaneous HSDPA Users: The number of simultaneous HSDPA users corresponds to the number of
HSDPAbearerusersthatthecellsupportsatonetime,i.e.withinonetimetransmissioninterval.Alltheseusers
areconnectedtothecellattheendoftheHSDPApartofthesimulation;theyhaveaconnectionwiththeR99
bearerandanHSDPAbearer.DCHSPAusersareconsideredonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofHSDPAUsers:ThenumberofconnectedanddelayedHSDPAbearerusers.DCHSPAusersareconsidered
onceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofHSUPAUsers:ThenumberofHSUPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.
HSUPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):ThisisthenetHSUPAthroughputwithoutcoding(redundancy,overhead,
addressing,etc.).
HSUPAULLoadFactor(%):TheuplinkcellloadcontributionduetoHSUPAtraffic.
No.ofCodes(512Bits):Thenumberof512bitOVSFcodesusedpercell.
Thetypesofhandoverasapercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandovertypesforeachtransmitter.
Atollonlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoverstatus,nohandover(11),softer(12),soft(22),softersoft
(23)andsoftsoft(33)handovers;theotherhandoverstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
R99ULandDLThroughput(kbps):TheuplinkanddownlinkR99throughputsrepresentthenumbersofkbitsper
seconddeliveredbythecellrespectivelyonuplinkandondownlinktosupplyuserswithaR99bearer.Alltheradio
linksinthecell,i.e.,linksduetohandover,aretakenintoaccountinthethroughputcalculation.
R99ULandDLThroughputWithoutHO(kbps):TheuplinkanddownlinkR99throughputsrepresentthenumbers
ofkbitsperseconddeliveredbythecellrespectivelyonuplinkandondownlinktosupplyuserswithaR99bearer.
Onlythelinkswiththebestserveraretakenintoaccountinthecalculationofthroughput.
MinTCHPwr(dBm):Theminimumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
MaxTCHPwr(dBm):Themaximumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
AvgTCHPwr(dBm):Theaveragepowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
Nonconnectedusers:Thenumberofrejectedanddelayeduserspercell.Rejectedusersaresortedbythefol
lowingvalues:Pmob>PmobMax,Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min.,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,
DLLoadSaturation,CodeSaturation,AdmissionRejection,HSDPASchedulerSaturation,HSDPAResourceSat
uration, HSUPA Admission Rejection, HSUPA Scheduler Saturation and Iub Throughput Saturation. Delayed
usersareregroupedunderHSDPADelayed.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%)ForEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivestheratioofcon
nectedusersoverthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

TheMobilestab:TheMobilestabcontainsthefollowinginformation:
TheMobilestabonlyappearsif,whencreatingthesimulationasexplainedin"Creating
Simulations" on page641, you select either "Standard information about mobiles" or
"Detailedinformationaboutmobiles"underInformationtoRetain.

XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect(thegeographicpositionisdeterminedbythesecond
randomtrial).
Service:Theserviceassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Terminal:Theassignedterminal.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheterminaland
theuserprofile.
UserProfile:Theassigneduserprofile.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheter
minalandtheuserprofile.
Mobility:Themobilitytypeassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
ActivityStatus:Theactivitystatusassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistri
bution.
Carrier:Thecarrierusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.DCHSPAusersareconnectedtotwocarriers.
DetailscanbedisplayedpercarrierbyselectingActions>DetailedDisplay.
FrequencyBand:thefrequencybandusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.
DLandULTotalRequestedThroughput(kbps):ForR99users,theDLandULtotalrequestedthroughputscorre
spondtotheDLandULpeakthroughputsoftheR99bearerassociatedtotheservice.

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ForHSDPAusers,theuplinkrequestedthroughputcorrespondstothepeakthroughputofADPCHR99radiobear
erandthedownlinkrequestedthroughputisthesumoftheADPCHradiobearerpeakthroughputandthepeak
RLCthroughput(s)thattheselectedHSDPAradiobearer(s)canprovide.Here,theuseristreatedasifheistheonly
userinthecellandthen,AtolldeterminestheHSDPAbearertheuserwouldobtainbyconsideringtheentireHS
DPApoweravailableofthecell.
ForHSPAusers,theuplinkrequestedthroughputisequaltothesumoftheADPCHEDPCCHradiobearerpeak
throughputandthepeakRLCthroughputoftherequestedHSUPAradiobearer.TherequestedHSUPAradiobear
erisselectedfromtheHSUPAbearerscompatiblewiththeuserequipment.Here,theuseristreatedasifheisthe
onlyuserinthecellandthen,AtolldeterminestheHSUPAbearertheuserwouldobtainbyconsideringtheentire
remainingloadofthecell.ThedownlinkrequestedthroughputisthesumoftheADPCHEDPCCHradiobearerpeak
throughputandthepeakRLCthroughput(s)thattherequestedHSDPAradiobearer(s)canprovide.

DLandULTotalObtainedThroughput(kbps):ForR99serviceusers,theobtainedthroughputisthesameasthe
requestedthroughputifheisconnectedwithoutbeingdowngraded.Otherwise,theobtainedthroughputislower
(itcorrespondstothepeakthroughputoftheselectedR99bearer).Iftheuserisrejected,theobtainedthroughput
iszero.
Inthedownlink,HSDPAbeareruserscanbeconnectedtoasinglecellortotwocellsofthesametransmitterwhen
theuserhasaDCHSPAcapableterminalandwhenthetransmittersupportsthemulticellHSDPAmode.
ForasinglecarrierHSDPAserviceuserconnectedtoanHSDPAbearer,thedownlinkobtainedthroughputcorre
spondstotheinstantaneousthroughput;thisisthesumoftheADPCHradiobearerpeakthroughputandthepeak
RLCthroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobearerafterschedulingandradioresourcecontrol.Ifthe
userisdelayed(heisonlyconnectedtoanR99radiobearer),downlinkobtainedthroughputcorrespondstothe
downlinkpeakthroughputoftheADPCHradiobearer.Finally,iftheuserisrejectedeitherintheR99partorinthe
HSDPApart(i.e.,becausetheHSDPAschedulerissaturated),thedownlinkobtainedthroughputiszero.
ForadualcarrierHSDPAserviceuserconnectedtotwoHSDPAbearers,thedownlinkobtainedthroughputcorre
spondstotheinstantaneousthroughput;thisisthesumofthepeakthroughputprovidedbytheADPCHradio
bearerintheanchorcellandthepeakRLCthroughputsprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobearersaftersched
ulingandradioresourcecontrol.Iftheuserisconnectedtoonecellanddelayedintheothercell,thedownlink
obtainedthroughputisthesumofthepeakthroughputprovidedbytheADPCHradiobearerintheanchorcell
andthepeakRLCthroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobearerafterschedulingandradioresource
control.Iftheuserisdelayedinthetwocells(heisonlyconnectedtoanR99radiobearerintheanchorcell),the
downlinkobtainedthroughputcorrespondstothedownlinkpeakthroughputoftheADPCHradiobearerinthe
anchorcell.Finally,iftheuserisrejectedeitherintheR99partorintheHSDPApart(i.e.,becausetheHSDPA
schedulerissaturated),thedownlinkobtainedthroughputiszero.
Intheuplink,HSDPAserviceuserscanonlyhaveasinglecarrierconnection.Whentheuseriseitherconnectedor
delayed,theuplinkobtainedthroughputcorrespondstotheuplinkpeakthroughputoftheADPCHradiobearer.
IftheuserisrejectedeitherintheR99partorintheHSDPApart(i.e.,becausetheHSDPAschedulerissaturated),
theuplinkobtainedthroughputiszero.
ForsinglecarrierHSPAVBRandBEserviceusers,ondownlink,iftheuserisconnectedtoanHSDPAbearer,the
downlinkobtainedthroughputcorrespondstotheinstantaneousthroughput.Theinstantaneousthroughputis
thesumoftheADPCHEDPCCHradiobearerpeakthroughputandthepeakRLCthroughputprovidedbythese
lectedHSDPAradiobearerafterschedulingandradioresourcecontrol.Iftheuserisdelayed,thedownlinkob
tainedthroughputcorrespondstothedownlinkpeakthroughputofADPCHEDPCCHradiobearer.Iftheuseris
rejected,thedownlinkobtainedthroughputis"0".
FordualcarrierHSPAVBRandBEserviceusersconnectedtotwoHSDPAbearers,thedownlinkobtainedthrough
putcorrespondstotheinstantaneousthroughput;thisisthesumofthepeakthroughputprovidedbytheADPCH
EDPCCHradiobearerintheanchorcellandthepeakRLCthroughputsprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobear
ersafterschedulingandradioresourcecontrol.Iftheuserisconnectedtoonecellanddelayedintheothercell,
thedownlinkobtainedthroughputisthesumofthepeakthroughputprovidedbytheADPCHEDPCCHradiobear
erintheanchorcellandthepeakRLCthroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobearerafterscheduling
andradioresourcecontrol.Iftheuserisdelayedinthetwocells(heisonlyconnectedtoanR99radiobearerin
theanchorcell),thedownlinkobtainedthroughputcorrespondstothedownlinkpeakthroughputoftheADPCH
EDPCCHradiobearerintheanchorcell.Finally,iftheuserisrejected,thedownlinkobtainedthroughputiszero.
Inuplink,HSPAVBRandBEserviceuserscanonlyhaveasinglecarrierconnection.Whentheuserisconnectedto
anHSUPAbearer,theuplinkobtainedthroughputisthesumoftheADPCHEDPCCHradiobearerpeakthroughput
andthepeakRLCthroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSUPAradiobearerafternoiserisescheduling.Iftheuser
isrejected,theuplinkobtainedthroughputiszero.
ForaconnectedHSPACBRserviceuser,theuplinkanddownlinktotalobtainedthroughputsarethesumofthe
ADPCHEDPCCHradiobearerpeakthroughputandtheminimumthroughputdemanddefinedfortheservice.If
theuserisrejected,theuplinkanddownlinktotalobtainedthroughputsare"0".

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MobileTotalPower(dBm):Themobiletotalpowercorrespondstothetotalpowertransmittedbytheterminal.

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ConnectionStatus:Theconnectionstatusindicateswhethertheuserisconnected,delayedorrejectedattheend
ofthesimulation.Ifconnected,theconnectionstatuscorrespondstotheactivitystatus.Ifrejected,therejection
causeisgiven.Ifdelayed(forHSDPAandHSPAusersonly),thestatusis"HSDPAdelayed".
BestServer:Thebestserveramongthetransmittersinthemobileactiveset.
HOStatus(Sites/No.TransmittersAct.Set):TheHOstatusisthenumberofsitescomparedtothenumberof
transmittersintheactiveset.
AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4:Thenameofthecellthatisthebestserver,thesecondbestserver,andsoonisgivenina
separatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.
Ec/I0AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,(dB):EcI0isgiveninaseparatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.TheEc/I0AS1
columnliststheEc/I0fromthebestserverfortherejectedmobilesaswell.
Indoor:Thisfieldindicateswhetherindoorlosseshavebeenaddedornot.
ActiveCompressedMode:Thisfieldindicateswhetheractivecompressedmodeissupportedbythemobileor
not.

The following columns only appear if, when creating the simulation as explained in "Creating Simulations" on
page641,youselect"Detailedinformationaboutmobiles"underInformationtoRetain:

DLandULRequestedPeakRLCThroughputs(kbps):DownlinkanduplinkrequestedpeakRLCthroughputsare
notcalculatedforR99users.
ForHSDPAusers,theuplinkpeakRLCthroughputisnotcalculatedandthedownlinkrequestedpeakRLCthrough
putisthethroughputthattheselectedHSDPAradiobearer(s)canprovide.
ForHSPAusers,therequesteduplinkpeakRLCthroughputisthethroughputoftherequestedHSUPAradiobearer.
TherequestedHSUPAradiobearerisselectedfromtheHSUPAbearerscompatiblewiththeuserequipment.Here,
theuseristreatedasifheistheonlyuserinthecellandthen,AtolldeterminestheHSUPAbearertheuserwould
obtainbyconsideringtheentireremainingloadofthecell.IftheuserisconnectedtooneortwoHSDPAbearers
inthedownlink,thedownlinkrequestedpeakRLCthroughputisthethroughputthattherequestedHSDPAradio
bearer(s)canprovide.TherequestedHSDPAradiobearerisdeterminedasexplainedinthepreviousparagraph.

DLandULObtainedPeakRLCThroughput(kbps):DownlinkanduplinkobtainedpeakRLCthroughputsarenot
calculatedforR99users.
ForHSDPAusersconnectedtooneortwoHSDPAbearers,theuplinkobtainedpeakRLCthroughputisnotcalcu
lated,andthedownlinkobtainedpeakRLCthroughputisthethroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradio
bearer(s)afterschedulingandradioresourcecontrol.
ForconnectedHSPABEandVBRserviceusers,onuplink,iftheuserisconnectedtoanHSUPAbearer,theobtained
uplinkpeakRLCthroughputisthethroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSUPAradiobearerafternoiserisesched
uling. On downlink, if the user is connected to one or two HSDPA bearers, the downlink obtained peak RLC
throughputisthethroughputprovidedbytheselectedHSDPAradiobearer(s)afterschedulingandradioresource
control.
ForaconnectedHSPACBRserviceuser,theuplinkanddownlinkobtainedpeakRLCthroughputsaretheuplink
anddownlinkminimumthroughputdemandsdefinedfortheservice.

HSDPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):TheHSDPAapplicationthroughputisthenetHSDPAthroughputwithout
coding(redundancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).ItiscalculatedfromtheinstantaneousHSDPAthroughput(i.e.,
theDLobtainedthroughput),theBLER,theHSDPAservicescalingfactorandthethroughputoffset.
ServedHSDPAPower(dBm):ThisistheHSDPApowerrequiredtoprovidetheHSDPAbeareruserwiththedown
linkobtainedthroughput.
RequiredHSDPAPower(dBm):TherequiredHSDPApoweristheHSDPApowerrequiredtoprovidetheHSDPA
beareruserwiththedownlinkrequestedthroughput.IftheHSDPAbearerallocatedtotheuseristhebestone,
therequiredHSDPApowercorrespondstotheavailableHSDPApowerofthecell.Ontheotherhand,iftheHSDPA
hasbeendowngradedinordertobecompliantwithcellandUEcapabilities,therequiredHSDPApowerwillbe
lowerthantheavailableHSDPApowerofthecell.
No. of HSUPA Retransmissions (Required): The maximum number of retransmissions in order to have the
requestedHSUPAradiobearerwithagivenBLER.
No. of HSUPA Retransmissions (Obtained): The maximum number of retransmissions in order to have the
obtainedHSUPAradiobearerwithagivenBLER.
HSUPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):TheHSUPAapplicationthroughputisthenetHSUPAthroughputwithout
coding(redundancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).ItiscalculatedfromtheULobtainedthroughput,theBLER,the
HSUPAservicescalingfactorandthethroughputoffset.
CellTCHPowerAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL)(dBm):Thecellpowertransmittedonthedownlinkisgivenforeachlink
betweenthemobileandatransmitterintheactiveset.
DLNtotAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(dBm):Thetotalnoiseonthedownlinkforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatrans
mitterintheactiveset.
LoadFactorAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL)(%):Theloadfactoronthedownlinkforeachlinkbetweenthemobileanda
transmitterintheactiveset.Itcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterferenceonthedownlinkandtotal
noiseattheterminal.

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NoiseRiseAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL)(dB):Thenoiseriseonthedownlinkforeachlinkbetweenthemobileanda
transmitterintheactiveset.
ReuseFactorAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL):TheDLreusefactorforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatransmitterin
theactiveset.Itiscalculatedfromtheinterferencereceivedattheterminalfromtheintracellareaandthetotal
interferencereceivedattheterminalfromallthetransmitters(intraandextracellandintercarrier).
IintraAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL)(dBm):Theintracellinterferenceforeachcell(I)oftheactiveset.

DL
ic Fortho P DL
ic PSCH
I int ra P DL
tot
tot
LT
i
i

IextraAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(DL)(dBm):Theextracellinterferenceforeachcell(I)oftheactiveset.
I extra
DL

ic Fortho P DL
ic PSCH
P DL
tot
tot
LT
Tx ,iTx

TotalLossAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4(dB):Thetotalattenuationforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatransmitterin
theactiveset.
IubULBackhaulThroughput(kbps):TheIubbackhaulthroughputconsumedontheuplinkbythemobile.
IubDLBackhaulThroughput(kbps):TheIubbackhaulthroughputconsumedonthedownlinkbythemobile.
No.ofULCEs:Thenumberofchannelelementsconsumedontheuplinkbythemobile.
No.ofDLCEs:Thenumberofchannelelementsconsumedonthedownlinkbythemobile.
Name:Thenameofthemobile,asassignedduringtherandomusergeneration.
Clutter:Theclutterclassonwhichthemobileislocated.
OrthogonalityFactor:Theorthogonalityfactorusedinthesimulation.Theorthogonalityfactoristheremaining
orthogonalityoftheOVSFcodesatreception.Thevalueusedistheorthogonalityfactorsetintheclutterclasses.
%PilotFinger:Thepercentagepilotfingerusedinthesimulation,definedperclutterclassorgloballyforallclutter
classes.
ULSHOGain(dB):TheuplinksofthandovergainiscalculatedifmobilereceiversareconnectedeitheronDLoron
ULandDL.
DLSHOGain(dB):ThedownlinksofthandovergainiscalculatedifmobilereceiversareconnectedeitheronDLor
onULandDL.
No.ofCodes(512Bits):ThenumberofOVSFcodesusedpermobile.

TheMobiles(ShadowingValues)tab:TheMobiles(ShadowingValues)tabcontainsinformationontheshadowing
marginforeachlinkbetweenthereceiveranduptotenclosestpotentialtransmitters:
The Mobiles (Shadowing Values) tab only appears if, when creating the simulation as
explainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage641,youselect"Detailedinformationabout
mobiles"underInformationtoRetain.

Name:Thenameassignedtothemobile.
ValueatReceiver(dB):Thevalueoftheshadowingmarginatthereceiver.
Clutter:Theclutterclassonwhichthemobileislocated.
PathTo:Thenameofthepotentialtransmitter.
Value(dB):TheshadowingvalueforthepotentiallinkinthecorrespondingPathTocolumn.Thesevaluesdepend
onthemodelstandarddeviationpercluttertypeonwhichthereceiverislocatedandarerandomlydistributedon
agaussiancurve.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobaltransmitterparameters:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

650

Thespreadingwidth
Whetherthepowervaluesonthedownlinkareabsoluteorrelativetothepilot
Thedefaultuplinksofthandovergain
WhethertheMRCinsofter/softisdefinedornot
ThemethodsusedtocalculateI0andNt
Parametersforcompressedmode
ThemethodsusedtocalculateNtandCQIforHSDPA.
Themaximumnumberofiterations
Theglobalscalingfactor
Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Theuplinkanddownlinkconvergencethresholds
Thesimulationconstraintssuchasmaximumpower,themaximumnumberofchannelelements,themaxi
mumIubthroughputs,theuplinkloadfactorandthemaximumload
Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

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Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

7.3.4.6 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage641,youcandisplaytheaverage
resultsofthegroup.Ifyouwanttodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationofagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingle
Simulation"onpage644.
Toaccesstheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
4. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthegroupofsimulations.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogboxcontainsimu
lationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveragedandasastandarddeviation.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Request:UnderRequest,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaservice.TheULandDLthroughputsthatalluserscould
theoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andULandDLthrough
puts)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataontheconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
includerejectedusersonly.Thesefiguresaredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthe
networkdesign.
Thenumberandthepercentageofdelayedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonfordelay.
ThenumberandpercentageofR99bearerusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperfrequencyband
formultibandnetworks,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andthetotalULandDLthroughputsthey
generate.ThesefiguresincludeR99usersaswellasHSDPAandHSPAusers(sinceallofthemrequestanR99
bearer);theyaredeterminedintheR99partofthealgorithm.Thisdataisalsoprovidedbyservice.
ThetotalnumberandthepercentageofconnecteduserswithanHSDPAbearer,thenumberofusersper
frequencybandformultibandnetworks,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andDLtotalthroughputthat
theygenerate.HSDPAandHSPAserviceusersareconsideredsincetheyallrequestanHSDPAbearer.
ThetotalnumberofconnectedHSUPAbearerusersandthepercentageofuserswithanHSUPAbearer,the
numberofusersperfrequencybandformultibandnetworks,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andUL
andDLtotalthroughputstheygenerate.OnlyHSPAserviceusersareconsidered.

The Sites (Average) and Sites (Standard Deviation) tabs: The Sites (Average) and Sites (Standard Deviation) tabs
containsthefollowingaverageandstandarddeviationinformation,respectively,persite:

MaxNo.ofDLandULCEs:ThemaximumnumberofchannelelementsavailableonuplinkanddownlinkforR99
bearersrequestedbytheusers.
No.ofDLandULCEsUsed:ThenumberofchannelelementsrequiredonuplinkanddownlinkforR99bearersto
handlethetrafficofcurrentsimulation.
No.ofDLandULCEsDuetoSHOOverhead:Thenumberofextrachannelelementsduetosofthandover,on
uplinkanddownlink.
CarrierSelection:Thecarrierselectionmethoddefinedonthesiteequipment.
DownlinkandUplinkOverheadCEs/Cell:Theoverheadchannelelementspercellonthedownlinkandonthe
uplink,definedonthesiteequipment.
ASRestrictedtoNeighbours:Whethertheactivesetisrestrictedtoneighboursofthereferencecell.Thisoption
isselectedonthesiteequipment.
RakeFactor:Therakefactor,definedonthesiteequipment,enablesAtolltomodelarakereceiverondownlink.
MUDFactor:Themultiuserdetectionfactor,definedonthesiteequipment,isusedtodecreaseintracellinter
ferenceonuplink.
CompressedMode:Whethercompressedmodeissupported.Thisoptionisdefinedonthesiteequipment.
MaxIubDownlinkandUplinkBackhaulThroughput(kbps):ThemaximumIubbackhaulthroughputinthedown
linkanduplink.
IubDownlinkandUplinkBackhaulThroughput(kbps):TheIubbackhaulthroughputrequiredondownlinkand
uplinktohandlethetrafficofcurrentsimulation.
OverheadIubThroughput/Cell(kbps):TheIubthroughputrequiredbythecellforcommonchannelsinthedown
link,definedonthesiteequipment.

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HSDPAIubBackhaulOverhead(%):Thisparameterisdefinedonthesiteequipment.Itcorrespondstotheper
centageoftheHSDPAbearerpeakRLCthroughputtobeaddedtothepeakRLCthroughput.Thetotalvaluecor
respondstotheIubbackhaulthroughputrequiredbytheHSDPAbeareruserforHSChannelsinthedownlink.
NbofRecommendedE1/T1/EthernetLink:ThenumberofE1/T1/EthernetlinksrequiredtoprovidethetotalIub
backhaulthroughput.
InstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps).
InstantaneousHSDPAMACThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAMACthroughput(kbps).
DLandULThroughputforEachService:Thethroughputinkbitssforeachservice.

The Cells (Average) and Cells (Standard Deviation) tabs: The Cells (Average) and Cells (Standard Deviation) tabs
containsthefollowingaverageandstandarddeviationinformation,respectively,persite,transmitter,andcarrier:

MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
PilotPower(dBm):Thepilotpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
SCHpower(dBm):TheSCHpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
OtherCCHpower(dBm):Thepowerofothercommonchannels.ItincludestheotherCCHpowerandtheDL
HSUPApowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
AvailableHSDPAPower(dBm):TheavailableHSDPApowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.Thisisthepower
availablefortheHSPDSCHandHSSCCH.ThevalueiseitherfixedbytheuserwhentheHSDPApowerisallocated
statically,orbyasimulationwhentheoptionHSDPAPowerDynamicAllocationisselected.
ASThreshold(dB):Theactivesetthresholdasdefinedincellproperties
Gain(dBi):Thegainasdefinedintheantennapropertiesforthattransmitter.
ReceptionLosses(dB):Thereceptionlossesasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
TransmissionLosses(dB):Thetransmissionlossesasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
NoiseFigure(dB):Thenoisefigureasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties
TotalTransmittedR99Power(dBm):ThetotaltransmittedR99poweristhepowertransmittedbythecellon
commonchannels(Pilot,SCH,otherCCH),HSUPAchannels(EAGCH,ERGCH,andEHICH)andR99trafficdedi
catedchannels.
TransmittedHSDPAPower(dBm):TheHSDPApowertransmittedbythecellonHSDPAchannels.Itcorresponds
totheHSDPApowerusedtoserveHSDPAbearerusers.
TotalTransmittedPower(dBm):ThetotaltransmittedpowerofthecellisthesumofthetotaltransmittedR99
powerandthetransmittedHSDPApower.IfHSDPApowerisallocateddynamically,thetotaltransmittedpower
cannotexceedthemaximumpowerminusthepowerheadroom.
When the constraint "DL load" is set and HSDPA power is statically allocated, the total
transmittedpowercannotexceedthemaximumDLload(definedeitherinthecellproper
ties,orinthesimulation).Ontheotherhand,ifHSDPApowerisallocateddynamically,the
controliscarriedoutontheR99transmittedpower,whichcannotexceedthemaximum
DLload.

652

ULTotalNoise(dBm):Theuplinktotalnoisetakesintoaccountthetotalsignalreceivedatthetransmitterona
carrierfromintraandextracellterminalsusingthesamecarrierandadjacentcarriers(uplinktotalinterference)
andthethermalnoise.
MaxULLoadFactor(%):Themaximumuplinkloadfactorthatthecellcansupport.Itisdefinedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox.
MaxDLLoad(%Pmax):Themaximumpercentageofpowerthatthecellcanuse.Itisdefinedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox.
ULLoadFactor(%):Theuplinkcellloadfactorcorrespondstotheratiobetweentheuplinktotalinterferenceand
theuplinktotalnoise.Iftheconstraint"ULloadfactor"hasbeenselected,ULcellloadfactorisnotallowedto
exceedtheuserdefinedmaximumULloadfactor(eitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulationcreationdialog
box).
ULLoadFactorduetoHSUPA(%):TheuplinkcellloadcausedbyHSUPAtraffic.
DLLoadFactor(%):TheDLloadfactorofthecellicorrespondstotheratio(DLaverageinterference[duetotrans
mittersignalsonthesamecarrier]forterminalsinthetransmitteriarea)(DLaveragetotalnoise[duetotrans
mittersignalsandtothermalnoiseofterminals]forterminalsinthetransmitteriarea).
ULandDLNoiseRise(dB):Theuplinkanddownlinknoiserisesarecalculatedfromuplinkanddownlinkloadfac
tors.Thesedataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
DLR99Load(%Pmax):ThepercentageofpowerusedforR99channelsisdeterminedbythetotaltransmitted
R99powermaximumpowerratio(powerstatedinW).Whentheconstraint"DLload"issetandHSDPApoweris
allocateddynamically,theDLR99LoadcannotexceedtheuserdefinedMaxDLLoad(definedeitherinthecell
properties,orinthesimulation).
ReuseFactor(UL):Theuplinkreusefactoristheratiobetweentheuplinktotalinterferenceandtheintracell
interference.
ReuseEfficiencyFactor(UL):Theuplinkreuseefficiencyfactoristhereciprocaloftheuplinkreusefactor.
NumberofULandDLRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinkscorrespondstothenumberofusertransmitterlinks
onthesamecarrier.Thisdataiscalculatedonuplinkandondownlinkandindicatesthenumberofuserscon
nectedtothecellonuplinkanddownlink.Becauseofhandover,asingleusercanuseseveralradiolinks.

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Connection Success Rate (%): The connection success rate gives the ratio of connected users over the total
numberofusersinthecell.
HSDPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):TheHSDPAapplicationthroughputisthenetHSDPAthroughputwithout
coding(redundancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).ItiscalculatedfromtheinstantaneousHSDPAthroughput(i.e.,
theDLobtainedthroughput),theBLER,theHSDPAservicescalingfactorandthethroughputoffset.
Min.HSDPAPeakRLCThroughput(kbps):TheminimumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputcorrespondstothelowest
ofpeakRLCthroughputsobtainedbyHSDPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.ForDCHSPAusers,thisisthe
lowerofthetwominimumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputs.
Max HSDPA Peak RLC Throughput (kbps): The maximum HSDPA peak RLC throughput: It corresponds to the
highestofpeakRLCthroughputsobtainedbyHSDPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.ForDCHSPAusers,this
isthehigherofthetwomaximumHSDPApeakRLCthroughputs.
Avg. Instantaneous HSDPA Throughput (kbps): The average instantaneous HSDPA throughput (kbps) is the
averagenumberofkbitspersecondthatthecellsupportsondownlinktoprovideoneconnecteduserwithan
HSDPAbearer.TheHSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
InstantaneousHSDPAThroughput(kbps):TheinstantaneousHSDPAthroughput(kbps)isthenumberofkbitsper
secondthatthecellsupportsondownlinktoprovidesimultaneousconnecteduserswithanHSDPAbearer.The
HSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
InstantaneousHSDPAMACThroughput(kbps):TheInstantaneousHSDPAMACthroughput(kbps)thatthecell
carries.TheHSDPAthroughputofDCHSPAusersisthesumoftheirHSDPAthroughputsonbothcells.
No. of Simultaneous HSDPA Users: The number of simultaneous HSDPA users corresponds to the number of
HSDPAbearerusersthatthecellsupportsatatime,i.e.withinonetimetransmissioninterval.Alltheseusersare
connectedtothecellattheendofthesimulationHSDPApart;theyhaveaconnectionwiththeR99bearerandan
HSDPAbearer.DCHSPAusersareconsideredonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofHSDPAUsers:ThenumberofHSDPAusersincludetheconnectedanddelayedHSDPAbearerusers.DC
HSPAusersareconsideredonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofHSUPAUsers:ThenumberofHSUPAbearerusersconnectedtothecell.
HSUPAApplicationThroughput(kbps):ThisisthenetHSUPAthroughputwithoutcoding(redundancy,overhead,
addressing,etc.).
HSUPAULLoadFactor(%):TheuplinkcellloadcausedbyHSUPAtraffic.
No.ofCodes(512Bits):ThenumberofOVSFcodesusedpercell.
Thetypesofhandoverasapercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandovertypesforeachtransmitter.
Atollonlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoverstatus,nohandover(11),softer(12),soft(22),softersoft
(23)andsoftsoft(33)handovers;theotherhandoverstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
R99ULandDLThroughput(kbps):TheuplinkanddownlinkR99throughputsrepresentthenumbersofkbitsper
seconddeliveredbythecellrespectivelyonuplinkandondownlinktosupplyuserswithaR99bearer.Alltheradio
linksinthecell,i.e.,linksduetohandover,aretakenintoaccountinthethroughputcalculation.
R99ULandDLThroughputWithoutHO(kbps):TheuplinkanddownlinkR99throughputsrepresentthenumbers
ofkbitsperseconddeliveredbythecellrespectivelyonuplinkandondownlinktosupplyuserswithaR99bearer.
Onlythelinkswiththebestserveraretakenintoaccountinthecalculationofthroughput.
MinTCHPwr(dBm):Theminimumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
MaxTCHPwr(dBm):Themaximumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
AvgTCHPwr:Theaveragepowerallocatedtoatrafficchanneltosupplyservices.
Nonconnectedusers:Thenumberofrejectedanddelayeduserspercell.Rejectedusersaresortedbythefol
lowingreasons:Pmob>PmobMax,Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min.,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,
DL Load Saturation, Code Saturation, Admission Rejection, HSDPA Delayed, HSDPA Scheduler Saturation,
HSDPAResourceSaturation,HSUPAAdmissionRejection,HSUPASchedulerSaturationandIubThroughputSat
uration.DelayedusersareregroupedunderHSDPADelayed.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%)ForEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivestheratioofcon
nectedusersoverthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobaltransmitterparameters:

Thespreadingwidth
Whetherthepowervaluesonthedownlinkareabsoluteorrelativetothepilot
Thedefaultuplinksofthandovergain
WhethertheMRCinsofter/softisdefinedornot
ThemethodsusedtocalculateI0andNt
Parametersforcompressedmode
ThemethodsusedtocalculateNtandCQIforHSDPA.

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthegroupofsimulations:

Themaximumnumberofiterations
Theglobalscalingfactor
Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Theuplinkanddownlinkconvergencethresholds
Thesimulationconstraintssuchasmaximumpower,themaximumnumberofchannelelements,theuplink
loadfactorandthemaximumload

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Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

7.3.4.7 UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage641,youcan
updatevaluesforeachcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.Thefollowingvaluesareupdated:

TotalTransmittedPower
ULLoadFactor
ULReuseFactor
AvailableHSDPAPower
NumberofHSDPAUsers
ULLoadFactorduetoHSUPA
NumberofHSUPAUsers.

Toupdatecellvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. Displaythesimulationresults:
Todisplaytheresultsforagroupofsimulations:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

c. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
d. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthegroupofsimulations.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogboxcontainsimu
lationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveragedandasastandarddeviation.
Todisplaytheresultsforasinglesimulation:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.

c. ClicktheExpandbutton(
youwanttoaccess.

)toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresults

d. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheCellstab.
3. OntheCellstab,clickCommitResults.Thefollowingvaluesareupdatedforeachcell:

TotalTransmittedPower
ULLoadFactor
ULReuseFactor
AvailableHSDPAPower
NumberofHSDPAUsers
ULLoadFactorduetoHSUPA
NumberofHSUPAUsers.

7.3.4.8 AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Whenyouhavecreatedasimulationorgroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimula
tionstotheAtolldocument.InAtoll,therearethefollowingwaysofaddingnewsimulations:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroup.Itthengeneratesanewuser
distributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddoneormoresimulationstoagroup,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage655.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distribution between simulations is different. Traffic parameter changes (such as maximum and minimum traffic
channelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)canbetakenintoaccount.Finally,radiodatamodifications(new
transmitters, changes to the antenna azimuth, etc.) are always taken into account during the power control (or
throughput/powercontrol)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaGroupofSimulations"onpage655.

654

UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0)Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu

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tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However,anymodificationstotrafficparameters(suchas,maximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,
EbNtthresholds,etc.)andradiodata(newtransmitter,azimuth,etc.)aretakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrol
simulation.
Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationtoagroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"CreatingaNew
SimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber"onpage656.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesthenewgroupwiththesamesimula
tionparametersastheonesusedtogeneratetheoriginalgroup.Youcanthenmodifythesimulationparameters
beforecalculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage656.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoaddasimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

6. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

ReplayingaGroupofSimulations
Toreplayagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,someparametersoriginallyusedtocalcu
latethegroupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparam
eterscanbechangedforthereplayedgroup.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
FromtheInformationtoretainlist,selectthelevelofdetailthatwillbeavailableintheoutputasexplainedin
"CreatingSimulations"onpage641.
UnderLoadconstraints,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulationasexplainedin
"CreatingSimulations"onpage641.
UnderBearerNegotiation,checktheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttopermitbearerdowngrading
duringthesimulation.

6. OntheTraffictabofthedialogbox,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccount
trafficparameterchanges(suchasmaximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)in
thereplayedsimulation.

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7. OntheAdvancedtab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

MaxNumberofIterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
ULConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
uplinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
downlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

8. ClickCalculate.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewSimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
5. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Theintegermustbethesame
generatorinitialisationnumberasusedinthegroupofsimulationswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributions
youwanttouseinthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerror
distributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillbe
usedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
6. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage641.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"Duplicatinga
SimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage656.
DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimulationsappears.
Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage641.

7.3.4.9 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesitu
ationyouarecreatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformance
ofthenetworkagainstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironment
anduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Createasimulationorgroupofsimulationsby:

Creatinganewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasdescribedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage641.
Duplicatinganexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasdescribedin"AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDoc
ument"onpage654.

2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

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7.3.5 AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation
InAtoll,youhaveseveralmethodsavailabletohelpyouanalysesimulationresults.Youcanmakeanactivesetanalysisofa
realtimeprobeuseroryoucanmakeapredictionwhereeachpixelisconsideredasaprobeuserwithadefinedterminal,
mobility,andservice.Theanalysesarebasedonasinglesimulationoronanaveragedgroupofsimulations.
Youcanfindinformationontheanalysismethodsinthefollowingsections:

"MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults"onpage657
"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage657.

7.3.5.1 MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults
ThePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonreceptionforanypointonthemap.TheASAnalysisviewgivesyouinfor
mationonthepilotquality(EcI0)(whichisthemainparameterusedtodefinethemobileactiveset),theconnectionstatus,
andtheactivesetoftheprobemobile.AnalysisisbasedontheULloadpercentageandtheDLtotalpowerofcells.Inthis
case,theseparameterscanbeeitheroutputsofagivensimulation,oraveragevaluescalculatedfromagroupofsimulations.
Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobilityandaservice.
Forinformationonthecriteriaforbelongingtotheactiveset,see"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage705.
BeforeyoumakeanASanalysis:

EnsurethesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttouseintheASanalysisisdisplayedonthemap.
Replaythesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttouseifyouhavemodifiedradioparameterssinceyoumade
thesimulation.
TheASanalysisdoesnottakepossiblenetworksaturationintoaccount.Therefore,there
isnoguaranteethatasimulatedmobilewiththesamereceivercharacteristicscanverify
thepointanalysis,simplybecausethesimulatednetworkcanbesaturated.

TomakeanASanalysisofsimulationresults:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappears.(seeFigure7.14).

2. SelecttheASAnalysisviewatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow.
3. AtthetopoftheASAnalysisview,selectthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttobasetheASanalysison
fromtheLoadConditionslist.
4. SelecttheTerminal,Service,andMobility.
5. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.

6. Selectorclearthefollowingoptions:

Whethershadowingistobetakenintoaccount(and,ifso,thecelledgecoverageprobability).
Whetherindoorcoverageistobetakenintoaccount.
Whetherdowngradingisallowed.

7. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
8. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeanactivesetanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Asyoumovethepointer,Atollindicatesonthemapwhichisthebestserverforthecurrentposition(seeFigure7.27
onpage590).
InformationonthecurrentpositionisgivenontheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindow.SeeFigure7.28on
page590foranexplanationofthedisplayedinformation.
9. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
10. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

7.3.5.2 MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults
Whennosimulationsareavailable,AtollusestheULloadfactor,theDLtotalpower,theULreusefactor,theavailableHSDPA
power,thenumberofHSDPAbearerusers,thenumberofHSUPAbearerusers,andtheULloadfactorduetoHSUPAdefined
foreachcelltomakecoveragepredictions.Forinformationoncellproperties,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529;
forinformationonmodifyingcellproperties,see"CellDescription"onpage525.
Onceyouhavemadesimulations,Atollcanusethisinformationinsteadofthedefinedparametersinthecellpropertiesto
makecoveragepredictionswhereeachpixelisconsideredasaprobeuserwithaterminal,mobility,profile,andservice.For

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eachcoveragepredictionbasedonsimulationresults,youcanbasethecoveragepredictiononaselectedsimulationorona
groupofsimulations,choosingeitheranaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegrouporastatisticalanalysisbasedona
definedprobability.Tobeabletobaseacoveragepredictiononasimulationorgroupofsimulations,thesimulationmust
haveconverged.
Thecoveragepredictionsthatcanusesimulationresultsare:

Coveragepredictionsonthepilotoronaservice:

Coveragepredictionsonnoiseandinterference:

HandoffZones(DL):ForinformationonmakingaHandoffZones(DL),see"MakingaHandoffStatusCoveragePre
diction"onpage577.

AnHSDPApredictiontoanalyseADPCHqualities,HSSCCHpowerorqualityperHSSCCHchannelandtomodelfast
linkadaptation.

CoveragebyTotalNoiseLevel(DL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragebytotalnoiselevel,see"Studyingthe
TotalNoiseLevelontheDownlink"onpage574.
PilotPollutionAnalysis(DL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragebypilotpolluter,see"StudyingPilotPollution"
onpage575.

Ahandoverstatuscoveragepredictiontoanalysemacrodiversityperformance:

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL):Forinformationonmakingapilotqualityanalysis,see"StudyingPilotSignalQuality"
onpage568.
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragepredictiononthedownlinkservicearea,
see"StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage569.
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragepredictionontheuplinkservicearea,
see"StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage569.
EffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL+UL):Forinformationonmakingaeffectiveserviceareaanalysis,see
"StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage571.

HSDPA Qualityand Throughput Analysis (DL): For information on making an HSDPAcoverage prediction, see
"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579.

An HSUPA predictions prediction to analyse the required EDPDCH Ec/Nt, the required terminal power, and the
obtainedHSUPAbearer.

HSUPAQualityandThroughputAnalysis(UL):ForinformationonmakinganHSUPAcoverageprediction,see
"HSUPACoveragePredictions"onpage581.

Theproceduresforthecoveragepredictionsassumethatsimulationresultsarenotavailable.Whennosimulationsareavail
able,youselect"(CellsTable)"fromtheLoadConditionslist,ontheConditionstab.However,whensimulationsareavailable
youcanbasethecoveragepredictionononesimulationoragroupofsimulations.
Tobaseacoveragepredictiononasimulationorgroupofsimulations,whensettingtheparameters:
1. ClicktheConditionstab.
2. FromtheLoadConditionslist,selectthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwanttobasethecoverage
prediction.
3. IfyouselectagroupofsimulationsfromtheLoadConditionslist,selectoneofthefollowing:

All:IfyouselectAlltomakeastatisticalanalysisofallsimulationsbasedonthedefinedProbability(theprobability
mustbefrom0to1).Thiswillmakeaglobalanalysisofallsimulationsinagroupandwithanevaluationofthe
networkstabilityintermsoffluctuationsintraffic.
Average:SelectAveragemakethecoveragepredictionontheaverageofthesimulationsinthegroup.

7.4 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigningUMTSnetworkstoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimal
networksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.TheACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistofcandidatesites
ortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanalsobeusedincoplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferent
radioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandcellpilotpower.ACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitialplanning
stageofaUMTSnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.ACPnotonly
takestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.
AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.

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ACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyouhave
definedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithmtotest
manynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.TheACPpresentsthechanges
orderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetofthe
suggestedchanges.
TheACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecifictoUMTSnetworksareexplained:

"UMTSOptimisationObjectives"onpage659
"UMTSQualityParameters"onpage659
"UMTSQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage660.

7.4.1 UMTSOptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetworkreconfiguration.Theobjec
tivesaredependentonthetechnologyusedbytheprojectandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsin
Atoll.InprojectsusingUMTS,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingobjectivesareproposedby
default:

UMTSRSCPcoverage
UMTSEcIo

YoucanalsocreatethefollowingobjectivesfromthecontextmenuofObjectivesinthelefthandpaneoftheObjectivestab:

UMTSRSSI
UMTSPilotPollution
UMTSSoftHandover
UMTS1stNthDifference
CustomCoverage

YoudefinetheoptimisationobjectivesusingtheObjectivestaboftheACPSetupdialogbox.Forinformationonsettingobjec
tiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.

7.4.2 UMTSQualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownmaps.However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptions
ofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeused
asthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.
InprojectsusingUMTS,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingQualityparametersareproposed
inthePixelRulesframeoftheobjectivespropertiespages:

RSCP
EcIo
Overlap
BestServerDistance
1st2ndDifference
1stNthDifference
RSSI

TodefinethequalityparametersforUMTS:
1. OpentheSetupPropertiesdialogboxtodefinetheoptimisationasexplainedin"CreatinganOptimisationSetup"on
page1767.
2. ClicktheObjectivestab.
3. UnderParameters,expandUMTS.
Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfiguration.Ifyou
basethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcoloursdefined
intheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfile
forACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverage
prediction.ForinformationonsettingACPpredictiondisplayoptionsasthedefault,see"ChangingtheDisplayProp
erties of ACP Predictions" on page1824. For information on saving a configuration file, see "Configuring Default
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4. ClickonRSSItodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSSI:

Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofRSSIthroughgainandlosses(i.e.,the
servicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).

5. ClickonRSCPtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSCP.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyRSCPusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.

6. ClickonEcIotodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyEcIo.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyEc/Iousingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.MacrodiversityisalsotakenintoaccountduringEcIocalculation.Additionally,you
canspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofEcIothroughgainandlosses(i.e.,the
servicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).

7. ClickonOverlap/1stNthtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverageandcov
erageby1stNthdifference.
Overlappingcoverage:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverage,selectwhattheobjectiveevaluation
willbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluateoverlappingcoverageusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoveragepredic
tion.OnlycoveragepredictionsdisplayingaNumberofServersperpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandanOverlapthreshold
margin.

Coverageby1stNthdifference:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluatecoverageby1stNthdifference,selectwhatthe
objectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluatecoverageby1stNthdifferencebasedontheparametersusedtocalculatetheselectedprediction.
OnlyAtollpredictionsdisplayinga"NumberofServers"perpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
SincethereisnocoveragepredictiontypeinAtollequivalenttoACPsUMTS1stNthDifferenceobjective,the
parametersrecoveredbyACPfromtheselectedAtollpredictionarelimitedtotheminimumsignalleveland
thepredictionshading.ThenumberofserversmustalwaysbespecifiedmanuallynexttoNo.servers.

Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandtheNo.servers.

Inbothcases,thevalueyouspecifynexttoNo.serversdetermines"Nth"intheUMTS1stNthDifferenceobjec
tive.ForinstanceifyousetNo.serversto4,thenthe"1st4thDifference"qualityparameterwillbeautomatically
selectedbydefaultintheQualitycolumnoftheUMTS1stNthDifferencepropertiespage.

AllowedvaluesforNo.serversrangefrom3to100,withonlyonevalueavailablepertechnology.
The"1st2ndDifference"qualityparameter(basedonNo.servers=2)isprovidedbydefault.

7.4.3 UMTSQualityAnalysisPredictions
ThequalityanalysispredictionsenableyoutodisplaytheRSCPandEcIoqualitypredictionsintheAtollmapwindow.These
predictionsarethesameasthosedisplayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.

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ThequalityanalysispredictionscreatedinACPareequivalenttothosecreatedbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions.The
correspondencetablebelowshowstheACPpredictionsandtheirequivalentsinAtoll.

QualityAnalysisPredictioninACP

EquivalentPredictioninAtoll
FieldsettingforDisplayType="ValueIntervals"

RSSI

TotalNoiseLevelAnalysis(DL)(1)
"MaxNoiseLevel(dBm)"

RSCP

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)(2)
"BestSignalLevel(dBm)"

EcIo

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL)(3)
"Ec/Io(dB)"

Overlap

OverlappingZones(DL)(4)
"NumberofServers"

(1) Formoreinformation,see"StudyingtheTotalNoiseLevelontheDownlink"onpage574andthe"AtollandACP

PredictionMatching"sectionintheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
(2)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage556.
(3)Formoreinformation,see"CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths"onpage668.
(4)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage559.

Making these predictions available within ACP enables you to quickly validate the optimisation results without having to
committheresultsandthencalculateacoveragepredictioninAtoll.TheACPpredictionsdisplayresultsverysimilartothose
thatAtollwoulddisplayifyoucommittedtheoptimisationresultsandcalculatedAtollcoveragepredictions,however,before
basinganydecisiontocommittheoptimisationresultsonthepredictionsproducedbyACP,youshouldkeepthefollowing
recommendationsinmind:

Youshouldverifytheresultswithadifferentcoverageprediction,suchasthepilotpollutionanalysis.
ACPgeneratedpredictionsaregeneratedusingtheentiresetofproposedchanges.Theydonottakeintoaccountthe
changesubsetdefinedontheChangeDetailstab.
MultiplecarrieroptimisationissupportedinUMTS.Howeverthepredictionsareprovidedseparatelyforeachcarrier.
Evenaftercommittingtheoptimisationresults,differencescanremainbetweentheACPpredictionsandthepredic
tionsresultingfromAtollcoveragepredictions.

YoucanviewtheexactRSCPandEcIovaluesonanypixelbylettingthepointerrestoverthepixel.TheRSCPorEcIovalueis
thendisplayedintiptext.
ForACPOverlappingZonespredictions,youcanspecifythebestserverthreshold:

byenteringavaluenexttoMinimumSignalLevelintheOverlap/1stNthpropertiespage.
orbysettingthe"param.umts.overlap.minRxLevel"parameterwiththesamevalueintheACP.inifile.

Figure7.49:Examplesofanoverlappingzonesprediction(left)andanEcIovariationprediction(right)

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Foreachnetworkqualitycoverageprediction,ACPoffersapredictionshowingtheinitialnetworkstate,thefinalnetwork
state,andapredictionshowingthechangesbetweentheinitialandfinalstates.

7.5 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
AnimportantstepintheprocessofcreatingaUMTSHSPAnetworkisverifyingthecapacityofthenetwork.Thisisdoneusing
measurementsofthestrengthofthepilotsignalindifferentlocationswithintheareacoveredbythenetwork.Thiscollection
ofmeasurementsiscalledadrivetestdatapath.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage662
"DisplayingDriveTestData"onpage665
"DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath"onpage665
"NetworkVerification"onpage665
"ExportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage672
"ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData"onpage673
"PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow"onpage673.

7.5.1 ImportingaDriveTestDataPath
InAtoll,youcananalysedrivetestsbyimportingdrivetestdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(withtabs,commas,semicolons,
orspacesasseparator),TEMSFICSPlanetexportfiles(withtheextensionPLN),orTEMStextexportfiles(withtheextension
FMT).
ForAtolltobeabletousethedatainimportedfiles,theimportedfilesmustcontainthefollowinginformation:

Thepositionofdrivetestdatapoints.Whenyouimportthedata,youmustindicatewhichcolumnsgivetheabscissa
andordinate(XYcoordinates)ofeachpoint.
Informationidentifyingscannedcells(forexample,servingcells,neighbourcells,oranyothercells).Cellscanbeiden
tifiedbytheirIDsorscramblingcodes.

Youcanimportasingledrivetestdatafileorseveraldrivetestdatafilesatthesametime.Ifyouregularlyimportdrivetest
datafilesofthesameformat,youcancreateanimportconfiguration.Theimportconfigurationcontainsinformationthat
definesthestructureofthedatainthedrivetestdatafile.Byusingtheimportconfiguration,youwillnotneedtodefinethe
datastructureeachtimeyouimportanewdrivetestdatafile.
Toimportoneorseveraldrivetestdatafiles:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. Youcanimportoneorseveralfiles.Selectthefileorfilesyouwanttoopen.
Ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile,youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirst
fileyouwanttoimport,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.You
canselectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfileyouwanttoimport.
5. ClickOpen.TheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogboxappears.
FileswiththeextensionPLN,aswellassomeFMTfiles(createdwithpreviousversionsof
TEMS)areimporteddirectlyintoAtoll;youwillnotbeaskedtodefinethedatastructure
usingtheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.
6. Ifyoualreadyhaveanimportconfigurationdefiningthedatastructureoftheimportedfileorfiles,youcanselectit
fromtheImportconfigurationlistontheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.Ifyoudonothave
animportconfiguration,continuewithstep7.
a. UnderImportconfiguration,selectanimportconfigurationfromtheImportconfigurationlist.
b. Continuewithstep10.

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Whenimportingadrivetestdatapathfile,existingconfigurationsareavailablein
theFilesoftypelistoftheOpendialogbox,sortedaccordingtotheirdateofcre
ation.AfteryouhaveselectedafileandclickedOpen,Atollautomaticallyproposes
aconfiguration,ifitrecognisestheextension.Ifseveralconfigurationsareassoci
atedwithanextension,Atollchoosesthefirstconfigurationinthelist.
Thedefinedconfigurationsarestored,bydefault,inthefile"NumMeasINIFile.ini",
locatedinthedirectorywhereAtollisinstalled.FormoreinformationontheNum
MeasINIFile.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthenewdrivetestdatapathaftertheimportedfile.Youcanchangethisnameif
desired.
UnderReceiver,settheHeightofthereceiverantennaandtheGainandLosses.
UnderMeasurementConditions,

Units:Selectthemeasurementunitsused.
Coordinates:Bydefault,AtollimportsthecoordinatesusingthedisplaysystemoftheAtolldocument.Ifthe
coordinatesusedinthefileyouareimportingaredifferentthanthecoordinatesusedintheAtolldocument,
youmustclicktheBrowsebuttonandselectthecoordinatesystemusedinthedrivetestdatafile.Atollwill
thenconvertthedataimportedtothecoordinatesystemusedintheAtolldocument.

8. ClicktheSetuptab(seeFigure7.50).

Figure7.50:TheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox
a. UnderFile,enterthenumberofthe1stMeasurementRow,selectthedataSeparator,andselecttheDecimal
Symbolusedinthefile.
b. ClicktheSetupbuttontolinkfilecolumnsandinternalAtollfields.TheDriveTestDataSetupdialogboxappears.
c. UnderMeasurementpointposition,selectthecolumnsintheimportedfilethatgivetheXCoordinatesandthe
YCoordinatesofeachpointinthedrivetestdatafile.
YoucanalsoidentifythecolumnscontainingtheXYcoordinatesofeachpointinthedrive
testdatafilebyselectingthemfromtheFieldrowofthetableontheSetuptab.

d. IfyouareimportingdatathatusestheIDascellidentifier:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByID.

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ii. IntheByIDidentifierbox,enterastringfoundinthecolumnnameidentifyingthecellIDsofscannedcells.
Forexample,ifthestring"Cell_ID"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthecellIDofscannedcells,enter
ithere.Atollwillthensearchforthecolumnwiththisstringinthecolumnname.
e. Ifyouareimportingdatathatusesscramblingcodesascellidentifiers:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByscramblingcode.

ii. IntheScramblingcodeidentifierbox,enterastringthatisfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthescram
blingcodeofscannedcells.Forexample,ifthestring"SC"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthescram
blingcodeofscannedcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforcolumnswiththisstringinthecolumn
name.
iii. IntheScramblingcodeformatlist,selectthescramblingcodeformat,"Decimal"or"Hexadecimal."
iv. IntheScramblingcodegroupidentifierbox,enterastringthatmustbefoundinthecolumnnamesidentifying
thescramblingcode groupof scanned cells.For example, if the string "SC_Group"is found in the column
namesidentifyingthescramblingcodegroupofscannedcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforcolumns
withthisstringinthecolumnname.
Ifthereisnoscramblingcodegroupinformationcontainedinthedrivetestdatafile,leavetheScrambling
codegroupidentifierboxempty.
v. Ifyouareimportingdrivetestdataforaspecificcarrier,selectthecarrierforwhichyouareimportingthedrive
testdataintheCarriernumberlist.Ifyouareimportingdrivetestdataformorethanonecarrier,select"All".
f. ClickOKtoclosetheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox.

IfyouhavecorrectlyenteredtheinformationunderFileontheSetuptab,andthe
necessaryvaluesintheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox,Atollshouldrecogniseall
columnsintheimportedfile.Ifnot,youcanclickthenameofthecolumninthe
tableintheFieldrowandselectthecolumnname.Foreachfield,youmustensure
thateachcolumnhasthecorrectdatatypeinorderforthedatatobecorrectly
interpreted.ThedefaultvalueunderTypeis"<Ignore>".Ifacolumnismarkedwith
"<Ignore>",itwillnotbeimported.
Thedatainthefilemustbestructuredsothatthecolumnsidentifyingthescram
blingcodegroupandthescramblingcodeareplacedbeforethedatacolumnsfor
eachcell.OtherwiseAtollwillnotbeabletoproperlyimportthefile.

9. Ifyouwanttosavethedefinitionofthedatastructuresothatyoucanuseitagain,youcansaveitasanimportcon
figuration:
a. OntheSetuptab,underImportconfiguration,clickSave.TheConfigurationdialogboxappears.
b. Bydefault,Atollsavestheconfigurationinafilecalled"NumMeasINIfile.ini"foundinAtollsinstallationfolder.If
youcannotwriteintothatfolder,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontochooseadifferentlocation.
c. EnteraConfigurationNameandanExtensionofthefilesthatthisimportconfigurationwilldescribe(forexample,
"*.csv").
d. ClickOK.
Atollwillnowselectthisimportconfigurationautomaticallyeverytimeyouimportadrivetestdatapathfilewith
theselectedextension.Ifyouimportafilewiththesamestructurebutadifferentextension,youwillbeableto
selectthisimportconfigurationfromtheConfigurationlist.

Youdonothavetocompletetheimportproceduretosavetheimportconfigura
tionandhaveitavailableforfutureuse.
WhenimportingaCWmeasurementfile,youcanexpandtheNumMeasINIfile.ini
filebyclickingtheExpandbutton( )infrontofthefileunderImportconfigura
tiontodisplayalltheavailableimportconfigurations.Whenselectingtheappro
priateconfiguration,theassociationsareautomaticallymadeinthetableatthe
bottomofthedialogbox.
Youcandeleteanexistingimportconfigurationbyselectingtheimportconfigura
tionunderImportconfigurationandclickingtheDeletebutton.

10. ClickImport,ifyouareonlyimportingasinglefile,orImportAll,ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile.Themobile
dataisimportedintothecurrentAtolldocument.

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7.5.2 DisplayingDriveTestData
WhenyouhaveimportedthedrivetestdataintothecurrentAtolldocument,youcandisplayitinthemapwindow.Then,
youcanselectindividualdrivetestdatapointstoseeinformationabouttheactivesetatthatlocation.
Todisplayinformationaboutasingledrivetestdatapoint:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Selectthedisplaycheckboxbesidethedrivetestdatayouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.Thedrivetestdatais
displayed.
4. Clickandholdthedrivetestdatapointonwhichyouwantactivesetinformation.Atolldisplaysanarrowpointing
towardstheservingcells(seeFigure7.55onpage671),withanumberidentifyingtheserverasnumberedinthedrive
testdata.Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumberandthearrowaredisplayedinthesame
colourasthetransmitter. For informationonchangingthedisplaytypeto "Automatic,"see"Defining theDisplay
Type"onpage48.

7.5.3 DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath
YoucanmanagethedisplayofdrivetestdatapathsusingtheDisplaydialogbox.Thepointsonadrivetestdatapathcanbe
displayedaccordingtoanyavailableattribute.YoucanalsousetheDisplaydialogboxtomanagepermanentlabelsonthe
map,tiptextandthelegend.Inotherwords,thedisplayofmeasurementpathscanbedefinedinthesamewayasforsites,
transmitters,etc.
TodisplaytheDisplaytabofadrivetestdatapathsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathwhosedisplayyouwanttomanage.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu,
5. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Eachpointcanbedisplayedbyauniqueattributeoraccordingto:

atextorintegerattribute(discretevalue)
anumericalvalue(valueinterval).

Inaddition,youcandisplaypointsbymorethanonecriterionatatimeusingtheAdvancedoptionintheDisplayTypelist.
WhenyouselectAdvancedfromtheDisplayTypelist,adialogboxopensinwhichyoucandefinethefollowingdisplayfor
eachsinglepointofthemeasurementpath:

asymbolaccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolcolouraccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolsizeaccordingtoanyattribute

Youcan,forexample,displayasignallevelinacertaincolour,chooseasymboltypeforTransmitter1(acircle,triangle,cross,
etc.)andasymbolsizeaccordingtothealtitude.

FastDisplayforcesAtolltousethelightestsymboltodisplaythepoints.Thisispar
ticularlyusefulwhenyouhaveaverylargenumberofpoints.
YoucannotuseAdvancedDisplayiftheFastDisplaycheckboxhasbeenselected.
YoucansortdrivetestdatapathsinalphabeticalorderintheNetworkexplorerby
rightclicking the Drive Test Data Path folder and selecting Sort Alphabetically
fromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethedisplaysettings(suchascoloursandsymbols)ofadrivetestdata
pathinauserconfigurationfiletomakethemavailableforuseonanotherdrive
testdatapath.Tosaveorloadtheuserconfigurationfile,clicktheActionsbutton
ontheDisplaytabofthepathpropertiesdialogboxandselectSaveorLoadfrom
theDisplayConfigurationsubmenu.

7.5.4 NetworkVerification
TheimporteddrivetestdataisusedtoverifytheUMTSHSPAnetwork.Toimprovetherelevanceofthedata,Atollallowsyou
tofilteroutincompatibleorinaccuratepoints.Youcanthenusethedataforcoveragepredictions,eitherbycomparingthe
importedmeasurementswithpreviouslycalculatedcoveragepredictions,orbycreatingnewcoveragepredictionsusingthe
importeddrivetestdata.

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Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths"onpage666
"PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints"onpage667
"PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints"onpage667
"DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath"onpage670
"ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter"onpage670
"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage671.

7.5.4.1 FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths
Whenusingadrivetestdatapath,somemeasuredpointsmaypresentvaluesthataretoofaroutsideofthemedianvalues
tobeusefulincalibration.Aswell,testpathsmayincludetestpointsinareasthatarenotrepresentativeofthedrivetestdata
pathasawhole.Forexample,atestpaththatincludestwoheavilypopulatedareasmightalsoincludetestpointsfromthe
morelightlypopulatedregionbetweenthetwo.
InAtoll,youcanfilteroutpointsthatareincompatiblewiththepointsyouarestudying,eitherbyfilteringouttheclutter
classeswheretheincompatiblepointsarelocated,orbyfilteringoutpointsaccordingtotheirproperties.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsbyclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheDriveTestDataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

Alldrivetestdatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
Onlyonedrivetestdatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolderandrightclick
thedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints.

Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
4. IntheClutterclasseswindow,underFilter,clearthecheckboxesoftheclutterclassesyouwanttofilterout.Onlythe
clutterclasseswhosecheckboxisselectedwillbetakenintoaccount.
5. Ifyouwanttokeepthemeasurementpointsinsidethefocuszone,selecttheUsefocuszonetofiltercheckbox.
6. Ifyouwanttopermanentlyremovethemeasurementpointsoutsidethefilter,selecttheDeletepointsoutsidefilter
checkbox.
Ifyoupermanentlydeletemeasurementpointsandlaterwanttousethem,youwillhavetoreimporttheoriginal
measurementdata.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsusingafilter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheDriveTestDataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

Alldrivetestdatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
Onlyonedrivetestdatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolderandrightclick
thedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints.

Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
4. ClickMore.TheFilterdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheFiltertab:
a. SelectaFieldfromthelist.
b. UnderValuestoinclude,youwillfindallthevaluesrepresentedintheselectedfield.Selectthecheckboxesnext
tothevaluesyouwanttoincludeinthefilter.ClickClearAlltoclearallcheckboxes.
6. ClicktheAdvancedtab:
a. IntheColumnrow,selectthenameofthecolumntobefilteredonfromthelist.Selectasmanycolumnsasyou
want(seeFigure7.51).

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Figure7.51:TheFilterdialogboxAdvancedtab
b. Underneatheachcolumnname,enterthecriteriaonwhichthecolumnwillbefilteredasexplainedinthefollow
ingtable:
Formula

Dataiskeptinthetableonlyif

=X

valueequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<>X

valuenotequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<X

numericalvalueislessthanX

>X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanX

<=X

numericalvalueislessthanorequaltoX

>=X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanorequaltoX

*X*

textobjectswhichcontainX

*X

textobjectswhichendwithX

X*

textobjectswhichstartwithX

7. ClickOKtofilterthedataaccordingtothecriteriayouhavedefined.
Filtersarecombinedfirsthorizontally,thenvertically.Formoreinformationonfilters,see"AdvancedDataFiltering"
onpage101.
8. ClickOKtoapplythefilterandclosethedialogbox.
Youcanupdateheights(oftheDTM,andclutterheights)andtheclutterclassofdrivetest
data points after adding new geographic maps or modifying existing ones by selecting
RefreshGeoDatafromthecontextmenuoftheDriveTestDataPathsfolder.

7.5.4.2 PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints
Topredictthesignallevelondrivetestdatapoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttocreatethepointprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderPointpredictions,selectPointSignalLevelandclickOK.ThePointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogboxappears
(seeFigure7.52).

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Figure7.52:PointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogbox
Theerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevelscanbecalculatedandaddedtothedrivetestdatatable.
6. Ifyouwanttocalculateerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,underSelectsignallevelsforerrorcal
culations,selectthenamesofthecolumnsrepresentingmeasuredsignallevelvaluesinthedrivetestdatatablefor
whichyouwanttocalculatetheerrors(seeFigure7.53).Ifyoudonotwanttoaddthisinformationtothedrivetest
datatable,continuewithstep7.

Figure7.53:SelectingMeasuredSignalLevelsforwhichErrorswillbeCalculated
7. ClickOK.Anewpointpredictioniscreatedfortheselecteddrivetestdatapath.
8. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapath.Thecontextmenuappears.
9. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
IfyouchosetohaveAtollcalculatetheerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,newcolumnsareaddedtothe
drive test data table for the predicted point signal level from the serving cell and the errors between the measured and
predictedvalues.

Figure7.54:DriveTestDataTableafterPointSignalLevelPrediction(withErrorCalculations)
New columns are also added for the predicted point signal level from each neighbour cell and the errors between the
predictedandmeasuredvalues.ThevaluesstoredinthesecolumnscanbedisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.For
moreinformationontheDriveTestDataanalysistool,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage671.
Thepropagationmodelusedtocalculatethepredictedpointsignallevelsistheoneassignedtothetransmitterforthemain
matrix.Formoreinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

7.5.4.3 CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths
Youcancreatethefollowingcoveragepredictionsforalltransmittersoneachpointofadrivetestdatapath:

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PilotQualityAnalysis(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(UL)

Tocreateacoveragepredictionalongadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatatowhichyouwanttoaddacoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderStandardPredictions,selectoneofthefollowingcoveragepredictionsandclickOK:

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.
Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
conditions.In thiscase,Atollcalculatesthecoverageprediction using theUL loadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwantthepilotsignalqualitypredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobecalculated.UnderServer,youcan
selectwhethertocalculatethesignallevelfromalltransmitters,oronlythebestorsecondbestsignal.Ifyou
choosetocalculatethebestorsecondbestsignal,youcanenteraMargin.IfyouselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.YoucanselecttheIndoorCover
agecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.Finally,youcan
selecttheCarriertobestudied.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.
Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
conditions.In thiscase,Atollcalculatesthecoverageprediction using theUL loadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(Eb/Nt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowing
takenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(UL):ClicktheConditionstab.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.
Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
conditions.In thiscase,Atollcalculatesthecoverageprediction using theUL loadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage561.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(Eb/Nt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowing
takenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

6. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthecoverageprediction,clickOK.
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbyrepeatingtheprocedurefromstep1.tostep6.foreachnewcoverage
prediction.

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7. Whenyouhavefinishedcreatingnewcoveragepredictionsforthesedrivetestdata,rightclickthedrivetestdata.The
contextmenuappears.
8. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
Anewcolumnforeachcoveragepredictionisaddedinthetableforthedrivetestdata.Thecolumncontainsthe
predictedvaluesoftheselectedparametersforthetransmitter.Thepropagationmodelusedistheoneassignedto
thetransmitterforthemainmatrix(forinformationonthepropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandProp
agationModels).
YoucandisplaytheinformationinthesenewcolumnsintheDriveTestDatawindow.Formoreinformationonthe
DriveTestDatawindow,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage671.

7.5.4.4 DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath
Assumingsomepredictionshavebeencalculatedalongadrivetestdatapath,youcandisplaythestatisticsbetweenthemeas
uredandthepredictedvaluesonaspecificmeasurementpath.
Todisplaythestatisticsforaspecificdrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttodisplaycomparativestatistics.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Display Statistics from the context menu. The Measurement and Prediction Fields Selection dialog box
appears.
5. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheForthefollowingtransmitterslist.
6. SelectthefieldsthatyouwanttouseforpredictionsfromtheSelectthepredictedvalueslist.Onlyonetypeofvalue
canbecomparedatatime(signallevelorquality).
7. SelectthefieldsthatyouwanttouseforpredictionstheSelectthemeasuredvalueslist.Onlyonetypeofvaluecan
becomparedatatime(signallevelorquality).Themeasuredandtheselectedvalueshavetomatchup.
8. EntertheminimumandmaximumMeasuredValues.Statisticsaredonewithdrivetestdatapointswherethemeas
uredvaluesarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
9. ClickOK.
Atollopensadialogboxinwhichtheglobalstatisticsbetweenmeasurementsandpredictionsaregivenoverallthefiltered
(ornot)pointsofthecurrentdrivetestdatapaththroughthemeanerror,itsstandarddeviation,therootmeansquareand
theerrorcorrelationfactor.Thestatisticsarealsogivenperclutterclass.

7.5.4.5 ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter
Youcanextractaspecificfieldforaspecifictransmitteroneachpointofanexistingdrivetestdatapath.Theextractedinfor
mationwillbeaddedtoanewcolumninthetableforthedrivetestdata.
Toextractafieldfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttoextractafield.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFocusonaTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.TheFieldSelectforaGivenTransmitterdialogboxappears.
5. SelectatransmitterfromtheOntheTransmitterlist.
6. ClicktheFortheFieldslist.Thelistopens.
7. Selectthecheckboxbesidethefieldyouwanttoextractfortheselectedtransmitter.
Atollcandisplaythebestserveranduptosixotherserversintheactiveset.Ifyouwantto
displayforexample,thepointsignallevel,remembertoselectthecheckboxforthepoint
signallevelforallserversintheFortheFieldslist.Thenewcolumnwillthendisplaythe
pointsignallevelfortheselectedtransmitterforallserversifavalueexists.
8. Click OK. Atoll creates a new column in the drive test data path table for the selected transmitters and with the
selectedvalues.

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7.5.4.6 AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath
InAtoll,youcananalysevariationsindataalonganydrivetestdatapathusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.Youcanalsouse
theDriveTestDatawindowtoseewhichcellistheservingcellforagiventestpoint.
ToanalysedatavariationsusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyse.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpentheAnalysisToolfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowappears(seeFigure7.55).

Figure7.55:TheDriveTestDatawindow
5. ClickDisplayatthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.TheDisplayParametersdialogboxappears(seeFigure7.56).

Figure7.56:TheDriveTestDatawindow
6. IntheDisplayParametersdialogbox:

SelectthecheckboxnexttoanyfieldyouwanttodisplayintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Ifyouwant,youcanchangethedisplaycolourbyclickingthecolourintheColourcolumnandselectinganew
colourfromthepalettethatappears.
ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.

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Youcanchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourofmorethanonefieldatatime.Youcan
selectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield
youwanttoimport.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclicking
eachfield.Youcanthenchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourbyrightclickingonthe
selectedfieldsandselectingthechoicefromthecontextmenu.
TheselectedfieldsaredisplayedintheDriveTestDatawindow.
7. Youcandisplaythedatainthedrivetestdatapathintwoways:

ClickthevaluesintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Clickthepointsonthedrivetestdatapathinthemapwindow.

Thedrivetestdatapathappearsinthemapwindowasanarrowpointingtowardstheservingcell,withanumberiden
tifyingthebestserver(seeFigure7.55onpage671).Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumber
andthearrowaredisplayedinthesamecolourasthetransmitter.Forinformationonchangingthedisplaytypeto
"Automatic,"see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
8. YoucandisplayasecondYaxisontherightsideofthewindowinordertodisplaythevaluesofavariablewithdif
ferentordersofmagnitudethantheonesselectedintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.Youcanselectthesecondary
YaxisfromtherighthandlistonthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.Theselectedvaluesaredisplayedinthecol
oursdefinedforthisvariableintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
9. YoucanchangethezoomleveloftheDriveTestDatawindowdisplayintheDriveTestDatawindowinthefollowing
ways:

Zoominorout:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.

ii. SelectZoomInorZoomOutfromthecontextmenu.

Selectthedatatozoominon:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowononeendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.

ii. SelectFirstZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.
iii. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowontheotherendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.
iv. SelectLastZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowzoomsinonthedatabetween
thefirstzoompointandthelastzoompoint.
10. ClickthedataintheDriveTestDatawindowtodisplaytheselectedpointinthemapwindow.Atollwillrecentrethe
mapwindowontheselectedpointifitisnotpresentlyvisible.
IfyouopenthetableforthedrivetestdatayouaredisplayingintheDriveTestData
window,Atollwillautomaticallydisplayinthetablethedataforthepointthatis
displayedinthemapandintheDriveTestDatawindow(seeFigure7.55onpage671).

7.5.5 ExportingaDriveTestDataPath
Youcanexportdrivetestdatapathstovectorfiles.
Toexportadrivetestdatapathtoavectorfile:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. EnteraFilenameforthedrivetestdatapathandselectaformatfromtheSaveastypelist.
6. ClickSave.Thedrivetestdatapathisexportedandsavedinthefile.

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7.5.6 ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData
YoucangenerateCWmeasurementsfromdrivetestdatapathsandextracttheresultstotheCWMeasurementsfolder.
TogenerateCWmeasurementfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExtractCWMeasurementsfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementExtractiondialogboxappears.
5. UnderExtractCWMeasurements:
a. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheForthefollowingtransmitterslist.
b. SelectthefieldthatcontainstheinformationthatyouwanttoexporttoCWmeasurementsfromtheSelectthe
measuredsignallevelslist.
6. UnderExtractionParametersofCWMeasurementPaths:
a. EntertheMin.numberofpointstoextractpermeasurementpath.CWmeasurementsarenotcreatedfortrans
mittersthathavefewerpointsthanthisnumber.
b. EntertheminimumandmaximumMeasuredSignalLevels.CWmeasurementsarecreatedwithdrivetestdata
pointswherethesignallevelsarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
7. ClickOK.AtollcreatesnewCWmeasurementsfortransmitterssatisfyingtheparameterssetintheCWMeasurement
Extractiondialogbox.
FormoreinformationaboutCWmeasurements,seetheModelCalibrationGuide.

7.5.7 PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow
YoucanprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow,usingthecontextmenuintheDriveTestDatawindow.
ToprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyse.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Open the Analysis Tool from the context menu. The Drive Test Data window appears (see Figure7.55 on
page671).
5. Definethedisplayparametersandzoomlevelasexplainedin"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage671.
6. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.Thecontextmenuappears.
ToexporttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
b. OpenthedocumentintowhichyouwanttopastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.
c. PastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindowintothenewdocument.
ToprinttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectPrintfromthecontextmenu.ThePrintdialogboxappears.
b. ClickOKtoprintthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.

7.6 CoplanningUMTSNetworkswithOtherNetworks
Atollisamultitechnologyradionetworkplanningtool.Youcanworkonseveraltechnologiesatthesametime,andseveral
networkscenarioscanbedesignedforanygivenarea:acountry,aregion,acity,etc.Forexample,youcandesignaUMTS
andaGSMnetworkforthesameareainAtoll,andthenworkwithAtollscoplanningfeaturestostudythemutualimpacts
ofthetwonetworks.
BeforestartingacoplanningprojectinAtoll,theAtolladministratormustperformthe
prerequisitetasksthatarerelevantforyourprojectasdescribedintheAdministrator
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Sectorsofbothnetworkscansharethesamesitesdatabase.Youcandisplaybasestations(sitesandsectors),geographicdata,
andcoveragepredictions,etc.,ofonenetworkintheothernetworksAtolldocument.Youcanalsostudyintertechnology
handoversbyperformingintertechnologyneighbourallocations,manuallyorautomatically.Intertechnologyneighboursare
allocatedoncriteriasuchasthedistancebetweensectorsoroverlappingcoverage.Inaddition,youcanoptimisethesettings
ofthetwonetworksusingtheAtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)module.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage674
"WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject"onpage675
"PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation"onpage679
"CreatingaUMTSSectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork"onpage691
"UsingACPinaCoplanningProject"onpage692
"EndingCoplanningMode"onpage693.

7.6.1 SwitchingtoCoplanningMode
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,youmusthavetwonetworksdesignedforagivenarea,i.e.,youmusthaveaUMTSAtoll
documentandanAtolldocumentfortheothernetwork.Atollswitchestocoplanningmodeassoonasthetwodocuments
arelinkedtogether.Inthefollowingsections,theUMTSdocumentwillbereferredtoasthemaindocument,andtheother
documentasthelinkeddocument.Atolldoesnotestablishanyrestrictiononwhichisthemaindocumentandwhichisthe
linkeddocument.
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,makesurethatyourmainandlinkeddocuments
havethesamegeographiccoordinatesystems.

Toswitchtocoplanningmode:
1. Openthemaindocument.

SelectFile>OpenorFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.

2. Linktheotherdocumentwiththeopenmaindocument.
a. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwin
dowshowsthecontentsofthemaindocument.
b. SelectDocument>Link>LinkWith.TheLinkWithdialogboxappears.
c. Selectthedocumenttobelinked.
d. ClickOpen.
TheselecteddocumentisopenedinthesameAtollsessionasthemaindocumentandthetwodocumentsarelinked.
TheexplorerwindowofthemaindocumentnowcontainsafoldernamedTransmittersin[linkeddocument],where
[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocumentandanotherfoldernamedPredictionsin[linkeddocument].
Bydefault,onlytheTransmittersandPredictionsfoldersofthelinkeddocumentappear
inthemaindocument.IfyouwanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthe
maindocumentaswell,youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Forinformationonsetting
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Assoonasalinkiscreatedbetweenthetwodocuments,AtollswitchestocoplanningmodeandAtollscoplanningfeatures
arenowavailable.
When you are working on a coplanning document, Atoll facilitates working on two different but linked documents by
synchronisingthedisplayinthemapwindowbetweenbothdocuments.Atollsyncronisesthedisplayforthefollowing:

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Geographicdata:AtollsynchronisesthedisplayofgeographicdatasuchasclutterclassesandtheDTM.Ifyouselect
ordeselectonetypeofgeographicdata,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Zones:Atollsynchronisesthedisplayoffiltering,focus,computation,hotspot,printing,andgeographicexportzones.
Ifyouselectordeselectonetypeofzone,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Mapdisplay:Atollcoordinatesthedisplayofthemapinthemapwindow.Whenyoumovethemap,orchangethe
zoomlevelinonedocument,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangesinthelinkeddocument.
Pointanalysis:WhenyouusethePointAnalysistool,Atollcoordinatesthedisplayonboththeworkingdocument
andthelinkeddocument.Youcanselectapointandviewtheprofileinthemaindocumentandthenswitchtothe
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DisplayingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument
Afteryouhaveswitchedtocoplanningmodeasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage674,transmittersand
predictionsfromthelinkeddocumentaredisplayedinthemaindocument.Ifyouwant,youcandisplayotheritemsorfolders
fromtheexplorerwindowofthelinkeddocumenttotheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument(e.g.,youcandisplayGSM
sitesandmeasurementpathsinaUMTSdocument).
Todisplaysitesfromthelinkeddocumentinthemaindocument:
1. Click the linked documents map window. The linked documents map window becomes active and the explorer
windowshowsthecontentsofthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMakeAccessibleInfromthecontextmenu,andselectthenameofthemaindocumentfromthesubmenuthat
opens.
TheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumentisnowavailableinthemaindocument.Theexplorerwindowofthemaindocument
nowcontainsafoldernamedSitesin[linkeddocument],where[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocument.Ifyou
wanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthemaindocumentautomatically,youcansetanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtolinkotherfoldersinonedocument,folderssuchasCWMeasurements,DriveTestData,
Clutterclasses,TrafficMaps,andDTM,etc.,intheotherdocument.
Oncethefoldersarelinked,youcanaccesstheirpropertiesandthepropertiesoftheitemsinthefoldersfromeitherofthe
twodocuments.Anychangesyoumakeinthelinkeddocumentaretakenintoaccountintheboththelinkedandmaindocu
ments.However,theonlychangesintheworkingdocumentthataretakenintoaccountinthelinkeddocumentarechanges
madetothelinkedfolders(e.g.,theTransmittersandPredictionsfolders).
Ifyouclosethelinkeddocument,Atolldisplaysawarningicon( )inthemaindocumentsexplorerwindow,andthelinked
itemsarenolongeraccessiblefromthemaindocument.YoucanloadthelinkeddocumentinAtollagainbyrightclickingthe
linkeditemintheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument,andselectingOpenLinkedDocument.
Theadministratorcancreateandsetaconfigurationfileforthedisplayparametersoflinkedandmaindocumenttransmitters
inordertoenableyoutodistinguishthemonthemapandtobeabletoselectthemonthemapusingthemouse.Ifsucha
configurationfilehasnotbeensetup,youcanchoosedifferentsymbols,sizesandcoloursforthelinkedandthemaindocu
menttransmitters.Formoreinformationonfolderconfigurations,see"FolderConfigurations"onpage108.Youcanalsoset
thetiptexttoenableyoutodistinguishtheobjectsanddatadisplayedonthemap.Formoreinformationontiptext,see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Inordertomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthenetworks,youcanalsochangetheorderofthefoldersoritemsinthe
explorerwindow.Formoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheexplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.
Figure7.57showsanexampleofUMTStransmitterswithlabels,andGSMtransmitterdatadisplayedintiptext.

Figure7.57:GSMandUMTSTransmittersdisplayedonthemap

7.6.2 WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject
Atoll provides you with features that enable you to work with coverage predictions in your coplanning project. You can
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predictions in both documents at the same time. You can also study and compare the coverage predictions of the two
networks.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"UpdatingCoveragePredictions"onpage676
"AnalysingCoveragePredictions"onpage676.

7.6.2.1 UpdatingCoveragePredictions
YoucanaccessthepropertiesofthecoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolderinthemaindocumentsexplorer
window.Aftermodifyingthelinkedcoveragepredictionproperties,youcanupdatethemfromthemaindocument.
Toupdatealinkedcoverageprediction:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
4. Rightclickthelinkedcoveragepredictionwhosepropertiesyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. Modifythecalculationanddisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
7. ClickOKtosaveyoursettings.
8. ClicktheCalculatebutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

When you click the Calculate button, Atoll first calculates uncalculated and invalid path loss matrices and then
unlockedcoveragepredictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
WhenyouhaveseveralunlockedcoveragepredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,Atollcalculates
themoneaftertheother.Forinformationonlockingandunlockingcoveragepredictions,see"LockingCoveragePredictions"
onpage225.
Ifyouwant,youcanmakeAtollrecalculateallpathlossmatrices,includingvalidones,beforecalculatingunlockedcoverage
predictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
ToforceAtolltorecalculateallpathlossmatricesbeforecalculatingcoveragepredictions:

ClicktheForceCalculatebutton(

)inthetoolbar.

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculatebutton,Atollfirstremovesexistingpathlossmatrices,recalculatesthemandthen
calculatesunlockedcoveragespredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
TopreventAtollfromcalculatingcoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolder,you
cansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,
seetheAdministratorManual.

7.6.2.2 AnalysingCoveragePredictions
InAtoll,youcananalysecoveragepredictionsofthetwonetworkstogether.Youcandisplayinformationaboutcoverage
predictionsinthemainandthelinkeddocumentsintheLegendwindow,usetiptexttogetinformationondisplayedcoverage
predictions,comparecoverageareasbyoverlayingthecoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow,andstudythedifferences
betweenthecoverageareasbycreatingcoveragecomparisons.
Ifseveralcoveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itmightbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoverageprediction
youwanttoanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheckbox.For
informationonmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

7.6.2.2.1

"CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess"onpage676
"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage677
"ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText"onpage677
"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions"onpage678
"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage679.

CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess
Theaimofcoverageanalysisinacoplanningprojectistocomparethecoverageareasofthetwonetworksandtoanalyse
theimpactofchangesmadeinonenetworkontheother.Changesmadetothesectorsofonenetworkmightalsohavean

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impactonsectorsintheothernetworkifthesectorsinthetwonetworkssharesomeantennaparameters.Youcancarryout
acoverageanalysiswithAtolltofindtheimpactofthesechanges.
Therecommendedprocessforanalysingcoverageareas,andtheeffectofparametermodificationsinonenetworkonthe
other,isasfollows:
1. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCover
agebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthemaindocument.Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoverage
PredictionbyTransmitter"onpage558and"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage554.
2. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCov
eragebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthelinkeddocument.
3. Choosedisplaysettingsforthecoveragepredictionsandtiptextcontentsthatwillallowyoutoeasilyinterpretthe
predictionsdisplayedinthemapwindow.Thiscanhelpyoutoquicklyassessinformationgraphicallyandusingthe
mouse.YoucanchangethedisplaysettingsofthecoveragepredictionsontheDisplaytabofeachcoveragepredic
tionsPropertiesdialogbox.
4. Makethetwonewcoveragepredictionsinthelinkeddocumentaccessibleinthemaindocumentasdescribedin"Dis
playingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument"onpage675.
5. Optimisethemainnetworkbychangingparameterssuchasantennaazimuthandtiltorthepilotpower.Youcanuse
atoolsuchastheAtollACPtooptimisethenetwork.
Changesmadetothesharedantennaparameterswillbeautomaticallypropagatedtothelinkeddocument.
6. Calculatethecoveragepredictionsinthemaindocumentagaintocomparetheeffectsofthechangesyoumadewith
thelinkedcoveragepredictions.
Forinformationoncomparingcoveragepredictions,see"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredic
tions"onpage678and"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage679.
7. Calculatethelinkedcoveragepredictionsagaintostudytheeffectsofthechangesonthelinkedcoveragepredictions.

7.6.2.2.2

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontothelegendbyselecting
theAddtoLegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

7.6.2.2.3

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tioninthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,identifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionsbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformation
displayedinthetiptext.Atolldisplaysinformationforalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththeworkingandthelinked
documents.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step3.of"AnalysingCoveragePredictions"onpage676).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedonalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththe
workingandthelinkeddocuments(seeFigure7.24).Thetiptextfortheworkingdocumentisontopandthetiptext
forthelinkeddocument,withthelinkeddocumentidentifiedbynameisonthebottom.

Figure7.58:Comparingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

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ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions
You can compare the coverage areas of the main and linked documents by overlaying coverage predictions in the map
window.
Tocomparecoverageareasbyoverlayingcoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthePredictionsfolder.

4. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttodisplayinthe
mapwindow.Thecoveragepredictionisdislayedonthemap.
5. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
10. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthelinkedcoveragepredictionyouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.The
coveragepredictionisdislayedonthemap.
11. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
12. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
13. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
14. Calculatethetwocoveragepredictionsagain,ifneeded.
Figure7.59andFigure7.60showanexampleofoverlayedUMTSandGSMcoveragepredictions.
Tomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthecoverageareas,youcanalsochangetheorderofthePredictionsfoldersinthe
explorerwindow.Formoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheexplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.

Figure7.59:UMTScoveragebytransmitterpinkcontourswithnointerior

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Figure7.60:GSMcoveragebytransmitterhightransparencywithfullinteriorcolouredbyBCCH,withBCCH/BSIC
informationavailableintiptext

7.6.2.2.5

StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionstofinddifferencesincoverageareas.
Tocomparecoveragepredictions:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthePredictionsfolder.

4. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttocompare.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectCompareWith>[linkedcoverageprediction]fromthecontextmenu,where[linkedcoverageprediction]is
thecoveragepredictioninthelinkeddocumentyouwanttocomparewiththecoveragepredictionofthemaindoc
ument.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxopens.
6. Selectthedisplayparametersofthecomparisonandaddacommentifyouwant.
7. ClickOK.
ThetwocoveragepredictionsarecomparedandacomparisoncoveragepredictionisaddedtothemaindocumentsPredic
tionsfolder.
Formoreinformationoncoveragepredictioncomparison,see"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage591.

7.6.3 PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation
Atollenablesyoutocarryoutintertechnologyneighbourplanning.Forexample,youcanstudyhandoversbetweenaUMTS
andaGSMnetworkinAtollbyallocatingneighbourGSMsectorstoUMTScells.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage680
"DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage680
"DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage680
"AddingandRemovingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage681
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage682
"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage682
"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage684
"AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage685
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage689
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage690.

Inthesectionslistedabove,itisassumedthatAtollisalreadyincoplanningmode,andtheAtolldocumentscorresponding
tothetwonetworkshavealreadybeenlinked.Formoreinformationonswitchingtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCo
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7.6.3.1 ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucanimportintertechnologyneighboursintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocu
mentusingtheNeighbourstable.
Toimportintertechnologyneighboursusingtheintertechnologyneighbourstables:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheUMTSTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighboursta
bleappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

7.6.3.2 DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucansetintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Theseconstraintscanbetakeninto
accountwhenintertechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.
Todefineintertechnologyexceptionalpairsbetweenthemaindocumentandthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighbours
ExceptionalPairstableappears.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Acellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Cell:Thenameofthecellinthemaindocumentasthefirstpartoftheexceptionalpair.Thenamesofallthecells
inthemaindocumentareavailableinthelist.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourinthelinkeddocumentasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.The
namesofallthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentareavailableinthelist.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.
InGSM,neighboursandexceptionalpairsareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
YoucanaccessacellsintertechnologyneighboursandexceptionalpairsbyusingitsPropertiesdialogbox.
ToopenacellsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Doubleclicktherowcorrespondingtothecellwhosepropertiesyouwanttoaccess.ThecellsPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisfoundonthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.

7.6.3.3 DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyexceptionalpairsonthemapinordertostudytheforcedandforbiddenneighbourrelations
definedintheIntertechnologyExceptionalPairstable.
Todisplayexceptionalpairsdefinedbetweenthemainandthelinkeddocuments:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>DisplayOptionsfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox
appears.

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5. UnderIntertechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
6. UnderAdvanced,selectwhichexceptionalpairlinkstodisplay:

OutwardsNonSymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocu
mentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.
InwardsNonSymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachtransmitter/cellinthe
linkeddocumentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
SymmetricLinks:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathas
anexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinked
documentalsohasthecellofthemaindocumentinitsexceptionalpairlist.Theselinksarerepresentedwith
straightblacklines.

7. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

8. SelectForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighboursfromthemenu.Theexceptionalpairofacellwillbedisplayed
whenyouselectatransmitter.
9. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Exceptionalpairsarenowdisplayed
onthemap.ExceptionalpairswillremaindisplayeduntilyouclicktheVisualManagementbuttonagain.
10. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsexceptionalpairlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Theexceptionalpairlinkscanbedisplayedevenifyoudonothaveneighboursallocated.IfyouselecttheDisplayLinkscheck
boxunderIntratechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintratechnologyexceptionalpairsonthe
map.

7.6.3.4 AddingandRemovingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcansetintertechnologyexceptionalpairsusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpairs
dependingonthedisplayoptionset,i.e.,ForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveexceptionalpairsusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofexceptionalpairsonthe
mapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage680.
Toaddasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesboth
transmittersfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovestheref
erencetransmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.

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Toaddaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricexceptionalpairrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertrans
mitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingexceptionalpairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricexceptional
pairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconverts
thesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesthe
transmitterfromtheintertechnologyexceptionalpairslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

7.6.3.5 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintertechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. Select the Intertechnology Neighbours tab. On the Intertechnology Neighbours tab, you can set the following
importancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
The Adjacency factor is not used when calculating the importance of intertechnology
neighbours.

CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhenperformingautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage682.

5. ClickOK.

7.6.3.6 AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallydeterminehandoverrelationsbetweennetworksofdifferenttechnologies,forexample,UMTSand
GSM.Inthiscase,intertechnologyhandoversfromUMTStoGSMmayoccurwhentheUMTScoverageisnotcontinuous.The
networksoverallcoverageisextendedbyaUMTStoGSMhandover.Atollcanautomaticallydetermineneighboursinthe
linkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocumentandviceversa.Intertechnologyneighboursarestoredinthedatabase.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanpreventAtollfromallocatingintertech
nology neighbours to cells located on sites whose equipment does not support the
compressedmode.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Toautomaticallyallocateneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. Select Neighbours> Intertechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. DefinethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbourintheMaxIntersiteDistancebox.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. DefinethemaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacellintheMaxNumberof
Neighboursbox.Thisvaluecanbeeithersethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourallocationonadistancecriterionandcon
tinuewithstep9.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwanttobasetheneighbouralloca
tiononcoverageconditions.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforthecellsinthemaindocument.TheUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.pilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.BCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmit
ter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisanLTEdocument,theLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheLTECoverage
Conditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
e. Inthe%Min.CoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellscoverageareathattheneighbours
coverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.

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9. UnderCalculationOptions,definethefollowing:

CDMACarriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;
Atollwillallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers.
Forcecositeasneighbours:SelectingtheForcecositeasneighbourscheckboxwillincludethecositetransmit
ters/cellsintheneighbourlistoftheUMTScell.Thecheckboxisautomaticallyselectedwhentheneighbourallo
cationisbasedondistance.
Forceexceptionalpairs:SelectingtheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxwillapplytheintertechnologyexcep
tionalpaircriteriaontheneighbourslistoftheUMTScell.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectingtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighbours
intheneighbourslistandperformacleanneighbourallocation.IftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisnot
selected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.

10. ClicktheCalculatebuttontostartcalculations.
11. Oncethecalculationsfinish,AtolldisplaysthelistofneighboursintheResultssection.Theresultsincludethenames
oftheneighbours,thenumberofneighboursofeachcell,andthereasontheyareincludedintheneighbourslist.The
reasonsinclude:
Reason

Description

When

ExceptionalPair

Neighbourrelationisdefinedasanexceptionalpair.

Forceexceptionalpairsisselected

Cosite

Theneighbourislocatedatthesamesiteasthereference
cell.

Forcecositeasneighboursis
selected

Distance

Theneighbouriswithinthemaximumdistancefromthe
referencecell.

UseCoverageConditionsisnot
selected

Coverage

Neighbourrelationthatfulfilscoverageconditions.

UseCoverageConditionsisselected

Existing

Theneighbourrelationexistedbeforerunningtheautomatic
allocation.

Resetisnotselected

12. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintertechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument.
Tocomparetheproposedandexistingneighbourlists:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txtwhichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype,
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
The numberofdeleted neighbour relations(neighbour relationsnot proposedintheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

13. ClicktheCommitbutton.TheallocatedneighboursaresavedintheIntratechnologyNeighbourstabofeachcell.
14. ClickClose.

7.6.3.7 DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyneighboursonthemapinordertostudytheintertechnologyhandoverscenarios.
Todisplayneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>DisplayOptionsfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox
appears.
4. UnderIntertechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
5. UnderAdvanced,selecttheneighbourlinkstodisplay:

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Outwards NonSymmetric: Shows a neighbour link for each cell in the main document that has a neighbour
definedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesof
thesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.
Inwards NonSymmetric: Shows a neighbour link for each transmitter/cell in the linked document that has a
neighbourdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthe
samecolourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
SymmetricLinks:Showsaneighbourlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathasaneighbourdefinedwitha
transmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentalsohasthecellofthe
maindocumentinitsneighbourslist.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightblacklines.

6. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

7. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
8. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Neighboursarenowdisplayedon
themap.NeighboursaredisplayeduntilyouclicktheEditRelationsontheMapbuttonagain.
9. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsneighbourlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
IfyouselecttheDisplayLinkscheckboxunderIntratechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintra
technologyneighboursonthemap.Thefigurebelowshowstheintraandintertechnologyneighboursofthetransmitter
Site22_2.

7.6.3.8 AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintertechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofinter
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintertechnologyneighbourspercell.Youcanallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighboursdirectlyonthemap,orusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orusingtheIntertech
nologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page686.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage686.
"AllocatingandRemovingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage688.

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AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumNumberofNeighbours.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisavailableineachtransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.
AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable
appears.
5. Enteroneintertechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellcanhavemorethanoneintertechnologyneigh
bour.
Toallocateanintertechnologyneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectSymmetrisefromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellinthe
NeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsideration:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tional Pairs of Intertechnology Neighbours table. You can open this table, select the
exceptionalpairstobeconsidered,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.

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Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
InGSM,neighboursareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
AllocatingandRemovingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateintertechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesneighbourstotrans
mittersifthedisplayoptionissettoNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveintertechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintertechnology
neighboursonthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage684.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmitterto
thelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitter
fromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyneighbouroftheothertransmitter.
Tremoveanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. Therecanbetwocases:

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingSHIFTandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.Thenpress
CTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricinter
technologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintertechnologyneighbourslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

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7.6.3.9 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintertechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintertechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintertechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintertechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintertechnologyneighbours:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Evaluationdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspossibleneighbours.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. UnderImportance,selecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedon
thesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourimportancecalculationonlyonthedis
tancecriterionandcontinuewithstep10.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwantto
basetheneighbourimportancecalculationoncoverageconditions.
9. UnderCoverageConditions,youcansetthecoverageconditionsbetweenintertechnologyneighboursandtheirref
erencecellsforbothoftheprojects.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforcellsinthemaindocument.TheUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.BCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmit
ter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

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IfthelinkeddocumentisanLTEdocument,theLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheLTECoverage
Conditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
10. IfyouclearedtheUsecoverageconditionscheckbox,enterthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellanda
possibleneighbourintheMaxIntersiteDistancebox.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
11. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Symmetry
Coverage

Distance:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingintersitedistance,Atollgivesthedistanceinkilometres
betweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

Coverage:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingcoverageoverlapping,Atollgivestheamountofrefer
encetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres.

12. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

7.6.3.10 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrent
intertechnologyneighbourallocationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovides
intheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

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EmptyLists:SelecttheEmptyListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
FullLists:Whichcellshavingthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafull
neighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedfor
eachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Lists>MaxNumber:Whichcellshavingmorethanthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximum
numberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCells
table.
MissingCosites:SelecttheMissingCositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneigh
bours.
MissingSymmetrics:SelecttheMissingSymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance Between Neighbours: Select the Distance Between Neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanY
numberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFullListscheckandtheLists>MaxNumbercheckusetheDefaultMaxNumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursintheauditedneighbourplanthatarelocated
atadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

7.6.4 CreatingaUMTSSectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork
Youcancreateanewsectorinthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument.Tocreateanewsector
inthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Inthemapwindow,rightclickthelinkedtransmitterbasedonwhichyouwanttocreateanewUMTStransmitter.The
contextmenuappears.
3. SelectCopyin[maindocument]fromthecontextmenu.
Thefollowingparametersofthenewsectorinthemaindocumentwillbethesameasthesectorinthelinkeddocumentit
wasbasedon:antennapositionrelativetothesite(DxandDy),antennaheight,azimuth,andmechanicaltilt.Thenewsector
willbeinitialisedwiththeradioparametersfromthedefaultstationtemplateinthemaindocument.

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Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatdoesnotexistinthemaindocument,thesiteiscreatedinthemain
documentaswell.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatalsoexistsinthemaindocument,andthecoordinatesofthesite
inthelinkedandmaindocumentsarethesame,thesectoriscreatedinthemaindocumentattheexistingsite.Thesitecoor
dinatesinthelinkedandmaindocumentswillalwaysbethesameiftheAtolladministratorhassetupsitesharinginthedata
base.Formoreinformationaboutsitesharingindatabases,seetheAdministratorManual.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatexistsinthemaindocument,butatadifferentlocation(geographic
coordinates),thesectorisnotcreatedinthemaindocument.
Toupdatethedisplaysettingsofthenewsector:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderofthemaindocument.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectUpdateFolderConfigurationfromthecontextmenu.

Figure7.61:NewsectorBeforeandafterapplyingtheconfiguration
The azimuths and mechanical tilts of secondary antennas or remote antennas are not
includedwhenyouselectUpdateFolderConfigurationandhavetobesetupmanually.

7.6.5 UsingACPinaCoplanningProject
AtollACPenablesyoutoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimalnetworksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandcapacityin
coplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,forexample,UMTSandGSM,mustbothbetakeninto
consideration.
When you run an optimisation setup in a coplanning environment, you can display the sites and transmitters of both
networksinthedocumentinwhichyouwillruntheoptimisationprocess,asexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"
onpage674.Whilethisstepisnotnecessaryinordertocreateacoplanningoptimisationsetup,itwillenableyoutovisually
analysethechangestobothnetworksinthesamedocument.
Afterwardsyoucancreatethenewoptimisationsetup,butwhencreatinganoptimisationsetupinacoplanningenviron
ment,youcannotrunitimmediately;youmustfirstimporttheothernetworkintotheACPsetup.
ThissectionexplainshowtouseACPtooptimisenetworksettingsinacoplanningproject:

"CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup"onpage692
"ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup"onpage693.

7.6.5.1 CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup
Onceyouhavedisplayedbothnetworksinthemaindocumentasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage674,
youcancreatethenewcoplanningoptimisationsetup.
Tocreateanewcoplanningoptimisationsetup:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappearsinwhichyoucansettheparametersfortheoptimisation
process.
Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
5. Afterdefiningtheoptimisationsetup,clicktheCreateSetupbuttontosavethedefinedoptimisation.

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Theoptimisationsetuphasnowbeencreated.ThenextstepistoaddtheGSMnetworktotheACPoptimisationsetupyou
havejustcreated.

7.6.5.2 ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup
Onceyouhavecreatedthecoplanningoptimisationsetup,youmustimportthelinkednetwork.
Toimportthelinkednetwork:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.

4. Rightclickthesetupyoucreatedin"CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup"onpage692.Thecontextmenu
appears.
5. SelectImportProjectfromthecontextmenuandselectthenameofthelinkeddocumentyouwanttoimportintothe
newlycreatedsetup.

Thesetuphasbeenmodifiedtoincludethelinkednetwork.
YoucanmodifytheparametersfortheoptimisationsetupbyrightclickingitintheNetworkexplorerandselectingProperties
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
Afterdefiningthecoplanningoptimisationsetup:

RightclickthesetupintheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolderandselectRunfromthecontextmenutorunthe
optimisation.Forinformationonrunningtheoptimisation,see"RunninganOptimisationSetup"onpage1807.For
informationontheoptimisationresults,see"ViewingOptimisationResults"onpage1811.

7.6.6 EndingCoplanningMode
once you have linked two Atoll documents for the purposes of coplanning, Atoll will maintain the link between them.
However,youmightwanttounlinkthetwodocumentsatsomepoint,eitherbecauseyouwanttouseadifferentdocument
incoplanningorbecauseyouwanttorestorethedocumentstoseparate,technologyspecificdocuments.
Tounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode:
1. SelectFile>Opentoopenthemaindocument.
Atollinformsyouthatthisdocumentispartofamultitechnologyenvironmentandaskswhetheryouwanttoopen
theotherdocument.
2. ClickYestoopenthelinkeddocumentaswell.
3. SelectDocument>Unlinktounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode.
Thedocumentsarenolongerlinkedandcoplanningmodeisended.

7.7 AdvancedConfiguration
Inthissection,thefollowingadvancedconfigurationoptionsareexplained:

"ModellingInterCarrierInterference"onpage694
"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage694
"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage695
"DefiningRadioBearers"onpage697

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"DefiningSiteEquipment"onpage698
"DefiningReceiverEquipment"onpage700
"DefiningHSDPASchedulers"onpage703
"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage704
"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage705
"ModellingShadowing"onpage705
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage706.

7.7.1 ModellingInterCarrierInterference
IfyouwantAtolltotakeintoaccounttheinterferencebetweentwocarriers,youmustcreateacarrierpairwithaninterfer
encereductionfactor.Atollwilltaketheinterferencereductionfactorintoaccountonboththeuplinkandthedownlink.
Tocreateapairofcarrierswithaninterferencereductionfactor:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.

4. RightclicktheIntratechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheInterCarrierInterferenceReductionFactortableappears.
6. Foreachcarrierpairforwhichyouwantdefineintercarrierinterference:
a. Enterthefirstcarrierofthepairinthe1stCarriercolumn.
b. Enterthesecondcarrierofthepairinthe2ndCarriercolumn.
c. EnteraninterferencereductionfactorintheReductionFactor(dB)column.WhenAtolliscalculatinginterfer
ence,itsubtractstheinterferencereductionfactorfromthecalculatedinterference.Iftheinterferencereduction
factorissetto"0,"Atollassumesthatthecarriersinthedefinedpairgenerateasmuchinterferenceascellswith
thesamecarrierinterference.
Theinterferencereductionfactormustbeapositivevalue.

Foreverypairofcarriersthatisnotdefined,Atollassumesthatthereisnointercarrierinterference.
d. PressENTERtocreatethecarrierpairandtocreateanewrowinthetable.

7.7.2 DefiningFrequencyBands
Todefinefrequencybands:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.

4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickBands.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheFrequencyBandstableappears.
6. IntheFrequencyBandstable,enteronefrequencybandperrow.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Foreachfrequencyband,enter:

694

Name:Enteranameforthefrequency,forexample,"Band2100."Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxes
whenyouselectafrequencyband.
Bandwidth(MHz):Enterthebandwidthforeachcarrierinthefrequencyband.
DLStartFrequency(MHz):Enterthedownlinkstartfrequency.
FirstCarrier:Enterthenumberofthefirstcarrierinthisfrequencyband.
LastCarrier:Enterthenumberofthelastcarrierinthisfrequencyband.Ifthisfrequencybandhasonlyonecarrier,
enterthesamenumberasenteredintheFirstCarrierfield.
Step:Enterthestepbetweenanytwoconsecutivecarriernumbersinthefrequencyband.
ExcludedCarriers:Enterthecarriernumberswhichdonotbelongtothefrequencyband.Youcanenternoncon
secutivecarriernumbersseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeofcarriernumbersseparatingthefirst
andlastindexwithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,2,3,4,5").

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Whenyouhavemorethanonefrequencyband,thecarriersmustbenumbered
sequentially,contiguously(i.e.,youcannotskipnumbersinarangeofcarriers,andthe
rangeofcarriersinonebandcannotoverlaptherangeofcarriersinanother),and
uniquely(i.e.,youcanonlyuseeachnumberonce).
Forexample:Band2100:Firstcarrier:0;Lastcarrier1andBand900:Firstcarrier:2and
Lastcarrier:2
7. Whenyouhavefinishedaddingfrequencybands,clicktheClosebutton(

).

Forexample,ifyouwishtodefinetheUTRABandIandUARFCNscorrespondingtothecentrefrequenciesofthecarriers
(10562,10587,10612),youcanset:

Name:UTRABandI
DLstartfrequency:2110
Firstcarrier:10562
Lastcarrier:10612
Step:25

Youcanalsoaccessthepropertiesdialogboxofeachindividualfrequencybandbydoubleclickingtheleftmarginoftherow
withthefrequencyband.

7.7.3 TheGlobalNetworkSettings
IntheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox,youcandefinemanycalculationparametersthatareusedinpredictionsand
inMonteCarlosimulations.
ThissectionexplainstheoptionsavailableintheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox,andexplainshowtoaccessthe
dialogbox:

"TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage695
"ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage696.

7.7.3.1 TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox
TheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGlobalParametersTabandtheCalculationParameterstab.

7.7.3.1.1

"TheGlobalParametersTab"onpage695
"TheCalculationParametersTab"onpage696

TheGlobalParametersTab
TheGlobalParameterstabhasthefollowingoptions:

DLPowers:UnderDLPowers,youcandefinewhetherthepowervaluesonthedownlinkareAbsoluteoroffsetfrom
thepilot(PilotOffset).Thepowervaluesaffectedarethesynchronisationchannel,othercommonchannel,HSSCCH,
andHSUPApowersdefinedinthecellproperties,aswellastheminimumandmaximumtrafficchannelpowersper
R99radiobearer.Atollautomaticallyconvertsthepowervaluesdefinedinthecellproperties(i.e.,synchronisation
channel,othercommonchannel,HSSCCH,andHSUPApowers)whenyouchangetheoption.Ontheotherhand,the
valuesfortheminimumandmaximumtrafficchannelpowershavetobemodifiedmanually.

DLLoad:UnderDLLoad,youcandefinewhetherthetotalpowervaluesonthedownlinkareAbsoluteorapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(%Pmax).Atollautomaticallyconvertsthetotalpowervalueswhenyouchangetheoption.

Interferences:UnderInterferences,youcandefinethemethodusedtocalculateinterferenceonthedownlink(I0and
Nt):
I0:Youcanselect"Totalnoise"andAtollwillcalculateI0usingthenoisegeneratedbyalltransmittersplusthermal
noiseoryoucanselect"Withoutpilot"andAtollwillcalculateI0usingthetotalnoiselessthepilotsignaland
orthogonalpartoftrafficchannelsandothercommonchannels.
Nt:Youcanselect"Totalnoise"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthenoisegeneratedbyalltransmittersplusthermal
noiseoryoucanselect"Withoutusefulsignal"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthetotalnoiselessthesignalofthe
studiedcell.

Handoff:UnderHandoff,youcandefinetheparametersusedtomodelsofthandoffontheuplink.

DefaultULMacroDiversityGain:Youcansetadefaultvaluefortheuplinkgainduetomacrodiversityonsoft
andsoftsofthandovers.IfyoucleartheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxontheConditionstabwhen
definingacoveragepredictionorduringapointanalysis,Atollusesthisvalue.IfyouselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxontheConditionstab,AtollcalculatestheULmacrodiversitygain,basedonthestandard
deviationvalueofEbNtontheuplinkdefinedperclutterclass.
+MRC(maximalratiocombining)inSofter/Soft:Ifyouselectthe+MRCinSofter/Softcheckbox,Atollselectsthe
servingcellduringasofter/softhandoverbyrecombiningthesignalofcositetransmittersandmultiplyingthe

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resultingsignalbytherakeefficiencyfactorandthencomparingthisvaluetothesignalreceivedattransmitters
locatedontheothersitesoftheactiveset.Atollchoosesthegreatestvalueandmultipliesitbythemacrodiver
sitygain.

CompressedMode:UnderCompressedMode,youcandefinetheparametersrelatedtocompressedmode.Com
pressedmodeisusedwhenamobilesupportingcompressedmodeisconnectedtoacelllocatedonasitewithacom
pressedmodecapableequipmentandeitherthepilotRSCP,orthereceivedEcI0,orbothofthemarelowerthanthe
definedactivationthresholds.

PilotRSCPActivationThreshold:YoucanselecttheRSCPActivecheckboxandentera PilotRSCPActivation
Threshold.
EcI0ActivationThreshold:YoucanselecttheEcI0ActivecheckboxandenteraEcI0ActivationThreshold.
YoumustselecteithertheRSCPActivecheckboxortheEcI0Activecheckboxorboth.

HSDPA:UnderHSDPA,youcandefinehowtotalnoiseiscalculatedandhowtheCQI(ChannelQualityIndicator)is
evaluatedforHSDPA.

7.7.3.1.2

EbNtULandDLTargetIncrease:Whencompressedmodeisactivated,EbNtrequirementsinULandDLare
increased.Inordertotakethisintoaccount,AtolladdsULandDLEbNttargetincreasevaluestotheULandDL
EbNtrequirementssetforeachradiobearer.

Nt:Youcanselect"Totalnoise"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthenoisegeneratedbyalltransmittersplusthermal
noiseoryoucanselect"Withoutusefulsignal"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthetotalnoiselessthesignalofthe
studiedcell.
CQI:YoucanselectBasedonCPICHqualityandAtollwillmeasuretheCQIbasedonthepilotEcNtoryoucan
selectBasedonHSPDSCHqualityandAtollwillmeasuretheCQIbasedontheHSPDSCHEcNt.Dependingon
theoptionselected,youwillhavetodefineeitheraCQI=f(CPICHEc/Nt)graph,oraCQI=f(HSPDSCHEc/Nt)graph
inthePropertiesdialogboxoftheterminalequipment.ThecalculatedCQIwillbeusedtodeterminethebest
bearer.

TheCalculationParametersTab
TheCalculationParameterstabhasthefollowingoptions:

Calculationlimitation:UnderCalculationlimitation,youcandefinethefollowingdata:

Min.interfererreceptionthreshold:ThisvalueisusedbyAtolltolimittheinfluenceofinterferersincalculations.
TheperformanceofUMTSspecificcoveragepredictionsandMonteCarlosimulationscanbeimprovedbysetting
ahighminimuminterfererreceptionthreshold.Thisvalueisusedasafiltercriteriononthesignallevelreceived
frominterferers.Atollwilldiscardallinterfererswithasignallevellowerthanthisvalue.
Defaultmin.pilotRSCPthreshold:ThedefaultminimumpilotRSCPrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothe
cell.TheRSCPiscomparedwiththisthresholdtodeterminewhetherornotausercanbeconnectedtothecell.
A minimum pilot RSCP threshold can be defined at the cell level (in the cell Properties
dialogboxorintheCellstable).Ifdefined,acellspecificminimumpilotRSCPthresholdwill
beusedinsteadofthevalueenteredhere.

Receiver:UnderReceiver,youcanentertheHeightofthereceiver.
Defaultmaxrange:Themaximumcoveragerangeoftransmittersinthenetwork.

7.7.3.2 ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings
YoucanchangeglobalnetworksettingsintheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox.
Tochangeglobalnetworksettings:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. RightclicktheNetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage695.
5. ClickOK.

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7.7.4 DefiningRadioBearers
Bearerservicesareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningR99RadioBearers"onpage697
"DefiningHSDPARadioBearers"onpage697
"DefiningHSUPARadioBearers"onpage698.

7.7.4.1 DefiningR99RadioBearers
Bearerservicesareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.TheR99RadioBearertablelistsalltheavailableradiobear
ers.YoucancreatenewR99radiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheR99RadioBearertable.
OnlythefollowingR99radiobearerparametersareusedinpredictions:

MaxTCHPower(dBm)
Thetypeofbearer.

TocreateormodifyanR99radiobearer:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioBearersfolder.

4. RightclicktheR99RadioBearersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheR99RadioBearerstableappears.
6. IntheR99RadioBearerstable,youcanenterormodifythefollowingfields:

Name:Youcanmodifythenameofthebearer.IfyouarecreatinganewR99radiobearer,enteranameinthe
rowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
).
UplinkPeakThroughput(Kbps):Enterormodifytheuplinkpeakthroughputinkilobytespersecond.
DownlinkPeakThroughput(Kbps):Enterormodifythedownlinkpeakthroughputinkilobytespersecond.
Type:Selectormodifytheservicetype.Therearefourclasses:Conversational,Streaming,Interactive,andBack
ground.ThisfieldcorrespondstotheQoS(qualityofservice)classortrafficclassthatthebearerwillbelongto.
UL DPCCH/DPCH Power Ratio: Enter or modify the uplink DPCCH (Dedicated Physical Control Channel)/DPCH
(DedicatedPhysicalChannel)powerratio.TheDPCHpoweristhecombinationoftheDPCCHandtheDPDCH(Ded
icatedPhysicalDataChannel)power.
DLDPCCH/DPCHPowerRatio:EnterormodifythedownlinkDPCCH(DedicatedPhysicalControlChannel)/DPCH
(DedicatedPhysicalChannel)powerratio.
Min.TCHPower(dBm):Enterormodifytheminimumtrafficchannelpower.Theminimumandmaximumtraffic
channelpowermakeupthedynamicrangefordownlinkpowercontrol.
MaxTCHPower(dBm):Enterormodifythemaximumtrafficchannelpower.
Themaximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowerscanbeeitherabsolutevaluesorvalues
relativetothepilotpower;thisdependsontheoptiondefinedontheGlobalParameters
taboftheUMTSNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox.Thesevalueshavetobemanu
allymodifiedwhentheoptionischanged.

DLSpreadingFactor(ActiveUsers):Enterormodifythedownlinkspreadingfactorforactiveusers.Thisparameter
isusedtoestimatethenumberofOVSFcodesrequiredbyanactiveuserusingtheR99radiobearer.
DL Spreading Factor (Inactive Users): Enter or modify the downlink spreading factor for inactive users. This
parameterisusedtoestimatethenumberofOVSFcodesrequiredbyaninactiveuserwiththeR99radiobearer.

7.7.4.2 DefiningHSDPARadioBearers
Ineachcell,theschedulerselectstheHSDPAresourceperUEandperTTI.ThisHSDPAresourceiscalledaTFRC(Transport
FormatResourceCombination)andisthesetofparameterssuchasthetransportformat,themodulationscheme,andthe
numberofusedHSPDSCHchannels.InAtoll,theTFRCarereferredtoasHSDPAradiobearers.
Duringasimulation,andfortheHSDPAcoverageprediction,AtollselectsasuitableHSDPAradiobearerandusesitspeakRLC
throughput.TheHSDPAradiobearerselectionisbasedonUEcapabilities(maximumnumberofHSPDSCHchannels,transport
block size, modulation supported), cell capabilities (HSPA or HSPA+, MIMO system used, maximum number of HSPDSCH
channels),andreportedCQI.
TheHSDPARadioBearerstableliststheavailableHSDPAradiobearers.Theycanbeclassifiedintotwocategories:

HSDPAbearersusingQPSKand16QAMmodulations.TheycanbeselectedforusersconnectedtoHSPAandHSPA+
capablecells.

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HSDPAbearersusing64QAMmodulation(followingimprovementsintroducedbyrelease7ofthe3GPPUTRAspeci
fications,referredtoasHSPA+).TheseHSDPAbearerscanbeallocatedtousersconnectedtocellswithHSPA+capa
bilitiesonly.

YoucancreatenewHSDPAradiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheHSDPARadioBearerstable.
ToopentheHSDPARadioBearerstable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioBearersfolder.

4. RightclicktheHSDPARadioBearersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheHSDPARadioBearerstableappearswiththefollowinginformation:

RadioBearerIndex:Thebearerindexnumber.
TransportBlockSize(Bits):Thetransportblocksizeinbits.
NumberofUsedHSPDSCHChannels:ThenumberofHSPDSCHchannelsused.
PeakRLCThroughput(bps):ThepeakRLCthroughputrepresentsthepeakthroughputwithoutcoding(redun
dancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).
Modulation:Themodulationused.YoucanchoosebetweenQPSK,16QAMor64QAM.

7.7.4.3 DefiningHSUPARadioBearers
Ineachcell,theschedulerselectstheHSUPAresourceperUE,perNodeB,andperuserservice.ThisHSUPAresourceiscalled
a TFC (Transport Format Combination) and requires a defined ratio of EDPDCH power over DPCCH power. This ratio is
modelledastherequiredEDPDCHEcNt.ThecombinationoftheTFCandthepoweroffsetismodelledinAtollasHSUPAradio
bearers.
Duringasimulation,andfortheHSUPAcoverageprediction,AtollselectsasuitableHSUPAradiobearer.TheHSUPAradio
bearerselectionisbasedonUEcapabilities(maximumnumberofEDPDCHcodes,smallestspreadingfactor,TTIlength,and
modulationsupported),cellcapabilities(HSPAorHSPA+),andtherequiredEDPDCHEcNt.
TheHSUPARadioBearerstableliststheavailableHSUPAradiobearers.Theycanbeclassifiedintotwocategories:

HSUPAbearersusingQPSKmodulation.TheycanbeselectedforusersconnectedtoHSPAandHSPA+capablecells.
HSUPAbearersusing16QAMmodulation(followingimprovementsintroducedbyrelease7ofthe3GPPUTRAspeci
fications,referredtoasHSPA+).TheseHSUPAbearerscanbeallocatedtousersconnectedtocellswithHSPA+capa
bilitiesonly.

ToopentheHSUPARadioBearerstable:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioBearersfolder.

4. RightclicktheHSUPARadioBearersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheHSUPARadioBearerstableappearswiththefollowinginformation:

RadioBearerIndex:Thebearerindexnumber.
TTIDuration(ms):TheTTIdurationinms.TheTTIcanbe2or10ms.
TransportBlockSize(Bits):Thetransportblocksizeinbits.
NumberofEDPDCHCodes:ThenumberofEDPDCHchannelsused.
Min.SpreadingFactor:Theminimumspreadingfactorused.
PeakRLCThroughput(bps):ThepeakRLCthroughputrepresentsthepeakthroughputwithoutcoding(redun
dancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).
Modulation:Themodulationused.YoucanchoosebetweenQPSKor16QAM.

7.7.5 DefiningSiteEquipment
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

698

"CreatingSiteEquipment"onpage699
"DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandR99RadioBearer"onpage700
"DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandHSUPARadioBearer"onpage700.

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7.7.5.1 CreatingSiteEquipment
TocreateanewpieceofUMTSsiteequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioResourceManagementfolder.

4. RightclickSiteEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteEquipmenttableappears.
6. IntheEquipmenttable,eachrowdescribesapieceofequipment.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.ForthenewpieceofUMTSequipmentyouarecreating,enterthefollowing:

Name:Thenameyouenterwillbetheoneusedtoidentifythispieceofequipment.
Manufacturer:Thenameofthemanufacturerofthispieceofequipment.
MUDfactor:MultiUserDetection(MUD)isatechnologyusedtodecreaseintracellinterferenceintheuplink.
MUDismodelledbyacoefficientfrom0to1;thisfactorisconsideredintheULinterferencecalculation.Incase
MUDisnotsupportedbyequipment,enter0asvalue.
Rakefactor:TherakereceiverefficiencyfactorenablesAtolltomodeltherakereceiveronUL.Atollusesthis
factortocalculatetheuplinkSHOgainanduplinksignalqualityinsimulations,pointtopointhandoveranalysis
andcoveragepredictions.Thisparameterisconsideredintheuplinkforsofterandsoftersofterhandovers;itis
appliedtothesumofsignalsreceivedonthesamesite.Thefactorvaluecanbefrom0to1.Itmodelslossesdue
totheimperfectionofsignalrecombination.
Therakereceiverefficiencyfactorusedtomodeltherecombinationindownlinkcanbeset
interminalproperties.

Carrierselection:Carrierselectionreferstothecarrierselectionmethodusedduringthetransmitteradmission
controlinthemobileactiveset.Theselectedstrategyisusedinsimulationswhennocarrierisspecifiedinthe
propertiesoftheservice(allthecarrierscanbeusedfortheservice)orwhenthecarrierspecifiedfortheservice
isnotusedbythetransmitter.Ontheotherhand,thespecifiedcarrierselectionmodeisalwaystakenintoaccount
inpredictions(ASanalysisandcoveragepredictions).Chooseoneofthefollowing:

Min.ULLoadFactor:ThecarrierwiththeminimumULnoise(carrierwiththelowestULloadfactor)isselect
ed.
Min.DLTotalPower:ThecarrierwiththeminimumDLtotalpowerisselected.
Random:Thecarrierisrandomlychosen.
Sequential:Carriersaresequentiallyloaded.Thefirstcarrierisselectedaslongasitisnotoverloaded.Then,
whenthemaximumuplinkloadfactorisreached,thesecondcarrierischosenandsoon.

Downlink and Uplink Overhead Resources for Common Channels/Cell: The uplink and downlink overhead
resourcesforcommonchannels/cellcorrespondtothenumbersofchannelelementsthatacellusesforcommon
channelsintheuplinkanddownlink.ThissettingisalsousedforOVSFcodeallocation;itindicatesthenumberof
OVSFcodestobeallocatedtocontrolchannelspercell.
ASrestrictedtoneighbours:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttheothertransmittersintheactivesettobelongtothe
neighbourlistofthebestserver.
CompressedMode:Ifyouselectthisoption,cellslocatedonsiteswiththisequipmentareabletomanagecom
pressedmodewhenradioconditionsrequireit.Compressedmodeisgenerallyusedtopreparethehardhandover
ofuserswithsinglereceiverterminals.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanpreventAtollfromallocatingintercarrier
and intertechnology neighbours to cells located on sites whose equipment does not
supportthecompressedmode.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

OverheadIubThroughput/Cell(kbps):TheoverheadIubthroughputpercellcorrespondstotheIubthroughput
requiredbythecellforcommonchannelsinthedownlink.
HSDPA Iub Backhaul Overhead (%): The HSDPA Iub backhaul overhead corresponds to the percentage of the
HSDPAbearerpeakRLCthroughputtobeaddedtothepeakRLCthroughput.Thetotalvaluecorrespondstothe
IubbackhaulthroughputrequiredbytheHSDPAbeareruserforHSChannelsinthedownlink.
ThroughputSupportedperE1/T1/EthernetLink(kbps):ThethroughputsupportedperE1/T1/Ethernetlinkcor
respondstothethroughputcarriedbyanE1/T1/Ethernetlink.ThisparameterisusedtocalculatetherequiredIub
capacity,i.e.thenumberofE1/T1/Ethernetlinksrequiredtoprovidethetotalthroughput.
DualbandHSDPA:SelectActiveifthesitesupportsthedualbandHSDPAmode.Otherwise,selectInactive.When
dualbandHSDPAisactive,HSDPAbeareruserswithsuitableterminalscansimultaneouslyconnecttotwocosite

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transmittersusingdifferentfrequencybands.Ifthetwocositetransmittersworkonthesamefrequencyband,
thenHSDPAbeareruserscanonlyconnecttotheHSDPAcellsofonetransmitter.
SchedulerAlgorithm:TheschedulingtechniqueusedbytheNodeBtoranktheHSDPAbeareruserstobeserved
whentheNodeBsupportsthemulticellHSDPAmode.Youcanselecttheschedulerfromthelistofschedulers
availableintheSchedulerstable.Formoreinformation,see"DefiningHSDPASchedulers"onpage703.

7. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosethetable.

7.7.5.2 DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandR99Radio
Bearer
ThenumberofchannelelementsandtheIubbackhaulthroughputconsumedbyanR99beareruserdependonthesiteequip
ment,ontheR99radiobearer,andonthelinkdirection(upordown).ThenumberofchannelelementsandtheIubbackhaul
throughputconsumedcanbedefinedforUMTSsimulations.
TodefinechannelelementandIubbackhaulthroughputconsumptionduringUMTSsimulations:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioResourceManagementfolder.

4. RightclickR99ResourceConsumption.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheR99ResourceConsumptiontableappears.
6. ForeachequipmentR99radiobearerpair,enterintheR99ResourceConsumptiontablethenumberofULandDL
channelelementsandtheULandDLIubbackhaulthroughputsthatAtollwillconsumeduringthepowercontrolsim
ulation.

7.7.5.3 DefiningResourceConsumptionperUMTSSiteEquipmentandHSUPARa
dioBearer
ThenumberofchannelelementsandtheIubbackhaulthroughputconsumedbyaHSUPAbeareruserintheuplinkdepend
onthesiteequipmentandontheHSUPAradiobearer.ThenumberofchannelelementsandtheIubbackhaulthroughput
consumedcanbedefinedforUMTSsimulations.
TodefinechannelelementandIubbackhaulthroughputconsumptionduringUMTSsimulations:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioResourceManagementfolder.

4. RightclickHSUPAResourceConsumption.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheHSUPAResourceConsumptiontableappears.
6. ForeachequipmentHSUPAradiobearerpair,enterintheHSUPAResourceConsumptiontablethenumberofUL
channelelementsandtheULIubbackhaulthroughputthatAtollwillconsumeduringthepowercontrolsimulation.

7.7.6 DefiningReceiverEquipment
Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

"CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment"onpage700
"HSDPAUECategories"onpage702
"HSUPAUECategories"onpage702.

7.7.6.1 CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment
InAtoll,receptionequipmentmodelsthereceptioncharacteristicsofuserterminalsandisusedwhenyoucreateaterminal.
ThegraphsdefinedforeachreceptionequipmententryareusedforqualitypredictionsandforselectingHSDPAandHSUPA
bearers.
Tocreateormodifyreceptionequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheReceptionEquipmentfolder.

"Standard"isthedefaultreceptionequipmenttypeforallterminals.

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4. Doubleclickthereceptionequipmenttypeyouwanttomodify.ThereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
YoucancreateanewreceptionequipmenttypebyrightclickingtheReceptionEquipment
folderandselectingNewfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcandefinetheNameofthereceptionequipment.
6. Click the R99 Bearer Selection tab. On the R99 Bearer Selection tab, you can define downlink and uplink EbNt
requirements.Thesearethethresholds(indB)thatmustbereachedtoprovideuserswiththeservice.Theseparam
etersdependonthemobilitytype.
Usingtransmit(Tx)andreceive(Rx)diversityresultsinaqualitygainonreceiveddownlinkanduplinkEbNt.Youcan
specifygainsonreceiveddownlinkanduplinkEbNtforeachdiversityconfiguration.AtollwillconsiderthemwhenTx
orRxdiversityconfigurationsareassignedtotransmitters.

R99Bearer:SelectanR99bearerfromthelist.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytypefromthelist.
ULTarget(dB):Enterormodifytheuplink(EbNt)threshold.
Uplink2RXDiversityGain(dB):EnterormodifythetworeceiveruplinkdiversitygainindB.
Uplink4RXDiversityGain(dB):EnterormodifythefourreceiveruplinkdiversitygainindB.
DLTarget(dB):Enterormodifythedownlink(EbNt)threshold.
DownlinkOpenLoopDiversityGain(dB):EnterormodifythedownlinkopenloopdiversitygainindB.
DownlinkClosedLoopDiversityGain(dB):EnterormodifythedownlinkclosedloopdiversitygainindB.

7. ClicktheQualityGraphstab.
8. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachR99Bearer.YoucaneditthevaluesintheDLandULQuality
IndicatorTablesbyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheDownlink
QualityGraphsortheUplinkQualityGraphsbuttons.
TheDLandULQualityIndicatortablesdescribethevariationofthequalityindicatorasafunctionofthemeasured
parameter(asdefinedintheQualityIndicatorstable).TheUplinkandDownlinkQualityGraphsareusedforquality
predictions.
9. ClicktheHSDPABearerSelectiontab.
10. EnsurethatthevaluesforeachMobilityintheCQITableandtheBestHSDPABearerTablehavebeenentered.You
caneditthevaluesintheCQITableandtheBestHSDPABearerTablebyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orby
selectingtheMobilityandclickingtheCQIGraphortheBestBearerGraphbuttons.
TheCQItabledescribesthevariationoftheCPICHCQIasafunctionoftheCPICHEc/Nt(orthevariationofHSPDSCH
CQIasafunctionoftheHSPDSCHEc/Nt);thevaluesdisplayeddependonthecalculationparameteryouhaveselected
intheGlobalParameterstaboftheUMTSNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox(formoreinformation,see"The
OptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage695).
TheHSPDSCHCQItabledescribestheindexofthebestHSDPAbearerasafunctionoftheHSPDSCHCQI.
TheCQIgraphsandbestbearergraphsareusedinthesimulationandintheHSDPApredictiontomodelfastlinkadap
tation(selectionoftheHSDPAbearer).
ThesupplierRRM(radioresourcemanagement)strategycanbetakenintoaccountusingtheHSPDSCHCQItable,for
example:

Youcandefineseveralpiecesofreceptionequipmentwithaseparatetableforeach.Youcanreservelowbearer
indexesforpoorperformancereceptionequipmentandhigherbearerindexesforhighperformanceequipment.
Youcanspecifyagraphforeachmobility.Here,youcanreservelowbearerindexesforhighspeedsandhigher
bearerindexesforlowspeeds.
Youcanalsogiveprioritytoeitheroneuserbyassigninghimahighbearerindexortoallusersbyassigningthem
lowbearerindexes.

11. ClicktheHSDPAQualityGraphstab.
12. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachRadioBearerIndex.YoucaneditthevaluesintheDLQuality
IndicatorTablebyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheDownlink
QualityGraphbutton.
TheHSDPABLERtabledescribesthevariationoftheBLERasafunctionoftheHSPDSCHEcNt.Itisusedtocalculate
theapplicationthroughputfortheHSDPAcoverageprediction.
13. ClicktheHSUPABearerSelectiontab.
14. Ensurethat,foreachRadioBearerIndexandMobilitypair,youhaveenteredavaluefortheNumberofRetransmis
sionsandfortheRequestedEcNtThreshold.YoucaneditthevaluesintheEarlyTerminationProbabilitiestableby

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clickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheRadioBearerIndexandclickingtheEarlyTerminationProba
bilityGraphbutton.
TheNumberofRetransmissionsandtheRequestedEcNtThresholdvaluesareusedinthesimulationandinthe
HSUPApredictiontomodelnoiseriseschedulingandintheselectionoftheHSUPAradiobearer.
TheEarlyTerminationProbabilitiestabledescribesthevariationoftheearlyterminationprobabilityasafunctionof
thenumberofretransmissions.ItisusedintheHSUPApredictiontocalculatetheaverageRLCthroughputandthe
averageapplicationthroughputwhenHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest)isused.
15. ClicktheHSUPAQualityGraphstab.
16. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachRadioBearerIndexandthatthereisavaluedefinedforthe
NumberofRetransmissions.YoucaneditthevaluesintheULQualityIndicatorTablebyclickingdirectlyonthetable
entry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheUplinkQualityGraphbutton.
TheHSUPABLERtabledescribesthevariationoftheBLERasafunctionoftheEDPDCHEcNt.Itisusedtocalculate
theapplicationthroughputfortheHSUPAcoverageprediction.
17. ClicktheMIMOtab.
18. Ensurethat,foreachHSDPARadioBearerIndexandMobilitypair,youhaveenteredavaluefortheNumberofTrans
missionAntennasPorts,fortheNumberofReceptionAntennasPortsandfortheTransmitDiversityGain.Youcan
editthevaluesintheMaxSpatialMultiplexingGainstablebyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingthe
MobilityandclickingtheMaxSpatialMultiplexingGainGraphbutton.
TheMaxSpatialMultiplexingGainstabledescribesthevariationofthemaximumspatialmultiplexinggainasafunc
tionoftheHSPDSCHEc/Nt(dB).
FormoreinformationonthedifferentMIMOsystems,see"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage704.
RX
NoMIMOgain(diversity,spatialmultiplexing)isappliedif N TX
Ant = N Ant = 1 .

19. ClickOKtoclosethereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox.

7.7.6.2 HSDPAUECategories
HSDPAuserequipmentcapabilitiesarestandardisedinto36differentcategoriesaccordingto3GPPspecifications.
ToeditaUEcategory:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUECategoriesfolder.

4. RightclickHSDPAUECategories.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheHSDPAUserEquipmentCategoriestableappears.
6. TheHSDPAUserEquipmentCategoriestablehasthefollowingcolumns:

Index:EachHSDPAUEcategoryisaseparaterecordinthetableandhasauniqueindex.
CategoryName:NameoftheHSDPAUEcategory.
Max.NumberofHSPDSCHChannels:ThemaximumnumberofHSPDSCHchannelsallowedforthecategory.
Min.NumberofTTIBetweenTwoUsedTTI:TheminimumnumberofTTI(TransmissionTimeInterval)between
twoTTIused.
Max.TransportBlockSize(bits):Themaximumtransportblocksizeallowedforthecategory.
HighestModulation:Selectthehighestmodulationsupportedbythecategory.YoucanchoosebetweenQPSK,
16QAM (if you select 16QAM, 16QAM and QPSK modulations can be used) or 64QAM (if you select 64QAM,
64QAM,16QAMandQPSKmodulationscanbeused).
MIMOSupport:SelectwhetherthecategorysupportsMIMOsystemsornot.
DLMulticellMode:Selectthetypeofmulticellmodesupportedbythecategory,i.e.,themaximumnumberof
cells to which an HSDPA bearer user can simultaneously connect. If the category does not support multicell
HSDPA,selectNone.

7.7.6.3 HSUPAUECategories
HSUPAuserequipmentcapabilitiesarestandardisedinto9differentcategoriesaccordingto3GPPspecifications.

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ToeditaUEcategory:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheUECategoriesfolder.

4. RightclickHSUPAUECategories.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheHSUPAUserEquipmentCategoriestableappears.
6. TheHSUPAUserEquipmentCategoriestablehasthefollowingcolumns:

Index:EachHSUPAUEcategoryisaseparaterecordinthetableandhasauniqueindex.
CategoryName:NameoftheHSUPAUEcategory.
TTI2ms:SelectthecheckboxifaTTIof2msissupported.Ifa2msTTIisnotselected,a10msTTIisused.
MinSpreadingFactor:Entertheminimumspreadingfactorsupported.
MaxBlockSizefora2msTTI(bits):Themaximumtransportblocksizeallowedfora2msTTI.
MaxBlockSizefora10msTTI(bits):Themaximumtransportblocksizeallowedfora10msTTI.
HighestModulation:Selectthehighestmodulationsupportedbythecategory.YoucanchoosebetweenQPSK
or16QAM.If16QAMmodulationisselected,16QAMandQPSKmodulationscanbeused.
ULMulticellMode:Select2C(dualcell)whetherthecategorysupportsmulticell.Ifthecategorydoesnotsup
portmulticell,selectNone.
MaxNumberofEDPDCHCodes:ThemaximumnumberofEDPDCHcodesallowedforthecategory.

7.7.7 DefiningHSDPASchedulers
TheschedulerrankstheHSDPAbeareruserstobeservedintheHSDPAsectionoftheMonteCarlosimulation.Thescheduler
managesasinglequeueofusersattheNodeB.Allusersbelongingtothetransmitter,i.e.,DCHSPAandsinglecarrierHSDPA
users,arerankedtogetherinasinglelist.DCHSPAusersareconsideredtwiceinthelistbecausetheymightbeassignedtwo
differentHSDPAbearersinthetwocells.
Atollsupportsthefollowingalgorithms:

MaxC/I:"n"HSDPAbearerusers(where"n"correspondstothesumofthemaximumnumbersofHSDPAbearerusers
definedforallHSDPAcells)arescheduledinthesameorderasinthesimulation(i.e.,inrandomorder).Then,theyare
sortedindescendingorderbythechannelqualityindicator(CQI).

RoundRobin:HSDPAbearerusersarescheduledinthesameorderasinthesimulation(i.e.,inrandomorder).
ProportionalFair:"n"HSDPAbearerusers(where"n"correspondstothemaximumnumberofHSDPAbearerusers
defined) are scheduled in the same order as in the simulation (i.e., in random order). Then, they are sorted in
descendingorderaccordingtoarandomparameterwhichcorrespondstoacombinationoftheuserrankinthesim
ulationandthechannelqualityindicator(CQI).
TherandomparameteriscalculatedbygivingboththeusersimulationrankandtheCQIa
weightof50%.Youcanchangethedefaultweightsbysettingtheappropriateoptionsin
theAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

TheSchedulerstableliststheavailableschedulers.Youcanadd,remove,andmodifyschedulerproperties,ifyouwant.
Todefineschedulers:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickSchedulers.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheSchedulerstableappears.
5. In the table, enter one scheduler per row. For information on working with data tables, see "Working with Data
Tables"onpage75.Foreachscheduler,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthescheduler.Thisnamewillappearinthecellproperties.
Schedulingmethod:SelecttheschedulingmethodusedtoranktheHSDPAbeareruserstobeserved.

YoucanopenaschedulerspropertiesdialogboxbydoubleclickingthecorrespondingrowintheSchedulerstable.In
thepropertiesdialogbox,aMUGtabisavailableforProportionalfairschedulers.OntheMUGtab,youcandefine
thethroughputgainduetomultiuserdiversity.Theaveragecellthroughputishigherwithmultipleusersthanwitha
singleuser.Itisusedtocalculatethepeakgrossthroughputpercellwhentheschedulingalgorithmis"Proportional
Fair"andifyouhavesetthepeakHSDPAthroughputoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdmin
istratorManual.
NotethatyoucanenterMUGgraphsfordifferentconfigurationsintermsofnumbersofcellstowhichtheusersare
connected.

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6. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheSchedulerstable.

7.7.8 MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems
MultipleInputMultipleOutput(MIMO)systemswhicharesupportedbysomeHSDPAbearers(followingimprovementsintro
ducedbyrelease7ofthe3GPPUTRAspecifications,referredtoasHSPA+)usedifferenttransmissionandreceptiondiversity
techniques.MIMOdiversitysystemscanberoughlydividedintothetypesdescribedinthefollowingsections,allofwhichare
modelledinAtoll.
TransmitandReceiveDiversity
Transmitorreceivediversityusesmorethanonetransmissionorreceptionantennatosendorreceivemorethanonecopy
ofthesamesignal.Thesignalsareconstructivelycombined(usingoptimumselectionormaximumratiocombining)atthe
receivertoextracttheusefulsignal.Asthereceivergetsmorethanonecopyoftheusefulsignal,thesignallevelatthereceiver
after combination of all the copies is more resistant to interference than a single signal would be. Therefore, diversity
improvesthequalityatthereceiver.Itisoftenusedfortheregionsofacellthathavebadqualityconditions.
InAtoll,youcandefinewhetheracellsupportstransmitdiversitybyselectingHSPA+andTransmitDiversityincellproperties
(see"CellDescription"onpage525).Diversitygainsondownlinkcanbedefinedinthereceptionequipmentfordifferent
numbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports,mobilitytypesandHSDPAbearers.Formoreinformationondownlink
diversitygains,see"CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment"onpage700.Additionalgainvaluescanbedefinedperclut
terclass.Forinformationonsettingtheadditionaldownlinkdiversitygainforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see
"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
DuringcalculationsinAtoll,auser(mobile,pixel,orpointreceiver)usingaMIMOcapableterminal,andconnectedtoacell
thatsupportsHSPA+withtransmitdiversity,willbenefitfromthedownlinkdiversityHSPDSCHEc/Ntgain.
SpatialMultiplexing
Spatialmultiplexingusesmorethanonetransmissionantennatosenddifferentsignals(datastreams)oneachantenna.The
receivercanalsohavemorethanoneantennaforreceivingdifferentsignals.WhenspatialmultiplexingisusedwithMtrans
missionandNreceptionantennaports,thethroughputoverthetransmitterreceiverlinkcanbetheoreticallyincreasedMor
Ntimes,dependingonwhichissmaller,MorN.Spatialmultiplexingimprovesthethroughput(i.e.,thechannelcapacity)for
agivenHSPDSCHEc/Nt,andisusedfortheregionsofacellthathavesufficientHSPDSCHEcNtconditions.
InAtoll,youcandefinewhetheracellsupportsspatialmultiplexingbyselectingHSPA+andSpatialMultiplexinginthecell
properties(see"CellDescription"onpage525).Spatialmultiplexingcapacitygainscanbedefinedinthereceptionequipment
fordifferentnumbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports,mobilitytypes,andHSDPAbearers.Formoreinformation
onspatialmultiplexinggains,see"CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment"onpage700.
DuringcalculationsinAtoll,auser(mobile,pixel,orpointreceiver)usingaMIMOcapableterminal,andconnectedtoacell
thatsupportsHSPA+withspatialmultiplexing,willbenefitfromthespatialmultiplexinggaininitsthroughputdependingon
itsHSPDSCHEcNt.
Becausespatialmultiplexingimprovesthechannelcapacityorthroughputs,theHSPDSCHEcNtofauserisdeterminedfirst.
OncetheHSPDSCHEcNtisknown,AtolldeterminesthecorrespondingCQIandcalculatestheuserthroughputbasedonthe
beareravailableattheuserlocation.Theobtaineduserthroughputisthenincreasedaccordingtothespatialmultiplexing
capacitygainandtheSpatialMultiplexingGainFactoroftheusersclutterclass.ThecapacitygainsdefinedinMaxSpatial
MultiplexingGaingraphsarethemaximumtheoreticalcapacitygainsusingspatialmultiplexing.Spatialmultiplexingrequires
arichmultipathenvironment,withoutwhichthegainisreduced.Intheworstcase,thereisnogain.Therefore,youcandefine
aSpatialMultiplexingGainFactorperclutterclasswhosevaluecanvaryfrom0to1(0=nogain,1=100%gain).Forinfor
mationonsettingtheSpatialmultiplexingGainFactorforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see"DefiningClutter
ClassProperties"onpage151.
Thespatialmultiplexingcapacitygainvs.HSPDSCHEc/NtgraphsavailableinAtollbydefaulthavebeengeneratedbasedon
themaximumtheoreticalspatialmultiplexingcapacitygainsobtainedusingthefollowingequations:
CC MIMO
G MIMO = --------------------CC SISO

Where CCMIMO =

TX
Min N Ant

RX
N Ant

Ec

-------
Nt HS PDSCH

Log 2 1 + ----------------------------------------- is the channel capacity at a given HSPDSCH Ec/Nt for a

TX
RX

Min N Ant N Ant

isthechan
MIMOsystemusing N Ant transmissionand N Ant receptionantennaports. CC SISO = Log 2 1 + -------
Nt HS PDSCH
nelcapacityforasingleantennasystematagivenHSPDSCHEcNt.HSPDSCHEcNtisusedasaratio(andnotdB)inthese
formulas.Youcanreplacethedefaultspatialmultiplexingcapacitygaingraphswithgraphsextractedfromsimulatedormeas
uredvalues.
TX

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7.7.9 ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet
Themobileactivesetisthelistofthetransmitterstowhichthemobileisconnected.Theactivesetmayconsistofoneormore
transmitters;dependingonwhethertheservicesupportssofthandoverandontheterminalactivesetsize.Transmittersin
themobileactivesetmustuseafrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandthepilotsignallevelreceivedfrom
thesetransmittersmustexceedthedefinedminimumRSCPthreshold.
Itis,however,thequalityofthepilot(EcI0)thatfinallydetermineswhetherornotatransmittercanbelongtotheactiveset.
Inorderforagiventransmittertoenterthemobileactivesetasbestserver,thepilotqualityfromthistransmittermust
exceedanupperthresholddefinedinthepropertiesofthemobilitytype.Inaddition,thepilotqualitymustbethehighestone.
Inorderforatransmittertoentertheactiveset:

Itmustusethesamecarrierasthebestservertransmitter.InAtoll,carriersaremodelledusingcells.Forinformation
onaccessingcellproperties,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.Foradescriptionofthepropertiesofa
cell,see"CellDescription"onpage525.
ThepilotqualitydifferencebetweenthecellandthebestservermustnotexceedtheASthresholdsetpercell.For
informationonaccessingtheASthresholddefinedforagivencell,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage529.
Ifyouhaveselectedtorestricttheactivesettoneighbours,thetransmittermustbeaneighbourofthebestserver.
YoucanrestricttheactivesettoneighboursbyselectingtheASRestrictedtoNeighboursoptionintheSiteEquip
menttable.ForanexplanationofhowtosettheASRestrictedtoNeighboursoption,see"CreatingSiteEquipment"
onpage699.

TheactivesetforHSDPAusersisdifferentinthefollowingway:HSDPAphysicalchannelsdonotsupportsofthandover,there
foretheuserisneverconnectedtomorethanonetransmitteratatime.

7.7.10 ModellingShadowing
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapaththatiscausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbytheprop
agationmodel.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinrecep
tionduetothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevalueandaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbegreaterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationwiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffectofshadowingand
therebycreatecoveragepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditionallossesorgainscaused
byshadowingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlossescalculatedbytheprop
agationmodel.
Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
InUMTSprojects,thestandarddeviationofthepropagationmodelisusedtocalculateshadowingmarginsonsignallevels.
YoucanalsocalculateshadowingmarginsonEcI0andEbNtvaluesandthemacrodiversitygain.Forinformationonsetting
themodelstandarddeviationandtheEcI0andEbNtstandarddeviationsforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see
"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
ShadowingcanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenAtollcalculatesthesignallevel,EcI0,andEbNtfor:

Apointanalysis(see"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage537)
Acoverageprediction(see"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage554).

AtollalwaystakesshadowingintoconsiderationwhencalculatingaMonteCarlobasedUMTSsimulation.
Youcandisplaytheshadowingmarginsandthemacrodiversitygainperclutterclass.Forinformation,see"Displayingthe
ShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutterClass"onpage705.

7.7.10.1 DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutter
Class
Todisplaytheshadowingmarginsandmacrodiversitygainperclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectShadowingMarginsfromthecontextmenu.TheShadowingMarginsandGainsdialogboxappears.
4. Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

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CellEdgeCoverageProbability:Entertheprobabilityofcoverageattheedgeofthecell.Thevalueyouenterin
thisdialogboxisforinformationonly.
StandardDeviation:Selectthetypeofstandarddeviationtobeusedtocalculatetheshadowingmarginormacro
diversitygains:

Model:Themodelstandarddeviation.Atollwilldisplaytheshadowingmarginofthesignallevel.
EcI0:TheEcI0standarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheEcI0shadowingmarginandtheresultingDLpilot
macrodiversitygains.Themacrodiversitygainswillbecalculatedusingthevaluesyouenterin1st2ndBest
SignalDifferenceand2nd3rdBestSignalDifference.
ULEbNt:TheEbNtULstandarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheEbNtULshadowingmarginandtheresulting
ULmacrodiversitygains.Themacrodiversitygainswillbecalculatedusingthevaluesyouenterin1st2nd
BestSignalDifferenceand2nd3rdBestSignalDifference.
DLEbNt:TheEbNtDLstandarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheEbNtDLshadowingmargin.

5. Ifyouselect"EcI0"or"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,youcanenterthedifferences
thatwillbeusedtocalculatethemacrodiversitygainunderMacroDiversityParameters:

1st2ndBestSignalDifference:Ifyouselected"EcI0"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enter
theallowedEcI0differencebetweenthebestserverandthesecondone.ThisvalueisusedtocalculateDLmacro
diversitygains.Ifyouselected"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,entertheallowed
Eb/Ntdifferencebetweenthebestserverandthesecondone.ThisvalueisusedtocalculateULmacrodiversity
gains.
2nd3rdBestSignalDifference:Ifyouselected"EcI0"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enter
theallowedEcI0differencebetweenthesecondbestserverandthethirdone.ThisvalueisusedtocalculateDL
macrodiversitygains.Ifyouselected"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enterthe
allowedEb/Ntdifferencebetweenthesecondbestserverandthethirdone.ThisvalueisusedtocalculateUL
macrodiversitygains.

6. ClickCalculate.Thecalculatedshadowingmarginisdisplayed.Ifyouselected"EcI0"or"EbNtUL"asthestandard
deviationunderStandardDeviation,Atollalsodisplaysthemacrodiversitygainsfortwolinksandforthreelinks.
7. ClickClosetoclosethedialogbox.

7.7.11 ModellingIntertechnologyInterference
AnalysesofUMTSnetworkscoexistingwithothertechnologynetworkscanbecarriedoutinAtoll.Intertechnologyinterfer
encemaycreateconsiderablecapacityreductioninaUMTSnetwork.Atollcantakeintoaccountinterferencefromcoexisting
networksinMonteCarlosimulationsandcoveragepredictions.
ThefollowingintertechnologyinterferencescenariosaremodeledinAtoll:

Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink:InterferencecanbereceivedbymobilesinaUMTSnetworkon
thedownlinkfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseof
sameoradjacentcarriers,widebandnoise(thermalnoise,phasenoise,modulationproducts,andspuriousemissions),
andintermodulation.InAtoll,youcandefineinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsfordifferenttechnologies
(CDMA,TDMA,OFDM).Thesegraphsarethenusedforcalculatingtheinterferencefromtheexternalbasestations
onmobiles.Thisinterferenceistakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.Formoreinforma
tion,see"DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs"onpage707.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficientsepa
rationbetweentheuplinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandthedownlinkfrequencyusedbyyourUMTS
network.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.Theeffectofthisinterferenceismodelled
inAtollusingtheIntertechnologyDLNoiseRisedefinableforeachcellintheUMTSnetwork.Thisnoiseriseistaken
intoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.However,thisnoiserisedoesnotimpactthecalculation
ofthemobilereusefactor.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyDLNoiseRise,see"CellDescription"on
page525.
YoucanstudythedownlinkintertechnologyinterferencebycarryingoutanIntertechnologyDownlinkInterference
coveragepredictionasexplainedin"StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkInterference"onpage576.

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Figure7.62:Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink

Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink:InterferencecanbereceivedbycellsofaUMTSnetworkontheuplink
fromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficient
separationbetweenthedownlinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandtheuplinkfrequencyusedbyyour
UMTSnetwork.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseofsameor
nearbyfrequenciesforuplinkinbothnetworks.Unlesstheexactlocationsofexternalmobilesisknown,itisnotpossi
bletoseparateinterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesontheuplink.Theeffectofthisinter
ferenceismodelledinAtollusingtheIntertechnologyULNoiseRisedefinableforeachcellintheUMTSnetwork.
Thisnoiseriseistakenintoaccountinuplinkinterferencebasedcalculationsinthesimulation.However,thisnoise
riseisnottakenintoconsiderationinpredictions(ASAnalysisandcoveragepredictions)anddoesnothaveanimpact
onthecalculationofthecellreusefactor.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyULNoiseRise,see"Cell
Description"onpage525.

Figure7.63:Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink

7.7.11.1 DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs
InterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsonmobilesofyourUMTSnetworkcanbecalculatedbyAtoll.Atolluses
intertechnologyinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsforcalculatingtheinterferencelevels.AnIRFgraphrepresentsthe
variationoftheAdjacentChannelInterferenceRatio(ACIR)asafunctionoffrequencyseparation.ACIRisdeterminedfrom
theAdjacentChannelSuppression(ACS)andtheAdjacentChannelLeakageRatio(ACLR)parametersasfollows:
1
ACIR = -----------------------------------1
1
------------- + ----------------ACS ACLR

AnIRFdependson:

Theinterferingtechnology(TDMA,CDMA,orOFDM)
Theinterferingcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Theinterferedcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Thefrequencyoffsetbetweenbothcarriers(MHz).

IRFsareusedbyAtolltocalculatetheinterferencefromexternalbasestationsonlyiftheAtolldocumentcontainingtheexter
nalbasestationsislinkedtoyourUMTSdocument,i.e.,whenAtollisincoplanningmode.Formoreinformationonhowto
switchtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage674.
TodefinetheintertechnologyIRFsinthevictimnetwork:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.

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3. RightclickIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactors.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteroneinterferencereductionfactorgraphperrow.ForeachIRFgraph,enter:

Technology:Selectthetechnologyusedbytheinterferingnetwork.
InterfererBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferingnetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthelinkeddocument.
VictimBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferednetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthemaindocument.
ReductionFactors(dB):ClickthecellcorrespondingtotheReductionFactors(dB)columnandthecurrentrowin
thetable.TheReductionFactors(dB)dialogboxappears.

Enter the interference reduction factors in the Reduction (dB) column for different frequency separation,
Freq.Delta(MHz),valuesrelativetothecentrefrequencyofthechannel(carrier)usedinthemaindocument.

Reductionvaluesmustbepositive.
Ifyouleavereductionfactorsundefined,Atollassumesthereisnointerference.

ClickOK.Theinterferencereductionfactorsarestored.

Youcan,ifyouwant,linkmorethanoneAtolldocumentwithyourmaindocumentfollowingtheproceduredescribedin
"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage674.Ifthelinkeddocumentsmodelnetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,youcan
definetheinterferencereductionfactorsinyourmaindocumentforallthesetechnologies,andAtollwillcalculateinterfer
encefromalltheexternalbasestationsinallthelinkeddocuments.

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Chapter8
CDMA2000Networks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseaCDMA2000network.
"PlanningandOptimisingCDMABaseStations"on
page711

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage805

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page835

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage837

"CoplanningCDMANetworkswithOtherNetworks"on
page849

"AdvancedConfiguration"onpage868

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8 CDMA2000Networks
AtollenablesyoutocreateandmodifyallaspectsofCDMA20001xRTT(1steXpansionRadioTelephoneTechnology)and
CDMA20001xEVDO(1xEvolutionDataOnly)Rev.0,Rev.AandRev.Bnetworks.Onceyouhavecreatedthenetwork,Atoll
offersmanytoolstoletyouverifythenetwork.Basedontheresultsofyourtests,youcanmodifyanyoftheparametersdefin
ingthenetwork.
PlanningtheCDMAnetworkandcreatingthenetworkofbasestationsisexplainedin"PlanningandOptimisingCDMABase
Stations"onpage711.Allocatingneighboursisexplainedin"PlanningNeighbours"onpage782andallocatingPNoffsetsis
explainedin"PlanningPNOffsets"onpage798.Inthissection,youwillalsofindinformationonhowyoucandisplayinforma
tiononbasestationsonthemapandhowyoucanusethetoolsinAtolltostudybasestations.
In"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage805,usingtrafficmapstostudynetworkcapacityisexplained.Creatingsimulations
usingthetrafficmapinformationandanalysingtheresultsofsimulationsisalsoexplained.
Usingdrivetestdatapathstoverifythenetworkisexplainedin"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage837.Filteringimported
drivetestdatapaths,andusingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.
ANoteontheTerminologyUsedinThisChapter
TheterminologyusedinCDMAisslightlydifferentfromthestandardterminologyusedinAtoll.Therefore,theterminology
usedinexplanationsreflectsthestandardCDMAterminologywiththeequivalentAtollterminologygivenwhenreferences
aremadetotheuserinterface.
CDMA

Atoll

handoff

handover

radioconfiguration

terminal

reverselink

uplink(UL)

forwardlink

downlink(DL)

8.1 PlanningandOptimisingCDMABaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcanstartanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnosites,orfromadatabase
withasetofsites.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatesitesandmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.InaCDMAproject,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtransmitter.Acellreferstothecharacteristicsof
acarrieronatransmitter.

A n te n n a
- A z im u t h
- M e c h a n i c a l t i lt

TMA
A n te n n a
- H e ig h t

F e e d e r C a b le

T r a n s m it t e r
- N o i s e f ig u r e
- Power

S it e
- X , Y c o o r d in a te s

Figure8.1:Atransmitter

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Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellatatime,orcreateseveralatoncebycreatingastationtemplate.Usinga
stationtemplate,youcancreateoneormorebasestationsatthesametime.InAtoll,abasestationreferstoasitewithits
transmitters,antennas,equipment,andcells.
Atollallowsyoutomakeavarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelortransmittercoveragepredictions.Theresults
ofcalculatedcoveragepredictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,oranalysed.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbyallowingyoutocreateservices,users,userprofiles,environments,andtermi
nals.Thisdatacanbethenusedtomakequalitycoveragepredictions,suchaseffectiveservicearea,noise,orhandoffstatus
predictions,onthenetwork.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingaCDMABaseStation"onpage712
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage729
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage730
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage730
"CreatingaDualBandandTriBandCDMANetwork"onpage730
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage730
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage735
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage737
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage743
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage782
"PlanningPNOffsets"onpage798.

