iPlanner V2.2.0 User Manual

User manual 2.2.0

Table of contents

T

Table of contents

4 Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this documentation is prohibited © Forsk 2003

Table of contents

© Forsk 2003 Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this documentation is prohibited 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I GETTING STARTED.............................................................................21 I.1 GENERAL PRESENTATION.............................................................................................21 I.2 WHAT'S NEW IN ATOLL 2.2.........................................................................................21 I.3 INSTALLING AND REMOVING ATOLL .............................................................................23

I.3.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 23 I.3.2 WHAT'S INSTALLED WITH ATOLL .................................................................................................................... 24 I.3.3 INSTALLING ATOLL ....................................................................................................................................... 24 I.3.4 REMOVING ATOLL........................................................................................................................................ 24 I.3.5 INSTALLING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SERVER .................................................................................................. 25 I.3.6 REMOVING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SERVER................................................................................................... 25 I.3.7 TROUBLESHOOTINGS AFTER INSTALLATION ....................................................................................................... 26

I.4 GETTING HELP ............................................................................................................26 I.4.1 WAYS TO GET ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................................. 26 I.4.2 TECHNICAL SUPPORT ..................................................................................................................................... 27

I.5 RUNNING PROJECT TEMPLATES ....................................................................................27 I.5.1 STARTING A NEW PROJECT ............................................................................................................................. 27 I.5.2 TEMPLATES PROVIDED ................................................................................................................................... 27 I.5.3 CREATING YOUR OWN TEMPLATE..................................................................................................................... 28 I.5.4 BUILDING A PROJECT...................................................................................................................................... 29

II THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT .........................................................33 II.1 USER INTERFACE BASICS : OVERVIEW ......................................................................33 II.2 WORKING WITH MENUS AND WINDOWS ......................................................................33

II.2.1 WORKING WITH DOCUMENT WINDOW................................................................................................................ 33 II.2.2 WORKING WITH DOCKING OR FLOATING WINDOW ............................................................................................... 33 II.2.3 PRINTING THE ACTIVE WINDOW........................................................................................................................ 34

II.3 WORKING WITH MAPS ..............................................................................................34 II.3.1 ZOOMING AND PANNING.................................................................................................................................. 34 II.3.2 USING THE PANORAMIC WINDOW ..................................................................................................................... 35 II.3.3 CENTRING THE MAP ....................................................................................................................................... 35 II.3.4 CHOOSING A SCALE ....................................................................................................................................... 36 II.3.5 DEFINING VISIBILITY RANGES ON OBJECTS ........................................................................................................ 36 II.3.6 DISPLAYING RULERS AROUND THE MAP ............................................................................................................ 36 II.3.7 GETTING DISTANCES ON THE MAP.................................................................................................................... 36 II.3.8 DISPLAYED CURSORS..................................................................................................................................... 37 II.3.9 PRINTING A MAP ............................................................................................................................................ 38 II.3.10 EXPORTING MAPS TO EXTERNAL FILES.............................................................................................................. 38 II.3.11 EXPORTING MAPS TO OTHER APPLICATIONS ...................................................................................................... 39

II.4 WORKING WITH THE EXPLORER.................................................................................39 II.4.1 WORKING WITH THE EXPLORER : OVERVIEW..................................................................................................... 39 II.4.2 RENAMING AN OBJECT.................................................................................................................................... 40 II.4.3 DISPLAYING THE OBJECT PROPERTIES.............................................................................................................. 40 II.4.4 DELETING AN OBJECT..................................................................................................................................... 41 II.4.5 MANAGING OBJECT VISIBILITY.......................................................................................................................... 41

II.5 WORKING WITH DATA TABLES...................................................................................42 II.5.1 ACCESSING DATA TABLE ................................................................................................................................ 42 II.5.2 MANAGING CONTENTS IN TABLES..................................................................................................................... 42 II.5.3 EDITING CONTENTS IN TABLES......................................................................................................................... 43 II.5.4 OPENING DIALOGS FROM TABLES..................................................................................................................... 43 II.5.5 MANAGING TABLE DISPLAY.............................................................................................................................. 44 II.5.6 COPYING AND PASTING IN TABLES.................................................................................................................... 45 II.5.7 PRINTING DATA TABLES.................................................................................................................................. 46

II.6 FILTERING/GROUPING/SORTING DATA........................................................................46 II.6.1 SORTING AND FILTERING IN TABLES ................................................................................................................. 46

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II.6.2 EXAMPLES OF FILTER IN TABLES ...................................................................................................................... 48 II.6.3 FILTERING RADIO DATA................................................................................................................................... 48 II.6.4 ADVANCED FILTERING : EXAMPLE .................................................................................................................... 49 II.6.5 ADVANCED FILTERING : COUNTER EXAMPLE 1................................................................................................... 50 II.6.6 ADVANCED FILTERING : COUNTER EXAMPLE 2................................................................................................... 50 II.6.7 SORTING A FOLDER........................................................................................................................................ 51 II.6.8 ARRANGING ITEMS IN GROUPS......................................................................................................................... 51 II.6.9 EXAMPLES OF GROUPING BY ........................................................................................................................... 52 II.6.10 USING A GROUP BY/SORT/FILTER CONFIGURATION............................................................................................. 53 II.6.11 CREATING SUBFOLDERS ................................................................................................................................. 54 II.6.12 REORGANIZING DATA AFTER MODIFICATIONS..................................................................................................... 54 II.6.13 FILTERING DATA IN A POLYGON........................................................................................................................ 54 II.6.14 REMOVING THE POLYGON FILTER..................................................................................................................... 55

II.7 MANAGING DISPLAY IN ATOLL ................................................................................55 II.7.1 DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF ANY ITEM FOLDER.................................................................................. 55 II.7.2 MANAGING AND DISPLAYING LEGENDS.............................................................................................................. 55 II.7.3 THRESHOLDS, COLOURS AND LEGENDS............................................................................................................ 56 II.7.4 DISPLAYING OBJECT LABELS ON THE MAP ......................................................................................................... 57 II.7.5 USING THE TIPS TOOL TO GET INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... 57

II.8 USING HANDY TOOLS ...............................................................................................57 II.8.1 USING THE UNDO/REDO COMMAND ................................................................................................................. 57 II.8.2 REFRESHING MAPS AND FOLDERS.................................................................................................................... 58 II.8.3 SETTING DOCUMENT PRINTS ........................................................................................................................... 58 II.8.4 LOCATING ANY POINT ON THE MAP ................................................................................................................... 58 II.8.5 LOCATING ANY SITE ON THE MAP ..................................................................................................................... 59 II.8.6 LOCATING ANY VECTOR ON THE MAP ................................................................................................................ 59 II.8.7 SYNCHRONIZING VECTOR SELECTION AND DATA TABLE ...................................................................................... 60 II.8.8 USING THE STATUS BAR TO GET INFORMATION .................................................................................................. 60 II.8.9 USING ICONS FROM THE TOOL BAR................................................................................................................... 60 II.8.10 USING SHORTCUTS IN ATOLL......................................................................................................................... 62

II.9 TIPS AND TRICKS.....................................................................................................62 II.9.1 HOW TO IMPORT GEO DATA EASILY .................................................................................................................. 62 II.9.2 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY A VALUE FOR ALL THE TRANSMITTER........................................................................ 62 II.9.3 HOW TO FIND EASILY A SITE ON THE MAP .......................................................................................................... 63 II.9.4 HOW TO BE AUTOMATICALLY PLACED IN THE FIND SITE BOX ................................................................................ 63 II.9.5 HOW TO DELETE ALL SITES AND THEIR TRANSMITTERS IN ONE SHOT..................................................................... 63 II.9.6 HOW TO ACCESS THE PROPERTIES OF ANY OBJECT OR GROUP OF OBJECTS ......................................................... 63 II.9.7 HOW TO FILTER DATA RAPIDLY ........................................................................................................................ 63 II.9.8 HOW TO WORK ONLY ON "LIVE" SITES............................................................................................................... 63 II.9.9 HOW TO USE WILDCARD CHARACTERS TO FILTER TEXT-FORMAT FIELDS ............................................................... 63 II.9.10 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY THE NAMES OF ALL THE SITES ................................................................................. 64 II.9.11 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT BY ITS NAME IN A FOLDER................................................................................. 64 II.9.12 HOW TO OPEN OR CLOSE RAPIDLY A FOLDER .................................................................................................... 64 II.9.13 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT IN A TABLE...................................................................................................... 64 II.9.14 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT ON THE MAP ................................................................................................... 64 II.9.15 HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE COLUMNS DISPLAYED IN A TABLE ................................................................................. 64 II.9.16 HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE TABLE STYLE............................................................................................................. 64 II.9.17 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS .......................................................................... 64 II.9.18 HOW TO PREDICT SIGNAL LEVEL ON A ROAD...................................................................................................... 65 II.9.19 HOW TO WORK ON A SET OF SITES SELECTED BY A POLYGON .............................................................................. 65 II.9.20 HOW TO OBTAIN A LINK BUDGET....................................................................................................................... 65 II.9.21 HOW TO DISPLAY CITY POINTS AND THEIR NAMES ON THE MAP ............................................................................ 65 II.9.22 HOW TO DISPLAY SCRAMBLING CODES ON THE MAP ........................................................................................... 65 II.9.23 HOW TO DEFINE THE DEFAULT SERVER FOR DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING ................................................................. 65

III MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA ......................................................69 III.1 MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA : OVERVIEW ..............................................................69 III.2 GEO DATA TYPE SUPPORTED....................................................................................69 III.3 LENGTH/HEIGHT/OFFSET UNITS AND COORDINATE SYSTEMS........................................71

III.3.1 SETTING DEFAULT LENGTH/HEIGHT/OFFSET UNITS ............................................................................................. 71 III.3.2 COORDINATE SYSTEMS : BASIC CONCEPTS ....................................................................................................... 71 III.3.3 DEFINING THE PROJECTION COORDINATE SYSTEM ............................................................................................. 72 III.3.4 DEFINING THE DISPLAY COORDINATE SYSTEM ................................................................................................... 72

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III.3.5 CREATING YOUR OWN COORDINATE SYSTEM..................................................................................................... 73 III.4 GEO DATA FORMAT SUPPORTED ...............................................................................74

III.4.1 SUPPORTED GEO DATA FORMATS : OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 74 III.4.2 BIL DATA FORMAT ......................................................................................................................................... 74 III.4.3 TIFF DATA FORMAT ....................................................................................................................................... 75 III.4.4 DXF DATA FORMAT........................................................................................................................................ 76 III.4.5 SHP DATA FORMAT ....................................................................................................................................... 76 III.4.6 MIF DATA FORMAT......................................................................................................................................... 76 III.4.7 ERDAS IMAGINE DATA FORMAT ........................................................................................................................ 76 III.4.8 OTHER SUPPORTED FORMATS......................................................................................................................... 77

III.5 MANAGING CLUTTER CLASSES..................................................................................77 III.5.1 IMPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS FILE ................................................................................................................... 77 III.5.2 OPTIMISING THE LOADING OF CLUTTER CLASS FILES .......................................................................................... 77 III.5.3 DESCRIPTION OF MNU FILES.......................................................................................................................... 77 III.5.4 MANAGING THE CLUTTER CLASSES .................................................................................................................. 78 III.5.5 ADDING A CLUTTER CLASS .............................................................................................................................. 79 III.5.6 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON CLUTTER CLASSES ................................................................................................. 79

III.6 MANAGING CLUTTER HEIGHTS ..................................................................................80 III.6.1 IMPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT FILE ................................................................................................................. 80 III.6.2 MANAGING CLUTTER HEIGHT MAPS .................................................................................................................. 80

III.7 MANAGING DTM MAPS ............................................................................................81 III.7.1 IMPORTING A DTM MAP ................................................................................................................................. 81 III.7.2 MANAGING DTM MAPS .................................................................................................................................. 81

III.8 MANAGING VECTOR MAPS ........................................................................................82 III.8.1 IMPORTING A VECTOR FILE .............................................................................................................................. 82 III.8.2 MANAGING VECTOR OBJECTS.......................................................................................................................... 82 III.8.3 DISPLAYING VECTOR LAYERS OVER PREDICTIONS.............................................................................................. 83

III.9 MANAGING SCANNED IMAGES ...................................................................................83 III.9.1 IMPORTING SCANNED IMAGES.......................................................................................................................... 83 III.9.2 MANAGING SCANNED IMAGES.......................................................................................................................... 83

III.10 MANAGING POPULATION MAPS .................................................................................84 III.10.1 IMPORTING A POPULATION MAP........................................................................................................................ 84 III.10.2 MANAGING POPULATION MAPS ........................................................................................................................ 85 III.10.3 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON POPULATION.......................................................................................................... 85 III.10.4 USING POPULATION DATA IN PREDICTION REPORTS............................................................................................ 85

III.11 MANAGING GENERIC MAPS .......................................................................................85 III.11.1 GENERIC MAPS : OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 85 III.11.2 CREATE AN ADVANCED GEO DATA FOLDER........................................................................................................ 86 III.11.3 MANAGING GENERIC MAPS.............................................................................................................................. 87 III.11.4 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GENERIC DATA ....................................................................................................... 87 III.11.5 USING GENERIC MAP DATA IN PREDICTION REPORTS .......................................................................................... 87

III.12 MANAGING GEO DATA FILES AND FOLDERS ................................................................88 III.12.1 EMBEDDING - LINKING COMPARISON ................................................................................................................ 88 III.12.2 EMBEDDING GEOGRAPHIC DATA ...................................................................................................................... 88 III.12.3 REPAIRING A BROKEN LINK.............................................................................................................................. 89 III.12.4 GROUPING GEO DATA FILES IN DISPLAY FOLDER ................................................................................................ 90 III.12.5 CHECKING THE MAP GEOCODING ..................................................................................................................... 90 III.12.6 SETTING GEO DATA PRIORITY .......................................................................................................................... 91

III.13 EDITING GEOGRAPHIC DATA .....................................................................................92 III.13.1 RASTER OBJECTS .......................................................................................................................................... 92

III.13.1.a Creating a clutter or traffic raster polygon............................................................................................. 92 III.13.1.b Editing clutter or traffic raster polygons................................................................................................. 92 III.13.1.c Modifying clutter or traffic raster polygons ............................................................................................ 93 III.13.1.d Deleting clutter or traffic raster polygons .............................................................................................. 93 III.13.1.e Displaying information about raster polygons ....................................................................................... 93

III.13.2 VECTOR OBJECTS.......................................................................................................................................... 94 III.13.2.a Creating a vector layer.......................................................................................................................... 94 III.13.2.b Editing a vector object .......................................................................................................................... 94 III.13.2.c Managing vector object shapes ............................................................................................................ 95 III.13.2.d Managing vector object properties........................................................................................................ 96

III.14 MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA EXPORT.....................................................................97 III.14.1 EXPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS MAP.................................................................................................................. 97 III.14.2 SAVING THE EDITED RASTER POLYGONS........................................................................................................... 97

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III.14.3 EXPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT MAP ................................................................................................................ 99 III.14.4 EXPORTING A DTM MAP................................................................................................................................. 99 III.14.5 EXPORTING A VECTOR OBJECT ...................................................................................................................... 100

IV MANAGING RADIO NETWORK DATA..............................................103 IV.1 MANAGING RADIO NETWORK DATA : OVERVIEW.......................................................103 IV.2 SETTING DEFAULT RADIO UNITS ..............................................................................103 IV.3 SITES ...................................................................................................................103

IV.3.1 SITE PROPERTIES ........................................................................................................................................ 103 IV.3.1.a Creating a site .................................................................................................................................... 103 IV.3.1.b Naming automatically sites ................................................................................................................. 104 IV.3.1.c Managing site properties .................................................................................................................... 104 IV.3.1.d Changing a site position ..................................................................................................................... 105 IV.3.1.e Managing site altitudes....................................................................................................................... 105 IV.3.1.f Getting distances around sites ........................................................................................................... 106 IV.3.1.g Displaying the line of sight area.......................................................................................................... 106 IV.3.1.h Setting the display properties of a site................................................................................................ 107 IV.3.1.i Deleting built sites .............................................................................................................................. 107

IV.3.2 SITE LISTS .................................................................................................................................................. 107 IV.3.2.a Creating a site list ............................................................................................................................... 107 IV.3.2.b Managing a site list ............................................................................................................................. 108 IV.3.2.c Exporting a site list.............................................................................................................................. 108 IV.3.2.d Importing a site list.............................................................................................................................. 109 IV.3.2.e Displaying site lists ............................................................................................................................. 109 IV.3.2.f Filtering site lists ................................................................................................................................. 109

IV.4 ANTENNAS............................................................................................................110 IV.4.1 CREATING AN ANTENNA ................................................................................................................................ 110 IV.4.2 MANAGING THE ANTENNA PROPERTIES........................................................................................................... 110 IV.4.3 MODIFYING ANTENNA PARAMETERS IN TABLES ................................................................................................ 111 IV.4.4 COPYING ANTENNA PATTERNS TO THE CLIPBOARD........................................................................................... 112 IV.4.5 IMPORTING ANTENNA PATTERNS .................................................................................................................... 112 IV.4.6 PRINTING ANTENNA PATTERNS ...................................................................................................................... 113

IV.5 TRANSMITTERS .....................................................................................................113 IV.5.1 TRANSMITTERS : OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 113 IV.5.2 TRANSMITTERS PROPERTIES......................................................................................................................... 113

IV.5.2.a Creating a transmitter ......................................................................................................................... 113 IV.5.2.b Naming automatically transmitters...................................................................................................... 114 IV.5.2.c Managing transmitter properties ......................................................................................................... 114 IV.5.2.d Moving a transmitter on the map ........................................................................................................ 115 IV.5.2.e Adjusting transmitter azimuths............................................................................................................ 115 IV.5.2.f Installing several antennas on a transmitter ....................................................................................... 116 IV.5.2.g Setting transmitter activity................................................................................................................... 116 IV.5.2.h Deleting a transmitter.......................................................................................................................... 117

IV.5.3 STATION TEMPLATES.................................................................................................................................... 117 IV.5.3.a Creating a station template................................................................................................................. 117 IV.5.3.b Defining station template properties ................................................................................................... 118 IV.5.3.c Deleting a station template ................................................................................................................. 118 IV.5.3.d Dropping a station from a template..................................................................................................... 119 IV.5.3.e Dropping a station on an existing site................................................................................................. 119 IV.5.3.f Managing a multi-sectored station...................................................................................................... 119 IV.5.3.g Merging hexagonal groups of base stations ....................................................................................... 119

IV.6 REPEATERS ..........................................................................................................120 IV.6.1 REPEATERS : OVERVIEW.............................................................................................................................. 120 IV.6.2 CREATING A REPEATER ................................................................................................................................ 120 IV.6.3 MANAGING REPEATER PROPERTIES ............................................................................................................... 120 IV.6.4 SETTING DONOR PROPERTIES OF A REPEATER ................................................................................................ 121 IV.6.5 SETTING COVERAGE PROPERTIES OF A REPEATER........................................................................................... 121 IV.6.6 UPDATING REPEATER PARAMETERS ............................................................................................................... 122 IV.6.7 USING REPEATERS IN CALCULATIONS ............................................................................................................. 122

IV.7 RADIO EQUIPMENT.................................................................................................123 IV.7.1 RADIO EQUIPMENT : OVERVIEW..................................................................................................................... 123 IV.7.2 MANAGING TMA EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................................ 123

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IV.7.3 MANAGING FEEDER EQUIPMENT .................................................................................................................... 123 IV.7.4 MANAGING BTS EQUIPMENT......................................................................................................................... 124 IV.7.5 ASSIGNING RADIO EQUIPMENT TO TRANSMITTER.............................................................................................. 124 IV.7.6 USING EQUIPMENT TO COMPUTE TRANSMITTER LOSSES ................................................................................... 124 IV.7.7 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN A DATABASE STRUCTURE ............................................................................... 125

V MANAGING COMPUTATIONS IN ATOLL .........................................129 V.1 COMPUTATIONS IN ATOLL : OVERVIEW .................................................................129 V.2 COMPUTING IN POLYGONAL AREAS .........................................................................129

V.2.1 COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES : OVERVIEW............................................................................................... 129 V.2.2 COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES : EFFECTS.................................................................................................. 130 V.2.3 DRAWING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE ........................................................................................................ 131 V.2.4 CREATING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM POLYGONS .............................................................................. 131 V.2.5 IMPORTING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM A FILE................................................................................. 132 V.2.6 EXPORTING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE TO A FILE .................................................................................... 132 V.2.7 DELETING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE .................................................................................................... 132 V.2.8 RESIZING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE ..................................................................................................... 133 V.2.9 MOVING A POINT OF THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE ...................................................................................... 133 V.2.10 ADDING A POINT IN THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE ........................................................................................ 133 V.2.11 REMOVING A POINT IN THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE.................................................................................... 133 V.2.12 DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE SIZE........................................................................................... 133 V.2.13 DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE COORDINATES ............................................................................ 133

V.3 PROPAGATION MODELS..........................................................................................134 V.3.1 PROPAGATION MODELS : OVERVIEW.............................................................................................................. 134 V.3.2 PROPAGATION MODEL GENERAL INFORMATION................................................................................................ 134

V.3.2.a Selecting propagation models ............................................................................................................ 134 V.3.2.b Setting propagation model priority ...................................................................................................... 135 V.3.2.c Displaying general information on propagation model........................................................................ 136 V.3.2.d Choosing the appropriate propagation model..................................................................................... 136 V.3.2.e Managing propagation model folders.................................................................................................. 137

V.3.3 PROPAGATION MODELS AVAILABLE IN ATOLL................................................................................................. 137 V.3.3.a Working with Longley-Rice model ...................................................................................................... 137 V.3.3.b Working with ITU 526-5 model ........................................................................................................... 137 V.3.3.c Working with ITU 370-7 model (Vienna 93) ........................................................................................ 138 V.3.3.d Working with WLL (Wireless Local Loop) model ................................................................................ 138 V.3.3.e Working with Okumura-Hata model.................................................................................................... 139

V.3.3.e.i Working with Okumura-Hata model : Overview .............................................................................................139 V.3.3.e.ii Considering losses due to diffraction (Okumura-Hata) ..................................................................................139 V.3.3.e.iii Defining an environment default formula (Okumura-Hata).............................................................................139 V.3.3.e.iv Assigning environment formulas to clutter types (Okumura-Hata) .................................................................140 V.3.3.e.v Creating/Modifying environment formulas (Okumura-Hata)...........................................................................140

V.3.3.f Working with Cost-Hata model ........................................................................................................... 140 V.3.3.f.i Working with Cost-Hata model : Overview ....................................................................................................140 V.3.3.f.ii Considering losses due to diffraction (Cost-Hata)..........................................................................................140 V.3.3.f.iii Defining an environment default formula (Cost-Hata)....................................................................................141 V.3.3.f.iv Assigning environment formulas to clutter types (Cost-Hata) ........................................................................141 V.3.3.f.v Creating/Modifying environment formulas (Cost-Hata) ..................................................................................141

V.3.3.g Working with Standard Propagation model......................................................................................... 142 V.3.3.g.i Working with Standard Propagation model : Overview..................................................................................142 V.3.3.g.ii Accessing Standard Propagation Model properties .......................................................................................142 V.3.3.g.iii Adjusting Standard Propagation Model parameters ......................................................................................143 V.3.3.g.iv SPM General tab window..............................................................................................................................143

V.3.3.g.iv.i SPM General tab window.......................................................................................................................143 V.3.3.g.v SPM Parameters tab window........................................................................................................................144

V.3.3.g.v.i SPM Parameters tab window.................................................................................................................144 V.3.3.g.v.ii Effective Antenna Height SPM...............................................................................................................145 V.3.3.g.v.iii Diffraction computation in SPM..............................................................................................................149 V.3.3.g.v.iv Deygout .................................................................................................................................................149 V.3.3.g.v.v Epstein-Peterson ...................................................................................................................................150 V.3.3.g.v.vi Millington ...............................................................................................................................................151 V.3.3.g.v.vii Receiver effective antenna height ..........................................................................................................151 V.3.3.g.v.viii Sample values for SPM formula parameters ..........................................................................................151 V.3.3.g.v.ix Correction for hilly regions .....................................................................................................................152

V.3.3.g.vi SPM Clutter tab window................................................................................................................................152 V.3.3.g.vi.i SPM Clutter tab window.........................................................................................................................152 V.3.3.g.vi.ii Typical values or losses per clutter class (SPM) ....................................................................................153

V.3.3.g.vii SPM Calibration tab window .........................................................................................................................154

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V.3.3.g.vii.i SPM Calibration tab window ..................................................................................................................154 V.3.3.g.vii.ii Displaying statistics before calibration (SPM).........................................................................................154 V.3.3.g.vii.iii Calibrating the Standard Propagation Model ..........................................................................................155 V.3.3.g.vii.iv To calibrate one variable........................................................................................................................156 V.3.3.g.vii.v To calibrate several variables.................................................................................................................157

V.4 TUNING RECEPTION PARAMETERS...........................................................................157 V.4.1 SETTING THE RECEIVER PROPERTIES ............................................................................................................. 157 V.4.2 COMPUTING SHADOWING MARGINS PER CLUTTER CLASS .................................................................................. 158 V.4.3 USING RELIABILITY LEVEL IN PREDICTIONS ...................................................................................................... 159

V.5 COVERAGE STUDIES ..............................................................................................159 V.5.1 COVERAGE STUDIES : OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 159 V.5.2 COVERAGE PREDICTION GENERAL SETTINGS................................................................................................... 160