8.1.1 CreatingaCDMABaseStation
WhenyoucreateaCDMAsite,youcreateonlythegeographicalpoint;youmustaddthetransmittersandcellsafterwards.
Thesite,withthetransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcellsiscalledabasestation.
Inthissection,eachelementofabasestationisdescribed.Ifyouwanttoaddanewbasestation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage720.Ifyouwanttocreateormodifyoneoftheelementsofabasestation,see"Creating
orModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage718.Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofbasestations,Atollallowsyouto
import them from another Atoll document or from an external source. For information, see "Creating a Group of Base
Stations"onpage729.
Thissectionexplainsthevariouspartsofthebasestationprocess:

"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage712
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage718
"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage720
"ManagingStationTemplates"onpage721
"DuplicatingofanExistingBaseStation"onpage726.

8.1.1.1 DefinitionofaBaseStation
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Youwillusuallycreateanewbasestationusingastationtemplate,asdescribedin"PlacingaNewStationUsinga
StationTemplate"onpage720.Thissectiondescribesthefollowingelementsofabasestationandtheirparameters:

712

"SiteDescription"onpage713
"TransmitterDescription"onpage713
"CellDefinition"onpage716.

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8.1.1.1.1

SiteDescription
TheparametersofasitecanbefoundinthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.ThePropertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:

TheGeneraltab(seeFigure8.2):

Figure8.2:NewSitedialogbox

Name:Atollautomaticallyentersadefaultnameforeachnewsite.Youcanmodifythedefaultnamehere.Ifyou
wanttochangethedefaultnamethatAtollgivestonewsites,seetheAdministratorManual.
Position:Bydefault,Atollplacesthenewsiteatthecentreofthemapwindow.Youcanmodifythelocationof
thesitehere.
Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitewithprecision,youcanalsoplacesitesusing
themouseandthenpositionthempreciselywiththisdialogboxafterwards.For
informationonplacingsitesusingthemouse,see"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"on
page45.

Altitude:Thealtitude,asdefinedbytheDTMforthelocationspecifiedunderPosition,isgivenhere.Youcan
specifytheactualaltitudeunderReal,ifyouwant.Ifanaltitudeisspecifiedhere,Atollwillusethisvalueforcal
culations.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

TheCDMA2000tab:

MaxNumberofUplinkChannelElementsperCarrier:Themaximumnumberofphysicalradioresourcesonthe
reverselinkpercarrierforthecurrentsite.BydefaultAtollentersthemaximumpossible(256).
MaxNumberofDownlinkChannelElementsperCarrier:Themaximumnumberofphysicalradioresourceson
theforwardlinkpercarrierforthecurrentsite.BydefaultAtollentersthemaximumpossible(256).
MaxNumberofEVDOChannelElementsperCarrier:ThemaximumnumberofEVDOradioresourcesonthe
reverselinkpercarrierforthecurrentsite.ThisparameterisusedonlywithCDMA20001xEVDO.BydefaultAtoll
entersthemaximumpossible(96).
With1xEVDO,onlyoneuserontheforwardlinkcanbeservedatagiventime.Thisuserconsumesonlyonechan
nelelement.Onthereverselink,therecanbemorethanoneuserwitheachuserconsumingonechannelelement,
therefore,themaximumnumberofEVDOradioresourcesappliesonlytothereverselink.

Equipment:Youcanselectequipmentfromthelist.Tocreatenewsiteequipment,see"CreatingSiteEquipment"
onpage873.
Ifnoequipmentisassignedtothesite,Atollusesthefollowingdefaultvalues:

8.1.1.1.2

Rakeefficiencyfactor=1
MUDfactor=0
Carrierselection=reverselinkminimumnoise
Forwardlinkandreverselinkoverheadresourcesforcommonchannels=0
TheoptionASRestrictedtoNeighboursisnotselected,theoptionPoolofSharedCEsisnotselected,the
option Power Pooling Between Transmitters is not selected and Atoll uses one channel element on the
forwardlinkorreverselinkforanyserviceduringpowercontrolsimulation.

TransmitterDescription
TheparametersofatransmittercanbefoundinthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Whenyoucreateatransmitter,the
Propertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGeneraltabandtheTransmittertab.Onceyouhavecreatedatransmitter,itsProp
ertiesdialogboxhasthreeadditionaltabs:theCellstab(see"CellDefinition"onpage716),thePropagationtab(see"Assign

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ing a Propagation Model to One Transmitter" on page741), and the Display tab (see "Display Properties of Objects" on
page47).

TheGeneraltab:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthetransmitterafterthesiteitison,addinganunderscoreandanumber.Youcan
enteranameforthetransmitter,butforthesakeofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.Ifyouwant
tochangethewayAtollnamestransmitters,seetheAdministratorManual.
Site:YoucanselecttheSiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Onceyouhaveselectedthesite,youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Forinforma
tiononthesitePropertiesdialogbox,see"SiteDescription"onpage713.YoucanclicktheNewbuttontocreate
anewsiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.
FrequencyBand:YoucanselectaFrequencyBandforthetransmitter.Onceyouhaveselectedthefrequency
band,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheband.Forinformationonthefrequencyband
Propertiesdialogbox,see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage869.
Sharedantenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn
chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantennas(mainandsecondary):

RelativetoSite:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionsasoffsetswithrespecttothesite
location,andenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

MaxRange:Youcandefineamaximumcoveragerangefromthetransmitter.

TheTransmittertab(seeFigure8.3):

Figure8.3:TransmitterdialogboxTransmittertab

714

Active:Ifthistransmitteristobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Activetransmittersaredisplayed
inredintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer.

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Onlyactivetransmittersaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcandefinethetotallossesandthenoisefigurein
theRealtextboxes.Atollcancalculatelossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassigned
tothetransmitter;thecalculatedvaluesareindicatedintheComputedtextboxes.Atollalwaysconsidersthe
valuesintheRealboxesincoveragepredictionseveniftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.
YoucanupdatethevaluesintheRealboxeswiththevaluesintheComputedtextboxes.Forinformation,see
"UpdatingtheValuesforTotalLossesandtheTransmitterEquipmentNoiseFigure"onpage184.
YoucanassignequipmentbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyouclickthe
Equipmentbutton.

OntheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure8.4),theequipmentyouselectandthegainsandlosses
youdefineareusedtosetthetransmitternoisefigureandthetotaltransmitterreverselinkandforwardlink
losses:

TMA:Youcanselectatowermountedamplifier(TMA)fromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccess
thepropertiesoftheTMA.ForinformationoncreatingaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feeder:Youcanselectafeedercablefromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
ofthefeeder.Forinformationoncreatingafeedercable,see"DefiningFeederCables"onpage183.
Transmitter:YoucanselecttransmitterequipmentfromtheTransmitterlist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebutton
toaccessthepropertiesofthetransmitterequipment.Forinformationoncreatingtransmitterequipment,
see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.
FeederLength:Youcanenterthefeederlengthattransmissionandreception.
MiscellaneousLosses:Youcanentermiscellaneouslossesattransmissionandreception.Thevalueyouenter
mustbepositive.
ReceiverAntennaDiversityGain:Youcanenterareceiverantennadiversitygain.Thevalueyouentermust
bepositive.

Figure8.4:TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
Anylossrelatedtothenoiseduetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculated
receptionlosses.

Antennas:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe

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operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power,whichisthepercentageof
powerreservedforthisparticularantenna.Forexample,foratransmitterwithonesecondaryantenna,ifyou
reserve40%ofthetotalpowerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

8.1.1.1.3

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Themechanicalandadditionalelectricaldowntiltsdefinedforthemainantenna
arealsousedforthecalculationsofsmartantennas.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

CellDefinition
InAtoll,acellisdefinedasacarrier,withallitscharacteristics,onatransmitter;thecellisthemechanismbywhichyoucan
configureaCDMAmulticarriernetwork.Inotherwords,atransmitterhasonecellforeverycarrier.
Whenyoucreateatransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesonecellforthetransmitter.ThefollowingexplainstheParameters
ofaCDMAcell.Asyoucreateacell,Atollcalculatesappropriatevaluesforsomefieldsbasedontheinformationyouhave
entered.Youcan,ifyouwant,modifythesevalues.
ThepropertiesofaCDMAcellarefoundonCellstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichitisassigned.
YoucanalsodisplaythepropertiesofacellbydoubleclickingthecellintheSiteexplorer.
SeeFigure1.3onpage41.

Thefollowing1xEVDORevBoptionsapplytoallthe1xEVDOcellsofthetransmitter:

UnderEVDORevB,thefollowing1xEVDORevBoptionsareavailable:

Multicarriersupport:YoucandefinewhetherthetransmittersupportsthemulticarrierEVDOoperation.When
multicarrierEVDOisactive,multicarrierEVDOuserscansimultaneouslyconnectwithtwoormoreEVDOcar
riersoftransmittersthatsupportthemode(i.e.,multicarrierEVDOusersreceivethedataonseveralseparate
carriers.InAtoll,amulticarrierEVDOuserisreferedtoasauserwithmulticarrierEVDObasedservicesanda
multicarrierterminal.
MUGTable:YoucanaccesstheMUG(MultiUserGain)tablebyclickingtheBrowsebutton.TheMUGtableisa
graphofgainasafunctionofthenumberofusers.Theaveragecellthroughputishigherwithmultipleusersthan
withasingleuser.ThisismodelledbytheMUGgraph.Itisusedtocalculatethedownlinkaveragecellthroughput.
Fortransmittersthatsupport multicarrierEVDO,this MUG graphisusedin calculations insteadoftheMUG
graphsetpercell.

MinEc/Nt(UL):YoucanenterormodifytheminimumEc/NttooperatemulticarrierEVDOinthereverselink.

Thefollowingparameterscanbesetforeachindividualcellofthetransmitter:

716

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthecellafteritstransmitter,addingthecarriernumberinparentheses.Ifyouchange
transmitternameorcarrier,Atolldoesnotupdatethecellname.Youcanenteranameforthecell,butforthesake
ofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.IfyouwanttochangethewayAtollnamescells,seetheAdmin
istratorManual.
ID:YoucanenteranIDforthecell.Thisisauserdefinablenetworklevelparameterforcellidentification.
Carrier:Thenumberofthecarrierandthetypeofcarrier.Youcanchoose1xRTTor1xEVDOasthecarriertype.

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Whentransmittersthatcontainmultiplecellsaregroupedbycarrier,Atollsortsthecells
bycarrier,whichgroupstogethertransmittersthatusethesamesetofcarriers.However,
it is sometimes necessary to differentiate transmitters by the order in which channel
numbersareassignedtothecells.ForinstructionsonhowtoforceAtolltoconsiderthe
cellorderwhengroupingbycarriercapability,contacttechnicalsupport.

Thefollowingparametersareavailablefor1xRTTand1xEVDOcarriers:

Active:Ifthiscellisactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.
PNOffsetDomain:ThePseudoNoise(PN)offsetdomaintowhichthecellbelongs.ThePNoffsetdomainisaset
ofgroups,witheachgroupcontainingseveralPNoffsets.
CoPNReuseDistance(m):ThedistancewithinwhichthePNoffsetdefinedforthiscellcannotbereused.
PNOffset:ThePNoffsetisatimeoffsetusedbyacelltoshiftaPseudoNoisesequence.
Ec/I0Threshold(dB):EntertheminimumEcI0requiredfromthecelltobethebestserverintheactiveset.
T_Drop:EntertheminimumEcI0requiredfromthecellnottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
MinRSCP(dBm):TheminimumpilotRSCPrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothecell.ThepilotRSCPiscom
paredwiththisthresholdtodeterminewhetherornotausercanbeconnectedtothecell.
IntertechnologyULNoiseRise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbymobilesandbasestations
ofanexternalnetworkonthiscellontheuplink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalluplinkinterference
basedcalculationsinvolvingthiscellinsimulations.Itisnotusedinpredictions(ASAnalysisandcoveragepredic
tions).Inpredictions,AtollcalculatestheuplinktotalinterferencefromtheULloadfactorwhichincludesinter
technology uplink interference. For more information on intertechnology interference, see "Modelling Inter
technologyInterference"onpage878.
IntertechnologyDLNoiseRise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbymobilesofanexternalnet
workonthemobilesservedbythiscellonthedownlink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalldownlink
interferencebased calculations involving this cell. For more information on intertechnology interference, see
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage878.
MaxNumber ofIntracarrier Neighbours:The maximumnumberofintracarrier neighboursfor thiscell.This
valueisusedbytheintracarrierneighbourallocationalgorithm.
MaxNumberofIntercarrierNeighbours:Themaximumnumberofintercarrierneighboursforthis cell.This
valueisusedbytheintercarrierneighbourallocationalgorithm.
MaxNumberofIntertechnologyNeighbours:Themaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursforthiscell.
Thisvalueisusedbytheintertechnologyneighbourallocationalgorithm.
Neighbours:Youcanaccessadialogboxinwhichyoucansetbothintratechnology(intracarrierandintercarrier)
and intertechnology neighbours by clicking the Browse button. For information on defining neighbours, see
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage782.
TheBrowsebuttonmaynotbevisibleintheNeighboursboxifthisisanewcell.Youcan
maketheBrowsebuttonappearbyclickingApply.

Thefollowingparametersareavailablefor1xRTTcarriers:
MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumavailableforwardlinkpowerforthecell.
PilotPower(dBm):Thepilotpower.
SynchroPower(dBm):Thesynchronisationpower.
PagingPower(dBm):Thepagingpower.
Bydefault,thesynchronisationpowerandpagingpoweraresetasabsolutevalues.You
cansetthesevaluesasrelativetothepilotpowerbyrightclickingtheNetworkSettings
folderintheParametersexplorerandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Then,
on the Global Parameters tab of the Properties dialog box, under DL Powers, you can
selectRelativetoPilot.Thesynchronisationpowerandpagingpowervaluesareautomat
icallyconvertedandsetasrelativetothepilotpower.

Max DL Load (%Pmax): The percentage of the maximum forward link power (set in Max Power) not to be
exceeded.ThislimitwillbetakenintoaccountduringthesimulationiftheoptionsDLLoadandMaxDLLoad
definedpercellareselected.Iftheseoptionsarenotselectedduringasimulation,thisvalueisnottakenintocon
sideration.
MaxULLoadFactor(%):Themaximumreverselinkloadfactornottobeexceeded.Thislimitcanbetakeninto
accountduringthesimulation.ThislimitwillbetakenintoaccountduringthesimulationiftheoptionsULLoad
FactorandMaxULLoadFactordefinedpercellareselected.Iftheseoptionsarenotselectedduringasimulation,
thisvalueisnottakenintoconsideration.
TotalPower(dBmor%):Thetotaltransmittedpoweronforwardlink.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcan
beenteredbytheuser.

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Bydefault,thetotalpowerissetasabsolutevalue.Youcansetthisvalueasapercentage
of the maximum power of the cell by rightclicking the Network Settings folder in the
ParametersexplorerandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Then,ontheGlobal
ParameterstabofthePropertiesdialogbox,underDLLoad,youcanselect%Pmax.The
total power value is automatically converted and set as a percentage of the maximum
power.

ULLoadFactor(%):Thereverselinkcellloadfactor.Thisfactorcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthereverselink
totalinterferenceandthereverselinktotalnoise.Thisistheglobalvalueofreverselinkloadfactorincludingthe
reverselinkintertechnologyinterference.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
PowerReservedforPooling(dB):Thepowerreservedforpoolingisthemaximumamountofpowerthatcanbe
allocatedtothiscellbyothertransmittersonthesiteusingthesamecarrier.Thisvalueisonlyusedifthesite
equipmentallowspowerpoolingbetweentransmitters.

Thefollowingparametersareavailablefor1xEVDOcarriers:

MaxPower(dBm):Thepowertransmittedbya1xEVDOcellwhenthereisatleastoneuser.For1xEVDOcarriers,
thetransmitterequipmentalwaystransmitsatmaximumpower(theDLmaximumpower)unlessithasnouserto
support.Whenthereisnouser,thetransmitterequipmenttransmitsaverylowlevelofpowerduringidletraffic
slots(DLmaximumpower+Idlegain).
IdlePowerGain(dB):ThegainappliedtotheDLpowerwhenthereisnoactiveuserconnectedtothecell.Itmust
beanegativevalue.
MUGTable:YoucanaccesstheMUG(MultiUserGain)tablebyclickingtheBrowsebutton.TheMUGtableisa
graphofgainasafunctionofthenumberofusers.Theaveragecellthroughputishigherwithmultipleusersthan
withasingleuser.ThisismodelledbytheMUGgraph.
IntransmittersthatsupportmulticarrierEVDO,thisMUGgraphisusedincalculationsinsteadoftheMUGgraph
setpercell.

NoiseRiseThreshold(dB):Thenoiserisethreshold.Thenoiserisethresholdandtheacceptablenoiserisemargin
areconsideredinthesimulationduringreverselinkcongestion.Atollensuresthatthecellreverselinknoiserise
iswithinarangedefinedbythenoiserisethresholdplusthemarginandthenoiserisethresholdminusthemargin.
AcceptableNoiseRiseMargin(dB):Theacceptablenoiserisemargin.
DRCErrorRate(%):TheerrorrateasapercentagereceivedbythecellontheDataRateControl(DRC)channel.
ThecellmayreceivetheDRCchannelfromamobileincorrectly.Ifthishappens,themobilewillnotbescheduled
fordatatransmission.ThisvalueistakenintoaccountduringratecontrolwhenAtollcalculatestheaveragecell
throughputontheforwardlink.
EVDOTimeslotsDedicatedtoBCMCS(%):ThepercentageoftimeslotsdedicatedtoBroadcast/MulticastServices
(BCMCS).ThisparameteristakenintoaccountduringratecontrolwhenAtollcalculatesthecellaverageforward
linkthroughput.
EVDOTimeslotsDedicatedtoControlChannels(%):Thepercentageoftimeslotsdedicatedtocontrolchannels
(control,pilot,andACKchannels).ThisparameteristakenintoaccountduringratecontrolwhenAtollcalculates
thecellaverageforwardlinkthroughput.
BCMCS Throughput (kbps): The BCMCS throughput. Two throughput values are available: 204.8kbps and
409.6kbps.ThisparameteristakenintoaccountduringratecontrolwhenAtollcalculatesthecellaveragefor
wardlinkthroughput.
MaxULLoadFactor(%):Themaximumreverselinkloadfactornottobeexceeded.Thislimitcanbetakeninto
accountduringthesimulation.
TotalPower(dBm):Thetotaltransmittedpoweronforwardlink.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbe
enteredbytheuser.
ULLoadFactor(%):Thereverselinkcellloadfactor.Thisfactorcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthereverselink
totalinterferenceandthereverselinktotalnoise.Thisistheglobalvalueforthereverselinkloadfactorincluding
thereverselinkintertechnologyinterference.Thisvaluecanbeasimulationresultorcanbeenteredbytheuser.
MaxNo.ofEVDOUsers:ThemaximumnumberofEVDOcarrierusersthatthiscellcansupportatanygiventime.
MulticarrierEVDOusersarecountedonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.

8.1.1.2 CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Thissectiondescribeshowtocreateormodifythefollowingelementsofabasestation:

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8.1.1.2.1

CreatingorModifyingaSite
Youcanmodifyanexistingsiteoryoucancreateanewsite.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasite,describedin"SiteDescrip
tion"onpage713,throughthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.HowyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhether
youarecreatinganewsiteormodifyinganexistingsite.
Tocreateanewsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select New from the context menu. The Sites: New Record Properties dialog box appears (see Figure8.2 on
page713).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage713.
5. ClickOK.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThesitesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage713.
6. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsitesatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingsites,you
candoitquicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSitestable.Youcanopen
theSitestablebyrightclickingtheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

8.1.1.2.2

CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter
Youcanmodifyanexistingtransmitteroryoucancreateanewtransmitter.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,itsinitial
settingsarebasedonthedefaultstationtemplatedisplayedintheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Youcanaccessthepropertiesof
atransmitter,describedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage713,throughthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Howyou
accessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewtransmitterormodifyinganexistingtransmitter.
Tocreateanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitters:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure8.3).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage713.
5. ClickOK.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellbasedonthedefaultstationtemplate.
Forinformationoncreatingacell,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage720.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage713.
6. ClickOK.

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8.1.1.2.3

If you are creating several transmitters at the same time, or modifying several
existing transmitters, you can do it more quickly by editing or pasting the data
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyright
clickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpenTable
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"Copying
andPastinginTables"onpage82.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecon
textmenu.

CreatingorModifyingaCell
Youcanmodifyanexistingcelloryoucancreateanewcell.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofacell,describedin"CellDefini
tion"onpage716,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterwherethecellislocated.HowyouaccesstheProp
ertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewcellormodifyinganexistingcell.
Tocreateormodifyacell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateacellorwhosecellyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheCellstab.
6. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"CellDefinition"onpage716.
7. ClickOK.

Ifyouarecreatingormodifyingseveralcellsatthesametime,youcandoitmore
quicklybyeditingthedatadirectlyintheCellstable.YoucanopentheCellstable
by rightclicking the Transmitters folder in the Network explorer and selecting
Cells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Youcaneithereditthedatainthetable,
paste data into the table (see "Copying and Pasting in Tables" on page82), or
importdataintothetable(see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87).
Ifyouwanttoaddacelltoanexistingtransmitteronthemap,youcanaddthecell
byrightclickingthetransmitterandselectingNewCellfromthecontextmenu.

8.1.1.3 PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate
InAtoll,astationisdefinedasasitewithoneormoretransmitterssharingthesameproperties.WithAtoll,youcancreatea
networkbyplacingstationsbasedonstationtemplates.Thisallowsyoutobuildyournetworkquicklywithconsistentparam
eters,insteadofbuildingthenetworkbyfirstcreatingthesite,thenthetransmitters,andfinallybyaddingthecells.
Toplaceanewstationusingastationtemplate:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.

2. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

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3. Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyouwouldliketo
placethenewstation.Theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationare
visibleintheStatusbar.

4. Clicktoplacethestation.

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouclick
theNewStationbutton.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"Changing
theMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaysitstiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

Youcanalsoplaceaseriesofstationsusingastationtemplate.Youdothisbydefininganareaonthemapwhereyouwant
toplacethestations.Atollcalculatestheplacementofeachstationaccordingtothedefinedhexagonalcellradiusinthe
stationtemplate.Forinformationondefiningthecellradius,see"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage722.
Toplaceaseriesofstationswithinadefinedarea:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
2. ClicktheHexagonalDesignbutton(
),totheleftofthetemplatelist.Ahexagonaldesignisagroupofstationscre
atedfromthesamestationtemplate.

3. Drawazonedelimitingtheareawhereyouwanttoplacetheseriesofstations:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Atollfillsthedelimitedzonewithnewstationsandtheirhexagonalshapes.Stationobjectssuchassitesandtransmit
tersarealsocreatedandplacedintotheirrespectivefolders.
Onceyouhavecreatedoneormorestations,thehexagonsdescribingtheircellradiusremainvisible.Youcanchoosenotto
displaythem.
TohidethehexagonsaftercreatingstationsusingtheHexagonalDesignbutton(

)ortheNewStationbutton(

):

IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.

You can workwiththe sites and transmittersinthesestationsas youworkwithany stationobject, adding,for example,
anotherantennatoatransmitter.
PlacingaStationonanExistingSite
Whenyouplaceanewstationusingastationtemplateasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page720,thesiteiscreatedatthesametimeasthestation.However,youcanalsoplaceanewstationonanexistingsite.
Toplaceastationonanexistingsite:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.
2. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
3. ClicktheNewStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

4. Movethepointertothesiteonthemap.Whentheframeappearsaroundthesite,indicatingitisselected,clickto
placethestation.

8.1.1.4 ManagingStationTemplates
AtollcomeswithCDMAstationtemplates,butyoucanalsocreateandmodifystationtemplates.Thetoolsforworkingwith
stationtemplatescanbefoundontheRadioPlanningtoolbar(seeFigure8.5).

Figure8.5:TheRadioPlanningtoolbar

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Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

8.1.1.4.1

"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage722
"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage722
"CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother"onpage726
"ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate"onpage726
"DeletingaStationTemplate"onpage726.

CreatingaStationTemplate
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,AtollbasesitonthestationtemplateselectedintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialog
box.Thenewstationtemplatehasthesameparametersastheoneitisbasedon.Therefore,byselectingtheexistingstation
templatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyouwanttocreate,youcancreateanewtemplatebyonlymodi
fyingtheparametersthatdiffer.
Tocreateastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationTemplatestable,rightclickthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyou
wanttocreate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

8. SelectPastefromthecontextmenu.Thestationtemplateyoucopiedinstep5.ispastedinthenewrow,withthe
Nameofthenewstationtemplategivenasthesameasthetemplatecopiedbutprecededby"Copyof".
9. Edittheparametersofthenewstationtemplateinthetableorasexplainedin"ModifyingaStationTemplate"on
page722.

8.1.1.4.2

ModifyingaStationTemplate
YoucanmodifyastationtemplatedirectlyintheStationTemplatestable,oryoucanopenthePropertiesdialogboxforthat
stationtemplateandmodifytheparametersinthedialogbox.
Tomodifyastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. Rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThestationtemplatesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Onthistab(seeFigure8.6),youcanmodifythefollowing:theName
ofthestationtemplate,thenumberofSectors,i.e.,thenumberoftransmittersonthesite,andtheHexagonRadius,
i.e.,thetheoreticalradiusofthehexagonalareacoveredbyeachsector.

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Figure8.6:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxGeneraltab

UnderMainAntenna,youcanmodifythefollowing:theHeight/Groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,the
heightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustincludetheheightof
building),themainantennaModel,1stSectorAzimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectorsareoffsetto
offercompletecoverageofthearea,andtheMechanicalDowntiltfortheantennas.
ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectricaldowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderPropagation,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolutionforboththe
Main Matrixand theExtended Matrix. Forinformationonpropagationmodels,see"AssigningaPropagation
ModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage741.
UnderComments,youcanaddadditionalinformation.Theinformationyouenterwillbethedefaultinformation
intheCommentsfieldofanytransmittercreatedusingthisstationtemplate.

8. ClicktheTransmittertab.Onthistab(seeFigure8.7).Youcanmodifythefollowing:

Active:Ifthetransmittersinthisstationtemplatearetobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Active
transmittersaredisplayedinredintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcandefinethetotallossesandthenoisefigurein
theRealtextboxes.Atollcancalculatelossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassigned
tothetransmitter;thecalculatedvaluesareindicatedintheComputedtextboxes.Atollalwaysconsidersthe
valuesintheRealboxesincoveragepredictionseveniftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.
YoucanupdatethevaluesintheRealboxeswiththevaluesintheComputedtextboxes.Forinformation,see
"UpdatingtheValuesforTotalLossesandtheTransmitterEquipmentNoiseFigure"onpage184.
YoucanassignequipmentbyusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyouclickthe
Equipmentbutton.ForinformationontheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"on
page713.

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Figure8.7:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxTransmittertab
9. ClicktheCDMAtab.Onthistab(seeFigure8.8),youmodifythespecificationsoftheCarriers(eachcorrespondingto
acell)thateachtransmittersupports.Forinformationoncarriersandcells,see"CellDefinition"onpage716.

YoucanselecttheCarriernumbersforeachsectorofthestationtemplate.Toselectthecarrierstobeaddedto
thesectorsofabasestationcreatedusingthisstationtemplate:
i.

ClicktheBrowsebutton.TheCarriersperSectordialogboxappears.

ii. IntheCarriersperSectordialogbox,selectthecarrierstobecreatedforeachsectorofthestation.
iii. ClickOK.

UnderPNOffset,youcandefinetheReuseDistanceandtheDomainofthepseudonoiseoffset.
UnderPower,youcandefinethePilot,thePaging,andtheSynchropowers,andtheIdlePowerGain.
UnderSimulationConstraints,youcanmodifytheMaxPower,theMaxDLLoad(definedasapercentageofthe
maximumpower),andtheMaxULLoadFactor.
UnderLoadConditions,youcanmodifytheTotalTransmittedPowerandtheULLoadFactor.
UnderActiveSet,youcanmodifytheMinEc/IoandtheTDrop.
UnderIntertechnologyInterference,youcansettheDLNoiseRiseandtheULNoiseRise.Formoreinformation
onintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage878.
YoucanalsomodifytheNumberofUplinkandDownlinkChannelElementsandselecttheEquipment.

Figure8.8:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxCDMAtab

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10. ClicktheCDMA2000tab.Onthistab(seeFigure8.9),youmodifyadditionalspecificationsoftheCarriers(eachcorre
sponding to a cell) that each transmitter supports. For information on carriers and cells, see "Cell Definition" on
page716.

YoucansetthePowerReservedforPooling.
Under1xRTT,youcanmodifythePilotPower,thePagingPower,andtheSynchroPower.
Under1xEVDO,youcanmodifytheIdlePowerGain,theMax.NumberofEVDOChannelElementsperCarrier,
andyoucanmodifytheMUG(multiusergain)table.
UnderRev.0,youcansettheNoiseRiseThreshold,theAcceptableNoiseRiseMargin,andtheDRCErrorRate.
UnderRev.A,youcansettheTimeslotBCMCS,theTimeslotControlChannels,andtheBCMCSThroughput.
UnderRev.B,youcanselectwhetherMulticarrierEVDOissupportedandyoucanenteraMUG=f(No.Users)
graphanddefinetheminEc/Nt(UL).

Figure8.9:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxCDMA2000tab
11. ClicktheNeighbourstab.Onthistab(seeFigure8.10),youcanmodifytheMaxNumberofIntraandInterCarrier
NeighboursandtheMaxNumberofIntertechnologyNeighbours.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"Plan
ningNeighbours"onpage782.

Figure8.10:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxNeighbourstab
12. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Sitestable,orifyouhavedefinedanadditionalfieldintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogbox.
13. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsaveyour
changes.

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CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother
YoucancopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplatebyusingtheStationTemplatestable.
Tocopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationsTemplatestable,copythesettingsintherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttocopy
fromandpastethemintotherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.

8.1.1.4.4

ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate
Tomodifyafieldinastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTabletab.
6. Forinformationonadding,deleting,andeditinguserdefinedfields,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTable
Fields"onpage76).
7. Whenyouhavefinished,ClickOK.

8.1.1.4.5

DeletingaStationTemplate
Todeleteastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheStationTemplatesfolder.
4. IntheStationTemplatesfolder,rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thetemplateisdeleted.

8.1.1.5 DuplicatingofanExistingBaseStation
Youcancreatenewbasestationsbyduplicatinganexistingbasestation.Whenyouduplicateanexistingbasestation,thebase
stationyoucreatewillhavethesametransmitter,andcellparametervaluesastheoriginalbasestation.Ifnositeexistswhere
youplacetheduplicatedbasestation,Atollwillcreateanewsitewiththesameparametersasthesiteoftheoriginalbase
station.Duplicatingabasestationallowsyouto:

Quicklycreateanewbasestationwiththesamesettingsasanoriginalbasestationinordertostudytheeffectofa
newstationonthecoverageandcapacityofthenetwork,and
Quicklycreateanewhomogeneousnetworkwithstationsthathavethesamecharacteristics.

Toduplicateanexistingbasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

SelectDuplicate>WithoutNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationwithout
theintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.
SelectDuplicate>WithNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationalongwith
thelistsofintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.

5. Placethenewbasestationonthemapusingthemouse:

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Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyou
wouldliketoplacetheduplicate.TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatus
bar(seeFigure8.11).

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Figure8.11:Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite

Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointerovertheexistingsite
whereyouwouldliketoplacetheduplicate.Whenthepointerisoverthesite,thesiteisautomaticallyselected.
TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatusbar(seeFigure8.12).

Figure8.12:Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouselect
Duplicatefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see
"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaystiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

6. Clicktoplacetheduplicatebasestation.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Thesite,transmitters,andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenames
asthesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestationwitheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmit
ters,andcellsoftheduplicatebasestationhavethesamesettingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Alltheremote
antennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanewsite,thesite,transmitters,
andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheduplicatebasestationhavethesame
settingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanexistingsite,thetransmit
ters,andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthetransmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnameprecededbythenameofthesiteonwhichtheduplicatewasplaced.
Alltheremoteantennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anyduplicatedremoteantennasandrepeaterswillretainthesamedonortransmitteras
theoriginal.Ifyouwanttheduplicatedremoteantennaorrepeatertouseatransmitter
ontheduplicatedbasestation,youmustchangethedonortransmittermanually.
YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofduplicatebasestationsbypressingandholdingCTRLinstep6.andclickingtoplaceeach
duplicatebasestation.
Formoreinformationonthesite,transmitter,andcellproperties,see"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage712.

8.1.1.6 StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation
InAtoll,youcanmakeaprofileanalysistostudyobstaclesalongthepathbetweenareferencetransmitterandanypointon
themap.Atolldisplaysthegeographicprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoidindi
catingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayedallowingyoutostudyobstructionstoradiosignalsalongthepath.
Youcanalsostudypropagationlossesalongtheprofileaswellasthesignallevelreceivedatthepoint.Beforestudyingpath
lossalongaprofile,youmustassignapropagationmodeltothetransmitter.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioand
geographicdataintoaccountandcalculateslossesalongthetransmitterreceiverpath.Theprofileiscalculatedinrealtime,
usingthepropagationmodel,allowingyoutostudytheprofileandgetapredictionontheselectedpoint.Forinformationon
assigningapropagationmodel,see"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage740.

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Tostudytheprofilebetweenatransmitterandareceiver:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. ClickthePointAnalysisTool(
pointerchanges(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcanmovethereceiver
tochangethecurrentpositionorrightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontext
menu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
TargetSite:Selectasitefromthelisttoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheProfileview.
5. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
mitterandthereceiver.

)toviewthegeographicprofilebetweenthetrans

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.Atolldisplaystheprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoid
indicatingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayed.Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverisdisplayedatthe
topoftheProfileview.
6. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
transmitterandthereceiver.

)againtoviewtheradiosignalpathbetweenthe

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.AblueellipsoidindicatestheFresnelzonebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver,withagreenline
indicatingthelineofsight(LOS).AtolldisplaystheangleoftheLOSreadfromtheverticalantennapattern.Alongthe
profile,ifthesignalmeetsanobstacle,theobstaclecausesattenuationwithdiffractiondisplayedbyaredverticalline
(iftheusedpropagationmodelisabletocalculatediffraction).Themaindiffractionedgeistheonethatintersectsthe
Fresnelellipsoidthemost.Propagationmodelsthatusea3knifeedgeDeygoutdiffractionmethodmayalsodisplay
twoadditionaldiffractionedges.Thetotalattenuationisdisplayedabovethemaindiffractionedge.
TheresultsoftheanalysisaredisplayedatthetopoftheProfileview:

Thereceivedsignalstrengthfromtheselectedtransmitterforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower
Thepropagationmodelused
Theshadowingmarginandtheindoorloss(ifselected)
Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver.

YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsfromtheProfileviewtoolbar:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.YoucanclickthePropertiesbutton(
propertiesdialogbox.
Carriers:Selectthecarriertobeanalysed.

Options:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

728

)toopenthetransmitter

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,youcan:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelectSignallevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResulttypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

LinkBudget:ClicktheLinkBudgetbutton(

DetailedReport:ClicktheDetailedReportbutton(
)todisplayatextdocumentwithdetailsonthedisplayed
profileanalysis.ThedetailedreportisonlyavailablefortheStandardPropagationModel.

)todisplayadialogboxwiththelinkbudget.

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Figure8.13:PointAnalysisToolProfileview
7. Toendthepointanalysis,clickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbaragain.

8.1.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaCDMABaseStation"onpage712,oryoucancreateone
or several base stations by using station templates as explained in "Placing a New Station Using a Station Template" on
page720.However,ifyouhavealargedataplanningprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdatainto
yourcurrentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdataandpasteitinto thetablesinyourcurrent Atolldocument. Whenyoucreateagroupofbase
stationsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdatainthe
Transmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopyfrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouarepasting
datainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavedataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintothetablesin
thecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatandthen
importitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhat
valuesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
YoucanquicklycreateaseriesofbasestationsforstudypurposesusingtheHexagonal
DesigntoolontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Forinformation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage720.

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8.1.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe
map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
iftherethereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensa
contextmenuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orby
lettingAtollfindahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

8.1.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atollallowstoyoutodisplayinformationaboutbasestationsinanumberofdifferentways.Thisenablesyounotonlyto
displayselectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe
visible;toomuchinformationwillleadtoacluttereddisplay.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivesites.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolourtoeach
transmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.Forinforma
tionondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

and

).

8.1.5 CreatingaDualBandandTriBandCDMANetwork
InAtoll,youcanmodeldualbandandtribandCDMAnetworksinonedocument(e.g.,networkconsistingof1900MHzand
700MHztransmitters).CreatingadualbandortribandCDMAnetworkconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. Definingthefrequencybandsinthedocument(see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage869).
2. Selectingandcalibratingapropagationmodelforeachfrequencyband(seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagation
Models).
3. Assigning a frequency band, with its propagation model, to each transmitter (see "Transmitter Description" on
page713).
4. Definingthefrequencybandswithwhichterminalsarecompatible(see"ModellingTerminals"onpage756).

8.1.6 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalcanbecarried by different typesoflinks suchas aradiolinkoramicrowavelink.The serversideretransmitsthe
receivedsignal.
WhenAtollmodelsCDMArepeaters,themodellingfocuseson:

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Theadditionalcoveragethesesystemsprovidetotransmittersinthedownlink.
Thenoiserisegeneratedatthedonortransmitterbytherepeater.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage731
"CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment"onpage731
"PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage732
"CreatingSeveralRepeaters"onpage732
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater"onpage732
"TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters"onpage734
Broadbandrepeatersarenotmodelled.Atollassumesthatallcarriersfromthe3Gdonor
transmitterareamplified.

8.1.6.1 OpeningtheRepeatersTable
RepeatersandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRepeaterstable.
ToopentheRepeaterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRepeaters>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterstableappears.

8.1.6.2 CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment
Youcandefinerepeaterequipmenttobeassignedtoeachrepeaterinthenetwork.
Tocreaterepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. EnterthefollowingintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

):

a. EnteraNameandManufacturerforthenewequipment.
b. EnteraNoiseFigure(dB).Therepeatercausesariseinnoiseatthedonortransmitter,sothenoisefigureisused
tocalculatetheULlosstobeaddedtothedonortransmitterULlosses.Thenoisefiguremustbeapositivevalue.
c. EnterminimumandmaximumrepeateramplificationgainsintheMin.GainandMaxGaincolumns.Theseparam
etersenableAtolltoensurethattheuserdefinedamplifiergainisconsistentwiththelimitsoftheequipmentif
thereareany.
d. EnteraGainIncrement.Atollusestheincrementvaluewhenyouincreaseordecreasetherepeateramplifiergain
usingthebuttonstotherightoftheAmplificationbox(
box.

)ontheGeneraltaboftherepeaterPropertiesdialog

e. EnterthemaximumpowerthattheequipmentcantransmitonthedownlinkintheMaximumDownlinkPower
column.ThisparameterenablesAtolltoensurethatthedownlinkpowerafteramplificationdoesnotexceedthe
limitoftheequipment.
f. Ifdesired,enteraMaximumUplinkPower,anInternalDelayandComments.Thesefieldsareforinformation
onlyandarenotusedincalculations.
Tomodifyrepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. Changetheparametersintherowcontainingtherepeaterequipmentyouwanttomodify.

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8.1.6.3 PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearepeater,youcanaddittoanexistingsite,
orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.Atollsupportscascadingrepeaters,inotherwords,repeatersthatextendthe
coverageofanotherrepeaterorofaremoteantenna.
Tocreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Select the donor transmitter, repeater, or remote antenna. You can select it from the Transmitters folder of the
Networkexplorer,ordirectlyonthemap.
2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRepeaterfromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetherepeater.Therepeaterisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)inthesame
colourasthedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.Iftherepeaterisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanempty
icon.Bydefault,therepeaterhasthesameazimuthasthedonor.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesameinformation
asdisplayedforthedonor.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestherepeaterandthedonor.IntheExplorerwindow,the
repeaterisfoundintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorerunderitsdonortransmitter,repeater,orremote
antenna.
For information on defining the properties of the new repeater, see "Defining the Properties of a Repeater" on
page732.

Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

8.1.6.4 CreatingSeveralRepeaters
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachrepeaterarestoredintheRepeaterstable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanother
Atolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRepeaterstableinyourcurrentAtolldocu
ment.
TopastetheinformationintotheRepeaterstable:
1. OpentheRepeaterstableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage731.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRepeaterstable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

8.1.6.5 DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater
Todefinethepropertiesofarepeater:
1. Rightclicktherepeatereitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRepeaterstable(forinformationonopeningtheRepeat
erstable,see"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage731).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

YoucanchangetheNameoftherepeater.Bydefault,repeatersarenamed"SiteX_Y_RepZ"where"X"isthedonor
sitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotherepeaterwhenitwascreated.
Ifthedonorisaremoteantennaoranotherrepeater,then"RepZ"isprecededby"RemA_"
or"RepB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorremoteantennaandthedonorrepeater.

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YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,aremoteantenna,
oranotherrepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtherepeaterislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialog
boxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedantenna(coverageside)fieldfortherepeater.Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythe
transmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposition
andthatshareanantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltof
oneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftherepeater,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterrelativetothesite
itselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterbyitsXYcoordinates.
YoucanselectequipmentfromtheEquipmentlist.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxof
theequipment.
YoucanchangetheAmplifierGain.Amplificationgainisusedinthelinkbudgettoevaluatetherepeatertotalgain.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectaLinkType.

IfyouselectMicrowaveLink,enterthePropagationLossesandcontinuewithstep5.
IfyouselectAir,selectaPropagationModelandenterthePropagationLossesorclickCalculatetodetermine
theactualpropagationlossesbetweenthedonorandtherepeater.Ifyoudonotselectapropagationmodel,
thepropagationlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeaterarecalculatedusingtheITU5265
propagationmodel.
Whenyoucreateanoffairrepeater,itisassumedthatthelinkbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeat
erhasthesamefrequencyasthenetwork.
Ifyouwanttocreatearemoteantenna,youmustselectOpticalFibreLink.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderAntenna:

Model:ThetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproper
tiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MechanicalAzimuthandMechanicalDowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
You can click the Calculate button to update the mechanical azimuth and mechanical
downtilt values after changing the repeater donor side antenna height or the repeater
location.IfyouchooseanothersiteorchangesitecoordinatesintheGeneraltab,click
ApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorRepeaterLink,enterthefollowinginformationunderFeeders:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.
5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiverepeaters(displayedinredintheTransmittersfolderintheNetwork
explorer)arecalculated.
UnderTotalGain,enterthegainintheforwardandreverselinks(DL/UL)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactual
gainintheforwardandreverselinks.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverage
Sidetabs,clickApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

Intheforwardlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachpower(pilotpower,SCHpower,etc.).
Inthereverselink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachterminalpower.

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Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeater,donorcharacteristics
(donor antenna gain, reception feeder losses), amplifier gain, and coverage characteristics (coverage antenna
gain,transmissionfeederlosses).

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sincerepeatersaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetthepropagation
parameters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,Radius,andResolution
forboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristicsoftherepeater(model,
calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.Forinformationonpropagation
models,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

8.1.6.6 TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainrepeaterparameters:

You can update the calculated azimuth and downtilt of the donorside antennas of all repeaters by selecting
Repeaters>CalculateDonorSideAzimuthsandTiltsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanupdatethereverselinkandforwardlinktotalgainsofallrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateGains
fromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedrepeatersby
creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Repeaters table and
settingthevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRepeaters>Calculate
GainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,AtollwillonlyupdatetheULandDLtotalgains
forrepeaterswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"setto"False".

734

YoucanupdatethepropagationlossesofalloffairrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateDonorSidePropa
gationLossesfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
Youcanselectarepeateronthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingthe
Mouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsing
theMouse"onpage46).

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8.1.7 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticalfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmaywanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation
that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage730.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage735
"PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage735
"CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas"onpage736
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna"onpage736
"TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters"onpage737.

8.1.7.1 OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable
TheremoteantennasandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.
ToopentheRemoteAntennastable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRemoteAntennas>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRemoteAntennastableappears.

8.1.7.2 PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearemoteantenna,youcanaddit
toanexistingbasestationwithoutantennas,orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.
Tocreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Selectthedonortransmitter.YoucanselectitfromtheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer,ordirectlyon
themap.
Ensurethattheremoteantennasdonortransmitterdoesnothaveanyantennas.

2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRemoteAntennafromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetheremoteantenna.Theremoteantennaisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)
inthesamecolourasthedonortransmitter.Iftheremoteantennaisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanemptyicon.By
default,theremoteantennahasthesameazimuthasthedonortransmitter.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesame
informationasdisplayedforthedonortransmitter.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestheremoteantennaandthedonor
transmitter.
Forinformationondefiningthepropertiesofthenewremoteantenna,see"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemote
Antenna"onpage736.

Whenthedonorisatransmitter,youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeateris
connectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysalinktothedonortransmitter.Youcanhide
thelinkbyclickingitagain.
Whenthedonorisarepeateroraremoteantenna,Atolldisplaysaspidertypelink
showingtheentirechaindowntothedonortransmitter.Thesamespidertypelink
isdisplayedwhenyouclickanyoftheitemsbelongingtothechainisclicked(i.e.,
donortransmitter,anyrepeater,oranyremoteantenna).

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8.1.7.3 CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachremoteantennaarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,
eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastablein
yourcurrentAtolldocument.
TopastetheinformationintotheRemoteAntennastable:
1. OpentheRemoteAntennastableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage735.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

8.1.7.4 DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna
Todefinethepropertiesofaremoteantenna:
1. Rightclicktheremoteantennaeitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRemoteAntennastable(forinformationonopen
ingtheRemoteAntennastable,see"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage735).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

YoucanchangetheNameoftheremoteantenna.Bydefault,remoteantennasarenamed"SiteX_Y_RemZ"where
"X"isthedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotheremoteantenna
whenitwascreated.
Ifthedonorisarepeateroranotherremoteantenna,then"RemZ"isprecededby"RepA_"
or"RemB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorrepeaterandthedonorremoteantenna.

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,anotherremote
antennaorarepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtheremoteantennaislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopenstheProperties
dialogboxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedAntenna(coverageside)fieldfortheremoteantenna.Thisfieldisusedto
identifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththe
same position and that share an antenna. The entry in the field must be the same for all such transmitters,
repeaters,andremoteantennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,
ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,
repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaPosition,youcandefinethepositionoftheremoteantenna,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

RelativetoSite:SelectRelativetoSite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennarelativeto
thesiteitselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennabyitsXYcoordi
nates.
Aremoteantennadoesnothaveequipment.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorRepeaterLink,selectOpticalFibreLinkandentertheFibreLosses.

5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

736

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiveremoteantennas(displayedinredintheTransmittersfolderintheNet
workexplorer)arecalculated.

UnderTotalGain,enterthegainintheforwardandreverselinks(DL/UL)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactual
gainintheforwardandreverselinks.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverage
Sidetabs,clickApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

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Intheforwardlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachpower(pilotpower,SCHpower,etc.).
Inthereverselink,thetotalgainisappliedtoeachterminalpower.

Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtheremoteantenna.

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/Ground:TheHeight/Groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftheremoteantennaissituatedonabuilding,theheightentered
mustincludetheheightofthebuilding.
MainAntenna:UnderMainAntenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryAntennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,AdditionalElectricalDowntilt,and%Power.

TheAdditionalElectricalDowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sinceremoteantennasaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetpropaga
tionparameters,aswithtransmitters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationModel,
Radius,andResolutionforboththeMainMatrixandtheExtendedMatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristics
oftheremoteantenna(model,calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.
Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

8.1.7.5 TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainremoteantennaparameters:

YoucanupdatethereverselinkandforwardlinktotalgainsofallremoteantennasbyselectingRemoteAntennas>
CalculateGainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedremoteantennas
by creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Remote Antennas
tableandsettingthevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRemote
Antennas>CalculateGainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,Atollwillonlyupdate
theULandDLtotalgainsforremoteantennaswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"set
to"False."

Youcanselectaremoteantennaonthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsing
theMouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSite
UsingtheMouse"onpage46).

8.1.8 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.

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Figure8.14givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure8.14,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

Figure8.14:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage738
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage739
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage740
"SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive"onpage742
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage743

8.1.8.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmaycoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,calculatingovertheentirenetworkwould
notonlytakealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothesitesthatyouareinterested
inandgenerateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofsitesinvolvedinthecalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredsites
Youcansimplifytheselectionofsitestobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfiltersitesaccordingtooneormorefields,
oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreateagraphicfilterby
eitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphicfilters,see"Filter

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ingDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswiththecharacteristics
youwanttostudy.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmaynotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite
configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitstheresultingcalculatedcoverage.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
theareawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlo,powercontrolsimulations,etc.,
whilethefocuszoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage739.

Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

8.1.8.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thezone
willbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzoneasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheExplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZoneto
MapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clickingtheComputationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingExportfromthe
contextmenu.

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8.1.8.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Aswell,youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedasforalltrans
mitterswherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."
Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage741,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage740,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.
2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage740,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwilllaterassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
Whenyouassignapropagationmodelglobally,youoverrideanyselectionyoumight
havemadetoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters.

If,afterassigningapropagationmodeltoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters,youassignapropa
gationmodelglobally,youwilloverridethepropagationmodelsthatyouhadassignedtoindividualtransmittersorto
agroupoftransmitters.
3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"AssigningaDefaultPropagation
ModelforCalculations"onpage742,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemain
propagationmodelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropa
gationmodel,thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Inthissection,thefollowingmethodsofassigningapropagationmodelareexplained:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage740
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage740
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage741
"AssigningaDefaultPropagationModelforCalculations"onpage742.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanchooseapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.
5. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage741willoverridethisentry.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.

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Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. FromtheGroupbysubmenuofthecontextmenu,selectthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
You can group transmitters by several properties by usingthe GroupBy button on the
Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

MainPropagationModel
MainCalculationRadius(m)
MainResolution(m)
ExtendedPropagationModel
ExtendedCalculationRadius(m)
ExtendedResolution(m)

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button( )intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesmadeglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePropagationtab.
6. UnderMainMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. Ifdesired,underExtendedMatrix:

SelectaPropagationModel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

8. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.

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AssigningaDefaultPropagationModelforCalculations
Youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedasforalltransmitterswhosemain
propagationmodelis"(Defaultmodel)."
Toassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePredictionstab.
5. SelectaDefaultPropagationModelfromthelist.
6. EnteraDefaultResolution.Whenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction,theresolutionbydefaultisthevalueyou
haveenteredhere.
BymakingthenecessaryentryintheAtoll.inifile,ifyouclearthevalueenteredinthe
Resolutionboxwhenyoucreateacoverageprediction,Atollwillcalculatethecoverage
predictionusingthecurrentlydefineddefaultresolution.Thatway,ifyouhavemany
coveragepredictions,youcanchangetheirresolutionbychangingthedefaultresolution
andrecalculatingthecoveragepredictions.Atollcalculatesthemusingtheupdated
resolution.ForinformationonchangingentriesintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelwillbeusedforcalculationsforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."

8.1.8.4 SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters),andwhosepropagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Beforeyourunacalcula
tions,youmustensurethatallthetransmittersonthesitesyouwanttostudyhavebeenactivated.IntheExplorerwindow,
activetransmittersareindicatedwitharedicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapand

inactivetransmittersareindicatedwithanemptyicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandonthemap.

InAtoll,youcanalsosetindividualcellsonatransmitterasactiveorinactive.
Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveby
activatingthemfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmitterscellsfromtheCellstable,orbyselecting
thetransmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.
Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectActivateTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitterisnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolderandright
clickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttosetasactive.Thecontextmenuappears.

3. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetmorethanonecellasactiveusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTable.TheCellstableappearswitheachcellsparametersinasecondrow.
4. Foreachcellthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.

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Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.
3. Rightclickthefolderofthezoneyouwillusetoselectthetransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

4. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
Onceyouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbeextremelytimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Conse
quently,Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.YoucaninstalltheAtoll
computingserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethecomputingserverapplicationisinstalledona
workstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.For
informationondistributedcalculations,seetheAdministratorManual.

8.1.8.5 TheCalculationProcess
WhenyoucreateacoveragepredictionandclicktheCalculatebutton(

),Atollfollowsthefollowingprocess:

1. Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesexistand,ifso,whethertheyarevalid.Theremustbevalid
pathlossmatricesforeachactiveandfilteredtransmitterwhosepropagationradiusintersectstherectanglecontain
ingthecomputationzone.
2. Ifthepathlossmatricesdonotexistorarenotvalid,Atollcalculatesthem.Therehastobeatleastoneunlockedcov
eragepredictioninthePredictionsfolder.IfnotAtollwillnotcalculatethepathlossmatriceswhenyouclicktheCal
culatebutton(

).

3. AtollcalculatesallunlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
Predictionsfolder.

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton
(

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthe

)inthetoolbar.

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates all path loss matrices, unlocked coverages, and pending simula
tions.

8.1.9 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthesetparameters.Coveragepredictionsongroupsof
basestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverageprediction
tothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougettheresultsquickly.Youcanexpandyourcoverageprediction
toanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.
Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage737.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage744
"CDMACoveragePredictions"onpage751
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage770
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage771
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage775
"AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis"onpage775
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage778.

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8.1.9.1 SignalLevelCoveragePredictions
Atolloffersaseriesofstandardcoveragepredictionsthatarecommontoallradiotechnologies.Coveragepredictionsspecific
toCDMAarecoveredin"CDMACoveragePredictions"onpage751.
Onceyouhavecreatedandcalculatedacoverageprediction,youcanusethecoveragepredictionscontextmenutomake
thecoveragepredictionintoacustomisedpredictionwhichwillappearinthePredictionTypesdialogbox.Youcanalsoselect
Duplicatefromthecoveragepredictionscontextmenutocreateacopy.Byduplicatinganexistingpredictionthathasthe
parametersyou want to study, youcan create a new coverage prediction more quicklythanby creating a new coverage
prediction.Ifyoucloneacoverageprediction,byselectingClonefromthecontextmenu,youcancreateacopyofthecover
agepredictionwiththecalculatedcoverage.Youcanthenchangethedisplay,providingthattheselectedparameterdoesnot
invalidatethecalculatedcoverageprediction.
Youcanalsosavethelistofalldefinedcoveragepredictionsinauserconfiguration,allowingyouorotheruserstoloaditinto
anewAtolldocument.Whenyousavethelistinauserconfiguration,theparametersofallexistingcoveragepredictionsare
saved;notjusttheparametersofcalculatedordisplayedones.Forinformationonexportinguserconfigurations,see"Saving
aUserConfiguration"onpage104.
Thefollowingstandardcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

8.1.9.1.1

"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage744
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage746
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748
"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage749.

StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation
Asyouarebuildingyourradioplanningproject,youmaywanttocheckthecoverageofanewsitewithouthavingtocalculate
theentireproject.Youcandothisbyselectingthesitewithitstransmittersandthencreatinganewcoverageprediction.
Thissectionexplainshowtocalculatethesignallevelcoverageofasinglesite.Asignallevelcoveragepredictiondisplaysthe
strengthofthebestsignalreceivedateachpixeloftheareastudied.
You can use the same procedure to study the signal level coverage of several sites by
groupingthetransmitters.Forinformationongroupingtransmitters,see"GroupingData
ObjectsbyaSelectedProperty"onpage95.
Tostudythesignallevelcoverageofasinglebasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderandselectGroupBy>Sitefromthecontextmenu.Thetransmittersarenowdis
playedintheTransmittersfolderbythesiteonwhichtheyaresituated.
Ifyouwanttostudyonlytransmittersbytheirstatus,atthisstepyoucouldgroupthem
bystatus.

3. Selectthepropagationparameterstobeusedinthecoverageprediction:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
b. Rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudy.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Atableappearswiththepropertiesoftheselectedgroupoftransmit
ters.
d. Inthetable,youcanconfiguretwopropagationmodels:oneforthemainmatrix,withashorterradiusandahigh
erresolution,andanotherfortheextendedmatrix,withalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Bycalculatingtwo
matricesyoucanreducethetimeofcalculationbyusingalowerresolutionfortheextendedmatrixandyoucan
obtainmoreaccurateresultsbyusingpropagationmodelsbestsuitedforeachdistanceforthemainandextended
matrices.
e. IntheMainMatrixcolumns:

SelectaMainPropagationModel
EnteraMainCalculationRadiusandMainResolution.

f. Ifdesired,intheExtendedMatrixcolumns:

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g. Closethetable.
4. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudyandselectCalculations>Createa
NewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
ThePredictionTypesdialogboxliststhecoveragepredictionsavailable.TheyaredividedintoStandardPredictions,
suppliedwithAtoll,andCustomisedPredictions.Unlessyouhavealreadycreatedsomecustomisedpredictions,the
CustomisedPredictionslistwillbeempty.
5. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
6. YoucanconfigurethefollowingparametersinthePropertiesdialogbox:

Generaltab:YoucanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theResolution,andyoucanadda
Comment.Theresolutionyousetisthedisplayresolution,notthecalculationresolution.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformation
onfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingasocalled"global"cover
ageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).

Toimprovememoryconsumptionandoptimisethecalculationtimes,youshouldsetthedisplayresolutionsof
coveragepredictionsaccordingtotheprecisionrequired.Thefollowingtableliststhelevelsofprecisionthatare
usuallysufficient:

SizeoftheCoveragePrediction

DisplayResolution

CityCentre

5m

City

20m

County

50m

State

100m

Country

Accordingtothesizeofthe
country

Conditionstab:ThecoveragepredictionparametersontheConditionstaballowyoutodefinethesignalsthatwill
beconsideredforeachpixel(seeFigure8.15).

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansetthesignallevelrangetobeconsidered.InFigure8.15,asignal
levelgreaterthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsidersignallevelsfromallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequency
bands.InCDMA2000,1xEVDOalwaystransmitsatfullpower,unlike1xRTT.Therefore,ifyouselect"Best",
thevaluesdisplayedwillalwaysbeforthemaximumpowertransmittedbythecell,inotherwords,thepower
forthe1xEVDOcarrier.

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Figure8.15:Conditionsettingsforasignallevelcoverageprediction

Displaytab:Youcanmodifyhowtheresultsofthecoveragepredictionwillbedisplayed.

UnderDisplayType,select"ValueIntervals."
UnderField,select"Bestsignallevel."Selecting"All"or"Bestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyou
thesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"Bestsignallevel"
necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
Youcanchangethevalueintervalsandtheirdisplayedcolour.Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,
see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
YoucancreatetiptextwithinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionbyclickingtheBrowsebuttonnextto
theTipTextboxandselectingthefieldsyouwanttodisplayinthetiptext.
YoucanselecttheAddtoLegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedvalueintervalstothelegend.
Ifyouchangethedisplaypropertiesofacoveragepredictionafteryouhavecalculatedit,
youmaymakethecoveragepredictioninvalid.Youwillthenhavetorecalculatethecover
agepredictiontoobtainvalidresults.

7. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Thesignallevel
coveragepredictioncanbefoundinthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
folder.WhenyouclicktheCalculatebutton(

8.1.9.1.2

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthePredictions

),Atollonlycalculatesunlockedcoveragepredictions(

).

MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel
Acoveragepredictionbysignallevelallowsyoutopredictthebestsignalstrengthateachpixel.Youcanbasethecoverage
onthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbysignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingasocalled"global"cover
ageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).

6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.16).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure8.16,asignallevel
greaterthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.
IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands.
InCDMA2000,1xEVDOalwaystransmitsatfullpower,unlike1xRTT.Therefore,ifyouselect"Best",thevalues
displayed will always be for the maximum power transmitted by the cell, in other words, the power for the
1xEVDOcarrier.

Figure8.16:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbysignallevel
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. Choosetodisplaytheresultsbybestsignallevel.Thecoveragepredictionresultswillbeintheformofthresholds.For
informationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"ontheConditionstabwillgiveyouthesameresultsbecauseAtolldisplaysthe
resultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"necessitates,however,thelongesttimeforcalcu
lation.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

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OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure8.17).

Figure8.17:Coveragepredictionbysignallevel
Youcanrunaspecificpredictionstudydisplayingacoveragebypilotsignallevelforagiven
terminal, service, mobilityand carrier as explained in "Studying Pilot Signal Quality" on
page758.

8.1.9.1.3

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterallowstheusertopredictwhichserveristhebestateachpixel.Youcanbasethecover
ageonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.16).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure8.16,asignallevel
greaterthanorequalto120dBmorgreaterthen85dBmwillbeconsidered.

UnderServer,select"Bestsignallevel."
YoucanalsodefineaMargin.Atollwillthenconsiderthebestsignalleveloneachpixelandanyothersignallevel
withinthedefinedmarginofthebestone.

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YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands.
InCDMA2000,1xEVDOalwaystransmitsatfullpower,unlike1xRTT.Therefore,ifyouselect"Best",thevalues
displayed will always be for the maximum power transmitted by the cell, in other words, the power for the
1xEVDOcarrier.

Figure8.18:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbytransmitter
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
You can also predict which server is the second best server on each pixel by selecting
"Secondbestsignallevel"ontheConditionstabsetting"DiscreteValues"astheDisplay
Typeand"Transmitter"astheFieldontheDisplaytab.

8.1.9.1.4

MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones
Overlappingzones(dl)arecomposedofpixelsthatare,foradefinedcondition,coveredbythesignalofatleasttwotransmit
ters.Youcanbaseacoveragepredictionofoverlappingzonesonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefined
range.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectOverlappingzones(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.19).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.InFigure8.19,asignallevel
greaterthanorequalto120dBmisconsidered.

UnderServer,select"Bestsignallevel"anddefineaMargin.Atollwillthenconsiderthebestsignalleveloneach
pixelandanyothersignallevelwithinthedefinedmarginofthebestone.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.

YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheCarriertobestudied,orselectthe"Best"carrierofafrequencybandorofallfrequencybands.
InCDMA2000,1xEVDOalwaystransmitsatfullpower,unlike1xRTT.Therefore,ifyouselect"Best",thevalues
displayed will always be for the maximum power transmitted by the cell, in other words, the power for the
1xEVDOcarrier.

Figure8.19:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"Numberof
Servers"isselectedbydefault.Eachoverlappingzonewillthenbedisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothenumber
ofserversreceivedperpixel.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

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By changing the parameters selected on the Conditions tab and by selecting different
resultstobedisplayedontheDisplaytab,youcancalculateanddisplayinformationother
thanthatwhichhasbeenexplainedintheprecedingsections.

8.1.9.2 CDMACoveragePredictions
CDMAcoveragepredictionsavailableinAtollareusedtoanalysethesignalqualityandinterference.Forthepurposesofthese
coveragepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferinguserwithadefinedservice,mobilitytype,andterminal.These
areexplainedinthefollowingsection:

"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.

InCDMA,thequalityofthesignalandthesizeoftheareathatcanbecoveredareinfluencedbythenetworkload.Asthe
networkloadincreases,theareaacellcaneffectivelycoverdecreases.Forthisreason,thenetworkloadmustbedefinedin
ordertocalculateCDMAspecificcoveragepredictions.
Ifyouhavetrafficmaps,youcandoaMonteCarlosimulationtomodelpowercontrolandevaluatethenetworkloadfora
generateduserdistribution.Ifyoudonothavetrafficmaps,Atollcancalculatethenetworkloadusingthereverselinkload
factorandforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedforeachcell.
Inthissection,theCDMAspecificcoveragepredictionswillbecalculatedusingreverselinkloadfactorandforwardlinktotal
powerparametersdefinedatthecelllevel.Forthepurposesofthesecoveragepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanon
interferinguserwithadefinedservice,mobilitytype,andterminal.
Beforemakingaprediction,youwillhavetosetthereverselinkloadfactorandforwardlinktotalpowerandtheparameters
thatdefinetheservicesandusers.Theseareexplainedinthefollowingsections:

"SettingtheReverseLinkLoadFactorandtheForwardLinkTotalPower"onpage758.

Thissectionexplainsthecoveragepredictionsavailableforanalysingthesignalqualityandinterference.Thefollowingare
explained:

8.1.9.2.1

"StudyingPilotSignalQuality"onpage758
"Studying1xRTTForwardandReverseLinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage760
"Studying1xEVDOReverseLinkServiceArea(EbNt)"onpage762
"StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage764
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicators"onpage765.
"StudyingForwardLinkTotalNoise"onpage766
"StudyingPilotPollution"onpage767
"StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkNoise"onpage768
"MakingaHandoffStatusCoveragePrediction"onpage769

ServiceandUserModelling
ThedifferentservicesofferedbyaCDMAnetworkrequiredifferentthroughputs.Voice,forexample,doesnotrequireavery
high throughput whereas a data service being used for video conferencing requires a much higher throughput. CDMA
respondstothedifferingthroughputrequirementswitharangeofcarriers.Forexample,CDMA2000canprovidevoiceusing
1xRTT.Dataservices,whichrequirehigherthroughputsthanvoice,canbeprovidedusing1xRTTor1xEVDORev.0,Rev.Aor
Rev.B.
Formoreinformationonthethroughputsavailableforvoice,1xRTT,and1xEVDORev.0,Rev.AandRev.B,see"Throughputs
AvailableforServicesinCDMA"onpage871.
TheCDMAreverselinktrafficchannelscanprovidefivethroughputsfor1xEVDORev.0andmanymoredifferentthroughputs
for1xEVDORev.Aand1xEVDORev.Bbasedservices.InAtoll,thethroughputsavailablefor1xEVDORev.Aand1xEVDO
Rev.Bbasedservicesaremodelledusingradiobearers.Youmustdefine1xEVDOradiobearersbeforeyoucanmodelservices
usingthem.Forinformationondefining1xEVDOradiobearers,see"The1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage872.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingServices"onpage751
"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage755
"ModellingTerminals"onpage756.

ModellingServices
Servicesarethevariousservicesavailabletosubscribers.CDMA2000canprovidevoiceusing1xRTT,anddatausing1xRTTor
1xEVDO.
Thissectionexplainshowtocreateaservice.Theoptionsavailabledependonthetypeofserviceyoucreate.
Onlythefollowingparametersareusedincoveragepredictions:

Voicespecificparameters:
Handoffcapabilities

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MaxTCHPower(dBm)
ULTarget(dB)
DLTarget(dB)
ReceptionEquipment
ULPilotThreshold(dB)
ULFCH/PilotOffset(dB)
Bodyloss

1xRTTspecificparameters:
Handoffcapabilities
MaxTCHPower(dBm)
ULTarget(dB)
DLTarget(dB)
ReceptionEquipment
ULPilotThreshold(dB)
ULFCH/PilotOffset(dB)
ULSCH/PilotOffset(dB)
Bodyloss

1xEVDOspecificparameters:
Bodyloss

Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheServicesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. EnteraNamefortheservice.Atollproposesanamefortheservice,butyoucanchangethenametosomethingmore
descriptive.
7. SelectaTypefortheservice.Theoptionsavailabledependonthetypeofservice:

752

Speech:ThefollowingoptionsareavailableforserviceswiththetypeSpeech:
PreferredCarrier:Selectthepreferredcarrierfortheservice.Thisisthecarrierthatwillbeusedduringsimu
lations,ifthetransmittersupportsit.Ifthepreferredcarrierisnotavailable,Atollwillchooseanothercarrier
usingthecarrierselectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.
Priority:Enterapriorityfortheservice.Apriorityof"0"givesthelowestpriority.Thepriorityisusedduring
simulationstodecidewhichterminalwillberejectedwhenthenetworkisoverloaded.
SoftHandoffAllowed:SelecttheSoftHandoffAllowedcheckboxifthisservicecanhaveasofthandoff.
Activity Factor FCH: Enter an activity factor for the FCH on the uplink (reverse link) and on the downlink
(forwardlink).Theactivityfactorcanbefrom"0,"indicatingnoactivityduringconnection,to"1,"indicating
constantactivityduringconnection.Theactivityfactorisusedtocalculatetheaveragepowertransmittedon
theFCH.
ApplicationThroughput:TheapplicationthroughputisnotusedforserviceswiththetypeSpeech.
BodyLoss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,
inavoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.

1xRTTData:Thefollowingoptionsareavailableforserviceswiththetype1xRTTData:
PreferredCarrier:Selectthepreferredcarrierfortheservice.Thisisthecarrierthatwillbeusedduringsimu
lations,ifthetransmittersupportsit.Ifthepreferredcarrierisnotavailable,Atollwillchooseanothercarrier
usingthecarrierselectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.
Priority:Enterapriorityfortheservice.Apriorityof"0"givesthelowestpriority.Thepriorityisusedduring
simulationstodecidewhichterminalwillberejectedwhenthenetworkisoverloaded.
SoftHandoffAllowed:SelecttheSoftHandoffAllowedcheckboxifthisservicecanhaveasofthandoff.
Activity Factor FCH: Enter an activity factor for the FCH on the uplink (reverse link) and on the downlink
(forwardlink).Theactivityfactorcanbefrom"0,"indicatingnoactivityduringconnection,to"1,"indicating
constantactivityduringconnection.Theactivityfactorisusedtocalculatetheaveragepowertransmittedon
theFCH.
ApplicationThroughput:Theapplicationthroughputisnotusedforserviceswiththetype1xRTTData.
SCH Throughput Probabilities: Under SCH Throughput Probabilities, you can enter the probability of the
servicehavingthespecifiedthroughput,from2to16timesthepeakthroughput(definedintheterminalprop

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erties),ontheuplink(reverselink)andonthedownlink(forwardlink).Thesumoftheprobabilitiesmustbe
lowerthanorequalto1.Thethroughputprobabilitiesareusedduringsimulationstodeterminethethrough
putrequestedbyeachuser.
BodyLoss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,
inavoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.

1xEVDORev.0Data:Thefollowingoptionsareavailableforserviceswiththetype1xEVDORev.0Data:
PreferredCarrier:Selectthepreferredcarrierfortheservice.Thisisthecarrierthatwillbeusedduringsimu
lations,ifthetransmittersupportsit.Ifthepreferredcarrierisnotavailable,Atollwillchooseanothercarrier
usingthecarrierselectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.
Priority:Enterapriorityfortheservice.Apriorityof"0"givesthelowestpriority.Thepriorityisusedduring
simulationstodecidewhichterminalwillberejectedwhenthenetworkisoverloaded.
DowngradingSupported:SelecttheDowngradingSupportedcheckboxiftheservicesupportsdowngrading
onthereverselink.
Application Throughput: Under Application Throughput, enter a Scaling Factor between the application
throughputandtheRLC(RadioLinkControl)throughputandathroughputOffsetinkilobitspersecond.The
applicationthroughputiscalculatedbymultiplyingtheRLCthroughputbythescalingfactorandsubtracting
theoffset.
ULThroughputProbabilities:UnderULThroughputProbabilities,youcanentertheprobabilityoftheservice
havingthespecifiedthroughputonthereverselink.Thesumoftheprobabilitiesoftheservicehavingthe
specifiedthroughputmustbelowerthanorequalto1.Thethroughputprobabilitiesareusedduringsimula
tionstodeterminethethroughputrequestedbyeachuser.
Iftheservicesupportsthroughputdowngrading,youcandefinetheprobabilityoftheservicebeingupgraded
ordowngradedontheuplink(reverselink)foreach1xEVDORev.0throughputs.Theprobabilitiesaretaken
intoaccountduringtheuplinkloadcontrolpartofsimulationsinordertodetermineifauserwithacertain
throughputcanbeupgradedordowngraded.Userthroughputdowngradingandupgradingoccurswhenthe
cellisoverorunderloaded.
Thefollowingtableshowsthethroughputchangesthatarepossiblewhenathroughputisupgradedordown
graded.Theprobabilitiesaredefinedwithanumberfrom1to255foreachthroughput.
PossibleThroughputChanges
DuringUpgrading

PossibleThroughputChanges
DuringDowngrading

From

To

From

To

9.6kbps

19.2kbps

153.6kbps

76.8kbps

19.2kbps

38.4kbps

76.8kbps

38.4kbps

38.4kbps

76.8kbps

38.4kbps

19.2kbps

76.8kbps

153.6kbps

19.2kbps

9.6kbps

UL Throughput Due to TCP Acknowledgement: If the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used on the
downlink(forwardlink),checktheTCPUsedcheckbox.WhenTCPisused,reverselinktrafficduetoacknowl
edgementsisgenerated.Thetrafficgeneratediscalculatedusingthegraphwhichdescribesthereverselink
trafficduetoTCPacknowledgementsasafunctionoftheforwardlinkapplicationthroughput.Thegenerated
trafficistakenintoaccountinsimulationduringthereverselinkpowercontrol.
BodyLoss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,
inavoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.

1xEVDORev.ADataand1xEVDORev.BData:Thefollowingoptionsareavailableforserviceswiththetype
1xEVDORev.ADataand1xEVDORev.BData.
QoSClass:Theclassoftheservice.Select"GuaranteedBitRate"fortheservicesrequiringaminimumbitrate,
or"BestEffort"forbesteffortapplications.
UplinkMode:TheUplinkModedescribesthetypeofradioresourcemanagementrequiredonuplinkforthat
service.Selecteither"LowLatency"forrealtimeapplications,or"HighCapacity"fornonrealtimeapplica
tions
PreferredCarrier:Selectthepreferredcarrierfortheservice.Thisisthecarrierthatwillbeusedduringsimu
lations,ifthetransmittersupportsit.Ifthepreferredcarrierisnotavailable,Atollwillchooseanothercarrier
usingthecarrierselectionmodedefinedinthesiteequipmentproperties.
Priority:Enterapriorityfortheservice.Apriorityof"0"givesthelowestpriority.Thepriorityisusedduring
simulationstodecidewhichterminalwillberejectedwhenthenetworkisoverloaded.
DowngradingSupported:SelecttheDowngradingSupportedcheckboxiftheservicesupportsdowngrading
onthereverselink.
Application Throughput: Under Application Throughput, enter a Scaling Factor between the application
throughputandtheRLC(RadioLinkControl)throughputandathroughputOffsetinkilobitspersecond.The

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applicationthroughputiscalculatedbymultiplyingtheRLCthroughputbythescalingfactorandsubtracting
theoffset.
Min throughput demand: If you have selected "Guaranteed Bit Rate" as QoS class, enter the minimum
requiredbitrateinorderfortheservicetobeavailableintheuplinkanddownlink.Thisparameterisnotavail
ableforbesteffortapplications.
ULThroughputProbabilities:UnderULThroughputProbabilities,youcanentertheprobabilityoftheservice
havingthespecifieduplinkthroughput.Thisparameterisavailableforbesteffortapplicationsonly.
InthecolumnmarkedwiththeNewColumnicon( ),selectaRadioBearerIndexandenteraUsageProb
ability.Atollautomaticallycreatesanewblankcolumn.Thesumoftheprobabilitiesmustbelowerthanor
equalto1.Thethroughputprobabilitiesareusedduringsimulationstodeterminethethroughputrequested
byeachuser.IfthebearerisnotdefinedunderULThroughputProbabilities,itisassumedthatthereareno
usersusingthebearer.
Forservicesrequiringaminimumbitrate,theusageprobabilityisautomaticallycalculatedaccordingtothe
numberofselectedradiobearers.

UL Throughput Due to TCP Acknowledgement: If the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used on the
downlink(forwardlink),checktheTCPUsedcheckbox.WhenTCPisused,reverselinktrafficduetoacknowl
edgementsisgenerated.Thetrafficgeneratediscalculatedusingthegraphwhichdescribesthereverselink
trafficduetoTCPacknowledgementsasafunctionoftheforwardlinkapplicationthroughput.Thegenerated
trafficistakenintoaccountinsimulationduringthereverselinkpowercontrol.
BodyLoss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,
inavoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.
Besteffortserviceswiththe1xEVDORev.BDatatypecanbeprovidedinmulticarrier
modeiftheserverandtheuserterminalsupportit.

8. Ifyouselected"1xEVDORev.0Data"or"1xEVDORev.AData"or"1xEVDORev.BData"astheTypeinstep5.,con
tinuetostep9.Ifyouselected"Speech"or"1xRTTData"astheTypeinstep5.,anadditionaltab,theEbNttab,is
available.
ClicktheEbNttab.OntheEbNttab,youmustdefineeachpossiblecombinationofradioconfiguration,SCHfactor,
andmobility.TheSCHfactoristhemultiplyingfactoroftheterminalpeakthroughputusedtocalculatethethrough
put.ThefollowingtableliststheSCHfactorsavailableandthecorrespondingthroughputs.
SCHFactor

Throughput

FCHpeakthroughput

(FCHpeakthroughput)+2*(FCHpeak
throughput)

(FCHpeakthroughput)+4*(FCHpeak
throughput)

(FCHpeakthroughput)+8*(FCHpeak
throughput)

16

(FCHpeakthroughput)+16*(FCHpeak
throughput)

Foreachcombination,youmustdefinethethresholds,targets,andgains:

754

Terminal:Selectaradioconfigurationfromthelist.
SCHFactor:EnteranSCHfactor.
Min.andMax.TCHPower(dBm):EntertheminimumandmaximumTCHpower.TheTCHcanbeequaltotheFCH
ortheSCH,dependingontheenteredSCHfactor.Thevaluesenteredcan beabsoluteorrelativeto thepilot
power,dependingontheoptionchosenontheGlobalParameterstaboftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialog
box,andhavetobemanuallymodifiedwhentheoptionischanged.Theminimumandmaximumtrafficchannel
powermakeupthedynamicrangeforforwardlinkpowercontrol.
ULTarget(dB):EntertheEbNtrequiredonthereverselinkforTCH.TheTCHcanbeequaltotheFCHortheSCH,
dependingontheenteredSCHfactor.ThevaluedefinedfortheULTargetisonlyusedwhenthereverselinkpower
controlisbasedontrafficqualityassetontheGlobalParameterstaboftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialog
box.
DLTarget(dB):EntertheEbNtrequiredontheforwardlinkforTCH.TheTCHcanbeequaltotheFCHortheSCH,
dependingontheenteredSCHfactor.

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ULPilotThreshold(dB):EnterthepilotEcNtrequiredonthereverselink.ThevaluedefinedfortheULPilot
ThresholdisonlyusedwhenthereverselinkpowercontrolisbasedonpilotqualityassetontheGlobalParam
eterstaboftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox.
ULFCH/PilotOffset(dB):EntertheFCHgainonthereverselinkrelativetothepilot.ThevaluedefinedfortheUL
FCH/PilotOffsetisonlyusedwhenthereverselinkpowercontrolisbasedonpilotqualityassetontheGlobal
ParameterstaboftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox.
ULSCH/PilotOffset(dB):EntertheSCHgainonthereverselinkrelativetothepilot.ThevaluedefinedfortheUL
SCH/PilotOffsetisonlyusedwhenthereverselinkpowercontrolisbasedonpilotqualityassetontheGlobal
Parameters tab of the Network Settings Properties dialog box. This value is not used for services of Type
"Speech."
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypeforwhichthethresholds,targets,andgainsaredefined.IfyouselectAll,the
thresholds,targets,andgainswillbeconsideredvalidforallmobilitytypes.

9. ClickOK.
InordertodefinetheVoIPservice,select1xEVDORev.ADataastypeofservice,
GuaranteedBitRateasQoSclassandLowLatencyasUplinkmode.

ModellingMobilityTypes
InCDMA,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanagetheactiveset:amobileusedbysomeone
travellingacertainspeedandamobileusedbyapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.EcI0
requirementsandtheEc/Ntthreshold(usedonlyby1xEVDORev0)arelargelydependentonmobilespeed.
Thefollowingparametersareusedincoveragepredictions:

DeltaMin.Ec/I0
DeltaT_Drop
Min.EcNt(UL)

Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. YoucanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox:

Name:Enterormodifythedescriptivenameforthemobilitytype.
UnderActiveSetManagement,enterormodifythefollowingparametersinordertomaketheuseractiveset
dependentonthemobilitytype:

DeltaMin.EcI0:EnterapositivevalueinordertoincreasetheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitterto
bethebestserverintheactiveset,oranegativevaluetodecreaseit.
DeltaT_Drop:EnterapositivevalueinordertoincreasetheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitternot
toberejectedfromtheactiveset,oranegativevaluetodecreaseit.

Under1xEVDO(Rev0),enterormodifythefollowingparameters:

Min.EcNt(UL):EnterormodifytheminimumEcNtrequiredonthereverselink.Thisparameterisonlyused
forCDMA20001xEVDORev0.Thisparameterisconsideredduringreverselinkpowercontrolinordertocal
culatetherequiredreverselinkpilotpower.
DLPeakThroughput=f(CI):Thegraphofthethroughputontheforwardlinkasafunctionof(CI).Thisparam
eterisonlyusedforCDMA20001xEVDORev0.

6. ClickOK.

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ModellingTerminals
InCDMA,aradioconfigurationistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,ora
carsonboardnavigationdevice.InAtoll,radioconfigurationsaremodelledusingterminals.
Thefollowingparametersareusedincoveragepredictions:

Receptionequipment
Mainandsecondarybands
Maximumterminalpower
Gainandlosses
Noisefigures
CDMARhofactor

Voiceand1xRTTspecificparameters:

1xEVDORev.0specificparameters:

Acknowledgement(ACK)channelgain
DataRateControl(DRC)channelgains
Datachannelgains

1xEVDORev.Aspecificparameters:

ActivesetsizeonFCHandSCH
Numberoffingers
DLrakefactor
Pilotpowerpercentage
Peakthroughput

Acknowledgement(ACK)channelgain
RadioReverseIndicator(RRI)channelgain
DataRateControl(DRC)channelgains
DatachannelandAuxiliarypilotgains

1xEVDORev.Bspecificparameters:

Handofftype
Highestsupportedmodulation
DataRateControl(DRC)channelgains

Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheTerminalsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Name:Youcanchangethenameoftheterminal.
Type:Youcanchangethetypeofequipment.
Reception:Selectatypeofreceptionequipmentfromthelist.
You can create a new type of reception equipment by using the Reception Equipment
table.YoucanopenopentheReceptionEquipmenttablebyclickingtheExpandbutton
( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder,andthenrightclickingtheReceptionEquip
mentfolderandselectingOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.

756

MainBand:SelectthefrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminalNoiseFigure
forthemainfrequency.
SecondaryBand:Selectasecondfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminal
NoiseFigureforthesecondfrequencyband.LeavetheSecondaryBandfieldemptyiftheterminalworksonlyon
onefrequencyband.
ThirdBand:SelectathirdfrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandentertheterminalNoise
Figureforthethirdfrequency.LeavetheThirdBandfieldemptyiftheterminalworksonlyontwofrequency
bands.

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There are two ways of defining multiband terminals. Depending on the configuration,
AtollprocessesmultibandterminalusersdifferentlyintheMonteCarlosimulation.

Thefirstmethodconsistsofdefiningmain,secondaryandthirdfrequencybands.
ThisenablesyoutogivedifferentprioritiestothefrequencybandsintheMonte
Carlosimulation(themainfrequencybandwillhavethehighestpriority).Auser
withsuchatribandterminalwillbeconnectedtotransmittersusingthemainfre
quencybandifcarriersonthisfrequencybandarenotoverloaded.Incaseofover
loading,hewillbeconnectedtotransmittersusingthesecondaryfrequencyband
andsoon.
Thesecondconsistsofselecting"All"asmainfrequencyband.Thismeansthatthe
terminalworksonanyfrequencybandwithoutanypriority.Inthiscase,theuser
canbeconnectedtotransmittersusinganyfrequencyband.

In coverage predictions, both configurations give the same results. The priority of
frequencybandsisnottakenintoaccount.

MinPower:Settheminimumtransmissionpower.Theminimumandmaximumtransmissionpowermakeupthe
dynamicrangeforreverselinkpowercontrolinsimulations.
MaxPower:Setthemaximumtransmissionpower.
Gain:Settheantennagain.
Losses:Setthereceptionlosses.
Rhofactor(%):ThisparameterenablesAtolltotakeintoaccounttheselfinterferenceproducedbytheterminal.
Becausehardwareequipmentisnotperfect,theinputsignalexperiencessomedistortionwhichaffects,inturn,
theoutputsignal.Thisfactordefineshowmuchdistortionthesystemgenerates.Entering100%meansthesystem
isperfect(thereisnodistortion)andtheoutputsignalwillbe100%equaltotheinputsignal.Ontheotherhand,
ifyouspecifyavaluedifferentthan100%,Atollconsidersthatthetransmittedenergyisnot100%signalandcon
tainsasmallpercentageofinterferencegeneratedbytheequipment,i.e.,selfinterference.Atollconsidersthis
parametertocalculatethesignaltonoiseratiointhereverselink.

6. Clickthe1xRTTtab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

DLRakeFactor:Settheforwardlinkrakefactor.ThisenablesAtolltomodeltherakereceiverontheforwardlink.
ActiveSetSize:Settheactivesetsizeforboththefundamentalchannel(FCH)andthesupplementarychannel
(SCH).Theactivesetsizeisthemaximumnumberoftransmitterstowhichaterminalcanbeconnectedatone
time.
ForEVDOcapableterminals,theFCHactivesetsizealsodeterminestheactivesetsizeon
thereverselink.

NumberofFingers:Enterthemaximumnumberofsignalsthattheterminalcanrecombine.Thevalueofthisfield
mustbelowerthanthevalueoftheactivesetsize.ThevalueinthisfieldisthesameforbothFCHandSCH.
PeakThroughput:SetthepeakthroughputonboththeDownlinkandtheUplink.
PilotPowerPercentage:Enterthepercentageofthetotalmobilepowerthatisdedicatedtothereverselinkpilot
power.Thisparameterisusedduringthereverselinkpowercontrol(ifbasedontrafficquality)inordertocalcu
latethemobilepower.

7. Clickthe1xEVDORev0tab.Thevaluesonthistabarerelativetothereverselinkpilotpower.Theyareaddedtothe
requiredreverselinkpilotpowerinordertocalculatepowerontheACK,DRC,andtrafficdatachannels.Youcan
modifythefollowingparameters:

AcknowledgementChannelGain:Enterthegainontheacknowledgement(ACK)channel.
DataRateControlChannelGains(DRC):UnderDataRateControlChannelGains(DRC),enterthegainforthefol
lowinghandofftypes:NoHandoff,Softer,andSofthandoff.
DataChannelGains(dB):UnderDataChannelGains,enterthegainforeachsupportedreverselinkthroughput
onthetrafficdatachannel.

8. Clickthe1xEVDORevAtab.Thevaluesonthistabarerelativetothereverselinkpilotpower.Theyareaddedtothe
requiredreverselinkpilotpowerinordertocalculatepowerontheACK,RRI,DRC,andtrafficdatachannels.Youcan
modifythefollowingparameters:

AcknowledgementChannelGain:Enterthegainontheacknowledgement(ACK)channel.
RadioReverseIndicator(RRI)ChannelGain:Enterthegainontheradioreverseindicatorchannel.
DataRateControlChannelGains(DRC):UnderDataRateControlChannelGains(DRC),enterthegainforthefol
lowinghandofftypes:NoHandoff,Softer,andSofthandoff.
DataChannels/AuxiliaryPilotGains:UnderDataChannels/AuxiliaryPilotGains,enterthegainsonthetraffic
datachannelforbothlowlatencyandhighcapacityservicesandthegainontheauxiliarypilotchannelaccording
totheradiobearerindex.Theauxiliarypilotisonlyusedthehighestthroughputs.

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1xEVDORevAcapableterminalssupportthe16QAMmodulation.

9. Clickthe1xEVDORevBtab.

HandoffType:Selectwhethertheterminalsupportslockedorunlockedmode.Thisparameteristakenintocon
siderationwhendeterminingtheterminalactivesetwhenmulticarriermodeisused.Theactivesetofamulti
carrieruserconsistsofsubactivesets,eachonebeingassociatedwithonecarrier.Whenlockedmodeisused,the
servingtransmittersmustbethesameinallsubactivesets.Inthiscase,theactivesetisrectangular(i.e.,thesame
numberofservingcellsineachsubactiveset).Withunlockedmode,theservingtransmitterscanbedifferent
fromonesubactivesettoanother.Here,theactivesetmightberectangularisnotnecessarilyso(i.e.,thenumber
ofservingcellsineachsubactivesetcanvary).
Atolldoesnotmanagethenonrectangularactivesetconfigurationwhenlockedmodeis
selected.

HighestSupportedModulation:Selectthehighestmodulationsupportedbytheterminal.Youcanchooseeither
16QAMor64QAM(ifyouselect64QAM,64QAM,and16QAMmodulationscanbeused).
MaxNumberofCarriersinMulticarrierMode:SelectthemaximumnumberofEVDOcarriersthatcanbeused
whenmulticarriermodeisactive.

10. ClickOK.

8.1.9.2.2

SettingtheReverseLinkLoadFactorandtheForwardLinkTotalPower
Ifyouaresettingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerforasingletransmitter,youcansettheseparam
etersontheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.However,youcansetthereverselinkloadfactorandthe
forwardlinktotalpowerforallcellsusingtheCellstable.
TosetthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Enteravalueinthefollowingcolumns:

TotalPower(dBm)
ULLoadFactor(%)
Foradefinitionofthevalues,see"CellDefinition"onpage716.

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforallcellsinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button( )intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

8.1.9.2.3

StudyingPilotSignalQuality
Apilotsignalqualitypredictionenablesyoutoidentifyareaswherethereisatleastonetransmitterwhosepilotqualityis
receivedsufficientlywelltobeaddedtotheprobemobileactiveset.
AtollcalculatesthebestpilotqualityreceivedoneachpixelwherethepilotsignallevelexceedsthedefinedminimumRSCP
threshold.Then,AtollcomparesthisvaluetotheEcI0thresholdrequiredtobethebestserver(MinEc/I0definedforthe

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givencellplustheDeltaMinEc/I0valuedefinedfortheselectedmobilitytype).Thepixeliscolourediftheconditionisfulfilled
(inotherwords,ifthebestEcI0ishigherthantheEcI0threshold.
Tomakeapilotsignalqualityprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPilotQualityAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThePilotQualityAnalysis(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
Ifyouwantthepilotsignalqualitypredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccount
checkboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

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Figure8.20:Loadconditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononpilotquality
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Forapilotsignalqualityprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"EcI0(dB)"isselectedby
default.Eachpixelisdisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothepilotsignalquality.Forinformationondefiningdisplay
properties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

Whereatleastonetransmitterisintheactiveset:Select"Unique"astheDisplayType.
Whereatleastonetransmitterisintheactiveset,withinformationonthebestserver:Select"DiscreteValue"
astheDisplayTypeand"Transmitter"astheField.
Thepilotsignallevel:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Ec(dBm)"astheField.
ThepilotqualityrelativetotheEcI0threshold:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"EcI0Margin
(dB)"astheField.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.4

Studying1xRTTForwardandReverseLinkServiceAreas(EbNt)
AtollcalculatesthetrafficchannelqualityonFCH(asdefinedbyEbNt)whenusingthemaximumpowerallowed.
Inthecoverageprediction,theforwardlinkserviceareaislimitedbythemaximumtrafficchannelpowerallowableonFCH
percellandbythepilotquality.ThereverselinkserviceareaislimitedbythemaximumterminalpowerallowableonFCHand
bythepilotquality.Onboththeforwardandreverselinks,ifthereceivedpilotisbelowthesetthresholdonagivenpixel,
Atollwillnotdisplaythetrafficchannelquality.Mobilemacrodiversityistakeninconsiderationtoevaluatethetrafficchan
nelquality(EbNt).Atollcombinesthesignalfromeachtransmitterintheprobemobileactiveset.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononservicearea(Eb/Nt)forwardlinkorreverselink:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectoneofthefollowingcoveragepredictionsandclickOK:

ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL)

ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

Youmustselecta1xRTTcapableTerminal,a1xRTTService,andaMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"
onpage751.Youmustalsoselecta1xRTTCarrier.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraservicearea(Eb/Nt)coverageprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"MaxEbNt(dB)"
isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationtheservicearea(EbNt)forwardlinkor
reverselinkpredictionmakesavailable.Eachpixelisdisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothetrafficchannelquality.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

The traffic channel quality relative to the EbNt threshold: Select "Value Intervals" as the Display Type and
"EbNtMargin(dB)"astheField.
ThepowerrequiredtoreachtheEbNtthreshold:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Required
Power(dB)"astheField.
WheretrafficchannelqualityexceedstheEbNtthresholdforeachmobilitytype:OntheConditionstab,select
"All"astheMobilityType.TheparametersontheDisplaytabareautomaticallyset.
Thethroughputontheforwardorreverselink:Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Rate(Kbps)"as
theField.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
StudyingtheForwardLinkEVDOThroughput
Atollcalculatesthepilotchannelquality(asdefinedbyEcNt)and,usingthecalculatedEcNt,Atollcalculatesthemaximum
throughputthatcanbesupplied.
TomakeaforwardlinkEVDOthroughputcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectanEVDOcapableTerminal,anEVDOService,andaMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModel
ling"onpage751.YoumustalsoselectanEVDOCarrier.
InordertomodelamulticarrierEVDOuser,selectanEVDORev.BcapableTerminal,anEVDORev.BServicewith
the"BestEffort"QoSand"Best(1xEVDO)"ascarrier.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
By default, the Display Type "Value Intervals" based on the Field "Max EbNt(dB)" is selected when you make a
servicearea(Eb/Nt)coverageprediction.ForaforwardlinkEVDOthroughputcoverageprediction,youcan,however,
changethedisplaytooneofthefollowing:

TheEcNtratio:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"CI(dB)"astheField.
Thethroughputontheforwardlink:Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Rate(Kbps)"astheField.
For multicarrier EVDO users, Atoll will calculate the throughput on each carrier and will display the total
throughput(i.e.,thesumofthethroughputsobtainedoneachcarrier)aspredictionresults.
Theaveragethroughputontheforwardlink:ThisinformationisavailablewhenyoumodelEVDORev.Ausers,
singlecarrierandmulticarrierEVDORev.Busers.Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"AverageRate
(Kbps)"astheField.AtollcalculatestheaverageEVDOthroughputontheforwardlinkusingtheearlytermination
probabilities,definedintheterminalsreceptionequipment,tomodelHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest).

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.5

Studying1xEVDOReverseLinkServiceArea(EbNt)
AtollcalculatesthereverselinkEVDOtrafficchannelquality(EbNt)withanuplinkdatachannelthroughputof9.6kbpsfor
EVDORev.0usersand4.8kbpsforEVDORev.AandRev.Busers.Theserviceareaislimitedbythemaximumterminalpower
allowed and by the pilot quality. Mobile macrodiversity is taken in consideration to evaluate the traffic channel quality
(EbNt).Atollcombinesthesignalfromeachtransmitterintheprobemobileactiveset.FormulticarrierEVDOusers,Atoll
considersthebestsubactiveset.

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Tomakeacoveragepredictiononservicearea(Eb/Nt)reverselink:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)andclickOK.TheServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)Propertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectanEVDOcapableTerminal,anEVDOService,andaMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModel
ling"onpage751.YoumustalsoselectanEVDOCarrier.
InordertomodelamulticarrierEVDOuser,selectanEVDORev.BcapableTerminal,anEVDORev.BServicewith
the"BestEffort"QoSand"Best(1xEVDO)"ascarrier.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraservicearea(Eb/Nt)coverageprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"basedontheField"MaxEbNt(dB)"
isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationtheservicearea(EbNt)reverselinkpredic
tionmakesavailable.Eachpixelisdisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothetrafficchannelqualitywithanuplinkdata
channelthroughputof9.6kbpsforEVDORev.0usersand4.8kbpsforEVDORev.AandRev.Busers.Forinformation
ondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

The traffic channel quality relative to the EbNt threshold: Select "Value Intervals" as the Display Type and
"EbNtMargin(dB)"astheField.
ThepowerrequiredtoreachtheEbNtthreshold:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Required
Power(dB)"astheField.
WheretrafficchannelqualityexceedstheEbNtthresholdforeachmobilitytype:OntheConditionstab,select
"All"astheMobilityType.TheparametersontheDisplaytabareautomaticallyset.
Thethroughput:Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Rate(Kbps)"astheField.FormulticarrierEV
DO users, Atoll shares the available terminal power equally between each carrier in order to calculate the
throughputobtainedoneachcarrier.Itdisplaystheresultsforthebestconfigurationamongallcombinationsof
carriers,i.e.,thecombinationwhichprovidesthehighesttotalthroughput.
TheaverageEVDOthroughput:ThisinformationisavailablewhenyoumodelEVDORev.Ausers,singlecarrier
and multicarrier EVDO Rev.B users. Select "Discrete values" as the Display Type and "Average Throughput

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(Kbps)"astheField.AtollcalculatestheaverageEVDOthroughputonthereverselinkusingtheearlytermination
probabilities,definedintheterminalsreceptionequipment,tomodelHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest).
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.6

StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea
Theeffectiveserviceareaistheintersectionzonebetweenthepilotreceptionarea,andthereverselinkandforwardlink
serviceareas.Inotherwords,theeffectiveserviceareapredictioncalculateswhereaserviceactuallyisavailablefortheprobe
mobile.
Tomakeaneffectiveserviceareaprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL+UL)andclickOK.thecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraneffectiveserviceareaprediction,theDisplayType"Unique"isselectedbydefault.Thecoveragepredictionwill
displaywhereaserviceactuallyisavailablefortheprobemobile.Inthecalculations,Atollconsiders1xRTTuserswith
thepeakFCHthroughput,EVDORev.Auserswithadatachannelthroughputof9.6kbpsinthereverselinkand38.4
kbpsintheforwardlink,andEVDORev.Buserswithadatachannelthroughputof4.8kbpsinthereverseandthe
forwardlinks.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

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8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.7

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicators
Youcancreateaqualitycoveragepredictionbasedonagivenqualityindicators(BER,BLER,orFER).Thecoverageprediction
willshowforeachpixelthemeasurementoftheselectedqualityindicator.
Thistypeofcoveragepredictionisnotavailableinthelistofstandardcoveragepredictions;youcan,however,usequality
indicatorsinacoveragepredictionbyfirstensuringthattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeencorrectlysetand
thencreatingacoverageprediction,selectingdisplayparametersthatusethesequalityindicators.
Beforeyoudefinethequalitycoverageprediction,youmustensurethattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeen
correctlyset.
Tochecktheparametersofthequalityindicators:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclickQualityIndicators.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheQualityIndicatorstableappears.

UsedforPacketServices:SelecttheUsedforPacketServicescheckboxifthequalityindicatoristobeusedfor
dataservices(i.e.,1xRTT,1xEVDORev.0,or1xEVDORev.A).
UsedforCircuitServices:SelecttheUsedforCircuitServicescheckboxifthequalityindicatoristobeusedfor
voiceservices.
MeasuredParameterforQI:Fromthelist,selecttheparameterthatwillbemeasuredtoindicatequality.
QIInterpolation:SelecttheQIInterpolationcheckboxifyouwantAtolltointerpolatebetweentwoexistingQI
values.CleartheQIInterpolationcheckboxifyouwantAtolltotaketheclosestQIvalue.

5. ClosetheQualityIndicatorstable.
6. IntheUMTSNetworkSettingsfolder,rightclicktheReceptionEquipmentfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheReceptionEquipmenttableappears.
"Standard"isthedefaultreceptionequipmenttypeforallterminals.
8. Doubleclickthereceptionequipmenttypeforwhichyouwanttoverifythecorrespondencebetweenthemeasured
qualityandthequalityindicator.ThereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. ClicktheQualityGraphstab.
10. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachService.YoucaneditthevaluesintheDLandULQuality
IndicatorTablesbyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheDownlink
QualityGraphsortheUplinkQualityGraphsbuttons.Thegraphgivesthevariationofthequalityindicatorasafunc
tionofthemeasuredparameter.
11. ClickOKtoclosethereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox.
Onceyouhaveensuredthattheparametersofthequalityindicatorshavebeencorrectlyset,youcanusethemeasuredqual
itytocreateaqualitycoverageprediction.Howyoudefineacoveragepredictionaccordingtothemeasuredqualityindicator,
dependsseveralparameters:

ThesettingsmadeintheQualityIndicatorstable
Theserviceyouwanttostudy
Thequalityindicatoryouwanttouse(BER,BLER,orFER)
Thecoveragepredictionyouwanttouse(PilotQualityAnalysisDownlink,theServiceAreaAnalysisDownlink,orSer
viceAreaAnalysisUplink).

Inthefollowingexample,youwillcreateaqualitycoveragepredictionshowingBLER,forauseronfoot,andwitha1xRTTdata
service.
TocreateaqualitycoveragepredictionshowingBLERforauseronfoot,andwitha1xRTTdataservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

Terminal:SelecttheappropriateradioconfigurationformobileInternetaccessfromtheTerminallist.
Service:Select"1xRTTData"fromtheServicelist.
Mobility:Select"Pedestrian"fromtheMobilitylist.
Carrier:Select"1xRTT"fromtheCarrierlist.

Ifyouwanttheservicearea(EbNt)downlinkpredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Select"Valueintervals"astheDisplayTypeand"BLER"astheField.Theexactofthefieldvaluewilldependonthe
namegivenintheQualityIndicatorstable.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesof
Objects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
Atollcalculatesforeachpixeltheforwardlinktrafficchannelquality(EbNt)(providedwhenusingthemaximumtrafficchan
nelpowerallowed).Then,itcalculatesthecorrespondingBLERvaluefromthequalitygraph(BLER=f(DLEbNt)).Thepixelis
colourediftheconditionisfulfilled(i.e.,ifBLERisevaluatedasbeinghigherthanthespecifiedthreshold).

8.1.9.2.8

StudyingForwardLinkTotalNoise
Intheforwardlinktotalnoiseprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswheretheforwardlinktotalnoiseorthe
forwardlinknoiseriseexceedsasetthreshold.
Tomakeaforwardlinktotalnoiseorforwardlinknoiseriseprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectTotalNoiseLevelAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.TheTotalNoiseLevelAnalysis(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.
Ifyouwanttheforwardlinktotalnoiseorforwardlinknoiserisepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselectthe
ShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraforwardlinktotalnoiseprediction,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoose
determineswhichinformationtheforwardlinktotalnoisepredictionmakesavailable.

Minnoiselevel
Averagenoiselevel
Maxnoiselevel

Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.9

StudyingPilotPollution
Atransmitterwhichfulfilsallthecriteriatoenteramobilesactivesetbutwhichisnotadmittedbecausetheactivesetlimit
hasalreadybeenreachedisconsideredapolluter.
InthePilotPollutionAnalysisprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswheretheprobemobileisinterferedbythe
pilotsignalfrompollutertransmitters.For1xRTT,pilotpollutionisthesameontheforwardandonthereverselinksbecause
1xRTTcanbeconnectedtomorethanonetransmitteronboththeforwardandonthereverselinks.EVDO,ontheotherhand,
canonlybeconnectedtoonetransmitterontheforwardlink,butseveralonthereverselink.Therefore,pilotpollutionfor
EVDOwillbedifferentontheforwardlinkandonthereverselink.ThePilotPollutionAnalysisonlycalculatespilotpollution
ontheforwardlink.FormulticarrierEVDOusers,Atollconsiderstheactivesetassociatedwiththebestcarrier.
Tomakeapilotpollutionprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectPilotPollutionAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.thecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobilityasdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe
"Best(All/Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesite
equipment.
IfyouwantthePilotPollutionAnalysistoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
ForaPilotPollutionAnalysis,theDisplayType"ValueIntervals"andtheField"NumberofPolluters"areselectedby
default.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.10

StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkNoise
Intheintertechnologydownlinknoiseprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaystheareaswherethedownlinknoiseornoise
risefromexternalbasestationsandmobilesexceedsasetthreshold.Formoreinformationonmodellingintertechnology
interference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage878.
Tomakeanintertechnologydownlinknoiseornoiseriseprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectIntertechnologyInterferenceLevelAnalysis(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.
Ifyouweregoingtobaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimu
lationsonwhichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditions
list.
YoumustselectaTerminalandaService,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.Youmustalsoselect
whichCarrieristobeconsidered.Youcanmakethecoveragepredictionforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best(All/
Main/Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
Ifyouwantthepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxand
enterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
TheDisplayType"ValueIntervals"isselectedbydefault.TheFieldyouchoosedetermineswhichinformationthe
predictionmakesavailable,NoiseLevelorNoiseRise.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.2.11

MakingaHandoffStatusCoveragePrediction
Inthehandoffstatusprediction,Atollcalculatesanddisplaysthezoneswhereahandoffcanbemade.Forahandofftobe
possible,theremustbeapotentialactivetransmitter,i.e.,atransmitterthatfulfilsallthecriteriatoenterthemobileactive
set,andtheservicechosenbytheusermustbeavailable.
Youcanalsousethehandoffstatuscoveragepredictiontodisplaythenumberofpotentialactivetransmitters.
For1xRTT,thehandoffstatusisthesameontheforwardandonthereverselinksbecause1xRTTcanbeconnectedtomore
thanonetransmitteronboththeforwardandonthereverselinks.EVDO,ontheotherhand,canonlybeconnectedtoone
transmitterontheforwardlink,butseveralonthereverselink.Therefore,thehandoffstatuscoveragepredictionforEVDO
iscalculatedonthereverselink.FormulticarrierEVDOusers,Atollconsiderstheactivesetassociatedwiththebestcarrier.
Tomakeahandoffstatuscoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectHandoffZones(DL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure8.20).Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.
Ifyouwanttheforwardlinktotalnoiseorforwardlinknoiserisepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselectthe
ShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.ThesettingsyouselectontheDisplaytabdeterminetheinformationthatthecoveragepredic
tionwilldisplay.

Todisplaythehandoffstatus:
i.

Select"DiscreteValues"fromtheDisplayTypelist.

ii. Select"Status"fromtheFieldlist.Thecoveragepredictionwilldisplaythenumberofcellstheprobemobile
isconnectedtoandthenumberofsitesthesecellsarelocatedon.

Todisplaythenumberofpotentialactivetransmitters:
i.

Select"ValueIntervals"fromtheDisplayTypelist.

ii. Select"Potentialactivetransmitternb"fromtheFieldlist.thecoveragepredictionwilldisplaythenumberof
potentialactivetransmitters.
Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

8.1.9.3 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
TheresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyou
createdthecoverageprediction(step6.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage744).Ifseveral
coveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itcanbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwant
toanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformation
onmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingtoolsareexplained:

8.1.9.3.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage770
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText"onpage771

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtoLegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.

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TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

8.1.9.3.2

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText
Youcangetinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformationdisplayedin
thetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step6.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage744).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure8.21).

Figure8.21:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

8.1.9.4 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.

8.1.9.4.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage771
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage772
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage774
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage774

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocusandhotspotsdefineanareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucanonly
haveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocusandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlo,powercontrolsimulations,etc.,whilethefocus
andhotspotsaretheareastakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoveragepredic
tionreport,itgivestheresultsforthefocuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.
Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.

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Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocusorhotspotasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocusorhotspotbyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocuszoneorhot
spotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheExplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>Hot
SpotorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocusorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHotSpots
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcanimport
thenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocusorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZonetoMap
Windowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspots,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocu
ment,inthefollowingways:

Saving the focus zone in the user configuration: For information on saving the
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhotspots
byrightclickingtheFocusZoneortheHotSpotsfolderintheGeoexplorerand
selectingExportfromthecontextmenu.

Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocusorhotspotbyimportingapopulation
map.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"
onpage142.

8.1.9.4.2

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage771.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage774.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:

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Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default,the ranges which donot contain any pixels do notappear in the report. By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.

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3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.
Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

8.1.9.4.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page772,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.

8.1.9.4.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.
Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage771.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramoftheareadefinedby
thefocuszone(seeFigure8.28).

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UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

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Figure8.22:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

8.1.9.5 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRDandGRC)
formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invectorformats,
youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoverageprediction
results,see"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

8.1.9.6 AnalysingaCoveragePredictionUsingthePointAnalysis
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcanusethePointAnalysistooltoverifyit.Ifyoudo,beforeyoumakethepoint
analysis,ensurethecoveragepredictionyouwanttoverifyisdisplayedonthemap.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

8.1.9.6.1

"StudyingSignalReception"onpage775
"MakinganActiveSetAnalysis"onpage776
"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality"onpage777

StudyingSignalReception
TheReceptionviewofthePointAnalysistoolgivesyouinformationonthesignallevelsforanypointonthemap.Theanalysis
isprovidedforauserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.Thedownlinkanduplinkload
conditionscanbetakenfromtheCellstableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.
Tomakeareceptionanalysis:
1. Click the PointAnalysis (
changes(

)intheRadioPlanning toolbar.ThePoint Analysis windowappearsand the pointer

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelectReception(

)fromthelistatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow(seeFigure8.23).

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ThepredictedsignallevelfromthetransmittersisreportedintheReceptionviewintheformofabarchart,fromthe
highestpredictedsignallevelonthetoptothelowestoneonthebottom.Thenameofthetransmitterisfollowedby
thecarriernumber(betweenparentheses).Eachbarisdisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitteritrepresents.Inthe
mapwindow,arrowsfromthepointertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmitterstheyrepre
sent.Athickblacklinefromthepointertoitsbestserverisalsodisplayedinthemapwindow.Thebestserverofthe
pointeristhetransmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestsignallevel.Ifyouletthepointerrest,thesignal
levelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthepointerlocationisdisplayedinthetiptext.
3. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,selectthecarriertobeanalysed.Youcanmakethepredictionforaspecificcarrier,
orselect"Best(AllBands/SpecificBand)"toconsiderthebestcarrierofallbandsorthebestcarrierofaparticular
band.

Figure8.23:PointAnalysisToolReceptionview
4. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,youcanclickoneofthefollowingbuttons:

:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationsOptionsdialogbox.Youcanchangethefollowing:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

:ClicktheCopybutton(
)tocopytheReceptionview.YoucanthenpastethecontentsoftheReception
viewasagraphicintoagraphiceditingorwordprocessingprogramme.

:ClickthePrintbutton(

)toprinttheReceptionview.

Ifyouwishtogetthedetailsaboutthereceivedsignallevelsandqualityintheformofatable,youcanusetheDetailsview
ofthePointAnalysistool(see"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality"onpage777).

8.1.9.6.2

MakinganActiveSetAnalysis
TheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonthepilotquality(EcI0)(whichisthemainparam
eterusedtodefinethemobileactiveset),theconnectionstatus,andtheactivesetoftheprobemobile.Resultsaredisplayed
foranypointofthemapwherethepilotsignallevelexceedsthedefinedminimumRSCP.Theanalysisisprovidedforauser
definableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobilityandaservice.
Forinformationonthecriteriaforbelongingtotheactiveset,see"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage875.
Tomakeanactivesetanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappears(seeFigure8.25).

2. SelecttheASAnalysisviewatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow.
3. AtthetopoftheASAnalysisview,select"CellsTable"fromLoadconditions.
4. IfyouaremakinganASanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoveragepre
diction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Service,Mobility,Carrier,DLRate,andULRatestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
Ifthecoveragepredictionwasfor1xRTT,youmustselect"FCH"forboththeDLRateandULRate.Ifthecoverage
predictionwasforEVDORev.0,youmustselect"9.6kbps"fortheULRate.Ifthecoveragepredictionwasfor
EVDORev.AorRev.B,youmustselect"4.8kbps"fortheULRate.
b. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

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)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.

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SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

c. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeanactivesetanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Asyoumovethepointer,Atollindicatesonthemapwhichisthebestserverforthecurrentposition(seeFigure8.24).

Figure8.24:Pointanalysisonthemap
InformationonthecurrentpositionisgivenintheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindow.SeeFigure8.25on
page777foranexplanationofthedisplayedinformation.

Figure8.25:PointAnalysisASAnalysisview
Thebargraphdisplaysthefollowinginformation:

Thepilotquality(EcI0)ofalltransmittersusingtheselectedcarrier(thecolourofthebarcorrespondstothe
colourofthetransmitteronthemap).
Thethresholdsrequiredtoentertheactivesetasbestserverandnottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.Thepor
tionofthegraphwiththegreybackgroundindicatesthetransmittersintheactiveset.
Thepilotandtheavailabilityofserviceonthereverselinkandforwardlink.

Ifthereisatleastonesuccessfulconnection(forpilot,forwardlink,orreverselink),doubleclickingtheiconsinthe
righthandframewillopenadialogboxwithadditionalinformation.
6. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
7. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

8.1.9.6.3

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandSignalQuality
InAtoll,youcangetdetailsabouttheserversintheformofatableusingthePointAnalysistool.TheDetailsviewgivesyou
informationonsignallevels,Ec/Io,andEb/Ntonanypointonthemap.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobe
receiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.ThedownlinkanduplinkloadconditionscanbetakenfromtheCells
tableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.

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Tomakeadetailedanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(
pointerchanges(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelecttheDetailsview.
3. AtthetopoftheDetailsview,select"Cellstable"fromLoad.
4. Ifyouaremakingadetailedanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoverage
prediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Mobility,Service,Carrier,DLRate,andULRatestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. SelecttheCarriertobeconsidered.YoucanmaketheASanalysisforaspecificcarrierorforthe"Best(All/Main/
Second/Thirdband)"carrierselectedaccordingtothecarrierselectionmethoddefinedforthesiteequipment.
c. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)intheDetailsviewtoolbar.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

EdittheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

d. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeadetailedanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
TheDetailsviewdisplaysthefollowinginformationintheformofatable:

Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitterfromwhichthereceivedsignallevelsaredisplayed.Thecellsarelisted
indecreasingorderofRSCP.
Distance(m):Thedistancefromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
PNOffset:ThePNoffsetofthetransmitter.
PathLoss(dB):Thepathlossfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
RSCP(dBm):Thereceivedpilotsignallevelfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Ec/Io(dB):TheEc/Iofromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
ForSpeechtypeservices:

Eb/NtDL(dB):ThedownlinkEb/Ntfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Eb/NtUL(dB):TheuplinkEb/Ntfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
For1xRTTDatatypeservices:

DLFCHEb/Nt(dB):ThedownlinkEb/NtovertheFCHfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointer
onthemap.
DLSCHEb/Nt(dB):TheuplinkEb/NtovertheSCHfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeron
themap.
DLFCHEb/Nt(dB):ThedownlinkEb/NtovertheFCHfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointer
onthemap.
ULSCHEb/Nt(dB):TheuplinkEb/NtovertheSCHfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeron
themap.
For1xEVDORev.0Data,1xEVDORev.AData,and1xEVDORev.BDatatypeservices:

C/IDL(dB):ThedownlinkC/Ifromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
Eb/NtUL(dB):TheuplinkEb/Ntfromthetransmittertothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.

6. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

8.1.9.7 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
changesyoumakeaffectthenetwork.
Inthissection,therearetwoexamplestoexplainhowyoucancomparetwosimilarpredictions.Youcandisplaytheresults
ofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

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Intersection:Thisdisplayshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscoveredby
bothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplayshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixelscovered
byatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
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Difference:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredbyonly
the first prediction with another colour and pixels covered only by the second prediction with a third colour (for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplayshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.Thisdis
playoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.
6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.
Inthissection,thefollowingexamplesareexplained:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage779
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage781.

Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignal
Level"onpage746.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure8.26.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthe
figure.

Figure8.26:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewsiteisadded,eitherbycreatingthesiteandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatingaCDMABaseStation"
onpage712,orbyplacingastationtemplate,asexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage720.
Oncethenewbasestationhasbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbeimpos
sibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefrom
itscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewbasestation(seeFigure8.27).

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Figure8.27:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Inordertoseewhatchangesaddinganewbasestationmade,youshouldchooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure8.28,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenewsite.

Figure8.28:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions

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Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTrans
mitter"onpage748.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure8.29.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscovering
itsareapoorly.TheareaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure8.29.

Figure8.29:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork
Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbe
impossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictionbycanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefromits
contextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculated,toshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure8.30).

Figure8.30:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
coverage,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.

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TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnameandreso
lution.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
coveredbybothpredictionsinonecolourandallpixelscoveredbyonlyonepredictioninanothercolour.Theincrease
incoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure8.31,showsclearlytheincreaseincoveragedueatthe
changeinantennatilt.

Figure8.31:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

8.1.10 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachcellmanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedontheparameters
thatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thecelltowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferredtoasthereference
cell.Thecellsthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferredtoaspossibleneighbours.Whenallocatingneighbours
toallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthefocuszoneandconsidersaspossi
bleneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhosepropagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputation
zone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighbourstothecellswithinthecomputationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanuseautomaticallocationonallcellsinthedocument,
oryoucandefineagroupofcellseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersintheExplorerwindow.Forinfor
mationoncreatingafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage771.For
informationongroupingtransmittersintheExplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
AtollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesinaCDMAnetwork:

IntratechnologyNeighbours:IntratechnologyneighboursarecellsdefinedasneighboursthatbothuseCDMA.Intra
technologyneighbourscanbedividedinto:

IntracarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoffusingthesamecarrier.
IntercarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoffusingadifferentcarrier.

Intertechnology Neighbours: Intertechnology neighbours are cells defined as neighbours that use a technology
otherthanCDMA.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage783

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"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage783
"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage784
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage787
"AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell"onpage791
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours"onpage795
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan"onpage796
"ExportingNeighbours"onpage797.

8.1.10.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusing
theNeighbourstable.
ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheCDMATransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

8.1.10.2 DefiningExceptionalPairs
InAtoll,youcandefineneighbourconstraintsthatwillbetakenintoconsiderationduringtheautomaticallocationofneigh
bours.Exceptionalpairscanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenyoumanuallyallocateneighbours.
Todefineexceptionalpairsofneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Exceptional Pairs from the context menu. The Exceptional Pairs of Intra
TechnologyNeighbourstableappears.
4. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theexceptionalpairlistbecomeseditable.
5. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
fromtheCellcolumn.

),selectthecellforwhichyouwanttodefineneighbourconstraints

6. FromtheNeighbourcolumn,selectthesecondcelloftheexceptionalpair.
7. IntheStatuscolumn,selectoneofthefollowing:

Forced:Theselectedcellwillalwaysbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.
Forbidden:Theselectedcellwillneverbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.

8. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedcreatingthenewexceptionalpair.
You can also create exceptional pairs using the Exceptional Pairs of IntraTechnology
Neighbourstable.Youcanopenthis tablebyrightclickingtheTransmittersfolderand
selectingNeighbours>Intratechnology>ExceptionalPairs.

8.1.10.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintraandintercarrierneighbours
(forinformationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstab.Onthistab,youcansetthefollowingimportancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.

CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.

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AdjacencyFactor(intracarrierimportanceconfigurationonly):Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofa
possibleneighbourtransmitterbeingadjacenttothereferencetransmitter.TheAdjacencyFactorwillbeusedif
youselecttheForceadjacenttransmittersasneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallo
cation. For information on automatically allocating neighbours, see "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page784.
CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage784.

5. SelecttheIntercarrierNeighbourstab.OntheIntercarrierNeighbourstab,youcansetthefollowingimportance
factors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.

CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage784.

6. ClickOK.

8.1.10.4 AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically
AtollcanautomaticallyallocatebothintraandintercarrierneighboursinaCDMAnetwork.Atollallocatesneighboursbased
ontheparametersyousetintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
ToautomaticallyallocateintraandintercarrierCDMAneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstab.Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Max.IntersiteDistance:Setthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbour.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Max.No.ofNeighbours:Setthemaximumnumberofintracarrierneighbours(inintracarrierallocation)orinter
carrierneighbours(inintercarrierallocation)thatcanbeallocatedtoacell.Thisvaluecanbeeithersetherefor
alltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
CoverageConditions:Thecoverageconditionsmustberespectedforacelltobeconsideredasaneighbour.Click
Definetochangethecoverageconditions.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowing
parameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:EntertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAand
possibleneighbourcellB.
Min.Ec/I0:EnterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmittertoentertheactivesetasbest
server.
T_Drop:EnterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:YoucanletAtollbasetheinterferenceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedin
thepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentageofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.
Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.
%Min.CoveredArea:Entertheminimum,inpercentage,thatapossibleneighbourcellscoverageareamust
overlapthereferencecellscoveragearea.

5. Selectthedesiredcalculationparameters:

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Carriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;Atoll
willallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers.
Forcecositecellsasneighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwantcellslocatedonthesamesiteasthereference
celltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.
Forceadjacentcellsasneighbours(intracarrierallocationonly):Selectthischeckboxifyouwantcellsthatare
adjacenttothereferencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.Acellisconsideredadjacentifthere
isatleastonepixelinthereferencecellscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourcellisthebestserver,or
wherethepossibleneighbourcellisthesecondbestserverinthereferencecellsactiveset.
Forcesymmetry:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inotherwords,aref
erencecellwillbeapossibleneighbourofallofthecellsthatareitsneighbours.
Iftheneighbourslistofacellisfull,thereferencecellwillnotbeaddedasaneighbourof
thatcellandthatcellwillberemovedfromthereferencecellsneighbourslist.Youcan
forceAtolltokeepthatcellinthereferencecellsneighbourslistbyaddinganoptionin
theAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Forceexceptionalpairs:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttobeabletoforceorforbidneighbourrelationsdefined
intheExceptionalPairstable.Forinformationonexceptionalpairs,see"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage783.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectthischeckboxifyouwantAtolltodeleteallcurrentneighbourswhenallocating
neighbours.IfyoudonotselecttheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckbox,Atollwillnotdeleteanyexistingneigh
bourswhenautomaticallyallocatingneighbours;itwillonlyaddnewneighbourstothelist.

6. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingintracarrierneighbours.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthe
pathlossmatricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculates
them.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencecell.
MaximumNumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencecellcanhave.
Neighbour:Thecellthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencecell.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedin"CalculatingtheImportanceofExisting
Neighbours"onpage795
Bydefault,theneighbourimportancecalculatedwithrespecttodistanceisbasedonthe
global Max intersite distance setting for all neighbour candidates. As a consequence,
there can be cases where the calculated importance is different when the global Max
intersitedistanceismodified.YoucanavoidthatbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile
toforceAtolltoprioritiseindividualdistancesbetweenreferencecellsandtheirrespective
neighbourcandidates.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedthepossibleneighbourcell,asidentifiedintheNeighbourcolumn,tothe
referencecell,asidentifiedintheCellcolumn.

Cosite
Adjacency(intracarrierallocationonly)
Symmetry
Coverage
Existing

RelationType:Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation("Intracarrier"or"Intercarrier").
Coverage:Theamountofreferencecellscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandinsquare
kilometres.
Adjacency(intracarrierallocationonly):Theareaofthereferencecell,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,
wheretheneighbourcellisbestserverorsecondbestserver.

7. SelecttheCommitcheckboxforeachneighbouryouwanttoassigntoacell.YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshort
cuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument.

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ClickCompare.Thelistofautomicallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype,
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
The numberofdeleted neighbour relations(neighbour relationsnot proposedintheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

8. ClickCommit.AlltheneighbourswhoseCommitcheckboxisselectedareassignedtothereferencecells.Neighbours
arelistedontheIntraorIntercarrierNeighbourstabofeachcellsPropertiesdialogbox.
By default, the automatic neighbour allocation compares the defined Max intersite
distancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,therecanbecaseswhere
therealdistancebetweenassignedneighboursishigherthantheMaxintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectivedistanceissmaller.YoucanforceAtolltocomparetheMaxinter
sitedistancewiththerealintersitedistancebyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.For
moreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Aforbiddenneighbourwillnotbelistedasaneighbourunlesstheneighbourrela
tionalreadyexistsandtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisclearedwhen
you start the new allocation. In this case, Atoll displays a warning in the Event
Viewerindicatingthattheconstraintontheforbiddenneighbourwillbeignored
bythealgorithmbecausetheneighbouralreadyexists.
WhentheoptionsForceexceptionalpairsandForcesymmetryareselected,Atoll
considerstheconstraintsbetweenexceptionalpairsinbothdirectionsinorderto
respectsymmetry.Ontheotherhand,iftheneighbourrelationisforcedinone
directionandforbiddenintheotherone,symmetrycannotberespected.Inthis
case,AtolldisplaysawarningintheEventViewer.
Youcansaveautomaticneighbourallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.
For information on saving automatic neighbour allocation parameters in a user
configuration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

Atollalsoenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocateneighbourstoasinglebasestationortransmitter:

8.1.10.4.1

"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation"onpage786
"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter"onpage786.

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation
Whenyoucreateanewbasestation,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthe
newbasestationandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectswiththecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewbasestation.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewbasestation:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,groupthetransmittersbysite,asexplainedin"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewbasestation.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page784.

8.1.10.4.2

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter
Whenyouaddanewtransmitter,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthenew
transmittersandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectswiththecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewtransmitter.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheTransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewtransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAllocateNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page784.

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8.1.10.5 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

8.1.10.5.1

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage787
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell"onpage790.

DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Incoplanningmode,youcanalsodisplayintraand/orintertechnologyneighbourrela
tionstostudyhandoverpossibilities.

Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofacellonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.

Figure8.32:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
3. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
4. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplayLinkscheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.

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Figure8.33:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
a. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttocolourallneighbourlinksofacellwithauniquecolour.
Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,relationtype,orneighbourcarrier.Inthiscase,youcanview
intracarrierandintercarrierneighbourrelationsonthemap.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksaccordingtotheir"Importance",asdeter
minedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldofType"Integer"intheIntraTechnologyNeighbourtableforthe
numberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthenew
column,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"asthe
DisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldtoan
ObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Byselectingorclearingthevisibilitycheckbox,youcan
displayorhideneighbourlinkdisplaytypesindividually.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
b. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
5. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
6. UnderAdvancedintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

OutwardsNonSymmetric:SelecttheOutwardsNonSymmetriccheckboxtodisplayneighbourrelationswhere
theselectedcellisthereferencecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
InwardsNonSymmetric:SelecttheInwardsNonSymmetriccheckboxtodisplayneighbourrelationswherethe
selectedcellisneighbourandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetric Links: Select the Symmetric Links check box to display neighbour relations that are symmetric
betweentheselectedcellandtheneighbour.

7. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

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None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.

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Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

8. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
9. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
10. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

11. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
12. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

13. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure8.34).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure8.34:DisplayingNeighbourLinks
Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformationfortheselectedcell(e.g."Site22_3(0)"inFigure8.35):

Symmetricneighbourrelationsoftheselectedcellareindicatedbyasimpleline,e.g.Site20_1(0).
Outwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtotheneighbour,e.g.Site1_2(0).
Inwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtothereferencecell,e.g.Site9_3(0).

AsshowninFigure8.35,neighbourlinksarecolouredaccordingtowhichcellistheneighbour:

ThesymmetricandoutwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredliketheneighbours,i.e.Site20_1(0)andSite1_2(0).
TheinwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredlikethereferencecell,i.e.Site22_3(0)isaneighbourofSite9_3(0).

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Figure8.35:Symmetric,outward,andinwardneighbourlinks
Youcandisplayeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclickingthearrow
( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbarand
selectingeitherForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.

8.1.10.5.2

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareaofacellsneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicintheNeighbourstable.
Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofacell:
1. Create,calculate,anddisplaya"Coveragebytransmitter"prediction,withtheDisplayTypesetto"DiscreteValues"
andtheFieldsetto"Transmitter"(forinformationoncreatingacoveragebytransmitterprediction,see"Makinga
CoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure8.32 on
page787.
4. UnderIntratechnologyneighbours,selecttheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.
5. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
appears.SeeFigure8.33onpage788.
a. FromtheDisplaytypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofatransmittersneighbourswithauniquecolour.
Discrete values: Select this option to colour the transmitters neighbours coverage areas automatically or
accordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,orrelationtype.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,thecoverageareasofacellsneigh
boursaredeterminedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofthecellsneighboursaccordingtheir"Impor
tance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.

b. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTipTextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachcoveragearea.
c. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
7. UnderAdvancedintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

790

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellistherefer
encecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.

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Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedcell
andtheneighbour.

8. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlycelllabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmittersProp
ertiesdialogbox.

9. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
10. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
11. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

12. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
13. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

14. Clickatransmitteronthemaptodisplaythecoverageofeachneighbour.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthe
transmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant
(see"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Onlyintracarrierneighbourcoverageareasaredisplayed.

Figure8.36:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
15. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
RadioPlanningtoolbar.

)inthe

8.1.10.6 AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofneighboursbyallocating
ordeletingneighbourspercell.YoucanallocateordeleteneighboursdirectlyonthemaporusingtheCellstaboftheTrans
mitterPropertiesdialogbox.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"onpage792
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable"onpage792
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap"onpage794.

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AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
ToallocateordeleteCDMAneighboursusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemap,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
7. ClickOK.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteCDMAneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>Neighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.

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Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

Toallocateaneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeintoconsiderationallexceptionalpairs:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanaddordeleteeithersomeforcedneighboursorsomeforbiddenneighboursusing
the Exceptional Pairs of IntraTechnology Neighbours table. You can open this table,
selecttheexceptionalpairstobeconsidered,rightclickthetableandselectForceExcep
tionalPairsinthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.

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Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.
Toaddorremoveintratechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintratechnologyneighbours
onthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage787.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
theintratechnologyneighbourslist.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitters
fromtheintratechnologyneighbours.
Toaddanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertotheintratechnologyneighbourlistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.
Toaddaninwardneighbourrelation:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
betweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetric
relationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.

Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthe
mapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Youcanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclicking
thearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadio
Planning toolbar and selecting either Forced Neighbours or Forbidden Neigh
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8.1.10.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedneighbours,Atollcancalculatethe
importanceofeachneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.Thisvalueisusedtodefinearankfordifferentneighbours
intheAFPprocess.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Calculationdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspossibleneighbours.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

6. UnderImportance,selectthefactorstobetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheimportance(forinformation
ondefiningimportancefactors,see"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage783):

Takeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactorcheckboxtoverifythat
neighboursareadjacenttotheirreferencetransmitterswhencalculatingimportance.
Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneigh
boursarelocatedonthesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.

7. CoverageConditions:UnderCoverageConditions,youcansetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheir
referencecells.ClickingDefineopenstheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,you
canchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecellandthe
neighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlappingcov
erage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlappingcov
erage.
T_Drop:EntertheminimumEcIorequiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinterfer
enceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefined
perfrequencyperclutterclass.

8. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
9. SelecttheIntercarrierNeighbourstab.
10. UnderImportance,selecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedon
thesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance(forinformationondefiningimportancefactors,see
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage783):
11. Under Coverage Conditions, you can set the coverage conditions between neighbours and their reference cells.
ClickingDefineopenstheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethe
followingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecellandthe
neighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlappingcov
erage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlappingcov
erage.
T_Drop:EntertheminimumEcIorequiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.

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DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinterfer
enceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingTakenintoAccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefined
perfrequencyperclutterclass.

12. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
13. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation:

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedvalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Adjacency
Symmetry
Coverage

Coverage:Theamountofreferencetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageand
insquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitter,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneighbour
transmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.Thisinformationisnotrelevantforintercarrierneighboursand
isthereforenotpresentontheIntercarrierNeighbourstab.
Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

14. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

8.1.10.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallo
cationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheneighbourallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

796

NeighbourhoodType:SelectwhetheryouwanttoperformanauditonIntraCarrierorInterCarrierneighbour
relations.
AverageNo.ofNeighbours:SelecttheAverageNo.ofNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
EmptyLists:SelecttheEmptyListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
FullLists:SelecttheFullListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethemaximumnumberofneighbours
allowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeither
sethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Lists>MaxNumber:SelecttheLists>MaxNumbercheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethan
themaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforall
transmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable

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MissingCosites:SelecttheMissingCositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneigh
bours.
MissingSymmetrics:SelecttheMissingSymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance Between Neighbours: Select the Distance Between Neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanY
numberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFullListscheckandtheLists>MaxNumbercheckusetheDefaultMaxNumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

8.1.10.9 ExportingNeighbours
TheneighbourdataofanAtolldocumentisstoredinaseriesoftables.Youcanexporttheneighbourdatatouseitinanother
applicationorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportneighbourdata:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursandthenselecttheneighbourtablecontainingthedatayouwanttoexportfromthecontextmenu:

Intratechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintratechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intertechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintertechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intratechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intratechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.
Intertechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intertechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.

4. Whentheselectedneighbourstableopens,youcanexportthecontentasdescribedin"ExportingTablestoTextFiles
andSpreadsheets"onpage85.

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8.1.11 PlanningPNOffsets
InCDMA,512pseudonoise(PN)offsetsareavailable,numberedfrom0to511.Atollfacilitatesthemanagementofavailable
PNoffsetsduringautomaticallocationwiththepilotPNsequenceoffsetindexincrement(PILOT_INC)parameter.Forexam
ple,ifyousetPILOT_INCto"4,"allPNoffsetsfrom4to508withaseparationintervalof4canbeallocated.Ifyouneedto
restricttherangeofPNoffsetsavailablefurther,youcancreategroupsofPNoffsetsanddomains,whereeachdomainisa
definedsetofgroups.
YoucanalsoassignPNoffsetsmanuallyorautomaticallytoanycellinthenetwork.
Onceallocationiscompleted,youcanauditthePNoffsets,viewPNoffsetreuseonthemap,andmadeananalysisofPNoffset
distribution.
TheprocedureforplanningPNoffsetsforaCDMAprojectis:

PreparingforPNoffsetallocation
"CreatingPNOffsetDomainsandGroupsforPNOffsetAllocation"onpage878.Thisstepisneededonlyifyou
mustrestricttherangeofPNoffsets.
"DefiningExceptionalPairsforPNOffsetAllocation"onpage798.

AllocatingPNoffsets

"AutomaticallyAllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACells"onpage799
"AllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACellsManually"onpage801.

"CheckingtheConsistencyofthePNOffsetPlan"onpage801.

DisplayingtheallocationofPNoffsets

"UsingFindonMaptoDisplayPNOffsetAllocation"onpage802
"DisplayingPNOffsetAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings"onpage802
"GroupingTransmittersbyPNOffset"onpage803
"DisplayingthePNOffsetAllocationHistogram"onpage803
"MakingaPNOffsetCollisionZonePrediction"onpage803.
"MakingaPNOffsetCollisionAnalysis"onpage804
WithinthecontextofPNoffsetallocation,"neighbours"refertointracarrierneighbours.

8.1.11.1 DefiningExceptionalPairsforPNOffsetAllocation
YoucanalsodefinepairsofcellswhichcannothavethesameprimaryPNoffset.Thesepairsarereferredtoasexceptional
pairs.Exceptionalpairsareusedalongwithotherconstraints,suchasneighbours,reusedistance,anddomains,inallocating
PNoffsets.
TocreateapairofcellsthatcannothavethesamePNoffset:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select PN Offsets> Exceptional Pairs. The Exceptional Separation Constraints table appears. For information on
workingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
),selectonecellofthenewexceptionalpairintheCellcolumnand
4. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
thesecondcellofthenewexceptionalpairfromtheCell_2column.
5. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewexceptionalpairandaddanewblankrowtothetable.

8.1.11.2 AllocatingPNOffsets
AtollcanautomaticallyassignPNoffsetstothecellsofaCDMAnetworkaccordingtosetparameters.Forexample,ittakes
intoaccountanyconstraintsimposedbyneighbours,minimumPNoffsetreusedistance,theselectedPNoffsetallocation
strategy(PNoffsetpercell,AdjacentPNclusterspersite,DistributedPNclusterspersite)andthedefinitionofgroupsand
domainsofPNoffsets.
YoucanalsoallocatePNoffsetsmanuallytothecellsofaCDMAnetwork.
Inthissection,thefollowingmethodsofallocatingPNoffsetsaredescribed:

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"DefiningAutomaticAllocationConstraintCosts"onpage799
"AutomaticallyAllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACells"onpage799
"AllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACellsManually"onpage801.

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DefiningAutomaticAllocationConstraintCosts
YoucandefinethecostsofthedifferenttypesofconstraintsusedintheautomaticPNoffsetallocationalgorithm.
Todefinethedifferentconstraintcosts:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPNOffsets>ConstraintCosts.TheAllocationConstraintCostsdialogboxappears.Inthisdialogboxyoucan
definethefollowingcostsofconstraintviolationsfortheautomaticallocationprocess(thecostisavaluefrom0to1):

Max1st,2nd,and3rdOrderNeighbours:Enterthemaximumcostsfor1st,2nd,and3rdorderneighbourcon
straintviolations.
CoplanningShare:Enterthecostforintertechnologyneighbourconstraintviolations.In3GPP2multiRATdocu
ments,thiscostappliestoCDMAneighboursofthesameLTEcell.
MaxReuseDistance:Enterthemaximumcostforreusedistanceconstraintviolations.
ExceptionalPair:Enterthecostforexceptionalpairconstraintviolations.

4. ClickOK.Theallocationconstraintcostsarestoredandwillbeusedintheautomaticallocation.
AutomaticallyAllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACells
TheallocationalgorithmenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocatePNoffsetstocellsinthecurrentnetwork.Youcanchoose
among several automatic allocation strategies. The actual automatic allocation strategies available will depend on your
networkandoptionsselectedintheAtoll.inifile.FormoreinformationontheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.For
moreinformationonautomaticallocationstrategies,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

PNOffsetperCell:ThepurposeofthisstrategyistoreducethespectrumofallocatedPNoffsetsthemaximumpos
sible.AtollwillallocatethefirstpossiblePNoffsetsinthedomain.
AdjacentPNClustersperSite: ThisstrategyconsistsofallocatingoneclusterofadjacentPNoffsetstoeachbasesta
tion,then,onePNoffsetoftheclustertoeachcellofeachtransmitteraccordingtoitsazimuth.Whenalltheclusters
havebeenallocatedandtherearestillbasestationsremainingtobeallocated,Atollreusestheclustersatanother
basestation.
DistributedPNClustersperSite:ThisstrategyconsistsofallocatingoneclusterofPNoffsetstoeachbasestationin
thenetwork,then,onePNoffsetoftheclustertoeachcellofeachtransmitteraccordingtoitsazimuth.Withthis
strategy,theclusterismadeofPNoffsetsseparatedasmuchaspossible.Whenalltheclustershavebeenallocated
andtherearestillbasestationsremainingtobeallocated,Atollreusestheclustersatanotherbasestation.
WithinthecontextofPNoffsetallocation,theterm"PNcluster"referstoasubgroupof
PNoffsetsthatAtollassignstobasestationsduringtheallocationprocess.Atollallowsyou
tochangethenumberofPNoffsetsinaPNcluster.
The following example explains the difference between "Adjacent PNclusters" and
"DistributedPNclusters".
ThePILOT_INChasbeensetto4andthePNclustersizeto3.Thereare:

128 PN offsets that can be allocated: they are from 4 to 508 with a separation
intervalof4.
EachPNclusterconsistsofthreePNoffsets.Therefore,thereare42PNclusters
available.

Ifyouselect"AdjacentPNclusterpersite"asallocationstrategy,AtollwillconsiderPN
clustersconsistedofadjacentPNoffsets(e.g.,{4,8,12},{16,20,24},...,{496,500,504}).
Ifyouselect"DistributedPNclusterpersite"asallocationstrategy,AtollwillconsiderPN
clusters consisted of PN offsets separated as much as possible (e.g., {4,172,340},
{8,176,344},...,{168,336,504}).
ToautomaticallyallocatePNoffsets:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPNOffsets>AutomaticAllocation.ThePNOffsetsdialogboxappears.
4. SetthefollowingparametersinthePNOffsetsdialogbox:

UnderConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsonautomaticPNoffsetallocation.

PILOT_INC:ThepilotPNsequenceoffsetindexincrement.Itistheintervalbetweenpilots,inunitsof64PN
chips,ofcells.ThePILOT_INCvaluemustbefrom1to15.Atollusesthisparametertodeterminethepoolof

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possiblePNoffsets(512dividedbyPILOT_INCvalue).ThefirstPNoffsetisPILOT_INCandotheronesaremul
tiplesofthisvalue.
Forexample:WhenPILOT_INCissetto4,thepoolofpossiblePNoffsetsconsistsofPNoffsetsfrom4to508
withaseparationintervalof4(i.e.,[4,8,12,16,...508]).

ExistingNeighbours:SelecttheExistingNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoconsiderintracarrierneighbour
relationsandthenchoosetheneighbourhoodleveltotakeintoaccount:
Neighboursofacellarereferredtoasthefirstorderneighbours,neighboursneighboursarereferredtoas
thesecondorderneighboursandneighboursneighboursneighboursasthethirdorderneighbours.
FirstOrder:NocellwillbeallocatedthesamePNoffsetasitsneighbours.
SecondOrder:NocellwillbeallocatedthesamePNoffsetasitsneighboursoritssecondorderneighbours.
ThirdOrder:NocellwillbeallocatedthesamePNoffsetasitsneighboursoritssecondorderneighboursor
thirdorderneighbours.
Atollcanonlyconsiderneighbourrelationsifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationonal
locatingneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage782.
In3GPP2multiRATdocuments,AtollalsoattemptstoallocatedifferentPNoffsetstoCDMAcellsthatare
neighboursofacommonLTEcell.

AdditionalOverlappingConditions:SelecttheAdditionalOverlappingConditionscheckbox,ifyouwantto
setoverlappingcoveragecriteria.Ifcellsmeettheoverlappingconditionstoenterthereferencecellsactive
set,theywillbenotallocatedthesamePNoffsetasthereferencecell.ClickDefinetochangetheoverlapping
conditions.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:
Min.PilotSignalLevel:EntertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAand
possibleneighbourcellB.
Min.EcI0:Entertheminimum EcI0whichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAinanareawithoverlapping
coverage.ReferencecellAmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlapping
coverage.
T_Drop:EnterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLLoadContributingtoI0:YoucanletAtollbasetheinterferenceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedin
thepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentageofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
EdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.
Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

ReuseDistance:SelecttheReuseDistancecheckboxifyouwanttotheautomaticallocationprocesstocon
siderthereusedistanceconstraint.EntertheDefaultreusedistancewithinwhichtwocellsonthesamecarrier
cannothavethesamePNoffset.
Areusedistancecanbedefinedatthecelllevel(inthecellPropertiesdialogboxorinthe
Cells table). If defined, a cellspecific reuse distance will be used instead of the value
enteredhere.

FromtheStrategylist,youcanselectanautomaticallocationstrategy:

800

ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttheautomaticallocationprocesstocon
sidertheexceptionalpairconstraints.
PNOffsetperCell
AdjacentPNClustersperSite
DistributedPNClustersperSite

Carrier:SelecttheCarrieronwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youmaychooseonecarrier(Atollwillassign
PNoffsetstotransmittersusingtheselectedcarrier)orallofthem.
PNClusterSize:ThenumberofPNoffsetspercluster.ThisparameterisusedonlybytheAdjacentPNClustersper
Siteand DistributedPNClusters per Siteallocationstrategies.It should correspondto the averagenumberof
transmitterslocatedonasite.
UseaMaxofCodes:SelecttheUseaMaxofCodescheckboxtomakeAtollusethemaximumnumberofPNoff
sets.Forexample,iftherearetwocellsusingthesamedomainwithtwoPNoffsets,Atollwillassigntheremaining
PNoffsettothesecondcelleveniftherearenoconstraintsbetweenthesetwocells(forexample,neighbourrela
tions,reusedistance,etc.).Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,Atollonlycheckstheconstraints,andallocatesthefirst
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DeleteExistingPNOffsets:SelecttheDeleteExistingPNOffsetscheckboxifyouwantAtolltodeletecurrently
allocatedPNoffsetsandrecalculateallPNoffsets.Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,Atollwillkeepcurrentlyallo
catedPNoffsetsandwillonlyallocatePNoffsetstocellsthatdonotyethavePNoffsetsallocated.
AllocateCarriersIdentically:SelecttheAllocateCarriersIdenticallycheckboxifyouwantAtolltoallocatethe
samePNoffsettoeachcarrierofatransmitter.Ifyoudonotselectthisoption,AtollallocatesPNoffsetsindepen
dentlyforeachcarrier.

5. ClickRun.AtollbeginstheprocessofallocatingPNoffsets.
OnceAtollhasfinishedallocatingPNoffsets,theyarevisibleunderResults.AtollonlydisplaysnewlyallocatedPN
offsets.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Cell:Thenameofthecell.
Code:ThePNoffsetallocatedtothecell.

6. ClickCommit.ThePNoffsetsarecommittedtothecells.
YoucansaveautomaticPNoffsetallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.Forinfor
mationonsavingautomaticPNoffsetallocationparametersinauserconfiguration,see
"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

IfyouneedtoallocatePNoffsetstothecellsononetransmitter,youcanallocate
themautomaticallybyselectingAllocatePNOffsetsfromthetransmitterscontext
menu.
IfyouneedtoallocatePNoffsetstoallthecellsongroupoftransmitters,youcan
allocatethemautomaticallybyselectingCells>PNOffsets>AutomaticAllocation
fromthetransmittergroupscontextmenu.

AllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACellsManually
WhenyouallocatePNoffsetstoalargenumberofcells,itiseasiesttoletAtollallocatePNoffsetsautomatically,asdescribed
in"AutomaticallyAllocatingPNOffsetstoCDMACells"onpage799.However,ifyouwanttoaddaPNoffsettoonecellorto
modifythePNoffsetofacell,youcandoitbyaccessingthepropertiesofthecell.
ToallocateaPNoffsettoaCDMAcellmanually:
1. Onthemap,rightclickthetransmittertowhosecellyouwanttoallocateaPNoffset.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheCellstab.
4. EnteraPNoffsetinthecellscolumn.
5. ClickOK.

8.1.11.3 CheckingtheConsistencyofthePNOffsetPlan
Once you have completed allocating PN offsets, you can verify whether the allocated PN offsets respect the specified
constraintsbyperforminganauditoftheplan.ThePNoffsetauditalsoenablesyoutocheckforinconsistenciesifyouhave
madesomemanualchangestotheallocationplan.Forinstance,aPNoffsetauditdetectsCDMAcellswithidenticalPNoffsets
thatareneighboursofthesameLTEcell.
Toperformanauditoftheallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPNOffsets>Audit.TheCodeAuditdialogboxappears.
4. IntheCodeAuditdialogbox,selecttheallocationcriteriathatyouwanttocheck:

Neighbours:SelectNeighboursinordertocheckPNoffsetconstraintsbetweencellsandtheirneighboursand
thenchoosetheneighbourhoodleveltotakeintoaccount.
FirstOrder:AtollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamePNoffsetasanyofitsneighbours.
SecondOrder:AtollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamePNoffsetasanyofitsneighboursoranyoftheneighbours
ofitsneighbours.
ThirdOrder:AtollwillcheckthatnocellhasthesamePNoffsetasanyofitsneighboursoranyoftheneighbours
ofitsneighboursoranyoftheneighboursofitssecondorderneighbours.

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Thereportwilllistthecellsandtheneighboursthatdonotmeetoneoftheseconstraints.Inaddition,itwillindi
catetheallocatedPNoffsetandtheneighbourhoodlevel.

Domain Compliance: If you select the Domain Compliance check box, Atoll will check if allocated PN offsets
belongtodomainsassignedtocells.ThereportwilllistanycellswithPNoffsetsthatdonotbelongtodomains
assignedtothecell.
Distance:IfyouselecttheDistancecheckboxandsetareusedistance,Atollwillcheckforandlistthecellpairs
thatdonotrespectthereusedistancecondition.Foranycellpair,Atollusesthelowestofthereusedistance
valuesamongthevaluesdefinedforthetwocellsintheirpropertiesandthevaluethatyousetintheCodeAudit
dialogbox.Cellpairsthatdonotrespectthereusedistanceconditionarelistedinincreasingorderofthedistance
betweenthem.ThePNoffsetandthereusedistancearealsolistedforeachcellpair.
ExceptionalPairs:IfyouselecttheExceptionalPairscheckbox,Atollwillcheckforanddisplaypairsofcellsthat
arelistedasexceptionalpairsbutstillusethesamePNoffsets.

5. ClickOK.AtolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinatextfilecalledCodeCheck.txt,whichopensattheendoftheaudit.
Foreachselectedcriterion,Atollgivesthenumberofdetectedinconsistenciesanddetailseachofthem.

8.1.11.4 DisplayingtheAllocationofPNOffsets
OnceyouhavecompletedallocatingPNoffsets,youcanverifyseveralaspectsofPNoffsetallocation.Youhaveseveraloptions
fordisplayingPNoffsets:

"UsingFindonMaptoDisplayPNOffsetAllocation"onpage802
"DisplayingPNOffsetAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings"onpage802
"GroupingTransmittersbyPNOffset"onpage803
"DisplayingthePNOffsetAllocationHistogram"onpage803
"MakingaPNOffsetCollisionZonePrediction"onpage803.
"MakingaPNOffsetCollisionAnalysis"onpage804

UsingFindonMaptoDisplayPNOffsetAllocation
InAtoll,youcansearchforPNoffsetsandPNoffsetgroupsusingtheFindonMaptool.Resultsaredisplayedinthemap
windowinred.
Ifyouhavealreadycalculatedanddisplayedacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestserver,withtheresults
displayedbytransmitter,thesearchresultswillbedisplayedbytransmittercoverage.PNoffsetsandPNoffsetgroupsand
anypotentialproblemswillthenbeclearlyvisible.Forinformationoncoveragepredictionsbytransmitter,see"Makinga
CoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748.
TofindPNoffsetsorPNoffsetgroupsusingtheFindonMaptool:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"PNoffset."
3. Selectwhatyouwhatyouwanttosearchfor:

PNOffset:IfyouwanttofindaPNoffset,selectPNOffsetandselectitfromthelist.
PNOffsetGroup:IfyouwanttofindaPNoffsetgroup,selectPNOffsetGroupandselectitfromthelist.

4. SelectthecarrieryouwanttosearchonfromtheForcarrierlist,orselect"(All)"tosearchinallcarriers.
5. ClickSearch.Transmitterswithcellsmatchingthesearchcriteriaaredisplayedinred.Transmittersthatdonotmatch
thesearchcriteriaaredisplayedasgreylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetDisplaybuttonintheFindonMaptool.
DisplayingPNOffsetAllocationUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings
YoucanusethedisplaycharacteristicsoftransmitterstodisplayPNoffsetrelatedinformation.
TodisplayPNoffsetrelatedinformationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Youcandisplaythefollowinginformationpertransmitter:

802

PNOffset:TodisplaythePNoffsetofatransmitterscell,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Cells:
PNOffset"astheField.
RangesofPNOffsets:TodisplayrangesofPNoffsets,select"Valueintervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Cells:PN
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PNOffsetdomain:TodisplaythePNoffsetdomainofatransmitterscell,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplay
Typeand"Cells:PNOffsetDomain"astheField.

Youcandisplaythefollowinginformationinthetransmitterlabelortiptext:

PNOffset:TodisplaythePNoffsetofatransmitterscellinthetransmitterlabelortiptext,"Cells:PNOffset"from
theLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.
PNOffsetdomain:TodisplaythePNoffsetdomainofatransmitterscellinthetransmitterlabelortiptext,"Cells:
PNOffsetDomain"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldDefinitiondialogbox.

5. ClickOK.
Forinformationondisplayoptions,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
GroupingTransmittersbyPNOffset
YoucangrouptransmittersintheNetworkexplorerbytheirPNoffsetorbytheirPNoffsetdomain.
TogrouptransmittersbyPNoffset:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltab,clickGroupby.TheGroupdialogboxappears.
5. UnderAvailableFields,scrolldowntotheCellsection.
6. Selecttheparameteryouwanttogrouptransmittersby:

PNOffset
PNOffsetDomain

7. Click
toaddtheparametertotheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlist.Theselectedparameterisaddedtothelist
ofparametersonwhichthetransmitterswillbegrouped.Formoreinformationongroupingobjects,see"Advanced
Grouping"onpage96.
8. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheGroupdialogbox.
Ifatransmitterhasmorethanonecell,Atollcannotarrangethetransmitterbycell.Trans
mittersthatcannotbegroupedbycellarearrangedinaseparatefolderundertheTrans
mittersfolder.
DisplayingthePNOffsetAllocationHistogram
YoucanuseahistogramtoanalysetheuseofallocatedPNoffsetsinanetwork.ThehistogramrepresentsthePNoffsetsasa
functionofthefrequencyoftheiruse.
TodisplaythePNoffsethistogram:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPNOffset>PNOffsetDistribution.TheDistributionHistogramsdialogboxappears.
EachbarrepresentsaPNoffset,itsheightdependingonthefrequencyofitsuse.
4. MovethepointeroverthehistogramtodisplaythefrequencyofuseofeachPNoffset.Theresultsarehighlighted
simultaneouslyintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.
YoucanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddraggingintheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominonthe
selectedvalues.
MakingaPNOffsetCollisionZonePrediction
YoucanmakeaPNoffsetcollisionzonepredictiontoviewareascoveredbycellsusingthesamePNoffset.Foreachpixel,
Atollchecksifthebestservingcellandthecellsthatfulfilallcriteriatoentertheactiveset(withoutanyactivesetsizelimita
tion)havethesamePNoffset.Ifso,AtollconsidersthatthereisaPNoffsetcollision.
TomakeaPNoffsetcollisionzoneprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.

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4. SelectPNOffsetCollisionZones(DL)andclickOK.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(CellsTable)"fromLoadConditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingthereverse
linkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerdefinedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadConditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.Youmust
alsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
IfyouwantthePNoffsetcollisionzonepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a PN offset collision zone prediction, the Display Type "Discrete Values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.EachpixelwithPNoffsetcollisionisdisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedfortheinter
feredtransmitter.IntheExplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsareorderedfirstbyinterferedtransmitter
andthenbyinterferer.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Youcanalsosetparameterstodisplaythefollowingresults:

Thenumberofinterferersforeachtransmitter:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"Numberof
InterferersperTransmitter"astheField.IntheExplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsarearrangedby
interferedtransmitter.
Thetotalnumberofinterferersononepixel:Select"ValueIntervals"astheDisplayTypeand"NumberofInter
ferers"astheField.IntheExplorerwindow,thecoveragepredictionresultsarearrangedaccordingtothenumber
ofinterferers.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcanrunitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandrunitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.
MakingaPNOffsetCollisionAnalysis
ThePNOffsetCollisiontabofthePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonthereceptionforanypointonthemap
wherethereisPNoffsetcollision.PNoffsetcollisionoccurswhenthebestservingcellandthecellsthatfulfilallcriteriato
entertheactiveset(withoutanyactivesetsizelimitation)havethesamePNoffset.WhenthereisaPNoffsetcollision,Atoll
displaysthepilotquality(EcI0)receivedfrominterferedandinterferertransmitters.
AnalysisisbasedontheULloadpercentageandtheDLtotalpowerofcells.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobe
receiverwhichhasaterminal,amobilityandaservice.

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YoucanmakeaPNoffsetcollisionanalysistoreviewthePNoffsetcollisionzonecoverageprediction.Inthiscase,beforeyou
makethePNoffsetcollisionanalysis,youshouldensurethatthecoveragepredictionyouwanttouseinthePNoffsetcollision
analysisisdisplayedonthemap.
TomakeaPNoffsetcollisionanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysisToolwindowappears.

2. ClickthePNOffsetCollisiontab.
3. AtthetopofthePNOffsetCollisiontab,select"CellsTable"fromLoadConditions.
4. IfyouaremakingaPNoffsetcollisionanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthe
coverageprediction:
a. SelecttheTerminal,Service,andMobilitystudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. RightclickthePointAnalysiswindowandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxap
pears.

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
SelecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

c. ClickOKtoclosethePropertiesdialogbox.
IfyouaremakingaPNoffsetcollisionanalysistomakeacoveragepredictiononadefined
point,youcanusetheinstructionsinthissteptodefineauser.

5. MovethepointeroverthemaptomakeaPNoffsetcollisionanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
6. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
7. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

8.2 StudyingNetworkCapacity
ACDMAnetworkautomaticallyregulatespowerwiththeobjectiveofminimisinginterferenceandmaximisingnetworkcapac
ity.InthecaseofCDMA20001xRTT,fastpowercontrolismadeonboththeforwardandreverselinks(uplinkanddownlink,
respectively).InCDMA20001xRTT,powercontrolcanbeperformedoneithertheFCHandSCHoronthepilotchannel.In
CDMA2000EVDO,ratecontrolisusedinsteadofpowercontrolontheforwardlink.Onthereverselink,powercontrolis
madeonthepilotchannel.Atollcansimulatethesenetworkregulationmechanisms,therebyenablingyoutostudythecapac
ityoftheCDMAnetwork.
InAtoll,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofusersatagivenpointintime.Thedistributionofusersatagiven
momentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvariousnetworkparameterssuchastheactive
setforeachmobile,therequiredpowerofthemobile,SHOgain,thetotalforwardlinkpowerandforwardlinkthroughput
percell,andthereverselinkloadpercell.Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.
Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesametrafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbe
different,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhavevariationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshotto
another.
Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsmust
beprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapshavebeencreated,youcanmakesimulationsof
thenetworktraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage806
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage806
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage816
"AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation"onpage833.