V.5.2.a Setting calculation areas..................................................................................................................... 160 V.5.2.b Setting calculation resolutions ............................................................................................................ 161 V.5.2.c Creating coverage calculations........................................................................................................... 162 V.5.2.d Creating coverage studies per group of transmitter............................................................................ 162 V.5.2.e Accessing coverage prediction properties .......................................................................................... 162 V.5.2.f Setting coverage resolutions .............................................................................................................. 163 V.5.2.g Organising result outputs of a coverage study.................................................................................... 163 V.5.2.h Defining the coverage conditions........................................................................................................ 164 V.5.2.i Managing prediction display ............................................................................................................... 165 V.5.2.j Running coverage calculations........................................................................................................... 166 V.5.2.k Locking coverage studies ................................................................................................................... 166

V.5.3 PREDICTION STUDY TEMPLATES .................................................................................................................... 167 V.5.3.a Calculating a coverage by transmitter................................................................................................. 167 V.5.3.b Calculating a coverage by signal level................................................................................................ 167 V.5.3.c Calculating overlapping areas ............................................................................................................ 168 V.5.3.d Creating a coverage study template ................................................................................................... 168 V.5.3.e Deleting a coverage study template ................................................................................................... 168

V.5.4 PATH LOSS MANAGEMENT............................................................................................................................. 169 V.5.4.a Storage of path loss matrices ............................................................................................................. 169 V.5.4.b Locking path loss results .................................................................................................................... 170 V.5.4.c Checking path loss results validity...................................................................................................... 170 V.5.4.d Exporting main path loss matrices...................................................................................................... 171

V.5.5 PREDICTION COVERAGE OUTPUTS ................................................................................................................. 172 V.5.5.a Managing prediction results : Overview.............................................................................................. 172 V.5.5.b Displaying prediction reports .............................................................................................................. 172 V.5.5.c Exporting prediction reports................................................................................................................ 172 V.5.5.d Printing prediction reports................................................................................................................... 173 V.5.5.e Exporting prediction coverages .......................................................................................................... 173 V.5.5.f Coverage prediction available exports................................................................................................ 173

V.6 POINT ANALYSIS PREDICTIONS................................................................................174 V.6.1 POINT ANALYSIS PREDICTIONS : OVERVIEW .................................................................................................... 174 V.6.2 DISPLAYING POINT ANALYSIS RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 174

V.6.2.a Using the receiver............................................................................................................................... 174 V.6.2.b Studying the profile from a transmitter................................................................................................ 175 V.6.2.c Displaying predicted signal levels at a point ....................................................................................... 175 V.6.2.d Listing all signal and C/I levels at a point ............................................................................................ 176

V.6.3 MANAGING POINT ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 176 V.6.3.a Selecting a transmitter in point analysis.............................................................................................. 176 V.6.3.b Selecting the power definition item in point analysis........................................................................... 176 V.6.3.c Adjusting reliability level in a point analysis ........................................................................................ 177 V.6.3.d Displaying signal levels or losses in point analysis............................................................................. 177 V.6.3.e Displaying link budget at a receiver .................................................................................................... 177 V.6.3.f Using a site as a target for point analysis ........................................................................................... 178 V.6.3.g Displaying SPM parameters over a profile analysis............................................................................ 178 V.6.3.h Exporting a point analysis study ......................................................................................................... 178 V.6.3.i Printing a point analysis study ............................................................................................................ 179

V.7 CALCULATION TOOLS IN ATOLL ............................................................................179 V.7.1 ATOLL FEATURES FOR COMPUTING .............................................................................................................. 179 V.7.2 DISTRIBUTING CALCULATIONS ON SEVERAL PCS.............................................................................................. 179 V.7.3 DISPLAYING CALCULATION EVENTS IN A LOG WINDOW ...................................................................................... 180 V.7.4 EXPORTING CALCULATION EVENTS IN A LOG FILE ............................................................................................. 180

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VI GSM/TDMA PROJECT MANAGEMENT ............................................183 VI.1 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS : OVERVIEW......................................................................183 VI.2 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS PROTOCOL........................................................................183 VI.3 MANAGING GSM/TDMA RADIO DATA.....................................................................184

VI.3.1 MANAGING GSM/TDMA RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 184 VI.3.2 FREQUENCIES ............................................................................................................................................. 184

VI.3.2.a Frequencies : Overview...................................................................................................................... 184 VI.3.2.b Managing frequency bands ................................................................................................................ 185 VI.3.2.c Managing frequency domains and groups.......................................................................................... 185

VI.3.3 HSNS ........................................................................................................................................................ 186 VI.3.3.a HSNs : Overview ................................................................................................................................ 186 VI.3.3.b Managing HSN domains and groups.................................................................................................. 186

VI.3.4 BSICS ....................................................................................................................................................... 187 VI.3.4.a BSICs : Overview ............................................................................................................................... 187 VI.3.4.b Defining BSIC format .......................................................................................................................... 187 VI.3.4.c Managing BSIC domains and groups ................................................................................................. 188

VI.3.5 CELL TYPES ................................................................................................................................................ 189 VI.3.5.a Cell types : Overview.......................................................................................................................... 189 VI.3.5.b TRX types : definition.......................................................................................................................... 189 VI.3.5.c Managing cell types............................................................................................................................ 189 VI.3.5.d Cell type parameters........................................................................................................................... 190 VI.3.5.e Examples of cell types........................................................................................................................ 191

VI.3.6 HCS LAYERS .............................................................................................................................................. 193 VI.3.6.a Hierarchical cells : Overview............................................................................................................... 193 VI.3.6.b Managing HCS layers......................................................................................................................... 193

VI.3.7 TRANSMITTERS ........................................................................................................................................... 193 VI.3.7.a Assigning HCS layers to transmitters ................................................................................................. 193 VI.3.7.b Assigning cell types to transmitters .................................................................................................... 193 VI.3.7.c Assigning BSIC domains to transmitters............................................................................................. 194 VI.3.7.d Assigning manually BSICs to transmitters .......................................................................................... 194 VI.3.7.e Allocating manually a BCCH to transmitters ....................................................................................... 195

VI.3.8 SUBCELLS AND TRXS .................................................................................................................................. 195 VI.3.8.a Managing subcells in transmitters ...................................................................................................... 195 VI.3.8.b Displaying the subcell list.................................................................................................................... 196 VI.3.8.c Subcell property details ...................................................................................................................... 196 VI.3.8.d Allocating frequencies manually in GSM/TDMA ................................................................................. 198 VI.3.8.e Managing TRXs in transmitters .......................................................................................................... 199 VI.3.8.f Displaying the TRX list........................................................................................................................ 199 VI.3.8.g TRX property details........................................................................................................................... 199

VI.4 WORKING ON GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC DATA ..............................................................200 VI.4.1 CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP : OVERVIEW ...................................................................................... 200 VI.4.2 CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP ............................................................................................ 200 VI.4.3 DESCRIBING THE GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER CLASSES ............................................................................... 200 VI.4.4 ADDING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER CLASS ............................................................................................. 201 VI.4.5 REFRESHING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP......................................................................................... 201 VI.4.6 EXPORTING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP........................................................................................... 201 VI.4.7 MANAGING GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY.............................................................................................. 202 VI.4.8 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC.......................................................................................... 202

VI.5 GSM/TDMA NETWORK DIMENSIONING ...................................................................203 VI.5.1 COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF REQUESTED TRXS ............................................................................................ 203

VI.6 SPECIFIC GSM/TDMA PREDICTION STUDIES...........................................................204 VI.6.1 SETTING SPECIFIC COVERAGE CONDITIONS IN GSM/TDMA STUDIES ................................................................ 204 VI.6.2 STUDYING INTERFERED ZONE PREDICTIONS .................................................................................................... 206 VI.6.3 COMPUTING A COVERAGE STUDY BY C/I LEVEL ............................................................................................... 207 VI.6.4 STUDYING INTERFERENCES WITH THE POINT ANALYSIS..................................................................................... 207

VI.7 GSM/TDMA NETWORK OPTIMISATION ...................................................................209 VI.7.1 NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW............................................................................................................ 209 VI.7.2 GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS........................................................................................................................... 209

VI.7.2.a Allocating GSM/TDMA transmitter neighbours manually.................................................................... 209 VI.7.2.b Allocating GSM/TDMA transmitter neighbours automatically ............................................................. 210 VI.7.2.c Displaying current GSM/TDMA neighbour list .................................................................................... 211 VI.7.2.d Deleting allocated GSM/TDMA neighbours ........................................................................................ 211 VI.7.2.e Displaying GSM/TDMA neighbours on the map ................................................................................. 211

VI.7.3 GSM/TDMA GENERIC AFP MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 212

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VI.7.3.a Adjusting AFP parameters from the data model ................................................................................. 212 VI.7.3.b Defining exceptional separations for frequency allocation.................................................................. 213 VI.7.3.c Using the generic AFP interface ......................................................................................................... 214 VI.7.3.d AFP Step 1 : generic inputs ................................................................................................................ 215 VI.7.3.e AFP Step 2 : loading and checking the network ................................................................................. 215 VI.7.3.f AFP Step 3 : generic AFP settings ..................................................................................................... 215 VI.7.3.g AFP Step 4 : generic outputs.............................................................................................................. 217 VI.7.3.h Checking the frequency plan consistency........................................................................................... 219

VI.8 E/GPRS PROJECTS MANAGEMENT HELP ................................................................219 VI.8.1 E/GPRS PROJECTS : OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 219 VI.8.2 SETTING E/GPRS PARAMETERS................................................................................................................... 220

VI.8.2.a Creating an E/GPRS equipment......................................................................................................... 220 VI.8.2.b Managing E/GPRS equipment properties........................................................................................... 220 VI.8.2.c Setting coding schemes parameters................................................................................................... 221 VI.8.2.d Displaying rate graphs........................................................................................................................ 221 VI.8.2.e Defining a transmitter as an E/GPRS station...................................................................................... 222

VI.8.3 SPECIFIC E/GPRS PREDICTION STUDIES ....................................................................................................... 222 VI.8.3.a Creating a coverage by E/GPRS coding schemes ............................................................................. 222 VI.8.3.b Computing a coverage by E/GPRS rate per timeslot.......................................................................... 222 VI.8.3.c Calculating the average capacity per timeslot per transmitter ............................................................ 223

VII GSM/TDMA AFP MODULE ................................................................227 VII.1 ATOLL AFP MODULE : OVERVIEW........................................................................227 VII.2 MANAGING THE ATOLL AFP MODULE ...................................................................227

VII.2.1 ATOLL AFP COST FUNCTION : OVERVIEW.................................................................................................... 227 VII.2.2 ACCESSING THE ATOLL AFP PROPERTIES ................................................................................................... 227 VII.2.3 DEFINING INTERFERENCE COST IN THE AFP ................................................................................................... 228 VII.2.4 DEFINING SEPARATION VIOLATION COST IN THE AFP ....................................................................................... 228 VII.2.5 MISCELLANEOUS COSTS INVOLVED IN AFP COST FUNCTION ............................................................................. 229 VII.2.6 SETTING INTERFERER DIVERSITY GAIN IN THE AFP.......................................................................................... 229 VII.2.7 WEIGHTING INTERFERENCE COST IN THE AFP ................................................................................................ 230 VII.2.8 SETTING THE FREQUENCY DIVERSITY GAIN IN THE AFP.................................................................................... 230 VII.2.9 TUNING THE GAIN DUE TO LOW TIME SLOT USE RATIO IN THE AFP ..................................................................... 230 VII.2.10 DEFINING TARGET PARAMETERS IN SFH (AFP) ........................................................................................... 230 VII.2.11 IMPOSING A STRATEGY ON THE HSN ALLOCATION (AFP) .............................................................................. 232

VII.3 ATOLL AFP MODULE GUI....................................................................................232 VII.3.1 ATOLL AFP COST TAB............................................................................................................................... 232 VII.3.2 ATOLL AFP INTERFERENCES TAB ............................................................................................................... 233 VII.3.3 ATOLL AFP DIRECTIVES TAB...................................................................................................................... 233

VIII W-CDMA/UMTS PROJECT MANAGEMENT......................................237 VIII.1 UMTS PROJECTS : OVERVIEW...............................................................................237 VIII.2 UMTS SPECIFIC CONCEPTS ...................................................................................237 VIII.3 UMTS PROJECTS PROTOCOL.................................................................................238 VIII.4 MANAGING UMTS RADIO DATA ..............................................................................238

VIII.4.1 MANAGING UMTS RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW................................................................................................... 238 VIII.4.2 UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT .............................................................................................................................. 238

VIII.4.2.a Creating UMTS site equipment........................................................................................................... 238 VIII.4.2.b Managing UMTS site equipment ........................................................................................................ 239 VIII.4.2.c Managing channel element consumption per UMTS site equipment.................................................. 239 VIII.4.2.d Assigning UMTS site equipment to sites ............................................................................................ 240

VIII.4.3 TRANSMITTER UMTS SPECIFIC PARAMETERS................................................................................................. 240 VIII.4.3.a Defining the transmitter UMTS global parameters.............................................................................. 240

VIII.4.4 UMTS CELLS ............................................................................................................................................. 240 VIII.4.4.a UMTS Cells : definition ....................................................................................................................... 240 VIII.4.4.b Creating a UMTS Cell......................................................................................................................... 241 VIII.4.4.c Managing UMTS Cell properties......................................................................................................... 241 VIII.4.4.d Power parameters in UMTS ............................................................................................................... 242 VIII.4.4.e Active set parameters in UMTS .......................................................................................................... 242

Table of contents


VIII.5 MANAGING UMTS TRAFFIC DATA ...........................................................................242 VIII.5.1 UMTS TRAFFIC DATA : OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................ 242 VIII.5.2 WORKING ON UMTS SERVICES .................................................................................................................... 243

VIII.5.2.a Creating UMTS services..................................................................................................................... 243 VIII.5.2.b Setting UMTS service parameters...................................................................................................... 243 VIII.5.2.c Managing globally UMTS services ..................................................................................................... 244

VIII.5.3 CONFIGURING UMTS MOBILITY TYPES .......................................................................................................... 244 VIII.5.3.a Creating a UMTS mobility type ........................................................................................................... 244 VIII.5.3.b UMTS active set conditions ................................................................................................................ 245 VIII.5.3.c Setting a UMTS mobility type ............................................................................................................. 245 VIII.5.3.d Managing globally UMTS mobility types............................................................................................. 245

VIII.5.4 SETTING UMTS TERMINAL EQUIPMENT.......................................................................................................... 246 VIII.5.4.a Creating a UMTS terminal .................................................................................................................. 246 VIII.5.4.b Setting UMTS terminal parameters .................................................................................................... 246 VIII.5.4.c Managing UMTS network terminals.................................................................................................... 246

VIII.5.5 MODELLING UMTS USER PROFILES .............................................................................................................. 247 VIII.5.5.a Creating a UMTS user profile ............................................................................................................. 247 VIII.5.5.b Adjusting UMTS user profile properties .............................................................................................. 248 VIII.5.5.c Managing globally UMTS user profiles ............................................................................................... 248

VIII.5.6 SETTING UMTS ENVIRONMENT CLASSES ....................................................................................................... 248 VIII.5.6.a Creating a type of UMTS environment................................................................................................ 248 VIII.5.6.b Setting UMTS environment parameters.............................................................................................. 249 VIII.5.6.c Managing globally UMTS environment types ..................................................................................... 250 VIII.5.6.d Displaying statistics per UMTS environment type............................................................................... 250 VIII.5.6.e Weighting UMTS users per clutter class............................................................................................. 250

VIII.5.7 SETTING UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS................................................................................................... 251 VIII.5.7.a Setting UMTS traffic map parameters : Overview............................................................................... 251 VIII.5.7.b Creating a UMTS environment traffic map.......................................................................................... 251 VIII.5.7.c Assigning clutter classes to UMTS environment classes.................................................................... 251 VIII.5.7.d Refreshing a UMTS environment traffic map...................................................................................... 252 VIII.5.7.e Exporting a UMTS environment traffic map........................................................................................ 252 VIII.5.7.f Managing UMTS environment traffic map display .............................................................................. 253 VIII.5.7.g Displaying statistics on UMTS environment traffic maps .................................................................... 253 VIII.5.7.h mporting a UMTS vector traffic map ................................................................................................... 254 VIII.5.7.i Examples of UMTS vector traffic data ................................................................................................ 255 VIII.5.7.j Exporting a UMTS vector traffic map.................................................................................................. 255 VIII.5.7.k Creating a UMTS traffic map per transmitter ...................................................................................... 255 VIII.5.7.l Importing a UMTS traffic map per transmitter..................................................................................... 256 VIII.5.7.m Exporting a UMTS traffic map per transmitter..................................................................................... 257

VIII.6 UMTS SIMULATIONS .............................................................................................257 VIII.6.1 UMTS SIMULATIONS : OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................. 257 VIII.6.2 MANAGING UMTS SIMULATIONS................................................................................................................... 258

VIII.6.2.a Creating UMTS power control simulations.......................................................................................... 258 VIII.6.2.b Managing UMTS simulation properties............................................................................................... 258 VIII.6.2.c UMTS power control simulation inputs ............................................................................................... 259 VIII.6.2.d Replaying a UMTS simulation ............................................................................................................ 260 VIII.6.2.e Generator initialisation - Replay differences (UMTS).......................................................................... 260 VIII.6.2.f Averaging UMTS simulations ............................................................................................................. 261 VIII.6.2.g Adding a simulation to an existing group of UMTS simulations .......................................................... 261

VIII.6.3 UMTS SIMULATION PROCESS....................................................................................................................... 261 VIII.6.3.a Power control UMTS simulation concepts .......................................................................................... 261 VIII.6.3.b UMTS simulation convergence method.............................................................................................. 263 VIII.6.3.c Admission control in UMTS simulations.............................................................................................. 264 VIII.6.3.d Channel element management in UMTS simulations......................................................................... 264 VIII.6.3.e OVSF codes management ................................................................................................................. 264 VIII.6.3.f OVSF codes availability...................................................................................................................... 265 VIII.6.3.g Modelling shadowing in UMTS simulations ........................................................................................ 265

VIII.6.4 UMTS SIMULATION RESULTS SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 267 VIII.6.4.a Displaying UMTS simulation requirements and results....................................................................... 267 VIII.6.4.b Displaying input parameters of an existing UMTS simulation ............................................................. 267 VIII.6.4.c Summarising results per site (UMTS projects) ................................................................................... 268 VIII.6.4.d Summarising results per cell (UMTS projects).................................................................................... 268 VIII.6.4.e Committing simulated loads to cells (UMTS projects) ........................................................................ 269 VIII.6.4.f Summarising results per mobile (UMTS projects) .............................................................................. 270 VIII.6.4.g Displaying shadowing values of a UMTS simulation .......................................................................... 270 VIII.6.4.h Managing UMTS simulation results on the map ................................................................................. 271

Table of contents


VIII.6.5 UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ....................................................................................................................... 272 VIII.6.5.a UMTS Simulation outputs on sites...................................................................................................... 272 VIII.6.5.b UMTS Simulation outputs on cells...................................................................................................... 272 VIII.6.5.c UMTS Average simulation outputs on cells ........................................................................................ 272 VIII.6.5.d UMTS Standard deviation of simulation outputs on cells.................................................................... 273 VIII.6.5.e UMTS Simulation outputs on cell components ................................................................................... 273 VIII.6.5.f UMTS Simulation outputs on mobiles................................................................................................. 273 VIII.6.5.g UMTS Simulation outputs on mobile components .............................................................................. 273

VIII.7 SPECIFIC UMTS/W-CDMA PREDICTION STUDIES....................................................275 VIII.7.1 UMTS PREDICTION STUDIES : OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 275 VIII.7.2 UMTS PREDICTION PROCESS ....................................................................................................................... 276

VIII.7.2.a Predicting on given UMTS carriers ..................................................................................................... 276 VIII.7.2.b Modelling shadowing in UMTS predictions......................................................................................... 276

VIII.7.3 MANAGING UMTS PREDICTIONS ................................................................................................................... 276 VIII.7.3.a Creating predictions from modified UMTS simulations ....................................................................... 276 VIII.7.3.b Managing UMTS prediction display .................................................................................................... 277

VIII.7.4 UMTS PREDICTION STUDIES......................................................................................................................... 278 VIII.7.4.a Analysing pilot reception (UMTS) ....................................................................................................... 278 VIII.7.4.b Studying service area (Eb/Nt) downlink (UMTS) ................................................................................ 279 VIII.7.4.c Studying service area (Eb/Nt) uplink (UMTS) ..................................................................................... 280 VIII.7.4.d Studying effective service area (UMTS) ............................................................................................. 281 VIII.7.4.e Defining handoff status (UMTS) ......................................................................................................... 282 VIII.7.4.f Studying downlink total noise (UMTS) ................................................................................................ 283 VIII.7.4.g Calculating pilot pollution (UMTS) ...................................................................................................... 284 VIII.7.4.h Analysing a scenario at a point in UMTS projects .............................................................................. 285

VIII.8 UMTS/W-CDMA NETWORK OPTIMISATION.............................................................286 VIII.8.1 UMTS NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW ................................................................................................. 286 VIII.8.2 UMTS NEIGHBOURS.................................................................................................................................... 286

VIII.8.2.a Allocating UMTS cell neighbours manually......................................................................................... 286 VIII.8.2.b Allocating UMTS cell neighbours automatically .................................................................................. 287 VIII.8.2.c Displaying current UMTS neighbour list.............................................................................................. 288 VIII.8.2.d Deleting allocated UMTS neighbours ................................................................................................. 288 VIII.8.2.e Displaying UMTS neighbours on the map .......................................................................................... 288

VIII.8.3 SCRAMBLING CODES (UMTS PROJECTS ONLY)............................................................................................... 289 VIII.8.3.a Scrambling codes : Overview ............................................................................................................. 289 VIII.8.3.b Allocating scrambling codes to UMTS cells manually......................................................................... 289 VIII.8.3.c Creating scrambling code domains and groups.................................................................................. 289 VIII.8.3.d Assigning a scrambling code domain to a cell .................................................................................... 290 VIII.8.3.e Defining exceptional pairs for scrambling code allocation .................................................................. 290 VIII.8.3.f Allocating scrambling codes to UMTS cells automatically .................................................................. 291 VIII.8.3.g Scrambling code allocation process ................................................................................................... 292 VIII.8.3.h Checking scrambling code consistency.............................................................................................. 293

IX CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECT MANAGEMENT.................................297 IX.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS : OVERVIEW..........................................................297 IX.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SPECIFIC CONCEPTS ..............................................................297 IX.3 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS PROTOCOL............................................................298 IX.4 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO DATA.........................................................298

IX.4.1 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW.............................................................................. 298 IX.4.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT.......................................................................................................... 298

IX.4.2.a Creating CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment...................................................................................... 298 IX.4.2.b Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment.................................................................................... 299 IX.4.2.c Managing channel element consumption per CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment ............................. 299 IX.4.2.d Assigning CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment to sites........................................................................ 300

IX.4.3 TRANSMITTER CDMA/CDMA 2000 SPECIFIC PARAMETERS............................................................................ 300 IX.4.3.a Setting the transmitter CDMA/CDMA 2000 global parameters ........................................................... 300

IX.4.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELLS ........................................................................................................................ 300 IX.4.4.a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Cells : definition .................................................................................................. 300 IX.4.4.b Creating a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Cell .................................................................................................... 301 IX.4.4.c Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 Cell properties.................................................................................... 301 IX.4.4.d Power parameters in CDMA/CDMA 2000........................................................................................... 302 IX.4.4.e Active set parameters in CDMA/CDMA 2000 ..................................................................................... 302

Table of contents


IX.5 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC DATA......................................................302 IX.5.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC DATA : OVERVIEW ........................................................................................... 302 IX.5.2 WORKING ON CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES ............................................................................................... 303

IX.5.2.a Creating CDMA/CDMA 2000 Services ............................................................................................... 303 IX.5.2.b Data service creation CDMA/CDMA 2000.......................................................................................... 303 IX.5.2.c Setting CDMA/CDMA 2000 services parameters ............................................................................... 304 IX.5.2.d Managing globally CDMA/CDMA 2000 services................................................................................. 304

IX.5.3 CONFIGURING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO CONFIGURATIONS......................................................................... 305 IX.5.3.a Creating a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Radio Configuration .......................................................................... 305 IX.5.3.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 active set conditions ........................................................................................... 305 IX.5.3.c Setting a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Radio Configuration............................................................................. 305 IX.5.3.d Managing globally CDMA/CDMA 2000 Radio Configurations ............................................................ 306

IX.5.4 MODELLING CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILES.......................................................................................... 307 IX.5.4.a Creating a CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profile ........................................................................................ 307 IX.5.4.b Adjusting CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profile properties ......................................................................... 307 IX.5.4.c Managing globally CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profiles .......................................................................... 308

IX.5.5 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT CLASSES .................................................................................. 308 IX.5.5.a Creating a type of CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment........................................................................... 308 IX.5.5.b Setting CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment parameters......................................................................... 309 IX.5.5.c Managing globally CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment types................................................................. 309 IX.5.5.d Displaying statistics per CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment type.......................................................... 309 IX.5.5.e Weighting CDMA/CDMA 2000 users per clutter class........................................................................ 310