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8.2.1 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinmakingasimulationisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallofthe
parametersusedinthenetwork,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasvoice,mobileinternetaccess,etc.,availabletosubscribers.For
informationonmodellingenduserservices,see"ModellingServices"onpage751.
Mobility type: In CDMA, information about receiver mobility is important to efficiently manage the active set: a
mobileusedbyadrivermovingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.
EcI0requirementsandEbNttargetsperradiobearerandperlink(forwardorreverse)arelargelydependenton
mobilespeed.Forinformationoncreatingamobilitytype,see"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage755.
Radioconfiguration:InCDMA,aradioconfigurationistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,
amobilephone,aPDA,oracarsonboardnavigationdevice.InAtoll,radioconfigurationsaremodelledusingtermi
nals.Forinformationoncreatingaterminal,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage756.

8.2.2 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
AtollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmapsforCDMAprojects.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm2)

Themapsyoucancreatedependonthetypesoftrafficdatasourcesavailabletoyou:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
thenumberofusersorthethroughputineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Traffic
is spread over the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either the
throughputsinthereverseandforwardlinksorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusorthetotalnumberofusers
(includingallactivitystatuses).Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage806.

Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on
page810,"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage812,and"ImportingaUserProfileEnvi
ronmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage811.

Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatusesoritcorrespondstoaparticular
activity status. For more information, see "Importing a User Density Traffic Map" on page813, "Creating a User
DensityTrafficMap"onpage813,"Converting2GNetworkTraffic"onpage814and"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"on
page815.

8.2.2.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThesectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Youcaninputeitherthethroughputdemandsinthereverseandforwardlinksorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusor
thetotalnumberofusersincludingallactivitystatuses.Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterisrequiredtocreatethistraffic
map.Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveacoveragepredictionbytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateandcalculateit.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748.
BecauseeachoftheCDMAtechnologieshascapabilitiesandservicesthatarespecifictoit,
itisrecommendedtocreateaseparatetrafficmapfor:

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Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectSectorTrafficMap.
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.YoucanchoosebetweenThroughputsinUplinkandDown
link,TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses)orNumberofUsersperActivityStatus.
6. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
7. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
8. EnterthedatarequiredintheMapperSectordialogbox:

IfyouselectedThroughputsinUplinkandDownlink,enterthethroughputdemandsinthereverseandforward
linksforeachsectorandforvoiceandeach1xRTTdataservice.BecauseonlyoneEVDOdataserviceuserisserved
at a time, all EVDO users are considered as active in the forward link. Therefore, you can only enter the
throughputdemandinthereverselinkforeachsectorandforeachEVDOdataservice.
IfyouselectedTotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses),enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeachsector
andforeachlistedservice.
IfyouselectedNumberofUsersperActivityStatus,enterthenumberofusersactiveinthereverseandforward
linksforeachsectorandforvoiceandeach1xRTTdataservice.BecauseonlyoneEVDOdataserviceuserisserved
atatime,allEVDOusersareconsideredasactiveintheforwardlink.Therefore,youcanonlyenterthenumber
ofinactiveusers(inthereverselink)andthenumberofactiveusersinthereverselinkforeachsectorandforeach
EVDOdataservice.
YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
10. SelecttheTraffictab.
11. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
12. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
13. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enter:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusers.

14. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
Youcanmodifythesectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifythesectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonlivedatathatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.
6. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
7. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
8. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enteraweighttospreadthetrafficovertheclutterclassesandthe
percentageofindoorusers.

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9. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandthenumberofusers,onthemapafterwards.Youcanupdate
sectortrafficmapsifyouaddorremoveabasestation.Youmustfirstrecalculatethecoveragepredictionbytransmitter.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverage
prediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdatethetrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
5. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
IfdesiredyoucanupdatethevaluesunderTerminals(%),Mobilities(%),andClutterDistribution.
6. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage814.

8.2.2.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Theremayalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreatetrafficmapsbasedonuserprofilesandenvironments.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentsubscribercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhich
areinturndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration.
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofsubscribersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvi
ronmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofsubscribers
withthesameprofileperkm).
Thesections"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"onpage810,"ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"
onpage811and"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage812describehowtousetrafficdatafrom
themarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingUserProfiles"onpage808
"ModellingEnvironments"onpage809.

ModellingUserProfiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausercanbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butnoweb
browsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandwebbrows
ing.
Tocreateormodifyauserprofile:
Tocreateauserprofile:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheUserProfilesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

808

Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Forinformationonservices,see"ModellingServices"onpage751.
Terminal:Selectaterminalfromthelist.Forinformationonterminals,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage756.

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Calls/Hour:Entertheaveragenumberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Onecalllasting1000secondspresentsthe
sameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Duration:Entertheaveragedurationofacallinseconds.
Thecallsperhouranddurationareusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

ModellingEnvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofsubscriberswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassign
aweighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.Youcanalsospecifythepercentageofindoorsubscribersforeach
clutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepath
lossesofindoormobiles.
TocreateormodifyaCDMAenvironment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheEnvironmentsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. EnteraNameforthenewCDMAenvironment.
7. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycombi
nationthatthisCDMAenvironmentwilldescribe:

User:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombinationof
userprofileandmobilitytype.

8. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
9. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtodistributeusersonthemap.
Thenumberofusersperclutterclassiscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithasubscriberdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000subscrib
ers.Theareaiscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"andforBuild
ingis"4."Giventherespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclassand800in
theBuildingclutterclass.
10. Ifyouwantyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,
indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.

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ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
vector.
Tocreateauserprofiletrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileDensitiesfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.

7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedvectorformats:DXFformat(DXF),Atoll
GeographicDataFile(AGD),ArcViewformat(SHP),MapInfofile(MIForTAB),orPlanetDataFile(index).
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure8.37).UnderTrafficFields,youcanspecifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,their
mobilitytype(kmh),andtheirdensity.Ifthefileyouareimportinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacter
isticsbyidentifyingthecorrespondingfieldsinthefile.Ifthefileyouareimportingdoesnothavedatadescribingthe
userprofile,mobility,ordensity,youcanassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.

Figure8.37:TrafficmappropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
Defineeachofthefollowing:

810

UserProfile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera

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densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflinesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.
12. UnderClutterDistribution,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtodistributeusersonthemap.
Theuserdistributionperclutterclassiscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

13. Ifyouwantyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,
indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
14. ClickOKtofinishimportingthetrafficmap.

8.2.2.2.2

ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Tocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileEnvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage812.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(8bit):TIF,BIL,IST,BMP,
PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheDescriptiontab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthesenumbersandliststhemintheCode
column.
12. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheenvironmentsavailablearethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"ModellingEnvironments"onpage809.
13. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.

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CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmapbasedonbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserProfileTrafficMap.
5. SelectUserProfileEnvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure8.38).

Draw Map Delete Map

Figure8.38:EnvironmentMapEditortoolbar
7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

8.2.2.2.4

DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surface)andrelative
(percentageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,
statisticsaredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmapwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby: % of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
5. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

8.2.2.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)oron2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitsurface,i.e.,the
densityofusers,asinput.Thiscanbeeitherthedensityofusersperactivitystatusorthedensityofusersincludingallactivity
statuses.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage813
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage813.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanbecreatedfromsectortrafficmapsinordertoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusers
perunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage814.

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8.2.2.3.1

ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwilldistribute
xusersperpixelduringthesimulations,where"x"dependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobil
itytype,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedontheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
BecauseeachoftheCDMAtechnologieshascapabilitiesandservicesthatarespecifictoit,
itisrecommendedtocreateaseparatetrafficmapperuserdensityfor:

voice
1xRTTdata
EVDOdata

Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(No.Users/km2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouareimporting:

AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusesifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithany
activitystatus.
ActiveinUplink:SelectActiveinUplinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthe
uplinkonly.
ActiveinDownlink:SelectActiveinDownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:SelectActiveinUplinkandDownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesaden
sityofuserswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactiveifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.

7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab.
12. SelectwhethertheusersareactiveintheUplink/Downlink,onlyintheDownlink,oronlyintheUplink.
13. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofradioconfigurationusedinthismap.Thetotalpercentage
mustequal100forthismap.
14. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthismap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100forthismap.
15. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthismap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal100.
16. UnderClutterDistribution,enterforeachclutterclassthepercentageofindoorusers.
17. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.

8.2.2.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserdensitytrafficmapbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmapperuserdensity:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(Numberofusersperkm2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformation:

AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusesifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithany
activitystatus.
ActiveinUplink:SelectActiveinUplinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthe
uplinkonly.
ActiveinDownlink:SelectActiveinDownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:SelectActiveinUplinkandDownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesaden
sityofuserswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactiveifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertydialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.
8. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
9. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
10. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal100.
11. UnderClutterDistribution,enterforeachclutterclassthepercentageofindoorusers.
12. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
13. Rightclickthetrafficmap.Thecontextmenuappears.
14. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.
15. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbartodrawcontours.Formoreinformationoneditingcontours,see
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.AtollcreatesanitemcalledDensityvaluesintheUserDensityMap
folder.
16. RightclickDensityvaluesintheUserDensityMapfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
17. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
18. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.
19. Whenyouhavefinishedcreatingtheuserdensitytrafficmap,rightclickthemap.Thecontextmenuappears.
20. SelectEditfromthecontextmenuagaintoendediting.

8.2.2.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
extractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutter
weightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.
Tocreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwanttocreateuserdensitytrafficmaps.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCreateDensityMapsfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcreatesasmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsasthereareservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuserdensity
mapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedinthedocu
ment.

8.2.2.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsasuserdensitytrafficmapsintoyourCDMAdocument.These
mapscanthenbeusedintrafficsimulationslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage815,andforinformation
onimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage813.

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Toimporta2GtrafficmapintoaCDMAdocument:
1. Createasectortrafficmapinyour2Gdocumentforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandone
forcircuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatingsectortrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"
onpage314.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage815.
3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2toyourCDMAdocumentasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinformationon
importinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage813.

8.2.2.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.Duringexport,
Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensities.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,orVertical
Mapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtrafficmapcan
thenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmap.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.
4. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
6. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentireproject.
TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.

7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

8. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.
Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,orselect"Circuitservices"toexportvoicetraffic,orselect"Packet
services"toexportdatatraffic.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusestoexportallusers,independentlyoftheiractivitystatus.
Uplink:SelectUplinktoexportmobilesactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:SelectDownlinktoexportmobilesactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:SelectUplink/Downlinktoexportonlymobileswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactivetoexportonlyinactivemobiles.

9. IntheSelectTrafficMapstoBeUsedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
10. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

8.2.3 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.

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6. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportRegion:

EntireProjectArea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
OnlyPendingChanges:Savesonlythemodificationsmadetothemap.
ComputationZone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

8.2.4 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
Onceyouhavemodelledthenetworkservicesandusersandhavecreatedtrafficmaps,youcancreatesimulations.Thesimu
lationprocessconsistsoftwosteps:
1. Obtainingarealisticuserdistribution:AtollgeneratesauserdistributionusingaMonteCarloalgorithm;thisuser
distributionisbasedonthetrafficdatabaseandtrafficmapsandisweightedbyaPoissondistributionbetweensimu
lationsofasamegroup.
Eachuserisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andanactivitystatusbyrandomtrial,accordingtoaprobabilitylaw
thatusesthetrafficdatabase.
Theuseractivitystatusisanimportantoutputoftherandomtrialandhasdirectconsequencesonthenextstepof
thesimulationandonnetworkinterference.Ausercanbeeitheractiveorinactive.Bothactiveandinactiveusers
consumeradioresourcesandcreateinterference.
Additionally,each1xEVDORev.0userisassignedatransitionflag("True"or"False")foreachpossiblethroughput
transition(from9.6to19.2kbps,19.2to38.4kbps,38.4to76.8kbps,and76.8to153.6kbpsforthroughputupgrading
andfrom153.6to76.8kbps,76.8to38.4kbps,38.4to19.2kbps,and19.2to9.6kbpsforthroughputdowngrading).
Thesetransitionflagsarebasedonthethroughputdowngradingandupgradingprobabilities.Ifatransitionflagis
"True,"theuserthroughputcanbedowngradedorupgradedifnecessary.
Then,Atollrandomlyassignsashadowingerrortoeachuserusingtheprobabilitydistributionthatdescribestheshad
owingeffect.
Finally,anotherrandomtrialdeterminesuserpositionsintheirrespectivetrafficzone(possiblyaccordingtotheclut
terweightingandtheindoorratioperclutterclass).
2. Modellingnetworkpowercontrol:AtollusesapowercontrolalgorithmforCDMA20001xRTTusers,andperforms
theforwardlinkpowercontrolontheFCHandSCHandthereverselinkpowercontroloneitherthepilotchannelor
ontheFCHandSCHfor1xRTTusers.Forusersof1xEVDO,Atollperformsthereverselinkpowercontrolonthepilot
channel.Ontheforwardlink,AtollperformsratecontrolbasedontheCIratiocalculatedforthemobile.Thepower
controlsimulationalgorithmisdescribedin"ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm"onpage816.

8.2.4.1 ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm
ThepowercontrolalgorithmsimulatesthewayaCDMAnetworkregulatesitselfbyusingforwardlinkandreverselinkpower
controlsor,forCDMA20001xEVDO,ratecontrolintheforwardlinkandpowercontrolinthereverselinkinordertominimise
interferenceandmaximisecapacity.
Atollsimulatesthenetworkregulationmechanismsforeachuserdistribution.Duringeachiterationofthealgorithm,allthe
mobiles(voice,1xRTTdata,andEVDOdataserviceusers)selectedduringtheuserdistributiongenerationattempttoconnect
onebyonetonetworktransmitters.Theprocessisrepeateduntilthenetworkisbalanced,i.e.,untiltheconvergencecriteria
(ontheforwardandthereverselink)aresatisfied.
TheCDMA20001xRTTPowerControlSimulationAlgorithm
TheCDMA20001xRTTpowercontrolsimulationalgorithm(seeFigure8.39)simulatesthepowercontrol,congestion,and
radioresourcecontrolperformedforCDMA20001xRTTusers.Atollconsiderseachuserintheorderestablishedduringthe
generation of the user distribution, determines his best server and his active set. Atoll performs the forward link power
controlontheFCHandSCHandthereverselinkpowercontroloneitherthepilotchannelorontheFCHandSCH,depending
ontheoptionselectedunderUL1xRTTPowerControlBasedOnontheGlobalParameterstaboftheNetworkSettingsProp
ertiesdialogbox(see"TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage870).
Afterperformingpowercontrol,Atollupdatesthereverselinkloadfactorandthetotalforwardlinktransmittedpower.Atoll
thencarriesoutcongestionandradioresourcecontrol,verifyingthecellreverselinkload,theforwardlinkload,andthe
numberofchannelelementsandWalshcodesconsumedbythecell.

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Figure8.39:PowercontrolsimulationforCDMA20001xRTT
TheSCHthroughputontheforwardandthereverselinkscanbedowngraded.AtollwilldowngradetheforwardlinkSCH
throughputuntil:

TherequiredforwardlinkqualitylevelonSCHisreached,
Thetotalforwardlinkpowerofacellislowerthanthemaximumpowerallowed,
The number of channel elements consumed on the forward link by a site is lower than the maximum number of
channelelementsallowed,
ThenumberofWalshcodesusedbyacellislowerthanthemaximumnumberofWalshcodesavailablepercell.

AtollwilldowngradethereverselinkSCHthroughputuntil:

TherequiredreverselinkqualitylevelonSCHoronpilotisreached,
The number of channel elements consumed on the reverse link by a site is lower than the maximum number of
channelelementsallowed.

DowngradedSCHthroughputscannotbelowerthantheFCHpeakthroughput.WhendowngradingtheSCHthroughputdoes
notsolvetheproblem,theSCHisnotallocatedtothemobile.Inthiscase,iftherequirementsofamobilecannotbemetby
usingtheFCHalone,themobileisrejected.
Atthispoint,userscanbeeitherconnectedorrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

Thesignalqualityisnotsufficient:

Ontheforwardlink,eitherthepilotsignallevelislowerthanthedefinedminimumRSCPthresholdorthepilot
qualityisnothighenough(nocellintheuseractiveset):statusis"EcI0<(EcI0)min."
Onthereverselink,thereisnotenoughpowertotransmit:thestatusis"Pmob>PmobMax."
Ontheforwardlink,thequalityofthereceivedsignalisnothighenoughonthetrafficchannel:thestatusis"Ptch>
PtchMax."

Thenetworkissaturated:

Themaximumreverselinkloadfactorisexceeded(atadmissionorduringcongestioncontrol):thestatusiseither
"AdmissionRejection"or"ULLoadSaturation."
Therearenotenoughavailablechannelelementsonthesite:thestatusis"Ch.EltsSaturation."
Thereisnotenoughpowerforcells:thestatusis"DLLoadSaturation."
TherearenomoreWalshcodesavailable:thestatusis"WalshCodeSaturation."

TheCDMA20001xEVDORateandPowerControlSimulationAlgorithm
TheCDMA20001xEVDOsimulationalgorithm(seeFigure8.40)simulatesthepowerandratecontrols,congestion,andradio
resourcecontrolperformedforCDMA20001xEVDOusers(i.e.1xEVDORev.0,1xEVDORev.Aand1xEVDORev.Bservice
users).Atollconsiderstheguaranteedbitrateserviceusersfirst,intheorderestablishedduringthegenerationoftheuser
distribution,andthen,itprocessesthevariablebitrateserviceusers,intheorderestablishedduringthegenerationofthe
userdistribution.Itdeterminesthebestserverandtheactivesetofeachuser,andperformsthereverselinkpowercontrol

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onthepilotchannel.Ontheforwardlink,thereisnopowercontrol;thetransmittertransmitsatfullpower.Instead,Atoll
performsratecontrolbasedontheCIratiocalculatedforthemobile.
Afterperformingrateandpowercontrol,Atollupdatesthereverselinkloadfactor.Atollthencarriesoutcongestionandradio
resourcecontrol,verifyingthecellreverselinkloadandthenumberofchannelelementsandMACindexesconsumedbythe
cell.
Guaranteedbitrateserviceusershavethehighestpriorityandareprocessedfirst,intheorderestablishedduringthegener
ationoftheuserdistribution.Atolldeterminesthe1xEVDObearerforeachuserintheforwardlinkandinthereverselink.
Theselected1xEVDObearermustprovideapeakRLCthroughputhigherthantheguaranteedbitratedefinedfortheservice.
Toachievethehighestcellcapacity,1xEVDORev.Ahasamultiuserpacketthatcombinespacketsfromseveralusersintoa
singlephysicallayerpacket.Atollmodelsthemultiuserpacketbyallowingseveralguaranteedbitrateserviceuserstoshare
thesame1xEVDOradiobearer.Then,Atollcalculatesthe1xEVDObearerconsumptionforeachuserandtakesintoaccount
thisparameterwhenitdeterminestheresourcesconsumedbytheuser(i.e.,theterminalpowerused,thenumberofMAC
indexes,andthenumberofchannelelements).AtollchecksifenoughMACindexesandchannelelementsareavailablefor
theuser(takingintoaccountthemaximumnumberofMACindexesdefinedforthecellandthemaximumnumberofchannel
elementsallowedonthesiteinthedownlink).Ifnotenoughindexesorchannelelementsareavailable,theuserisrejected.
AmulticarrierEVDOuserismanagedasseveralsinglecarrierusers.Theuserhasseveralallocated1xEVDOradiobearers
andconsumesresourcesineachcellheisconnectedto.Inthereverselink,loadbalancingbetweencarriersismodelled.The
usercansimultaneouslytransmitonallcarriers.Atollsharestheavailableterminalpowerequallybetweeneachcarrierand
determinestheuplink1xEVDOradiobearerobtainedoneachcarrier,withoutexceedingtheavailableresources(channel
elements,MACindex,andULloadfactor).Atollselectsthebestconfigurationamongallcombinationsofcarriers,i.e.,the
combinationwhichprovidesthehighesttotalthroughput.If,withtheselectedconfiguration,thetotalthroughputexceeds
theoriginalthroughputdemand,Atolladjuststhe1xEVDOradiobearersoneachcarrieruntiltheuserobtainstherequested
throughput.Intheforwardlink,Atollperformsratecontroloneachcarrier.AtollcalculatestheC/Iratioreceivedbythe
mobile on each carrier and determines the downlink 1xEVDO radio bearer obtained on each carrier. The user downlink
throughputcorrespondstothesumofthethroughputsobtainedoneachcarrier.

Figure8.40:PowercontrolsimulationforCDMA20001xEVDO
Duringreverselinkpowercontrol,iftheservicesupportsdowngrading,Atollmightdowngradethepeakthroughputof1xEV
DORev.0serviceusersonthereverselinktrafficdatachanneluntiltherequiredreverselinkqualitylevelisreached.Ifdown
gradingdoesnotallowthequalityleveltobemet,themobileisrejected.
Duringcongestioncontrol,iftheservicesupportsdowngrading,Atollmightadjustthepeakthroughputof1xEVDORev.0
serviceusersonthereverselinktrafficdatachanneluntilthereverselinkcellnoiseriseisbetweenthenoiserisethreshold
plustheacceptablenoiserisemarginandthenoiserisethresholdminustheacceptablenoiserisemargin.Ifthenoiseriseis
toohigh,Atolldowngradesall1xEVDORev.0usersthatcanbedowngraded.Whenthenoiseriseistoolow,itupgradesall
1xEVDORev.0usersthatcanbeupgraded.A1xEVDORev.0usercanbedowngradedorupgradedifthetransitionflagof
hispeakthroughputwassetto"True"duringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.1xEVDORev.AandRev.Bserviceusers
arenotdowngraded.Theyarerejectedwhenthecellnoiserisethresholdisexceeded.

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Atthispoint,userscanbeeitherconnectedorrejected.Theyarerejectedif:

Thesignalqualityisnotsufficient:

Ontheforwardlink,eitherthepilotsignallevelislowerthanthedefinedminimumRSCPthresholdorthepilot
qualityisnothighenough(nocellintheuseractiveset):statusis"EcI0pilot<EcI0min.pilot".
Onthereverselink,thereisnotenoughpowertotransmit:thestatusis"Pmob>Pmobmax".

Theobtaineddownlinkbitrateislowerthanthedownlinkguaranteedbitrate:thestatusis"ObtainedDLthroughput
<GuaranteedDLbitrate".Thisrejectioncauseappliestoguaranteedbitrateserviceusersonly.

Thenetworkissaturated:

Themaximumreverselinkloadfactorisexceeded(atadmissionorduringcongestioncontrol):thestatusiseither
"Admissionrejection"or"ULloadsaturation".
Therearenotenoughavailablechannelelementsonthesite:thestatusis"channelelementsaturation".
TherearenotenoughMACindexespercellorthemaximumnumberofEVDOuserspercellisexceededduring
theradioresourcecontrol:thestatusis"1xEVDOresourcessaturation".

8.2.4.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutomodelCDMAnetworkregulationmechanismsusedtominimiseinterferenceandmaximise
capacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameandCommentsforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.
5. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreatedatthesame
timearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Informationtoretain:Youcanselectthelevelofdetailthatwillbeavailableintheoutput:

OnlytheAverageSimulationandStatistics:Noneoftheindividualsimulationsaredisplayedoravailablein
thegroup.Onlyanaverageofallsimulationsandstatisticsisavailable.
Somecalculationanddisplayoptionsavailableforcoveragepredictionsarenotavailable
whentheoption"Onlytheaveragesimulationandstatistics"isselected.

NoInformationAboutMobiles:Allthesimulationsarelistedandcanbedisplayed.Foreachofthem,aprop
erties window containing simulation output, divided among four tabs Statistics, Sites, Cells, and Initial
conditionsisavailable.
StandardAnformationAboutMobiles:Allthesimulationsarelistedandcanbedisplayed.Theproperties
windowforeachsimulationcontainsanadditionaltabwithoutputrelatedtomobiles.
Detailed Information About Mobiles: All the simulations are listed and can be displayed. The properties
windowforeachsimulationcontainsadditionalmobilerelatedoutputontheMobilesandMobiles(Shadow
ingvalues)tabs.
Whenyouareworkingonverylargeradioplanningprojects,youcanreducememory
consumptionbyselectingOnlytheAverageSimulationandStatisticsunderInformation
toretain.

6. UnderCellLoadConstraintsontheGeneraltab,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimu
lation:

NumberofChannelElements:SelecttheNumberofChannelElementscheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthe
maximumnumberofchannelelementsdefinedforeachsite.
NumberofCodes:SelecttheNumberofCodescheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthenumberofWalshcodes
availableforeachcell.
ULLoadFactor:IfyouwantthereverselinkloadfactortobeverifiedinthesimulationandnottoexceedtheMax
ULLoadFactor,selecttheULLoadFactorcheckboxanddefineavaluefortheMaxULLoadFactor.
MaxULLoadFactor:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumreverselinkcellloadfactor,clickthe
button(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximumreverselinkcellloadfactor.If

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youwanttousethemaximumreverselinkcellloadfactorasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthe

button( )besidetheboxandselectDefinedperCell.
DLLoad(%Pmax):IfyouwanttheforwardlinkloadtobeverifiedinthesimulationandnottoexceedtheMaxDL
Load,selecttheDLLoad(%Pmax)checkboxandenteramaximumforwardlinkcellloadintheMaxDLLoadbox.
MaxDLLoad(%Pmax):Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumforwardlinkcellload,asapercentage
ofthemaximumpower,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximum
forwardlinkcellload,asapercentageofthemaximumpower.Ifyouwanttousethemaximumforwardlinkcell
loadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton(

)besidetheboxandselectDefinedperCell.

7. OntheSourceTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

GlobalScalingFactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).

SelectTrafficMapstoBeUsed:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage806.

8. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
9. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,the
userandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowing
errordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
Usingthesamegenerateduserandshadowingerrordistributionforseveralsimulations
canbeusefulwhenyouwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonly
oneparameterchanges.
10. UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:

MaxNumberofIterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
ULConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
reverselinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthefor
wardlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

11. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcanrunitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittorunitlater:

Run:ClickRuntosavethedefinedsimulationandrunitimmediately
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutrunningit.YoucanrunitlaterclickingtheCalculatebutton
(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.Youcannowusethe
completedsimulationsforspecificCDMAcoveragepredictions(see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"
onpage834)orforanASanalysisusingthePointAnalysiswindow(see"MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults"on
page833).

8.2.4.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemapthedistributionofthetrafficgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferent
parameters.Youcan,forexample,displaythetrafficaccordingtoservice,activitystatus,orsofthandoffgain.
Youcansetthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtodiscretevaluesandthenselectthevaluetobedisplayed.Or,
youcanselectthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtovalueintervals,andthenselecttheparameterandthevalue
intervalsthataretobedisplayed.Youcanalsodefinethecoloursoftheiconandtheiconitself.
Forinformationonchangingdisplaycharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistributiondisplay:

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"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyHandoffStatus"onpage821
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage821
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage822.

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Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeodataandpredictions.
Forinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows"onpage42.

8.2.4.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyHandoffStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbythehandoffstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbythehandoffstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"HOStatus(Sites/No.Transmit
tersAct.Set)"astheField.
Thehandoffstatusisdisplayedas"XY"where"Y"isthenumberoftransmitterstowhichthemobileisconnectedand
"X"isthenumberofsites.Forexample,"12"meansthatthemobileisconnectedtotwodifferenttransmitterson
onesite."23"wouldmeanthatthemobileisconnectedtothreedifferenttransmittersontwosites.Ifamobileisnot
connected,thehandoffstatusisgivenas"00".
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyhandoffstatus(seeFigure8.41).

Figure8.41:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyhandoffstatus

8.2.4.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyconnectionstatus(seeFigure8.42).

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Figure8.42:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyconnectionstatus

8.2.4.3.3

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice(seeFigure8.43).

Figure8.43:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyservice

8.2.4.4 DisplayingtheUserActiveSetontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemaptheactivesetforeachusergeneratedbyasimulation.
Todisplaytheactivesetforauser:

Onthemap,clickandholdtheiconoftheuserwhosebestandsecondbestserversyouwanttodisplay.
Theserversintheusersactivesetareconnectedtotheuserwithlinesthesamecolourastheservingtransmitter.
Thebestserverisindicatedwiththenumber"1",thesecondbestwithnumber"2"andsoon.Figure8.44showsa
userwiththreeserversinhisactiveset.

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Figure8.44:Theactivesetofauser

8.2.4.5 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresultsyou
wanttoaccess.
4. Rightclickthesimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Theamountof
detailavailablewhenyoudisplaytheresultsdependsonthelevelofdetailyouselectedfromtheInformationto
retainlistontheGeneraltabofthepropertiesdialogboxforthegroupofsimulations.Formoreinformationonthe
differentoptions,seestep5.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage819.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Request:UnderRequest,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetstarted.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandthereverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputsthatalluserscouldtheoreticallygenerateare
provided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andreverselinkand
forwardlinkthroughputs)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataontheconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
aredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthenetworkdesign.
Thenumberandpercentageofusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperfrequencybandforamulti
bandnetwork,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andthereverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputsthey
generate.
The breakdown per service (total number of users, number of users per frequency band for a multiband
network,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andreverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputs)isgiven.

TheSitestab:TheSitestabcontainsthefollowinginformationpersite:

MaxNo.ofDLandULCEsperCarrier:Themaximumnumberofchannelelementsavailableper1xRTTcarrieron
theforwardandreverselinks.
MaxNo.ofEVDOCEsperCarrier:Themaximumnumberofchannelelementsavailableper1xEVDOcarrier.
No.ofDLandULFCHCEs:ThenumberofchannelelementsusedbytheFCHontheforwardandreverselinksby
thesite.
No.ofDLandULSCHCEs:ThenumberofchannelelementsusedbytheSCHontheforwardandreverselinksby
thesite.
No.EVDOCEs:ThenumberofchannelelementsusedbyEVDOusers.

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No.ofDLandULFCHCEsDuetoSHOOverhead:Thenumberofextrachannelelementsduetosofthandoff,on
reverselinkandforwardlinkforCDMA20001xRTTusers.
No.ofDLandULSCHCEsDuetoSHOOverhead:Thenumberofextrachannelelementsduetosofthandoff,on
reverselinkandforwardlinkforCDMA20001xRTTusers.
No.ofEVDOCEsDuetoSHOOverhead:Thenumberofextrachannelelementsduetosofthandoff,onreverse
linkandforwardlinkforCDMA20001xEVDOusers.
CarrierSelection:Thecarrierselectionmethoddefinedonthesiteequipment.
ASRestrictedtoNeighbours:Whethertheactivesetisrestrictedtoneighboursofthereferencecell.Thisoption
isselectedonthesiteequipment.
RakeFactor:Therakefactor,definedonthesiteequipment,enablesAtolltomodelarakereceiveronthereverse
link.
MUDFactor:Themultiuserdetectionfactor,definedonthesiteequipment,isusedtodecreaseintracellinter
ferenceonthereverselink.
PeakULThroughputper1xEVDOservice(kbps):Thepeakuplinkthroughputinkbitssforeach1xEVDOdata
service(rev.0,rev.A,rev.B).
PeakDLFCHThroughputperservice(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):Thepeakthroughputinkbitssforspeechser
viceandeach1xRTTdataserviceontheFCH.Theresultisdetailedontheforwardandreverselinkonlywhenrel
evant.
PeakDLSCHThroughputperservice(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):Thethroughputinkbitssforeach1xRTTdata
serviceontheSCH.Theresultisdetailedontheforwardandreverselinkonlywhenrelevant.

The Cells (1xRTT) tab: The Cells (1xRTT) tab contains the following information, per site, transmitter, and 1xRTT
carrier:

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MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
PilotPower(dBm):Thepilotpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
SynchroPower(dBm):Thesynchropowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
PagingPower(dBm):Thepagingpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
Gain(dBi):Thegainasdefinedintheantennapropertiesforthattransmitter.
ReceptionLoss(dB):Thereceptionlossasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
TransmissionLoss(dB):Thetransmissionlossasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
NoiseFigure(dB):Thenoisefigureasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties
TotalTransmittedDLPower(dBm):Thetotaltransmittedpowerontheforwardlink.
TotalTransmittedDLFCHPower(dBm):ThetotalpowerusedontheforwardlinkfortheFCH.
TotalTransmittedDLSCHPower(dBm):ThetotalpowerusedontheforwardlinkfortheSCH.
ULTotalNoise(dBm):Thetotalnoiseonthereverselink.
ULLoadFactor(%):Thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterference
onthereverselinkandthetotalnoiseonthereverselink.Iftheconstraint"ULLoadFactor"hasbeenselected,
thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkisnotallowedtoexceedtheuserdefinedmaximumloadfactoronthe
reverselink(definedeitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox).
DLLoadFactor(%):Theloadfactorofthecelliontheforwardlinkcorrespondstotheratio(averageinterference
on the forward link [due to transmitter signals on the same carrier] for terminals in the transmitter i area)
(averagetotalnoiseontheforwardlink[duetotransmittersignalsandtothermalnoiseofterminals]forterminals
inthetransmitteriarea).
DLNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseontheforwardlinkiscalculatedfromtheloadfactorontheforwardlink.These
dataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
DLLoad(%Pmax):Thepercentageofpowerusedisdeterminedbythetotaltransmittedpowermaximumpower
ratio(powerstatedinW).Whentheconstraint"DLload"isset,theDLLoadcannotexceedtheuserdefinedMax
DLLoad(definedeitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulation).
NumberofULandDLRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinkscorrespondstothenumberofusertransmitterlinks
onthesamecarrier.Thisdataiscalculatedontheforwardandreverselinksandindicatesthenumberofusers
connectedtothecellontheforwardandreverselinks.Becauseofhandover,asingleusercanuseseveralradio
links.
Connection Success Rate (%): The connection success rate gives the ratio of connected users over the total
numberofusersinthecell.
ULNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseonthereverselinkiscalculatedfromtheloadfactoronthereverselink.These
dataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
ULReuseFactor:Thereverselinkreusefactoristheratiobetweenthereverselinktotalinterferenceandtheintra
cellinterference.
ULReuseEfficiencyFactor:Thereuseefficiencyfactoronthereverselinkisthereciprocalofthereusefactoron
thereverselink.
No.ofCodes(128bits):Thetotalnumberof128bitWalshcodesusedbycell.
No.ofFCHCodes(128bits):Thetotalnumberof128bitWalshcodesusedbytheFCHofthecell.
No.ofSCHCodes(128bits):Thetotalnumberof128bitWalshcodesusedbytheSCHofthecell.
TheTypesofHandoffasaPercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandofftypesforeachtransmitter.
Atollonlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoffstatus,nohandoff(11),softer(12),soft(22),softersoft(23)
andsoftsoft(33)handoffs;theotherhandoffstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
No.ofDLandULFCHCEs:ThenumberofchannelelementsusedbytheFCHontheforwardandreverselinks.

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No.ofDLandULSCHCEs:ThenumberofchannelelementsusedbytheSCHontheforwardandreverselinks.
FCHThroughput(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):ThethroughputoftheFCHontheforwardandreverselinks.
SCHThroughput(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):ThethroughputoftheSCHontheforwardandreverselinks.
MinTCHPwr(dBm):Theminimumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
MaxTCHPwr(dBm):Themaximumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
AvgTCHPwr(dBm):Theaveragepowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
RejectedUsers:Thenumberofrejecteduserspercellaresortedbythefollowingreasons:Pmob>PmobMax,
Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,DLLoadSaturation,WalshCodeSat
uration,andAdmissionRejection.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%)forEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivestheratioofcon
nectedusersoverthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

The Cells (1xEVDO) tab: The Cells (1xEVDO) tab contains the following information, per site, transmitter, and
1xEVDOcarrier:

MaxPower(dBm):Themaximumpowerasdefinedinthecellproperties.
IdlePowerGain(dB):Theidlepowergainasdefinedinthecellproperties.
Gain(dBi):Thegainasdefinedintheantennapropertiesforthattransmitter.
ReceptionLoss(dB):Thereceptionlossasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
TransmissionLoss(dB):Thetransmissionlossasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
NoiseFigure(dB):Thenoisefigureasdefinedinthetransmitterproperties.
ULTotalNoise(dBm):Thetotalnoisereceivedbythecellonthereverselink.
ULLoadFactor(%):Thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterference
onthereverselinkandthetotalnoiseonthereverselink.Iftheconstraint"ULLoadFactor"hasbeenselected,
thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkisnotallowedtoexceedtheuserdefinedmaximumloadfactoronthe
reverselink(definedeitherinthecellpropertiesorinthesimulationcreationdialogbox).
ULNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseonthereverselinkiscalculatedfromtheloadfactoronthereverselink.These
dataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
ULReuseFactor:Thereverselinkreusefactoristheratiobetweenthereverselinktotalinterferenceandtheintra
cellinterference.
ULReuseEfficiencyFactor:Thereuseefficiencyfactoronthereverselinkisthereciprocalofthereusefactoron
thereverselink.
NumberofULRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinksonthereverselink.Multicarrierusersarecountedoncein
eachcelltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofActiveUsers:Thenumberofactiveusersconnectedtothecell.Multicarrierusersarecountedonceineach
celltheyareconnectedto.
No.ofInactiveUsers:Thenumberofinactiveusersamongtheusersconnectedtothecell.Multicarrierusersare
countedonceineachcelltheyareconnectedto.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%):Thepercentageofconnectionsthataresuccessfullymade.
TheTypesofHandoffasaPercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandofftypesforeachtransmitteron
thereverselink.Atollonlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoffstatus,nohandoff(11),softer(12),soft(22),
softersoft(23)andsoftsoft(33)handoffs;theotherhandoffstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
ULandDLThroughput(kbps):Thethroughputontheforwardandreverselinks.
No.ofMACIndex:ThenumberofMACindexesusedbythecell.
RejectedUsers:Thenumberofrejecteduserspercellaresortedbythefollowingreasons:Pmob>PmobMax,
Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,DLLoadSaturation,WalshCodeSat
uration,AdmissionRejection,and1xEVDOResourcesSaturation.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%)ForEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivesthepercentage
ofconnectedusersfromthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

TheMobiles(1xRTT)tab:TheMobiles(1xRTT)tabcontainsthefollowinginformationforCDMA20001xRTTusers:
The Mobiles (1xRTT) tab only appears if, when creating the simulation as explained in
"Creating Simulations" on page819, you select either "Standard information about
mobiles"or"Detailedinformationaboutmobiles"underInformationtoRetain.

XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect(thegeographicpositionisdeterminedbythesecond
randomtrial).
Service:Theserviceassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Terminal:Theassignedradioconfiguration.
UserProfile:Theassigneduserprofile.
Mobility:Themobilitytypeassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
ActivityStatus:Theactivitystatusassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistri
bution.
DLandULRequestedThroughput(kbps):Thedownlinkanduplinkrequestedthroughputscorrespondtothefor
wardandreversethroughputsrequestedbytheuserbeforepowercontrol.

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DLandULObtainedThroughput(kbps):Theobtainedthroughputsarethesameastherequestedthroughputsif
theuserisconnectedwithoutbeingdowngraded.Iftheuserhasbeendowngraded,thethroughputiscalculated
usingthedowngradingfactor.Iftheuserwasrejected,theobtainedthroughputiszero.
Carrier:Thecarrierusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.
MobileTotalPower(dBm):Thisvaluecorrespondstothetotalpowertransmittedbytheterminal.
UplinkPilotPower(dBm):Thepowertransmittedbytheterminalonthereversepilotchannel.
MobileFCHPower(dBm):ThepowertransmittedbytheterminalontheFCHchannel.
MobileSCHPower(dBm):powertransmittedbytheterminalontheSCHchannel.
ConnectionStatus:Theconnectionstatusindicateswhethertheuserisconnectedorrejectedattheendofthe
simulation.Ifconnected,theconnectionstatuscorrespondstotheactivitystatus.Ifrejected,therejectioncause
isgiven.
BestServer:Thebestserveramongthetransmittersinthemobileactiveset.
HOStatus(Sites/No.TransmittersAct.Set):TheHOstatusisthenumberofsitescomparedtothenumberof
transmittersintheactiveset.
AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6:Thenameofthecellthatisthebestserver,thesecondbestserver,andsoonis
giveninaseparatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.
Ec/I0AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(dB):EcI0isgiveninaseparatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.TheEc/
I0AS1columnliststheEc/I0fromthebestserverfortherejectedmobilesaswell.
Indoor:Thisfieldindicateswhetherindoorlosseshavebeenaddedornot.

The following columns only appear if, when creating the simulation as explained in "Creating Simulations" on
page819,youselect"DetailedInformationAboutMobiles"underInformationtoretain:

DLandULDowngradingFactor(SCH):ThedowngradingfactorfortheSCHonboththeforwardandthereverse
links. The downgrading factor is used to calculated how much the SCH throughput will be downgraded if the
requestedthroughputcannotbeprovided.
DLNtotAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(dBm):Thetotalnoiseontheforwardlinkforeachlinkbetweenthemobile
andatransmitterintheactiveset.
CellFCHPowerAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(dBm):ThecellpowertransmittedontheFCHforwardlinkis
givenforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatransmitterintheactiveset.
CellSCHPowerAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(dBm):ThecellpowertransmittedontheSCHforwardlinkis
givenforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatransmitterintheactiveset.
LoadFactorAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(%):Theloadfactorontheforwardlinkforeachlinkbetweenthe
mobileandatransmitterintheactiveset.Itcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterferenceonthefor
wardlinkandtotalnoiseattheterminal.
NoiseRiseAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(dB):Thenoiseriseontheforwardlinkforeachlinkbetweenthe
mobileandatransmitterintheactiveset.
ReuseFactorAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL):Theforwardlinkreusefactoristheratiobetweentheforward
linktotalinterferenceandtheintracellinterference.Itiscalculatedforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatrans
mitterintheactiveset.
IintraAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(dBm):Theintracellinterferenceontheforwardlinkforeachcell(I)of
theactiveset.
DL

DL

I Intra ic = 1 F Ortho P tot ic

txi

IextraAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(DL)(dBm):Theextracellinterferenceontheforwardlinkforeachcell(I)of
theactiveset.
DL

I extra ic =

DL

P tot ic

txj j i

826

TotalLossAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(dB):Thetotalattenuationforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatrans
mitterintheactiveset.
Name:Thenameofthemobile,asassignedduringtherandomusergeneration.
Clutter:Theclutterclassonwhichthemobileislocated.
OrthogonalityFactor:Theorthogonalityfactorusedinthesimulation.Theorthogonalityfactoristheremaining
orthogonalityoftheWalshcodesatreception.Thevalueusedistheorthogonalityfactorsetintheclutterclasses.
%PilotFinger:Thepercentagepilotfingerusedinthesimulation,definedperclutterclassorgloballyforallclutter
classes.
DLandULFCHSHOGain(dB):ThesofthandoffgainfortheFCHontheforwardandthereverselink.Thesoft
handoffgainontheforwardlinkiscalculatedifmobilereceiversareconnectedeitherontheforwardlinkoron
theforwardlinkandthereverselink.
DLandULSCHSHOGain(dB):ThesofthandoffgainfortheSCHontheforwardandthereverselink.Thesoft
handoffgainontheforwardlinkiscalculatedifmobilereceiversareconnectedeitherontheforwardlinkoron
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TheMobiles(1xEVDO)tab:TheMobiles(1xEVDO)tabcontainsthefollowinginformationforCDMA20001xEVDO
users:
TheMobiles(1xEVDO)tabonlyappearsif,whencreatingthesimulationasexplainedin
"Creating Simulations" on page819, you select either "Standard information about
mobiles"or"Detailedinformationaboutmobiles"underInformationtoRetain.

XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect(thegeographicpositionisdeterminedbythesecond
randomtrial).
Service:Theserviceassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Terminal:Theassignedradioconfiguration.
User:Theassigneduserprofile.
Mobility:Themobilitytypeassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
ActivityStatus:Theactivitystatusassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistri
bution.
ULRequestedThroughput(kbps):TheULRequestedThroughputcorrespondstothethroughput,includingthe
controlchannelthroughput,requestedbytheuserbeforepowercontrol.
ULObtainedThroughput(kbps):Fora1xEVDORev.0serviceuser,theobtainedthroughputisthesameasthe
requestedthroughputiftheuserisconnectedwithoutbeingdowngraded.Iftheuserhasbeendowngraded,the
uplinkthroughputiscalculatedusingthedowngradingfactor.Iftheuserwasrejected,theobtainedthroughput
is"0".
Theuplinktotalthroughputobtainedbythe1xEVDORev.AandRev.BserviceusersdependsontheserviceQoS
class(i.e.,whetherthisisaguaranteedbitrateoravariablebitrateservice).Foraguaranteedbitrateserviceuser,
whentheuserisconnected,theuplinkobtainedthroughputequalstheguaranteedbitratedefinedfortheservice.
Forvariablebitrateserviceusers,theuplinkobtainedthroughputisthesameastherequestedthroughput.Ifthe
userisrejected,theuplinkobtainedthroughputisthroughputis"0".

DLPeakThroughput:ThemaximumthroughputontheforwardlinkdependsonthevalueofCIattheterminal.
AtollcalculatesthisvaluefromthePeakthroughput=f(CI)graphspecifiedinthemobilitytypeproperties.
Carrier:Thecarrierusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.Multicarrierusersareconnectedtoseveralcar
riers.DetailscanbedisplayedpercarrierbyclickingtheActionsbuttonandthenselectingDetailedDisplayfrom
themenu.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedforthemobiletransmitterconnection.
MobileTotalPower(dBm):Themobiletotalpowercorrespondstothetotalpowertransmittedbytheterminal.
Forconstantbitrateserviceusers,thepercentageofbearerconsumptionistakenintoaccount.
ConnectionStatus:Theconnectionstatusindicateswhethertheuserisconnectedorrejectedattheendofthe
simulation.Ifconnected,theconnectionstatuscorrespondstotheactivitystatus.Ifrejected,therejectioncause
isgiven.
BestServer:Thebestserveramongthetransmittersinthemobileactiveset.
HOStatus(Sites/No.TransmittersAct.Set):TheHOstatusisthenumberofsitescomparedtothenumberof
transmittersintheactiveset.
AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6:Thenameofthecellthatisthebestserver,thesecondbestserver,andsoonis
giveninaseparatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.
Ec/I0AS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(dB):EcI0isgiveninaseparatecolumnforeachcellintheactiveset.TheEc/
I0AS1columnliststheEc/I0fromthebestserverfortherejectedmobilesaswell.
DLC/I:TheCIforthepilotontheforwardlink.
Indoor:Thisfieldindicateswhetherindoorlosseshavebeenaddedornot.

The following columns only appear if, when creating the simulation as explained in "Creating Simulations" on
page819,youselect"Detailedinformationaboutmobiles"underInformationtoRetain:

ULThroughputduetoTCP(kbps):TheuplinkthroughputduetoTCPaknowledgements.
ULRequestedPeakThroughput(kbps):Theuplinkrequestedpeakthroughputcorrespondstothethroughput
requestedbytheuserbeforepowercontrol.
ULObtainedPeakThroughput(kbps):Fora1xEVDORev.0serviceuser,theuplinkobtainedpeakthroughputis
thesameastherequestedpeakthroughputiftheuserisconnectedwithoutbeingdowngraded.Iftheuserhas
been downgraded, it is calculated using the downgrading factor. If the user was rejected, the obtained peak
throughputiszero.
Theuplinkpeakthroughputobtainedbythe1xEVDORev.AandRev.BserviceusersdependsontheserviceQoS
class(i.e.,whetherthisisaguaranteedbitrateoravariablebitrateservice).Foraguaranteedbitrateserviceuser,
whentheuserisconnected,theuplinkobtainedpeakthroughputequalstheguaranteedbitratedefinedforthe
service.Forvariablebitrateserviceusers,theuplinkobtainedpeakthroughputisthesameastheuplinkrequest
edpeakthroughput.Iftheuserisrejected,theuplinkobtainedpeakthroughputis"0".

ULDowngradingFactor:Thedowngradingfactoronthereverselink.Thedowngradingfactorisusedtocalculated
howmuchthethroughputwillbedowngradediftherequestedthroughputcannotbeprovided.
DLNtot(Data)(dBm):Thetotalnoiseontheforwardlink.

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DLLoadFactor(%):Theloadfactorontheforwardlink.Itcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterference
ontheforwardlinkandtotalnoiseattheterminal.
DLNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseontheforwardlink.
TotalLossAS1,AS2,AS3,AS4,AS5,AS6(dB):Thetotalattenuationforeachlinkbetweenthemobileandatrans
mitterintheactiveset.
Name:Thenameofthemobile,asassignedduringtherandomusergeneration.
Clutter:Theclutterclassonwhichthemobileislocated.
OrthogonalityFactor:Theorthogonalityfactorusedinthesimulation.Theorthogonalityfactoristheremaining
orthogonalityoftheWalshcodesatreception.Thevalueusedistheorthogonalityfactorsetintheclutterclasses.
%PilotFinger:Thepercentagepilotfingerusedinthesimulation,definedperclutterclassorgloballyforallclutter
classes.
ULSHOGain(dB):Thesofthandoffgainonthereverselink.
Transition flags (Upgrading 9.6k>19.2k, Upgrading 19.2k>38.4k, Upgrading 38.4k>76.8k, Upgrading
76.8k>153.6k, Downgrading 19.2k>9.6k, Downgrading 38.4k>19.2k, Downgrading 76.8k>38.4k, Down
grading153.6k>76.8k):Thebooleantransitionflags("True"or"False")generatedbyAtollforeachthroughput
transition and for each 1xEVDO user. If the flag for a throughput transition is "True," the throughput can be
upgradedordowngradedifnecessaryduringtheuplinkloadcontrol.

TheMobiles(ShadowingValues)tab:TheMobiles(ShadowingValues)tabcontainsinformationontheshadowing
marginforeachlinkbetweenthereceiveranduptotenpotentialtransmitters.Atollselectsthetransmitterswhich
havethereceiverintheirpropagationzoneandhavethelowestpathlosses.Thetentransmitterswiththelowestpath
lossesareselectedandsortedinascendingorderbypathloss.
The Mobiles (Shadowing Values) tab only appears if, when creating the simulation as
explainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819,youselect"Detailedinformationabout
mobiles"underInformationtoRetain.

Name:Thenameassignedtothemobile.
ValueatReceiver(dB):Thevalueoftheshadowingerroratthereceiver.Thisvalueisthesameforagivenreceiver
foreachgivenreceiverpotentialtransmitterlink.Thevalueisgeneratedrandomly.
Clutter:Theclutterclassonwhichthemobileislocated.
PathTo:Thenameofthepotentialtransmitter.
Value(dB):TheshadowingerrorforthereceiverpotentialtransmitterlinkinthecorrespondingPathTocolumn.
Thesevaluesaregeneratedrandomly.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobaltransmitterparameters:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

Thespreadingwidth
Whetherthepowervaluesontheforwardlinkareabsoluteorrelativetothepilot
Thedefaultreverselinksofthandoffgain
WhethertheMRCinsofter/softisdefinedornot
ThemethodusedtocalculateNt
Whetherthereverselink1xRTTpowercontrolisbasedonthetrafficqualityorthepilotquality.
Themaximumnumberofiterations
Theglobalscalingfactor
Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Thereverselinkandforwardlinkconvergencethresholds
Thesimulationconstraintssuchasmaximumpower,themaximumnumberofchannelelements,thereverse
linkloadfactorandthemaximumload
Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

8.2.4.6 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819,youcandisplaytheaverage
resultsofthegroup.Ifyouwanttodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationofagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingle
Simulation"onpage823.
Toaccesstheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsSimulationsfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
4. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthegroupofsimulations.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogboxcontainsimu
lationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveragedandasastandarddeviation.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingtwosections:

Request:UnderRequest,youwillfinddataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;powercontrolhasnotyetstarted.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtrafficinput.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandthereverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputsthatalluserscouldtheoreticallygenerateare
provided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andreverselinkand
forwardlinkthroughputs)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,youwillfinddataontheconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thenumberandthepercentageofrejectedusersisgivenalongwiththereasonforrejection.Thesefigures
aredeterminedattheendofthesimulationanddependonthenetworkdesign.
Thenumberandpercentageofusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperfrequencybandformulti
bandnetworks,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andthereverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputsthey
generate.
The breakdown per service (total number of users, number of users per frequency band for multiband
networks,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andreverselinkandforwardlinkthroughputs)isgiven.

TheCells(Average1xRTT)andCells(StandardDeviation1xRTT)tabs:TheCells(Average1xRTT)andCells(Stand
ardDeviation1xRTT)tabscontainthefollowingaverageandstandarddeviationinformation,respectively,persite,
transmitter,and1xRTTcarrier:

ULTotalNoise(dBm):Thetotalnoiseonthereverselinktakesintoaccountthetotalsignalreceivedatthetrans
mitteronacarrierfromintraandextracellterminalsusingthesamecarrierandadjacentcarriers(totalinterfer
enceonthereverselink)andthethermalnoise.
ULLoadFactor(%):Thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterference
onthereverselinkandthetotalnoiseonthereverselink.Iftheconstraint"ULLoadFactor"hasbeenselected,
thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkisnotallowedtoexceedtheuserdefinedmaximumloadfactoronthe
reverselink(definedeitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox).
ULNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseonthereverselinkiscalculatedfromtheloadfactoronthereverselink.These
dataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
ULReuseFactor:Thereverselinkreusefactoristheratiobetweenthereverselinktotalinterferenceandtheintra
cellinterference.
ULReuseEfficiencyFactor:Thereverselinkreuseefficiencyfactoristhereciprocalofthereverselinkreusefactor.
DLLoadFactor(%):Theforwardlinkloadfactorofthecellicorrespondstotheratio(forwardlinkaverageinter
ference[dueto transmittersignals onthesamecarrier]forterminalsinthe transmitter iarea)(forwardlink
averagetotalnoise[duetotransmittersignalsandtothermalnoiseofterminals]forterminalsinthetransmitter
iarea).
DLNoiseRise(dB):Theforwardlinknoiseriseiscalculatedfromtheforwardlinkloadfactor.Thesedataindicate
signaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
TotalTransmittedDLPower(dBm):Thetotalpowertransmittedontheforwardlink.
DLLoad(%Pmax):Thepercentageofpowerusedisdeterminedbythetotaltransmittedpowermaximumpower
ratio(powerstatedinW).Whentheconstraint"DLload"isset,theDLLoadcannotexceedtheuserdefinedMax
DLLoad(definedeitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulation).
NumberofULandDLRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinkscorrespondstothenumberofusertransmitterlinks
onthesamecarrier.Thisdataiscalculatedontheforwardandreverselinksandindicatesthenumberofusers
connectedtothecellontheforwardandreverselinks.Becauseofhandover,asingleusercanuseseveralradio
links.
Connection Success Rate (%): The connection success rate gives the ratio of connected users over the total
numberofusersinthecell.
No.ofCodes(128bits):Theaveragenumberof128bitWalshcodesusedpercell.
Thetypesofhandoffasapercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandofftypesforeachtransmitter.Atoll
onlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoffstatus,nohandoff(11),softer(12),soft(22),softersoft(23)and
softsoft(33)handoffs;theotherhandoffstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
FCHThroughput(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):ThethroughputoftheFCHontheforwardandreverselinks.
SCHThroughput(UplinkandDownlink)(kbps):ThethroughputoftheSCHontheforwardandreverselinks.
MinTCHPwr(dBm):Theminimumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
MaxTCHPwr(dBm):Themaximumpowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
AvgTCHPwr(dBm):Theaveragepowerallocatedtoatrafficchannelforsupplyingservices.
RejectedUsers:Thenumberofrejecteduserspercellaresortedbythefollowingreasons:Pmob>PmobMax,
Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,DLLoadSaturation,WalshCodeSat
uration,andAdmissionRejection.

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ConnectionSuccessRate(%)forEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivestheratioofcon
nectedusersoverthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

TheCells(Average1xEVDO)andCells(StandardDeviation1xEVDO)tabs:TheCells(Average1xEVDO)andCells
(StandardDeviation1xEVDO)tabscontainthefollowingaverageandstandarddeviationinformation,respectively,
persite,transmitter,and1xEVDOcarrier:

ULTotalNoise(dBm):Thetotalnoiseonthereverselinktakesintoaccountthetotalsignalreceivedatthetrans
mitteronacarrierfromintraandextracellterminalsusingthesamecarrierandadjacentcarriers(totalinterfer
enceonthereverselink)andthethermalnoise.
ULLoadFactor(%):Thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkcorrespondstotheratiobetweenthetotalinterference
onthereverselinkandthetotalnoiseonthereverselink.Iftheconstraint"ULLoadFactor"hasbeenselected,
thecellloadfactoronthereverselinkisnotallowedtoexceedtheuserdefinedmaximumloadfactoronthe
reverselink(definedeitherinthecellproperties,orinthesimulationcreationdialogbox).
ULNoiseRise(dB):Thenoiseriseonthereverselinkiscalculatedfromtheloadfactoronthereverselink.These
dataindicatesignaldegradationduetocellload(interferencemargininthelinkbudget).
ULReuseFactor:Thereverselinkreusefactoristheratiobetweenthereverselinktotalinterferenceandtheintra
cellinterference.
ULReuseEfficiencyFactor:Thereverselinkreuseefficiencyfactoristhereciprocalofthereverselinkreusefactor.
NumberofULRadioLinks:Thenumberofradiolinksonthereverselink.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%):Thepercentageofconnectionsthataresuccessfullymade.
Thetypesofhandoffasapercentage:Atollestimatesthepercentagesofhandofftypesforeachtransmitter.Atoll
onlyliststheresultsforthefollowinghandoffstatus,nohandoff(11),softer(12),soft(22),softersoft(23)and
softsoft(33)handoffs;theotherhandoffstatus(otherHO)aregrouped.
ULandDLThroughput(kbps):Thethroughputontheforwardandreverselinks.
No.ofMACIndex:ThenumberofMACindexesusedbythecell.
RejectedUsers:Thenumberofrejecteduserspercellaresortedbythefollowingreasons:Pmob>PmobMax,
Ptch>PtchMax,EcIo<(EcIo)min,ULLoadSaturation,Ch.EltsSaturation,DLLoadSaturation,WalshCodeSat
uration,AdmissionRejection,and1xEVDOResourcesSaturation.
ConnectionSuccessRate(%)forEachService:Foreachservice,theconnectionsuccessrategivestheratioofcon
nectedusersoverthetotalnumberofusersofthatserviceinthecell.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobaltransmitterparameters:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthegroupofsimulations:

Thespreadingwidth
Whetherthepowervaluesontheforwardlinkareabsoluteorrelativetothepilot
Thedefaultreverselinksofthandoffgain
WhethertheMRCinsofter/softisdefinedornot
ThemethodusedtocalculateNt
Whetherthereverselink1xRTTpowercontrolisbasedonthetrafficqualityorthepilotquality.
Themaximumnumberofiterations
Theglobalscalingfactor
Thegeneratorinitialisationvalue
Thereverselinkandforwardlinkconvergencethresholds
Thesimulationconstraintssuchasmaximumpower,themaximumnumberofchannelelements,thereverse
linkloadfactorandthemaximumload
Thenameofthetrafficmapsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

8.2.4.7 UpdatingCellValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819,youcan
updatevaluesforeachcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.Thefollowingvaluesareupdated:

ULLoadFactor
TotalDLPower

Toupdatecellvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. Displaythesimulationresults:
Todisplaytheresultsforagroupofsimulations:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
c. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
d. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Todisplaytheresultsforasinglesimulation:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
c. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresults
youwanttoaccess.
d. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheCellstab.
3. OntheCellstab,clickCommitResults.Thefollowingvaluesareupdatedforeachcell:

ULLoadFactor
TotalDLPower.

8.2.4.8 AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Whenyouhavecreatedasimulationorgroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimula
tionstotheAtolldocument.InAtoll,therearethefollowingwaysofaddingnewsimulations:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroupofsimulations.Itthengenerates
anewuserdistributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddoneormoresimulationstoagroup,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage831.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distribution between simulations is different. Traffic parameter changes (such as maximum and minimum traffic
channelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)canbetakenintoaccount.Radiodatamodifications(newtransmit
ters,changestotheantennaazimuth,etc.)arealwaystakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrol(orrate/power
control)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaGroupofSimulations"onpage832.

UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0)Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu
tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However,anymodificationstotrafficparameters(suchas,maximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,
EbNtthresholds,etc.)andradiodata(newtransmitter,azimuth,etc.)aretakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrol
simulation.
Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationtoagroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"AddingaSimula
tiontoaGroupofSimulations"onpage831.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesthenewgroupwiththesamesimula
tionparametersastheonesusedtogeneratetheoriginalgroup.Youcanthenmodifythesimulationparameters
beforecalculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaGroupofSimulations"onpage833.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoaddasimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.

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NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

6. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

ReplayingaGroupofSimulations
Toreplayanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,mostparametersusedtocalculatethe
groupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparameterscan
bechangedforthereplayedgroup.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.

SelectthelevelofdetailthatwillbeavailableintheoutputfromtheInformationtoretainlistasexplainedin"Cre
atingSimulations"onpage819.
UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsasexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819thatAtoll
mustrespectduringthesimulation.

6. OntheTraffictabofthedialogbox,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccount
trafficparameterchanges(suchasmaximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)in
thereplayedsimulation.
7. OntheAdvancedtab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

MaxNumberofIterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
ULConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
uplinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLConvergenceThreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
downlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

8. ClickRun.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
5. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Theintegermustbethesame
generatorinitialisationnumberasusedinthegroupofsimulationswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributions
youwanttouseinthisgroupofsimulations.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerrordistribution
willberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillbeusedforany
simulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
6. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage819.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"DuplicatingaGroup
ofSimulations"onpage833.

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DuplicatingaGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimulationsappears.
Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage819.

8.2.4.9 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateagroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesituationyouare
creatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformanceofthe
networkagainstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.For
example,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironmentand
userprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Createagroupofsimulationsby:

Creatinganewgroupofsimulationsasdescribedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage819.
Duplicatinganexistinggroupofsimulationsasdescribedin"AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument"on
page831.

2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

8.2.5 AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation
InAtoll,youhaveseveralmethodsavailabletohelpyouanalysesimulationresults.Youcanmakeanactivesetanalysisofa
realtimeprobeuseroryoucanmakeacoveragepredictionwhereeachpixelisconsideredasaprobeuserwithadefined
terminal,mobility,andservice.Theanalysesarebasedonasinglesimulationoronanaveragedgroupofsimulations.
Youcanfindinformationontheanalysismethodsinthefollowingsections:

"MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults"onpage833
"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage834.

8.2.5.1 MakinganASAnalysisofSimulationResults
ThePointAnalysiswindowgivesyouinformationonreceptionforanypointonthemap.TheASAnalysisviewgivesyouinfor
mationonthepilotquality(EcI0)(whichisthemainparameterusedtodefinethemobileactiveset),theconnectionstatus,
andtheactivesetoftheprobemobile.Analysisisbasedonthereverselinkloadfactorandtheforwardlinktotalpowerof
cells.Inthiscase,theseparameterscanbeeitheroutputsofagivensimulation,oraveragevaluescalculatedfromagroupof
simulations.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobilityandaservice.
Forinformationonthecriteriaforbelongingtotheactiveset,see"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage875.
BeforeyoumakeanASanalysis:

EnsurethesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttouseintheASanalysisisdisplayedonthemap.
Replaythesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttouseifyouhavemodifiedradioparameterssinceyoumade
thesimulation.
TheASanalysisdoesnottakepossiblenetworksaturationintoaccount.Therefore,there
isnoguaranteethatasimulatedmobilewiththesamereceivercharacteristicscanverify
thepointanalysis,simplybecausethesimulatednetworkcanbesaturated.

TomakeanASanalysisofsimulationresults:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappears.

2. SelecttheASAnalysisviewatthetopofthePointAnalysiswindow.

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3. AtthetopoftheASAnalysisview,selectthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttobasetheASanalysison
fromtheLoadConditionslist.
4. SelecttheTerminal,Service,Mobility,Carrier,andDLandULThroughputs.
5. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.

6. Selectorclearthefollowingoptions:

Whethershadowingistobetakenintoaccount(and,ifso,thecelledgecoverageprobability).
Whetherindoorcoverageistobetakenintoaccount.

7. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
8. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeanactivesetanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Asyoumovethepointer,Atollindicatesonthemapwhichisthebestserverforthecurrentposition(seeFigure8.24
onpage777).
InformationonthecurrentpositionisgivenintheASAnalysisviewofthePointAnalysiswindow.SeeFigure8.25on
page777foranexplanationofthedisplayedinformation.
9. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
10. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)onthetoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

8.2.5.2 MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults
Whennosimulationsareavailable,Atollusesthereverselinkloadfactor,thetotalforwardlinkpowerdefinedforeachcell
tomakecoveragepredictions.Forinformationoncellproperties,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage720;forinforma
tiononmodifyingcellproperties,see"CellDefinition"onpage716.
Onceyouhavemadesimulations,Atollcanusethisinformationinsteadofthedefinedparametersinthecellpropertiesto
makecoveragepredictionswhereeachpixelisconsideredasaprobeuserwithaterminal,mobility,profile,andservice.For
eachcoveragepredictionbasedonsimulationresults,youcanbasethecoveragepredictiononaselectedsimulationorona
groupofsimulations,choosingeitheranaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegrouporastatisticalanalysisbasedona
definedprobability.
Thecoveragepredictionsthatcanusesimulationresultsare:

Coveragepredictionsonthepilotoronaservice:

Coveragepredictionsonnoiseandinterference:

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL):ForinformationonmakingaPilotQualityAnalysis,see"StudyingPilotSignalQuality"
onpage758.
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragepredictionontheforwardlinkservice
area,see"Studying1xRTTForwardandReverseLinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage760or"StudyingtheForward
LinkEVDOThroughput"onpage761.
ServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL):Forinformationonmakingacoveragepredictiononthereverselinkservice
area,see"Studying1xRTTForwardandReverseLinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage760or"Studying1xEVDO
ReverseLinkServiceArea(EbNt)"onpage762.
EffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL+UL):Forinformationonmakingapilotpollutioncoverageanalysis,
see"StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage764.
CoveragebyTotalNoiseLevel(DL):Forinformationonmakingaforwardlinktotalnoisecoverageprediction,see
"StudyingForwardLinkTotalNoise"onpage766.
PilotPollutionAnalysis(DL):Forinformationonmakingapilotpollutioncoverageanalysis,see"StudyingPilot
Pollution"onpage767.

Ahandoffstatuscoveragepredictiontoanalysemacrodiversityperformance:

Handoff Zones (DL): For information on making a handoff status coverage prediction, see "Making a Handoff
StatusCoveragePrediction"onpage769.

Theproceduresforthecoveragepredictionsassumethatsimulationresultsarenotavailable.Whennosimulationsareavail
able,youselect"(CellsTable)"fromtheLoadConditionslist,ontheConditionstab.However,whensimulationsareavailable
youcanbasethecoveragepredictionononesimulationoragroupofsimulations.
Tobaseacoveragepredictiononasimulationorgroupofsimulations,whensettingtheparameters:
1. ClicktheConditionstab.
2. FromtheLoadConditionslist,selectthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwanttobasethecoverage
prediction.
3. IfyouselectagroupofsimulationsfromtheLoadConditionslist,selectoneofthefollowing:

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All:SelectAlltomakeastatisticalanalysisofallsimulationsbasedonthedefinedProbability(theprobabilitymust
befrom0to1).Thiswillmakeaglobalanalysisofallsimulationsinagroupandwithanevaluationofthenetwork
stabilityintermsoffluctuationsintraffic.
Average:SelectAveragemakethecoveragepredictionontheaverageofthesimulationsinthegroup.

8.3 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigningCDMAnetworkstoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimal
networksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.TheACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistofcandidatesites
ortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanalsobeusedincoplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferent
radioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandcellpilotpower.ACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitialplanning
stageofaUMTSnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.ACPnotonly
takestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.
AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.
ACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyouhave
definedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithmtotest
manynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.TheACPpresentsthechanges
orderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetofthe
suggestedchanges.
TheACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecifictoCDMAnetworksareexplained:

"CDMA2000OptimisationObjectives"onpage835
"CDMA2000QualityParameters"onpage835
"CDMA2000QualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage837.

8.3.1 CDMA2000OptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetworkreconfiguration.Theobjec
tivesaredependentonthetechnologyusedbytheprojectandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsin
Atoll.InprojectsusingCDMA2000,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingobjectivesareproposed
bydefault:

CDMA1xRTTCoverage
CDMA1xRTTEcIo
CDMA1xEvDOCoverage
CDMA1xEvDOEcIo

YoucanalsocreatethefollowingobjectivesfromthecontextmenuofObjectivesinthelefthandpaneoftheObjectivestab:

CDMA1xRTTPilotPollution
CDMA1xRTTSoftHandover
CDMA1xRTT1stNthDifference
CDMA1xEvDO1stNthDifference
CustomCoverage

YoudefinetheoptimisationobjectivesusingtheObjectivestaboftheACPSetupdialogbox.Forinformationonsettingobjec
tiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.

8.3.2 CDMA2000QualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,
thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.
In projects using CDMA2000, either alone, or in a coplanning or multiRAT mode, the following Quality parameters are
proposedinthePixelRulesframeoftheobjectivespropertiespages:

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Signallevel
EcIo
Overlap
BestServerDistance
1st2ndDifference
1stNthDifference

TodefinethequalityparametersforCDMA:
1. Openthedialogboxusedtodefinetheoptimisationasexplainedin"CreatinganOptimisationSetup"onpage1767.
2. ClicktheObjectivestab.
3. UnderParameters,expandCDMA.
Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfiguration.Ifyou
basethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcoloursdefined
intheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfile
forACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverage
prediction.ForinformationonsettingACPpredictiondisplayoptionsasthedefault,see"ChangingtheDisplayProp
erties of ACP Predictions" on page1824. For information on saving a configuration file, see "Configuring Default
Settings"onpage1765.
4. ClickonSignalLeveltodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebysignallevel.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebysignallevelusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.

5. ClickonEcIotodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyEcIo.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyEcIousingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofEcIothroughgainandlosses(i.e.,the
servicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).

6. ClickonOverlap/1stNthtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverageandcov
erageby1stNthdifference.
Overlappingcoverage:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverage,selectwhattheobjectiveevaluation
willbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluateoverlappingcoverageusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoveragepredic
tion.OnlycoveragepredictionsdisplayingaNumberofServersperpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandanOverlapthreshold
margin.

Coverageby1stNthdifference:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluatecoverageby1stNthdifference,selectwhatthe
objectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluatecoverageby1stNthdifferencebasedontheparametersusedtocalculatetheselectedprediction.
OnlyAtollpredictionsdisplayinga"NumberofServers"perpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
SincethereisnocoveragepredictiontypeinAtollequivalenttoACPsCDMA1xRTT1stNthDifferenceand
CDMAEvDO1stNthDifferenceobjectives,theparametersrecoveredbyACPfromtheselectedAtollpredic
tionarelimitedtotheminimumsignallevelandthepredictionshading.Thenumberofserversmustalways
bespecifiedmanuallynexttoNo.servers.

Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandtheNo.servers.

Inbothcases,thevalueyouspecifynexttoNo.serversdetermines"Nth"intheCDMA1xRTT1stNthDifference
andCDMAEvDO1stNthDifferenceobjectives.ForinstanceifyousetNo.serversto4,thenthe"1st4thDiffer
ence"qualityparameterwillbeautomaticallyselectedbydefaultintheQualitycolumnoftheCDMA1xRTT1st
NthDifferenceandCDMAEvDO1stNthDifferencepropertiespages.

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AllowedvaluesforNo.serversrangefrom3to100,withonlyonevalueavailablepertechnology.
The"1st2ndDifference"qualityparameter(basedonNo.servers=2)isprovidedbydefault.

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8.3.3 CDMA2000QualityAnalysisPredictions
ThequalityanalysispredictionsenableyoutodisplaythesignallevelandEcIoqualitypredictionsintheAtollmapwindow.
ThesepredictionsarethesameasthosedisplayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.
ThequalityanalysispredictionscreatedinACPareequivalenttothosecreatedbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions.The
correspondencetablebelowshowstheACPpredictionsandtheirequivalentsinAtoll.

QualityAnalysisPredictioninACP

EquivalentPredictioninAtoll
FieldsettingforDisplayType="ValueIntervals"

SignalLevel

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)(1)
"BestSignalLevel(dBm)"

EcIo

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL)(2)
"Ec/Io(dB)"

Overlap

OverlappingZones(DL)(3)
"NumberofServers"

(1)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage746.
(2)Formoreinformation,see"CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths"onpage844.
(3)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage749.

Making these predictions available within ACP enables you to quickly validate the optimisation results without having to
committheresultsandthencalculateacoveragepredictioninAtoll.TheACPpredictionsdisplayresultsverysimilartothose
thatAtollwoulddisplayifyoucommittedtheoptimisationresultsandcalculatedAtollcoveragepredictions,however,before
basinganydecisiontocommittheoptimisationresultsonthepredictionsproducedbyACP,youshouldkeepthefollowing
recommendationsinmind:

YoushouldverifytheresultswithadifferentAtollcoverageprediction,suchasthepilotpollutionanalysis.
ACPgeneratedpredictionsaregeneratedusingtheentiresetofproposedchanges.Theydonottakeintoaccountthe
changesubsetdefinedontheChangeDetailstab.
MultiplecarrieroptimisationissupportedinCDMA.Howeverthepredictionsareprovidedseparatelyforeachcarrier.
Evenaftercommittingtheoptimisationresults,differencescanremainbetweentheACPpredictionsandthepredic
tionsresultingfromAtollcoveragepredictions.

YoucanviewtheexactsignallevelandEcIovaluesonanypixelbylettingthepointerrestoverthepixel.Thesignallevelor
EcIovalueisthendisplayedintiptext.
ForACPOverlappingZonespredictions,youcanspecifythebestserverthreshold:

byenteringavaluenexttoMinimumSignalLevelintheOverlap/1stNthpropertiespage.
orbysettingthe"param.cdma.overlap.minRxLevel"parameterwiththesamevalueintheACP.inifile.

Foreachnetworkqualitycoverageprediction,ACPoffersapredictionshowingtheinitialnetworkstate,thefinalnetwork
state,andapredictionshowingthechangesbetweentheinitialandfinalstate.

8.4 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
AnimportantstepintheprocessofcreatingaCDMAnetworkisverifyingthequalityofthenetwork.Thisisdoneusingmeas
urements of the strength of the pilot signal and other parameters in different locations within the area covered by the
network.Thiscollectionofmeasurementsiscalledadrivetestdatapath.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage838
"DisplayingDriveTestData"onpage840
"DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath"onpage840
"NetworkVerification"onpage841
"ExportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage848
"ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData"onpage848
"PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow"onpage849.

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8.4.1 ImportingaDriveTestDataPath
InAtoll,youcananalysedrivetestsbyimportingdrivetestdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(withtabs,commas,semicolons,
orspacesasseparator),TEMSFICSPlanetexportfiles(withtheextensionPLN),orTEMStextexportfiles(withtheextension
FMT).
ForAtolltobeabletousethedatainimportedfiles,theimportedfilesmustcontainthefollowinginformation:

Thepositionofdrivetestdatapoints.Whenyouimportthedata,youmustindicatewhichcolumnsgivetheabscissa
andordinate(XYcoordinates)ofeachpoint.
Informationthatidentifiesscannedcells(forexample,servingcells,neighbourcells,oranyothercells).Cellsmaybe
identifiedbytheirIDsorPNoffsets.

ThedatainthefilemustbestructuredsothatthecolumnsidentifyingthePNoffsetgroupandthePNoffsetareplacedbefore
thedatacolumnsforeachcell.OtherwiseAtollwillnotbeabletoproperlyimportthefile.
Youcanimportasingledrivetestdatafileorseveraldrivetestdatafilesatthesametime.Ifyouregularlyimportdrivetest
datafilesofthesameformat,youcancreateanimportconfiguration.Theimportconfigurationcontainsinformationthat
definesthestructureofthedatainthedrivetestdatafile.Byusingtheimportconfiguration,youwillnotneedtodefinethe
datastructureeachtimeyouimportanewdrivetestdatafile.
Toimportoneorseveraldrivetestdatafiles:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. Youcanimportoneorseveralfiles.Selectthefileorfilesyouwanttoopen.
Ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile,youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirst
fileyouwanttoimport,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.You
canselectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfileyouwanttoimport.
5. ClickOpen.TheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogboxappears.
FileswiththeextensionPLN,aswellassomeFMTfiles(createdwithpreviousversionsof
TEMS)areimporteddirectlyintoAtoll;youwillnotbeaskedtodefinethedatastructure
usingtheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.
6. Ifyoualreadyhaveanimportconfigurationdefiningthedatastructureoftheimportedfileorfiles,youcanselectit
fromtheImportconfigurationlistontheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.Ifyoudonothave
animportconfiguration,continuewithstep7.
a. UnderImportconfiguration,selectanimportconfigurationfromtheImportconfigurationlist.
b. Continuewithstep10.

Whenimportingadrivetestdatapathfile,existingconfigurationsareavailablein
theFilesoftypelistoftheOpendialogbox,sortedaccordingtotheirdateofcre
ation.AfteryouhaveselectedafileandclickedOpen,Atollautomaticallyproposes
aconfiguration,ifitrecognisestheextension.ifseveralconfigurationsareassoci
atedwithanextension,Atollchoosesthefirstconfigurationinthelist.
Thedefinedconfigurationsarestored,bydefault,inthefile"NumMeasINIFile.ini",
locatedinthedirectorywhereAtollisinstalled.FormoreinformationontheNum
MeasINIFile.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthenewdrivetestdatapathaftertheimportedfile.Youcanchangethisnameif
desired.
UnderReceiver,settheHeightofthereceiverantennaandtheGainandLosses.
UnderMeasurementConditions,

838

Units:Selectthemeasurementunitsused.
Coordinates:Bydefault,AtollimportsthecoordinatesusingthedisplaysystemoftheAtolldocument.Ifthe
coordinatesusedinthefileyouareimportingaredifferentthanthecoordinatesusedintheAtolldocument,
youmustclicktheBrowsebuttonandselectthecoordinatesystemusedinthedrivetestdatafile.Atollwill
thenconvertthedataimportedtothecoordinatesystemusedintheAtolldocument.

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8. ClicktheSetuptab(seeFigure8.45).

Figure8.45:TheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox
a. UnderFile,enterthenumberofthe1stMeasurementRow,selectthedataSeparator,andselecttheDecimal
Symbolusedinthefile.
b. ClicktheSetupbuttontolinkfilecolumnsandinternalAtollfields.TheDriveTestDataSetupdialogboxappears.
c. UnderMeasurementpointposition,selectthecolumnsintheimportedfilethatgivetheXCoordinatesandthe
YCoordinatesofeachpointinthedrivetestdatafile.
YoucanalsoidentifythecolumnscontainingtheXYcoordinatesofeachpointinthedrive
testdatafilebyselectingthemfromtheFieldrowofthetableontheSetuptab.

d. IfyouareimportingdatathatusestheIDascellidentifier:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByID.

ii. IntheByIDidentifierbox,enterastringfoundinthecolumnnamethatidentifiesthecellIdsofscannedcells.
Forexample,ifthestring"Cell_ID"isfoundinthecolumnnamesthatidentifythecellIDofscannedcells,enter
ithere.Atollwillthensearchforthecolumnwiththisstringinthecolumnname.
e. IfyouareimportingdatathatusesthePNoffsetascellidentifier:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByPNoffset.

ii. InthePNoffsetidentifierbox,enterastringthatisfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthePNoffsetof
scannedcells.Forexample,ifthestring"PN"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthePNoffsetofscanned
cells,enterithere.Atollthensearchesforcolumnswiththisstringinthecolumnname.
iii. InthePNoffsetformatlist,selectthePNoffsetformat,"Decimal"or"Hexadecimal."
iv. InthePNoffsetgroupidentifierbox,enterastringthatmustbefoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthe
PNoffsetgroupofscannedcells.Forexample,ifthestring"PN_Group"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidenti
fyingthePNoffsetgroupofscannedcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforcolumnswiththisstringin
thecolumnname.
IfthereisnoPNoffsetgroupinformationcontainedinthedrivetestdatafile,leavethePNoffsetgroupiden
tifierboxempty.
v. Ifyouareimportingdrivetestdataforaspecificcarrier,selectthecarrierforwhichyouareimportingthedrive
testdataintheCarriernumberlist.Ifyouareimportingdrivetestdataformorethanonecarrier,select"All".

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f. ClickOKtoclosetheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox.
IfyouhavecorrectlyenteredtheinformationunderFileontheSetuptab,andthe
necessaryvaluesintheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox,Atollshouldrecogniseall
columnsintheimportedfile.Ifnot,youcanclickthenameofthecolumninthetablein
theFieldrowandselectthecolumnname.Foreachfield,youmustensurethateach
columnhasthecorrectdatatypeinorderforthedatatobecorrectlyinterpreted.The
defaultvalueunderTypeis"<Ignore>".Ifacolumnismarkedwith"<Ignore>",itwillnot
beimported.
9. Ifyouwanttosavethedefinitionofthedatastructuresothatyoucanuseitagain,youcansaveitasanimportcon
figuration:
a. OntheSetuptab,underImportconfiguration,clickSave.TheConfigurationdialogboxappears.
b. Bydefault,Atollsavestheconfigurationinafilecalled"NumMeasINIfile.ini"foundinAtollsinstallationfolder.If
youcannotwriteintothatfolder,youcanclicktheBrowsebuttontochooseadifferentlocation.
c. EnteraConfigurationNameandanExtensionofthefilesthatthisimportconfigurationwilldescribe(forexample,
"*.csv").
d. ClickOK.
Atollwillnowselectthisimportconfigurationautomaticallyeverytimeyouimportadrivetestdatapathfilewith
theselectedextension.Ifyouimportafilewiththesamestructurebutadifferentextension,youwillbeableto
selectthisimportconfigurationfromtheConfigurationlist.

Youdonothavetocompletetheimportproceduretosavetheimportconfigura
tionandhaveitavailableforfutureuse.
Whenimportingameasurementfile,youcanexpandtheNumMeasINIfile.inifile
byclickingtheExpandbutton( )infrontofthefileunderImportconfiguration
todisplayalltheavailableimportconfigurations.Whenselectingtheappropriate
configuration,theassociationsareautomaticallymadeinthetableatthebottom
ofthedialogbox.
Youcandeleteanexistingimportconfigurationbyselectingtheimportconfigura
tionunderImportconfigurationandclickingtheDeletebutton.

10. ClickImport,ifyouareonlyimportingasinglefile,orImportAll,ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile.Themobile
dataareimportedintothecurrentAtolldocument.

8.4.2 DisplayingDriveTestData
WhenyouhaveimportedthedrivetestdataintothecurrentAtolldocument,youcandisplayitinthemapwindow.Then,
youcanselectindividualdrivetestdatapointstoseeinformationabouttheactivesetatthatlocation.
Todisplayinformationaboutasingledrivetestdatapoint:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Selectthedisplaycheckboxbesidethedrivetestdatayouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.Thedrivetestdatais
displayed.
4. Clickandholdthedrivetestdatapointonwhichyouwantactivesetinformation.Atolldisplaysanarrowpointing
towardstheservingcells(seeFigure8.50onpage847),withanumberidentifyingtheserverasnumberedinthedrive
testdata.Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumberandthearrowaredisplayedinthesame
colour asthe transmitter.Forinformationonchangingthedisplaytypeto"Automatic,"see"DefiningtheDisplay
Type"onpage48.

8.4.3 DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath
YoucanmanagethedisplayofdrivetestdatapathsusingtheDisplaydialogbox.Thepointsonadrivetestdatapathcanbe
displayedaccordingtoanyavailableattribute.YoucanalsousetheDisplaydialogboxtomanagepermanentlabelsonthe
map,tiptextsandthelegend.Inotherwords,thedisplayofmeasurementpatharemanagedinthesamewayassites,trans
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TodisplaytheDisplaytabofadrivetestdatapathsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathwhosedisplayyouwanttomanage.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu,
5. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Eachpointcanbedisplayedbyauniqueattributeoraccordingto:

atextorintegerattribute(discretevalue)
anumericalvalue(valueinterval).

Inaddition,youcandisplaypointsbymorethanonecriterionatatimeusingtheAdvancedoptionintheDisplayTypelist.
WhenyouselectAdvancedfromtheDisplayTypelist,adialogboxopensinwhichyoucandefinethefollowingdisplayfor
eachsinglepointofthemeasurementpath:

asymbolaccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolcolouraccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolsizeaccordingtoanyattribute.

Youcan,forexample,displayasignallevelinacertaincolour,chooseasymboltypeforTransmitter1(acircle,triangle,cross,
etc.)andasymbolsizeaccordingtothealtitude.

FastDisplayforcesAtolltousethelightestsymboltodisplaythepoints.Thisispar
ticularlyusefulwhenyouhaveaverylargenumberofpoints.
YoucannotuseAdvancedDisplayiftheFastDisplaycheckboxhasbeenselected.
YoucansortdrivetestdatapathsinalphabeticalorderintheNetworkexplorerby
rightclicking the Drive Test Data Path folder and selecting Sort Alphabetically
fromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethedisplaysettings(suchascoloursandsymbols)ofadrivetestdata
pathinauserconfigurationfiletomakethemavailableforuseonanotherdrive
testdatapath.Tosaveorloadtheuserconfigurationfile,clicktheActionsbutton
ontheDisplaytabofthepathpropertiesdialogboxandselectSaveorLoadfrom
theDisplayConfigurationsubmenu.

8.4.4 NetworkVerification
TheimporteddrivetestdataisusedtoverifytheCDMAnetwork.Toimprovetherelevanceofthedata,Atollallowsyouto
filteroutincompatibleorinaccuratepoints.Youcanthencomparetheimportedmeasurementswithpreviouslycalculated
coveragepredictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths"onpage841
"CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths"onpage844
"DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath"onpage845
"ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter"onpage846
"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage846.

8.4.4.1 FilteringIncompatiblePointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths
Whenusingadrivetestdatapath,somemeasuredpointsmaypresentvaluesthataretoofaroutsideofthemedianvalues
tobeuseful.Aswell,testpathsmayincludetestpointsinareasthatarenotrepresentativeofthedrivetestdatapathasa
whole.Forexample,atestpaththatincludestwoheavilypopulatedareasmightalsoincludetestpointsfromthemorelightly
populatedregionbetweenthetwo.
InAtoll,youcanfilteroutpointsthatareincompatiblewiththepointsyouarestudying,eitherbyfilteringouttheclutter
classeswheretheincompatiblepointsarelocated,orbyfilteringoutpointsaccordingtotheirproperties.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsbyclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthedrivetestdataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

Alldrivetestdatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
Onlyonedrivetestdatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolderandrightclick
thedrivetestpath.

Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
4. InthePerClutterwindow,underFilter,clearthecheckboxesoftheclutterclassesyouwanttofilterout.Onlythe
clutterclasseswhosecheckboxisselectedwillbetakenintoaccount.
5. Ifyouwanttokeepthemeasurementpointsinsidethefocuszone,selecttheUsefocuszonetofiltercheckbox.
6. Ifyouwanttopermanentlyremovethemeasurementpointsoutsidethefilter,selecttheDeletePointsOutsideFilter
checkbox.
Ifyoupermenantlydeletemeasurementpointsandlaterwanttousethem,youwillhavetoreimporttheoriginal
measurementdata.
Tofilteroutincompatiblepointsusingafilter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheDriveTestDataonwhichyouwanttofilteroutincompatiblepoints:

AllDriveTestDatameasurements:RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.
OnlyoneDriveTestDatapath:ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.

Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
4. ClickMore.TheFilterdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheFiltertab:
a. SelectaFieldfromthelist.
b. UnderValuestoInclude,youwillfindallthevaluesrepresentedintheselectedfield.Selectthecheckboxesnext
tothevaluesyouwanttoincludeinthefilter.ClickClearAlltoclearallcheckboxes.
6. ClicktheAdvancedtab:
a. IntheColumnrow,selectthenameofthecolumntobefilteredonfromthelist.Selectasmanycolumnsasyou
want(seeFigure8.46).

Figure8.46:TheFilterdialogboxAdvancedtab
b. Underneatheachcolumnname,enterthecriteriaonwhichthecolumnwillbefilteredasexplainedinthefollow
ingtable:

842

Formula

Dataarekeptinthetableonlyif

=X

valueequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<>X

valuenotequaltoX(Xcanbeanumberorcharacters)

<X

numericalvalueislessthanX

>X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanX

<=X

numericalvalueislessthanorequaltoX

>=X

numericalvalueisgreaterthanorequaltoX

*X*

textobjectswhichcontainX

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Formula

Dataarekeptinthetableonlyif

*X

textobjectswhichendwithX

X*

textobjectswhichstartwithX

7. ClickOKtofilterthedataaccordingtothecriteriayouhavedefined.
Filtersarecombinedfirsthorizontally,thenvertically.Formoreinformationonhowfilterswork,see"AdvancedData
Filtering"onpage101.
Youcanpermanentlydeletethepointsthatdonotfulfilthefilterconditionsbyselecting
theDeletepointsoutsidethefiltercheckbox.

8. ClickOKtoapplythefilterandclosethedialogbox.

8.4.4.2 PredictingSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints
Topredictthesignallevelondrivetestdatapoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttocreatethepointprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderPointpredictions,selectPointSignalLevelandclickOK.ThePointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogboxappears
(seeFigure8.47).

Figure8.47:PointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogbox
Theerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevelscanbecalculatedandaddedtothedrivetestdatatable.
6. Ifyouwanttocalculateerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,underSelectsignallevelsforerrorcal
culations,selectthenamesofthecolumnsrepresentingmeasuredsignallevelvaluesinthedrivetestdatatablefor
whichyouwanttocalculatetheerrors(seeFigure8.48).Ifyoudonotwanttoaddthisinformationtothedrivetest
datatable,continuewithstep7.

Figure8.48:Selectingmeasuredsignallevelsforwhicherrorswillbecalculated
7. ClickOK.Anewpointpredictioniscreatedfortheselecteddrivetestdatapath.
8. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapath.Thecontextmenuappears.
9. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.

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IfyouchosetohaveAtollcalculatetheerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,newcolumnsareaddedtothe
drive test data table for the predicted point signal level from the serving cell and the errors between the measured and
predictedvalues.

Figure8.49:DriveTestDatatableafterPointSignalLevelPrediction(witherrorcalculations)
New columns are also added for the predicted point signal level from each neighbour cell and the errors between the
predictedandmeasuredvalues.ThevaluesstoredinthesecolumnscanbedisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.For
moreinformationontheDriveTestDataanalysistool,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage846.
Thepropagationmodelusedtocalculatethepredictedpointsignallevelsistheoneassignedtothetransmitterforthemain
matrix.Formoreinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

8.4.4.3 CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths
Youcancreatethefollowingcoveragepredictionsforalltransmittersoneachpointofadrivetestdatapath:

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)
PilotQualityAnalysis(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)
ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(UL)

Tocreateacoveragepredictionalongadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatatowhichyouwanttoaddacoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderStandardPredictions,selectoneofthefollowingcoveragepredictionsandclickOK:

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

PilotQualityAnalysis(DL):ClicktheConditionstab.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.
Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
Conditions.Inthiscase,AtollcalculatesthecoveragepredictionusingtheULloadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwantthepilotsignalqualitypredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)Downlink:ClicktheConditionstab.

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AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobecalculated.UnderServer,youcan
selectwhethertocalculatethesignallevelfromalltransmitters,oronlythebestorsecondbestsignal.Ifyou
choosetocalculatethebestorsecondbestsignal,youcanenteraMargin.IfyouselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCellEdgeCoverageProbability.YoucanselecttheIndoorCover
agecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.Finally,youcan
selecttheCarriertobestudied.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.

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Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
Conditions.Inthiscase,AtollcalculatesthecoveragepredictionusingtheULloadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(Eb/Nt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowing
takenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)Uplink:ClicktheConditionstab.

OntheConditionstab,youcanselectwhichsimulationtostudyintheLoadConditionslist.Oryoucanselect
agroupofsimulationsandeitherselectAlltoperformanaverageanalysisofallsimulationsinthegroupbased
onaProbability(from0to1)orselectAveragetoperformstatisticalanalysisofallsimulations.
Ifyouwanttoperformthecoveragepredictionwithoutasimulation,youcanselect"(CellsTable)"fromLoad
Conditions.Inthiscase,AtollcalculatesthecoveragepredictionusingtheULloadfactorandtheDLtotal
powerdefinedinthecellproperties.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage751.
YoumustalsoselectwhichCarrieristobeconsidered.
Ifyouwanttheservicearea(Eb/Nt)coveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowing
takenintoaccountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCellEdgeCoverageProbabilitytextbox.
YoucanselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

6. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthecoverageprediction,clickOK.
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbyrepeatingtheprocedurefromstep1.tostep6.foreachnewcoverage
prediction.
7. Whenyouhavefinishedcreatingnewcoveragepredictionsforthesedrivetestdata,rightclickthedrivetestdata.The
contextmenuappears.
8. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
Anewcolumnforeachcoveragepredictionisaddedinthetableforthedrivetestdata.Thecolumncontainsthe
predictedvaluesoftheselectedparametersforthetransmitter.Thepropagationmodelusedistheoneassignedto
thetransmitterforthemainmatrix(forinformationonthepropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandProp
agationModels).
YoucandisplaytheinformationinthesenewcolumnsintheDriveTestDatawindow.Formoreinformationonthe
DriveTestDatawindow,see"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage846.

8.4.4.4 DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath
AssumingsomepredictionshavebeencalculatedalongaDriveTestDatapath,youcandisplaythestatisticsbetweenthe
measuredandthepredictedvaluesonaspecificmeasurementpath.
TodisplaythestatisticsforaspecificDriveTestDatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttodisplaycomparativestatistics.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Display Statistics from the context menu. The Measurement and Prediction Fields Selection dialog box
appears.
5. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheFortheTransmitterslist.
6. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthepreviouslypredictedvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeof
valuecanbecomparedatatime(signallevelorquality).
7. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthemeasuredvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeofvaluecanbe
comparedatatime(signallevelorquality).Themeasuredandtheselectedvalueshavetomatchup.
8. Entertheminimumandmaximummeasuredvalues.Statisticsaredonewithdrivetestdatapointswherethemeas
uredvaluesarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
9. ClickOK.
Atollopensapopupinwhichtheglobalstatisticsbetweenmeasurementsandpredictionsaregivenoverallthefiltered(or
not)pointsofthecurrentdrivetestdatapaththroughthemeanerror,itsstandarddeviation,therootmeansquareandthe
errorcorrelationfactor.Thestatisticsarealsogivenperclutterclass.

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8.4.4.5 ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter
AssumingsomepredictionshavebeencalculatedalongaDriveTestDatapath,youcandisplaythestatisticsbetweenthe
measuredandthepredictedvaluesonaspecificmeasurementpath.
TodisplaythestatisticsforaspecificDriveTestDatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttodisplaycomparativestatistics.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Display Statistics from the context menu. The Measurement and Prediction Fields Selection dialog box
appears.
5. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheFortheTransmitterslist.
6. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthepreviouslypredictedvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeof
valuecanbecomparedatatime(signallevelorquality).
7. Selectthefieldsthatcontainthemeasuredvaluesthatyouwanttouseforpredictions.Onlyonetypeofvaluecanbe
comparedatatime(signallevelorquality).Themeasuredandtheselectedvalueshavetomatchup.
8. Entertheminimumandmaximummeasuredvalues.Statisticsaredonewithdrivetestdatapointswherethemeas
uredvaluesarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
9. ClickOK.
Atollopensapopupinwhichtheglobalstatisticsbetweenmeasurementsandpredictionsaregivenoverallthefiltered(or
not)pointsofthecurrentdrivetestdatapaththroughthemeanerror,itsstandarddeviation,therootmeansquareandthe
errorcorrelationfactor.Thestatisticsarealsogivenperclutterclass.

8.4.4.6 ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter
Youcanextracttheinformationfromaspecificfieldforagiventransmitteroneachpointofanexistingdrivetestdatapath.
Theextractedinformationwillbeaddedtoanewcolumninthedrivetestdatatable.
Toextractafieldfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttoextractafield.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFocusonaTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.TheFieldSelectionforaGivenTransmitterdialogboxappears.
5. SelectatransmitterfromtheOntheTransmitterlist.
6. ClicktheFortheFieldslist.Thelistopens.
7. Selectthecheckboxbesidethefieldyouwantextractfortheselectedtransmitter.
8. Click OK. Atoll creates a new column in the drive test data path table for the selected transmitters and with the
selectedvalues.

8.4.4.7 AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath
InAtoll,youcananalysevariationsindataalonganydrivetestdatapathusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.Youcanalsouse
theDriveTestDatawindowtoseewhichcellistheservingcellforagiventestpoint.
ToanalysedatavariationsusingtheDriveTestDatawindow.
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyse.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpentheAnalysisToolfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowappears(seeFigure8.50).

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Figure8.50:TheDriveTestDatawindow
5. ClickDisplayatthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.TheDisplayParametersdialogboxappears(seeFigure8.51).

Figure8.51:TheDriveTestDatawindow
6. IntheDisplayParametersdialogbox:

SelectthecheckboxnexttoanyfieldyouwanttodisplayintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Ifyouwant,youcanchangethedisplaycolourbyclickingthecolourintheColourcolumnandselectinganew
colourfromthepalettethatappears.
ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
Youcanchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourofmorethanonefieldatatime.Youcan
selectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastfield
youwanttoimport.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLandclicking
eachfield.Youcanthenchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourbyrightclickingonthe
selectedfieldsandselectingthechoicefromthecontextmenu.
TheselectedfieldsaredisplayedintheDriveTestDatawindow.

7. Youcandisplaythedatainthedrivetestdatapathintwoways:

ClickthevaluesintheDriveTestDatawindow.
Clickthepointsonthedrivetestpathinthemapwindow.

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Thedrivetestdatapathappearsinthemapwindowasanarrowpointingtowardstheservingcell,withanumberiden
tifyingthebestserver(seeFigure8.50onpage847).Ifthetransmitterdisplaytypeis"Automatic,"boththenumber
andthearrowaredisplayedinthesamecolourasthetransmitter.Forinformationonchangingthedisplaytypeto
"Automatic,"see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
8. YoucandisplayasecondYaxisontherightsideofthewindowinordertodisplaythevaluesofavariablewithdif
ferentordersofmagnitudethantheonesselectedintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.Youcanselectthesecondary
YaxisfromtherighthandlistonthetopoftheDriveTestDatawindow.Theselectedvaluesaredisplayedinthecol
oursdefinedforthisvariableintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
9. YoucanchangethezoomleveloftheDriveTestDatawindowdisplayintheDriveTestDatawindowinthefollowing
ways:

Zoominorout:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.

ii. SelectZoomInorZoomOutfromthecontextmenu.

Selectthedatatozoominon:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowononeendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.

ii. SelectFirstZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.
iii. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindowontheotherendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.
iv. SelectLastZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDatawindowzoomsinonthedatabetween
thefirstzoompointandthelastzoompoint.
10. ClickthedataintheDriveTestDatawindowtodisplaytheselectedpointinthemapwindow.Atollwillrecentrethe
mapwindowontheselectedpointifitisnotpresentlyvisible.
IfyouopenthetableforthedrivetestdatayouaredisplayingintheDriveTestData
window,Atollwillautomaticallydisplayinthetablethedataforthepointthatis
displayedinthemapandintheDriveTestDatawindow(seeFigure8.50onpage847).

8.4.5 ExportingaDriveTestDataPath
Youcanexportdrivetestdatapathstovectorfiles.
Toexportadrivetestdatapathtoavectorfile:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. EnteraFilenameforthedrivetestdatapathandselectaformatfromtheSaveastypelist.
6. ClickSave.Thedrivetestdatapathisexportedandsavedinthefile.

8.4.6 ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData
YoucangenerateCWmeasurementsfromdrivetestdatapathsandextracttheresultstotheCWMeasurementsfolder.
TogenerateCWmeasurementfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExtractCWMeasurementsfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementExtractiondialogboxappears.
5. UnderExtractCWMeasurements:
a. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheFortheTransmitterslist.
b. SelectthefieldthatcontainstheinformationthatyouwanttoexporttoCWmeasurementsfromtheFortheFields
list.

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6. UnderCWMeasurementCreationParameters:
a. EntertheMin.NumberofPointstoExtractperMeasurementPath.CWmeasurementsarenotcreatedfortrans
mittersthathavefewerpointsthanthisnumber.
b. EntertheminimumandmaximumMeasuredSignalLevels.CWmeasurementsarecreatedwithdrivetestdata
pointswherethesignallevelsarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
7. ClickOK.AtollcreatesnewCWmeasurementsfortransmitterssatisfyingtheparameterssetintheCWMeasurement
Extractiondialogbox.
FormoreinformationaboutCWmeasurements,seetheModelCalibrationGuide.

8.4.7 PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataWindow
YoucanprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow,usingthecontextmenuintheDriveTestDatawindow.
ToprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatayouwanttoanalyse.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Open the Analysis Tool from the context menu. The Drive Test Data window appears (see Figure8.50 on
page847).
5. Definethedisplayparametersandzoomlevelasexplainedin"AnalysingDataVariationsAlongthePath"onpage846.
6. RightclicktheDriveTestDatawindow.Thecontextmenuappears.
ToexporttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
b. OpenthedocumentintowhichyouwanttopastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.
c. PastethecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindowintothenewdocument.
ToprinttheDriveTestDatawindow:
a. SelectPrintfromthecontextmenu.ThePrintdialogboxappears.
b. ClickOKtoprintthecontentsoftheDriveTestDatawindow.

8.5 CoplanningCDMANetworkswithOtherNetworks
Atollisamultitechnologyradionetworkplanningtool.Youcanworkonseveraltechnologiesatthesametime,andseveral
networkscenarioscanbedesignedforanygivenarea:acountry,aregion,acity,etc.Forexample,youcandesignaCDMA
andaGSMnetworkforthesameareainAtoll,andthenworkwithAtollscoplanningfeaturestostudythemutualimpacts
ofthetwonetworks.
BeforestartingacoplanningprojectinAtoll,theAtolladministratormustperformthe
prerequisitetasksthatarerelevantforyourprojectasdescribedintheAdministrator
Manual.
Sectorsofbothnetworkscansharethesamesitesdatabase.Youcandisplaybasestations(sitesandsectors),geographicdata,
andcoveragepredictions,etc.,ofonenetworkintheothernetworksAtolldocument.Youcanalsostudyintertechnology
handoversbyperformingintertechnologyneighbourallocations,manuallyorautomatically.Intertechnologyneighboursare
allocatedoncriteriasuchasthedistancebetweensectorsoroverlappingcoverage.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage850.
"WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject"onpage851.
"PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation"onpage854.
"CreatingaCDMASectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork"onpage866.
"EndingCoplanningMode"onpage868.

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8.5.1 SwitchingtoCoplanningMode
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,youmusthavetwonetworksdesignedforagivenarea,i.e.,youmusthaveaCDMAAtoll
documentandanotherAtolldocumentfortheothernetwork.Atollswitchestocoplanningmodeassoonasthetwodocu
mentsarelinkedtogether.Inthefollowingsections,theCDMAdocumentwillbereferredtoasthemaindocument,andthe
otherdocumentasthelinkeddocument.Atolldoesnotestablishanyrestrictiononwhichisthemaindocumentandwhichis
thelinkeddocument.
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,makesurethatyourmainandlinkeddocuments
havethesamegeographiccoordinatesystems.

Toswitchtocoplanningmode:
1. Openthemaindocument.

SelectFile>OpenorFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.

2. Linktheotherdocumentwiththeopenmaindocument.
a. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.ThemaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheExplorerwin
dowshowsthecontentsofthemaindocument.
b. SelectFile>LinkWith.TheLinkWithdialogboxappears.
c. Selectthedocumenttobelinked.
d. ClickOpen.
TheselecteddocumentisopenedinthesameAtollsessionasthemaindocumentandthetwodocumentsarelinked.
TheExplorerwindowofthemaindocumentnowcontainsafoldernamedTransmittersin[linkeddocument],where
[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocumentandanotherfoldernamedPredictionsin[linkeddocument].
Bydefault,onlytheTransmittersandPredictionsfoldersofthelinkeddocumentappear
inthemaindocument.IfyouwanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthe
maindocumentaswell,youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Forinformationonsetting
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Assoonasalinkiscreatedbetweenthetwodocuments,AtollswitchestocoplanningmodeandAtollscoplanningfeatures
arenowavailable.
When you are working on a coplanning document, Atoll facilitates working on two different but linked documents by
synchronisingthedisplayinthemapwindowbetweenbothdocuments.Atollsyncronisesthedisplayforthefollowing:

Geographicdata:AtollsynchronisesthedisplayofgeographicdatasuchasclutterclassesandtheDTM.Ifyouselect
ordeselectonetypeofgeographicdata,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Zones:Atollsynchronisesthedisplayoffiltering,focus,computation,hotspot,printing,andgeographicexportzones.
Ifyouselectordeselectonetypeofzone,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Mapdisplay:Atollcoordinatesthedisplayofthemapinthemapwindow.Whenyoumovethemap,orchangethe
zoomlevelinonedocument,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangesinthelinkeddocument.
Pointanalysis:WhenyouusethePointAnalysistool,Atollcoordinatesthedisplayonboththeworkingdocument
andthelinkeddocument.Youcanselectapointandviewtheprofileinthemaindocumentandthenswitchtothe
linkeddocumenttomakeananalysisonthesameprofilebutinthelinkeddocument.

DisplayingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument
Afteryouhaveswitchedtocoplanningmodeasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage850,transmittersand
predictionsfromthelinkeddocumentaredisplayedinthemaindocument.Ifyouwant,youcandisplayotheritemsorfolders
fromtheExplorerwindowofthelinkeddocumenttotheExplorerwindowofthemaindocument(e.g.,youcandisplayGSM
sitesandmeasurementpathsinaCDMAdocument).
Todisplaysitesfromthelinkeddocumentinthemaindocument:
1. Click the linked documents map window. The linked documents map window becomes active and the Explorer
windowshowsthecontentsofthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMakeAccessibleInfromthecontextmenu,andselectthenameofthemaindocumentfromthesubmenuthat
opens.

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TheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumentisnowavailableinthemaindocument.TheExplorerwindowofthemaindocument
nowcontainsafoldernamedSitesin[linkeddocument],where[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocument.Ifyou
wanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthemaindocumentautomatically,youcansetanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtolinkotherfoldersinonedocument,folderssuchasCWMeasurements,DriveTestData,
Clutterclasses,Traffic,andDTM,etc.,intheotherdocument.
Oncethefoldersarelinked,youcanaccesstheirpropertiesandthepropertiesoftheitemsinthefoldersfromeitherofthe
twodocuments.Anychangesyoumakeinthelinkeddocumentaretakenintoaccountintheboththelinkedandmaindocu
ments.However,becauseworkingdocumentisthemaindocument,anychangesmadeinthemaindocumentarenotauto
maticallytakenintoaccountinthelinkeddocument.
Ifyouclosethelinkeddocument,Atolldisplaysawarningicon( )inthemaindocumentsExplorerwindow,andthelinked
itemsarenolongeraccessiblefromthemaindocument.YoucanloadthelinkeddocumentinAtollagainbyrightclickingthe
linkeditemintheExplorerwindowofthemaindocument,andselectingOpenLinkedDocument.
Theadministratorcancreateandsetaconfigurationfileforthedisplayparametersoflinkedandmaindocumenttransmitters
inordertoenableyoutodistinguishthemonthemapandtobeabletoselectthemonthemapusingthemouse.Ifsucha
configurationfilehasnotbeensetup,youcanchoosedifferentsymbols,sizesandcoloursforthelinkedandthemaindocu
menttransmitters.Formoreinformationonfolderconfigurations,see"FolderConfigurations"onpage108.Youcanalsoset
thetiptexttoenableyoutodistinguishtheobjectsanddatadisplayedonthemap.Formoreinformationontiptext,see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Inordertomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthenetworks,youcanalsochangetheorderofthefoldersoritemsinthe
Explorerwindow.FormoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheExplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.
Figure8.52showsanexampleofCDMAtransmitterswithlabelsanddisplayedintheLegendwindow,andGSMtransmitter
datadisplayedintiptext.

Figure8.52:GSMandCDMATransmittersdisplayedonthemap

8.5.2 WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinaCoPlanningProject
Atoll provides you with features that enable you to work with coverage predictions in your coplanning project. You can
modifythepropertiesofcoveragepredictionsinthelinkeddocumentfromwithinthemaindocument,andcalculatecoverage
predictions in both documents at the same time. You can also study and compare the coverage predictions of the two
networks.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"UpdatingCoveragePredictions"onpage851
"AnalysingCoveragePredictions"onpage852.

8.5.2.1 UpdatingCoveragePredictions
YoucanaccessthepropertiesofthecoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolderinthemaindocumentsExplorer
window.Aftermodifyingthelinkedcoveragepredictionproperties,youcanupdatethemfromthemaindocument.

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Toupdatealinkedcoverageprediction:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.ThemaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheExplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
4. Rightclickthelinkedcoveragepredictionwhosepropertiesyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. Modifythecalculationanddisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
7. ClickOKtosaveyoursettings.
8. ClicktheCalculatebutton(

)inthetoolbar.

When you click the Calculate button, Atoll first calculates uncalculated and invalid path loss matrices and then
unlockedcoveragepredictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
WhenyouhaveseveralunlockedcoveragepredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,Atollcalculates
themoneaftertheother.Forinformationonlockingandunlockingcoveragepredictions,see"LockingCoveragePredictions"
onpage225.
Ifyouwant,youcanmakeAtollrecalculateallpathlossmatrices,includingvalidones,beforecalculatingunlockedcoverage
predictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
ToforceAtolltorecalculateallpathlossmatricesbeforecalculatingcoveragepredictions:

ClicktheForceCalculatebutton(

)inthetoolbar.

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculatebutton,Atollfirstremovesexistingpathlossmatrices,recalculatesthemandthen
calculatesunlockedcoveragespredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
TopreventAtollfromcalculatingcoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolder,you
cansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,
seetheAdministratorManual.

8.5.2.2 AnalysingCoveragePredictions
InAtoll,youcananalysecoveragepredictionsofthetwonetworkstogether.Youcandisplayinformationaboutcoverage
predictionsinthemainandthelinkeddocumentsintheLegendwindow,usetiptexttogetinformationondisplayedcoverage
predictions,comparecoverageareasbyoverlayingthecoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow,andstudythedifferences
betweenthecoverageareasbycreatingcoveragecomparisons.
Ifseveralcoveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itmightbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoverageprediction
youwanttoanalyse.Youcanselectwhichcoveragepredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheck
box.Forinformationonmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"on
page42.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

8.5.2.2.1

"CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess"onpage852
"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage853
"ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText"onpage853
"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions"onpage853
"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage854.

CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess
Theaimofcoverageanalysisinacoplanningprojectistocomparethecoverageareasofthetwonetworksandtoanalyse
theimpactofchangesmadeinonenetworkontheother.Changesmadetothesectorsofonenetworkmightalsohavean
impactonsectorsintheothernetworkifthesectorsinthetwonetworkssharesomeantennaparameters.Youcancarryout
acoverageanalysiswithAtolltofindtheimpactofthesechanges.

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Therecommendedprocessforanalysingcoverageareas,andtheeffectofparametermodificationsinoneontheother,isas
follows:
1. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCover
agebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthemaindocument.Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoverage
PredictionbyTransmitter"onpage748and"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage744.
2. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCov
eragebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthelinkeddocument.
3. Choosedisplaysettingsforthecoveragepredictionsandtiptextcontentsthatwillallowyoutoeasilyinterpretthe
predictionsdisplayedinthemapwindow.Thiscanhelpyoutoquicklyassessinformationgraphicallyandusingthe
mouse.YoucanchangethedisplaysettingsofthecoveragepredictionsontheDisplaytabofeachcoveragepredic
tionsPropertiesdialogbox.
4. Makethetwonewcoveragepredictionsinthelinkeddocumentaccessibleinthemaindocumentasdescribedin"Dis
playingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument"onpage850.
5. Optimisethemainnetworkbychangingparameterssuchasantennaazimuthandtiltorthepilotpower.
Changesmadetothesharedantennaparameterswillbeautomaticallypropagatedtothelinkeddocument.
6. Calculatethecoveragepredictionsinthemaindocumentagaintocomparetheeffectsofthechangesyoumadewith
thelinkedcoveragepredictions.
Forinformationoncomparingcoveragepredictions,see"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredic
tions"onpage853and"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage854.
7. Calculatethelinkedcoveragepredictionsagaintostudytheeffectsofthechangesonthelinkedcoveragepredictions.

8.5.2.2.2

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontothelegendbyselecting
theAddtoLegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

8.5.2.2.3

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tioninthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,identifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionsbybyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinforma
tiondisplayedinthetiptext.Atolldisplaysinformationforalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththeworkingandthe
linkeddocuments.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthe
coverageprediction(step3.of"CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess"onpage852).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedonalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththe
workingandthelinkeddocuments(seeFigure8.21).Thetiptextfortheworkingdocumentisontopandthetiptext
forthelinkeddocument,withthelinkeddocumentidentifiedbynameisonthebottom.

Figure8.53:Comparingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

8.5.2.2.4

ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions
You can compare the coverage areas of the main and linked documents by overlaying coverage predictions in the map
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Tocomparecoverageareasbyoverlayingcoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.ThemaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheExplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
4. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttodisplayinthe
mapwindow.Thecoveragepredictionisdislayedonthemap.
5. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
10. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthelinkedcoveragepredictionyouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.The
coveragepredictionisdislayedonthemap.
11. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
12. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
13. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
14. Calculatethetwocoveragepredictionsagain,ifneeded.
Tomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthecoverageareas,youcanalsochangetheorderofthePredictionsfoldersinthe
Explorerwindow.FormoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheExplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.

8.5.2.2.5

StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionstofinddifferencesincoverageareas.
Tocomparecoveragepredictions:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.ThemaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheExplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
4. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttocompare.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectCompareWith>[linkedcoverageprediction]fromthecontextmenu,where[linkedcoverageprediction]is
thelinkedcoveragepredictionyouwanttocomparewiththecoveragepredictionofthemaindocument.TheCom
parisonPropertiesdialogboxopens.
6. Selectthedisplayparametersofthecomparisonandaddacommentifyouwant.
7. ClickOK.
ThetwocoveragepredictionsarecomparedandacomparisoncoveragepredictionisaddedtothemaindocumentsPredic
tionsfolder.
Formoreinformationoncoveragepredictioncomparison,see"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage778.

8.5.3 PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethefeaturesavailableinAtollthathelptheRFplannertocarryoutintertechnologyneighbour
planning.Forexample,handoversbetweenaCDMAandaGSMnetworkcanbestudiedinAtollbyallocatingneighbourGSM
sectorstoCDMAcells.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

854

"ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage855
"DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage855
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage857
"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage857
"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage859
"AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage860

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"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage863
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage865.

Inthesectionslistedabove,itisassumedthatAtollisalreadyincoplanningmode,andtheAtolldocumentscorresponding
tothetwonetworkshavealreadybeenlinked.Formoreinformationonswitchingtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCo
planningMode"onpage850.

8.5.3.1 ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucanimportintertechnologyneighboursintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocu
mentusingtheNeighbourstable.
Toimportintertechnologyneighboursusingtheintertechnologyneighbourstables:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighboursta
bleappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

8.5.3.2 DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucansetintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Theseconstraintscanbetakeninto
accountwhenintertechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.
Todefineintertechnologyexceptionalpairsbetweenthemaindocumentandthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.TheExceptionalPairsofIntertech
nologyNeighbourstableappears.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Acellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Cell:Thenameofthecellinthemaindocumentasthefirstpartoftheexceptionalpair.Thenamesofallthecells
inthemaindocumentareavailableinthelist.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourinthelinkeddocumentasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.The
namesofallthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentareavailableinthelist.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.
InGSM,neighboursandexceptionalpairsareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
YoucanaccessacellsintertechnologyneighboursandexceptionalpairsbyusingitsPropertiesdialogbox.
ToopenacellsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Doubleclicktherowcorrespondingtothecellwhosepropertiesyouwanttoaccess.ThecellsPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisfoundonthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.
DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyexceptionalpairsonthemapinordertostudytheforcedandforbiddenneighbourrelations
definedintheIntertechnologyExceptionalPairstable.

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Todisplayexceptionalpairsdefinedbetweenthemainandthelinkeddocuments:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. SelectDisplayOptions fromthemenu.TheEditRelationsontheMap dialogboxappears.

4. UnderIntertechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
5. UnderAdvanced,selectwhichexceptionalpairlinkstodisplay:

OutwardsNonSymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocu
mentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.
InwardsNonSymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachtransmitter/cellinthe
linkeddocumentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
SymmetricLinks:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathas
anexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinked
documentalsohasthecellofthemaindocumentinitsexceptionalpairlist.Theselinksarerepresentedwith
straightblacklines.

6. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

7. SelectForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighboursfromthemenu.Theexceptionalpairofacellwillbedisplayed
whenyouselectatransmitter.
8. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Exceptionalpairsarenowdisplayed
onthemap.ExceptionalpairswillremaindisplayeduntilyouclicktheEditRelationsontheMapbuttonagain.
9. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsexceptionalpairlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Theexceptionalpairlinkscanbedisplayedevenifyoudonothaveneighboursallocated.IfyouselecttheDisplayLinkscheck
boxunderIntratechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintratechnologyexceptionalpairsonthe
map.
AddingandRemovingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcansetintertechnologyexceptionalpairsusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpairs
dependingonthedisplayoptionset,i.e.,ForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveexceptionalpairsusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofexceptionalpairsonthe
mapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage855.
Toaddasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesboth
transmittersfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.

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Toremoveanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovestheref
erencetransmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricexceptionalpairrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertrans
mitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingexceptionalpairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricexceptional
pairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconverts
thesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesthe
transmitterfromtheintertechnologyexceptionalpairslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

8.5.3.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintertechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. Select the Intertechnology Neighbours tab. On the Intertechnology Neighbours tab, you can set the following
importancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhenperformingautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage857.

5. ClickOK.

8.5.3.4 AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallydeterminehandoverrelationsbetweennetworksofdifferenttechnologies,forexample,CDMAand
GSM.Inthiscase,intertechnologyhandoversfromCDMAtoGSMmayoccurwhentheCDMAcoverageisnotcontinuous.
ThenetworksoverallcoverageisextendedbyaCDMAtoGSMhandover.Atollcanautomaticallydetermineneighboursin
thelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocumentandviceversa.Intertechnologyneighboursarestoredinthedatabase.
Toautomaticallyallocateneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Neighbours> Intertechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. DefinethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbourintheMaxIntersiteDistancebox.

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Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. DefinethemaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacellintheMaxNumberof
Neighboursbox.Thisvaluecanbeeithersethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourallocationondistancecriterionandcon
tinuewithstep9.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwanttobasetheneighbouralloca
tiononcoverageconditions.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforthecellsinthemaindocument.TheCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheCDMACoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.BCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmit
ter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisanLTEdocument,theLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheLTECoverage
Conditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
e. Inthe%Min.CoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellscoverageareathattheneighbours
coverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.
9. UnderCalculationOptions,definethefollowing:

858

CDMACarriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;
Atollwillallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers.
Forcecositeasneighbours:SelectingtheForcecositeasneighbourscheckboxwillincludethecositetransmit
ters/cellsintheneighbourlistoftheCDMAcell.Thecheckboxisautomaticallyselectedwhentheneighbourallo
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Forceexceptionalpairs:SelectingtheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxwillapplytheintertechnologyexcep
tionalpaircriteriaontheneighbourslistoftheCDMAcell.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectingtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighbours
intheneighbourslistandperformacleanneighbourallocation.IftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisnot
selected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.

10. ClicktheCalculatebuttontostartcalculations.
11. Oncethecalculationsfinish,AtolldisplaysthelistofneighboursintheResultssection.Theresultsincludethenames
oftheneighbours,thenumberofneighboursofeachcell,andthereasontheyareincludedintheneighbourslist.The
reasonsinclude:
Reason

Description

When

ExceptionalPair

Neighbourrelationisdefinedasanexceptionalpair.

Forceexceptionalpairsis
selected

Cosite

Theneighbourislocatedatthesamesiteasthereference Forcecositeasneighboursis
cell.
selected

Distance

Theneighbouriswithinthemaximumdistancefromthe
referencecell.

Usecoverageoverlappingis
notselected

%ofcoveredarea
andoverlappingarea

Neighbourrelationthatfulfilscoverageconditions.

Usecoverageoverlappingis
selected

Existing

Theneighbourrelationexistedbeforerunningtheautomatic
allocation.

Resetisnotselected

12. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintertechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument.
Tocomparetheproposedandexistingneighbourlists:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype,
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberof deleted neighbour relations (neighbour relationsnot proposed intheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations,
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

13. ClicktheCommitbutton.TheallocatedneighboursaresavedintheIntratechnologyNeighbourstabofeachcell.
14. ClickClose.

8.5.3.5 DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyneighboursonthemapinordertostudytheintertechnologyhandoverscenarios.
Todisplayneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. SelectDisplayOptions fromthemenu.TheEditRelationsontheMap dialogboxappears.

4. UnderIntertechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
5. UnderAdvanced,selecttheneighbourlinkstodisplay:

Outwards NonSymmetric: Shows a neighbour link for each cell in the main document that has a neighbour
definedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesof
thesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.

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Inwards NonSymmetric: Shows a neighbour link for each transmitter/cell in the linked document that has a
neighbourdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthe
samecolourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
SymmetricLinks:Showsaneighbourlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathasaneighbourdefinedwitha
transmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentalsohasthecellofthe
maindocumentinitsneighbourslist.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightblacklines.

6. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

7. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
8. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Neighboursarenowdisplayedon
themap.NeighboursaredisplayeduntilyouclicktheEditRelationsontheMapbuttonagain.
9. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsneighbourlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
IfyouselecttheDisplayLinkscheckboxunderIntratechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintra
technologyneighboursonthemap.Thefigurebelowshowstheintraandintertechnologyneighboursofthetransmitter
Site22_2.

8.5.3.6 AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintertechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofinter
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintertechnologyneighbourspercell.Youcanallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighboursdirectlyonthemap,orusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orusingtheIntertech
nologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

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"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page860.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage861.
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AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumNumberofNeighbours.
7. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheTypeto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
8. ClickOK.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisavailableineachtransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.

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AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>Neighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable
appears.
5. Enteroneintertechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellcanhavemorethanoneintertechnologyneigh
bour.
6. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.
Toallocateanintertechnologyneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionnalpairsintoconsideration:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tional Pairs of Intertechnology Neighbours table. You can open this table, select the
exceptionalpairstobeconsidered,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.

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c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
InGSM,neighboursareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
AllocatingandRemovingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateintertechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesneighbourstotrans
mittersifthedisplayoptionissettoNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveintertechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintertechnology
neighboursonthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage859.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmitterto
thelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitter
fromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyneighbouroftheothertransmitter.
Tremoveanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. Therecanbetwocases:

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingSHIFTandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.Thenpress
CTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricinter
technologyneighbourrelation.

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Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintertechnologyneighbourslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

8.5.3.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintertechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintertechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintertechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintertechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintertechnologyneighbours:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Calculationdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspossibleneighbours.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. UnderImportance,selecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedon
thesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourimportancecalculationonlyonthedis
tancecriterionandcontinuewithstep10.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwantto
basetheneighbourimportancecalculationoncoverageconditions.
9. UnderCoverageConditions,youcansetthecoverageconditionsbetweenintertechnologyneighboursandtheirref
erencecellsforbothoftheprojects.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforthecellsinthemaindocument.TheCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheCDMACoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

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Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.BCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmit
ter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisanLTEdocument,theLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheLTECoverage
Conditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
ShadowingTakenintoAccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandentera
CellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
10. IfyouclearedtheUsecoverageconditionscheckbox,enterthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellanda
possibleneighbourintheMaxIntersiteDistancebox.
Bysettinganoptioninthefile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakenintoaccount
inthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
11. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Symmetry
Coverage

Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

12. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

8.5.3.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrent
intertechnologyneighbourallocationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovides
intheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.

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3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

AverageNo.ofNeighbours:SelecttheAverageNo.ofNeighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
EmptyLists:SelecttheEmptyListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
FullLists:SelecttheFullListscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethemaximumnumberofneighbours
allowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeither
sethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Lists>MaxNumber:SelecttheLists>MaxNumbercheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethan
themaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforall
transmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable
MissingCosites:SelecttheMissingCositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneigh
bours.
MissingSymmetrics:SelecttheMissingSymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
ExceptionalPairs:SelecttheExceptionalPairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance Between Neighbours: Select the Distance Between Neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanY
numberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFullListscheckandtheLists>MaxNumbercheckusetheDefaultMaxNumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

8.5.4 CreatingaCDMASectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork
Youcancreateanewsectorinthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument.Tocreateanewsector
inthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Inthemapwindow,rightclickthelinkedtransmitterbasedonwhichyouwanttocreateanewCDMAtransmitter.
Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectCopyin[maindocument]fromthecontextmenu.
Thefollowingparametersofthenewsectorinthemaindocumentwillbethesameasthesectorinthelinkeddocumentit
wasbasedon:antennapositionrelativetothesite(DxandDy),antennaheight,azimuth,andmechanicaltilt.Thenewsector
willbeinitialisedwiththeradioparametersfromthedefaultstationtemplateinthemaindocument.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatdoesnotexistinthemaindocument,thesiteiscreatedinthemain
documentaswell.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatalsoexistsinthemaindocument,andthecoordinatesofthesite
inthelinkedandmaindocumentsarethesame,thesectoriscreatedinthemaindocumentattheexistingsite.Thesitecoor
dinatesinthelinkedandmaindocumentswillalwaysbethesameiftheAtolladministratorhassetupsitesharinginthedata
base.Formoreinformationaboutsitesharingindatabases,seetheAdministratorManual.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatexistsinthemaindocument,butatadifferentlocation(geographic
coordinates),thesectorisnotcreatedinthemaindocument.
Toupdatethedisplaysettingsofthenewsector:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderofthemaindocument.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectApplyCurrentConfigurationfromthecontextmenu.

Figure8.54:NewsectorBeforeandafterapplyingtheconfiguration
The azimuths and mechanical tilts of secondary antennas or remote antennas are not
includedwhenyouselectApplyConfigurationandhavetobesetupmanually.

8.5.5 UsingACPinaCoplanningProject
AtollACPenablesyoutoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimalnetworksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandcapacityin
coplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,forexample,CDMAandGSM,mustbothbetakeninto
consideration.
When you run an optimisation setup in a coplanning environment, you can display the sites and transmitters of both
networksinthedocumentinwhichyouwillruntheoptimisationprocess,asexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"
onpage850.Whilethisstepisnotnecessaryinordertocreateacoplanningoptimisationsetup,itwillenableyoutovisually
analysethechangestobothnetworksinthesamedocument.
Afterwardsyoucancreatethenewoptimisationsetup,butwhencreatinganoptimisationsetupinacoplanningenviron
ment,youcannotrunitimmediately;youmustfirstimporttheothernetworkintotheACPsetup.
ThissectionexplainshowtouseACPtooptimisenetworksettingsinacoplanningproject:

"CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup"onpage867
"ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup"onpage867.

8.5.5.1 CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup
Onceyouhavedisplayedbothnetworksinthemaindocumentasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage850,
youcancreatethenewcoplanningoptimisationsetup.
Tocreateanewcoplanningoptimisationsetup:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappearsinwhichyoucansettheparametersfortheoptimisation
process.

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Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
5. Afterdefiningtheoptimisationsetup,clicktheCreateSetupbuttontosavethedefinedoptimisation.
Theoptimisationsetuphasnowbeencreated.ThenextstepistoaddtheGSMnetworktotheACPoptimisationsetupyou
havejustcreated.

8.5.5.2 ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup
Onceyouhavecreatedthecoplanningoptimisationsetup,youmustimportthelinkednetwork.
Toimportthelinkednetwork:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.

4. Rightclickthesetupyoucreatedin"CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup"onpage867.Thecontextmenu
appears.
5. SelectImportProjectfromthecontextmenuandselectthenameofthelinkeddocumentyouwanttoimportintothe
newlycreatedsetup.

Thesetuphasbeenmodifiedtoincludethelinkednetwork.
YoucanmodifytheparametersfortheoptimisationsetupbyrightclickingitintheNetworkexplorerandselectingProperties
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
Afterdefiningthecoplanningoptimisationsetup:

RightclickthesetupintheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolderandselectRunfromthecontextmenutorunthe
optimisation.Forinformationonrunningtheoptimisation,see"RunninganOptimisationSetup"onpage1807.For
informationontheoptimisationresults,see"ViewingOptimisationResults"onpage1811.

8.5.6 EndingCoplanningMode
once you have linked two Atoll documents for the purposes of coplanning, Atoll will maintain the link between them.
However,youmightwanttounlinkthetwodocumentsatsomepoint,eitherbecauseyouwanttouseadifferentdocument
incoplanningorbecauseyouwanttorestorethedocumentstoseparate,technologyspecificdocuments.
Tounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode:
1. SelectFile>Opentoopenthemaindocument.
Atollinformsyouthatthisdocumentispartofamultitechnologyenvironmentandaskswhetheryouwanttoopen
theotherdocument.
2. ClickYestoopenthelinkeddocumentaswell.
3. SelectFile>Unlinktounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode.
Thedocumentsarenolongerlinkedandcoplanningmodeisended.

8.6 AdvancedConfiguration
Inthissection,thefollowingadvancedconfigurationoptionsareexplained:

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"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage869

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"DefiningCarrierTypes"onpage870
"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage870
"ThroughputsAvailableforServicesinCDMA"onpage871
"The1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage872
"SiteEquipment"onpage873
"ReceiverEquipment"onpage874
"ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet"onpage875
"ModellingShadowing"onpage876
"CreatingPNOffsetDomainsandGroupsforPNOffsetAllocation"onpage878
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage878.

8.6.1 DefiningIntercarrierInterference
IfyouwantAtolltotakeintoaccounttheinterferencebetweentwocarriers,youmustcreateacarrierpairwithaninterfer
encereductionfactor.Atollwilltaketheinterferencereductionfactorintoaccountonboththereverselinkandtheforward
link.
Tocreateapairofcarrierswithaninterferencereductionfactor:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.
4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickIntercarrierInterferenceReductionFactors.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheIntercarrierInterferenceReductionFactorstableappears.
6. Foreachcarrierpairforwhichyouwantdefineintercarrierinterference:
a. Enterthefirstcarrierofthepairinthe1stCarriercolumn.
b. Enterthesecondcarrierofthepairinthe2ndCarriercolumn.
c. EnteraninterferencereductionfactorintheReductionFactor(dB)column.WhenAtolliscalculatinginterfer
ence,itsubtractstheinterferencereductionfactorfromthecalculatedinterference.Iftheinterferencereduction
factorissetto"0,"Atollassumesthatthecarriersinthedefinedpairgenerateasmuchinterferenceascellswith
thesamecarrierinterference.
Theinterferencereductionfactormustbeapositivevalue.

Foreverypairofcarriersthatisnotdefined,Atollassumesthatthereisnointercarrierinterference.
d. PressENTERtocreatethecarrierpairandtocreateanewrowinthetable.

8.6.2 DefiningFrequencyBands
Todefineafrequencyband:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.
4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickBands.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheFrequencyBandstableappears.
6. IntheFrequencyBandstable,enteronefrequencybandperrow.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Foreachfrequencyband,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthefrequency,forexample,"Band1900."Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxes
whenyouselectafrequencyband.
Bandwidth(MHz):Enterthebandwidthforeachcarrierinthefrequencyband.
DLStartFrequency(MHz):Enterthedownlinkstartfrequency.
FirstCarrier:Enterthenumberofthefirstcarrierinthisfrequencyband.
LastCarrier:Enterthenumberofthelastcarrierinthisfrequencyband.Ifthisfrequencybandhasonlyonecarrier,
enterthesamenumberasenteredintheFirstCarrierfield.
Step:Enterthestepbetweenanytwoconsecutivecarriernumbersinthefrequencyband.

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ExcludedCarriers:Enterthecarriernumberswhichdonotbelongtothefrequencyband.Youcanenternoncon
secutivecarriernumbersseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeofcarriernumbersseparatingthefirst
andlastindexwithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,2,3,4,5").
Whenyouhavemorethanonefrequencyband,thecarriersmustbenumbered
sequentially,contiguously(i.e.,youcannotskipnumbersinarangeofcarriers,andthe
rangeofcarriersinonebandcannotoverlaptherangeofcarriersinanother),and
uniquely(i.e.,youcanonlyuseeachnumberonce).
Forexample:Band1900:Firstcarrier:0;Lastcarrier1andBand700:Firstcarrier:2and
Lastcarrier:2

7. Whenyouhavefinishedaddingfrequencybands,clicktheClosebutton(

).

Forexample,ifyouwishtodefinethe1900MHzBandandthecorrespondingCDMAchannelnumbers(25,50,75),youcan
set:

Name:1900MHz
DLstartfrequency:1930
Firstcarrier:25
Lastcarrier:75
Step:25

Youcanalsoaccessthepropertiesdialogboxofeachindividualfrequencybandbydoubleclickingtheleftmarginoftherow
withthefrequencyband.

8.6.3 DefiningCarrierTypes
TodefineCDMAcarriertypes:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheFrequenciesfolder.
4. IntheFrequenciesfolder,rightclickCarrierTypes.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheCarrierTypestableappears.
6. IntheCarrierTypestable,definewhichcarriersare1xRTTand1xEVDO.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
7. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningcarrierstypes,clicktheClosebutton(

).

8.6.4 TheGlobalNetworkSettings
IntheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox,youcandefinemanycalculationparametersthatareusedinpredictionsand
inMonteCarlosimulations.
ThissectionexplainstheoptionsavailableintheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox,andexplainshowtoaccessthe
dialogbox:

"TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage870
"ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage871.

8.6.4.1 TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox
TheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGlobalParametersTabandtheCalculationParameterstab.

8.6.4.1.1

"TheGlobalParametersTab"onpage870
"TheCalculationParametersTab"onpage871

TheGlobalParametersTab
TheGlobalParameterstabhasthefollowingoptions:

870

DLPowers:UnderDLPowers,youcandefinewhetherthepowervaluesontheforwardlinkareAbsoluteorRelative
toPilot.Thepowervaluesaffectedarethesynchronisationpowerandthepagingpowerdefinedinthecellproperties
andtheTCHpowerin1xRTTandSpeechserviceproperties.Atollautomaticallyconvertsthepowervaluesdefinedin

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thecellproperties(i.e.,synchronisationchannelandpagingpowers)whenchangingtheoption.Ontheotherhand,
thevaluesfortheTCHpowershavetobemodifiedmanually.

DLLoad:UnderDLLoad,youcandefinewhetherthetotalpowervaluesontheforwardlinkareAbsoluteoraper
centageofthemaximumpower(%Pmax).Atollautomaticallyconvertsthetotalpowervalueswhenchangingthe
option.

UL1xRTTPowerControlBasedOn:UnderUL1xRTTPowerControlBasedOn,youcandefinewhetherthereverse
linkpowercontrolforthe1xRTTnetworkisbasedonTrafficQualityorPilotQuality.

Interferences:UnderInterferences,youcandefinethemethodusedtocalculateinterferenceontheforwardlink
(Nt):
Nt:Youcanselect"Totalnoise"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthenoisegeneratedbyalltransmittersplusthermal
noiseoryoucanselect"Withoutusefulsignal"andAtollwillcalculateNtasthetotalnoiselessthesignalofthe
studiedcell.

Handoff:UnderHandoff,youcandefinetheparametersusedtomodelsofthandoffonthereverselink.

8.6.4.1.2

DefaultULMacroDiversityGain:Youcansetadefaultvalueforthereverselinkgainduetomacrodiversityon
softandsoftsofthandoffs.IfyoucleartheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxontheConditionstabwhen
definingacoveragepredictionorduringapointanalysis,Atollusesthisvalue.IfyouselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckboxontheConditionstab,Atollcalculatesthereverselinkmacrodiversitygain,basedonthe
standarddeviationvalueofEbNtonthereverselinkdefinedperclutterclass.
+MRCinSofter/Soft:Ifyouselectthe+MRC(maximalratiocombining)inSofter/Softcheckbox,Atollselectsthe
serving cell during a softer/soft handoff by recombining the signal of cosite transmitters and multiplying the
resultingsignalbytherakeefficiencyfactorandthencomparingthisvaluetothesignalreceivedattransmitters
locatedontheothersitesoftheactiveset.Atollchoosesthegreatestvalueandmultipliesitbythemacrodiver
sitygain.

TheCalculationParametersTab
TheCalculationParameterstabhasthefollowingoptions:

Calculationlimitation:UnderCalculationlimitation,youcandefinethefollowingdata:

Min.interfererreceptionthreshold:ThisvalueisusedbyAtolltolimittheinputofinterferersincalculations.The
performanceofCDMAspecificcoveragepredictionsandMonteCarlosimulationscanbeimprovedbysettinga
highvaluefortheminimuminterfererreceptionthreshold.Thisvalueisusedasafiltercriteriononthesignallevel
receivedfrominterferers.Atollwilldiscardallinterfererswithasignallevellowerthanthisvalue.
Defaultmin.pilotRSCPthreshold:ThedefaultminimumpilotRSCPrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothe
cell.ThepilotRSCPiscomparedwiththisthresholdtodeterminewhetherornotausercanbeconnectedtothe
cell.
A minimum pilot RSCP threshold can be defined at the cell level (in the cell Properties
dialogboxorintheCellstable).Ifdefined,acellspecificminimumpilotRSCPthresholdwill
beusedinsteadofthevalueenteredhere.

Receiver:UnderReceiver,youcanentertheHeightofthereceiver.
Defaultmaxrange:Themaximumcoveragerangeoftransmittersinthenetwork.

8.6.4.2 ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings
You canchangeglobalnetworksettingsintheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox.

Tochangeglobalnetworksettings:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. RightclicktheNetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TheOptionsoftheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox"onpage870.
5. ClickOK.

8.6.5 ThroughputsAvailableforServicesinCDMA
ThedifferentservicesofferedbyaCDMAnetworkrequiredifferentthroughputs.CDMArespondstothedifferingthroughput
requirementswitharangeofcarriers.Forexample,CDMA2000canprovidevoiceusing1xRTT.Dataservices,whichrequire
higherthroughputsthanvoice,canbeprovidedusing1xRTTor1xEVDORev.0orRev.A.
Thefollowingtablegivesthethroughputsavailableforvoice,1xRTT,and1xEVDORev.0andRev.A.

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Service

ReverseLink

ForwardLink

Speech

N FCH *

N FCH

1xRTTData

N FCH

N FCH

3X N FCH

3X N FCH

5X N FCH

5X N FCH

9X N FCH

9X N FCH

17X N FCH

17X N FCH

9.6

38.4

19.2

76.8

38.4

153.6

76.8

307.6

153.6

614.4

For1xRTT, N FCH canbe9.6or

14.4kbpsoneithertheforwardor
reverselink.
1xEVDORev.0Data

921.6
1228.8
1843.2
2457.6
1xEVDORev.AData

4.8

4.8

9.6

9.6

19.2

19.2

38.4

38.4

76.8

76.8

115.2

115.2

153.6

153.6

230.4

230.4

307.2

307.2

460.8

460.8

614.4

614.4

921.6

921.6

1228.8

1228.8

1848.2

1848.2
2457.6
3072.0

* N FCH isthepeakthroughputofFCH.

8.6.6 The1xEVDORadioBearers
InAtoll,thethroughputsavailablefor1xEVDORev.Aand1xEVDORev.Bbasedservicesaremodelledusingradiobearers.
The1xEVDORadioBearerstableslistthe1xEVDOradiobearerswiththeirpeakRLCthroughput,indexnumbers,andtrans
portblocksize.Youmustdefine1xEVDOradiobearersbeforeyoucanmodelservicesusingthem.

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Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningtheForwardLink1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage872
"DefiningtheReverseLink1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage873.

8.6.6.1 DefiningtheForwardLink1xEVDORadioBearers
TheDownlink1xEVDORadioBearerstableliststhedifferenttransportblocksizesthatcanbetransmittedinonetimeslot
andthecorrespondingpeakRLCthroughputs.
Tocreateormodifya1xEVDOforwardlinkradiobearer:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioBearersfolder.
4. IntheRadioBearersfolder,rightclickDownlink1xEVDORadioBearers.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheDownlink1xEVDORadioBearerstableappears.
6. IntheDownlink1xEVDORadioBearerstable,youcanenterormodifythefollowingfields:

RadioBearerIndex:Youcanmodifytheindexnumberoftheradiobearer.Thisindexnumberisusedtoidentify
the1xEVDOforwardlinkradiobearer.Ifyouarecreatinganew1xEVDOforwardlinkradiobearer,enteranindex
numberintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
).
TransportBlockSize(bits):Enterormodifythepacketsizeinbitstransmittedinonetimeslot.
PeakRLCThroughput(kbps):EnterormodifythepeakRLCthroughputinkbitspersecond.

8.6.6.2 DefiningtheReverseLink1xEVDORadioBearers
TheUplink1xEVDORadioBearertableliststhedifferenttransportblocksizesthatcanbetransmittedinonesubframe(i.e.,
4timeslots)andthecorrespondingpeakRLCthroughputs.
Tocreateormodifya1xEVDOreverselinkradiobearer:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioBearersfolder.
4. IntheRadioBearersfolder,rightclickUplink1xEVDORadioBearers.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTable.TheUplink1xEVDORadioBearerstableappears.
6. IntheUplink1xEVDORadioBearertable,youcanenterormodifythefollowingfields:

RadioBearerIndex:Youcanmodifytheindexnumberoftheradiobearer.Thisindexnumberisusedtoidentify
the1xEVDOreverselinkradiobearer.Ifyouarecreatinganew1xEVDOreverselinkradiobearer,enteranindex
numberintherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
).
TransportBlockSize(bits):Enterormodifythepacketsizeinbitstransmittedinonesubframe(4timeslots).
PeakRLCThroughput(kbps):EnterormodifythepeakRLCthroughputinkbitspersecond.

8.6.7 SiteEquipment
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingSiteEquipment"onpage873
"DefiningChannelElementConsumptionperCDMASiteEquipmentandRadioConfiguration"onpage874.

8.6.7.1 CreatingSiteEquipment
TocreateanewpieceofCDMAsiteequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioResourceManagementfolder.
4. RightclickSiteEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheSiteEquipmenttableappears.
6. IntheEquipmenttable,eachrowdescribesapieceofequipment.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see
"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.ForthenewpieceofCDMAequipmentyouarecreating,enterthefollowing:

Name:Thenameyouenterwillbetheoneusedtoidentifythispieceofequipment.

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Manufacturer:Thenameofthemanufacturerofthispieceofequipment.
MUDFactor:MultiUserDetection(MUD)isatechnologyusedtodecreaseintracellinterferenceonthereverse
link.MUDismodelledbyacoefficientfrom0to1;thisfactorisconsideredinthereverselinkinterferencecalcu
lation.IncaseMUDisnotsupportedbyequipment,enter0asvalue.
RakeFactor:ThisfactorenablesAtolltomodeltherakereceiveronthereverselink.Atollusesthisfactortocal
culatethereverselinksignalqualityinsimulations,pointanalysisandcoveragepredictions.Thisparameteriscon
sideredonthereverselinkforsofterandsoftersofterhandoffs;itisappliedtothesumofsignalsreceivedonthe
samesite.Thefactorvaluecanbefrom0to1.Itmodelslossesduetotheimperfectionofsignalrecombination.
Youcandefinetherakeefficiencyfactorusedtomodeltherecombinationontheforward
linkinterminalproperties.

CarrierSelection:Carrierselectionreferstothecarrierselectionmethodusedduringthetransmitteradmission
controlinthemobileactiveset.Theselectedstrategyisusedinsimulationswhennocarrierisspecifiedinthe
propertiesoftheservice(whenallthecarrierscanbeusedfortheservice)orwhenthecarrierspecifiedforthe
serviceisnotusedbythetransmitter.Ontheotherhand,thespecifiedcarrierselectionmodeisalwaystakeninto
accountincoveragepredictions(ASanalysisandcoveragepredictions).Chooseoneofthefollowing:

Min.ULLoadFactor:Thecarrierwiththeminimumreverselinknoise(carrierwiththelowestreverselinkload
factor)isselected.
Min.DLTotalPower:Thecarrierwiththeminimumforwardlinktotalpowerisselected.
Random:Thecarrierisrandomlychosen.
Sequential:Carriersaresequentiallyloaded.Thefirstcarrierisselectedaslongasitisnotoverloaded.Then,
whenthemaximumreverselinkloadfactorisreached,thesecondcarrierischosenandsoon.

DownlinkandUplinkOverheadResourcesforCommonChannels/Cell:Thereverselinkandforwardlinkover
headresources forcommonchannels/cellcorrespond to the numberof channelelementsthat a cell uses for
commonchannelsintheforwardandthereverselink.ThissettingisalsousedforWalshcodeallocation;itindi
catesthenumberofWalshcodestobeallocatedtocontrolchannelspercell.
ASRestrictedtoNeighbours:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttheothertransmittersintheactivesettobelongto
theneighbourlistofthebestserver.
PoolofSharedCEs:Selectthisoptionifyouwantallcellsonthesitetosharechannelelements.
PowerPoolingBetweenTransmitters:Selectthisoptionifyouwantallcellsonthesitetosharepoweronthe
trafficchannels.

7. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosethetable.

8.6.7.2 DefiningChannelElementConsumptionperCDMASiteEquipmentand
RadioConfiguration
Thenumberofchannelelementsconsumedbyauserdependsonthesiteequipment,ontheradioconfiguration,andthelink
direction(forwardorreverse).ThenumberofchannelelementsconsumedcanbedefinedforCDMAsimulations.
TodefinechannelelementconsumptionduringCDMAsimulations:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioResourceManagementfolder.
4. RightclickCEConsumption.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCEConsumptiontableappears.
6. Foreachequipmentradioconfigurationpair,enterintheCEConsumptiontablethenumberofreverselinkandfor
wardlinkchannelelementsthatAtollwillconsumeduringthepowercontrolsimulation.
7. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosethetable.

8.6.8 ReceiverEquipment
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment"onpage875.

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8.6.8.1 SettingReceiverHeight
WhenyoumakeCDMAcoveragepredictions,youcandefinetheheightofthereceiver.
Todefinetheheightofthereceiver:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. RightclicktheNetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheCalculationParameterstab.
5. UnderReceiver,enteraHeight.ThisvaluewillbeusedwhencalculatingaCDMAcoveragepredictionsandduringa
pointanalysis.
6. ClickOK.

8.6.8.2 CreatingorModifyingReceptionEquipment
InAtoll,receptionequipmentisusedwhenyoucreateaterminal.Thegraphsdefinedforeachreceptionequipmententryare
usedforqualitycoveragepredictionsandforselecting1xEVDOradiobearers.
Tocreateormodifyreceptionequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheReceptionEquipmentfolder.
"Standard"isthedefaultreceptionequipmenttypeforallterminals.
4. Doubleclickthereceptionequipmenttypeyouwanttomodify.ThereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
Youcancreateanewreceptionequipmenttypebyenteringanameintherowmarked
withtheNewRowicon(
)andpressingENTER.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcandefinetheNameofthereceptionequipment.
6. ClicktheQualityGraphstab.
7. EnsurethataQualityIndicatorhasbeenchosenforeachService.YoucaneditthevaluesintheDLandULQuality
IndicatorTablesbyclickingdirectlyonthetableentry,orbyselectingtheQualityIndicatorandclickingtheDownlink
QualityGraphsortheUplinkQualityGraphsbuttons.
TheDLandULQualityIndicatortablesdescribethevariationofthequalityindicatorasafunctionofthemeasured
parameter(asdefinedintheQualityIndicatorstable).TheUplinkandDownlinkQualityGraphsareusedforquality
coveragepredictions.
8. Clickthe1xEVDORadioBearerSelection(Downlink)tab.
9. EntertheRequiredCI(dB),theModulationused(youcanchoosebetweenQPSK,8PSK,16QAM,or64QAM)andthe
EarlyTerminationProbabilitiesforeachRadioBearerIndex,withMobilityandNo.ofSlots.Theradiobearerindex
withthenumberoftimeslotsandthemodulationindicatesthedownlinktransmissionformat.
TheRequiredC/IvaluesareusedinsimulationsandintheServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL)coveragepredictionto
selectthedownlink1xEVDOradiobearerandthentocalculatethethroughputprovidedondownlink.Adownlink
1xEVDOradiobearerisselectedonlyiftheuserterminalsupportsthemodulationrequiredbytheradiobearer.1xEV
DO Rev.Acapable terminals support 16QAM modulation while 1xEVDO Rev.Bcapable terminals can support
16QAMand64QAMmodulations.
TheEarlyTerminationProbabilitiesareusedintheServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(DL)coveragepredictiontocalculate
theaverage1xEVDOthroughputwhenHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest)isused.
10. Clickthe1xEVDORadioBearerSelection(Uplink)tab.
11. EnterthefollowingforeachRadioBearerIndexwithMobilityandNo.ofSubframes:

RequiredEcNt(HighCapacity)(dB):TheEc/Ntrequiredforserviceswithhighcapacityuplinkmode.
RequiredEcNt(LowLatency)(dB):Ec/Ntrequiredforserviceswithlowlatencyuplinkmode.
EarlyTerminationProbabilities
Modulation:Themodulationused.YoucanchoosebetweenQPSK,8PSK,16QAMor64QAM.

TheRequiredEc/NtvaluesareusedinsimulationsandintheServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)coverageprediction
toselecttheuplink1xEVDOradiobearerandthentocalculatethethroughputprovidedonuplink.Anuplink1xEVDO

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radio bearer is selected only if the user terminal supports the modulation required by the radio bearer. 1xEVDO
Rev.Acapableterminalssupport16QAMmodulationwhile1xEVDORev.Bcapableterminalssupportthe16QAM
and64QAMmodulations.TheEarlyTerminationProbabilitiesareusedintheServiceAreaAnalysis(Eb/Nt)(UL)cover
agepredictiontocalculatetheaverage1xEVDOthroughputwhenHARQ(HybridAutomaticRepeatRequest)isused.
12. ClickOKtoclosethereceptionequipmenttypesPropertiesdialogbox.

8.6.9 ConditionsforEnteringtheActiveSet
Themobileactivesetisthelistofthetransmitterstowhichthemobileisconnected.Theactivesetmayconsistofoneormore
transmitters;dependingonwhethertheservicesupportssofthandoffandontheterminalactivesetsize.Transmittersinthe
mobileactivesetmustuseafrequencybandwithwhichtheterminaliscompatibleandthesamecarrier.Inaddition,thepilot
signallevelreceivedfromthesetransmittersmustexceedthedefinedminimumRSCPthreshold.
Itis,however,thequalityofthepilot(EcI0)thatfinallydetermineswhetherornotatransmittercanbelongtotheactiveset.
Inorderforagiventransmittertoenterthemobileactivesetasbestserver,thequalityofthistransmitterspilotmustbethe
highestoneanditmustexceedanupperthresholdequaltothesumoftheminimumEc/I0definedinthepropertiesofthe
bestservingcellandtheDeltaminimumEc/I0definedinthepropertiesofthemobilitytype.Theupperthresholdissetfor
thecarrierasdefinedinthecellpropertiesandcanalsotakeintoaccounttheusermobilitytypeiftheDeltaminimumEc/I0
definedinthemobilitytypeisdifferentfrom0.Thecarrierusedbythetransmittersintheactivesetcorrespondstothebest
carrierofthebestserver.Forinformationonbestcarrierselection,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Inorderforatransmittertoentertheactiveset:

Itmustusethesamecarrierasthebestservertransmitter.InAtoll,carriersaremodelledusingcells.Forinformation
onaccessingcellproperties,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage720.Foradescriptionofthepropertiesofa
cell,see"CellDefinition"onpage716.
Thepilotqualityofthetransmittermustexceedathreshold.Thethresholddependsbothonthetypeofcarrierand
themobilitytype.ItisequaltothesumofT_DropdefinedinthepropertiesofthebestserverandtheDeltaT_Drop
definedinthepropertiesofthemobilitytype.
Ifyouhaveselectedtorestricttheactivesettoneighbours,thetransmittermustbeaneighbourofthebestserver.
YoucanrestricttheactivesettoneighboursbyselectingtheASRestrictedtoNeighboursoptionintheSiteEquip
menttable.ForanexplanationofhowtosettheASRestrictedtoNeighboursoption,see"CreatingSiteEquipment"
onpage873.

FormulticarrierEVDORev.Busers,theactivesetcanconsistofseveralsubactivesets,eachonebeingassociatedwithone
carrier.Thenumberofsubactivesetsdependsonthemaximumnumberofcarrierssupportedbytheterminal.Asdescribed
earlier,thequalityofthepilot(EcI0)determineswhetherornotatransmittercanbelongtoasubactiveset.Thesubactive
setassociatedwiththebestcarrieristhesameastheactivesetofasinglecarrieruser.Forothercarriers,theuplinkEcNt
receivedbythebestserveronthebestcarrierandonthestudiedcarrierdetermineswhetherornotacarriercanhaveasub
active set, and the transmitters in the subactive sets depend on the mode supported by the terminal (locked mode or
unlockedmode):

TheEc/NtreceivedbythebestservingtransmitteronthebestcarriermustexceedtheminimumuplinkEc/Nt.

TheEc/NtreceivedbythebestservingtransmitteronthestudiedcarriermustexceedtheminimumuplinkEc/Nt.
Whenlockedmodeisused,theservingtransmittersmustbethesameinallsubactivesets.Withunlockedmode,the
servingtransmitterscanbedifferentfromonesubactivesettoanother.

8.6.10 ModellingShadowing
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapaththatiscausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbytheprop
agationmodel.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinrecep
tionduetothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevaluewithaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbegreaterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationwiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffectofshadowingand
therebycreatecoveragepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditionallossesorgainscaused
byshadowingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlossescalculatedbytheprop
agationmodel.
Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
InCDMAprojects,thestandarddeviationofthepropagationmodelisusedtocalculateshadowingmarginsonsignallevels.
YoucanalsocalculateshadowingmarginsonEcI0andEbNtvaluesandthemacrodiversitygain.Forinformationonsetting

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themodelstandarddeviationandtheEcI0andEbNtstandarddeviationsforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see
"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
ShadowingcanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenAtollcalculatesthesignallevel,EcI0,andEbNtfor:

Apointanalysis(see"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage727)
Acoverageprediction(see"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage744).

AtollalwaystakesshadowingintoconsiderationwhencalculatingaMonteCarlobasedCDMAsimulation.
Youcandisplaytheshadowingmarginsandthemacrodiversitygainperclutterclass.Forinformation,see"Displayingthe
ShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutterClass"onpage877.

8.6.10.1 DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsandMacrodiversityGainperClutter
Class
Todisplaytheshadowingmarginsandmacrodiversitygainperclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Shadowing Margins from the context menu. The Shadowing Margins and Gains dialog box appears (see
Figure8.55).
4. Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

CellEdgeCoverageProbability:Entertheprobabilityofcoverageattheedgeofthecell.Thevalueyouenterin
thisdialogboxisforinformationonly.
StandardDeviation:Selectthetypeofstandarddeviationtobeusedtocalculatetheshadowingmarginormacro
diversitygains:

FromModel:Themodelstandarddeviation.Atollwilldisplaytheshadowingmarginofthesignallevel.
EcI0:TheEcI0standarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheEcI0shadowingmarginandtheresultingforward
linkpilotmacrodiversitygains.Themacrodiversitygainswillbecalculatedusingthevaluesyouenterin1st
2ndBestSignalDifferenceand2nd3rdBestSignalDifference.
ULEbNt:TheEbNtreverselinkstandarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheEbNtreverselinkshadowingmargin
andthe resultingreverselinkmacrodiversitygains.Themacrodiversitygainswillbe calculatedusing the
valuesyouenterin1st2ndBestSignalDifferenceand2nd3rdBestSignalDifference.
DL EbNt: The EbNt forward link standard deviation. Atoll will display the EbNt forward link shadowing
margin.

5. Ifyouselect"EcI0"or"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,youcanenterthedifferences
thatwillbeusedtocalculatethemacrodiversitygainunderMacroDiversityParameters:

1st2ndBestSignalDifference:Ifyouselected"EcI0"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enter
theallowedEcI0differencebetweenthebestserverandthesecondone.Thisvalueisusedtocalculateforward
linkmacrodiversitygains.Ifyouselected"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enter
theallowedEb/Ntdifferencebetweenthebestserverandthesecondone.Thisvalueisusedtocalculatereverse
linkmacrodiversitygains.
2nd3rdBestSignalDifference:Ifyouselected"EcI0"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,enter
theallowedEcI0differencebetweenthesecondbestserverandthethirdone.Thisvalueisusedtocalculatefor
wardlinkmacrodiversitygains.Ifyouselected"EbNtUL"asthestandarddeviationunderStandardDeviation,
entertheallowedEbNtdifferencebetweenthesecondbestserverandthethirdone.Thisvalueisusedtocalcu
latereverselinkmacrodiversitygains.

6. ClickCalculate.Thecalculatedshadowingmarginisdisplayed.Ifyouselected"EcI0"or"EbNtUL"asthestandard
deviationunderStandardDeviation,Atollalsodisplaysthemacrodiversitygainsfortwolinksandforthreelinks.
7. ClickClosetoclosethedialogbox.

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Figure8.55:TheShadowingMarginsandGainsdialogbox

8.6.11 CreatingPNOffsetDomainsandGroupsforPNOffset
Allocation
AtollfacilitatesthemanagementofavailablePNoffsetsduringautomaticallocationwiththepilotPNsequenceoffsetindex
increment(PILOT_INC)parameter.Forexample,ifyousetPILOT_INCto"4,"allPNoffsetsfrom4to508withaseparation
intervalof4canbeallocated.IfyouneedtorestricttherangeofPNoffsetsavailablefurther,youcancreategroupsofPN
offsetsanddomains,whereeachdomainisadefinedsetofgroups.UsingPNoffsetsgroupsanddomainsisrecommendedfor
thispurposeonly.
TheprocedureformanagingPNoffsetsinaCDMAdocumentconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. CreatingaPNoffsetdomain,asexplainedinthissection.
2. Creatinggroups,eachcontainingarangeofPNoffsets,andassigningthemtoadomain,asexplainedinthissection.
3. AssigningaPNoffsetdomaintoacellorcells.IfthereisnoPNoffsetdomain,AtollwillconsiderthePILOT_INCparam
eteronlytodeterminethepossiblePNoffsetswhenassigningPNoffsets(e.g.,IfPILOT_INCissetto4,allPNoffsets
from4to508withaseparationintervalof4canbeallocated).
TocreateaPNoffsetdomain:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePNOffsetsfolder.
4. RightclickDomainsinthePNOffsetsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheDomainstableappears.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),enteraNameforthenewdomain.

7. Clickanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewdomainandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
8. Doubleclickthedomaintowhichyouwanttoaddagroup.ThedomainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. UnderGroups,enterthefollowinginformationforeachgroupyouwanttocreate.Thedefinitionofthegroupmust
beconsistentwiththedefaultdomaindefinedusingthePILOT_INCparameter.

Group:EnteranameforthenewPNoffsetgroup.
Min.:EnterthelowestavailablePNoffsetinthisgroupsrange.
Max:EnterthehighestavailablePNoffsetinthisgroupsrange.
Step:EntertheseparationintervalbetweeneachPNoffset.ItmustbethesameasthePILOT_INCvalue.
Excluded:EnterthePNoffsetsinthisrangethatyoudonotwanttouse.
Extra:EnteranyadditionalPNoffsets(i.e.,outsidetherangedefinedbytheMin.andMaxfields)youwanttoadd
tothisgroup.YoucanenteralistofPNoffsetsseparatedbyeitheracomma,semicolon,oraspace.Youcanalso
enterarangeofPNoffsetsseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering,"1,2,35"meansthattheextraPNoff
setsare"1,2,3,4,5."

10. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewgroupandaddanewblankrowtothetable.

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8.6.12 ModellingIntertechnologyInterference
AnalysesofCDMAnetworkscoexistingwithothertechnologynetworkscanbecarriedoutinAtoll.Intertechnologyinterfer
encemaycreateconsiderablecapacityreductioninaCDMAnetwork.Atollcantakeintoaccountinterferencefromcoexist
ingnetworksinMonteCarlosimulationsandcoveragepredictions.
ThefollowingintertechnologyinterferencescenariosaremodeledinAtoll:

Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink:InterferencecanbereceivedbymobilesinaCDMAnetworkon
thedownlinkfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseof
sameoradjacentcarriers,widebandnoise(thermalnoise,phasenoise,modulationproducts,andspuriousemissions),
andintermodulation.InAtoll,youcandefineinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsfordifferenttechnologies
(CDMA,TDMA,OFDM).Thesegraphsarethenusedforcalculatingtheinterferencefromtheexternalbasestations
onmobiles.Thisinterferenceistakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.Formoreinforma
tion,see"DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs"onpage879.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktodownlinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficientsepa
rationbetweentheuplinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandthedownlinkfrequencyusedbyyourCDMA
network.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.Theeffectofthisinterferenceismodelled
inAtollusingtheIntertechnologyDLNoiseRisedefinableforeachcellintheCDMAnetwork.Thisnoiseriseistaken
intoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.However,thisnoiserisedoesnotimpactthecalculation
of the mobile reuse factor. For more information on the Intertechnology DL Noise Rise, see "Cell Definition" on
page716.
YoucanstudythedownlinkintertechnologyinterferencebycarryingoutanIntertechnologyDownlinkInterference
coveragepredictionasexplainedin"StudyingIntertechnologyDownlinkNoise"onpage768.

Figure8.56:Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink

Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink:InterferencecanbereceivedbycellsofaCDMAnetworkontheuplink
fromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficient
separationbetweenthedownlinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandtheuplinkfrequencyusedbyyour
CDMAnetwork.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseofsameor
nearbyfrequenciesforuplinkinbothnetworks.Unlesstheexactlocationsofexternalmobilesisknown,itisnotpossi
bletoseparateinterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesontheuplink.Theeffectofthisinter
ferenceismodelledinAtollusingtheIntertechnologyULNoiseRisedefinableforeachcellintheCDMAnetwork.
Thisnoiseriseistakenintoaccountinuplinkinterferencebasedcalculationsinthesimulation.However,thisnoise
riseisnottakenintoconsiderationinpredictions(ASAnalysisandcoveragepredictions)anddoesnothaveanimpact
onthecalculationofthecellreusefactor.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyULNoiseRise,see"CellDefi
nition"onpage716.

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Figure8.57:Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink

8.6.12.1 DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs
InterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsonmobilesofyourCDMAnetworkcanbecalculatedbyAtoll.Atollusesthe
intertechnologyinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsforcalculatingtheinterferencelevels.AnIRFgraphrepresentsthe
variationoftheAdjacentChannelInterferenceRatio(ACIR)asafunctionoffrequencyseparation.ACIRisdeterminedfrom
theAdjacentChannelSuppression(ACS)andtheAdjacentChannelLeakageRatio(ACLR)parametersasfollows:
1
ACIR = ------------------------------------1
1
------------- + ----------------ACS ACLR

AnIRFdependson:

Theinterferingtechnology(TDMA,CDMA,andOFDM)
Theinterferingcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Theinterferedcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Thefrequencyoffsetbetweenbothcarriers(MHz).

IRFsareusedbyAtolltocalculatetheinterferencefromexternalbasestationsonlyiftheAtolldocumentcontainingtheexter
nalbasestationsislinkedtoyourCDMAdocument,i.e.,whenAtollisincoplanningmode.Formoreinformationonhowto
switchtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage850.
TodefinetheintertechnologyIRFsinthevictimnetwork:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactors.Thecontext
menuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteroneinterferencereductionfactorgraphperrow.ForeachIRFgraph,enter:

Technology:Selectthetechnologyusedbytheinterferingnetwork.
InterfererBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferingnetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthelinkeddocument.
VictimBandwidth(kHz):EnterthewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferednetwork.This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthemaindocument.
ReductionFactors(dB):ClickthecellcorrespondingtotheReductionFactors(dB)columnandthecurrentrowin
thetable.TheReductionFactors(dB)dialogboxappears.

EntertheinterferencereductionfactorsintheReduction(dB)columnfordifferentfrequencyseparations,
Freq.Delta(MHz),valuesrelativetothecentrefrequencyofthechannel(carrier)usedinthemaindocument.

Reductionvaluesmustbepositive.
Ifyouleavereductionfactorsundefined,Atollassumesthereisnointerference.

6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefininginterferencereductionfactors,clickOK.
Youcan,ifyouwant,linkmorethanoneAtolldocumentwithyourmaindocumentfollowingtheproceduredescribedin
"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage850.Ifthelinkeddocumentsmodelnetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,youcan
definetheinterferencereductionfactorsinyourmaindocumentforallthesetechnologies,andAtollwillcalculateinterfer
encefromalltheexternalbasestationsinallthelinkeddocuments.

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Chapter9
LTENetworks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseanLTEnetwork.
"DesigninganLTENetwork"onpage883

"PlanningandOptimisingLTEBaseStations"on
page884

"ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP"on
page972

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage987

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page1020

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1025

"CoplanningLTENetworkswithOtherNetworks"on
page1035

"AdvancedConfiguration"onpage1055

"TipsandTricks"onpage1075

"GlossaryofLTETerms"onpage1080

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9 LTENetworks
LTE(LongTermEvolution)referstothesetof3GPP(3rdGenerationPartnershipProject)Release8andRelease9specifica
tionswhichdescribethenextsteps,orevolution,oftheexistingGERAN(GSMEDGE RadioAccessNetworks)andUTRAN
(UMTSTerrestrialRadioAccessNetworks)specifications.The3GPPLTEspecificationsdescribethebuildingblocksofEUTRA
(EvolvedUTRA)networks.
LTEusesSOFDMA(ScalableOrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess)andSCFDMA(SingleCarrierFrequencyDivision
MultipleAccess)technologiesinthedownlinkandtheuplink,respectively.TheaimofLTEistoprovidemobilebroadband
wirelessaccessthatsupportshandoversbetweenLTEcellsaswellasbetweenLTEandUMTS/GSMcellsathighuserspeeds.
AtollenablesyoutodesignLTEbroadbandwirelessaccessnetworks.Atollcanbeusedtopredictradiocoverage,manage
mobileandfixedsubscriberdata,andevaluatenetworkcapacity.AtollLTEalsosupportssmartantennasandMIMO.
WithAtoll,youcanmodelfixedandmobileusersinLTEenvironments.Thedatainputcorrespondingtomobileusersandfixed
subscribersismodelledthroughcomprehensivesupportofmobileusertrafficmapsandsubscriberdatabases.Youcancarry
outcalculationsonfixedsubscriberlocationsaswellasbaseyourcalculationsonmobileuserscenariosduringMonteCarlo
simulations.Youcanalsoperforminterferencepredictions,resourceallocation,andothercalculationsonmobileusers.
AtollusesMonteCarlosimulationstogeneraterealisticnetworkscenarios(snapshots)usingaMonteCarlostatisticalengine
forschedulingandresourceallocation.Realisticuserdistributionscanbegeneratedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficmapsor
subscriberdata.Atollusestheseuserdistributionsasinputforthesimulations.
YoucancreatecoveragepredictionstoanalysethefollowingandotherparametersforLTEchannelsindownlinkandinuplink:

Signallevels
Thecarriertointerferenceandnoiseratio
Serviceareasandradiobearercoverage
Cellcapacityandthroughputspercell

CoveragepredictionsthatdependonthenetworkstrafficloadscanbecreatedfromeitherMonteCarlosimulationresultsor
fromauserdefinednetworkloadconfiguration(uplinkanddownlinktrafficloads,anduplinknoiserise).GSMGPRSEDGE,
UMTSHSPA,CDMA2000,TDSCDMA,andWiMAXnetworkscanbeplannedinthesameAtollsession.
BeforeworkingwiththeAtollLTEmoduleforthefirsttime,itishighlyrecommendedto
gothroughthe"GlossaryofLTETerms"onpage1080.Thiswillhelpyougetaccustomed
totheterminologyusedbythe3GPPandinAtoll.

9.1 DesigninganLTENetwork
Figure9.1depictstheprocessofcreatingandplanninganLTEnetwork.ThestepsinvolvedinplanninganLTEnetworkare
describedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure9.1.
1. Openanexistingradioplanningdocumentorcreateanewone( 1 ).

YoucanopenanexistingAtolldocumentbyselectingFile>Open.
YoucancreateanewAtolldocumentasexplainedinChapter2:AtollProjects.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters( 2 ).
Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingelementsofbasestations:

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage894.
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage895.
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage895.

You can also add base stations using a base station template (see "Placing a New Base Station Using a Station
Template"onpage896)andstudytheterrainprofileindifferentdirectionsfromabasestation(see"Studyingthe
ProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage902).
3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions( 3 ).

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage918.

4. Allocateneighbours( 4 ).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957.

5. Allocatefrequencies( 5 ).

"PlanningFrequencies"onpage975.

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6. AllocatephysicalcellIDs( 6 ).

"PlanningPhysicalCellIDs"onpage977.

7. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions( 7 ).
Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedontrafficmapsandsubscriberlists

( 7a , 7b ,and 7c )(see"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage987).
YoucandefinecellloadconditionsmanuallyeitherontheCellstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxor
intheCellstable(see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage895)( 7d ).

8. MakeLTEspecificsignalqualitycoveragepredictionsusingthedefinedcellloadconditions( 8 ).

"LTECoveragePredictions"onpage927.

9. Ifnecessary,modifynetworkparameterstostudythenetworkwithadifferentfrequencyplan( 10 ).Aftermodifying
thenetworksfrequencyplan,youmustperformsteps 7 and 8 again.
1

6
7a

7d

7c

7b
7

10

Figure9.1:PlanninganLTEnetworkworkflow

9.2 PlanningandOptimisingLTEBaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcancreateanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnobasestations,orfroma
databasewithanexistingsetofbasestations.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatebasestations
andmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyadditionalequipment,suchastheTMA,
feedercables,etc.InanLTEproject,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtransmitter.AcellreferstothecharacteristicsofanRF
channelonatransmitter.

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Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellatatime,orcreateseveralatonceusingstationtemplates.InAtoll,abase
stationreferstoasiteandatransmitterwithitsantennas,equipment,andcells.
InAtoll,youcanstudyasinglebasestationoragroupofbasestationsusingcoveragepredictions.Atollallowsyoutomake
avarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelorsignalqualitycoveragepredictions.Theresultsofcalculatedcoverage
predictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,andstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbycreatingservices,users,userprofiles,trafficenvironments,andterminals.This
datacanbethenusedtomakecoveragepredictionsthatdependonnetworkload,suchasC/(I+N),servicearea,radiobearer,
andthroughputcoveragepredictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatinganLTEBaseStation"onpage885
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage904
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage904
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage904
"CreatingaMultibandLTENetwork"onpage905
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage905
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage909
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage912
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage918
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957
"PlanningFrequencies"onpage975
"PlanningPhysicalCellIDs"onpage977.

9.2.1 CreatinganLTEBaseStation
Whenyoucreateasite,youcreateonlythegeographicalpoint;youmustaddthetransmittersandcellsafterwards.Thesite,
withthetransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcellsiscalledabasestation.
Inthissection,eachelementofabasestationisdescribed.Ifyouwanttoaddanewbasestation,see"PlacingaNewBase
StationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage896.Ifyouwanttocreateormodifyoneoftheelementsofabasestation,see
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage894.Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofbasestations,Atoll
allowsyoutoimportthemfromanotherAtolldocumentorfromanexternalsource.Forinformation,see"CreatingaGroup
ofBaseStations"onpage904.
Thissectionexplainsthevariouspartsofthebasestationcreationprocess:

"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage885.
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage894.
"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage896.
"ManagingStationTemplates"onpage897.
"DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation"onpage901.
"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage902.

9.2.1.1 DefinitionofaBaseStation
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Youwillusuallycreateanewbasestationusingastationtemplate,asdescribedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsing
aStationTemplate"onpage896.Thissectiondescribesthefollowingelementsofabasestationandtheirparameters:

"SiteDescription"onpage886
"TransmitterDescription"onpage886
"CellDescription"onpage889.

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SiteDescription
TheparametersofasitecanbefoundinthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.ThePropertiesdialogboxhasthefollowingtabs:

TheGeneraltab:

Figure9.2:NewSitedialogbox

Name:Atollautomaticallyentersadefaultnameforeachnewsite.Youcanmodifythedefaultnamehere.Ifyou
wanttochangethedefaultnamethatAtollgivestonewsites,seetheAdministratorManual.
Position:Bydefault,Atollplacesthenewsiteatthecentreofthemapwindow.Youcanmodifythelocationof
thesitehere.
Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitewithprecision,youcanalsoplacesitesusing
themouseandthenpositionthempreciselywiththisdialogboxafterwards.For
informationonplacingsitesusingthemouse,see"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"on
page45.

TheLTEtab:

9.2.1.1.2

Altitude:Thealtitude,asdefinedbytheDTMforthelocationspecifiedunderPosition,isgivenhere.Youcan
specifytheactualaltitudeunderReal,ifyouwant.Ifanaltitudeisspecifiedhere,Atollwillusethisvalueforcal
culations.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.
S1interfacethroughputs:YoucanenterthemaximumS1interfacethroughputssupportedindownlinkanduplink
bythesite.TheS1interfaceconnectseNodeBstotheevolvedpacketcore(EPC)entities,themobilitymanage
mententity(MME)andtheservinggateway(SGW).ThecapacityoftheS1interfacebetweentheeNodeBand
theservinggatewayimposesalimitonthecumulatedthroughputservedbythecellsofthesameeNodeB(site
inAtoll).Hence,thislimitalsoimposesalimitonthethroughputofeachindividualuserservedbytheeNodeB.
HereyoumustenterthecapacityoftheS1Uinterface(S1UistheuserplaneinterfacebetweeneNodeBsand
theservinggateways).ThemaximumS1interfacethroughputsthatyouenterherecanbetakenintoaccountin
MonteCarlosimulationsasbackhaulconstraints.

TransmitterDescription
TheparametersofatransmittercanbefoundinthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Whenyoucreateatransmitter,the
Propertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGeneraltabandtheTransmittertab.Onceyouhavecreatedatransmitter,itsProp
ertiesdialogboxhasthreeadditionaltabs:theCellstab(see"CellDescription"onpage889),thePropagationtab(seeChap
ter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels),andtheDisplaytab(see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47).

TheGeneraltab:

886

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthetransmitterafterthesiteitison,addinganunderscoreandanumber.Youcan
enteranameforthetransmitter,butforthesakeofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.Ifyouwant
tochangethewayAtollnamestransmitters,seetheAdministratorManual.
Site:YoucanselecttheSiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Onceyouhaveselectedthesite,youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesite.ForinformationonthesitePropertiesdialogbox,see
"SiteDescription"onpage886.YoucanclicktheNewbuttontocreateanewsiteforthetransmitter.
Sharedantenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn

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chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.
UnderAntennaposition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantennas(mainandsecondary):

Relativetosite:SelectRelativetositeifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionsasoffsetsfromthesitelo
cation,andenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

TheTransmittertab(seeFigure9.3):

Figure9.3:TransmitterdialogboxTransmittertab

Active:Ifthistransmitteristobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Activetransmittersaredisplayed
inredintheLTETransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer.
Onlyactivetransmittersaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.

Transmittertype:IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitterasapotentialserveraswellasaninterferer,set
thetransmittertypetoIntranetwork(Serverandinterferer).IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitteronly
asaninterferer,setthetypetoInternetwork(Interfereronly).Nocoverageforaninterfereronlytransmitterwill
becalculatedforcoveragepredictionsanditwillnotserveanymobileinMonteCarlosimulations.
Thisenablesyoutomodelthecoexistenceofdifferentnetworksinthesamegeographicarea.Formoreinforma
tiononhowtostudyinterferencebetweencoexistingnetworks,see"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"
onpage1078.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthe
transmitter.Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothe
transmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyou
clicktheEquipmentbutton.
IntheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure9.4),theequipmentyouselectandthegainsandlossesyou
defineareusedtoinitialisetotaltransmitterlossesintheuplinkanddownlink:

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TMA:Youcanselectatowermountedamplifier(TMA)fromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccess
thepropertiesoftheTMA.ForinformationoncreatingaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feeder:Youcanselectafeedercablefromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
ofthefeeder.Forinformationoncreatingafeedercable,see"DefiningFeederCables"onpage183.
Transmitterequipment:YoucanselecttransmitterequipmentfromtheTransmitterlist.Youcanclickthe
Browsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthetransmitterequipment.Forinformationoncreatingtransmitter
equipment,see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.
Feederlength:Youcanenterthefeederlengthattransmissionandreception.
Miscellaneouslosses:Youcanentermiscellaneouslossesattransmissionandreception.Thevalueyouenter
mustbepositive.

Figure9.4:TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
Anylossrelatedtothenoiseduetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculated
losses.AtollalwaysconsidersthevaluesintheRealboxesincoveragepredictionsevenif
they are different from the values in the Computed boxes. The information in the real
NoisefigureboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquipmentSpecifi
cationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealTotallossesattransmissionandreceptionand
therealNoisefigureatreception.Anyvalueyouentermustbepositive.

Antennas:

Height/ground:TheHeight/groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
Mainantenna:UnderMainantenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClickingtheSelectbuttonopenstheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasmatchingthe
currentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludetheop
eratingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

888

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Themechanicalandadditionalelectricaldowntiltsdefinedforthemainantenna
arealsousedforthecalculationsofsmartantennas.

Smartantenna:UnderSmartantenna,thesmartantennaequipmentisavailableintheEquipmentlist.You
canclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesmartantennaequipment.Whenyouselectsmart
antennaequipment,youcanchoosewhethertokeepthecurrentmainantennamodelortoreplaceitwith
themainantennamodeldefinedfortheselectedsmartantennaequipment,ifany.Formoreinformationon
smartantennaequipment,see"DefiningSmartAntennaEquipment"onpage1069.

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Numberofantennaports:SelectthenumberofantennaportsusedforMIMOintheTransmissionandRecep
tionfields.Formoreinformationonhowthenumberofantennaportsareused,see"MultipleInputMultiple
OutputSystems"onpage1070.
UnderSecondaryantennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,and%Power,whichisthepercentageofpowerreservedforthispartic
ular antenna. For example, for a transmitter with one secondary antenna, if you reserve 40% of the total
powerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

Thetransmissionpowerisdividedamongthemainandsecondaryantennas.This
is not compatible with smart antennas. You must not assign smart antennas to
transmitterswithsecondaryantennas,andviceversa.
Incalculations,repeatersandremoteantennasaretransparenttothedonortrans
mittersandtheservedusers.Forexample,beamformingsmartantennasatdonor
transmitterscreatebeamsdirectlytowardstheservedusers,andnottowardsthe
repeaterorremoteantennathatcoverstheusers.Thisresultsinacombinedsignal
levelreceivedfromthetransmitterusingthesmartantennaandfromtherepeater
orremoteantenna.Ifthisapproachdoesnotmatchhowyourequipmentworks,
you must not assign smart antennas to transmitters with repeaters and remote
antennas,andviceversa.ThisisalsotrueforMIMO.

Themainantennaisusedtotransmitthecontrolchannels.Coveragepredictionsbasedonthereferencesignalsare
performedusingthemainantenna.Themainantennaisalsousedfortrafficifthereisnosmartantennaequipment
selectedforthetransmitter,orifthecellsdonotsupportAAS.
IfsmartantennaequipmentisassignedtothetransmitterandthecellssupportAAS,trafficdataistransmittedand
receivedusingthesmartantenna,whereasthecontrolchannelsaretransmittedusingthemainantenna.

9.2.1.1.3

CellDescription
InAtoll,acellisdefinedasanRFchannel,withallitscharacteristics,onatransmitter;thecellisthemechanismbywhichyou
canconfigureamulticarrierLTEnetwork.
Whenyoucreateatransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellforthetransmitterusingthepropertiesofthecurrently
selectedstationtemplate.ThefollowingexplainstheparametersofanLTEcell.Youcan,ifyouwant,modifythesevalues.
ThepropertiesofanLTEcellarefoundonCellstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichitbelongs.

YoucanalsodisplaythepropertiesofacellbydoubleclickingthecellintheSiteexplorer.
SeeFigure1.3onpage41.

TheCellstabhasthefollowingoptions:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthecellafteritstransmitter,addingasuffixinparentheses.Ifyouchangetransmitter
name,Atolldoesnotupdatethecellname.Youcanenteranameforthecell,butforthesakeofconsistency,itis
bettertoletAtollassignaname.IfyouwanttochangethewayAtollnamescells,seetheAdministratorManual.
ID:YoucanenteranIDforthecell.Thisisauserdefinablenetworklevelparameterforcellidentification.
Active:Ifthiscellistobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.
Layer:Thenetworklayertowhichthecellbelongs.Thisinformationisusedindeterminingtheservingcell.Formore
informationondefininglayers,see"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1060.Formoreinformationon
thecellselectionoptions,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
Celltype:ThecelldefineswhetherthecellsupportsLTE(3GPPreleases8and9)andLTEAdvanced(3GPPreleases10
andlater)includingcarrieraggregation.AcellcansupportLTEaswellasLTEA,i.e.,acellcanbeconfiguredtobean
LTEcell,anLTEAPCell(primarycell),andanLTEASCell(secondarycell).
BothLTEandLTEAuserscanconnecttoLTEonlycellswithoutthepossibilitytoperformcarrieraggregation.Cells
thatonlysupportLTEA,andnotLTE,canonlyserveLTEAusers.TheprocessofonlyallowingLTEAuserstoconnect
toacellandexcludingallLTEusersiscalledcellbarring.

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Ifthecelltypeisleftempty,AtollconsidersittobeLTEonly.
AcellmustbeanLTEASCellindownlinkinordertoalsobeanLTEASCellinuplink.

Frequencyband:Thecellsfrequencybandfromthefrequencybandlist.
Channelnumber:Thenumberofthechannelfromthelistofavailablechannels.
Forcalculatingpathlossmatricesofamulticelltransmitter,Atollusesthedownlinkstart
frequencyofthefrequencybandassignedtothecellwiththehighestprioritylayer.

Whentransmittersthatcontainmultiplecellsaregroupedbychannelnumber,Atollsorts
thecellsbychannelnumber,whichgroupstogethertransmittersthatusethesamesetof
channelnumbers.However,itissometimesnecessarytodifferentiatetransmittersbythe
orderinwhichchannelnumbersareassignedtothecells.Forinstructionsonhowtoforce
Atolltoconsiderthecellorderwhengroupingbychannelnumbercapability,contacttech
nicalsupport.

Channelallocationstatus:Thestatusofthecurrentchannelallocatedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocatedchannelmodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocatedchannelmodifiablebutonlyifabsolutelynecessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockedchannelnotmodifiable.
FormoreinformationontheAFP,see"ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP"onpage972.

PhysicalcellID:ThephysicalcellIDofthecell.Itisanintegervaluefrom0to503.ThephysicalcellIDsaredefinedin
the3GPPspecifications.Thereare504uniquephysicallayercellidentities.ThephysicalcellIDsaregroupedinto168
uniquecellIDgroups(calledSSSIDsinAtoll),witheachgroupcontaining3uniqueidentities(calledPSSIDsinAtoll).
AnSSSIDisthusuniquelydefinedbyanumberfrom0to167,andaPSSIDisdefinedbyanumberfrom0to2.Each
cellsreferencesignalstransmitapseudorandomsequencecorrespondingtothephysicalcellIDofthecell.
PhysicalcellIDsalsoindicatethesubcarriersbeingusedforreferencesignaltransmissioninthedownlink.Reference
signalhopping,orvshifting,isthecalculationoftheindexofthesubcarrierbeingusedforreferencesignalresource
elements.Thevshiftingindexiscalculatedas(PCI)Mod6forsingleantennatransmittersandas(PCI)Mod3formulti
antennatransmitters.

PSSID:ThePSSIDcorrespondingtothecurrentphysicalcellID.Thisvalueisdeterminedautomaticallyfromthephys
icalcellID.
PSSIDstatus:ThestatusofthePSSIDcurrentlyassignedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocatedPSSIDmodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocatedPSSIDmodifiablebutonlyifabsolutelynecessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockedPSSIDnotmodifiable.
SSSID:TheSSSIDcorrespondingtothecurrentphysicalcellID.Thisvalueisdeterminedautomaticallyfromthephys
icalcellID.
SSSIDstatus:ThestatusoftheSSSIDcurrentlyassignedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocatedSSSIDmodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocatedSSSIDmodifiablebutonlyifabsolutelynecessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockedSSSIDnotmodifiable.
TolockthephysicalcellIDassignedtoacell,youmustsetbothPSSIDstatusandSSSID
statustoLocked.

PhysicalcellIDdomain:ThephysicalcellIDdomaintowhichtheallocatedphysicalcellIDbelongs.Thisandthereuse
distanceareusedbytheAFPforphysicalcellIDallocation.
Reusedistance:TheminimumreusedistanceafterwhichthechannelorphysicalcellIDassignedtothiscellcanbe
assignedtoanothercellbytheAFP.
FormoreinformationontheAFP,see"ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP"onpage972.

Maxpower(dBm):Thecellsmaximumtransmissionpower.YoucanenterormodifythisvalueiftheRSEPREoption
undertheAdvancedoptionsontheGlobalParameterstaboftheLTENetworkSettingsfoldersPropertiesdialogbox
issettoanyofthefollowing:

890

Calculated(equaldistributionofunusedEPRE)
Calculated(withboost):Thisoptioncorrespondstoa3dBboostintheRSEPREwith2transmissionantennaports
and6dBboostwith4ports.

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Calculated(withoutboost)
Independentofmaxpower

The transmission powers corresponding to different channels are calculated using Max power, the energy per
resourceelementoffsetsdefinedfortheSS,PBCH,PDSCH,andPDCCH,andthenumberofresourceelementscorre
spondingtoeachchannel,allofwhicharealsocalculatedbyAtoll.
MaxpoweriscalculatedbyAtollfromtheuserdefinedRSEPREvalueiftheRSEPREoptionintheGlobalParameters
oftheLTENetworkSettingsfolderissettoUserdefined.

RSEPREperantennaport(dBm):Thereferencesignalenergyperresourceelement.Youcanenterormodifythis
valueiftheRSEPREoptionundertheAdvancedoptionsontheGlobalParameterstaboftheLTENetworkSettings
foldersPropertiesdialogboxissettoUserdefinedorIndependentofmaxpower.
ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollfromtheuserdefinedmaxpowervalueiftheRSEPREoptionundertheAdvanced
optionsontheGlobalParameterstaboftheLTENetworkSettingsfoldersPropertiesdialogboxissettoanyofthe
following:

Calculated(equaldistributionofunusedEPRE)
Calculated(withboost):Thisoptioncorrespondstoa3dBboostintheRSEPREwith2transmissionantennaports
and6dBboostwith4ports.
Calculated(withoutboost)

Formoreinformation,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.

SSEPREOffset/RS(dB):Thedifferenceintheenergyofaresourceelementbelongingtothesynchronisationsignals
withrespecttotheenergyofareferencesignalresourceelement.Thisvalueisusedtocalculatethetransmission
powercorrespondingtotheprimaryandsecondarysynchronisationsignals(PSS,SSS).
PBCHEPREOffset/RS(dB):ThedifferenceintheenergyofaresourceelementbelongingtothePBCHwithrespectto
the energy of a reference signal resource element. This value is used to calculate the transmission power corre
spondingtothephysicalbroadcastchannel(PBCH).
PDCCHEPREOffset/RS(dB):ThedifferenceintheenergyofaresourceelementbelongingtothePDCCHwithrespect
totheenergyofareferencesignalresourceelement.Thisvalueisusedtocalculatethetransmissionpowercorre
spondingtothephysicaldownlinkcontrolchannel(PDCCH).
PDSCHEPREOffset/RS(dB):ThedifferenceintheenergyofaresourceelementbelongingtothePDSCHwithrespect
totheenergyofareferencesignalresourceelement.Thisvalueisusedtocalculatethetransmissionpowercorre
spondingtothephysicaldownlinksharedchannel(PDSCH).
Atollfirstcalculatestheenergyperresourceelementcorrespondingtothereferencesignalresourceelements,the
SS,PBCH,PDSCH,andPDCCH.Oncetheenergiesavailableforeachoftheseresourceelementtypesareknown,they
are converted into transmission powers for further calculations. In the offset fields above, you have to enter the
offsets,i.e.,thedifferenceintheenergylevels,foroneresourceelementofeachtype.Forexample,ifaresource
elementbelongingtotheSShas3dBlessenergythanaresourceelementofthedownlinkreferencesignals,you
shouldenter3dBintheSSEPREOffset.AtollwillthencalculatetheactualtransmissionpoweroftheSS,i.e.,allthe
resourceelementsoftheSS,fromthisoffsetandthenumberofSSresourceelementsperframe.

InstantaneousRSpower(dBm):Theinstantaneousreferencesignaltransmissionpowercalculatedfromthemax
imumpowerorRSEPREandtheEPREoffsets.
InstantaneousSSpower(dBm):TheinstantaneousSStransmissionpowercalculatedfromthemaximumpowerorRS
EPREandtheEPREoffsets.
Instantaneous PBCH power (dBm): The instantaneous PBCH transmission power calculated from the maximum
powerorRSEPREandtheEPREoffsets.
AveragePDCCHpower(dBm):TheaveragePDCCHtransmissionpowercalculatedfromthemaximumpowerorRS
EPREandtheEPREoffsets.
AveragePDSCHpower(dBm):TheaveragePDSCHtransmissionpowercalculatedfromthemaximumpowerorRS
EPREandtheEPREoffsets.
Ifthecellstransmitterhassmartantennaequipmentassignedtoit,thetransmissionpowersofthecellincreaseby
10 Log n (indB),wherenisthenumberofantennaelementsofthesmartantenna.Thisgainintransmission
powersisreferredtoastheAASpowercombininggain.

MinRSRP(dBm):TheminimumRSRPrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothecell.TheRSRPiscomparedwiththis
thresholdtodeterminewhetherornotauseriswithinthecellscoverageornot.
Receptionequipment:Youcanselectthecellsreceptionequipmentfromthereceptionequipmentlist.Formore
information,see"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062.
Scheduler:Theschedulerusedbythecellforbearerselectionandresourceallocation.Youcanselectthescheduler
fromthelistofschedulersavailableintheSchedulerstable.Formoreinformationsee"DefiningLTESchedulers"on
page1066.
Maxnumberofusers:Themaximumnumberofsimultaneousconnecteduserssupportedbythecell.
No.ofusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellinthedownlink.Thiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutput
ofMonteCarlosimulations.

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No.ofusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellintheuplink.Thiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputof
MonteCarlosimulations.
TDDsubframeconfiguration:ThesubframeconfigurationusedbythecellwhenthecellsfrequencybandisTDD.If
the networks switching point periodicity is set to "Half Frame", you can select a subframe configuration of type
DSUUUDSUUU,DSUUDDSUUD,DSUDDDSUDD,orDSUUUDSUUD.Ifthenetworksswitchingpointperiodicityisset
to"Frame",youcanselectasubframeconfigurationoftypeDSUUUDDDDD,DSUUDDDDDD,orDSUDDDDDDD.For
moreinformationonTDDswitchingpointperiodicity,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
TDDsubframeconfigurationishiddenwhenthereisnoTDDfrequencybanddefinedin
theFrequencyBandstable(see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage1055.

Diversitysupport(DL):Thetypeofantennadiversitytechnique(none,transmitdiversity,SUMIMO,AMS,MUMIMO,
orAAS)supportedbythecellindownlink.Youcannotcombinetransmitdiversity,SUMIMO,andAMS.
Diversity support (UL): The type of antenna diversity technique (none, receive diversity, SUMIMO, AMS, or
MUMIMO)supportedbythecellinuplink.
Specificcalculationsareperformed(andgainsapplied)forterminalssupportingAASandMIMO.

MUMIMOcapacitygain(DL):Thedownlinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.Thiscanbeuser
definedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.Indownlinkthroughputcoveragepredictions,cellcapacityismulti
pliedbythisgainonpixelswhereMUMIMOisused.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(UL):Theuplinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.Thiscanbeuser
definedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.Inuplinkthroughputcoveragepredictions,cellcapacityismultiplied
bythisgainonpixelswhereMUMIMOisused.
Fractionalpowercontrolfactor:Thisfactorisusedforpathlosscompensationwhenperformingfractionalpower
controlontheuplink.Forexample,ifthisfactorissetto0.8,only80%oftheactualpathlosswillbeconsideredwhen
estimatingthereceivedpower.Therefore,thereceivedpowerfromanymobileontheuplinkwillbeestimatedtobe
higherthanitwouldactuallybe(using100%ofthepathloss),whichwillbeinterpretedbythemobileasaneedto
reduceitstransmissionpower.Thisfactorisrepresentedby in3GPPspecifications.Thisfactorrepresentstheinflu
enceoftheservingcellonthefractionalpowerofanymobile.
MaxPUSCHC/(I+N)(dB):Thisvalueisusedforpowercontrolontheuplink.ThedifferencebetweentheMaxPUSCH
C/(I+N)andtheuplinknoiseriseofthecellcorrespondstothenominalPUSCHpowerforthecell.ThenominalPUSCH
powerisacellspecificparameterfromwhichalimitontheuplinktransmissionpowersofmobilesinthecellcanbe
extracted.Thisfactorisrepresentedby PO_PUSCH in3GPPspecifications.MaxPUSCHC/(I+N)isupdatedduringuplink
noiserisecontrolinMonteCarlosimulationsbasedonthemaximumnoiseriseconstraintsoftheneighbouringcells.
AlmostBlankSubframe(ABS)Pattern:Thetransmissionpatternofnormalandalmostblanksubframes.Almostblank
subframesdonotcarryanytraffic.OnlyreferencesignalsaretransmittedoveranABS.TheABSpatternisabitmap,
i.e.,aseriesof0sand1swhereeachbitcorrespondstoonesubframe.InanABSpattern,each0signifiesanormal
subframeand1impliesanalmostblanksubframe.Forexample,theABSpattern"0100001000"meansthatsubframes
1and6arealmostblanksubframeswhereasalltheothersubframesarenormalsubframescarryingtraffic.
ABSpatternsareusedinconjunctionwithcellrangeexpansionforeICIC(enhancedintercellinterferencecoordina
tion,alsoknownastimedomainICIC)inanefforttominimisecelledgeinterferencebetweenmacroandsmallcells
inheterogeneousLTEnetworks(HetNets).

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TheABSpatternthatyouenterhereisapplicabletodownlinkaswellasuplink,and
doesnotdependontheICICmodedefinedinthecellsframeconfiguration.The
ICICmode definedintheframe configurationsis exclusivelyusedfor frequency
domainICIC.
ThestandardlengthsoftheABSpatternbitmapsasdefinedbythe3GPPareasfol
lows:
FDDcells:40bits
TDDcellsusingtheframeconfiguration0:70bits
TDDcellsusingtheframeconfiguration1through5:20bits
TDDcellsusingtheframeconfiguration6:60bits
AsAtollusesthesameABSpatternformatastheLTEeNodeBinformationele
mentformat,ABSpatternscanbedirectlyimportedfromthenetworkintoAtoll.
You are not required to enter all the bits in the pattern to match the standard
lengths. You can define nonrepeating and repeating ABS patterns using the
asteriskasfollows(exampleforFDDcells):

Nonrepeating ABS pattern: The ABS pattern "0100001000" will be inter

preted by Atoll as "0100001000000000000000000000000000000000" over
standard40bits
RepeatingABSpattern:TheABSpattern"0100010000*"willbeinterpretedby
Atollas"0100001000010000100001000010000100001000"overstandard40
bits
AnemptyABSpatternmeansthattherearenoalmostblanksubframesdefined
andallthesubframescancarrytraffic.
ItispossibletocreateachoicelistofpredefinedABSpatternsinthedatabase
using the CustomFields table. For more information, see the Administrator
Manual.
DefiningcomplementaryABSpatternsfortwomutuallyinterferingcellswilllead
tofullinterferencemitigationattheircelledges.Youcanalsosetanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifiletoapplytheABSpatternsthroughoutthecellandnojustonthecell
edges.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Interferencecoordinationsupport:Thefrequencydomainintercellinterferencecoordination(ICIC)techniquesup
portedbythecell.YoucanselectStaticDLorStaticUL.YoucanselectfromvariousICICmodesavailableinthecells
frameconfigurations.Thisfrequencydomainintercellinterferencecoordinationmethodcanbeusedinadditionto
theeICICABSpatterns.
Frameconfiguration:Theframeconfigurationusedbythecellindownlinkanduplink.Amongotherframestructure
parameters,thisconfigurationalsodefinesICICsettingsforacellsupportingStaticDLorStaticULintercellinterfer
encecoordination.Formoreinformation,see"DefiningFrameConfigurations"onpage1060.
ICICdeltapathlossthreshold(dB):Themaximumdifferencebetweenthepathlossofthesecondbestserverandthe
pathlossofthebestservertobeconsideredatcelledge.CelledgemobilesareservedbyacellsICICresources.
Maxtrafficload(DL)(%):Thedownlinktrafficloadnottobeexceeded.Thislimitcanbetakenintoaccountduring
MonteCarlosimulations.Ifthecelltrafficloadislimitedbythisvalue,thecellwillnotbeallowedtohaveadownlink
trafficloadgreaterthanthismaximum.
Trafficload(DL)(%):Thedownlinktrafficloadpercentage.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosim
ulations.
Celledgetrafficratio(DL)(%):Youcansetthepercentageofthetotaldownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothe
resourcesallocatedtocelledgeusers.Forexample,ifthedownlinktrafficloadis80%,andyousetthecelledgetraffic
ratioto50%,itmeansthat40%ofthedownlinktrafficloadcorrespondstocelledgeusersand40%tothecellcentre
users.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.
Maxtrafficload(UL)(%):Theuplinktrafficloadnottobeexceeded.ThislimitcanbetakenintoaccountduringMonte
Carlosimulations.Ifthecelltrafficloadislimitedbythisvalue,thecellwillnotbeallowedtohaveanuplinktraffic
loadgreaterthanthismaximum.
Trafficload(UL)(%):Theuplinktrafficloadpercentage.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimu
lations.
ULnoiserise(dB):TheuplinknoiseriseindB.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.This
istheglobalvalueofuplinknoiseriseincludingtheintertechnologyuplinknoiserise.
ICICULnoiserise(dB):Theuplinknoiseriseofthecellresourcescoveringcelledgeusers.Thisnoiseriseisonlyused
whentheICICsupportforthecellincludesStaticUL.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.
MaxULnoiserise(dB):Theupperlimitonbothuplinknoiserisevalues,i.e.,theULnoiseriseandtheICICULnoise
rise.ItisusedforuplinknoiserisecontrolduringMonteCarlosimulations.Thisparameterrepresentsthemaximum
interferencethatacellcantolerateontheuplink.
Angulardistributionsofinterference(AAS):TheMonteCarlosimulationresultsgeneratedfortransmittersusinga
smartantenna.Theseresultsaretheangulardistributionsofthedownlinktrafficpowerspectraldensity.
AASusage(DL)(%):Thetotaldownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothetrafficloadsoftheuserssupportedbythe
smartantenna.Forexample,ifthedownlinktrafficloadis80%,andyousettheAASusageto50%,itmeansthat40%

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downlinktrafficloadissupportedbythesmartantennaequipmentwhiletheother40%issupportedbythemain
antenna.AASusageiscalculatedduringMonteCarlosimulations,andcannotbemodifiedmanuallybecausetheAAS
usagevaluescorrespondtotheangulardistributionsofinterference.
IntertechnologyULnoiserise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbymobilesandbasestationsofan
externalnetworkonthiscellontheuplink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalluplinkinterferencebased
calculationsinvolvingthiscellinMonteCarlosimulations.ItisnotusedinpredictionswhereAtollcalculatestheuplink
totalinterferencefromtheuplinknoiserisewhichincludesintertechnologyuplinkinterference.Formoreinforma
tiononintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage1073.
IntertechnologyDLnoiserise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbymobilesofanexternalnetwork
onthemobilesservedbythiscellonthedownlink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterfer
encebasedcalculationsinvolvingthiscell.Formoreinformationonintertechnologyinterference,see"Modelling
IntertechnologyInterference"onpage1073.
Maxnumberofintratechnologyneighbours:ThemaximumnumberofLTEneighboursthatthecellcanhave.
Maxnumberofintertechnologyneighbours:Themaximumnumberofothertechnologyneighboursthatthecellcan
have.
Neighbours:Youcanaccessadialogboxinwhichyoucansetbothintratechnologyandintertechnologyneighbours
byclickingtheBrowsebutton.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957.
TheBrowsebuttonmaynotbevisibleintheNeighboursboxifthisisanewcell.Youcan
maketheBrowsebuttonappearbyclickingApply.

9.2.1.2 CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Thissectiondescribeshowtocreateormodifythefollowingelementsofabasestation:

9.2.1.2.1

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage894
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage895
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage895

CreatingorModifyingaSite
Youcanmodifyanexistingsiteoryoucancreateanewsite.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasite,describedin"SiteDescrip
tion"onpage886,throughthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.HowyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhether
youarecreatinganewsiteormodifyinganexistingsite.
Tocreateanewsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select New from the context menu. The Sites: New Record Properties dialog box appears (see Figure9.2 on
page886).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage886.
5. ClickOK.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThesitesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage886.
6. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsitesatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingsites,you
candoitquicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSitestable.Youcanopen
theSitestablebyrightclickingtheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

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9.2.1.2.2

CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter
Youcanmodifyanexistingtransmitteroryoucancreateanewtransmitter.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,itsinitial
settingsarebasedonthedefaultstationtemplatedisplayedintheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Youcanaccessthepropertiesof
atransmitter,describedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage886,throughthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Howyou
accessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewtransmitterormodifyinganexistingtransmitter.
Tocreateanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitters:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.3).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage886.
5. ClickOK.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellbasedonthedefaultstationtemplate.
Forinformationoncreatingacell,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage895.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage886.
6. ClickOK.

9.2.1.2.3

If you are creating several transmitters at the same time, or modifying several
existing transmitters, you can do it more quickly by editing or pasting the data
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyright
clickingtheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpen
Tablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecon
textmenu.

CreatingorModifyingaCell
Youcanmodifyanexistingcelloryoucancreateanewcell.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofacell,describedin"CellDescrip
tion"onpage889,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterwherethecellislocated.HowyouaccesstheProp
ertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewcellormodifyinganexistingcell.
Tocreateormodifyacell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateacellorwhosecellyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheCellstab.
6. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"CellDescription"onpage889.
7. ClickOK.

Ifyouarecreatingormodifyingseveralcellsatthesametime,youcandoitmore
quicklybyeditingthedatadirectlyintheCellstable.YoucanopentheCellstable
byrightclickingtheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
Cells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Youcaneithereditthedatainthetable,
paste data into the table (see "Copying and Pasting in Tables" on page82), or
importdataintothetable(see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87).
Ifyouwanttoaddacelltoanexistingtransmitteronthemap,youcanaddthecell
byrightclickingthetransmitterandselectingNewCellfromthecontextmenu.

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9.2.1.3 PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate
InAtoll,abasestationisdefinedasasitewithoneormoretransmitterssharingthesameproperties.WithAtoll,youcan
createanetworkbyplacingbasestationsbasedonstationtemplates.Thisallowsyoutobuildyournetworkquicklywith
consistentparameters,insteadofbuildingthenetworkbyfirstcreatingthesite,thenthetransmitters,andfinallybyadding
thecells.
Toplaceanewstationusingastationtemplate:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.

2. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyouwouldliketo
placethenewstation.Theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationare
visibleintheStatusbar.

4. Clicktoplacethestation.

Toplacethebasestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyou
clicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton.Forinformationonusingthezooming
tools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthebasestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaysits
tiptextwithitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

Youcanalsoplaceaseriesofbasestationsusingastationtemplate.Youdothisbydefininganareaonthemapwhereyou
wanttoplacethebasestations.Atollcalculatestheplacementofeachbasestationaccordingtothedefinedhexagonalcell
radiusinthestationtemplate.Forinformationondefiningthecellradius,see"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage897.
Toplaceaseriesofbasestationswithinadefinedarea:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist(seeFigure9.5).
2. ClicktheHexagonalDesignbutton(
)totherightofthestationtemplatelist.Ahexagonaldesignisagroupofbase
stationscreatedfromthesamestationtemplate.
3. Drawazonedelimitingtheareawhereyouwanttoplacetheseriesofbasestations:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Atollfillsthedelimitedzonewithnewbasestationsandtheirhexagonalshapes.Basestationobjectssuchassitesand
transmittersarealsocreatedandplacedintotheirrespectivefolders.
Youcanworkwiththesitesandtransmittersinthesebasestationsasyouworkwithanybasestationobject,adding,forexam
ple,anotherantennatoatransmitter.
PlacingaStationonanExistingSite
Whenyouplaceanewstationusingastationtemplateasexplainedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"
onpage896,thesiteiscreatedatthesametimeasthestation.However,youcanalsoplaceanewstationonanexistingsite.
Toplaceabasestationonanexistingsite:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.
2. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
3. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

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4. Movethepointertothesiteonthemap.Whentheframeappearsaroundthesite,indicatingitisselected,clickto
placethestation.

9.2.1.4 ManagingStationTemplates
AtollcomeswithLTEstationtemplates,butyoucanalsocreateandmodifystationtemplates.Thetoolsforworkingwith
stationtemplatesareontheRadioPlanningtoolbar(seeFigure9.5).

Figure9.5:TheRadioPlanningtoolbar
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

9.2.1.4.1

"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage897
"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage897
"CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother"onpage900
"ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate"onpage901
"DeletingaStationTemplate"onpage901.

CreatingaStationTemplate
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,youcandosobyselectinganexistingstationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthe
stationtemplateyouwanttocreateandmakingacopy.Thenyoucanmodifytheparametersthatdiffer.Tocreateastation
template:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationTemplatestable,rightclickthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyou
wanttocreate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

8. SelectPastefromthecontextmenu.Thestationtemplateyoucopiedinstep5.ispastedinthenewrow,withthe
Nameofthenewstationtemplategivenasthesameasthetemplatecopiedbutprecededby"Copyof".
9. Edittheparametersofthenewstationtemplateinthetableorasexplainedin"ModifyingaStationTemplate"on
page897.

9.2.1.4.2

ModifyingaStationTemplate
YoucanmodifyastationtemplatedirectlyintheStationTemplatestable,oryoucanopenthePropertiesdialogboxforthat
stationtemplateandmodifytheparametersinthedialogbox.
Tomodifyastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. Rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThestationtemplatesPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Figure9.6:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxGeneraltab
7. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Onthistab(seeFigure9.6),youcanmodifythefollowing:

TheNameofthestationtemplate,thenumberofSectors,eachwithatransmitter,theHexagonradius,i.e.,the
theoreticalradiusofthehexagonalareacoveredbyeachsector,andtheTransmittertype,i.e.,whetherthetrans
mitterbelongstoyournetworkortoanexternalnetwork.
UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowing:1stsectorazimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectors
areoffsettooffercompletecoverageofthearea,theHeight/groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,the
heightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustincludetheheightofthe
building),andtheMechanicaldowntiltfortheantennas.
ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectricaldowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderMainantenna,youcanselectthemainantennaModel,underSmartantenna,youcanselectthesmart
antennaEquipmentusedbythetransmitter,andunderNumberofantennaports,youcanenterthenumberof
antennasusedforTransmissionandforReceptionforMIMO.
UnderPathlossmatrices,youcanmodifythefollowing:theMainpropagationmodel,theMainradius,andthe
Mainresolution,andtheExtendedpropagationmodel,theExtendedradius,andtheExtendedresolution.For
informationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
UnderComments,youcanaddadditionalinformation.Theinformationyouenterwillbethedefaultinformation
intheCommentsfieldofanytransmittercreatedusingthisstationtemplate.

8. ClicktheTransmittertab.Onthistab(seeFigure9.7),iftheActivecheckboxisselected,youcanmodifythefollowing
underTransmission/Reception:youcanclicktheEquipmentbuttontoopentheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
andmodifythetowermountedamplifier(TMA),feedercables,ortransmitterequipment.Forinformationonthe
EquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage886.
TheinformationinthecomputedTotallossesintransmissionandreceptionboxesiscalculatedfromtheinformation
youenteredintheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure9.4onpage888).Anylossrelatedtothenoisedue
toatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculatedlosses.AtollalwaysconsidersthevaluesintheRealboxesin

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coveragepredictionseveniftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.YoucanmodifytherealTotal
lossesattransmissionandreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbepositive.
TheinformationinthecomputedNoisefigureboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquipment
Specificationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealNoisefigureatreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbe
positive.

Figure9.7:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxTransmittertab
9. ClicktheLTEtab.Onthistab(seeFigure9.8),youcanmodifythefollowing:

UnderPowerandEPREoffsetsrelativetothereferencesignalsEPRE,youcanmodifytheMaxpower,RSEPRE,
andtheEPREoffsetsfortheSS,PBCH,PDSCH,andPDCCHinSSoffset,PBCHoffset,PDCCHoffset,andPDSCH
offset.
YoucanassignchannelandphysicalcellIDpercellpersector,byclickingtheCelldefinitionpersectorbutton.The
CellDefinitionperSectordialogboxappears.
i.

ClicktheCelldefinitionpersectorbutton.TheCellDefinitionperSectordialogboxappears.

ii. SelecttheSectorforwhichyouwanttodefinecellparameters,i.e.,channelnumberandphysicalcellID.
iii. EntertheNumberofcellsthattheselectedsectorwillhave.Thenumberofrowsinthegridbelowdepends
onthenumberofcellsthatyouenter.
iv. Inthelayer/channel/physicalcellIDgrid,assignalayer,achannelnumber,andaphysicalcellIDtoeachcell.
v. Carryoutthestepsabovetoassignlayers,channels,andphysicalcellIDstoeachsector.
vi. ClickOK.

Frequencyband,Reusedistance,Receptionequipment,Celltype,Scheduler,Maxnumberofusers,TDDsub
frameconfiguration,andMinRSRP.
UnderAntennadiversity,youcanselecttheDiversitysupportindownlinkandinuplinkanddefinethedefault
MUMIMOcapacitygain.
UnderDefaultloads,youcanenterthedefaultvaluesforDLtrafficload,ULtrafficload,ULnoiserise,andthe
MaxDLtrafficloadandMaxULtrafficload.
UnderIntertechnologyinterference,youcansettheDLnoiseriseandtheULnoiserise.Formoreinformation
onintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage1073.

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Figure9.8:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxLTEtab
10. ClicktheNeighbourstab.Onthistab(seeFigure9.9),youcanmodifythefollowing:

UnderMaxnumberofneighbours,youcansetthemaximumnumbersofIntratechnologyandIntertechnology
neighbours.

Figure9.9:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxNeighbourstab
11. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Sitestable,orifyouhavedefinedanadditionalfieldintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogbox.
12. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsaveyour
changes.

9.2.1.4.3

CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother
YoucancopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplatebyusingtheStationTemplatestable.
Tocopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationsTemplatestable,copythesettingsintherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttocopy
fromandpastethemintotherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.

9.2.1.4.4

ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate
Youcanadd,delete,andedituserdefineddatatablefieldsintheStationTemplatestable.Ifyouwanttoaddauserdefined
fieldtothestationtemplates,youmusthavealreadyaddedittotheSitestableforittoappearasanoptioninthestation
templateproperties
ToaccessthestationtemplatesdatatableFieldDefinitiondialogbox:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTabletab.
6. Forinformationonadding,deleting,andeditinguserdefinedfields,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTable
Fields"onpage76).
7. Whenyouhavefinished,ClickOK.

9.2.1.4.5

DeletingaStationTemplate
Todeleteastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheStationTemplatesfolder.
4. IntheStationTemplatesfolder,rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thetemplateisdeleted.

9.2.1.5 DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation
Youcancreatenewbasestationsbyduplicatinganexistingbasestation.Whenyouduplicateanexistingbasestation,thebase
stationyoucreatewillhavethesametransmitter,andcellparametervaluesastheoriginalbasestation.Ifnositeexistswhere
youplacetheduplicatedbasestation,Atollwillcreateanewsitewiththesameparametersasthesiteoftheoriginalbase
station.Duplicatingabasestationallowsyouto:

Quicklycreateanewbasestationwiththesamesettingsasanoriginaloneinordertostudytheeffectofanewstation
onthecoverageandcapacityofthenetwork,and
Quicklycreateanewhomogeneousnetworkwithbasestationsthathavethesamecharacteristics.

Toduplicateanexistingbasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

SelectDuplicate>WithoutNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationwithout
theintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.
SelectDuplicate>WithOutwardNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestation
alongwiththelistsofintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.

5. Placethenewbasestationonthemapusingthemouse:

Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyou
wouldliketoplacetheduplicate.TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatus
bar(seeFigure9.10).

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Figure9.10:Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite

Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointerovertheexistingsite
whereyouwouldliketoplacetheduplicate.Whenthepointerisoverthesite,thesiteisautomaticallyselected.
TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatusbar(seeFigure9.11).

Figure9.11:Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouselect
Duplicatefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see
"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaystiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

6. Clicktoplacetheduplicatebasestation.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanewsite,thesite,transmitters,
andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheduplicatebasestationhavethesame
settingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanexistingsite,thetransmit
ters,andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthetransmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnameprecededbythenameofthesiteonwhichtheduplicatewasplaced.
Alltheremoteantennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anyduplicatedremoteantennasandrepeaterswillretainthesamedonortransmitteras
theoriginal.Ifyouwanttheduplicatedremoteantennaorrepeatertouseatransmitter
ontheduplicatedbasestation,youmustchangethedonortransmittermanually.
YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofduplicatebasestationsbypressingandholdingCTRLinstep6.andclickingtoplaceeach
duplicatestation.
Formoreinformationonthesite,transmitter,andcellproperties,see"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage885.

9.2.1.6 StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation
InAtoll,youcanmakeaprofileanalysistostudyobstaclesalongthepathbetweenareferencetransmitterandanypointon
themap.Atolldisplaysthegeographicprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoidindi
catingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayedallowingyoutostudyobstructionstoradiosignalsalongthepath.
Youcanalsostudypropagationlossesalongtheprofileaswellasthesignallevelreceivedatthepoint.Beforestudyingpath
lossalongaprofile,youmustassignapropagationmodeltothetransmitter.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioand
geographicdataintoaccountandcalculateslossesalongthetransmitterreceiverpath.Theprofileiscalculatedinrealtime,
usingthepropagationmodel,allowingyoutostudytheprofileandgetapredictionontheselectedpoint.Forinformationon
assigningapropagationmodel,see"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage914.
Tostudytheprofilebetweenatransmitterandareceiver:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. Click the Point Analysis button (
pointerchanges(

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3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcanmovethereceiver
tochangethecurrentpositionorrightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontext
menu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
TargetSite:Selectasitefromthelisttoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheProfileview.
5. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
mitterandthereceiver.

)toviewthegeographicprofilebetweenthetrans

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.Atolldisplaystheprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoid
indicatingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayed.Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverisdisplayedatthe
topoftheProfileview.
6. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
transmitterandthereceiver.

)againtoviewtheradiosignalpathbetweenthe

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.AblueellipsoidindicatestheFresnelzonebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver,withagreenline
indicatingthelineofsight(LOS).AtolldisplaystheangleoftheLOSreadfromtheverticalantennapattern.Alongthe
profile,ifthesignalmeetsanobstacle,theobstaclecausesattenuationwithdiffractiondisplayedbyaredverticalline
(iftheusedpropagationmodelisabletocalculatediffraction).Themaindiffractionedgeistheonethatintersectsthe
Fresnelellipsoidthemost.Propagationmodelsthatusea3knifeedgeDeygoutdiffractionmethodmayalsodisplay
twoadditionaldiffractionedges.Thetotalattenuationisdisplayedabovethemaindiffractionedge.
TheresultsoftheanalysisaredisplayedatthetopoftheProfileview:

Thereceivedsignalstrengthfromtheselectedtransmitterforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower
Thepropagationmodelused
Theshadowingmarginandtheindoorloss(ifselected)
Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver.

YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsfromtheProfileviewtoolbar:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.YoucanclickthePropertiesbutton(
propertiesdialogbox.

Options:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)toopenthetransmitter

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,youcan:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelectSignallevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResulttypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

LinkBudget:ClicktheLinkBudgetbutton(

DetailedReport:ClicktheDetailedReportbutton(
)todisplayatextdocumentwithdetailsonthedisplayed
profileanalysis.ThedetailedreportisonlyavailablefortheStandardPropagationModel.

)todisplayadialogboxwiththelinkbudget.

Youcanselectadifferenttransmitter.

Displaysdata,
including
receivedsignal,
shadowing
margin,cell
edgecoverage
probability,
propagation
modelused,
andtransmit
terreceiver
distance.

Fresnelellipsoid

Lineofsight

Attenuationwithdiffraction

Figure9.12:PointAnalysisProfileview

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7. Toendthepointanalysis,clickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbaragain.

9.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatinganLTEBaseStation"onpage885,oryoucancreateoneor
severalbasestationsbyusingstationtemplatesasexplainedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"on
page896.However,ifyouhavealargeprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdataintoyourcurrent
Atolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdataandpasteitintothetablesinyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyoucreateagroupofbasesta
tionsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdataintheTrans
mitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopyfrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouarepasting
datainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavebasestationdataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitinto
thetablesinthecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSV
formatandthenimportitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyou
toselectwhatvaluesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe
map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
ifthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensacontext
menuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orbylettingAtoll
findahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

9.2.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atoll allows to youtodisplay information about basestationsina number of ways.This enables you not onlytodisplay
selectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

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Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe
visible;toomuchinformationinthelabelwillmakeithardertodistinguishtheinformationyouarelookingfor.For
informationondefiningthelabel,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivetrans
mitters.Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolour
toeachtransmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.For
informationondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

and

).

9.2.5 CreatingaMultibandLTENetwork
InAtoll,youcanmodelamultibandLTEnetwork,forexample,anetworkconsistingof900MHzand2.1GHz,inonedocu
ment.CreatingamultibandLTEnetworkconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. Definingthefrequencybandsinthedocument(see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage1055).
2. Selectingandcalibratingapropagationmodelforeachfrequencyband(seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagation
Models).
3. Assigningafrequencybandtoeachcellandarelevantpropagationmodeltoeachtransmitter(see"CreatingorMod
ifyingaCell"onpage895and"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage895).

9.2.6 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalcanbecarriedbydifferenttypesoflinkssuchasradiolinkormicrowavelink.Theserversideretransmitsthereceived
signal.
WhenAtollmodelsLTErepeaters,themodellingfocuseson:

Theadditionalcoveragethesesystemsprovidetotransmittersinthedownlink.
Thenoiserisegeneratedatthedonortransmitterbytherepeater.
Incalculations,repeatersaretransparenttothedonortransmittersandtheserved
users.Forexample,beamformingsmartantennasatdonortransmitterscreatebeams
directlytowardstheservedusers,andnottowardstherepeaterthatcoverstheusers.
Thisresultsinacombinedsignallevelreceivedfromthetransmitterusingthesmart
antennaandfromtherepeater.Ifthisapproachdoesnotmatchhowyourequipment
works,youmustnotassignsmartantennastotransmitterswithrepeatersandvice
versa.ThisisalsotrueforMIMO.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage906
"CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment"onpage906
"PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage906
"CreatingSeveralRepeaters"onpage907
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater"onpage907
"TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters"onpage909.
AtollassumesthatallcarriersfromtheLTEdonortransmitterareamplified.

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9.2.6.1 OpeningtheRepeatersTable
RepeatersandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRepeaterstable.
ToopentheRepeaterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRepeaters>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterstableappears.

9.2.6.2 CreatingandModifyingRepeaterEquipment
Youcandefinerepeaterequipmenttobeassignedtoeachrepeaterinthenetwork.
Tocreateormodifyrepeaterequipment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickRepeaterEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRepeaterEquipmenttableappears.
5. DefinethefollowinginanexistingrecordorintherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

):

a. EnteraNameandManufacturerforthenewequipment.
b. EnteraNoisefigure(dB).Therepeatercausesariseinnoiseatthedonortransmitter,sothenoisefigureisused
tocalculatetheULlosstobeaddedtothedonortransmitterULlosses.Thenoisefiguremustbeapositivevalue.
c. EnterminimumandmaximumrepeateramplificationgainsintheMin.gainandMaxgaincolumns.Theseparam
etersenableAtolltoensurethattheuserdefinedamplifiergainisconsistentwiththelimitsoftheequipmentif
thereareany.
d. EnteraGainincrement.Atollusestheincrementvaluewhenyouincreaseordecreasetherepeateramplifiergain
usingthebuttonstotherightoftheAmplifiergainbox(
box.

)ontheGeneraltaboftherepeaterPropertiesdialog

e. EnterthemaximumpowerthattheequipmentcantransmitonthedownlinkintheMaxdownlinkpowercolumn.
ThisparameterenablesAtolltoensurethatthedownlinkpowerafteramplificationdoesnotexceedthelimitof
theequipment.
f. Ifdesired,enteraMaxuplinkpower,anInternaldelayandComments.Thesefieldsareforinformationonlyand
arenotusedincalculations.

9.2.6.3 PlacingaRepeaterontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearepeater,youcanaddittoanexistingsite,
orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.Atollsupportscascadingrepeaters,inotherwords,repeatersthatextendthe
coverageofanotherrepeaterorofaremoteantenna.
Tocreatearepeaterandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Selectthedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.YoucanselectitfromtheLTETransmittersfolderinthe
Networkexplorer,ordirectlyonthemap.
2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRepeaterfromthemenu.
4. Clickthemaptoplacetherepeater.Therepeaterisplacedonthemap,representedbyasymbol(
)inthesame
colourasthedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.Iftherepeaterisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanempty
icon.Bydefault,therepeaterhasthesameazimuthasthedonor.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesameinformation
asdisplayedforthedonor.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestherepeaterandthedonor.Intheexplorerwindow,the
repeaterisfoundintheLTETransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorerunderitsdonortransmitter,repeater,or
remoteantenna.
For information on defining the properties of the new repeater, see "Defining the Properties of a Repeater" on
page907.
Youcanseetowhichbasestationtherepeaterisconnectedbyclickingit;Atolldisplaysa
linktothedonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.

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9.2.6.4 CreatingSeveralRepeaters
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachrepeaterarestoredintheRepeaterstable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanother
Atolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRepeaterstableinyourcurrentAtolldocu
ment.
TopastetheinformationintotheRepeaterstable:
1. OpentheRepeaterstableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage906.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRepeaterstable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

9.2.6.5 DefiningthePropertiesofaRepeater
Todefinethepropertiesofarepeater:
1. Rightclicktherepeatereitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRepeaterstable(forinformationonopeningtheRepeat
erstable,see"OpeningtheRepeatersTable"onpage906).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Name:YoucanchangetheNameoftherepeater.Bydefault,repeatersarenamed"SiteX_Y_RepZ"where"X"is
thedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotherepeaterwhenitwas
created.

Ifthedonorisaremoteantennaoranotherrepeater,then"RepZ"isprecededby
"RemA_"or"RepB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorremoteantennaand
thedonorrepeater.
InMultiRATdocuments,arepeatersnameis"SiteX_T_Y_RepZ"where"T"stands
forthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE)..

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,aremoteantenna,
oranotherrepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtherepeaterislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialog
boxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedantenna(coverageside)fieldfortherepeater.Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythe
transmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesameposition
andthatshareanantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennas.Whenchangesaremadetothepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltof
oneantenna,Atollautomaticallysynchronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremote
antennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaposition,youcandefinethepositionoftherepeater,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

Relativetosite:SelectRelativetosite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterrelativetothesite
itselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftherepeaterbyitsXYcoordinates.
YoucanselectequipmentfromtheEquipmentlist.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxof
theequipment.
YoucanchangetheAmplifierGain.Theamplifiergainisusedinthelinkbudgettoevaluatetherepeatertotalgain.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorrepeaterlink,selectaLinktype.

IfyouselectMicrowavelink,entertheLinklossesandproceedtostep5.
IfyouselectAir,selectaPropagationmodelandenterthePropagationlossesorclickCalculatetodetermine
theactualpropagationlossesbetweenthedonorandtherepeater.Ifyoudonotselectapropagationmodel,
thepropagationlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeaterarecalculatedusingtheITU5265
propagationmodel.
Whenyoucreateanoffairrepeater,itisassumedthatthelinkbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeat
erhasthesamefrequencyasthenetwork.

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Ifyouwanttocreatearemoteantenna,youmustselectOpticalFibreLink.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorrepeaterlink,enterthefollowinginformationunderAntenna:

Model:ThetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproper
tiesoftheantenna.
ClickingtheSelectbuttonopenstheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasmatchingthe
currentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludetheop
eratingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

Height/ground:TheHeight/groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofthebuilding.
MechanicalAzimuthandMechanicalDowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
You can click the Calculate button to update the mechanical azimuth and mechanical
downtilt values after changing the repeater donor side antenna height or the repeater
location.IfyouchooseanothersiteorchangesitecoordinatesintheGeneraltab,click
ApplybeforeclickingtheCalculatebutton.

IfyouselectedAirunderDonorrepeaterlink,enterthefollowinginformationunderFeeders:

Type:ThetypeoffeederisvisibleintheTypelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesof
thefeeder.
Length:EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiverepeaters(displayedinredintheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetwork
explorer)arecalculated.
Totalgain:Enterthegain(indownlinkanduplink)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactualgaininbothdirec
tions.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverageSidetabs,clickApplybefore
clickingtheCalculatebutton.

Indownlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoRS,SS,PBCH,PDCCH,andPDSCHpowersandEPREs.
Inuplink,thetotalgainisappliedtothePUCCHandPUSCHpowers.

Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtherepeater,donorcharacteristics
(donor antenna gain, reception feeder losses), amplifier gain, and coverage characteristics (coverage antenna
gain,transmissionfeederlosses).

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/ground:TheHeight/groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftherepeaterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
Mainantenna:UnderMainantenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryantennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,Additionalelectricaldowntilt,and%Power.

908

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

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UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sincerepeatersaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetthepropagation
parameters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationmodel,Radius,andResolution
forboththeMainmatrixandtheExtendedmatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristicsoftherepeater(model,
calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.Forinformationonpropagation
models,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

9.2.6.6 TipsforUpdatingRepeaterParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainrepeaterparameters:

You can update the calculated azimuth and downtilt of the donorside antennas of all repeaters by selecting
Repeaters>CalculateDonorSideAzimuthsandTiltsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanupdatetheULandDLtotalgainsofallrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateGainsfromtheTransmit
terscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedrepeatersby
creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Repeaters table and
settingthevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRepeaters>Calculate
GainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,AtollwillonlyupdatetheULandDLtotalgains
forrepeaterswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"setto"False."

YoucanupdatethepropagationlossesofalloffairrepeatersbyselectingRepeaters>CalculateDonorSidePropa
gationLossesfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu.
Youcanselectarepeateronthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingthe
Mouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsing
theMouse"onpage46).

9.2.7 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticalfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmaywanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation
that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage905.
Incalculations,remoteantennasaretransparenttothedonortransmittersandthe
servedusers.Forexample,beamformingsmartantennasatdonortransmitterscreate
beamsdirectlytowardstheservedusers,andnottowardstheremoteantennathat
coverstheusers.Thisresultsinacombinedsignallevelreceivedfromthetransmitter
usingthesmartantennaandfromtheremoteantenna.Ifthisapproachdoesnotmatch
howyourequipmentworks,youmustnotassignsmartantennastotransmitterswith
remoteantennasandviceversa.ThisisalsotrueforMIMO.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage910
"PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse"onpage910
"CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas"onpage910
"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna"onpage910
"TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters"onpage912.

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9.2.7.1 OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable
TheremoteantennasandtheirdefiningparametersarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.
ToopentheRemoteAntennastable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectRemoteAntennas>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheRemoteAntennastableappears.

9.2.7.2 PlacingaRemoteAntennaontheMapUsingtheMouse
InAtoll,youcancreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse.Whenyoucreatearemoteantenna,youcanaddit
toanexistingbasestationwithoutantennas,orhaveAtollautomaticallycreateanewsite.
Tocreatearemoteantennaandplaceitusingthemouse:
1. Selectthedonortransmitter.YoucanselectitfromtheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer,ordirectly
onthemap.
Ensurethattheremoteantennasdonortransmitterdoesnothaveanyantennas.

2. ClickthearrownexttoNewRepeaterorRemoteAntennabutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

3. SelectRemoteAntennafromthemenu.
4. Clickthemap toplace theremoteantenna.Theremote antennais placed on themap,representedbythesame
symbolandcolourasthedonortransmitter.Iftheremoteantennaisinactive,itisdisplayedbyanemptyicon.By
default,theremoteantennahasthesameazimuthasthedonortransmitter.Itstiptextandlabeldisplaythesame
informationasdisplayedforthedonortransmitter.Aswell,itstiptextidentifiestheremoteantennaandthedonor
transmitter.
Forinformationondefiningthepropertiesofthenewremoteantenna,see"DefiningthePropertiesofaRemote
Antenna"onpage910.
Youcanseetowhichbasestationtheremoteantennaisconnectedbyclickingit;Atoll
displaysalinktothedonortransmitter.

9.2.7.3 CreatingSeveralRemoteAntennas
InAtoll,thecharacteristicsofeachremoteantennaarestoredintheRemoteAntennastable.Ifyouhavedataintableform,
eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,youcancopythisdataandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastablein
yourcurrentAtolldocument.
TopastetheinformationintotheRemoteAntennastable:
1. OpentheRemoteAntennastableasexplainedin"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage910.
2. CopythedatafromthesourcedocumentandpasteitintotheRemoteAntennastable.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

9.2.7.4 DefiningthePropertiesofaRemoteAntenna
Todefinethepropertiesofaremoteantenna:
1. Rightclicktheremoteantennaeitherdirectlyonthemap,orintheRemoteAntennastable(forinformationonopen
ingtheRemoteAntennastable,see"OpeningtheRemoteAntennasTable"onpage910).Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

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Name:YoucanchangetheNameoftheremoteantenna.Bydefault,remoteantennasarenamed"SiteX_Y_RemZ"
where"X"isthedonorsitenumber,"Y"thedonortransmitternumber,and"Z"anumberassignedtotheremote
antennawhenitwascreated.

Ifthedonorisarepeateroranotherremoteantenna,then"RemZ"isprecededby
"RepA_"or"RemB_"where"A"and"B"identifythedonorrepeaterandthedonor
remoteantenna.
InMultiRATdocuments,aremoteantennasnameis"SiteX_T_Y_RemZ"where
"T"standsforthetechnology(eitherGSM,UMTS,orLTE).

YoucanchangetheDonorbyselectingitfromtheDonorlist.TheDonorcanbeatransmitter,anotherremote
antennaorarepeater.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensthePropertiesdialogboxoftheselecteddonor.
YoucanchangetheSiteonwhichtheremoteantennaislocated.ClickingtheBrowsebuttonopenstheProperties
dialogboxoftheselectedsite.
YoucanenteravalueintheSharedantenna(coverageside)fieldfortheremoteantenna.Thisfieldisusedtoiden
tifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasthatarelocatedatthesamesiteoronsiteswiththesame
positionandthatshareanantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethesameforallsuchtransmitters,repeaters,
and remote antennas. When changes are made to the position offset (Dx, Dy), azimuth, antenna height, or
mechanical tilt of one antenna, Atoll automatically synchronises the same changes to all other transmitters,
repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingasharedantenna.
UnderAntennaposition,youcandefinethepositionoftheremoteantenna,ifitisnotlocatedonthesiteitself:

Relativetosite:SelectRelativetosite,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennarelativeto
thesiteitselfandthenentertheXYoffsets.
Coordinates:SelectCoordinates,ifyouwanttodefinethepositionoftheremoteantennabyitsXYcoordi
nates.
Aremoteantennadoesnothaveequipment.

4. ClicktheDonorSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

UnderDonorrepeaterlink,selectOpticalfibrelinkandentertheFibrelosses.

5. ClicktheCoverageSidetab.Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

SelecttheActivecheckbox.Onlyactiveremoteantennas(displayedinredintheLTETransmittersfolderinthe
Networkexplorer)arecalculated.
Totalgain:Enterthegain(indownlinkanduplink)orclickCalculatetodeterminetheactualgaininbothdirec
tions.IfyouhavemodifiedanyparameterintheGeneral,DonorSide,orCoverageSidetabs,clickApplybefore
clickingtheCalculatebutton.

Indownlink,thetotalgainisappliedtoRS,SS,PBCH,PDCCH,andPDSCHpowersandEPREs.
Inuplink,thetotalgainisappliedtothePUCCHandPUSCHpowers.

Thetotalgaintakesintoaccountlossesbetweenthedonortransmitterandtheremoteantenna.

UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Height/ground:TheHeight/groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesiteasgivenbytheDTM.Iftheremoteantennaissituatedonabuilding,theheightentered
mustincludetheheightofthebuilding.
Mainantenna:UnderMainantenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsallantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.
UnderSecondaryantennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,Additionalelectricaldowntilt,and%Power.

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TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

UnderFeeders,youcanmodifythefollowinginformation:
i.

SelectaTypeoffeederfromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthefeeder.

ii. EntertheLengthofthefeedercableatTransmissionandatReception.

UnderLosses,theLossrelatedtorepeaternoiseriseisdisplayedandyoucanmodifythefollowinginformation:

Misc.losses:YoucanspecifyadditionallossesindBforTransmissionandReception.

6. ClickthePropagationtab.Sinceremoteantennasaretakenintoaccountduringcalculations,youmustsetpropaga
tionparameters,aswithtransmitters.OnthePropagationtab,youcanmodifythefollowing:thePropagationmodel,
Radius,andResolutionforboththeMainmatrixandtheExtendedmatrix.Bydefault,thepropagationcharacteristics
oftheremoteantenna(model,calculationradius,andgridresolution)arethesameasthoseofthedonortransmitter.
Forinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

9.2.7.5 TipsforUpdatingRemoteAntennaParameters
Atollprovidesyouwithafewshortcutsthatyoucanusetochangecertainremoteantennaparameters:

YoucanupdatetheULandDLtotalgainsofallremoteantennasbyselectingRemoteAntennas>CalculateGainsfrom
theTransmitterscontextmenu.
YoucanpreventAtollfromupdatingtheULandDLtotalgainsofselectedremoteantennas
by creating a custom Boolean field named "FreezeTotalGain" in the Remote Antennas
tableandsettingthevalueofthefieldto"True."Afterwards,whenyouselectRemote
Antennas>CalculateGainsfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,Atollwillonlyupdate
theULandDLtotalgainsforremoteantennaswiththecustomfield"FreezeTotalGain"set
to"False."

Youcanselectaremoteantennaonthemapandchangeitsazimuth(see"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsing
theMouse"onpage46)oritspositionrelativetothesite(see"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSite
UsingtheMouse"onpage46).

9.2.8 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.
Figure9.13givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure9.13,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

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Figure9.13:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage913.
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage914.
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage914.
"SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive"onpage916.
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage918.

9.2.8.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmightcoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,calculatingovertheentirenetworkwould
notonlytakealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothebasestationsthatyouare
interestedinandgenerateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofbasestationsinvolvedincalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredbasestations
Youcansimplifytheselectionofbasestationstobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfilterbasestationsaccordingto
oneormorefields,oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreate
agraphicfilterbyeitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphic
filters,see"FilteringDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswith
thecharacteristicsyouwantforyourcalculations.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmaynotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite

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configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitsthecalculations.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
theareawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions, MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,whilethe
focuszoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage914.
Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

9.2.8.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thezone
willbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzonewithoneofthefollowingmethods:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingtheCom
putationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clicking the Computation Zone folder in the Geo explorer and selecting Export
fromthecontextmenu.

9.2.8.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Aswell,youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedforalltransmitters
wherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."

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Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage916,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage915,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.
2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage915,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwilllaterassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
Whenyouassignapropagationmodelglobally,youoverrideanyselectionyoumight
havemadetoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters.

3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"DefiningaDefaultPropagation
Model"onpage209,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropagationmodel,
thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage915.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage915.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage916.

Formoreinformationabouttheavailablepropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClickthePropagationtab.
5. UnderMainmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage916willoverridethisentry.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. FromtheGroupBysubmenuofthecontextmenu,selectthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.

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You cangrouptransmittersby severalpropertiesby using theGroup By button onthe

Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
5. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
6. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

Mainpropagationmodel
Maincalculationradius
Mainresolution
Extendedpropagationmodel
Extendedcalculationradius
Extendedresolution

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesyouhavepreviously
madeglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePropagationtab.
6. UnderMainmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

7. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

8. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.
Youcanalsodefinethepropagationmodelsforatransmitterbyrightclickingitinthemap
windowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

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9.2.8.4 SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollconsidersallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects a rectangle containing the computation zone. Therefore, you must
ensurethatallthetransmittersonthebasestationsyouwishtostudyhavebeenactivated.Intheexplorerwindow,active
transmittersareindicatedwithanonicon(

)intheLTETransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapand

inactivetransmittersareindicatedwithanofficon(

)intheLTETransmittersfolderandemptysymbolonthemap.

InAtoll,youcanalsosetthecellonatransmitterasactiveorinactive.
Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveby
activatingthemfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmitterscellsfromtheCellstable,orbyselecting
thetransmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.
Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectActiveTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitterisnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolderand
rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttosetasactive.Thecontextmenuappears.

3. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectOpenTable.TheTransmitterstableappearswitheachtransmittersparametersinarow.
4. Foreachtransmitterthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
TosetmorethanonecellasactiveusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTable.TheCellstableappearswitheachcellsparametersinarow.
4. Foreachcellthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )totheleftofZonesfoldertoexpandthefolder.
3. Rightclickthefolderofthezoneyouwillusetoselectthetransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

4. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
Onceyouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbetimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Consequently,
Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.Youcaninstallthedistributedcalcu
lationserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethedistributedcalculationserverapplicationisinstalled
onaworkstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.
Forinformationonsettingupthedistributedcalculationserverapplication,seeTheAdministratorManual.

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9.2.8.5 TheCalculationProcess
WhenyoucreateacoveragepredictionandclicktheCalculatebutton(

),Atollfollowsthefollowingprocess:

1. Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesexistand,ifso,whethertheyarevalid.Theremustbevalid
pathlossmatricesforeachactiveandfilteredtransmitterwhosepropagationradiusintersectstherectanglecontain
ingthecomputationzone.
2. Ifthepathlossmatricesdonotexistorarenotvalid,Atollcalculatesthem.Therehastobeatleastoneunlockedcov
eragepredictioninthePredictionsfolder.IfnotAtollwillnotcalculatethepathlossmatriceswhenyouclicktheCal
culatebutton(

).

3. AtollcalculatesallunlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
Predictionsfolder.

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthe

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates allpathloss matrices, unlocked coverages, andpendingsimula
tions.

)inthetoolbar.

9.2.9 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthesetparameters.Coveragepredictionsongroupsof
basestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverageprediction
tothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougettheresultsquickly.Youcanexpandyourcoverageprediction
toanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.
Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage912.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage918.
"LTECoveragePredictions"onpage927.
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage944.
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage945.
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage949.
"AnalysingaCoveragePredictiontheUsingPointAnalysis"onpage949.
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage953.

9.2.9.1 SignalLevelCoveragePredictions
Atolloffersaseriesofstandardcoveragepredictionsbasedonthemeasuredsignallevelateachpixel;otherfactors,suchas
interference,arenottakenintoconsideration.CoveragepredictionsspecifictoLTEarecoveredin"LTECoveragePredictions"
onpage927.
Onceyouhavecreatedandcalculatedacoverageprediction,youcanusethecoveragepredictionscontextmenutomake
thecoveragepredictionintoacustomisedpredictionwhichwillappearinthePredictionTypesdialogbox.Youcanalsoselect
Duplicatefromthecoveragepredictionscontextmenutocreateacopy.Byduplicatinganexistingpredictionthathasthe
parametersyou want to study, youcan create a new coverage prediction more quicklythanby creating a new coverage
prediction.Ifyoucloneacoverageprediction,byselectingClonefromthecontextmenu,youcancreateacopyofthecover
agepredictionwiththecalculatedcoverage.Youcanthenchangethedisplay,providingthattheselectedparameterdoesnot
invalidatethecalculatedcoverageprediction.
Youcanalsosavethelistofalldefinedcoveragepredictionsinauserconfiguration,allowingyouorotheruserstoloaditinto
anewAtolldocument.Whenyousavethelistinauserconfiguration,theparametersofallexistingcoveragepredictionsare
saved;notjusttheparametersofcalculatedordisplayedones.Forinformationonexportinguserconfigurations,see"Saving
aUserConfiguration"onpage104.
Thefollowingstandardcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

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"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage919
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage921
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage923
"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage925.

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9.2.9.1.1

StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation
Whileyouarebuildingyourradioplanningproject,youmightwanttocheckthecoverageofanewbasestationwithout
havingtocalculatetheentireproject.Youcandothisbyselectingthesitewithitstransmittersandthencreatinganewcover
ageprediction.
Thissectionexplainshowtocalculatethesignallevelcoverageofasinglebasestation.Asignallevelcoverageprediction
displaysthesignalofthebestserverforeachpixeloftheareastudied.Foratransmitterwithmorethanonecell,thesignal
leveliscalculatedforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower.
Youcanusethesameproceduretostudythesignallevelcoverageofseveralbasestations
by grouping the transmitters. For information on grouping transmitters, see "Grouping
DataObjectsbyaSelectedProperty"onpage95.
Tostudythesignallevelcoverageofasinglebasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolderandselectGroupBy>Sitesfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmittersarenow
displayedintheLTETransmittersfolderbythesiteonwhichtheyaresituated.
Ifyouwanttostudyonlysitesbytheirstatus,youcouldgroupthembystatus.

3. Selectthepropagationparameterstobeusedinthecoverageprediction:
a. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTETransmittersfolder.
b. Rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudy.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Atableappearswiththepropertiesoftheselectedgroupoftransmit
ters.
d. Inthetable,youcanconfiguretwopropagationmodels:oneforthemainmatrix,withashorterradiusandahigh
erresolution,andanotherfortheextendedmatrix,withalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Bycalculatingtwo
matricesyoucanreducethetimeofcalculationbyusingalowerresolutionfortheextendedmatrixandyoucan
obtainmoreaccurateresultsbyusingpropagationmodelsbestsuitedforthemainandextendedmatrices.
e. IntheMainmatrixcolumn:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

f. Ifdesired,intheExtendedmatrixcolumn:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

g. Closethetable.
4. IntheLTETransmittersfolder,rightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwanttostudyandselectCalculations>Create
aNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
ThePredictionTypesdialogboxliststhecoveragepredictiontypesavailable.TheyaredividedintoStandardPredic
tions,suppliedwithAtoll,andCustomisedPrediction.Unlessyouhavealreadycreatedsomecustomisedpredictions,
theCustomisedPredictionlistwillbeempty.
5. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
6. YoucanconfigurethefollowingparametersinthePropertiesdialogbox:

Generaltab:YoucanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theResolution,andyoucanadda
Comment.Theresolutionyousetisthedisplayresolution,notthecalculationresolution.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

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UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformation
onfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.TheGroupByandSortbuttonsarenotavailablewhenmakingaso
called"global"coverageprediction(e.g.,signallevelcoverageprediction).
Toimprovememoryconsumptionandoptimisethecalculationtimes,youshouldsetthedisplayresolutionsof
coveragepredictionsaccordingtotheprecisionrequired.Thefollowingtableliststhelevelsofprecisionthatare
usuallysufficient:

SizeoftheCoveragePrediction

DisplayResolution

CityCentre

5m

City

20m

County

50m

State

100m

Country

Accordingtothesizeofthe
country

Conditionstab:ThecoveragepredictionparametersontheConditionstaballowyoutodefinethesignalsthatwill
beconsideredforeachpixel(seeFigure9.14).

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansetthesignallevelrangetobeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"willgiveyouthesame
resultsbecauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"neces
sitates,however,alongertimeforcalculation.
Whenyouselect"BestSignalLevel"or"SecondBestSignalLevel,"youcanalsodefineaMarginthatAtollwill
takeintoconsideration.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
YoucanalsoselectaChannel,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Best"channelofafrequencybandorofall
frequencybands.Foranytransmitter,thebestchannelistheonewhosecellhasthehighestmaximumpower,
referencesignalpower,orreferencesignalEPREdependingontherelatedAtoll.inioptions.Formoreinfor
mation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Figure9.14:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

Displaytab:Youcanmodifyhowtheresultsofthecoveragepredictionwillbedisplayed.

920

UnderDisplaytype,select"Valueintervals."
UnderField,select"BestSignalLevel."
Youcanchangethevalueintervalsandtheirdisplayedcolour.Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,
see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

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YoucancreatetiptextwithinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionbyclickingtheBrowsebuttonnextto
theTiptextboxandselectingthefieldsyouwanttodisplayinthetiptext.
YoucanselecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedvalueintervalstothelegend.
Ifyouchangethedisplaypropertiesofacoveragepredictionafteryouhavecalculatedit,
youmaymakethecoveragepredictioninvalid.Youwillthenhavetorecalculatethecover
agepredictiontoobtainvalidresults.

7. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.Thesignallevel
coveragepredictioncanbefoundinthePredictionsfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
folder.WhenyouclicktheCalculatebutton(

9.2.9.1.2

)besidethecoveragepredictioninthePredictions

),Atollonlycalculatesunlockedcoveragepredictions(

).

MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel
Acoveragepredictionbysignallevelallowsyoutopredictcoveragezonesbythetransmittersignalstrengthateachpixel.You
canbasethecoverageonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.Foratransmitterwithmorethan
onecell,thecoverageiscalculatedforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbysignallevel:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.15).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"willgiveyouthesameresults
becauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"necessitates,how
ever,alongertimeforcalculation.
Whenyouselect"BestSignalLevel"or"SecondBestSignalLevel,"youcanalsodefineaMarginthatAtollwilltake
intoconsideration.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanalsoselectaChannel,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Best"channelofafrequencybandorofallfre
quencybands.Foranytransmitter,thebestchannelistheonewhosecellhasthehighestmaximumpower,ref
erence signal power, or reference signal EPRE depending on the corresponding Atoll.ini options. For more
information,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Figure9.15:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbysignallevel
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbybestsignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbeintheformofthresh
olds.Ifyouchoosetodisplaytheresultsbysignallevel,thecoveragepredictionresultswillbearrangedaccordingto
transmitter.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.16).

Figure9.16:Coveragepredictionbysignallevel

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9.2.9.1.3

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterallowstheusertopredictcoveragezonesbytransmitterateachpixel.Youcanbasethe
coverageonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefinedrange.Foratransmitterwithmorethanonecell,the
coverageiscalculatedforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbytransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.17).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"willgiveyouthesameresults
becauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"necessitates,how
ever,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
Whenyouselect"BestSignalLevel"or"SecondBestSignalLevel,"youcanalsodefineaMarginthatAtollwilltake
intoconsideration.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanalsoselectaChannel,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Best"channelofafrequencybandorofallfre
quencybands.Foranytransmitter,thebestchannelistheonewhosecellhasthehighestmaximumpower,ref
erence signal power, or reference signal EPRE depending on the corresponding Atoll.ini options. For more
information,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Figure9.17:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbytransmitter
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
For a coverage prediction by transmitter, the Display type "Discrete values" based on the Field "Transmitter" is
selectedbydefault.Eachcoveragezonewillthenbedisplayedwiththesamecolourasthatdefinedforeachtransmit
ter.Forinformationondefiningtransmittercolours,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbydiscretevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.18).

Figure9.18:Coveragepredictionbytransmitter

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9.2.9.1.4

MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones
Overlappingzones(dl)arecomposedofpixelsthatare,foradefinedcondition,coveredbythesignalofatleasttwotransmit
ters.Youcanbaseacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzonesonthesignallevel,pathloss,ortotallosseswithinadefined
range.Foratransmitterwithmorethanonecell,thecoverageiscalculatedforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignal
power.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectOverlappingzones(DL)andclickOK.TheOverlappingzones(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.19).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.
UnderServer,select"All"toconsiderallservers.Selecting"All"or"BestSignalLevel"willgiveyouthesameresults
becauseAtolldisplaystheresultsofthebestserverineithercase.Selecting"BestSignalLevel"necessitates,how
ever,thelongesttimeforcalculation.
Whenyouselect"BestSignalLevel"or"SecondBestSignalLevel,"youcanalsodefineaMarginthatAtollwilltake
intoconsideration.

IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanalsoselectaChannel,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Best"channelofafrequencybandorofallfre
quencybands.Foranytransmitter,thebestchannelistheonewhosecellhasthehighestmaximumpower,ref
erence signal power, or reference signal EPRE depending on the corresponding Atoll.ini options. For more
information,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Figure9.19:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foracoveragepredictiononoverlappingzones,theDisplaytype"Valueintervals"basedontheField"Numberof
servers"isselectedbydefault.Eachoverlappingzonewillthenbedisplayedinacolourcorrespondingtothenumber
ofserversreceivedperpixel.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.20).

Figure9.20:Coveragepredictiononoverlappingzones

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9.2.9.2 LTECoveragePredictions
LTEcoveragepredictionsavailableinAtollareusedtoanalysetheeffectivesignallevels,signalquality,andthroughputs.For
thepurposesofthesecoveragepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferinguserwithadefinedservice,mobility
type,andterminal.Theseareexplainedinthefollowingsection:

"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage927.

Thedownlinkinterferencereceivedfromdifferentcellsofthenetworkdependsonthecellsfrequencychannelandphysical
cellIDsaswellastheirdownlinktrafficloads.Themeasureofuplinkinterferenceforeachcellisprovidedbytheuplinknoise
rise.
Ifyouhavetrafficmaps,youcandoaMonteCarlosimulationtodeterminethedownlinktrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiserise
valuesforagenerateduserdistribution.Ifyoudonothavetrafficmaps,Atollcancalculatethesecoveragepredictionsusing
thedownlinktrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiserisevaluesdefinedforeachcell.
In this section, these coverage predictions will be calculated using downlink traffic loads and the uplink noise rise values
definedatthecelllevel.Beforemakingaprediction,youwillhavetosetthedownlinktrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiserise,
andtheparametersthatdefinetheservicesandusers.Theseareexplainedinthefollowingsections:

"SettingCellLoadsandNoiseRiseValues"onpage929.

Thissectionexplainsthecoveragepredictionsavailableforanalysingtheeffectivesignallevelandsignalquality.Thefollowing
areexplained:

9.2.9.2.1

"StudyingEffectiveSignalLevelsandCellEdgeAreas"onpage930.
"StudyingInterferenceandC/(I+N)Levels"onpage932.
"StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas"onpage935.
"StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage937.
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyThroughput"onpage938.
"MakingaCumulatedThroughputCoveragePredictionUsingSimulationResults"onpage941.
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicator"onpage942.

ServiceandUserModelling
AtollcanbaseitssignalqualitypredictionsontheDLtrafficloadsandtheULnoiseriseenteredintheCellstable(formore
information,see"SettingCellLoadsandNoiseRiseValues"onpage929).Beforeyoucanmodelservices,youmustdefineLTE
radiobearers.FormoreinformationonLTEradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingServices"onpage927.
"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928.
"ModellingTerminals"onpage929.

ModellingServices
Services are the various services available to users. These services can be either voice or data type services. This section
explainshowtocreateaservice.Thefollowingparametersareusedinpredictions:

Supportedlayers
Highestbearer
Lowestbearer
Throughputscalingfactor
Throughputoffset
Bodyloss
Minimumnumberoffrequencyblocksinuplink

Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheServicesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucansetamoredescriptivename.

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Activityfactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkactivityfactorsareusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofactivityforusers
accessingtheserviceduringMonteCarlosimulations.ForVoiceservices,thisparameterisusedwhenworking
withsectortrafficmapsanduserdensitytrafficmaps.ForDataservices,Atolldistributestheusersaccordingto
theactivityfactorswhenimportinguserdensitytrafficmapsforallactivitystatuses.
Averagerequestedthroughput:Entertheaveragerequestedthroughputforuplinkanddownlink.Theaverage
requestedthroughputisusedinasimulationduringuserdistributiongenerationinordertocalculatethenumber
ofusersattemptingaconnection.

6. ClicktheLTEtab.OntheLTEtab,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Type:YoucanselecteitherVoiceorDataastheservicetype.
Supportedlayers:Youcanselectthenetworklayerssupportedbytheservice.Formoreinformationonnetwork
layers,see"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1060.Duringcalculations,usersareonlyallowedto
connecttocellsoflayerssupportedbytheirservices.
QoSclassidentifier(QCI):YoucanselectaQoSclassidentifierfortheservice.TheinformationabouttheQoSclass
usedbyanyserviceisusedbytheschedulersforresourceallocation.
QCIpriority:TheprioritycorrespondingtotheselectedQoSclassidentifier(QCI).QCIvaluesandtheirpriorities
aredefinedbythe3GPPasfollows:
QoSclassidentifier

QCIpriority

Priority:EnterauserdefinedpriorityfortheservicewithrespecttootherservicesbelongingtothesameQoS
classidentifier(QCI)."0"isthelowestpriority.
Highestbearer:Selectthehighestbearerthattheservicecanuseintheuplinkanddownlink.Thisisconsidered
asanupperlimitduringbearerdetermination.
Lowestbearer:Selectthelowestbearerthattheservicecanuseintheuplinkanddownlink.Thisisconsideredas
alowerlimitduringbearerdetermination.
Maxthroughputdemand:Enterthehighestthroughputthattheservicecandemandintheuplinkanddownlink.
Minthroughputdemand:Entertheminimumrequiredthroughputthattheserviceshouldhaveinordertobe
availableintheuplinkanddownlink.
Minnumberoffrequencyblocks:Entertheminimumnumberoffrequencyblocksrequiredforthisservicein
uplink.
Application throughput:UnderApplication throughput, you canseta Scaling factorbetweentheapplication
throughputandtheRLC(RadioLinkControl)throughputandathroughputOffset.Theseparametersmodelthe
headerinformationandothersupplementarydatathatdoesnotappearattheapplicationlevel.
Theapplicationthroughputparametersareusedinthroughputcoveragepredictionsandforapplicationthrough
putcalculation.

Bodyloss:Enterabodylossfortheservice.Thebodylossisthelossduetothebodyoftheuser.Forexample,in
avoiceconnectionthebodyloss,duetotheproximityoftheusershead,isestimatedtobe3dB.

7. ClickOK.
ModellingMobilityTypes
InLTE,informationaboutthereceivermobilityisrequiredfordeterminingwhichbearerselectionthresholdandqualitygraph
tousefromthereceptionequipmentreferredtointheterminalorcell.Mobilesusedathighspeedsandatwalkingspeeds
donothavethesamequalitycharacteristics.C/(I+N)requirementsfordifferentradiobearersarelargelydependentonmobile
speed.
Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. YoucanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox:

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Averagespeed:Enteranaveragespeedforthemobilitytype.Thisfieldisforinformationonly;theaveragespeed
isnotusedbyanycalculation.

6. ClickOK.
ModellingTerminals
InLTE,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracarsonboard
navigationdevice.
Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheTerminalsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Name:Enteradescriptivenamefortheterminal.

6. ClicktheLTEtab.OntheLTEtab,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

UnderTransmission/Reception,

Minpower:Entertheminimumtransmissionpoweroftheterminal.
Maxpower:Enterthemaximumtransmissionpoweroftheterminal.
Noisefigure:Enterthenoisefigureoftheterminal(usedtocalculatethedownlinktotalnoise).
Losses:Enterthelossesoftheterminal.
Receptionequipment:Selectanequipmentfromthelistofavailablereceptionequipment.Formoreinforma
tiononreceptionequipment,see"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062.
UEcategory:SelectaUEcategoryfromthelistofavailableUEcategories.FormoreinformationonUEcate
gories,see"DefiningLTEUECategories"onpage1068.
Supported layers: You can select the network layers supported by the terminal. For more information on
networklayers,see"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1060.Duringcalculations,usersareonly
allowedtoconnecttocellsoflayerssupportedbytheirterminals.
Iftheterminalsupportscarrieraggregation,selecttheCarrieraggregationcheckboxandentertheMaxnumber
ofsecondarycellsinDownlinkandUplink.Thenumberofuplinksecondarycellsmustbelessthanorequaltothe
numberofdownlinksecondarycells.Settingthemaximumnumbersofsecondarycellsto0meansthattheter
minaldoesnotsupportcarrieraggregation.
UnderAntenna,

Model:Selectanantennamodelfromthelistofavailableantennas.Ifyoudonotselectanantennaforthe
terminal,Atollusesanisotropicantennaincalculations.
Incaseyoudonotselectanantenna,Atollusesanisotropicantenna,notanomnidirec
tionalantenna,incalculations.Anisotropicantennahassphericalradiationpatternsinthe
horizontalaswellasverticalplanes.

Gain:EntertheterminalantennagainifyouhavenotselectedanantennamodelintheModelfield.Ifyou
haveselectedanantenna,theGainfieldisdisabledandshowsthegainoftheselectedantenna.
Diversitysupport:Selectthetypeofantennadiversitytechniquessupportedbytheterminal.Antennadiver
sitygainswillbeappliedtotheusersusinganyterminaltypedependingonthesupportedantennadiversity
techniques,i.e.,AAS,MIMO,orAAS+MIMO.IfaterminalthatsupportsAAS+MIMOisconnectedtoacellthat
supportsbothantennadiversitytechniques,bothAASandMIMOgainswillbeapplied.
UnderMIMO,entertheNumberoftransmissionantennaportsandtheNumberofreceptionantennaports
availableintheterminal.

7. ClickOK.

9.2.9.2.2

SettingCellLoadsandNoiseRiseValues
Ifyouaresettingthetrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiseriseforasingletransmitter,youcansettheseparametersontheCells
tabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.However,youcansetthetrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiseriseforallthecells
usingtheCellstable.

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TosetthetrafficloadsandtheuplinknoiseriseusingtheCellstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Enteravalueinthefollowingcolumns:

Trafficload(DL)(%)
Celledgetrafficratio(DL)(%)
ULnoiserise(dB)
ICICULnoiserise(dB)

Although,youcanalsosetavaluefortheTrafficload(UL)(%)columnasanindicationofcellsuplinkloads,thisparam
eterisnotusedinthecoveragepredictioncalculations.Themeasureofinterferenceintheuplinkisgivenbytheuplink
noiserisevalues.Foradefinitionofthevalues,see"CellDescription"onpage889.
Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforallcellsinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

9.2.9.2.3

StudyingEffectiveSignalLevelsandCellEdgeAreas
AtolloffersacoupleofLTEcoveragepredictionswhichcanbebasedonthepredictedsignallevelfromthebestserverand
thethermalnoiseateachpixel,i.e.,receivedcarrierpower(C)andthecarriertonoiseratio(C/N).Thissectionexplainsthe
coveragepredictionsavailableforanalysingtheeffectivesignallevels.
DownlinkanduplinkeffectivesignalanalysiscoveragepredictionspredicttheeffectivesignallevelsofdifferenttypesofLTE
signals,suchasreferencesignals,SS,PBCH,PDCCH,PDSCH,andPUSCH,inthepartofthenetworkbeingstudied.
Atolldeterminestheservingcellforeachpixelfromtheselectedlayer,orallthelayerswhenthepredictioniscalculatedfor
the"Best"layer.Then,dependingonthepredictiondefinition,itcalculatestheeffectivesignal(CorC/Nforreferencesignals,
SS,etc.).Pixelsarecolouredifthedisplaythresholdconditionisfulfilled(inotherwords,iftheCorC/NishigherthantheC
orC/Nthreshold).
Tomakeaneffectivesignalanalysiscoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectEffectiveSignalAnalysis(DL)orEffectiveSignalAnalysis(UL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionsProper
tiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.21).OntheConditionstab,youcanselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,anda
Service.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Best"layer.Theeffectivesignalanalysis

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coveragepredictionisalwaysabestservercoverageprediction.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupport
carrieraggregation,youcanalsoselectasecondaryServer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Main"server(including
celloftypesLTEAPCellorLTE).
TheNoisefiguredefinedintheterminaltypespropertiesdialogboxisusedinthecoveragepredictiontodetermine
thetotalnoiseinthedownlink,andtheNoisefigureofthetransmitterisusedtodeterminethetotalnoiseinthe
uplink. For more information on services, terminals, mobility types, and reception equipment, see "Modelling
Services"onpage927,"ModellingTerminals"onpage929,"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"Defining
LTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062,respectively.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.Theshadowingmarginfortheeffective
signalanalysiscalculationsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorcoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.

Figure9.21:Conditionsettingsforaneffectivesignalanalysiscoverageprediction
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. FromtheDisplaytypelist,select"Valueintervals"todisplaythecoveragepredictionbyRSRP,signallevels,C/Nlevels,
ordeltapathloss,orselect"Discretevalues"todisplaythecoveragepredictionbyICICcelledgeareas.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.22and
Figure9.23).

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Figure9.22:PDSCHC/Ncoverageprediction

Figure9.23:PUSCH&PUCCHC/Ncoverageprediction

9.2.9.2.4

StudyingInterferenceandC/(I+N)Levels
DownlinkanduplinkcoveragepredictionsbyC/(I+N)levelpredicttheinterferencelevelsandsignaltointerferencelevelsin
thepartofthenetworkbeingstudied.
Atolldeterminestheservingcellforeachpixelfromtheselectedlayer,orallthelayerswhenthepredictioniscalculatedfor
the"Best"layer.Then,dependingonthepredictiondefinition,itcalculatestheinterferencefromothercells,andfinallycalcu
latestheC/(I+N).Thepixeliscolouredifthedisplaythresholdconditionisfulfilled(inotherwords,iftheC/(I+N)ishigherthan
C/(I+N)threshold).
Coverage prediction by C/(I+N) level calculates the cochannel interference as well as the adjacent channel interference,
whichisreducedbytheadjacentchannelsuppressionfactordefinedintheFrequencyBandstable.Formoreinformationon
frequencybands,see"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage1055.
C/(I+N)inthedownlinkiscalculatedfordifferentchannelsusingtheirrespectivetransmissionpowersandbycalculatingthe
interference received by the resource elements corresponding to these channels from interfering cells. Downlink C/(I+N)
calculationsaremadeusingthemainantennaexceptforPDSCHC/(I+N)whichcanbecalculatedusingthesmartantenna
equipment.C/(I+N)intheuplinkiscalculatedusingtheterminalpowercalculatedafterpowercontrolandtheuplinknoise
risevaluesstoredeitherinthecellpropertiesorintheselectedsimulationresults.

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Enhancedintercellinterferencecoordination(eICICortimedomainICIC)isperformedifABSpatternshavebeendefinedfor
cells.Interferencecalculationisbasedonthecollisionsbetweennormalandblanksubframesusedbythedifferentcells.
FrequencydomainintercellinterferencecoordinationisperformedifthecellsupportsstaticICIC.Interferencecalculationis
basedontheprobabilitiesofcollisionbetweenthecellcentreandcelledgeresourcesusedbythedifferentcells.
TomakeacoveragepredictionbyC/(I+N)level:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyC/(I+N)Level(DL)orCoveragebyC/(I+N)Level(UL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionsProp
ertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.24).Select"(Cellstable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthecellloadsstoredinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadconditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,andaService.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryouttheprediction
forthe"Best"layer.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupportcarrieraggregation,youcanalsoselecta
secondaryServer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Main"server(includingcelloftypesLTEAPCellorLTE).
TheC/(I+N)coveragepredictionisabestservercoverageprediction.TheNoisefiguredefinedintheterminaltypes
propertiesdialogboxisusedinthecoveragepredictiontodeterminethetotalnoiseinthedownlink,andtheNoise
figureofthetransmitterisusedtodeterminethetotalnoiseintheuplink.Formoreinformationonservices,termi
nals, mobility types, and reception equipment, see "Modelling Services" on page927, "Modelling Terminals" on
page929,"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062,respec
tively.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.TheshadowingmarginforC(I+N)calcula
tionsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorCoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.

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Figure9.24:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyC/(I+N)level
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. FromtheDisplaytypelist,select"Valueintervals"todisplaythecoveragepredictionbyRSRQ,RSSI,C/(I+N)levels,or
totalnoise(I+N)levels.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
YoucanalsodisplaytheuplinkC/(I+N)forallfrequencyblocks,i.e.,withoutuplinkbandwidthreduction,bysetting
theUplinkbandwidthallocationtargettoFullbandwidthfortheschedulerbeingusedandthenselectingthedisplay
optionPUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)Level(UL).Formoreinformationonschedulers,see"DefiningLTESchedulers"on
page1066.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.25and
Figure9.26).

Figure9.25:CoveragepredictionbyPDSCHC/(I+N)

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Figure9.26:CoveragepredictionbyPUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)

9.2.9.2.5

StudyingDownlinkandUplinkServiceAreas
DownlinkanduplinkserviceareaanalysiscoveragepredictionscalculateanddisplaytheLTEradiobearersbasedonC(I+N)
foreachpixel.Incoveragepredictions,thedownlinkoruplinkserviceareasarelimitedbythebearerselectionthresholdsof
thehighestandlowestbearersoftheselectedservice.
Tomakeacoveragepredictiononservicearea:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectServiceAreaAnalysis(DL)orServiceAreaAnalysis(UL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.27).Select"(Cellstable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthecellloadsstoredinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadconditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,andaService.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryouttheprediction
forthe"Best"layer.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupportcarrieraggregation,youcanalsoselecta
secondaryServer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Main"server(includingcelloftypesLTEAPCellorLTE).
Theserviceareacoveragepredictionisalwaysbasedonthebestserver.TheNoisefiguredefinedintheterminal
typespropertiesdialogboxisusedinthecoveragepredictiontodeterminethetotalnoiseinthedownlink,andthe

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Noisefigureofthetransmitterisusedtodeterminethetotalnoiseintheuplink.Aswell,thebearerselectionforeach
pixelaccordingtothePDSCHC(I+N)levelisperformedusingthebearerselectionthresholdsdefinedinthereception
equipment.Thisreceptionequipmentistheonedefinedintheselectedterminalforthedownlinkcoveragepredic
tions,andtheonedefinedinthecellpropertiesoftheservingtransmitterfortheuplinkcoveragepredictions.Mobil
ityisusedtoindexthebearerselectionthresholdgraphtouse.
YoucanmakeAtolluseonlythebearersforwhichselectionthresholdsaredefinedinboth
theterminalsandthecellsreceptionequipmentbyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.
Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Formoreinformationonservices,terminals,mobilitytypes,andreceptionequipment,see"ModellingServices"on
page927,"ModellingTerminals"onpage929,"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"DefiningLTEReception
Equipment"onpage1062,respectively.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.TheshadowingmarginforC(I+N)calcula
tionsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorcoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.

Figure9.27:ConditionsettingsforacoveragepredictiononLTEbearers
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. FromtheDisplaytypelist,selectdisplaybybearerormodulation.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.28and
Figure9.29).

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Figure9.28:Downlinkserviceareaanalysisdisplaybybearer

Figure9.29:Uplinkserviceareaanalysisdisplaybybearer

9.2.9.2.6

StudyingtheEffectiveServiceArea
Theeffectiveserviceareaistheintersectionzonebetweentheuplinkanddownlinkserviceareas.Inotherwords,theeffective
serviceareapredictioncalculateswhereaserviceactuallyisavailableinbothdownlinkanduplink.Theserviceavailability
depends upon the bearer selection thresholds of the highest and lowest bearers defined in the properties of the service
selectedfortheprediction.
Tomakeaneffectiveserviceareacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.Select"(Cellstable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepredictionisnotgoing
tobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoveragepredictionusingthecellloads
storedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadconditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,andaService.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryouttheprediction
forthe"Best"layer.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupportcarrieraggregation,youcanalsoselecta
secondaryServer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Main"server(includingcelloftypesLTEAPCellorLTE).
Theserviceareacoveragepredictionisalwaysbasedonthebestserver.Formoreinformationonservices,terminals,
mobilitytypes,andreceptionequipment,see"ModellingServices"onpage927,"ModellingTerminals"onpage929,
"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062,respectively.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.TheshadowingmarginforC(I+N)calcula
tionsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorcoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Foraneffectiveserviceareaprediction,theDisplaytype"Unique"isselectedbydefault.Thecoveragepredictionwill
displaywhereaserviceisavailableinbothdownlinkanduplink.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see
"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Whencreatingacoveragepredictionbyuniquevalues,youcannotexportthevaluesper
pixel.

8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

9.2.9.2.7

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyThroughput
Downlinkanduplinkthroughputcoveragepredictionscalculateanddisplaythechannelthroughputsandcellcapacitiesbased
onC(I+N)andbearercalculationsforeachpixel.Thesecoveragepredictionscanalsodisplaycumulatedcellthroughputsif
MonteCarlosimulationresultsareavailable.Formoreinformationonmakingcumulatedcellthroughputcoveragepredic
tions using simulation results, see "Making a Cumulated Throughput Coverage Prediction Using Simulation Results" on
page941.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbythroughput:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.

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4. SelectCoveragebyThroughput(DL)orCoveragebyThroughput(UL)andclickOK.ThecoveragepredictionsProp
ertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.30).Select"(Cellstable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthecellloadsstoredinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadconditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,andaService.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryouttheprediction
forthe"Best"layer.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupportcarrieraggregation,youcanalsoselecta
Server,orcarryoutthepredictionforuptofiveaggregatedservers.
Thethroughputcoveragepredictionisalwaysbasedonthebestserver.TheNoisefiguredefinedintheterminaltypes
Propertiesdialogboxisusedinthecoveragepredictiontodeterminethetotalnoiseinthedownlink,andtheNoise
figureofthetransmitterisusedtodeterminethetotalnoiseintheuplink.Aswell,thebearerselectionforeachpixel
according to the PDSCH C(I+N) level is performed using the bearer selection thresholds defined in the reception
equipment.Thisreceptionequipmentistheonedefinedintheselectedterminalforthedownlinkcoveragepredic
tions,andtheonedefinedinthecellpropertiesoftheservingtransmitterfortheuplinkcoveragepredictions.The
mobilityisusedtoindicatethebearerselectionthresholdgraphtouse.Theserviceisusedfortheapplicationthrough
putparametersdefinedintheservicePropertiesdialogbox.
YoucanmakeAtolluseonlythebearersforwhichselectionthresholdsaredefinedinboth
theterminalsandthecellsreceptionequipmentbyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.
Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Formoreinformationonservices,terminals,mobilitytypes,andreceptionequipment,see"ModellingServices"on
page927,"ModellingTerminals"onpage929,"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"DefiningLTEReception
Equipment"onpage1062,respectively.
Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.TheshadowingmarginforC(I+N)calcula
tionsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorcoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.

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Figure9.30:Conditionsettingsforathroughputcoverageprediction
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. FromtheDisplaytypelist,select"Valueintervals"todisplaythecoveragepredictionbypeakRLC,effectiveRLC,or
applicationthroughputs.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
Atolldeterminesthetotalnumberofsymbolsinthedownlinkandtheuplinkframesfromtheinformationintheglobaltrans
mitterparametersandthefrequencybandsassignedtocells.Then,Atolldeterminesthebearerateachpixelandmultiplies
thebearerefficiencybythenumberofsymbolsintheframetodeterminethepeakRLCchannelthroughputs.Theamounts
ofcellresources,speciallyatcelledges,dependonthecellsABSpatternaswellasonthenumberofcellscelledgeresource
blocksdefinedforfrequencydomain(StaticDLandStaticUL)intercellinterferencecoordinationinthecellsframeconfigu
ration.
TheeffectiveRLCthroughputsarethepeakRLCthroughputsreducedbyretransmissionduetoerrors,ortheBlockErrorRate
(BLER).Atollusestheblockerrorrategraphsofthereceptionequipmentdefinedintheselectedterminalfordownlinkorthe
receptionequipmentofthecelloftheservingtransmitterforuplink.
TheapplicationthroughputistheeffectiveRLCthroughputreducedbytheoverheadsofthedifferentlayersbetweentheRLC
andtheApplicationlayers.
Thecellcapacitydisplaytypesletyoucalculateanddisplaythethroughputsavailableateachpixelofthecoverageareataking
intoaccountthemaximumtrafficloadlimitssetforeachcell.Inotherwords,thecellcapacityisequaltochannelthroughput
whenthemaximumtrafficloadissetto100%,andisequaltoathroughputlimitedbythemaximumallowedtrafficloads
otherwise.Cellcapacitiesare,therefore,channelthroughputsscaleddowntorespectthemaximumtrafficloadlimits.
Theperuserthroughputindownlinkiscalculatedbydividingthedownlinkcellcapacitybythenumberofdownlinkusersof
theservingcell.Inuplink,theperuserthroughputiseithertheallocatedbandwidththroughputortheuplinkcellcapacity
dividedbythenumberofuplinkusersoftheservingcell,whicheveritsmaller.
Theallocatedbandwidththroughputsarethethroughputscorrespondingtothenumberoffrequencyblocksallocatedtothe
terminal atdifferentlocations. Userslocated far from thebasestationsuseless numbersoffrequencyblocksthanusers
locatednearsothattheycanconcentratetheirtransmissionpoweroverabandwidthnarrowerthanthechannelbandwidth
inordertomaintaintheconnectioninuplink.
For moreinformation on throughput calculation,see the Technical Reference Guide. Formore informationon the Global
Parameters,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

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Figure9.31:Coveragepredictionbydownlinkchannelthroughput

Figure9.32:Coveragepredictionbyuplinkchannelthroughput

9.2.9.2.8

MakingaCumulatedThroughputCoveragePredictionUsingSimulationResults
AtollcalculatesthecumulatedpeakRLC,effectiveRLC,andapplicationcellthroughputsduringMonteCarlosimulations.The
cumulatedcellthroughputsarethesumsofthecellsuserthroughputs.Youcancreateacoveragepredictionthatcalculates
anddisplaysthesurfaceareacoveredbyeachcell,andcoloursthecoverageareaofeachcellaccordingtoitscumulated
throughput.
Tocreateancumulatedthroughputcoverageprediction:
1. CreateandcalculateaMonteCarlosimulation.FormoreinformationoncreatingMonteCarlosimulations,see"Calcu
latingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage1002.
2. Create a coverage prediction by throughput as explained in "Making a Coverage Prediction by Throughput" on
page938,withthefollowingexceptions:
a. OntheConditionstab,selectasimulationorgroupofsimulationsfromtheLoadconditionslist.Thecoveragepre
dictionwilldisplaytheresultsbasedontheselectedsimulationorontheaverageresultsoftheselectedgroupof
simulations.

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b. OntheDisplaytab,youcandisplayresultsbyPeakRLCcumulatedthroughput,EffectiveRLCcumulatedthrough
put,orCumulatedapplicationthroughput.Thecoveragepredictionresultswillbeintheformofthresholds.For
informationondefiningthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Thiscoveragepredictiondisplaysthesurfaceareacoveredbyeachcellandcoloursitaccordingtoitscumulatedthroughput.
Formoreinformationonusingsimulationresultsincoveragepredictions,see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulation
Results"onpage1020.

9.2.9.2.9

MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicator
Downlinkand uplinkquality indicatorcoverage predictions calculate anddisplaythevaluesof different qualityindicators
(BLER,BER,etc.)basedonthebestLTEradiobearersandonC(I+N)foreachpixel.
Tomakeacoveragepredictionbyqualityindicator:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. SelectCoveragebyQualityIndicator(DL)orCoveragebyQualityIndicator(UL)andclickOK.Thecoveragepredic
tionsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Forinformationon
filtering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.
6. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.27).Select"(Cellstable)"fromLoadconditions.Inthiscase,thecoveragepre
dictionisnotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillcalculatethecoverageprediction
usingthecellloadsstoredinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseacoveragepredictiononsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationson
whichyouwouldbebasingthecoveragepredictionfromtheLoadconditionslist.

YoumustselectaTerminal,aMobilitytype,andaService.YoucanalsoselectacellLayer,orcarryouttheprediction
forthe"Best"layer.ForstudyingLTEAcellsandterminalsthatsupportcarrieraggregation,youcanalsoselecta
secondaryServer,orcarryoutthepredictionforthe"Main"server(includingcelloftypesLTEAPCellorLTE).
Thequalityindicatorcoveragepredictionisalwaysbasedonthebestserver.TheNoisefiguredefinedintheterminal
typespropertiesdialogboxisusedinthecoveragepredictiontodeterminethetotalnoiseinthedownlink,andthe
Noisefigureofthetransmitterisusedtodeterminethetotalnoiseintheuplink.Aswell,thebearerselectionforeach
pixelaccordingtothePDSCHC(I+N)levelisperformedusingthebearerselectionthresholdsdefinedinthereception
equipment,andthequalityindicatorgraphsfromthereceptionequipmentareusedtodeterminethevaluesofthe
selectedqualityindicatoroneachpixel.Thisreceptionequipmentistheonedefinedintheselectedterminalforthe
downlinkcoveragepredictions,andtheonedefinedinthecellpropertiesoftheservingtransmitterfortheuplink
coveragepredictions.Mobilityisusedtoindexthebearerselectionthresholdgraphtouse.
YoucanmakeAtolluseonlythebearersforwhichselectionthresholdsaredefinedinboth
theterminalsandthecellsreceptionequipmentbyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.
Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Formoreinformationonservices,terminals,mobilitytypes,andreceptionequipment,see"ModellingServices"on
page927,"ModellingTerminals"onpage929,"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928,and"DefiningLTEReception
Equipment"onpage1062,respectively.

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Ifyouwantthecoveragepredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheck
boxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.TheshadowingmarginforC(I+N)calcula
tionsisbasedontheC/Istandarddeviation.
YoucanalsohavethecoveragepredictiontakeIndoorcoverageintoconsideration.Indoorlossesaredefinedper
frequencyperclutterclass.

Figure9.33:Conditionsettingsforacoveragepredictionbyqualityindicators
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
YoucanchoosebetweendisplayingresultsbyBER,BLER,FER,oranyotherqualityindicatorthatyoumighthave
added tothedocument.For more information, see "Defining LTEQuality Indicators" on page1062.Thecoverage
predictionresultswillbeintheformofthresholds.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayProperties
ofObjects"onpage47.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculateit
later:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow(seeFigure9.34and
Figure9.35).

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Figure9.34:CoveragepredictionbydownlinkBLER

Figure9.35:CoveragepredictionbyuplinkBLER

9.2.9.3 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
TheresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyou
createdthecoverageprediction(step5.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage919).Ifseveral
coveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itcanbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwishto
analyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformation
onmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingtoolsareexplained:

9.2.9.3.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage944.
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText"onpage944.

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtolegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.

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TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

9.2.9.3.2

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText
Youcangetinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformationdisplayedin
thetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step5.of"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage919).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure9.36).

Figure9.36:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

9.2.9.4 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.

9.2.9.4.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage945.
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage946.
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage948.
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage948.

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocusandhotspotsdefinetheareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucanonly
haveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocusandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,whilethefocusandhotspots
aretheareastakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoveragepredictionreport,it
givestheresultsforthefocuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.
Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.

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Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocusorhotspotasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocusorhotspotbyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocuszoneorhot
spotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>Focus
ZoneorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocusorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHotSpots
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcanimport
thenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocusorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZonetoMap
Windowfromthecontextmenu.

Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspots,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtoll
document,inthefollowingways:

9.2.9.4.2

Savingthefocuszoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsavingthe
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhot
spots by rightclicking the Focus Zone or the Hot Spots folder in the Geo
explorerandselectingExportfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocusorhotspotbyimportingapopu
lationmap.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformat
GeoDataFile"onpage142.

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage945.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage948.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:

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Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default,the ranges which donot contain any pixels do notappear in the report. By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.

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3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.
Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

9.2.9.4.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page946,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.

9.2.9.4.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.
Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage945.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramoftheareadefinedby
thefocuszone(seeFigure9.37).

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UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

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Figure9.37:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

9.2.9.5 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,JPEG2000,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRD
andGRC)formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invector
formats,youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoveragepre
dictionresults,see"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

9.2.9.6 AnalysingaCoveragePredictiontheUsingPointAnalysis
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcanusethePointAnalysistooltoverifyit.Ifyoudo,beforeyoumakethepoint
analysis,ensurethecoveragepredictionyouwanttoverifyisdisplayedonthemap.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

9.2.9.6.1

"StudyingSignalReception"onpage949.
"AnalysingInterference"onpage951.
"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandInterference"onpage952.

StudyingSignalReception
TheReceptionviewofthePointAnalysistoolgivesyouinformationonthereferencesignal,SS,PBCH,PDSCH,PDCCH,and
PUSCHandPUCCHsignallevels,C/(I+N),bearers,andthroughputs,etc.,foranypointonthemap.Theanalysisisprovidedfor
auserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.Thedownlinkanduplinkloadconditionscan
betakenfromtheCellstableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.

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Tomakeareceptionanalysis:
1. Click the Point Analysis button (

) on the Radio Planning toolbar. The Point Analysis window appears (see

Figure9.38)andthepointerchanges(

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelecttheReceptionview.
3. AtthetopoftheReceptionview,select"Cellstable"fromLoad.
4. SelectthesignaltobedisplayedfromtheDisplaylist.
5. Ifyouaremakingareceptionanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoverage
prediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Mobility,andServicestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)intheReceptionviewtoolbar.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

EdittheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

c. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
6. Movethepointeroverthemaptodisplayareceptionanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Inthemapwindow,arrowsfromthepointertoeachtransmitteraredisplayedinthecolourofthetransmittersthey
represent.Thelinefromthepointertoitsbestserverisslightlythickerthantheotherlines.Thebestserverofthe
pointeristhetransmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestRSRPorreferencesignallevel.
7. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
Selecttheloadconditionstouseinthisanalysis
fromsimulationsorfromtheCellstable.

TheRSRPfromthebestserver(topmost
bar)andallinterferingcells.Solidbars
indicateRSRPabovetheminimumRSRP.

The connection
status for the
currentpoint.
:Successful
:Failed

Selecttheparametersoftheprobeusertobe
studied.
Figure9.38:Pointanalysistool:Receptionview
Thebargraphdisplaysthefollowinginformation:

TheRS,SS,orPDSCHsignallevels,ortheRSRP(dependingontheselectionmadefromtheDisplaylist)fromdif
ferenttransmitters(thecolourofthebarcorrespondstothecolourofthetransmitteronthemap).
TheminimumRSRP:TheemptyportionofthebarindicatessignallevelsbelowtheminimumRSRP.
Theavailabilityofreferencesignalcoverage,andserviceindownlinkanduplink.

Ifthereisatleastonesuccessfulconnection(forreferencesignals,downlink,oruplink),doubleclickingtheiconsin
therighthandframeopensadialogboxwithadditionalinformationwithrespecttothebestserver:

RS:Azimuthandtiltofthereceiver,totallosses,receivedreferencesignalpower,referencesignalC/(I+N),RSRP,
RSRQ,RSSI.
Downlink:Diversitymode,receivedpowersofthedownlinkchannels,receivedtotalnoiseonthedownlinkchan
nels,C/(I+N)ofthedownlinkchannels,bearer,channelthroughputs,cellcapacities,andperuserthroughputs.
Uplink:Diversitymode,receivedpowersoftheuplinkchannels,transmissionpower,allocatedbandwidth,total
noiseontheuplinkchannels,C/(I+N)oftheuplinkchannels,bearer,channelthroughputs,cellcapacities,allocated
bandwidththroughputs,andperuserthroughputs.

Togetalltheaboveinformationinasinglereport:

950

ClicktheReportbutton(

)intheReceptionviewtoolbar.TheAnalysisReportdialogboxappears.

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ForanLTEAterminalconnectedtomorethanoneLTEAcell,thereportcontainsalltheabovementionedinfor
mationforalltheserversaswellasaggregatedthroughputvaluescombiningthethroughputsprovidedbyallthe
servers.
8. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

Ifyouwishtogetthedetailsabouttheserversandinterferersintheformofatable,youcanusetheDetailsviewofthePoint
Analysistool(see"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandInterference"onpage952).

9.2.9.6.2

AnalysingInterference
InAtoll,youcanstudytheinterferersofatransmitterusingthePointAnalysistool.TheInterferenceviewgivesyouinforma
tiononinterferencereceivedonanydownlinkchannelonanypointonthemap.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinable
probereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.Thedownlinkanduplinkloadconditionscanbetakenfromthe
CellstableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.
Tomakeaninterferenceanalysis:
1. Click the Point Analysis button (
Figure9.39)andthepointerchanges(

) on the Radio Planning toolbar. The Point Analysis window appears (see
)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelecttheInterferenceview.
3. AtthetopoftheInterferenceview,select"Cellstable"fromLoad.
4. SelectthechannelonwhichyouwishtostudytheinterferencefromtheDisplaylist.
5. Ifyouaremakinganinterferenceanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecov
erageprediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Mobility,andServicestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)intheInterferenceviewtoolbar.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

EdittheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

c. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
6. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeaninterferenceanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Inthemapwindow,athickarrowfromthepointertoitsbestserverisdisplayed.Thebestserverofthepointeristhe
transmitter from which the pointer receives the highest RSRP or reference signal level. Thinner arrows are also
displayedfromtheinterferingcellstowardsthepointer,indicatingtheinterferers.Ifyouletthepointerrestonan
arrow,theinterferencelevelreceivedfromthecorrespondingtransmitteratthereceiverlocationwillbedisplayedin
thetiptext.
7. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
Selecttheloadconditionstouseinthisanalysis
fromsimulationsorfromtheCellstable.

Thebestserversignallevel(topmostbar),
totalnoise(blackbar),andinterference
fromothercells.

Selecttheparametersoftheprobeusertobe
studied.
Figure9.39:PointAnalysistool:Interferenceview
TheInterferenceviewdisplays,intheformofabargraph,thesignallevelfromthebestserver,ablackbarindicating
thetotalnoise(I+N)receivedbythereceiver,andbarsrepresentingtheinterferencereceivedfromeachinterferer.If
youletthepointerrestonabar,detailsaredisplayedinthetiptext:

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Forthebestserver:Name,receivedsignallevel,andC/(I+N).
Forthetotalnoise(I+N):Thevaluesofeachcomponent,i.e.,I,N,andthedownlinkintertechnologynoiserise.
Foreachinterferer:Theeffectiveinterferenceandthevariousinterferencereductionfactors.

Toincludeintertechnologyinterferenceinthetotalnoise(I+N)bar:

DeselecttheIntratechnologycheckbox.WhenyouselecttheIntratechnologycheckbox,Atolldisplaysintra
technologyinterferenceonly.

8. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

Ifyouwishtogetthedetailsabouttheserversandinterferersintheformofatable,youcanusetheDetailsviewofthePoint
Analysistool(see"ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandInterference"onpage952).

9.2.9.6.3

ObtainingNumericalValuesofSignalLevelsandInterference
InAtoll,youcangetallthedetailsabouttheserversandinterferersintheformofatableusingthePointAnalysistool.The
Detailsviewgivesyouinformationonusefulaswellasinterferingsignallevelsreceivedonanydownlinkchannelonanypoint
onthemap.Theanalysisisprovidedforauserdefinableprobereceiverwhichhasaterminal,amobility,andaservice.The
downlinkanduplinkloadconditionscanbetakenfromtheCellstableorfromMonteCarlosimulations.
Tomakeadetailedanalysis:
1. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(
pointerchanges(

)onthe RadioPlanningtoolbar.ThePointAnalysiswindowappearsandthe

)torepresentthereceiver.

2. SelecttheDetailsview.
3. AtthetopoftheDetailsview,select"Cellstable"fromLoad.
4. Ifyouaremakingadetailedanalysistoverifyacoverageprediction,youcanrecreatetheconditionsofthecoverage
prediction:
a. SelectthesameTerminal,Mobility,andServicestudiedinthecoverageprediction.
b. ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)intheDetailsviewtoolbar.TheCalculationOptionsdialogboxappears.

EdittheXandYcoordinatestochangethepresentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutter
class.

c. ClickOKtoclosetheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.
5. Movethepointeroverthemaptomakeadetailedanalysisforthecurrentlocationofthepointer.
Inthemapwindow,athickarrowfromthepointertoitsbestserverisdisplayed.Thebestserverofthepointeristhe
transmitterfromwhichthepointerreceivesthehighestRSRPorreferencesignallevel.
6. Clickthemaptoleavethepointanalysispointeratitscurrentposition.
Tomovethepointeragain,clickthepointanalysispointeronthemapanddragittoanewposition.
TheDetailsviewdisplaysthefollowinginformationintheformofatable:

Cell:Thenameofthecellfromwhichthereceivedsignallevelsaredisplayed.Thecellsarelistedindecreasing
orderofRSRP.Thefirstrowofthetableisdisplayedinboldanditalicindicatingthebestserverofthepointeron
themap.
Distance(m):Thedistancefromthecelltothecurrentlocationofthepointeronthemap.
PhysicalCellID:ThephysicalcellIDofthecell.
ICICZone:Whetherthepointerislocatedwithinthecellcentreorthecelledgeofitsbestservingcell.
DiversityMode(DL):Thediversitymodecurrentlyselectedbythebestserverforthepointerindownlink.
ReceivedRSPower(dBm):Thereceivedreferencepowerfromthecell.
RSRP(DL)(dBm):TheRSRPreceivedfromthecell.
ReceivedPDCCHPower(dBm):ThereceivedPDCCHpowerfromthecell.
ReceivedPDCCHEPRE(dBm):ThereceivedenergyperPDCCHresourceelementfromthecell.
ReceivedPDSCHPower(dBm):ThereceivedPDSCHpowerfromthecell.
ReceivedPDSCHEPRE(dBm):ThereceivedenergyperPDSCHresourceelementfromthecell.
ReceivedSSPower(dBm):ThereceivedSSpowerfromthecell.
ReceivedSSEPRE(dBm):ThereceivedenergyperSSresourceelementfromthecell.
ReceivedPBCHPower(dBm):ThereceivedPBCHpowerfromthecell.
ReceivedPBCHEPRE(dBm):ThereceivedenergyperPBCHresourceelementfromthecell.

AtolllistsallthecellsfromwhichthepointerreceivesanRSRPhigherthantheMinRSRPdefinedforthesecells.

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YoucanalsodisplayinterferencelevelsreceivedfromdifferentcellsintheDetailsview:
a. ClicktheDisplayColumnsbutton(
pears.

)intheDetailsviewtoolbar.TheColumnstobeDisplayeddialogboxap

b. Todisplayacolumn,selectitscheckbox.
c. Tohideacolumn,clearitscheckbox.
d. ClickClose.
TheDetailsviewdisplaysthefollowinginterferencerelatedinformationintheformofatable:

RSInterference(dBm):Theinterferencereceivedfromvariousdownlinkchannelsoftheinterferingcellonthe
referencesignalsofthebestserver.
PDCCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferencereceivedfromvariousdownlinkchannelsoftheinterferingcellon
thePDCCHofthebestserver.
PDSCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferencereceivedfromvariousdownlinkchannelsoftheinterferingcellon
thePDSCHofthebestserver.
SSInterference(dBm):TheinterferencereceivedfromtheSSoftheinterferingcellontheSSofthebestserver.
PBCHInterference(dBm):TheinterferencereceivedfromthePBCHoftheinterferingcellonthePBCHofthebest
server.
PDSCHAASInterference(dBm):Theinterferencereceivedfromtheangularinterferencedistributiondiagramof
theinterferingcellonthePDSCHofthebestserver.
ChannelOverlapFactor(dB):Thecoandadjacentchanneloverlapbetweenthefrequencychannelusedbythe
interferingcellandthebestserver.
CollisionProbability(%):Theintercellinterferencecoordinationcollisionprobabilitybetweentheinterferingcell
whichisnotsynchronisedwiththebestserver.
MultiantennaFactor(dB):Theinterferenceincreaseduetomultipleantennasusedbytheinterferingcell.

Theinterferencevaluesdisplayedforthebestserver(firstrow)arethesumofalltheinterferencelevelsfromallthe
interferingcellslistedinthefollowingrows.
Todisplayonlyinterferingcellsforthepointeronthemap,i.e.,cellswhoseC/NisabovetheMinInterfererC/N
ThresholddefinedintheCalculationParameterstaboftheLTERadioNetworkSettingsPropertiesdialogbox:

SelecttheShowinterferersonlycheckbox.

7. ClickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbaragaintoendthepointanalysis.

9.2.9.7 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
changesyoumakeaffectthenetwork.
Inthissection,therearetwoexamplestoexplainhowyoucancomparetwosimilarpredictions.Youcandisplaytheresults
ofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

Intersection:Thisdisplayshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscoveredby
bothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplayshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixelscovered
byatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
byonlyonepredictionareblue).
Difference:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredbyonly
the first prediction with another colour and pixels covered only by the second prediction with a third colour (for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplayshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.Thisdis
playoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.
6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.

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Inthissection,thefollowingexamplesareexplained:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage954
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage955.

Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignal
Level"onpage921.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure9.40.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthe
figure.

Figure9.40:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewbasestationisadded,eitherbycreatingthebasestationandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatinganLTE
Base Station" on page885, or by placing a station template, as explained in "Placing a New Base Station Using a Station
Template"onpage896.Oncethenewsitehasbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenit
wouldbeimpossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselecting
Duplicatefromitscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewbasestation(seeFigure9.41).

Figure9.41:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwocoveragepredictions.

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Tocomparetwocoveragepredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Inordertoseewhatchangesaddinganewbasestationmade,youshouldchooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure9.42,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenew
basestation.

Figure9.42:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions
Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTrans
mitter"onpage923.TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure9.43.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscovering
itsareapoorly.TheareaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure9.43.

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Figure9.43:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork
Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbe
impossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefromits
contextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculated,toshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure9.44).

Figure9.44:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
coverage,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthepredictionyouwanttocom
parewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
coveredbybothpredictionsinonecolourandallpixelscoveredbyonlyonepredictioninanothercolour.Theincrease
incoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.

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5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure9.45,showsclearlytheincreaseincoveragedueatthe
changeinantennatilt.

Figure9.45:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

9.2.10 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachcellmanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedontheparameters
thatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thecelltowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferredtoasthereference
cell.Thecellsthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferredtoaspotentialneighbours.Whenallocatingneigh
bourstoallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthefocuszoneandconsidersas
potentialneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhosepropagationzoneintersectstherectanglecontainingthecompu
tationzone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthecomputationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanuseautomaticallocationonallcellsinthedocument,
oryoucandefineagroupofcellseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow.Forinfor
mationoncreatingafocuszone,see"TheFocusZoneandHotSpots"onpage60.Forinformationongroupingtransmitters
intheexplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
AtollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesinanLTEnetwork:

Intratechnologyneighbours:IntratechnologyneighboursarecellsdefinedasneighboursthatalsouseLTE.
Intertechnology neighbours: Intertechnology neighbours are cells defined as neighbours that use a technology
otherthanLTE.

Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingNeighbours"onpage957
"DefiningExceptionalPairs"onpage958
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage958
"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage958
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage961
"AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell"onpage966
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours"onpage970
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan"onpage971
"ExportingNeighbours"onpage972.

9.2.10.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusing
theNeighbourstable.
ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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c. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9.2.10.2 DefiningExceptionalPairs
InAtoll,youcandefineneighbourconstraintsthatwillbetakenintoconsiderationduringtheautomaticallocationofneigh
bours.Exceptionalpairscanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenyoumanuallyallocateneighbours.
Todefineexceptionalpairsofneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Rightclickthecellforwhichyouwanttodefineneighbourconstraints.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
7. UnderExceptionalPairs,createanewexceptionalpairintherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

):

a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theexceptionalpairlistbecomeseditable.
b. SelectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourscolumn.
c. IntheStatuscolumn,selectoneofthefollowing:

Forced:Theselectedcellwillalwaysbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.
Forbidden:Theselectedcellwillneverbeaneighbourofthereferencecell.

8. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedcreatingthenewexceptionalpair.
9. ClickOK.
YoucanalsocreateexceptionalpairsusingtheIntratechnologyExceptionalPairstable.
You can open this table by rightclicking the LTE Transmitters folder and selecting
Neighbours>Intratechnology>ExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.

9.2.10.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintratechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. OntheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab,youcansetthefollowingimportancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
Coveragefactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
Adjacencyfactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeingadjacent
tothereferencetransmitter.TheAdjacencyfactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForceadjacenttransmittersas
neighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage958.
Cositefactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositefactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhendefininganautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically"onpage958.

5. ClickOK.

9.2.10.4 AllocatingNeighboursAutomatically
AtollcanautomaticallyallocateneighboursinanLTEnetwork.Atollallocatesneighboursbasedontheparametersyousetin
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settings,theautomaticneighbourallocationcanbebasedoncoverageareascalculatedforbestserversbasedontherefer
encesignallevelsorRSRP.Formoreinformation,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
ToallocateLTEneighboursautomatically:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select Neighbours> Intratechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationtab.
5. Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Maxintersitedistance:Setthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbour.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

Maxno.ofneighbours:Setthemaximumnumberofneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacell.Thisvaluecanbe
eithersethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
Coverageconditions:Thecoverageconditionsmustberespectedforacelltobeconsideredasaneighbour.Click
Definetochangethecoverageconditions.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowing
parameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
GlobalminRSRP:SelecttheGlobalminRSRPcheckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheminimum
RSRP.Ifyousetaglobalvaluehere,AtollwilluseeitherthisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whichever
ishigher.
RSRPmargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell(cellA),at
whichthehandoverprocessends(seeFigure9.46).ThehigherthevalueenteredfortheRSRPmargin,the
longer the list of potential neighbours. The area between the best server coverage and the RSRP margin
constitutestheareawithinwhichAtollwillsearchforneighbours.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageProbability.
Indoorcoverage:SelecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxifyouwanttouseindoorlossesinthecalculations.
Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.
%mincoveredarea:Entertheminimumsurfacearea,inpercentage,thatapossibleneighbourcellscoverage
areamustoverlapthereferencecellscoveragearea.

6. Selectthedesiredcalculationparameters:

Forcecositecellsasneighbours:SelecttheForcecositecellsasneighbourscheckboxifyouwantcellslocated
onthesamesiteasthereferencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.
Forceadjacentcellsasneighbours:SelecttheForceadjacentcellsasneighbourscheckboxifyouwantcellsthat
areadjacenttothereferencecelltobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.Acellisconsideredadjacentif
thereisatleastonepixelinthereferencecellscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourcellisthebestserver,
orwherethepossibleneighbourcellisthesecondbestserver(respectingthehandovermargin).
Forcesymmetry:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inotherwords,aref
erencecellwillbeapossibleneighbourofallofthecellsthatareitsneighbours.
Iftheneighbourslistofacellisfull,thereferencecellwillnotbeaddedasaneighbourof
thatcellandthatcellwillberemovedfromthereferencecellsneighbourslist.Youcan
forceAtolltokeepthatcellinthereferencecellsneighbourslistbyaddinganoptionin
theAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Forceexceptionalpairs:SelecttheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxifyouwanttobeabletoforceorforbid
neighbourrelationsdefinedintheExceptionalPairstable.Forinformationonexceptionalpairs,see"Defining
ExceptionalPairs"onpage958.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelecttheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxifyouwantAtolltodeleteallcurrent
neighbourswhenallocatingneighbours.IfyoudonotselecttheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckbox,Atollwill
notdeleteanyexistingneighbourswhenautomaticallyallocatingneighbours;itwillonlyaddnewneighboursto
thelist.

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Figure9.46:Thehandoverareabetweenthereferencecellandthepossibleneighbour
7. Click Calculate. Atoll begins the process of allocating neighbours. Atoll first checks to see whether the path loss
matricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeletingexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencecell.
Maximumnumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencecellcanhave.
Neighbour:Thecellthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencecell.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedin"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsfor
Neighbours"onpage958
Bydefault,theneighbourimportancecalculatedwithrespecttodistanceisbasedonthe
global Max intersite distance setting for all neighbour candidates. As a consequence,
there can be cases where the calculated importance is different when the global Max
intersitedistanceismodified.YoucanavoidthatbysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile
toforceAtolltoprioritiseindividualdistancesbetweenreferencecellsandtheirrespective
neighbourcandidates.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedthepossibleneighbourcell,asidentifiedintheNeighbourcolumn,tothe
referencecell,asidentifiedintheCellcolumn.Thepossiblereasonsare:
Cosite
Adjacency
Symmetry
Coverage
Existing
Relationtype:Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation:intracarrierorintercarrier.Cellswhosechannelshavethe
samecentrefrequencyareintracarrierneighbours.Othercellsareintercarrierneighbours.
Coverage:Theamountofreferencecellscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandinsquare
kilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencecell,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneighbourcellisbest
serverorsecondbestserver.

8. SelecttheCommitcheckboxforeachneighbouryouwanttoassigntoacell.YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshort
cuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

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Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberof deleted neighbour relations (neighbour relationsnot proposed intheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

9. ClickCommit.AlltheneighbourswhoseCommitcheckboxisselectedareassignedtothereferencecells.Neighbours
arelistedontheIntratechnologyNeighbourstabofeachcellsPropertiesdialogbox.
By default, the automatic neighbour allocation compares the defined Max intersite
distancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,therecanbecaseswhere
therealdistancebetweenassignedneighboursishigherthantheMaxintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectivedistanceissmaller.YoucanforceAtolltocomparetheMaxinter
sitedistancewiththerealintersitedistancebyaddinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.For
moreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

Aforbiddenneighbourwillnotbelistedasaneighbourunlesstheneighbourrela
tionalreadyexistsandtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisclearedwhen
youstartthenewallocation.
WhentheoptionsForceexceptionalpairsandForcesymmetryareselected,Atoll
considerstheconstraintsbetweenexceptionalpairsinbothdirectionsinorderto
respectsymmetry.However,iftheneighbourrelationisforcedinonedirection
andforbiddenintheother,thesymmetrycannotberespected.
Youcansaveautomaticneighbourallocationparametersinauserconfiguration.
For information on saving automatic neighbour allocation parameters in a user
configuration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"onpage104.

Atollalsoenablesyoutoautomaticallyallocateneighbourstoasinglebasestationortransmitter:

9.2.10.4.1

"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation"onpage961
"AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter"onpage961.

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewBaseStation
Whenyoucreateanewbasestation,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthe
newbasestationandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectsthecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewbasestation.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewbasestation:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,groupthetransmittersbysite,asexplainedin"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
2. IntheLTETransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewbasestation.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>IntratechnologyNeighbours>AutomaticAllocationfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomatic
NeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page958.

9.2.10.4.2

AllocatingNeighbourstoaNewTransmitter
Whenyouaddanewtransmitter,youcanletAtollallocateneighbourstoitautomatically.Atollconsidersthecellsofthenew
transmittersandothercellswhosecoverageareaintersectsthecoverageareaofthecellsofthenewtransmitter.
Toallocateneighbourstoanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. IntheLTETransmittersfolder,rightclickthenewtransmitter.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAllocateNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxappears.
4. Define the automatic neighbour allocation parameters as described in "Allocating Neighbours Automatically" on
page958.

9.2.10.5 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage962.
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell"onpage965.

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DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Incoplanningmode,youcanalsodisplayintraand/orintertechnologyneighbourrela
tionstostudyhandoverpossibilities.

Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofacellonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.

Figure9.47:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
3. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplayLinkscheckbox.
4. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplayLinkscheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.

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Figure9.48:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
a. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttocolourallneighbourlinksofacellwithauniquecolour.
Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,relationtype,orneighbourfrequencyband.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksaccordingtotheir"Importance",asdeter
minedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftype"Integer"intheIntratechnologyNeighbourtableforthe
numberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthenew
column,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"asthe
Displaytype.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldtoan
ObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Byselectingorclearingthevisibilitycheckbox,youcan
displayorhideneighbourlinkdisplaytypesindividually.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
b. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
5. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
6. UnderAdvancedintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellistherefer
encecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedcell
andtheneighbour.

7. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

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8. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
9. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
10. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

11. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
12. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

13. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure9.49).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure9.49:SelectingatransmitterintheNeighbourstable
Atolldisplaysthefollowinginformationfortheselectedcell(e.g."Site22_3(0)"inFigure9.50):

Symmetricneighbourrelationsoftheselectedcellareindicatedbyasimpleline,e.g.Site20_1(0).
Outwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtotheneighbour,e.g.Site1_2(0).
Inwardneighbourrelationsareindicatedbyalinewithanarrowpointingtothereferencecell,e.g.Site9_3(0).

AsshowninFigure9.50,neighbourlinksarecolouredaccordingtowhichcellistheneighbour:

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ThesymmetricandoutwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredliketheneighbours,i.e.Site20_1(0)andSite1_2(0).
TheinwardlinksforSite22_3(0)arecolouredlikethereferencecell,i.e.Site22_3(0)isaneighbourofSite9_3(0).

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Figure9.50:NeighboursofSite22_3(0)Displayaccordingtotheneighbour
Youcandisplayeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclickingthearrow( )
nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbarand
selectingeitherForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.

9.2.10.5.2

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareaofacellsneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicintheNeighbourstable.
Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofacell:
1. Create, calculate, and display a "Coverage by Transmitter (DL)" prediction, with the Display type set to "Discrete
values" and the Field set to "Transmitter" (for information on creating a coverage by transmitter prediction, see
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage923).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure9.47 on
page962.
4. UnderIntratechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.
5. ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesidetheDisplaycoverageareascheckbox.TheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
appears.SeeFigure9.48onpage963.
a. FromtheDisplaytypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofatransmittersneighbourswithauniquecolour.
Discrete values: Select this option to colour the transmitters neighbours coverage areas automatically or
accordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab,e.g.reason,source,orrelationtype.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,thecoverageareasofacellsneigh
boursaredeterminedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourthecoverageareasofthecellsneighboursaccordingtheir"Impor
tance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.

b. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTipTextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachcoveragearea.
c. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,youcanselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyneigh
bours(incoplanningmodeonly)todisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelations.
7. UnderAdvancedintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellistherefer
encecellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedcellisneighbour
andwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.

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Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedcell
andtheneighbour.

8. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlycelllabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmittersProp
ertiesdialogbox.

9. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
10. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
11. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

12. SelectNeighboursfromthemenu.Theneighboursofacellwillbedisplayedwhenyouselectatransmitter.
13. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

14. Clickatransmitteronthemaptodisplaythecoverageofeachneighbour.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthe
transmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant
(see"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

Figure9.51:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
15. Inordertorestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
RadioPlanningtoolbar.

)inthe

9.2.10.6 AllocatingandDeletingNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofneighboursbyallocating
ordeletingneighbourspercell.YoucanallocateordeleteneighboursdirectlyonthemaporusingtheCellstabofatransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"onpage966.
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable"onpage967.
"AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap"onpage969.

AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
ToallocateordeleteLTEneighboursusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemap,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.

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4. OntheCellstab,clicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Ifdesired,youcanenterthemaximumnumberofneighbours.
7. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetablewhenyouhavefinishedcreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
8. ClickOK.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursUsingtheNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteLTEneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourstableappears.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

4. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.

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Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,setstheSourceto"manual,"andsetstheImportanceto"1."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeintoconsiderationallexceptionalpairs:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanaddordeleteeithersomeforcedneighboursorsomeforbiddenneighboursusing
theIntratechnologyExceptionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexcep
tionalpairstobeconsidered,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairsinthe
contextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.

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c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
AllocatingorDeletingNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.
Toaddorremoveintratechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintratechnologyneighbours
onthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage962.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
theintratechnologyneighbourslist.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitters
fromtheintratechnologyneighbours.
Toaddanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertotheintratechnologyneighbourlistofthetransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthetransmitter.
Toaddaninwardneighbourrelation:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingShiftandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.ThenpressCTRL
andclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertech
nologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintratechnologyneighbourslistofthereferencetransmitter.

Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthe
mapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Youcanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursbyclicking
thearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadio
Planning toolbar and selecting either Forced Neighbours or Forbidden Neigh
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9.2.10.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedneighbours,Atollcancalculatethe
importanceofeachneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.Thisvalueisusedtodefinearankfordifferentneighbours
intheAFPprocess.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Calculationdialogboxappears.
4. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
5. UnderImportance,selectthefactorstobetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheimportance(forinformation
ondefiningimportancefactors,see"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage958):

Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneigh
boursarelocatedonthesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.
Takeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactor:SelecttheTakeintoaccounttheadjacencyfactorcheckboxtoverifythat
neighboursareadjacenttotheirreferencetransmitterswhencalculatingimportance.

6. Coverageconditions:UnderCoverageconditions,youcansetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheir
referencecells.ClickingDefineopenstheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,you
canchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
GlobalminRSRP:SelecttheGlobalminRSRPcheckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheminimumRSRP.
Ifyousetaglobalvaluehere,AtollwilluseeitherthisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whicheverishigher.
RSRPmargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell,atwhichthe
handoverprocessends.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefined
perfrequencyperclutterclass.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
8. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep4.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedvalueintheImportancecolumn.

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Coverage
Relationtype:Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation:intracarrierorintercarrier.Cellswhosechannelshavethe
samecentrefrequencyareintracarrierneighbours.Othercellsareintercarrierneighbours.
Coverage:Theamountofreferencetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageand
insquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitter,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneighbour
transmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.
Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

9. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

9.2.10.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrentneighbourallo
cationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheneighbourallocationplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intratechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

Averageno.ofneighbours:SelecttheAverageno.ofneighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
Emptylists:SelecttheEmptylistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
Fulllists:SelecttheFulllistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethemaximumnumberofneighbours
allowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeither
sethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
Lists>maxnumber:SelecttheFulllistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethanthemaximum
numberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforallthecells,or
specifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
Missingcosites:SelecttheMissingcositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:SelecttheMissingsymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
Exceptionalpairs:SelecttheExceptionalpairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance between neighbours: Select the Distance between neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

Averagenumberofneighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

Emptylists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

Fulllists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>maxnumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanYnumber
ofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaxnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,theFull
ListscheckandtheLists>maxnumbercheckusetheDefaultmaxnumbervaluedefined
intheauditdialogbox.

Missingcosites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

Nonsymmetriclinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

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Missingforced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

Existingforbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

Distancebetweenneighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

9.2.10.9 ExportingNeighbours
TheneighbourdataofanAtolldocumentisstoredinaseriesoftables.Youcanexporttheneighbourdatatouseitinanother
applicationorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportneighbourdata:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursandthenselecttheneighbourtablecontainingthedatayouwanttoexportfromthecontextmenu:

Intratechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintratechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intertechnology>OpenTable:Thistablecontainsthedatafortheintertechnologyneighboursinthecurrent
Atolldocument.
Intratechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intratechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.
Intertechnology> Exceptional Pairs: This table contains the data for the intertechnology exceptional pairs
(forcedandforbidden)inthecurrentAtolldocument.

4. Whentheselectedneighbourstableopens,youcanexportthecontentasdescribedin"ExportingTablestoTextFiles
andSpreadsheets"onpage85.

9.3 ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP
TheAtollAFP(AutomaticFrequencyPlanningmodule)enablesyoutoautomaticallyconfigurenetworkparameterssuchas
the frequency channels and physical cell IDs. The AFP can also perform fractional frequency planning through automatic
configurationofthePSSIDinphysicalcellIDplanning.TheaimoftheAFPistoallocateresourcesinawaythatminimises
interferencefollowingtheuserdefinedconstraints.TheAFPassignsacosttoeachconstraintandthenusesacostbasedalgo
rithmtoevaluatepossibleallocationplansandproposetheallocationplanwiththelowestcosts.
TheAFPcostfunctioncomprisesinputelementssuchasinterferencematrices,neighbourrelations,andallowedrangesof
resourcesforallocation.ThequalityoftheresultsgivenbytheAFPdependsontheaccuracyoftheinput.Therefore,itis
importanttopreparetheinputbeforerunningtheAFP.
Inthefollowingsections,theAFPinputelementsareexplained:

"WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices"onpage972
"DefiningNeighbourRelationsandImportance"onpage974
"SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation"onpage974
"ConfiguringCostComponentWeights"onpage975.

OncetheAFPinputelementshavebeensetup,theAFPcanbeusedfor:

"PlanningFrequencies"onpage975
"PlanningPhysicalCellIDs"onpage977.

Onceyouhavecompletedanautomaticallocation,youcananalysetheresultswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides:

"DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap"onpage979
"AnalysingtheAFPResults"onpage982.