IX.5.6 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS.............................................................................. 310 IX.5.6.a Setting CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic map parameters: Overview........................................................... 310 IX.5.6.b Creating a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map..................................................................... 310 IX.5.6.c Assigning clutter classes to CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment classes............................................... 311 IX.5.6.d Refreshing a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map................................................................. 311 IX.5.6.e Exporting a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map ................................................................... 312 IX.5.6.f Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map display ......................................................... 312 IX.5.6.g Displaying statistics on CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic maps ............................................... 312 IX.5.6.h Importing a CDMA/CDMA 2000 vector traffic map ............................................................................. 313 IX.5.6.i Examples of CDMA/CDMA 2000 vector traffic data ........................................................................... 314 IX.5.6.j Exporting a CDMA/CDMA 2000 vector traffic map ............................................................................. 314 IX.5.6.k Creating a CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic map per transmitter ................................................................. 315 IX.5.6.l Importing a CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic map per transmitter ................................................................ 316 IX.5.6.m Exporting a CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic map per transmitter................................................................ 316

IX.6 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................................................................316 IX.6.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS : OVERVIEW ............................................................................................ 316 IX.6.2 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS.............................................................................................. 317

IX.6.2.a Creating CDMA/CDMA 2000 power control simulations..................................................................... 317 IX.6.2.b Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation properties.......................................................................... 317 IX.6.2.c CDMA/CDMA 2000 power control simulation inputs .......................................................................... 318 IX.6.2.d Replaying a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation........................................................................................ 319 IX.6.2.e Generator initialisation - Replay differences (CDMA/CDMA 2000)..................................................... 320 IX.6.2.f Averaging CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations......................................................................................... 320 IX.6.2.g Adding a simulation to an existing group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations ..................................... 320

IX.6.3 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION PROCESS .................................................................................................. 320 IX.6.3.a Power control CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation concepts ..................................................................... 320 IX.6.3.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation convergence method ......................................................................... 322 IX.6.3.c Admission control in CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations......................................................................... 323 IX.6.3.d Channel element management in CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations .................................................... 323 IX.6.3.e Walsh codes management ................................................................................................................. 323 IX.6.3.f Walsh codes availability...................................................................................................................... 324 IX.6.3.g Modelling shadowing in CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations.................................................................... 325

IX.6.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION RESULTS SUMMARY .................................................................................... 326 IX.6.4.a Displaying CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation requirements and results.................................................. 326 IX.6.4.b Displaying input parameters of an existing CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation ........................................ 327 IX.6.4.c Summarising results per site (CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects)............................................................... 327 IX.6.4.d Summarising results per cell (CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects)............................................................... 328 IX.6.4.e Committing simulated loads to cells (CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects).................................................... 328 IX.6.4.f Summarising results per mobile (CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects).......................................................... 329 IX.6.4.g Displaying shadowing values of a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation...................................................... 330 IX.6.4.h Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation results on the map ............................................................ 330

IX.6.5 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS................................................................................................... 332 IX.6.5.a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on sites................................................................................. 332 IX.6.5.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on cells ................................................................................. 332

Table of contents


IX.6.5.c CDMA/CDMA 2000 Average simulation outputs on cells ................................................................... 332 IX.6.5.d CDMA/CDMA 2000 Standard deviation of simulation outputs on cells............................................... 332 IX.6.5.e CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on cell components .............................................................. 332 IX.6.5.f CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on mobiles............................................................................ 333 IX.6.5.g CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on mobile components ......................................................... 333

IX.7 SPECIFIC CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES...............................................334 IX.7.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES : OVERVIEW ................................................................................. 334 IX.7.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION PROCESS .................................................................................................. 335

IX.7.2.a Predicting on given CDMA/CDMA 2000 carriers ................................................................................ 335 IX.7.2.b Modelling shadowing in CDMA/CDMA 2000 predictions .................................................................... 336

IX.7.3 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTIONS .............................................................................................. 336 IX.7.3.a Creating predictions from modified CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations .................................................. 336 IX.7.3.b Managing CDMA/CDMA 2000 prediction display ............................................................................... 336

IX.7.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES.................................................................................................... 337 IX.7.4.a Analysing pilot reception (CDMA/CDMA 2000) .................................................................................. 337 IX.7.4.b Studying service area (Eb/Nt) downlink (CDMA/CDMA 2000)............................................................ 338 IX.7.4.c Studying service area (Eb/Nt) uplink (CDMA/CDMA 2000) ................................................................ 340 IX.7.4.d Studying effective service area (CDMA/CDMA 2000)......................................................................... 341 IX.7.4.e Defining handoff status (CDMA/CDMA 2000)..................................................................................... 342 IX.7.4.f Studying downlink total noise (CDMA/CDMA 2000) ........................................................................... 343 IX.7.4.g Calculating pilot pollution (CDMA/CDMA 2000).................................................................................. 344 IX.7.4.h Analysing a scenario at a point in CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects.......................................................... 345

IX.8 SPECIFIC 1XEV-DO FEATURES ..............................................................................346 IX.8.1 DEFINING A (EB/NT <-> MAX RATE) LOOK-UP TABLE ....................................................................................... 346 IX.8.2 CREATING 1XEV-DO SPECIFIC PREDICTIONS ................................................................................................. 347

IX.9 CDMA/CDMA 2000 NETWORK OPTIMISATION........................................................348 IX.9.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW ............................................................................ 348 IX.9.2 ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY..................................................................... 348 IX.9.3 ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY ............................................................ 349 IX.9.4 DISPLAYING CURRENT CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOUR LIST.......................................................................... 350 IX.9.5 DELETING ALLOCATED CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOURS .............................................................................. 350 IX.9.6 DISPLAYING CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP........................................................................... 351

X MANAGING MEASUREMENTS .........................................................355 X.1 MANAGING MEASUREMENTS : OVERVIEW ................................................................355 X.2 CW MEASUREMENT DATA PATHS ............................................................................355

X.2.1 CREATION OF A CW MEASUREMENT PATH...................................................................................................... 355 X.2.1.a Creating a CW measurement session ................................................................................................ 355 X.2.1.b Pasting a CW measurement path....................................................................................................... 356 X.2.1.c Drawing a CW measurement path...................................................................................................... 356 X.2.1.d Importing a CW measurement path.................................................................................................... 357 X.2.1.e Importing several CW measurement paths......................................................................................... 358 X.2.1.f Adding predictions on existing CW measurement paths..................................................................... 358 X.2.1.g Creating an import CW measurement configuration........................................................................... 359 X.2.1.h Deleting an import CW measurement configuration ........................................................................... 359

X.2.2 MANAGEMENT OF A CW MEASUREMENT PATH ................................................................................................ 360 X.2.2.a Defining CW measurement path properties........................................................................................ 360 X.2.2.b Opening a CW measurement table .................................................................................................... 360 X.2.2.c Predicting signal levels on a CW measurement path ......................................................................... 361 X.2.2.d Filtering points along CW measurement paths ................................................................................... 361 X.2.2.e Displaying statistics between CW measurements and predictions ..................................................... 362 X.2.2.f Managing display on a CW measurement path .................................................................................. 362 X.2.2.g Exporting CW measurement paths..................................................................................................... 362

X.2.3 USING THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW........................................................................................................ 363 X.2.3.a CW Measurement window : activation................................................................................................ 363 X.2.3.b Defining the display properties of the CW measurement window....................................................... 363 X.2.3.c Synchronising display in table/map/CW measurement window.......................................................... 364 X.2.3.d Analysing fields using a second ordinary axis in CW measurement paths ......................................... 364 X.2.3.e Zooming in the CW measurement window ......................................................................................... 364 X.2.3.f Exporting the CW measurement window............................................................................................ 365 X.2.3.g Printing the CW measurement window............................................................................................... 365 X.2.3.h Combining CW measurement and point analysis windows ................................................................ 365

X.3 TEST MOBILE DATA PATHS......................................................................................365

Table of contents


X.3.1 CREATION OF A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH........................................................................................................ 365 X.3.1.a Importing a test mobile data path ....................................................................................................... 365 X.3.1.b Importing several test mobile data paths ............................................................................................ 366 X.3.1.c Creating an import test mobile data path configuration....................................................................... 367 X.3.1.d Deleting an import test mobile data path configuration....................................................................... 368

X.3.2 MANAGEMENT OF A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH .................................................................................................. 368 X.3.2.a Defining test mobile data path properties ........................................................................................... 368 X.3.2.b Opening a test mobile data table ........................................................................................................ 369 X.3.2.c Filtering points along test mobile data paths....................................................................................... 369 X.3.2.d Managing display on a test mobile data path...................................................................................... 370 X.3.2.e Exporting test mobile data paths ........................................................................................................ 370

X.3.3 USING THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW.......................................................................................................... 371 X.3.3.a Test mobile data window : activation .................................................................................................. 371 X.3.3.b Defining the display properties of the test mobile data window .......................................................... 371 X.3.3.c Synchronising display in table/map/Test mobile data window ............................................................ 372 X.3.3.d Zooming in the test mobile data window............................................................................................. 372 X.3.3.e Exporting the test mobile data window ............................................................................................... 372 X.3.3.f Printing the test mobile data window .................................................................................................. 372

XI CO-PLANNING FEATURES ...............................................................375 XI.1 CO-PLANNING FEATURES : OVERVIEW....................................................................375 XI.2 CO-PLANNING USING ATOLL ................................................................................375

XI.2.1 DISPLAYING EXTERNAL OBJECTS IN A CURRENT ATOLL PROJECT..................................................................... 375 XI.2.2 ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY (CO-PLANNING) ..................................................................... 375 XI.2.3 ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY (CO-PLANNING)............................................................. 376

XI.3 CO-PLANNING USING DATABASES...........................................................................377 XI.3.1 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A MS ACCESS DATABASE .............................................................................. 377 XI.3.2 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A SQL SERVER DATABASE............................................................................. 377 XI.3.3 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH AN ORACLE DATABASE .................................................................................. 378 XI.3.4 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A SYBASE DATABASE..................................................................................... 378

XII IMPORT MSI PLANET® DATA...........................................................381 XII.1 IMPORT MSI PLANET® DATA : OVERVIEW .............................................................381 XII.2 PLANET® GEO DATA FILES ...................................................................................381

XII.2.1 PLANET® GEO DATA FORMAT ...................................................................................................................... 381 XII.2.2 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® GEOGRAPHIC DATA .............................................................................................. 384 XII.2.3 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® TEXT DATA FILES ................................................................................................. 384

XII.3 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® DATABASE ................................................................385 XII.3.1 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® ANTENNA DATABASE ......................................................................................... 385 XII.3.2 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® NETWORK ........................................................................................................ 385 XII.3.3 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® CARRIER DATABASE .......................................................................................... 386 XII.3.4 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® NEIGHBOUR DATABASE ...................................................................................... 386 XII.3.5 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® PROPAGATION MODEL PARAMETERS ...................................................................... 387 XII.3.6 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® PATH LOSS MATRICES .......................................................................................... 387

XII.4 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® CW MEASUREMENT DATA .............................................388 XII.4.1 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® CW MEASUREMENT............................................................................................. 388

XIII MULTI-USER FEATURES ..................................................................391 XIII.1 MULTI-USER PROJECTS : OVERVIEW.......................................................................391 XIII.2 CREATING/STARTING DATABASE PROJECTS ............................................................391

XIII.2.1 OPERATING PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................................... 391 XIII.2.2 CREATING A NEW DATABASE FROM A DOCUMENT............................................................................................. 392 XIII.2.3 CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT FROM A DATABASE............................................................................................. 392 XIII.2.4 STARTING ATOLL FROM THE COMMAND LINE ................................................................................................. 393 XIII.2.5 EXPORTING USER CONFIGURATION TO AN EXTERNAL FILE................................................................................. 393 XIII.2.6 IMPORTING USER CONFIGURATION FROM AN EXTERNAL FILE ............................................................................. 394

Table of contents


XIII.3 SUPPORTED DATABASES........................................................................................395 XIII.3.1 SUPPORTED DATABASES : OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 395 XIII.3.2 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS ACCESS DATABASE ....................................................................................... 395 XIII.3.3 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS SQL SERVER DATABASE................................................................................ 395 XIII.3.4 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN AN ORACLE DATABASE............................................................................................ 396 XIII.3.5 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A SYBASE DATABASE .............................................................................................. 397

XIII.4 DATA EXCHANGE...................................................................................................398 XIII.4.1 CHECKING DATABASE CONNECTION PROPERTIES............................................................................................. 398 XIII.4.2 LOADING DATA FROM A DATABASE ................................................................................................................. 398 XIII.4.3 ARCHIVING DATA IN A DATABASE.................................................................................................................... 399

XIII.5 DATA CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT .............................................................................399 XIII.5.1 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A MODIFIED RECORD................................................................................................. 399 XIII.5.2 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A DELETED RECORD ................................................................................................. 401

XIII.6 SHARING CALCULATIONS BETWEEN USERS..............................................................401 XIII.6.1 SHARING PATH LOSS MATRICES BETWEEN USERS ............................................................................................ 401

XIV MICROWAVE LINKS ..........................................................................405 XIV.1 MICROWAVE LINKS : OVERVIEW .............................................................................405 XIV.2 CREATING AND MANAGING A MICROWAVE LINK ........................................................405

XIV.2.1 CREATING A MICROWAVE LINK : OVERVIEW..................................................................................................... 405 XIV.2.2 CREATING A LINK USING THE MOUSE .............................................................................................................. 405 XIV.2.3 CREATING A LINK USING THE WIZARD ............................................................................................................. 405 XIV.2.4 LISTING ALL MICROWAVE LINKS OF A NETWORK ............................................................................................... 406 XIV.2.5 SETTING MICROWAVE LINK PROPERTIES ......................................................................................................... 406 XIV.2.6 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN MICROWAVE LINKS ........................................................................................ 407

XIV.3 ANALYSIS OF A MICROWAVE LINK............................................................................408 XIV.3.1 PATH PROFILE AND LINK RELIABILITY ANALYSIS................................................................................................ 408

XIV.3.1.a Adjusting computation parameters in link analysis ............................................................................. 408 XIV.3.1.b Displaying profile along a microwave link ........................................................................................... 408 XIV.3.1.c Displaying analysis results on a microwave link ................................................................................. 409 XIV.3.1.d Managing the display of a microwave link profile................................................................................ 409 XIV.3.1.e Editing profile values (microwave links) .............................................................................................. 410

XIV.3.2 INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 410 XIV.3.2.a Interference analysis in microwave links : definitions.......................................................................... 410 XIV.3.2.b Finding interferers of a given receiver (microwave links) .................................................................... 410 XIV.3.2.c Finding receivers interfered by a transmitter (microwave links) .......................................................... 411 XIV.3.2.d Calculating interferences in a global microwave network ................................................................... 411 XIV.3.2.e Interference analysis on microwave links ........................................................................................... 411 XIV.3.2.f Using IRF in microwave links.............................................................................................................. 412 XIV.3.2.g Displaying microwave link budgets..................................................................................................... 413

XIV.4 ITU MAPS .............................................................................................................413 XIV.4.1 ITU VAPOUR DENSITY ON EARTH................................................................................................................... 413 XIV.4.2 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : FEBRUARY................................................................................................. 414 XIV.4.3 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : MAY.......................................................................................................... 414 XIV.4.4 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : AUGUST .................................................................................................... 415 XIV.4.5 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : NOVEMBER................................................................................................ 415 XIV.4.6 ITU RAIN ZONES : AMERICA ......................................................................................................................... 416 XIV.4.7 ITU RAIN ZONES : EUROPE AND AFRICA ........................................................................................................ 417 XIV.4.8 ITU RAIN ZONES : ASIA................................................................................................................................ 418

C H A P T E R 1

Getting started

1

Getting started


The working environment


I GETTING STARTED

I.1 GENERAL PRESENTATION ATOLL is a comprehensive Window-based multi-technology and user-friendly radio-planning environment that supports wireless telecom operators during the whole network lifetime, from initial design to densification and optimisation. More than an engineering tool, ATOLL is an open, scalable and flexible technical information system that integrates easily with other IT systems, increases productivity and shortens lead times. ATOLL supports a full range of implementation scenarios, from stand-alone to enterprise-wide server-based configurations using distributed and parallel computing. The highlights of ATOLL are definitely: Advanced network design features: high-performance propagation calculation engine, multi-layered and

hierarchical networks supported, traffic modelling, automatic frequency/code planning and network optimisation. Full support of GSM/TDMA, GPRS-EDGE, CDMA IS-95, W-CDMA / UMTS, CDMA 2000 technologies. Planning of integrated multi-technology network (GSM/UMTS, GSM/GPRS, CDMA/CDMA 2000...).

Open and flexible architecture: support of multi-user environments through an innovative database architecture

that provides data sharing, data integrity management and easy integration with other IT systems. Integration of 3rd party or proprietary modules (propagation models and AFP) through a set of programming interfaces (API). The integration of add-ins and macros is also available.

Distributed and parallel computing: ATOLL allows for the distribution of calculations over multiple workstations

and supports parallel computing on multi-processor servers, thus dramatically reducing prediction and simulation times and getting the most out of your hardware.

State-of-the-art GIS features: ATOLL supports both multi-format and multi-resolution geographic data and

integration with GIS tools. Large, dense urban and countrywide databases are supported and displayed interactively with multiple layers including engineering and prediction studies. It features an integrated raster and vector editor.

ATOLL is made of a main module to which you can add optional modules such as the UMTS module (allowing CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects) dedicated to W-CDMA/UMTS network analysis and planning, the Measurements module which allows the importation and management of concrete CW measurement or test mobile data paths, the Automatic Frequency Planning module for the optimisation of GSM/TDMA frequency plans and the Microwave planning module. This module allow the user to plan and analyse microwave links.

I.2 WHAT'S NEW IN ATOLL 2.2 Several improvements and changes have been made since the previous ATOLL version. These new features are divided into several parts: some general features which are available on the ATOLL platform for any project, those dedicated to GSM/TDMA, UMTS/W-CDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 (IS95, 1xRTT) studies. Improvements have also been performed on microwave links and measurements. General features Generic geographic layers In addition to the standard raster layers (DEM, clutter classes, images...) ATOLL 2.2 allows users to import and

display additional raster layers (e.g. population files, income density maps...), which are then taken into account in reports.

Geographic display folder It is now possible to group any type of geo data within a unique group in order to make them used for display only.

Clutter heights files A new "Clutter heights" folder has been created. The clutter height can be now defined at the pixel level and taken

into account in calculations (Propagation models, measurements). Import of PlaNET text data files

Getting started


It is now possible to import PlaNET text data in .atl documents. User configurations A new option is available during the import of a cfg file with a view to delete all existing maps. It is now possible to include macro file paths in user configurations

Unit systems New units are available for lengths, heights and offsets.

Site lists In addition to the dynamic filtering features already available in ATOLL 2.1, the version 2.2 allows users to define

static lists of sites names, either graphically or by using analytic criteria. Site lists are stored in the database and can be imported and exported as ASCII files.

Repeaters Repeaters are modelled and considered in the prediction studies and interference analysis.

Object search tool A new dialog is available in order to locate on the map any vector from its attribute, any point or any site.

Enhancement of the neighbour allocation algorithm ATOLL now orders neighbours according to a ring strategy (GSM/TDMA, W-CDMA/UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000) An additional option enables the user to force adjacent cells as neighbours (GSM/TDMA, W-CDMA/UMTS,

CDMA/CDMA 2000) Multi-resolution in predictions It is now possible to define a main and an extended resolution (for low resolution) linked with main and extended

matrices, main and extended calculation radii Definition of the resolution at the prediction level The resolution of the prediction studies are independent from the pathloss calculation resolution

Prediction studies It is now possible to select the 2nd best server for the service zone definition in prediction studies A new display type is available in coverage predictions. You can now colour the service zones depending on the

best reliability level and on the reliability level. CW Measurement A new filter related to the angle between the reference transmitter and CW measurement points has been

introduced for the statistical comparisons between CW measurements and predictions. Test mobile analysis (measurement module) In addition to the CW measurement layer, a new layer allows to import, display and analyse test mobile data. Measurements points can now be coloured by best server or best signal level Additional generic and proprietary test mobile/CW survey file formats are supported, including TEMS FICS-Planet

export (.pln) and TEMS Text export (.fmt). ·Decoding and display of the serving cell ID and neighbour IDs from the BSIC/BCCH fields (GSM) or scrambling codes (UMTS).

Batch mode Calculations can be launched in batch mode.

New 'general interface' in the developer's toolkit A new programming interface provides a generic access to network data and pathloss matrices in ATOLL

projects, and allows developers to add their own functions into ATOLL user interface. It enables the integration of a wide range of applications such as optimisation tools, interface with other

applications and configuration tools. Customisation is performed using external VBA scripting tools or the ATOLL Visual C++ Software Development Kit.

It is now possible to access antenna patterns through the propagation model API. The toolkit enables to run macros from an ATOLL session.

Database management All reserved keywords have been removed from database structure



Features for GSM/TDMA projects Data model All the TRX type parameters have been introduced in the subcells It is now possible to exclude channels from the allocation at the subcell level The separations are now imposed between subcells

BSIC notation It is now possible to manage the BSIC (NCC-BCC) in octal or decimal (as before) format.

Required number of TRXs The way to determine the required number of TRXs needed to absorb a traffic has changed. It is now possible to

dimension Txs on a part of the total traffic. The traffic load estimation has also changed.

AFP tool An Erlang based cost function replaces the pair-wise sum-up of interferences with a more precise modelling of the

interfered traffic. When the constraints are too important for the planning algorithm, it is possible to access to information giving the

list of cells for which the constraints are not fulfilled. Consistency checking tool The consistency checking tool has been enhanced. Additional tests are automatically provided.

Features for CDMA/W-CDMA technologies Coverage predictions Two new display types are available for the service area (Eb/Nt) study : Required Power and Required Power

margin Simulations A comment has been added for simulations (as for prediction studies)

Features for UMTS/W-CDMA projects Global parameters Two methods are available in order to calculate the total noise NT.

Scrambling code allocation It is possible to define neighbourhood constraints during the scrambling code allocation. Neighbourhood

constraints can be imposed not only on the current defined neighbours. The scrambling code allocation is compatible with the bi-thread computation process.

I.3 INSTALLING AND REMOVING ATOLL

I.3.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ATOLL application runs on PC work stations under Windows NT 4.0, 2000 or XP. The recommended configuration for the workstation is as following: CPU Pentium III at least

Memory 64 Mb at least, 128 Mb recommended

Disk 2 Gb free on disk recommended (or more according to the used geographic database)

Operating system Windows NT 4.0, 2000 or XP

Graphics card 1280*1024 64000 colours

Application environment Microsoft Office >95 advised (Excel, Word, Access)

Getting started


I.3.2 WHAT'S INSTALLED WITH ATOLL During ATOLL installation, other components may also have been added from the executable files com32upd and dcom95 (both designed for windows 95 - not recommended). Furthermore, the installation CD contains Microsoft Data Access Components 2.7 (MDAC - in order to work with databases) which can be optionally installed (if needed). If you choose to install the distributed computing server, it is installed as a service on your local machine. To make it unavailable, you will need to stop it in the Services (Administrative tools) dialog of your operating system. Moreover, from the installation CD, you may find several versions of Adobe Acrobat® Reader (German, English, French, Italian and Spanish versions) as well as the updates (from the last ATOLL version) and usermanual pdf files.

I.3.3 INSTALLING ATOLL To install ATOLL, proceed as follows :

Quit all programs. Insert the CD-ROM in the appropriate drive. Follow the instructions on the screen.

By default, the ATOLL installation directory path is C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL. To define another directory path, click on the Browse... button during the installation.

Note : During the installation, it is possible to tick/untick options in order to make them install or not the following elements : Help files, ATOLL development kit, User manual (in pdf format), the distributed computation tool.

I.3.4 REMOVING ATOLL To remove ATOLL, proceed as follows :

Quit all programs, Click the Windows Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel, Double click the Add/Remove Programs icon, In the Install/Uninstall tab, select ATOLL in the list, and then click Add/Remove, Follow the instructions on the screen,

or Quit all programs, Double click on the unwise.exe file located in the ATOLL installation directory, Follow the instructions on the screen.



I.3.5 INSTALLING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SERVER Since version 2.1, ATOLL provides a feature on distributed computations of propagation calculations and CDMA/W-CDMA simulations. The ATOLL package provides a computing server application which can be installed either on workstations or servers and which can be used by ATOLL sessions installed on other stations. This computing server application (used only for path loss computations) supports dual-processor configuration (2 processors are used on multi-processor stations). To install the distributed computing server, tick the distributed computing server option in the Select components box during the setup process. The application will then be installed as a service on the local machine, i.e. will run as far as the local pc is on, even with no user connected. Service management like the distributed computing server application can be accessed from the Administrative tools icon in the Control Panel. Then choose the Services application. Notes Like for ATOLL installation, you must be connected with administrative rights when installing the application. In order to be able to access some potential centralized geo data for computation, check that the account on

which is "installed" the service has enough rights (which is not always the case by default). If not, access the properties of the Service and assign it to an appropriate account (e.g. in the Log on window for Windows 2000 OS).

I.3.6 REMOVING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SERVER The distributed computing server application is installed as a service on stations, i.e. runs as far as the local PC is on, even with no user connected. The first step of uninstalling is to stop the corresponding service. To do that, proceed as follows :

Check that you are connected on an account with rights allowing you to stop Services,

Under Windows NT4 :

Access the Control Panel, Click on the Services Icon, Select the ATOLL server item, Click the STOP button.