9.3.1 WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices
InAtoll,theprobabilityofinterferencebetweenpairsofcellsisstoredinaninterferencematrix.Aninterferencematrixcan
bethoughtofastheprobabilitythatauserinacellwillreceiveinterferencehigherthanadefinedthreshold.Youcancalculate,
import,andstoremorethanoneinterferencematrixintheInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices"onpage973

9.3.1.1 CalculatingInterferenceMatrices
Atollcalculatesinterferencematricesintheformofcoandadjacentchannelinterferenceprobabilitiesforeachinterfered
andinterferingcellpair.Theprobabilitiesofinterferencearestatedintermsofpercentagesoftheinterferedarea.Inother
words,itistheratiooftheinterferedsurfaceareatothebestservercoverageareaofaninterferedcell.
WhenAtollcalculatesinterferencematrices,itcalculatestheratioofthereferencesignalleveltothetotalinterferenceand
noise(I+N)foreachpixeloftheinterferedserviceareabetweentwocells(theinterferedcellandtheinterferingcell).Forco
channelinterference,apixelisconsideredinterferedifthisratioislowerthantheperchannelreferencesignalC/Ncorre
spondingtotheminimumRSRPdefinedfortheinterferedcell.Foradjacentchannelinterference,apixelisconsideredinter
feredifthisratioislowerthanthereferencesignalC/NcorrespondingtotheminimumRSRPdefinedfortheinterferedcell
lesstheadjacentchannelsuppressionfactordefinedforthefrequencybandoftheinterferedcell.
YoucanamplifythedegradationoftheC/(I+N)byusingahighqualitymarginwhencalculatingtheinterferencematrices.For
example,a3dBqualitymarginwouldimplythateachinterfererisconsideredtobetwiceasstrongcomparedtoacalculation
withoutanyqualitymargin(i.e.,0dB).
Tocalculateinterferencematrices:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTEInterferenceMatricesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNew.TheInterferenceMatricesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:Enteranameforthenewinterferencematrix.
Resolution:Entertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheinterferencematrixcalcula
tion.
Type:ThetypeissettoCalculatedforcalculatedinterferencematrices.
Qualitymargin:Enteraqualitymargin.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.

5. Onceyouhavecreatedthenewinterferencematrix,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveitandcalculate
itlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedinterferencematrixandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedinterferencematrixwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterbyclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Oncecalculated,thenewinterferencematrixisavailableintheInterferenceMatricesfolderandwillbeavailableforusethe
nexttimeyouruntheAFP.
YoucanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinginterferencematrixbyselectingPropertiesfromtheinterferencematrixcontext
menu.YoucanrecalculateanexistinginterferencematrixbyselectingCalculatefromtheinterferencematrixcontextmenu.

9.3.1.2 ImportingandExportingInterferenceMatrices
Youcanimportinterferencematricesfromexternalsources,suchastheOAM,inAtollfromTXT(text),CSV(commaseparated
value),andIM2files.Intheinterferencematrixfileyouwanttoimport,theinterferencematrixentriesmusthavethefollow
ingsyntax:
<InterferedCell><Sep><InterferingCell><Sep><CochannelInterferenceProbability><Sep><Adjacentchannel
InterferenceProbability>
Theseparator<Sep>canbeatab,acomma,asemicolon,orspace.
Iftheinterferencematrixfilebeingimportedcontainsthesameinterferedinterfererpairmorethanonce,Atollkeepsthelast
descriptionofthepair.
Atolldoesnotperformavaliditycheckontheimportedinterferencefile;youmustthereforeensurethattheimportedinfor
mationisconsistentwiththecurrentconfiguration.Furthermore,Atollonlyimportsinterferencematricesforactivetrans
mitters.
Toimportaninterferencematrix:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTEInterferenceMatricesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImport.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. SelectthefilecontainingtheinterferencematrixandclickOpen.ThetableImportdialogboxappears.

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Formoreinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
Toexportaninterferencematrix:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTEInterferenceMatricesfolder.
3. Rightclicktheinterferencematrixyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExport.TheExportdialogboxappears.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

9.3.2 DefiningNeighbourRelationsandImportance
InAtoll,neighbourimportancevaluesarecalculatedbytheautomaticneighbourallocationprocessandcanbeusedbythe
AFPforfrequencyandphysicalcellIDallocation.Forinformationonconfiguringneighbourimportanceweighting,see"Config
uringImportanceFactorsforNeighbours"onpage958.Formoreinformationoncalculatingneighbourimportancevalues,see
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingNeighbours"onpage970.
Formoredetailsonthecalculationofneighbourimportancevalues,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

9.3.3 SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation
TheAFPallocatesresourcesfromapoolofavailableresources.Forautomaticfrequencyplanning,theavailableresourcesare
definedbythechannelnumbersavailableinthefrequencybandassignedtoanycell.Inthefrequencybandproperties,the
firstandlastchannelnumbersdefinetherangeofavailablechannelnumbersintheband.Channelnumberswithinthisrange
canbesetasunavailableiftheyarelistedintheexcludedchannelslist.Formoreinformation,see"DefiningFrequencyBands"
onpage1055.
ForautomaticphysicalcellIDplanning,AtollfacilitatesthemanagementofphysicalcellIDsbylettingyoucreatedomains,
eachcontaininggroupsofphysicalcellIDs.
TheprocedureformanagingphysicalcellIDsinanLTEdocumentconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. CreatingaphysicalcellIDdomain,asexplainedinthissection.
2. Creatinggroups,eachcontainingarangeofphysicalcellIDs,andassigningthemtoadomain,asexplainedinthissec
tion.
3. AssigningaphysicalcellIDdomaintoacellorcells.IfthereisnophysicalcellIDdomain,Atollwillconsiderall504
possiblephysicalcellIDswhenassigningthemautomatically.
TocreateaphysicalcellIDdomain:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthePhysicalCellIDsfolder.

4. RightclickDomainsinthePhysicalCellIDsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheDomainstableappears.
6. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),enteraNameforthenewdomain.

7. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewdomainandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
8. Doubleclickthedomaintowhichyouwanttoaddagroup.ThedomainsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. UnderGroups,enterthefollowinginformationforeachgroupyouwanttocreate.

Group:EnteranameforthenewphysicalcellIDgroup.
Min.:EnterthelowestavailablephysicalcellIDinthisgroupsrange.
Max:EnterthehighestavailablephysicalcellIDinthisgroupsrange.
Step:EntertheseparationintervalbetweeneachphysicalcellID.
Excluded:EnterthephysicalcellIDinthisrangethatyoudonotwanttouse.
Extra:EnteranyadditionalphysicalcellID(i.e.,outsidetherangedefinedbytheMin.andMaxfields)youwant
toaddtothisgroup.YoucanenteralistofphysicalcellIDsseparatedbyeitheracomma,semicolon,oraspace.
YoucanalsoenterarangeofphysicalcellIDsseparatedbyahyphen.Forexample,entering,"1,2,35"meansthat
theextraphysicalcellIDsare"1,2,3,4,5."

10. Clickinanothercellofthetabletocreatethenewgroupandaddanewblankrowtothetable.

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9.3.4 ConfiguringCostComponentWeights
YoucandefinetheweightsfortheAFPcostcomponentsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossiblefrequencyandphysicalcellID
plans.
ToconfiguretheweightsfortheAFPcostcomponents:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAFP>ConfigureWeightsfromthecontextmenu.TheWeightsdialogboxappears.
This dialog box enables you to define the relative weights of the cost components. The absolute values of the
constraintweightsarecalculatedbytheAFPusingtheserelativeweights.Formoreinformation,seetheTechnical
ReferenceGuide.
4. ClicktheFrequencyAllocationtab.Onthistab,youcansettheweightsforthefollowingcostcomponents:

1storderneighbours:Therelativeweightassignedtoafirstorderneighbourrelationshipviolation.
Interferencematrices:Therelativeweightassignedtoaninterferencematrixbasedrelationshipviolation.
Distance:Therelativeweightassignedtoadistancebasedrelationshipviolation.

YoucanclicktheResetbuttontosettheweightstotheirdefaultvalues.
5. ClickthePhysicalCellIDAllocationtab.

IntheRelationweightsframe,youcansettheweightsforthefollowingcostcomponents:
1storderneighbours:Therelativeweightassignedtoafirstorderneighbourrelationshipviolation.
2ndorderneighbours:Therelativeweightassignedtoasecondorderneighbourrelationshipviolation.
Neighboursofacommoncell:Therelativeweightassignedtotheviolationofanindirectneighbourrelation
shipbetweenneighboursofacommoncell.

In3GPPmultiRATdocuments,theconstraintweightNeighboursofacommoncell
appliestoLTEneighboursofacommonLTEcell,UMTScell,orGSMtransmitter.
In3GPP2multiRATdocuments,theconstraintweightNeighboursofacommon
cellappliestoLTEneighboursofacommonLTEorCDMA2000cell.

Interferencematrices:Therelativeweightassignedtoainterferencematrixbasedrelationshipviolation.
Distance:Therelativeweightassignedtoadistancebasedrelationshipviolation.

YoucanclicktheResetbuttontosettheweightstotheirdefaultvalues.

IntheConstraintviolationweightsframe,youcansettheweightsforthefollowingconstraints:
PhysicalcellID:TherelativeweightassignedtoaphysicalcellIDcollisionbetweentworelatedcells.
PSSID:TherelativeweightassignedtoaPSSID(PCIMod3)collisionbetweentworelatedcells.
SSSID:TherelativeweightassignedtotheSSSIDconstraintviolation(occurrenceoftwodifferentSSSIDs)
betweentworelatedcositecells.
PCIMod6(DLRS):Therelativeweightassignedtoadownlinkreferencesignalshifting(PCIMod6)collision
betweentworelatedcells.
PCIMod30(ULDMRS):Therelativeweightassignedtoanuplinkdemodulationreferencesignalsequence
group(PCIMod30)collisionbetweentworelatedcells.
PCFICHREG:Therelativeweightassignedtoaphysicalcontrolformatindicatorchannelresourceelement
group(PCIMod(numberoffrequencyblocks/2))collisionbetweentworelatedcells.
YoucanclicktheResetbuttontosettheweightstotheirdefaultvalues.

6. ClickOK.

9.3.5 PlanningFrequencies
Youcanassignfrequencies,i.e.,frequencybandsandchannelnumbers,manuallytocellsorusetheAutomaticFrequency
Planning(AFP)tooltoautomaticallyallocatechannelstocells.TheAFPallocateschannelstocellsautomaticallyinsuchaway
thattheoverallinterferenceinthenetworkisminimised.Oncetheallocationiscomplete,youcananalysethefrequencyplan
bycreatingandcomparingC/(I+N)coveragepredictions,andviewthefrequencyallocationonthemap.
When allocating frequencies, the AFP can take into account interference matrices, reuse distance, and any constraints
imposedbyneighbours.
Toautomaticallyallocatefrequencies:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.

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3. SelectAFP>AutomaticAllocation.TheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.52).
TheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxisdividedintothreezones:

Thetoplinecontainsglobalinformationaboutthecurrentallocation(resourcebeingallocatedandthetotalcost
ofthecurrentplan).
Thelefthandsideofthedialogboxcontainstabswithinputparameters.
Therighthandsideofthedialogboxprovidestheallocationresults.

Figure9.52:AutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxforLTEFrequencies
4. FromtheAllocatelist,selectFrequenciesforautomaticfrequencyplanning.
5. OntheRelationTypestab,youcansettherelationstotakeintoaccountinautomaticallocation:

Interferencematrix:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakeinterferencematricesintoaccountforthe
allocation,andselectaninterferencematrixfromthelist.ForAtolltotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,
theymustbeavailableintheInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Interferencematricescanbe
calculated,andimportedintheInterferenceMatricesfolder.Formoreinformationoninterferencematrices,see
"WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices"onpage972.

Existingneighbours:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakeneighbourrelationsintoaccountfortheallo
cation.TheAFPwilltrytoallocatedifferentfrequenciestoacellanditsneighbours.
Atollcanonlytakeneighbourrelationsintoaccountifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationon
allocatingneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957.

Reusedistance:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakerelationsbasedondistanceintoaccountforthe
allocation. You can enter a Default reuse distance within which two cells must not have the same channel
assigned.However,itishighlyrecommendedtodefineareusedistanceforeachindividualcelldependingonthe
sizeofthecellscoverageareaandthenetworkdensityaroundthecell.Ifdefined,acellspecificreusedistanceis
usedinsteadofthedefaultvalueenteredhere.

6. OntherighthandsideoftheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogbox,AtolldisplaystheTotalcostofthecurrent
frequencyallocation.YoucanclickUpdatetocalculatethetotalcosttakeintoaccounttheparameterssetinstep5.
You can click the Weights button to open the Weights dialog box and modify the cost
componentweights.Formoreinformation,see"ConfiguringCostComponentWeights"on
page975.
7. ClickStart.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingfrequencies.AnymessagesgeneratedbytheAFPduringautomatic
allocationarereportedontheEventstab.
WhileAtollallocatesfrequencies,youcan:

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ComparethedistributionhistogramsoftheinitialandcurrentallocationplansintheDistributiontab.
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ResumetheautomaticallocationprocessbyclickingContinueorstarttheautomaticallocationfromtheinitial
statebyclickingRestart.

OnceAtollhasfinishedallocatingfrequencies,theproposedallocationplanisavailableontheResultstab.TheResults
tabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
Name:Thenameofthecell.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedbythecell.
Initialchannelnumber:Thechannelnumberofthecellbeforeautomaticallocation.
Channelnumber:Thechannelnumberofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
Channelallocationstatus:ThevalueoftheChannelallocationstatusofthecell.
Cost:Thecostofthenewfrequencyallocationofthecell.
Inordertobetterviewtheprogressgraphandtheresultstable,youcanexpandtheright
hand side zone of the Automatic Resource Allocation dialog box by clicking the Hide
Inputsbutton

.Youcanalsoresizethedialogbox.

8. ClickCommit.Theproposedfrequencyplanisassignedtothecellsofthenetwork.
9. ClickClosetoexit.
Whenyouallocatefrequenciestoalargenumberofcells,itiseasiesttoletAtollallocatethemautomatically.However,ifyou
wanttoassignafrequencytoonecellortomodifyit,youcandoitbyaccessingthepropertiesofthecell.
Toallocatethefrequencytoacellmanually:
1. OnthemaporintheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthetransmittertowhosecellyou
wanttoallocatethefrequency.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheCellstab.
4. SelectaFrequencybandandChannelnumberforthecell.
5. SettheChannelallocationstatustoLockedifyouwanttolockthefrequencythatyouassigned.
6. ClickOK.

9.3.6 PlanningPhysicalCellIDs
InLTE,504physicalcellIDsareavailable,numberedfrom0to503.Thereareasmanypseudorandomsequencesdefinedin
the3GPPspecifications.PhysicalcellIDsaregroupedinto168uniquecellIDgroups(calledSSSIDsinAtoll),witheachgroup
containing3uniqueidentities(calledPSSIDsinAtoll).AnSSSIDisthusuniquelydefinedbyanumberintherangeof0to167,
andaPSSIDisdefinedbyanumberintherangeof0to2.
EachcellsreferencesignalscarryapseudorandomsequencecorrespondingtothephysicalcellIDofthecell.TheSSSand
PSSaretransmittedoverthecentresixfrequencyblocksindependentlyofthechannelbandwidthsusedbycells.Mobiles
synchronisetheirtransmissionandreceptionfrequencyandtimebyfirstregisteringthePSS.OncethePSSIDofthecellis
known,mobilesregistertheSSSofthecellinordertoobtaintheSSSID.ThecombinationofthesetwoIDsgivesthephysical
cellIDandtheassociatedpseudorandomsequencethatistransmittedoverthedownlinkreferencesignals.Oncethemobile
has the physical cell ID and the associated pseudorandom sequence, the cell is recognised by the mobile based on the
receivedreferencesignals.Channelqualitymeasurementsarealsomadeonthereferencesignals.
BecausethecellsearchandselectiondependonthephysicalcellIDsofthecells,thesemustbecorrectlyallocatedtocellsin
ordertoavoidunnecessaryproblemsincellrecognitionandselection.
AtollfacilitatesthemanagementofphysicalcellIDsbylettingyoucreategroupsofphysicalcellIDsanddomains,whereeach
domainisadefinedsetofgroups.Formoreinformation,see"SettingResourcesAvailableforAllocation"onpage974.
YoucanassignphysicalcellIDsmanuallyorautomaticallytoanycellinthenetwork.Onceallocationiscompleted,youcan
auditthephysicalcellIDs,viewphysicalcellIDreuseonthemap,andmakeananalysisofphysicalcellIDdistribution.Atoll
canautomaticallyassignphysicalcellIDstothecellstakingintoaccounttheselectedSSSIDallocationstrategy(freeorsame
persite),allowedallocationdomain,interferencematrices,reusedistance,andanyconstraintsimposedbyneighbours.
ToautomaticallyallocatephysicalcellIDs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectAFP>AutomaticAllocation.TheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.53).
TheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxisdividedintothreezones:

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Thetoplinecontainsglobalinformationaboutthecurrentallocation(resourcebeingallocatedandthetotalcost
ofthecurrentplan).
Thelefthandsideofthedialogboxcontainstabswithinputparameters.
Therighthandsideofthedialogboxprovidestheallocationresults.

Figure9.53:AutomaticResourceAllocationdialogboxforLTEPhysicalCellIDs
4. FromtheAllocatelist,selectPhysicalCellIDsforautomaticphysicalcellIDplanning.
5. OntheRelationTypestab,youcansettherelationstotakeintoaccountinautomaticallocation:

Interferencematrix:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakeinterferencematricesintoaccountforthe
allocation,andselectaninterferencematrixfromthelist.ForAtolltotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,
theymustbeavailableintheInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Interferencematricescanbe
calculated,andimportedintheInterferenceMatricesfolder.Formoreinformationoninterferencematrices,see
"WorkingwithInterferenceMatrices"onpage972.

Existingneighbours:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakeneighbourrelationsintoaccountfortheallo
cation.TheAFPwilltrytoallocatedifferentphysicalcellIDstoacellanditsneighbours,andtotheneighboursof
acommoncell.In3GPPmultiRATdocuments,theAFPwillalsotrytoallocatedifferentphysicalcellIDstoLTEcells
thatareneighboursofacommonGSMtransmitterorUMTScell.In3GPP2multiRATdocuments,theAFPwillalso
trytoallocatedifferentphysicalcellIDstoLTEcellsthatareneighboursofacommonCDMAcell.
TheAFPcantakeneighboursintoaccountonlyifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.IfyouwanttheAFPto
takebothfirstandsecondorderneighboursintoaccount,youmustsetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile(seetheAd
ministratorManual).

Reusedistance:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttheAFPtotakerelationsbasedondistanceintoaccountforthe
allocation.YoucanenteraDefaultreusedistancewithinwhichtwocellsmustnothavethesamephysicalcellID
assigned.However,itishighlyrecommendedtodefineareusedistanceforeachindividualcelldependingonthe
sizeofthecellscoverageareaandthenetworkdensityaroundthecell.Ifdefined,acellspecificreusedistanceis
usedinsteadofthedefaultvalueenteredhere.Amacrothatautomaticallycalculatesareusedistanceforeach
cellcanbeprovideduponrequest.

6. OntheConstraintstab,youcansettheconstraintstotakeintoaccountinautomaticallocation:

Allocationdomain:YoucanchoosePercelltoallocatephysicalcellIDsfromthephysicalcellIDdomainsdefined
percell,youcanchoosetoallocatefromtheEntire(0503)domain,oryoucanchooseCustomandenterthe
ExcludedresourcestoexcludesomephysicalcellIDsfromtheallocation.
YoucanenternonconsecutivephysicalcellIDsseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeofphysicalcell
IDsseparatingthefirstandlastonewithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,2,3,4,5").

Allocationstrategies:YoucanselectSamepersiteastheSSSIDallocationstrategyifyouwanttheAFPtoallocate
thesameSSSIDtoallthecellsofasite.SelectFreeastheSSSIDallocationstrategyifyouwanttheAFPtoignore
theSSSIDcollisions.Withfreeallocation,theSSSIDwillnotnecessarilybethesameforallthecellsofasite.
YoucanselecttheTakeintoaccountfrequencyplancheckboxifyouwanttheAFPtoconsiderthefrequencyplan
whendeterminingphysicalcellIDcollisions.

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7. OntherighthandsideoftheAutomaticResourceAllocationdialogbox,AtolldisplaystheTotalcostofthecurrent
physicalcellIDallocation.YoucanclickUpdatetocalculatethetotalcosttakeintoaccounttheparameterssetin
step5.
You can click the Weights button to open the Weights dialog box and modify the cost
componentweights.Formoreinformation,see"ConfiguringCostComponentWeights"on
page975.
8. ClickStart.AtollbeginstheprocessofallocatingphysicalcellIDs.AnymessagesgeneratedbytheAFPduringauto
maticallocationarereportedontheEventstab.
WhileAtollallocatesphysicalcellIDs,youcan:

MonitorthereductionofthetotalcostintheProgresstab.
ComparethedistributionhistogramsoftheinitialandcurrentallocationplansintheDistributiontab.
PausetheautomaticallocationprocessbyclickingPause.
ResumetheautomaticallocationprocessbyclickingContinueorstarttheautomaticallocationfromtheinitial
statebyclickingRestart.

OnceAtollhasfinishedallocatingphysicalcellIDs,theproposedallocationplanisavailableontheResultstab.The
Resultstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
Name:Thenameofthecell.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedbythecell.
Channelnumber:Thechannelnumberofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
PhysicalcellIDdomain:ThephysicalcellIDdomainofthecell.
InitialphysicalcellID:ThephysicalcellIDofthecellbeforeautomaticallocation.
PhysicalcellID:ThephysicalcellIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
InitialPSSID:ThePSSIDofthecellbeforeautomaticallocation.
PSSID:ThePSSIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
InitialSSSID:TheSSSIDofthecellbeforeautomaticallocation.
SSSID:TheSSSIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
Cost:ThecostofthenewphysicalcellIDallocationofthecell.
SSSIDstatus:ThevalueoftheSSSIDstatusofthecell.
PSSIDstatus:ThevalueofthePSSIDstatusofthecell.
Inordertobetterviewtheprogressgraphandtheresultstable,youcanexpandtheright
hand side zone of the Automatic Resource Allocation dialog box by clicking the Hide
Inputsbutton

.Youcanalsoresizethedialogbox.

9. ClickCommit.TheproposedphysicalcellIDplanisassignedtothecellsofthenetwork.
10. ClickClosetoexit.
WhenyouallocatephysicalcellIDstoalargenumberofcells,itiseasiesttoletAtollallocatethemautomatically.However,
ifyouwanttoassignaphysicalcellIDtoonecellortomodifyit,youcandoitbyaccessingthepropertiesofthecell.
ToallocateaphysicalcellIDtoanLTEcellmanually:
1. OnthemaporintheLTETransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthetransmittertowhosecellyou
wanttoallocateaphysicalcellID.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. SelecttheCellstab.
4. EnteraPhysicalcellIDinthecellscolumn.
5. YoucansetthePSSIDStatusandSSSIDStatustoLockedifyouwanttolockthephysicalcellIDthatyouassigned.
6. ClickOK.

9.3.7 DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap
YoucandisplayAFPresultsonthemapinseveralways:

"UsingtheFindonMapTooltoDisplayAFPResults"onpage980.
"GroupingTransmittersbyChannelsorPhysicalCellIDs"onpage981.

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9.3.7.1 UsingtheFindonMapTooltoDisplayAFPResults
InAtoll,youcansearchforfrequencybands,channelnumbers,physicalcellIDs,PSSIDs,andSSSIDs,usingFindonMap.
Ifyouhavealreadycalculatedanddisplayedacoveragepredictionbytransmitterbasedonthebestserver,withtheresults
displayedbytransmitter,thesearchresultswillbedisplayedbytransmittercoverage.Thecurrentallocationplanandany
potentialproblemswillthenbeclearlyvisible.Forinformationoncoveragepredictionsbytransmitter,see"MakingaCover
agePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage923.
TofindafrequencybandusingFindonMap:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"LTEChannel."
3. FromtheBandlist,selectafrequencyband.
4. FromtheChannellist,select"All."
5. ClickSearch.
Transmitterswhosecellsusetheselectedfrequencybandaredisplayedinredinthemapwindowandarelistedunder
ResultsintheFindonMapwindow.Transmitterswithcellsusingotherfrequencybandsaredisplayedingreyinthe
mapwindow.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetdisplaybuttonintheFindonMapwindow.
TofindachannelnumberusingFindonMap:
1. SelectTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"LTEChannel."
3. FromtheBandlist,selectafrequencyband.
4. FromtheChannellist,selectthechannelnumber.
Bydefault,FindonMapdisplaysonlycochanneltransmittercells.Ifyouwantadjacentchannelstobedisplayedas
well,selecttheAdjacentchannelscheckbox.
5. ClickSearch.
Transmitterswhosecellsusetheselectedfrequencybandandchannelnumberaredisplayedinred.Transmitterswith
cellsusingtwoadjacentchannelnumbersinthesamefrequencyband(i.e.,achannelhigherandachannellower)are
displayedinyellow.Transmitterswithcellsusingaloweradjacentchannelnumberinthesamefrequencybandare
displayedingreen.Transmitterswithcellsusingahigheradjacentchannelnumberinthesamefrequencybandare
displayedinblue.Allothertransmittersaredisplayedasgreylines.
IfyouclearedtheAdjacentchannelscheckbox,transmitterswithcellsusingthesamechannelnumberaredisplayed
inred,andallothers,includingtransmitterswithadjacentchannels,aredisplayedasgreylines.
Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetdisplaybuttonintheFindonMapwindow.
Byincludingthefrequencybandandchannelnumberofeachcellinthetransmitterlabel,
thesearchresultswillbeeasiertounderstand.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
TofindaphysicalcellID,PSSID,orSSSIDusingFindonMap:
1. ClickTools>FindonMap.TheFindonMapwindowappears.
2. FromtheFindlist,select"PhysicalCellID."
3. Selectwhatyouwhatyouwanttosearchfor:

PhysicalcellID:IfyouwanttofindaphysicalcellID,selectPhysicalcellIDandselectthephysicalcellIDfromthe
list.
PSSID:IfyouwanttofindaPSSID,selectPSSIDandselectthePSSIDfromthelist:"All,""0,""1,"or"2."
SSSID:IfyouwanttofindanSSSID,selectSSSIDandselecttheSSSIDfromthelist.

4. ClickSearch.
WhenyouselectaphysicalcellIDoranSSSID,transmitterswithcellsmatchingthesearchcriteriaaredisplayedin
red.Transmittersthatdonotmatchthesearchcriteriaaredisplayedasgreylines.
WhenyouselectaspecificPSSID,transmitterswhosecellsusetheselectedIDaredisplayedinred.Transmitterswith
cellsthatuseotherIDsaredisplayedasgreylines.WhenyouchoosetosearchforallPSSIDs,transmitterswhosefirst
cellsuseID0aredisplayedinred,transmitterswhosefirstcellsuseID1aredisplayedinyellow,andtransmitters
whosefirstcellsuseID2aredisplayedingreen.

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Torestoretheinitialtransmittercolours,clicktheResetdisplaybuttonintheSearchToolwindow.

Byincludingthephysical cell IDofeachcellinthe transmitterlabel, the search

results will be easier to understand. For information on defining the label, see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
TransmitterswithmorethanonecellmightusedifferentPSSIDsindifferentcells.
Therefore,thesearchforallPSSIDsisonlyvalidforsinglecelltransmitters.

9.3.7.2 DisplayingAFPResultsUsingTransmitterDisplaySettings
YoucandisplaythefrequencyandphysicalcellIDallocationontransmittersbyusingthetransmittersdisplaysettings.
Todisplaythefrequencyallocationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.
5. Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplaytypeand"Cells:Channelnumber"astheField.
6. ClickOK.Transmitterswillbedisplayedbychannelnumber.
Youcanalsodisplaythefrequencybandandchannelnumberinthetransmitterlabelortiptextbyselecting"Cells:Frequency
band"and"Cells:Channelnumber"fromtheLabelorTipTextFieldSelectiondialogbox.
TodisplayphysicalcellIDallocationonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.
5. Select"Discretevalues"astheDisplaytypeand"Cells:PhysicalcellID"astheField.
6. ClickOK.TransmitterswillbedisplayedbyphysicalcellID.
YoucanalsodisplaythephysicalcellIDinthetransmitterlabelortiptextbyselecting"Cells:PhysicalcellID"fromtheLabel
orTipTextFieldSelectiondialogbox.
Forinformationondisplayoptions,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.

9.3.7.3 GroupingTransmittersbyChannelsorPhysicalCellIDs
YoucangrouptransmittersintheNetworkexplorerbytheirfrequencybands,channelnumbers,orphysicalcellIDs.
Togrouptransmittersbyfrequencybands,channelnumbers,orphysicalcellIDs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheGeneraltab,clickGroupby.TheGroupdialogboxappears.
5. UnderAvailablefields,scrolldowntotheCellssection.
6. Selecttheparameteryouwanttogrouptransmittersby:

Frequencyband
Channelnumber
PhysicalcellID

7. Click
toaddtheparametertotheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlist.Theselectedparameterisaddedtothelist
ofparametersonwhichthetransmitterswillbegrouped.
8. Ifyoudonotwantthetransmitterstobesortedbyacertainparameter,selecttheparameterintheGroupthesefields
inthisorderlistandclick
terswillbegrouped.

.Theselectedparameterisremovedfromthelistofparametersonwhichthetransmit

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9. ArrangetheparametersintheGroupthesefieldsinthisorderlistintheorderinwhichyouwantthetransmittersto
begrouped:
a. Selectaparameterandclick

tomoveituptothedesiredposition.

b. Selectaparameterandclick

tomoveitdowntothedesiredposition.

10. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosetheGroupdialogbox.

9.3.8 AnalysingtheAFPResults
YoucananalysetheAFPresultsusingthetoolsprovidedbyAtoll:

"CheckingtheConsistencyofaFrequencyPlan"onpage982.
"CheckingtheConsistencyofthePhysicalCellIDPlan"onpage983.
"MakingaCellIdentifierCollisionZonesPrediction"onpage986.
"AnalysingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingCoveragePredictions"onpage987.

9.3.8.1 CheckingtheConsistencyofaFrequencyPlan
Onceyouhavecompletedallocatingfrequencies,youcanverifywhethertheallocatedfrequenciesrespectthespecifiedrela
tionsbyperforminganauditoftheplan.Thefrequencyauditalsoenablesyoutocheckforinconsistenciesifyouhavemade
somemanualchangestotheallocationplan.
Toperformanauditofthefrequencyplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAFP>Audit.TheResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.54).
TheResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxisdividedintothreezones:

Thetoplinecontainsglobalinformationaboutthecurrentallocation(resourcebeingauditedandthetotalcostof
thecurrentplan).
Thelefthandsideofthedialogboxcontainstabswithinputparameters.
Therighthandsideofthedialogboxprovidestheauditresults.

Figure9.54:ResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxforLTEFrequencies
4. FromtheAuditlist,selectFrequencies.
5. OntheRelationTypestab,youcanselecttherelationbasedallocationcriteriathatyouwanttoverify.

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Interferencematrix:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,and
selectaninterferencematrixfromthelist.ForAtolltotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,theymustbeavail
ableintheInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Interferencematricescanbecalculated,and

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importedintheInterferenceMatricesfolder.Formoreinformationoninterferencematrices,see"Workingwith
InterferenceMatrices"onpage972.
ExistingNeighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakeneighboursintoaccount.Atollcanonly
takeneighbourrelationsintoaccountifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationonallocating
neighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957.
Reusedistance:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakereusedistanceintoaccount.Forcellsthatdo
nothaveareusedistancedefinedintheirproperties,thevalueenterednexttoDefaultwillbeusedfortheaudit.

6. OntherighthandsideoftheResourceAllocationAuditdialogbox,AtolldisplaystheTotalcostofthecurrentfre
quencyallocation.
You can click the Weights button to open the Weights dialog box and modify the cost
componentweights.Formoreinformation,see"ConfiguringCostComponentWeights"on
page975.
7. Click Calculate. Atoll performs an audit of the current frequency plan. Any messages generated by the audit are
reportedontheEventstab.Theauditresultsarereportedonthefollowingtabs:
TheCellstabliststhecurrentallocationplanandthefollowinginformation:

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
Name:Thenameofthecell.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedbythecell.
Channelnumber:Thechannelnumberofthecell.
Channelallocationstatus:ThevalueoftheChannelallocationstatusofthecell.
Cost:Thecostofthefrequencyallocationofthecell.

TheRelationstablistsalltherelationsbetweencellsthatexistinthedocument.Ifyouwishtodisplayonlytherela
tionsthatviolatethefrequencyallocationrequirements,selecttheShowviolationsonlycheckbox.TheRelationstab
containsthefollowinginformation:

Cell1:Firstcellinarelatedcellpair.
Cell2:Secondcellinarelatedcellpair.
Frequencyband1:FrequencybandofCell1.
Channel1:ChannelnumberofCell1.
Frequencyband2:FrequencybandofCell2.
Channel2:ChannelnumberofCell2.
Channelcollision:WhetherthechannelsofCell1andCell2collide( )ornot( ).
ChannelOverlapFactor:TheratioofoverlapbetweenthechannelsusedbyCell1andCell2.
Cost:Thecostofthecurrentcollisions,ifany,betweenCell1andCell2.
Distance:ThedistancebetweenCell1andCell2.
Reusedistance:ReusedistancedefinedforCell1.
Distancerelationimportance:TheimportanceofthedistancebasedrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.
InterferenceMatrices:Whetheraninterferencematrixrelationexists( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot.
Interferencematriximportance:TheimportanceoftheinterferencematrixrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.
Neighbour:Whetheraneighbourrelationexists( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot.
Neighbourimportance:TheimportanceoftheneighbourrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.

TheDistributiontabshowsthehistogramofthecurrentallocationplan.
Inordertobetterviewtheauditresults,youcanexpandtherighthandsidezoneofthe
ResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxbyclickingtheHideInputsbutton
resizethedialogbox.

.Youcanalso

8. ClickClosetoexit.

9.3.8.2 CheckingtheConsistencyofthePhysicalCellIDPlan
OnceyouhavecompletedallocatingphysicalcellIDs,youcanverifywhethertheallocatedphysicalcellIDsrespectthespec
ifiedconstraintsandrelationsbyperforminganauditoftheplan.ThephysicalcellIDauditalsoenablesyoutocheckforincon
sistenciesifyouhavemadesomemanualchangestotheallocationplan.
Forinstance,aphysicalcellIDauditwilldetectthefollowinginmultiRATnetworks:

LTEcellswithidenticalphysicalcellIDsthatareneighboursofthesameGSMtransmitter,
LTEcellswithidenticalphysicalcellIDsthatareneighboursofthesameUMTScell,
LTEcellswithidenticalphysicalcellIDsthatareneighboursofthesameCDMAcell.

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ToperformanauditofthephysicalcellIDplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectAFP>Audit.TheResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.55).
TheResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxisdividedintothreezones:

Thetoplinecontainsglobalinformationaboutthecurrentallocation(resourcebeingauditedandthetotalcostof
thecurrentplan).
Thelefthandsideofthedialogboxcontainstabswithinputparameters.
Therighthandsideofthedialogboxprovidestheauditresults.

Figure9.55:ResourceAllocationAuditdialogboxforLTEPhysicalCellIDs
4. FromtheAuditlist,selectPhysicalCellIDs.
5. OntheRelationTypestab,youcanselecttherelationbasedallocationcriteriathatyouwanttoverify.

Interferencematrix:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,and
selectaninterferencematrixfromthelist.ForAtolltotakeinterferencematricesintoaccount,theymustbeavail
ableintheInterferenceMatricesfolderintheNetworkexplorer.Interferencematricescanbecalculated,and
importedintheInterferenceMatricesfolder.Formoreinformationoninterferencematrices,see"Workingwith
InterferenceMatrices"onpage972.
ExistingNeighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakeneighboursintoaccount.Atollcanonly
takeneighbourrelationsintoaccountifneighbourshavealreadybeenallocated.Forinformationonallocating
neighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage957.
Reusedistance:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttheaudittotakereusedistanceintoaccount.Forcellsthatdo
nothaveareusedistancedefinedintheirproperties,thevalueenterednexttoDefaultwillbeusedfortheaudit.

6. OntherighthandsideoftheResourceAllocationAuditdialogbox,AtolldisplaystheTotalcostofthecurrentphysical
cellIDallocation.
You can click the Weights button to open the Weights dialog box and modify the cost
componentweights.Formoreinformation,see"ConfiguringCostComponentWeights"on
page975.
7. OntheConstraintstab,youcansettheconstraintstotakeintoaccountintheaudit:

Allocationdomain:YoucanchoosePercelltocheckiftheallocatedphysicalcellIDsbelongtothephysicalcellID
domainsdefinedpercell,oryoucanchoosetotheEntire(0503)domainordefineaCustomdomainbyentering
theExcludedresources.
YoucanenternonconsecutivephysicalcellIDsseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeofphysicalcell
IDsseparatingthefirstandlastonewithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,2,3,4,5").

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Allocationstrategies:YoucanselecttheSamepersitestrategyfortheSSSIDtocheckwhetherthesameSSSID
hasbeenallocatedtothecellsofthesamesite.YoucanselecttheDifferentPSSIDpersitecheckboxtohavethe
auditverifywhethercositecellshavedifferentPSSIDs.
YoucanselecttheTakeintoaccountfrequencyplancheckboxifyouwanttheaudittoconsiderthefrequency
planwhendeterminingphysicalcellIDcollisions.

8. ClickCalculate.AtollperformsanauditofthecurrentphysicalcellIDplan.Anymessagesgeneratedbytheauditare
reportedontheEventstab.Theauditresultsarereportedonthefollowingtabs:
TheCellstabliststhecurrentallocationplanandthefollowinginformation:

Site:Thenameofthebasestation.
Transmitter:Thenameofthetransmitter.
Name:Thenameofthecell.
FrequencyBand:Thefrequencybandusedbythecell.
Channelnumber:Thechannelnumberofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
PhysicalcellIDdomain:ThephysicalcellIDdomainofthecell.
Domaincompliance:WhethertheallocatedphysicalcellIDbelongsto( )thedefinedphysicalcellIDdomainor
not( ).
PhysicalcellID:ThephysicalcellIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
PSSID:ThePSSIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
SSSID:TheSSSIDofthecellafterautomaticallocation.
Cost:ThecostofthenewphysicalcellIDallocationofthecell.
SSSIDstatus:ThevalueoftheSSSIDstatusofthecell.
PSSIDstatus:ThevalueofthePSSIDstatusofthecell.

TheRelationstablistsalltherelationsbetweencellsthatexistinthedocument.Ifyouwishtodisplayonlytherela
tionsthatviolatethephysicalcellIDallocationrequirements,selecttheShowviolationsonlycheckbox.TheRelations
tabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Cell1:Firstcellinarelatedcellpair.
Cell2:Secondcellinarelatedcellpair.
Frequencyband1:FrequencybandofCell1.
Channel1:ChannelnumberofCell1.
Frequencyband2:FrequencybandofCell2.
Channel2:ChannelnumberofCell2.
Cost:Thecostofthecurrentcollisions,ifany,betweenCell1andCell2.
PhysicalcellIDcollision:WhetherthephysicalcellIDsofCell1andCell2collide( )ornot( ).
PhysicalcellID1:ThephysicalcellIDofCell1.
PhysicalcellID2:ThephysicalcellIDofCell2.
PSScollision:WhetherthePSSIDsofCell1andCell2collide( )ornot( ).
PSS1:ThePSSIDofCell1.
PSS2:ThePSSIDofCell2.
PersiteSSSconstraint:WhetherthepersiteSSSconstrainthasbeenrespected( )ornot( ).
SSS1:TheSSSIDofCell1.
SSS2:TheSSSIDofCell2.
PCIMod6collision(DLRS):WhetherthereisaPCIMod6collision( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot( ).
PCIMod30collision(ULDMRS):WhetherthereisaPCIMod30collision( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot( ).
PCFICHREGcollision:WhetherthereisaPCFICHREGcollision( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot( ).
Distance:ThedistancebetweenCell1andCell2.
Reusedistance:ReusedistancedefinedforCell1.
Distancerelationimportance:TheimportanceofthedistancebasedrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.
InterferenceMatrices:Whetheraninterferencematrixrelationexists( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot.
Interferencematriximportance:TheimportanceoftheinterferencematrixrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.
Neighbour:Whetheraneighbourrelationexists( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot.
Neighbourimportance:TheimportanceoftheneighbourrelationbetweenCell1andCell2.
Secondorderneighbour:Whetherasecondorderneighbourrelationexists( )betweenCell1andCell2ornot.
Secondorderneighbourimportance:TheimportanceofthesecondorderneighbourrelationbetweenCell1and
Cell2.
Neighboursofacommoncell:WhetherCell1andCell2are( )neighboursofacommoncellornot.
Importanceofneighboursofacommoncell:TheimportanceoftherelationbetweenCell1andCell2througha
commonneighbourcell.

TheSitestabidentifiesthesiteswheretheSamepersiteSSSIDallocationstrategywasrespected(

)ornot(

).

TheDistributiontabshowsthehistogramofthecurrentallocationplan.

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Theexclamationmarkicon( )signifiesthatthecollisionmayormaynotbea
problemdependingonyournetworkdesignrulesandselectedstrategies.Onthe
otherhand,thecrossicon( )impliesanerror.
Inordertobetterviewtheauditresults,youcanexpandtherighthandsidezone
of the Resource Allocation Audit dialog box by clicking the Hide Inputs button
.Youcanalsoresizethedialogbox.

9. ClickClosetoexit.

9.3.8.3 MakingaCellIdentifierCollisionZonesPrediction
YoucanmakeapredictionofcellidentifiercollisionzonestoviewareascoveredbycellsusingthesamephysicalcellIDor
otherrelatedparameterssuchasthePSSID,SSSID,PCIMod6(DLRS),andPCIMod30(ULDMRS).Atollchecksoneachpixel
ifoneormorecellhasthesamecellidentifierastheusersbestservingcell.Ifso,Atollconsidersthatthereiscellidentifier
collision.
Tomakeacellidentifiercollisionzoneprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer,rightclickthePredictionsfolderandselectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.The
PredictionTypesdialogueappears.
2. SelectCellIdentifierCollisionZones(DL)andclickOK.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.
AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.ThisIDcan
laterbefoundbetweenthe<GUID>and</GUID>tagsinthefollowingfiles:

"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
"<prediction_name>.XML"files(oneperprediction)createdinthefollowingfolder
if coverage predictions were calculated with Display type = "Value intervals":
C:\<path_to_doc>\<doc_name>.studies\{<Unique_ID>}

UnderDisplayConfiguration,youcancreateaFiltertoselectwhichsitestodisplayintheresults.Youcanalsodisplay
theresultsgroupedintheNetworkexplorerbyoneormorecharacteristicsbyclickingtheGroupBybutton,oryou
candisplaytheresultssortedbyclickingtheSortbutton.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99;
forinformationongrouping,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96;forinformationonsorting,see"AdvancedSorting"
onpage99.
4. ClicktheConditionstab(seeFigure9.56).OntheConditionstab,youcandefinethesignalsthatwillbeconsidered
foreachpixel.

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AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobeconsidered.
TheServerparameterissetto"BestSignalLevel."YoucanenteraMargin.
IfyouselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
YoucanselecttheTakefrequencyplanintoaccountcheckboxtodeterminethecellidentifiercollisionsbasedon
thecurrentfrequencyplanofthenetwork.
UnderIdentifier,youcanselectthecellidentifierforwhichyouwishtocalculatethecoverageprediction.

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Figure9.56:Conditionsettingsforacellidentifiercoverageprediction
5. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Thecoveragepredictionresultswillbearrangedaccordingtocells,thenumberofinterferers,ornumberofinterferers
percell.Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
6. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,choosewhetheryouwanttocalculateitnoworlater:

ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandperformthecalculationimmediately.
ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculatethepredictionlaterby
clickingtheCalculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.OnceAtollhasfinishedcalcu
latingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

9.3.8.4 AnalysingtheFrequencyAllocationUsingCoveragePredictions
YoucancreateandcomparereferencesignalC/(I+N)coveragepredictionsbeforeandaftertheautomaticfrequencyalloca
tioninordertoanalyseandcomparetheimprovementsbroughtaboutbytheAFP.Formoreinformationoncreatingrefer
encesignalC/(I+N)coveragepredictions,see"StudyingInterferenceandC/(I+N)Levels"onpage932.Formoreinformation
oncomparingtwocoveragepredictions,see"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage953.

9.4 StudyingNetworkCapacity
InterferenceisthemajorlimitingfactorintheperformanceofLTEnetworks.Ithasbeenrecognisedasthemajorbottleneck
innetworkcapacityandisoftenresponsibleforpoorperformance.Frequencyreusemeansthatinagivencoverageareathere
areseveralcellsthatuseagivensetoffrequencies.Thecellsthatusethesamefrequencyarecalledcochannelcells,andthe
interferencefromuserswiththesamechannelintheothercochannelcellsiscalledcochannelinterference.Unlikethermal
noisewhichcanbeovercomebyincreasingthesignaltonoiseratio(SNR),cochannelinterferencecannotbecounteredby
simplyincreasingthecarrierpowerofatransmitter.Thisisbecauseanincreaseincarriertransmissionpowerwillincreasethe
interferencetoneighbouringcochannelcells.Toreducecochannelinterference,cochannelcellsmustbephysicallysepa
ratedsufficientlybyadistance,calledthereusedistance.Foranetworkwithalimitednumberoffrequencychannels,alarge
reusedistancecanguaranteeahighQoSforthesystem,butthecapacitywillbedecreased.
AnothertypeofinterferenceinLTEnetworksisadjacentchannelinterference.Adjacentchannelinterferenceresultsfrom
imperfectreceiverfilterswhichallownearbyfrequenciestointerferewiththeusedfrequencychannel.Adjacentchannel
interferencecanbeminimisedthroughcarefulfilteringandchannelassignment.
InAtoll,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofusersatagivenpointintime.Thedistributionofusersatagiven
momentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvariousnetworkparameterssuchasthedown
linkanduplinktrafficloads,theuplinknoiserise,theuserthroughputs,etc.Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.
Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesametrafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbe
different,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhavevariationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshotto
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Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsor
subscriberlistsmustbeprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapsandsubscriberlistshavebeen
created,youcanmakesimulationsofthenetworktraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage988.
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage988.
"ExportingaTrafficMap"onpage998.
"WorkingwithaSubscriberDatabase"onpage998.
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage1002.
"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage1020.

9.4.1 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinmakingasimulationisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallofthe
parametersofnetworkuse,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

LTEradiobearers:Radiobearersareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.TheLTERadioBearertablelistsall
theavailableradiobearers.YoucancreatenewradiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheLTERadioBearer
table.Forinformationondefiningradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasVoIP,FTPdownload,etc.,availabletousers.Theseservicescanbe
eitherof the type "voice" or "data". For information on modelling enduserservices, see"Modelling Services" on
page927.
Mobilitytypes:InLTE,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttodeterminetheusersradioconditionsand
throughputs.Forinformationonmodellingmobilitytypes,see"ModellingMobilityTypes"onpage928.
Terminals:InLTE,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,
or a cars onboard navigation device. For information on modelling terminals, see "Modelling Terminals" on
page929.

9.4.2 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
AtollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmapsforLTEprojects.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm2)

Thesemapscanbeusedfordifferenttypesoftrafficdatasourcesasfollows:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
thenumberofusersorthethroughputineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Traffic
is spread over the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either the
throughputsintheuplinkandinthedownlinkorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusorthetotalnumberofusers
(allactivitystatuses).Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage988.

Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on
page992,"ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage994and"CreatingaUserProfileEnvi
ronmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage994.

Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatusesoritcorrespondstoaparticular
activitystatus.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)"onpage995,"Import
ingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage995,"Converting2GNetworkTraffic"onpage997and"ExportingCumulated
Traffic"onpage997

9.4.2.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThissectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.

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Youcanentereitherthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkandinthedownlinkorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusor
thetotalnumberofusers(allactivitystatuses).Youmusthaveacoveragepredictionbytransmittertocreatethistrafficmap.
Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveacoveragepredictionbytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateandcalculateitfirst.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage923.
Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectSectortrafficmap.
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.YoucanchooseeitherThroughputsinuplinkanddownlink,
Totalnumberofusers(allactivitystatuses)orNumberofusersperactivitystatus.
6. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
7. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
8. EnterthedatarequiredintheSectorTrafficMapdialogbox:

IfyouhaveselectedThroughputsinuplinkanddownlink,enterthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkanddown
linkforeachsectorandforeachlistedservice.
IfyouhaveselectedTotalnumberofusers(allactivitystatuses),enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeach
sectorandforeachlistedservice.
IfyouhaveselectedNumberofusersperactivitystatus,enterthenumberofinactiveusers,thenumberofusers
activeintheuplink,inthedownlinkandintheuplinkanddownlink,foreachsectorandforeachservice.
YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

9. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
10. SelecttheTraffictab.Enterthefollowing:
a. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemust
equal100.
b. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemust
equal100.
c. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enter:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusers.

11. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
Youcanmodifythesectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifythesectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonlivedatathatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.
6. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
7. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
8. UnderClutterDistribution,foreachclutterclass,enteraweighttospreadthetrafficovertheclutterclassesandthe
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9. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifiedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandthenumberofusers,onthemapafterwards.Youmustfirstrecal
culatethecoveragepredictionbytransmitter.Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"on
page923.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverageprediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdatethetrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectUpdatefromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
5. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage997.

9.4.2.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Theremayalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreatetrafficmapsbasedonuserprofilesandenvironments.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentusercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhicharein
turndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration(forcallsofthetype"voice")oruplinkanddownlinkvolume
(forcallsofthetype"data").
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofusersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironment
usingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofuserswiththesame
profileperkm).
Thesections"ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap"onpage992,"ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"
onpage994and"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap"onpage994describehowtousetrafficdatafrom
themarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ModellingUserProfiles"onpage990.
"ModellingEnvironments"onpage991.

ModellingUserProfiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausermightbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butno
webbrowsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandweb
browsing.
Tocreateormodifyauserprofile:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheUserProfilesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. Youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

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Name:Enteradescriptivenamefortheuserprofile.
Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Forinformationonservices,see"ModellingServices"onpage927.
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Calls/hour:Forservicesofthetype"voice,"entertheaveragenumberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Thecalls
perhourisusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.Forservicesofthetype"voice,"onecalllasting1000seconds
presentsthesameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Forservicesofthetype"data,"theCalls/hourvalueisdefinedasthenumberofsessionsperhour.Asessionislike
acallinthatitisdefinedastheperiodoftimebetweenwhenauserstartsusingaserviceandwhenhestopsusing
aservice.Inservicesofthetype"data,"however,hemaynotusetheservicecontinually.Forexample,withaweb
browsing service, a session starts when the user opens his browsing application and ends when he quits the
browsingapplication.Betweenthesetwoevents,theusermightbedownloadingwebpagesandothertimeshe
maynotbeusingtheapplication,orhemightbebrowsinglocalfiles,butthesessionisstillconsideredasopen.A
session,therefore,isdefinedbythevolumetransferredintheuplinkanddownlinkandnotbythetime.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

Duration(sec.):Forservicesofthetype"voice,"entertheaveragedurationofacallinseconds.Forservicesofthe
type"data,"thisfieldisleftblank.
ULvolume(KBytes):Forservicesofthetype"data,"entertheaverageuplinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.
DLvolume(KBytes):Forservicesofthetype"data,"entertheaveragedownlinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

6. ClickOK.
ModellingEnvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofuserswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassigna
weighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.Youcanalsospecifythepercentageofindoorsubscribersforeach
clutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepath
lossesofindoormobiles.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironment:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficParametersfolder.
3. RightclicktheEnvironmentsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. EnteraNameforthenewenvironment.
7. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon( ),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycombina
tionthatthisLTEenvironmentwilldescribe:

User:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombinationof
userprofileandmobilitytype.

8. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
9. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

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where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithauserdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000users.Thearea
iscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"andforBuildingis"4."Given
therespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclassand800intheBuildingclutter
class.
10. Ifyouwishyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoor
lossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
11. ClickOK.

9.4.2.2.1

ImportingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
vector.
Tocreateauserprofiletrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage994.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDatatypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure9.57).
12. UnderTrafficfields,youcanspecifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,theirmobilitytype(kmh),andtheirdensity.
Ifthefileyouareimportinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacteristicsbyidentifyingthecorresponding
fieldsinthefile.Ifthefileyouareimportingdoesnothavedatadescribingtheuserprofile,mobility,ordensity,you
canassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.

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Figure9.57:TrafficmappropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
Defineeachofthefollowing:

Userprofile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera
densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflines,andthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.

13. UnderClutterdistribution,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk

N Area =

Numberofusersintheclutterk
NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk

Weightofclutterk

Sk

Surfaceareaofclutterk(insquarekm)

14. Ifyouwishyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,
indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
15. ClickOKtofinishimportingthetrafficmap.

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ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Tocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage994.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupported8bitrasterformats:TIF,JPEG2000,BIL,
IST,BMP,PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDatatypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheDescriptiontab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthesenumbersandliststhemintheCode
column.
12. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheenvironmentsavailablearethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"ModellingEnvironments"onpage991.
13. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
14. ClickOK.

9.4.2.2.3

CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBasedTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapbasedonbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure9.58).

DrawMap

DeleteMap

Figure9.58:Environmentmapeditortoolbar
7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

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9.4.2.2.4

DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surface)andrelative(percent
ageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,statistics
aredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby:% of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
5. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

9.4.2.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km2)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)oron2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitsurface,i.e.,the
densityofusers,asinput.Thiscanbeeitherthedensityofusersperactivitystatusorthetotaldensityofusers(allactivity
statuses).
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage995
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage996.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanbecreatedfromsectortrafficmapstoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitof
surface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.Formoreinfor
mation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage997.

9.4.2.3.1

ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwilldistribute
xusersperpixelduringthesimulations,wherexdependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobility
type,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedintheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserdensitytrafficmap(No.users/km2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

Allactivitystatuses:SelectAllactivitystatusesifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithany
activitystatus.
Activeinuplink:SelectActiveinuplinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:SelectActiveindownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:SelectActiveinuplinkanddownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesaden
sityofuserswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactiveifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.

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YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentBased
TrafficMap"onpage994.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,JPEG2000,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
9. SelectTrafficfromtheDatatypelist.
10. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
11. SelecttheTraffictab.
12. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
13. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal
100.
14. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagemustequal100.
15. UnderClutterdistribution,enterforeachclutterclassthepercentageofindoorusers.
16. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.

9.4.2.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserdensitytrafficmapbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmapperuserdensity:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserdensitytrafficmap(Numberofusersperkm2).
5. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoenter.Youcanchoosefrom:

Allactivitystatuses:SelectAllactivitystatusesifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithany
activitystatus.
Activeinuplink:SelectActiveinuplinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:SelectActiveindownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactivein
thedownlinkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:SelectActiveinuplinkanddownlinkifthemapyouareimportingprovidesaden
sityofuserswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactiveifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

6. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertydialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.
8. UnderTerminals(%),enterthepercentageofeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
9. UnderMobilities(%),enterthepercentageofeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal
100.
10. UnderServices(%),enterthepercentageofeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalpercentagesmustequal100.
11. UnderClutterdistribution,enterforeachclutterclassthepercentageofindoorusers.
12. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
13. Rightclickthetrafficmap.Thecontextmenuappears.
14. SelectEditfromthecontextmenu.
15. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbartodrawcontours.Formoreinformationoneditingcontours,see
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.AtollcreatesanitemcalledDensityvaluesintheUserDensityMap
folder.
16. Rightclicktheitem.Thecontextmenuappears.
17. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
18. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.

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19. Rightclicktheitem.Thecontextmenuappears.
20. SelectEditfromthecontextmenutoendediting.

9.4.2.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
extractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutter
weightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.
Tocreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromasectortrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwanttocreateuserdensitytrafficmaps.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCreateDensityMapsfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcreatesasmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsasthereareservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuserdensity
mapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedinthedocu
ment.

9.4.2.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsastrafficmapsperuserdensityintoyourLTEdocument.These
mapscanthenbeusedintrafficsimulationslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage997,andforinformation
onimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage995.
Toimporta2GtrafficmapintoanLTEdocument:
1. Createalivedatatrafficmapinyour2Gdocumentforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandone
forcircuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatingsectortrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"
onpage314.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage997.
3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2toyourLTEdocumentasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinformationon
importinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage995.

9.4.2.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollenablesyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.During
export,Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensities.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,or
VerticalMapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtraffic
mapcanthenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmap.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
6. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

Theentireprojectarea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentireproject.
Thecomputationzone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone.

7. DefineaResolutioninmetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

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8. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.
Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,orselect"Voiceservices"toexportvoicetraffic,orselect"Data
services"toexportdatatraffic.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

Allactivitystatuses:Selectallactivitystatusestoexportalluserswithoutanyfilterbyactivitystatus.
Uplink:SelectUplinktoexportmobilesactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:SelectDownlinktoexportmobilesactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:SelectUplink/Downlinktoexportonlymobileswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactivetoexportonlyinactivemobiles.

9. IntheSelecttrafficmapstobeusedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
10. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

9.4.3 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
3. Rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectSaveAsfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.
6. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportregion:

Entireprojectarea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
Onlypendingchanges:Savesonlythemodificationsmadetothemap.
Computationzone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

9.4.4 WorkingwithaSubscriberDatabase
TheLTEmoduleincludesasubscriberdatabaseformodellingfixeduserdistributionsinanetwork.Thesubscriberdatabase
consistsofsubscriberlists.YoucancreatesubscriberlistsinAtollbyaddingsubscriberstothelistusingthemouse,orbycopy
ingdatafromanyothersourcesuchasaspreadsheet.YoucanalsodirectlyimportsubscriberlistsinAtollfromtext(TXT)and
commaseparatedvalue(CSV)files.
Atollcanallocatereferenceorservingbasestations(cells)tosubscribers.Youcanalsohavethesubscriberantennaoriented
towardsitsservingcelltodecreaseinterference.Theautomaticserverallocationperformsanumberofcalculationsonthe
subscriberlocations.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingaSubscriberList"onpage998.
"PerformingCalculationsonSubscriberlists"onpage1002.

9.4.4.1 CreatingaSubscriberList
YoucreatesubscribersinAtollintwosteps.First,youcreateasubscriberlist,andthenyouaddsubscriberstothelist.Youcan
addsubscriberstothelistdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.Formoreinformation,see"AddingSubscriberstoaSubscriber
ListUsingtheMouse"onpage1001.
Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofsubscribers,AtollallowsyoutoimportthemfromanotherAtolldocumentorfroman
externalsource.Formoreinformation,see"ImportingaSubscriberList"onpage1001.
Tocreateasubscriberlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSubscribersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectNewListfromthecontextmenu.TheSubscriberListNPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.59),where
Nisanincrementaldigit.

Figure9.59:NewsubscriberlistdialogboxGeneraltab
4. SelecttheGeneraltab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

Name:Thenameofthesubscriberlist.Youcanchangethenameofthelistifdesired.
Coordinatesystem:Thecurrentcoordinatesystemusedbythesubscriberlist.Youcanchangethecoordinate
systemofthelistbyclickingtheChangebutton.
Sort:ClicktheSortbuttontosortthedatainthesubscriberlist.Forinformationonsorting,see"SortingData"on
page98.
Filter:ClicktheFilterbuttontofilterthedatainthesubscriberlist.Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"
onpage99.

5. ClicktheDisplaytab.Youcanmodifyhowsubscribersaddedtothelistaredisplayed.Forinformationondefiningthe
displayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
6. ClickOK.Atollcreatesanewsubscriberlist.
Thefollowingparametersareavailablebydefaultinanewsubscriberlist:

ID:ThesubscriberIDinthesubscriberlist.Itisanautomaticallycreatedidentificationnumber.
XandYcoordinates:Thegeographicalcoordinatesofthesubscriber.Asubscriberslocationisalwaysfixed.
Height:Thealtitudeofthesubscriberantennawithrespecttotheground(DTM).
Name:Youcanassignadescriptivenametoeachsubscriber.
Userprofile:Auserprofiledefinesthetrafficdemandcharacteristicsofsubscribers.Atolldeterminestheterminal
used,theserviceaccessed,andtheactivitystatusofsubscribersduringMonteCarlosimulationsaccordingtothe
informationintheuserprofiles.Formoreinformation,see"ModellingUserProfiles"onpage990.
Terminal:Thedefaultterminalistheuserequipmentwithanantenna,receptionequipment,andnoisecharacter
istics.Thepropertiesofthisterminalaretakenintoconsiderationwhenperformingcalculationsonthesubscriber
list.
Service:Theservicethatthesubscriberaccessesbydefault.Thepropertiesofthisservicearetakenintoconsid
erationwhenperformingcalculationsonthesubscriberlist.
Mobility:Themobilitytypeassociatedwiththesubscriber.Itisusedtoidentifythethresholdsandgraphstobe
usedforthesubscriberincalculations.
Clutter:Thenameoftheclutterclasswherethesubscriberislocated.Thisisanoneditablefieldwhosecontents
areautomaticallyupdated.
Indoor:Thisfieldindicateswhetherthesubscriberisindoororoutdoor.
Bestserver:Theservingtransmitterofthesubscriber.YoucaneitherdefinethisvaluemanuallyorletAtollcalcu
lateitforthesubscriber.Theservingtransmitteristheonetowhichtheservingcellbelongs.
Servingcell:Theservingcellofthesubscriber.YoucaneitherdefinethisvaluemanuallyorletAtollcalculateitfor
thesubscriber.
Distance:Thedistanceofthesubscriberfromitsservingbasestation.Thisisanoneditablefieldwhosecontents
areautomaticallyupdated.
Azimuth:Theorientationofthesubscriberantennainthehorizontalplane.Azimuthisalwaysconsideredwith
respecttothenorth.YoucaneitherdefinethisvaluemanuallyorletAtollcalculateitforthesubscriber.Atoll
pointsthesubscriberantennatowardsitsservingbasestation.

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Downtilt:Theorientationofthesubscriberantennaintheverticalplane.Mechanicaldowntiltispositivewhenit
isdownwardsandnegativewhenupwards.YoucaneitherdefinethisvaluemanuallyorletAtollcalculateitfor
thesubscriber.Atollpointsthesubscriberantennatowardsitsservingbasestation.
Lockstatus:Youcanchoosetolockthesubscriberantennaorientationandservingtransmitter.Usethisoptionif
youdonotwantAtolltochangetheassignedserverortheantennaorientation.
RSRP(RSEPRE)(DL)(dBm):TheRSRP(receivedreferencesignalenergyperresourceelement)receivedatthesub
scriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSSI(DL)(dBm):TheRSSIreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtoll
duringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSRQ(DL)(dB):TheRSRQ(referencesignalreceivedquality)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalue
iscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedRSpower(DL)(dBm):Thereferencesignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedSSpower(DL)(dBm):TheSSsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalue
iscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPBCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePBCHsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPDCCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePDCCHsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.
ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPDSCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePDSCHsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.
ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThereferencesignalC/(I+N)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalueisgener
atedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
SSC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):TheSSC/(I+N)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtoll
duringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PBCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePBCHC/(I+N)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalueisgeneratedby
Atollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDCCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePDCCHC/(I+N)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalueisgeneratedby
Atollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDSCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePDSCHC/(I+N)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.Thisvalueisgeneratedby
Atollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RStotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationin
thedownlinkonthereferencesignals.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
SS&PBCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedatthesubscriberloca
tioninthedownlinkontheSSandPBCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDCCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedatthesubscriberlocation
inthedownlinkonthePDCCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDSCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedatthesubscriberlocation
inthedownlinkonthePDSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
Bearer(DL):ThehighestLTEbeareravailableforthePDSCHC/(I+N)levelatthesubscriberlocationinthedown
link.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
BLER(DL):TheBlockErrorRatereadfromthesubscribersterminaltypesreceptionequipmentforthePDSCH
C(I+N)levelatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationson
subscriberlists.
Diversitymode(DL):Thediversitymodesupportedbythecellindownlink.
PeakRLCchannelthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculations
onsubscriberlists.
EffectiveRLCchannelthroughput(DL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculations
onsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPUSCH&PUCCHpower(UL)(dBm):ThePUSCH&PUCCHsignallevelreceivedattheservingtransmitter
fromthesubscriberterminalintheuplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriber
lists.
PUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)(UL)(dB):ThePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)attheservingtransmitterofthesubscriberinthe
uplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PUSCH&PUCCHtotalnoise(I+N)(UL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheserving
transmitterofthesubscriberintheuplinkonthePUSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculations
onsubscriberlists.
Bearer(UL):ThehighestLTEbeareravailableforthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)levelattheservingtransmitterof
thesubscriberintheuplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
BLER(UL):TheBlockErrorRatereadfromtheservingcellsreceptionequipmentforthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)
levelattheservingtransmitterofthesubscriberintheuplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalcula
tionsonsubscriberlists.
Diversitymode(UL):Thediversitymodesupportedbythecellinuplink.
Transmissionpower(UL)(dBm):Thetransmissionpowerofthesubscribersterminalafterpowercontrolinthe
uplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.

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Allocatedbandwidth(UL)(No.offrequencyblocks):Thenumberoffrequencyblocksallocatedtothesubscriber
intheuplinkbytheeNodeB.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PeakRLCchannelthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheservingtransmitterofthesubscriberintheuplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduring
thecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
EffectiveRLCchannelthroughput(UL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCchannelthroughputavailableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheservingtransmitterofthesubscriberintheuplink.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduring
thecalculationsonsubscriberlists.

Forinformationonhowtoselectthecolumnstodisplayinthesubscriberlisttable,see"SelectingtheColumnsto
DisplayintheSubscriberLists"onpage1002.
Formoreinformationonthecalculationsthatyoucancarryoutonsubscriberlists,see"PerformingCalculationson
Subscriberlists"onpage1002.
Youcannowmovethepointeroverthemapandclickoncetoplaceanewsubscriberatthelocationofthepointer.PressESC
orclickthenormalpointerbutton( ),tofinishaddingsubscribersonthemap.Forinformationonaddingsubscriberstoa
list,see"AddingSubscriberstoaSubscriberListUsingtheMouse"onpage1001.
Youcanopenthesubscriberlisttablecontainingallthesubscribersandtheirparameters.
Toopenthesubscriberlisttable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSubscribersfolder.
3. Rightclickthesubscriberlistyouwanttoopen.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.

9.4.4.1.1

AddingSubscriberstoaSubscriberListUsingtheMouse
Youcanusethemousetoaddsubscriberstoanexistingsubscriberlist.Atollappliesthedefaultparametersdefinedinthe
TabletabofthesubscriberlistPropertiesdialogboxtoallthesubscribersyouaddtothelist.Formoreinformationonthe
Tabletab,see"CreatingaSubscriberList"onpage998.
Toaddsubscriberstoasubscriberlistusingthemouse:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSubscribersfolder.
3. Rightclickthesubscriberlisttowhichyouwanttoaddsubscribers.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectAddSubscribersfromthecontextmenu.Thepointerchangestosubscriberadditionmode(

).

5. Movethemouseoverthemapwindow,andclickoncetoaddeachsubscriber.
6. PressESCorclickthenormalpointerbutton(

)tofinishaddingsubscribers.

Toplacesubscribersmoreaccurately,beforeclickingthemap,youcanzoominonthe
map.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"on
page53.

9.4.4.1.2

ImportingaSubscriberList
Youcanalsoimportsubscriberlistsfromtextfiles(TXT)orcommaseparatedvaluefiles(CSV),includingMicrosoftExcelfiles
exportedinCSVformat.
Toimportasubscriberlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSubscribersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheASCIItextfileyouwanttoopenandclickOpen.TheImportdialogboxappears.
IntheImportdialogbox,youcanchangethereferencecoordinatesystemforthefilebeingimportedbyselectingthe
systemfromtheCoordinateslist.Atollwillconvertthecoordinatesofthelisttothecoordinatesystemofthedocu
mentuponimport.
Formoreinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

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Youcanalsoexportsubscriberlists.Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"Export
ingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

9.4.4.1.3

SelectingtheColumnstoDisplayintheSubscriberLists
Fromthecolumnslistedin"CreatingaSubscriberList"onpage998,youcanselecttheonestodisplayinthePropertiesdialog
boxoftheSubscribersfolder.
Toselectthecolumnstodisplayinsubscriberlists:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSubscribersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSubscribersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheColumnSelectiontab.
5. UnderConfiguration,youcanOpenanexistingconfigurationofthecolumnstodisplay,Savethecurrentsettingsin
anexistingconfigurationfile,orSaveasanewconfigurationfile.
6. Selectthecolumnsyouwanttodisplay:
a. SelectthecolumnintheAvailablecolumnslistandclick
b. SelectacolumnintheColumnstodisplaylistandclick

tomoveittotheColumnstodisplaylist.
tomoveittotheAvailablecolumnslist.

c. Changetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingacolumnandclicking

or

tomoveitupordowninthelist.

7. ClickOKtoclosetheSubscribersPropertiesdialogbox.

9.4.4.2 PerformingCalculationsonSubscriberlists
Youcanperformcalculationsonsubscriberlistswithouthavingtocarryoutsimulationsfirst.Atolldoesnotbasecalculations
performedonsubscriberlistsonthepathlossmatricescalculatedfortransmitters.Thisisbecausethepathlossmatricesare
calculatedforagivenreceiverheight(1.5mbydefault)definedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthePredictionsfolder,buteach
subscriberinasubscriberlistcanhaveadifferentheight.Therefore,Atollrecalculatesthepathloss,receivedpower,and
otheroutputforeachsubscriberwhenyouperformcalculationsbasedonsubscribers.
Atollcanperformanautomaticserverallocationforallthesubscribersinalist.
Toperformcalculationsonasubscriberlist:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSubscribersfolder.
3. Rightclickthesubscriberlistonwhichyouwanttoperformcalculations.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>AutomaticServerAllocationfromthecontextmenu.TheAutomaticServerAllocationdialog
boxappears.
Ifyouwantthecalculationstoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxand
enterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.Theshadowingmarginforsignallevelcalculations
isbasedonthemodelstandarddeviation,andtheshadowingmarginforC/(I+N)calculationsisbasedontheC/Istand
arddeviation.
5. ClickCalculate.Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanyerrormessages,isdisplayedintheEventViewer.
6. Oncethecalculationsarefinished,clickClosetoclosetheEventViewer.
7. ClickCommittostoretheresultsinthesubscriberlist.Forthelistofresultsthatareavailableafterthecalculations,
see"CreatingaSubscriberList"onpage998.

9.4.5 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
ToplanandoptimiseLTEnetworks,youwillneedtostudythenetworkcapacityandtostudythenetworkcoveragetakinginto
accountrealisticuserdistributionandtrafficdemandscenarios.
InAtoll,asimulationcorrespondstoagivendistributionofLTEusers.ItisasnapshotofanLTEnetwork.Theprincipaloutputs
ofasimulationareageographicuserdistributionwithacertaintrafficdemand,resourcesallocatedtoeachuserofthisdistri
bution,andcellloads.
Youcancreategroupsforoneormoresimulationsandcarryoutasmanysimulationsasrequired.Anewsimulationforeach
differenttrafficscenariocanhelpvisualisethenetworksresponsetodifferenttrafficdemands.Eachuserdistribution(each

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simulationgeneratesanewuserdistribution)isaPoissondistributionofthenumberofactiveusers.Therefore,eachsimula
tionmayhaveavaryingnumberofusersaccessingthenetwork.
LTEsimulationresultscanbedisplayedonthemapaswellaslistedintabularformforanalysis.Simulationoutputsinclude
resultsrelatedtosites,cells,andmobiles.
LTEsimulationresultscanbestoredinthecellstableandusedinC/(I+N)basedcoveragepredictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm"onpage1003.
"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005.
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap"onpage1007.
"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation"onpage1010.
"UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults"onpage1017.
"AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument"onpage1018.

9.4.5.1 LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm
Figure9.60showstheLTEsimulationalgorithm.ThesimulationprocessinLTEconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1. MobileGenerationandDistribution
Simulations require traffic data, such as traffic maps (raster, vector, or live traffic data) and subscriber lists. Atoll
generatesauserdistributionforeachsimulationusingaMonteCarloalgorithm.Thisuserdistributionisbasedonthe
trafficdatainputandisweightedbyaPoissondistribution.
Eachmobilegeneratedduringthesimulationsisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andaterminalaccordingtothe
userprofileassignedtoit.Atransmissionstatusisdeterminedaccordingtotheactivityprobabilities.Thetransmission
statusisanimportantoutputofthesimulationasithasadirectimpactonthenextstepofthesimulationprocess,i.e.,
theradioresourcemanagement(RRM),andhasanimpactontheinterferencelevelinthenetwork.
Thegeographicallocationofeachmobileisdeterminedrandomlyforthemobilesgeneratedbasedonthetrafficdata
fromtrafficmaps.Themobilesgeneratedbasedonthetrafficdatafromsubscriberlistsarelocatedonthesubscriber
locations.

Figure9.60:LTEsimulationalgorithm

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2. BestServerDetermination
Atolldeterminesthebestserverforeachmobileasdescribedin"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
3. DownlinkCalculations
Thedownlinkcalculationsincludethecalculationofdownlinkreferencesignal,SS,PBCH,PDSCH,andPDCCHC/(I+N),
determinationofthebestavailablebearerforthePDSCHC/(I+N),allocationofresources(RRM),andcalculationof
userthroughputs.
Enhanced intercell interference coordination (eICIC or timedomain ICIC) is performed on the downlink if ABS
patternshavebeendefinedforcells.Interferencecalculationisbasedonthecollisionsbetweennormalandblank
subframes used by the different cells. Frequencydomain intercell interference coordination is performed on the
downlinkifthecellsupportsStaticDLICIC.Interferencecalculationisbasedontheprobabilitiesofcollisionbetween
thecellcentreandcelledgeresourcesusedbythedifferentcells.
4. UplinkCalculations
TheuplinkcalculationsincludethecalculationofPUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N),determinationofthebestavailablebearer
forthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N),uplinkpowercontrolanduplinkbandwidthallocation,resourceallocation(RRM),
updateofuplinknoiserisevaluesforcells,andcalculationofuserthroughputs.
Enhancedintercellinterferencecoordination(eICICortimedomainICIC)isperformedontheuplinkifABSpatterns
havebeendefinedforcells.Interferencecalculationisbasedonthecollisionsbetweennormalandblanksubframes
usedbythedifferentcells.Frequencydomainintercellinterferencecoordinationisperformedontheuplinkifthe
cellsupportsStaticULICIC.Interferencecalculationisbasedontheprobabilitiesofcollisionbetweenthecellcentre
andcelledgeresourcesusedbythedifferentcells.
Duringuplinknoiserisecontrol,ifthemaximumuplinknoiseriseishigherthantheactualnoiseriseforacell,themaxi
mumPUSCHC/(I+N)ofitsneighbourcellsisincreasedbythedifference.Thisallowstheusersservedbytheneighbour
cellstotransmitathigherpowers,i.e.,theyareallowedtocreatemoreinterference.Ifthemaximumuplinknoiserise
islessthantheactualnoiseriseforacell,themaximumPUSCHC/(I+N)ofitsneighbourcellsisdecreasedbythediffer
ence.Thiscausestheusersservedbytheneighbourcellstotransmitatlowerpowers,i.e.,theyareforcedtocreate
lessinterference.Thiscanalsoleadtoanincreaseordecreaseinthenumberofusersservedbytheneighbouringcells
intheuplink.
5. RadioResourceManagementandCellLoadCalculation
Atollusesanintelligentschedulingalgorithmtoperformradioresourcemanagement.Theschedulingalgorithmis
explainedindetailintheTechnicalReferenceGuide.Thescheduler:
a. Determinesthetotalamountofresourcesineachcell.Theamountsofcellresources,speciallyatcelledges,de
pendonthecellsABSpatternaswellasonthenumberofcellscelledgeresourceblocksdefinedforStaticDL
intercellinterferencecoordinationinthecellsframeconfiguration.
b. SelectsthefirstNusersfromtheusersgeneratedinthefirststep,whereNistheMaxnumberofusersdefinedin
thecellproperties.
c. Sortstheusersindecreasingorderbyservicepriority.
TheeffectiveservicepriorityisdeterminedbytheQCIpriorityandtheuserdefinedservice
priority.Forexample:

AservicewithQCI1willhaveahigherprioritythananyservicewithQCI2,irrespec
tiveoftheuserdefinedservicepriority.
AservicewithQCI1anduserdefinedservicepriority1willhaveahigherpriority
thananyservicewithQCI1anduserdefinedservicepriority0.

TheprioritiesofthedifferentQoSclassidentifiersaredefinedbythe3GPParelistedin
"ModellingServices"onpage927.
d. Allocatestheresourcesrequiredtosatisfytheminimumthroughputdemandsoftheusersstartingfromthefirst
user(withthehighestpriorityservice)tothelastuser.
e. Ifresourcesstillremainintheresourcepoolafterthisallocation,allocatesresourcestotheuserswithmaximum
throughputdemandsaccordingtotheusedschedulingalgorithm.

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Fortheirminimumthroughputdemands,LTEAusersareonlyscheduledontheirprimary
servingcells.Atthisstage,LTEAusersmayberejecteddueto"SchedulerSaturation"or
"ResourceSaturation".
Fortheirmaximumthroughputdemands,LTEAusersarescheduledseparatelyoneachof
their serving cells, primary and secondary. Each users remaining throughput demand
(maximumminimum)isdistributedovereachofitsservingcellsproportionallytothe
resourcesavailableoneachservingcellandtotheusersdownlinkeffectiveRLCchannel
throughputoruplinkeffectiveRLCallocatedbandwidththroughputoneachofitsserving
cell.
Within each serving cell, resource allocation for the maximum throughput demands is
carriedoutaccordingtotheschedulerusedbythatparticularcell.
AnalternatemethodfordistributingLTEAusersremainingthroughputdemandovertheir
servingcellsisalsoavailablethroughanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,
seetheAdministratorManual.
Thetotaluserthroughputisthesumofthethroughputsobtainedfromeachoftheusers
serverstakingpartincarrieraggregation.FordetailedinformationonRRMandscheduling,
seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Attheendofthesimulations,anactiveusercanbeconnectedinthedirectioncorrespondingtohisactivitystatusif:

hehasabestserverassigned(step2.),
hehasabearerinthedirectioncorrespondingtohisactivitystatus(step3.andstep4.),
heisamongtheusersselectedbytheschedulerforresourceallocation(step5.),and
heisnotrejectedduetoresourcesaturation(step5.).

Ausermayberejectedinstep2.for"NoCoverage,"step3.orstep4.for"NoService,"andstep5.for:

"SchedulerSaturation,"i.e.,theuserisnotamongtheusersselectedforresourceallocation,
"ResourceSaturation,"i.e.,allofthecellsresourceswereusedupbyotherusersorif,forauseractiveinuplink,the
minimumuplinkthroughputdemandwashigherthantheuplinkallocatedbandwidththroughput,
"Backhaul Saturation," i.e., the user was among the lowest priority service users served by a cell of a site whose
definedmaximumS1interfacethroughputswereexceededwhileallocatingresourcesfortheminimumthroughput
demands.

RejectedLTEAusersareonlycountedinthestatisticsoftheirprimaryservingcells.
ConnectedLTEAusersarecountedinthestatisticsofalltheirservingcells,pri
maryandsecondary.

9.4.5.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutostudythecapacityofyourLTEnetworkandmodelthedifferentnetworkregulationmech
anisms,suchaspowercontrol,noiserisecontrol,uplinkbandwidthallocation,andscheduling,inordertooptimisenetwork
performanceandmaximisecapacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.Youmusthaveatleastonetraffic
maporsubscriberlistinyourdocumenttobeabletoperformsimulations.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations,andsomeComments
ifyouwant.
5. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansettheNumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreated
atthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.
6. UnderLoadconstraintsontheGeneraltab,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulation:

MaxDLtrafficload:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinktrafficload,clickthebutton
(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalthreshold.Then,enteramaximumdownlinktrafficload.Ifyouwanttouse

themaximumdownlinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton(
andselectDefinedpercell.

)besidethebox

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MaxULtrafficload:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinktrafficload,clickthebutton( )
besidetheboxandselectGlobalthreshold.Then,enteramaximumuplinktrafficload.Ifyouwanttousethemax
imumuplinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxandselect
Definedpercell.
Backhaulcapacity:SelecttheBackhaulcapacitycheckboxifyouwishtotakethemaximumdownlinkanduplink
S1interfacethroughputsdefinedpersitetobetakenintoaccountinradioresourcemanagementandscheduling.

7. UnderPowercontrolontheGeneraltab,selecttheULnoiserisecontrol(besteffort)checkboxifyouwanttoacti
vatetheuplinknoiserisecontrolinthesimulations.
Theuplinknoiserisecontrolmethodcanbechangedfromthedefaultbesteffortmethod
toastrictmethodusinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Uplinknoiserisecontrolbecomesa
partofthesimulationconvergencecriteriawhenthestrictmethodisused.Formoreinfor
mation,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
8. OntheTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

Globalscalingfactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).

Selecttrafficmapstobeused:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Selectsubscriberliststobeused:Selectthesubscriberlistsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage988.
Whenyouperformsimulationsforsubscriberlists,Atolldoesnotbasethecalculationson
subscriberlistsonthepathlossmatricescalculatedfortransmitters.Thisisbecausethe
pathlossmatricesarecalculatedforagivenreceiverheight(1.5mbydefault),buteach
subscriberinasubscriberlistcanhaveadifferentheight.Therefore,Atollrecalculatesthe
pathloss,receivedpower,andotheroutput,foreachsubscriberwhenyouperformsimu
lationsonsubscribers.

9. OntheAdvancedtab,enterthefollowing:

Generatorinitialisation:Enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter"0,"thedefault,the
userandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowing
errordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
Usingthesamegenerateduserandshadowingerrordistributionforseveralsimulations
canbeusefulwhenyouwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonly
oneparameterchanges.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:

Maxnumberofiterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconver
gence.
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetween
twoiterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.
ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.

10. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittocalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulationandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutcalculatingit.YoucancalculateitlaterclickingtheCalculate
button(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.Youcannowusetheresults
from completed simulations for LTE coverage predictions. For more information on using simulation results in coverage
predictions,see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage1020.

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9.4.5.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemapthedistributionofthetrafficgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferent
parameters.Youcan,forexample,displaythetrafficaccordingtoactivitystatus,service,servingcell,orthroughputs.
Youcansetthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtodiscretevaluesandtheselectthevaluetobedisplayed.Or,you
canselectthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtovalueintervals,andthenselecttheparameterandthevalueinter
valsthataretobedisplayed.Youcanalsodefinethecoloursoftheiconandtheiconitself.Forinformationonchangingdisplay
characteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistribution:

"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyActivityStatus"onpage1007.
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage1007.
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage1008.
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyThroughput"onpage1008.
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyUplinkTransmissionPower"onpage1009.
"DisplayingTrafficSimulationResultsUsingTipText"onpage1009
Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeographicdataand
coveragepredictions.Forinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMap
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.

9.4.5.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyActivityStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheactivitystatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheactivitystatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplaytypeand"Activitystatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyactivitystatus(seeFigure9.61).

Figure9.61:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyactivitystatus

9.4.5.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplaytypeand"Connectionstatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyactivitystatus(seeFigure9.62).

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Figure9.62:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyconnectionstatus

9.4.5.3.3

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplaytypeand"Service"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice(seeFigure9.63).

Figure9.63:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyservice

9.4.5.3.4

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyThroughput
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbythroughput.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbythroughput:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Valueintervals"astheDisplaytypeandoneofthefollowingthroughput
typesastheField:

1008

Inthedownlink:
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationchannelthroughput
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationcellcapacity
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationuserthroughput

Intheuplink:
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationchannelthroughput
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationcellcapacity
PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationallocatedbandwidththroughput

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PeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationuserthroughput

5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbythroughput(seeFigure9.64).

Figure9.64:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbythroughput

9.4.5.3.5

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyUplinkTransmissionPower
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheuplinktransmissionpowerofthemobiles.Youcananalysetheeffect
oftheuplinkpowercontrol.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyuplinktransmissionpower:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheDisplaytabofthedialogbox,select"Valueintervals"astheDisplaytypeand"Transmissionpower(UL)(dBm)"
astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyuplinktransmissionpower(seeFigure9.65).

Figure9.65:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyuplinktransmissionpower

9.4.5.3.6

DisplayingTrafficSimulationResultsUsingTipText
You can display information by placing the pointer over a mobile generated during a simulation to read the information
displayedinthetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytab.Forinformation
ondefiningthetiptext,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Todisplaysimulationresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheuserthatyouwantmoreinformationon.Afterabriefpause,thetip
textappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytaboftheSimulationsfolderproperties(seeFigure9.66).

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Figure9.66:Displayingthetrafficsimulationresultsusingtiptext

9.4.5.4 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresultsyou
wanttoaccess.
4. Rightclickthesimulation.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsofthesimulationresults.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontainsimulation
resultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingsections:

Request:UnderRequest,isdataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;radioresourceallocationhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtraffic
input.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandtheULandDLthroughputdemandsthatalluserscouldtheoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andULandDLthrough
putdemands)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,isdataontheconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thetotalnumberandpercentageofusersunabletoconnect:rejectedusers,andthenumberofrejectedusers
perrejectioncause.
Thenumberandpercentageofusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andthetotal
ULandDLthroughputstheygenerate.Thisinformationisalsoprovidedbyservice.

TheSitestab:TheSitestabcontainsthefollowinginformationpersite:

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PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Connectionsuccessrate(%):Thepercentageofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesitewithrespecttothenumber
ofuserscoveredbythecellsofthesite.
Totalnumberofconnectedusers:Thetotalnumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlink,uplink,
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Numberofconnectedusers(DL+UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlinkanduplink
both.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlink.
Numberofconnectedusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteinuplink.
Numberofconnectedusers(inactive):Thenumberofinactiveusersconnectedtoanycellofthesite.
Noservice:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncausewas"No
service."
Noservice(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Noservice."
Schedulersaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Schedulersaturation."
Schedulersaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Schedulersaturation."
Resourcesaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Resourcesaturation."
Resourcesaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Resourcesaturation."
Backhaulsaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Backhaulsaturation."
Backhaulsaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Backhaulsaturation."
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Connectionsuccessrate(%)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thepercentageofusersconnectedtoanycellof
thesitewithrespecttothenumberofuserscoveredbythecellsofthesite.

TheCellstab:TheCellstabcontainsthefollowinginformation,persiteandtransmitter:

Layer:Thelayertowhichthecellbelongs.
Trafficload(DL)(%):Thetrafficloadsofthecellscalculatedonthedownlinkduringthesimulation.
CelledgeTrafficRatio(DL)(%):Thepercentageofthedownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothecelledge
users.
Trafficload(UL)(%):Thetrafficloadsofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulation.
ULnoiserise(dB):Thenoiseriseofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulation.
ICICULnoiserise(dB):Thenoiseriseofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulationforcelledgeusers.
MaxPUSCHC/(I+N)(dB):ThemaximumPUSCHC/(I+N)forthecell.Itisupdatedduringuplinknoiserisecontrol
basedonthemaximumnoiseriseconstraintsoftheneighbouringcells.
Angular distribution of interference (AAS): The simulation results generated for transmitters using a smart
antenna.Theseresultsaretheangulardistributionsofthedownlinktrafficpowerspectraldensity.
AASusage(DL)(%):Thepercentageofthedownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothetrafficcarriedbythesmart
antennas.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(DL):Thedownlinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(UL):Theuplinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedinthedownlink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlink.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedintheuplink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplink.
Connectionsuccessrate(%):Thepercentageofusersconnectedtothecellwithrespecttothenumberofusers
coveredbythecell.

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Totalnumberofconnectedusers:Thetotalnumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlink,uplink,ordownlink
anduplinkboth.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL+UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlinkanduplinkboth.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlink.
Numberofconnectedusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellinuplink.
Numberofconnectedusers(inactive):Thenumberofinactiveusersconnectedtothecell.
Noservice:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Noservice."
Noservice(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Noser
vice."
Schedulersaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Sched
ulersaturation."
Schedulersaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Schedulersaturation."
Resource saturation: The number of users unable to connect to the cell for which the rejection cause was
"Resourcesaturation."
Resourcesaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Resourcesaturation."
Backhaulsaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Back
haulsaturation."
Backhaulsaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Backhaulsaturation."
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlink.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
Connectionsuccessrate(%)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thepercentageofusersconnectedtothecellwith
respecttothenumberofuserscoveredbythecell.

TheMobilestab:TheMobilestabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

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XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect(thegeographicpositionisdeterminedbythesecond
randomtrial).
Height:Theheightoftheuserterminal(antenna).
Userprofile:Theassigneduserprofile.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheter
minalandtheuserprofile.
SubscriberID:TheIDoftheuseriftheuserisgeneratedfromasubscriberlistandnotfromatrafficmap.
Subscriberlist:Thesubscriberlistoftheuseriftheuserisgeneratedfromasubscriberlistandnotfromatraffic
map.
Service:Theserviceassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Terminal:Theassignedterminal.Atollusestheassignedserviceandactivitystatustodeterminetheterminaland
theuserprofile.
Mobility:Themobilitytypeassignedduringthefirstrandomtrialduringthegenerationoftheuserdistribution.
Activitystatus:Theassignedactivitystatus.ItcanbeActiveDL,ActiveUL,ActiveDL+UL,orInactive.
Connectionstatus:Theconnectionstatusindicateswhethertheuserisconnectedorrejectedattheendofthe
simulation.Ifconnected,theconnectionstatuscorrespondstotheactivitystatus.Ifrejected,therejectioncause
isgiven.
Clutterclass:Thecodeoftheclutterclasswheretheuserislocated.
Indoor:Thisfieldindicateswhetherindoorlosseshavebeenaddedornot.
Bestserver:Thebestserveroftheuser.
Servingcell:Theservingcelloftheuser.
Layer:Thelayertowhichtheservingcellbelongs.
Numberofaggregatedservers(DL):Thenumberofservers,primaryandsecondary,providingthroughputtoan
LTEAuserthroughcarrieraggregationindownlink.
Numberofaggregatedservers(UL):Thenumberofservers,primaryandsecondary,providingthroughputtoan
LTEAuserthroughcarrieraggregationinuplink.

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ForLTEAusers,bydefault,theMobilestabdisplayscalculatedradioparameters(signal
levels,C/(I+N),etc.)correspondingtotheirprimaryservingcells,andaggregatedthrough
putvaluessummedoveralltheiraggregatedservers.
TodisplaydetailedresultsforLTEAusers,i.e.,separatecalculatedvaluesforalltheaggre
gated servers, select Actions> Detailed Display. The Mobiles tab displays one line per
aggregatedserverforeachLTEAuser,henceprovidingthethroughputofferedbyeach
aggregatedservertotheLTEAuser.

Azimuth:Theorientationoftheusersterminalantennainthehorizontalplane.Azimuthisalwaysconsidered
withrespecttotheNorth.Atollpointstheuserantennatowardsitsbestserver.
Downtilt: Theorientationoftheusersterminalantennaintheverticalplane.Mechanicaldowntiltispositive
whenitisdownwardsandnegativewhenupwards.Atollpointstheuserantennatowardsitsbestserver.
Pathloss(dB):Thepathlossfromthebestservercalculatedfortheuser.
2ndbestserver:Thesecondbestserveroftheuser.
2ndbestserverpathloss(dB):Thepathlossfromthesecondbestservercalculatedfortheuser.
3rdbestserver:Thethirdbestserveroftheuser.
3rdbestserverpathloss(dB):Thepathlossfromthethirdbestservercalculatedfortheuser.
RSRP(RSEPRE)(DL)(dBm):TheRSRP(receivedreferencesignalenergyperresourceelement)receivedattheuser
locationinthedownlink.
RSSI(DL)(dBm):TheRSSIreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
RSRQ(DL)(dB):TheRSRQ(referencesignalreceivedquality)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
ReceivedRSpower(DL)(dBm):Thereferencesignallevelreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
ReceivedSSpower(DL)(dBm):TheSSsignallevelreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
ReceivedPBCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePBCHsignallevelreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
ReceivedPDCCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePDCCHsignallevelreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
ReceivedPDSCHpower(DL)(dBm):ThePDSCHsignallevelreceivedattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
RSC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThereferencesignalC/(I+N)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
SSC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):TheSSC/(I+N)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
PBCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePBCHC/(I+N)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
PDCCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePDCCHC/(I+N)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
PDSCHC/(I+N)(DL)(dB):ThePDSCHC/(I+N)attheuserlocationinthedownlink.
RStotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheuserlocationinthe
downlinkonthereferencesignals.
SS&PBCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheuserlocation
inthedownlinkontheSSandPBCH.
PDCCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheuserlocationinthe
downlinkonthePDCCH.
PDSCHtotalnoise(I+N)(DL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheuserlocationinthe
downlinkonthePDSCH.
Bearer(DL):ThehighestLTEbeareravailableforthePDSCHC/(I+N)levelattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
BLER(DL):TheBlockErrorRatereadfromtheuserterminalsreceptionequipmentforthePDSCHC/(I+N)levelat
theuserlocationinthedownlink.
Diversitymode(DL):Thediversitymodeusedbythecellindownlinkfortheuser.
PeakRLCchannelthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
EffectiveRLCchannelthroughput(DL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheuserlocationinthedownlink.ItiscalculatedfromthepeakRLCthroughputandtheBLER.
Applicationchannelthroughput(DL)(kbps):Theapplicationthroughputisthenetthroughputwithoutcoding
(redundancy, overhead, addressing, etc.). It is calculated from the effective RLC throughput, the throughput
scalingfactoroftheserviceandthethroughputoffset.
PeakRLCuserthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCuserthroughputattainableusingthehighestbearer
availableattheuserlocationinthedownlink.
EffectiveRLCuserthroughput(DL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCuserthroughputattainableusingthehighestbearer
availableattheuserlocationinthedownlink.ItiscalculatedfromthepeakRLCthroughputandtheBLER.
Application user throughput (DL) (kbps): The application throughput is the net throughput without coding
(redundancy, overhead, addressing, etc.). It is calculated from the effective RLC throughput, the throughput
scalingfactoroftheserviceandthethroughputoffset.
ReceivedPUSCH&PUCCHpower(UL)(dBm):ThePUSCH&PUCCHsignallevelreceivedattheservingtransmitter
fromtheuserterminalintheuplink.
PUSCH&PUCCHtotalnoise(I+N)(UL)(dBm):Thesumoftheinterferenceandnoiseexperiencedattheserving
transmitteroftheuserintheuplinkonthePUSCH.
PUSCH &PUCCHC/(I+N)(UL)(dB):The PUSCH&PUCCH C/(I+N)at theservingtransmitteroftheuserin the
uplink.
Bearer(UL):ThehighestLTEbeareravailableforthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)levelattheservingtransmitterof
theuserintheuplink.

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BLER(UL):TheBlockErrorRatereadfromtheservingcellsreceptionequipmentforthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)
levelattheservingtransmitteroftheuserintheuplink.
Diversitymode(UL):Thediversitymodeusedbythecellinuplinkfortheuser.
Transmissionpower(UL)(dBm):Thetransmissionpoweroftheuserterminalafterpowercontrolintheuplink.
Allocatedbandwidth(UL)(No.offrequencyblocks):Thenumberoffrequencyblocksallocatedtotheuserinthe
uplinkbytheeNodeB.
PeakRLCchannelthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheuserlocationintheuplink.
EffectiveRLCchannelthroughput(UL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCchannelthroughputattainableusingthehighest
beareravailableattheuserlocationintheuplink.ItiscalculatedfromthepeakRLCthroughputandtheBLER.
Applicationchannelthroughput(UL)(kbps):Theapplicationthroughputisthenetthroughputwithoutcoding
(redundancy, overhead, addressing, etc.). It is calculated from the effective RLC throughput, the throughput
scalingfactoroftheserviceandthethroughputoffset.
PeakRLCallocatedbandwidththroughput(UL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCthroughputattainableforthenumber
offrequencyblocksallocatedtotheuserusingthehighestbeareravailableattheuserlocationintheuplink.
Effective RLC allocated bandwidth throughput (UL) (kbps): The effective RLC throughput attainable for the
numberoffrequencyblocksallocatedtotheuserusingthehighestbeareravailableattheuserlocationinthe
uplink.ItiscalculatedfromthepeakRLCthroughputandtheBLER.
Application allocated bandwidth throughput (UL) (kbps): The application throughput is the net throughput
withoutcoding(redundancy,overhead,addressing,etc.).ItiscalculatedfromtheeffectiveRLCthroughput,the
throughputscalingfactoroftheserviceandthethroughputoffset.
PeakRLCuserthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThemaximumRLCuserthroughputattainableusingthehighestbearer
availableattheuserlocationintheuplink.
EffectiveRLCuserthroughput(UL)(kbps):TheeffectiveRLCuserthroughputattainableusingthehighestbearer
availableattheuserlocationintheuplink.ItiscalculatedfromthepeakRLCthroughputandtheBLER.
Application user throughput (UL) (kbps): The application throughput is the net throughput without coding
(redundancy, overhead, addressing, etc.). It is calculated from the effective RLC throughput, the throughput
scalingfactoroftheserviceandthethroughputoffset.

InAtoll,channelthroughputsarepeakRLC,effectiveRLC,orapplicationthrough
puts achieved at a given location using the highest LTE bearer with the entire
channelresources.
Ifauserisrejected,hisuserthroughputiszero.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobalnetworksettings:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

PDCCHoverhead(numberofsymboldurationspersubframe)
PUCCHoverhead(averagenumberoffrequencyblocks)
Switchingpointperiodicity
Defaultcyclicprefix
Uplinkpoweradjustmentmargin
ReferencesignalEPREcalculationmethod
Bestserverselectioncriterion
Bestserverselectionmethod
Specialsubframeconfiguration
AdaptiveMIMOswitchingcriterion
MUMIMOactivationcriterion
Multiantennainterferencecalculationmethod
Generatorinitialisationvalue
Maximumnumberofiterations
Globalscalingfactor
Backhaulcapacitylimitation
Uplinkanddownlinktrafficloadconvergencethresholds
Uplinknoiseriseconvergencethreshold
Namesofthetrafficmapsandsubscriberlistsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

9.4.5.5 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005,youcandisplaytheaver
ageresultsofthegroup.Ifyouwishtodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationinagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofa
SingleSimulation"onpage1010.

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Todisplaytheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttodisplay.
4. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsofthesimulationresults.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontaintheaver
agedresultsforallsimulationsofthegroup.
TheStatisticstab:TheStatisticstabcontainsthefollowingsections:

Request:UnderRequest,isdataontheconnectionrequests:

Atollcalculatesthetotalnumberofuserswhotrytoconnect.Thisnumberistheresultofthefirstrandom
trial;radioresourceallocationhasnotyetfinished.Theresultdependsonthetrafficdescriptionandtraffic
input.
Duringthefirstrandomtrial,eachuserisassignedaserviceandanactivitystatus.Thenumberofusersper
activitystatusandtheULandDLthroughputdemandsthatalluserscouldtheoreticallygenerateareprovided.
Thebreakdownperservice(totalnumberofusers,numberofusersperactivitystatus,andULandDLthrough
putdemands)isgiven.

Results:UnderResults,isdataontheconnectionresults:

Thenumberofiterationsthatwereruninordertoconverge.
Thetotalnumberandpercentageofusersunabletoconnect:rejectedusers,andthenumberofrejectedusers
perrejectioncause.
Thenumberandpercentageofusersconnectedtoacell,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,andthetotal
ULandDLthroughputstheygenerate.Thisdataisalsoprovidedbyservice.

TheSites(Average)tab:TheSites(Average)tabcontainsthefollowingaverageinformationpersite:

PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Connectionsuccessrate(%):Thepercentageofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesitewithrespecttothenumber
ofuserscoveredbythecellsofthesite.
Totalnumberofconnectedusers:Thetotalnumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlink,uplink,
ordownlinkanduplinkboth.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL+UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlinkanduplink
both.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteindownlink.
Numberofconnectedusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtoanycellofthesiteinuplink.
Noservice:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncausewas"No
service."
Noservice(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Noservice."
Schedulersaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Schedulersaturation."
Schedulersaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Schedulersaturation."
Resourcesaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Resourcesaturation."
Resourcesaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Resourcesaturation."
Backhaulsaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejectioncause
was"Backhaulsaturation."
Backhaulsaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttoanycellofthesiteforwhichtherejection
causewas"Backhaulsaturation."
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.

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EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlinkinallthecellsofthesite.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplinkinallthecellsofthesite.
Connectionsuccessrate(%)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thepercentageofusersconnectedtoanycellof
thesitewithrespecttothenumberofuserscoveredbythecellsofthesite.

TheCells(Average)tab:TheCells(Average)tabcontainsthefollowingaverageinformationpercell:

1016

Trafficload(DL)(%):Thetrafficloadsofthecellscalculatedonthedownlinkduringthesimulation.
CelledgeTrafficRatio(DL)(%):Thepercentageofthedownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothecelledge
users.
Trafficload(UL)(%):Thetrafficloadsofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulation.
ULnoiserise(dB):Thenoiseriseofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulation.
ICICULnoiserise(dB):Thenoiseriseofthecellscalculatedontheuplinkduringthesimulationforthecelledge
users.
MaxPUSCHC/(I+N)(dB):ThemaximumPUSCHC/(I+N)forthecell.Itisupdatedduringuplinknoiserisecontrol
basedonthemaximumnoiseriseconstraintsoftheneighbouringcells.
Angular distribution of interference (AAS): The simulation results generated for transmitters using a smart
antenna.Theseresultsaretheangulardistributionsofthedownlinktrafficpowerspectraldensity.
AASusage(DL)(%):Thepercentageofthedownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothetrafficcarriedbythesmart
antennas.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(DL):Thedownlinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(UL):Theuplinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedinthedownlink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
thedownlink.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofpeakRLCuserthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps):ThesumofeffectiveRLCuserthroughputsofalltheuserscon
nectedintheuplink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps):Thesumofapplicationthroughputsofalltheusersconnectedin
theuplink.
Connectionsuccessrate(%):Thepercentageofusersconnectedtothecellwithrespecttothenumberofusers
coveredbythecell.
Totalnumberofconnectedusers:Thetotalnumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlink,uplink,ordownlink
anduplinkboth.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL+UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlinkanduplinkboth.
Numberofconnectedusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellindownlink.
Numberofconnectedusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellinuplink.
Noservice:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Noservice."
Noservice(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Noser
vice."
Schedulersaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Sched
ulersaturation."
Schedulersaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Schedulersaturation."
Resource saturation: The number of users unable to connect to the cell for which the rejection cause was
"Resourcesaturation."
Resourcesaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Resourcesaturation."
Backhaulsaturation:Thenumberofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas"Back
haulsaturation."
Backhaulsaturation(%):Thepercentageofusersunabletoconnecttothecellforwhichtherejectioncausewas
"Backhaulsaturation."
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
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Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(DL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedinthedownlink.
PeakRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofpeakRLCuserthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
EffectiveRLCcumulatedthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofeffectiveRLCuser
throughputsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
Cumulatedapplicationthroughput(UL)(kbps)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thesumofapplicationthrough
putsoftheusersconnectedintheuplink.
Connectionsuccessrate(%)foreachservice:Foreachservice,thepercentageofusersconnectedtothecellwith
respecttothenumberofuserscoveredbythecell.

TheInitialConditionstab:TheInitialConditionstabcontainsthefollowinginformation:

Theglobalnetworksettings:

Theinputparametersspecifiedwhencreatingthesimulation:

PDCCHoverhead(numberofsymboldurationspersubframe)
PUCCHoverhead(averagenumberoffrequencyblocks)
Switchingpointperiodicity
Defaultcyclicprefix
Uplinkpoweradjustmentmargin
ReferencesignalEPREcalculationmethod
Bestserverselectioncriterion
Bestserverselectionmethod
Specialsubframeconfiguration
AdaptiveMIMOswitchingcriterion
MUMIMOactivationcriterion
Multiantennainterferencecalculationmethod
Generatorinitialisationvalue
Maximumnumberofiterations
Globalscalingfactor
Backhaulcapacitylimitation
Uplinkanddownlinktrafficloadconvergencethresholds
Uplinknoiseriseconvergencethreshold
Namesofthetrafficmapsandsubscriberlistsused.

Theparametersrelatedtotheclutterclasses,includingthedefaultvalues.

9.4.5.6 UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005,youcan
updatecellloadvaluesforeachcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.
Toupdatecellvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. Displaythesimulationresults:
Todisplaytheresultsforagroupofsimulations:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
c. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
d. SelectAverageSimulationfromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogboxappears.
Todisplaytheresultsforasinglesimulation:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.
c. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresults
youwanttoaccess.
d. Rightclickthesimulationwhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.
e. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thesimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheCellstab.
3. OntheCellstab,clickCommitresults.Thefollowingvaluesareupdatedforeachcell:

Trafficload(DL)(%)
Celledgetrafficratio(DL)(%)
Trafficload(UL)(%)

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ULnoiserise(dB)
ICICULnoiserise(dB)
MaxPUSCHC/(I+N)(dB)
Angulardistributionofinterference(AAS)
AASusage(DL)(%)
MUMIMOcapacitygain(DL)
MUMIMOcapacitygain(UL)
No.ofusers(DL)
No.ofusers(UL)

9.4.5.7 AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Whenyouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimulationstothe
Atolldocument.InAtoll,youcanaddnewsimulationsinthefollowingways:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroup.Itthengeneratesanewuser
distributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddoneormoresimulationstoagroup,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage1018.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distributionbetweensimulationsisdifferent.Trafficparameterchangescannotbetakenintoaccount.Finally,radio
datamodifications(newtransmitters,changestotheantennaazimuth,etc.)arealwaystakenintoaccountduringthe
powercontrol(orthroughput/powercontrol)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaGroupofSimulations"onpage1019.

UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0)Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu
tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However,anymodificationstotrafficparametersandradiodataaretakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrolsim
ulation.
Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationtoagroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"CreatingaNew
SimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber"onpage1019.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesanewgroupwiththesamesimulation
parametersastheonesusedtogeneratetheoriginalgroup.Youcanthenmodifythesimulationparametersbefore
calculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1019.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoaddoneormoresimulations.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

6. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

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ReplayingaGroupofSimulations
Toreplayagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,someparametersoriginallyusedtocalcu
latethegroupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparam
eterscanbechangedforthereplayedgroup.
5. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsasexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005thatAtoll
mustrespectduringthesimulation.
UnderPowercontrol,selecttheULnoiserisecontrol(besteffort)checkboxifyouwanttoactivatetheuplink
noiserisecontrolinthesimulations.

6. OntheTraffictabofthedialogbox,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccount
trafficparameterchangesinthereplayedsimulation.
7. OntheAdvancedtab,underConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:

Maxnumberofiterations:EnterthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiter
ations.
ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwoitera
tions.

8. ClickCalculate.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewSimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
5. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Theintegermustbethesame
generatorinitialisationnumberasusedinthegroupofsimulationswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributions
youwanttouseinthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerror
distributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillbe
usedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
6. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"Duplicatinga
SimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1019.
DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. Rightclickthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimulationsappears.

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Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage1005.

9.4.5.8 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreatesimulationoragroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesitu
ationyouarecreatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformance
ofthenetworkagainstanincreaseoftrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscaling
factor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvi
ronmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Createasimulationorgroupofsimulationsasdescribedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1005.
2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalscalingfactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

9.4.6 MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults
InAtoll,youcananalysesimulationresultsbymakingcoveragepredictionsusingsimulationresults.Inacoverageprediction
eachpixelisconsideredasanoninterferingprobeuserwithadefinedterminal,mobility,andservice.Theanalysescanbe
basedonasinglesimulationoronanaveragedgroupofsimulations.
Whennosimulationsareavailable,Atollusesthedownlinktrafficloadsanduplinknoiserisevaluesstoredforeachcellto
makecoveragepredictions.Forinformationoncellproperties,see"CellDescription"onpage889;forinformationonmodi
fyingcellproperties,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage895.
Onceyouhavemadesimulations,Atollcanusetheinformationfromthesimulationsinsteadofthedefinedparametersinthe
cellpropertiestomakecoveragepredictions.Foreachcoveragepredictionbasedonsimulationresults,youcanbasethe
coveragepredictiononaselectedsimulationoronagroupofsimulations,whichusestheaverageofallsimulationsinthe
group.
Thecoveragepredictionsthatcanusesimulationresultsare:

CoveragebyC/(I+N)Level:ForinformationonmakingadownlinkoruplinkcoveragebyC/(I+N)level,see"Studying
InterferenceandC/(I+N)Levels"onpage932.
ServiceAreaAnalysis:Forinformationonmakingadownlinkoruplinkserviceareaanalysis,see"StudyingDownlink
andUplinkServiceAreas"onpage935.
EffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis:Forinformationonmakinganeffectiveserviceareaanalysis,see"StudyingtheEffec
tiveServiceArea"onpage937.
CoveragebyThroughput:Forinformationonmakingadownlinkoruplinkcoveragebythroughput,see"Makinga
CoveragePredictionbyThroughput"onpage938.
CoveragebyQualityIndicator:Forinformationonmakingadownlinkoruplinkcoveragebyqualityindicator,see
"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyQualityIndicator"onpage942.

Whennosimulationsareavailable,youselect"(Cellstable)"fromtheLoadconditionslist,ontheConditionstab.However,
whensimulationsareavailableyoucanbasethecoveragepredictionononesimulationoragroupofsimulations.
Tobaseacoveragepredictiononasimulationorgroupofsimulations,whensettingtheparameters:
1. ClicktheConditionstab.
2. FromtheLoadconditionslist,selectthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwanttobasethecoverage
prediction.

9.5 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigningLTEnetworkstoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimal
networksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.TheACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistofcandidatesites
ortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanalsobeusedincoplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferent
radioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalculatingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandcellpilotpower.ACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitialplanning
stageofaLTEnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.ACPnotonly
takestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.

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AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.
ACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyouhave
definedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithmtotest
manynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.TheACPpresentsthechanges
orderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetofthe
suggestedchanges.
TheACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecifictoLTEnetworksareexplained:

"LTEOptimisationObjectives"onpage1021
"LTEQualityParameters"onpage1022
"LTEQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage1024.

9.5.1 LTEOptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetworkreconfiguration.Theobjec
tivesaredependentonthetechnologyusedbytheprojectandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsin
Atoll.InprojectsusingLTE,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingobjectivesareproposedby
default:

LTERScoverage
LTERSCINR

YoucanalsocreatethefollowingobjectivesfromthecontextmenuofObjectivesinthelefthandpaneoftheObjectivestab:

LTE1stNthDifference
LTERSSI
CustomCoverage

YoudefinetheoptimisationobjectivesusingtheObjectivestaboftheACPSetupdialogbox.Forinformationonsettingobjec
tiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.
UsingRSEPREreconfigurationparameters
Bydefault,theLTEcellstabontheReconfigurationtaboftheSetupdialogboxusesTotalPowerreconfigurationparameters
(seeFigure9.67).

Figure9.67:UsingTotalPowerreconfigurationparameters

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TouseRSEPREreconfigurationparametersinsteadofTotalPowerparameters:
1. OpenthedialogboxusedtomodifyglobalLTEnetworksettingsasexplainedin"ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings"
onpage1059.
2. SelecttheGlobalParameterstab.
3. ClickAdvanced.TheAdvancedParametersdialogboxappears.
4. UnderDownlink transmitpowercalculation,setthedownlinkreferencesignalEPREcalculationmethodto User
defined.
ThenexttimeyoudisplaytheLTEcellstabontheReconfigurationtaboftheSetupdialogbox,theTotalPowercheckboxis
replacedbytheRSEPREcheckbox,andthetablecolumnsareinvertedaccordingly(seeFigure9.68).

Figure9.68:UsingRSEPREreconfigurationparameters

9.5.2 LTEQualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,
thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.
InprojectsusingLTE,eitheralone,orinacoplanningormultiRATmode,thefollowingQualityparametersareproposedin
thePixelRulesframeoftheobjectivespropertiespages:

Signallevel
RSC
RSCN
RSRP
RSCINR
RSRQ
RSSI
Overlap
BestServerDistance
1st2ndDifference
1stNthDifference

TodefinethequalityparametersforLTE:
1. OpentheSetupPropertiesdialogboxtodefinetheoptimisationasexplainedin"CreatinganOptimisationSetup"on
page1767.
2. ClicktheObjectivestab.

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3. UnderParameters,expandtheLTEfolder.
Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfiguration.Ifyou
basethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcoloursdefined
intheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownpredictions.
However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptionsofanACPpredictionasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfile
forACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthedefault,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverage
prediction.ForinformationonsettingACPpredictiondisplayoptionsasthedefault,see"ChangingtheDisplayProp
erties of ACP Predictions" on page1824. For information on saving a configuration file, see "Configuring Default
Settings"onpage1765.
4. ClickonRSSItodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSSI:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyRSSIusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofRSSIthroughgainandlosses(i.e.,the
servicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor),and
TheCalculationMethodforRSSI.SelectUsingfrequencyplanorIgnoringfrequencyplanandICIC.

5. ClickonSignalLeveltodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebysignallevel.
SelectwhattheobjectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebysignallevelusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.

6. ClickonRSC&RSRPtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSCorRSRP.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyRSCorRSRPusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofRSCorRSRPthroughgainandlosses(i.e.,
theservicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).

7. ClickonRSCNtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSCN.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyRSCNusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofRSC/Nthroughgainandlosses(i.e.,the
servicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).

8. ClickonRSCINR&RSRQtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluatecoveragebyRSCINRorRSRQ.

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwilleval
uatethecoveragebyRSCINRorRSRQusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoveragepre
diction.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,youcanEnableshadowingmarginanddefineaCelledgecov
erageprobability.ThestandarddeviationsdefinedintheAtollclutterareusedor,ifnoclutterinformationisavail
able,defaultvaluesareused.Additionally,youcanspecify:
TheServiceandTerminalthatwillbeusedduringthecalculationofRSCINRorRSRQthroughgainandlosses
(i.e.,theservicebodyloss,thegainandlossoftheterminalantenna,andtheterminalnoisefactor).
TheCalculationMethodforRSCINR&RSRQ.SelectUsingfrequencyplanorIgnoringfrequencyplanandICIC.

9. ClickonOverlap/1stNthtodefineintherighthandpanehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverageandcov
erageby1stNthdifference.
Overlappingcoverage:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluateoverlappingcoverage,selectwhattheobjectiveevaluation
willbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluateoverlappingcoverageusingthesameparametersthatwereusedtocalculatethecoveragepredic
tion.OnlycoveragepredictionsdisplayingaNumberofServersperpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandanOverlapthreshold
margin.

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Coverageby1stNthdifference:todefinehowtheACPwillevaluatecoverageby1stNthdifference,selectwhatthe
objectiveevaluationwillbebasedonfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist:

CoveragePrediction:IfyouselectacoveragepredictionfromtheBasepredictionsettingsonlist,ACPwill
evaluatecoverageby1stNthdifferencebasedontheparametersusedtocalculatetheselectedprediction.
OnlyAtollpredictionsdisplayinga"NumberofServers"perpixelcanbeaccessedbytheACP.
SincethereisnocoveragepredictiontypeinAtollequivalenttoACPsLTE1stNthDifferenceobjective,the
parametersrecoveredbyACPfromtheselectedAtollpredictionarelimitedtotheminimumsignalleveland
thepredictionshading.ThenumberofserversmustalwaysbespecifiedmanuallynexttoNo.servers.

Manualconfiguration:Ifyouselectthisoption,specifyaMinimumsignallevelandtheNo.servers.

Inbothcases,thevalueyouspecifynexttoNo.serversdetermines"Nth"intheLTE1stNthDifferenceobjective.
ForinstanceifyousetNo.serversto4,thenthe"1st4thDifference"qualityparameterwillbeautomaticallyse
lectedbydefaultintheQualitycolumnoftheLTE1stNthDifferencepropertiespage.

AllowedvaluesforNo.serversrangefrom3to100,withonlyonevalueavailablepertechnology.
The"1st2ndDifference"qualityparameter(basedonNo.servers=2)isprovidedbydefault.

9.5.3 LTEQualityAnalysisPredictions
ThequalityanalysispredictionsenableyoutodisplaythesignalqualitypredictionsintheAtollmapwindow.Thesepredictions
arethesameasthosedisplayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.
ThequalityanalysispredictionscreatedinACPareequivalenttothosecreatedbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions.The
correspondencetablebelowshowstheACPpredictionsandtheirequivalentsinAtoll.

QualityAnalysisPredictioninACP

EquivalentPredictioninAtoll
FieldsettingforDisplayType="ValueIntervals"

SignalLevel

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)(1)
"BestSignalLevel(dBm)"

RSC

EffectiveSignalAnalysis(DL)(1)
"RSSignalLevel(DL)(dBm)"

RSC/N

EffectiveSignalAnalysis(DL)(1)
"RSC/NLevel(DL)(dB)"

RSRP

EffectiveSignalAnalysis(DL)(1)
"RSRPLevel(DL)(dBm)"

RSCINR

CoveragebyC/(I+N)Level(DL)(2)
"RSC/(I+N)Level(DL)(dB)"

RSRQ

CoveragebyC/(I+N)Level(DL)(2)
"RSRQLevel(DL)(dB)"

RSSI

CoveragebyC/(I+N)Level(DL)(2)
"RSSILevel(DL)(dBm)"

Overlap

OverlappingZones(DL)(3)
"NumberofServers"

(1)Formoreinformation,see"StudyingSignalLevelCoverageofaSingleBaseStation"onpage919.
(2)Formoreinformation,see"StudyingInterferenceandC/(I+N)Levels"onpage932.
(3)Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictiononOverlappingZones"onpage925.

Making these predictions available within ACP enables you to quickly validate the optimisation results without having to
committheresultsandthencalculateacoveragepredictioninAtoll.TheACPpredictionsdisplayresultsverysimilartothose
thatAtollwoulddisplayifyoucommittedtheoptimisationresultsandcalculatedAtollcoveragepredictions,however,before
basinganydecisiontocommittheoptimisationresultsonthepredictionsproducedbyACP,youshouldkeepthefollowing
recommendationsinmind:

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YoushouldverifytheresultswithadifferentAtollcoverageprediction,suchastheoverlappingzonesprediction.
ACPgeneratedpredictionsaregeneratedusingtheentiresetofproposedchanges.Theydonottakeintoaccountthe
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MultiplefrequencybandoptimisationissupportedinLTE.Howeverthepredictionsareprovidedseparatelyforthe
requestedfrequencyband.
Evenaftercommittingtheoptimisationresults,differencescanremainbetweentheACPpredictionsandthepredic
tionsresultingfromAtollcoveragepredictions.

YoucanviewtheexactRScoveragevalueonanypixelbylettingthepointerrestoverthepixel.TheRScoveragevalueisthen
displayedinatiptext.
ForACPOverlappingZonespredictions,youcanspecifythebestserverthreshold:

byenteringavaluenexttoMinimumSignalLevelintheOverlap/1stNthpropertiespage.
orbysettingthe"param.lte.overlap.minRxLevel"parameterwiththesamevalueintheACP.inifile.

Foreachnetworkqualitycoverageprediction,ACPoffersapredictionshowingtheinitialnetworkstate,thefinalnetwork
state,andapredictionshowingthechangesbetweentheinitialandfinalstates.

9.6 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
AnimportantstepintheprocessofcreatinganLTEnetworkisverifyingthecapacityofthenetwork.Thisisdoneusingmeas
urementsofthestrengthofthereferencesignallevels,SS,PBCH,PDSCH,andPDCCHsignallevels,andvariousC/(I+N)at
differentlocationswithintheareacoveredbythenetwork.Thiscollectionofmeasurementsiscalleddrivetestdata.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage1025
"DisplayingDriveTestData"onpage1028
"DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath"onpage1028
"NetworkVerification"onpage1029
"ExportingaDriveTestDataPath"onpage1034
"ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData"onpage1034
"PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataAnalysisTool"onpage1035.

9.6.1 ImportingaDriveTestDataPath
InAtoll,youcananalysenetworksbyimportingdrivetestdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(withtabs,commas,semicolons,
orspacesasseparator),TEMSFICSPlanetexportfiles(withtheextensionPLN),orTEMStextexportfiles(withtheextension
FMT).
ForAtolltobeabletousethedatainimportedfiles,theimportedfilesmustcontainthefollowinginformation:

Thepositionofdrivetestdatapoints.Whenyouimportthedata,youmustindicatewhichcolumnsgivetheabscissa
andordinate(XYcoordinates)ofeachpoint.
Informationidentifyingscannedcells(forexample,servingcells,neighbourcells,oranyothercells).Cellsmaybeiden
tifiedbytheirIDsorphysicalcellIDs.

Youcanimportasingledrivetestdatafileorseveraldrivetestdatafilesatthesametime.Ifyouregularlyimportdrivetest
datafileswiththesameformat,youcancreateanimportconfiguration.Theimportconfigurationcontainsinformationthat
definesthestructureofthedatainthedrivetestdatafile.Byusingtheimportconfiguration,youwillnotneedtodefinethe
datastructureeachtimeyouimportanewdrivetestdatafile.
Toimportoneorseveraldrivetestdatafiles:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheDriveTestDatafolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectImportfromthecontextmenu.TheOpendialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefileorfilesyouwanttoopen.Youcanimportoneorseveralfiles.
Ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile,youcanselectcontiguousfilesbyclickingthefirst
fileyouwanttoimport,pressingShiftandclickingthelastfileyouwanttoimport.Youcan
selectnoncontiguousfilesbypressingCTRLandclickingeachfileyouwanttoimport.
5. ClickOpen.TheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogboxappears.

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FileswiththeextensionPLN,aswellassomeFMTfiles(createdwitholdversionsofTEMS)
areimporteddirectlyintoAtoll;youwillnotbeaskedtodefinethedatastructureusing
theImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.
6. Ifyoualreadyhaveanimportconfigurationdefiningthedatastructureoftheimportedfileorfiles,youcanselectit
fromtheImportconfigurationlistontheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox.Ifyoudonothave
animportconfiguration,continuewithstep7.
a. UnderImportconfiguration,selectanimportconfigurationfromtheImportconfigurationlist.
b. Continuewithstep10.

Whenimportingadrivetestdatapathfile,existingconfigurationsareavailablein
theFilesoftypelistoftheOpendialogbox,sortedaccordingtotheirdateofcre
ation.AfteryouhaveselectedafileandclickedOpen,Atollautomaticallyproposes
aconfiguration,ifitrecognisestheextension.Ifseveralconfigurationsareassoci
atedwithanextension,Atollchoosesthefirstconfigurationinthelist.
Thedefinedconfigurationsarestored,bydefault,inthefile"NumMeasINIFile.ini",
locatedinthedirectorywhereAtollisinstalled.FormoreinformationontheNum
MeasINIFile.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.

7. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthenewdrivetestdatapathaftertheimportedfile.Youcanchangethisnameif
desired.
UnderReceiver,settheHeightofthereceiverantennaandtheGainandLosses.
UnderMeasurementconditions,

Units:Selectthemeasurementunitsused.
Coordinates:Bydefault,AtollimportsthecoordinatesusingthedisplaysystemoftheAtolldocument.Ifthe
coordinatesusedinthefileyouareimportingaredifferentthanthecoordinatesusedintheAtolldocument,
youmustclicktheBrowsebuttonandselectthecoordinatesystemusedinthedrivetestdatafile.Atollwill
thenconvertthedataimportedtothecoordinatesystemusedintheAtolldocument.

8. ClicktheSetuptab(seeFigure9.69).

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Figure9.69:TheSetuptaboftheImportofMeasurementFilesdialogbox
a. UnderFile,enterthenumberofthe1stmeasurementrow,selectthedataSeparator,andselecttheDecimalsym
bolusedinthefile.
b. ClicktheSetupbuttontolinkfilecolumnsandinternalAtollfields.TheDriveTestDataSetupdialogboxappears.
c. UnderMeasurementpointposition,selectthecolumnsintheimportedfilethatgivetheXcoordinatesandthe
Ycoordinatesofeachpointinthedrivetestdatafile.
YoucanalsoidentifythecolumnscontainingtheXYcoordinatesofeachpointinthedrive
testdatafilebyselectingthemfromtheFieldrowofthetableontheSetuptab.

d. IfyouareimportingdatathatusescellsIDsasacellidentifier:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByID.

ii. IntheByIDidentifierbox,enterastringfoundinthecolumnnamethatidentifiesthescannedcellsIDs.For
example,ifthestring"ID"isfoundinthecolumnnamesthatidentifythecellIDsofscannedcells,enterithere.
Atollwillthensearchforthecolumnwiththisstringinthecolumnname.
e. IfyouareimportingdatathatusesaphysicalcellIDasacellidentifier:
i.

UnderServeridentification,selectByphysicalcellID.

ii. IntheByphysicalcellIDidentifierbox,enterastringfoundinthecolumnnameidentifyingthephysicalcell
IDsofscannedcells.Forexample,ifthestring"PCI"isfoundinthecolumnnamesidentifyingthephysicalcell
IDsofscannedcells,enterithere.Atollwillthensearchforthecolumnwiththisstringinthecolumnname.
iii. SelectthePhysicalcellIDformat,DecimalorHexadecimal.
iv. UnderAdditionalidentifier,youcanselectanadditionalidentifierifthedrivetestdatafilebeingimported
containsadditionalcolumnsforcellidentification.YoucanselecteitherChannelnumberorFrequencyasad
ditionalidentifierandthecolumncontainingtheadditionalidentifierofthescannedcells.IfyouselectFre
quency as additional identifier, you must also define the frequency unit used in the drive test data being
imported.
f. ClickOKtoclosetheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox.

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IfyouhavecorrectlyenteredtheinformationunderFileontheSetuptab,andthe
necessaryvaluesintheDriveTestDataSetupdialogbox,Atollshouldrecogniseall
columnsintheimportedfile.Ifnot,youcanclickthenameofthecolumninthe
tableintheFieldrowandselectthecolumnname.Foreachfield,youmustensure
thateachcolumnhasthecorrectdatatypeinorderforthedatatobecorrectly
interpreted. The default value under Type is "<Ignore>". Columns marked with
"<Ignore>"willnotbeimported.
Thedatainthefilemustbestructuredsothatthecolumnidentifyingthephysical
cellIDisplacedbeforethedatacolumnsforeachcell.OtherwiseAtollwillnotbe
abletoproperlyimportthefile.

9. Ifyouwanttosavethedefinitionofthedatastructuresothatyoucanuseitagain,youcansaveitasanimportcon
figuration:
a. OntheSetuptab,underImportconfiguration,clickSave.TheConfigurationdialogboxappears.
b. Bydefault,Atollsavestheconfigurationinafilecalled"NumMeasINIfile.ini"foundinAtollsinstallationfolder.In
caseyoucannotwriteintothatfolder,youcanclickBrowsetochooseadifferentlocation.
c. EnteraConfigurationnameandanExtensionofthefilesthatthisimportconfigurationwilldescribe(forexample,
"*.txt").
d. ClickOK.
Atollwillnowselectthisimportconfigurationautomaticallyeverytimeyouimportadrivetestdatapathfilewith
theselectedextension.Ifyouimportafilewiththesamestructurebutadifferentextension,youcanselectthis
importconfigurationfromtheConfigurationlist.

Youdonothavetocompletetheimportproceduretosavetheimportconfigura
tionandhaveitavailableforfutureuse.
Whenimportingameasurementfile,youcanexpandtheNumMeasINIfile.inifile
byclickingtheExpandbutton( )infrontofthefileunderImportconfiguration
todisplayalltheavailableimportconfigurations.Whenselectingtheappropriate
configuration,theassociationsareautomaticallymadeinthetableatthebottom
ofthedialogbox.
Youcandeleteanexistingimportconfigurationbyselectingtheimportconfigura
tionunderImportconfigurationandclickingtheDeletebutton.

10. ClickImport,ifyouareonlyimportingasinglefile,orImportall,ifyouareimportingmorethanonefile.Thedrivetest
dataisimportedintothecurrentAtolldocument.

9.6.2 DisplayingDriveTestData
WhenyouhaveimportedthedrivetestdataintothecurrentAtolldocument,youcandisplayitinthemapwindow.Then,
youcanselectindividualdrivetestdatapointstoseetheinformationatthatlocation.
Todisplayinformationaboutasingledrivetestdatapoint:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Selectthedisplaycheckboxofthedrivetestdatayouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.Thedrivetestdataisdis
played.
4. Clickandholdthedrivetestdatapointonwhichyouwantmoreinformation.Atolldisplaysanarrowpointingtowards
theservingcell(seeFigure9.73onpage1033)inthesamecolourasthetransmitter.

9.6.3 DefiningtheDisplayofaDriveTestDataPath
YoucanmanagethedisplayofdrivetestdatapathsusingtheDisplaydialogbox.Thepointsonadrivetestdatapathcanbe
displayedaccordingtoanyavailableattribute.YoucanalsousetheDisplaydialogboxtodefinelabels,tiptextandthelegend.
TodisplaytheDisplaytabofadrivetestdatapathsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathwhosedisplayyouwishtoset.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Thedrivetestdatapathspropertiesdialogboxappears.

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5. ClicktheDisplaytab.
Eachpointcanbedisplayedbyauniqueattributeoraccordingto:

atextorintegerattribute(discretevalue)
anumericalvalue(valueinterval).

Inaddition,youcandisplaypointsbymorethanonecriterionatatimeusingtheAdvancedoptionintheDisplaytype
list.WhenyouselectAdvancedfromtheDisplaytypelist,theShadingsdialogboxopensinwhichyoucandefinethe
followingdisplayforeachsinglepointofthemeasurementpath:

asymbolaccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolcolouraccordingtoanyattribute
asymbolsizeaccordingtoanyattribute

Youcan,forexample,displayasignallevelinacertaincolour,chooseasymbolforeachtransmitter(acircle,triangle,
cross,etc.)andasymbolsizeaccordingtothealtitude.

FastdisplayforcesAtolltousethelightestsymboltodisplaythepoints.Thisispar
ticularlyusefulwhenyouhaveaverylargenumberofpoints.
YoucannotuseAdvanceddisplayiftheFastdisplaycheckboxhasbeenselected.
YoucansortdrivetestdatapathsinalphabeticalorderintheNetworkexplorerby
rightclicking the Drive Test Data Path folder and selecting Sort Alphabetically
fromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethedisplaysettings(suchascoloursandsymbols)ofadrivetestdata
pathinauserconfigurationfiletomakethemavailableforuseonanotherdrive
testdatapath.Tosaveorloadtheuserconfigurationfile,clicktheActionsbutton
ontheDisplaytabofthepathpropertiesdialogboxandselectSaveorLoadfrom
theDisplayConfigurationsubmenu.

9.6.4 NetworkVerification
TheimporteddrivetestdataisusedtoverifytheLTEnetwork.Toimprovetherelevanceofthedata,Atollallowsyoutofilter
outincompatibleorinaccuratepoints.Youcanthencomparethedrivetestmeasurementswithcoveragepredictions.
Tocomparedrivetestdatawithcoveragepredictions,youoverlaycoveragepredictionscalculatedbyAtollwiththedrivetest
datapathdisplayedusingthesameparameterasthatusedtocalculatethecoverageprediction.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"FilteringMeasurementPointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths"onpage1029
"PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints"onpage1030
"CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths"onpage1031
"DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath"onpage1032
"ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter"onpage1032
"AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath"onpage1032.

9.6.4.1 FilteringMeasurementPointsAlongDriveTestDataPaths
Whenusingadrivetestdatapath,somemeasuredpointsmaypresentvaluesthataretoofaroutsidethemedianvaluesto
beuseful.Aswell,testpathsmayincludetestpointsinareasthatarenotrepresentativeofthedrivetestdatapathasawhole.
Forexample,atestpaththatincludestwoheavilypopulatedareasmightalsoincludetestpointsfromamorelightlypopu
latedregionbetweenthetwo.
Youcanfilteroutunreliablemeasurementpointsfromthedrivetestdatapatheithergeographically,byfilteringbyclutter
classesandthefocuszone,orusinganadvancedfilter.
Tofilteroutmeasurementpointsbyclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttofilteroutmeasurementpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
5. UnderClutterclasses,clearthecheckboxesoftheclutterclassesyouwanttoexclude.Measurementpointslocated
ontheexcludedclutterclasseswillbefilteredout.
6. Ifyouwanttousethefocuszoneaspartofthefilter,selecttheUsefocuszonetofiltercheckbox.Measurement
pointslocatedoutsidethefocuszonewillbefilteredout.

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7. Ifyouwanttopermanentlydeletethemeasurementpointsoutsidethefilter,selecttheDeletepointsoutsidethe
filtercheckbox.

YoucanapplyafilteronallthedrivetestdatapathsintheDriveTestDatafolder
byselectingFilterfromthecontextmenuofthefolder.
Ifyouwanttousethemeasurementpointsthatyoupermanentlydeleted,youwill
havetoimportthedrivetestdatapathagain.

Tofilteroutmeasurementpointsusinganadvancedfilter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttofilteroutmeasurementpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFilterfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataFilterdialogboxappears.
5. ClickMore.TheFilterdialogboxappears.FormoreinformationonusingtheFilterdialogbox,see"AdvancedData
Filtering"onpage101.
Youcanupdateheights(oftheDTM,andclutterheights)andtheclutterclassofdrivetest
data points after adding new geographic maps or modifying existing ones by selecting
RefreshGeoDatafromthecontextmenuoftheDriveTestDatafolder.

9.6.4.2 PredictingtheSignalLevelonDriveTestDataPoints
Topredictthesignallevelondrivetestdatapoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwanttocreatethepointprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderPointpredictions,selectPointSignalLevelandclickOK.ThePointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogboxappears
(seeFigure9.70).

Figure9.70:PointSignalLevelPropertiesdialogbox
Theerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevelscanbecalculatedandaddedtothedrivetestdatatable.
6. Ifyouwanttocalculateerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,underSelectsignallevelsforerrorcal
culations,selectthenamesofthecolumnsrepresentingmeasuredsignallevelvaluesinthedrivetestdatatablefor
whichyouwanttocalculatetheerrors(seeFigure9.71).Ifyoudonotwanttoaddthisinformationtothedrivetest
datatable,continuewithstep7.

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Figure9.71:SelectingMeasuredSignalLevelsforwhichErrorswillbeCalculated
7. ClickOK.Anewpointpredictioniscreatedfortheselecteddrivetestdatapath.
8. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapath.Thecontextmenuappears.
9. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
IfyouchosetohaveAtollcalculatetheerrorsbetweenmeasuredandpredictedsignallevels,newcolumnsareaddedtothe
drive test data table for the predicted point signal level from the serving cell and the errors between the measured and
predictedvalues.

Figure9.72:DriveTestDatatableafterPointSignalLevelPrediction(witherrorcalculations)
New columns are also added for the predicted point signal level from each neighbour cell and the errors between the
predictedandmeasuredvalues.ThevaluesstoredinthesecolumnscanbedisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.For
moreinformationontheDriveTestDataanalysistool,see"AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath"onpage1032.
Thepropagationmodelusedtocalculatethepredictedpointsignallevelsistheoneassignedtothetransmitterforthemain
matrix.Formoreinformationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.

9.6.4.3 CreatingCoveragePredictionsonDriveTestDataPaths
Youcancreatethefollowingcoveragepredictionforalltransmittersoneachpointofadrivetestdatapath:

CoveragebySignalLevel(DL)

Tocreateacoveragepredictionalongadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathonwhichyouwishtocreatethecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectCalculations>CreateaNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
5. UnderStandardpredictions,selectCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)andclickOK.TheCoveragebySignalLevel(DL)
Propertiesdialogboxappears.
6. ClicktheConditionstab.AtthetopoftheConditionstab,youcansettherangeofsignalleveltobecalculated.Under
Server,youcanselectwhethertocalculatethesignallevelfromalltransmitters,oronlythebestorsecondbestsignal.
Ifyouchoosetocalculatethebestorsecondbestsignal,youcanenteraMargin.IfyouselecttheShadowingtaken
intoaccountcheckbox,youcanchangetheCelledgecoverageprobability.YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheck
boxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

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7. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthecoverageprediction,clickOK.
Youcancreateanewcoveragepredictionbyrepeatingtheprocedurefromstep1.tostep7.foreachnewcoverage
prediction.
8. Whenyouhavefinishedcreatingnewcoveragepredictionsforthesedrivetestdata,rightclickthedrivetestdata.The
contextmenuappears.
9. SelectCalculations>CalculateAllthePredictionsfromthecontextmenu.
Anewcolumnforeachcoveragepredictionisaddedinthetableforthedrivetestdata.Thecolumncontainsthe
predictedvaluesoftheselectedparametersforthetransmitter.Thepropagationmodelusedistheoneassignedto
thetransmitterforthemainmatrix(forinformationonthepropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandProp
agationModels).
YoucandisplaytheinformationinthesenewcolumnsintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.Formoreinformationon
theDriveTestDataanalysistool,see"AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath"onpage1032.

9.6.4.4 DisplayingStatisticsOveraDriveTestDataPath
Ifpredictionshavebeencalculatedalongadrivetestdatapath,youcandisplaythestatisticsbetweenthemeasuredandthe
predictedvaluesonthatpath.
Todisplaythestatisticsforaspecificdrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttodisplaycomparativestatistics.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Display Statistics from the context menu. The Measurement and Prediction Fields Selection dialog box
appears.
5. UnderForthefollowingtransmitters,selectoneormoretransmitterstoincludeinthestatistics.
6. UnderSelectthepredictedvalues,selectthefieldsthatcontainthepredictedvaluesthatyouwishtouseinthesta
tistics.
7. UnderSelectthemeasuredvalues,selectthefieldsthatcontainthemeasuredvaluesthatyouwishtouseinthesta
tistics.
8. EntertheMeasuredvaluesrangeforthestatistics.Onlythemeasuredvalueswithinthisrangewillbeincludedinthe
statistics.
9. ClickOK.
Atollopensawindowlistingstatisticsofcomparisonbetweenmeasuredandpredictedvalues.

9.6.4.5 ExtractingaFieldFromaDriveTestDataPathforaTransmitter
Youcanextractinformationforaselectedtransmitterfromafieldofadrivetestdatapath.Theextractedinformationisavail
ableinanewcolumninthedrivetestdatatable.
Toextractafieldfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatafromwhichyouwanttoextractafield.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectFocusonaTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.TheFieldSelectionforaGivenTransmitterdialogboxappears.
5. UnderOnthetransmitter,selectthetransmitterforwhichyouwishtoextractafield.
6. UnderForthefields,selectthefieldsthatyouwishtoextractfortheselectedtransmitter.
7. ClickOK.Atollcreatesanewcolumninthedrivetestdatapathtablefortheselectedtransmitterandwiththeselected
values.

9.6.4.6 AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath
InAtoll,youcananalysevariationsinmeasurementsalonganydrivetestdatapathusingtheDriveTestDataanalysistool.
YoucanalsousetheDriveTestDataanalysistooltofindservingcellsofpoints.

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ToanalysemeasurementvariationsusingtheDriveTestDataanalysistool.
1. SelectTools>DriveTestDatafromthemenubar.TheDriveTestDataanalysistoolappears(seeFigure9.73).

Figure9.73:TheDriveTestDataanalysistool
2. In the Drive Test Data analysis tool, click the Display button. The Display Parameters dialog box appears (see
Figure9.74).

Figure9.74:Thedrivetestdatadisplayparameters
3. IntheDisplayParametersdialogbox:

SelectthecheckboxnexttoeachfieldyouwanttodisplayintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.
Ifyouwant,youcanchangethedisplaycolourbyclickingthecolourintheColourcolumnandselectinganew
colourfromthepalettethatappears.
ClickOKtoclosetheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
Youcanchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourofmorethanonefieldatthesametimeby
selectingseveralfields.Youcanselectcontiguousfieldsbyclickingthefirstfield,pressing
Shiftandclickingthelastfield.YoucanselectnoncontiguousfieldsbypressingCTRLand
clickingeachfield.Youcanthenchangethedisplaystatusorthecolourbyrightclickingon
theselectedfieldsandselectingthechoicefromthecontextmenu.
TheselectedfieldsaredisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.

4. Youcandisplaythedatainthedrivetestdatapathinthefollowingways:

ClickthevaluesintheDriveTestDataanalysistool.
Clickthepointsonthedrivetestdatapathinthemapwindow.

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Thedrivetestdatapathappearsinthemapwindowasanarrowpointingtowardsthebestserver(seeFigure9.73on
page1033)inthesamecolourasthetransmitter.
5. YoucandisplayasecondaryYaxisontherightsideofthewindowinordertodisplaythevaluesofavariablewith
differentordersofmagnitudethantheonesselectedintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.Youselectthevaluetobe
displayedfromtherighthandlistatthetopoftheDriveTestDataanalysistool.Thevaluesaredisplayedinthecolour
definedintheDisplayParametersdialogbox.
6. YoucanzoominonthegraphdisplayedintheDriveTestDataanalysistoolinthefollowingways:

Zoominorout:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDataanalysistool.Thecontextmenuappears.

ii. SelectZoomInorZoomOutfromthecontextmenu.

Selectthedatatozoominon:
i.

RightclicktheDriveTestDataanalysistoolononeendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.Thecon
textmenuappears.

ii. SelectFirstZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.
iii. RightclicktheDriveTestDataanalysistoolontheotherendoftherangeofdatayouwanttozoominon.The
contextmenuappears.
iv. SelectLastZoomPointfromthecontextmenu.TheDriveTestDataanalysistoolzoomsinonthedatabe
tweenthefirstzoompointandthelastzoompoint.
7. ClickthedataintheDriveTestDataanalysistooltodisplaytheselectedpointinthemapwindow.Atollwillcentre
themapwindowontheselectedpointifitisnotpresentlyvisible.
IfyouopenthetableforthedrivetestdatayouaredisplayingintheDriveTestData
analysistool,Atollwillautomaticallydisplayinthetablethedataforthepointthatis
displayedinthemapandintheDriveTestDataanalysistool(seeFigure9.73on
page1033).

9.6.5 ExportingaDriveTestDataPath
Youcanexportdrivetestdatapathstofilesasvectordata.
Toexportadrivetestdatapathtoavectorfile:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. Rightclickthedrivetestdatapathyouwanttoexport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExportfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
5. EnteraFilenameforthedrivetestdatapathandselectaformatfromtheSaveastypelist.
6. ClickSave.Thedrivetestdatapathisexportedandsavedinthefile.

9.6.6 ExtractingCWMeasurementsfromDriveTestData
YoucangenerateCWmeasurementsfromdrivetestdatapathsandextracttheresultstotheCWMeasurementsfolder.
TogenerateCWmeasurementfromadrivetestdatapath:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheDriveTestDatafolder.
3. RightclickthedrivetestdatapathfromwhichyouwishtoexportCWmeasurements.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectExtractCWMeasurementsfromthecontextmenu.TheCWMeasurementExtractiondialogboxappears.
5. UnderExtractCWmeasurements:
a. SelectoneormoretransmittersfromtheForthetransmitterslist.
b. SelectthefieldthatcontainstheinformationthatyouwanttoexporttoCWmeasurementsfromtheForthefields
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6. UnderExtractionparametersofCWmeasurementpaths:
a. EntertheMin.numberofpointstoextractpermeasurementpath.CWmeasurementsarenotcreatedfortrans
mittersthathavefewerpointsthanthisnumber.
b. EntertheminimumandmaximumMeasuredsignallevels.CWmeasurementsarecreatedwithdrivetestdata
pointswherethesignallevelsarewithinthisspecifiedrange.
7. ClickOK.AtollcreatesnewCWmeasurementsfortransmitterssatisfyingtheparameterssetintheCWMeasurement
Extractiondialogbox.
FormoreinformationaboutCWmeasurements,seetheModelCalibrationGuide.

9.6.7 PrintingandExportingtheDriveTestDataAnalysisTool
YoucanprintandexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDataanalysistool.
ToprintorexportthecontentsoftheDriveTestDataanalysistool:
1. Select Tools> Drive Test Data from the menu bar. The Drive Test Data analysis tool appears (see Figure9.73 on
page1033).
2. Definethedisplayparametersandzoomlevelasexplainedin"AnalysingMeasurementVariationsAlongthePath"on
page1032.
3. RightclicktheDriveTestDataanalysistool.Thecontextmenuappears.

ToprinttheDriveTestDataanalysistool,selectPrintfromthecontextmenu.
ToexporttheDriveTestDataanalysistool,selectCopyfromthecontextmenu,thenpaste.

9.7 CoplanningLTENetworkswithOtherNetworks
Atollisamultitechnologyradionetworkplanningtool.Youcanworkonseveraltechnologiesatthesametime,andseveral
networkscenarioscanbedesignedforanygivenarea:acountry,aregion,acity,etc.Forexample,youcandesignanLTEand
aGSMnetworkforthesameareainAtoll,andthenworkwithAtollscoplanningfeaturestostudythemutualimpactsofthe
twonetworks.
BeforestartingacoplanningprojectinAtoll,theAtolladministratormustperformthe
prerequisitetasksthatarerelevantforyourprojectasdescribedintheAdministrator
Manual.
Sectorsofbothnetworkscansharethesamesitesdatabase.Youcandisplaybasestations(sitesandsectors),geographicdata,
andcoveragepredictions,etc.,ofonenetworkintheothernetworksAtolldocument.Youcanalsostudyintertechnology
handoversbyperformingintertechnologyneighbourallocations,manuallyorautomatically.Intertechnologyneighboursare
allocatedoncriteriasuchasthedistancebetweensectorsoroverlappingcoverage.Inaddition,youcanoptimisethesettings
ofthetwonetworksusingtheAtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)module.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage1035.
"WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinanCoPlanningProject"onpage1037.
"PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation"onpage1040.
"CreatinganLTESectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork"onpage1053.
"UsingACPinaCoplanningProject"onpage1053.
"EndingCoplanningMode"onpage1054.

9.7.1 SwitchingtoCoplanningMode
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,youmusthavetwonetworksdesignedforagivenarea,i.e.,youmusthaveanLTEAtoll
documentandanotherAtolldocumentfortheothernetwork.Atollswitchestocoplanningmodeassoonasthetwodocu
mentsarelinkedtogether.Inthefollowingsections,theLTEdocumentwillbereferredtoasthemaindocument,andthe
otherdocumentasthelinkeddocument.Atolldoesnotestablishanyrestrictiononwhichisthemaindocumentandwhichis
thelinkeddocument.
Beforestartingacoplanningproject,makesurethatyourmainandlinkeddocuments
havethesamegeographiccoordinatesystems.

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Toswitchtocoplanningmode:
1. Openthemaindocument.

SelectFile>OpenorFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.

2. Linktheotherdocumentwiththeopenmaindocument.
a. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwin
dowshowsthecontentsofthemaindocument.
b. SelectDocument>LinkWith.TheLinkWithdialogboxappears.
c. Selectthedocumenttobelinked.
d. ClickOpen.
TheselecteddocumentisopenedinthesameAtollsessionasthemaindocumentandthetwodocumentsarelinked.
TheExplorerwindowofthemaindocumentnowcontainsafoldernamedTransmittersin[linkeddocument],where
[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocumentandanotherfoldernamedPredictionsin[linkeddocument].
Bydefault,onlytheTransmittersandPredictionsfoldersofthelinkeddocumentappear
inthemaindocument.IfyouwanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthe
maindocumentaswell,youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Forinformationonsetting
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Assoonasalinkiscreatedbetweenthetwodocuments,AtollswitchestocoplanningmodeandAtollscoplanningfeatures
arenowavailable.
When you are working on a coplanning document, Atoll facilitates working on two different but linked documents by
synchronisingthedisplayinthemapwindowbetweenbothdocuments.Atollsynchronisesthedisplayforthefollowing:

Geographicdata:AtollsynchronisesthedisplayofgeographicdatasuchasclutterclassesandtheDTM.Ifyouselect
ordeselectonetypeofgeographicdata,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Zones:Atollsynchronisesthedisplayoffiltering,focus,computation,hotspot,printing,andgeographicexportzones.
Ifyouselectordeselectonetypeofzone,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangeinthelinkeddocument.
Mapdisplay:Atollcoordinatesthedisplayofthemapinthemapwindow.Whenyoumovethemap,orchangethe
zoomlevelinonedocument,Atollmakesthecorrespondingchangesinthelinkeddocument.
Pointanalysis:WhenyouusethePointAnalysistool,Atollcoordinatesthedisplayonboththeworkingdocument
andthelinkeddocument.Youcanselectapointandviewtheprofileinthemaindocumentandthenswitchtothe
linkeddocumenttomakeananalysisonthesameprofilebutinthelinkeddocument.

DisplayingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument
Afteryouhaveswitchedtocoplanningmodeasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage1035,transmitters
andpredictionsfromthelinkeddocumentaredisplayedinthemaindocument.Ifyouwant,youcandisplayotheritemsor
foldersfromtheexplorerwindowofthelinkeddocumenttotheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument(e.g.,youcandisplay
GSMsitesandmeasurementpathsinanLTEdocument).
Todisplaysitesfromthelinkeddocumentinthemaindocument:
1. Click the linked documents map window. The linked documents map window becomes active and the explorer
windowshowsthecontentsofthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMakeAccessibleInfromthecontextmenu,andselectthenameofthemaindocumentfromthesubmenuthat
opens.
TheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumentisnowavailableinthemaindocument.TheExplorerwindowofthemaindocument
nowcontainsafoldernamedSitesin[linkeddocument],where[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocument.Ifyou
wanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthemaindocumentautomatically,youcansetanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtolinkotherfoldersinonedocument,folderssuchasCWMeasurements,DriveTestData,
ClutterClasses,TrafficMaps,DTM,etc.,intheotherdocument.
Oncethefoldersarelinked,youcanaccesstheirpropertiesandthepropertiesoftheitemsinthefoldersfromeitherofthe
twodocuments.Anychangesyoumakeinthelinkeddocumentaretakenintoaccountintheboththelinkedandmaindocu
ments.However,becauseworkingdocumentisthemaindocument,anychangesmadeinthemaindocumentarenotauto
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Ifyouclosethelinkeddocument,Atolldisplaysawarningicon(
)inthemaindocumentsExplorerwindow,andthelinked
itemsarenolongeraccessiblefromthemaindocument.YoucanloadthelinkeddocumentinAtollagainbyrightclickingthe
linkeditemintheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument,andselectingOpenLinkedDocument.
Theadministratorcancreateandsetaconfigurationfileforthedisplayparametersoflinkedandmaindocumenttransmitters
inordertoenableyoutodistinguishthemonthemapandtobeabletoselectthemonthemapusingthemouse.Ifsucha
configurationfilehasnotbeensetup,youcanchoosedifferentsymbols,sizesandcoloursforthelinkedandthemaindocu
menttransmitters.Formoreinformationonfolderconfigurations,see"FolderConfigurations"onpage108.Youcanalsoset
thetiptexttoenableyoutodistinguishtheobjectsanddatadisplayedonthemap.Formoreinformationontiptext,see
"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Inordertomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthenetworks,youcanalsochangetheorderofthefoldersoritemsinthe
explorerwindow.Formoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheexplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.
Figure9.75showsanexampleofLTEtransmitterswithlabelsanddisplayedintheLegendwindow,andGSMtransmitterdata
displayedinatiptext.

Figure9.75:GSMandLTETransmittersdisplayedonthemap

9.7.2 WorkingwithCoveragePredictionsinanCoPlanningProject
Atoll provides you with features that enable you to work with coverage predictions in your coplanning project. You can
modifythepropertiesofcoveragepredictionsinthelinkeddocumentfromwithinthemaindocument,andcalculatecoverage
predictions in both documents at the same time. You can also study and compare the coverage predictions of the two
networks.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"UpdatingCoveragePredictions"onpage1037
"AnalysingCoveragePredictions"onpage1038.

9.7.2.1 UpdatingCoveragePredictions
YoucanaccessthepropertiesofthecoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolderinthemaindocumentsExplorer
window.Aftermodifyingthelinkedcoveragepredictionproperties,youcanupdatethemfromthemaindocument.
Toupdatealinkedcoverageprediction:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
4. Rightclickthelinkedcoveragepredictionwhosepropertiesyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
6. Modifythecalculationanddisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
7. ClickOKtosaveyoursettings.

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8. ClicktheCalculatebutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

When you click the Calculate button, Atoll first calculates uncalculated and invalid path loss matrices and then
unlockedcoveragepredictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
WhenyouhaveseveralunlockedcoveragepredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,Atollcalculates
themoneaftertheother.Forinformationonlockingandunlockingcoveragepredictions,see"LockingCoveragePredictions"
onpage225.
Ifyouwant,youcanmakeAtollrecalculateallpathlossmatrices,includingvalidones,beforecalculatingunlockedcoverage
predictionsinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
ToforceAtolltorecalculateallpathlossmatricesbeforecalculatingcoveragepredictions:

ClicktheForceCalculatebutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculatebutton,Atollfirstremovesexistingpathlossmatrices,recalculatesthemandthen
calculatesunlockedcoveragespredictionsdefinedinthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders.
TopreventAtollfromcalculatingcoveragepredictionsinthelinkedPredictionsfolder,you
cansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.ForinformationonsettingoptionsintheAtoll.inifile,
seetheAdministratorManual.

9.7.2.2 AnalysingCoveragePredictions
InAtoll,youcananalysecoveragepredictionsofthetwonetworkstogether.Youcandisplayinformationaboutcoverage
predictionsinthemainandthelinkeddocumentsintheLegendwindow,usetiptexttogetinformationondisplayedcoverage
predictions,comparecoverageareasbyoverlayingthecoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow,andstudythedifferences
betweenthecoverageareasbycreatingcoveragecomparisons.
Ifseveralcoveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itmightbedifficulttoclearlyseetheresultsofthecoverageprediction
youwishtoanalyse.Youcanselectwhichcoveragepredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingorclearingthedisplaycheck
box.Forinformationonmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"on
page42.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

9.7.2.2.1

"CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess"onpage1038
"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage1039
"ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText"onpage1039
"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions"onpage1039
"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage1040.

CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess
Theaimofcoverageanalysisinacoplanningprojectistocomparethecoverageareasofthetwonetworksandtoanalyse
theimpactofchangesmadeinonenetworkontheother.Changesmadetothesectorsofonenetworkmightalsohavean
impactonsectorsintheothernetworkifthesectorsinthetwonetworkssharesomeantennaparameters.Youcancarryout
acoverageanalysiswithAtolltofindtheimpactofthesechanges.
Therecommendedprocessforanalysingcoverageareas,andtheeffectofparametermodificationsinoneontheother,isas
follows:
1. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCover
agebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthemaindocument.Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoverage
PredictionbyTransmitter"onpage923and"MakingaCoveragePredictionbySignalLevel"onpage921.
2. CreateandcalculateaCoveragebyTransmitter(DL)(bestserverwith0dBmargin)coveragepredictionandaCov
eragebySignalLevel(DL)coveragepredictioninthelinkeddocument.
3. Choosedisplaysettingsforthecoveragepredictionsandtiptextcontentsthatwillallowyoutoeasilyinterpretthe
predictionsdisplayedinthemapwindow.Thiscanhelpyoutoquicklyassessinformationgraphicallyandusingthe
mouse.YoucanchangethedisplaysettingsofthecoveragepredictionsontheDisplaytabofeachcoveragepredic
tionsPropertiesdialogbox.
4. Makethetwonewcoveragepredictionsinthelinkeddocumentaccessibleinthemaindocumentasdescribedin"Dis
playingBothNetworksintheSameAtollDocument"onpage1036.
5. Optimisethemainnetworkbychangingparameterssuchasantennaazimuthandtiltorthecellpower.Youcanuse
atoolsuchastheAtollACPtooptimisethenetwork.
Changesmadetothesharedantennaparameterswillbeautomaticallypropagatedtothelinkeddocument.
6. Calculatethecoveragepredictionsinthemaindocumentagaintocomparetheeffectsofthechangesyoumadewith
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Forinformationoncomparingcoveragepredictions,see"ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredic
tions"onpage1039and"StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas"onpage1040.
7. Calculatethelinkedcoveragepredictionsagaintostudytheeffectsofthechangesonthelinkedcoveragepredictions.

9.7.2.2.2

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontothelegendbyselecting
theAddtolegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

9.7.2.2.3

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tioninthemainandlinkedPredictionsfolders,identifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

ComparingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingTipText
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionsbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformation
displayedinthetiptext.Atolldisplaysinformationforalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththeworkingandthelinked
documents.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction(step3.of"CoPlanningCoverageAnalysisProcess"onpage1038).
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedonalldisplayedcoveragepredictionsinboththe
workingandthelinkeddocuments(seeFigure9.36).Thetiptextfortheworkingdocumentisontopandthetiptext
forthelinkeddocument,withthelinkeddocumentidentifiedbynameisonthebottom.

Figure9.76:Comparingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

9.7.2.2.4

ComparingCoverageAreasbyOverlayingCoveragePredictions
Youcancomparethecoverageareasofthemainandlinkeddocumentsbyoverlayingthecoveragepredictionsinthemap
window.
Tocomparecoverageareasbyoverlayingcoveragepredictionsinthemapwindow:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
4. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttodisplayinthe
mapwindow.Thecoveragepredictionisdisplayedonthemap.
5. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
8. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.Forinformationondefiningdisplayproperties,see"Display
PropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
9. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsin[linkeddocument]folder,where[linkeddocument]isthe
nameofthelinkeddocument.
10. Selectthevisibilitycheckboxtotheleftofthelinkedcoveragepredictionyouwanttodisplayinthemapwindow.The
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11. Rightclickthecoverageprediction.Thecontextmenuappears.
12. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThecoveragepredictionPropertiesdialogboxappears.
13. Modifythedisplayparametersofthecoverageprediction.
14. Calculatethetwocoveragepredictionsagain,ifneeded.
Tomoreeasilyviewdifferencesbetweenthecoverageareas,youcanalsochangetheorderofthePredictionsfoldersinthe
explorerwindow.Formoreinformationonchangingtheorderofitemsintheexplorerwindow,see"WorkingwithLayers
UsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage43.

9.7.2.2.5

StudyingDifferencesBetweenCoverageAreas
Youcancomparecoveragepredictionstofinddifferencesincoverageareas.
Tocomparecoveragepredictions:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.Themaindocumentsmapwindowbecomesactiveandtheexplorerwindow
showsthecontentsofthemaindocumentandthelinkedfoldersfromthelinkeddocument.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
4. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionofthemaindocumentyouwanttocompare.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectCompareWith>[linkedcoverageprediction]fromthecontextmenu,where[linkedcoverageprediction]is
thelinkedcoveragepredictionyouwanttocomparewiththecoveragepredictionofthemaindocument.TheCom
parisonPropertiesdialogboxopens.
6. Selectthedisplayparametersofthecomparisonandaddacommentifyouwant.
7. ClickOK.
ThetwocoveragepredictionsarecomparedandacomparisoncoveragepredictionisaddedtothemaindocumentsPredic
tionsfolder.
Formoreinformationoncoveragepredictioncomparison,see"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage953.

9.7.3 PerformingIntertechnologyNeighbourAllocation
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethefeaturesavailableinAtollthathelptheRFplannertocarryoutintertechnologyneighbour
planning.Forexample,handoversbetweenanLTEandaGSMnetworkcanbestudiedinAtollbyallocatingneighbourGSM
sectorstoLTEcells.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1040
"DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage1041
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1042
"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1043
"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage1045
"AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage1046
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1049
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage1052.

Inthesectionslistedabove,itisassumedthatAtollisalreadyincoplanningmode,andtheAtolldocumentscorresponding
tothetwonetworkshavealreadybeenlinked.Formoreinformationonswitchingtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCo
planningMode"onpage1035.

9.7.3.1 ImportingIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucanimportintertechnologyneighboursintheformofASCIItextfiles(inTXTandCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocu
mentusingtheNeighbourstable.
Toimportintertechnologyneighboursusingtheintertechnologyneighbourstables:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighboursta
bleappears.
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

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9.7.3.2 DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucansetintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Theseconstraintscanbetakeninto
accountwhenintertechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.
Todefineintertechnologyexceptionalpairsbetweenthemaindocumentandthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyExceptional
Pairstableappears.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Acellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Cell:Thenameofthecellinthemaindocumentasthefirstpartoftheexceptionalpair.Thenamesofallthecells
inthemaindocumentareavailableinthelist.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourinthelinkeddocumentasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.The
namesofallthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentareavailableinthelist.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.
InGSM,neighboursandexceptionalpairsareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
YoucanaccessacellsintertechnologyneighboursandexceptionalpairsbyusingitsPropertiesdialogbox.
ToopenacellsPropertiesdialogbox:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappears.
4. Doubleclicktherowcorrespondingtothecellwhosepropertiesyouwanttoaccess.ThecellsPropertiesdialogbox
appears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisfoundonthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.
DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyexceptionalpairsonthemapinordertostudytheforcedandforbiddenneighbourrelations
definedintheIntertechnologyExceptionalPairstable.
Todisplayexceptionalpairsdefinedbetweenthemainandthelinkeddocuments:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Click the arrow ( ) next to the Edit Relations on the Mapbutton (
appears.

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. A menu

3. SelectDisplayOptions fromthemenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
4. UnderIntertechnologyneighbours,selecttheDisplaylinkscheckbox.
5. UnderAdvanced,selectwhichexceptionalpairlinkstodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocu
mentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.
Inwardsnonsymmetric:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachtransmitter/cellinthe
linkeddocumentthathasanexceptionalpairdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepre
sentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesamecolourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
Symmetriclinks:Selectingthisoptiondisplaysanexceptionalpairlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathas
anexceptionalpairdefinedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinked
documentalsohasthecellofthemaindocumentinitsexceptionalpairlist.Theselinksarerepresentedwith
straightblacklines.

6. Click the arrow ( ) next to the Edit Relations on the Mapbutton (

appears.

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. A menu

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7. SelectForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighboursfromthemenu.Theexceptionalpairofacellwillbedisplayed
whenyouselectatransmitter.
8. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Exceptionalpairsarenowdisplayed
onthemap.ExceptionalpairswillremaindisplayeduntilyouclicktheEditRelationsontheMapbuttonagain.
9. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsexceptionalpairlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
Theexceptionalpairlinkscanbedisplayedevenifyoudonothaveneighboursallocated.IfyouselecttheDisplaylinkscheck
boxunderIntratechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintratechnologyexceptionalpairsonthe
map.
AddingandRemovingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcansetintertechnologyexceptionalpairsusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpairs
dependingonthedisplayoptionset,i.e.,ForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveexceptionalpairsusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofexceptionalpairsonthe
mapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1041.
Toaddasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesboth
transmittersfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovestheref
erencetransmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricexceptionalpairrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertrans
mitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingexceptionalpairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricexceptional
pairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconverts
thesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesthe
transmitterfromtheintertechnologyexceptionalpairslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

9.7.3.3 ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintertechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).

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Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>ConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Weightingdialogboxappears.
4. Select the Intertechnology Neighbours tab. On the Intertechnology Neighbours tab, you can set the following
importancefactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocated
withinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
Coveragefactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
Cositefactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositefactorwillbeusedifyouselecttheForcecositetransmitters
asneighbourscheckboxwhenperformingautomaticneighbourallocation.Forinformationonautomaticallyallo
catingneighbours,see"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1043.

5. ClickOK.

9.7.3.4 AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallydeterminehandoverrelationsbetweennetworksofdifferenttechnologies,forexample,LTEandGSM.
Inthiscase,intertechnologyhandoversfromLTEtoGSMmayoccurwhentheLTEcoverageisnotcontinuous.Thenetworks
overallcoverageisextendedbyanLTEtoGSMhandover.Atollcanautomaticallydetermineneighboursinthelinkeddocu
mentforcellsinthemaindocumentandviceversa.Intertechnologyneighboursarestoredinthedatabase.
Toautomaticallyallocateneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Select Neighbours> Intertechnology> Automatic Allocation from the context menu. The Automatic Neighbour
Allocationdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. DefinethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbourintheMaxintersitedistancebox.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
7. DefinethemaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacellintheMaxnumberof
neighboursbox.Thisvaluecanbeeithersethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourallocationondistancecriterionandcon
tinuewithstep9.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwanttobasetheneighbouralloca
tiononcoverageconditions.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforthecellsinthemaindocument.TheLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheLTECoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

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Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Min.BCCHsignallevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmitter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaUMTSdocument,theUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheUMTSCov
erageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
MaxEc/Io:SelecttheMaxEc/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaCDMAdocument,theCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheCDMA
CoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
MaxEc/Io:SelecttheMaxEc/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaTDSCDMAdocument,theTDSCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.Inthe
TDSCDMACoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothepilotsignallevelofthebestserver.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
e. Inthe%mincoveredareabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellscoverageareathattheneighbours
coverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.
9. UnderCalculationoptions,definethefollowing:

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CDMAcarriers:IfthelinkeddocumentisaUMTS,CDMA,orTDSCDMAdocument,selectthecarriersonwhich
youwanttocalculatetheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;Atollwillallocateonlythecellsusing
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Forcecositeasneighbours:SelectingtheForcecositeasneighbourscheckboxwillincludethecositetransmit
ters/cellsintheneighbourlistoftheLTEcell.Thecheckboxisautomaticallyselectedwhentheneighbouralloca
tionisbasedondistance.
Forceexceptionalpairs:SelectingtheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxwillapplytheintertechnologyexcep
tionalpaircriteriaontheneighbourslistoftheLTEcell.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectingtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighbours
intheneighbourslistandperformacleanneighbourallocation.IftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisnot
selected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.

10. ClicktheCalculatebuttontostartcalculations.
11. Oncethecalculationsfinish,AtolldisplaysthelistofneighboursintheResultssection.Theresultsincludethenames
oftheneighbours,thenumberofneighboursofeachcell,andthereasontheyareincludedintheneighbourslist.The
reasonsinclude:
Reason

Description

When

Exceptionalpair

Neighbourrelationisdefinedasanexceptionalpair.

Forceexceptionalpairsis
selected

Cosite

Theneighbourislocatedatthesamesiteasthereferencecell.

Forcecositeasneighboursis
selected

Distance

Theneighbouriswithinthemaximumdistancefromthe
referencecell.

UseCoverageOverlappingisnot
selected

%ofcoveredarea
andoverlappingarea

Neighbourrelationthatfulfilscoverageconditions.

UseCoverageOverlappingis
selected

Existing

Theneighbourrelationexistedbeforecalculatingtheautomatic
allocation.

Resetisnotselected

12. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintertechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthispointyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument.
Tocomparetheproposedandexistingneighbourlists:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txt,whichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberof deletedneighbour relations (neighbour relationsnot proposed intheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

13. ClicktheCommitbutton.TheallocatedneighboursaresavedintheIntertechnologyNeighbourstabofeachcell.
14. ClickClose.

9.7.3.5 DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcandisplayintertechnologyneighboursonthemapinordertostudytheintertechnologyhandoverscenarios.
Todisplayneighboursinthelinkeddocumentforcellsinthemaindocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Click the arrow ( ) next to the Edit Relations on the Mapbutton (
appears.

)in the Radio Planning toolbar. A menu

3. SelectDisplayOptions fromthemenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
4. UnderIntertechnologyNeighbours,selecttheDisplaylinkscheckbox.
5. UnderAdvanced,selecttheneighbourlinkstodisplay:

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Outwards nonsymmetric: Shows a neighbour link for each cell in the main document that has a neighbour
definedwithatransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesof
thesamecolourasthetransmitterinthemaindocument.
Inwardsnonsymmetric:Showsaneighbourlinkforeachtransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentthathasaneigh
bourdefinedwithacellinthemaindocument.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightdashedlinesofthesame
colourasthetransmitterinthelinkeddocument.
Symmetriclinks:Showsaneighbourlinkforeachcellinthemaindocumentthathasaneighbourdefinedwitha
transmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentonlyifthetransmitter/cellinthelinkeddocumentalsohasthecellofthe
maindocumentinitsneighbourslist.Theselinksarerepresentedwithstraightblacklines.

6. Click the arrow ( ) next to the Edit Relations on the Map button (
appears.

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. A menu

7. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
8. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Neighboursarenowdisplayedon
themapuntilyouclicktheEditRelationsontheMapbuttonagain.
9. Clickatransmitteronthemaptoshowitsneighbourlinks.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,
clicking the transmitter in the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).
IfyouselecttheDisplaylinkscheckboxunderIntertechnologyNeighbours,Atolldisplaysbothintertechnologyandintra
technologyneighboursonthemap.Thefigurebelowshowstheintraandintertechnologyneighboursofthetransmitter
Site22_2.

9.7.3.6 AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintertechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofinter
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintertechnologyneighbourspercell.Youcanallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighboursdirectlyonthemap,orusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orusingtheIntertech
nologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page1046.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage1047.
"AllocatingandRemovingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage1049.

AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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5. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumnumberofneighbours.
7. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

).

c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
8. ClickOK.
InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabisavailableineachtransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.
AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable
Toallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocumentandcellsinthemain
documentusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable
appears.
5. Enteroneintertechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellcanhavemorethanoneintertechnologyneigh
bour.
6. Allocateordeleteaneighbour.

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Toallocateanintertechnologyneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheSourceto"manual."
7. Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsideration:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheInter
technologyExceptionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexceptionalpairsto
beconsidered,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairsinthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.

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d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
InGSM,neighboursareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).
AllocatingandRemovingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap
Youcanallocateintertechnologyneighboursdirectlyonthemapusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesneighbourstotrans
mittersifthedisplayoptionissettoNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveintertechnologyneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofintertechnology
neighboursonthemapasexplainedin"DisplayingIntertechnologyNeighboursontheMap"onpage1045.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmitterto
thelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitter
fromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofintertechnologyneighbouroftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromthelistofintertechnologyneighboursoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. Therecanbetwocases:

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertechnologyneighbourrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingShiftandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.ThenpressCTRL
andclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricintertech
nologyneighbourrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressShiftandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheintertechnologyneighbourslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

9.7.3.7 CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintertechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintertechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintertechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.

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Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintertechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintertechnologyneighbours:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportance
Calculationdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
6. UnderImportance,entertheMaxintersitedistance.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximumintersitedistancewillnot
beconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
7. UnderImportance,selecttheTakeintoaccountthecositefactorcheckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedon
thesamesiteastheirreferencecellwhencalculatingimportance.
8. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxinordertobasetheneighbourimportancecalculationonlyonthedis
tancecriterionandcontinuewithstep10.Otherwise,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxifyouwantto
basetheneighbourimportancecalculationoncoverageconditions.
9. UnderCoverageConditions,youcansetthecoverageconditionsbetweenintertechnologyneighboursandtheirref
erencecellsforbothoftheprojects.
a. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,youcanclicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverage
conditionsforcellsinthemaindocument.TheLTECoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheLTECoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

b. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
c. ClicktheDefinebuttontochangethecoverageconditionsforthetransmitters/cellsinthelinkeddocument.
IfthelinkeddocumentisaGSMdocument,theGSMCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheGSMCover
ageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
MinBCCHsignallevel:EntertheminimumBCCHsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbytheGSMtransmitter.
Margin:EnterthemarginrelativetotheBCCHsignallevelofthebestserver.TheBCCHsignallevelofthe
neighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaUMTSdocument,theUMTSCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheUMTSCov
erageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

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Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
MaxEc/Io:SelecttheMaxEc/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.

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DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaCDMAdocument,theCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.IntheCDMA
CoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
MaxEc/Io:SelecttheMaxEc/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

IfthelinkeddocumentisaTDSCDMAdocument,theTDSCDMACoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.Inthe
TDSCDMACoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothepilotsignallevelofthebestserver.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
Indoorcoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

d. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
10. IfyouclearedtheUsecoverageconditionscheckbox,enterthemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellanda
possibleneighbourintheMaxintersitedistancebox.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,repeatersandremoteantennascanbetakeninto
accountinthemaximumintersitedistance.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingFilter,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneighbourstobe
calculated.
11. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep4.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite

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Symmetry
Coverage

Distance:Thedistanceinkilometresbetweenthereferencecellandtheneighbour.

12. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

9.7.3.8 CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrent
intertechnologyneighbourallocationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovides
intheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappear.
3. SelectNeighbours>Intertechnology>Auditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
4. ClicktheIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

Averageno.ofneighbours:SelecttheAverageno.ofneighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercell.
Emptylists:SelecttheEmptylistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
Fulllists:SelecttheFulllistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethemaximumnumberofneighbours
allowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeither
sethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
Lists>maxnumber:SelecttheFulllistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethanthemaximum
numberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforallthecells,or
specifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
Missingcosites:SelecttheMissingcositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:SelecttheMissingsymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
Exceptionalpairs:SelecttheExceptionalpairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance between neighbours: Select the Distance between neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

Averagenumberofneighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellfortheplan
audited.

Emptylists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

Fulllists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>maxnumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanYnumber
ofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaxnumberofintertechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,theFull
ListscheckandtheLists>MaxNumbercheckusetheDefaultMaxNumbervaluedefined
intheauditdialogbox.

Missingcosites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

Nonsymmetriclinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

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|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

Missingforced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

Existingforbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.

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Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

Distancebetweenneighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplanthatare
locatedatadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

9.7.4 CreatinganLTESectorFromaSectorintheOtherNetwork
Youcancreateanewsectorinthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument.Tocreateanewsector
inthemaindocumentbasedonanexistingsectorinthelinkeddocument:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. Inthemapwindow,rightclickthelinkedtransmitterbasedonwhichyouwanttocreateanewLTEtransmitter.The
contextmenuappears.
3. SelectCopyin[maindocument]fromthecontextmenu.
Thefollowingparametersofthenewsectorinthemaindocumentwillbethesameasthesectorinthelinkeddocumentit
wasbasedon:antennapositionrelativetothesite(DxandDy),antennaheight,azimuth,andmechanicaltilt.Thenewsector
willbeinitialisedwiththeradioparametersfromthedefaultstationtemplateinthemaindocument.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatdoesnotexistinthemaindocument,thesiteiscreatedinthemain
documentaswell.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatalsoexistsinthemaindocument,andthecoordinatesofthesite
inthelinkedandmaindocumentsarethesame,thesectoriscreatedinthemaindocumentattheexistingsite.Thesitecoor
dinatesinthelinkedandmaindocumentswillalwaysbethesameiftheAtolladministratorhassetupsitesharinginthedata
base.Formoreinformationaboutsitesharingindatabases,seetheAdministratorManual.
Ifthesectorinthelinkeddocumentislocatedatasitethatexistsinthemaindocument,butatadifferentlocation(geographic
coordinates),thesectorisnotcreatedinthemaindocument.
Toupdatethedisplaysettingsofthenewsector:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolderofthemaindocument.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectUpdateFolderConfigurationfromthecontextmenu.

Figure9.77:NewsectorBeforeandafterapplyingtheconfiguration
Theazimuthsandmechanicaltiltsofsecondaryantennasandremoteantennasarenot
includedwhenyouselectUpdateFolderConfigurationandhavetobesetupmanually.

9.7.5 UsingACPinaCoplanningProject
AtollACPenablesyoutoautomaticallycalculatetheoptimalnetworksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandcapacityin
coplanningprojectswherenetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,forexample,LTEandGSM,mustbothbetakenintoconsid
eration.
When you run an optimisation setup in a coplanning environment, you can display the sites and transmitters of both
networksinthedocumentinwhichyouwillruntheoptimisationprocess,asexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"
onpage1035.Whilethisstepisnotnecessaryinordertocreateacoplanningoptimisationsetup,itwillenableyoutovisually
analysethechangestobothnetworksinthesamedocument.
Afterwardsyoucancreatethenewoptimisationsetup,butwhencreatinganoptimisationsetupinacoplanningenviron
ment,youcannotrunitimmediately;youmustfirstimporttheothernetworkintotheACPsetup.
ThissectionexplainshowtouseACPtooptimisenetworksettingsinacoplanningproject:

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"CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup"onpage1054
"ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup"onpage1054.

9.7.5.1 CreatingaNewCoplanningOptimisationSetup
Onceyouhavedisplayedbothnetworksinthemaindocumentasexplainedin"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage1035,
youcancreatethenewcoplanningoptimisationsetup.
Tocreateanewcoplanningoptimisationsetup:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. RightclicktheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Adialogboxappearsinwhichyoucansettheparametersfortheoptimisation
process.
Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
5. Afterdefiningtheoptimisationsetup,clicktheCreateSetupbuttontosavethedefinedoptimisation.
Theoptimisationsetuphasnowbeencreated.ThenextstepistoaddtheGSMnetworktotheACPoptimisationsetupyou
havejustcreated.

9.7.5.2 ImportingtheOtherNetworkintotheSetup
Onceyouhavecreatedthecoplanningoptimisationsetup,youmustimportthelinkednetwork.
Toimportthelinkednetwork:
1. Clickthemaindocumentsmapwindow.
2. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheACPAutomaticCellPlanningfolder.
4. Rightclick the setup you created in "Creating a New Coplanning Optimisation Setup" on page1054. The context
menuappears.
5. SelectImportProjectfromthecontextmenuandselectthenameofthelinkeddocumentyouwanttoimportintothe
newlycreatedsetup.

Thesetuphasbeenmodifiedtoincludethelinkednetwork.
YoucanmodifytheparametersfortheoptimisationsetupbyrightclickingitintheNetworkexplorerandselectingProperties
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationontheparametersavailable,see"DefiningOptimisationParameters"onpage1768.
Afterdefiningthecoplanningoptimisationsetup:

ClicktheRunbuttontoruntheoptimisationimmediately.Forinformationonrunningtheoptimisation,see"Running
anOptimisationSetup"onpage1807.Forinformationontheoptimisationresults,see"ViewingOptimisationResults"
onpage1811.
ClicktheCreateSetupbuttontosavethedefinedoptimisationtoberunlater.

9.7.6 EndingCoplanningMode
once you have linked two Atoll documents for the purposes of coplanning, Atoll will maintain the link between them.
However,youmightwanttounlinkthetwodocumentsatsomepoint,eitherbecauseyouwanttouseadifferentdocument
incoplanningorbecauseyouwanttorestorethedocumentstoseparate,technologyspecificdocuments.

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Tounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode:
1. SelectFile>Opentoopenthemaindocument.
Atollinformsyouthatthisdocumentispartofamultitechnologyenvironmentandaskswhetheryouwanttoopen
theotherdocument.
2. ClickYestoopenthelinkeddocumentaswell.
3. SelectDocument>Unlinktounlinkthedocumentsandendcoplanningmode.
Thedocumentsarenolongerlinkedandcoplanningmodeisended.

9.8 AdvancedConfiguration
ThefollowingsectionsdescribedifferentadvancedparametersandoptionsavailableintheLTEmodulethatareusedincover
agepredictionsaswellasMonteCarlosimulations.
Inthissection,thefollowingadvancedconfigurationoptionsareexplained:

"DefiningFrequencyBands"onpage1055.
"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056.
"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1060.
"DefiningFrameConfigurations"onpage1060.
"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
"DefiningLTEQualityIndicators"onpage1062.
"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062.
"DefiningLTESchedulers"onpage1066.
"DefiningLTEUECategories"onpage1068.
"SmartAntennaSystems"onpage1068.
"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage1070.
"IntercellInterferenceCoordination"onpage1071.
"ModellingShadowing"onpage1072.
"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage1073.

9.8.1 DefiningFrequencyBands
Todefinefrequencybands:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickBandsandselectOpenTable.TheLTE
FrequencyBandstableappears.
2. IntheLTEFrequencyBandstable,enteronefrequencybandperrow.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Foreachfrequencyband,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthefrequencyband,forexample,"2.1GHz10MHz."EachLTEfrequencybandhasaspe
cificchannelwidth.Mentioningthechannelwidthinthefrequencybandnameisagoodapproach.Thisnamewill
appearinotherdialogboxeswhenyouselectafrequencyband.
Channelwidth(MHz):Enterthewidthforeachchannelinthefrequencyband.
Interchannelspacing(MHz):Enterthespacingbetweenanytwoconsecutivechannelsinthefrequencyband.
Firstchannel:Enterthenumberofthefirstchannelinthisfrequencyband.
Lastchannel:Enterthenumberofthelastchannelinthisfrequencyband.Ifthisfrequencybandhasonlyonecar
rier,enterthesamenumberasenteredintheFirstchannelfield.
Step:Enterthestepbetweenanytwoconsecutivechannelnumbersinthefrequencyband.
Excludedchannels:Enterthechannelnumberswhichdonotconstitutethefrequencyband.Youcanenternon
consecutivechannelnumbersseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeofchannelnumbersseparating
thefirstandlastindexwithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,2,3,4,5").
Startfrequencies(MHz):EnterthestartfrequencyforTDDfrequencybands,andthedownlinkandtheuplinkstart
frequenciesforFDDfrequencybands.
Adjacentchannelsuppressionfactor(dB):EntertheadjacentchannelinterferencesuppressionfactorindB.Inter
ferencereceivedfromadjacentchannelsisreducedbythisfactorduringthecalculations.
Numberoffrequencyblocks:Enterthenumberoffrequencyblocks(i.e.,thenumberofresourceblockwidthsin
thefrequencydomain)usedforthechannelbandwidth.
Samplingfrequency(MHz):Enterthesamplingfrequencyusedforthechannelbandwidth.
Duplexingmethod:Selecttheduplexingmethodusedinthefrequencybandfromthelist.

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TDDspecificparametersarehiddenwhenthereisnoTDDfrequencybanddefinedinthe
FrequencyBandstable.TheseparametersincludeSwitchingpointperiodicityandSpecial
subframe configuration (see "The Global Network Settings" on page1056) and TDD
subframeconfiguration(see"CellDescription"onpage889).
3. Whenyouhavefinishedaddingfrequencybands,clicktheClosebutton(

).

For example, if you wish to define the EUTRA Band 1 with 10MHz channels and EARFCNs corresponding to the centre
frequenciesofthechannels(50,150,250,350,450,550),youcanset:

Name:EUTRABand110MHz
Channelwidth:10
Interchannelspacing:0
Firstchannel:50
Lastchannel:550
Step:100
DLstartfrequency:2110
ULstartfrequency:1920
Adjacentchannelsuppressionfactor:28.23
Numberoffrequencyblocks:50
Samplingfrequency:15.36
Duplexingmethod:FDD

Youcanalsoaccessthepropertiesdialogboxofeachindividualfrequencybandbydoubleclickingtheleftmarginoftherow
withthefrequencyband.

9.8.2 TheGlobalNetworkSettings
Atollallowsyoutosetnetworklevelparameterswhicharecommontoallthetransmittersandcellsinthenetwork.These
parametersareusedincoveragepredictionsaswellasduringMonteCarlosimulationsbytheradioresourcemanagement
andschedulingalgorithms.
ThissectionexplainstheoptionsavailableontheGlobalParametersandCalculationParameterstabsoftheLTENetwork
Settingsfolderproperties,andexplainshowtoaccessthem:

"TheOptionsontheGlobalParametersTab"onpage1056.
"TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab"onpage1059.
"ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1059.

9.8.2.1 TheOptionsontheGlobalParametersTab
TheglobalLTEparametersinclude:

Defaultcyclicprefix:ThetotalsymboldurationinLTEcomprisestheusefulpartofthesymbol,carryingthedatabits,
andacyclicprefixpart,whichisaportionoftheusefuldatapartrepeatedatthebeginningofeachsymbol.Thecyclic
prefixisthemethodusedbyLTEtocounterintersymbolinterference(ISI).Thecyclicprefixandtheorthogonalityof
subcarriersensurethatthereisnegligibleintracellinterferenceinLTE.LTEsupportstwocyclicprefixtypes:normal
andextended.

PDCCHoverhead:ThePhysicalDownlinkControlChannel(PDCCH)cantakeupto4symboldurationsineachsubframe
inthedownlink.InAtoll,thePDCCHisconsideredtoincludethePCFICH,PHICH,andPCHaswell.
ThePBCH,PSS,SSS,andthedownlinkreferencesignalsconsumeafixedamountofresourcesinthedownlink.Their
correspondingoverheadsarehardcodedinAtollinaccordancewiththe3GPPspecifications.

PUCCHoverhead:ThePhysicalUplinkControlChannel(PUCCH)canconsumeanumberoffrequencyblocksinthe
uplink.
Theuplinkdemodulationandsoundingreferencesignalsconsumeafixedamountofresourcesintheuplink.Their
correspondingoverheadsarehardcodedinAtollinaccordancewiththe3GPPspecifications.
TheamountsofresourcescorrespondingtodifferentsignalsandchannelsinLTEcanbecalculatedanddisplayedin
Atoll.Formoreinformation,see"DisplayingLTECellDetails"onpage1078.

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Switchingpointperiodicity(TDDonly):TherecanbeeitheroneortwoDLULswitchingpointsinTDDframesincase
offullframeandhalfframeperiodicities,respectively.Youcanselectthesubframeconfiguration,i.e.,theconfigura
tionofuplinkanddownlinksubframesinaframe,foreachcellaccordingtotheselectedswitchingpointperiodicity.

Specialsubframeconfiguration(TDDonly):TheconfigurationofthespecialsubframeinTDDframes.Thisconfigura
tiondescribesthedurationsandformatsofDwPTS,GP,andUpPTSinthespecialsubframe.

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DwPTSisusedfortransmissionofthereferencesignal,PDCCH,PSS,andPDSCH.Referencesignalsarelocatedina
DwPTS in the same manner as in any normal subframe. The PDCCH can at most be transmitted over two OFDM
symbols (symbol durations) because the third symbol duration in a DwPTS is used for the PSS transmission. The
resourceelementsleftinDwPTSafterexcludingtheRS,PDCCH,andPSSoverheadsareusedfordatatransmission,
i.e.,PDSCH.UpPTSisonlyusedforSRSandPRACH.

RSEPRE:Thereferencesignalenergyperresourceelementcanbeeithercalculatedautomaticallyusingthemaximum
powerandtheEPREoffsetsfordifferentdownlinkchannelsdefinedpercell,orenteredpercellbytheuser.

Calculated(equaldistributionofunusedEPRE):ThereferencesignalEPREforeachcellwillbecalculatedbyAtoll
usingthecellsmaximumpower(userdefinable)andtheEPREoffsets.Fortransmitterswithmorethanonetrans
missionantennaport,theenergybelongingtotheunusedresourceelements(resourceelementsreservedforref
erencesignaltransmissiononotherantennas)willbedistributedamongallthedownlinksignalsandchannels
equally.
Calculated(withboost):ThereferencesignalEPREforeachcellwillbecalculatedbyAtollusingthecellsmax
imumpower(userdefinable)andtheEPREoffsets.Fortransmitterswithmorethanonetransmissionantenna
port,theenergybelongingtotheunusedresourceelements(resourceelementsreservedforreferencesignal
transmissiononotherantennas)willbeallottedtothereferencesignalresourceelementsonly.Thiscorresponds
toa3dBboostintheRSEPREwith2transmissionantennaportsand6dBboostwith4ports.
Calculated(withoutboost):ThereferencesignalEPREforeachcellwillbecalculatedbyAtollusingthecellsmax
imumpower(userdefinable)andtheEPREoffsets.Fortransmitterswithmorethanonetransmissionantenna
port,theenergybelongingtotheunusedresourceelements(resourceelementsreservedforreferencesignal
transmissiononotherantennas)willbeconsideredlost.
Userdefined:YouwillbeabletoenterthereferencesignalEPREforeachcell.Thecellsmaximumpowerwillbe
calculatedbyAtollusingtheRSEPREandtheEPREoffsets.
Independentofmaxpower:YoucanenterthereferencesignalEPREandthemaximumpower.Atolldoesnot
verifythevalidityoftheenteredvalues.

Best server selection criterion: You can select the best server selection criterion: reference signal level or RSRP.
Dependingontheselectedmethod,AtollcompareseitherthereferencesignallevelortheRSRPfromdifferenttrans
mittersateachpixel(ormobile)todeterminethebestserver.

Bestserverselectionmethod:YoucanselectthebestserverselectionmethodtobeusedinMonteCarlosimulations:
Random,Layerpriority,orTrafficbalancing.InAtoll,thebestserverselectionforanypixel,subscriber,ormobileis
performedasfollows:
a. Atollcreatesthefollowinglistsofpotentialservers(servingcells),eachsortedindescendingorderofthebest
serverselectioncriterion:
LTEusers:
i.

AlistofpotentialservingcellswhosecelltypeincludesLTE

LTEAusers:
ii. AlistofpotentialprimaryservingcellswhosecelltypeincludesLTEAPCell
iii. AlistofpotentialprimaryservingcellswhosecelltypeincludesLTE
iv. AlistofpotentialsecondaryservingcellswhosemayincludeLTEASCellDLandLTEASCellUL
Amongtheabovelists,listii.haspriorityoverlistsiii.andiv.
b. Fromalloftheabovelists,optionally,Atolleliminatespotentialservingcellslocatedtoofarfromthepixel,sub
sriber,ormobile,i.e.,fartherthantheroundtriptimedistancecorrespondingtothecellsPRACHpreamblefor
mat.
c. Fromalloftheabovelists,Atolleliminatesincompatiblepotentialserversdependingonthemobilespeedand
compatibilitybetweenthecellslayersandthelayerssupportedbytheusersserviceandterminal.
d. Fromeachlist,AtolleliminatesthepotentialservingcellswhosereferencesignallevelorRSRPislessthanthe
highestreferencesignallevelorRSRPofeachlistlesstheselectionmargin.
e. AtollselectstheservingcellforLTEusersfromtheremaininglisti.,aprimaryservingcellforLTEAusersfromthe
remaininglistii.,oraservingcellforLTEAusersfromtheremaininglistiii.ifnocelloftypeLTEAPCellisse
lectablefromlistii.
Theservingcellselectedforcoveragepredictionsisthefirstcellinthelist(belongingtothehighestprioritylayer
ifthepredictionisbeingcalculatedforthe"Best"layer.)
TheservingcellselectedforMonteCarlosimulationsdependsontheservingcellselectionmethod:

Random:Eachuserisassignedtooneoftheremainingpotentialserversatrandom.
Layerpriority:Eachuserisassignedtothefirstcellbelongingtothehighestprioritylayer.
Trafficbalancing:Atolltriestobalancethenumbersofusersofdifferentservicesperservingcell.

Atthisstage,userswithoutanyservingcellassignedarerejectedforNoCoverage.

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Onceaprimaryservingcellhasbeenselected,Atolleliminatestheselectedcellaswellasanyothercochannel
cellfromlistiv.Here,cochannelcellsarecellswhosechannelsoverlapthechannelbeingusedtheprimaryserving
cell.
Bydefault,AtollsupportsintraeNodeBcarrieraggregation.Thismeansthat,atthisstage,
AtollalsoeliminatescellsbelongingtoothereNodeBsthanthatoftheselectedprimary
cellfromlistiv.
IfyouwishtoswitchtomultieNodeBcarrieraggregation,youcandosobyaddingan
optionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
f. ForLTEAuserswithaprimaryservingcelloftypeLTEAPCellselectedfromlistii.,Atollselectssecondaryserv
ingcellsfromlistiv.asfollows:
Theservingcellselectedforcoveragepredictionsisthefirstcellinthelist(belongingtothehighestprioritylayer
ifthepredictionisbeingcalculatedforthe"Best"layer.)
TheservingcellselectedforMonteCarlosimulationsdependsontheservingcellselectionmethod:

Random:Eachuserisassignedtooneoftheremainingpotentialserversatrandom.
Layerpriority:Eachuserisassignedtothefirstcellbelongingtothehighestprioritylayer.
Trafficbalancing:Atolltriestobalancethenumbersofusersofdifferentservicesperservingcell.

Thisstepiscarriedoutuntileitherlistiv.isempty,orthenumbersofdownlinkoruplinksecondaryservingcells
assignedtotheuserbecomeequaltothemaximumnumbersdefinedintheterminalproperties.
TheprimaryandsecondaryservingcellsonceassignedtoamobiledonotchangeduringMonteCarlosimulations.For
moreinformationondefininglayers,see"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1060.

Uplinkpoweradjustmentmargin:Themargin(indB)thatwillbeaddedtothebearerselectionthreshold,forsafety
againstfastfading,whenperformingpowercontrolinuplink.
AdaptiveMIMOswitchingcriterion:YoucanselectwhethertheMIMOmodeselectionwillbebasedontheRSC/N,
RSC/(I+N),orPDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N).AtollcomparestheselectedcriterionwiththeAMSthresholddefinedforthe
receptionequipment.
MUMIMOactivationcriterion:YoucanselectwhetherMUMIMOisactivatedbasedontheRSC/N,RSC/(I+N),or
PDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N).AtollcomparestheselectedcriterionwiththeMUMIMOactivationthresholddefinedfor
thereceptionequipment.
Multiantennainterferencecalculationmethod:Youcanselectthecalculationmethodforinterferencefrommulti
antennacells.Thecalculatedinterferencecanbeeitherproportionaltothenumberofantennasorindependentof
thenumberofantennas.

Figure9.78andFigure9.79giveexamplesofdownlinkanduplinkFDDresourceblocksforthesingleantennacaseusingthe
normalcyclicprefix.

Figure9.78:LTEdownlinkresourceblocks

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Figure9.79:LTEuplinkresourceblocks

9.8.2.2 TheOptionsontheCalculationParametersTab
TheLTEcalculationparametersinclude:

MininterfererC/Nthreshold:Minimumrequirementforinterfererstobeconsideredincalculations.Interferingcells
fromwhichthereceivedcarrierpowertonoiseratioislessthanthisthresholdarediscarded.
Forexample,settingthisvalueto20dBmeansthatinterferingcellsfromwhichthereceivedsignalsare100times
lower than the thermal noise level will be discarded in calculations. The calculation performance of interference
based coverage predictions, interference matrices calculations, and Monte Carlo simulations can be improved by
settingahighvalueforthisthreshold.

Height: The receiver height at which the path loss matrices and coverage predictions are calculated. Calculations
madeonmobileusers(fromtrafficmaps)inMonteCarlosimulationsarealsocarriedoutatthisreceiverheight.Cal
culationsmadeonfixedsubscribers(fromsubscriberlists)inMonteCarlosimulationsarecarriedoutattheirrespec
tiveheights.
Defaultmaxrange:Themaximumcoveragerangeoftransmittersinthenetwork.

9.8.2.3 ModifyingGlobalNetworkSettings
YoucanchangeglobalnetworksettingsinthepropertiesdialogboxoftheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
Tosetthenetworklevelparameters:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. SelecttheGlobalParameterstab.Inthistabyoucansettheframestructureparameters.
UnderFramestructureyoucanmodifythefollowing:theDefaultcyclicprefix,thePDCCHoverhead,thePUCCHover
head,and,forTDDnetworks,theSwitchingpointperiodicityandtheSpecialsubframeconfiguration.
SwitchingpointperiodicityandSpecialsubframeconfigurationarehiddenwhenthereis
noTDDfrequencybanddefinedintheFrequencyBandstable(see"DefiningFrequency
Bands"onpage1055.
5. ClicktheAdvancedbutton.TheAdvancedParametersdialogboxappears.
6. IntheAdvancedParametersdialogbox,youcanset:

Downlinktransmitpowercalculation:UnderDownlinktransmitpowercalculation,youcanselectthedownlink
referencesignalEPREcalculationmethodorsetittouserdefined.
Bestserverselection:Inthissection,youcanchoosetheservingcelllayerselectionCriterionandMethod.
Uplinkpoweradjustment:Inthissection,youcanentertheuplinkpoweradjustmentMargin.
AdaptiveMIMOswitching:Inthissection,youcanchoosetheadaptiveMIMOswitchingCriterion.
MUMIMO:Inthissection,youcanchoosetheMUMIMOactivationCriterion.
Multiantennainterferencecalculation:Inthissection,youcanchoosethemultiantennainterferencecalcula
tionMethod.

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Figure9.80:LTEGlobalParameters
7. SelecttheCalculationParameterstab.Inthistabyoucanset:

Calculationlimitation:Inthissection,youcanentertheMininterfererC/Nthreshold.
Receiver:Inthissection,youcanenterthereceiverHeight.
System:Inthissection,selecttheMaxrangecheckboxifyouwanttoapplyamaximumsystemrangelimit,and
enterthemaximumsystemrangeinthetextboxtotheright.

8. ClickOK.Theglobalparametersareusedduringcoveragepredictionsandsimulationsfortheentirenetwork.

9.8.3 DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers
AnLTEnetworkcanbedeployedinmultiplelayersofheterogeneouscells,i.e.,ofdifferentsizes(macro,micro,smallcells,
etc.),andpossiblyusingdifferentfrequencies.SuchLTEnetworksarereferredtoasHetNets,orheterogeneousnetworks.In
Atoll,differentnetworklayerswithdifferentprioritiesandselectionmarginscanbedefinedforyourLTEnetwork.Duringcell
selection,networklayerprioritiesandselectionmarginsaretakenintoaccounttodeterminetheservingcells.
Tocreateanewnetworklayer:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheNetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickLayers.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheLayerstableappears.
5. IntheLayerstable,eachrowdescribesanetworklayer.Forthenewnetworklayer,enter:

Index:ThelayerindexisautomaticallyassignedbyAtolltoeachnewlayerthatyoucreate.
Name:Thenameofthenetworklayer.
Priority:Thepriorityofthenetworklayer.
Maxspeed(km/h):Thehighestspeedofamobileuserthatcanconnecttocellsofthislayer.
Selectionmargin(dB):ThemarginwithrespecttothehighestreceivedreferencesignallevelorRSRPwithinwhich
thecellsofthislayerarecandidatesforselectionasservers.

6. Whenyouhavefinishedaddingnetworklayers,clicktheClosebutton(

).

9.8.4 DefiningFrameConfigurations
Frame configurations model channel and frame structure parameters for different channel bandwidths and cells. Frame
configurationsalsodefineICICrelatedparametersforcellsusingstaticdownlinkoruplinkICIC.
Tocreateanewframeconfiguration:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickFrameConfigurations.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheFrameConfigurationstableappears.

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5. IntheFrameConfigurationstable,eachrowdescribesaframeconfiguration.Forthenewframeconfiguration,enter:

Name:Thenameoftheframeconfiguration.
Totalnumberoffrequencyblocks:Thetotalnumberoffrequencyblockstowhichtheframeconfigurationcorre
spond.
PDCCHoverhead:ThePhysicalDownlinkControlChanneloverheadintermsofnumbersofOFDMsymbolsper
subframe.Ifthisfieldisleftempty,Atollusesthedefaultoverheaddefinedintheglobalnetworkparameters.
PUCCHoverhead:ThePhysicalUplinkControlChanneloverheadintermsofaveragenumbersoffrequencyblocks
perchannel.Ifthisfieldisleftempty,Atollusesthedefaultoverheaddefinedintheglobalnetworkparameters.
Cyclicprefix:Thecyclicprefix.Ifthisfieldisleftempty,Atollusesthedefaultcyclicprefixdefinedintheglobal
networkparameters.
PRACHpreambleformat:ThePRACHpreambleformatimposesamaximumrangeofaservingcell.Whendeter
miningthebestserver,Atollcheckswhetherthedistanceofthestudiedpixel,subscriber,ormobilefromacellis
lessthanorequaltothedistancecorrespondingtotheroundtriptimeallowedbythecellsPRACHpreamble
format.Forexample,acellwithPRACHpreambleformat0canbebestserverwithinadistance14521m.Ifthe
PRACHpreambleformatisleftempty,thebestservercoverageisnotlimitedbydistance.ThePRACHpreamble
formatdoesnotlimitinterferencefromanycell.

PRACHpreambleformat

Distancecorrespondingtosignal
roundtriptimeinmetres

14521

77290

29511

107269

2811

ThePRACHpreambleformat4canonlybeusedforTDDcells.Thebestservercov
eragelimitduetoPRACHpreambleformat4isonlyusedwhenacellusesaTDD
frequencybandand:

Normalcyclicprefixwithspecialsubframeconfigurationhigherthan4,or
Extendedcyclicprefixwithspecialsubframeconfigurationhigherthan3.

IfacellsPRACHpreambleformatissetto4buttheaboveconditionsarenottrue,
PRACHpreambleformat0isusedinthecalculationsinstead.

The PRACH preamble format models the distancerelated boundary of the best
servercoverage.InordertomodelthePRACHoverhead,youmustusetheMax
TrafficLoad(UL)(%)fieldavailablepercell.Forexample,foraPRACHoverheadof
5%oftheframe,youcansettheMaxTrafficLoad(UL)(%)to95%.

ICICmode:Theintercellinterferencecoordinationmethod.YoucanselectfromTimeswitchedFFR,HardFFR,
SoftFFR,andPartialSoftFFR.FormoreinformationondifferentICICmodes,see"IntercellInterferenceCoordi
nation"onpage1071.
Celledgepowerboost(DL)(dB):Thedownlinkcelledgepowerboost,i.e.,theratioofthepowertransmittedon
thecelledgeresourceblockswithrespecttothepowertransmittedoncellcentreresourceblocks,forSoftFFR
andPartialSoftFFRICICmodes.Ifyouleavethiscolumnempty,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthepowerboost
dependingonthenumbersofcellcentreandcelledgefrequencyblocks.
Group0frequencyblocks:ThefrequencyblocksassociatedwithPSSID0.
Group1frequencyblocks:ThefrequencyblocksassociatedwithPSSID1.
Group2frequencyblocks:ThefrequencyblocksassociatedwithPSSID2.
Youcanenternonconsecutivefrequencyblocknumbersseparatedwithacomma,oryoucanenterarangeof
frequencyblocksseparatingthefirstandlastindexwithahyphen(forexample,entering"15"correspondsto"1,
2,3,4,5").
IntimeswitchedandsoftFFR,thefrequencyblockgroupassociatedwithacellsPSSIDservescellcentreaswell
ascelledgeusers.Theothertwofrequencyblockgroups,associatedwiththeothertwoPSSIDs,onlyservecell
centreusers.
InhardandpartialsoftFFR,thefrequencyblockgroupassociatedwithacellsPSSIDcoverscellcentreaswellas
celledgeusers.Theothertwofrequencyblockgroups,associatedwiththeothertwoPSSIDs,serveneithercell
edgenorcellcentreusers.
IfnoframeconfigurationisdefinedforacellusingstaticICIC,Atollconsidersthatgroup0frequencyblockscor
respondtothefirst1/3rdofthetotalnumberoffrequencyblocks,group1frequencyblockscorrespondtothe

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second1/3rdofthetotalnumberoffrequencyblocks,andgroup2frequencyblockscorrespondtothethird1/
3rdofthetotalnumberoffrequencyblocks.
6. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheFrameConfigurationstable.

9.8.5 DefiningLTERadioBearers
LTEradiobearerscarrythedataintheuplinkaswellasinthedownlink.IntheAtollLTEmodule,a"bearer"referstoacombi
nationofMCS,i.e.,modulation,andcodingschemes.TheRadioBearerstableliststheavailableradiobearers.Youcanadd,
remove,andmodifybearerproperties,ifyouwant.
TodefineLTEbearers:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickRadioBearers.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheRadioBearerstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteronebearerperrow.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.ForeachLTEbearer,enter:

Radiobearerindex:Enterabearerindex.Thisbearerindexisusedtoidentifythebearerinothertables,suchas
thebearerselectionthresholdsandthequalitygraphsinreceptionequipment.
Name:Enteranameforthebearer,forexample,"16QAM3/4."Thisnamewillappearinotherdialogboxesand
results.
Modulation:Selectamodulationfromthelistofavailablemodulationtypes.Thiscolumnisforinformationand
displaypurposesonly.
Codingrate:Enterthecodingrateusedbythebearer.Thiscolumnisforinformationanddisplaypurposesonly.
Bearerefficiency(bits/symbol):Enterthenumberofusefulbitsthatthebearercancarryinasymbol.Thisinfor
mationisusedinthroughputcalculations.
Forinformationontherelationbetweenbearerefficiencyandspectralefficiency,see"RelationBetweenBearer
EfficiencyAndSpectralEfficiency"onpage1077.

6. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheLTEBearerstable.

9.8.6 DefiningLTEQualityIndicators
Qualityindicatorsdepictthecoveragequalityatdifferentlocations.TheQualityIndicatorstableliststheavailablequalityindi
cators.Youcanadd,remove,andmodifyqualityindicators,ifyouwant.
Todefinequalityindicators:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickQualityIndicators.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheQualityIndicatorstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteronequalityindicatorperrow.Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithData
Tables"onpage75.Foreachqualityindicator,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthequalityindicator,forexample,"BLER"forBlockErrorRate.Thisnamewillappearin
otherdialogboxesandresults.
Usedfordataservices:Selectthischeckboxtoindicatethatthisqualityindicatorcanbeusedfordataservices.
Usedforvoiceservices:Selectthischeckboxtoindicatethatthisqualityindicatorcanbeusedforvoiceservices.

6. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheQualityIndicatorstable.

9.8.7 DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment
LTEreceptionequipmentmodelthereceptioncharacteristicsofcellsanduserterminals.Bearerselectionthresholds,quality
indicatorgraphs,andMIMOgainsaredefinedinLTEreceptionequipment.
Tocreateanewpieceofreceptionequipment:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder.
3. IntheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickReceptionEquipment.Thecontextmenuappears.

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4. SelectOpenTable.TheReceptionEquipmenttableappears.
5. IntheReceptionEquipmenttable,eachrowdescribesapieceofequipment.Forthenewpieceofequipmentyouare
creating,enteritsname.
6. DoubleclicktheequipmententryintheReceptionEquipmenttableonceyournewequipmenthasbeenaddedtothe
table.TheequipmentsPropertiesdialogboxopens.
ThePropertiesdialogboxhasthefollowingtabs:

General:Onthistab,youcandefinetheNameofthereceptionequipment.
Thresholds:Onthistab(seeFigure9.81),youcanmodifythebearerselectionthresholdsandadaptiveMIMO
switching(AMS)andMUMIMOactivationthresholdsfordifferentmobilitytypes.
Abearerisselectedfordatatransferatagivenpixelifthereceivedcarriertointerferenceandnoiseratioishigh
erthanitsselectionthreshold.Formoreinformationonbearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
AMSthresholdistheRSC/N,RSC/(I+N),orPDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N)threshold,accordingtotheoptionsetinthe
Advancedparameters("TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1056),forswitchingfromSUMIMOtotransmitor
receivediversity.MUMIMOactivationthresholdistheminimumrequiredRSC/N,RSC/(I+N),orPDSCHorPUSCH
C/(I+N)foractivatingMUMIMO.FormoreinformationonMIMO,see"MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems"
onpage1070.

Figure9.81:ReceptionEquipmentBearerSelectionThresholds
i.

ClicktheSelectionthresholdsbutton.TheC/(I+N)Thresholds(dB)dialogboxappears(seeFigure9.82).

ii. Enterthegraphvalues.
iii. ClickOK.

Figure9.82:C/(I+N)Thresholds(dB)dialogbox
Formoreinformationonthedefaultvaluesofthebearerselectionthresholds,see"BearerSelectionThresholds"
onpage1076.Forconvertingreceiverequipmentsensitivityvalues(dBm)intobearerselectionthresholds,see
"CalculatingBearerSelectionThresholdsFromReceiverSensitivityValues"onpage1076.

QualityGraphs:Onthistab(seeFigure9.83),youcanmodifythequalityindicatorgraphsfordifferentbearersand
fordifferentmobilitytypes.Thesegraphsdepicttheperformancecharacteristicsoftheequipmentunderdifferent

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radioconditions.Formoreinformationonbearers,qualityindicators,andmobilitytypes,see"DefiningLTERadio
Bearers" on page1062, "Defining LTE Quality Indicators" on page1062, and "Modelling Mobility Types" on
page928,respectively.

Figure9.83:ReceptionEquipmentQualityIndicatorGraphs
i.

ClicktheQualitygraphbutton.TheQualityGraphdialogboxappears(seeFigure9.84).

ii. Enterthegraphvalues.
iii. ClickOK.

Figure9.84:QualityIndicatorGraph

PDSCH/PUSCHMIMOGains:Onthistab(seeFigure9.85),youcanmodifytheSUMIMOanddiversitygainsfor
differentbearers,mobilitytypes,BLERvalues,andnumbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports.The
MIMO throughput gain is the increase in channel capacity compared to a SISO system. Diversity gains can be
defined for different diversity modes: transmit/receive diversity, SUMIMO, and MUMIMO. Diversity gain is
appliedtothePDSCHorPUSCHC/NandC/(I+N)whenthediversitymodeistransmitorreceivediversity.SU
MIMOdiversitygainisappliedtothePDSCHorPUSCHC/NandC/(I+N)whenthediversitymodeisSUMIMO.MU
MIMOdiversitygainisappliedtothePDSCHorPUSCHC/NandC/(I+N)whenthediversitymodeisMUMIMO.
Formoreinformationonbearersandmobilitytypes,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062and"Model
lingMobilityTypes"onpage928,respectively.FormoreinformationonthedifferentMIMOsystems,see"Multi
pleInputMultipleOutputSystems"onpage1070.

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NoMIMOgain(diversity,SUMIMO,andMUMIMO)isappliedifthenumbersoftransmis
sionandreceptionantennasarebothequalto1.

Figure9.85:ReceptionEquipmentPDSCH/PUSCHMIMOGains
i.

ClicktheMaxMIMOgaingraphsbutton.TheMaxMIMOGaindialogboxappears(seeFigure9.86).

ii. Enterthegraphvalues.
iii. ClickOK.
Youcandefinethegainsforanycombinationofmobilitytype,bearer,andBLER,aswellasthedefaultgainsfor
"All"mobilitytypes,"All"bearers,andaMaxBLERof1.Duringcalculations,Atollusesthegainsdefinedforaspe
cificcombinationifavailable,otherwiseitusesthedefaultgains.

Figure9.86:MaxMIMOGaindialogbox

PBCH/PDCCHMIMOGains:Onthistab(seeFigure9.87),youcanenterdiversitygainsforPBCHandPDCCHfor
differentmobilitytypes,andnumbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports.ThePBCHdiversitygainis
appliedtothePBCHC/NandC/(I+N)whenthecellandterminalbothsupportanyformofMIMOindownlink.The
PDCCHdiversitygainisappliedtothePDCCHC/NandC/(I+N)whenthecellandterminalbothsupportanyform
ofMIMOindownlink.

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Figure9.87:ReceptionEquipmentPBCH/PDCCHMIMOGains
7. ClickOK.ThePropertiesdialogboxcloses.Thesettingsarestored.
8. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheReceptionEquipmenttable.

9.8.8 DefiningLTESchedulers
InAtoll,schedulersperformtheselectionofusersforresourceallocation,theradioresourceallocationandmanagement
accordingtotheQoSclassesoftheservicesbeingaccessedbytheselectedusers.
Theschedulingprocessiscomposedofthefollowingthreesteps:
1. Selectionofusersforresourceallocation:TheMaxnumberofusersdefinedforeachcellisthemaximumnumberof
usersthatthecellsschedulercanworkwithsimultaneously.Atthestartoftheschedulingprocess,thescheduler
keepsonlyasmanyusersasthemaximumnumberdefinedforresourceallocation.Ifnolimithasbeenset,allthe
usersgeneratedduringMonteCarlosimulationsforthiscellareconsidered,andtheschedulercontinuestoallocate
resourcesaslongasthereareremainingresources.
2. ResourceallocationforsupportingtheMinthroughputdemands:Thisistheminimumthroughputthataservice
mustgetinordertoworkproperly.Thescheduleriseitherabletoallocatetheexactamountofresourcesrequiredto
fullysupporttheminimumthroughputdemands,ortheservicedoesnotgetanyresourcesatall.
Theschedulerallocatesresources,forsupportingtheminimumthroughputdemands,intheorderofservicepriority.
TheeffectiveservicepriorityisdeterminedbasedontheQCIpriorityandtheuserdefinedservicepriority.Forexam
ple,theorderofresourceallocationwillbeasfollows:usersoftheservicewiththehighestQCIpriorityandthehighest
userdefinedserviceprioritytousersoftheservicewiththelowestQCIpriorityandthelowestuserdefinedservice
priority.
Inordertobeconnected,usersactiveindownlinkanduplinkmustbeabletogettheirminimumthroughputinboth
directions. If a user active in downlink and uplink gets his minimum throughput in only one direction, he will be
rejected.
3. ResourceallocationforsupportingtheMaxthroughputdemands:Oncetheresourceshavebeenallocatedforsup
portingtheminimumthroughputdemandsinthepreviousstep,theremainingresourcescanbeallocatedindifferent
waystosupportthemaximumthroughputdemandsoftheusers.
Forallocatingresourcestosupportthemaximumthroughputdemands,thefollowingtypesofschedulingmethods
areavailable:

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Proportionalfair:Theproportionalfairschedulingmethodallocatesthesameamountofresourcestoalltheusers
withamaximumthroughputdemand.Therefore,theresourcesallocatedtoeachuserareeithertheresourcesit
requires to achieve its maximum throughput demand or the total amount of resources divided by the total
numberofusersinthecell,whicheverissmaller.Theproportionalfairschedulercanalsomodeltheeffectof
resourceschedulingovertime,i.e.,howaproportionalfairschedulerbenefitsfromfastfading,byapplyingmulti
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Proportional demand: The proportional demand scheduling method allocates resources proportional to the
demandsofuserswhohaveamaximumthroughputdemand.Therefore,userswithhighermaximumthroughput
demandswillhavehigherresultingthroughputsthantheuserswithlowermaximumthroughputdemands.

RoundRobin:Theroundrobinschedulingmethodallocatesthesameamountofresourcestoalltheuserswitha
maximumthroughputdemand.Therefore,theresourcesallocatedtoeachuserareeithertheresourcesitrequires
toachieveitsmaximumthroughputdemandorthetotalamountofresourcesdividedbythetotalnumberofusers
inthecell,whicheverissmaller.

Max C/I: This scheduling method allocates the resources required by the users to achieve their maximum
throughputdemandsintheorderoftheirPDSCHC/(I+N) indownlinkandoftheirPUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)in
uplink.Thismeansthatuserswhoareundergoodradioconditionswillgettheresourcestheyrequire.Theend
resultofthisschedulingmethodisthatthecumulatedcellthroughputsaremaximised.

Foralltheschedulingmethods,resourcesareallocatedtosupportthemaximumthroughputdemanduntileitherthe
maximumthroughputdemandsofalltheusersaresatisfiedortheschedulerrunsoutofresources.
TheSchedulerstableliststheavailableschedulers.Youcanadd,remove,andmodifyschedulerproperties,ifyouwant.
TodefineLTEschedulers:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickSchedulersandselectOpenTable.
TheSchedulerstableappears.
2. In the table, enter one scheduler per row. For information on working with data tables, see "Working with Data
Tables"onpage75.Foreachscheduler,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthescheduler.Thisnamewillappearinthecellproperties.
Schedulingmethod:Selecttheschedulingmethodusedbytheschedulerforallocatingresourcestosupportthe
maximumthroughputdemands.
Targetthroughputforvoiceservices:Selectthethroughputthattheschedulerwilltargettosatisfyforallvoice
typeservices.
Targetthroughputfordataservices:Selectthethroughputthattheschedulerwilltargettosatisfyforalldata
typeservices.
Bearerselectioncriterion:Selectthecriterionfortheselectionofthebestbearer.
Bearerindex:Thebestbearerselectedforthroughputcalculationsistheonewiththehighestbearerindex
amongthebearersavailableinthereceptionequipment.
PeakRLCthroughput:Thebestbearerselectedforthroughputcalculationsistheonewiththehighestpeak
RLCthroughput(includingSUMIMOgains)amongthebearersavailableinthereceptionequipment.
EffectiveRLCthroughput:Thebestbearerselectedforthroughputcalculationsistheonewiththehighest
effectiveRLCthroughput(includingSUMIMOgains)amongthebearersavailableinthereceptionequipment.
Uplinkbandwidthallocationtarget:Selecttheaimoftheuplinkbandwidthallocation.

Fullbandwidth:AllthefrequencyblocksareusedforthePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)calculations,i.e.,noband
widthreductionisperformed.
Maintainconnection:ThenumberoffrequencyblocksisreducedonebyoneinordertoincreasethePUSCH
&PUCCHC/(I+N)sothatthemobileisabletogetatleastthelowestbearer.
Bestbearer:ThenumberoffrequencyblocksisreducedinordertoincreasethePUSCH&PUCCHC/(I+N)so
thatthemobileisabletogetthehighestbeareravailable.Thedefinitionofthehighestbearerdependsonthe
Bearerselectioncriterion,i.e.,highestindex,highestpeakRLCthroughput,orhighesteffectiveRLCthrough
put.
When the Bearer selection criterion is set to Effective RLC throughput, Atoll calculates the effective RLC
throughputforallpossiblecombinationsof[numberoffrequencyblocks,bearers],andkeepsthenumberof
frequencyblocksandthebearerwhichprovidethehighesteffectiveRLCthroughput.

3. Doubleclick arowcorresponding toanyscheduler in the Schedulers table. The schedulers properties dialog box
appears.
TheGeneraltabcontainstheschedulerpropertiesdescribedabove.ForProportionalfairschedulers,theproperties
dialogboxdisplaysanadditionalMUGtab.OntheMUGtab,youcaneditthedownlinkanduplinkthroughputgains
duetomultiuserdiversityfordifferentradiobearersandmobilitytypes.YoucanalsodefinethemaximumPDSCH
andPUSCHC/(I+N)valuesabovewhichtheirarenogainsduetomultiuserdiversity.
Toeditthedownlinkmultiuserdiversitygainsforaradiobearerandamobilitytype:
a. ClicktheDLMUGGraphbutton.TheDLMUGdialogboxesappears.
b. Editthedownlinkmultiuserdiversitygainvaluesfordifferentnumbersofsimultaneouslyconnecteddownlinkus
ers.
c. ClickOK.

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Toedittheuplinkmultiuserdiversitygainsforaradiobearerandamobilitytype:
a. ClicktheULMUGGraphbutton.TheULMUGdialogboxesappears.
b. Edittheuplinkmultiuserdiversitygainvaluesfordifferentnumbersofsimultaneouslyconnecteduplinkusers.
c. ClickOK.
4. ClickOK.
5. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheSchedulerstable.

9.8.9 DefiningLTEUECategories
LTEuserequipmentcapabilitiesarestandardisedintodifferentcategoriesaccordingto3GPPspecifications.
ToeditaUEcategory:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheLTENetworkSettingsfolder,rightclickUECategories,andselectOpenTable.
TheLTEUECategoriestableappears.
2. TheLTEUECategoriestablehasthefollowingcolumns:

Name:NameoftheUEcategory.
MaxnumberoftransportblockbitsperTTI(DL):Themaximumnumberoftransportblockbitspersubframein
thedownlink.Thisparameterdefinesthehighestdownlinkthroughputthataterminalcansupport.
MaxnumberoftransportblockbitsperTTI(UL):Themaximumnumberoftransportblockbitspersubframein
theuplink.Thisparameterdefinesthehighestuplinkthroughputthataterminalcansupport.
Highestsupportedmodulation(UL):Thehighestmodulationsupportedintheuplink.
Maxnumberofreceptionantennaports:Themaximumnumberofantennaportssupportedbyaterminalinthe
downlink.
LTEAtoLTEDowngradeCategory:NameoftheUEcategorytobeusedifanLTEAterminalisconnectedtoan
LTEonlycell.Accordingto3GPPspecifications,anLTEAterminalthatusesUEcategory6or7whenconnectedto
anLTEAcellusesUEcategory4whenconnectedtoanLTEonlycell.Similarly,anLTEAterminalthatusesUEcat
egory8whenconnectedtoanLTEAcellusesUEcategory5whenconnectedtoanLTEonlycell

3. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheLTEUECategoriestable.

9.8.10 SmartAntennaSystems
Smartantennasystemsusedigitalsignalprocessingwithmorethanoneantennaelementinordertolocateandtrackvarious
types of signals to dynamically minimise interference and maximise the useful signal reception. Different types of smart
antennamodellingtechniquesexist,includingbeamswitching,beamsteering,beamforming,etc.Adaptiveantennasystems
arecapableofusingadaptivealgorithmstocanceloutinterferingsignals.
Atollincludesabeamformingsmartantennamodelthatsupportslinearadaptivearraysystems.Thesmartantennamodel
dynamicallycalculatesandappliesweightsoneachantennaelementinordertocreatebeamsinthedirectionofservedusers.
Theantennapatternsthuscreatedhaveamainbeampointedinthedirectionoftheusefulsignal.TDDLTEnetworksaremore
suitableforsmartantennasthanFDDbecauseofthesimilaruplinkanddownlinkchannelcharacteristicsinTDD.Information
gatheredfromamobileintheuplinkcanbeassumedvalidfordownlinkaswell.
AtollsLTEmoduleincludesaconventionalbeamformingsmartantennamodel.Theconventionalbeamformerworksbyform
ingbeamsinthedirectionoftheservedmobiles.

ModellinginMonteCarloSimulations:
Inthedownlink,thepowertransmittedtowardstheservedmobilefromacelliscalculatedbyformingabeaminthat
direction.Forcellsusingsmartantennas,thesmartantennaweightsaredynamicallycalculatedforeachmobilebeing
served.BeamformingisperformedininterferedaswellasinterferingcellsandthedownlinkC/(I+N)iscalculatedby
takingintoaccounttheeffectsofbeamforming.
Thesmartantennasimulationresultsincludetheangulardistributionofthetransmittedpowerspectraldensityfor
eachcell.Theseresultsarethenusedtocarryoutinterferencebasedcoveragepredictionsforthebasestationsusing
smartantennas.

ModellinginCoveragePredictions:
ThesmartantennaresultsofMonteCarlosimulationsareusedincoveragepredictions.Beamformingisperformedto
calculatethesmartantennagaintowardseachpixelofthestudiedcelldynamicallyinordertodeterminethereceived
power. To calculate the interference, the simulation results for the angular distributions of downlink transmitted
powerspectraldensityareusedinordertodeterminethepowertransmittedbyaninterferingcellinthedirectionof
eachservedpixelofthestudiedcell.

ThefollowingsectionexplainshowtoworkwithsmartantennaequipmentinAtoll:

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9.8.10.1 DefiningSmartAntennaEquipment
Smartantennaequipmentmodeladaptiveantennaarraysystemswithmorethanoneantennaelement.
Tocreatesmartantennaequipment:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolderandtheSmartAntennasfolder,rightclick
SmartAntennaEquipment,and selectOpenTablefrom the context menu. The Smart Antenna Equipmenttable
appears.
2. IntheSmartAntennaEquipmenttable,eachrowdescribesapieceofsmartantennaequipment.Forinformationon
workingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Forthenewsmartantennaequipment,enter:

Name:Enteranameforthesmartantennaequipment.
SmartAntennaModel:SelectConventionalBeamformerfromthelist.
MainAntennaModel:Selectthemainantennamodeltobeusedwiththesmartantennaequipment.Thelistcon
tainstheantennasavailableintheAntennastable.Whenyouassignthesmartantennaequipmenttoatrans
mitter,youcanchoosetoreplacethecurrentmainantennamodelwiththismodel.

3. DoubleclicktheequipmententryintheSmartAntennaEquipmenttableonceyournewequipmenthasbeenadded
tothetable.TheequipmentsPropertiesdialogboxopens.
4. UndertheGeneraltab,youcanmodifytheparametersthatyousetpreviously.
5. Tomodifythepropertiesofthesmartantennamodelassignedtothesmartantennaequipment,clicktheParameters
buttonunderSmartAntennaModel.Thesmartantennamodelspropertiesdialogboxappears.
a. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangethedefaultNameofthesmartantennamodel.
b. ClickthePropertiestab(seeFigure9.88).OnthePropertiestab,youcandefine:

Numberofelements:Thenumberofantennaelementsinthesmartantennasystem.
Singleelementpattern:Theantennamodeltobeusedforeachantennaelement.Youcanselectanantenna
modelfromthelist.ThelistcontainstheantennasavailableintheAntennasfolder.
Diversitygain(crosspolarisation):SelecttheDiversitygain(crosspolarisation)checkboxifyouareusing
crosspolarisedsmartantennasandwanttoadddiversitygainstothecalculateddownlink(allchannelsexcept
RS)beamforminggains.YoucandefinethediversitygainsperclutterclassontheCluttertabofthesmart
antennamodelspropertiesdialogbox.

Figure9.88:SmartantennamodelPropertiestab
c. ClicktheCluttertab(seeFigure9.89).OntheCluttertab,youcandefinethefollowingparametersperclutter
class:

Arraygainoffset(dB):EnteranoffsettobeaddedtothecalculatedbeamformingarraygainsonthePDSCH.
Positiveoffsetvaluesareconsideredasgainswhilenegativevaluesaslosses.
Powercombininggainoffset(dB):Enteranoffsettobeaddedtothecalculatedpowercombininggainson
theRS,SS,PBCH,PDCCH,andPDSCH.Positiveoffsetvaluesareconsideredasgainswhilenegativevaluesas
losses.
Diversity gain (crosspolarisation) (dB): Enter the diversity gains for crosspolarised smart antennas to be
appliedtotheSS,PBCH,PDCCH,andPDSCH.

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Figure9.89:SmartantennamodelCluttertab
d. ClickOK.Thesmartantennamodelpropertiesaresaved.
6. ClickOK.Thesmartantennaequipmentpropertiesaresaved.
7. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheSmartAntennaEquipmenttable.

9.8.11 MultipleInputMultipleOutputSystems
MultipleInputMultipleOutput(MIMO)systemsusedifferenttransmissionandreceptiondiversitytechniques.MIMOdiver
sitysystemscanroughlybedividedintothefollowingtypes,allofwhicharemodelledinAtoll:
TransmitandReceiveDiversity
Transmitorreceivediversityusesmorethanonetransmissionorreceptionantennatosendorreceivemorethanonecopy
ofthesamesignal.Thesignalsareconstructivelycombined(usingoptimumselectionormaximumratiocombining)atthe
receivertoextracttheusefulsignal.Asthereceivergetsmorethanonecopyoftheusefulsignal,thesignallevelatthereceiver
after combination of all the copies is more resistant to interference than a single signal would be. Therefore, diversity
improvestheC/(I+N)atthereceiver.ItisoftenusedfortheregionsofacellthathaveinsufficientC/(I+N)conditions.
InAtoll,youcansetwhetheracellsupportstransmitorreceivediversitybyselectingthecorrespondingdiversitysupport
modesincellproperties(see"CellDescription"onpage889).Diversitygainsondownlinkanduplinkcanbedefinedinthe
receptionequipmentfordifferentnumbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports,mobilitytypes,bearers,andmaxi
mum BLER. For more information on uplink and downlink diversity gains, see "Defining LTE Reception Equipment" on
page1062.Additionalgainvaluescanbedefinedperclutterclass.Forinformationonsettingtheadditionaluplinkanddown
linkdiversitygainforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
DuringcalculationsinAtoll,auser(pixel,mobile,orsubscriber)usingaMIMOcapableterminal,andconnectedtoacellthat
supportstransmitorreceivediversity,willbenefitfromthedownlinkoruplinkdiversityC/(I+N)gains.
SingleUserMIMOorSpatialMultiplexing
SUMIMOusesmorethanonetransmissionantennatosenddifferentsignals(datastreams)oneachantenna.Thereceiver
canalsohavemorethanoneantennatoreceivedifferentsignals.UsingspatialmultiplexingwithMtransmissionandNrecep
tionantennaports,thethroughputoverthetransmitterreceiverlinkcanbetheoreticallyincreasedMorNtimes,whichever
issmaller,MorN.SUMIMOimprovesthethroughput(channelcapacity)foragivenC/(I+N),andisusedfortheregionsofa
cellthathavesufficientC/(I+N)conditions.SUMIMO(singleuserMIMO)isalsoreferredtoasSM(spatialmultiplexing)or
simplyMIMO.
InAtoll,youcansetwhetheracellsupportsSUMIMObyselectingthecorrespondingdiversitysupportmodeincellproperties
(see "Cell Description" on page889). SUMIMO capacity gains can be defined in the reception equipment for different
numbersoftransmissionandreceptionantennaports,mobilitytypes,bearers,andmaximumBLER.Formoreinformationon
SUMIMOgains,see"DefiningLTEReceptionEquipment"onpage1062.
DuringcalculationsinAtoll,auser(pixel,mobile,orsubscriber)usingaMIMOcapableterminal,andconnectedtoacellthat
supportsSUMIMO,willbenefitfromtheSUMIMOgaininitsthroughputdependingonitsPDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N).
AsSUMIMOimprovesthechannelcapacityorthroughputs,thePDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N)ofauserisfirstdetermined.Once
theC/(I+N)isknown,Atollcalculatestheuserthroughputbasedonthebeareravailableattheuserlocation.Theobtained
userthroughputisthenincreasedaccordingtotheSUMIMOcapacitygainandtheSUMIMOgainfactoroftheusersclutter
class.ThecapacitygainsdefinedinMaxSUMIMOgaingraphsarethemaximumtheoreticalcapacitygainsusingSUMIMO.

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SUMIMOrequiresrichmultipathenvironment,withoutwhichthegainisreduced.Intheworstcase,thereisnogain.There
fore,itispossibletodefineanSUMIMOgainfactorperclutterclasswhosevaluecanvaryfrom0to1(0=nogain,1=100%
gain).ForinformationonsettingtheSUMIMOgainfactorforeachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see"DefiningClutter
ClassProperties"onpage151.
TheSUMIMOcapacitygainvs.C/(I+N)graphsavailableinAtollbydefaulthavebeengeneratedbasedonthemaximumtheo
reticalSUMIMOcapacitygainsobtainedusingthefollowingequations:
CC MIMO
G MIMO = --------------------CC SISO

Min N Ant N Ant

RX
C I + N
Where CC MIMO = Min N TX
is the channel capacity at a given C/(I+N) for a MIMO
Ant N Ant Log 2 1 + -----------------------------------------TX
RX

systemusing N TX
Ant

transmissionand N RX
Ant

receptionantennaports. CC SISO = Log 2 1 + C I + N isthechannelcapacity

forasingleantennasystematagivenC/(I+N).C/(I+N)isusedasaratio(notdB)intheseformulas.Youcanreplacethedefault
SUMIMOcapacitygaingraphswithgraphsextractedfromsimulatedormeasuredvalues.
AdaptiveMIMOSwitch
ThisisatechniqueforswitchingfromSUMIMOtotransmitorreceivediversityasthereferencesignalconditionsgetworse
thanagiventhreshold.AMScanbeusedincellstoprovideSUMIMOgainstousersthathavebetterreferencesignalC/Nor
C/(I+N)conditionsthanagivenAMSthreshold,anddiversitygainstousersthathaveworsereferencesignalC/NorC/(I+N)
conditions than the threshold. AMS provides the optimum solution using transmit and receive diversity and SUMIMO
featurestotheirbest.
DuringcalculationsinAtoll,auser(pixel,mobile,orsubscriber)usingaMIMOcapableterminal,andconnectedtoacellthat
supportsAMS,willbenefitfromthegaintobeapplied,diversityorSUMIMO,dependingontheusersRSC/N,RSC/(I+N),or
PDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N)andtheAMSthresholddefinedinthereceptionequipment.Diversitygainisappliedtotheusers
PDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N)ifthevalueoftheselectedAMScriterionislessthantheAMSthreshold,andSUMIMOisusedifthe
valueortheselectedAMScriterionishigherthantheAMSthreshold.
MultiUserMIMOorCollaborativeMIMO
MUMIMO(MultiUserMIMO)orcollaborativeMIMOisatechniqueforspatiallymultiplexingtwousersingoodradiocondi
tions.Acellwithmorethanoneantennaportcanservetwodifferentusersoverthesamefrequencytimeallocation.This
techniqueprovidesconsiderablecapacitygainsandcanbeusedwithsingleantennauserequipment,i.e.,itdoesnotrequire
morethanoneantennaattheuserequipmentasopposedtoSUMIMO,whichonlyprovidesconsiderablegainswithmore
thanoneantennaattheuserequipment.
InAtoll,youcansetwhetheracellsupportsMUMIMObyselectingthecorrespondingdiversitysupportmodeincellproper
ties (see "Cell Description" on page889). MUMIMO capacity gains result from the scheduling and RRM process. Using
MUMIMO,schedulersareabletoallocateresourcesovertwospatiallymultiplexedparallelframesinthesamefrequency
timeresourceallocationplane.MUMIMOcanonlyworkundergoodradioconditionsandifthecellhasmorethanonerecep
tionantennaport.Therefore,theRSC/N,RSC/(I+N),orPDSCHorPUSCHC/(I+N)mustbehigherthantheMUMIMOactivate
thresholddefinedinthereceptionequipmentinorderfortheschedulertobeabletomultiplexusers.
DuringthecalculationsofMonteCarlosimulationsinAtoll,eachnewuserconnectedtothefirstantennaportcreatesvirtual
resourcesavailableonthesecondantennaport.Thesevirtualresourcescanthenbeallocatedtoaseconduserconnectedto
thesecondantennaportwithoutincreasingtheoverallloadofthecell.Thisway,eachnewmobileconsumesthevirtual
resourcesmadeavailablebethepreviousmobile,andmaymakenewvirtualresourcesavailableontheotherantennaport.
TheMUMIMOcapacitygainresultingfromthiscollaborativemultiplexingistheratioofthetrafficloadsofallthemobiles
connectedtobothparallelframestothetrafficloadofthecell.TheMUMIMOcapacitygaincanbedefinedpercellbythe
useroritcanbeanoutputoftheMonteCarlosimulations.Thisgainisusedduringthecalculationofthroughputcoverage
predictions.ThechannelthroughputismultipliedbythisgainforpixelswhereMUMIMOisusedasthediversitymode.

9.8.12 IntercellInterferenceCoordination
Intercellinterferencecoordinationisameansofimprovingthesignalqualityatcelledgesbyusingdifferentresourcesatcell
edges of potentially mutually interfering cells. There are two categories of interference coordination techniques used in
OFDMAsystems:staticanddynamicintercellinterferencecoordination.
Staticinterferencecoordinationisperformedthroughfractionalfrequencyplanning.Fractionsofachannelareallocatedto
differentsectorsforuseatcelledges.Thisallocationdoesnotchangeovertime.Ontheotherhand,dynamicinterference
coordination,orinterferenceawarescheduling,iscarriedoutbythescheduler.Thereisnofixedfractionalfrequencyalloca
tionpersector.ResourcesallocatedtocelledgeusersaredynamicallydeterminedbytheschedulersofeacheNodeBforeach
subframe.Theaimistonotreusethesameresourcesatcelledgesofpotentiallymutuallyinterferingcells(i.e.,coordinate
theallocationofresources),thusavoidinginterference.

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AtollsupportsdifferentformsofstaticICICusingfractionalfrequencyreuse(FFR).Withoutfractionalfrequencyreuse,cells
transmitatconstantpowerovertheentiredurationoftheframeandacrossalltheresourceblocks.Thefactthatneighbouring
cellsusethesameresourceblocksleadstohighinterferenceandpoorsignalqualityatcelledges.
IntimeswitchedFFR,allthepowerisconcentratedonsomeoftheresourceblocksduringapartoftheframewhileothers
arenottransmittedatall.Duringtherestoftheframe,thesamepoweristransmittedoveralltheresourceblocks.Celledges
ofneighbouringcellsarecoveredbydifferentresourceblockstoavoidinterference.
InhardFFR,allthepowerisconcentratedonsomeoftheresourceblocks,whileothersarenottransmittedatall.Neighbour
ingcellsusedifferentresourceblockstoavoidinterferencethroughoutthecoveragearea.
InsoftFFR,someresourceblocksaretransmittedathigherpowerthanothers.Celledgesofneighbouringcellsarecovered
bydifferentresourceblockstoavoidinterference.
InpartialsoftFFR,someresourceblocksaretransmittedathigherpowerthanothers,andsomearenottransmittedatall.
Celledgesofneighbouringcellsarecoveredbydifferentresourceblockstoavoidinterference.

NoFFR

TimeswitchedFFR

HardFFR

SoftFFR

PartialsoftFFR

Figure9.1:VariousstaticICICmodes(P:power,F:frequency

9.8.13 ModellingShadowing
Shadowing,orslowfading,issignallossalongapaththatiscausedbyobstructionsnottakenintoconsiderationbytheprop
agationmodel.Evenwhenareceiverremainsinthesamelocationorinthesameclutterclass,therearevariationsinrecep
tionduetothesurroundingenvironment.
Normally,thesignalreceivedatanygivenpointisspreadonagaussiancurvearoundanaveragevalueandaspecificstandard
deviation.Ifthepropagationmodeliscorrectlycalibrated,theaverageoftheresultsitgivesshouldbecorrect.Inotherwords,
in50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbebetterandin50%ofthemeasuredcases,theresultwillbeworse.
Atollusesamodelstandarddeviationfortheclutterclasswiththedefinedcelledgecoverageprobabilitytomodeltheeffect
ofshadowingandtherebycreatecoveragepredictionsthatarereliablemorethanfiftypercentofthetime.Theadditional
lossesorgainscausedbyshadowingareknownastheshadowingmargin.Theshadowingmarginisaddedtothepathlosses
calculatedbythepropagationmodel.
Forexample,aproperlycalibratedpropagationmodelcalculatesalossleadingtoasignallevelof70dBm.Youhavesetacell
edgecoverageprobabilityof85%.Ifthecalculatedshadowingmarginis7dBforaspecificpoint,thetargetsignalwillbeequal
toorgreaterthan77dBm85%ofthetime.
InLTEprojects,themodelstandarddeviationisusedtocalculateshadowingmarginsonsignallevels.Youcanalsocalculate
shadowingmarginsonC/Ivalues.ForinformationonsettingthemodelstandarddeviationandtheC/Istandarddeviationsfor
eachclutterclassorforallclutterclasses,see"DefiningClutterClassProperties"onpage151.
ShadowingcanbetakenintoconsiderationwhenAtollcalculatesthesignallevelandC/(I+N)for:

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AtollalwaystakesshadowingintoconsiderationwhencalculatingaMonteCarlosimulations.Atollusesthevaluesdefined
forthemodelstandarddeviationsperclutterclasswhencalculatingthesignallevelcoveragepredictions.Atollusesthevalues
definedfortheC/Istandarddeviationsperclutterclasswhencalculatingtheinterferencebasedcoveragepredictions.
Youcandisplaytheshadowingmarginsperclutterclass.Forinformation,see"DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutter
Class"onpage1073.

9.8.13.1 DisplayingtheShadowingMarginsperClutterClass
Todisplaytheshadowingmarginsperclutterclass:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectShadowingMarginsfromthecontextmenu.TheShadowingMarginsdialogboxappears.
4. Youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Celledgecoverageprobability:Entertheprobabilityofcoverageattheedgeofthecell.Thevalueyouenterin
thisdialogboxisforinformationonly.
Standarddeviation:Selectthetypeofstandarddeviationtobeusedtocalculatetheshadowingmargin:

Model:Themodelstandarddeviation.Atollwilldisplaytheshadowingmarginofthesignallevel.
C/I:TheC/Istandarddeviation.AtollwilldisplaytheC/Ishadowingmargin.

5. ClickCalculate.Thecalculatedshadowingmarginisdisplayed.
6. ClickClosetoclosethedialogbox.

9.8.14 ModellingIntertechnologyInterference
AnalysesofLTEnetworkscoexistingwithothertechnologynetworkscanbecarriedoutinAtoll.Intertechnologyinterfer
encemaycreateconsiderablecapacityreductioninanLTEnetwork.Atollcantakeintoaccountinterferencefromcoexisting
networksinMonteCarlosimulationsandcoveragepredictions.
ThefollowingintertechnologyinterferencescenariosaremodelledinAtoll:

Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink:InterferencecanbereceivedbymobilesinanLTEnetworkonthe
downlinkfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.
Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktodownlinkinterference)mightbecreatedbytheuse
ofsameoradjacentcarriers,widebandnoise(thermalnoise,phasenoise,modulationproducts,andspuriousemis
sions),andintermodulation.InAtoll,youcandefineinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsfordifferenttechnol
ogies(GSM,UMTS,CDMA2000,etc.).Thesegraphsarethenusedforcalculatingtheinterferencefromtheexternal
basestationsonmobiles.Thisinterferenceistakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.For
moreinformation,see"DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs"onpage1074.
Interference from external mobiles (also called uplinktodownlink interference) might be created by insufficient
separationbetweentheuplinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandthedownlinkfrequencyusedbyyourLTE
network.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.Theeffectofthisinterferenceismodelled
inAtollusingtheIntertechnologyDLnoiserisedefinableforeachcellintheLTEnetwork.Thisnoiseriseistakeninto
accountinalldownlinkinterferencebasedcalculations.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyDLnoiserise,
see"CellDescription"onpage889.

Figure9.90:Interferencereceivedbymobilesonthedownlink

Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink:InterferencecanbereceivedbycellsofanLTEnetworkontheuplink
fromexternalbasestationsandmobilesinthevicinity.

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Interferencefromexternalbasestations(alsocalleddownlinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbyinsufficient
separationbetweenthedownlinkfrequencyusedbytheexternalnetworkandtheuplinkfrequencyusedbyyourLTE
network.SuchinterferencemayalsocomefromcoexistingTDDnetworks.
Interferencefromexternalmobiles(alsocalleduplinktouplinkinterference)canbecreatedbytheuseofsameor
nearbyfrequenciesforuplinkinbothnetworks.Unlesstheexactlocationsofexternalmobilesisknown,itisnotpossi
bletoseparateinterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsandmobilesontheuplink.Theeffectofthisinter
ferenceismodelledinAtollusingtheIntertechnologyULnoiserisedefinableforeachcellintheLTEnetwork.This
noiseriseistakenintoaccountinuplinkinterferencebasedcalculationsinMonteCarlosimulationsbutnotincover
agepredictions.FormoreinformationontheIntertechnologyULnoiserise,see"CellDescription"onpage889.

Figure9.91:Interferencereceivedbycellsontheuplink

9.8.14.1 DefiningIntertechnologyIRFs
InterferencereceivedfromexternalbasestationsonmobilesofyourLTEnetworkcanbecalculatedbyAtoll.Atollusesthe
intertechnologyinterferencereductionfactor(IRF)graphsforcalculatingtheinterferencelevels.AnIRFgraphrepresentsthe
variationoftheAdjacentChannelInterferenceRatio(ACIR)asafunctionoffrequencyseparation.ACIRisdeterminedfrom
theAdjacentChannelSuppression(ACS)andtheAdjacentChannelLeakageRatio(ACLR)parametersasfollows:
1
ACIR = ------------------------------------1
1
------------- + ----------------ACS ACLR

AnIRFdependson:

Theinterferingtechnology(GSM,UMTS,CDMA2000,etc.)
Theinterferingcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Theinterferedcarrierbandwidth(kHz)
Thefrequencyoffsetbetweenbothcarriers(MHz).

IRFsareusedbyAtolltocalculatetheinterferencefromexternalbasestationsonlyiftheAtolldocumentcontainingtheexter
nalbasestationsislinkedtoyourLTEdocument,i.e.,whenAtollisincoplanningmode.Formoreinformationonhowto
switchtocoplanningmode,see"SwitchingtoCoplanningMode"onpage1035.
TodefinetheintertechnologyIRFsinthevictimnetwork:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder.
3. IntheRadioNetworkEquipmentfolder,rightclickIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactors.Thecontext
menuappears.
4. SelectOpenTable.TheIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorstableappears.
5. Inthetable,enteroneinterferencereductionfactorgraphperrow.ForeachIRFgraph,enter:

Technology:Thetechnologyusedbytheinterferingnetwork.
Interferer bandwidth (kHz): The width in kHz of the channels (carriers) used by the interfering network. This
channelwidthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthelinkeddocument.
Victimbandwidth(kHz):ThewidthinkHzofthechannels(carriers)usedbytheinterferednetwork.Thischannel
widthmustbeconsistentwiththatusedinthemaindocument.
Reductionfactors(dB):ClickthecellcorrespondingtotheReductionfactors(dB)columnandthecurrentrowin
thetable.TheReductionfactors(dB)dialogboxappears.
i.

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Freq.delta(MHz),valuesrelativetothecentrefrequencyofthechannel(carrier)usedinthemaindocument.

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Reductionvaluesmustbepositive.
Ifyouleavereductionfactorsundefined,Atollassumesthereisnointerference.

ii. Whendone,clickOK.
6. ClicktheClosebutton(

)toclosetheIntertechnologyInterferenceReductionFactorstable.

YoucanlinkmorethanoneAtolldocumentwithyourmaindocumentfollowingtheproceduredescribedin"SwitchingtoCo
planningMode"onpage1035.Ifthelinkeddocumentsmodelnetworksusingdifferenttechnologies,youcandefinetheinter
ferencereductionfactorsinyourmaindocumentforallthesetechnologies,andAtollwillcalculateinterferencefromallthe
externalbasestationsinallthelinkeddocuments.

9.9 TipsandTricks
Thefollowingtipsandtricksaredescribedbelow:

"ObtainingUserThroughputsforAlltheSubscribersofaSubscriberList"onpage1075.
"WorkingWithUserDensitiesInsteadofUserProfiles"onpage1076.
"BearerSelectionThresholds"onpage1076.
"CalculatingBearerSelectionThresholdsFromReceiverSensitivityValues"onpage1076.
"RelationBetweenBearerEfficiencyAndSpectralEfficiency"onpage1077.
"ModellingVoIPCodecs"onpage1077.
"WorkingwithEARFCNsinsteadofChannelNumbers"onpage1078.
"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"onpage1078.
"DisplayingLTECellDetails"onpage1078.

ObtainingUserThroughputsforAlltheSubscribersofaSubscriberList
Thisprocedureisonlyrecommendedifyouhaveapropersubscriberlistandhave
completeknowledgeoftheservicestheyuse.

AtollgeneratesarealisticuserdistributioncontainingactiveandinactiveusersduringMonteCarlosimulations.Thestatusof
theseusersisdeterminedthroughtheusersserviceusageparametersdefinedintheuserprofile.InAtoll,subscribersina
subscriberlistmusthaveauserprofileassignedtotheminordertobetakenintoaccountinMonteCarlosimulations.In
MonteCarlosimulationsbasedonsubscriberlists,Atolldeterminesactiveusersfromamongtheuserslistedinthesubscriber
listandcarriesoutRRMandresourceallocationforcalculatinguserthroughputs.
Ifyouwishtodetermineuserthroughputsforallthesubscribersinasubscriberlist,youcanrunaMonteCarlosimulation
withthesubscriberlistasinputaftermodifyingtheuserprofilesassignedtothesubscriberssuchthattheprobabilityofactiv
ityforallthesubscribersis100%.
1. Createasubscriberlistwithsubscribershavinganactivityprobabilityof100%:
a. Createasmanyuserprofilesasthereareservicesusedbythesubscribersinthelist.
b. Assignonlyoneservicetoeachuserprofile.
c. Assignthefollowingserviceusageparameterstotheuserprofilesthatyoucreate:
i.

ForVoiceservices,set:

Calls/hour=1.
Duration(sec.)=3600.

ii. ForDataservices:

Calls/hour=1.
ULvolume(KBytes)=Serviceuplinkaveragerequestedthroughputx3600/8.
DLvolume(KBytes)=Servicedownlinkaveragerequestedthroughputx3600/8.

d. Assigntheseuserprofilestosubscribersinthesubscriberlist.
2. CreateaMonteCarlosimulationbasedonlyonthissubscriberlist.
Thesimulation results willcontain all the subscribers in the subscriber list with their respective user throughputs
determinedbyAtollaftertheschedulingprocess.

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WorkingWithUserDensitiesInsteadofUserProfiles
IfyoudonotcurrentlyhavereliableLTEmultiservicetraffic,youcanprovideAtollwithuserdensityinformationperservice,
forexample,trafficdatafromadaptedGSMErlangmaps.Inthiscase,youdonothavetocreateuserprofiles.Aswell,Atoll
doesnothavetodeterminetheuseractivityprobabilitiestocreatetrafficscenariosduringsimulations.Thedistributionof
trafficduringsimulationswillonlydependontheuserdensitiesperservice.
Ifyouknowtheuserdensitiesforeachservice,youcansetuseractivityprobabilitiesto100%inyourLTEdocument,asshown
below:
1. ForVoiceservices,set:

Calls/hour=1.
Duration(sec.)=3600.

2. ForDataservices:

Calls/hour=1.
ULvolume(KBytes)=Serviceuplinkaveragerequestedthroughputx3600/8.
DLvolume(KBytes)=Servicedownlinkaveragerequestedthroughputx3600/8.

Theabovesettingswillsettheuseractivityprobabilitiesto100%.Ifyoucreateatrafficmapbasedonenvironmentclasses,
theuserdensityvaluesthatyoudefineinyourenvironmentclasseswillbetheactualuserdensities.Thismeansthat,for
Xusers/kmdefinedintheenvironmentclassforagivenuserprofile,theMonteCarlosimulatorwillgenerateexactlyXusers/
kmforeachserviceoftheuserprofile.
Inthisway,youcanknowbeforehandtheexactnumberofactiveusers,andtheirservices,generatedduringthesimulations.
Thisprocedureshouldonlybeusedwhenappropriatetrafficdataisnotavailable.
BearerSelectionThresholds
Thedefaultvaluesofthebearerselectionthresholds,theBLERqualitygraphs,andthebearerefficiencyvaluesinAtollhave
beenextractedfromthe3GPPTR36.942V8.0.0(seeFigure9.92).Thesevaluescorrespondtoanideal(AWGN)radiochannel,
andaretoooptimisticcomparedtoactualradiochannels.Itisrecommendedtousemorerealisticvalueswhenavailable.

Figure9.92:LinkAdaptationinLTE
Thespectralefficiencyisthenumberofusefuldatabitsthatcanbetransmittedusinganymodulationandcodingschemeper
Hz,thetransitionpointsbetweenanytwomodulationandcodingschemesgivethedefaultbearerselectionthresholdsin
Atoll,andthenormalisedvaluesfromtheslopesofthegraphs,thatrepresentthereductioninthespectralefficiency,give
theblockerrorrate.
CalculatingBearerSelectionThresholdsFromReceiverSensitivityValues
Youcanconvertthereceiversensitivityvalues,fromyourequipmentdatasheet,intobearerselectionthresholdsusingthe
followingconversionmethod:
SF N Used
CNR = RS + 114 NF 10 Log ------------------------------
N Total

WhereRSisthereceiversensitivityindBm,NFisthenoisefigureofthereceiverindB,SFisthesamplingfrequencyinMHz,
N Used isthenumberofsubcarrierscorrespondingtothenumberoffrequencyblocks, N Total isthetotalnumberofsubcar
riers,i.e.,theFFTsize.
Intheaboveexplanation,thetermreceiverreferstothebasestationinuplinkandtothemobile/userequipmentinthedown
link.

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RelationBetweenBearerEfficiencyAndSpectralEfficiency
Spectralefficiencyofamodulationandcodingschemeisdefinedasthenumberofusefulbitsthatcanbetransmittedper
secondover1Hzwidechannel.Spectralefficiencyishencegivenintermsofbps/Hz.
InAtoll,theefficiencyofbearers(modulationandcodingschemes)aredefinedintheRadioBearerstable.Thebearereffi
ciencyisgivenintermsofbits/symbol.RememberthatinAtollsymbolreferstooneresourceelement,thedatatransmission
unitwhichis1symboldurationlongand1subcarrierwidthwide,asshowninFigure9.93.

Figure9.93:Symbol
Bearer efficiency is similar to spectral efficiency. The only difference is in the units used. Here is a simple example that
comparesspectralefficiencyandbearerefficiency,andshowsthatthetwoarethesame.
Spectralefficiencyisgivenby:
SE = 1 BLER r Log 2 M

bps Hz

WhereBLERistheBlockErrorRate,risthecodingrateforthebearer,andMisthenumberofmodulationstates.Forsimpli
fication,wesetBLER=0,anduseQPSK1/2,i.e.,fourmodulationstatesandr=0.5.Withthesevalues,wegetaspectraleffi
ciencyof1bps/HzforQPSK1/2.Inotherwords,acommunicationchannelusingQPSK1/2modulationandcodingschemecan
send1bpsofusefuldataperunitbandwidth.
InordertocomparethebearerefficiencyandspectralefficiencyofQPSK1/2,letssaythatQPSK1/2hasabearerefficiencyof
1bits/symbol.Hereaswell,thenumberofbitsreferstousefuldatabits.ThewidthofasubcarrierinLTEis F = 15 kHz ,
1
from which we can calculate the useful symbol duration as well: T U = ------= 66.67 sec . In one second, there can be
F

1 sec 66.67 sec = 15000 symboldurations.If15000symbolsaretransmittedusingQPSK1/2,thisgivesusathroughput

of 15000 Symbols/sec 1 bits/Symbol = 15000 bps ,whichisthethroughputachievableusingonesubcarrierof15kHz.We
can find the spectral efficiency by normalizing the throughput to unit bandwidth. This gives:
15000 bps/subcarrier 15 kHz/subcarrier = 1 bps/Hz .

Inordertocompareequivalentquantities,wehaveignoredsomesystemparameters,suchasthecyclicprefix,andhave
consideredthattheentireframeistransmittedinonedirection,uplinkordownlink.
ModellingVoIPCodecs
VoIPcodecsareapplicationlayerelementsintheOSIsystemmodel.Atollmodelsapplicationthroughputsusingathroughput
offsetandascalingfactorwithrespecttotheRLClayerthroughputs.YoucanmodeldifferentVoIPcodecsbycreatinganew
serviceforeachVoIPcodec,andsettingthetargetthroughputtotheapplicationthroughputfortheschedulerused.Hereare
twoexamplesofthemostcommonVoIPcodecs,andhowtheycanbemodelledinAtoll:

G.711VoIPCodec
TheactualvoicethroughputneededbytheG.711codecis64kbps,butwiththelowerlayerheadersandotheradded
bits,theneededRLCthroughputcouldbebetween66.4and107.2kbps.Inthisexample,weshowhowtomodelthe
codecwithheaderbitsthatleadto85.6kbpsRLCthroughput.
a. Createanewservicewiththefollowingparameters:

Name:VoIP(G.711)
Type:Voice
Minthroughputdemand(DL)andMinthroughputdemand(UL):64kbps
Maxthroughputdemand(DL)andMaxthroughputdemand(UL):64kbps
Averagerequestedthroughput(DL)andAveragerequestedthroughput(UL):64kbps
Scalingfactor:74.77%
Offset:0kbps

b. SettheTargetthroughputforvoiceservicesto"2ApplicationThroughput"fortheschedulerbeingused.
Inthisway,Atollwillallocateresourcestotheusersofthisservicesuchthattheyget64kbpsapplicationthroughput,
andaround85.6kbpsofeffectiveRLCthroughput.

G.729VoIPCodec

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TheactualvoicethroughputneededbytheG.729codecis8kbps,butwiththelowerlayerheadersandotheradded
bits,theneededRLCthroughputcouldbebetween9.6and29.6kbps.Inthisexample,weshowhowtomodelthe
codecwithheaderbitsthatleadto29.6kbpsrequiredthroughput.
a. Createanewservicewiththefollowingparameters:

Name:VoIP(G.729)
Type:Voice
Minthroughputdemand(DL)andMinthroughputdemand(UL):8kbps
Maxthroughputdemand(DL)andMaxthroughputdemand(UL):8kbps
Averagerequestedthroughput(DL)andAveragerequestedthroughput(UL):8kbps
Scalingfactor:27.03%
Offset:0kbps

b. SettheTargetthroughputforvoiceservicesto"2ApplicationThroughput"fortheschedulerbeingused.
Inthisway,Atollwillallocateresourcestotheusersofthisservicesuchthattheyget8kbpsapplicationthroughput,
andaround29.6kbpsofeffectiveRLCthroughput.
WorkingwithEARFCNsinsteadofChannelNumbers
InAtoll,carriersareassignedchannelnumbersinthefrequencybandstable.Thesechannelnumbersdonotnecessarilyhave
tobeunique,i.e.,achannelnumbercanbereusedindifferentbands.The3GPPdefinesuniqueEARFCNs(EUTRAAbsolute
RadioFrequencyChannelNumbers)forallthefrequencybands.EachEARFCNhasafixedwidthof100kHz,whereaschannels
(orcarriers)inAtollcanhavedifferentwidths.
IfyouwanttoworkwithEARFCNsinsteadofchannelnumbers,youcansetEARFCNsaschannelnumbersinthefrequency
bandstablesimilartoasshownintheexamplebelow:

Frequencyband:2110FDD5MHz(EUTRABand1)
DownlinkEARFCNrange:0599
UplinkEARFCNrange:1800018599
Firstchannel(EARFCN):0
Lastchannel(EARFCN):550
Excludedchannels(EARFCNs):149,5199,101149,151199,201249,251299,301349,351399,401449,451499,
501549,551599

ForFDDfrequencybands,thedownlinkanduplinkEARFCNsareoffsetby18000,soyoucanuseeitherthedownlinkorthe
uplinkEARFCNsaschannelnumbersinAtoll.
ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks
InAtoll,youcanstudy theeffect of interferencereceivedbyyournetworkfromotherLTEnetworks. Theinterfering LTE
networkcanbeadifferentpartofyourownnetwork,oranetworkbelongingtoanotheroperator.
Tostudyinterferencefromcoexistingnetworks:
1. Importtheinterferingnetworkdata(sites,transmitters,andcells)intoyourdocumentasexplainedin"Creatinga
GroupofBaseStations"onpage904.
2. Fortheinterferingnetworkstransmitters,settheTransmittertypetoInternetwork(Interfereronly)asexplainedin
"TransmitterDescription"onpage886.
Duringcalculations,AtollwillconsiderthetransmittersoftypeInternetwork(Interfereronly)whencalculatinginter
ference.Thesetransmitterswillnotserveanypixel,subscriber,ormobile,andwillonlycontributetointerference.
Modellingtheinterferencefromcoexistingnetworkswillbeasaccurateasthedatayouhavefortheinterferingnetwork.If
theinterferingnetworkisapartofyourownnetwork,thisinformationwouldbereadilyavailable.However,iftheinterfering
networkbelongstoanotheroperator,theinformationavailablemightnotbeaccurate.
Moreover,forotheroperatorsnetworks,andiftheinterferingnetworksuseOFDMbutarenotLTEnetworks,theirmodelling
willnotbeaccurateusingLTEtransmittersandcells.Thenumberofsubcarriersusedintheinterferingnetworksmightbevery
different.
DisplayingLTECellDetails
AtollcancalculateanddisplaythenumbersofresourceelementscorrespondingtodifferentLTEphysicalsignalsandlogical
channelsindownlinkanduplink,aswellasthetransmissionpowervaluescalculatedfordifferentdownlinkchannels.
TocalculateandlistdetailsaboutLTEframes:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheLTETransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectCells>Detailsfromthecontextmenu.TheCellsDetailstableappears.

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TheDetailscommandisalsoavailableinthecontextmenuofatransmitteroragroupoftransmitters.TheDetails
tablelistsonlythecellsbelongingtothetransmitterorfolderfromwhichtheDetailscommandisselected.Filtersare
alsotakenintoaccount.
ThefollowinginformationisdisplayedfordownlinkLTEframes:

TotalRE(DL):Thetotalnumberofresourceelementsinthedownlinksubframes.
RSRE(DL)andRSRE(DL)(%):Thenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsusedtotransmitthecellspecific
referencesignals.
AnaveragenumberoftransmittedreferencesignalsisconsideredinAtoll.Morespecifically,whenfourantenna
portsareused,eightreferencesignalsaretransmittedontwoantennaportsandfouraretransmittedontheother
twoantennaports.Inthiscase,Atollconsidersanaverageofsixtransmittedreferencesignalsperantennaport.

SSSRE(DL)andSSSRE(DL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsbelongingtotheSSS.
PSSRE(DL)andPSSRE(DL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsbelongingtothePSS.
PBCHRE(DL)andPBCHRE(DL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsbelongingtothePBCH.
PDCCH+PCFICH+PHICHRE(DL)andPDCCH+PCFICH+PHICHRE(DL)(%):Thenumberandpercentageofresource
elementsbelongingtothePDCCH(whichisconsideredtoincludethePCFICHandPHICH).
PDSCHRE(DL)andPDSCHRE(DL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsremaininginthePDSCH
afterremovingthereferencesignals,synchronisationsignals,andcontrolchanneloverheads.
UnusedREandUnusedRE(%):Thenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsnotusedfortransmission.

ThefollowinginformationisavailableforuplinkLTEframes:

TotalRE(UL):Thetotalnumberofresourceelementsintheuplinksubframes.
DRSRE(UL)andDRSRE(UL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsbelongingtotheDRS.
SRSRE(UL)andSRSRE(UL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsbelongingtotheSRS.
PUCCH RE (UL) and PUCCH RE (UL) (%): The number and percentage of resource elements belonging to the
PUCCH.
PUSCHRE(UL)andPUSCHRE(UL)(%):ThenumberandpercentageofresourceelementsremaininginthePUSCH
afterremovingthereferencesignalsandcontrolchanneloverheads.

ThefollowingcalculatedpowervaluesaredisplayedforLTEframes:

SSPower(dBm):ThetransmissionpoweroftheSS.
SSEPRE(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementoftheSS.
PBCHPower(dBm):ThetransmissionpowerofthePBCH.
PBCHEPRE(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementofthePBCH.
RSPower(CE)(dBm):Thetransmissionpowerofthereferencesignalsatthecelledge.
RSPower(CC)(dBm):Thetransmissionpowerofthereferencesignalsatthecellcentre.
RSEPRE(CE)(dBm):Theenergyperresourceelementofthereferencesignalsatthecelledge.
RSEPRE(CC)(dBm):Theenergyperresourceelementofthereferencesignalsatthecellcentre.
PDCCHPower(CE)(dBm):ThepowerofthePDCCHtransmittedatthecelledge.
PDCCHPower(CC)(dBm):ThepowerofthePDCCHtransmittedatthecellcentre.
PDCCHEPRE(CE)(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementofthePDCCHatthecelledge.
PDCCHEPRE(CC)(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementofthePDCCHatthecellcentre.
PDSCHPower(CE)(dBm):ThepowerofthePDSCHtransmittedatthecelledge.
PDSCHPower(CC)(dBm):ThepowerofthePDSCHtransmittedatthecellcentre.
PDSCHEPRE(CE)(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementofthePDSCHatthecelledge.
PDSCHEPRE(CC)(dBm):TheenergyperresourceelementofthePDSCHatthecellcentre.
RS,SS,PBCH,PDCCHAASGain(dB):ThegainindBprovidedbyasmartantennaontheRS,SS,PBCH,andPDCCH.
PDSCHAASGain(dB):ThegainindBprovidedbyasmartantennaonthePDSCH.

FormoreinformationontheLTElogicalandtransportchannels,see"GlossaryofLTETerms"onpage1080.

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9.10 GlossaryofLTETerms
UnderstandingthefollowingtermsandthereuseinAtollisveryhelpfulinunderstandingtheLTEmodule:

User:Ageneraltermthatcanalsodesignateasubscriber,mobile,andreceiver.

Subscriber:Userswithfixedgeographicalcoordinates.

Mobile:Usersgeneratedanddistributedduringsimulations.Theseusershave,amongotherparameters,definedser
vices,terminaltypes,andmobilitytypesassignedforthedurationofthesimulations.

Receiver:Aprobemobile,withtheminimumrequiredparametersneededforthecalculationofpathloss,usedfor
propagationlossandrastercoveragepredictions.

RadioBearer:AModulationandCodingScheme(MCS)usedtocarrydataoverthechannel.

PeakRLCThroughput:ThemaximumRLClayerthroughput(userorchannel)thatcanbeachievedatagivenlocation
using the highest LTE bearer available. This throughput is the raw throughput without considering the effects of
retransmissionduetoerrorsandhigherlayercodingandencryption.

EffectiveRLCThroughput:ThenetRLClayerthroughput(userorchannel)thatcanbeachievedatagivenlocation
usingthehighestLTEbeareravailablecomputedtakingintoaccountthereductionofthroughputduetoretransmis
sionduetoerrors.

ApplicationThroughput:Theapplicationlayerthroughput(userorchannel)thatcanbeachievedatagivenlocation
usingthehighestLTEbeareravailablecomputedtakingintoaccountthereductionofthroughputduetoPDU/SDU
headerinformation,padding,encryption,coding,andothertypesofoverhead.

Channel Throughputs: Peak RLC, effective RLC or application throughputs achieved at a given location using the
highestLTEbeareravailablewiththeentirecellresources(downlinkoruplink).

AllocatedBandwidthThroughputs:UplinkpeakRLC,effectiveRLCorapplicationthroughputsachievedatagiven
locationusingthebestpossibleLTEbearerwiththenumberofsubchannelscalculated.

UserThroughputs:PeakRLC,effectiveRLCorapplicationthroughputsachievedatagivenlocationusingthehighest
LTEbeareravailablewiththeamountofresourcesallocatedtoauserbythescheduler.

TrafficLoads:Theuplinkanddownlinktrafficloadsarethepercentagesoftheuplinkandthedownlinkframesinuse
(allocated)tothetraffic(mobiles)intheuplinkandinthedownlink,respectively.

Resources:InAtoll,theterm"resource"isusedtorefertotheaveragenumberofresourceunits,expressedinper
centage(astrafficloads,whentheaverageisperformedoveraconsiderablylongduration)ofthetotalnumberof
resourceunitsinasuperframeof1sec.

Uplink Noise Rise: Uplink noise rise is a measure of uplink interference with respect to the uplink noise:
I UL + N UL
NR UL = ------------------------ , or NR UL = 10 Log I UL + N UL 10 Log N UL in dB. This parameter is one of the two
N UL

methodsinwhichuplinkinterferencecanbeexpressedwithrespecttothenoise.Theotherparameteroftenused
I
I UL + N UL

UL
- .Usually,theuplinkloadfactoriskeptasa
insteadoftheuplinknoiseriseistheuplinkloadfactor: L UL = ------------------------

linearvalue(inpercentage)whiletheuplinknoiseriseisexpressedindB.Thetwoparametersexpressexactlythe
sameinformation,andcanbeinterconvertedasfollows:
I
I+NN
I
I+N
N
I
N
N
I
I+N
1
------------ = ---------------------- => ------------ = ------------ ------------ => ------------ = 1 ------------ => ------------ = 1 ------------ => ------------ = --------------------I
I+N
I+N
I+N
I+N I+N
I+N
I+N
I+N
I+N
N
1 -----------I+N
1
=> NR = -----------

1L

Thefollowingtableshowstherelationbetweeninterference,loadfactor,andnoiserise.
Interference(I)
0
=N
=9xN
=99xN

LoadFactor(%)
0
50
90
99

NoiseRise
1
2
10
100

NoiseRise(dB)
0
3.01
10
20

Thereasonwhyuplinkinterferenceisexpressedintermsofnoiserise(indB)inAtollinsteadofloadfactor(inpercent
age)isthattheloadfactorvariessomewhatexponentiallywiththeincreaseininterference.

1080

Frame:AnLTEframeis10mslong.Thedurationofaframeisasystemlevelconstant.Eachframecomprises101ms
longsubframes,witheachsubframecontaining20.5mslongslots.Eachslotcanhave7or6symboldurationsfor
normalorextendedcyclicprefix,respectively,andfora15kHzsubcarrierwidth.Aslotcanhave3symboldurations
forextendedcyclicprefixusedwitha7.5kHzsubcarrierwidth.LTEincludesspecificframestructuresforFDDandTDD

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systemsasshowninFigure9.94.ForTDDsystems,twoswitchingpointperiodicitiescanbeused;halfframeorfull
frame.HalfframeperiodicityprovidesthesamehalfframestructureasaTDSCDMAsubframe.ThePBCH,PSS,and
SSSarecarriedbysubframes0and5,whichmeansthatthese2subframesarealwaysusedindownlink.Asubframe
issynonymouswithTTI(transmissiontimeinterval),i.e.,theminimumunitofresourceallocationinthetimedomain.

Figure9.94:LTEframestructures(DL:blue,UL:orange,DLorUL:green)

ResourceElement,Symbol,orModulationSymbol:InAtoll,asymbolreferstooneresourceelementoronemodu
lationsymbol,whichis1symboldurationlongand1subcarrierwidthwide,asshowninFigure9.93.

SymbolDuration:InAtoll,asymboldurationreferstooneOFDMsymbol,whichisthedurationofonemodulation
symboloverallthesubcarriers/frequencyblocksbeingused.

Subcarrier:AnOFDMchannelcomprisesmanynarrowbandcarrierscalledsubcarriers.OFDMsubcarriersareorthog
onalfrequencydomainwaveformsgeneratedusingfastfouriertransforms(seeFigure9.95).

FrequencyBlock:Itistheminimumunitofresourceallocationinthefrequencydomain,i.e.,thewidthofaresource
block,180kHz.Itisasystemlevelconstant.Afrequencyblockcaneithercontain12subcarriersof15kHzeach(see
Figure9.95)or24subcarriersof7.5kHzeach.

ResourceBlock:Itistheminimumunitofresourceallocation,i.e.,1frequencyblockby1slot(seeFigure9.95).Sched
ulersareableperformresourceallocationeverysubframe(TTI,transmissiontimeinterval),however,thegranularity
ofresourceallocation1slotintime,i.e.,thedurationofaresourceblock,and1frequencyblockinfrequency.

Figure9.95:LTEresourceblocks

LTELogicalChannels:LTElogicalchannelsinclude(seeFigure9.96):
BroadcastControlChannel(BCCH)(DL):Carriesbroadcastcontrolinformation.
PagingControlChannel(PCCH)(DL):Carriespagingcontrolinformation.
CommonControlChannel(CCCH)(DLandUL):Carriescommoncontrolinformation.
DedicatedControlChannel(DCCH)(DLandUL):Carriescontrolinformationdedicatedtousers.
DedicatedTrafficChannel(DTCH)(DLandUL):Carriesusertrafficdata.
MulticastControlChannel(MCCH)(DL):Carriesmulticastcontrolinformation.
MulticastTrafficChannel(MTCH)(DL):Carriesmulticasttrafficdata.

LTETransportChannels:LTEtransportchannelsinclude(seeFigure9.96):
BroadcastChannel(BCH)(DL):Carriesbroadcastinformation.
PagingChannel(PCH)(DL):Carriespaginginformation.

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DownlinkSharedChannel(DLSCH)(DL):Carriescommonanddedicatedcontrolinformationandusertrafficdata.
ItcanalsobeusedtocarrybroadcastandmulticastcontrolinformationandtrafficinadditiontotheBCHand
MCH.
UplinkSharedChannel(ULSCH)(UL):Carriescommonanddedicatedcontrolinformationandusertrafficdata.
MulticastChannel(MCH)(DL):Carriesmulticastinformation.
RandomAccessChannel(RACH)(UL):Carriesrandomaccessrequestsfromusers.

LTEPhysicalLayerChannels:LTEphysicallayerchannelsinclude(seeFigure9.96):
PhysicalBroadcastChannel(PBCH)(DL):Carriesbroadcastinformation.
Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) (DL): Carries paging information, common and dedicated control
information,andusertrafficdata.Itcanalsobeusedtocarrybroadcastandmulticastcontrolinformationand
trafficinadditiontothePBCHandPMCH.Partsofthischannelcarrytheprimaryandsecondarysynchronisation
signals(PSSandSSS),thedownlinkreferencesignals,thephysicaldownlinkcontrolchannel(PDCCH),thephysical
HARQindicatorchannel(PHICH),andthephysicalcontrolformatindicatorchannel(PCFICH).
PhysicalUplinkSharedChannel(PUSCH)(UL):Carriescommonanddedicatedcontrolinformationandusertraffic
data.
PhysicalUplinkControlChannel(PUCCH)(UL):Carriescontrolinformation.
PhysicalMulticastChannel(PMCH)(DL):Carriesmulticastinformation.
PhysicalRandomAccessChannel(PRACH)(UL):Carriesrandomaccessrequestsfromusers.

Figure9.96:LTElogical,transport,andphysicallayerchannels(DL:blue,UL:orange,DLorUL:green)

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Networks
ThischapterexplainshowtouseAtolltodesign,analyse, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
andoptimiseamultiRATnetwork.
"Designinga3GPPMultiRATNetwork"onpage1085

"PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations"onpage1087

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1136

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page1158

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1159

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10 3GPPMultiRATNetworks
Ifyouareworkingonaradioplanningprojectwithoneormore3GPPradioaccesstechnologies,Atollenablesyoutodesign
a3GPPmultiRATnetworkincorporatingGSM/GPRS/EDGE,UMTS/HSPA,andLTE.Onceyouhavecreatedthe3GPPmultiRAT
network,Atolloffersmanytoolstoletyouverifythenetwork.Basedontheresultsofyouranalyses,youcanmodifyanyof
theparametersdefiningthenetwork.
Theprocessofplanningandcreatinga3GPPmultiRATnetworkisoutlinedin"Designinga3GPPMultiRATNetwork"on
page1085.Creatingbasestationsisexplainedin"PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations"onpage1087.Allocatingneigh
bours,frequencies(GSMandLTE),scramblingcodes(UMTS)andphysicalcellIDs(LTE)isalsoexplained.Inthissection,you
willalsofindinformationonhowtodisplayinformationonbasestationsonthemapandhowtousethetoolsinAtolltostudy
basestations.
In"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1136,usingtrafficmapstostudynetworkcapacityisexplained.Creatingsimulations
usingthetrafficmapinformationandanalysingtheresultsofsimulationsisalsoexplained.
Usingdrivetestdatapathstoverifythenetworkisexplainedin"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1159.Filteringimported
drivetestdatapaths,andusingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.Filteringimporteddrivetestdatapaths,and
usingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.

10.1 Designinga3GPPMultiRATNetwork
Figure10.1depictstheprocessofplanningandcreatinga3GPPmultiRATnetwork.

1
2

5b

5a

5c

6
7
8

10
11

Figure10.1:Planninga3GPPmultiRATnetworkworkflow
Thestepsinvolvedinplanninga3GPPmultiRATnetworkaredescribedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure10.1.
1. Openanexisting3GPPmultiRATplanningdocumentorcreateanewone(

).

YoucanopenanexistingAtoll3GPPmultiRATdocumentbyselectingFile>Open.

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CreatinganewAtoll3GPPmultiRATdocumentisexplainedin"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate"
onpage121.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters(

).

Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingelementsofbasestations:

"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage1088

Youcanalsoaddbasestationsusingabasestationtemplate(see"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1088).
3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions(

)fromtheanalysisofbasestations:"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1095

4. Allocateneighbours,automaticallyorindividually(

).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1110.

5. FortheGSMpartofthenetwork,estimatetherequirednumberofTRXs(

)inoneofthefollowingways:

Youcanimportorcreatetrafficmaps( 5a )andusethemasabasisfordimensioning 5b )(see"StudyingNetwork

Capacity"onpage311inChapter6:GSM/GPRS/EDGENetworks).
YoucandefinethemmanuallyeitherontheTRXstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxorintheSubcells
table(see"ModifyingaSubcell"onpage246)(

5c

).

6. OnceyouhavetherequirednumberofTRXsintheGSMpartofthenetwork,manuallyorautomaticallycreateafre
quencyplan(

).

"AllocatingResourcesinGSM"onpage1136.

7. FortheUMTSpartofthenetwork,allocatescramblingcodes(

).

"AllocatingResourcesinUMTS"onpage1136.

8. FortheLTEpartofthenetwork,allocatefrequenciesandphysicalcellIDs( 8 ).

"AllocatingResourcesinLTE"onpage1136.

9. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions( 9 ).
Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedonatrafficmap( 9a and 9b )(see

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1136).
You can define them manually in GSM ("Importing OMC Traffic Data into the Subcells Table: Traffic Data" on
page312),UMTS("SettingtheULLoadFactorandtheDLTotalPower"onpage567)andLTE("SettingCellLoads
andNoiseRiseValues"onpage929)( 9c ).

10. Maketechnologyspecificcoveragepredictions( 10 ).
FortheGSMGPRSEDGEpartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"AnalysingNetworkQuality"onpage433.

FortheUMTSHSPApartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"UMTSCoveragePredictions"onpage561
"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579
"HSUPACoveragePredictions"onpage581.

FortheLTEpartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"LTECoveragePredictions"onpage927.

Foracombinationofseveraltechnologiesinthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"3GPPMultiRATPredictions"onpage1095.

11. Analysethequalityoftheresourceallocations( 11 ).
FortheGSMGPRSEDGEpartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"AuditingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEFrequencyPlan"onpage463.
"DisplayingtheFrequencyAllocation"onpage467.
"CalculatingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsofaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"onpage470.

FortheUMTSHSPApartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

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"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheScramblingCodePlan"onpage619
"DisplayingtheAllocationofScramblingCodes"onpage620.

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FortheLTEpartofthe3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

"DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap"onpage979.
"CheckingtheConsistencyofthePhysicalCellIDPlan"onpage983.

10.2 PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcancreateanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnosites,orfromadatabase
withasetofsites.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatesitesandmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.WhenmodellingGSMina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,youmustalsoaddsubcellstoeachtransmitter.
AsubcellreferstothecharacteristicsofagroupofTRXsonatransmitter.WhenmodellingUMTSorLTEina3GPPmultiRAT
network,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtransmitter.InUMTS,acellreferstothecharacteristicsofacarrieronatransmitter;
inLTE,acellmodelsthecharacteristicsofanRFchannel.

A n te n n a
- A z im u t h
- M e c h a n i c a l t i lt

TMA
A n te n n a
- H e ig h t

F e e d e r C a b le

T r a n s m it t e r
- N o i s e f ig u r e
- Power

S it e
- X , Y c o o r d in a te s

Figure10.2:Atransmitter
Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellorsubcellatatime,orcreateseveralatoncebyusingastationtemplate.In
Atoll,abasestationreferstoasitewithitstransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcellsorsubcells.
Atollallowsyoutomakeavarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelortransmittercoveragepredictions.Theresults
ofcalculatedcoveragepredictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,orstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbyallowingyoutocreateservices,users,userprofiles,environments,andtermi
nals.Thisdatacanbethenusedtomakequalitypredictions,suchaseffectiveservicearea,noise,orhandoverstatuspredic
tions,onthenetwork.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1088
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage1088
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage1088
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage1089
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage1089
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage1089
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage1090
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1095
"3GPPMultiRATPredictions"onpage1095
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage1102
"AllocatingResourcesina3GPPMultiRATNetwork"onpage1136

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10.2.1 CreatingaBaseStation
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,sitescanbesharedbytransmittersofdifferenttechnologies.Thewaysitesandtransmittersare
managedina3GPPmultiRATnetworkisthesameforeachtechnology.Becausea3GPPmultiRATdocumentcontainstrans
mitterandstationtemplatefoldersforeachtechnologymodelled,thefoldersareidentifiedbythetechnologytheybelongto.

TocreateaGSMGPRSEDGEbasestation,see"CreatingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEBaseStation"onpage235
TocreateaUMTSHSPAbasestation,see"CreatingaUMTSBaseStation"onpage521
TocreateanLTEbasestation,see"CreatinganLTEBaseStation"onpage885.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecontext
menu.Becausea3GPPmultiRATdocumentmodelsseveraltechnologies,thenew
transmitterwillbecreatedusingthetechnology(GSM,UMTSorLTE)ofthestation
templatecurrentlyselectedinthetoolbar.

10.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1088,oryoucancreateoneor
severalbasestationsbyusingstationtemplatesasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.
However,ifyouhavealargeradioplanningprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdataintoyour
currentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdata andpasteitinto thetables inyourcurrentAtoll document. Whenyou createagroupofbase
stationsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdatainthe
Transmitterstable,andcellorsubcelldataintheCellsorSubcellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastingaTableRecord"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavedataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintothetablesin
thecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatandthen
importitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhat
valuesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcellorsubcelldataintheCellsorSubcellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
YoucanquicklycreateaseriesofbasestationsforstudypurposesusingtheHexagonal
DesigntoolontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Forinformation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.

10.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe

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map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
ifthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensacontext
menuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orbylettingAtoll
findahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

10.2.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atollallowstoyoutodisplayinformationaboutbasestationsinanumberofdifferentways.Thisenablesyounotonlyto
displayselectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe
visible;toomuchinformationwillleadtoacluttereddisplay.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivesites.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolourtoeach
transmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.Forinforma
tionondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

and

).

10.2.5 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalcan becarriedby differenttypesoflinks suchasaradio link oramicrowave link. Theserversideretransmits the
receivedsignal.
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,youcandefinerepeatersforGSM,UMTSandLTEtransmitters.Repeatersaremanagedina
3GPPmultiRATnetworkthesamewayforeachtechnology.IntheNetworkexplorer,repeatersarefoundinthetransmitter
folderofthetechnologytheybelongto.

TocreateaGSMGPRSEDGErepeater,see"CreatingaRepeater"onpage257
TocreateaUMTSHSPArepeater,see"CreatingaRepeater"onpage541
TocreateaLTErepeater,see"CreatingaRepeater"onpage905

10.2.6 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmaywanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation

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that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage1089.
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,youcandefineremoteantennasforGSM,UMTSandLTEtransmitters.Remoteantennasare
managedina3GPPmultiRATnetworkthesamewayforeachtechnology.IntheNetworkexplorer,remoteantennasare
foundinthetransmitterfolderofthetechnologytheybelongto.

TocreateaGSMGPRSEDGEremoteantenna,see"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage261
TocreateaUMTSHSPAremoteantenna,see"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage545
TocreateaLTEremoteantenna,see"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage909

10.2.7 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.
Figure10.3givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure10.3,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

Figure10.3:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

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"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage1091.
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage1091.
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage1092.

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"SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive"onpage1094.
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage1095.

10.2.7.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmightcoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,calculatingovertheentirenetworkwould
notonlytakealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothebasestationsthatyouare
interestedinandgenerateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofbasestationsinvolvedincalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredbasestationsm
Youcansimplifytheselectionofbasestationstobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfilterbasestationsaccordingto
oneormorefields,oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreate
agraphicfilterbyeitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphic
filters,see"FilteringDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswith
thecharacteristicsyouwantforyourcalculations.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmaynotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite
configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitsthecalculations.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
the areawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,while the
focuszoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage1091.

Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

10.2.7.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheComputationZone.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thezone
willbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzonewithoneofthefollowingmethods:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.

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Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingtheCom
putationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clicking the Computation Zone folder in the Geo explorer and selecting Export
fromthecontextmenu.

10.2.7.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Youcanalsoassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedforalltransmitters
wherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."
Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage1093,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage1093,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.
2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage1092,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwilllaterassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
Whenyouassignapropagationmodelglobally,youoverrideanyselectionyoumight
havemadetoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters.

3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"DefiningaDefaultPropagation
Model"onpage209,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropagationmodel,
thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage1092.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage1093.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage1093.

Formoreinformationabouttheavailablepropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologytowhichyouwanttoassign
apropagationmodel.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClickthePropagationtab.
4. UnderMainmatrix:

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5. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage1093willoverridethisentry.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologytowhichyouwanttoassign
apropagationmodel.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. FromtheGroupBysubmenuofthecontextmenu,selectthepropertybywhichyouwanttogroupthetransmitters.
Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
You can group transmitters by several properties by usingthe GroupBy button on the
Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
4. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
5. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.
Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

Mainpropagationmodel
Maincalculationradius
Mainresolution
Extendedpropagationmodel
Extendedcalculationradius
Extendedresolution

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesyouhavepreviously
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Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologytowhichyouwanttoassign
apropagationmodelandrightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagation
model.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClickthePropagationtab.
4. UnderMainmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

5. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.
Youcanalsodefinethepropagationmodelsforatransmitterbyrightclickingitinthemap
windowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

10.2.7.4 SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollconsidersallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects a rectangle containing the computation zone. Therefore, you must
ensurethatallthetransmittersonthebasestationsyouwishtostudyhavebeenactivated.Intheexplorerwindow,active
transmittersareindicatedwithanonicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapandinac

tivetransmittersareindicatedwithanofficon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandemptysymbolonthemap.

InAtoll,youcanalsosetthecellonatransmitterasactiveorinactive.
Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveby
activatingthemfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmitterscellsfromtheCellstable,orbyselecting
thetransmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.
Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTransmittersfoldercorrespondingtothetechnologyinwhichyouwanttoacti
vateatransmitterandrightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectActiveTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitterisnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheTransmittersfoldercorrespondingtothetechnologyinwhichyou
wanttoactivatealltransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfoldercorre
spondingtothetechnologyinwhichyouwanttoactivateagroupoftransmittersandrightclickagroupoftrans
mitters.Thecontextmenuappears.

2. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetoneormoretransmittersasactiveusingtheTransmitterstable:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfoldercorrespondingtothetechnologyinwhichyouwantto
activateoneormoretransmittersandselectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswith
eachtransmittersparametersinarow.
2. Foreachtransmitterthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
TosetoneormorecellsasactiveusingtheCellstable:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfoldercorrespondingtothetechnologyinwhichyouwantto
activateoneormorecellsandselectCells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheCellstableappearswitheach
cellsparametersinarow.
2. Foreachcellthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.

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Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolderandrightclickthefolderofthezoneyou
willusetoselectthetransmitters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

2. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
Afteryouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbetimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Consequently,
Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.Youcaninstallthedistributedcalcu
lationserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethedistributedcalculationserverapplicationisinstalled
onaworkstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.
Forinformationonsettingupthedistributedcalculationserverapplication,seetheAdministratorManual.

10.2.7.5 TheCalculationProcess

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton
(
)inthetoolbar.
WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates all path loss matrices, unlocked coverages, and pending simula
tions.

10.2.8 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthespecifiedparameters.Coveragepredictionson
groupsofbasestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverage
predictiontothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougetquickresults.Youcanexpandyourcoveragepredic
tiontoanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.
Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage1090.
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,studyingbasestationsissimilartostudyingbasestationsinasingleRATnetwork.Theonly
differenceisthatthefoldersandtools(suchasthePointAnalysis)areidentifiedbythetechnologytheybelongto.

TostudyGSMGPRSEDGEbasestations,see"StudyingBaseStations"onpage270
TostudyUMTSHSPAbasestations,see"StudyingBaseStations"onpage553
TostudyLTEbasestations,see"StudyingBaseStations"onpage918.

Sometechnologyspecificcoveragepredictionsuseterminal,mobilitytype,andserviceparametersincalculations.Forinfor
mationontheseparameters,see"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1137.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"3GPPMultiRATPredictions"onpage1095
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage1097
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage1098
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage1102
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage1102
"MakingaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1106

10.2.8.1 3GPPMultiRATPredictions
3GPPmultiRATcoveragepredictionsarecalculatedusingDLandULloadconditionswhichare:

GSM:theallocatedfrequencyplanandthesubcellDLtrafficload
UMTS:theDLtotalpowerandULloadfactor(definedattheUMTScelllevel)
LTE:theallocatedfrequencyplan,theDLtrafficloadandULnoiserise(definedattheLTEcelllevel).

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Forthepurposeofthesepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferingreceiverwithadefinedservice,mobilitytype,
andterminalasexplainedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1137.
Thefollowing3GPPmultiRATcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

10.2.8.1.1

"Makinga3GPPMultiRATEffectiveServiceAreaPrediction"onpage1095.
"Makinga3GPPMultiRATThroughputCoveragePrediction"onpage1096.

Makinga3GPPMultiRATEffectiveServiceAreaPrediction
The3GPPmultiRATeffectiveserviceareaisthecombinationofseveralsingleRATeffectiveserviceareas:

TheGSMpartisbasedontheGSMEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL),asexplainedin"MakingaServiceArea
Prediction"onpage459.RadioconditionsareevaluatedovertheHCSserverareawithamarginof4dB,onallthe
interferedsubcells.CodecmodesandcodingschemesareobtainedfromtheseradioconditionsbasedonC/(I+N)
withoutideallinkadaptation.ThisimpliesthatafrequencyplanhastobedefinedinordertoobtainthisGSM/GPRS/
EDGEcoverage.
TheUMTSpartisbasedontheUMTSEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL+UL)analysis,asexplainedin"Stud
yingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage571.ForHSPAservices,thecoverageisbasedonacombinationofHSDPAet
HSUPAserviceareasasexplainedin"HSDPACoveragePredictions"onpage579and"HSUPACoveragePredictions"
onpage581.
TheLTEpartisbasedontheLTEEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL),asexplainedin"StudyingtheEffectiveSer
viceArea"onpage937.

Tomakea3GPPmultiRATeffectiveserviceareaprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. UnderStandardPredictions3GPPMultiRAT,selectEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)andclickOK.The3GPP
multiRATEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.
This ID can later be found between the <GUID> and </GUID> tags in the
"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
TheGroupBy,Sort,andFilterbuttonsunderDisplayConfigurationarenotavail
ablewhenmakingamultiRATcoverageprediction.

6. ClicktheConditionstab.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1137.
Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
DisplayType:Fora3GPPmultiRATeffectiveserviceareaprediction,"DiscreteValues"isselectedasthedisplaytype
sothateachserviceareaisdisplayedwiththecolourcorrespondingtothetechnologyusedtoaccesstheservice.
Field:Select"Technologies"toobtainonecoveragelayerforeachtechnologyor"AvailableTechnologies"toobtain
onecoveragelayerforeachtechnologyandcombinationsofavailabletechnologies.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyorsaveitandcalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterbyclicking
theCalculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanymessages,aredisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

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10.2.8.1.2

Makinga3GPPMultiRATThroughputCoveragePrediction
The3GPPmultiRATthroughputpredictionisthecombinationofsingleRATthroughputpredictions:

TheGSMpartisbasedontheGSMPacketThroughputAnalysis(DL),asexplainedin"MakingaCoveragePrediction
byPacketThroughput"onpage450
The3GPPmultiRATeffectiveRLCthroughputisobtainedfromthemaximumeffectiveRLCthroughputoftheGSM
layer.The3GPPmultiRATapplicationthroughputfromthemaximumapplicationthroughputoftheGSMlayer.

TheUMTSpartisbasedontheR99ServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)prediction,asexplainedin"StudyingDownlink
andUplinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage569andontheHSDPAThroughputAnalysis(DL),asexplainedin"HSDPA
CoveragePredictions"onpage579.
The3GPPmultiRATeffectiveRLCandapplicationthroughputsarerespectivelyobtainedfromtheeffectiveRLCand
applicationthroughputsoftheR99ortheHSDPAlayer.

TheLTEpartisbasedontheLTECoveragebyThroughput(DL),asexplainedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionby
Throughput"onpage938.
The3GPPmultiRATeffectiveRLCandapplicationthroughputsarerespectivelyobtainedfromtheeffectiveRLCchan
nelthroughput(DL)andtheapplicationchannelthroughput(DL)coveragepredictions.

Fourtypesofthroughputcanbecalculatedoneachpixel:

EffectiveRLCThroughput:ThethroughputontheRLClayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedterminalperpixel
takingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER)forthehighestprioritytechnology.
MaxEffectiveRLCThroughput:ThemaximumthroughputontheRLClayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedter
minalperpixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER),consideringallavailabletechnologies.
ApplicationThroughput:Thethroughputontheapplicationlayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedterminalper
pixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER)forthehighestprioritytechnology.
MaxApplicationThroughput:themaximumthroughputontheapplicationlayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselected
terminalperpixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER),consideringallavailabletechnologies.

Tomakea3GPPmultiRATthroughputcoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. UnderStandardPredictions3GPPMultiRAT,selectCoveragebyThroughput(DL)andclickOK.ThemultiRATCov
eragebyThroughput(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.
This ID can later be found between the <GUID> and </GUID> tags in the
"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
TheGroupBy,Sort,andFilterbuttonsunderDisplayConfigurationarenotavail
ablewhenmakingamultiRATcoverageprediction.

6. ClicktheConditionstab.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1137.
Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.Fora3GPPmultiRATthroughputcoverageprediction,"Valueintervals"isselectedasthedisplay
type in order to display either the effective RLC, the max effective RLC, the application, or the best application
throughputs.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Ifmorethanonetechnologyservesapixel,thedisplayedthroughputistheoneprovidedbythehighestprioritytech
nologyasdefinedinthepropertiesoftheselectedservice.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyorsaveitandcalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.

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OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterbyclicking
theCalculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanymessages,aredisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

10.2.8.2 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
CoverageresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhen
youcreatedthecoverageprediction.Ifseveralcoveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itcanbedifficulttoclearlysee
theresultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwishtoanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselecting
orclearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformationonmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsing
theExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

10.2.8.2.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage1098.
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText"onpage1098.

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtolegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

10.2.8.2.2

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText
Youcandisplaytiptextinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoverageprediction.Thedatathatisdisplayed
isdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverageprediction.
Todisplaycoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure10.4).

Figure10.4:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

10.2.8.3 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

10.2.8.3.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1098.
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1099.
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1101.
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage1101.

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocusandhotspotsdefinetheareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucanonly
haveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocusandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,whilethefocusandhotspots

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aretheareastakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoveragepredictionreport,it
givestheresultsforthefocuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheZonesfolder.
3. RightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhetheryouwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot.
Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocusorhotspotasfollows:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocusorhotspotbyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocuszoneorhot
spotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>Focus
ZoneorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocusorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHotSpots
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcanimport
thenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocusorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZonetoMap
Windowfromthecontextmenu.

Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspots,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtoll
document,inthefollowingways:

10.2.8.3.2

Savingthefocuszoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsavingthe
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhot
spots by rightclicking the Focus Zone or the Hot Spots folder in the Geo
explorerandselectingExportfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocusorhotspotbyimportingapopu
lationmap.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformat
GeoDataFile"onpage142.

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.

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Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1098.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1101.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.

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7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default,the ranges which donot contain any pixels do notappear in the report. By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.
3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.
Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

10.2.8.3.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page1099,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.

10.2.8.3.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.

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Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1098.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandthePredictionsfolder,rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwant
todisplay,andselectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramofthearea
definedbythefocuszone(seeFigure10.5).

UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

Figure10.5:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

10.2.8.4 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

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Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,JPEG2000,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRD
andGRC)formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invector
formats,youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoveragepre
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10.2.8.5 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
thechangesthatyoumakecanaffectthenetwork.
Youcandisplaytheresultsofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

Intersection:Thisdisplaymodeshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscovered
bybothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplaymodeshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixels
coveredbyatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
byonlyonepredictionareblue).
Difference:Thisdisplaymodeshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredby
onlythefirstpredictionwithanothercolourandpixelscoveredonlybythesecondpredictionwithathirdcolour(for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplaymodeshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.
Thisdisplayoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.
6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.
Thissectioncontainsthetwofollowingexamplestoillustratethecomparisonsbetweenpredictions:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage1103
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage1105.

Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1095.The
resultsaredisplayedinFigure10.6.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthefigure.

Figure10.6:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewbasestationisadded,eitherbycreatingthebasestationandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatingaBase
Station"onpage1088.Oncethenewsitehasbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenit

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wouldbeimpossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselecting
Duplicatefromitscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewbasestation(seeFigure10.7).

Figure10.7:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwocoveragepredictions.
Tocomparetwocoveragepredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Inordertoseewhatchangesaddinganewbasestationmade,youshouldchooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure10.8,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenew
basestation.

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Figure10.8:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions
Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1095.
TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure10.9.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscoveringitsareapoorly.The
areaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure10.9.

Figure10.9:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork
Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbe
impossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefromits
contextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculated,toshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure10.10).

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Figure10.10:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
coverage,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthepredictionyouwanttocom
parewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
coveredbybothpredictionsinonecolourandallpixelscoveredbyonlyonepredictioninanothercolour.Theincrease
incoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure10.11,showsclearlytheincreaseincoveragedueatthe
changeinantennatilt.

Figure10.11:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

10.2.8.6 MakingaMultipointAnalysis
InAtoll,youcancarryoutcalculationsonlistsofpointsrepresentingsubscribersandanalysethem.Theseanalysescanbe
usefulforverifyingnetworkQoSatsubscriberlocationsincaseofincidents(calldrops,lowthroughputs,etc.)reportedby

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users.Moreover,someuserequipmentmayfeedbackanumberofnetworkmeasurementsattheirlocations.Thismayhelp
verifynetworkqualitywithouttheneedformeasurementcampaignsattheexpenseoftheoperator.
Anumberofparametersarecalculatedforeachpoint,notjustforthebestserverbutforallpotentialservers.Theloadcondi
tionsarefixedbytheuser,eitherreadfromtheCellstableorfromatrafficsimulation.Theresultsprovidedbythisanalysis
arethesameasavailableforonepointintheDetailsviewofthePointAnalysistool.
ShadowingmarginsarecalculatedforthecelledgecoverageprobabilitydefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthePoint
Analysistool.TheIndoorCoveragecheckboxinthisdialogboxisalsotakenintoaccount.
Allthepointsareconsideredtohavethesameheight,whichisthereceiverheightdefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthe
NetworkSettingsfolder,i.e.,thereceiverheightatwhichpathlossmatricesarecalculated.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

10.2.8.6.1

"CreatingaNewMultipointAnalysis"onpage1106.
"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage1108.
"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage1108
"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1109
"ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1109
"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"onpage1109
"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder"onpage1110.

CreatingaNewMultipointAnalysis
Whenyoucreateanewmultipointanalysis,youcansetalltheappropriateparameters.Thenewlycreatedanalysisisnot
automaticallycalculated.
Tocreateanewmultipointanalysis:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolderandselectNewAnalysis<Technology>(UMTSor
LTE)fromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisPropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheGeneraltab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

Name:Thenameoftheanalysis.Youcanchangethenameoftheanalysisifdesired.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

3. ClicktheConditionstab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

IfyouselectedNewAnalysisUMTS:

LoadConditions:Selecttheloadconditionstobeusedintheanalysis.Ifyouselect"(CellsTable),"thecalcu
lationsarenotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation;Atollwillusethecellloadsde
finedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseananalysisonsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationsfromtheLoad
Conditionslist.

Carrier:Selectthecarrierforwhichyouwanttheanalysistobecarriedout.Youcaneitherselect"Best"orone
ormorecarriernumbersfromthelist.The"Best"carrierwilldependonthecarrierselectionmethoddefined
forthesiteequipment.
BearerDowngrading:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttopermitbearerdowngrading.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsidershadowingandenteraCellEdge
CoverageProbability.
Indoor coverage: Select this check box if you want to add indoor losses. Indoor losses are defined per
frequencyperclutterclass

IfyouselectedNewAnalysisLTE:

LoadConditions:Selecttheloadconditionstobeusedintheanalysis.Ifyouselect"(CellsTable),"thecalcu
lationsarenotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillusethecellloadsde
finedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseananalysisonsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationsfromtheLoad
Conditionslist.

Shadowingtakenintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsidershadowingandenteraCellEdge
CoverageProbability.
Indoor coverage: Select this check box if you want to add indoor losses. Indoor losses are defined per
frequencyperclutterclass

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4. ClickthePointstab.Hereyoucancreatethelistofpointsonwhichthemultipointanalysiswillbemade.Eachpoint
inthelistisdefinedbyitsXandYcoordinates,aHeight(m),aService,aTerminal,andaMobility.Youcan:

Importalistofpoints.See"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1109.
Copyandpasteanexistinglistofpoints.

Createpointsinthelistbyeditingthetable:intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),createeachpoint
byenteringitsXandYcoordinatesandassigningitaservice,aterminal,andamobility.
Youcanalsocreatepointsusingthemouse.Formoreinformation,See"AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysis
UsingtheMouse"onpage1109.

Thecoordinatesmustbeintheformatusedbythedisplaycoordinatesystemofthe
document.Forinformationonchangingthecoordinatesystem,see"SettingaCoor
dinateSystem"onpage126..

5. ClicktheDisplaytabanddefinethedisplaypropertiesofmultipointanalysisresults.Forinformationonchangingdis
playcharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
6. Youcaneitherrunthenewmultipointanalysisimmediatelyoryoucancreateitandrunitlater:

10.2.8.6.2

Calculate:ClickCalculatetoruntheanalysisimmediately.Oncecalculationiscomplete,anew<Technology>:
AnalysisNfolderappearsunderMultipointAnalysisintheNetworkexplorer.Forinformationonhowtoaccess
theanalysisresults,see"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage1108.

OK:Click OKto create the analysiswithout running it. A new<Technology>:AnalysisNfolderappearsunder

MultipointAnalysisintheNetworkexplorer.

AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults
Toaccesstheresultsofamultipointanalysis:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheMultipointAnalysisfolderandthefoldercontainingtheanalysiswhoseresults
youwanttoaccess,andrightclicktheanalysis.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectAnalysisResultsfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.The
resultstableincludesthefollowinginformation:

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PositionId:PositionIDofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Height(m):Heightofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Service:Theservicesassignedtotheusers.
Terminal:Theterminalsassignedtotheusers.
Mobility:Themobilitytypesassignedtotheusers.

AdditionalinformationinUMTSmultipointanalysisresults:
Cell:Namesofthepotentialservingcells.
Distance(m):Distancesfromthepotentialservingcells.
PathLoss(dB):Pathlossescorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
RSCP(dBm):ReceivedSignalCodePowerscorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
Ec/Io(dB):Ec/Iocorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
DLEb/Nt(dB):DownlinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ULEb/Nt(dB):UplinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ScramblingCode:Scramblingcodescorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.

AdditionalinformationinLTEmultipointanalysisresults:
Cell:Namesofthepotentialservingcells.
Distance(m):Distancesfromthepotentialservingcells.
PhysicalCellID:PhysicalcellIDsofthepotentialservingcells.
ICICZone:CellcentreorCelledgeofthepotentialservingcells.
DiversityMode(DL):Thediversitymodesupportedbythecellinthedownlink(None,AAS,Transmitdiversity,
SUMIMO,AAS+Transmitdiversity,AAS+SUMIMO,MUMIMO,orAAS+MUMIMO).
ReceivedRSPower(dBm):Thereferencesignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RS C/(I+N) (DL) (dB): The reference signal C/(I+N)at the subscriberlocation in thedownlink. This value is
generatedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSRP(DL)(dBm):TheRSRP(receivedreferencesignalenergyperresourceelement)receivedatthesubscriber
locationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSSI(DL)(dBm):TheRSSIreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtoll
duringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSRQ(DL)(dB):TheRSRQ(referencesignalreceivedquality)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.

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Received PDCCH Power (dBm) and Received PDCCH EPRE (dBm): The PDCCH signal level received at the
subscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
Received PDSCH Power (dBm) and Received PDSCH EPRE (dBm): The PDSCH signal level received at the
subscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedSSPower(dBm)andReceivedSSEPRE(dBm):TheSSsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocation
inthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPBCHPower(dBm)andReceivedPBCHEPRE(dBm):ThePBCHsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriber
locationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkontherefer
encesignals.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDCCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkonthe
PDCCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDSCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkonthe
PDSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
SSInterference(dBm):TheinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkontheSS.This
valueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PBCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthe subscriberlocationinthe downlinkon the
PBCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDSCHAASInterference(dBm):Theangulardistributionofinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberloca
tioninthedownlinkonthePDSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ChannelOverlapFactor(dB):Thecoandadjacentchanneloverlapbetweenthefrequencychannelusedby
theinterferingcellandthebestserver.
CollisionProbability(%):Theintercellinterferencecoordinationcollisionprobabilitybetweentheinterfering
cellwhichisnotsynchronisedwiththebestserver.
Tohideoneormorecolumnsinthe<Technology>:AnalysisNResultsdialogbox,clickthe
ActionsbuttonandselectDisplayedColumns.IntheColumntobeDisplayeddialogbox,
clearthecheckboxescorrespondingtothecolumnsyouwanttohide.

3. ClickClose.

10.2.8.6.3

AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysisUsingtheMouse
Youcanusethemousetoaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder,rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNtowhich
youwanttoaddpoints,andselectAddPointsfromthecontextmenu.Thepointerchangestopointadditionmode
(

).

2. Movethemouseoverthemapwindowandclickoncetocreateeachpointyouwanttoadd.
3. PressESCorclicktheNewpointbutton(

)intheVectorEditortoolbartofinishaddingpoints.

Toplacepointsmoreaccurately,beforeclickingthemap,youcanzoominonthemap.
Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.

10.2.8.6.4

ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis
Youcanimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder,rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNinwhich
youwanttoimportalistofpoints,andselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNProp
ertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClickthePointstab.
3. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectImportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTables
fromTextFiles"onpage85.

10.2.8.6.5

ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis
EachlistofpointsinaAtolldocumentisstoredinaseparatetable.Youcanexportalistofpointstouseitinanotherapplica
tionorinanotherAtolldocument.

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Toexportalistofpoints:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder,rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNinwhich
youwanttoimportalistofpoints,andselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNProp
ertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClickthePointstab.
3. ClicktheActionsbuttonandselectExportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonexportingtable
data,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

10.2.8.6.6

CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder
AtollenablesyoutocreatefoldersunderMultipointAnalysisintheNetworkexplorer.Suchfoldersmaycontainoneormore
analysescarriedoutononelistofpoints.Atollonlyallowsoneleveloffolders.OnceyouhavecreatedafolderunderMulti
pointAnalysis,youcanmovemultipointanalysesintoit.Formoreinformation,see"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoa
Folder"onpage1110.
TocreateafolderunderMultipointAnalysis:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolderandselectNewFolderfromthecontextmenu.
Atoll creates a new folder, "Folder<X>", under Multipoint Analysis where "<X>" is a number assigned by Atoll
sequentially,accordingtothefolderswithdefaultnamescurrentlyunderMultiPointAnalysis.
Youcanchangethenameofthefoldertogiveitamoredescriptivename.

10.2.8.6.7

MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder
Once you have created folders under Multipoint Analysis as explained in "Accessing Multipoint Analysis Results" on
page1108,youcanorganisethemultipointanalysesbymovingthemintothesefolders.Atollalsoallowsyoutomovemulti
pointanalysesfromonefoldertoanotherorfromafoldertothemainMultipointAnalysisfolder.
TomoveamultipointanalysisfromthemainMultipointAnalysisfoldertooneofitsfolders:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandthefolder.
2. UsedraganddroptomoveanymultipointanalysistothemainMultipointAnalysisfolderortoanyofitsfolders.
Todothat,dragthemultipointanalysisovertheMultipointAnalysisfolderoroverthenameofthedestination
folderanddropit.

10.2.9 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachcellmanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedontheparameters
thatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thecellortransmittertowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferredtoas
thereferencecellorreferencetransmitter.Thecellsortransmittersthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferred
toaspotentialneighbours.Whenallocatingneighbourstoallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonly
tothecellsortransmitterswithinthefocuszoneandconsidersaspotentialneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhose
propagationzoneintersectsarectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighbours
onlytothecellsortransmitterswithinthecomputationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanuseautomaticallocationonallcellsortransmittersin
thenetwork,oryoucandefineagroupofcellseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow.
For information on creating a focus zone, see "Creating a Focus Zone or Hot Spot for a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page286.Forinformationongroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
Atollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesina3GPPmultiRATnetwork:

IntratechnologyNeighbours:Intratechnologyneighboursaretransmittersorcellsdefinedasneighboursthatuse
thesameradioaccesstechnology.InUMTS,intratechnologyneighbourscanbedividedinto:

IntracarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoverusingthesamecarrier.
IntercarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighbourswhichperformhandoverusingadifferentcarrier.

IntertechnologyNeighbours:Intertechnologyneighboursaretransmittersorcellsdefinedasneighboursthatusea
differentradioaccesstechnology.

Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

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"ImportingNeighbours"onpage1110
"PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1111
"PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1120
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage1128
"AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap"onpage1133
"DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1134
"AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1135.

10.2.9.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(TXTorCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusingthe
Neighbourstable.
ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoimportneighbours.The
contextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
d. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttoimportneighbours(i.e.,GSM,UMTS,
orLTE)andthenselectOpenTable.Aneighbourstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetechnology(for
intratechnologyneighbours)ortechnologypair(forintertechnologyneighbours).
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

10.2.9.2 PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours
Whenyouplanintratechnologyneighboursina3GPPmultiRATAtolldocument,youplanneighboursusingthesameradio
technology.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

10.2.9.2.1

"DefiningIntratechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage1111
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1111
"AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1112
"AllocatingandDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage1114
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1117
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntratechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage1119.

DefiningIntratechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucansetintratechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Theseconstraintscanbetakeninto
accountwhenintratechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.InGSM,neighboursandexceptionalpairs
areallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).InUMTSandLTE,neighboursandexceptionalpairsareallocatedbycell.
Todefineintratechnologyexceptionalpairs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclick the Transmitters folder of the radio access technology for which you want to define intratechnology
exceptionalpairs.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthen
selectExceptionalPairs.Anexceptionalpairstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetechnology.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Atransmitter(GSM)orcell(UMTSorLTE)canhavemorethanone
exceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Transmitter(GSM)orCell(UMTSorLTE):Thenameofthetransmitterorcellasthefirstpartoftheexceptional
pair.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.

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YoucanalsocreateexceptionalpairsusingthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitter.

10.2.9.2.2

ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintratechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoconfiguretheimportancefac
torsforintratechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthen
selectConfigureImportance.TheNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogboxappears.
InGSMandLTE,theNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogboxhasonetab:IntratechnologyNeighbours.
BecauseUMTSalsousescarriers,theNeighbourImportanceWeightinghastwotabs:IntracarrierNeighboursand
IntercarrierNeighbours.
5. SelecttheintratechnologyNeighbourstab(GSMandLTE)ortheIntracarrierNeighbourstab(UMTS).Youcanset
thefollowingimportanceweightingfactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforbeingwithinthe
specifiedmaximumdistancefromthereferencecellortransmitter.

CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.

AdjacencyFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedbecauseitisadja
centtothereferencecellortransmitter.TheAdjacencyFactorwillbeusedinautomaticintratechnologyneigh
bourallocationwhenyouselectthefollowingcheckbox(es)intheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox:
GSM:ForceIntraHCSAdjacentsasNeighboursorForceInterHCSAdjacentsasNeighbours
UMTSandLTE:ForceAdjacentCellsasNeighbours

CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourtransmitterbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasreferencetransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedinautomaticintratechnologyneighbour
allocationifyouselectthefollowingcheckbox(es)intheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox:
GSM:ForceCositeTransmittersasNeighbours
UMTSandLTE:ForceCositeCellsasNeighbours
Forinformationonautomaticintratechnologyneighbourallocation,see"AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighbours
Automatically"onpage1112.

6. IfyouareconfiguringtheimportancefactorsforUMTS,selecttheIntercarrierNeighbourstabandsettheimportance
factorsasyoudidinthepreviousstepforintracarrierUMTSneighbours.
7. ClickOK.

10.2.9.2.3

AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours.Atollallocatesneighboursbasedontheparametersyousetin
theAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
In a UMTS network Atoll can automatically allocate both intra and intercarrier neigh
bours.YoucanpreventAtollfromallocatingintercarrierneighbourstocellslocatedon
sites whose equipment do not support compressed mode by setting an option in the
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Toautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateintra
technologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthen
select Automatic Allocation. The Automatic Neighbour Allocation dialog box appears. In UMTS, the Automatic

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NeighbourAllocationdialogboxhastwotabs:IntracarrierNeighboursandIntercarrierNeighbours.Thetabthat
youselectdetermineswhethertheallocatedUMTSintratechnologyneighboursareintraorintercarrier.
5. DefinethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellortransmitterandapossibleneighbourintheMaxInter
siteDistancebox.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
6. DefinethemaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacellortransmitterintheMax
no.ofNeighboursbox.Thisvaluecaneitherbesethereforallcellsortransmitters,orspecifiedforeachcellinthe
Cellstable(UMTSandLTE)oreachtransmitterintheTransmitterstable(GSM).
7. UnderUseCoverageConditions:
a. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobasetheimportanceevaluationonadistancecriterion,or
b. SelecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtosetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheirref
erencecellortransmitter.
ClickDefinetoopentheCoverageConditionsdialogboxandchangethecoverageconditionsinwhichyouwant
toautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsortransmittersforthe
automaticneighbourallocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

GSM:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.BCCHsignallevel:Entertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencetransmitter
andtheneighbour.
Handoverstart:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatesthebeginningofthehandovermargin.Thehandover
startmustbeoutsideofthebestserverareaofthereferencetransmitter.
Handoverend:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatestheendofthehandovermargin.Thehandoverendmust
exceedthevalueenteredfortheHandoverstart.ThehigherthevalueenteredfortheHandoverend,the
longerthelistofpotentialneighbours.TheareabetweentheHandoverstartandtheHandoverendconsti
tutestheareainwhichAtollwillsearchforneighbours.

UMTS:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.pilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

MinRSRP:SelecttheMinRSRPcheckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheMinRSRP.Ifyousetaglobal
MinRSRPvaluehere,AtollwilleitherusethisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whicheverishigher.
RSRPMargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell(cellA),at
whichthehandoverprocessends.

8. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
9. GSM:YoucanselectwhetherAtolldefinestheimportanceofneighboursbythesizeofthehandoverzonesharedwith
thereferencetransmitterorbytheamountofcircuittraffic.Selectoneofthefollowingoptions:

CoveredArea:IfyouselectCoveredArea,Atolldefinestheimportanceaccordingtothesizeofthehandoverzone
sharedwiththereferencetransmitter
CoveredTraffic:IfyouselectCoveredTraffic,Atolldefinestheimportanceaccordingtotheamountofcircuit
traffic(inErlangs).

10. Inthe%Min.CoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellsortransmitterscoverageareathatthe
neighbourscoverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.

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11. Thefollowingadditionalconstraintscanbeselectedintheframeontheright:

Forcecositecellsasneighbours(UMTSandLTE)orForcecositetransmittersasneighbours(GSM):Selectthis
checkboxtoincludecositecellsortransmittersintheresultingneighbourslist.Thecheckboxisautomatically
selectedwhenneighbourallocationisbasedondistance.
Forceadjacentcellsasneighbours(UMTSandLTE),orForceIntraHCSAdjacentsasNeighboursandForceInter
HCSAdjacentsasNeighbours(GSM):Selectthis(ese)checkbox(es)ifyouwantcellsortransmittersthatareadja
centtothereferencecellortransmittertobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.Acellortransmitteriscon
sidered adjacent if there is at least one pixel in the reference cells or transmitters coverage area where the
possibleneighbourisbestserverorsecondbestserverinthereferencecellortransmittersactiveset(respecting
thehandovermargin).
ThisoptiondoesnotapplytointercarrierneighbourallocationsinUMTS.