Under Windows 2000 or XP :

Access the Control Panel, Open the Administrative Tools, Click on the Services Icon, Select the ATOLL server item, Either,

Right click on the item to open the context menu, Click the STOP command,

Or, Open its property dialog box, Click the STOP button in the Service status part.

Once the service is stopped, to uninstall, proceed as follows :

Left click the button of your operating system,

Choose the command in the opened menu, Enter the following syntax :"<ATOLL installation path>\ATOLLSvr.exe" /UnregServer in the opened box, The computing server application is then removed from the station.

Getting started


I.3.7 TROUBLESHOOTINGS AFTER INSTALLATION After having installed ATOLL, you may encounter some running problems that are easy to fix. Firstly, please be sure to have installed ATOLL on an administrator account, to have rebooted your computer and logged in again on an account with administrator rights in order to complete installation with libraries that were in use during the first installation step (including mdac - optionally - and the sentinel driver). Please also check the validity of the folder in which you installed ATOLL. Because ATOLL is installed by default in an ATOLL folder, be sure that you didn't put yours in that way, for example : C:\Program Files\Forsk\XXX\ATOLL\..., where XXX was the name of the main folder in which you wanted to install ATOLL. If the MDAC version of your PC is too old, you might install a newer version of mdac (available in the ATOLL installation cd) in order to allow communications with databases. The recommended MDAC version is 2.7. In case of the message "Protection key error", please check your connection and the key validity. If you use a hardware Superpro dongle, try first to reboot your computer after installation on an administrator account. Then, install again the sentinel driver (by using the setupx86.exe file in the setup folder from your current ATOLL main folder). If any problem persists, please contact our technical support at [email protected]. Caution: It is advised to switch off your computer before unplugging or plugging hardware key into it. Do not change the PC date. When the Superpro dongle is temporary:

- Do not reprogram it even if you plug it into another computer. - Do not put the time bomb off without the FORSK support help. Nethasp key (Multi-user licence) is supported under Windows 2000 Server only using from Licence manager 8.09.

I.4 GETTING HELP

I.4.1 WAYS TO GET ASSISTANCE To get help from the Help menu

Just select the Help Topic command in the ? menu. The Help window is then opened on the screen. Several approaches are available to search information:

Click on the Content tab to scroll through a table of content. When you have found in the list the topic you are interested in, simply double click on it. A window containing the information about the subject will then be opened on your screen. You will notice in the text some words or sentences in green, these are links to other topics relating to the word or sentence.

or Click on the Index tab to refer to the index inputs. Choose in the list the input you are interested in, double

click on it. A window containing the information about the subject will be displayed. or

Click on the Find tab to search for specific words or sentences that might be in a help topic. Type the word or the sentence you search, choose in the list a subject and then press Display to open the window containing information.

Note : for external modules like propagation models or an automatic planning tool, the online help can be reached by

clicking the button of each tab. A related topic will be opened. To get an explanation about dialog box options

Just click the What's this button located at the top right corner of teach dialog window and then, click on the field you want to be informed of. An help window will be displayed.

To see the name of a toolbar button

Rest the pointer on the button until the name appears.

mailto:[email protected]



To get a short explanation about a menu command or a toolbar button Position the pointer on the command or the button. A short explanation is displayed in the status bar

located at the bottom left of the ATOLL window. To get information about the ATOLL application (version number, copyrights)

Click the about tool on the toolbar. or

Select the About ATOLL... command in the Help menu.

I.4.2 TECHNICAL SUPPORT The technical support team is available Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm (France local time); you may contact it by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. You can also consult the support section of the Forsk web site : http://www.forsk.com/. In this, you will be able to download :

• latest version patches, • ATOLL documentation, • geo data samples, • problem report template,

and read information about :

• corrected bugs, • known bugs, • official holidays, • coming versions, • additional information.

I.5 RUNNING PROJECT TEMPLATES

I.5.1 STARTING A NEW PROJECT Several project types based on different technologies are available in : GSM 900, GSM dual band 900-1800, GPRS, and, by use of an optional module UMTS, CDMA-IS95 and CDMA 2000 (1xRTT) . Each project has its own data and folder structure. For example, tabs in the transmitter properties dialog box and radio parameters change according to the project. In the same way, availability of some specific objects depends on the chosen project, such as, for example, UMTS cells (UMTS projects) or TRX (GSM-TDMA projects). Moreover, ATOLL modular and scalable architecture enables the user to match the configuration to customer needs. To choose a project type

Either Select in the File menu the New command.

or

Click on the new tool in the toolbar. In the project type dialog box, choose a project and then, click on OK to validate.

ATOLL allows you to define a personal template from any existing project.

I.5.2 TEMPLATES PROVIDED ATOLL supports, in its standard version, the following project types : GSM900(850) (Global System for Mobile communications) : 2nd generation of numeric telephony norm working

around the 900 (850) MHz band, using the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology. This technology is supported using the GSM_EGPRS project template.

DCS1800/1900 (Digital Communications System) : 2nd generation of numeric telephony norm working around the

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.forsk.com/

Getting started


1800/1900 MHz band, using the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology. This technology is supported using the GSM_EGPRS project template.

GSM dual-band 900-1800 (GSM900 and DCS1800) : 2nd generation of numeric telephony norm working both around the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands, using the TDMA technology. This technology is supported using the GSM_EGPRS project template.

GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data-rates for GSM - or Global - Evolution) : 2.5th generation of numeric telephony norms working around the 900-1800 MHz bands, using the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology. This technology is supported using the GSM_EGPRS project template.

The optional UMTS module permits to build projects for : UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) : 3rd generation of numeric telephony norm working around

the 2 GHz band, using the W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) technology. This technology is supported using the UMTS project template.

1xRTT (1st eXpansion Radio Telephone Technology) : 2.5th generation of numeric telephony norm working around the 900 MHz band, using the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology. This technology is supported using the CDMA2000 project template.

IS95-CDMA (Interim Standard 95) : 2th generation of numeric telephony norm working around the 800 MHz band, using the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, also known as CDMAOne. 95 refers to an accepted industry protocol. This technology is supported using the IS95-CDMA project template.

Moreover, microwave link technology is available in any project type.

I.5.3 CREATING YOUR OWN TEMPLATE By using the database structure provided by ATOLL by default, it is possible to create your personal template with a view to start each new project with your own tables, rules, parameters, user-defined flags... There are 2 ways to do so, proceed as follows : 1.

In an opened ATOLL project, select Database: Export... command in the File menu, Export the project as a template in the ATOLL templates directory (by default C:\Program

Files\Forsk\ATOLL\Templates).

File/Database/Export - Export in a database

When this is done, your personal template is available in the Project type dialog box.



2.

Open an ATOLL project template (located in C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\Templates by default) in MS Access as a model,

You can modify the databases as you want in order to obtain your customized template. For example, you can import your own table of antennas,

Use the Save as... command in the File menu, to save this template in the ATOLL template subfolder. When this is done, your personal template is available in the Project type dialog box.

I.5.4 BUILDING A PROJECT To build an ATOLL basic project, follow the basic steps described below: Step 1: Choose a project type.

Step 2: Define the projection and display coordinate systems, the length, reception and transmission units.

Step 3: Import geographic data files (clutter classes and heights, DTM, vector data, population data, generic

data...). Step 4: Define a station template and locate stations or groups of hexagons on the map.

Step 5: Define zones of computation and zones of study.

Step 6: Choose and customize a propagation model.

Step 7: Adjust the radio parameters of created sites and transmitters.

Step 8: Make computations for measurements, coverage studies (+ Simulations in CDMA/W-CDMA projects).

Step 9: Optimise the network with neighbours (GSM/TDMA, W-CDMA/UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 200), frequency plan

(GSM/TDMA), scrambling codes (UMTS-W/CDMA)

C H A P T E R 2

The Working environment

2



II THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

II.1 USER INTERFACE BASICS : OVERVIEW The ATOLL user interface consists of an integrated set of cursors, windows, tools, menus, toolbars and other elements that allow you to create, and define your project in one place. The user interface uses standard Windows interface functionalities along with a few additional features to make your environment easy to use. Moreover, the drag and drop feature can be commonly used between any folder explorer and ATOLL in order to import or open any objects with a compatible format. The two common window types are document windows and docking windows. The position and size of document windows can be changed within the ATOLL window. They can be maximized and minimized. Docking windows, however, can be attached to the borders of the application window, or float anywhere on your screen. You can have more than one document file open in ATOLL. Document windows are attached to a single document. You can have many document windows attached to a single document. Examples of document windows are maps, datasheets or studies reports. When you close the last document window attached to a document, this document is closed. Docking windows are shared among open documents. They reflect the content of the active document. The active document is the one attached to the active window. Examples of docking windows are the Explorer window, the Panoramic window, the Legend window, or the Event viewer window. ATOLL provides many features dealing with the use of the map. Hence, you can easily move , zoom in and out, changing scales, and choosing visibility range for objects displayable on the map. Several ways of exporting the current environment are also possible. In ATOLL, most of the items are organized in folders in the Explorer window. This folders can be displayed in tables in order to make easy the management of large data in the same time. Hence, filters, groups and sorts are easily made either in folders, tables and on the map (filtering only), and can be saved in configurations. This generic organization method is also applied to the display of objects in ATOLL. A generic display dialog is available when working on the properties of radio data (sites, transmitters, microwave links), prediction studies, measurements, simulations and some geo data objects (DTM map or vector objects). ATOLL provides several handy tools, like a Undo/Redo function, Windows classical and specific shortcuts, the use of icons and several types of cursors related to working processes. Furthermore, ATOLL provides different search tools in order to easily locate either a site, a point, or a vector (even from its attributes only). It is also possible to synchronize a selected vector and the related displayed data (or any CW measurement or Test mobile data) in the corresponding data table.

II.2 WORKING WITH MENUS AND WINDOWS

II.2.1 WORKING WITH DOCUMENT WINDOW To tile the document windows, proceed as follows :

Select in the Window menu the Tile command. To cascade the document windows, proceed as follows :

Select in the Window menu the Cascade command.

II.2.2 WORKING WITH DOCKING OR FLOATING WINDOW To show or hide a docking window, proceed as follows :

To show a docking window, click the name of the window on the View menu. To hide the window, click the Hide button in the corner of the window. This button may be at the top-

left or top-right corner, depending on the position of the window.



To expand or contract a docking window in its docking area, proceed as follows :

Click the Expand or Contract button near the corner of the window. This button may be near the top-left or top-right corner, depending on the position of the window. This is a dual-purpose button. When the window is fully expanded, the function of this button is Contract; otherwise, the function is Expand

To change a docked window to a floating window, proceed as follows :

Double click in the window border. To dock a floating window, proceed as follows :

Double click the window title bar to return the window to its previous docked location, or point to the title bar and drag the window to a different dock area.

To position a floating window over a dock (without docking it), proceed as follows :

Point to the title bar of the window. Hold down the CTRL key and drag the window over any dock area of the application window.

Note : The window positions for docking windows are not associated with the current project; they remain the same no matter which project you open.

II.2.3 PRINTING THE ACTIVE WINDOW ATOLL provides powerful features in order to import/export any data. On this consideration, ATOLL provides also the possibility to print any type of active window (table, legend, map, antenna pattern, point analysis window...). In order to print the active window, once the print is set, select the Print command in the File menu (or use the Ctrl+P shortcut) in the case of maps or tables. For other objects like antenna patterns, legend or point analysis windows (for example), just select the Print... command from the related context menu (right click in the window).

II.3 WORKING WITH MAPS

II.3.1 ZOOMING AND PANNING ATOLL provides powerful tools in order to zoom and to move the currently displayed map. To zoom in, proceed as follows :

Either

Click the zoom-in tool on the zoom toolbar or

On the View menu select the Zoom in command or

Press Ctrl+A The map is displayed with the previous scale in the scale listbox. To zoom out, proceed as follows :

Either

Click the zoom-out tool on the zoom toolbar or

On the View menu select the Zoom out command or

Press Ctrl+R



The map is displayed with the next scale in the scale listbox. To zoom on a specific area of the map, proceed as follows :

Either

Click the zoom area tool on the zoom toolbar or

On the View menu select the Zoom Area command On the map press and hold the left mouse button at the north-west corner of the area. Drag the pointer to the south-east corner. Release the mouse button

To move the map area, proceed as follows :

Click the Mover tool on the zoom toolbar. Hold down the left mouse button on the map area and drag the pointer. Release the mouse button

Note : in case of refresh problems on the map, use the icon from the zoom toolbar (or the F5 shortcut).

II.3.2 USING THE PANORAMIC WINDOW The Panoramic window offers a whole view of the imported geographic data and allows to locate the map area you want to display in the workspace. A darker rectangle characterizes the map area selected in the Panoramic window and displayed in the workspace. Several operations may be performed from the Panoramic window; they are detailed below. To zoom on a specific area of the map, proceed as follows :

Position the pointer on the map. The pointer becomes a dotted rectangle. Press and hold the left mouse button at the north-west corner of the area. Drag the pointer to the south-east corner. Release the mouse button.

To move the map area, proceed as follows :

Position the pointer on the zoom area (darker rectangle). The pointer becomes a cross. Press the left mouse button. Slide the pointer. Release the mouse button.

To resize the map area, proceed as follows :

Position the pointer at the corner (or any border) of the zoom area (darker rectangle). The pointer becomes a double arrow.

Press the left mouse button. Slide the pointer. Release the mouse button.

II.3.3 CENTRING THE MAP The centre map function enables you to display the selected objects like transmitters, sites, hexagonal design... at the centre of the workspace and the central area of imported geographical data like clutter, DTM, vector data or scanned images. In both cases, the displayed area is moved conserving the current scale. To centre an object, proceed as follows :

Right click the object. Select the Centre map command in the context menu.



II.3.4 CHOOSING A SCALE To choose a scale, proceed as follows :

Click the arrow next to the scale box on the zoom toolbar. In the list click the scale value you want.

If the scale value you want is not in the list:

Click in the scale box. Type the scale value you want. Press Enter. The value you entered is added to the scale list.

Note : If you drag the icon band containing the scale scrolling box from the toolbar to a side of your environment, you

may find it again by clicking on the zoom area button Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available

II.3.5 DEFINING VISIBILITY RANGES ON OBJECTS Since the version 2.1, for any object with settable display (sites, transmitters, coverage studies, CW measurement, maps…), it is possible to specify a visibility range. The object will be visible only if the zoom level defined in the workspace (in the scale box) is within the object visibility range. This feature enables you to display in the workspace an object depending on the zoom level. To define an object visibility range, proceed as follows :

Right click the folder related to the considered object to open the associated context menu, Choose the Properties command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Display tab, enter minimum and maximum zoom levels.

Notes : In case of sites and transmitters, the visibility range is globally specified in the folder Properties window. This feature is an add-on, like visibility boxes or layer order, to manage object visibility in the workspace; the

defined visibility ranges have no influence on the objects taken into account in calculations. Visibility scales defined for objects are taken into account during printings or print previews. Objects will appear

only if the printing scale is within their respective visibility range.

II.3.6 DISPLAYING RULERS AROUND THE MAP It is possible to make visible rulers along the displayed map. A distance measurement tool is also available. To display rulers in the current environment, proceed as follows :

Select in the Tools menu, the Options... command. In the Options dialog box, click on the Coordinates tab. In the Display rulers part, tick the rulers you want to display in the workspace. Click OK to validate.

Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the window.

II.3.7 GETTING DISTANCES ON THE MAP ATOLL allows the user to get distances on the map easily by the use of the Distance measurement button. This tool allows you also to determine the azimuth of the current measurement segment. To display distances on the map, proceed as follows :

Make displayed the map of your current project,



Left click on the Distance measurement button from the toolbar, Left click once in the map to put the start point, Click on the map at each point you want to know the distance from the previous point, The distance from the first point, the distance from the previous point, and the azimuth angle of the

current measurement segment are displayed in the extreme lower left corner of your current environment, Double click on the map to finish the current distance measurement session.

Notes : Selected points are linked to each other by straight lines, ATOLL reads azimuth in a clockwise direction.

II.3.8 DISPLAYED CURSORS In ATOLL, cursors will appear in different forms according to the current position or command. The meaning of each possible shapes is described below :

Appearance Meaning

Wait The hourglass tells you to wait. When it disappears, you can enter another

command.

Arrow Use the arrow mainly to select objects or commands. It will remain as long as a

new command has not been activated

Selection arrow

Use the zone selection arrow to define a selection region. You can use it inside a map to define a zone to print or copy and in the panoramic view to define the zone

to be displayed on the map. You must define a «window» on the active map or panoramic view by left clicking (1st corner of the «window» top left) and «Sliding».

Polygonal

selection arrow Use the polygonal zone selection arrow to define a non-rectangular selection

region. You can use it inside a map to define a zone to filter either sites or transmitters, to define computation and focus zones, to draw vector or raster

polygons. You must define a "closed polygonal zone" on the active map by left clicking several times. Close the polygon by clicking twice.

Hand

Only active on maps, use the hand to move the visible part of the displayed map.

Zoom area The magnifying glass tells you that ATOLL is waiting for a zoom «window» to be

defined on the active map by left clicking (1st corner of the «window» top left) and «Sliding».

New transmitter

The transmitter symbol tells you that ATOLL is waiting for you to place a transmitter on the active map by left clicking. You can place as many transmitters as you want by holding down the button while you move the mouse and pressing

down the Ctrl key at the same time.

Sights The sight symbol will appear as soon as you have activated the point analysis tool.

This informs you that ATOLL is waiting for you to left click on a point of the active map.

Sights placed

(Receiver) The sight «placed» symbolizes the Receiver and indicate the point on the map used for calculations displayed in the Measurements or Point analysis window

(Profile / Reception / Interference/Results/AS analysis). You can access menu by right clicking on the point analysis window.

Pencil The pencil indicates that you can define polygonal zones without the clutter. ATOLL is waiting for you to left click on various points on the active map. Double

clicking will close the polygon.

Deletion ATOLL is waiting for you to select by left clicking a newly created polygonal zone.

Position indicator ATOLL is waiting for you to select an edge of the newly created polygon by left clicking. When you click, the cursor changes into the Select/create points on

polygons cursor (below). Right clicking will open a context-sensitive dialog box allowing you to add a point, delete the polygon and centre the map on the polygon.

Select/create points on polygons

Left clicking followed by dragging one of the polygon edges, will add a new point to the polygon and modify its contour. Left clicking on a point that already exists on

the polygon, followed by dragging allows you to move the point. Right clicking opens a context-sensitive dialog box allowing you to delete a point, delete the

polygon and centre the map on the polygon.

Placing a CW

measurement point ATOLL is waiting for you to left click on a point on the active map so it can place a

CW measurement point there.



Placing points in a CW measurement

path

ATOLL is waiting for you to left click on a point on the active map so it can start a CW measurement path. Once you have made your first click, the cursor will

change shape and ATOLL will wait for you to left click on various points on the active map. Double clicking will end the path.

Microwave link start End

ATOLL is waiting for you to left click on a point on the active map (1st point in the microwave link). Once you have made your first click, the cursor will change shape and ATOLL will wait for you to left click on a second point on the active map to end

the link (2nd point in the microwave link)

Measurements on

the map Use the measurement tool to display projected distances and azimuths in the

status bar .

II.3.9 PRINTING A MAP To print a map area, proceed as follows :

Click on the select an area tool in the zoom toolbar, Define the area to be printed: Position the pointer on the map. Press and hold the left mouse button at

the north-west corner of the area, drag the pointer to the south-east corner and then release the mouse button,

Select the Print area: Set command in the File menu. The selected area is lighter, Select the Page setup command in the File menu to configure your print layout. The Page setup dialog

box is displayed, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Select the appropriate options on the available fields you want for your print, When your configuration is achieved, press OK to validate.

To visualize your print sheet, proceed as follows :

Select the Print preview command in the File menu to visualize your print sheet. To remove the selected area, proceed as follows :

Select the Print area: Remove command in the File menu. Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in windows Note : Visibility scales defined for objects are taken into account during printings or print previews. Objects will appear only if the printing scale is within their respective visibility range. Caution : When using the Fit to page option, it is not possible to know the printing scale in advance.

II.3.10 EXPORTING MAPS TO EXTERNAL FILES To export a map as an external file, proceed as follows :

Click on the Select an area tool in the zoom toolbar. Define the area to be exported: Position the pointer on the map. Press and hold the left mouse button

at the north-west corner of the area, drag the pointer to the south-east corner and then, release the mouse button.

Select the Export image... command in the File menu. In the Save as dialog box, define the directory where you want to locate your file, the file name and the file format. Press OK.

In the Size of created file dialog box, specify either the scale and the resolution (dot/inch) to display the image with this resolution or the pixel size (m) to use image as a georeferenced raster file. The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.

Press OK to validate. Note : Three file formats, *.tif, *.bil and *.bmp are supported. The *.bmp format is rather dedicated to images and the *.tif and *.bil format to georeferenced images. Thus, to use the exported map as an image, choose *.bmp format and define a scale and a resolution; this last one will be written in the file. On the other hand, if you want to use the exported map as geographic data, prefer the *.tif or *.bil format and specify the pixel size. A georeferencement file will be created. For additional information see Supported data formats.



Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the dialog box

II.3.11 EXPORTING MAPS TO OTHER APPLICATIONS To copy an image to another application as a linked object, proceed as follows :


at the north-west corner of the area, drag the pointer to the south-east corner and then release the mouse button.

Select the Copy command in the Edit menu, Open another application. Select the Paste special... command in the Edit menu. In the Paste special dialog box, choose the Paste

link option and select ATOLL document object in the scrolling list box. Press OK to validate. A shortcut to the source file is created and thus, the image may be updated by left clicking on it and selecting the ATOLL linked object: Convert... command.

Note : if the ATOLL file is modified and saved, the linked image is automatically updated. To copy an image to another application as a screen shot, proceed as follows :



Select the Copy Image... command in the Edit menu. In the Copy image dialog box, choose the screen resolution option or define the pixel size (m) and then, press OK to validate.

Open another application. Select the Paste special... command in the Edit menu. In the Paste special dialog box, choose the Paste

option and select Bitmap in the scrolling list box. Press OK to validate. To copy the north-west and south-east point coordinates of the image to another application, proceed as follows :



Select the Copy Image... command in the Edit menu. In the Copy image dialog box, choose the screen resolution option or define the pixel size (m) and then, press OK to validate.

Open another application. Select the Paste command in the Edit menu (or the Unformatted text option when choosing the Paste

Special... command). Note : The point coordinates vary according to the chosen option (screen resolution or pixel size).

II.4 WORKING WITH THE EXPLORER

II.4.1 WORKING WITH THE EXPLORER : OVERVIEW The Explorer window has three tabs: The Data tab allows the radio data and calculation management; it consists of diverse folders depending on the modules included in the ATOLL application:

• Sites • Antennas • Transmitters • Predictions



• UMTS Parameters (or CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters) • UMTS Simulations (or CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations) • Hexagonal design • Microwave links • Measurements

The Geo tab allows to handle geographical data; it initially contains three folders and more when you import other geographical data types (vector data, scanned images) such as :

• Clutter classes • Clutter heights • Digital Terrain Model • Population data • Any generic geo data map • Traffic (TDMA, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000)

The Modules tab offers the propagation model management. It contains : A Propagation models folder where the following propagation models are listed :

• Longley-Rice • Okumura-Hata • Costa-Hata • Standard Propagation Model • ITU 526-5 • ITU 370-7 (Vienna 93) • WLL

The list of the several AFP models available in your current ATOLL version.

In each tab, the created or imported objects are listed in corresponding folders using a tree-structure presentation. Each object and folder offer a context menu available by left clicking on it.

II.4.2 RENAMING AN OBJECT To rename an object, proceed as follows :

Either Left click the object. Press the F2 key.

Or Right click the object Select the Rename command in the context menu.

II.4.3 DISPLAYING THE OBJECT PROPERTIES To Open the property dialog of any object, proceed as follows :

Right click the object to open the associated context menu, Select the Properties... command in the context menu.

Note : depending on the object type, properties can be accessed by just double clicking on it. Double clicking as the same function than the one in bold in the associated context menu (left click on the object).



II.4.4 DELETING AN OBJECT To delete an object, proceed as follows :

Either Right click the object either in the explorer window or on the map (radio data), Select the Delete command in the context menu,

or Click on the object in the explorer window, Press the Suppr key.

II.4.5 MANAGING OBJECT VISIBILITY The and buttons are located in front of folders containing at least one object. To open or close a folder, proceed as follows :

Click respectively on the or buttons. In the example below, the Antennas folder is open, and the Sites folder is closed. A check box is displayed next to each object visible in the workspace.

To show or hide an object in the workspace, proceed as follows :

When a check box is ticked, the corresponding object is visible in the workspace. If you want to make the object invisible, simply untick the check box by clicking on it.

The folders with grey check box contain both visible and invisible objects. In the example, the sites are not displayed in the workspace unlike the transmitters. Moreover, some prediction studies listed in the Prediction folder are not visible. The different folders composing any environment can be ordered in layers with a view to manage their display priority on the map. For example, in the example above, the layer associated with the predictions is displayed over the layer associated with the UMTS simulations. Indeed, in the tree above, the Predictions folder is located higher than the UMTS simulations one. This feature is particularly useful for the display managing of geo data objects. To manage several objects display priority, proceed as follows :

Select the object you want to change the display priority on the map, Drag it through the Explorer window, Put it at the location that gives him the display priority order you want to assign to it.