Forcesymmetry:SelecttheForcesymmetrycheckboxifyouwantneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inother
words,areferencecellortransmitterwillbeapossibleneighbourtoallofthecellsortransmitterthatareits
neighbours.Iftheneighbourlistofanycellortransmitterisfull,thereferencecellortransmitterwillnotbeadded
asaneighbourandthatcellortransmitterwillberemovedfromthelistofneighboursofthereferencecellor
transmitter.
Forceexceptionalpairs:SelectingtheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxwillapplytheexceptionalpaircriteriato
theneighbourslist.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectingtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighbours
intheneighbourslistandperformacleanneighbourallocation.IftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisnot
selected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.
UMTS:Carriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;
Atollwillallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers.

12. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingintratechnologyneighbours.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhether
thepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculates
them.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell(UMTSandLTE)orTransmitter(GSM):Thenameofthereferencecellortransmitter.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencecellortransmitter.
MaximumNumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencecellortransmittercanhave.
Neighbour:Thecellortransmitterthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencecellortransmitter.
Importance (%): The importance. For information on defining neighbour importance, see "Configuring Impor
tanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1111.
Cause: The reason Atoll has allocated the possible neighbour cell or transmitter (identified in the Neighbour
column)tothereferencecellortransmitter(identifiedintheCellorTransmittercolumn):

CoSite
Adjacent(inGSM,referstointraHCSadjacency)
AdjacentLayer(inGSM,referstointerHCSadjacency)
Symmetric
Coverage
Existing

Coverage:Theamountofreferencecellortransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentage
andinsquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencecellortransmitter,inpercentageandsquarekilometres,wheretheneigh
bourcellortransmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.

13. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintratechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocumentbyclickingtheComparebutton:
Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscomparedwiththeexistinglist
ofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaReport.txtwhichappears
attheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

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Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocationresults
comparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofdeletedneighbourrelations(neighbourrelationsnotproposedintheautomaticallocationresults
comparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheautomatic
allocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

14. ClicktheCommitbutton.Theallocatedintratechnologyneighboursaresaved.
15. ClickClose.
Bydefault,theautomaticneighbourallocationcomparesthedefinedmaximuminter
sitedistancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,whenyoulookata
cellsneighbourstableafteracommit,youmayfindcaseswheretherealdistance
betweenassignedneighboursishigherthanthedefinedmaximumintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectiveintercelldistanceissmaller.Toavoidthat,youcanforcethereal
intersitedistancetobecomparedwiththedefinedmaximumintersitedistanceby
addinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

10.2.9.2.4

AllocatingandDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintratechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofintra
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintratechnologyneighbourspercellortransmitter.Youcanallocateordelete
intertechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogboxinUMTSandLTE,theintratechnol
ogyNeighbourstabinGSM,orusingtheIntratechnologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page1115.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntratechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage1116.

AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
YoucanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogboxinUMTS
andLTE.InGSM,theIntratechnologyNeighbourstabeachpairoftechnologiesisavailableineachtransmittersProperties
dialogbox.
ToallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursbetweentransmittersorcellsusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersProp
ertiesdialogboxinUMTSandLTE:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.InthecellsPropertiesdialogbox,
thereisatabforeachpairoftechnologies(forexample,LTEGSMneighboursorLTEUMTSneighbours).
5. ClicktheNeighbourstabfortechnologypairforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighbours.
6. Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumnumberofneighbours.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellortransmitterfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNew
Rowicon(
).
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheTypeto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.

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d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntratechnologyNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursbetweentransmittersorcellsusingtheIntratechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintratech
nologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)thenselect
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Theintertechnologyneighbourtableappears.
5. Enteroneintratechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellortransmittercanhavemorethanoneintratech
nologyneighbour.
Toallocateanintratechnologyneighbour:
),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumninLTEorUMTS.InGSM,
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
selectareferencetransmitterfromtheTransmittercolumn.
b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecellor
transmitterandtheneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheTypeto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellor
transmitterintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn(UMTSandLTE)orthetransmitterinthe
Transmittercolumn(GSM).
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.

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Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsiderationinallocatingordeletingneighbours:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.AllforcedneighbourswillbeaddedtotheNeighboursta
bleandallforbiddenneighbourswillberemoved.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexceptionalpairstobetakeninto
considerationintheneighbourlist,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.

10.2.9.2.5

CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntratechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintratechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintratechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintratechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintratechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.

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Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportanceof
intratechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)thenselect
CalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceEvaluationdialogboxappears,withone
tab,theIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,setthefollowingparameters:

MaxIntersiteDistance:Sitesoutsidethedefineddistancewillnotbeconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.

TakeIntoAccounttheCositeFactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedonthesamesite
astheirreferencecellortransmitterwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.
TakeIntoAccounttheAdjacencyFactor:(UMTSandLTE)Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursareadja
centtotheirreferencecellwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.
TakeIntoAccountIntraHCSAdjacency:(GSM)SelectthischeckboxtoverifythatintraHCSneighboursareadja
centtotheirreferencetransmitterwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.
TakeIntoAccountInterHCSAdjacency:(GSM)SelectthischeckboxtoverifythatinterHCSneighboursareadja
centtotheirreferencetransmitterwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.

6. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,clicktheDefinebuttontosetcoverageconditionsofintra
technologyneighboursforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportance.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsortransmittersfortheauto
maticneighbourallocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

Additionally,ifyouarecalculatingtheimportanceofintratechnologyneighboursinaGSMnetwork,youcanchange
thefollowingparameters:

MinBCCHsignallevel:EntertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAandpossible
neighbourcellB.
Handoverstart(HOmargin):Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatesthebeginningofthehandovermargin.The
handoverstartmustbeoutsideofthebestserverareaofthereferencetransmitter.
Handoverend:Enterthesignallevelwhichindicatestheendofthehandovermargin.Thehandoverendmust
exceedthevalueenteredfortheHandoverstart.ThehigherthevalueenteredfortheHandoverend,thelonger
thelistofpotentialneighbours.TheareabetweentheHandoverstartandtheHandoverendconstitutesthearea
inwhichAtollwillsearchforneighbours.

Additionally,ifyouarecalculatingtheimportanceofintratechnologyneighboursinaUMTSnetwork,youcanchange
thefollowingparameters:

Minpilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthebest
serverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlinkload
forallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.

Additionally,ifyouarecalculatingtheimportanceofintratechnologyneighboursinaLTEnetwork,youcanchange
thefollowingparameter:

GlobalminRSRP:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheMinRSRP.Ifyousetaglobalvalue
here,AtollwilleitherusethisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whicheverishigher.
RSRPmargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell(cellA),at
whichthehandoverprocessends.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.

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YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingtheFilterbutton,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneigh
bourstobecalculated.
8. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable,ifany.
Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathloss
matricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.TheEventViewerdialogboxappears.
9. IntheEventViewerdialogbox,clickClosewhenAtollhasfinishedcalculatingtheimportance.Theresultsaredis
playedintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxinthetableunderResults.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation:

Cell(UMTSandLTE)orTransmitter(GSM):Thenameofthereferencecellortransmitter.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.
CoSite
Adjacent(inGSM,referstointraHCSadjacency)
AdjacentLayer(inGSM,referstointerHCSadjacency)
Symmetric
Coverage
Relationtype:(UMTSandLTE).Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation:intracarrierorintercarrier.Cellswhosechan
nelshavethesamecentrefrequencyareintracarrierneighbours.Othercellsareintercarrierneighbours.
Coverage:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingcoverageoverlapping,Atollgivestheamountofrefer
encetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandsquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitterorcell,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneigh
bourtransmitterorcellisbestserverorsecondbestserver.
Distance:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingintersitedistance,Atollgivesthedistanceinkilometres
betweenthereferencecellortransmitterandtheneighbour.

10. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.
11. ClickClosetoexittheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.

10.2.9.2.6

CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntratechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintratechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformsuchanaudit,Atoll
liststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintratechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoperformanauditofthecur
rentintratechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)thenselect
thenselectAuditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:
If you are auditing the intratechnology neighbour allocation plan for a UMTS network,
selecttheNeighbourtype:"Intracarrier"or"Intercarrier".

Averageno.ofneighbours:SelecttheAverageno.ofneighbourscheckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaverage
numberofneighbourspercellortransmitter.
Emptylists:SelecttheEmptylistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavenoneighbours
(inotherwords,whichcellsortransmittershaveanemptyneighbourlist).
Fulllists(=maxnumber):SelecttheFulllistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavethe
maximumnumberofneighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellsortransmittershaveafullneighbourlist).
Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitter
intheCellstable(inGSM,youcanspecifythemaximumnumberofneighboursforeachtransmitterusingthe
Transmitterstable).
Lists>maxnumber:SelecttheLists>maxnumbercheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershave
morethanthemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeitherset

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hereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable(inGSM,youcanspecifythemaximum
numberofneighboursforeachtransmitterusingtheTransmitterstable).
Missingcosites:SelecttheMissingcositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavenoco
siteneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:SelecttheMissingsymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmitters
havenonsymmetricneighbourrelations.
Exceptionalpairs:SelecttheExceptionalpairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershave
forcedneighboursorforbiddenneighbours.
Distance between neighbours: Select the Distance between neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;whereXistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellortransmitter
fortheauditedneighbourallocationplan.

EmptyLists:x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(orempty
neighbourslist)
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotalofXhaving
Yneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotal
ofXhavingmorethanYneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFulllistscheckandtheLists>maxnumbercheckusetheDefaultmaxnumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursintheauditedneighbourplanthatarelocated
atadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

10.2.9.3 PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours
Atollenablesyoutocarryoutintertechnologyneighbourplanningin3GPPmultiRATnetworks.Forexample,youcanallocate
neighbourGSMsectorstoUMTSorLTEcells.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

10.2.9.3.1

"DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage1120
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1120
"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1121
"AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage1123
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1126
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage1127.

DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucandefineintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Additionally,Atollenablesyou
to set different constraints for each radio access technology you are modelling in the 3GPP multiRAT network. These
constraintscanbetakenintoaccountwhenintertechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.InGSM,
neighboursandexceptionalpairsareallocatedbytransmitter(i.e.,bysector).InUMTSandLTE,neighboursandexceptional
pairsareallocatedbycell.

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Todefineintertechnologyexceptionalpairs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclick the Transmitters folder of the radio access technology for which you want to define intertechnology
exceptionalpairs.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttodefinetheexceptionalpairs(GSM,UMTS,
orLTE)andthenselectExceptionalPairs.Anexceptionalpairstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetech
nologies(forexample,"GSMLTE").
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Acellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Transmitter(GSM)orCell(UMTSorLTE):Thenameofthetransmitterorcellasthefirstpartoftheexceptional
pair.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.

10.2.9.3.2

ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintertechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoconfiguretheimportancefac
torsforintertechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyfromwhichintertechnologyneighbourswillbeassigned(GSM,
UMTS, or LTE) then select Configure Importance from the context menu. The Neighbour Importance Weighting
dialogboxappears.
When you define intertechnology neighbour importance factors for one radio access
technology,Atollusesthesameimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighboursfrom
allotherradioaccesstechnologies.
5. IntheNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogbox,setthefollowingimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneigh
bours.

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourcellortransmitterbeing
locatedwithinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
Cosite Factor: Set the minimum and maximum importance of a possible neighbour cell or transmitter being
locatedonthesamesiteasthereferencecellortransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedinautomaticinter
technologyneighbourallocationifyouselecttheForceCositeasNeighbourscheckboxintheAutomaticNeigh
bourAllocationdialogbox.Forinformationonautomaticintertechnologyneighbourallocation,see"Allocating
IntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1121.

6. ClickOK.

10.2.9.3.3

AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallydeterminehandoverrelationsbetweennetworksofdifferenttechnologies.Intertechnologyhando
versfrommightoccurwhenthecoverageofagivenradioaccesstechnologyisnotcontinuous.Thenetworksoverallcoverage
isextendedbyanintertechnologyhandover.Intertechnologyneighboursarestoredinthedatabase.
BysettinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanpreventAtollfromallocatingintertech
nologyneighbourstoUMTScellslocatedonsiteswhoseequipmentdoesnotsupportthe
compressedmode.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.

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Toautomaticallyallocateintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateinter
technologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateintertechnology
neighbours(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthenselectAutomaticAllocation.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialog
boxappearswithonetab,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. BesideMaxintersitedistance,definethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellortransmitterandapossible
neighbour.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
6. BesideMaxno.ofneighbours,definethemaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedto
acellortransmitter.Thisvaluecaneitherbesethereforallthecellsortransmitters,orspecifiedforeachcellortrans
mitterintheCellstable.
7. CleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourallocationondistanceandgotothefollowingstep,
orselecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourallocationoncoverageconditions.
TherearetwoDefinebuttonsbelowtheUseCoverageConditionscheckbox:

The first button allows you to define coverage conditions for the technology in
whichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateintertechnologyneighbours.
Thesecondbuttonallowsyoutodefinecoverageconditionsfortheothertech
nology.

a. ClickthefirstDefinebutton.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsortransmittersforthe
automaticneighbourallocation.
ShadowingTakenIntoAccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Thesearedefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

GSM:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

MinBCCHSignalLevel:EntertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAandpossi
bleneighbourcellB.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

UMTS:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

MinPilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
MinEc/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

b. ClickthesecondDefinebuttonandchangecoverageconditionsfortheothertechnology.
c. Inthe%Min.CoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthetransmittersorcellscoverageareathat
theneighbourscoverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.
8. Ifnecessary,youcanselectadditionalconstraintsintheframeontheright:

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Carriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;Atoll
willallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarrier(s).

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ThisoptionisavailableforintertechnologyneighbourallocationinvolvingUMTS.

ForceCositeasNeighbours:Selectingthischeckboxwillincludethecositetransmitters/cellsintheneighbour
listoftheUMTScell.Thecheckboxisautomaticallyselectedwhentheneighbourallocationisbasedondistance.
ForceExceptionalPairs:Selectingthischeckboxwillapplytheintertechnologyexceptionalpaircriteriaonthe
neighbourslistoftheUMTScell.
DeleteExistingNeighbours:Selectingthischeckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighboursintheneighbourslistand
performacleanneighbourallocation.Ifitisnotselected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.

9. ClicktheCalculatebuttontostartcalculations.
10. Oncethecalculationsfinish,AtolldisplaysthelistofneighboursintheResultssection.Theresultsincludethenames
oftheneighbours,thenumberofneighboursofeachcellortransmitter,andthereasontheyareincludedintheneigh
bourslistundertheCausecolumn.Thereasonsinclude:
Reason

Description

When

ExceptionalPair

Neighbourrelationisdefinedasanexceptionalpair.

Forceexceptionalpairs
isselected

Cosite

Theneighbourislocatedatthesamesiteasthereference
cellortransmitter.

Forcecositeasneighbours
isselected

Distance

Theneighbouriswithinthemaximumdistancefromthe
referencecellortransmitter.

Usecoverageconditions
isnotselected

Coverage

Neighbourrelationthatfulfilscoverageconditions.

Usecoverageconditions
isselected

Existing

Theneighbourrelationexistedbeforerunningtheautomatic
allocation.

Resetisnotselected

11. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintertechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txtwhichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberof deleted neighbour relations (neighbour relationsnot proposed intheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

12. ClicktheCommitbutton.Theallocatedintertechnologyneighboursaresaved.
13. ClickClose.
Bydefault,theautomaticneighbourallocationcomparesthedefinedmaximuminter
sitedistancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,whenyoulookata
cellsneighbourstableafteracommit,youmayfindcaseswheretherealdistance
betweenassignedneighboursishigherthanthedefinedmaximumintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectiveintercelldistanceissmaller.Toavoidthat,youcanforcethereal
intersitedistancetobecomparedwiththedefinedmaximumintersitedistanceby
addinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

10.2.9.3.4

AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintertechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofinter
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintertechnologyneighbourspercell.Youcanallocateordeleteintertech

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nologyneighboursdirectlyonthemap,orusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogboxinUMTSandLTE,the
intertechnologyNeighbourstabinGSM,orusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page1123.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage1124
"AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap"onpage1133.

AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
YoucanallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogboxinUMTS
andLTE.InGSM,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstabeachpairoftechnologiesisavailableineachtransmittersProperties
dialogbox.
ToallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmittersorcellsusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersProp
ertiesdialogboxinUMTSandLTE:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecellforwhichyou
wanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappears.InthecellsPropertiesdialogbox,
thereisatabforeachpairoftechnologies(forexample,LTEGSMneighboursorLTEUMTSneighbours).
5. ClicktheNeighbourstabfortechnologypairforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighbours.
6. Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumnumberofneighbours.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. UnderList,selectthecellortransmitterfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNew
Rowicon(
).
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheTypeto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.

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c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweentransmittersorcellsusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintertechnologyneigh
bours(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthenselectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Theintertechnologyneighbourtable
appears.
5. Enteroneintertechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellortransmittercanhavemorethanoneintertech
nologyneighbour.
Toallocateanintertechnologyneighbour:
1. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumninLTEorUMTS.InGSM,
selectareferencetransmitterfromtheTransmittercolumn.
2. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
3. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
4. Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecellandthe
neighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheTypeto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectMakeSymmetrical fromthe contextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationis created betweenthecellor
transmitterintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
1. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcontigu
ousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrowsby
pressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
2. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsiderationinallocatingordeletingneighbours:
1. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.AllforcedneighbourswillbeaddedtotheNeighbourstable
andallforbiddenneighbourswillberemoved.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexceptionalpairstobetakeninto
considerationintheneighbourlist,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.

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c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellorTransmittercolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.

10.2.9.3.5

CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintertechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintertechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintertechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintertechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportanceof
intertechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyoftheintertechnologyneighbours(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthen
selectCalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceEvaluationdialogboxappears,with
onetab,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,setthefollowingparameters:

Maxintersitedistance:Enterthemaximumdistancebetweenanytwosites.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximum
intersitedistancewillnotbeconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitializationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.

Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedonthesamesite
astheirreferencecellortransmitterwhencalculatingimportance.

6. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourimportancecalculationondistance,andjumptothe
followingstep.
OrselecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourimportancecalculationoncoverageconditions.

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TherearetwoDefinebuttonsbelowtheUseCoverageConditionscheckbox:

The first button allows you to define coverage conditions for the technology in
whichyouwanttocalculateintertechnologyneighbourimportance.
Thesecondbuttonallowsyoutodefinecoverageconditionsfortheothertech
nology.

a. ClickthefirstDefinebutton.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsortransmittersforthe
automaticneighbourallocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

GSM:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.BCCHsignallevel:EntertheminimumsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAandpossi
bleneighbourcellB.
Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

UMTS:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.pilotsignallevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/Iomargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

b. ClickthesecondDefinebuttonandchangecoverageconditionsfortheothertechnology.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingtheFilterbutton,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneigh
bourstobecalculated.
7. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell(UMTSorLTE)orTransmitter(GSM):Thenameofthereferencecellortransmitter.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Symmetry
Coverage

Distance:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingintersitedistance,Atollgivesthedistanceinkilometres
betweenthereferencecellortransmitterandtheneighbour.

Coverage:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingcoverageoverlapping,Atollgivestheamountofrefer
encetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres.

8. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

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CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrent
intertechnologyneighbourallocationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovides
intheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoperformanauditofthecur
rentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyoftheintertechnologyneighbours(GSM,UMTS,orLTE)andthen
selectAuditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappearswithonetab,theIntertechnology
Neighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

Averageno.ofneighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaveragenumberofneighbourspercell
ortransmitter.
Emptylists:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavenoneighbours(inother
words,whichcellsortransmittershaveanemptyneighbourlist).
Fulllists:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavethemaximumnumberof
neighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellsortransmittershaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumber
ofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable(in
GSM,youcanspecifythemaximumnumberofneighboursforeachtransmitterusingtheTransmitterstable).
Lists>maxnumber:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavemorethanthemax
imumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmit
ters, or specified for each transmitter in the Cells table (in GSM, you can specify the maximum number of
neighboursforeachtransmitterusingtheTransmitterstable).
Missingcosites:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavenocositeneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershavenonsymmetric
neighbourrelations.
Exceptionalpairs:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellsortransmittershaveforcedneighboursor
forbiddenneighbours.
Distancebetweenneighbours:Selectthischeckboxandenterthedistancebetweenneighboursthatshouldnot
beexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellortransmitter
fortheplanaudited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbours
list):
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberof
neighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsortransmittersoutofatotalofXhaving
morethanYnumberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFulllistscheckandtheLists>maxnumbercheckusetheDefaultmaxnumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

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|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.

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Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursintheauditedneighbourplanthatarelocated
atadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

10.2.9.4 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

10.2.9.4.1

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage1128.
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell"onpage1131.

DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Youcandisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelationstostudyhandoverpossibilities.

Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofacellortransmitteronthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.

Figure10.12:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
3. UnderNeighbours,selecttheDisplaylinkscheckbox.

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4. ClickthearrowbesidetheDisplaylinkscheckbox.Thecontextmenuappears.
a. Fromthecontextmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefinethedisplayoptions.Thecorrespond
ingNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.

Figure10.13:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
b. IntheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox,selecttheIntratechnologyNeighbourstaboranintertechnology
neighbourstab(e.g.theLTEUMTSNeighbourstab).
c. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttocolourallneighbourlinksofacellortransmitterwithauniquecolour.
Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab:
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksofthecellortransmitteraccordingtotheir
"Importance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftheType"Integer"intheIntratechnologyNeighbourstablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Selectorclearthevisibilitycheckboxtodisplayorhide
individualneighbourlinkdisplaytypes.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
d. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
e. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationisdisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
f. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
5. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplayunderAdvanced:

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Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cell
isthereferencetransmitter/cellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cellis
neighbourandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.

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Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitter/cellandtheneighbour.
Intertechnologyonly:Selectthisoptiontohideintratechnologyneighbourlinks.

6. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

7. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
8. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
9. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

10. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
11. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

12. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure10.14).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure10.14:DisplayingNeighbourLinks
NeighbourlinksaredisplayedingreyifnoshadingisdefinedfortheValueassignedto
themintheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.Theyarenotdisplayedifthecheckbox
correspondingtotheassignedValueiscleared.
13. Torestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
Planningtoolbar.

10.2.9.4.2

)intheRadio

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareaofacellsneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicintheNeighbourstable.

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Itemswithoutanydefinedshadingappearasgreylines.

Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofacellortransmitter:
1. Create, calculate, and display a "Coverage by transmitter (DL)" prediction, with the Display Type set to "Discrete
Values"andtheFieldsetto"Cell"or"Transmitter"(forinformationoncreatingacoveragebytransmitterprediction,
see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure10.12 on
page1129.
4. UnderNeighbours,selecttheDisplayCoverageAreascheckboxandclicktheArrowbuttonbesideit.Thecontext
menuappears.
5. Fromthecontextmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefinethedisplayoptions.Thecorresponding
NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.SeeFigure10.13onpage1130.
a. IntheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox,selecttheIntratechnologyNeighbourstaboranintertechnology
neighbourstab(e.g.theLTEUMTSNeighbourstab).
b. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourallneighbourcoverageareasofcellsortransmitterswithauniquecolour.
DiscreteValues:Selectthisoption,andthenavaluefromtheFieldlist,tocolourtheneighbourcoverageareas
ofthecellsortransmittersautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourcoverageareasofthecellsortransmittersaccord
ingtotheir"Importance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftheType"Integer"intheIntratechnologyNeighbourtablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourcoveragearea.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,selectunderAdvancedtheneighbourrelationsthatyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cell
isthereferencetransmitter/cellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cellis
neighbourandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitter/cellandtheneighbour.
Intertechnologyonly:Selectthisoptiontohideintratechnologyneighbourlinks.

7. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

8. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.

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9. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
10. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

11. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourcoverageareastodisplay.
12. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

13. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourcoverageareas:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure10.14).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure10.15:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
14. Torestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
Planningtoolbar.

)intheRadio

10.2.9.5 AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap
You can allocate intratechnology and intertechnology neighbours directly on the map using the mouse. Atoll adds or
removesneighbourstotransmittersifthedisplayoptionissettoNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayonthemapofthetypeofneighbour
(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)youwanttoaddorremoveasexplainedin
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage1128.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
the list ofneighbours (eitherintratechnology orintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)of theother
transmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitter
fromthelistofneighbours(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)oftheother
transmitter.

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Toaddanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofneighbour(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)ofthe
othertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromthelistofneighbours(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)
oftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. Therecanbetwocases:

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricneighbour(eitherintratechnologyorinter
technology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)relation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingSHIFTandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.Thenpress
CTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricneigh
bour(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)relation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheneighbourslist(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)oftheother
transmitter.
WhenthereismorethanonecellonaUMTSorLTEtransmitter,clickingthetransmitterin
the map window opens a context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

10.2.9.6 DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandisplayexceptionalpairsonthemapinordertostudytheforcedandforbiddenneighbourrelationsdefinedinthe
intraorintertechnologyExceptionalPairstable.

10.2.9.6.1

DisplayingForcedNeighbours
Todisplayforcedneighboursonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectForcedNeighboursfromthemenu.

3. Ifdesired,changethedisplaysettingsoftheforcedneighbours:
a. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

b. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
c. Proceedasshownintheprevioussections:

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To change thedisplaysettingsofforced neighbourscoverageareas,see "Displayingthe CoverageofEach

NeighbourofaCell"onpage1131.

4. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

5. Selectatransmitterorcelltoshowitsforcedneighbourslinksandcoverageareas.

10.2.9.6.2

DisplayingForbiddenNeighbours
Todisplayforbiddenneighboursonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectForbiddenNeighboursfromthemenu.

3. Ifnecessary,changethedisplaysettingsoftheforbiddenneighbours:
a. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

b. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
c. Proceedasshownintheprevioussections:

Tochangethedisplaysettingsofforbiddenneighbourslinks,see"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"
onpage1128.
Tochangethedisplaysettingsofforbiddenneighbourscoverageareas,see"DisplayingtheCoverageofEach
NeighbourofaCell"onpage1131.

4. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

5. Selectatransmitterorcelltoshowitsforbiddenneighbourlinksandcoverageareas.

10.2.9.7 AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandefinebothintraandintertechnologyexceptionalpairsusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesforcedorforbidden
exceptionalpairsdependingonthedisplayoptionset,i.e.,ForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.Thenewexceptional
pairwillbeaddedtotheintratechnologyexceptionalpairsifbothtransmittersusethesameradioaccesstechnology.Ifthey
usedifferentradioaccesstechnologies,thenewexceptionalpairwillbeaddedtotheintertechnologyexceptionalpairs.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveexceptionalpairsusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofexceptionalpairsonthe
mapasexplainedin"DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1134.
Toaddasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesboth
transmittersfromthelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovestheref
erencetransmitterfromthelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.

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Toaddaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricexceptionalpairrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertrans
mitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingexceptionalpairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricexceptional
pairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconverts
thesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesthe
transmitterfromtheexceptionalpairslistoftheothertransmitter.
Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

10.2.10 AllocatingResourcesina3GPPMultiRATNetwork
In3GPPmultiRATnetworks,allocatingresourcessuchasGSMfrequencies,UMTSscramblingcodes,andLTEphysicalcellIDs
isanimportantpartofaradioplanningproject.Theresourcesandproceduresaredifferentdependingontheradioaccess
technology.Thewayresourcesareallocatedina3GPPmultiRATnetworkisthesamethanthewaytheyareallocatedina
singleRATnetwork.
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,theautomaticallocationsofBSICBCCH(usingtheGSMAFP),scramblingcodes(UMTS),and
physicalcellIDs(usingtheLTEAFP)takeintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsintoaccount.Forexample,differentphysical
cellIDsareassignedtotwoLTEcellsthatareneighboursofthesameGSMtransmitterorUMTScell.

10.2.10.1 AllocatingResourcesinGSM
Allocating GSMspecific resources is explained in Chapter 6: GSM/GPRS/EDGE Networks. Before allocating resources, you
havetoestimatetherequirednumberofTRXsinoneofthefollowingways:

Youcanimportorcreatetrafficmapsandusethemasabasisfordimensioning(see"StudyingNetworkCapacity"on
page311intheGSMGPRSEDGEsection).
YoucandefinethemmanuallyeitherontheTRXstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxorintheSubcells
table(see"ModifyingaSubcell"onpage246).

OnceyouhavetherequirednumberofTRXs,manuallyorautomaticallycreateafrequencyplan.

Allocating frequencies, BSICs, HSNs, and MAIOs is explained in "Allocating Frequencies, BSICs, HSNs, MALs, and
MAIOs"onpage342
UsingtheoptionalAtollmoduleisexplainedin"TheAtollAFPModule"onpage394.

10.2.10.2 AllocatingResourcesinUMTS
AllocatingUMTSspecificresourcesisexplainedinChapter7:UMTSHSPANetworks:

Allocatingandplanningscramblingcodesisexplainedin"PlanningScramblingCodes"onpage614.

10.2.10.3 AllocatingResourcesinLTE
AllocatingLTEspecificresourcesisexplainedinChapter9:LTENetworks:

Allocatingandplanningfrequenciesisexplainedin"PlanningFrequencies"onpage975.
AllocatingandplanningphysicalcellIDsisexplainedin"PlanningPhysicalCellIDs"onpage977.

10.3 StudyingNetworkCapacity
InAtoll,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofusersatagivenpointintime.Thedistributionofusersatagiven
momentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvariousnetworkparameterssuchas:

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ForGSMtraffic:thedownlinkanduplinktrafficloads,theuplinknoiserise,etc.
For UMTS traffic: the active set for each mobile, the required power of the mobile, the total DL power and DL
throughputpercell,andtheULloadpercell.
ForLTEtraffic:thedownlinkanduplinktrafficloads,theuplinknoiserise,theuserthroughputs,etc.

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Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesame
trafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbedifferent,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhave
variationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshottoanother.
Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsmust
beprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapshavebeencreated,youcanmakesimulationsof
thenetworktraffic.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"ImportingOMCTrafficDatainGSM"onpage1137
"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage1137
"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1137
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage1139
"ExportingaTrafficMap"onpage1149
"CalculatingandDisplayingaGSMTrafficCapture"onpage1149
"DimensioningaGSMNetwork"onpage1149
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage1149
"AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation"onpage1157.

10.3.1 ImportingOMCTrafficDatainGSM
WhenmodellingGSM,OMCtrafficdatacanbeusedasasourceofaccuratetrafficdata.YoucanimportitintotheSubcells
Table:TrafficData.ThedataintheSubcellsTable:TrafficDatacanbeusedforavarietyofdifferentpurposesinAtoll:

Fordimensioningpurposes
Tocalculatequalityindicators
FortheAFP
Toevaluateandallocateneighbours
Ininterferencepredictions.

ForinformationonimportingOMCtrafficdatainGSM,see"ImportingOMCTrafficDataintotheSubcellsTable:TrafficData"
onpage312inChapter6:GSM/GPRS/EDGENetworks.

10.3.2 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinmakingasimulationisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallofthe
parametersofnetworkuse,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

R99radiobearers:BearerservicesareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformationintheUMTSpartofthenetwork.
TheR99RadioBearertablelistsalltheavailableradiobearers.YoucancreatenewR99radiobearersandmodify
existingonesbyusingtheR99RadioBearertable.ForinformationondefiningR99radiobearers,see"DefiningR99
RadioBearers"onpage697.
LTEradiobearers:Radiobearersareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.TheLTERadioBearertablelistsall
theavailableradiobearers.YoucancreatenewradiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheLTERadioBearer
table.Forinformationondefiningradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasvoice,mobileinternetaccess,etc.,availabletosubscribers.These
servicescanbeeithercircuitswitchedorpacketswitcheddependingontheradioaccesstechnologyandthetypeof
application.Forinformationonmodellingenduserservices,see"Modelling3GPPMultiRATServices"onpage1138.
Mobilitytype:GSM/GPRS/EDGE,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanageconnections:
amobileusedbyadrivermovingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesameHCSlayer.In
UMTS,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanagetheactiveset:amobileusedbyadriver
movingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.EcI0requirementsand
EbNttargetsperradiobearerandperlink(uplinkordownlink)arelargelydependentonmobilespeed.InLTE,infor
mationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttodeterminetheusersradioconditionsandthroughputs.Forinforma
tiononcreatingamobilitytype,see"Modelling3GPPMultiRATMobilityTypes"onpage1138.
Terminals:Aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracars
onboardnavigationdevice.Forinformationoncreatingaterminal,see"Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals"on
page1139.

10.3.3 ServiceandUserModelling
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,thetrafficparametersaresharedbyalltechnologies.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"Modelling3GPPMultiRATServices"onpage1138.
"Modelling3GPPMultiRATMobilityTypes"onpage1138.

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"Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals"onpage1139.

10.3.3.1 Modelling3GPPMultiRATServices
Servicesarethevariousservicesavailabletousers.Thissectionexplainshowtocreateaservice.
Beforeyoucanmodelservices,youmustdefinebearersinUMTSandLTE:

FormoreinformationondefiningUMTSR99bearers,see"DefiningR99RadioBearers"onpage697.
FormoreinformationondefiningLTEradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.

Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheServicesfolder,andselectNewfrom
thecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucaneditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewservice.Youcanchangethefollowingparameters.

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucansetamoredescriptivename.
Activityfactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkactivityfactorsareusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofactivityforusers
accessingtheserviceduringMonteCarlosimulations.Forpacketswitchedservices,thisparameterisusedwhen
workingwithsectortraffic mapsand userdensitytrafficmaps.Forcircuitswitchedservices,theparameteris
takenintoconsiderationwithanytrafficmap.
AverageRequestedThroughput:Youcanentertheaveragerequestedthroughputforuplinkanddownlink.This
throughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Howtheaveragerequestedthroughput
isusedinAtolldependsonthetypeofservice:

AllexceptPacket(HSPA):Thisthroughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Itis
usedinsimulationsduringuserdistributiongenerationtocalculatethenumberofusersattemptingaconnec
tionandtodeterminetheiractivitystatus.
Packet(HSPA):Thisthroughputistherequestedaveragethroughputwhichguaranteesaminimumaverage
throughputduringanHSUPAcall.Itisusedtwiceinasimulation:onceduringuserdistributiongenerationin
ordertocalculatethenumberofHSUPAusersattemptingaconnectionandthenduringpowercontrolasa
qualitytargettobecomparedtotherealobtainedaveragethroughput.
Technologypriorities:ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideTechnologyprioritiestoopenadialogboxenablingyouto
definethetechnologiesthatcanusethisserviceandtheirpriority.

Toselectatechnologythatcanusethisservice,selectthetechnologyintheAvailabletechnologieslistand

click
tomoveittotheSelectedtechnologieslist.
ToremoveatechnologyfromthelistofSelectedtechnologies,selectthetechnologyintheSelectedtechnol
ogieslistandclick

tomoveittotheAvailabletechnologieslist.

Tochangethepriorityofthetechnologies,selectatechnologyandclick or tomoveitupordowninthe
list.Thetechnologyatthetopofthelisthasthehighestpriority.
ClickOKtoclosethedialogboxandreturntotheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox.

3. Clickthetabofthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefineparametersforthisservice.Thewaytheserviceisdefined
foreachtechnologyisidenticalthanthewayaserviceisdefinedinasingleRATnetwork.
GSM:ForinformationondefiningaGSMservice,see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGEService"onpage509.
UMTS:ForinformationondefiningaUMTSservice,see"ModellingServices"onpage561.
LTE:ForinformationondefiningaLTEservice,see"ModellingServices"onpage927.
4. ClickOK.

10.3.3.2 Modelling3GPPMultiRATMobilityTypes
Informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportanttoefficientlymanagetraffic.InamultilayerGSM/GPRS/EDGEnetwork,a
mobileusertravellingatahighspeedisusuallyallocatedachannelonthemacrolayer.InUMTS,EcI0requirementsandEbNt
targetsperradiobearerandperlink(upanddown)arelargelydependentonmobilespeed.InLTE,informationaboutthe
receivermobilityisrequiredfordeterminingwhichbearerselectionthresholdandqualitygraphtousefromtheLTEequip
mentreferredtointheterminalorcell.

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Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox:

Name:Enteradescriptivenameforthemobilitytype.
AverageSpeed:Enteranaveragespeedforthemobilitytype.Thisfieldisforinformationonly;theaveragespeed
isnotusedbyanycalculation.

3. IfyouaremodellingUMTSinyour3GPPmultiRATnetwork,clicktheUMTStabandsetthefollowingparameters.

EcI0Threshold:UnderActivesetmanagement,enterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitter
toentertheactiveset.Thisvaluemustbeverifiedforthebestserver.
HSSCCHEcNtthreshold:UnderHSDPA,enterormodifytheminimumqualityrequiredinorderfortheHSDPA
linktobeavailable.ThisparameterisusedbyAtolltodeterminetheHSSCCHpowerwhentheuserhasselected
dynamic allocation in the cell properties. For static allocation, Atoll calculates the HSSCCH EcNt from the
HSSCCHpowersetinthecellpropertiesandcomparesittothisthreshold.ThisfieldisonlyusedwithHSDPA.

4. ClickOK.

10.3.3.3 Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals
InAtoll,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracarsonboard
navigationdevice.
Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheTerminalsfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucaneditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewterminal.Youcanchangethefollowingparameters.

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucansetamoredescriptivename.
Supportedtechnologies:ClickthearrownexttoSupportedtechnologiesandselectthecheckboxofeachtech
nologysupportedbythisterminal.

3. Clickthetabofthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefineparametersforthisterminal.Thewaytheterminalis
definedforeachtechnologyisidenticalthanthewayaterminalisdefinedinasingleRATnetwork.
ForinformationondefiningaGSMservice,see"CreatingorModifyingaGSM/GPRS/EDGETerminal"onpage511.For
informationondefiningaUMTSservice,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage564.ForinformationondefiningaLTE
service,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage929.
4. ClickOK.

10.3.4 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
Atollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmaps.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm)

Thesemapscanbecreatedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficdatasourcesasfollows:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
thenumberofusersorthethroughputineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Traffic
is spread over the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either the
throughputsintheuplinkandinthedownlinkorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusorthetotalnumberofusers
(includingallactivitystatuses).Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage1140.

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Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on
page1142.

Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatuses,oritcorrespondstoaparticular
activitystatus.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1147.

10.3.4.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThissectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.
ForGSMtraffic,youcaninputeitherthethroughputdemandorErlangs.ForUMTSandLTEtraffic,youcaninputeitherthe
throughputdemandsintheuplinkandinthedownlink,thenumberofusersperactivitystatus,orthetotalnumberofusers
includingallactivitystatuses.Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterisrequiredtocreatethistrafficmap.Ifyoudonotalready
haveacoveragepredictionbytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateandcalculateonefirst.Youcanalsocreatea
coveragebytransmitterforeachtechnologyofthenetworkandassignthecorrespondingtechnologytraffic.Youcancreate
asmanymapsasyouwantandtheycanbecombinedinsimulationsifselected.
Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.
Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectSectorTrafficMap.
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.Youcanchoosebetweenthefollowing:

UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses)
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus
Downlinkthroughputs/ErlangsforGSMtrafficanalysis

4. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
5. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
6. EnterthedatarequiredintheSectorTrafficMapdialogbox:

UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs:enterthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkanddownlinkforeachsectorand
foreachlistedservice.
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses):enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeachsectorandforeach
listedservice.
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus:enterthenumberofinactiveusers,thenumberofusersactiveintheuplink,
inthedownlinkandintheuplinkanddownlink,foreachsectorandforeachservice.
DownlinkThroughputs/ErlangsforGSMtrafficanalysis:entertheamountoftraffic(modellingGSMtraffic):

Inerlangsforcircuitservices(e.g.voice)andconstantbitratepacketservices(e.g.VoIP).Inthesecondcase,
ErlangsareinternallytransformedintoKbpsbymultiplyingthevaluebyaserviceguaranteedbitrateperuser.
InKbpsforpacketservices(maximumbitrate).
YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

7. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Figure10.16:TrafficmappropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
8. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure10.16).
UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
9. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusers.

10. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
Youcanmodifyasectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifyasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonthelivedatathatyouwant
toupdate,andselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
2. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

3. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

4. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifiedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandthenumberofusers,onthemapafterwards.Youcanupdate
sectortrafficmapsifyouaddorremoveabasestation.Youmustfirstrecalculatethecoveragepredictionbytransmitter.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverage
prediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdateasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthesectortrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate,and
selectUpdatefromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
2. Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
3. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Ifyouwant,youcanupdatethevaluesontheTraffictabunderTerminals(%)andMobilities(%),andontheClutter
tabunderDistributionperclutterclass.
4. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage1147.

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10.3.4.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Theremightalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreateuserprofiletrafficmaps.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentsubscribercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhich
areinturndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration(forcircuitswitchedservices)oruplinkanddownlink
volume(forpacketswitchedservices).
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofsubscribersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvi
ronmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofsubscribers
withthesameprofileperkm).
ThefollowingsectionsdescribehowtousetrafficdatafromthemarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"Modellinguserprofiles"onpage1142
"Modellingenvironments"onpage1142.

Modellinguserprofiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausermightbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butno
webbrowsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandweb
browsing.
Tocreateormodifyauserprofile:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheUserProfilesfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. IntheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Fordetails,see"Modelling3GPPMultiRATServices"onpage1138.
Terminal:Selectaterminalfromthelist.Fordetails,see"Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals"onpage1139.
Calls/Hour:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragenumberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Thenumber
ofcallsperhourisusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.Forcircuitswitchedservices,onecalllasting1000sec
ondspresentsthesameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Forpacketswitchedservices,theCalls/Hourvalueisdefinedasthenumberofsessionsperhour.Asessionislike
acallinthatitisdefinedastheperiodoftimebetweenwhenauserstartsusingaserviceandwhenhestopsusing
aservice.Inpacketswitchedservices,however,hemaynotusetheservicecontinually.Forexample,withaweb
browsing service, a session starts when the user opens his browsing application and ends when he quits the
browsingapplication.Betweenthesetwoevents,theusermightbedownloadingwebpagesandothertimeshe
maynotbeusingtheapplication,orhemightbebrowsinglocalfiles,butthesessionisstillconsideredasopen.A
session,therefore,isdefinedbythevolumetransferredintheuplinkanddownlinkandnotbythetime.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

Duration:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragedurationofacallinseconds.Forpacketswitchedser
vices,thisfieldisleftblank.
ULVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaverageuplinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.
DLVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaveragedownlinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

3. ClickOK.Theuserprofileiscreated.
Modellingenvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofsubscriberswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassign
aweighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.Youcanalsospecifythepercentageofindoorsubscribersforeach

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clutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepath
lossesofindoormobiles.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironment:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheEnvironmentsfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. ClicktheGeneraltab.
a. EnteraNameforthenewenvironment.
b. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycom
binationthatthisenvironmentwilldescribe:

UserProfile:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombination
ofuserprofileandmobilitytype.

3. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
a. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk =

Numberofusersintheclutterk

N Area =

NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk =

Weightofclutterk

Sk =

Surfaceareaofclutterk(inkm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithasubscriberdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000sub
scribers.Theareaiscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"and
forBuildingis"4."Giventherespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclass
and800intheBuildingclutterclass.
b. Ifyouwantyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
4. ClickOK.Theenvironmentiscreated.

10.3.4.2.1

ImportingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
vector.
Toimportauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
3. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page1147.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.

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6. ClickOpen.TheVectorImportdialogboxappears.
a. UnderImportto,youcanchoosetoimportyourtrafficmapinafolderotherthanTrafficMaps(defaultfolder).
b. ClicktheImportbutton.Theimportedtrafficmapappearsunderthefolderyouselected.
Tomodifythepropertiesofauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate,andselect
Propertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxoftheselectedtrafficmapappears.
2. Select the Traffic tab. Under Traffic fields, you can specify the user profiles to be considered, their mobility type
(kmh),andtheirdensity.Ifthefileyouaremodifyinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacteristicsbyiden
tifyingthecorrespondingfieldsinthefile.Ifthefileyouaremodifyingdoesnothavedatadescribingtheuserprofile,
mobility,ordensity,youcanassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.
Defineeachofthefollowing:

Userprofile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera
densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflinesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.

3. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
4. ClickOKtofinishmodifyingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

10.3.4.2.2

CreatingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Tocreateauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
3. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
4. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheUserProfileDensityTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.UnderTrafficfields,specifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,theirmobilitytype(kmh),and
theirdensity.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap:

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Userprofile:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwantto
assignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselect
theuserprofileintheChoicecolumn.
Mobility:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
amobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselectthe
mobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
adensityofyourchoice,select"Byvalue"andenteradensityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuser
profileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"density"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itrefersto
thenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforpolygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseof
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6. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
7. ClickOKtofinishcreatingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

10.3.4.2.3

ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Toimportauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
3. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
TrafficMapdialogbox.Forinformation,see"ClickOKtofinishimportingtheuserprofile
environmentsbasedtrafficmap."onpage1145.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(8bit):TIF,JPEG2000,BIL,
IST,BMP,PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,andErdasImagine.
6. ClickOpen.TheUserProfileEnvironmentTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
7. SelecttheTraffictab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthenumbersandliststhemunderCode.
8. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheavailableenvironmentsarethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"Modellingenvironments"onpage1142.
9. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
10. ClickOKtofinishimportingtheuserprofileenvironmentsbasedtrafficmap.

10.3.4.2.4

CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Youcancreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmapbydrawingpolygoncontoursinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure10.17).

DrawMap

DeleteMap

Figure10.17:EnvironmentMapEditortoolbar
7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

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DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentsbasedTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surface)andrelative(percent
ageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,statistics
aredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapwhosestatis
ticsyouwanttodisplay,andselectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby: % of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
2. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

10.3.4.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)oron2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,the
densityofusers,asinput.Thiscanbeeitherthedensityofusersperactivitystatusorthedensityofusersincludingallactivity
statuses.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1146
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1147.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanbecreatedfromsectortrafficmapsinordertoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusers
perunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.for
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage1147.

10.3.4.3.1

ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwilldistribute
xusersperpixelduringthesimulations,wherexdependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobility
type,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedontheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
Toimportauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserdensitytrafficmap(no.users/km2).
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

DownlinkuserdensityforGSMtrafficanalysis:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensity
ofusersactiveinthedownlinkonly(modellingGSMtraffic).
Allactivitystatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
Activeinuplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedown
linkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswith
bothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page1147.

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5. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,JPEG2000,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
6. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
7. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
8. ClickImport.Atollimportsthetrafficmap.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

10. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

11. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.

10.3.4.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(Numberofusersperkm2).
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

DownlinkuserdensityforGSMtrafficanalysis:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouarecreatingprovidesadensity
ofusersactiveinthedownlinkonly(modellingGSMtraffic)
AllActivityStatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
ActiveinUplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplinkonly.
ActiveinDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedownlink
only.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithboth
uplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

4. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

6. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

7. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
8. RightclickthetrafficmapandselectEditfromthecontextmenu.
9. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbartodrawcontours.Formoreinformationoneditingcontours,see
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.
AtollcreatesanitemcalledDensityvaluesintheUserDensityMapfolder.
10. RightclicktheDensityvaluesitemintheUserDensityMapfolderandselectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
11. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.,thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.
12. RightclicktheitemandselectEditfromthecontextmenutoendediting.

10.3.4.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
displaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweighting
definedforthesectortrafficmaps.

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Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmapfromasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolderandrightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwantto
createuserdensitytrafficmaps.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. SelectCreateDensityMapsfromthecontextmenu.
Atollcreatesasmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsasthereareservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuserdensity
mapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedinthedocu
ment.

10.3.4.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsasuserdensitytrafficmapsforUMTSorLTE.Thesemapscan
thenbeusedintrafficsimulationslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage1148,andforinforma
tiononimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1146.
Toimporta2GtrafficmapforUMTSorLTE:
1. Createasectortrafficmapinyour2Gnetworkforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandonefor
circuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatingsectortrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"on
page1140.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage1148.
3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2forUMTSorLTEasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinformationonimporting
userdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1146.

10.3.4.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.Duringexport,
Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensities.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,orVertical
Mapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtrafficmapcan
thenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmap.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
2. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
3. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
4. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentirenetwork.
TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.

5. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

6. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.
Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,select"Allcircuitswitchedorvoiceservices"toexporttraffic
usinganycircuitorvoiceservice,"Allpacketswitchedordataservices"toexporttrafficusinganypacketordata
service,orselectthespecifictypeofservice.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

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AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusestoexportalluserswithoutanyfilterbyactivitystatus.
Uplink:SelectUplinktoexportmobilesactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:SelectDownlinktoexportmobilesactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:SelectUplink/Downlinktoexportonlymobileswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.

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Inactive:SelectInactivetoexportonlyinactivemobiles.

7. IntheSelectTrafficMapstoBeUsedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
8. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

10.3.5 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport,andselectSaveAs
fromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
2. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.
3. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportRegion:

EntireProjectArea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
OnlyPendingChanges:Savesonlythemodificationsmadetothemap.
ComputationZone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

10.3.6 CalculatingandDisplayingaGSMTrafficCapture
ForinformationoncalculatinganddisplayingatrafficcaptureinGSM,see"CalculatingandDisplayingaTrafficCapture"on
page323.

10.3.7 DimensioningaGSMNetwork
ForinformationondimensioningaGSMnetworkfromatrafficcapture,see"DimensioningaGSM/GPRS/EDGENetwork"on
page329.

10.3.8 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
Onceyouhavemodelledthenetworkservicesandusersandhavecreatedtrafficmaps,youcancreatesimulations.Thesimu
lationprocessconsistsoffivesteps:
1. Obtainingarealisticuserdistribution:AtollgeneratesauserdistributionusingaMonteCarloalgorithm;thisuser
distributionisbasedonthetrafficdatabaseandtrafficmapsandisweightedbyaPoissondistributionbetweensimu
lationsofthesamegroup.
Eachuserisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andanactivitystatusbyrandomtrial,accordingtoaprobabilitylaw
thatusesthetrafficdatabase.
Theuseractivitystatusisanimportantoutputoftherandomtrialandhasdirectconsequencesonthenextstepof
thesimulationandonnetworkinterference.Ausermightbeeitheractiveorinactive.Bothactiveandinactiveusers
consumeradioresourcesandcreateinterference.
Then,Atollrandomlyassignsashadowingerrortoeachuserusingtheprobabilitydistributionthatdescribestheshad
owingeffect.
Finally,anotherrandomtrialdeterminesuserpositionsintheirrespectivetrafficzone(possiblyaccordingtotheclut
terweightingandtheindoorratioperclutterclass).
2. Technologyselection:Foreachmobilegeneratedatthebeginningofthesimulation,Atollsearchesforitsservingcell
ineachpossibletechnology.Formultitechnologymobiles,asortofactivesetoftransmitters(possiblyhavingdif
ferenttechnologies)isthencreated.Finally,retainedtransmittersaresortedaccordingtotheprioritiesoftechnolo
giesintheservicesasdescribedin"SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies"onpage1150.
Whenthetechnologytowhicheachmobilehasbeenselected,the3GPPmultiRATsimulationconsistsofonemono
technology"sub"simulationforeachtechnology,runsequentially.
3. GSMnetworkregulationmechanisms:FortheGSMpartofthetraffic,AtollmanagestheGSMresourcesasdescribed
in"RadioResourceManagementinGSM"onpage334
4. UMTSnetworkregulationmechanisms:FortheUMTSpartofthetraffic,AtollusesapowercontrolalgorithmforR99
users,andanalgorithmmixingADPCHpowercontrolandfastlinkadaptationforHSDPAusersandanadditionalloop

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modellingnoiseriseschedulingforHSUPAusers.Thepowercontrolsimulationalgorithmisdescribedin"ThePower
ControlSimulationAlgorithm"onpage635.
5. LTEnetworkregulationmechanisms:FortheLTEpartofthetraffic,AtollmanagestheLTEresourcesasdescribedin
"LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm"onpage1003.

10.3.8.1 SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies
Theveryfirstpartofthesimulationconsists,foreachdistributedmobile,inanalysingwhetherthismobilecanbeservedby
cells of different technologies. Each mobile dropped at the beginning of the allocation has a specific mobility type and
supportsoneormoretechnologiesasexplainedin"Modelling3GPPMultiRATTerminals"onpage1139.
Foreachsupportedtechnology,themobileverifieswhetheritcanbeservedbyatleastonetransmitterorcell.

IfthemobilesupportsGSM,AtolldeterminesaGSMbestserveraccordingtoanHCSserverpredictionwherethe
mobilecanonlybeservedbyaGSMtransmitterifitsmobilitydoesnotexceedthemaximumspeedsupportedonits
HCSlayerandthereceivedsignallevelisstrongerthanitsHCSlayerthreshold(see"SettingHCSLayers"onpage488
formoreinformation).Ifnotransmitterfulfilstheseconditions,themobileisnotservedbyGSM.
IfthemobilesupportsUMTS,AtolldeterminesaUMTSbestserverbasedontheEc/IovaluesofnearbyUMTScells.If
nocellfulfilstheseconditions,themobileisnotservedbyUMTS.
IfthemobilesupportsLTE,AtolldeterminesanLTEbestserverasdescribedin"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"on
page1056.Ifnocellrespectstheseconditions,themobileisnotservedbyLTE.

Oncetheservingtechnologieshavebeenidentified,Atollselectsthehighestpriorityasdefinedintheserviceassignedtothe
mobile.Oncedetermined,theservingtechnologydoesnotchangeforagivenuserdistribution.Onesimulationisthenrun
pertechnologyasdescribedin:

"RadioResourceManagementinGSM"onpage334forGSM,
"ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm"onpage635forUMTS,and
"LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm"onpage1003forLTE.

10.3.8.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutomodelnetworkregulationmechanismsinordertominimiseinterferenceandmaximise
capacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheSimulationsfolderandselectNewfromthecontextmenu.Theproperties
dialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
2. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameandCommentsforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.
3. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Numberofsimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreatedatthesame
timearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.

4. OntheTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

Globalscalingfactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps),throughputs/usersornumberofusers(forsectortrafficmaps)orden
sityofusers(fortrafficdensitymaps).

Selecttrafficmapstobeused:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage1139.

5. OntheGSMtab,specifythefollowingparameters:

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TaketheGSMnetworkintoaccount:SelectthisoptionifyouwanttotaketheGSMnetworkintoaccountinyour
3GPPmultiRATsimulation.Whenthischeckboxisselected,youcanspecifytheGSMconvergencethresholds.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetween
twoiterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.
DLpowercontrolgain:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinkpowercontrolgainthatmustbe
reachedbetweentwoiterations.

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ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.

6. OntheUMTStab,specifythefollowingparameters:

TaketheUMTSnetworkintoaccount:SelectthisoptionifyouwanttotaketheUMTSnetworkintoaccountin
your3GPPmultiRATsimulation.Whenthischeckboxisselected,youcanspecifytheUMTSloadconstraintsand
convergencethresholds.

UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulationfortheUMTS
partofthetraffic:
Number of CEs: Select the Number of CEs check box if you want Atoll to respect the number of channel
elementsdefinedforeachsite.
Iubthroughputs:SelecttheIubthroughputscheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthemaximumIubbackhaul
throughputsdefinedforeachsite.
Numberofcodes:SelecttheNumberofcodescheckboxifyouwantAtolltorespectthenumberofOVSF
codesavailableeachcell.
ULloadfactor:IfyouwanttheULloadfactortobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheULloadfactor
checkbox.
DLload(%Pmax):IfyouwanttheDLloadtobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheDLload(%Pmax)
checkboxandenteramaximumdownlinkcellloadintheMaxDLloadbox.
MaxULloadfactor:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinkcellloadfactor,clickthebutton
(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaximumuplinkcellloadfactor.Ifyouwanttouse

themaximumuplinkcellloadfactorasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidethe
boxandselectDefinedpercell.
MaxDLload(%Pmax):Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinkcellload,asapercent
ageofthemaximumpower,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaxi
mumdownlinkcellload,asapercentageofthemaximumpower.Ifyouwanttousethemaximumdownlink
cell load factor as defined in the properties for each cell, click the button (
Definedpercell.

) beside the box and select

UnderBearernegotiation,checktheBearerdowngradingcheckboxifyouwanttopermitbearerdowngrading
duringthesimulation.Whenaconstraintisnotrespected,userradiobearerswithservicessupportingbearer
downgradingaredowngraded.Iftheconstraintisstillnotsatisfiedafterdowngrading,usersarerejected.Ifdown
gradingisnotselected,userswillberejectedimmediately,startingwithuserswiththelowestservicepriority,ifa
constraintcannotberespected.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
ULconvergencethresholds:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
uplinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLconvergencethresholds:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
downlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

7. OntheLTEtab,specifythefollowingparameters:

TaketheLTEnetworkintoaccount:SelectthisoptionifyouwanttotaketheLTEnetworkintoaccountinyour
3GPPmultiRATsimulation.Whenthisoptionisenabled,youcanspecifytheLTEloadconstraintsandconvergence
thresholds.

UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulationfortheLTEpart
ofthetraffic:
MaxDLtrafficLoad:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinktrafficload,clickthebutton
(

usethemaximumdownlinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )beside
theboxandselectDefinedperCell.
MaxULtrafficLoad:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinktrafficload,clickthebutton
(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximumdownlinktrafficload.Ifyouwantto

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximumuplinktrafficload.Ifyouwantto

usethemaximumuplinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidethe
boxandselectDefinedperCell.
Backhaulcapacity:SelectthisoptionifyouwantAtolltoconsiderbackhaulcapacityduringLTEsimulation.

UnderPowercontrol,selecttheULnoiserisecontrol(Besteffort)checkboxifyouwanttoactivatetheuplink
noiserisecontrolinthesimulations.Formoreinformationontheuplinknoiserisecontrol,seetheTechnicalRef
erenceGuide.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetween
twoiterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.

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ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.

8. OntheAdvancedtab:

NexttoGeneratorinitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,
theuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshad
owingerrordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
UnderConvergence,entertheMaxnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
Usingthesamegenerateduserandshadowingerrordistributionforseveralsimulations
canbeusefulwhenyouwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonly
oneparameterchanges.

9. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittocalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulationandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutcalculatingit.YoucancalculateitlaterclickingtheCalculate
button(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.
You can now use the completed simulations for specific GSM predictions (see "Interference Coverage Predictions" on
page435),specificUMTSpredictions(see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage657)andspecific
LTEpredictions(see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage1020).

10.3.8.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemapthedistributionofthetrafficgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferent
parameters.Youcan,forexample,displaythetrafficaccordingtoservice,activitystatusoranyoutputofthesimulation.For
informationonchangingdisplaycharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistribution:

"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage1152
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage1153.
Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeodataandpredictions.
Formoreinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows"onpage42.

Formoreinformationonoutputthatarespecifictoagiventechnology,see"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap"
onpage642and"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap"onpage1007.

10.3.8.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheSimulationsfolderandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimula
tionsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. OntheGSMtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
3. OntheUMTStabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
4. OntheLTEtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyconnectionstatus(seeFigure10.18).Bydefault,fromonetech
nologytoanother,coloursaresimilarforsimilarstatuseswhereasmobilesymbolsaredifferent.

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Figure10.18:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyconnectionstatus

10.3.8.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheSimulationsfolderandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimula
tionsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. OntheGSMtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
3. OntheUMTStabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
4. OntheLTEtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
5. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice(seeFigure10.19).Bydefault,fromonetechnologyto
another,coloursaresimilarforsimilarserviceswhereasmobilesymbolsaredifferent

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Figure10.19:Displayingthetrafficdistributionbyservice

10.3.8.4 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,thefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulation
whoseresultsyouwanttoaccess,andthefolderofthesimulationcontainingasmanyitemsasradioaccesstechnol
ogiesinthesimulation.
2. RightclickGSM.Thecontextmenuappears.SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheGSMsimulationproperties
dialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Thecontentsof
theStatistics,Sites,Subcells,TRXs,MobilesandInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingle
Simulation"onpage339.
Formoreinformationonthedifferentoptions,seestep3.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150.
3. RightclickUMTS.Thecontextmenuappears.SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheUMTSsimulationprop
ertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Thecontentsof
theStatistics,Sites,Cells,MobilesandInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimula
tion"onpage644.
Formoreinformationonthedifferentoptions,seestep3.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150.
4. RightclickLTE.Thecontextmenuappears.SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheLTEsimulationproperties
dialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Thecontentsof
theStatistics,Sites,Cells,MobilesandInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimula
tion"onpage1010.
Formoreinformationonthedifferentoptions,seestep3.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150.

10.3.8.5 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150,youcandisplaytheaver
ageresultsofthegroup.Ifyouwanttodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationofagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofa
SingleSimulation"onpage1154.

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Toaccesstheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolderandrightclickthegroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwantto
averagetheresults.
2. SelectAverageSimulationandthetechnology(GSM,UMTSorLTE)fromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogbox
appears.Itscompositiondependsfromtheselectedtechnology.
IfyouchoseGSM,onetabdisplaysstatisticsofthegroupofsimulationresults.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogbox
containsimulationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveraged,asidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitial
conditionsofthegroupofsimulations.ThecontentsoftheStatistics,Sites(Average),Subcells(Average),TRXs(Aver
age)andInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations"onpage340.
IfyouchoseUMTS,onetabdisplaysstatisticsofthegroupofsimulationresults.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialog
boxcontainsimulationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveragedandasastandarddeviation,asidentifiedbythetab
title.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthegroupofsimulations.ThecontentsoftheStatistics,Sites(Averageand
StandardDeviation),Cells(AverageandStandardDeviation),InitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"Displayingthe
AverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations"onpage651.
IfyouchoseLTE,onetabdisplaysstatisticsofthegroupofsimulationresults.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogbox
containsimulationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveraged,asidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitial
conditionsofthegroupofsimulations.ThecontentsoftheStatistics,Sites(Average),Cells(Average)andInitialCondi
tionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations"onpage1014.

10.3.8.6 UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150,youcan
updatecellloadvaluesforeachcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.Thefollowingvaluesareupdated:

InGSM:

InUMTS:

SubcellDLandULtrafficloads
SubcellDLpowercontrolgains
SubcellDTXgains
Subcellhalfratetrafficratios
TRXintratechnologyULnoiserises
Totaltransmittedpower
ULloadfactor
ULreusefactor
AvailableHSDPApower
NumberofHSDPAusers
ULloadfactorduetoHSUPA
NumberofHSUPAusers

InLTE:

DLandULtrafficloads
ULnoiserise
ULMUMIMOcapacitygain
DLandULnumberofusers
ULICICnoiserise
DLICICratio

Toupdatecellvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,thefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulation
whoseresultsyouwanttoaccess,andthefolderofthesimulationcontainingtheresultsyouwanttoaccess.
2. RightclicktheGSMfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
a. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheGSMsimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
b. ClicktheSubcellsorTRXstab.
c. OntheSubcellsorTRXstab,clickCommitResults.ThefieldslistedaboveareupdatedforeachsubcellandTRX.
3. RightclicktheUMTSorLTEfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
a. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheUMTSorLTEsimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
b. ClicktheCellstab.
c. OntheCellstab,clickCommitResults.ThefieldslistedaboveareupdatedforeachUMTSorLTEcell.

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10.3.8.7 AddingnewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Aftercreatingasimulationorgroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimulationstothe
Atolldocument.InAtoll,therearethefollowingwaysofaddingnewsimulations:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroupofsimulations.Itthengenerates
anewuserdistributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddasimulationtoagroupofsimulations,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage1156.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distributionbetweensimulationsisdifferent.Trafficparameterchangescanbetakenintoaccount.Finally,radiodata
modifications (new transmitters, changes to the antenna azimuth, etc.) are always taken into account during the
powercontrol(orthroughput/powercontrol)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1156.

UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0),Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu
tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However,anymodificationstotrafficparameters(suchas,maximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,
EbNtthresholds,etc.)andradiodata(newtransmitter,azimuth,etc.)aretakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrol
simulation.
Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationoragroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"CreatingaNew
SimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber"onpage1157.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesagroupwiththesamesimulation
parameters as those used to generate the group of simulations. You can then modify the simulation parameters
beforecalculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1157.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoadd
asimulation,andselectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
2. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

3. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toreplayanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay,and
selectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,someparametersoriginallyusedtocalcu
latethegroupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparam
eterscanbechangedforthereplayedgroup.
2. OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheNameandedittheComments.

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3. OntheTraffictab,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccounttrafficparameter
changes(suchasmaximumandminimumtrafficchannelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)inthereplayedsim
ulation.
4. OntheGSMtab,youcanmodifytheConvergencethresholds.
5. OntheUMTSandLTEtabs,youcanmodifytheLoadConstraintsandtheConvergencethresholds.
6. OntheAdvancedtab,youcanchangetheMaxnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomeetconvergence.
7. ClickCalculate.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewSimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheSimulationsfolderandselectNewfromthecontextmenu.Theproperties
dialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
2. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
3. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Theintegermustbethesame
generatorinitialisationnumberasusedinthegroupofsimulationswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributions
youwanttouseinthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,theuserandshadowingerror
distributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillbe
usedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
4. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"Duplicatinga
SimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1157.
DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwant
toduplicate,andselectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimu
lationsappears.
Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage1150.

10.3.8.8 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesitu
ationyouarecreatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformance
ofthenetworkagainstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironment
anduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Create a simulation or group of simulations by creating a new simulation or group of simulations as described in
"CreatingSimulations"onpage1150.
2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

10.3.9 AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation
Ina3GPPmultiRATnetwork,multitechnologytrafficissimulatedtoprovidedetailedseparateresultspertechnology.To
analysetheresultsofasimulationonUMTStraffic,see"AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation"onpage657.Toanalysethe
resultsofasimulationonLTEtraffic,see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimulationResults"onpage1020.

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10.4 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigning3GPPmultiRATnetworkstoautomaticallycalculate
theoptimalnetworksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.TheACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistof
candidatesitesortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanbeusedincoplanningprojectsaswellasin3GPP
multiRATnetworkswherenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalcu
latingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
BeforeyoulaunchAtollACPinamultiRATnetwork,makesureyouhaveanACPlicense
tokenforeachtechnologyusedinthedocument.

AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandcellpilotpower.ACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitialplanning
stageofa3GPPmultiRATnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.ACP
notonlytakestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.
AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.
ACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyouhave
definedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithmtotest
manynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.TheACPpresentsthechanges
orderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetofthe
suggestedchanges.
TheACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecificto3GPPmultiRATnetworksare
explained:

"OptimisationObjectives"onpage1158
"QualityParameters"onpage1158
"QualityAnalysisMaps"onpage1158

10.4.1 OptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetwork.TheACPobjectivesdepend
ontechnologiesavailableinthenetworkandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsinAtoll.Forinfor
mationontheobjectivesofeachtechnology,see:

ForGSM,"GSMOptimisationObjectives"onpage473
ForUMTS,"UMTSOptimisationObjectives"onpage659
ForLTE,"LTEOptimisationObjectives"onpage1021.

Forinformationonsettingobjectiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.

10.4.2 QualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownmaps.However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptions
ofanACPmapasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthe
default,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.Forinformationonthequalityparametersofeachtech
nology,see:

ForGSM,"GSMQualityParameters"onpage474
ForUMTS,"UMTSQualityParameters"onpage659
ForLTE,"LTEQualityParameters"onpage1022.

10.4.3 QualityAnalysisMaps
ThequalityanalysismapsenableyoutodisplaythequalitymapsintheAtollmapwindow.Thesemapsarethesameasthose
displayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.Thequalityanalysismapsaretheequivalentofmaps
createdbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions:

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Thequalityanalysismapsdependontheradioaccesstechnologybeingmodelled.Forinformationonthequalityanalysis
mapsavailableforeachtechnology,see:

ForGSM,"GSMQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage475
ForUMTS,"UMTSQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage660
ForLTE,"LTEQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage1024.

10.5 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
Animportantstepintheprocessofcreatinganetworkisverifyingthecapacityofthenetwork.Thisisdoneusingmeasure
mentsofthestrengthofthepilotsignalindifferentlocationswithintheareacoveredbythenetwork.Thiscollectionofmeas
urementsiscalledadrivetestdatapath.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Atollenablesyoutoimportthedrivetestdataintoanytechnologyina3GPPmultiRATnetwork.

IfyouaremodellingGSM,see"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage476.
IfyouaremodellingUMTS,see"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage662
IfyouaremodellingLTE,see"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1025.

10.6 DisplayingElementsofOneAtollDocumentina
3GPPMultiRATDocument
In a 3GPP multiRAT network you can work with a combination of different radio access technologies (GSM/GPRS/EDGE,
UMTS/HSPA,andLTE).MultipleradioaccesstechnologiesmodelledinasingleAtolldocumentenablesyoutostudyhowone
technologyaffectsanotherintermsofinterference,coverage,handoff,etc.
Youcanalsodisplaynetworkelements,geographicdata,andcalculationresultssuchassimulationsandpredictionsofadiffer
enttechnologynetworkwithina3GPPmultiRATdocumentinAtoll.Thedocumentwhoseelementsyouwishtodisplayinthe
3GPPmultiRATdocumentcanbeofanyradioaccesstechnologysupportedbyAtoll.
Todisplaythesitesofalinkeddocumentinanotherdocument:
1. OpenyourmainAtolldocumentandtheAtolldocumentyouwanttolinkitto:

SelectFile>OpenorFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.
Themainandlinkeddocumentsmusthavethesamegeographiccoordinatesystems.

2. SelecttheNetworkexplorerinthelinkeddocument.
3. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMakeAccessibleInfromthecontextmenu,andselectthenameofthemaindocumentfromthesubmenuthat
opens.
TheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumentisnowavailableinthemaindocument.Theexplorerwindowofthemaindocument
nowcontainsafoldernamedSitesin[linkeddocument],where[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocument.
IfyouwanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthemaindocument
automatically,youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Forinformationonsetting
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtodisplayinthemaindocumentanyfolderorfolderitemofthelinkeddocumentthathasa
MakeAccessibleInoptionavailableinitscontextmenu.
Oncefoldersarelinked,youcanaccesstheirpropertiesandthepropertiesoftheitemstheycontainfromeitherdocuments.
Anychangesyoumakeinalinkedfolderaretakenintoaccountinbothdocuments.
Ifyouclosethelinkeddocument,Atolldisplaysawarningicon( )inthemaindocumentsexplorerwindow,andthelinked
itemsarenolongeraccessiblefromthemaindocument.YoucanreopenthelinkeddocumentinAtollbyrightclickingthe
linkeditemintheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument,andselectingOpenLinkedDocument.

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Chapter11
3GPP2MultiRAT
Networks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseamultiRATnetwork.
"Designinga3GPP2MultiRATNetwork"onpage1163

"PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations"onpage1164

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1213

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page1232

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1233

"DisplayingElementsofOneAtollDocumentina3GPP2
MultiRATDocument"onpage1233

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11 3GPP2MultiRATNetworks
Ifyouareworkingonaradioplanningprojectwithoneormore3GPP2radioaccesstechnologies,Atollenablesyoutodesign
a3GPP2multiRATnetworkincorporatingCDMA2000andLTE.Onceyouhavecreatedthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork,Atoll
offersmanytoolstoletyouverifythenetwork.Basedontheresultsofyouranalyses,youcanmodifyanyoftheparameters
definingthenetwork.
Theprocessofplanningandcreatinga3GPP2multiRATnetworkisoutlinedin"Designinga3GPP2MultiRATNetwork"on
page1163.Creatingthenetworkofbasestationsisexplainedin"PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations"onpage1164.Allo
catingneighbours,PNoffsets(CDMA),frequenciesandphysicalcellIDs(LTE)isalsoexplained.Inthissection,youwillalsofind
informationonhowyoucandisplayinformationonbasestationsonthemapandhowyoucanusethetoolsinAtolltostudy
basestations.
In"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1213,usingtrafficmapstostudynetworkcapacityisexplained.Creatingsimulations
usingthetrafficmapinformationandanalysingtheresultsofsimulationsisalsoexplained.
Usingdrivetestdatapathstoverifythenetworkisexplainedin"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1233.Filteringimported
drivetestdatapaths,andusingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.Filteringimporteddrivetestdatapaths,and
usingthedataincoveragepredictionsisalsoexplained.

11.1 Designinga3GPP2MultiRATNetwork
Figure11.1depictstheprocessofplanningandcreatinga3GPP2multiRATnetwork.

Figure11.1:Planninga3GPP2MultiRATnetworkworkflow
Thestepsinvolvedinplanninga3GPP2multiRATnetworkaredescribedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure11.1.
1. Openanexisting3GPP2multiRATplanningdocumentorcreateanewone(

).

YoucanopenanexistingAtoll3GPP2multiRATdocumentbyselectingFile>Open.
CreatinganewAtoll3GPP2multiRATdocumentisexplainedin"CreatingaNewAtollDocumentfromaTemplate"
onpage121.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters(

).

Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingelementsofbasestations:

"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage1166

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Youcanalsoaddbasestationsusingabasestationtemplate(see"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1165).
3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions(

)fromtheanalysisofbasestations:"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1173

4. Allocateneighbours,automaticallyorindividually(

).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1188.

5. FortheCDMApartofthenetwork,allocatePNoffsets(

).

"AllocatingResourcesinCDMA"onpage1213.

6. FortheLTEpartofthenetwork,allocatefrequenciesandphysicalcellIDs(

and

).

"AllocatingResourcesinLTE"onpage1213.

7. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions( 8 ).
Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedonatrafficmap(see"StudyingNet
workCapacity"onpage1213).
YoucandefinethemmanuallyinCDMA("SettingtheReverseLinkLoadFactorandtheForwardLinkTotalPower"
onpage758)andLTE("SettingCellLoadsandNoiseRiseValues"onpage929).

8. Maketechnologyspecificcoveragepredictions( 9 ).
FortheCDMApartofthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

"CDMACoveragePredictions"onpage751

FortheLTEpartofthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

"LTECoveragePredictions"onpage927.

Foracombinationofbothtechnologiesinthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

"3GPP2MultiRATPredictions"onpage1173.

9. Analysethequalityoftheresourceallocations( 10 ).
FortheCDMApartofthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

"CheckingtheConsistencyofthePNOffsetPlan"onpage801
"DisplayingtheAllocationofPNOffsets"onpage802

FortheLTEpartofthe3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

"DisplayingtheAFPResultsontheMap"onpage979.
"CheckingtheConsistencyofthePhysicalCellIDPlan"onpage983.

11.2 PlanningandOptimisingBaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcanstartanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnosites,orfromadatabase
withasetofsites.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatesitesandmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.WhenmodellingCDMAorLTEina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtrans
mitter.InCDMA,acellreferstothecharacteristicsofacarrieronatransmitter;inLTE,acellmodelsthecharacteristicsofan
RFchannel.

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A n te n n a
- A z im u t h
- M e c h a n i c a l t i lt

TMA
A n te n n a
- H e ig h t

F e e d e r C a b le

T r a n s m it t e r
- N o i s e f ig u r e
- Power

S it e
- X , Y c o o r d in a te s

Figure11.2:Atransmitter
Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellatatime,orcreateseveralatoncebyusingastationtemplate.InAtoll,a
basestationreferstoasitewithitstransmitters,antennas,equipment,andcells.
Atollallowsyoutomakeavarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelortransmittercoveragepredictions.Theresults
ofcalculatedcoveragepredictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,orstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbyallowingyoutocreateservices,users,userprofiles,environments,andtermi
nals.Thisdatacanbethenusedtomakequalitypredictions,suchaseffectiveservicearea,noise,orhandoffstatuspredic
tions,onthenetwork.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1165
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage1165
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage1166
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage1166
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage1167
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage1167
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage1167
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1173
"3GPP2MultiRATPredictions"onpage1173
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1188
"AllocatingResourcesina3GPP2MultiRATNetwork"onpage1213

11.2.1 CreatingaBaseStation
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,sitescanbesharedbytransmittersofdifferenttechnologies.Thewaysitesandtransmitters
aremanagedina3GPP2multiRATnetworkisthesameforeachtechnology.Becausea3GPP2multiRATdocumentcontains
transmitter and station template foldersfor each technology modelled, the folders are identified by the technology they
belongto.

TocreateaCDMAbasestation,see"CreatingaCDMABaseStation"onpage712
TocreateanLTEbasestation,see"CreatinganLTEBaseStation"onpage885.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecontext
menu.Becausea3GPP2multiRATdocumentmodelsseveraltechnologies,thenew
transmitterwillbecreatedusingthetechnology(CDMAorLTE)ofthestationtemplate
currentlyselectedinthetoolbar.

11.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaBaseStation"onpage1165,oryoucancreateoneor
severalbasestationsbyusingstationtemplatesasexplainedin"PlacingaNewStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.

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However,ifyouhavealargeradioplanningprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdataintoyour
currentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdata andpasteitinto thetables inyourcurrentAtoll document. Whenyou createagroupofbase
stationsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdatainthe
Transmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopydatafrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouare
pastingdatainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastingaTableRecord"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavedataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitintothetablesin
thecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSVformatandthen
importitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyoutoselectwhat
valuesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
YoucanquicklycreateaseriesofbasestationsforstudypurposesusingtheHexagonal
DesigntoolontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Forinformation,see"PlacingaNewStation
UsingaStationTemplate"onpage247.

11.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthecontextmenuintheNetworkexplorer.
However,inacomplexradioplanningproject,itcanbedifficulttofindthedataobjectintheNetworkexplorer,althoughit
mightbevisibleinthemapwindow.AtollletsyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofsitesandtransmittersdirectlyfromthe
map.YoucanalsoselectasitetodisplayallofthetransmitterslocatedonitintheSiteexplorer.Whenselectingatransmitter,
ifthereismorethanonetransmitterwiththesameazimuth,clickingthetransmittersinthemapwindowopensacontext
menuallowingyoutoselectthetransmitter.Youcanalsochangethepositionofthestationbydraggingit,orbylettingAtoll
findahigherlocationforit.
ModifyingsitesandtransmittersdirectlyonthemapisexplainedindetailinChapter1:WorkingEnvironment:

"WorkingwiththeSiteExplorer"onpage41
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45
"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage45
"MovingaSitetoaHigherLocation"onpage46
"ChangingtheAzimuthoftheAntennaUsingtheMouse"onpage46
"ChangingtheAntennaPositionRelativetotheSiteUsingtheMouse"onpage46.

11.2.4 DisplayTipsforBaseStations
Atollallowstoyoutodisplayinformationaboutbasestationsinanumberofdifferentways.Thisenablesyounotonlyto
displayselectedinformation,butalsotodistinguishbasestationsataglance.
Thefollowingtoolscanbeusedtodisplayinformationaboutbasestations:

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Label:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformofalabelthatis
displayedwiththeobject.Youcandisplayinformationfromeveryfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfrom
fieldsthatyouadd.Thelabelisalwaysdisplayed,soyoushouldchooseinformationthatyouwouldwanttoalwaysbe

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visible;toomuchinformationwillleadtoacluttereddisplay.Forinformationondefiningthelabel,see"Definingthe
ObjectTypeLabel"onpage50.
Tiptext:Youcandisplayinformationabouteachobject,suchaseachsiteortransmitter,intheformoftiptextthatis
onlyvisiblewhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcanchoosetodisplaymoreinformationthaninthelabel,
becausetheinformationisonlydisplayedwhenyoumovethepointerovertheobject.Youcandisplayinformation
fromanyfieldinthatobjecttypesdatatable,includingfromfieldsthatyouadd.Forinformationondefiningthetip
text,see"DefiningtheObjectTypeTipText"onpage51.
Transmittercolour:Youcansetthetransmittercolourtodisplayinformationaboutthetransmitter.Forexample,you
canselect"DiscreteValues"todistinguishtransmittersbyantennatype,ortodistinguishinactivefromactivesites.
Youcanalsodefinethedisplaytypefortransmittersas"Automatic."Atollthenautomaticallyassignsacolourtoeach
transmitter,ensuringthateachtransmitterhasadifferentcolourthanthetransmitterssurroundingit.Forinforma
tionondefiningthetransmittercolour,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.
Transmittersymbol:Youcanselectoneofseveralsymbolstorepresenttransmitters.Forexample,youcanselecta
symbolthatgraphicallyrepresentstheantennahalfpowerbeamwidth(

).Ifyouhavetwotransmittersonthe

samesitewiththesameazimuth,youcandifferentiatethembyselectingdifferentsymbolsforeach(
Forinformationondefiningthetransmittersymbol,see"DefiningtheDisplayType"onpage48.

and

).

11.2.5 CreatingaRepeater
Arepeaterreceives,amplifies,andretransmitstheradiatedorconductedRFcarrierbothindownlinkanduplink.Ithasa
donorsideandaserverside.Thedonorsidereceivesthesignalfromadonortransmitter,repeater,orremoteantenna.This
signalcan becarriedby differenttypesoflinks suchasaradio link oramicrowave link. Theserversideretransmits the
receivedsignal.
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,youcandefinerepeatersforCDMAandLTEtransmitters.Repeatersaremanagedina3GPP2
multiRATnetworkthesamewayforeachtechnology.IntheNetworkexplorer,repeatersarefoundinthetransmitterfolder
ofthetechnologytheybelongto.

TocreateaCDMArepeater,see"CreatingaRepeater"onpage730
TocreateaLTErepeater,see"CreatingaRepeater"onpage905

11.2.6 CreatingaRemoteAntenna
Atollallowsyoutocreateremoteantennastopositionantennasatlocationsthatwouldnormallyrequirelongrunsoffeeder
cable.Aremoteantennaisconnectedtothebasestationwithanopticfibre.Remoteantennasallowyoutoensureradio
coverageinanareawithoutanewbasestation.
InAtoll,theremoteantennashouldbeconnectedtoabasestationthatdoesnothaveanyantennas.Itisassumedthata
remoteantenna,asopposedtoarepeater,doesnothaveanyequipmentandgeneratesnoamplificationgainnornoise.In
certaincases,youmaywanttomodelaremoteantennawithequipmentoraremoteantennaconnectedtoabasestation
that has antennas. This can be done by modelling a repeater. For information on creating a repeater, see "Creating a
Repeater"onpage1167.
In a 3GPP2 multiRAT network, you can define remote antennas for CDMA and LTE transmitters. Remote antennas are
managedina3GPP2multiRATnetworkthesamewayforeachtechnology.IntheNetworkexplorer,remoteantennasare
foundinthetransmitterfolderofthetechnologytheybelongto.

TocreateaCDMAremoteantenna,see"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage735
TocreateaLTEremoteantenna,see"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage909

11.2.7 PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations
WhenAtollperformscalculations,suchasacoverageprediction,Atollcalculatesallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,
that are selected by the current filter parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects the rectangle containing the
computationzone.
Figure11.3givesanexampleofacomputationzone.InFigure11.3,thecomputationzoneisdisplayedinred,asitisinthe
Atollmapwindow.Thepropagationzoneofeachactivesiteisindicatedbyabluesquare.Eachpropagationzonethatinter
sectstherectangle(indicatedbythegreendashedline)containingthecomputationzonewillbetakenintoconsiderationin
calculations.Sites78and95,forexample,arenotinthecomputationzone.However,theirpropagationzonesintersectthe
rectanglecontainingthecomputationzoneand,therefore,theywillbetakenintoconsiderationinthecalculations.Onthe
otherhand,thepropagationzonesofthreeothersitesdonotintersectthecomputationzone.Therefore,theywillnotbe
takenintoaccountinthecalculations.Site130iswithinthecoveragezonebuthasnoactivetransmitters.Therefore,itwill
notbetakenintoconsiderationeither.

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Figure11.3:Anexampleofacomputationzone
Beforerunningcalculations,Atollmusthavevalidpathlossmatrices.Pathlossiscausedbythedissipationofelectromagnetic
energyduringwavepropagation.Inadditiontodistance,pathlossisalsocausedbydiffraction,scattering,andreflectionin
thetransmitterreceiverpath.
Atollcalculatesthepathlossmatricesusingtheassignedpropagationmodel.Atollcanusetwodifferentpropagationmodels
foreachtransmitter:amainpropagationmodelwithashorterradiusandahigherresolution,andanextendedpropagation
modelwithalongerradiusandalowerresolution.Atollwillusethemainpropagationmodeltocalculatehigherresolution
pathlossmatricesclosetothetransmitterandtheextendedpropagationmodeltocalculatelowerresolutionpathlossmatri
cesoutsidetheareacoveredbythemainpropagationmodel.
Pathlossmatricesmustbecalculatedbeforeothercalculationscanbemade.Formoreinformationonthestorageandvalidity
ofpathlossmatrices,see"ManagingPathLossMatrices"onpage209.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument"onpage1168.
"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage1169.
"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage1169.
"SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive"onpage1171.
"TheCalculationProcess"onpage1172.

11.2.7.1 SettingtheWorkingAreaofanAtollDocument
Whenyouloadprojectdatafromadatabase,youwillprobablyonlymodifythedataintheregionforwhichyouarerespon
sible.Forexample,acomplexradioplanningprojectmightcoveranentireregionorevenanentirecountry.You,however,
mightberesponsiblefortheradioplanningforonlyonecity.Insuchasituation,calculatingovertheentirenetworkwould
notonlytakealotoftime,itisnotnecessary.Consequently,youcanrestrictcalculationstothebasestationsthatyouare
interestedinandgenerateonlytheresultsyouneed.
InAtoll,therearetwowaysofrestrictingthenumberofbasestationsinvolvedincalculations,eachwithitsownadvantages:

Filteringthedesiredbasestations
Youcansimplifytheselectionofbasestationstobestudiedbyusingafilter.Youcanfilterbasestationsaccordingto
oneormorefields,oryoucancreateanadvancedfilterbycombiningseveralcriteriainseveralfields.Youcancreate
agraphicfilterbyeitherusinganexistingvectorpolygonorcreatinganewvectorpolygon.Forinformationongraphic
filters,see"FilteringDataUsingaFilteringZone"onpage111.Thisenablesyoutokeeponlythebasestationswith
thecharacteristicsyouwantforyourcalculations.Thefilteringzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Forinformationonfiltering,see"FilteringData"onpage99.

Settingacomputationzone
Drawingacomputationzonetoencompassthesitestobestudiedlimitsthenumberofsitestobecalculated,which
inturnreducesthetimenecessaryforcalculations.Inasmallerproject,thetimesavingsmaynotbesignificant.Ina
largerproject,especiallywhenyouaremakingrepeatedpredictionsinordertoseetheeffectsofsmallchangesinsite

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configuration,thesavingsintimeisconsiderable.Limitingthenumberofsitesbydrawingacomputationzonealso
limitsthecalculations.Thecomputationzoneistakenintoaccountwhetherornotitisvisible.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocuszoneorhotspot.Thecomputationzonedefines
the areawhereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,while the
focuszoneorhotspotistheareatakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.
Forinformationonthecomputationzone,see"CreatingaComputationZone"onpage1169.
Youcancombineacomputationzoneandafilter,inordertocreateaverypreciseselectionofthebasestationstobestudied.

11.2.7.2 CreatingaComputationZone
Tocreateacomputationzone:
1. In the Geo explorer, expand the Zones folder, rightclick the Computation Zone, and select one of the following
commandsfromthecontextmenu:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethezone.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thezone
willbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Thecomputationzoneisdelimitedbyaredline.IfyouclearthecomputationzonesvisibilitycheckboxintheZones
folderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateacomputationzonewithoneofthefollowingmethods:

VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasacomputationzonebyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>ComputationZonefromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingcomputationzonewithany
existingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>ComputationZone
fromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasacomputationzone.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheComputationZonein
theGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateacomputationzonethesizeofthemapwindowbyrightclickingtheCom
putationZoneintheGeoexplorerandselectingFitZonetoMapWindowfromthecontextmenu.
Youcansavethecomputationzone,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtolldocument,
inthefollowingways:

Savingthecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsaving
thecomputationzoneintheuserconfiguration,see"SavingaUserConfiguration"
onpage104.
Exportingthecomputationzone:Youcanexportthecomputationzonebyright
clicking the Computation Zone folder in the Geo explorer and selecting Export
fromthecontextmenu.

11.2.7.3 AssigningaPropagationModel
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,toadefinedgroupoftransmitters,orasingletrans
mitter.Aswell,youcanassignadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations.Thispropagationmodelisusedforalltransmitters
wherethemainpropagationmodelselectedis"(Defaultmodel)."
Becauseyoucanassignapropagationmodelinseveraldifferentways,itisimportanttounderstandwhichpropagationmodel
Atollwilluse:
1. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModelto
OneTransmitter"onpage1171,ortoagroupoftransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModeltoa
GroupofTransmitters"onpage1170,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thepropagationmodelassignedtoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitterswillalwayshaveprecedence
overanyotherassignedpropagationmodel.

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2. Ifyouhaveassignedapropagationmodelgloballytoalltransmitters,asexplainedin"AssigningaPropagationModel
toAllTransmitters"onpage1170,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitters,exceptforthose
towhichyouwilllaterassignapropagationmodeleitherindividuallyoraspartofagroup.
Whenyouassignapropagationmodelglobally,youoverrideanyselectionyoumight
havemadetoanindividualtransmitterortoagroupoftransmitters.

3. Ifyouhaveassignedadefaultpropagationmodelforcalculations,asdescribedin"DefiningaDefaultPropagation
Model"onpage209,thisisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeusedforalltransmitterswhosemainpropagation
modelis"(Defaultmodel)."Ifatransmitterhasanyotherpropagationmodelchosenasthemainpropagationmodel,
thatisthepropagationmodelthatwillbeused.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters"onpage1170.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters"onpage1170.
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage1171.

Formoreinformationabouttheavailablepropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoAllTransmitters
InAtoll,youcanassignapropagationmodelpertransmitterorglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologytowhichyouwanttoassign
apropagationmodelandselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
2. ClickthePropagationtab.
3. UnderMainmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

4. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

5. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedforalltransmitters.
Settingadifferentmainorextendedmatrixonanindividualtransmitterasexplainedin
"AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter"onpage1171willoverridethisentry.

AssigningaPropagationModeltoaGroupofTransmitters
Transmittersthatsharethesameparametersandenvironmentwillusuallyusethesamepropagationmodelandsettings.In
Atoll,youcanassignthesamepropagationmodeltoseveraltransmittersbyfirstgroupingthembytheircommonparameters
andthenassigningthepropagationmodel.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforadefinedgroupoftransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologytowhichyouwanttoassign
apropagationmodelandfromtheGroupBysubmenuofthecontextmenu,selectthepropertybywhichyouwantto
groupthetransmitters.Theobjectsinthefolderaregroupedbythatproperty.
You cangrouptransmittersby severalpropertiesby using theGroup By button onthe
Propertiesdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"AdvancedGrouping"onpage96.

2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthegroupoftransmitterstowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodel.Thecontext
menuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitterstableappearswiththetransmittersfromtheselected
group.

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Foreachtransmitter,youcansetthepropagationmodelparametersinthefollowingcolumns:

Mainpropagationmodel
Maincalculationradius
Mainresolution
Extendedpropagationmodel
Extendedcalculationradius
Extendedresolution

Toenterthesamevaluesinonecolumnforalltransmittersinthetable:
1. Enterthevalueinthefirstrowinthecolumn.
2. Selecttheentirecolumn.
3. RightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillDownfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillDownbutton(
Tabletoolbartocopythecontentsofthetopcelloftheselectionintotheothercells.

)inthe

Ifyouwanttocopythecontentsofthelastcellintheselectionintoallothercells,youcan
rightclicktheselectionandselectEdit>FillUpfromthecontextmenuorclicktheFillUp
button(
)intheTabletoolbar.FormoreinformationonworkingwithtablesinAtoll,
see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.
AssigningaPropagationModeltoOneTransmitter
Ifyouhaveaddedasingletransmitter,youcanassignitapropagationmodel.Youcanalsoassignapropagationmodeltoa
singletransmitterafteryouhaveassignedamainandextendedpropagationmodelgloballyortoagroupoftransmitters.
Whenyouassignamainandextendedpropagationmodeltoasingletransmitter,itoverridesanychangesyouhavepreviously
madeglobally.
Todefineamainandextendedpropagationmodelforalltransmitters:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnolgytowhichyouwanttoassigna
propagationmodel.
2. RightclickthetransmittertowhichyouwanttoassignamainandextendedpropagationmodelandselectProperties
fromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClickthePropagationtab.
4. UnderMainmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

5. Ifdesired,underExtendedmatrix:

SelectaPropagationmodel.
EnteraRadiusandResolution.

6. ClickOK.Theselectedpropagationmodelswillbeusedfortheselectedtransmitter.
Youcanalsodefinethepropagationmodelsforatransmitterbyrightclickingitinthemap
windowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

11.2.7.4 SettingTransmittersorCellsasActive
Whenyouruncalculations,Atollconsidersallbasestationsthatareactive,filtered(i.e.,thatareselectedbythecurrentfilter
parameters), and whose propagation zone intersects a rectangle containing the computation zone. Therefore, you must
ensurethatallthetransmittersonthebasestationsyouwishtostudyhavebeenactivated.Intheexplorerwindow,active
transmittersareindicatedwithanonicon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandwiththedefinedcolouronthemapandinac

tivetransmittersareindicatedwithanofficon(

)intheTransmittersfolderandemptysymbolonthemap.

InAtoll,youcanalsosetthecellonatransmitterasactiveorinactive.
Youcansetanindividualtransmitterasactivefromitscontextmenuoryoucansetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveby
activatingthemfromtheTransmitterscontextmenu,byactivatingthetransmitterscellsfromtheCellstable,orbyselecting
thetransmitterswithazoneandactivatingthemfromthezonescontextmenu.

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Tosetanindividualtransmitterasactive:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologywhosetransmitteryouwant
toactivate.
2. RightclickthetransmitteryouwanttoactivateandselectActiveTransmitterfromthecontextmenu.Thetransmitter
isnowactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterscontextmenu:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,selectthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive:

Tosetalltransmittersasactive,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologywhosetrans
mitteryouwanttoactivate.Thecontextmenuappears.
Tosetagroupoftransmittersasactive,clicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolderoftheradio
accesstechnologywhosetransmitteryouwanttoactivateandrightclickthegroupoftransmittersyouwantto
setasactive.Thecontextmenuappears.

2. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
TosetmorethanonetransmitterasactiveusingtheTransmitterstable:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologywhosetransmitteryou
wanttoactivateandselectOpenTable.TheTransmitterstableappearswitheachtransmittersparametersinarow.
2. Foreachtransmitterthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
TosetmorethanonecellasactiveusingtheCellstable:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologywhosecellyouwanttoacti
vateandselectCells>OpenTable.TheCellstableappearswitheachcellsparametersinarow.
2. Foreachcellthatyouwanttosetasactive,selectthecheckboxintheActivecolumn.
Tosettransmittersasactiveusingazone:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheZonesfolderandrightclickthefolderofthezoneyouwillusetoselectthetransmit
ters.Thecontextmenuappears.
Ifyoudonotyethaveazonecontainingthetransmittersyouwanttosetasactive,youcan
drawazoneasexplainedin"UsingZonesintheMapWindow"onpage58.

2. SelectActivateTransmittersfromthecontextmenu.Theselectedtransmittersaresetasactive.
Onceyouhaveensuredthatalltransmittersareactive,youcansetthepropagationmodelparameters.Forinformationon
choosingandconfiguringapropagationmodel,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
Calculatingpathlossmatricescanbetimeandresourceintensivewhenyouareworkingonlargerprojects.Consequently,
Atolloffersyouthepossibilityofdistributingpathlosscalculationsonseveralcomputers.Youcaninstallthedistributedcalcu
lationserverapplicationonotherworkstationsoronservers.Oncethedistributedcalculationserverapplicationisinstalled
onaworkstationorserver,thecomputerisavailablefordistributedpathlosscalculationtoothercomputersonthenetwork.
Forinformationonsettingupthedistributedcalculationserverapplication,seetheAdministratorManual.

11.2.7.5 TheCalculationProcess
WhenyoucreateacoveragepredictionbyclickingtheCalculatebutton(

),thefollowingactionsareperformed:

1. Atollfirstchecksthatthepathlossmatricesexistandarevalid.Theremustbevalidpathlossmatricesforeachactive
andfilteredtransmitterwhosepropagationradiusintersectstherectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.
2. Ifthepathlossmatricesdonotexistorarenotvalid,Atollcalculatesthem.Therehastobeatleastoneunlockedcov
eragepredictioninthePredictionsfolder.IfnotAtollwillnotcalculatethepathlossmatriceswhenyouclicktheCal
culatebutton(
).
3. AtollcalculatesallunlockedcoveragepredictionsinthePredictionsfolder.Atollautomaticallylockstheresultsofa
coveragepredictionassoonasitiscalculated,asindicatedbytheicon(
)besidethecoveragepredictioninthe
Predictionsfolder.

YoucanstopanycalculationsinprogressbyclickingtheStopCalculationsbutton

WhenyouclicktheForceCalculationbutton(
)insteadoftheCalculatebutton,
Atoll calculates allpathloss matrices, unlocked coverages, andpendingsimula
tions.

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11.2.8 StudyingBaseStations
Youcanstudyoneorseveralbasestationstotesttheeffectivenessofthesetparameters.Coveragepredictionsongroupsof
basestationscantakealargeamountoftimeandconsumealotofcomputerresources.Restrictingyourcoverageprediction
tothebasestationyouarecurrentlyworkingonallowsyougettheresultsquickly.Youcanexpandyourcoverageprediction
toanumberofbasestationsonceyouhaveoptimisedthesettingsforeachindividualbasestation.
Beforestudyingabasestation,youmustassignapropagationmodel.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioandgeographic
data into account and calculates propagation losses along the transmitterreceiver path. This allows you to predict the
receivedsignallevelatanygivenpoint.Anycoveragepredictionyoumakeonabasestationusesthepropagationmodelto
calculateitsresults.Formoreinformation,see"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage1167.
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,studyingbasestationsissimilartostudyingbasestationsinasingleRATnetwork.Theonly
differenceisthatthefoldersandtools(suchasthePointAnalysis)areidentifiedbythetechnologytheybelongto.

TostudyCDMAbasestations,see"StudyingBaseStations"onpage743
TostudyLTEbasestations,see"StudyingBaseStations"onpage918.

Sometechnologyspecificcoveragepredictionsuseterminal,mobilitytype,andserviceparametersincalculations.Forinfor
mationontheseparameters,see"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1214.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"3GPP2MultiRATPredictions"onpage1173
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage1175
"GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics"onpage1176
"PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage1180
"ComparingCoveragePredictions"onpage1180
"MakingaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1184

11.2.8.1 3GPP2MultiRATPredictions
3GPP2multiRATcoveragepredictionsarecalculatedusingDLandULloadconditionswhichinclude:

InCDMA:theDLtotalpowerandULloadfactor(definedattheCDMAcelllevel)
InLTE:theallocatedfrequencyplan,theDLtrafficloadandULnoiserise(definedattheLTEcelllevel).

Forthepurposeofthesepredictions,eachpixelisconsideredanoninterferingreceiverwithadefinedservice,mobilitytype,
andterminalasexplainedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1214.
Thefollowing3GPP2MultiRATcoveragepredictionsareexplainedinthissection:

11.2.8.1.1

"Makinga3GPP2MultiRATEffectiveServiceAreaPrediction"onpage1173.
"Making3GPP2MultiRATThroughputPredictions"onpage1174.

Makinga3GPP2MultiRATEffectiveServiceAreaPrediction
The3GPP2multiRATeffectiveserviceareaisthecombinationofseveralsingleRATeffectiveserviceareas:

TheCDMApartisbasedontheCDMAEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL+UL)analysis,asexplainedin"Stud
yingtheEffectiveServiceArea"onpage764.
TheLTEpartisbasedontheLTEEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL),asexplainedin"StudyingtheEffectiveSer
viceArea"onpage937.

Tomakea3GPP2multiRATeffectiveserviceareaprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. UnderStandardPredictions3GPP2MultiRAT,selectEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)andclickOK.The3GPP2
multiRATEffectiveServiceAreaAnalysis(DL+UL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.ClicktheGeneraltab.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.
This ID can later be found between the <GUID> and </GUID> tags in the
"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
TheGroupBy,Sort,andFilterbuttonsunderDisplayConfigurationarenotavail
ablewhenmakingamultiRATcoverageprediction.

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6. ClicktheConditionstab.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1214.
Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
7. ClicktheDisplaytab.
DisplayType:Fora3GPP2multiRATeffectiveserviceareaprediction,"DiscreteValues"isselectedasthedisplaytype
sothateachserviceareaisdisplayedwiththecolourcorrespondingtothetechnologyusedtoaccesstheservice.
Field:Select"Technologies"toobtainonecoveragelayerforeachtechnologyor"AvailableTechnologies"toobtain
onecoveragelayerforeachtechnologyandcombinationsofavailabletechnologies.
8. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyorsaveitandcalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterbyclicking
theCalculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanymessages,aredisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

11.2.8.1.2

Making3GPP2MultiRATThroughputPredictions
A3GPP2MultiRATthroughputpredictionisthecombinationofseveralsingleRATthroughputpredictions:

TheCDMApartisbasedontheServiceAreaAnalysis(EbNt)(DL)prediction,asexplainedin"Studying1xRTTForward
andReverseLinkServiceAreas(EbNt)"onpage760and"StudyingtheForwardLinkEVDOThroughput"onpage761.
The3GPP2multiRATeffectiveRLCandapplicationthroughputsarerespectivelyobtainedfromtheeffectiveRLCand
applicationthroughputsofthe1xRTTorthe1xEVDOlayer.

TheLTEpartisbasedontheLTECoveragebyThroughput(DL),asexplainedin"MakingaCoveragePredictionby
Throughput"onpage938.
The 3GPP2 multiRAT effective RLC and application throughputs are respectively obtained from the effective RLC
channelthroughput(DL)andtheapplicationchannelthroughput(DL)coveragepredictions.

Fourtypesofthroughputcanbecalculatedoneachpixel:

EffectiveRLCThroughput:ThethroughputontheRLClayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedterminalperpixel
takingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER)forthehighestprioritytechnology.
MaxEffectiveRLCThroughput:ThemaximumthroughputontheRLClayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedter
minalperpixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER),consideringallavailabletechnologies.
ApplicationThroughput:Thethroughputontheapplicationlayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselectedterminalper
pixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER)forthehighestprioritytechnology.
MaxApplicationThroughput:themaximumthroughputontheapplicationlayerthatacellcanprovidetotheselected
terminalperpixeltakingintoaccountpossibletransmissionerrors(BLER),consideringallavailabletechnologies.

Tomakea3GPP2MultiRATthroughputprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewPredictionfromthecontextmenu.ThePredictionTypesdialogboxappears.
4. UnderStandardPredictions3GPP2MultiRAT,selectCoveragebyThroughput(DL)andclickOK.ThemultiRATCov
eragebyThroughput(DL)Propertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClicktheGeneraltab.
6. ClicktheGeneraltab.OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheassignedNameofthecoverageprediction,theReso
lution,andyoucanaddaComment.

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AreadonlyUniqueIDisgeneratedwhenyoucreateanewcoverageprediction.
This ID can later be found between the <GUID> and </GUID> tags in the
"studies.XML"filecreatedintheinstallationfolderifatleastonecoveragepredic
tionwassavedusingtheSaveasCustomisedPredictioncommand.
TheGroupBy,Sort,andFilterbuttonsunderDisplayConfigurationarenotavail
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7. ClicktheConditionstab.
YoumustselectaTerminal,Service,andMobility,asdefinedin"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1214.
Ifyouwanttheeffectiveserviceareapredictiontoconsidershadowing,youcanselecttheShadowingtakeninto
accountcheckboxandenterapercentageintheCelledgecoverageprobabilitytextbox.
YoucanalsoselecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.
8. ClicktheDisplaytab.Fora3GPP2multiRATthroughputcoverageprediction,"Valueintervals"isselectedasthedis
playtypeinordertodisplayeithertheeffectiveRLC,themaxeffectiveRLC,theapplication,orthebestapplication
throughputs.
Forinformationonadjustingthedisplay,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Ifmorethanonetechnologyservesapixel,thedisplayedthroughputistheoneprovidedbythehighestprioritytech
nologyasdefinedinthepropertiesoftheselectedservice.
9. Onceyouhavecreatedthecoverageprediction,youcancalculateitimmediatelyorsaveitandcalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedcoveragepredictionwithoutcalculatingit.Youcancalculateitlaterbyclicking
theCalculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

Theprogressofthecalculation,aswellasanymessages,aredisplayedintheEventViewer.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingthecoverageprediction,theresultsaredisplayedinthemapwindow.

11.2.8.2 DisplayingCoveragePredictionResults
TheresultsaredisplayedgraphicallyinthemapwindowaccordingtothesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyou
createdthecoverageprediction.Ifseveralcoveragepredictionsarevisibleonthemap,itcanbedifficulttoclearlyseethe
resultsofthecoveragepredictionyouwishtoanalyse.Youcanselectwhichpredictionstodisplayortohidebyselectingor
clearingthedisplaycheckbox.Forinformationonmanagingthedisplay,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsing
theExplorerWindows"onpage42.
Inthissection,thefollowingtoolsareexplained:

11.2.8.2.1

"DisplayingtheLegendWindow"onpage1175.
"DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText"onpage1175.

DisplayingtheLegendWindow
Whenyoucreateacoverageprediction,youcanaddthedisplayedvaluesofthecoveragepredictiontoalegendbyselecting
theAddtolegendcheckboxontheDisplaytab.
TodisplaytheLegendwindow:

11.2.8.2.2

SelectView>LegendWindow.TheLegendwindowisdisplayed,withthevaluesforeachdisplayedcoveragepredic
tionidentifiedbythenameofthecoverageprediction.

DisplayingCoveragePredictionResultsUsingtheTipText
Youcangetinformationbyplacingthepointeroveranareaofthecoveragepredictiontoreadtheinformationdisplayedin
thetiptext.TheinformationdisplayedisdefinedbythesettingsyoumadeontheDisplaytabwhenyoucreatedthecoverage
prediction.
Togetcoveragepredictionresultsintheformoftiptext:

Inthemapwindow,placethepointerovertheareaofthecoveragepredictionthatyouwantmoreinformationon.
Afterabriefpause,thetiptextappearswiththeinformationdefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoverageprediction
properties(seeFigure11.4).

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Figure11.4:Displayingcoveragepredictionresultsusingtiptext

11.2.8.3 GeneratingCoveragePredictionReportsandStatistics
Onceyouhavecompletedaprediction,youcangeneratereportsandstatisticswiththetoolsthatAtollprovides.

11.2.8.3.1

"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1176.
"GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1177.
"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1179.
"ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics"onpage1179.

CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport
Thefocusandhotspotsdefinetheareaonwhichstatisticscanbedrawnandonwhichreportsaremade.Whileyoucanonly
haveonefocuszone,youcandefineseveralhotspotsinadditiontothefocuszone.
Itisimportantnottoconfusethecomputationzoneandthefocusandhotspots.Thecomputationzonedefinesthearea
whereAtollcalculatespathlossmatrices,coveragepredictions,MonteCarlosimulations,etc.,whilethefocusandhotspots
aretheareastakenintoconsiderationwhengeneratingreportsandresults.Whenyoucreateacoveragepredictionreport,it
givestheresultsforthefocuszoneandforeachofthedefinedhotspots.
Todefineafocuszoneorhotspot:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheZonesfolder,rightclicktheFocusZoneorHotSpotsfolder,dependingonwhether
youwanttocreateafocuszoneorahotspot,andselectoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontextmenu:

DrawPolygon
i.

Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthefocuszoneorhotspotchanges
direction.
iii. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethefocuszoneorhotspot.

DrawRectangle
i.

Clickthepointonthemapthatwillbeonecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.

ii. Dragtotheoppositecorneroftherectanglethatwilldefinethefocuszoneorhotspot.Whenyoureleasethe
mouse,thefocuszoneorhotspotwillbecreatedfromtherectangledefinedbythetwocorners.
Afocuszoneisdelimitedbyagreenline;ahotspotisdelimitedbyaheavyblackline.Ifyouclearthezonesvisibility
checkboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexplorer,itwillnolongerbedisplayedbutwillstillbetakenintoaccount.
Youcanalsocreateafocusorhotspotasfollows:

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VectorEditortoolbar:YoucanusetheNewPolygon(
)andNewRectangle(
)buttonsavailableintheVector
Editortoolbartodrawthecomputationzone.
Existingpolygon:Youcanuseanyexistingpolygononthemapasafocusorhotspotbyrightclickingitandselecting
UseAs>FocusZoneorUseAs>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.Youcanalsocombineanexistingfocuszoneorhot
spotwithanyexistingpolygonbyrightclickingitonthemaporintheexplorerwindowandselectingAddTo>Focus
ZoneorAddTo>HotSpotfromthecontextmenu.
Importingapolygon:Ifyouhaveafilewithanexistingpolygon,forexample,apolygondescribinganadministrative
area,youcanimportitanduseitasafocusorhotspot.YoucanimportitbyrightclickingtheFocusZoneorHotSpots
folderintheGeoexplorerandselectingImportfromthecontextmenu.Whenyouimporthotspots,youcanimport
thenamegiventoeachzoneaswell.
FitZonetoMapWindow:YoucancreateafocusorhotspotthesizeofthemapwindowbyselectingFitZonetoMap
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Youcansavethefocuszoneorhotspots,sothatyoucanuseitinadifferentAtoll
document,inthefollowingways:

11.2.8.3.2

Savingthefocuszoneintheuserconfiguration:Forinformationonsavingthe
focus zone in the user configuration, see "Saving a User Configuration" on
page104.
Exportingthefocuszoneorhotspots:Youcanexportthefocuszoneorhot
spots by rightclicking the Focus Zone or the Hot Spots folder in the Geo
explorerandselectingExportfromthecontextmenu.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocusorhotspotbyimportingapopu
lationmap.Forinformationonimportingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformat
GeoDataFile"onpage142.

GeneratingaCoveragePredictionReport
Atollcangenerateareportforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Thereportdisplaysthe
coveredsurfaceandpercentageforeachthresholdvaluedefinedintheDisplaytabofthecoveragepredictionsProperties
dialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreportisdisplayedinatable.Forinformationonworkingwithtables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"
onpage75.Bydefault,thereporttableonlydisplaysthenameandcoverageareacolumns.Youcaneditthetabletoselect
whichcolumnstodisplayortohide.Forinformationondisplayingandhidingcolumns,see"DisplayingorHidingaColumn"
onpage80.
Atollbasesthereportontheareacoveredbythefocuszoneandhotspots;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethe
computationzone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcancreateareportforaspecificnumberofsites,
insteadofcreatingareportforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.
Thefocuszoneorhotspotmustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplayareport;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcover
age.Thefocuszoneorhotspotdoesnot,however,needtobevisible;evenifitisnotdisplayed,Atollwilltakeitintoaccount
whengeneratingthereport.Forinformationondefiningafocuszoneorhotspot,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotfor
aCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1176.
Onceyouhavegeneratedareport,youcanexportittoatextfileortoanExcelspreadsheet.Formoreinformationonexport
ingacoveragepredictionreport,see"ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1179.
Atollcangenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction,orforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap.
Togenerateareportforasinglecoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionforwhichyouwanttogenerateareport.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
5. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
6. Whenyouhavefinisheddefiningtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialog
box.Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears.Thereportisbasedonthehotspotsandonthefocuszoneifavail
ableoronthehotspotsandcomputationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.

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Togenerateareportforallthecoveragepredictionscurrentlydisplayedonthemap:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Selectthecheckboxinfrontofeachcoveragepredictionthatyouwanttoincludeinthereport.
4. RightclickthePredictionsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectGenerateReportfromthecontextmenu.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
IncaseahotspotwasimportedinyourAtolldocument,additionalfieldswillappearatthebottomoftheColumnsto
BeDisplayeddialogboxifthehotspotdescriptioncontainsparametersotherthanAtollspecificparameters.
6. Definetheformatandcontentofthereport:
Youcanselectthecolumnsthatwillbedisplayedinthereportanddefinetheordertheyarein:
a. Selectthecheckboxforeachcolumnyouwanttohavedisplayed.
b. Definetheorderofthecolumnsbyselectingeachcolumnyouwanttomoveandclicking
tomoveitdown.

tomoveitupor

Youcansavethecurrentreportformatinaconfiguration:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheSavebutton.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
b. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,browsetothefolderwhereyouwanttosavetheconfigurationandenteraFilename.
Youcanloadaconfigurationthatyouhavesavedpreviouslyandapplyittothecurrentreport:
a. UnderConfiguration,clicktheLoadbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
b. SelecttheconfigurationyouwanttoloadandclickOpen.Theloadedreportconfigurationisapplied.
7. Onceyouhavedefinedtheformatandcontentofthereport,clickOKintheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogbox.
Thecoveragepredictionreporttableappears,showingareportforeachdisplayedpredictionintheordertheyappear
inthePredictionsfolder.Thereportisbasedonthefocuszone,ifany(evenifitisnotdisplayedonthemap),oron
thecalculationzoneifthereisnofocuszone.
By default, theranges which do not contain any pixels do not appear in the report.By
settinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile,youcanincludetheserangesinthereport.Formore
information,seetheAdministratorManual.
Youcanincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspotsbyimportingapopulationmap.Forinformationonimport
ingmaps,see"ImportingaRasterformatGeoDataFile"onpage142.Normally,Atolltakesallgeodataintoconsideration,
whetheritisdisplayedornot.However,forthepopulationstatisticstobeusedinareport,thepopulationmaphastobe
displayed.
Toincludepopulationstatisticsinthefocuszoneorhotspots:
1. Ensure that the population geo data is visible. For information on displaying geo data, see "Displaying or Hiding
ObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorerWindows"onpage42.
2. Displaythereportasexplainedabove.
3. SelectFormat>DisplayColumns.TheColumnstoBeDisplayeddialogboxappears.
4. Selectthefollowingcolumns,where"Population"isthenameofthefolderintheGeoexplorercontainingthepopu
lationmap:

"Population"(Population):Thenumberofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(%Population):Thepercentageofinhabitantscovered.
"Population"(Population[total]:Thetotalnumberofinhabitantsinsidethezone.

Atollsavesthenamesofthecolumnsyouselectandwillautomaticallyselectthemthenexttimeyoucreateacover
agepredictionreport.
5. ClickOK.
Ifyouhavecreatedacustomdatamapwithintegrabledata,thedatacanbeusedinpredictionreports.Thedatawillbe
summedoverthecoverageareaforeachiteminthereport(forexample,bytransmitterorthreshold).Thedatacanbevalue
data(revenue,numberofcustomers,etc.)ordensitydata(revenue/km,numberofcustomer/km,etc.).Dataisconsidered
asnonintegrableifthedatagivenisperpixelorpolygonandcannotbesummedoverareas,forexample,sociodemographic
classes,rainzones,etc.Forinformationonintegrabledataincustomdatamaps,see"IntegrableversusNonintegrableData"
onpage160.

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11.2.8.3.3

ExportingaCoveragePredictionReport
Once you have generated a coverage prediction report as explained in "Generating a Coverage Prediction Report" on
page1177,youcanexportittoatextfileortoaspreadsheet.
Toexportacoveragepredictionreport:
1. RightclickthereportandselectExportfromthecontextmenuorclicktheExportbutton(
TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.

)intheTabletoolbar.

2. IntheSaveAsdialogbox,entertheFilenameandselecttheformatfromtheSaveastypelist:

TXT:Tosavethereportasatextfile.
CSV:Tosavethereportasacommaseparatedvaluesfile.
XLS:TosavethereportasanExcelspreadsheet.
XMLSpreadsheet2003:TosavethereportasanXMLspreadsheet.

3. ClickSavetoexportthecoveragepredictionreport.

11.2.8.3.4

ViewingCoveragePredictionStatistics
Atollcandisplaystatisticsforanycoveragepredictionwhosedisplaycheckboxisselected( ).Bydefault,Atolldisplaysa
histogramusingthecoveragepredictioncolours,intervalsteps,andshadingasdefinedontheDisplaytabofthecoverage
predictionsPropertiesdialogbox.Youcanalsodisplayacumulativedistributionfunction(CDF)oraninverseCDF(1CDF).
ForaCDForaninverseCDF,theresultingvaluesarecombinedandshownalongacurve.Youcanalsodisplaythehistogram
ortheCDFsaspercentagesofthecoveredarea.
Atollbasesthestatisticsontheareacoveredbythefocuszone;ifnofocuszoneisdefined,Atollwillusethecomputation
zone.However,byusingafocuszoneforthereport,youcandisplaythestatisticsforaspecificnumberofsites,insteadof
displayingstatisticsforeverysitethathasbeencalculated.Hotspotsarenottakenintoconsiderationwhendisplayingstatis
tics.
Thefocuszonemustbedefinedbeforeyoudisplaystatistics;itisnotnecessarytodefineitbeforecalculatingcoverage.For
informationondefiningafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage1176.
Todisplaythestatisticsonacoverageprediction:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthePredictionsfolder.
3. Rightclickthecoveragepredictionwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectHistogramfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticsdialogboxappearswithahistogramoftheareadefinedby
thefocuszone(seeFigure11.5).

UnderHistogrambasedoncoveredareas,youcanselecttoviewahistogram,CDF,orinverseCDFbasedonarea
orpercentage.
TheZoomonselectedvaluessectiondisplaysthecoveredareavalues,orthepercentageofthecoveredarea,
alongtheyaxisagainstthecoveragecriterionalongthexaxis.Youcanzoominonvaluesbyclickinganddragging
intheZoomonselectedvalueslist.Atollwillzoominontheselectedvalues.
YoucancopythegraphbyclickingtheCopybutton.
YoucanprintthegraphbyclickingthePrintbutton.
UnderStatisticsbasedonpredictionconditions,youcanviewthemeanandstandarddeviationofthecoverage
criterioncalculatedduringthecoveragecalculations,ifavailable.

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Figure11.5:Histogramofacoveragepredictionbysignallevel

11.2.8.4 PrintingandExportingCoveragePredictionResults
Onceyouhavemadeacoverageprediction,youcanprinttheresultsdisplayedonthemaporsavetheminanexternalformat.
Youcanalsoexportaselectedareaofthecoverageasabitmap.

Printingcoveragepredictionresults:Atolloffersseveraloptionsallowingyoutocustomiseandoptimisetheprinted
coveragepredictionresults.Atollsupportsprintingtoavarietyofpapersizes,includingA4andA0.Formoreinforma
tiononprintingcoveragepredictionresults,see"PrintingaMap"onpage90.
Definingageographicexportzone:Ifyouwanttoexportpartofthecoveragepredictionasabitmap,youcandefine
ageographicexportzone.Afteryouhavedefinedageographicexportzone,whenyouexportacoverageprediction
asarasterimage,Atolloffersyoutheoptionofexportingonlytheareacoveredbythezone.Formoreinformationon
definingageographicexportzone,see"UsingaGeographicExportZone"onpage63.
Exportingcoveragepredictionresults:InAtoll,youcanexportthecoverageareasofacoveragepredictioninraster
orvectorformats.Inrasterformats,youcanexportinBMP,TIF,JPEG2000,ArcViewgrid,orVerticalMapper(GRD
andGRC)formats.WhenexportinginGRDorGRCformats,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Invector
formats,youcanexportinArcView,MapInfo,orAGDformats.Formoreinformationonexportingcoveragepre
dictionresults,see"ExportingCoveragePredictionResults"onpage71.

11.2.8.5 ComparingCoveragePredictions
Atollallowsyoutocomparetwosimilarpredictionstoseethedifferencesbetweenthem.Thisenablesyoutoquicklyseehow
thechangesthatyoumakecanaffectthenetwork.
Youcandisplaytheresultsofthecomparisoninoneofthefollowingways:

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Intersection:Thisdisplaymodeshowstheareawherebothpredictioncoveragesoverlap(forexample,pixelscovered
bybothpredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Merge:Thisdisplaymodeshowstheareathatiscoveredbyeitherofthecoveragepredictions(forexample,pixels
coveredbyatleastoneofthepredictionsaredisplayedinred).
Union:Thisdisplayshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolourandpixelscoveredbyonlyone
coveragepredictioninadifferentcolour(forexample,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsareredandpixelscovered
byonlyonepredictionareblue).
Difference:Thisdisplaymodeshowsallpixelscoveredbybothcoveragepredictionsinonecolour,pixelscoveredby
onlythefirstpredictionwithanothercolourandpixelscoveredonlybythesecondpredictionwithathirdcolour(for
example,pixelscoveredbybothpredictionsarered,pixelscoveredonlybythefirstpredictionaregreen,andpixels
coveredonlybythesecondpredictionareblue).
ValueDifference:ThisdisplaymodeshowsthedBdifferencebetweenanytwocoveragepredictionsbysignallevel.
Thisdisplayoptionwillnotbeavailableifthecoveragepredictionswerecalculatedusingdifferentresolutions.

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Tocomparetwosimilarcoveragepredictions:
1. Createandcalculateacoveragepredictionoftheexistingnetwork.
2. Examinethecoveragepredictiontoseewherecoveragecanbeimproved.
3. Makethechangestothenetworktoimprovecoverage.
4. Duplicatetheoriginalcoverageprediction(inordertoleavethefirstcoveragepredictionunchanged).
5. Calculatetheduplicatedcoverageprediction.
6. Comparetheoriginalcoveragepredictionwiththenewcoverageprediction.Atolldisplaysdifferencesincoverage
betweenthem.
Thissectioncontainsthetwofollowingexamplestoillustratethecomparisonsbetweenpredictions:

"Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation"onpage1181
"Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt"onpage1183.

Example1:StudyingtheEffectofaNewBaseStation
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanverifyifanewlyaddedbasestationimprovescoverage.
Asignallevelcoveragepredictionofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1173.The
resultsaredisplayedinFigure11.6.Anareawithpoorcoverageisvisibleontherightsideofthefigure.

Figure11.6:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofexistingnetwork
Anewbasestationisadded,eitherbycreatingthebasestationandaddingthetransmitters,asexplainedin"CreatingaBase
Station"onpage1165.Oncethenewsitehasbeenadded,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenit
wouldbeimpossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalsignallevelcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselecting
Duplicatefromitscontextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculatedtoshowtheeffectofthenewbasestation(seeFigure11.7).

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Figure11.7:Signallevelcoveragepredictionofnetworkwithnewbasestation
Nowyoucancomparethetwocoveragepredictions.
Tocomparetwocoveragepredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthecoveragepredictionyouwant
tocomparewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.
4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

Inordertoseewhatchangesaddinganewbasestationmade,youshouldchooseDifference.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure11.8,showsclearlytheareacoveredonlybythenew
basestation.

Figure11.8:Comparisonofbothsignallevelcoveragepredictions

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Example2:StudyingtheEffectofaChangeinTransmitterTilt
Ifyouhaveanareainanetworkthatispoorlycoveredbycurrenttransmitters,youhaveseveraloptionsforincreasingcover
age.Inthisexample,youcanseehowmodifyingtransmittertiltcanimprovecoverage.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterofthecurrentnetworkismadeasdescribedin"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1173.
TheresultsaredisplayedinFigure11.9.Thecoveragepredictionshowsthatonetransmitteriscoveringitsareapoorly.The
areaisindicatedbyaredovalinFigure11.9.

Figure11.9:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofexistingnetwork
Youcantrymodifyingthetiltonthetransmittertoimprovethecoverage.Thepropertiesofthetransmittercanbeaccessed
byrightclickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.Themechanicalandelec
tricaltiltoftheantennaaredefinedontheTransmittertabofthePropertiesdialogbox.
Oncethetiltoftheantennahasbeenmodified,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanberecalculated,butthenitwouldbe
impossibletocomparetheresults.Instead,theoriginalcoveragepredictioncanbecopiedbyselectingDuplicatefromits
contextmenu.Thecopyisthencalculated,toshowhowmodifyingtheantennatilthasaffectedcoverage(seeFigure11.10).

Figure11.10:Coveragepredictionbytransmitterofnetworkaftermodifications
Asyoucansee,modifyingtheantennatiltincreasedthecoverageofthetransmitter.However,toseeexactlythechangein
coverage,youcancomparethetwopredictions.
Tocomparetwopredictions:
1. Rightclickoneofthetwopredictions.Thecontextmenuappears.
2. Fromthecontextmenu,selectComparewithand,fromthemenuthatopens,selectthepredictionyouwanttocom
parewiththefirst.TheComparisonPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheGeneraltab.YoucanchangetheNameofthecomparisonandaddComments.
TheGeneraltabcontainsinformationaboutthecoveragepredictionsbeingcompared,includingtheirnamesand
resolutions.

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4. ClicktheDisplaytab.OntheDisplaytab,youcanchoosehowyouwanttheresultsofthecomparisontobedisplayed.
Youcanchooseamong:

Intersection
Merge
Union
Difference

In order to see what changes modifying the antenna tilt made, you can choose Union. This will display all pixels
coveredbybothpredictionsinonecolourandallpixelscoveredbyonlyonepredictioninanothercolour.Theincrease
incoverage,seeninonlythesecondcoverageprediction,willbeimmediatelyclear.
5. ClickOKtocreatethecomparison.ThecomparisoninFigure11.11,showsclearlytheincreaseincoveragedueatthe
changeinantennatilt.

Figure11.11:Comparisonofbothtransmittercoveragepredictions

11.2.8.6 MakingaMultipointAnalysis
InAtoll,youcancarryoutcalculationsonlistsofpointsrepresentingsubscribersandanalysethem.Theseanalysescanbe
usefulforverifyingnetworkQoSatsubscriberlocationsincaseofincidents(calldrops,lowthroughputs,etc.)reportedby
users.Moreover,someuserequipmentmayfeedbackanumberofnetworkmeasurementsattheirlocations.Thismayhelp
verifynetworkqualitywithouttheneedformeasurementcampaignsattheexpenseoftheoperator.
Anumberofparametersarecalculatedforeachpoint,notjustforthebestserverbutforallpotentialservers.Theloadcondi
tionsarefixedbytheuser,eitherreadfromtheCellstableorfromatrafficsimulation.Theresultsprovidedbythisanalysis
arethesameasavailableforonepointintheDetailsviewofthePointAnalysistool.
ShadowingmarginsarecalculatedforthecelledgecoverageprobabilitydefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthePoint
Analysistool.TheIndoorCoveragecheckboxinthisdialogboxisalsotakenintoaccount.
Allthepointsareconsideredtohavethesameheight,whichisthereceiverheightdefinedinthePropertiesdialogboxofthe
NetworkSettingsfolder,i.e.,thereceiverheightatwhichpathlossmatricesarecalculated.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

11.2.8.6.1

"CreatingaNewMultipointAnalysis"onpage1184
"AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults"onpage1186.
"AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysisUsingtheMouse"onpage1187
"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1187
"ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1187
"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"onpage1188
"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder"onpage1188.

CreatingaNewMultipointAnalysis
Whenyoucreateanewmultipointanalysis,youcansetalltheparametersthatdefineit.Thenewlycreatedanalysisisnot
automaticallycalculated.
Tocreateanewmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewAnalysis<Technology>(CDMA2000orLTE)fromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNProp
ertiesdialogboxappears.

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4. ClicktheGeneraltab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

Name:Thenameoftheanalysis.Youcanchangethenameoftheanalysisifdesired.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.

5. ClicktheConditionstab.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:

IfyouselectedNewAnalysisCDMA2000:

LoadConditions:Selecttheloadconditionstobeusedintheanalysis.Ifyouselect"(CellsTable),"thecalcu
lationsarenotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation;Atollwillusethecellloadsde
finedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseananalysisonsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationsfromtheLoad
Conditionslist.

Carrier:Selectthecarrierforwhichyouwanttheanalysistobecarriedout.Youcaneitherselect"Best"orone
ormorecarriernumbersfromthelist.The"Best"carrierwilldependonthecarrierselectionmethoddefined
forthesiteequipment.
BearerDowngrading:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttopermitbearerdowngrading.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsidershadowingandenteraCellEdge
CoverageProbability.
Indoor coverage: Select this check box if you want to add indoor losses. Indoor losses are defined per
frequencyperclutterclass

IfyouselectedNewAnalysisLTE:

LoadConditions:Selecttheloadconditionstobeusedintheanalysis.Ifyouselect"(CellsTable),"thecalcu
lationsarenotgoingtobebasedonloadconditionstakenfromasimulation.Atollwillusethecellloadsde
finedinthecellproperties.
Whenyoubaseananalysisonsimulations,youwouldselectthesimulationsfromtheLoad
Conditionslist.

Shadowingtakenintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsidershadowingandenteraCellEdge
CoverageProbability.
Indoor coverage: Select this check box if you want to add indoor losses. Indoor losses are defined per
frequencyperclutterclass

6. ClickthePointstab.Hereyoucancreatethelistofpointsonwhichthemultipointanalysiswillbemade.Eachpoint
inthelistisdefinedbyitsXandYcoordinates,aHeight(m),aService,aTerminal,andaMobility.Youcan:

Importalistofpoints.See"ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis"onpage1187.
Copyandpasteanexistinglistofpoints.

Createpointsinthelistbyeditingthetable:intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),createeachpoint
byenteringitsXandYcoordinatesandassigningitaservice,aterminal,andamobility.
Youcanalsocreatepointsusingthemouse.Formoreinformation,See"AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysis
UsingtheMouse"onpage1187.

Thecoordinatesmustbeintheformatusedbythedisplaycoordinatesystemofthe
document.Forinformationonchangingthecoordinatesystem,see"SettingaCoor
dinateSystem"onpage126.

7. ClicktheDisplaytabanddefinethedisplaypropertiesofmultipointanalysisresults.Forinformationonchangingdis
playcharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
8. Youcaneitherrunthenewmultipointanalysisimmediatelyoryoucancreateitandrunitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetoruntheanalysisimmediately.Oncethecalculationsarecomplete,<Technology>:
AnalysisNwillappearintheMultipointAnalysisfolder.Forinformationonhowtoaccesstheanalysisresults,
see"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"onpage1188.

OK:ClickOKtocreatetheanalysiswithoutrunningit.<Technology>:AnalysisNwillappearundertheMultipoint
Analysisfolder.

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AccessingMultipointAnalysisResults
Toaccesstheresultsofamultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandthefoldercontainingtheanalysiswhoseresultsyouwanttoaccess.

4. Rightclicktheanalysis.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectAnalysisResultsfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.The
resultstableincludesthefollowinginformation:

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PositionId:PositionIDofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
XandY:Thecoordinatesofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Height(m):Heightofuserswhoattempttoconnect.
Service:Theservicesassignedtotheusers.
Terminal:Theterminalsassignedtotheusers.
Mobility:Themobilitytypesassignedtotheusers.

AdditionalinformationinCDMA2000multipointanalysisresults:
Cell:Namesofthepotentialservingcells.
Distance(m):Distancesfromthepotentialservingcells.
PathLoss(dB):Pathlossescorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
RSCP(dBm):ReceivedSignalCodePowerscorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
Ec/Io(dB):Ec/Iocorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
C/I(dB)
DLEb/Nt(dB):DownlinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ULEb/Nt(dB):UplinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
DLFCHEb/Nt(dB):DownlinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ULFCHEb/Nt(dB):UplinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
DLSCHEb/Nt(dB):DownlinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
ULSCHEb/Nt(dB):UplinkEb/Ntcorrespondingtothepotentialservingcells.
PNOffset

AdditionalinformationinLTEmultipointanalysisresults:
Cell:Namesofthepotentialservingcells.
Distance(m):Distancesfromthepotentialservingcells.
PhysicalCellID:PhysicalcellIDsofthepotentialservingcells.
ICICZone:CellcentreorCelledgeofthepotentialservingcells.
DiversityMode(DL):Thediversitymodesupportedbythecellinthedownlink(None,AAS,Transmitdiversity,
SUMIMO,AAS+Transmitdiversity,AAS+SUMIMO,MUMIMO,orAAS+MUMIMO).
ReceivedRSPower(dBm):Thereferencesignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RS C/(I+N) (DL) (dB): The reference signal C/(I+N)at the subscriberlocation in thedownlink. This value is
generatedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSRP(DL)(dBm):TheRSRP(receivedreferencesignalenergyperresourceelement)receivedatthesubscriber
locationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSSI(DL)(dBm):TheRSSIreceivedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtoll
duringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSRQ(DL)(dB):TheRSRQ(referencesignalreceivedquality)atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink.This
valueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
Received PDCCH Power (dBm) and Received PDCCH EPRE (dBm): The PDCCH signal level received at the
subscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
Received PDSCH Power (dBm) and Received PDSCH EPRE (dBm): The PDSCH signal level received at the
subscriberlocationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedSSPower(dBm)andReceivedSSEPRE(dBm):TheSSsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriberlocation
inthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ReceivedPBCHPower(dBm)andReceivedPBCHEPRE(dBm):ThePBCHsignallevelreceivedatthesubscriber
locationinthedownlink.ThisvalueiscalculatedbyAtollduringcalculationsonsubscriberlists.
RSInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkontherefer
encesignals.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDCCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkonthe
PDCCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PDSCHInterference(dBm):Theinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkonthe
PDSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
SSInterference(dBm):TheinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberlocationinthedownlinkontheSS.This
valueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
PBCHInterference (dBm):Theinterferenceexperienced atthesubscriberlocationinthedownlink onthe
PBCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.

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PDSCHAASInterference(dBm):Theangulardistributionofinterferenceexperiencedatthesubscriberloca
tioninthedownlinkonthePDSCH.ThisvalueisgeneratedbyAtollduringthecalculationsonsubscriberlists.
ChannelOverlapFactor(dB):Thecoandadjacentchanneloverlapbetweenthefrequencychannelusedby
theinterferingcellandthebestserver.
CollisionProbability(%):Theintercellinterferencecoordinationcollisionprobabilitybetweentheinterfering
cellwhichisnotsynchronisedwiththebestserver.
Tohideoneormorecolumnsinthe<Technology>:AnalysisNResultsdialogbox,clickthe
ActionsbuttonandselectDisplayedColumns.IntheColumntobeDisplayeddialogbox,
clearthecheckboxescorrespondingtothecolumnsyouwanttohide.

6. ClickClose.

11.2.8.6.3

AddingPointstoaMultipointAnalysisUsingtheMouse
Youcanusethemousetoaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toaddpointstoanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. Rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNtowhichyouwanttoaddpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectAddPointsfromthecontextmenu.Thepointerchangestopointadditionmode(

).

5. Movethemouseoverthemapwindowandclickoncetocreateeachpointyouwanttoadd.
6. PressESCorclicktheNewpointbutton(

)intheVectorEditortoolbartofinishaddingpoints.

Toplacepointsmoreaccurately,beforeclickingthemap,youcanzoominonthemap.
Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.

11.2.8.6.4

ImportingaListofPointsinaMultipointAnalysis
Youcanimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis.
Toimportalistofpointsinanexistingmultipointanalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. Rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNinwhichyouwanttoimportalistofpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePointstab.
6. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectImportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTables
fromTextFiles"onpage87.

11.2.8.6.5

ExportingaListofPointsfromaMultipointAnalysis
EachlistofpointsinaAtolldocumentisstoredinaseparatetable.Youcanexportalistofpointstouseitinanotherapplica
tionorinanotherAtolldocument.
Toexportalistofpoints:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheMultipointAnalysisfolder.
3. Rightclickthe<Technology>:AnalysisNinwhichyouwanttoimportalistofpoints.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.The<Technology>:AnalysisNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. ClickthePointstab.
6. ClicktheActionsbutton.Thecontextmenuappears.
7. SelectExportTablefromthecontextmenu.Formoreinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablesto
TextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.

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CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder
AtollenablesyoutocreatefoldersunderMultipointAnalysisintheNetworkexplorer.Suchfoldersmaycontainoneormore
analysescarriedoutononelistofpoints.Atollonlyallowsoneleveloffolders.OnceyouhavecreatedafolderunderMulti
pointAnalysis,youcanmovemultipointanalysesintoit.Formoreinformation,see"MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoa
Folder"onpage1188.
TocreateafolderunderMultipointAnalysis:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheMultipointAnalysisfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewFolderfromthecontextmenu.Atollcreatesanewfolder,"Folder<X>",underMultipointAnalysiswhere
"<X>"isanumberassignedbyAtollsequentially,accordingtothenumberoffolderswithdefaultnamesunderMulti
PointAnalysis.
Youcanchangethenameofthefoldertogiveitamoredescriptivename.

11.2.8.6.7

MovingaMultipointAnalysisintoaFolder
OnceyouhavecreatedfoldersunderMultipointAnalysisasexplainedin"CreatingFoldersintheMultipointAnalysisFolder"
onpage1188,youcanorganisethemultipointanalysesbymovingthemintothesefolders.Atollalsoallowsyoutomove
multipointanalysesfromonefoldertoanotherorfromafoldertothemainMultipointAnalysisfolder.
TomoveamultipointanalysisfromthemainMultipointAnalysisfoldertooneofitsfolders:
1. ClicktheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)totheleftMultipointAnalysistoexpandthefolder.

3. UsedraganddroptomoveanymultipointanalysistothemainMultipointAnalysisfolderortoanyofitsfolders.
Todothat,dragthemultipointanalysisovertheMultipointAnalysisfolderoroverthenameofthedestination
folderanddropit.

11.2.9 PlanningNeighbours
Youcansetneighboursforeachcellmanually,oryoucanletAtollautomaticallyallocateneighbours,basedontheparameters
thatyoudefine.Whenallocatingneighbours,thecellortransmittertowhichyouareallocatingneighboursisreferredtoas
thereferencecellorreferencetransmitter.Thecellsthatfulfiltherequirementstobeneighboursarereferredtoaspotential
neighbours.Whenallocatingneighbourstoallactiveandfilteredtransmitters,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecells
withinthefocuszoneandconsidersaspotentialneighboursalltheactiveandfilteredcellswhosepropagationzoneintersects
arectanglecontainingthecomputationzone.Ifthereisnofocuszone,Atollallocatesneighboursonlytothecellswithinthe
computationzone.
Thefocusandcomputationzonesaretakenintoaccountwhetherornottheyarevisible.Inotherwords,thefocusandcompu
tationzoneswillbetakenintoaccountwhetherornottheirvisibilitycheckboxintheZonesfolderoftheGeoexploreris
selected.
Usually,youwillallocateneighboursgloballyduringthebeginningofaradioplanningproject.Afterwards,youwillallocate
neighbourstobasestationsortransmittersasyouaddthem.Youcanuseautomaticallocationonallcellsinthedocument,
oryoucandefineagroupofcellseitherbyusingafocuszoneorbygroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow.Forinfor
mationoncreatingafocuszone,see"CreatingaFocusZoneorHotSpotforaCoveragePredictionReport"onpage286.For
informationongroupingtransmittersintheexplorerwindow,see"GroupingDataObjects"onpage95.
Atollsupportsthefollowingneighbourtypesina3GPP2multiRATnetwork:

IntratechnologyNeighbours:Intratechnologyneighboursarecellsdefinedasneighboursthatusethesameradio
accesstechnology.InCDMA,intratechnologyneighbourscanbedividedinto:

IntracarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighboursthatperformhandoverusingthesamecarrier.
IntercarrierNeighbours:Cellsdefinedasneighboursthatperformhandoverusingadifferentcarrier.

IntertechnologyNeighbours:Intertechnologyneighboursarecellsdefinedasneighboursthatuseadifferentradio
accesstechnology.

Inthissection,thefollowingaredescribed:

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"ImportingNeighbours"onpage1189
"PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1189
"PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1197
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage1205
"AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap"onpage1210

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"DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1211
"AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1212.

11.2.9.1 ImportingNeighbours
YoucanimportneighbourdataintheformofASCIItextfiles(TXTorCSVformats)intothecurrentAtolldocumentusingthe
Neighbourstable.
ToimportneighboursusingtheNeighbourstable:
1. OpentheNeighbourstable:
a. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
b. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoimportneighbours.The
contextmenuappears.
c. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
d. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttoimportneighbours(CDMA2000orLTE)
thenselectOpenTable.Aneighbourstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetechnology(forintratech
nologyneighbours)ortechnologypair(forintertechnologyneighbours).
2. ImporttheASCIItextfileasexplainedin"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

11.2.9.2 PlanningIntratechnologyNeighbours
Whenyouplanintratechnologyneighboursina3GPP2multiRATAtolldocument,youplanneighboursusingthesameradio
technology.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

11.2.9.2.1

"DefiningIntratechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage1189
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1189
"AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1190
"AllocatingandDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage1192
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1195
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntratechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage1196.

DefiningIntratechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucansetintratechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Theseconstraintscanbetakeninto
accountwhenintratechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.InCDMA2000andLTE,neighboursand
exceptionalpairsareallocatedbycell.
Todefineintratechnologyexceptionalpairs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclick the Transmitters folder of the radio access technology for which you want to define intratechnology
exceptionalpairs.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(CDMA2000orLTE)thenselect
ExceptionalPairs.Anexceptionalpairstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetechnology.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.ACDMA2000orLTEcellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Cell:Thenameofthecellasthefirstpartoftheexceptionalpair.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.
YoucanalsocreateexceptionalpairsusingthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitter.

11.2.9.2.2

ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintratechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).

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Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoconfiguretheimportancefac
torsforintratechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(CDMA2000orLTE)thenselect
ConfigureImportance.TheNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogboxappears.
InLTE,theNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogboxhasonetab:IntratechnologyNeighbours.
BecauseCDMAalsousescarriers,theNeighbourImportanceWeightinghastwotabs:IntracarrierNeighboursand
IntercarrierNeighbours.
5. SelecttheintratechnologyNeighbourstab(LTE)ortheIntracarrierNeighbourstab(inCDMA).Youcansetthefol
lowingimportanceweightingfactors:

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforbeingwithinthe
specifiedmaximumdistancefromthereferencecellortransmitter.

CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.

AdjacencyFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforbeingadjacent
tothereferencecell.TheAdjacencyFactorisusedinautomaticintratechnologyneighbourallocationifyouselect
theForceAdjacentCellsasNeighbourscheckboxintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.

CositeFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceforaneighbourtobeadmittedforbeinglocatedon
thesamesiteasthereferencecell.TheCositeFactorisusedinautomaticintratechnologyneighbourallocation
ifyouselecttheForceCositeCellsasNeighbourscheckboxintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
Forinformationonautomaticintratechnologyneighbourallocation,see"AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighbours
Automatically"onpage1190.

6. IfyouareconfiguringtheimportancefactorsforCDMA,selecttheIntercarrierNeighbourstabandsettheimpor
tancefactorsasyoudidinthepreviousstepforintracarrierCDMAneighbours.
7. ClickOK.

11.2.9.2.3

AllocatingIntratechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours.Atollallocatesneighboursbasedontheparametersyousetin
theAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.
InaCDMAnetworkAtollcanautomaticallyallocatebothintraandintercarrierneighbours.YoucanpreventAtollfromallo
catingintercarrierneighbourstocellslocatedonsiteswhoseequipmentdoesnotsupportthecompressedmodebysetting
anoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
Toautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateintra
technologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(i.e.,CDMA2000orLTE)then
select Automatic Allocation. The Automatic Neighbour Allocation dialog box appears. In CDMA, the Automatic
NeighbourAllocationdialogboxhastwotabs:IntracarrierNeighboursandIntercarrierNeighbours.Thetabthat
youselectdetermineswhethertheallocatedCDMAintratechnologyneighboursareintraorintercarrier.
5. DefinethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellandapossibleneighbourintheMaxIntersiteDistancebox.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
6. DefinethemaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedtoacellintheMaxno.ofNeigh
boursbox.Thisvaluecaneitherbesethereforallcells,oritcanbespecifiedforeachcellintheCellstable.
7. UnderUseCoverageConditions:
a. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobasetheimportanceevaluationonadistancecriterion,or
b. SelecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtosetthecoverageconditionsbetweenneighboursandtheirref
erencecellortransmitter.

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ClickDefinetoopentheCoverageConditionsdialogboxandchangethecoverageconditionsinwhichyouwant
toautomaticallyallocateintratechnologyneighbours:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

CDMA:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.PilotSignalLevel:EntertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellAand
possibleneighbourcellB.
Min.Ec/I0:EnterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmittertoentertheactivesetasbest
server.
T_Drop:EnterormodifytheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLloadcontributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalvalue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedpercell.

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

MinRSRP:SelecttheMinRSRPcheckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheMinRSRP.Ifyousetaglobal
MinRSRPvaluehere,AtollwilleitherusethisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whicheverishigher.
RSRPMargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell(cellA),at
whichthehandoverprocessends.

8. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
9. Inthe%Min.CoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellscoverageareathattheneighbourscov
erageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.
10. Thefollowingadditionalconstraintscanbeselectedintheframeontheright:

Forcecositecellsasneighbours:Selectthischeckboxtoincludecositecellsintheresultingneighbourslist.The
checkboxisautomaticallyselectedwhenneighbourallocationisbasedondistance.
Forceadjacentcellsasneighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwantcellsthatareadjacenttothereferencecell
tobeautomaticallyconsideredasneighbours.Acellisconsideredadjacentifthereisatleastonepixelintheref
erencecellscoverageareawherethepossibleneighbourisbestserverorsecondbestserverinthereferencecell
activeset(respectingthehandovermargin).
ThisoptiondoesnotapplytointercarrierneighbourallocationsinCDMA.

Forcesymmetry:SelecttheForcesymmetrycheckboxifyouwantneighbourrelationstobereciprocal.Inother
words,areferencecellortransmitterwillbeapossibleneighbourtoallofthecellsortransmitterthatareits
neighbours.Iftheneighbourlistofanycellortransmitterisfull,thereferencecellortransmitterwillnotbeadded
asaneighbourandthatcellortransmitterwillberemovedfromthelistofneighboursofthereferencecellor
transmitter.
Forceexceptionalpairs:SelectingtheForceexceptionalpairscheckboxwillapplytheexceptionalpaircriteriato
theneighbourslist.
Deleteexistingneighbours:SelectingtheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighbours
intheneighbourslistandperformacleanneighbourallocation.IftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxisnot
selected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.
CDMA:Carriers:Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormorecarriers;
Atollwillallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarriers.

11. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofallocatingintratechnologyneighbours.Atollfirstcheckstoseewhether
thepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforeallocatingneighbours.Ifthepathlossmatricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculates
them.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingneighbours,thenewneighboursarevisibleunderResults.Atollonlydisplaysnew
neighbours.IfnonewneighbourshavebeenfoundandiftheDeleteexistingneighbourscheckboxiscleared,the
Resultstablewillbeempty.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Number:Thetotalnumberofneighboursallocatedtothereferencecell.
MaximumNumber:Themaximumnumberofneighboursthatthereferencecellcanhave.
Neighbour:Thecellortransmitterthatwillbeallocatedasaneighbourtothereferencecellortransmitter.

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Importance (%): The importance. For information on defining neighbour importance, see "Configuring Impor
tanceFactorsforIntratechnologyNeighbours"onpage1189.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhasallocatedthepossibleneighbourcell(identifiedintheNeighbourcolumn)totheref
erencecell(identifiedintheCellcolumn):

2014Forsk

CoSite
Adjacent
Symmetric
Coverage
Existing

Coverage:Theamountofreferencecellortransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentage
andinsquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencecellortransmitter,inpercentageandsquarekilometres,wheretheneigh
bourcellortransmitterisbestserverorsecondbestserver.

12. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintratechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocumentbyclickingtheComparebutton:
Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscomparedwiththeexistinglist
ofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaReport.txtwhichappears
attheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocationresults
comparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofdeletedneighbourrelations(neighbourrelationsnotproposedintheautomaticallocationresults
comparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheautomatic
allocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

13. ClicktheCommitbutton.Theallocatedintratechnologyneighboursaresaved.
14. ClickClose.
Bydefault,theautomaticneighbourallocationcomparesthedefinedmaximuminter
sitedistancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,whenyoulookata
cellsneighbourstableafteracommit,youmayfindcaseswheretherealdistance
betweenassignedneighboursishigherthanthedefinedmaximumintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectiveintercelldistanceissmaller.Toavoidthat,youcanforcethereal
intersitedistancetobecomparedwiththedefinedmaximumintersitedistanceby
addinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

11.2.9.2.4

AllocatingandDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintratechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofintra
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintratechnologyneighbourspercellortransmitter.Youcanallocateordelete
intertechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orusingtheIntratechnologyNeigh
bourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTabinaTransmittersPropertiesdialogbox"on
page1192.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntratechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage1193.

AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTabinaTransmittersPropertiesdialogbox
YoucanallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox.
ToallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursbetweencellsusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstab.

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4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecolumncorre
spondingtothecellforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappearswith
anIntratechnologyNeighbourstabandthecorrespondingintertechnologyneighbourstab(LTECDMA2000Neigh
boursorCDMA2000LTENeighbours).
5. ClicktheLTECDMA2000NeighboursorCDMA2000LTENeighboursintertechnologyneighbourstab.
6. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumnumberofneighbours.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. UnderList,intherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
thelist.

),clickintheNeighbourcolumnthenselectacellfrom

b. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletethecreationofthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetsSourceto"manual".
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
AllocatingorDeletingIntratechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntratechnologyNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteintratechnologyneighboursbetweencellsusingtheIntratechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintratech
nologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(i.e.,CDMA2000orLTE)then
selectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Theintertechnologyneighbourtableappears.
5. Enteroneintratechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellcanhavemorethanoneintratechnologyneigh
bour.

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Toallocateanintratechnologyneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetsSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellor
transmitterintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsiderationinallocatingordeletingneighbours:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.AllforcedneighbourswillbeaddedtotheNeighboursta
bleandallforbiddenneighbourswillberemoved.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexceptionalpairstobetakeninto
considerationintheneighbourlist,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.

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Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.

11.2.9.2.5

CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntratechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintratechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintratechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintratechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintratechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintratechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportanceof
intratechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(i.e.,CDMA2000orLTE)then
selectCalculateImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceEvaluationdialogboxappears,with
onetab,theIntratechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,setthefollowingparameters:

MaxIntersiteDistance:Sitesoutsidethedefineddistancewillnotbeconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.

TakeIntoAccounttheCositeFactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedonthesamesite
astheirreferencecellortransmitterwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.
TakeIntoAccounttheAdjacencyFactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursareadjacenttotheirref
erencecellwhenevaluatingneighbourimportance.

6. WhentheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxisselected,clicktheDefinebuttontosetcoverageconditionsofintra
technologyneighboursforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportance.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.
IntheCoverageConditionsdialogbox,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneighbour
allocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.

Additionally,ifyouarecalculatingtheimportanceofintratechnologyneighboursinaCDMAnetwork,youcanchange
thefollowingparameters:

Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecellandthe
neighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlappingcov
erage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlappingcov
erage.
T_Drop:EntertheminimumEcIorequiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinterfer
enceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)oronapercentage
ofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).

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Additionally,ifyouarecalculatingtheimportanceofintratechnologyneighboursinaLTEnetwork,youcanchange
thefollowingparameters:

GlobalminRSRP:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttosetaglobalvaluefortheMinRSRP.Ifyousetaglobalvalue
here,AtollwilleitherusethisvalueorthepercellMinRSRPvalue,whicheverishigher.
RSRPmargin:Enterthemargin,withrespecttothebestservercoverageareaofthereferencecell(cellA),at
whichthehandoverprocessends.

7. ClickOKtosaveyourmodificationsandclosetheCoverageConditionsdialogbox.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingtheFilterbutton,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneigh
bourstobecalculated.
8. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable,ifany.
Atollfirstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathloss
matricesarenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.TheEventViewerdialogboxappears.
9. IntheEventViewerdialogbox,clickClosewhenAtollhasfinishedcalculatingtheimportance.Theresultsaredis
playedintheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogboxinthetableunderResults.
TheResultstablecontainsthefollowinginformation:

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecellortransmitter.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.
CoSite
Adjacent
Symmetric
Coverage
Relationtype:Thetypeoftheneighbourrelation:intracarrierorintercarrier.Cellswhosechannelshavethe
samecentrefrequencyareintracarrierneighbours.Othercellsareintercarrierneighbours.
Coverage:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingcoverageoverlapping,Atollgivestheamountofrefer
encetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandsquarekilometres.
Adjacency:Theareaofthereferencetransmitterorcell,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres,wheretheneigh
bourtransmitterorcellisbestserverorsecondbestserver.
Distance:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingintersitedistance,Atollgivesthedistanceinkilometres
betweenthereferencecellortransmitterandtheneighbour.

10. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.
11. ClickClosetoexittheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialogbox.

11.2.9.2.6

CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntratechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintratechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformsuchanaudit,Atoll
liststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovidesintheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintratechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoperformanauditofthecur
rentintratechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthesametechnologythatyouselectedinstep2.(i.e.,CDMA2000orLTE)then
selectthenselectAuditfromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappears.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:
IfyouareauditingtheintratechnologyneighbourallocationplanforaCDMAnetwork,
selecttheNeighbourtype:"Intracarrier"or"Intercarrier".

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Emptylists:SelecttheEmptylistscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,
whichcellshaveanemptyneighbourlist).
Full lists (= max number): Select the Full lists check box if you want to verify which cells have the maximum
numberofneighboursallowed(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberof
neighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Lists>maxnumber:SelecttheLists>maxnumbercheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethanthe
maximumnumberofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltrans
mitters,orspecifiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Missingcosites:SelecttheMissingcositescheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:SelecttheMissingsymmetricscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsym
metricneighbourrelations.
Exceptionalpairs:SelecttheExceptionalpairscheckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighbours
orforbiddenneighbours.
Distance between neighbours: Select the Distance between neighbours check box and enter the distance
betweenneighboursthatshouldnotbeexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;whereXistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellortransmitter
fortheauditedneighbourallocationplan.

EmptyLists:x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist)
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYneighbours
listedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;wherexisthenumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmore
thanYneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintratechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFulllistscheckandtheLists>maxnumbercheckusetheDefaultmaxnumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursintheauditedneighbourplanthatarelocated
atadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

11.2.9.3 PlanningIntertechnologyNeighbours
Atollenablesyoutocarryoutintertechnologyneighbourplanningin3GPP2multiRATdocuments.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

11.2.9.3.1

"DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs"onpage1197
"ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1198
"AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1198
"AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell"onpage1200
"CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours"onpage1203
"CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan"onpage1204.

DefiningIntertechnologyExceptionalPairs
YoucandefineintertechnologyneighbourconstraintsbydefiningexceptionalpairsinAtoll.Additionally,Atollenablesyou
tosetdifferentconstraintsforeach radioaccesstechnologyyouaremodellingin the3GPP2 multiRATdocument. These

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constraintscanbetakenintoaccountwhenintertechnologyneighboursareautomaticallyormanuallyallocated.Neighbours
andexceptionalpairsareallocatedbycell.
Todefineintertechnologyexceptionalpairs:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. Rightclick the Transmitters folder of the radio access technology for which you want to define intertechnology
exceptionalpairs.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttodefinetheexceptionalpairsthenselect
ExceptionalPairs.Anexceptionalpairstableappears,thenameofwhichidentifiesthetechnologyortheintertech
nologypair.
5. Enteroneexceptionalpairperrowofthetable.Acellcanhavemorethanoneexceptionalpair.
6. Foreachexceptionalpair,select:
a. Cell:Thenameofthetransmitterorcellasthefirstpartoftheexceptionalpair.
b. Neighbour:Thenameoftheneighbourasthesecondpartoftheexceptionalpair.
c. Status:Thestatusindicateswhethertheneighbourshouldalways(forced)ornever(forbidden)beconsideredas
aneighbourofthecell.
d. AtollfillstheNumberandDistance(m)fieldsautomatically.

11.2.9.3.2

ConfiguringImportanceFactorsforIntertechnologyNeighbours
YoucandefinetherelativeimportanceofthefactorsthatAtollusestoevaluatepossibleintertechnologyneighbours(for
informationonhowAtollcalculatesimportance,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide).
Toconfiguretheimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoconfiguretheimportancefac
torsforintertechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyfromwhichintertechnologyneighbourswillbeassigned(i.e.,
CDMA2000orLTE)thenselectConfigureImportancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceWeighting
dialogboxappears.
When you define intertechnology neighbour importance factors for one radio access
technology,Atollusesthesameimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneighboursfrom
allotherradioaccesstechnologies.
5. IntheNeighbourImportanceWeightingdialogbox,setthefollowingimportancefactorsforintertechnologyneigh
bours.

DistanceFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofapossibleneighbourcellortransmitterbeing
locatedwithinthemaximumdistancefromthereferencetransmitter.
CoverageFactor:Settheminimumandmaximumimportanceofaneighbourbeingadmittedforcoveragerea
sons.
Cosite Factor: Set the minimum and maximum importance of a possible neighbour cell or transmitter being
locatedonthesamesiteasthereferencecellortransmitter.TheCositeFactorwillbeusedinautomaticinter
technologyneighbourallocationifyouselecttheForceCositeasNeighbourscheckboxintheAutomaticNeigh
bourAllocationdialogbox.Forinformationonautomaticintertechnologyneighbourallocation,see"Allocating
IntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically"onpage1198.

6. ClickOK.

11.2.9.3.3

AllocatingIntertechnologyNeighboursAutomatically
Atollcanautomaticallydeterminehandoverrelationsbetweennetworksofdifferenttechnologies.Intertechnologyhando
versfrommightoccurwhenthecoverageofagivenradioaccesstechnologyisnotcontinuous.Thenetworksoverallcoverage
isextendedbyanintertechnologyhandover.Intertechnologyneighboursarestoredinthedatabase.
Toautomaticallyallocateintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateinter
technologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.

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3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttoautomaticallyallocateintertechnology
neighbours(i.e.,CDMA2000orLTE)thenselectAutomaticAllocation.TheAutomaticNeighbourAllocationdialog
boxappearswithonetab,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. BesideMaxintersitedistance,definethemaximumdistancebetweenthereferencecellortransmitterandapossible
neighbour.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.
6. BesideMaxno.ofneighbours,definethemaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursthatcanbeallocatedto
acellortransmitter.Thisvaluecaneitherbesethereforallthecells,orspecifiedforeachcellortransmitterinthe
Cellstable.
7. Tobaseneighbourallocationondistance,cleartheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxandskiptostep8.
Tobaseneighbourallocationoncoverageconditions,selecttheUsecoverageconditionscheckboxandperformthe
followingsteps:
TherearetwoDefinebuttonsbelowtheUseCoverageConditionscheckbox:

Thefirstoneallowsyoutodefinecoverageconditionsforthetechnologyinwhich
youwanttoautomaticallyallocateintertechnologyneighbours.
Thesecondoneallowsyoutodefinecoverageconditionsfortheothertechnology.

a. ClickthefirstDefinebutton.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecellscoverageareasinautomaticneighbour
allocation.
ShadowingTakenIntoAccount:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxandenteraCellEdgeCoverageProbability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selectthischeckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Thesearedefinedperfrequencyper
clutterclass.

CDMA:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecelland
theneighbour.
Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEcIowhichmustbeprovidedbyreferencecellinanareawithoverlapping
coverage.Thereferencecellmustalsobethebestserverintermsofpilotqualityintheareawithoverlapping
coverage.
T_Drop:EntertheminimumEcIorequiredfromatransmitternottoberejectedfromtheactiveset.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:UnderDLLoadContributingtoIo,selectwhetheryouwantAtolltobasetheinter
ferenceratioonthetotalpowerusedasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell(DefinedperCell)orona
percentageofthemaximumpower(GlobalValue).

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

b. ClickthesecondDefinebuttonandchangecoverageconditionsfortheothertechnology.
c. Inthe%MinCoveredAreabox,entertheminimumpercentageofthecellscoverageareathattheneighbours
coverageareashouldalsocovertobeconsideredasaneighbour.
8. Ifnecessary,youcanselectadditionalconstraintsintheframeontheright:

Carriers(CDMAonly):Selectthecarriersonwhichyouwanttoruntheallocation.Youcanchooseoneormore
carriers;Atollwillallocateneighbourstocellsusingtheselectedcarrier(s).
ForceCositeasNeighbours:SelectingthischeckboxwillincludethecositecellsintheneighbourlistoftheCDMA
cell.Thecheckboxisautomaticallyselectedwhentheneighbourallocationisbasedondistance.
ForceExceptionalPairs:Selectingthischeckboxwillapplytheintertechnologyexceptionalpaircriteriaonthe
neighbourslistoftheCDMAcell.
DeleteExistingNeighbours:Selectingthischeckboxwilldeleteallexistingneighboursintheneighbourslistand
performacleanneighbourallocation.Ifitisnotselected,Atollkeepstheexistingneighboursinthelist.

9. ClicktheCalculatebuttontostartcalculations.
10. Oncethecalculationsfinish,AtolldisplaysthelistofneighboursintheResultssection.Theresultsincludethenames
oftheneighbours,thenumberofneighboursofeachcellortransmitter,andthereasontheyareincludedintheneigh
bourslistundertheCausecolumn.Thereasonsinclude:

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Reason

Description

When

ExceptionalPair

Neighbourrelationisdefinedasanexceptionalpair.

Forceexceptionalpairs
isselected

Cosite

Theneighbourislocatedatthesamesiteasthereference
cellortransmitter.

Forcecositeasneighbours
isselected

Distance

Theneighbouriswithinthemaximumdistancefromthe
referencecellortransmitter.

Usecoverageconditions
isnotselected

Coverage

Neighbourrelationthatfulfilscoverageconditions.

Usecoverageconditions
isselected

Existing

Theneighbourrelationexistedbeforerunningtheautomatic
allocation.

Resetisnotselected

11. SelectthecheckboxintheCommitcolumnoftheResultssectiontochoosetheintertechnologyneighboursyouwant
toassigntocells.
AtthisstageyoucancomparetheautomaticallocationresultsproposedbyAtollwiththecurrentneighbourlist(exist
ingneighbours)inyourdocument:

ClickCompare.Thelistofautomaticallyallocatedneighbours,whoseCommitcheckboxisselected,iscompared
withtheexistinglistofneighbours.AreportofthecomparisonisdisplayedinatextfilecalledNeighboursDeltaRe
port.txtwhichappearsattheendofthecomparison.Thisfilelists:

Thedocumentnameandtheneighbourallocationtype
Thenumberofcreatedneighbourrelations(newneighbourrelationsproposedintheautomaticallocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
The numberofdeleted neighbour relations(neighbour relationsnot proposedintheautomatic allocation
resultscomparedtotheexistingneighbourrelations)andthelistoftheserelations
Thenumberofexistingneighbourrelations(existingneighbourrelationsthatarealsoproposedintheauto
maticallocationresults)andthelistoftheserelations.

12. ClicktheCommitbutton.Theallocatedintertechnologyneighboursaresaved.
13. ClickClose.
Bydefault,theautomaticneighbourallocationcomparesthedefinedmaximuminter
sitedistancewiththeeffectiveintercelldistance.Asaconsequence,whenyoulookata
cellsneighbourstableafteracommit,youmayfindcaseswheretherealdistance
betweenassignedneighboursishigherthanthedefinedmaximumintersitedistance,
becausetheeffectiveintercelldistanceissmaller.Toavoidthat,youcanforcethereal
intersitedistancetobecomparedwiththedefinedmaximumintersitedistanceby
addinganoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministrator
Manual.

11.2.9.3.4

AllocatingandDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursperCell
AlthoughyoucanletAtollallocateintertechnologyneighboursautomatically,youcanadjusttheoverallallocationofinter
technologyneighboursbyallocatingordeletingintertechnologyneighbourspercell.Youcanallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighboursdirectlyonthemap,orusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox,orusingtheIntertech
nologyNeighbourstable.
Thissectionexplainsthefollowing:

"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox"on
page1200.
"AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable"onpage1201
"AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap"onpage1210.

AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheCellsTaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox
YoucanallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursusingtheCellstaboftheTransmitterPropertiesdialogbox.
ToallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweencellsusingtheCellstabofthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox:
1. Onthemaindocumentsmapwindow,rightclickthetransmitterwhoseneighboursyouwanttochange.Thecontext
menuappears.
2. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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3. ClicktheCellstab.
4. OntheCellstab,thereisacolumnforeachcell.ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideNeighboursinthecolumncorre
spondingtothecellforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteneighbours.ThecellsPropertiesdialogboxappearswith
anIntratechnologyNeighbourstabandthecorrespondingintertechnologyneighbourstab(LTECDMA2000Neigh
boursorCDMA2000LTENeighbours).
5. ClicktheLTECDMA2000NeighboursorCDMA2000LTENeighboursintertechnologyneighbourstab.
6. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
Ifdesired,youcanentertheMaximumnumberofneighbours.
Toallocateanewneighbour:
a. UnderList,selectthecellortransmitterfromthelistintheNeighbourcolumnintherowmarkedwiththeNew
Rowicon(
).
b. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocompletecreatingthenewneighbour.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumn,andsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
AllocatingorDeletingIntertechnologyNeighboursUsingtheIntertechnologyNeighboursTable
ToallocateordeleteintertechnologyneighboursbetweencellsusingtheIntertechnologyNeighbourstable:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintertech
nologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologywithwhichyouwanttoallocateordeleteintertechnologyneigh
boursthenselectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Theintertechnologyneighbourtableappears.
5. Enteroneintertechnologyneighbourperrowofthetable.Eachcellortransmittercanhavemorethanoneintertech
nologyneighbour.

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Toallocateanintertechnologyneighbour:
a. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(

),selectareferencecellintheCellcolumn.

b. SelecttheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.
c. Clickelsewhereinthetabletocreatethenewneighbourandaddanewblankrowtothetable.
Whenthenewneighbouriscreated,Atollautomaticallycalculatesthedistancebetweenthereferencecelland
theneighbouranddisplaysitintheDistancecolumnandsetstheSourceto"manual."
Tocreateasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.Asymmetricneighbourrelationiscreatedbetweenthecellor
transmitterintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumn.
Tomakeseveralneighbourrelationssymmetric:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingSHIFTandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectMakeSymmetricalfromthecontextmenu.
Totakeallexceptionalpairsintoconsiderationinallocatingordeletingneighbours:
a. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
b. SelectForceExceptionalPairsfromthecontextmenu.AllforcedneighbourswillbeaddedtotheNeighboursta
bleandallforbiddenneighbourswillberemoved.
YoucanaddordeleteeitherforcedneighboursorforbiddenneighboursusingtheExcep
tionalPairstable.Youcanopenthistable,selecttheexceptionalpairstobetakeninto
considerationintheneighbourlist,rightclickthetableandselectForceExceptionalPairs
inthecontextmenu.
Todeleteasymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetweenthecellin
theNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.
Todeleteaneighbour:
a. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
b. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.TheneighbourrelationbetweenthecellintheNeighbourcolumnand
thecellintheCellcolumnisdeleted.
Todeleteseveralneighbours:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkfromthecontextmenu.

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Todeleteaneighbouranditssymmetricneighbourrelation:
a. ClicktheEditbuttononthebottomrightofthedialogbox.Theneighbourlistbecomeseditable.
b. Clickintheleftmarginofthetablerowcontainingtheneighbourtoselecttheentirerow.
c. RightclicktheneighbourintheNeighbourcolumn.Thecontextmenuappears.
d. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.Thesymmetricneighbourrelationbetween
thecellintheNeighbourcolumnandthecellintheCellcolumnisdeletedinbothdirections.
Todeleteseveralneighboursandtheirsymmetricneighbourrelations:
a. Clickintheleftmarginsofthetablerowscontainingtheneighbourstoselecttheentirerows.Youcanselectcon
tiguousrowsbyclickingthefirstrow,pressingShiftandclickingthelastrow.Youcanselectnoncontiguousrows
bypressingCTRLandclickingeachrowsseparately.
b. RightclicktheNeighbourstable.Thecontextmenuappears.
c. SelectDeleteLinkandSymmetricRelationfromthecontextmenu.

11.2.9.3.5

CalculatingtheImportanceofExistingIntertechnologyNeighbours
AfteryouhaveimportedintertechnologyneighboursintothecurrentAtolldocumentormanuallydefinedintertechnology
neighbours,Atollcancalculatetheimportanceofeachintertechnologyneighbour,i.e.,theweightofeachneighbour.
Atollcalculatestheimportanceforintertechnologyneighboursofactiveandfilteredtransmitterswithinthefocuszone.
Tocalculatetheimportanceofexistingintertechnologyneighbours:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttocalculatetheimportanceof
intertechnologyneighbours.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyoftheintertechnologyneighboursthenselectCalculateImpor
tancefromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourImportanceEvaluationdialogboxappears,withonetab,theIntertech
nologyNeighbourstab.
5. UnderImportance,setthefollowingparameters:

Maxintersitedistance:Enterthemaximumdistancebetweenanytwosites.Sitesoutsidethedefinedmaximum
intersitedistancewillnotbeconsideredaspotentialneighbours.
Repeaters and remote antennas can be taken into account in the maximum intersite
distancebysettinganoptionintheAtoll.iniinitialisationfile.Formoreinformation,seethe
AdministratorManual.

Takeintoaccountthecositefactor:Selectthischeckboxtoverifythatneighboursarelocatedonthesamesite
astheirreferencecellortransmitterwhencalculatingimportance.

6. CleartheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourimportancecalculationondistance,andjumptothe
followingstep.
OrselecttheUseCoverageConditionscheckboxtobaseneighbourimportancecalculationoncoverageconditions.
TherearetwoDefinebuttonsbelowtheUseCoverageConditionscheckbox:

The first button allows you to define coverage conditions for the technology in
whichyouwanttocalculateintertechnologyneighbourimportance.
Thesecondbuttonallowsyoutodefinecoverageconditionsfortheothertech
nology.

a. ClickthefirstDefinebutton.TheCoverageConditionsdialogboxappears.

Resolution:Youcanentertheresolutionusedtocalculatethecoverageareasofcellsfortheautomaticneigh
bourallocation.
Shadowingtakenintoaccount:Ifdesired,selecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCell
edgecoverageprobability.
IndoorCoverage:Ifdesired,selecttheIndoorCoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesare
definedperfrequencyperclutterclass.

CDMA:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameters:

Min.PilotSignalLevel:Entertheminimumpilotsignallevelwhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.

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Min.Ec/Io:EntertheminimumEc/Iowhichmustbeprovidedbythereferencecell.
Ec/IoMargin:EntertheEc/IomarginrelativetotheEc/Ioofthebestserver.Thereferencecelliseitherthe
bestserverintermsofpilotqualityoracelloftheactiveset.
Max.Ec/Io:SelecttheMax.Ec/IooptionandenterthemaximumEc/Iowhichmustnotbeexceededbythe
referencecell.
DLLoadContributingtoIo:YoucanselectwhetherAtollshoulduseaGlobalValue(%Pmax)ofthedownlink
loadforallthecells,orthedownlinkloadsDefinedperCell.

LTE:Additionally,youcanchangethefollowingparameter:

Margin:Enterthemarginrelativetothereferencesignallevelofthebestserver.Thereferencesignallevelof
theneighbourtransmitteriseitherthehighestoneorwithinamarginofthehighestone.

b. ClickthesecondDefinebuttonandchangecoverageconditionsfortheothertechnology.
Atollindicatesthenumberofneighbourstobecalculatedanddisplaystheneighbourswiththeirinitialattributes
(importanceandreason)inatable.
YoucanusemanyofAtollstableshortcuts,suchasfilteringandsorting.Forinformation
onworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"onpage75.Inaddition,by
clickingtheFilterbutton,youcandefineadvancedfilteringconditionstorestricttheneigh
bourstobecalculated.
7. ClickCalculate.Atollbeginstheprocessofcalculatingtheimportanceoftheneighboursdisplayedinthetable.Atoll
firstcheckstoseewhetherthepathlossmatricesarevalidbeforecalculatingtheimportance.Ifthepathlossmatrices
arenotvalid,Atollrecalculatesthem.
OnceAtollhasfinishedcalculatingimportance,theresultsaredisplayedinthetable.
Thetablecontainsthefollowinginformation.

Cell:Thenameofthereferencecell.
Neighbour:Theneighbourofthereferencetransmitter.
Importance(%):Theimportanceascalculatedwiththeoptionsselectedinstep5.
Cause:ThereasonAtollhascalculatedthevalueintheImportancecolumn.

Cosite
Symmetry
Coverage

Distance:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingintersitedistance,Atollgivesthedistanceinkilometres
betweenthereferencecellortransmitterandtheneighbour.

Coverage:Ifyoucalculatedneighbourimportanceusingcoverageoverlapping,Atollgivestheamountofrefer
encetransmitterscoverageareathattheneighbouroverlaps,inpercentageandinsquarekilometres.

8. ClickCommittocommittheimportancevaluesandthereasonsforallocationtotheNeighbourstable.

11.2.9.3.6

CheckingtheConsistencyoftheIntertechnologyNeighbourPlan
Youcanperformanauditofthecurrentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Whenyouperformanauditofthecurrent
intertechnologyneighbourallocationplan,Atollliststheresultsinatextfile.YoucandefinewhatinformationAtollprovides
intheaudit.
Toperformanauditoftheintertechnologyneighbourplan:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolderoftheradioaccesstechnologyforwhichyouwanttoperformanauditofthecur
rentintertechnologyneighbourallocationplan.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNeighboursfromthecontextmenu.
4. IntheNeighbourssubmenu,selectthetechnologyoftheintertechnologyneighboursthenselectAuditfromthe
contextmenu.TheNeighbourAuditdialogboxappearswithonetab,theIntertechnologyNeighbourstab.
5. Definetheparametersoftheaudit:

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Averageno.ofneighbours:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifytheaveragenumberofneighbourspercell
ortransmitter.
Emptylists:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenoneighbours(inotherwords,whichcells
haveanemptyneighbourlist).
Fulllists:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavethemaximumnumberofneighboursallowed
(inotherwords,whichcellshaveafullneighbourlist).Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethere
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Lists>maxnumber:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavemorethanthemaximumnumber
ofneighboursallowed.Themaximumnumberofneighbourscanbeeithersethereforalltransmitters,orspeci
fiedforeachtransmitterintheCellstable.
Missingcosites:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenocositeneighbours.
Missingsymmetrics:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshavenonsymmetricneighbourrela
tions.
Exceptionalpairs:Selectthischeckboxifyouwanttoverifywhichcellshaveforcedneighboursorforbidden
neighbours.
Distancebetweenneighbours:Selectthischeckboxandenterthedistancebetweenneighboursthatshouldnot
beexceeded.

6. ClickOKtoperformtheaudit.Atolldisplaystheresultsoftheauditinanewtextfile:

AverageNumberofNeighbours:X;where,Xistheaveragenumberofneighbours(integer)percellortransmitter
fortheplanaudited.

EmptyLists:x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingnoneighbours(oremptyneighbourslist):
Syntax:

FullLists(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingYnumberofneighbourslisted
intheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL|

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|

Lists>MaxNumber(defaultmaxnumber=Y):x/X;xnumberofcellsoutofatotalofXhavingmorethanY
numberofneighbourslistedintheirrespectiveneighbourslists.
Syntax:

|CELL||NUMBER||MAXNUMBER|
IfthefieldMaximumnumberofintertechnologyneighboursintheCellstableisempty,
theFulllistscheckandtheLists>maxnumbercheckusetheDefaultmaxnumbervalue
definedintheauditdialogbox.

MissingCoSites:X;totalnumberofmissingcositeneighboursintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

NonSymmetricLinks:X;totalnumberofnonsymmetricneighbourlinksintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

ExistingForbidden:X;totalnumberofforbiddenneighboursexistingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

MissingForced:X;totalnumberofforcedneighboursmissingintheauditedneighbourplan.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR|

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||TYPE||REASON|

DistanceBetweenNeighbours>Y:X;totalnumberofneighboursintheauditedneighbourplanthatarelocated
atadistancegreaterthanY.
Syntax:

|CELL||NEIGHBOUR||DISTANCE|

11.2.9.4 CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults
Youcanverifytheresultsofautomaticneighbourallocationinthefollowingways:

11.2.9.4.1

"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"onpage1205.
"DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell"onpage1208.

DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap
Youcanviewneighbourrelationsdirectlyonthemap.Atollcandisplaythemandindicatethedirectionoftheneighbourrela
tion(inotherwords,Atollindicateswhichisthereferencecellandwhichistheneighbour)andwhethertheneighbourrela
tionissymmetric.
Youcandisplayintertechnologyneighbourrelationstostudyhandoverpossibilities.

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Todisplaytheneighbourrelationsofacellortransmitteronthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
3.

Figure11.12:NeighbourDisplaydialogbox
4. UnderNeighbours,selecttheDisplaylinkscheckbox.

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5. ClicktheSubmenubuttonbesidetheDisplaylinkscheckbox.Thecontextmenuappears.
a. Fromthecontextmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodisplaytheneighbourlinks.Thecorrespond
ingNeighbourDisplaySettings(Technology)dialogboxappears.

Figure11.13:NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox
b. IntheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox,selecttheIntratechnologyNeighbourstabortheintertechnology
neighbourstab(i.e.LTECDMA2000Neighbours).
c. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttocolourallneighbourlinksofacellortransmitterwithauniquecolour.
Discretevalues:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthe
tableonthecurrenttab:
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourlinksofthecellortransmitteraccordingtotheir
"Importance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftheType"Integer"intheIntratechnologyNeighbourstablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Eachneighbourlinkdisplaytypehasavisibilitycheckbox.Selectorclearthevisibilitycheckboxtodisplayorhide
individualneighbourlinkdisplaytypes.
Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
d. SelecttheAddtolegendcheckboxtoaddthedisplayedneighbourlinkstothelegend.
e. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationisdisplayedoneachneighbourlink.
f. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,specifywhichneighbourlinksyouwanttodisplayunderAdvanced:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cell
isthereferencetransmitter/cellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cellis
neighbourandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.

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Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitter/cellandtheneighbour.
Intertechnologyonly:Selectthisoptiontohideintratechnologyneighbourlinks.

7. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

8. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.
9. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
10. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

11. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourlinkstodisplay.
12. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

13. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourlinks:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure11.14).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure11.14:DisplayingNeighbourLinks
NeighbourlinksaredisplayedingreyifnoshadingisdefinedfortheValueassignedto
themintheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.Theyarenotdisplayedifthecheckbox
correspondingtotheassignedValueiscleared.
14. Torestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
Planningtoolbar.

11.2.9.4.2

)intheRadio

DisplayingtheCoverageofEachNeighbourofaCell
Bycombiningthedisplaycharacteristicsofacoveragepredictionwithneighbourdisplayoptions,Atollcandisplaythecover
ageareaofacellsneighboursandcolourthemaccordingtoanyneighbourcharacteristicintheNeighbourstable.

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Itemswithoutanydefinedshadingappearasgreylines.

Todisplaythecoverageofeachneighbourofacellortransmitter:
1. Create, calculate, and display a "Coverage by transmitter (DL)" prediction, with the Display Type set to "Discrete
Values"andtheFieldsetto"Cell"or"Transmitter"(forinformationoncreatingacoveragebytransmitterprediction,
see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277).
2. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

3. Select Display Options from the context menu. The Neighbour Display dialog box appears. See Figure11.12 on
page1206.
4. UnderNeighbours,selecttheDisplayCoverageAreascheckboxandclicktheArrowbuttonbesideit.Thecontext
menuappears.
5. Fromthecontextmenu,selectthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefinethedisplayoptions.Thecorresponding
NeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogboxappears.SeeFigure11.13onpage1207.
a. IntheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox,selecttheIntratechnologyNeighbourstabortheintertechnology
neighbourstab(i.e.LTECDMA2000Neighbours).
b. FromtheDisplayTypelist,chooseoneofthefollowing:

Unique:Selectthisoptiontocolourallneighbourcoverageareasofcellsortransmitterswithauniquecolour.
DiscreteValues:Selectthisoption,andthenavaluefromtheFieldlist,tocolourtheneighbourcoverageareas
ofthecellsortransmittersautomaticallyoraccordingtoavaluefromthetableonthecurrenttab.
When"Cell"or"Neighbour"isselectedintheFieldlist,aneighbourlinkcolourisdeter
minedautomaticallyaccordingtothecolourofthesourceortargetcell.

ValueIntervals:Selectthisoptiontocolourtheneighbourcoverageareasofthecellsortransmittersaccord
ingtotheir"Importance",asdeterminedbytheweightingfactors.
Youcandisplaythenumberofhandoffattemptsforeachcellneighbourpairbyfirst
creatinganewfieldoftheType"Integer"intheIntratechnologyNeighbourtablefor
thenumberofhandoffattempts.Onceyouhaveimportedorenteredthevaluesinthe
newcolumn,youcanselectthisfieldfromtheFieldlistalongwith"ValueIntervals"as
theDisplayType.Forinformationonaddinganewfieldtoatable,see"AddingaFieldto
anObjectTypesDataTable"onpage77.

Forinformationonchangingdisplayproperties,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
c. ClicktheBrowsebuttonnexttoTiptextandselecttheneighbourcharacteristicstobedisplayedinthetiptext.
Thisinformationwillbedisplayedoneachneighbourcoveragearea.
d. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaySettingsdialogbox.
6. BackintheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox,selectunderAdvancedtheneighbourrelationsthatyouwanttodisplay:

Outwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cell
isthereferencetransmitter/cellandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Inwardsnonsymmetrical:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationswheretheselectedtransmitter/cellis
neighbourandwheretheneighbourrelationisnotsymmetric.
Symmetriclinks:Selectthisoptiontodisplayneighbourrelationsthataresymmetricbetweentheselectedtrans
mitter/cellandtheneighbour.
Intertechnologyonly:Selectthisoptiontohideintratechnologyneighbourlinks.

7. IntheLabelsdropdownlist,specifywhichlabelsyouwanttodisplayonthemap:

None:Selectthisoptiontohidealllabels.
Displayneighbourlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlyneighbourlabels.
Keeptransmitterlabels:Selectthisoptiontodisplayonlytransmitterlabels,ifanyweredefinedintheTransmit
tersPropertiesdialogbox.

8. SelecttheAdjustMapWindowcheckboxifyouwantthemapwindowtoselfadjusttodisplayalltheneighbourrela
tionsoftheselectedcell.

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9. ClickOKtosaveyoursettingsandclosetheNeighbourDisplaydialogbox.
10. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

11. SelectNeighboursasthetypeofneighbourcoverageareastodisplay.
12. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

13. Selectatransmittertoshowitsneighbourcoverageareas:

In the Transmitters folder of the Network explorer: Select the transmitter in the Transmitters folder. The
selectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapandallitsneighboursareindicated.Atolldisplaystheselectedtrans
mitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
Onthemap:Selectthetransmitteronthemap.Theneighboursoftheselectedtransmitteraredisplayedonthe
map.Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemapwindowopensa
context menu allowing you to select the cell you want (see "Selecting One out of Several Transmitters" on
page45).AtolldisplaystheselectedtransmitterintheNeighbourstableifitisopen.
In the Neighbours table: Select the transmitterneighbour relation you want to display by clicking in the left
marginofthetablerowtoselecttheentirerow.Theselectedtransmitteriscentredinthemapwiththeselected
transmitterneighbourrelation(seeFigure11.14).TheselectedtransmitterisalsodisplayedintheTransmitters
folderoftheNetworkexplorer.

Figure11.15:DisplayingNeighbourLinksandCoverageAreas
14. Torestorecoloursandcanceltheneighbourdisplay,clicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
Planningtoolbar.

)intheRadio

11.2.9.5 AllocatingandRemovingNeighboursontheMap
You can allocate intratechnology and intertechnology neighbours directly on the map using the mouse. Atoll adds or
removesneighbourstotransmittersifthedisplayoptionissettoNeighbours.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveneighboursusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayonthemapofthetypeofneighbour
(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)youwanttoaddorremoveasexplainedin
"CheckingAutomaticAllocationResults"onpage1205.
Toaddasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofneighbours(eitherintratechnologyor intertechnology, dependingonthe displaychosen) oftheother
transmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesbothtransmitter
fromthelistofneighbours(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)oftheother
transmitter.

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Toaddanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetaneighbourrelation.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofneighbour(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)ofthe
othertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthereference
transmitterfromthelistofneighbours(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)
oftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. Therecanbetwocases:

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricneighbourrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.
Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricneighbour(eitherintratechnologyorinter
technology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)relation.
Ifthereisnoexistingneighbourrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricneighbourrelation
bypressingSHIFTandclickingthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttocreateasymmetricrelation.Thenpress
CTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricneigh
bour(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)relation.

Toremoveaninwardsneighbourrelation:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitteryouwanttoremovefromthelistofneighbours.Atollremovesthetransmitter
fromtheneighbourslist(eitherintratechnologyorintertechnology,dependingonthedisplaychosen)oftheother
transmitter.
WhenthereismorethanonecellonaCDMAorLTEtransmitter,clickingthetransmitter
inthemapwindowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see
"SelectingOneoutofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

11.2.9.6 DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandisplayexceptionalpairsonthemapinordertostudytheforcedandforbiddenneighbourrelationsdefinedinthe
intraorintertechnologyExceptionalPairstable.

11.2.9.6.1

DisplayingForcedNeighbours
Todisplayforcedneighboursonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectForcedNeighboursfromthemenu.
3. Ifdesired,changethedisplaysettingsoftheforcedneighbours:
a. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

b. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
c. Proceedasshownintheprevioussections:

Tochangethedisplaysettingsofforcedneighbourslinks,see"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"on
page1205.
To change thedisplaysettingsofforced neighbourscoverageareas,see "Displayingthe CoverageofEach
NeighbourofaCell"onpage1208.

4. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

5. Selectatransmitterorcelltoshowitsforcedneighbourslinksand/orcoverageareas.

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DisplayingForbiddenNeighbours
Todisplayforbiddenneighboursonthemap:
1. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

2. SelectForbiddenNeighboursfromthemenu.
3. Ifncessary,changethedisplaysettingsoftheforbiddenneighbours:
a. Clickthearrow( )nexttotheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(
appears.

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Themenu

b. SelectDisplayOptions fromthecontextmenu.TheNeighbourDisplaydialogboxappears.
c. Proceedasshownintheprevioussections:

Tochangethedisplaysettingsofforbiddenneighbourslinks,see"DisplayingNeighbourRelationsontheMap"
onpage1205.
Tochangethedisplaysettingsofforbiddenneighbourscoverageareas,see"DisplayingtheCoverageofEach
NeighbourofaCell"onpage1208.

4. ClicktheEditRelationsontheMapbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

5. Selectatransmitterorcelltoshowitsforbiddenneighbourslinksand/orcoverageareas.

11.2.9.7 AddingandRemovingExceptionalPairsontheMap
Youcandefinebothintraandintertechnologyexceptionalpairsusingthemouse.Atolladdsorremovesforcedorforbidden
exceptionalpairsdependingonthedisplayoptionset,i.e.,ForcedNeighboursorForbiddenNeighbours.Thenewexceptional
pairwillbeaddedtotheintratechnologyexceptionalpairsifbothtransmittersusethesameradioaccesstechnology.Ifthey
usedifferentradioaccesstechnologies,thenewexceptionalpairwillbeaddedtotheintertechnologyexceptionalpairs.
Beforeyoucanaddorremoveexceptionalpairsusingthemouse,youmustactivatethedisplayofexceptionalpairsonthe
mapasexplainedin"DisplayingExceptionalPairsontheMap"onpage1211.
Toaddasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsbothtransmittersto
thelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveasymmetricforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesboth
transmittersfromthelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterwithwhichyouwanttosetanexceptionalpair.Atolladdsthereferencetrans
mittertothelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toremoveanoutwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressCTRLandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovestheref
erencetransmitterfromthelistofexceptionalpairsoftheothertransmitter.
Toaddaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:

Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.

Ifthetwotransmittersalreadyhaveasymmetricexceptionalpairrelation,pressCTRLandclicktheothertrans
mitter.Atollconvertsthesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.
Ifthereisnoexistingexceptionalpairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,firstcreateasymmetricexceptional
pairrelationbetweenthetwotransmitters,andthenpressCTRLandclicktheothertransmitter.Atollconverts
thesymmetricrelationtoaninwardsnonsymmetricexceptionalpairrelation.

Toremoveaninwardsforcedorforbiddenexceptionalpair:
1. Clickthereferencetransmitteronthemap.Atolldisplaysitsneighbourrelations.
2. PressSHIFTandclickthetransmitterthatyouwanttoremovefromthelistofexceptionalpairs.Atollremovesthe
transmitterfromtheexceptionalpairslistoftheothertransmitter.

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Whenthereismorethanonecellonthetransmitter,clickingthetransmitterinthemap
windowopensacontextmenuallowingyoutoselectthecellyouwant(see"SelectingOne
outofSeveralTransmitters"onpage45).

11.2.10 AllocatingResourcesina3GPP2MultiRATNetwork
In3GPP2multiRATnetworks,allocatingresourcesCDMAPNoffsetsandLTEphysicalcellIDsisanimportantpartofaradio
planningproject.Theresourcesandproceduresaredifferentdependingontheradioaccesstechnology.Thewayresources
areallocatedina3GPP2multiRATnetworkisthesamethanthewaytheyareallocatedinasingleRATnetwork.
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,theautomaticallocationPNoffsets(inCDMA)andphysicalcellIDs(usingtheLTEAFP)take
intertechnologyneighbourconstraintsintoaccount.Forexample,differentphysicalcellIDsareassignedtotwoLTEcellsthat
areneighboursofthesameCDMAcell.

11.2.10.1 AllocatingResourcesinCDMA
AllocatingCDMAspecificresourcesisexplainedinChapter8:CDMA2000Networks:

AllocatingandplanningPNoffsetsisexplainedin"PlanningPNOffsets"onpage798.

11.2.10.2 AllocatingResourcesinLTE
AllocatingLTEspecificresourcesisexplainedinChapter9:LTENetworks:

Allocatingandplanningfrequenciesisexplainedin"PlanningFrequencies"onpage975.
AllocatingandplanningphysicalcellIDsisexplainedin"PlanningPhysicalCellIDs"onpage977.

11.3 StudyingNetworkCapacity
InAtoll,asimulationisbasedonarealisticdistributionofusersatagivenpointintime.Thedistributionofusersatagiven
momentisreferredtoasasnapshot.Basedonthissnapshot,Atollcalculatesvariousnetworkparameterssuchas:

FortheCDMApartofthetraffic:theactivesetforeachmobile,therequiredpowerofthemobile,thetotalDLpower,
andtheULloadpercell
FortheLTEpartofthetraffic:thedownlinkanduplinktrafficloads,theuplinknoiserise,theuserthroughputs,etc.

Simulationsarecalculatedinaniterativefashion.Whenseveralsimulationsareperformedatthesametimeusingthesame
trafficinformation,thedistributionofuserswillbedifferent,accordingtoaPoissondistribution.Consequentlyyoucanhave
variationsinuserdistributionfromonesnapshottoanother.
Tocreatesnapshots,servicesandusersmustbemodelled.Aswell,certaintrafficinformationintheformoftrafficmapsmust
beprovided.Onceservicesandusershavebeenmodelledandtrafficmapshavebeencreated,youcanmakesimulationsof
thenetworktraffic.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData"onpage1213
"ServiceandUserModelling"onpage1214
"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage1216
"ExportingaTrafficMap"onpage1225
"CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations"onpage1225
"AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation"onpage1231.

11.3.1 DefiningMultiserviceTrafficData
Thefirststepinmakingasimulationisdefininghowthenetworkisused.InAtoll,thisisaccomplishedbycreatingallofthe
parametersofnetworkuse,intermsofservices,users,andequipmentused.
ThefollowingservicesandusersaremodelledinAtollinordertocreatesimulations:

CDMA1xEVDORadioBearers:thethroughputsavailablefor1xEVDORev.Aand1xEVDORev.Bbasedservicesare
modelledusingradiobearers.The1xEVDORadioBearerstableslistthe1xEVDOradiobearerswiththeirpeakRLC
throughput,indexnumbers,andtransportblocksize.Youmustdefine1xEVDOradiobearersbeforeyoucanmodel
servicesusingthem.Forinformationondefining 1xEVDOradiobearers,see"DefiningtheForwardLink1xEVDO
RadioBearers"onpage872and"DefiningtheReverseLink1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage873.

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LTEradiobearers:Radiobearersareusedbythenetworkforcarryinginformation.TheLTERadioBearertablelistsall
theavailableradiobearers.YoucancreatenewradiobearersandmodifyexistingonesbyusingtheLTERadioBearer
table.Forinformationondefiningradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.
Services:Servicesarethevariousservices,suchasvoice,mobileinternetaccess,etc.,availabletosubscribers.These
servicescanbeeithercircuitswitchedorpacketswitcheddependingontheradioaccesstechnologyandthetypeof
application.Forinformationonmodellingenduserservices,see"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATServices"onpage1214.
Mobility type: In CDMA, information about receiver mobility is important to efficiently manage the active set: a
mobileusedbyadrivermovingquicklyorapedestrianwillnotnecessarilybeconnectedtothesametransmitters.
EcI0requirementsarelargelydependentonmobilespeed.InLTE,informationaboutreceivermobilityisimportant
todeterminetheusersradioconditionsandthroughputs.Forinformationoncreatingamobilitytype,see"Modelling
3GPP2MultiRATMobilityTypes"onpage1215.
Terminals:Aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracars
onboardnavigationdevice.Forinformationoncreatingaterminal,see"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals"on
page1215.

11.3.2 ServiceandUserModelling
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,thetrafficparametersaresharedbyalltechnologies.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATServices"onpage1214.
"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATMobilityTypes"onpage1215.
"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals"onpage1215.

11.3.2.1 Modelling3GPP2MultiRATServices
Servicesarethevariousservicesavailabletousers.Thissectionexplainshowtocreateaservice.
Beforeyoucanmodelservices,youmustdefinebearersinCDMAandLTE:

For more information on defining CDMA 1xEVDO radio bearers, see "Defining the Forward Link 1xEVDO Radio
Bearers"onpage872and"DefiningtheReverseLink1xEVDORadioBearers"onpage873.
FormoreinformationondefiningLTEradiobearers,see"DefiningLTERadioBearers"onpage1062.

Tocreateormodifyaservice:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheServicesfolder,andselectNewfrom
thecontextmenu.TheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
You can modify the properties of an existing service by rightclicking the service in the
ServicesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucaneditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewservice.Youcanchangethefollowingparameters.

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucansetamoredescriptivename.
Activityfactor:Theuplinkanddownlinkactivityfactorsareusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofactivityforusers
accessingtheserviceduringMonteCarlosimulations.Forpacketswitchedservices,thisparameterisusedwhen
workingwithsectortraffic mapsand userdensitytrafficmaps.Forcircuitswitchedservices,theparameteris
takenintoconsiderationwithanytrafficmap.
AverageRequestedThroughput:Youcanentertheaveragerequestedthroughputforuplinkanddownlink.This
throughputistheaveragethroughputobtainedbyauseroftheservice.Howtheaveragerequestedthroughput
isusedinAtolldependsonthetypeofservice.
Technologypriorities:ClicktheBrowsebuttonbesideTechnologyprioritiestoopenadialogboxenablingyouto
definethetechnologiesthatcanusethisserviceandtheirpriority.

Toselectatechnologythatcanusethisservice,selectthetechnologyintheAvailabletechnologieslistand

click
tomoveittotheSelectedtechnologieslist.
ToremoveatechnologyfromthelistofSelectedtechnologies,selectthetechnologyintheSelectedtechnol
ogieslistandclick

tomoveittotheAvailabletechnologieslist.

Tochangethepriorityofthetechnologies,selectatechnologyandclick or tomoveitupordowninthe
list.Thetechnologyatthetopofthelisthasthehighestpriority.
ClickOKtoclosethedialogboxandreturntotheServices:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox.

3. Clickthetabofthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefineparametersforthisservice.Thewaytheserviceisdefined
foreachtechnologyisidenticalthanthewayaserviceisdefinedinasingleRATnetwork.
CDMA2000:ForinformationondefiningaCDMAservice,see"ModellingServices"onpage751.

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LTE:ForinformationondefiningaLTEservice,see"ModellingServices"onpage927.
4. ClickOK.

11.3.2.2 Modelling3GPP2MultiRATMobilityTypes
Information about receiver mobility is important to efficiently manage traffic. In CDMA, EcI0 requirements are largely
dependentonmobilespeed.InLTE,informationaboutthereceivermobilityisrequiredfordeterminingwhichbearerselec
tionthresholdandqualitygraphtousefromtheLTEequipmentreferredtointheterminalorcell.
Tocreateormodifyamobilitytype:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheMobilityTypesfolder,andselect
Newfromthecontextmenu.TheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingmobilitytypebyrightclickingthemobility
typeintheMobilityTypesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucanenterormodifythefollowingparametersintheMobilityTypes:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox:

Name:Enteradescriptivenameforthemobilitytype.
AverageSpeed:Enteranaveragespeedforthemobilitytype.Thisfieldisforinformationonly;theaveragespeed
isnotusedbyanycalculation.

3. IfyouaremodellingCDMAinyour3GPP2multiRATnetwork,clicktheCDMA2000tabandsetthefollowingparame
ters:

UnderActiveSetManagement,enterormodifythefollowingparametersinordertomaketheuseractiveset
dependentonthemobilitytype:

DeltaMin.EcI0:EnterapositivevalueinordertoincreasetheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitterto
bethebestserverintheactiveset,oranegativevaluetodecreaseit.
DeltaT_Drop:EnterapositivevalueinordertoincreasetheminimumEcI0requiredfromatransmitternot
toberejectedfromtheactiveset,oranegativevaluetodecreaseit.

Under1xEVDO(Rev0),enterormodifythefollowingparameters:

Min.EcNt(UL):EnterormodifytheminimumEcNtrequiredonthereverselink.Thisparameterisonlyused
forCDMA20001xEVDORev0.Thisparameterisconsideredduringreverselinkpowercontrolinordertocal
culatetherequiredreverselinkpilotpower.
DLPeakThroughput=f(CI):Thegraphofthethroughputontheforwardlinkasafunctionof(CI).Thisparam
eterisonlyusedforCDMA20001xEVDORev0.

4. ClickOK.

11.3.2.3 Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals
InAtoll,aterminalistheuserequipmentthatisusedinthenetwork,forexample,amobilephone,aPDA,oracarsonboard
navigationdevice.
Tocreateormodifyaterminal:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheTerminalsfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheTerminals:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingterminalbyrightclickingtheterminalinthe
TerminalsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. YoucaneditthefieldsontheGeneraltabtodefinethenewterminal.Youcanchangethefollowingparameters.

Name:Atollproposesanameforthenewservice,butyoucansetamoredescriptivename.
Supportedtechnologies:ClickthearrownexttoSupportedtechnologiesandselectthecheckboxofeachtech
nologysupportedbythisterminal.

3. Clickthetabofthetechnologyforwhichyouwanttodefineparametersforthisterminal.Thewaytheterminalis
definedforeachtechnologyisidenticalthanthewayaterminalisdefinedinasingleRATnetwork.
CDMA:ForinformationondefiningaCDMAservice,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage756.
LTE:ForinformationondefiningaLTEservice,see"ModellingTerminals"onpage929.
4. ClickOK.

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11.3.3 CreatingaTrafficMap
ThefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferenttypesoftrafficmapsavailableinAtollandhowtocreate,import,andusethem.
Atollprovidesthreetypesoftrafficmaps.

Sectortrafficmap
Userprofiletrafficmap
Userdensitytrafficmap(numberofusersperkm)

Thesemapscanbecreatedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficdatasourcesasfollows:

SectortrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavelivetrafficdatafromtheOMC(OperationandMaintenanceCentre).
TheOMC(OperationsandMaintenanceCentre)collectsdatafromallcellsinanetwork.Thisincludes,forexample,
thenumberofusersorthethroughputineachcellandthetrafficcharacteristicsrelatedtodifferentservices.Traffic
is spread over the best server coverage area of each transmitter and each coverage area is assigned either the
throughputsintheuplinkandinthedownlinkorthenumberofusersperactivitystatusorthetotalnumberofusers
(includingallactivitystatuses).Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"onpage1216.

Userprofiletrafficmapscanbeusedifyouhavemarketingbasedtrafficdata.
Userprofiletrafficmaps,whereeachvector(polygon,line,orpoint)describessubscriberdensities(ornumbersof
subscribersforpoints)withuserprofilesandmobilitytypes,anduserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmaps,where
eachpixelhasanassignedenvironmentclass.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap"on
page1218.

Userdensitytrafficmaps(numberofusersperkm2)canbeusedifyouhavepopulationbasedtrafficdata,or2Gnet
workstatistics.
Eachpixelhasauserdensityassigned.Thevalueeitherincludesallactivitystatuses,oritcorrespondstoaparticular
activitystatus.Formoreinformation,see"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1223.

11.3.3.1 CreatingaSectorTrafficMap
ThissectionexplainshowtocreateasectortrafficmapinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Acoveragepredictionbytransmitterisrequiredtocreatethistrafficmap.Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveacoverageprediction
bytransmitterinyourdocument,youmustcreateandcalculateone.Youcanalsocreateacoveragebytransmitterforeach
technologyofthenetworkandassignthecorrespondingtechnologytraffic.Youcancreateasmanymapsasyouwantand
theycanbecombinedinsimulationsifselected.
Formoreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.
Tocreateasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectSectorTrafficMap.
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouwanttoinput.Youcanchoosebetweenthefollowing:

UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses)
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus

4. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
YoucanalsoimportatrafficmapfromafilebyclickingtheImportbutton.Youcanimport
AGD(AtollGeographicData)formatfilesthatyouhaveexportedfromanotherAtolldocu
ment.
5. Selectacoveragepredictionbytransmitterfromthelistofavailablecoveragepredictionsbytransmitter.
6. EnterthedatarequiredintheSectorTrafficMapdialogbox:

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UplinkandDownlinkThroughputs:enterthethroughputdemandsintheuplinkanddownlinkforeachsectorand
foreachlistedservice.
TotalNumberofUsers(AllActivityStatuses):enterthenumberofconnectedusersforeachsectorandforeach
listedservice.
NumberofUsersperActivityStatus:enterthenumberofinactiveusers,thenumberofusersactiveintheuplink,
inthedownlinkandintheuplinkanddownlink,foreachsectorandforeachservice.

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YoucanalsoimportatextfilecontainingthedatabyclickingtheActionsbuttonandselect
ing Import Table from the menu. For more information on importing table data, see
"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.
7. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.

Figure11.16:TrafficmappropertiesdialogboxTraffictab
8. SelecttheTraffictab(seeFigure11.16).
UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
9. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusers.

10. ClickOK.AtollcreatesthetrafficmapintheTrafficMapsfolder.
Youcanmodifyasectortrafficmapafterithasbeencreated.
Tomodifyasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapbasedonthelivedatathatyouwant
toupdate,andselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
2. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

3. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

4. ClickOK.Atollsavesthetrafficmapwithitsmodifiedvalues.
Youcanupdatetheinformation,throughputdemandsandthenumberofusers,onthemapafterwards.Youcanupdate
sectortrafficmapsifyouaddorremoveabasestation.Youmustfirstrecalculatethecoveragepredictionbytransmitter.For
moreinformation,see"MakingaCoveragePredictionbyTransmitter"onpage277.Onceyouhaverecalculatedthecoverage
prediction,youcanupdatethetrafficmap.
Toupdateasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthesectortrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate,and
selectUpdatefromthecontextmenu.TheSectorTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
2. Selecttheupdatedcoveragepredictionbytransmitteranddefinetrafficvaluesforthenewtransmitter(s)listedatthe
bottomofthetable.Deletedordeactivatedtransmittersareautomaticallyremovedfromthetable.
3. ClickOK.TheSectorTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Ifyouwant,youcanupdatethevaluesontheTraffictabunderTerminals(%)andMobilities(%),andontheClutter
tabunderDistributionperclutterclass.
4. ClickOK.Thetrafficmapisupdatedonthebasisoftheselectedcoveragepredictionbytransmitter.
Ifyouwanttoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.thedensityofusers,takingintoaccount
anyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmap,youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.For
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage1224.

11.3.3.2 CreatingaUserProfileTrafficMap
Themarketingdepartmentcanprovideinformationwhichcanbeusedtocreatetrafficmaps.Thisinformationdescribesthe
behaviourofdifferenttypesofusers.Inotherwords,itdescribeswhichtypeofuseraccesseswhichservicesandforhowlong.
Theremightalsobeinformationaboutthetypeofterminaldevicestheyusetoaccessdifferentservices.
InAtoll,thistypeofdatacanbeusedtocreateuserprofiletrafficmaps.
Auserprofilemodelsthebehaviourofdifferentsubscribercategories.Eachuserprofileisdefinedbyalistofserviceswhich
areinturndefinedbytheterminalused,thecallsperhour,andduration(forcircuitswitchedservices)oruplinkanddownlink
volume(forpacketswitchedservices).
Environmentclassesareusedtodescribethedistributionofsubscribersonamap.Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvi
ronmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagivendensity(i.e.,thenumberofsubscribers
withthesameprofileperkm).
ThefollowingsectionsdescribehowtousetrafficdatafromthemarketingdepartmentinAtolltomodeltraffic.
Thissectioncoversthefollowingtopics:

"Modellinguserprofiles"onpage1218
"Modellingenvironments"onpage1219.

Modellinguserprofiles
Youcanmodelvariationsinuserbehaviourbycreatingdifferentprofilesfordifferenttimesofthedayorfordifferentcircum
stances.Forexample,ausermightbeconsideredabusinessuserduringtheday,withvideoconferencingandvoice,butno
webbrowsing.Intheeveningthesameusermightnotusevideoconferencing,butmightusemultimediaservicesandweb
browsing.
Tocreateormodifyauserprofile:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheUserProfilesfolder,andselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistinguserprofilebyrightclickingtheuserprofile
intheUserProfilesfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. IntheUserProfiles:NewRecordPropertiesdialogbox,youcanmodifythefollowingparameters:

Service:Selectaservicefromthelist.Fordetails,see"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATServices"onpage1214.
Terminal:Selectaterminalfromthelist.Fordetails,see"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals"onpage1215.
Calls/Hour:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragenumberofcallsperhourfortheservice.Thenumber
ofcallsperhourisusedtocalculatetheactivityprobability.Forcircuitswitchedservices,onecalllasting1000sec
ondspresentsthesameactivityprobabilityastwocallslasting500secondseach.
Forpacketswitchedservices,theCalls/Hourvalueisdefinedasthenumberofsessionsperhour.Asessionislike
acallinthatitisdefinedastheperiodoftimebetweenwhenauserstartsusingaserviceandwhenhestopsusing
aservice.Inpacketswitchedservices,however,hemaynotusetheservicecontinually.Forexample,withaweb
browsing service, a session starts when the user opens his browsing application and ends when he quits the
browsingapplication.Betweenthesetwoevents,theusermightbedownloadingwebpagesandothertimeshe
maynotbeusingtheapplication,orhemightbebrowsinglocalfiles,butthesessionisstillconsideredasopen.A
session,therefore,isdefinedbythevolumetransferredintheuplinkanddownlinkandnotbythetime.
Inorderforalltheservicesdefinedforauserprofiletobetakenintoaccountduringtraffic
scenarioelaboration,thesumofactivityprobabilitiesmustbelowerthan1.

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Duration:Forcircuitswitchedservices,entertheaveragedurationofacallinseconds.Forpacketswitchedser
vices,thisfieldisleftblank.
ULVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaverageuplinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.
DLVolume:Forpacketswitchedservices,entertheaveragedownlinkvolumepersessioninkilobytes.

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3. ClickOK.Theuserprofileiscreated.
Modellingenvironments
Anenvironmentclassdescribesitsenvironmentusingalistofuserprofiles,eachwithanassociatedmobilitytypeandagiven
density(i.e.,thenumberofsubscriberswiththesameprofileperkm).Togetanappropriateuserdistribution,youcanassign
aweighttoeachclutterclassforeachenvironmentclass.Youcanalsospecifythepercentageofindoorsubscribersforeach
clutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepath
lossesofindoormobiles.
Tocreateormodifyanenvironment:
1. IntheParametersexplorer,expandtheTrafficParametersfolder,rightclicktheEnvironmentsfolderandselectNew
fromthecontextmenu.TheEnvironments:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears.
Youcanmodifythepropertiesofanexistingenvironmentbyrightclickingtheenviron
mentintheEnvironmentsfolderandselectingPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.

2. ClicktheGeneraltab.
a. EnteraNameforthenewenvironment.
b. IntherowmarkedwiththeNewRowicon(
),setthefollowingparametersforeachuserprofile/mobilitycom
binationthatthisenvironmentwilldescribe:

UserProfile:Selectauserprofile.
Mobility:Selectamobilitytype.
Density(Subscribers/km2):Enteradensityintermsofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforthecombination
ofuserprofileandmobilitytype.

3. ClicktheClutterWeightingtab.
a. Foreachclutterclass,enteraweightthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
Theuserdistributioniscalculatedusingthefollowingequation:
Wk Sk
N k = N Area -------------------------Wi Si

where:
Nk =

Numberofusersintheclutterk

N Area =

NumberofusersinthezoneArea

Wk =

Weightofclutterk

Sk =

Surfaceareaofclutterk(inkm)

Forexample:Anareaof10kmwithasubscriberdensityof100/km.Therefore,inthisarea,thereare1000sub
scribers.Theareaiscoveredbytwoclutterclasses:OpenandBuilding.TheclutterweightingforOpenis"1"and
forBuildingis"4."Giventherespectiveweightsofeachclutterclass,200subscribersareintheOpenclutterclass
and800intheBuildingclutterclass.
b. Ifyouwantyoucanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtothepathlossesofindoormobiles.
4. ClickOK.Theenvironmentiscreated.

11.3.3.2.1

ImportingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Userprofiletrafficmapsarecomposedofvectors(eitherpointswithanumberofsubscribers,lineswithanumberofsubscrib
erskm,orpolygonswithanumberofsubscriberskm)withauserprofile,mobilitytype,andtrafficdensityassignedtoeach
vector.
Toimportauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
3. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.

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YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page1223.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.
6. ClickOpen.TheVectorImportdialogboxappears.
a. UnderImportto,youcanchoosetoimportyourtrafficmapinafolderotherthanTrafficMaps(defaultfolder).
b. ClicktheImportbutton.Theimportedtrafficmapappearsunderthefolderyouselected.
Tomodifythepropertiesofauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapthatyouwanttoupdate,andselect
Propertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxoftheselectedtrafficmapappears.
2. Select the Traffic tab. Under Traffic fields, you can specify the user profiles to be considered, their mobility type
(kmh),andtheirdensity.Ifthefilethatyouaremodifyinghasthisdata,youcandefinethetrafficcharacteristicsby
identifyingthecorrespondingfieldsinthefile.Ifthefilethatyouaremodifyingdoesnothavedatadescribingtheuser
profile,mobility,ordensity,youcanassignvalues.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap.
Defineeachofthefollowing:

Userprofile:Ifyouwanttoimportuserprofileinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"and
selectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParameters
folder in the Parameters explorer, under Defined, select "By value" and select the user profile in the Choice
column.
Mobility:Ifyouwanttoimportmobilityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.IfyouwanttoassignamobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andselectthemobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.
Density:Ifyouwanttoimportdensityinformationfromthefile,underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthe
sourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassignadensity,underDefined,select"Byvalue"andentera
densityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuserprofileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"den
sity"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itreferstothenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometrefor
polygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseoflinesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemap
consistsofpoints.
Whenyouimportuserprofileormobilityinformationfromthefile,thevaluesinthefile
mustbeexactlythesameasthecorrespondingnamesintheTrafficParametersfolderin
theParametersexplorer.Iftheimporteduserprofileormobilitydoesnotmatch,Atoll
willdisplayawarning.

3. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
4. ClickOKtofinishmodifyingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

11.3.3.2.2

CreatingaUserProfileDensitybasedTrafficMap
Tocreateauserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
3. SelectUserprofiledensitiesfromthelist.
4. ClicktheCreatebutton.TheUserProfileDensityTrafficMapNPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.UnderTrafficfields,specifytheuserprofilestobeconsidered,theirmobilitytype(kmh),and
theirdensity.Whenyouassignvalues,theyapplytotheentiremap:

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Userprofile:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwantto
assignauserprofilefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselect
theuserprofileintheChoicecolumn.
Mobility:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
amobilitytypefromtheTrafficParametersfolderintheParametersexplorer,select"Byvalue"andselectthe
mobilitytypeintheChoicecolumn.

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Density:underDefined,select"Byfield"andselectthesourcefieldfromtheChoicecolumn.Ifyouwanttoassign
adensityofyourchoice,select"Byvalue"andenteradensityintheChoicecolumnforthecombinationofuser
profileandmobilitytype.Inthiscontext,theterm"density"dependsonthetypeofvectortrafficmap.Itrefersto
thenumberofsubscriberspersquarekilometreforpolygons,thenumberofsubscribersperkilometreincaseof
linesandthenumberofsubscriberswhenthemapconsistsofpoints.

6. SelecttheCluttertab.
a. UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enteraweightforeachclassthatwillbeusedtocalculateauserdistribution.
b. Ifyouwant,youcanspecifyapercentageofindoorsubscribersforeachclutterclass.DuringMonteCarlosimula
tions,indoorlossesdefinedperfrequencyperclutterclasswillbeaddedtoindooruserpathlosses.
7. ClickOKtofinishcreatingtheuserprofiledensitybasedtrafficmap.

11.3.3.2.3

ImportingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Environmentclassesdescribethedistributionofuserprofiles.
Toimportauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page1223.
7. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(8bit):TIF,JPEG2000,BIL,
IST,BMP,PlaNET,GRCVerticalMapper,andErdasImagine.
8. ClickOpen.TheUserProfileEnvironmentTrafficMapPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. SelecttheTraffictab.
Intheimportedmap,eachtypeofregionisdefinedbyanumber.AtollreadsthenumbersandliststhemunderCode.
10. ForeachCode,selecttheenvironmentitcorrespondstofromtheNamecolumn.
TheavailableenvironmentsarethoseavailableintheEnvironmentsfolder,underTrafficParametersintheParame
tersexplorer.Formoreinformation,see"Modellingenvironments"onpage1219.
11. SelecttheDisplaytab.Forinformationonchangingthedisplayparameters,see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"on
page47.
12. ClickOKtofinishimportingtheuserprofileenvironmentsbasedtrafficmap.

11.3.3.2.4

CreatingaUserProfileEnvironmentbasedTrafficMap
Atollenablesyoutocreateauserprofileenvironmentbasedtrafficmapbasedonbydrawingitinthemapwindow.
Todrawatrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTrafficMapdialogboxappears.
4. SelectUserprofiletrafficmap.
5. SelectUserprofileenvironmentsfromthelist.
6. ClickCreate.TheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarappears(seeFigure11.17).

DrawMap

DeleteMap

Figure11.17:EnvironmentMapEditortoolbar

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7. Selecttheenvironmentclassfromthelistofavailableenvironmentclasses.
8. ClicktheDrawPolygonbutton(
9. ClicktheDeletePolygonbutton(

)todrawthepolygononthemapfortheselectedenvironmentclass.
)andclickthepolygontodeletetheenvironmentclasspolygononthemap.

10. ClicktheClosebuttontoclosetheEnvironmentMapEditortoolbarandendediting.

11.3.3.2.5

DisplayingStatisticsonaUserProfileEnvironmentsbasedTrafficMap
Youcandisplaythestatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap.Atollprovidesabsolute(surface)andrelative(percent
ageofthesurface)statisticsonthefocuszoneforeachenvironmentclass.Ifyoudonothaveafocuszonedefined,statistics
aredeterminedforthecomputationzone.
Todisplaytrafficstatisticsofauserprofileenvironmenttrafficmap:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheTrafficMapsfolder.

3. Rightclicktheuserprofileenvironmenttrafficmapwhosestatisticsyouwanttodisplay.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectStatisticsfromthecontextmenu.TheStatisticswindowappears.
TheStatisticswindowliststhesurface(Siinkm)andthepercentageofsurface(%ofi)foreachenvironmentclass"i"
S

i
- 100
withinthefocuszone.Thepercentageofsurfaceisgivenby: % of i = -------------

Sk
k

YoucanprintthestatisticsbyclickingthePrintbutton.
5. ClickClose.
Ifaclutterclassesmapisavailableinthedocument,trafficstatisticsprovidedforeachenvironmentclassarelistedperclutter
class.

11.3.3.3 CreatingUserDensityTrafficMaps(No.Users/km)
Userdensitytrafficmapscanbebasedonpopulationstatistics(userdensitiescanbecalculatedfromthedensityofinhabit
ants)oron2Gtrafficstatistics.Userdensitytrafficmapsprovidethenumberofconnectedusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,the
densityofusers,asinput.Thiscanbeeitherthedensityofusersperactivitystatusorthedensityofusersincludingallactivity
statuses.
Inthissection,thefollowingwaysofcreatingauserdensitytrafficmapareexplained:

"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1222
"CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1223.

Userdensitytrafficmapscanbecreatedfromsectortrafficmapsinordertoextractanddisplaytheexactnumberofusers
perunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweightingdefinedforthesectortrafficmaps.for
moreinformation,see"CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps"onpage1224.

11.3.3.3.1

ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Theuserdensitytrafficmapdefinesthedensityofusersperpixel.ForatrafficdensityofXusersperkm,Atollwilldistribute
xusersperpixelduringthesimulations,wherexdependsonthesizeofthepixels.Thesexuserswillhaveaterminal,amobility
type,aservice,andpercentageofindoorusersasdefinedontheTraffictabofthetrafficmapspropertiesdialogbox.
Youcancreateanumberofuserdensitytrafficmapsfordifferentcombinationsofterminals,mobilitytypes,andservices.You
canaddvectorlayerstothemapanddrawregionswithdifferenttrafficdensities.
Toimportauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserdensitytrafficmap(no.users/km2).
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

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Allactivitystatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
Activeinuplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplink
only.
Activeindownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedown
linkonly.
Activeinuplinkanddownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofuserswith
bothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.

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Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouareimportingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheOpendialogboxappears.
YoucanalsocreateatrafficmapmanuallyinAtollbyclickingtheCreatebuttonintheNew
Traffic Map dialog box. For information, see "Creating a User Density Traffic Map" on
page1223.
5. Selectthefiletoimport.Thefilemustbeinoneofthefollowingsupportedrasterformats(16or32bit):BIL,BMP,
PlaNET,TIF,JPEG2000,ISTAR,andErdasImagine.
6. ClickOpen.TheFileImportdialogboxappears.
7. SelectTrafficfromtheDataTypelist.
8. ClickImport.ThetrafficmapisimportedandthetrafficmapsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
9. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

10. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

11. ClickOK.ThetrafficmapiscreatedintheTrafficMapsfolder.

11.3.3.3.2

CreatingaUserDensityTrafficMap
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,rightclicktheTrafficMapsfolderandselectNewMapfromthecontextmenu.TheNewTraffic
Mapdialogboxappears.
2. SelectUserDensityTrafficMap(Numberofusersperkm2).
3. Selectthetypeoftrafficinformationyouinput:

AllActivityStatuses:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithanyactivity
status.
ActiveinUplink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveintheuplinkonly.
ActiveinDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofusersactiveinthedownlink
only.
ActiveinUplinkandDownlink:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofuserswithboth
uplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:Selectthisoptionifthemapyouaredrawingprovidesadensityofinactiveusers.

4. ClicktheCreatebutton.Thetrafficmapspropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTraffictab.

UnderTerminals(%),enterapercentageforeachtypeofterminalusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderMobilities(%),enterapercentageforeachmobilitytypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.
UnderServices(%),enterapercentageforeachservicetypeusedinthemap.Thetotalmustequal100.

6. SelecttheCluttertab.
UnderDistributionperclutterclass,enterthefollowingforeachclutterclass:

Aweighttospreadthetrafficoverthevector.
Thepercentageofindoorusersforeachclutterclass.

7. ClickOK.ThetrafficmapiscreatedintheTrafficMapsfolder.
8. RightclickthetrafficmapandselectEditfromthecontextmenu.
9. UsethetoolsavailableintheVectorEditortoolbartodrawcontours.Formoreinformationoneditingcontours,see
"EditingPolygons,Lines,andPoints"onpage65.
AnitemcalledDensityvaluesiscreatedintheUserDensityMapfolder.
10. RightclicktheDensityvaluesitemintheUserDensityMapfolderandselectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.
11. Inthetable,enteratrafficdensityvalue(i.e.,thenumberofusersperkm2)foreachcontouryouhavedrawn.

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12. RightclicktheitemandselectEditfromthecontextmenutoendediting.

11.3.3.3.3

CreatingUserDensityTrafficMapsfromSectorTrafficMaps
Youcancreateuserdensitytrafficmapsfromsectortrafficmaps.Userdensitytrafficmapscreatedfromsectortrafficmaps
displaytheexactnumberofusersperunitofsurface,i.e.,thedensityofusers,takingintoaccountanyclutterweighting
definedforthesectortrafficmaps.
Tocreateauserdensitytrafficmapfromasectortrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder.
2. RightclickthesectortrafficmapfromwhichyouwanttocreateuserdensitytrafficmapsandselectCreateDensity
Mapsfromthecontextmenu.
Asmanyuserdensitytrafficmapsarecreatedasthereareservicespresentinthesectortrafficmap.Theuserdensity
mapfilesusetheresolutionofthecoveragepredictionusedforthesectortrafficmapandareembeddedinthedocu
ment.

11.3.3.4 Converting2GNetworkTraffic
Atollcancumulatethetrafficofthetrafficmapsthatyouselectandexportittoafile.Theinformationexportedisthenumber
ofusersperkmforaparticularserviceofaparticulartype,i.e.,dataorvoice.Thisallowsyoutoexportyour2Gnetwork
packetandcircuitservicetraffic,andthenimportthesemapsasuserdensitytrafficmapsforUMTSorLTE.Thesemapscan
thenbeusedintrafficsimulationslikeanyothertypeofmap.
Formoreinformationonhowtoexportcumulatedtraffic,see"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage1224,andforinforma
tiononimportinguserdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1222.
Toimporta2GtrafficmapforUMTSorLTE:
1. Createasectortrafficmapinyour2Gnetworkforeachtypeofservice,i.e.,onemapforpacketswitchedandonefor
circuitswitchedservices.Formoreinformationoncreatingsectortrafficmaps,see"CreatingaSectorTrafficMap"on
page1216.
2. Export the cumulated traffic of the maps created in step1. For information on exporting cumulated traffic, see
"ExportingCumulatedTraffic"onpage1224.
3. Importthetrafficexportedinstep2forUMTSorLTEasauserdensitytrafficmap.Formoreinformationonimporting
userdensitytrafficmaps,see"ImportingaUserDensityTrafficMap"onpage1222.

11.3.3.5 ExportingCumulatedTraffic
Atollallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficofselectedtrafficmapsintheformofuserdensitytrafficmaps.Duringexport,
Atollconvertsanytrafficmaptouserdensities.Thecumulatedtrafficisexportedin32bitBIL,ArcViewGrid,orVertical
Mapperformat.WhenexportinginBILformat,Atollallowsyoutoexportfileslargerthan2GB.Theexportedtrafficmapcan
thenbeimportedasauserdensitytrafficmap.
Toexportthecumulatedtraffic:
1. SelecttheGeoexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTrafficMapsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectExportCumulatedTrafficfromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
4. Enterafilenameandselectthefileformat.
5. ClickSave.TheExportdialogboxappears.
6. UnderRegion,selecttheareatoexport:

TheEntireProjectArea:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficovertheentireproject.
TheComputationZone:Thisoptionallowsyoutoexportthecumulatedtrafficcontainedbyarectangleencom
passingthecomputationzone,whetherornotthecomputationzoneisvisible.

7. DefineaResolutioninMetres.Theresolutionmustbeanintegerandtheminimumresolutionallowedis1.
Youmustenteraresolutionbeforeexporting.Ifyoudonotenteraresolution,itremains
at"0"andnodatawillbeexported.

8. UnderTraffic,definethedatatobeexportedinthecumulatedtraffic.Atollusesthisinformationtofilterthetraffic
datatobeexported.

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Terminal:Selectthetypeofterminalthatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexporttrafficusinganyterminal.

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Service:Selecttheservicethatwillbeexported,select"Allcircuitswitchedorvoiceservices"toexporttraffic
usinganycircuitorvoiceservice,"Allpacketswitchedordataservices"toexporttrafficusinganypacketordata
service,orselectthespecifictypeofservice.
Mobility:Selectthemobilitytypethatwillbeexportedorselect"All"toexportallmobilitytypes.
Activity:Selectoneofthefollowing:

AllActivityStatuses:SelectAllActivityStatusestoexportalluserswithoutanyfilterbyactivitystatus.
Uplink:SelectUplinktoexportmobilesactiveintheuplinkonly.
Downlink:SelectDownlinktoexportmobilesactiveinthedownlinkonly.
Uplink/Downlink:SelectUplink/Downlinktoexportonlymobileswithbothuplinkanddownlinkactivity.
Inactive:SelectInactivetoexportonlyinactivemobiles.

9. IntheSelectTrafficMapstoBeUsedlist,selectthecheckboxofeachtrafficmapyouwanttoincludeinthecumulated
traffic.
10. ClickOK.Thedefineddataisextractedfromtheselectedtrafficmapsandcumulatedintheexportedfile.

11.3.4 ExportingaTrafficMap
Toexportatrafficmap:
1. IntheGeoexplorer,expandtheTrafficMapsfolder,rightclickthetrafficmapyouwanttoexport,andselectSaveAs
fromthecontextmenu.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears.
2. Enterafilenameandselectafileformatforthetrafficmap.
3. ClickSave.
Ifyouareexportingarastertrafficmap,youhavetodefine:

TheExportRegion:

EntireProjectArea:Savestheentiretrafficmap.
OnlyPendingChanges:Savesonlythemodificationsmadetothemap.
ComputationZone:Savesonlythepartofthetrafficmapinsidethecomputationzone.

AnexportResolution.

11.3.5 CalculatingandDisplayingTrafficSimulations
Onceyouhavemodelledthenetworkservicesandusersandhavecreatedtrafficmaps,youcancreatesimulations.Thesimu
lationprocessconsistsoffivesteps:
1. Obtainingarealisticuserdistribution:AtollgeneratesauserdistributionusingaMonteCarloalgorithm;thisuser
distributionisbasedonthetrafficdatabaseandtrafficmapsandisweightedbyaPoissondistributionbetweensimu
lationsofthesamegroup.
Eachuserisassignedaservice,amobilitytype,andanactivitystatusbyrandomtrial,accordingtoaprobabilitylaw
thatusesthetrafficdatabase.
Theuseractivitystatusisanimportantoutputoftherandomtrialandhasdirectconsequencesonthenextstepof
thesimulationandonnetworkinterference.Ausermightbeeitheractiveorinactive.Bothactiveandinactiveusers
consumeradioresourcesandcreateinterference.
Next,ashadowingerrorisrandomlyassignedtoeachuserusingtheprobabilitydistributionthatdescribestheshad
owingeffect.
Finally,anotherrandomtrialdeterminesuserpositionsintheirrespectivetrafficzone(possiblyaccordingtotheclut
terweightingandtheindoorratioperclutterclass).
2. Technologyselection:Foreachmobilegeneratedatthebeginningofthesimulation,Atollsearchesforitsservingcell
ineachpossibletechnology.Formultitechnologymobiles,asortofactivesetoftransmitters(possiblyhavingdif
ferenttechnologies)isthencreated.Finally,retainedtransmittersaresortedaccordingtotheprioritiesoftechnolo
giesintheservicesasdescribedin"SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies"onpage1226.
Whenthetechnologytowhicheachmobilehasbeenselected,the3GPP2multiRATsimulationconsistsofonemono
technology"sub"simulationforeachtechnology,runsequentially.
3. CDMA network regulation mechanisms: For the CDMA part of the traffic, the CDMA resources are managed as
describedin"ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm"onpage816.
4. LTEnetworkregulationmechanisms:FortheLTEpartofthetraffic,theLTEresourcesaremanagedasdescribedin
"LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm"onpage1003.

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11.3.5.1 SearchandSelectionofServingTechnologies
Theveryfirstpartofthesimulationconsists,foreachdistributedmobile,inanalysingwhetherthismobilecanbeservedby
cells of different technologies. Each mobile dropped at the beginning of the allocation has a specific mobility type and
supportsoneormoretechnologiesasexplainedin"Modelling3GPP2MultiRATTerminals"onpage1215.
Foreachsupportedtechnology,themobileverifieswhetheritcanbeservedbyatleastonetransmitterorcell.

IfthemobilesupportsCDMA,abestCDMAserverisdeterminedbasedontheEc/IovaluesofnearbyCDMAcells.If
nocellfulfulstheseconditions,themobileisnotservedbyCDMA.
If the mobile supports LTE, a best LTE server is determined as described in "The Global Network Settings" on
page1056.Ifnocellrespectstheseconditions,themobileisnotservedbyLTE.

Oncetheservingtechnologieshavebeenidentified,Atollselectsthehighestpriorityasdefinedintheserviceassignedtothe
mobile.Oncedetermined,theservingtechnologydoesnotchangeforagivenuserdistribution.Onesimulationisthenrun
pertechnologyasdescribedin:

"ThePowerControlSimulationAlgorithm"onpage635forCDMA,and
"LTETrafficSimulationAlgorithm"onpage1003forLTE.

11.3.5.2 CreatingSimulations
InAtoll,simulationsenableyoutomodelnetworkregulationmechanismsinordertominimiseinterferenceandmaximise
capacity.
Youcancreateonesimulationoragroupofsimulationsthatwillbeperformedinsequence.
Tocreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
4. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,enteraNameandCommentsforthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.
5. UnderExecutionontheGeneraltab,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

Numberofsimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobecarriedout.Allsimulationscreatedatthesame
timearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.

6. OntheTraffictab,enterthefollowing:

Globalscalingfactor:Ifdesired,enterascalingfactortoincreaseuserdensity.
Theglobalscalingfactorenablesyoutoincreaseuserdensitywithoutchangingtrafficparametersortrafficmaps.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto2isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(for
environmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps),throughputs/usersornumberofusers(forsectortrafficmaps)orden
sityofusers(fortrafficdensitymaps).

Selecttrafficmapstobeused:Selectthetrafficmapsyouwanttouseforthesimulation.
Youcanselecttrafficmapsofanytype.However,ifyouhaveseveraldifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandwantto
makeasimulationonaspecifictypeoftrafficmap,youmustensurethatyouselectonlytrafficmapsofthesame
type.Forinformationonthetypesoftrafficmaps,see"CreatingaTrafficMap"onpage1216.

7. OntheCDMA2000tab,specifythefollowingparameters:

TaketheCDMAnetworkintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttotheCDMA2000tobeconsidered.When
thischeckboxisselected,youcanspecifytheCDMA2000loadconstraintsandconvergencethresholds.

UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsthatmustberespectedduringthesimulationfortheCDMA
partofthetraffic:
NumberofCEs:SelecttheNumberofCEscheckboxifyouwantthesimulationtorespectthenumberofchan
nelelementsdefinedforeachsite.
Numberofcodes:SelecttheNumberofcodescheckboxifyouwantthesimulationtorespectthenumberof
OVSFcodesavailableeachcell.
ULloadfactor:IfyouwanttheULloadfactortobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheULloadfactor
checkbox.
MaxULloadfactor:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinkcellloadfactor,clickthebutton
(

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)besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaximumuplinkcellloadfactor.Ifyouwanttouse

themaximumuplinkcellloadfactorasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidethe
boxandselectDefinedpercell.
DLload(%Pmax):IfyouwanttheDLloadtobeconsideredinthesimulation,selecttheDLload(%Pmax)
checkboxandenteramaximumdownlinkcellloadintheMaxDLloadbox.

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MaxDLload(%Pmax):Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinkcellload,asapercent
ageofthemaximumpower,clickthebutton( )besidetheboxandselectGlobalvalue.Then,enteramaxi
mumdownlinkcellload,asapercentageofthemaximumpower.Ifyouwanttousethemaximumdownlink
cell load factor as defined in the properties for each cell, click the button (
Definedpercell.

) beside the box and select

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
ULconvergencethreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
uplinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.
DLconvergencethreshold:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofinterferenceandconnectedusersonthe
downlinkthatmustbereachedbetweentwoiterations.

8. OntheLTEtab,specifythefollowingparameters:

TaketheLTEnetworkintoaccount:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttotaketheLTEnetworkintoaccount.When
thischeckboxisselected,youcanspecifytheLTEloadconstraintsandconvergencethresholds.
UnderLoadConstraints,youcansettheconstraintsthatAtollmustrespectduringthesimulationfortheLTEpart
ofthetraffic:
MaxDLtrafficLoad:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumdownlinktrafficload,clickthebutton
(

usethemaximumdownlinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )beside
theboxandselectDefinedperCell.
MaxULtrafficLoad:Ifyouwanttoenteraglobalvalueforthemaximumuplinktrafficload,clickthebutton
(

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximumdownlinktrafficload.Ifyouwantto

)besidetheboxandselectGlobalThreshold.Then,enteramaximumuplinktrafficload.Ifyouwantto

usethemaximumuplinktrafficloadasdefinedinthepropertiesforeachcell,clickthebutton( )besidethe
boxandselectDefinedperCell.
Backhaulcapacity:SelectthischeckboxifyouwanttoconsiderbackhaulcapacityduringLTEsimulation.

UnderPowercontrol,selecttheULnoiserisecontrol(Besteffort)checkboxifyouwanttoactivatetheuplink
noiserisecontrolinthesimulations.Formoreinformationontheuplinknoiserisecontrol,seetheTechnicalRef
erenceGuide.

UnderConvergence,enterthefollowingparameters:
DLtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofdownlinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetween
twoiterations.
ULtrafficload:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinktrafficloadthatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.
ULnoiserise:Entertherelativedifferenceintermsofuplinknoiserisethatmustbereachedbetweentwo
iterations.

9. OntheAdvancedtab:

NexttoGeneratorinitialisation,enteranintegerasthegeneratorinitialisationvalue.Ifyouenter"0",thedefault,
theuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesameuserandshad
owingerrordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
UnderConvergence,entertheMaxnumberofiterationsthatshouldbeexecutedtoreachconvergence.
Usingthesamegenerateduserandshadowingerrordistributionforseveralsimulations
canbeusefulwhenyouwanttocomparetheresultsofseveralsimulationswhereonly
oneparameterchanges.

10. Onceyouhavedefinedthesimulation,youcancalculateitimmediatelyoryoucansaveittocalculateitlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulationandcalculateitimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulationwithoutcalculatingit.YoucancalculateitlaterclickingtheCalculate
button(
)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

AllsimulationscreatedatthesametimearegroupedtogetherinafolderintheNetworkexplorer.
YoucannowusethecompletedsimulationsforspecificCDMApredictions(see"MakingCoveragePredictionsUsingSimula
tion Results" on page834 and specific LTE predictions (see "Making Coverage Predictions Using Simulation Results" on
page1020).

11.3.5.3 DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap
Atollenablesyoutodisplayonthemapthedistributionofthetrafficgeneratedbyallsimulationsaccordingtodifferent
parameters.Youcan,forexample,displaythetrafficaccordingtoservice,activitystatusoranyoutputofthesimulation,even
ifitdependsontheradioaccesstechnology.Mobilesofdifferenttechnologiesarenotmixedandyoucanapplyaseparate
displayschemeforeachtypeoftechnology.

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Youcansetthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtodiscretevaluesandtheselectthevaluetobedisplayed.Or,you
canselectthedisplayofthetrafficdistributionaccordingtovalueintervals,andthenselecttheparameterandthevalueinter
valsthataretobedisplayed.Youcanalsodefinethecoloursoftheiconandtheiconitself.
Forinformationonchangingdisplaycharacteristics,see"DefiningtheDisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47.
Inthissectionarethefollowingexamplesoftrafficdistribution:

"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus"onpage1228
"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService"onpage1228.
Youcanmakethetrafficdistributioneasiertoseebyhidinggeodataandpredictions.
Formoreinformation,see"DisplayingorHidingObjectsontheMapUsingtheExplorer
Windows"onpage42.

Formoreinformationonoutputthatarespecifictoagiventechnology,see"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap"
onpage642inChapter7:UMTSHSPANetworksand"DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionontheMap"onpage1007inChapter
9:LTENetworks.

11.3.5.3.1

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyConnectionStatus
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbytheconnectionstatus.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbytheconnectionstatus:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.CoverageConditions
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheCDMA2000tabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"asthe
Field.
5. OntheLTEtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"ConnectionStatus"astheField.
6. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyconnectionstatus.Bydefault,fromonetechnologytoanother,
coloursaresimilarforsimilarstatuseswhereasmobilesymbolsaredifferent.

11.3.5.3.2

DisplayingtheTrafficDistributionbyService
Inthisexample,thetrafficdistributionisdisplayedbyservice.
Todisplaythetrafficdistributionbyservice:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSimulationsfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheSimulationsPropertiesdialogboxappears.
4. OntheCDMA2000tabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
5. OntheLTEtabofthedialogbox,select"Discretevalues"astheDisplayTypeand"Service"astheField.
6. ClickOK.Thetrafficdistributionisnowdisplayedbyservice.Bydefault,fromonetechnologytoanother,coloursare
similarforsimilarserviceswhereasmobilesymbolsaredifferent

11.3.5.4 DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulation,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226,youcandisplaytheresults.
Toaccesstheresultsofasinglesimulation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. ClicktheExpandbutton(
wanttoaccess.

)toexpandthefolderofthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhoseresultsyou

4. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandthefolderofthesimulationcontainingasmanyitemsthanradioaccesstech
nologieshavebeenusedinthesimulation.
5. Rightclick the CDMA2000 folder. The context menu appears. Select Properties from the context menu. The
CDMA2000simulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Thecontentsof

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theStatistics,Sites,Cells(1xRTT)andCells(1xEVDO),Mobiles(1xRTT)andCells(1xEVDO),andInitialConditions
tabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimulation"onpage823.
Formoreinformationonthedifferentoptions,seestep5.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226.
6. RightclicktheLTEfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheLTEsimulation
propertiesdialogboxappears.
Onetabgivesstatisticsoftheresultsofthesimulation.Othertabsinthesimulationpropertiesdialogboxcontain
simulationresultsasidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthesimulation.Thecontentsof
theStatistics,Sites,Cells,Mobiles,andInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheResultsofaSingleSimu
lation"onpage1010.
Formoreinformationonthedifferentoptions,seestep5.of"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226.

11.3.5.5 DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations
Afteryouhavecreatedagroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226,youcandisplaytheaver
ageresultsofthegroup.Ifyouwanttodisplaytheresultsofasinglesimulationofagroup,see"DisplayingtheResultsofa
SingleSimulation"onpage1228.
Toaccesstheaveragedresultsofagroupofsimulations:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton(

)toexpandtheSimulationsfolder.

3. RightclicktheGroupofsimulationsonwhichyouwanttoaveragetheresults.
4. SelectAverageSimulationandthetechnology(CDMA2000orLTE)fromthecontextmenu.Apropertiesdialogbox
appears.Itscompositiondependsfromtheselectedtechnology.
IfyouchoseCDMA2000,onetabdisplaysstatisticsofthegroupofsimulationresults.Othertabsintheproperties
dialogboxcontainsimulationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveragedandasastandarddeviation,asidentifiedby
thetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitialconditionsofthegroupofsimulations.ThecontentsoftheStatistics,Cells(Aver
age1xRTT),Cells(Average1xEVDO),Cells(StandardDeviation1xRTT),Cells(StandardDeviation1xEVDO),
andInitialConditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations"onpage828
IfyouchoseLTE,onetabdisplaysstatisticsofthegroupofsimulationresults.Othertabsinthepropertiesdialogbox
containsimulationresultsforallsimulations,bothaveraged,asidentifiedbythetabtitle.Afinaltabliststheinitial
conditionsofthe groupof simulations.Thecontents oftheStatistics,Sites(Average),Cells(Average),andInitial
Conditionstabsisdescribedin"DisplayingtheAverageResultsofaGroupofSimulations"onpage1014.

11.3.5.6 UpdatingCellLoadValuesWithSimulationResults
Afteryouhavecreatedasimulationoragroupofsimulations,asexplainedin"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226,youcan
updatevaluesforeachcellwiththeresultscalculatedduringthesimulation.Thefollowingvaluesareupdated:

InCDMA2000:

ULloadfactor
TotalDLpower

InLTE

DLandULtrafficloads
ULnoiserise
ULMUMIMOcapacitygain
DLandULnumberofusers
ULICICnoiserise
DLICICratio

Toupdatecellvalueswithsimulationresults:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolderandthesimulationgroupcontainingthesimulationwhose
resultsyouwanttoaccess.
2. Expandthefolderofthesimulationcontainingtheresultsyouwanttoaccess,rightclicktheCDMA2000orLTEfolder,
andselectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheCDMA2000orLTEsimulationpropertiesdialogboxappears.
3. ClicktheCellstabinLTE,ortheCells(1xRTT)orCells(1xEVDO)tabinCDMA2000.
4. ClickCommitResults.ThefieldslistedaboveareupdatedforeachCDMAorLTEcell.

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11.3.5.7 AddingNewSimulationstoanAtollDocument
Aftercreatingasimulationoragroupofsimulations,youcanreexaminethesameconditionsbyaddingnewsimulationsto
theAtolldocument.InAtoll,therearethefollowingwaysofaddingnewsimulations:

Additiontoagroup:Whenyouaddoneormoresimulationstoanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesame
input(radio,traffic,andsimulationparameters)asthoseusedtogeneratethegroupofsimulations.Itthengenerates
anewuserdistributionandperformsthepowercontrolsimulation.
Toaddasimulationtoagroupofsimulations,see"AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations"onpage1230.

Replayingagroup:Whenyoureplayanexistinggroupofsimulations,Atollreusesthesameuserdistribution(users
withaservice,amobilityandanactivitystatus)astheoneusedtocalculatetheinitialsimulation.Theshadowingerror
distribution between simulations is different. Traffic parameter changes (such as, maximum and minimum traffic
channelpowersallowed,Eb/Ntthresholds,etc.)mayormaynotbetakenintoaccount.Finally,radiodatamodifica
tions(newtransmitters,changestotheantennaazimuth,etc.)arealwaystakenintoaccountduringthepowercontrol
(orthroughput/powercontrol)simulation.
Toreplayagroupofsimulations,see"ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1230.

UsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber:Whenyoucreategroupsofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitial
isationnumber(whichmustbeanintegerotherthan0),Atollgeneratesthesameuserandshadowingerrordistribu
tions(userwithaservice,amobility,anactivitystatusandashadowingerror)inallgroupsusingthesamenumber.
However, any modifications to traffic parameters and radio data (new transmitter, azimuth, etc.) are taken into
accountduringthepowercontrolsimulation.
Bycreatingandcalculatingonegroupofsimulations,makingachangetothenetworkandthencreatingandcalculat
inganewgroupofsimulationsusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationnumber,youcanseethedifferenceyourparam
eterchangesmake.
Tocreateanewsimulationoragroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber,see"CreatingaNew
SimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber"onpage1231.

DuplicatingaGroup:Whenyouduplicateagroupofsimulations,Atollcreatesagroupwiththesamesimulation
parameters as those used to generate the group of simulations. You can then modify the simulation parameters
beforecalculatingthegroup.
Toduplicateagroupofsimulations,see"DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1231.

AddingaSimulationtoaGroupofSimulations
Toaddasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthegroupofsimulationstowhichyouwanttoadd
asimulation,andselectNewfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenaddingasimulationtoanexistinggroupofsimulations,theparametersoriginally
usedtocalculatethegroupofsimulationsareusedforthenewsimulations.Consequently,
fewparameterscanbechangedfortheaddedsimulation.
2. OntheGeneraltabofthedialogbox,youcansetthefollowingparameters:

ChangetheName,andaddCommentsifyouwant.
NumberofSimulations:Enterthenumberofsimulationstobeaddedtothisgroupofsimulations.

3. Youcancalculatethenewsimulation(s)immediatelyorsavethemandcalculatethemlater:

Calculate:ClickCalculatetosavethedefinedsimulation(s)andcalculatethemimmediately.
OK:ClickOKtosavethedefinedsimulation(s)withoutcalculatingthem.Youcancalculatethemlaterclickingthe
Calculatebutton(

)ontheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

ReplayingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toreplayanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthegroupofsimulationsyouwanttoreplay,and
selectReplayfromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxofthegroupofsimulationsappears.
Whenreplayinganexistinggroupofsimulations,someparametersoriginallyusedtocalcu
latethegroupofsimulationsarereusedforthereplayedgroup.Consequently,fewparam
eterscanbechangedforthereplayedgroup.
2. OntheGeneraltab,youcanchangetheNameandedittheComments.

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3. OntheTraffictab,selecttheRefreshTrafficParameterscheckboxifyouwanttotakeintoaccounttrafficparameter
changesinthereplayedsimulation.
4. OntheCDMA2000andLTEtabs,youcanmodifytheLoadconstraintsandtheConvergencethresholds.
5. OntheAdvancedtab,youcanchangetheMaxnumberofiterationsthatAtollshouldruntomakeconvergence.
6. ClickCalculate.Atollimmediatelybeginsthesimulation.
CreatingaNewSimulationorGroupofSimulationsUsingtheGeneratorInitialisationNumber
Tocreateanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsusingthegeneratorinitialisationnumber:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,rightclicktheSimulationsfolderandselectNewfromthecontextmenu.Theproperties
dialogboxforanewsimulationorgroupofsimulationsappears.
2. ClicktheAdvancedtab.
3. UnderGeneratorInitialisation,enterthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalueastheoneusedinthegroupofsimula
tionswiththeuserandshadowingerrordistributionsyouwanttouseinthissimulationorgroupofsimulations.Ifyou
enter"0"(default),theuserandshadowingerrordistributionwillberandom.Ifyouenteranyotherinteger,thesame
userandshadowingerrordistributionwillbeusedforanysimulationusingthesamegeneratorinitialisationvalue.
4. Forinformationonsettingotherparameters,see"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226.
Youcancreateanewgroupofsimulationswiththesameparametersastheoriginal
groupofsimulationsbyduplicatinganexistingoneasexplainedin"Duplicatinga
SimulationorGroupofSimulations"onpage1231.
DuplicatingaSimulationorGroupofSimulations
Toduplicateanexistingsimulationorgroupofsimulations:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,expandtheSimulationsfolder,rightclickthesimulationorgroupofsimulationsyouwant
toduplicateandselectDuplicatefromthecontextmenu.Thepropertiesdialogboxfortheduplicatedgroupofsimu
lationsappears.
Youcanchangetheparametersfortheduplicatedsimulationorgroupofsimulationsasexplainedin"CreatingSimu
lations"onpage1226.

11.3.5.8 EstimatingaTrafficIncrease
Whenyoucreateasimulationoragroupofsimulations,youarebasingitonasetoftrafficconditionsthatrepresentthesitu
ationyouarecreatingthenetworkfor.However,trafficcan,andinfactmostlikelywill,increase.Youcantesttheperformance
ofthenetworkagainstanincreasedtrafficloadwithoutchangingtrafficparametersormapsbyusingtheglobalscalingfactor.
Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitialnumberofsubscribers(forenvironment
anduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortrafficmaps).
Tochangetheglobalscalingfactor:
1. Create a simulation or group of simulations by creating a new simulation or group of simulations as described in
"CreatingSimulations"onpage1226.
2. ClicktheSourceTraffictabofthepropertiesdialogbox.
3. EnteraGlobalScalingFactor.Forexample,settingtheglobalscalingfactorto"2"isthesameasdoublingtheinitial
numberofsubscribers(forenvironmentanduserprofiletrafficmaps)orthethroughputs/users(forsectortraffic
maps).

11.3.6 AnalysingtheResultsofaSimulation
Ina3GPP2multiRATnetwork,evenifthetrafficismixedbetweenseveraltechnologies,resultsaregivenforeachsingleone.
Asaconsequence,theanalysisofsimulationresultsaredoneinthesamewaythaninsingleRATnetworks.
To analyse the results of a simulation on CDMA traffic, see "Making Coverage Predictions Using Simulation Results" on
page834.
To analyse the results of a simulation on LTE traffic, see "Making Coverage Predictions Using Simulation Results" on
page1020.

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11.4 OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP
AtollAutomaticCellPlanning(ACP)enablesradioengineersdesigning3GPP2multiRATnetworkstoautomaticallycalculate
theoptimalnetworksettingsintermsofnetworkcoverageandquality.TheACPcanalsobeusedtoaddsitesfromalistof
candidatesitesortoremoveunnecessarysitesorsectors.AtollACPcanbeusedincoplanningprojectsaswellasin3GPP2
multiRATnetworkswherenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologiesmustbetakenintoconsiderationwhencalcu
latingtheoptimalnetworksettings.
BeforeyoulaunchAtollACPinamultiRATnetwork,makesureyouhaveanACPlicense
tokenforeachtechnologyusedinthedocument.

AtollACPisprimarilyintendedtoimproveexistingnetworkdeploymentbyreconfiguringthemainparametersthatcanbe
remotelycontrolledbyoperators:antennaelectricaltiltandcellpilotpower.ACPcanalsobeusedduringtheinitialplanning
stageofa3GPP2multiRATnetworkbyenablingtheselectionoftheantenna,anditsazimuth,height,andmechanicaltilt.
ACPnotonlytakestransmittersintoaccountinoptimisationsbutalsoanyrepeatersandremoteantennas.
AtollACPcanalsobeusedtomeasureandoptimisetheEMFexposurecreatedbythenetwork.Thispermitstheoptimisation
ofpowerandantennasettingstoreduceexcessiveEMFexposureinexistingnetworksandoptimalsiteselectionfornew
transmitters.
ACPusesuserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatetheoptimisation,aswellastocalculateitsimplementationcost.Onceyouhave
definedtheobjectivesandthenetworkparameterstobeoptimised,AtollACPusesanefficientglobalsearchalgorithmtotest
manynetworkconfigurationsandproposethereconfigurationsthatbestmeettheobjectives.TheACPpresentsthechanges
orderedfromthemosttotheleastbeneficial,allowingphasedimplementationorimplementationofjustasubsetofthe
suggestedchanges.
TheACPistechnologyindependentandcanbeusedtooptimisenetworksusingdifferentradioaccesstechnologies.Chapter
15:AutomaticCellPlanningexplainshowyouconfiguretheACPmodule,howyoucreateandrunanoptimisationsetup,and
howyoucanviewtheresultsofanoptimisation.Inthissection,onlytheconceptsspecificto3GPP2multiRATnetworksare
explained:

"OptimisationObjectives"onpage1232
"QualityParameters"onpage1232
"QualityAnalysisMaps"onpage1232

11.4.1 OptimisationObjectives
ACPoptimisesthenetworkusinguserdefinedobjectivestoevaluatethequalityofthenetwork.TheACPobjectivesdepend
ontechnologiesavailableinthenetworkandareconsistentwiththecorrespondingcoveragepredictionsinAtoll.Forinfor
mationontheindividualobjectives,see:

ForCDMA2000,"CDMA2000OptimisationObjectives"onpage835
ForLTE,"LTEOptimisationObjectives"onpage1021

Forinformationonsettingobjectiveparameters,see"SettingObjectiveParameters"onpage1777.

11.4.2 QualityParameters
Whenyoucreateanoptimisationsetup,youdefinehowtheACPevaluatestheobjectives.Thequalityparametersaretech
nologydependent.Youcanbasetheevaluationoftheobjectivesonacalculatedcoveragepredictionoronmanualconfigu
ration.Ifyoubasethecoveragepredictionsettingsonacalculatedcoverageprediction,ACPwillusetherangesandcolours
definedintheselectedcoveragepredictionasthedefaultforitsownmaps.However,ifyouhavesavedthedisplayoptions
ofanACPmapasdefault,orifyouareusingaconfigurationfileforACP,thesedefinedrangesandcolourswillbeusedasthe
default,overridingthesettingsintheselectedcoverageprediction.Forinformationonthequalityparametersofeachtech
nology,see:

ForCDMA2000,"CDMA2000QualityParameters"onpage835
ForLTE,"LTEQualityParameters"onpage1022

11.4.3 QualityAnalysisMaps
ThequalityanalysismapsenableyoutodisplaythequalitymapsintheAtollmapwindow.Thesemapsarethesameasthose
displayedontheQualitytaboftheoptimisationsPropertiesdialogbox.Thequalityanalysismapsaretheequivalentofmaps
createdbydifferentAtollcoveragepredictions:
Thequalityanalysismapsdependontheradioaccesstechnologybeingmodelled.Forinformationontheindividualquality
analysis,seethetechnologyspecificchapter:

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ForCDMA2000,"CDMA2000QualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage837
ForLTE,"LTEQualityAnalysisPredictions"onpage1024

11.5 VerifyingNetworkCapacity
Animportantstepintheprocessofcreatinganetworkisverifyingthecapacityofthenetwork.Thisisdoneusingmeasure
mentsofthestrengthofthepilotsignalindifferentlocationswithintheareacoveredbythenetwork.Thiscollectionofmeas
urementsiscalledadrivetestdatapath.
Thedatacontainedinadrivetestdatapathisusedtoverifytheaccuracyofcurrentnetworkparametersandtooptimisethe
network.
Atollenablesyoutoimportthedrivetestdataintoanytechnologyina3GPP2multiRATnetwork.

IfyouaremodellingCDMA,see"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage837
IfyouaremodellingLTE,see"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1025

11.6 DisplayingElementsofOneAtollDocumentina
3GPP2MultiRATDocument
Ina3GPP2multiRATdocumentyoucanworkwithacombinationofdifferentradioaccesstechnologies(CDMA2000andLTE).
ByplanningbothradioaccesstechnologiesinoneAtolldocument,youcanmodelhoweachnetworkaffectstheothersin
termsofinterference,coverage,handoff,etc.
You can also display network elements, geographic data, and calculation results such as simulations and predictions of a
differenttechnologynetworkwithina3GPPmultiRATdocumentinAtoll.Thedocumentwhoseelementsyouwishtodisplay
inthe3GPPmultiRATdocumentcanbeofanyradioaccesstechnologysupportedbyAtoll.
Todisplaythesitesofalinkeddocumentinanotherdocument:
1. OpenyourmainAtolldocumentandtheAtolldocumentyouwanttolinkitto:

SelectFile>OpenorFile>New>FromanExistingDatabase.
Themainandlinkeddocumentsmusthavethesamegeographiccoordinatesystems.

2. SelecttheNetworkexplorerinthelinkeddocument.
3. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectMakeAccessibleInfromthecontextmenu,andselectthenameofthemaindocumentfromthesubmenuthat
opens.
TheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumentisnowavailableinthemaindocument.Theexplorerwindowofthemaindocument
nowcontainsafoldernamedSitesin[linkeddocument],where[linkeddocument]isthenameofthelinkeddocument.
IfyouwanttheSitesfolderofthelinkeddocumenttoappearinthemaindocument
automatically,youcansetanoptionintheAtoll.inifile.Forinformationonsetting
optionsintheAtoll.inifile,seetheAdministratorManual.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtodisplayinthemaindocumentanyfolderorfolderitemofthelinkeddocumentthathasa
MakeAccessibleInoptionavailableinitscontextmenu.
Oncefoldersarelinked,youcanaccesstheirpropertiesandthepropertiesoftheitemstheycontainfromeitherdocuments.
Anychangesyoumakeinalinkedfolderaretakenintoaccountinbothdocuments.
Ifyouclosethelinkeddocument,Atolldisplaysawarningicon( )inthemaindocumentsexplorerwindow,andthelinked
itemsarenolongeraccessiblefromthemaindocument.YoucanreopenthelinkeddocumentinAtollbyrightclickingthe
linkeditemintheexplorerwindowofthemaindocument,andselectingOpenLinkedDocument.

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Chapter12
WiMAXBWANetworks
ThischapterprovidesinformationonusingAtolltodesign, Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics:
analyse,andoptimiseaWiMAXBWAnetwork.
"DesigningaWiMAXNetwork"onpage1237

"PlanningandOptimisingWiMAXBaseStations"on
page1238

"ConfiguringNetworkParametersUsingtheAFP"on
page1322

"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1341

"OptimisingNetworkParametersUsingtheACP"on
page1373

"VerifyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1376

"CoplanningWiMAXNetworkswithOtherNetworks"
onpage1386

"AdvancedConfiguration"onpage1404

"TipsandTricks"onpage1424

"GlossaryofWiMAXTerms"onpage1433

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12 WiMAXBWANetworks
WiMAX(WirelessInteroperabilityforMicrowaveAccess)referstoagroupofbroadbandwirelessaccess(BWA)standardsthat
usetheSOFDMA(ScalableOrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess)technology.TheWiMAXairinterfaceisdescribed
intheIEEE802.16estandard.802.16enetworksaremobilebroadbandwirelessaccessnetworkswhichuseSOFDMA,support
handovers,anduserspeedsofupto100km/hr.
Atoll enables you to design IEEE 802.16e broadband wireless access networks. Atoll can predict radio coverage, manage
mobileandfixedsubscriberdata,andevaluatenetworkcapacity.AtollWiMAXalsosupportssmartantennasandMIMO.
AtollenablesyoutomodelfixedandmobileusersinWiMAXenvironments.Thedatainputcorrespondingtofixedsubscribers,
whichisanimportantrequirementoffixedwirelessaccessnetworks,ismodelledusingasubscriberdatabase.Youcancarry
outcalculationsonfixedsubscriberlocationsaswellasbaseyourcalculationsonmobileuserscenariosduringMonteCarlo
simulations.Youcanalsoperforminterferencepredictions,resourceallocation,andothercalculationsonmobileusers.
Atollgeneratesrealisticnetworksimulations(snapshots)usingaMonteCarlostatisticalengineforschedulingandresource
allocation.Realisticuserdistributionscanbegeneratedusingdifferenttypesoftrafficmapsandsubscriberdata.Atolluses
theseuserdistributionsasinputforthesimulations.
YoucancreatecoveragepredictionstoanalysethefollowingandotherparametersforWiMAXchannelsindownlinkandin
uplink:

Signallevels
Thecarriertointerferenceandnoiseratio
Serviceareasandradiobearercoverage

CoveragepredictionsthatdependonthenetworkstrafficloadscanbecreatedfromeitherMonteCarlosimulationresultsor
fromauserdefinednetworkloadconfiguration(uplinkanddownlinktrafficloads,anduplinknoiserise).GSMGPRSEDGE,
CDMA2000,UMTSHSPA,TDSCDMA,andLTEnetworkscanbeplannedinthesameAtollsession.
BeforeworkingwiththeAtollWiMAXmoduleforthefirsttime,itishighlyrecommended
togothroughthe"GlossaryofWiMAXTerms"onpage1433.Thiswillhelpyouget
accustomedtotheterminologyusedinAtoll.

12.1 DesigningaWiMAXNetwork
Figure12.1depictstheprocessofcreatingandplanningaWiMAXnetwork.ThestepsinvolvedinplanningaWiMAXnetwork
aredescribedbelow.ThenumbersrefertoFigure12.1.
1. Openanexistingradioplanningdocumentorcreateanewone( 1 ).

YoucanopenanexistingAtolldocumentbyselectingFile>Open.
CreatinganewAtolldocumentisexplainedinChapter2:AtollProjects.

2. Configurethenetworkbyaddingnetworkelementsandchangingparameters( 2 ).
Youcanaddandmodifythefollowingelementsofbasestations:

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage1246.
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage1246.
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage1247.

You can also add base stations using a base station template (see "Placing a New Base Station Using a Station
Template"onpage1247).
3. Carryoutbasiccoveragepredictions( 3 ).

"SignalLevelCoveragePredictions"onpage1270.

4. Allocateneighbours( 4 ).

"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1307.

5. Allocatefrequencies( 5 ).

"PlanningFrequencies"onpage1325.

6. Allocatepreambleindexes( 6 ).

"PlanningPreambleIndexes"onpage1327.

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7. Beforemakingmoreadvancedcoveragepredictions,youneedtodefinecellloadconditions( 7 ).
Youcandefinecellloadconditionsinthefollowingways:

Youcangeneraterealisticcellloadconditionsbycreatingasimulationbasedontrafficmapsandsubscriberlists

( 7a , 7b ,and 7c )(see"StudyingNetworkCapacity"onpage1341).
YoucandefinecellloadconditionsmanuallyeitherontheCellstabofeachtransmittersPropertiesdialogboxor
intheCellstable(see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage1247)( 7d ).

8. MakeWiMAXspecificsignalqualitycoveragepredictionsusingthedefinedcellloadconditions( 8 ).

"WiMAXCoveragePredictions"onpage1278.

9. Ifnecessary,modifynetworkparameterstostudythenetworkwithadifferentfrequencyplan( 10 ).Aftermodifying
thenetworksfrequencyplan,youmustperformsteps 7 and 8 again.
1

6
7a

7d

7c

7b
7

10

Figure12.1:PlanningaWiMAXnetworkworkflow

12.2 PlanningandOptimisingWiMAXBaseStations
AsdescribedinChapter2:AtollProjects,youcancreateanAtolldocumentfromatemplate,withnobasestations,orfroma
databasewithanexistingsetofbasestations.AsyouworkonyourAtolldocument,youwillstillneedtocreatebasestations
andmodifyexistingones.
InAtoll,asiteisdefinedasageographicalpointwhereoneormoretransmittersarelocated.Onceyouhavecreatedasite,
youcanaddtransmitters.InAtoll,atransmitterisdefinedastheantennaandanyotheradditionalequipment,suchasthe
TMA,feedercables,etc.InaWiMAXproject,youmustalsoaddcellstoeachtransmitter.Acellreferstothecharacteristicsof
anRFchannelonatransmitter.
Atollletsyoucreateonesite,transmitter,orcellatatime,orcreateseveralatonceusingstationtemplates.InAtoll,abase
stationreferstoasiteandatransmitterwithitsantennas,equipment,andcells.

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InAtoll,youcanstudyasinglebasestationoragroupofbasestationsusingcoveragepredictions.Atollallowsyoutomake
avarietyofcoveragepredictions,suchassignallevelorsignalqualitycoveragepredictions.Theresultsofcalculatedcoverage
predictionscanbedisplayedonthemap,compared,andstudied.
Atollenablesyoutomodelnetworktrafficbycreatingservices,users,userprofiles,trafficenvironments,andterminals.This
datacanbethenusedtomakecoveragepredictionsthatdependonnetworkload,suchasC/(I+N),servicearea,radiobearer,
andthroughputcoveragepredictions.
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

"CreatingaWiMAXBaseStation"onpage1239.
"CreatingaGroupofBaseStations"onpage1255.
"ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap"onpage1256.
"DisplayTipsforBaseStations"onpage1256.
"CreatingaMultibandWiMAXNetwork"onpage1257.
"CreatingaRepeater"onpage1257.
"CreatingaRemoteAntenna"onpage1261.
"PreparingBaseStationsforCalculations"onpage1264.
"StudyingBaseStations"onpage1270.
"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1307.
"PlanningFrequencies"onpage1325.
"PlanningPreambleIndexes"onpage1327.

12.2.1 CreatingaWiMAXBaseStation
Whenyoucreateasite,youcreateonlythegeographicalpoint;youmustaddthetransmittersandcellsafterwards.Thesite
withatransmitteranditsantennas,equipment,andcellsiscalledabasestation.
Inthissection,eachelementofabasestationisdescribed.Ifyouwanttoaddanewbasestation,see"PlacingaNewBase
StationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage1247.Ifyouwanttocreateormodifyoneoftheelementsofabasestation,see
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage1246.Ifyouneedtocreatealargenumberofbasestations,Atoll
allowsyoutoimportthemfromanotherAtolldocumentorfromanexternalsource.Forinformation,see"CreatingaGroup
ofBaseStations"onpage1255.
Thissectionexplainsthevariouspartsofthebasestationcreationprocess:

"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage1239.
"CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement"onpage1246.
"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"onpage1247.
"ManagingStationTemplates"onpage1248.
"DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation"onpage1253.
"StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation"onpage1254.

12.2.1.1 DefinitionofaBaseStation
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Youwillusuallycreateanewbasestationusingastationtemplate,asdescribedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsing
aStationTemplate"onpage1247.Thissectiondescribesthefollowingelementsofabasestationandtheirparameters:

"SiteDescription"onpage1240
"TransmitterDescription"onpage1240
"CellDescription"onpage1243.

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SiteDescription
TheparametersofasitecanbefoundinthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.ThePropertiesdialogboxhasthefollowingtabs:

TheGeneraltab:

Figure12.2:NewSitedialogbox

Name:Atollautomaticallyentersadefaultnameforeachnewsite.Youcanmodifythedefaultnamehere.Ifyou
wanttochangethedefaultnamethatAtollgivestonewsites,seetheAdministratorManual.
Position:Bydefault,Atollplacesthenewsiteatthecentreofthemapwindow.Youcanmodifythelocationof
thesitehere.
Whilethismethodallowsyoutoplaceasitewithprecision,youcanalsoplacesitesusing
themouseandthenpositionthempreciselywiththisdialogboxafterwards.For
informationonplacingsitesusingthemouse,see"MovingaSiteUsingtheMouse"on
page45.

TheBackhaultab:

12.2.1.1.2

Altitude:Thealtitude,asdefinedbytheDTMforthelocationspecifiedunderPosition,isgivenhere.Youcan
specifytheactualaltitudeunderReal,ifyouwant.Ifanaltitudeisspecifiedhere,Atollwillusethisvalueforcal
culations.
Comments:Youcanentercommentsinthisfieldifyouwant.
Backhaulthroughputs:Youcanspecifythemaximumbackhaulthroughputssupportedindownlinkanduplinkby
thesite.Enterthecapacityofthebackhaullinksbetweensitesandservinggateways.Themaximumbackhaul
throughputsthatyouenterherearetakenintoaccountasbackhaulconstraintsinMonteCarlosimulations.

TransmitterDescription
TheparametersofatransmittercanbefoundinthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Whenyoucreateatransmitter,the
Propertiesdialogboxhastwotabs:theGeneraltabandtheTransmittertab.Onceyouhavecreatedatransmitter,itsProp
ertiesdialogboxhasthreeadditionaltabs:theCellstab(see"CellDescription"onpage1243),thePropagationtab(seeChap
ter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels),andtheDisplaytab(see"DisplayPropertiesofObjects"onpage47).

TheGeneraltab:

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Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthetransmitterafterthesiteitison,addinganunderscoreandanumber.Youcan
enteranameforthetransmitter,butforthesakeofconsistency,itisbettertoletAtollassignaname.Ifyouwant
tochangethewayAtollnamestransmitters,seetheAdministratorManual.
Site:YoucanselecttheSiteonwhichthetransmitterwillbelocated.Onceyouhaveselectedthesite,youcan
clicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesite.ForinformationonthesitePropertiesdialogbox,see
"SiteDescription"onpage1240.YoucanclicktheNewbuttontocreateanewsiteforthetransmitter.
Sharedantenna:Thisfieldisusedtoidentifythetransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennaslocatedatthe
samesiteoronsiteswiththesamepositionandthatsharethesameantenna.Theentryinthefieldmustbethe
sameforalltransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennassharingthesameantenna.Whenchangesaremadeto
thepositionoffset(Dx,Dy),azimuth,antennaheight,ormechanicaltiltofoneantenna,Atollautomaticallysyn
chronisesthesamechangestoallothertransmitters,repeaters,andremoteantennasdefinedashavingashared
antenna.Thisfieldisalsousedfordualbandtransmitterstosynchroniseantennaparametersfordifferentfre
quencybands.
UnderAntennaposition,youcanmodifythepositionoftheantennas(mainandsecondary):

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Relativetosite:SelectRelativetositeifyouwanttoentertheantennapositionsasoffsetsfromthesitelo
cation,andenterthexaxisandyaxisoffsets,DxandDy,respectively.
Coordinates:Selectthisoptionifyouwanttoenterthecoordinatesoftheantenna,andthenenterthexaxis
andyaxiscoordinatesoftheantenna,XandY,respectively.

TheTransmittertab(seeFigure12.3):

Figure12.3:TransmitterdialogboxTransmittertab

Active:Ifthistransmitteristobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.Activetransmittersaredisplayed
withaspecificiconintheTransmittersfolderoftheNetworkexplorer.
Onlyactivetransmittersaretakenintoconsiderationduringcalculations.

Transmittertype:IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitterasapotentialserveraswellasaninterferer,set
thetransmittertypetoIntranetwork(Serverandinterferer).IfyouwantAtolltoconsiderthetransmitteronly
asaninterferer,setthetypetoInternetwork(Interfereronly).Nocoverageforaninterfereronlytransmitterwill
becalculatedforcoveragepredictionsanditwillnotserveanymobileinMonteCarlosimulations.
Thisenablesyoutomodelthecoexistenceofdifferentnetworksinthesamegeographicarea.Formoreinforma
tiononhowtostudyinterferencebetweencoexistingnetworks,see"ModellingtheCoexistenceofNetworks"
onpage1432.

Transmission/Reception:UnderTransmission/Reception,youcanseethetotallossesandthenoisefigureofthe
transmitter.Atollcalculateslossesandnoiseaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheequipmentassignedtothe
transmitter.EquipmentcanbeassignedusingtheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogboxwhichappearswhenyou
clicktheEquipmentbutton.
IntheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure12.4),theequipmentyouselectandthegainsandlosses
youdefineareusedtoinitialisetotaltransmitterlossesintheuplinkanddownlink:

TMA:Youcanselectatowermountedamplifier(TMA)fromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccess
thepropertiesoftheTMA.ForinformationoncreatingaTMA,see"DefiningTMAEquipment"onpage183.
Feeder:Youcanselectafeedercablefromthelist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccesstheproperties
ofthefeeder.Forinformationoncreatingafeedercable,see"DefiningFeederCables"onpage183.

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Transmitter:YoucanselecttransmitterequipmentfromtheTransmitterlist.YoucanclicktheBrowsebutton
toaccessthepropertiesofthetransmitterequipment.Forinformationoncreatingtransmitterequipment,
see"DefiningTransmitterEquipment"onpage183.
Feederlength:Youcanenterthefeederlengthattransmissionandreception.
Miscellaneouslosses:Youcanentermiscellaneouslossesattransmissionandreception.Thevalueyouenter
mustbepositive.

Figure12.4:TheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox
Anylossrelatedtothenoiseduetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculated
losses.AtollalwaysconsidersthevaluesintheRealboxesincoveragepredictionsevenif
they are different from the values in the Computed boxes. The information in the real
NoisefigureboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquipmentSpecifi
cationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealTotallossesattransmissionandreceptionand
therealNoisefigureatreception.Anyvalueyouentermustbepositive.

Antennas:

Height/ground:TheHeight/groundboxgivestheheightoftheantennaabovetheground.Thisisaddedto
thealtitudeofthesitegivenbytheDTM.Ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmust
includetheheightofbuilding.
AASpowercombininggain:TheAASpowercombininggainiscalculatedautomaticallydependingonthe
numberofantennaelementsofthesmartantennaequipment,ifany,assignedtothetransmitter.Thisgainis
applied to the downlink transmission power for preamble and other signals transmitted using the main
antenna.
Mainantenna:UnderMainantenna,thetypeofantennaisvisibleintheModellist.YoucanclicktheBrowse
buttontoaccessthepropertiesoftheantenna.
ClicktheSelectbuttontoopentheAntennaSelectionAssistant.Thisassistantlistsalltheantennasthatmatch
thecurrentlyselectedphysicalantennaandwhoseminimumandmaximumoperatingfrequenciesincludethe
operatingfrequencyofthetransmitter.Fromthelistofavailableantennas,selectasuitableantennabasedon
anycombinationofthefollowingparameters:Halfpowerbeamwidth,Electricaltilt,andElectricalazimuth.

MechanicalAzimuth,MechanicalDowntilt,ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectrical
downtiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

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TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Themechanicalandadditionalelectricaldowntiltsdefinedforthemainantenna
arealsousedforthecalculationsofsmartantennas.

Smartantenna:UnderSmartantenna,thesmartantennaequipmentisavailableintheEquipmentlist.You
canclicktheBrowsebuttontoaccessthepropertiesofthesmartantennaequipment.Whenyouselecta
smartantennaequipment,youcanchoosewhethertokeepthecurrentmainantennamodelortoreplaceit
withthemainantennamodeldefinedfortheselectedsmartantennaequipment,ifany.Formoreinformation
onsmartantennaequipment,see"DefiningSmartAntennaEquipment"onpage1419.

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NumberofMIMOantennas:EnterthenumberofantennasusedforMIMOintheTransmissionandRecep
tionfields.FormoreinformationonhowthenumberofMIMOantennasareused,see"MultipleInputMulti
pleOutputSystems"onpage1420.
UnderSecondaryantennas,youcanselectoneormoresecondaryantennasintheAntennacolumnandenter
theirAzimuth,Mechanicaldowntilt,Additionalelectricaldowntilt,and%Power,whichisthepercentageof
powerreservedforthisparticularantenna.Forexample,foratransmitterwithonesecondaryantenna,ifyou
reserve40%ofthetotalpowerforthesecondaryantenna,60%isavailableforthemainantenna.

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.
Forinformationonworkingwithdatatables,see"WorkingwithDataTables"on
page75.

Thetransmissionpowerisdividedamongthemainandsecondaryantennas.This
is not compatible with smart antennas. You must not assign smart antennas to
transmitterswithsecondaryantennas,andviceversa.
Incalculations,repeatersandremoteantennasaretransparenttothedonortrans
mittersandtheservedusers.Forexample,beamformingsmartantennasatdonor
transmitterscreatebeamsdirectlytowardstheservedusers,andnottowardsthe
repeaterorremoteantennathatcoverstheusers.Thisresultsinacombinedsignal
levelreceivedfromthetransmitterusingthesmartantennaandfromtherepeater
orremoteantenna.Ifthisapproachdoesnotmatchhowyourequipmentworks,
you must not assign smart antennas to transmitters with repeaters and remote
antennas,andviceversa.ThisisalsotrueforMIMO.

Themainantennaisusedtotransmitthepreamble.Coveragepredictionsbasedonthepreamblesignalareperformed
usingthemainantenna. Themainantennais also used fortraffic signalsif there isnosmartantenna equipment
selectedforthetransmitter,orifthepermutationzonesdonotsupportAAS.
IfasmartantennaequipmentisassignedtothetransmitterandthepermutationzonessupportAAS,trafficdatais
transmittedandreceivedusingthesmartantenna,whereasthepreambleistransmittedusingthemainantenna.

12.2.1.1.3

CellDescription
InAtoll,acellisdefinedasanRFchannel,withallitscharacteristics,onatransmitter;thecellisthemechanismbywhichyou
canconfigureamulticarrierWiMAXnetwork.
Whenyoucreateatransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellforthetransmitterusingthepropertiesofthecurrently
selectedstationtemplate.ThefollowingexplainstheparametersofaWiMAXcell.Youcan,ifyouwant,modifytheseparam
eters.
ThepropertiesofaWiMAXcellarefoundonCellstabofthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmittertowhichitbelongs.
YoucanalsodisplaythepropertiesofacellbydoubleclickingthecellintheSiteexplorer.
SeeFigure1.3onpage41.

TheCellstabhasthefollowingoptions:

Name:Bydefault,Atollnamesthecellafteritstransmitter,addingasuffixinparentheses.Ifyouchangetransmitter
name,Atolldoesnotupdatethecellname.Youcanenteranameforthecell,butforthesakeofconsistency,itis
bettertoletAtollassignaname.IfyouwanttochangethewayAtollnamescells,seetheAdministratorManual.
Active:Ifthiscellistobeactive,youmustselecttheActivecheckbox.
Layer:Thecoveragelayertowhichthecellbelongs.Thisinformationisusedtodeterminetheservingcell.Formore
informationondefininglayers,see"DefiningNetworkDeploymentLayers"onpage1409.Formoreinformationon
thedifferentcellselectionmethods,see"TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1405.
BSID:ThebasestationID.
Frequencyband:Thecellsfrequencybandfromthefrequencybandlist.
Channelnumber:Thenumberofthechannelfromthelistofavailablechannels.
Forcalculatingpathlossmatricesofamulticelltransmitter,Atollusesthedownlinkstart
frequencyofthefrequencybandassignedtothecellwiththehighestprioritylayer.

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Whentransmittersthatcontainmultiplecellsaregroupedbychannelnumber,Atollsorts
thecellsbychannelnumber,whichgroupstogethertransmittersthatusethesamesetof
channelnumbers.However,itissometimesnecessarytodifferentiatetransmittersbythe
orderinwhichchannelnumbersareassignedtothecells.Forinstructionsonhowtoforce
Atolltoconsiderthecellorderwhengroupingbychannelnumbercapability,contacttech
nicalsupport.

Channelallocationstatus:Thestatusofthechannelallocatedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocatedchannelmodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocatedchannelmodifiablebutonlyifabsolutelynecessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockedchannelnotmodifiable.
Preambleindex:Thepreambleindexofthecell.Itisanintegervaluefrom0to113.Thepreambleindicesaredefined
intheIEEE802.16specifications.Theyprovidethesegmentnumberandcellpermbase(IDCellforthefirstpermuta
tionzoneoftheframe).
Segment:Thesegmentnumbercorrespondingtothecurrentpreambleindex.Thisvalueisdeterminedautomatically
fromthepreambleindex.
Cellpermbase:Thecellpermbasecorrespondingtothecurrentpreambleindex.Thisvalueisdeterminedautomati
callyfromthepreambleindex.
Preambleindexstatus:Thestatusofthepreambleindexcurrentlyassignedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocatedpreambleindexmodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocatedpreambleindexmodifiablebutonlyifabsolutelynecessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockedpreambleindexnotmodifiable.
Segmentlocked:Whetherthesegmentnumbercorrespondingtothecurrentpreambleindexislockedornot.Ifthe
segmentisnotlocked,theAFPmightchangethecellspreambleindexdependingonthepreambleindexstatus.Ifthe
segmentislocked,theAFPcanonlychangethecellspreambleindexsuchthatthecellssegmentnumberdoesnot
change.
DLzonepermbase:Thezonepermbaseforadownlinkpermutationzone.Itisanintegervaluefrom0to31.
DLzonepermbasestatus:Thestatusofthedownlinkpermutationzonepermbasecurrentlyassignedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocateddownlinkpermutationzonepermbasemodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocateddownlinkpermutationzonepermbasemodifiablebutonlyifabsolutely
necessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockeddownlinkpermutationzonepermbasenotmodifiable.
ULzonepermbase:Thezonepermbaseforanuplinkpermutationzone.Itisanintegervaluefrom0to69.
ULzonepermbasestatus:Thestatusoftheuplinkpermutationzonepermbasecurrentlyassignedtothecell:
Notallocated:TheAFPconsidersaNotallocateduplinkpermutationzonepermbasemodifiablewithoutcost.
Allocated:TheAFPconsidersanAllocateduplinkpermutationzonepermbasemodifiablebutonlyifabsolutely
necessary.
Locked:TheAFPconsidersaLockeduplinkpermutationzonepermbasenotmodifiable.
Preambleindexdomain:Thepreambleindexdomaintowhichtheallocatedpreambleindexbelongs.Thisandthe
reusedistanceareusedbytheAFPforpreambleindexallocation.
Reusedistance:Thereusedistanceafterwhichthechannel,preambleindex,downlink,oruplinkpermbasesassigned
tothiscellcanbeassignedtoanothercellbytheAFP.
Preamblepower(dBm):Thecellstransmissionpoweroverthepreambleoftheframe.
Trafficpowerreduction(dB):ThepowerreductiontobesubtractedfromthepowerdefinedinthePreamblepower
(dBm)fieldtodeterminethetransmissionpowerofthetrafficsubcarriersduringtheloadedpartoftheframe.Traffic
subcarriersareoffduringtheemptypartoftheframe.
Pilotpowerreduction(dB):ThepowerreductiontobesubtractedfromthepowerdefinedinthePreamblepower
(dBm)fieldtodeterminethetransmissionpowerofthepilotsubcarriersduringtheloadedpartoftheframe.
Idle pilot power reduction (dB): The power reduction to be subtracted from the power defined in the Preamble
power(dBm)fieldtodeterminethetransmissionpowerofthepilotsubcarriersduringtheemptypartoftheframe.
If the cells transmitter has a smart antenna equipment assigned, the transmission powers of cell increase by
10 Log n (indB),wherenisthenumberofantennaelementsofthesmartantenna.Thisgaininthetransmission
powerisreferredtoastheAASpowercombininggain.

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PreambleC/Nthreshold(dB):TheminimumpreambleC/Nrequiredforausertobeconnectedtothecell.Thepre
ambleC/Niscomparedwiththisthresholdtodeterminewhetherornotausercanbeconnectedtoacell.
AMS&MUMIMOthreshold(dB):ForAMS,itisthepreambleC/NorC/(I+N)threshold,accordingtotheoptionset
intheAdvancedparameters("TheGlobalNetworkSettings"onpage1405),forswitchingfromSUMIMOtoSTTD/
MRCasthepreamblesignalconditionsgetworsethanthegivenvalue.ForMUMIMO,itistheminimumrequiredpre
ambleCNRforusingMUMIMO.FormoreinformationonAdaptiveMIMOswitching,see"MultipleInputMultiple
OutputSystems"onpage1420.
Receptionequipment:Youcanselectthecellsreceptionequipmentfromthereceptionequipmentlist.Formore
information,see"DefiningWiMAXReceptionEquipment"onpage1411.
Scheduler:TheschedulerusedbythecellforresourceallocationduringMonteCarlosimulations.Youcanselectthe
schedulerfromthelistofschedulersavailableintheSchedulerstable.Formoreinformationsee"DefiningWiMAX
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Maxnumberofusers:Themaximumnumberofsimultaneoususerssupportedbythecell.
No.ofusers(DL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellinthedownlink.Thiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutput
ofMonteCarlosimulations.
No.ofusers(UL):Thenumberofusersconnectedtothecellintheuplink.Thiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputof
MonteCarlosimulations.
Frameconfiguration:Thecellsframeconfigurationselectedfromthelist.Formoreinformationonframeconfigura
tions,see"DefiningFrameConfigurations"onpage1409.
DL:ULratio:Thenumberofsymboldurationsavailableinthedownlinkanduplinksubframesforthecell.Thisfieldis
notstoredintheCellstable.Itisautomaticallycalculatedanditsvaluedependsonthecellschannelbandwidth,sam
plingfactor,andcyclicprefixaswellasglobalnetworksettingsincludingtheDL:ULratioandframeduration.
Maxtrafficload(DL)(%):Thedownlinktrafficloadnottobeexceeded.Thislimitcanbetakenintoaccountduring
MonteCarlosimulations.Ifthecelltrafficloadislimitedbythisvalue,thecellwillnotbeallowedtohaveadownlink
trafficloadgreaterthanthismaximum.
Trafficload(DL)(%):Thedownlinktrafficloadpercentage.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosim
ulations.
Segmentationusage(DL)(%):Youcansetthepercentageofthetotaldownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothe
segmentedpartoftheframe.Forexample,ifthedownlinktrafficloadis80%,andyousetthesegmentationusageto
50%,itmeansthat40%downlinktrafficloadisonthesegmentedpartoftheframewhiletheother40%isonthenon
segmentedpart.Youcansetthevalueofsegmentationusagemanuallyorstoreacalculatedvaluefromsimulation
results.
Toseeexamplesofhowtosetupcellswithandwithoutsegmentation,andhowtosetupcellswithPUSC,FUSC,and
permutationzonesofothersubchannelallocationmodes,see"TipsandTricks"onpage1424.

Segmentationswitchingpoint(DL):ThenumberofdownlinkOFDMsymboldurationsthatcorrespondtotheaverage
lengthofthesegmentedpermutationzone.ThiscolumnisautomaticallycalculatedfromSegmentationusage(DL)
(%).
Maxtrafficload(UL)(%):Theuplinktrafficloadnottobeexceeded.ThislimitcanbetakenintoaccountduringMonte
Carlosimulations.Ifthecelltrafficloadislimitedbythisvalue,thecellwillnotbeallowedtohaveanuplinktraffic
loadgreaterthanthismaximum.
Trafficload(UL)(%):Theuplinktrafficloadpercentage.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimu
lations.
ULnoiserise(dB):TheuplinknoiseriseindB.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.This
istheglobalvalueofuplinknoiseriseincludingtheintertechnologyuplinknoiserise.
SegmentedzoneULnoiserise(dB):TheuplinknoiseriseindBforthesegmentedpermutationzone,ifany.Zone8
(PUSCUL)canbesegmentedintheframeconfigurationproperties.ThiscanbeuserdefinedoranoutputofMonte
Carlosimulations.
Angulardistributionsofinterference(AAS):Thisfieldstoresthesimulationresultsgeneratedfortransmittersusing
asmartantenna.DuringMonteCarlosimulations,bothsmartantennamodelsavailableinAtoll,conventionalbeam
formerandoptimumbeamformer,performbeamformingindownlink.Inuplink,theconventionalbeamformerper
formsbeamformingonlywhereastheoptimumbeamformerusestheMMSE(MinimumMeanSquareError)algorithm
tocancelinterference.Afterthesimulations,thesmartantennaresultscanbestoredinthecellproperties.Theresults
storedinthisfieldaretheangulardistributionsofthedownlinktrafficpowerspectraldensityandtheuplinknoiserise.
YoucanviewthesepatternsintheCellstable.Youcandisplaythedownlinkresultsdiagramtakingintoaccountthe
effectoftheantennapatternofthesingleelement.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
AASusage(DL)(%):Thisisthepercentageofthetotaldownlinktrafficloadthatcorrespondstothetrafficloadsofthe
userssupportedbythesmartantennaequipment.Forexample,ifthedownlinktrafficloadis80%,andyousetthe
AASusageto50%,itmeansthat40%downlinktrafficloadissupportedbythesmartantennaequipmentwhilethe
other40%issupportedbythemainantenna.AASusageiscalculatedduringMonteCarlosimulations,andcannotbe
modifiedmanuallybecausetheAASusagevaluescorrespondtotheangulardistributionsofinterference.
MUMIMOcapacitygain(UL):Theuplinkcapacitygainduetomultiuser(collaborative)MIMO.Thiscanbeuser
definedoranoutputofMonteCarlosimulations.Inuplinkthroughputcoveragepredictions,thecellcapacitywillbe
multipliedbythisgainonpixelswhereMUMIMOisused.
IntertechnologyULnoiserise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbythemobilesandbasestations
ofanexternalnetworkonthiscellontheuplink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalluplinkinterference
basedcalculationsinvolvingthiscellinMonteCarlosimulations.ItisnotusedinpredictionswhereAtollcalculatesthe
uplink total interference from the uplink noise rise which includes intertechnology uplink interference. For more
informationonintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage1422.
IntertechnologyDLnoiserise:Thisnoiseriserepresentstheinterferencecreatedbythemobilesofanexternalnet
workonthemobilesservedbythiscellonthedownlink.Thisnoiserisewillbetakenintoaccountinalldownlinkinter
ferencebasedcalculationsinvolvingthiscell.Formoreinformationonintertechnologyinterference,see"Modelling
IntertechnologyInterference"onpage1422.
Maxnumberofintratechnologyneighbours:ThemaximumnumberofWiMAXneighboursthatthecellcanhave.
Maxnumberofintertechnologyneighbours:Themaximumnumberofothertechnologyneighboursthatthecellcan
have.
Neighbours:Youcanaccessadialogboxinwhichyoucansetbothintratechnologyandintertechnologyneighbours
byclickingtheBrowsebutton.Forinformationondefiningneighbours,see"PlanningNeighbours"onpage1307.

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TheBrowsebuttonmightnotbevisibleintheNeighboursboxifthisisanewcell.You
canmaketheBrowsebuttonappearbyclickingApply.

12.2.1.2 CreatingorModifyingaBaseStationElement
Abasestationconsistsofthesite,oneormoretransmitters,variouspiecesofequipment,andradiosettingssuchas,forexam
ple,cells.Thissectiondescribeshowtocreateormodifythefollowingelementsofabasestation:

12.2.1.2.1

"CreatingorModifyingaSite"onpage1246
"CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter"onpage1246
"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage1247

CreatingorModifyingaSite
Youcanmodifyanexistingsiteoryoucancreateanewsite.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofasite,describedin"SiteDescrip
tion"onpage1240,throughthesitesPropertiesdialogbox.HowyouaccessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhether
youarecreatinganewsiteormodifyinganexistingsite.
Tocreateanewsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheSitesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. Select New from the context menu. The Sites: New Record Properties dialog box appears (see Figure12.2 on
page1240).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage1240.
5. ClickOK.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingsite:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThesitesPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"SiteDescription"onpage1240.
6. ClickOK.
Ifyouarecreatingseveralsitesatthesametime,ormodifyingseveralexistingsites,you
candoitquicklybyeditingorpastingthedatadirectlyintheSitestable.Youcanopen
theSitestablebyrightclickingtheSitesfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselecting
OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see
"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

12.2.1.2.2

CreatingorModifyingaTransmitter
Youcanmodifyanexistingtransmitteroryoucancreateanewtransmitter.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,itsinitial
settingsarebasedonthedefaultstationtemplatedisplayedintheRadioPlanningtoolbar.Youcanaccessthepropertiesof
atransmitter,describedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage1240,throughthetransmittersPropertiesdialogbox.Howyou
accessthePropertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewtransmitterormodifyinganexistingtransmitter.
Tocreateanewtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. RightclicktheTransmittersfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
3. SelectNewfromthecontextmenu.TheTransmitters:NewRecordPropertiesdialogboxappears(seeFigure12.3).
4. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage1240.
5. ClickOK.Whenyoucreateanewtransmitter,Atollautomaticallycreatesacellbasedonthedefaultstationtemplate.
Forinformationoncreatingacell,see"CreatingorModifyingaCell"onpage1247.
Tomodifythepropertiesofanexistingtransmitter:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.

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3. Rightclickthetransmitteryouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"TransmitterDescription"onpage1240.
6. ClickOK.

12.2.1.2.3

If you are creating several transmitters at the same time, or modifying several
existing transmitters, you can do it more quickly by editing or pasting the data
directlyintheTransmitterstable.YoucanopentheTransmitterstablebyright
clickingtheTransmittersfolderintheNetworkexplorerandselectingOpenTable
fromthecontextmenu.Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"Copying
andPastinginTables"onpage82.
Ifyouwanttoaddatransmittertoanexistingsiteonthemap,youcanaddthe
transmitterbyrightclickingthesiteandselectingNewTransmitterfromthecon
textmenu.

CreatingorModifyingaCell
Youcanmodifyanexistingcelloryoucancreateanewcell.Youcanaccessthepropertiesofacell,describedin"CellDescrip
tion"onpage1243,throughthePropertiesdialogboxofthetransmitterwherethecellislocated.HowyouaccesstheProp
ertiesdialogboxdependsonwhetheryouarecreatinganewcellormodifyinganexistingcell.
Tocreateormodifyacell:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheTransmittersfolder.
3. Rightclickthetransmitteronwhichyouwanttocreateacellorwhosecellyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenu
appears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThetransmittersPropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheCellstab.
6. Modifytheparametersdescribedin"CellDescription"onpage1243.
7. ClickOK.

Ifyouarecreatingormodifyingseveralcellsatthesametime,youcandoitmore
quicklybyeditingthedatadirectlyintheCellstable.YoucanopentheCellstable
by rightclicking the Transmitters folder in the Network explorer and selecting
Cells>OpenTablefromthecontextmenu.Youcaneithereditthedatainthetable,
paste data into the table (see "Copying and Pasting in Tables" on page82), or
importdataintothetable(see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87).
Ifyouwanttoaddacelltoanexistingtransmitteronthemap,youcanaddthecell
byrightclickingthetransmitterandselectingNewCellfromthecontextmenu.

12.2.1.3 PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate
InAtoll,abasestationisdefinedasasitewithoneormoretransmitterssharingthesameproperties.WithAtoll,youcan
createanetworkbyplacingbasestationsbasedonstationtemplates.Thisallowsyoutobuildyournetworkquicklywith
consistentparameters,insteadofbuildingthenetworkbyfirstcreatingthesite,thenthetransmitters,andfinallybyadding
thecells.
Toplaceanewstationusingastationtemplate:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.

2. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

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3. Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyouwouldliketo
placethenewstation.Theexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationare
visibleinthestatusbar.

4. Clicktoplacethestation.

Toplacethebasestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyou
click the New Station button. For information on using the zooming tools, see
"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthebasestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaysits
tiptextwithitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

Youcanalsoplaceaseriesofbasestationsusingastationtemplate.Youdothisbydefininganareaonthemapwhereyou
wanttoplacethebasestations.Atollcalculatestheplacementofeachbasestationaccordingtothedefinedhexagonalcell
radiusinthestationtemplate.Forinformationondefiningthecellradius,see"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage1249.
Toplaceaseriesofbasestationswithinadefinedarea:
1. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
2. ClicktheHexagonalDesignbutton(
),totherightofthetemplatelist.Ahexagonaldesignisagroupofbasesta
tionscreatedfromthesamestationtemplate.
3. Drawazonedelimitingtheareawhereyouwanttoplacetheseriesofbasestations:
a. Clickonceonthemaptostartdrawingthezone.
b. Clickonceonthemaptodefineeachpointonthemapwheretheborderofthezonechangesdirection.
c. Clicktwicetofinishdrawingandclosethezone.
Atollfillsthedelimitedzonewithnewbasestationsandtheirhexagonalshapes.Basestationobjectssuchassitesand
transmittersarealsocreatedandplacedintotheirrespectivefolders.
Youcanworkwiththesitesandtransmittersinthesebasestationsasyouworkwithanybasestationobject,adding,forexam
ple,anotherantennatoatransmitter.
PlacingaStationonanExistingSite
Whenyouplaceanewstationusingastationtemplateasexplainedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"
onpage1247,thesiteiscreatedatthesametimeasthestation.However,youcanalsoplaceanewstationonanexistingsite.
Toplaceabasestationonanexistingsite:
1. IntheNetworkexplorer,clearthedisplaycheckboxbesidetheHexagonalDesignfolder.
2. IntheRadioPlanningtoolbar,selectatemplatefromthelist.
3. ClicktheNewTransmitterorStationbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbar.

4. Movethepointertothesiteonthemap.Whentheframeappearsaroundthesite,indicatingitisselected,clickto
placethestation.

12.2.1.4 ManagingStationTemplates
AtollcomeswithWiMAXstationtemplates,butyoucanalsocreateandmodifystationtemplates.Thetoolsforworkingwith
stationtemplatescanbefoundontheRadioPlanningtoolbar(seeFigure12.5).

Figure12.5:TheRadioPlanningtoolbar
Inthissection,thefollowingareexplained:

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"CreatingaStationTemplate"onpage1249
"ModifyingaStationTemplate"onpage1249
"CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother"onpage1252
"ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate"onpage1253
"DeletingaStationTemplate"onpage1253.

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12.2.1.4.1

CreatingaStationTemplate
Whenyoucreateastationtemplate,youcandosobyselectinganexistingstationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthe
stationtemplateyouwanttocreateandmakingacopy.Thenyoucanmodifytheparametersthatdiffer.
Tocreateastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationTemplatestable,rightclickthestationtemplatethatmostcloselyresemblesthestationtemplateyou
wanttocreate.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectCopyfromthecontextmenu.
7. RightclicktherowmarkedwiththeNewrowicon(

).Thecontextmenuappears.

8. SelectPastefromthecontextmenu.Thestationtemplateyoucopiedinstep5.ispastedinthenewrow,withthe
Nameofthenewstationtemplategivenasthesameasthetemplatecopiedbutprecededby"Copyof".
9. Edittheparametersofthenewstationtemplateinthetableorasexplainedin"ModifyingaStationTemplate"on
page1249.

12.2.1.4.2

ModifyingaStationTemplate
YoucanmodifyastationtemplatedirectlyintheStationTemplatestable,oryoucanopenthePropertiesdialogboxforthat
stationtemplateandmodifytheparametersinthedialogbox.
Tomodifyastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. Rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.Thecontextmenuappears.
6. SelectRecordPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.ThestationtemplatesPropertiesdialogboxappears.

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Figure12.6:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxGeneraltab
7. ClicktheGeneraltabofthePropertiesdialogbox.Inthistab(seeFigure12.6),youcanmodifythefollowing:

TheNameofthestationtemplate,thenumberofSectors,eachwithatransmitter,theHexagonradius,i.e.,the
theoreticalradiusofthehexagonalareacoveredbyeachsector,andtheTransmittertype,i.e.,whetherthetrans
mitterbelongstothecurrentnetworkortoanothernetwork.
UnderAntennas,youcanmodifythefollowing:1stsectorazimuth,fromwhichtheazimuthoftheothersectors
areoffsettooffercompletecoverageofthearea,theHeight/groundoftheantennasfromtheground(i.e.,the
heightovertheDTM;ifthetransmitterissituatedonabuilding,theheightenteredmustincludetheheightofthe
building),andtheMechanicaldowntiltfortheantennas.
ElectricalAzimuth,ElectricalDowntilt,andAdditionalelectricaldowntiltdisplayadditionalantennaparameters.

TheAdditionalelectricaldowntiltcanbemadeaccessiblethroughanoptioninthe
Atoll.inifile.Formoreinformation,seetheAdministratorManual.
For more information on the effect of additional electrical downtilt on antenna
patterns,seetheTechnicalReferenceGuide.

UnderMainantenna,youcanselectthemainantennaModel,underSmartantenna,youcanselectthesmart
antennaEquipmentusedbythetransmitter,andunderNumberofMIMOAntennas,youcanenterthenumber
ofantennasusedforTransmissionandforReceptionforMIMO.

UnderPathlossmatrices,youcanmodifythefollowing:theMainpropagationmodel,theMainradius,andthe
Mainresolution,andtheExtendedpropagationmodel,theExtendedradius,andtheExtendedresolution.For
informationonpropagationmodels,seeChapter5:CalculationsandPropagationModels.
UnderComments,youcanaddadditionalinformation.Theinformationyouenterwillbethedefaultinformation
intheCommentsfieldofanytransmittercreatedusingthisstationtemplate.

8. ClicktheTransmittertab.Onthistab(seeFigure12.7),iftheActivecheckboxisselected,youcanmodifythefol
lowingunderTransmission/Reception:youcanclicktheEquipmentbuttontoopentheEquipmentSpecifications
dialogboxandmodifythetowermountedamplifier(TMA),feedercables,ortransmitterequipment.Forinformation
ontheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox,see"TransmitterDescription"onpage1240.
TheinformationinthecomputedTotallossesintransmissionandreceptionboxesiscalculatedfromtheinformation
youenteredintheEquipmentSpecificationsdialogbox(seeFigure12.4onpage1242).Anylossrelatedtothenoise
duetoatransmittersrepeaterisincludedinthecalculatedlosses.AtollalwaysconsidersthevaluesintheRealboxes

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incoveragepredictionseveniftheyaredifferentfromthevaluesintheComputedboxes.Youcanmodifythereal
Totallossesattransmissionandreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbepositive.
TheinformationinthecomputedNoisefigureboxiscalculatedfromtheinformationyouenteredintheEquipment
Specificationsdialogbox.YoucanmodifytherealNoisefigureatreceptionifyouwant.Anyvalueyouentermustbe
positive.

Figure12.7:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxTransmittertab
9. ClicktheWiMAXtab.Onthistab(seeFigure12.8),youcanmodifythefollowing:

UnderPowers,youcanmodifythePreamblepower,andthepowerreductionsforthedataandpilotsubcarriers
inTrafficpowerreduction,Pilotpowerreduction,andIdlepilotpowerreduction.
Youcanassignchannelandpreambleindexpercellpersector,byclickingtheCelldefinitionpersectorbutton.
TheCellDefinitionperSectordialogboxappears.
i.

SelecttheSectorforwhichyouwanttodefinecellparameters,i.e.,channelnumberandpreambleindex.

ii. EntertheNumberofcellsthattheselectedsectorwillhave.Thenumberofrowsinthegridbelowdepends
onthenumberofcellsthatyouenter.
iii. Inthelayer/channel/preambleindexgrid,assignalayer,achannelnumber,andapreambleindextoeachcell.
iv. Carryoutthestepsabovetoassignlayers,channelnumbers,andpreambleindexestoeachsector.
v. ClickOK.

Frequencyband,Reusedistance,Receptionequipment,Scheduler,Maxnumberofusers,Frameconfiguration,
PreambleC/Nthreshold,AMS&MUMIMOthreshold,andthedefaultMUMIMOcapacitygain.
UnderDefaultloads,youcanenterthedefaultvaluesforDLtrafficload,ULtrafficload,ULnoiserise,andthe
MaxDLtrafficloadandMaxULtrafficload.YoucanalsoentertheDLsegmentationusage.
UnderIntertechnologyInterference,youcansettheDLnoiseriseandtheULnoiserise.Formoreinformation
onintertechnologyinterference,see"ModellingIntertechnologyInterference"onpage1422.

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Figure12.8:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxWiMAXtab
10. ClicktheNeighbourstab.Onthistab(seeFigure12.9),youcanmodifythefollowing:

UnderMaxnumberofneighbours,youcansetthemaximumnumbersofIntratechnologyandIntertechnology
neighbours.

Figure12.9:StationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxNeighbourstab
11. ClicktheOtherPropertiestab.TheOtherPropertiestabwillonlyappearifyouhavedefinedadditionalfieldsinthe
Sitestable,orifyouhavedefinedanadditionalfieldintheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogbox.
12. Whenyouhavefinishedsettingtheparametersforthestationtemplate,clickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsaveyour
changes.

12.2.1.4.3

CopyingPropertiesfromOneStationTemplatetoAnother
YoucancopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplatebyusingtheStationTemplatestable.
Tocopypropertiesfromonetemplatetoanothertemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectOpenTablefromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatestableappears.
5. IntheStationsTemplatestable,copythesettingsintherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttocopy
fromandpastethemintotherowcorrespondingtothestationtemplateyouwanttomodify.

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12.2.1.4.4

ModifyingaFieldinaStationTemplate
Youcanadd,delete,andedituserdefineddatatablefieldsintheStationTemplatestable.Ifyouwanttoaddauserdefined
fieldtothestationtemplates,youmusthavealreadyaddedittotheSitestableforittoappearasanoptioninthestation
templateproperties
ToaccessthestationtemplatesdatatableFieldDefinitiondialogbox:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. RightclicktheStationTemplatesfolder.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. SelectPropertiesfromthecontextmenu.TheStationTemplatePropertiesdialogboxappears.
5. SelecttheTabletab.
6. Forinformationonadding,deleting,andeditinguserdefinedfields,see"Adding,Deleting,andEditingDataTable
Fields"onpage76).
7. Whenyouhavefinished,ClickOK.

12.2.1.4.5

DeletingaStationTemplate
Todeleteastationtemplate:
1. SelecttheParametersexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheRadioNetworkSettingsfolder.
3. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheStationTemplatesfolder.
4. IntheStationTemplatesfolder,rightclickthestationtemplateyouwanttodelete.Thecontextmenuappears.
5. SelectDeletefromthecontextmenu.Thetemplateisdeleted.

12.2.1.5 DuplicatinganExistingBaseStation
Youcancreatenewbasestationsbyduplicatinganexistingbasestation.Whenyouduplicateanexistingbasestation,thebase
stationyoucreatewillhavethesametransmitter,andcellparametervaluesastheoriginalbasestation.Ifnositeexistswhere
youplacetheduplicatedbasestation,Atollwillcreateanewsitewiththesameparametersasthesiteoftheoriginalbase
station.Duplicatingabasestationallowsyouto:

Quicklycreateanewbasestationwiththesamesettingsasanoriginaloneinordertostudytheeffectofanewstation
onthecoverageandcapacityofthenetwork,and
Quicklycreateanewhomogeneousnetworkwithbasestationsthathavethesamecharacteristics.

Toduplicateanexistingbasestation:
1. SelecttheNetworkexplorer.
2. ClicktheExpandbutton( )toexpandtheSitesfolder.
3. Rightclickthesiteyouwanttoduplicate.Thecontextmenuappears.
4. Fromthecontextmenu,selectoneofthefollowing:

SelectDuplicate>WithoutNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestationwithout
theintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.
SelectDuplicate>WithOutwardNeighboursfromthecontextmenu,ifyouwanttoduplicatethebasestation
alongwiththelistsofintraandintertechnologyneighboursofitstransmitters.

5. Placethenewbasestationonthemapusingthemouse:

Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointeroverthemaptowhereyou
wouldliketoplacetheduplicate.TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatus
bar(seeFigure12.10).

Figure12.10:Creatingaduplicatebasestationandsite

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Placingtheduplicatebasestationonanexistingsite:Inthemapwindow,movethepointerovertheexistingsite
whereyouwouldliketoplacetheduplicate.Whenthepointerisoverthesite,thesiteisautomaticallyselected.
TheexactcoordinatesofthepointerscurrentlocationarevisibleintheStatusbar(seeFigure12.11).

Figure12.11:Placinganewbasestation

Toplacethestationmoreaccurately,youcanzoominonthemapbeforeyouselect
Duplicatefromthecontextmenu.Forinformationonusingthezoomingtools,see
"ChangingtheMapScale"onpage53.
Ifyouletthepointerrestoverthestationyouhaveplaced,Atolldisplaystiptext
withitsexactcoordinates,allowingyoutoverifythatthelocationiscorrect.

6. Clicktoplacetheduplicatebasestation.
Anewbasestationisplacedonthemap.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanewsite,thesite,transmitters,
andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnamemarkedas"Copyof."Thesite,transmitters,andcellsoftheduplicatebasestationhavethesame
settingsasthoseoftheoriginalbasestation.Iftheduplicatebasestationwasplacedonanexistingsite,thetransmit
ters,andcellsofthenewbasestationhavethesamenamesasthetransmitters,andcellsoftheoriginalbasestation
witheachnameprecededbythenameofthesiteonwhichtheduplicatewasplaced.
Alltheremoteantennasandrepeatersofanytransmitterontheoriginalsitearealsoduplicated.
Anyduplicatedremoteantennasandrepeaterswillretainthesamedonortransmitteras
theoriginal.Ifyouwanttheduplicatedremoteantennaorrepeatertouseatransmitter
ontheduplicatedbasestation,youmustchangethedonortransmittermanually.
YoucanalsoplaceaseriesofduplicatebasestationsbypressingandholdingCTRLinstep6.andclickingtoplaceeach
duplicatestation.
Formoreinformationonthesite,transmitter,andcellproperties,see"DefinitionofaBaseStation"onpage1239.

12.2.1.6 StudyingtheProfileAroundaBaseStation
InAtoll,youcanmakeaprofileanalysistostudyobstaclesalongthepathbetweenareferencetransmitterandanypointon
themap.Atolldisplaysthegeographicprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoidindi
catingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayedallowingyoutostudyobstructionstoradiosignalsalongthepath.
Youcanalsostudypropagationlossesalongtheprofileaswellasthesignallevelreceivedatthepoint.Beforestudyingpath
lossalongaprofile,youmustassignapropagationmodeltothetransmitter.Thepropagationmodeltakestheradioand
geographicdataintoaccountandcalculateslossesalongthetransmitterreceiverpath.Theprofileiscalculatedinrealtime,
usingthepropagationmodel,allowingyoutostudytheprofileandgetapredictionontheselectedpoint.Forinformationon
assigningapropagationmodel,see"AssigningaPropagationModel"onpage1266.
Tostudytheprofilebetweenatransmitterandareceiver:
1. Inthemapwindow,selectthetransmitterfromwhichyouwanttomakeapointanalysis.
2. Click the Point Analysis button (
pointerchanges(

) in the Radio Planning toolbar. The Point Analysis window appears and the

)torepresentthereceiver.

3. Alineappearsonthemapconnectingtheselectedtransmitterandthecurrentposition.Youcanmovethereceiver
tochangethecurrentpositionorrightclickthereceivertochooseoneofthefollowingcommandsfromthecontext
menu:

Coordinates:SelectCoordinatestochangethereceiverpositionbyenteringnewXYcoordinates.
TargetSite:Selectasitefromthelisttoplacethereceiverdirectlyonasite.

4. SelecttheProfileview.

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5. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
mitterandthereceiver.

)toviewthegeographicprofilebetweenthetrans

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.Atolldisplaystheprofilebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverwithclutterheights.Anellipsoid
indicatingtheFresnelzoneisalsodisplayed.Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiverisdisplayedatthe
topoftheProfileview.
6. IntheProfileviewtoolbar,clicktheGeographicProfilebutton(
transmitterandthereceiver.

)againtoviewtheradiosignalpathbetweenthe

IntheProfileviewwindow,thealtitudeisreportedontheverticalaxisandthereceivertransmitterdistanceonthe
horizontalaxis.AblueellipsoidindicatestheFresnelzonebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver,withagreenline
indicatingthelineofsight(LOS).AtolldisplaystheangleoftheLOSreadfromtheverticalantennapattern.Alongthe
profile,ifthesignalmeetsanobstacle,theobstaclecausesattenuationwithdiffractiondisplayedbyaredverticalline
(iftheusedpropagationmodelisabletocalculatediffraction).Themaindiffractionedgeistheonethatintersectsthe
Fresnelellipsoidthemost.Propagationmodelsthatusea3knifeedgeDeygoutdiffractionmethodmayalsodisplay
twoadditionaldiffractionedges.Thetotalattenuationisdisplayedabovethemaindiffractionedge.
TheresultsoftheanalysisaredisplayedatthetopoftheProfileview:

Thereceivedsignalstrengthfromtheselectedtransmitterforthecellwiththehighestreferencesignalpower
Thepropagationmodelused
Theshadowingmarginandtheindoorloss(ifselected)
Thedistancebetweenthetransmitterandthereceiver.

YoucanchangethefollowingoptionsfromtheProfileviewtoolbar:

Transmitter:Selectthetransmitterfromthelist.YoucanclickthePropertiesbutton(
propertiesdialogbox.

Options:ClicktheOptionsbutton(

)toopenthetransmitter

)todisplaytheCalculationOptionsdialogbox.Inthisdialogbox,youcan:

ChangetheXandYcoordinatestochangethecurrentpositionofthereceiver.
SelecttheShadowingtakenintoaccountcheckboxandenteraCelledgecoverageprobability.
SelectSignallevel,Pathloss,orTotallossesfromtheResulttypelist.
YoucanselecttheIndoorcoveragecheckboxtoaddindoorlosses.Indoorlossesaredefinedperfrequency
perclutterclass.
)todisplayadialogboxwiththelinkbudget.

LinkBudget:ClicktheLinkBudgetbutton(

DetailedReport:ClicktheDetailedReportbutton(
)todisplayatextdocumentwithdetailsonthedisplayed
profileanalysis.ThedetailedreportisonlyavailablefortheStandardPropagationModel.
Youcanselectadifferenttransmitter.

Displaysdata,
including
receivedsignal,
shadowing
margin,cell
edgecoverage
probability,
propagation
modelused,
andtransmit
terreceiver
distance.

Fresnelellipsoid

Lineofsight

Attenuationwithdiffraction

Figure12.12:PointAnalysisProfileview
7. Toendthepointanalysis,clickthePointAnalysisbutton(

)intheRadioPlanningtoolbaragain.

12.2.2 CreatingaGroupofBaseStations
Youcancreatebasestationsindividuallyasexplainedin"CreatingaWiMAXBaseStation"onpage1239,oryoucancreate
oneorseveralbasestationsbyusingstationtemplatesasexplainedin"PlacingaNewBaseStationUsingaStationTemplate"

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onpage1247.However,ifyouhavealargeprojectandyoualreadyhaveexistingdata,youcanimportthisdataintoyour
currentAtolldocumentandcreateagroupofbasestations.
WhenyouimportdataintoyourcurrentAtolldocument,thecoordinatesystemofthe
importeddatamustbethesameasthedisplaycoordinatesystemusedinthedocument.
If you cannot change the coordinate system of your source data, you can temporarily
changethedisplaycoordinatesystemoftheAtolldocumenttomatchthesourcedata.For
information on changing the coordinate system, see "Setting a Coordinate System" on
page125.
Youcanimportbasestationdatainthefollowingways:

Copyingandpastingdata:Ifyouhavedataintableform,eitherinanotherAtolldocumentorinaspreadsheet,you
cancopythisdataandpasteitintothetablesinyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyoucreateagroupofbasesta
tionsbycopyingandpastingdata,youmustcopyandpastesitedataintheSitestable,transmitterdataintheTrans
mitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Thetableyoucopyfrommusthavethesamecolumnlayoutasthetableyouarepasting
datainto.

Forinformationoncopyingandpastingdata,see"CopyingandPastinginTables"onpage82.

Importingdata:Ifyouhavebasestationdataintextorcommaseparatedvalue(CSV)format,youcanimportitinto
thetablesinthecurrentdocument.IfthedataisinanotherAtolldocument,youcanfirstexportitintextorCSV
formatandthenimportitintothetablesofyourcurrentAtolldocument.Whenyouareimporting,Atollallowsyou
toselectwhatvaluesyouimportintowhichcolumnsofthetable.
Whenyoucreateagroupofbasestationsbyimportingdata,youmustimportsitedataintheSitestable,transmitter
dataintheTransmitterstable,andcelldataintheCellstable,inthatorder.
Forinformationonexportingtabledata,see"ExportingTablestoTextFilesandSpreadsheets"onpage85.Forinfor
mationonimportingtabledata,see"ImportingTablesfromTextFiles"onpage87.

12.2.3 ModifyingSitesandTransmittersDirectlyontheMap
InAtoll,youcanaccessthePropertiesdialogboxofasiteortransmitterusingthe