Note : Putting over layers may get invisible under layers. To avoid that, do not forget to adjust the transparency level of objects located over the others.

II.5 WORKING WITH DATA TABLES

II.5.1 ACCESSING DATA TABLE In ATOLL, many radio data objects (sites, transmitters, repeaters, antennas, UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 Cells, UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters, microwave links...) can be stored in a table, summarising all their characteristics, and allowing you to use filters, groups and sorts on contained data. Table can also be used to display prediction reports. To access a Data table, proceed as follows :

Click on the appropriate tab from the explorer window, Either

Double click on the data folder (not available for prediction reports), Or

Right click on the data folder to open the associated context menu, Choose Open in the scrolling menu.

II.5.2 MANAGING CONTENTS IN TABLES To check displayed table data, proceed as follows :

Either, Click the Data tab from the explorer window, Right click on the data folder in order to display the associated context menu, Select the data folder properties, Choose the table tab from the window.

Or, Open the table you want to manage the contents, Either,

Right click in any cell of the table, Choose the Fields... command from the opened context menu,

Or Choose the Fields... command from the Records menu in the main menu bar.

It is possible to check and to manage (addition and deletion of new types) the data stored in the table. In this window, are displayed the names, types, allocated lengths, and default value (if existing) of the data available. Some objects are custom objects of ATOLL and cannot be removed and other are user-definable. Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the window. Notes When creating a new column (Add... button from any table tab window), you can fill a choice list associated with

the new variable (only with text format). Hence, when assigning a value to this variable in the associated cell, you will be able to choose one of the items from the scrolling choice list. Moreover, the cell can be also edited, and any value can be assigned to it.

It is possible to define a default value to any user-defined field. This default value is automatically reported to the choice list box (only in text format).

Even if tables summarise the characteristics of each item, it is possible to edit, individually, most of them by two ways (See Editing contents in tables)



II.5.3 EDITING CONTENTS IN TABLES Two ways are available in order to edit Data table cells : either by choosing in a scrolling box (if a choice list has been defined in the field definition):

Data/Table of transmitters

or by editing and changing the value or the text directly in the box :

Data/Table of transmitters

II.5.4 OPENING DIALOGS FROM TABLES Since most of the tuneable objects can be listed in tables, it is also possible to open the properties dialog box of any site, antenna, transmitter or cell from the corresponding table. To do this, proceed as follows :

Open the considered table, Select the record you want to open the property dialog box Either

Double click on it, Or

Right click on the record you want to open the property dialog box, Select the Record properties... command from the opened context menu (or from the Records

menu). Note : sometimes, clicking on narrow cells drives to just editing it. To avoid such a behaviour, and to open the property dialog for sure, double click on the extreme left part of the table in the appropriate row.



II.5.5 MANAGING TABLE DISPLAY The table formats can be personalized in order to retain pertinent data, or for a clearer visualization. In that way, it is possible to manage the titles, styles or fonts, to adjust the dimensions of the cells, and to hide or freeze columns. Manage table titles

Activate the Table window, Select the Format Title command from the Format menu in the menu bar, A 4 tabs (Font, Colour, Borders, Alignment) font dialog box opens, Select the title format parameters from the available tabs in the opened window, Click either the OK or Apply button to validate.

Manage table columns

Activate the Table window, Select the Format Columns command from the Format menu in the menu bar, A 4 tabs (Font, Colour, Borders, Alignment) font dialog box opens, Select the table content format parameters from the available tabs in the opened window, Click either the OK or Apply button to validate.

Change width or height

Activate the Table window, Set your cursor on the separation between lines or columns to be modified (in the title bar for widths and

in the 1st shaded column for heights) Left Click and slide the cursor.

Changing cells widths

Changing cells height

Note : You can define a different width for each column. The height of the cells will be defined for the entire table. Display the columns

Activate the Table window, Select the Display columns command from the Format menu. The dialog box allows to select the various

columns which are displayed in the corresponding table. Freeze/Unfreeze a column

In large tables where the use of scroll bars is necessary, it may be useful to keep some columns visible, by freezing them on the screen. This feature is always possible except for tables containing reports.



To do so, proceed as follows : Activate the Table window, Select the column to be frozen by left clicking on the corresponding title (to freeze several columns, slide

on the associated titles after the 1st click - you can only select several columns if they are adjacent to each other - ),

Select the Freeze columns command from the Format menu To unfreeze frozen columns, select the Unfreeze columns command from the Format menu Hide columns

There are three ways to hide columns : 1

Activate the Table window, Left click on the title of the column to hide (to hide several columns, hold the Ctrl key when selecting the

other columns to hide), Select the Hide columns command on the Format menu.

2 Activate the Table window, Do as the same way as in the resize columns method seen above, and slide the pointer on the title bar

in order to obtain a zero width column. 3

Unselect the concerned column in the Display columns command from the Format menu. To display again the hidden columns, use the Display columns command from the Format menu. Moving columns

In large tables it can be practical to group columns of interest, or to read data in a special order. In ATOLL, the column order can be managed easily. To do so, proceed as follows :

Activate the Table window, Select the column to be moved by left clicking on the corresponding title (to move several columns, slide

on the associated titles after the 1st click - you can only move several columns if they are adjacent to each other - ),

Click again on the selected columns zone and drag it until the required target. When this zone is dragged, the place where the columns will be displayed is referenced by a red line.

II.5.6 COPYING AND PASTING IN TABLES ATOLL provides some powerful tools in order to use the copy and paste functions in tables. You may either copy any cell with the copy (Ctrl+C or Copy command from the Edit menu) or cut (Ctrl+X or Cut command from the Edit menu) functions and paste it in any available cell from any table (Ctrl+V or Paste command from the Edit menu). Moreover, it is possible to paste several times the same cell in a table. To do so, proceed as follows :

Activate the table window, Select the cell zone where you want to copy the data,

If you want to copy the top cell in the selected cells, either use the Fill down (Ctrl+D) shortkey or the



Fill down command from the Edit menu,

If you want to copy the bottom cell in the selected cells, either use the Fill up (Ctrl+U) shortkey or the Fill up command from the Edit menu,

II.5.7 PRINTING DATA TABLES In ATOLL, it is as easy to print Data table as maps. To do this, make active your table, and choose the Print... command from the File menu in the general menu bar. Like for maps and reports, it is also possible to preview the print to be made on tables.

II.6 FILTERING/GROUPING/SORTING DATA

II.6.1 SORTING AND FILTERING IN TABLES In ATOLL, data may be sorted and/or filtered in particular in tables (this is also possible in data folder or on the map). After filtering, excluded data are not taken into account in calculations. There are many ways to use this feature. Sorting in Tables

Data may be sorted in ascending (A to Z, 1 to 10) or descending (Z to A, 10 to 1) order. Any field except the antenna patterns field may be sorted. To sort data in a table, proceed as follows :

Activate the table window, Select a title of a column. This column will be the sort reference. When selected, right click or select the Records menu. Then select the Sort Ascending or Sort



Descending option from the scrolling menu. Sorting in several columns

ATOLL offers to sort several table columns at the same time. To do so, proceed as follows :

Activate the table window, Select the columns to be sorted by selecting them in the title bar, When selected, right click or select the Records menu. Then select the Sort Ascending or Sort

Descending option from the scrolling menu, Sorts are successively applied to each selected column, if only these are adjacent to each other.

Filtering in Tables

To filter a type of data in a table, proceed as follows : Activate the table window, Select an item, a type of antenna in the transmitters table, for example, When selected, right click or select the Records menu. Then select the Filter by selection (resp. Filter

excluding selection) option from the scrolling menu to keep only (resp. to reject) data which have the antenna (for example) as the selected item.

See Examples of filter in tables Filtering data in several columns is possible in the same way not only if selected items are adjacent to each other. To select different cells, hold the Ctrl key pressed when left clicking. Advanced data Filtering in Tables

ATOLL enables to make complex filters, by combining several criteria on fields. This can be managed by using criteria either in the Advanced filter option from the Records menu, or by choosing the general tab from the item properties which is in consideration. The authorized filtering criteria are :

Formula Data are kept in the table only if =X value equal to X (X may be a number or characters) <> X value not equal to X (X may be a number or characters) <5 numerical value is less than 5 >7 numerical value is greater than 7 <=10 numerical value is less than or equal to 10 >=20 numerical value is greater than or equal to 20

Combinations of filters are made firstly horizontally, then vertically. See Advanced filtering Example and counter-examples(1 2)... Adding/modifying a data in any filtered/sorted table

When a new item is added to the project (base station, site, transmitter, ...) or when a data is modified, it is possible to reapply a previous filter/sort configuration. To do so, proceed as follows :

Activate the table window, Right click on the item in the data window or select the Records menu. Select the Apply filter/sort option from the scrolling menu.

Restoring data in Tables

To restore filtered data in tables, select the Show all records option from the Records menu. Filtering, by any way, applies automatically to maps and data folders. As in tables, ATOLL permits to manage easily data from folders.



II.6.2 EXAMPLES OF FILTER IN TABLES

Filter by selection (Antenna AO9209)

Filter excluding selection (Antenna AO9209)

II.6.3 FILTERING RADIO DATA In ATOLL, filters may be applied to items with results displayed simultaneously in tables, in the map and in the data folders. All data not checking the filters are not taken into account in calculations. Filter tools are available : 1 - Either in the Advanced Filter option from the Records menu (when the Data table window is on) or from the general tab window from the item properties (see features in Sorting and filtering in tables) 2 - by using the Filter by selection or Filter excluding selection options from either the Records menu or by right clicking directly on the object in the table to be used as reference for the filtering (see features in Sorting and filtering in tables). 3 - from the Properties dialog box associated with the current folder. To filter any folder from its associated Properties dialog box, proceed as follows :

Click on the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder you want to sort to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Select the General tab from the opened window,

Click on the button, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened filtering dialog window, Click the Filter tab and choose the filtering reference variable(s) and the associated filtering way(s). Select a field you want to use for filtering among the discrete fields. ATOLL lists the choice list if the

selected field is a text field with a choice list, or all the values of the selected field in table. Tick/untick boxes to keep/exclude values from tables, map and explorer. ATOLL displays the defined

filter at the bottom of the dialog. Click OK to apply filter.



Notes : The way the data contained in the current folder are filtered can be saved in a configuration template in order to

be used later. It is also possible to use wildcard characters when defining advanced filter criteria on fields with the text format.

Filter criteria Function *string* Filters objects which the chosen field contains the string of characters string* Filters objects which the chosen field begins with the string of characters

Application: Sites may belong to several groups. In this case, let us assume that each site has an associated field such as a list of groups (for example “gr1 gr3 gr5”). Therefore, by entering *gr5* as criterion, you can filter all the sites included in gr5. It is possible to select several values at once. To do this, click one or several values using shift and/or Ctrl

button at the same time and then, tick/untick one of boxes. Advanced site filters are available using the site list feature.

See Advance filtering : Example

II.6.4 ADVANCED FILTERING : EXAMPLE Let's consider an ATOLL project which contains only antenna of two types : GSMA090-12-6 and AO9209. All transmitters using A09209 antenna have only 0° azimuth instead of 0°, 120° and 240° of azimuth for transmitters using GSMA090-12-6 antenna

Example : initial table A goal could be, for example, to extract GSMA090-12-6 antennas whose azimuths are 0° and 240°. This can be done by using the following syntax in the window described just below :



An example of filtering/sorting - The type of columns to be filtered is chosen from a scrolling menu. - The second line point out that will be kept GSMA090-12-6 antennas whose azimuth is lower than 120°, - or any type of antenna whose azimuth is greater than 120° (4th line). For this constraint, no AO9209 antenna is concerned

II.6.5 ADVANCED FILTERING : COUNTER EXAMPLE 1 Here are a typical example which could drive an ATOLL user to mistakes in filter and sort syntax. The goal stays the same than in the example just before. The examples are shown through an advanced filter window and the corresponding filtered and sorted Data table.

- The type of columns to be filtered is chosen from a scrolling menu. - The second line point out that will be kept GSMA090-12-6 antennas whose azimuth is greater than 120°, - or any type of antenna whose azimuth is less than 120° (4th line), i.e. both GSMA090-12-6 and AO9209 antennas.

II.6.6 ADVANCED FILTERING : COUNTER EXAMPLE 2 Here are a typical example which could drive an ATOLL user to mistakes in filter and sort syntax. The goal stays the same than in the example just before. The examples are shown through an advanced filter window and the corresponding filtered and sorted Data table.



- The type of columns to be filtered is chosen from a scrolling menu. - The second line point out that will be kept any type of antenna whose azimuth is greater than 120°, - or any type of antenna whose azimuth is less than 120° (4th line). - GSMA090-12-6 antennas will be kept without any constraint. The result indicates there have been no filtering. The final table is identical with the initial table.

II.6.7 SORTING A FOLDER In the data window, items (transmitters, sites, simulations, etc...) are classified in folders. You can unfold them by left clicking on the button associated with an item. You can fold them by left clicking on the button. In ATOLL, every item folder can be sorted in the same way as in tables. Whenever a Data table is sorted, the display of the corresponding item is automatically modified in the associated folder. Moreover, you can sort any folder from its associated properties dialog box. To do so, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder you want to sort to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Select the General tab from the opened window,

Click on the button, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened sorting dialog window, Choose the sorting reference variable(s) and the associated sorting way(s), Click OK to validate.

Note : The way the current folder is sorted can be saved in a configuration template in order to be used later.

II.6.8 ARRANGING ITEMS IN GROUPS In ATOLL, it may be very practical to group data by characteristics. This can be done on the data folder or subfolder of any item. The group corresponds to the Contents in tables. Several levels (limited by the memory of your computer) of grouping are available. To arrange any folder or subfolder in group(s) of variables, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder or subfolder you want to arrange in groups to open the associated context

menu, Either,

Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Select the General tab from the opened window,

Click on the button, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened grouping dialog



window, Choose the grouping reference variable(s) and the associated grouping order, Click OK to validate,

Or, Left click in the scrolling menu on Group by, Choose the property you want to use as a group reference on the appeared menu on the right.

To come back to a standard display, either choose the Group by none option in the scrolling menu or use the grouping dialog window and put back the grouping reference variables in the Available fields box. Note : The way the data contained in the current folder are grouped can be saved in a configuration template in order to be used later. See examples of grouping by

II.6.9 EXAMPLES OF GROUPING BY In the following transmitters folder, sites in red are active, sites in white are inactive :

Data/Transmitters/Group by active sites

The obtained transmitters folder is classified in two groups, one for the active sites, one for the inactive sites :



Data/Transmitters - Transmitters grouped by activity

Note : in ATOLL, activity is a boolean. Active has the true value, whereas inactive has the false value.

II.6.10 USING A GROUP BY/SORT/FILTER CONFIGURATION In ATOLL, the way data contained in any folder are grouped, filtered and sorted can be saved in a configuration template in order to be used later. Configuration templates are directly embedded to saved .atl projects. Any configuration is erasable. To create a configuration template (from an existing data organisation), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder you want to sort to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Select the General tab from the opened window,

Click on the button, Type the configuration name in the opened saving configuration dialog window. The configuration created

is listed in the configuration scrolling list in the General tab and is available for any data organisation in the current folder only,

Click OK to validate. Note : For transmitters, a default configuration called As Sites folder is available. Using this configuration enables you to arrange transmitters in the Transmitters folder according to the organisation criteria defined for sites. You can define several configurations and use them when needed. The configurations you’ve created are available from the context menu associated with any folder by using the Configuration command and one of the listed objects in the scrolling menu. To apply the configuration used to newly created objects, select the Apply current configuration command in context menus. Existing configurations are not saved in database. Nevertheless, in order to keep these, and potentially share them between user, ATOLL provides a feature allowing you to save user configurations (including also geo data set and computation zone) in an external file. See Exporting user configuration to an external file.



II.6.11 CREATING SUBFOLDERS In ATOLL, you can manage your data folders in subfolders in order to display them in different ways. You can, for example, create a subfolder for each sorting or filtering and compare it with each other. To do so, proceed as follows :

In the data folder window, right click on the item you want to create a subfolder of, Choose the Create a folder option from the scrolling menu, A subfolder containing a copy of the original folder content is created.

You can manage your data in subfolders as in the original folder. Every subfolder is associated with a Data table window. You can display each subfolder on the map, by ticking ( ) or not ( ) the check box associated with each subfolder. You can manage the visibility of the data as described in the Object visibility topic. If you delete a subfolder, of course, data are not deleted. If you delete the last remaining subfolder, its data go directly to the initial folder. due to refresh consideration, it may happen that data disappear. To come back to the display of all objects of the folder, use the group by none function related to the considered folder.

II.6.12 REORGANIZING DATA AFTER MODIFICATIONS When some data are either added or modified, their properties may not be consistent with the current folder configuration. To make this configuration respected, just choose the apply current configuration from either the Records menu (in case of displayed table) or from its associated context menu. Note : the configuration is automatically applied to radio data dropped on the map. For example, let's assume that the current configuration filters transmitters which azimuth is 240°. We build a tri-sector station which azimuth are 0,120 and 240°. Once dropped, 0 and 120° azimuth transmitters are automatically filtered. Only the 240° azimuth transmitter is kept.

II.6.13 FILTERING DATA IN A POLYGON In large projects, it may be useful to work only on a certain number of sites and transmitters, in order to reduce the computation cost or to make visualisation clearer either on the map, table or in the data folder. To filter data inside a polygon, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Filter inside a polygon command from the opened menu, Either,

Select the Draw option, Draw the filtering polygon on the map with the mouse, each left click corresponding to an angle, Close the zone by double clicking (not displayed when closed ),

Or, Select the computation zone option,

Only data (Sites and transmitters) contained in the considered polygon filter are kept. The remaining objects in the polygon are displayed both in the data folders, in the Data tables and on the map. In this zone, you may use current sorts, filters or groups or create new ones. Notes : You may filter sites inside a polygon even if they are grouped. The filter is applied to subfolders, The polygon filtering can be saved in a Site folder configuration, This filter is automatically applied to transmitters, The filter is saved in the .atl document, The filter is taken into account when defining a configuration, The current computation or focus zone can also be taken as polygon filter (see their associated context menu)



II.6.14 REMOVING THE POLYGON FILTER In ATOLL, radio data can be filtered in a polygon. As other filters, this can be saved in folder configuration. To cancel the polygon filter, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Remove polygon filter command from the opened menu, All existing data from the current project are then displayed.

II.7 MANAGING DISPLAY IN ATOLL

II.7.1 DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF ANY ITEM FOLDER In ATOLL, most of the item groups (sites, transmitters, microwave links, predictions, simulations, measurements, DTM maps,..) are managed in the same way concerning their display. For each of them, an homogenised dialog window is available allowing you to define the type of field(s) to display, and how. Moreover, from this standard window, it is possible to display labels related to the displayed object, and to manage the information available using the tip tool when pointing the object on the workspace. Finally, you will be able to choose or not to display the related legend in the Legend window. To access the display property window of any object, proceed as follows:

Click the appropriate tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder related to the objects from which you want to manage the display properties, Left click the Properties command from the opened context menu, Click on the Display tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the display parameters of the current object, Click OK to validate.

When working on the display of an item folder (e.g. Site or Transmitter folder), it is possible to choose among several display types: single: same representation for any object of the folder. discrete values: bin representation according to the value of a discrete field available in the table related to the

current object(s). values interval: bin representation according to the value of a numerical field available in the table related to the

current object(s). Notes : Whatever is the display type chosen, it is possible to change the displayed colours. To do that, select the

threshold to modify and use the commands contained in the scrolling menu when clicking the button.

You can modify globally thresholds and associated parameters using the values interval display type and the Shading... command (Actions button).

Each individual display property (e.g. of just one site) is reachable by selecting the display tab from the item Properties dialog.

II.7.2 MANAGING AND DISPLAYING LEGENDS Any displayed ATOLL object may have its associated legend in the Legend window. To make displayable legend associated with any object, proceed as follows :

Click the appropriate tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder related to the objects from which you want to manage the legend properties, Left click the Properties command from the opened context menu, Click on the Display tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the Add to legend box,



Click OK to validate, The associated legend is now displayed in the Legend window.

To open the Legend window, just check the Legend command from the View menu in the menu bar. A new window is then displayed in the current environment. Notes : Only displayed objects can have their legend in the Legend window, The contents of the legend is given in the threshold window definition and is editable. The legend window can be printed as any other active window. To do this, right click in it and select the Print..

command in the opened context menu.

II.7.3 THRESHOLDS, COLOURS AND LEGENDS The thresholds associated with colours are so many criteria making up a range of criteria (e.g. below threshold from -45dBm to -70dBm). You can use this association to provide a colorimetric representation of received signal levels, path losses, or any other field displayed in values interval in ATOLL.

The definition of thresholds can be performed by using the button of ATOLL generic display windows. The several commands are available are listed below : Select all : ATOLL automatically selects all the representations available in the table. Delete : ATOLL removes representations selected in the table. Insert before : This command is available only if a representation is selected in the table. ATOLL adds a new

threshold in the table and places it before the selected one. Insert after : This command is available only if a representation is selected in the table. ATOLL adds a new

threshold in the table and places it after the selected one. Properties : This command is available only after selecting one or several representations of the table. ATOLL

opens the Display window where you may change colour and style. Shading : ATOLL opens the Shading window. You can define the number of value intervals and configure their

displays. Enter the highest (First break) and lowest (Last break) thresholds and an interval between thresholds. Define the colour shading by choosing beginning and colours. Finally, you can select a coverage interior and a style of line for coverage contour.

You can set coverage transparency by moving the cursor on the transparency scale and specify a visibility scale. If available, the legend associated with each threshold allows you to display a text instead of the threshold in the legend. If no text has been entered, thresholds are displayed with associated colours.

Defining thresholds

In the example above, in the case of the signal level option, the defined thresholds mean : Signal level >= -65 red (1st colour from top), -65 > Signal level >= -105 shading from red to blue (9 thresholds), Signal level < -105 not drawn on coverage.

Notes : Shading, Insert before and Insert after features are only available in case of a value intervals display type. When double-clicking on any representation in the table, ATOLL opens the associated Display window.



II.7.4 DISPLAYING OBJECT LABELS ON THE MAP Two solutions are generally available in order to display information related to displayed objects (e.g. sites or transmitters) on the map within ATOLL. This information can be either permanently displayed or temporary reachable in an help popup related to any pointed object on the map. To make displayed permanently labels related to any object on the map, proceed as follows :

Click the appropriate tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder related to the objects you want to display related labels on the map, Left click the Properties command from the opened context menu, Click on the Display tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Check the items to be displayed in the Label scrolling menu, Click OK to validate, The associated labels are now displayed on the map close to the referring objects.

Note : You can display as many labels than parameters related to the considered object. E.g., even if you add a new field in the transmitter table, this field will be available to be displayed as a label for all the transmitters.

II.7.5 USING THE TIPS TOOL TO GET INFORMATION Two solutions are generally available in order to display information related to displayed objects (e.g. sites or transmitters) on the map within ATOLL. This information can be either permanently displayed or temporary reachable in an help popup related to any pointed object on the map. To make available information related to any pointed object on the map, proceed as follows :

Click the appropriate tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the folder related to the objects you want to display related tables on the map, Left click the Properties command from the opened context menu, Click on the Display tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the items to be displayed in the Tips text scrolling menu, Click OK to validate, The associated information can be now given in help popups when pointing any item on the map with

mouse.

To make active the tips information, click the from the toolbar. To inactive this function, click it again ( ). Note : You can display as many information in popups than parameters related to the considered object. E.g., even if you add a new field in the transmitter table, this field will be potentially available to be displayed in tip balloons.

II.8 USING HANDY TOOLS

II.8.1 USING THE UNDO/REDO COMMAND Undo/Redo commands are available in ATOLL. It is a first step to enable users to undo and redo : Most of modifications performed in workspace as : creating, deleting and moving a site (even moving a site to a

high point), a station or a group of stations, modifying antenna azimuth, moving a transmitter or deleting a transmitter,

Management tasks performed in Explorer window as creating and deleting any object (site, transmitter, repeater, antenna, link, group of hexagons, measurement path, prediction study, map, propagation model…) except simulations in UMTS projects.,

Management tasks performed in tables (add or delete records, paste in tables, fill down or fill up commands). The Undo/Redo is reachable from the Edit menu when available. Note : the last 10 actions can be undone, unless you perform an action which is not supported by the undo feature. In that case, the undo memory is cancelled.



II.8.2 REFRESHING MAPS AND FOLDERS A refresh function is available in ATOLL. This feature allows you to reload currently displayed maps and apply the current configurations to folders (e.g. after an addition of inconsistent data not respecting a filter).

To do this, use the button from the tool bar or the shortcut key F5. Note : this feature allows you to cancel some potential refresh problems of the map.

II.8.3 SETTING DOCUMENT PRINTS In ATOLL, many windows can be easily printed : maps, tables, legend window, CW measurement window, Test mobile data window, point analysis window. Concerning maps and tables, a preview feature is available. To open the print preview of any table or map, proceed as follows :

Make active the window you want to print, Select the Print Preview command from the File menu in the general menu bar, A preview window (in which you can zoom in or zoom out) opens, Use the Print... or the Close command.

The way tables and maps are printed can also be managed easily in order to provide well-organized and customized printed outputs. To setup any table or map print, proceed as follows :

Make active the window you want to parameter the print, Select the Page Setup... command from the File menu in the general menu bar, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, A fit representation of the print document is displayed and some options dealing with customisation are

available. Click OK to close the dialog.

Note : the selected options (e.g. : erase outside of focus zone) are taken into account in print preview.

II.8.4 LOCATING ANY POINT ON THE MAP Since the version 2.2, ATOLL provides a tool which enables you to quickly find existing sites and vectors on the map and to locate any point on the map. It is possible to search for a site or a vector according to any of its text type attributes. The first step consists in opening the Map locating dialog. To open it, in the tool bar, click on the map locating icon

. The Map locating dialog consists of three parts dedicated to: The search for site, The search for vector, The location of any point,

The three find options cannot be used at once. Therefore, select one of them. To search for any point on the map, proceed as follows :

Select the Point option, In respective boxes, enter x-coordinate and y-coordinate of the point you want to find on the map, Keep the Draw point option selected, Click on OK. ATOLL displays a target on the map and centres the map on it.

Note : to hide the target, open the Map locating dialog, uncheck the Draw point option and click on OK.



II.8.5 LOCATING ANY SITE ON THE MAP In order to locate any site on the map, ATOLL provides two different tools. 1 - A search bar is available to find the location of sites on the map. The Search bar can be opened or closed by selecting the Search bar command in the View menu. This bar becomes a floating window by double clicking on it. In this case, it is possible to resize it. To search an existing site in a network using the search site tool, proceed as follows :

In the Search bar, type the first characters of the site name in the Find site box. ATOLL displays a scrolling list containing all the sites, which the name begins with this string of characters.

Then, either Select the site in the list,

Or Go on typing the site name to reduce the number of sites in the list.

After choosing the site in the list, ATOLL automatically centres the map on the selected site. Notes : As in advanced filters, it is possible to use the “contains” (*string*) and “begins with” (string*) criteria to search for

sites which name contains or begins with the given string. Be careful, *string is unknown. Use the F3 shortcut to be automatically placed in the Find site box.

2 - Since the version 2.2, ATOLL provides a tool which enables you to quickly find existing sites and vectors on the map and to locate any point on the map. It is possible to search for a site or a vector according to any of its text type attributes. The first step consists in opening the Map locating dialog. To open it, in the tool bar, click on the map locating icon

. The Map locating dialog consists of three parts dedicated to: The search for site, The search for vector, The location of any point,

The three find options cannot be used at once. Therefore, select one of them. Then, this tool works like the "Find site" tool (See above). To search for any site on the map, proceed as follows :

Select the Site option, Open the Field scrolling menu and choose in the list one text field (among the text type attributes of

sites), In the box below, type the first characters for the selected attribute (name or a comment for example).

ATOLL displays a scrolling list containing all the values, which begins with this string of characters, and gives into brackets the name of corresponding sites/vectors.

Either, Select a value in the list,

Or, Go on typing to reduce the number of values,

After choosing the value in the list, click on OK. ATOLL automatically centres the map on the site with the selected value.

Notes : As in advanced filters, it is possible to use the “contains” (*string*) and “begins with” (string*) criteria to search for

sites, which selected field contains or begins with the given string. Be careful, *string is unknown.

II.8.6 LOCATING ANY VECTOR ON THE MAP Since the version 2.2, ATOLL provides a tool which enables you to quickly find existing sites and vectors on the map and to locate any point on the map. It is possible to search for a site or a vector according to any of its text type attributes. The first step consists in opening the Map locating dialog. To open it, in the tool bar, click on the map locating icon

. The Map locating dialog consists of three parts dedicated to: The search for site, The search for vector,



The location of any point, The three find options cannot be used at once. Therefore, select one of them. To search for any site on the map, proceed as follows :

Select the Vector option, Open the Field scrolling menu and choose in the list one text field (among the text type attributes of

vectors), In the box below, type the first characters for the selected attribute. ATOLL displays a scrolling list

containing all the values, which begins with this string of characters, and gives into brackets the name of corresponding sites/vectors.

Either, Select a value in the list,

Or, Go on typing to reduce the number of values,

After choosing the value in the list, click on OK. ATOLL automatically centres the map on the vector with the selected value.

Notes : As in advanced filters, it is possible to use the “contains” (*string*) and “begins with” (string*) criteria to search for

sites, which selected field contains or begins with the given string. Be careful, *string is unknown.

II.8.7 SYNCHRONIZING VECTOR SELECTION AND DATA TABLE Vectors are made of points containing some attributes/properties. They can be geo data vectors, CW measurement paths, or test mobile data paths and related to a table in which is displayed the properties of each point. When selecting a point composing a vector, if the data table is displayed in the same time, ATOLL synchronize automatically both. Indeed, the tool selects in the table the records related to the selected point on the map. Note : when working on a measurement path, you can use the specific CW measurement window with this feature. When moving with the pointer along the path, the selection in the table is automatically made.

II.8.8 USING THE STATUS BAR TO GET INFORMATION The status bar is one of the different objects that can be displayed or not using the View menu. Once checked, the status bar is located at the extreme bottom part of your ATOLL environment. Two parts of the status bar are used in ATOLL.

The left part provides information related to the used of the measurement tool ( button in the toolbar), i.e. distances between successive points and azimuths. The right part displays information about the location where points the mouse on the map : X and Y coordinates (respecting the defined display coordinate system), the altitude (extracted from the imported DTM file) and the currently concerned clutter class (as defined in the clutter classes property dialog) and altitude (as defined either in the clutter classes or clutter heights folder).

II.8.9 USING ICONS FROM THE TOOL BAR ATOLL provides a large number of commands that can be accessible using icons located in the tool bar. Some of them are also linked to shortcut keys. The different icons located in the toolbar are listed below : In the Standard toolbar

: Open the new project dialog (like the Ctrl+N shortcut)

: Access the Open file dialog (like the Ctrl+O shortcut)

: Save the current active project (like the Ctrl+S shortcut)

: Cuts the selected data (like the Ctrl+X shortcut)

: Copy the selected data (like the Ctrl+C shortcut)

: Paste the content of the clipboard (like the Ctrl+V shortcut)



: Print the current active window (table or map) (like the Ctrl+P shortcut)

: Open the About ATOLL dialog In the Radio toolbar

: Create a new station based on the currently selected model

: Create a new group of hexagons based on the currently selected station template ( no hexagon radius defined)

: Station model currently selected

: Create a new repeater related to the currently selected transmitter

: Visible neighbourhood for the selected transmitter

: Activate the point analysis window

: Calculate only invalid matrices, calculate all unlocked coverages and pending simulations (like the F7 shortcut)

: Calculate all matrices from scratch, calculate all unlocked coverages and pending simulations (like the Ctrl+F7 shortcut) In the Map toolbar

: Activate the area selection tool

: Reload map and folders (like the F5 shortcut)

: Move the map window (like the Ctrl+D shortcut)

: Map scale currently used

: Zoom in on the map (like the Ctrl+A shortcut)

: Zoom out on the map (like the Ctrl+R shortcut)

: Define a zoom area on the map (like the Ctrl+W shortcut)

: Activate the tip tool feature (inactivated :

: Get distances on the map

: Activates the map locating tool in order to locate any point, site or vector In the Microwave link toolbar

: Create a new microwave link. In the Search toolbar

: Centre map around the selected site. In the Vector edition toolbar

: Create a new vector layer (either in the Geo or in the Data tab)

: Select the vector layer being currently edited

: Draw a new vector polygon

: Draw a new vector line

: Draw points

: Allows the user to merge several vector polygons

: Allows the user to make holes in polygons

: Permits to keep only overlapping areas in order to create the resulting polygon

: Allows the user to cut a polygon in several parts



Note : the description of each icon is given in a tip balloon when pointing the mouse on it.

II.8.10 USING SHORTCUTS IN ATOLL Like many other applications working under Windows environment, ATOLL provides a complete set of shortcuts in order to make easier and quicker the way to use it. The different available shortcuts are listed below (some of them are linked with icons of the toolbar): Using the Ctrl key

Ctrl+A : Select all records in tables (table active) or Zoom in on the map (map active - like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+C : Copy the selected data (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+D : Fill down selected data in tables (table active) or Move the map window (map active - like icon from the toolbar) Ctrl+F : Open the find in tables dialog

Ctrl+N : Open the new project dialog (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+O : Access the Open file dialog (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+P : Print the current active window (table or map) (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+R : Zoom out on the map (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+S : Save the current active project (like icon from the toolbar) Ctrl+U : Fill down selected data in tables (table active)

Ctrl+V : Paste the content of the clipboard (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+W : Define a zoom area on the map (map active) (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+X : Cut the selected data (like icon from the toolbar) Ctrl+Y : Redo the previous undone function Ctrl+Z : Undo the last function Using the F keys

F3 : Locate the cursor directly within the search site tool

F5 : Reload map and folders (like icon from the toolbar)

F7 : Calculate only invalid matrices, calculate all unlocked coverages and pending simulations (like icon from the toolbar)

Ctrl+F7 : Calculate all matrices from scratch, calculate all unlocked coverages and pending simulations (like icon from the toolbar) Note : when a letter is underlined in a command (Use the Alt button to make underlines active in Windows 2000), press Shift+letter to run it.

II.9 TIPS AND TRICKS

II.9.1 HOW TO IMPORT GEO DATA EASILY Drag and drop feature is available for any geo data object to import in ATOLL. To do this, just select the accurate geo data file in your file explorer and drag it to ATOLL. The format will be automatically detected by the tool. This can also be made on PlaNET® index data file.

II.9.2 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY A VALUE FOR ALL THE TRANSMITTER The right way to make global changes is to open the Transmitter table, modify the contents in the first cell, select all the columns and then use the fill-down feature, available in the Edit menu or with the shortcut Ctrl+D.



To select all the cells of the column, the easiest way is to select the first one, then select the last one holding the Shift button.

II.9.3 HOW TO FIND EASILY A SITE ON THE MAP A search bar is available to find the location of sites on the map. The Search bar can be opened or closed by selecting the Search bar command in the View menu. In the Search bar, type the first characters of the site name in the Find site box. ATOLL displays a scrolling list containing all the sites, which the name begins with this string of characters. Then, either select the site in the list, or go on typing the site name to reduce the number of sites in the list. After choosing the site in the list, ATOLL automatically centres the map on the selected site. As in advanced filters, it is possible to use the “contains” (*string*) and “begins with” (string*) criteria to search for sites which name contains or begins with the given string. A map locating dialog is also available and provides the location of any site or vector (as function on its attributes) or any

point. To open it, select the icon in the toolbar.

II.9.4 HOW TO BE AUTOMATICALLY PLACED IN THE FIND SITE BOX Use the F3 shortcut to be automatically placed in the Find site box of the Search bar.

II.9.5 HOW TO DELETE ALL SITES AND THEIR TRANSMITTERS IN ONE SHOT The right way to delete all sites and their transmitters is to open the Sites table, select the first one and the last one holding the Shift button and use Suppr keyboard button. It is recommended to close the Sites and Transmitters folders before deleting a large number of sites and transmitters, otherwise the refresh of the explorer could take a long time.

II.9.6 HOW TO ACCESS THE PROPERTIES OF ANY OBJECT OR GROUP OF OBJECTS In ATOLL, the properties of any object (geo data, sites, transmitters, measurements, etc…) can be accessed from the associated context menu. This is reachable by right-clicking on the considered object/group and choosing the properties command.

II.9.7 HOW TO FILTER DATA RAPIDLY The easiest way is to perform directly filters within the tables (popup menu available by right-clicking in the table). OR and AND criteria can be easily handled: Selecting cells in several columns and the option "Filtering by selection" in the popup menu performs a AND

filtering criterion Example: keeping transmitters with azimuth 120° and pilot power equal to 33 dBm Selecting cells in several rows and the option "Filtering by selection" in the popup menu performs a OR filtering

criterion Example: keeping transmitters with pilot power equal to 33 dBm or 35 dBm To check which kind of dynamic criterion has been used by ATOLL, you can open Transmitters/Properties/General tab and look at the advanced filter.

II.9.8 HOW TO WORK ONLY ON "LIVE" SITES Let's assume there is a flag (user field) in Site table dedicated to the status of the site ("live", "on-built", "planned",…). Filtering sites directly in the table with the popup menu ("Filtering by selection") allows to keep just "live" sites. Filters on site are automatically performed on transmitters ("As site folder" is the default configuration for Transmitter folder). Further simulations or predictions will be achieved only on "live" sites.

II.9.9 HOW TO USE WILDCARD CHARACTERS TO FILTER TEXT-FORMAT FIELDS Wildcard characters such as “*” can be used when defining advanced filter criteria on fields with text format. Entering *string* enables you to filter objects which the chosen field contains the string of characters.



Entering string* enables you filter objects which the chosen field begins with the string of characters. Example: How to display transmitters which are allocated a channel XX? In the Transmitter table structure, there is a field "Channels" which contains a flat list of the channels allocated to the transmitter. It is possible to define an advanced filter as follows: Use the Advanced filter tab of the Filter dialog (Transmitters/Properties.../General/Filter/Advanced filter): Columns: select "Channels" in the list Criteria: =* XX * (which means CONTAINS)

Only the transmitters with the channel XX are displayed. Note : the same filter can be managed at the level of any study by transmitter.

II.9.10 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY THE NAMES OF ALL THE SITES There is a Find/Replace feature in the Edit menu available when a table is opened. To prefix all the sites with your name for example, select the first cell of the "name" column in the Site table and use the Edit/Replace feature.

II.9.11 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT BY ITS NAME IN A FOLDER Open the folder and type the first letters of the object name.

II.9.12 HOW TO OPEN OR CLOSE RAPIDLY A FOLDER Shortcuts, available in standard Windows applications are available within ATOLL to open or close the selected

folder with shortcuts. "Right arrow" and "Left arrow" respectively open and close the selected folder just like "+" and "-" on the numeric

keyboard. "*" on the numeric keyboard opens all the subfolders of the selected folder. [Alt F4] may be used to quit ATOLL rapidly when no modifications were made. If there are modifications, you will

be asked to save them anyway.

II.9.13 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT IN A TABLE A Find feature is available in the Edit menu when a table is opened. To find an object in a table, open the table and use the Find feature.

II.9.14 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT ON THE MAP The “Centre map” feature allows the user to find on the map any object located into a folder (site, transmitter, etc…). When choosing this command in the associated context menu, the considered object is automatically displayed in the centre of the current workspace.

II.9.15 HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE COLUMNS DISPLAYED IN A TABLE When a table is opened, you may use the "Display columns…" feature available in the Format menu to choose which columns you want to keep within the table. This is useful to customise reports on transmitters or import Excel-format data by matching columns on both sides and copying-pasting into the table.

II.9.16 HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE TABLE STYLE When a table is opened, you may use features available in the Format menu in order to customise the table style. To change the title style, choose the Format title feature. To modify the column style, select a column and use the Format columns feature. You may also use the Align

Left, Centre, Align Right, Bold and Italic features.

II.9.17 HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS In the Display tab, select the whole table describing the display configuration and click on the Modify button. In the Display window, you can choose a unique symbol for all the objects.



II.9.18 HOW TO PREDICT SIGNAL LEVEL ON A ROAD The easiest way consists in using CW measurement features. Let’s assume you have previously imported a vector file. The procedure is divided into three steps:

Right click on a linear object and select the Element properties command. In the Geometry tab, copy the list of coordinates (Ctrl+C).

Right click on the CW Measurement folder and select the New command. Give a name to the path, specify CW measurement unit, transmitter and receiver properties and finally click on the Paste button. Then, click on OK to validate the path creation.

Open the path properties window. Choose a propagation model, click on Actions and choose Calculate predictions. The signal level calculated on the path is displayed in a related table (P(dBm) column).

You may use the CW Measurement window to visualise the signal level received from the selected transmitter on the path.

II.9.19 HOW TO WORK ON A SET OF SITES SELECTED BY A POLYGON Let's assume polygons are available within ATOLL. Right-clicking on the polygon, you can use it as the computation or focus zone or as a filtering polygon. Sites, transmitters and future calculations are filtered with this polygon. You can save the polygon filter as a configuration of the Site folder, and repeat this operation with as many polygons as you wish. Then, directly right-clicking on the Site folder, you will get all the available configurations for the folder and be able to rapidly switch from one to another. Configurations are saved in the ATL file but possibly also in an external user configuration file.

II.9.20 HOW TO OBTAIN A LINK BUDGET Right-click anywhere in the Profile window to open a context menu. This menu allows you to change receiver properties, gives the choice between signal level, pathloss or total losses display, and offers a link budget. If the propagation model used by the selected transmitter is a Standard Propagation Model, there is an additional feature, useful for validation, called "Model details" providing detailed results along the profile.

II.9.21 HOW TO DISPLAY CITY POINTS AND THEIR NAMES ON THE MAP With a vector format providing for each point an attribute containing the name (e.g. "name"). Import the vector file within ATOLL and choose the field "name" as label (you can use any field or list of fields in the same way).

II.9.22 HOW TO DISPLAY SCRAMBLING CODES ON THE MAP Scrambling codes are managed at the cell level, e.g. for a given transmitter and a given carrier. Coverage can be displayed using a colour code based on any cell property (scrambling code, UL load,...) on condition that: A UMTS study is created with the choice of a single carrier The study Display tab is set with the required field (scrambling code, UL load,...)

II.9.23 HOW TO DEFINE THE DEFAULT SERVER FOR DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING in the ATOLL.ini file: [RemoteCalculation] Servers=Workstation_1;Workstation_2 If the list is empty, computations are run locally.

C H A P T E R 3

Managing Geographic Data

3

Managing geographic data


Managing radio network data


III MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA

III.1 MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA : OVERVIEW ATOLL manages several geographic data types: DTM (Digital Terrain Model), clutter classes (land use), clutter heights (over the DTM), scanned images, vector data, population data, generic data and supports several file formats in relation to data type. First step is to define geographic coordinate systems then importing geographic data (DTM, clutter classes and heights, scanned images, vector data, population data) using an easy and fast procedure. Furthermore, ATOLL allows you to create your own clutter class (and traffic raster - in GSM/TDMA, UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects - ) maps thanks to the cartography editor. ATOLL lists the imported DTM, clutter class and height or traffic objects in their respective folder and creates separate folder for each imported vector data and scanned image. Once theses folder are created (Traffic description is linked with radio data - depending on the project type - even if present in the Geo tab of the ATOLL environment) , you may manage them (display, data location managing, clutter class description...) easily. It is also possible to display vector objects over coverages by importing/transferring these objects directly in the Data tab. ATOLL also provides some features dealing with data priority like multi-layer management and multi-resolution management. Some edition tools for raster or vector objects are also available. Moreover, most of the geo data objects can be exported in external files (DTM, clutter classes, clutter heights, raster polygons, vector layers). Finally, maps can be exported as an image in external files, or in other applications.

III.2 GEO DATA TYPE SUPPORTED Several geographic data types: DTM (Digital Terrain Model), clutter classes (land use), clutter heights (over the DTM), scanned images, vector data, population data and even generic data maps are supported within ATOLL. For all of these, different file formats are supported. The DTM (Digital Terrain Model)

The DTM (Digital Terrain Model) files describe the ground elevation. The DTM geographic data is a 16 bits/pixel relief map. ATOLL is able either to display this raster map in different ways : single value, discrete values, values interval. DTM/DEM are systematically taken into account in computation by propagation model. Note : In most of documents, Digital elevation model (DEM) and digital terrain model (DTM) are differentiated and do not have the same meaning. By definition, DEM refers to altitude above sea level including both ground and clutter while DTM just corresponds to the ground height above sea level. Clutter classes (or land use)

The clutter class files describe the land cover (dense urban, buildings, residential, forest, open, villages....); the ground is represented by a grid map where each bin corresponds to a code allocated to a main type of cover (a clutter class). According to the classification, the clutter is either statistical if the number of clutter classes depends on the housing density or determinist if the number of clutter classes depends on the cover altitude. The altitude per class can be defined in the clutter class property dialog. In that case, only one altitude refer to each clutter class. It is also possible to use a clutter height map (see below). The clutter class maps are 8 bits/pixel (256 classes-raster maps). They define an image with a colour assigned to each clutter class (by default, grey shading). Note : clutter heights are taken into account only using the Standard Propagation Model and WLL model. Clutter heights

Clutter height maps have been introduced in 2.2. They are complementary to clutter classes, in a way that they can inform more precisely on the clutter altitudes, since it is possible to have different heights for a same class of clutter. Like in clutter classes, clutter heights indicates, on each bin, the clutter altitude over the DTM.



When clutter altitude is defined both in clutter class and clutter height folders, the information is taken in the second one. Clutter heights are taken first if existing (in measurements, computations, display). The clutter height maps are 16 bits/pixel. They give one altitude per pixel and can be managed like DTM/DEM maps. ATOLL is able either to display the clutter height map in different ways : single value, discrete values, values interval. Note : clutter heights are taken into account only using the Standard Propagation Model and WLL model. Vector layers

This type of data represent either polygons (regions...), or lines (roads, coastlines...) or points (important locations...). They are used in display only and have not no effect on computations. Polygons can be used for filtering purpose or for the creation of computation and focus zone. Whatever their shape is, it is possible to create a vector layer by using the vector editor. Any formation/attribute contained in the vector can be used as a display parameter (name, zip code, user profile, etc...) Vectors can be used to generate CDMA/CDMA 2000 or W-CDMA/UMTS traffic maps (see below). Note : since vector maps (like scanned images) have no effect on computation, it is possible to group all maps working like this within a unique display folder, and to make their management easier. Scanned images

This type of data (1-24 bits/pixel) regroups the road maps and the satellite images. Scanned images are only used for display (no effect on computations), and help the user lo locate precisely objects in the real field. Note : since scanned images (like vector maps) have no effect on computation, it is possible to group all maps working like this within a unique display folder, and to make their management easier. Population maps

Population maps are built using 8-32 bits/pixel files for which some density or value (in number of inhabitants) information are given. It is possible to mix several types of files (8 or 16 bits raster, vectors,...) in order to extract from them the needed information. The interest of these maps is to use them in prediction reports with a view to display, for example, the absolute and relative covered population. Population maps have no effect on prediction and simulation results. Generic maps

The generic map feature has been developed in order to import any type of geo data in term of any advanced map. For example, it is now possible to import any raster/vector file and to use it as a revenue, rainfall or socio-demographics map. Like for the population map, it is possible to mix several types of files (8 or 16 bits raster, vectors,...) in order to extract from them the needed information. It is also potentially possible to use this information in prediction reports. For example, in a revenue map, it is possible to display the revenue value for a coverage. Generic maps have no effect on prediction and simulation results. The traffic data

According to the project type you start, ATOLL proposes different kinds of traffic data. In any project, you can import or create traffic 8 bits/pixel (256 classes-raster maps). For each bin of the map, is assigned a code linked with a particular environment class (density of user profiles with associated mobility) for UMTS, CDMA and CDMA 2000 projects or a traffic density (Erlang/km2) in GSM/TDMA projects. The raster maps are macroscopic traffic estimation. In the UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, you can additionally use traffic vector maps and traffic maps per transmitter and per service.



- Vector maps detail traffic estimations (lines or polygons may have a specific traffic). Each polygon or line is related to a specific user profile with associated mobility and density. They can be built from population density vector maps. - When traffic is actual information on connections (and no longer subscriber estimation), coming from the network and dealing with rates per transmitter and service, it is possible to create and use traffic maps based on this network feedback. They are built from a coverage by transmitter prediction.

III.3 LENGTH/HEIGHT/OFFSET UNITS AND COORDINATE SYSTEMS

III.3.1 SETTING DEFAULT LENGTH/HEIGHT/OFFSET UNITS In ATOLL, it is possible to define a default length/height/offset units, like default radio units, that will be used in some dialog box fields (not in tables). For example : Lengths are used in calculation radius in transmitter and station template properties or hexagonal radius in station

template properties, and when using the Distance measurement button. Heights are used when reading the altitudes of sites, transmitters, DTM, etc... Offset units are used to define transmitter Dx and Dy from the related site location

To define a default length/height/offset units in an already opened project, proceed as follows :

Click on the Tools menu from the toolbar, Choose the Options... command from the opened scrolling menu, Click on the Units tab, Choose in the scrolling list the default units for the current .atl ATOLL project.

Notes : We can distinguish the display unit as described above from the internal unit. The internal unit cannot be changed by the user. In any case (.atl project connected to a database or not), the internal length unit is the “metre”. When environments are connected to a database, display and internal unit systems are stored in the database: the internal unit is used as length (height or offset) unit in the database, the display unit is memorised and taken into account when opening a project from the database.

III.3.2 COORDINATE SYSTEMS : BASIC CONCEPTS A map or a geospatial database is a flat representation of data located on a curved surface. A projection is a device for producing all or part of a round body on a flat sheet. This projection cannot be done without distortion, thus the cartographer must choose the characteristic (distance, direction, scale, area or shape) which is to be shown appropriately at the expense of the other characteristics, or compromise on several characteristics [1]. The projected zones are referenced using cartographic coordinates (meter, yard...). Two projection systems are widely used: The Lambert Conformal-Conic projection: a portion of the earth is mathematically projected on a cone

conceptually secant at one or two standard parallels. This projection type is useful for representing countries or regions that have a predominant east-west expanse.

The Universal Transverse Mercator projection (UTM): a portion of the earth is mathematically projected on a

cylinder tangent to a meridian (which is transverse or crosswise to the equator). This projection type is useful for mapping large areas that are oriented north-south.

The geographic system is not a projection, but a representation of a location on the earth surface from geographic coordinates (degree-minute-second or grade) giving the latitude and longitude in relation to the origin meridian (Paris for NTF system and Greenwich for ED50 system). The locations in the geographic system can be converted into other projections. [1] Snyder, John. P., Map Projections Used by the US Geological Survey, 2nd Edition, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 313 pages, 1982. ATOLL integrates two databases including more than 980 international coordinate system references, a database based on the European Petroleum Survey Group and another one regrouping only France's coordinate systems. ATOLL distinguishes the cartographic coordinate systems for projection and either cartographic or geographic coordinate



systems for display. The maps displayed in the workspace are referenced in a particular projection system intrinsic to the imported geographic data files; thus, the projection system depends on the imported geographic file. By choosing a specific display system, you may see (using the rulers or status bars) the location of sites on the map in a coordinate system different from the projection coordinate system. You may also position on the map sites referenced in the display system: the coordinates are automatically converted in the projection system and the site is displayed on the map. In the example below, the French Riviera geographic data file has been imported. The map shows the French Riviera projected using the cartographic NTF (Paris) / France II étendue system (coordinates in metres). On the other hand, site coordinates are stated in the geographic WGS 72 system (coordinates in degrees-minutes-seconds).

Note : if all the imported geographic files are referenced in the same projection system and if you do not need to convert coordinates in another system; it is not necessary to define projection and display systems. By default, the two systems are the same.

III.3.3 DEFINING THE PROJECTION COORDINATE SYSTEM To define the projection coordinate system, proceed as follows :

Select in the Tools menu, the Options... command. Click on the Coordinates tab from the opened window,

Click on the browse button right to the Projection field. Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the window Select a catalogue and choose a coordinate system in the related table. Characteristics of the selected

system are described by clicking the Properties button. Click OK to validate the projection system.

Notes :

You can add the selected coordinate system to a catalogue of favourite systems by using the button.

When exporting an ATOLL project in a database, the currently chosen display coordinate system becomes the internal one.

Default systems cannot be modified.

III.3.4 DEFINING THE DISPLAY COORDINATE SYSTEM To define the display coordinate system, proceed as follows :




Click on the browse button right to the Display field. Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the window Select a catalogue and choose a coordinate system in the related table. Characteristics of the selected

system are described by clicking the Properties button. Click OK to validate the display system.

Notes : If the display coordinate system is cartographic, X and Y respectively correspond to abscissa and ordinate. If the display coordinate system is geographic, X and Y respectively refer to longitude and latitude. Cartographic systems are identified by the symbol left to the systems, whereas geographic ones are

symbolized by .

You can add the selected coordinate system to a catalogue of favourite systems by using the button.

Default systems cannot be modified.

III.3.5 CREATING YOUR OWN COORDINATE SYSTEM ATOLL provides a large catalogue of default coordinate systems. Nevertheless, it is possible to add the description of geographic and cartographic coordinate systems. The new coordinate system can be created from scratch or initialised on the basis of an existing one. To create a new coordinate system, proceed as follows :


Click on the browse button right to the Projection or Display field. Either,

Click on the New button, Or,

Select a catalogue and choose a coordinate system in the related table, Click on the New button.

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the window, Choose the catalogue where you want to store the new coordinate system,

Geographic coordinate system (symbolised ) is a latitude and longitude coordinate system. The latitude and longitude are related to an ellipsoid, a geodetic datum and a prime meridian. The geodetic datum provides the position and orientation of the ellipsoid relative to the earth. A cartographic coordinate system (symbolised ) is obtained thanks to a transformation method which converts a (latitude, longitude) into an (easting, northing). Therefore, to define a projection system, you must specify the geographic coordinate system supplying longitude and latitude and the transformation method characterised by a set of parameters. Different methods may require different sets of parameters. For example, the parameters required to define the projected Transverse Mercator coordinate system are: - The longitude of the natural origin (Central meridian), - The latitude of the natural origin, - The False Easting value, - The False Northing value, - A scale factor at the natural origin (on the central meridian),

In the General part, type a name, choose a unit in the scrolling menu (to open it, select the cell and left click on the arrow), and define usage.

In the Category part, choose in the Type scrolling menu (to open it, select the cell and left click on the arrow) either Long/Lat in order to create a geographic coordinate system, or a type of projection and its set of associated parameters for cartographic coordinate systems.

In the Geo part, specify the meridian and choose an existing datum in the Datum scrolling menu (to open it, select the cell and left click on the arrow). The associated ellipsoid is automatically selected. You can also describe a geodetic datum by selecting … in the Datum scrolling menu. In this case, you must provide parameters (Dx, Dy, Dz, Rx, Ry, Rz and s) needed for the transformation of datum into WGS84 and an ellipsoid.

Click OK to validate the display system.



Notes : An identification code enables ATOLL to differentiate the existing coordinate systems. In case of new created

coordinate systems, assigned codes are integer values strictly higher than 32767. Management in the coordinate system folder is possible. Use the Technical guide for a the process description.

Caution: For an easier management and to avoid some confusion, take care to give a unique name to the created coordinate systems.

III.4 GEO DATA FORMAT SUPPORTED

III.4.1 SUPPORTED GEO DATA FORMATS : OVERVIEW ATOLL offers import filters for the most commonly used geographic data formats. You can use these filters to import DTM, clutter class, traffic, vector files or scanned images. The different filters are :

File format

Can contain Georeferenced

BIL DTM (16 bits), clutter heights (16 bits), clutter classes (8

bits), traffic (8 bits), image (1-24 bits), population (8-32 bits), Generic (8-32 bits)

Yes via .hdr files

TIFF DTM, clutter height and classes, traffic, Image, population, generic

Yes via associated .tfw files if they exist

PlaNET© DTM, clutter height and classes, traffic, Image, text and vector data

Yes via index files

BMP DTM, clutter height and classes, traffic, Image, population, generic

Yes after manually entering northwest and southwest point coordinates of the image

DXF® Vector data, vector traffic, population, generic Yes SHP Vector data, Vector traffic, population, generic Yes MIF/MID Vector data, Vector traffic, population, generic Yes IST DTM, clutter height and classes, traffic, Image, population,

generic Yes via .hdr files

Erdas Imagine

DTM, clutter height and classes, traffic, Image, population, generic

Yes automatically embedded in the data file

Thus, you can import: DTM files with TIFF (16 bit), BIL (16 bit), IST (16 bit), PlaNET©, BMP (16 bit) and Erdas Imagine (16 bit) formats, Clutter heights with TIFF (16 bit), BIL (16 bit), IST (16 bit), PlaNET©, BMP (16 bit) and Erdas Imagine (16 bit)

formats, Clutter classes and traffic files with TIFF (8 bit), BIL (8 bit), IST (8 bit), BMP (8 bit), PlaNET©, and Erdas Imagine

(8 bit) formats, Vector data files with DXF®, PlaNET©, SHP and MIF formats, Vector traffic files with DXF®, PlaNET©, SHP and MIF formats, Scanned image files with TIFF (1-24 bit), BIL (1-24 bit), IST (1-24 bit), BMP (1-24 bit), PlaNET© and Erdas

Imagine (1-24 bit) formats, Population with TIFF (16 bit), BIL (16 bit), IST (16 bit), PlaNET©, BMP (16 bit), Erdas Imagine (16 bit), DXF®,

SHP and MIF formats Generic data with TIFF (16 bit), BIL (16 bit), IST (16 bit), PlaNET©, BMP (16 bit), Erdas Imagine (16 bit), DXF®,

SHP and MIF formats

III.4.2 BIL DATA FORMAT Band Interleaved by Line is a method of organizing image data for multiband images. it is a schema for storing the actual pixel values of an image in a file. The pixel data is typically preceded by a file header that contains ancillary data about image, such as the number of rows and columns in the image, a colourmap... BIL data stores pixel information band by band for each line, or row, of the image. Although BIL is a data organization schema, it is treated as an image format. An image description (number of rows and columns, number of bands, number of bits per pixel, byte order...) has to be provided to be able to display the BIL file. This information is included in header HDR file associated with BIL file. A HDR



file has the same name as the BIL file it references, and should be located in the same directory as the source file. The HDR structure is simple, it is an ASCII text file that contains eleven lines. You can open a HDR file using any ASCII text editor. The parameters defined in .hdr files are detailed below:

Keywords Acceptable values

Default Description

nrows any integer > 0 none number of rows in the image ncols any integer > 0 none number of columns in the image

nbands any integer > 0 none number of spectral bands in the image nbits* 1, 4, 8, 16, 32 8 number of bits per pixel per band

byteorder I = Intel same as host machine

byte order in which image pixel values are stored

M = Motorola layout bil bil organization of the bands in the image file

skipbytes any integer > 0 0 number of bytes of data in the image file to be skipped in order to reach the start of the image data

ulxmap any real number 0 x-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel ulymap any real number

nrows - 1 y-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel

xdim any real number 1 x dimension of a pixel in map units ydim any real number 1 y dimension of a pixel in map units

*The nbits value depends on the geographic data type. Indeed, nbits are respectively 16 (16 bits) for DTM and 8 (8 bits) for clutter or traffic. Example: clutter.hdr file associated with clutter.bil file. nrows 1500 ncols 1500

nbands 1 nbits 8

byteorder M layout bil

skipbytes 0 ulxmap 975000 ulymap 1891000

xdim 20.00 ydim 20.00

III.4.3 TIFF DATA FORMAT Tagged Image File Format graphics filter supports all image types (monochrome, greyscale, palette colour, and RGB full colour images) and pack bit or fax group 3-4 compressions. The TIFF files are not systematically georeferenced. In this case, you will have to enter spatial references of the image manually during the import procedure (x and y-axis map coordinates of the centre of the upper-left pixel, pixel size); an associated file with TFW extension will be simultaneously created with the same name and in the same directory as the TIFF file it references. ATOLL will then use the .tfw file during the import procedure for an automatic georeferencement. TFW file contains the spatial reference data of an associated TIFF file. The TFW file structure is simple, it is an ASCII text file that contains six lines. You can open a TFW file using any ASCII text editor. The contents of a TFW file look something like this.

Line Description 1 x dimension of a pixel in map units 2 amount of translation 3 amount of rotation 4 negative of the y dimension of a pixel in map units 5 x-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel 6 y-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel

Example: clutter.tfw file associated with clutter.tif file.



100.00 0.00 0.00 -100.00 60000.00 2679900.00 It is possible to import a group of tiff images as geo data. Note : ATOLL supports also TIFF files using the Packbit, FAX-CCITT3 and LZW compression modes.

III.4.4 DXF DATA FORMAT The Drawing Interchange Format (DXF) enables the interchange of drawings between AutoCAD® and ATOLL. DXF files can be either ASCII or binary formats, but only the first type is used in ATOLL. Essentially a DXF file is composed of pairs of codes and associated values. The codes, known as group codes, indicate the type of value that follows. Using these group code and value pairs, a DXF file is organized into sections, which are composed of records, which in turn are composed of a group code and a data item. Each group code and value are on their own line in the DXF file. Each section starts with a group code 0 followed by the string, SECTION. This is followed by a group code 2 and a string indicating the name of the section (for example, HEADER). Each section is composed of group codes and values that define its elements. A section ends with a 0 followed by the string ENDSEC.

III.4.5 SHP DATA FORMAT ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.) Arcview® GIS (Geographic Information System) Shapefiles are a simple, non-topological format for storing the geometric location and attribute information of geographic features. A shapefile is one of the spatial data formats that you can work with in ArcExplorer. shp data file are commonly associated with two other files with .shx and .dbf extensions. A quick description of the 3 files are given below : shp - the file that stores the feature geometry. shx - the file that stores the index of the feature geometry. dbf - the dBASE file that stores the attribute information of features. When a shapefile is added as a theme to a

view, this file is displayed as a feature table. Note : Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file name is made of more than 8 characters.

III.4.6 MIF DATA FORMAT MIF (MapInfo Interchange Format) is a format allowing generic data to be attached to a variety of graphical items. These ASCII files are editable, relatively easy to generate, and work on all platforms supported by MapInfo. Vector objects may be imported in ATOLL with a MIF extension. MapInfo data are contained in two files with .MIF and MID. extensions. Graphics reside in a .MIF file and textual data is contained in a .MID file. The textual data is delimited data, with one row per record and either Carriage Return, Carriage Return plus Line Feed, or Line Feed between lines. The MIF file has two areas -- the file header area and the data section. The MID file is an optional file. When there is no MID file, all fields are blank More info : http://www.mapinfo.com/community/free/library/interchange_file.pdf

III.4.7 ERDAS IMAGINE DATA FORMAT ATOLL is able to support Erdas Imagine data files in order to import DTM (16 bit/pixel), clutter (8 bit/pixel), traffic (8 bit/pixel) and image (1-24 bit/pixel) files with the .img format. These files use the Erdas Imagine Hierarchical File Format (HFA) structure. For any type of file, if there are pyramids (storage of different resolution layers), they are used to enhance performance when decreasing the resolution of the display.



ATOLL supports uncompressed as well as compressed (or partially compressed) DTM .img files, You can create a .mnu file to improve the clutter class map loading, The association colour-code (raster maps) may be automatically imported from the .img file, These files are auto-georeferenced, i.e. they do not need any extra file for georeferencement, For image files, the number of supported bands is either 1 (colour palette is defined separately) or 3 (no colour

palette but direct RGB information for each pixel). In case of 3 bands, only 8 bit per pixel format is supported. Therefore, 8-bit images, containing RGB information (three bands are provided: the first band is for Blue, the second one is for Green and the third for Red), can be considered as 24 bit per pixel files. 32 bit per pixel files are not supported.

III.4.8 OTHER SUPPORTED FORMATS ATOLL supports 3 other formats than the BIL, TIFF, PlaNET, DXF, SHP, MIF, and IMG ones. The .ist and .dis formats are ASCII files used for Digital Terrain Model only. Ist images come from Istar, whereas dis images come from IGN (Institut Géographique National). Ist format works exactly like bil format, except for DTM images, for which ist format uses a decimetric coding for altitudes, whereas bil images uses only a metric coding. The .bmp format is the standard Windows image format on DOS and Windows-compatible computers. The bmp format supports RGB, colour-indexed, greyscale, and bitmap colour modes, and does not support alpha channels.

III.5 MANAGING CLUTTER CLASSES

III.5.1 IMPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS FILE Considering the appropriate format, clutter class type files can be imported as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format (optional) of the related file in the opened dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Clutter classes option in the Data type scrolling box, Click the Import button to complete the file import.

The imported clutter class files are listed in their appropriate folder in the Geo tab and can be managed easily (description, modification, visibility, layer order management, etc...). Geographic data are displayed in the workspace. Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL. .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported clutter class file

paths between users. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards

III.5.2 OPTIMISING THE LOADING OF CLUTTER CLASS FILES The loading performance of clutter classes (and raster traffic) with .bil, .tif and .img formats is highly improved when ATOLL does not have to find by itself the list of the classes contained in the file. To benefit from this optimisation, the user must create a text file named as the clutter classes (or raster traffic maps) file with .mnu extension, at the same location. This MNU file gives the correspondence between the code and the class name. This optimisation is already included in the PlaNET® format thanks to the menu file. To do so, check the validity of an associated .mnu file in the map folder before achieving the import geo data procedure. Practical advice: ATOLL can be used to create easily the MNU file. Just import the clutter classes (or traffic) file (slow loading) in ATOLL and paste the class description (Description tab in the Properties window) in a text file.

III.5.3 DESCRIPTION OF MNU FILES MNU file is useful when importing clutter class or raster traffic files with .tif, .bil and .img formats. It gives the correspondence between the clutter (or traffic) code and the class name. It is a text file named as the clutter class (or traffic) file with .mnu extension, which must be stored at the same location.



Field Type Description Class code Integer > 0 Identification code for the clutter (or traffic) class Class name String (up to 32 characters in length) Name of the clutter (or traffic) class

Separator is either a blank or a tab. Sample : Mnu file associated to a clutter file. 0 none 1 open 2 sea 3 inland_water 4 residential 5 meanurban

III.5.4 MANAGING THE CLUTTER CLASSES Clutter classes represent the land cover of a network. They can be used by propagation models in three ways : Some of them use their "nature" to associate adapted formulas (Okumura-Hata, Cost-Hata) Others use these clutter classes to associate some specific parameters such as specific losses or clearances

(Standard Propagation model, WLL), The definition of clutter heights (either in clutter classes or clutter heights) to compute diffraction both over the

DTM and the clutter (Standard Propagation model, WLL). It is also possible to define, per clutter class, a model standard deviation (in order to compute shadowing margins) and orthogonality factor (for CDMA/CDMA 2000 and W-CDMA/UMTS projects). To manage the clutter classes properties, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Either

Right click on the clutter classes folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the clutter classes folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click on the Description tab from the opened window, Assign colour, name and height (m) to each code. To assign a colour to a clutter class, click on the

colour box and choose a colour in the colour table. Then, manually enter name and height for all clutter classes

Optionally enter, for each clutter class, a standard deviation per clutter class (in dB) that will be used to calculate the shadowing margins,

For CDMA/CDMA 2000 and W-CDMA/UMTS projects only, an orthogonality factor per clutter class (Orthogonality factor can be modelled by a value between 0 and 1. A 0 value indicates no orthogonality at all, instead a 1 value in the case of perfect orthogonality at mobiles).

Click on the Display tab, Set the transparency level of the clutter class layer, Press OK to validate.

Other common features related to either a geo data folder (Save as, Centre the map on the object) or an imported geo data file (Embedding the file in the project afterwards) can be accessed from their related context menu. Like in other geo data folders, you can also work on the layer order. This will have an effect on the computations taking into account that “What is seen is what is used”. Layers to be considered will have to be located on the top of the other layers. Notes : The description table can be fully copied and pasted (using Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) in a new ATOLL project after

importing the clutter file. To select globally the clutter class table, just left click on the top left angle of the clutter table.

If the height column is not filled in, the models using this information (WLL model for example) will consider a zero clutter height.



The heights defined in the clutter classes are taken into account only if the Clutter height folder is not filled. The white colour is associated with the transparent colour. Thus, the geographic layer below the clutter will be

visible in the area where the transparent colour is assigned. Before importing clutter file, it is important to define a reference class corresponding to zero code, white colour

and no data. Thus, the code "0" is allocated to area without clutter. The class names cannot exceed a length of 50 characters. Clutter classes description (and clutter file path) is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files. In CDMA/CDMA 2000 and W-CDMA/UMTS projects, the default orthogonality factor (transmitter global

parameters) is taken into account only if the related values in the clutter class properties are not filled. New clutter classes can be created manually.

The button update the resulting clutter class map by deleting all unused classes. Advice: Use this function to keep consistency between the clutter classes described in the table and in the imported file. Example: ATOLL automatically memorizes the different clutter classes of imported file. Even after deleting the file, the

clutter classes are stored in the description table. Pressing the button will remove them. See importing a geographic data file

III.5.5 ADDING A CLUTTER CLASS To add a clutter class to the current geo environment, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Clutter classes folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Clutter classes folder,

Click the Description tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Describe each new clutter class in the appropriate cells of the bottom line, Press OK or Apply to validate.

The added clutter class is then available to be used to create new clutter class polygons using the clutter editor.

III.5.6 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON CLUTTER CLASSES To display the relative occupancy of each clutter type in the current project computation zone (or focus zone if existing), proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Clutter classes folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Statistics option from the scrolling menu The surface (Si in km²) of each clutter class (i) included in the computation zone (or focus zone if

existing) and its percentage (% of i) are specified:

100 of % ×=∑

kk

i

SSi

Notes : Since the statistic study is limited to the computation zone (or focus zone if existing), only the clutter area inside

the computation zone is taken into account,

Current statistical results are printable by clicking the button, Data contained in the statistics window can be copied by selecting them (Ctrl+A) then copying them to the

clipboard (Ctrl+C).



III.6 MANAGING CLUTTER HEIGHTS

III.6.1 IMPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT FILE Considering the appropriate format, clutter height type files can be imported as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format (optional) of the related file in the opened dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Clutter heights option in the Data type scrolling box, Click the Import button to complete the file import.

The imported clutter class files are listed in their appropriate folder in the Geo tab and can be managed easily (properties, visibility, layer order management, etc...). Geographic data are displayed in the workspace. Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL. .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported clutter height file

paths between users. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

III.6.2 MANAGING CLUTTER HEIGHT MAPS In ATOLL, there are two places to define clutter heights. This can be made either in the clutter class properties or in the clutter height properties. The interest of filling the Clutter height folder is the possibility to define several heights per clutter class. Nevertheless, the heights defined in the clutter classes are taken into account only if the Clutter height folder is not filled (applied in display, measurements, propagation models). Clutter height maps can be managed in the same way than the DTM map. To access the properties of the resulting clutter height map, proceed as follows :


Right click on the clutter heights folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the clutter heights folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click the Display tab to manage the appearance of the map, Press OK to validate the settings.

The Clutter height map uses the generic ATOLL display dialog and its standard tools : Display types : Discrete or Value intervals Shading command on value intervals Legend management Visibility scale

Other common features related to either a geo data folder (Save as, Centre the map on the object) or an imported geo data file (Embedding the file in the project afterwards) can be accessed from their related context menu. Like in other geo data folders, you can also work on the layer order. This will have an effect on the computations taking into account that “What is seen is what is used”. Layers to be considered will have to be located on the top of the other layers. Notes : If available in the Clutter heights folder, this information is displayed in the status bar relatively to the location of

the pointer. Clutter height properties (and clutter height path) is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.



III.7 MANAGING DTM MAPS

III.7.1 IMPORTING A DTM MAP Considering the appropriate format, Digital Terrain Model (or DEM) files can be imported as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format (optional) of the related file in the opened dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Altitude (DTM) option in the Data type scrolling box, Click the Import button to complete the file import.

The imported DTM files are listed in their appropriate folder in the Geo tab and can be managed easily (properties, visibility, layer order management, etc...). Geographic data are displayed in the workspace. Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL. .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported DTM file paths

between users. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

III.7.2 MANAGING DTM MAPS The Digital Terrain Model is a geographic data file representing ground surface elevation. DTM maps can be managed in the same way than the Clutter height map. To manage the DTM display, proceed as follows :


Right click on the DTM folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the DTM folder,

Click on the Display tab from the opened window. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the display parameters of the current DTM, Click OK to validate.

DTM display use the generic ATOLL display dialog and let you choose, in the display type scrolling menu: single: same representation for any bin discrete values: bin representation according to the value of a discrete field (sea level) describing the DTM object. values interval: bin representation according to the value of a numerical field (altitude) describing the DTM object.

Whatever the display type you have chosen, you can customize the graphical representation of bins. In the table, for each line, click on each row. You can manage the contour line visualisation by using the relief trackbar. Other common features related to either a geo data folder (Save as, Centre the map on the object) or an imported geo data file (Embedding the file in the project afterwards) can be accessed from their related context menu. Like in other geo data folders, you can also work on the layer order. This will have an effect on the computations taking into account that “What is seen is what is used”. Layers to be considered will have to be located on the top of the other layers. Note : path and description are stored in the external user configuration file.



III.8 MANAGING VECTOR MAPS

III.8.1 IMPORTING A VECTOR FILE In ATOLL, it is possible to create (using the vector editor) or to import vectors as geo data. In that case, vectors are used only for display purpose, and polygons can be taken as filters, computation or focus zones. Vector files can be also used for CDMA/CDMA 2000 or W-CDMA/UMTS traffic maps, population or any generic map. In addition, it is possible to group any geo data type under a unique folder that will be used for display purpose only. The vector import process does not use the same dialog than the other geo data (clutter classes and heights, DTM, images) Considering the appropriate format, vector files can be imported as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format (optional) of the related file in the opened dialog box, Press OK to validate, In the Vector Import dialog, select the Geo or Data option in the ‘Import to’ scrolling list, Select the appropriate coordinate system (if needed), Click the Import button to complete the file import.

The imported vector files are automatically listed at the explorer root level in the Geo (or Data) tab and can be managed easily (properties, visibility, layer order management, etc...). Geographic data are displayed in the workspace. Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL, Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file

name is made of more than 8 characters, .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of imported file paths between

users, Contrary to other data types, it is possible to choose a geographic coordinate system at the import, Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards, Vectors can be shifted from one tab to another afterwards for display considerations.

III.8.2 MANAGING VECTOR OBJECTS Vector geographic objects contains additional characteristics. Their number and their type depend on the file format. Indeed, when dealing with .dxf or PlaNET® files, a single attribute, the height, is available unlike .mif or .shp files which can include several attributes (name, length, height…). Thus, third dimension vector data can be read and additional information relating to vectors can be used as display parameter. To manage the vector objects display, proceed as follows :

Click the tab (Data or Geo) in which in currently located the vector layer in the Explorer window, Either

Right click on the vector folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the vector folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click on the Display tab, Set the vector display parameters, Press OK to validate.

Notes : You may manage the display of each vector individually. To do so, after having expanding the vector folder,

choose the properties option from the considered vector context menu (left click), then set the display parameters. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window.

Path and description are stored in the external user configuration file. Attributes used in the vector display can be modified thanks to the vector edition features. Vectors can be shifted from one tab to another afterwards for display considerations.



III.8.3 DISPLAYING VECTOR LAYERS OVER PREDICTIONS It is possible to put vector layers either in the Data tab so as to display them on the top of coverage studies, or in the Geo tab to keep them in the background, thanks to layer order. To do so, when importing a vector file, you may select Data tab as import destination in the Vector import dialog. In addition, a Transfer command (either in Geo, or in Data) is available in each vector layer context menu (right click on vector layer to open context menu); it enables you to switch vector layers from Geo to Data tabs or vice versa.

III.9 MANAGING SCANNED IMAGES

III.9.1 IMPORTING SCANNED IMAGES Considering the appropriate format, scanned image files can be imported as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format (optional) of the related file in the opened dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Image or scan option in the Data type scrolling box, Click the Import button to complete the file import.

The imported scanned image files are automatically listed at the explorer root level in the Geo tab and can be managed easily (properties, visibility, layer order management, etc...). Geographic data are displayed in the workspace. Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL. .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported scanned image

file paths between users. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

It is possible to import scanned image files by groups by using an index file. Once the procedure performed, ATOLL creates a folder per imported index file. The import procedure is the same as for the other geo data images (Import command from the File menu). When obtaining the classic Open dialog box, select the All supported file or PlaNET® geo data (index) format and locate the appropriate file. When clicking the Open button, a dialog box opens in which you must indicate the image data type. Note : The drag and drop tool is available to import such a group of Tiff/Bmp files. Its format is: - one line per Tiff/Bmp file : Relative name of tiff/bmp file with regard to the index file path XMIN XMAX YMIN YMAX 0 (the separator is a blank) Where :

• XMAX = XMIN + (number of horizontal bins x bin width) • YMAX = YMIN + (number of vertical bins x bin height)

Example of a two images index file located in the folder C:\TEMP. These two files are located in the same directory. nice1.tif 984660 995380 1860900 1872280 0 nice2.tif 996240 1004900 1860980 1870700 0

III.9.2 MANAGING SCANNED IMAGES Scanned images are geographic data files which represent the real field (road maps, satellite images) and which are used in order to locate precisely surrounding items or other less precise maps (like statistical raster maps for example). To manage the display of any scanned image, proceed as follows :


Right click on the scanned image folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or



Double click the scanned image folder, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click on the Display tab, Set the scanned image display parameters, Press OK to validate.

Notes : path and description are stored in the external user configuration file.

III.10 MANAGING POPULATION MAPS

III.10.1 IMPORTING A POPULATION MAP It is possible to use population maps, in term of density or value information. Several form of files can be mixed in order to compose a resulting population map. This type of map, like other geo data folder (clutter, DTM) works on the principle “What is seen is what is used”. Data retained in the folder will be used in clutter statistics and prediction reports. Several file formats (raster or vector) are supported in order to make their content available for population data. Depending on the file type (vector or raster), the way to import a file as a population map component can be different. To import a population map, proceed as follows

In the File menu, select the Import command, Vector format (Mif, shp)

In the Vector Import dialog, select the Population item in the ‘Import to’ scrolling list, Select the appropriate coordinate system (if needed), Associate a numeric field/attribute of the vector to the ATOLL internal field that will be used as a:

Population density (number of inhabitants/km²)

Population values (number of inhabitants per item – polygon/road, etc…)

Click OK to validate.

Raster/Morpho format

In the File menu, select the Import command, In the File Import dialog, select the Population density data type, Click the Import button

ATOLL fill the Population folder of the Geo tab with the imported files. Some tabs are added to the Population property dialog : Correspondence tab to manage vector items, Description and Table tabs to manage raster items.

In addition, the Display tab is available for any data type item and uses the generic ATOLL display dialog. Notes : Population values can be imported only with vector files. The drag and drop feature is possible to import such a type of map.



.geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported population file paths between users.

It is possible to create a population vector map using the vector edition tool. To do this, right click on the Population folder and select the ‘Add vector layer’ command.

Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

III.10.2 MANAGING POPULATION MAPS To access the properties of the resulting population map, proceed as follows

In the Geo tab, right click the Population folder, Choose the Properties command in the context menu, Depending on the imported file type, different tabs are available (see above) :

Description : all identified classes of the raster files are listed here. You can associate here a different population density for each class,

Table : this tab is dedicated to manage the contents of the class table contained in the Description tab,

Correspondence : an imported vector file is listed each line. In the column ‘Field’, the vector field which has to be chosen as population data has to be selected, all along with the density check box (when the relevant data is of type density). The current selection is the one made during the import. The association can be modified afterwards

Display : ATOLL generic display dialog with the possibility to tune the threshold shading. The displayed information is the number of inhabitants/km².

Note : the resulting population map is not the addition of all the maps, but the result of what is seen. Maps of interest have to be put on the top layer. For raster maps, the ‘no data’ class makes operational the population information which is below the zones of this type.

III.10.3 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON POPULATION It is possible to display the relative and absolute distributions of people depending on the thresholds defined in the Display tab of the Population folder property dialog. To do this, select the Statistics command from the Population folder context menu. Like other statistics windows, what is used for the results is provided by what is seen. Note : Statistics are provided on the focus zone. If not existing, the computation zone is considered. With none of them, statistics are given for the total geographic zone.

III.10.4 USING POPULATION DATA IN PREDICTION REPORTS In prediction reports, it is possible to make displayed columns related to covered population densities (as defined in the Display tab of the Population folder property dialog), the number of covered people, and the percentage of covered population. To display information about the covered population by a prediction, proceed as follows :

Right click on the Prediction of interest, Select the Report command from the context menu, In the [Format : Display columns] menu, tick the boxes related to the information you want to display all

along with the prediction report.. Note : reports are possible only on displayed studies or sub-items of the studies (transmitters, thresholds, etc…).

III.11 MANAGING GENERIC MAPS

III.11.1 GENERIC MAPS : OVERVIEW This feature has been developed in order to import any type of geo data in term of any advanced map. For example, it is possible to import any raster/vector file and to use it as a revenue, rainfall or socio-demographics map. Several form of files can be mixed in order to compose a resulting generic map. This type of map, like other geo data folder (clutter, DTM) works on the principle “What is seen is what is used”. Data retained in the folder will be potentially



used in prediction reports. Several file formats (raster or vector) are supported in order to make their content available for generic maps All types of coding may be mixed in any generic geo data folder : vector files, raster files (8, 16, 32 bits per pixel). Vector layers can be created using the vector edition tool. The imported data can be then interpreted in order to produce resulting maps of type : Morpho file: map of value classes (like clutter) (8 bits – integer [0…255]) Raster file: map of value densities (16 bits with scaling factor – integer [0….65535] or float simple precision, 32

bits – [0….16777216] or float double precision). The creation of a new map type is made during the import of a geo data file that will be part of the resulting map. Then, once created, and depending on the supported formats, it will be possible to import/add other data files in order to complete the new map. Depending on the file type (vector or raster) that will be used for the initialisation of the new map, the way to import it can be slightly different.

III.11.2 CREATE AN ADVANCED GEO DATA FOLDER The creation of a generic map is made via the import of a geo data file. To do this, proceed as follows :


In the Vector Import dialog, select the ‘Advanced…’ button, Raster/Morpho format

In the File Import dialog, select the ‘Advanced…’ button,

The definition of the new map type is made in the current window (New type), Enter the name of the new map (e.g. Revenue) Check the boxes related to the formats that you want this map should be able to support (Vector, Raster

8, 16 and 32 bits), Indicate the type of map you want to be produced by interpreting the file data (See above)

Morpho file: map of value classes (like clutter) (8 bits – integer [0…255]) Raster file: map of value densities (16 bits with scaling factor – integer [0….65535] or float simple

precision, 32 bits – [0….16777216] or float double precision). Check the ‘Integrable’ box if you want the relevant data (contained in the files composing the resulting

map) to be potentially used in prediction reports. This data (of type surfacic density only) will be integrated on each considered item (threshold, transmitter) in predictions to provide statistics.

Click OK to validate the creation of the advanced geo data map, Vector format (Mif, shp)

Select the appropriate coordinate system (if needed), In the Vector Import dialog, associate a numeric field/attribute of the vector to the ATOLL internal field

that will be used as a: Value density (number of items/km²) Absolute values (number of items per polygon/road, etc…)


Select to use the content as a value or as a density. Density is not consistent with a data which is not integrable.

Click the Import button A new geo data folder is created, filled with the imported file(s). Some tabs are added to the property dialog : Correspondence tab to manage vector items, Description and Table tabs to manage raster items.

In addition, the Display tab is available for any data type item.



Once the folder is created, it is easily possible to import any other supported file as a part of the generic map. This is made as a standard geo data import by selecting the appropriate target map in the import dialog. Notes : Value maps can be imported using vector files. The drag and drop feature is possible to import such a type of map. .geo or .cfg (user configuration files) can be used (import-export) to share paths of the imported population file

paths between users. It is possible to add a vector map to an existing generic map using the vector edition tool. To do this, right click on

the related folder and select the ‘Add vector layer’ command. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

Important : 8 bits maps are only code maps. So, when importing any geo data type file as a 8 bits map, keep in mind that the values that you will import will be codes and not values like densities, for example. The values related to each pixel will be defined for each code, each pixel referring to a code.

III.11.3 MANAGING GENERIC MAPS To access the properties of the resulting generic map, proceed as follows :

In the Geo tab, right click the folder of the considered generic map, Choose the Properties command in the context menu, Depending on the imported file type, different tabs are available (see above) :

Description : all identified classes of the raster files are listed here. You must associate here a different value density for each class,

Table : this tab is dedicated to manage the contents of the class table contained in the Description tab,

Correspondence : an imported vector file is listed each line. In the column ‘Field’, the vector field which has to be chosen as relevant data has to be selected, all along with the density check box (when the relevant data is of type density). The current selection is the one made during the import. The association can be modified afterwards

Display : ATOLL generic display dialog with the possibility to tune the threshold shading. Both discrete value and value interval display types are available.

Notes : The resulting population map is not the addition of all the maps, but the result of what is seen. Maps of interest

have to be put on the top layer. For raster maps, the ‘no data’ class makes operational the population information which is below the zones of this type.

The Integrable/not Integrable aspect is chosen at the creation and cannot be changed afterwards.

III.11.4 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GENERIC DATA It is possible to display the relative and absolute distributions of each item class (class defined by thresholds in the Display tab of the Generic geo data folder property dialog). To do this, select the Statistics command from the appropriate folder context menu. Like other statistics windows, what is used for the results is provided by what is seen. Note : Statistics are provided on the focus zone. If not existing, the computation zone is considered. With none of them, statistics are given for the total geographic zone.

III.11.5 USING GENERIC MAP DATA IN PREDICTION REPORTS In prediction reports, it is possible to make displayed columns related to data contained in any generic map. This can be made for any data, and is even more advanced when the relevant data is of type ‘Integrable’. To display information about the covered classes of any generic data by a prediction, proceed as follows :

Right click on the Prediction of interest, Select the Report command from the context menu, In the [Format : Display columns] menu, tick the boxes related to the information you want to display all

along with the prediction report.. Note : reports are possible only on displayed studies or sub-items of the studies (transmitters, thresholds, etc…).



Integrable/Not Integrable, Density/Value : examples Integrable data will be used in prediction reports so as they can be summed over the cells characterised by the item of interest (transmitter, threshold, etc…). They can be of type value (Revenue, number of customers, …) or density (Revenue/km², number of customer/km², …). For example, in the case of revenue map, a prediction report will indicate : The percentage on how is covered each revenue class, globally, and for each single coverage cell (transmitter,

threshold, …), The revenue of the global coverage and of each single coverage cell, The percentage of the covered revenue map, globally, and for each single coverage cell.

Non integrable data mean that they are an information for each pixel (or polygon e.g.) which cannot be integrated over a coverage cell, like a socio-demographic classes, rain zones, etc…. In that case, considering the example of a rain zone map, a prediction report would indicate : The relative coverage of each rain zone class, by the global study, and for each single coverage cell (transmitter,

threshold, …) Being not integrable, no other information is given.

III.12 MANAGING GEO DATA FILES AND FOLDERS

III.12.1 EMBEDDING - LINKING COMPARISON ATOLL offers the user the possibility to link or embed any imported geo data file. The main differences between linked and embedded objects are the location where data are stored and how the imported data are updated after placing them in the ATOLL document. When you import geographic data without selecting the embed in document option, ATOLL just memorizes the location where the source files are stored (directory path) and creates a link to source files: the objects are linked. If you modify the source file, information will be automatically taken into account in the document .atl. On the other hand, some applications as deleting or moving the source file in another directory involve the link break. In this case, ATOLL proposes you some solutions to repairing it. The embedded geographic files are totally included in the document .atl, they become a part of the document: There is no more link between the document .atl and the source files. Therefore, the ATOLL document is not updated if you modify the source file. Practical advice: Prefer the linked objects in order to limit the ATOLL document size. Note : the distributed calculations do not work in case of embedded geographic data.

III.12.2 EMBEDDING GEOGRAPHIC DATA You may embed DTM, clutter class or height, traffic, vector, population, generic and scanned image objects you have imported in your ATOLL document. This can be done either when importing the geo data, or from the properties of an available object. To embed geographic data in the current .atl project during the import procedure, just tick the 'Embed in document' box in the object import dialog box. To embed geographic data in the current .atl project from an existing data item, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, For a raster, clutter height or DTM file :

Expand the related folder by left clicking on the button, Either



Right click on the file you want to embed in the current project, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the file you want to embed in the current project,

For a scanned map or a vector file :

Either Right click on the scanned map/vector file you want to embed in the current project, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the scanned map/vector file you want to embed in the current project,

Click on the General tab from the opened window,

Click the button from the opened window, Click OK or Apply to validate.

III.12.3 REPAIRING A BROKEN LINK It may happens that either some source files (.atl or geo data files) have moved since the last time the current project was opened. In this case, ATOLL cannot find then automatically and display the following error message :

Click the button if you want to locate the geo data file by yourself. At the same time, ATOLL automatically searches for the file with the nearest match based on size, date and type. When it has found it, it displays the error message below.

If the file corresponds to the source file, press OK. If the localisation is not successful, you have to link again the geo data file to the project by yourself from the geo item properties. To do so, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, For a clutter class, traffic or DTM file :

Expand the Clutter classes, traffic raster or DTM folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the Clutter classes, traffic raster or DTM file you want to fix the link problem, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the Clutter classes, traffic raster or DTM file you want to fix the link problem,

For a scanned map or a vector file :

Either Right click on the scanned map/vector file you want to fix the link problem, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the scanned map/vector file you want to fix the link problem,



Click on the General tab from the opened window,

Click the button from the opened window, Locate the appropriate data file Click OK or Apply to validate.

III.12.4 GROUPING GEO DATA FILES IN DISPLAY FOLDER In the standard case, when importing geo data files dedicated only to display (1-24 bits images, vectors), they are listed at the root of the Geo tab only (or possibly in the Data tab for vectors), contrary to other data files, like clutter ones, for example, which are listed all together and within a unique ‘Clutter class’ folder. Listed all together, files can be displayed/hidden or moved. In ATOLL, you also can, within a unique additional folder, import different types of geo data files and use them for display only. This folder does not produce a map, like it is the case of the generic import of geo data files in order to produce, for example, revenue or socio-demographics maps. This folder (which can be called geo display folder) just groups geo data files and cannot be managed globally. The management (display only) of each single item is made at the item level. It is possible to import several file formats (raster or vector) in a unique folder to make them available for display only. All types of files may be mixed in a geo display folder : vector or raster files (8, 16, 32 bits per pixel). Their information is used only for display, i.e. that any raster file will be interpreted as an image (and also set as an image). The creation of a geo display folder is made during the import of a first geo data file that will be located in it. Then, once created, it will be possible to import other files within this folder. To do this, proceed as follows :


In the Vector Import dialog, select the ‘New folder in Geo – or Data’ item in the ‘Import to’ scrolling list, Select the appropriate coordinate system (if needed),


In the File Import dialog, select the ‘New folder in Geo – or Data’ item in the ‘Data type’ scrolling list,

Give a name for the newly created folder, Click the Import button

A new geo data folder is created, filled with the imported file(s). Once the folder is created, it is easily possible to import any other geo data file as a member of the created folder. This is made as a standard geo data import by selecting the appropriate target item in the import dialog. Notes : The drag and drop feature is possible to import such a type of map. Since it is possible to create the geo display folder either in the Geo or in the Data tab, it is as easy to transfer it

from one to another. To do this, right click on the considered folder and select the ‘Transfer to Data/Geo’ It is possible to import Packbit, FAX-CCITT3 and LZW compressed TIFF files. Imported files can be embedded during the import or afterwards.

III.12.5 CHECKING THE MAP GEOCODING You can check the file map geocoding (coordinates of north-west point, pixel size and additional coordinates of south east point for .bmp files). To check the geocoding of any data object (see above), proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, For a clutter class, population, generic, traffic or DTM file :

Expand the folder by left clicking on the button, Either



Right click on the file you want to check its geocoding, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the file you want to check its geocoding,

For a scanned map :

Either Right click on the file you want to check its geocoding, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click the file you want to check its geocoding,

Click on the Geocoding tab from the opened window, Check or modify the extreme northwest and southeast points, Click OK or Apply to validate.

III.12.6 SETTING GEO DATA PRIORITY ATOLL lists the imported DTM, clutter class or traffic objects in their respective folder and creates separate folder for each imported vector data and each imported scanned image. Each object corresponds to a layer with a specific size. Thus, there are as many layers as imported objects. The layers are on top of each other in the order of listed objects. At the display level

Only the layer on top and the layers beneath area where there is no data will be visible in the workspace. In the example below, vector data (including highways, coastline, riverlake, majorroads, majorstreets, railways and airport), clutter classes, DTM and scanned image have been imported and traffic raster map has been edited inside the computation zone. In the workspace, we can see the linear objects (roads, riverlake,...) inside and beyond the computation zone and the traffic layer (green colour) inside the computation zone. The clutter class layer is visible in the area where no traffic data has been edited (outside the computation zone). On the other hand, the DTM layer which is underneath the clutter class layer and the scanned map which is underneath the DTM layer are not visible.

To make a layer visible in the workspace, either untick the check box of the other layers (see object visibility), move the layer on the top of the list, or adjust the transparency level of objects (clutter class, traffic and scanned image) when available. To move an object in the Geo tab, proceed as follows :

Click and hold on the layer you want to move, Drag the layer in the list, Release the layer.



At the calculation level DTM, Clutter classes, clutter heights, and Traffic density folders can contain several objects representing different area of the map or common parts of the map with identical or different resolutions. ATOLL takes into account in calculations, for each folder, only the data it sees (that is to say the object on top and the objects beneath area where there is no data). What is used is what is seen. Thus, for each folder, you must locate on top the objects with the smallest size and the best resolution. Note : population and generic data maps work in the same way. Their data can be used in prediction reports.

III.13 EDITING GEOGRAPHIC DATA

III.13.1 RASTER OBJECTS III.13.1.a CREATING A CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGON

A cartography editor is available either to modify imported clutter class (or traffic raster) map or to produce your own clutter (or traffic) raster maps without initial clutter (or traffic) object. In the same way, it is easy to delete clutter or raster traffic polygons. All created polygons can be easily saved in external files. These modifications are taken into account in calculations by propagation models. To display the editor tool bar, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click the Clutter classes folder (or traffic object) to open the associated context menu Select the Edit command from the available scrolling menu, The clutter (or traffic) editor window opens.

The editor tool bar consists of a selection box to choose the clutter (or traffic) class you want to edit, a polygon drawing

tool , a polygon deletion tool and a close save button.

Note : The clutter (or traffic) class you want to edit must be previously defined in the Description tab of Clutter classes properties (or Traffic properties) dialog box.

III.13.1.b EDITING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGONS To edit clutter or traffic (raster map) polygons, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Use either the clutter editor to add clutter data or traffic editor to produce traffic data, Select the clutter (or traffic - raster map) class you want to edit from the selection box,

Note : to make available clutter (or traffic) classes in the selection box, previously define them (clutter or traffic) in the Description tab of Clutter classes properties (or Traffic properties) dialog box.

Select the polygonal drawing tool, Position the pointer on the map area where you want to edit your own data, Press the mouse left button (a first point is created), Slide the pointer on the map and press the mouse left button to create another point, Carry out the two last steps until you draw the polygonal area you want, Double click to close off the polygonal area, Press the close button.

The created polygon is displayed with the same colour as the edited clutter class (or traffic class). As long as the cartography editor is open, the polygonal area is delimited by a thin black line rewiring the created points. Note : The clutter or traffic layer must be visible (see multi-layer management in Setting geo data priority) if you want the



modifications to appear on the map.

III.13.1.c MODIFYING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGONS To resize clutter or traffic polygons (raster map), proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Leave the cartography editor open. Left click on the black line (limits of the polygonal area). The pointer becomes position indicator ( ), Press and hold the mouse left button, Drag the pointer in the area where you want to locate the point, Release the mouse button, Press the close button to validate.

To add a point, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Leave the cartography editor open. Left click on the black line (limits of the polygonal area). The pointer becomes position indicator ( ), Right click to open the associated context menu, Select the Insert point command from the opened scrolling menu, Press the close button to validate.

To delete a point, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Leave the cartography editor open. Left click on the point you want to delete. The pointer becomes position indicator ( ), Right click to open the associated context menu, Select the Delete point command from the opened scrolling menu, Press the close button to validate.

III.13.1.d DELETING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGONS To delete clutter or traffic (raster map) polygons, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Leave the cartography editor open. Either

Left click on the black line (limits of the polygonal area). The pointer becomes position indicator ( ),

Right click to open the associated context menu, Select the Delete polygon command from the opened scrolling menu,

or

Select the Polygon deletion tool, Click on the polygonal area you want to delete,

Press the Close button to validate.

III.13.1.e DISPLAYING INFORMATION ABOUT RASTER POLYGONS

By using the tips button , ATOLL allows the user to read several information about any polygonal area. To know the surface and the type of edited data, proceed as follows :

Rest the pointer on the polygonal area until the associated information (code, name, etc...) appears. Surface is given only in the case of closed polygonal areas.

Note : Information will appear only if the tips button is on. To display the coordinates or points composing a polygonal area, proceed as follows :

Left click on the black line (limits of the polygonal area). The pointer becomes position indicator ( ), Right click to open the associated context menu, Select the Properties command from the opened scrolling menu,



The coordinates (in the display system) of the point composing the polygon are then displayed in a table window. Note : like for the focus or computation zone, the Copy-Paste feature is available in the polygon coordinates table.

III.13.2 VECTOR OBJECTS III.13.2.a CREATING A VECTOR LAYER

A toolbar enables you to edit new vector layers and modify the imported ones. This bar can be opened or closed by selecting the Vector edition command in the View menu. It is possible to create new vector layers containing polygons, lines and points. To create a new vector layer, proceed as follows :

Click on the New vector layer icon . ATOLL creates a folder called Vectors in explorer, either in the Geo tab, or in the Data tab. In fact, the folder location depends on the open tab of explorer. So, the folder will be placed in the Geo tab if this one is displayed when creating the new layer.

The new vector layer is listed in the Vector layer scrolling menu . Any vector object can be easily edited and modified Note : since vectors can be used to produce CDMA/CDMA 2000 or W-CDMA/UMTS traffic maps, it is possible to create a vector layer during the creation of the traffic map itself following the same procedure.

III.13.2.b EDITING A VECTOR OBJECT Once the vector layer is created, it can be easily edited and managed. To edit vector objects of the layer, proceed as follows :

Either In the Vector edition bar, click on the arrow to open the Vector layer scrolling menu, Select the layer to be edited in the list,

Or In the Explorer, right click on the vector layer to be edited in order to get the context menu, Select the Edit command from the opened scrolling list,

Click on the New polygon icon to create polygons, or on the New line icon to create lines,

or on the New point icon to create points. Then, For polygons or lines

Position the pointer on the map, Press the mouse left button to create the first point of polygon or line, Move the pointer on the map and press the mouse left button to create another point, Carry out the two last steps until you draw the polygonal area or the line you want, Double click to close off polygonal area or to stop the line drawing.

For points

Position the pointer on the map, Press the mouse left button to create a point,

To clear the current icon selection, press the Esc button on your keyboard or click on the selected icon. Note : the vector edition can be made on any vector, even working as a CDMA/CDMA 2000, W-CDMA/UMTS traffic, population or generic map. The procedure is identical than above.



III.13.2.c MANAGING VECTOR OBJECT SHAPES Some tools available in the Vector edition bar enable you to modify polygon shape of a vector layer. Indeed, it is possible:

To merge several polygons thanks to the Combine icon ,

To make a hole in a polygon by using the Erase icon ,

To keep only overlapping area of two polygons thanks to the Intersection icon ,

To cut a polygon in two or more by using the Split icon . The vector layer must be in edition mode in order to be able to modify shape of its polygons. To put a vector layer in edition mode, proceed as follows :

Either, In the Vector edition bar, click on the arrow to open the Vector layer scrolling menu, Select the layer to be edited in the list,

Or In the Explorer, right click on the vector layer to be edited in order to get the context menu, Select the Edit command from the opened scrolling list.

To combine several polygons, proceed as follows :

Choose the vector layer to be edited, On the map, select a polygon,

In the Vector edition bar, click the Combine icon , Draw one or several polygons on the map,

ATOLL considers all the polygons as a group of polygons. If there is overlapping areas between some polygons, ATOLL merges them to make a single one.

To clear the current icon selection, press the Esc button on your keyboard or click on the selected icon. To erase areas within polygons, proceed as follows :

Choose the vector layer to be edited, On the map, select a polygon or a group of polygons,

In the Vector edition bar, click the Erase icon , Draw one or several polygons on the map,

ATOLL removes all the overlapping areas between polygons.

To clear the current icon selection, press the Esc button on your keyboard or click on the selected icon. To keep intersection areas between polygons, proceed as follows :


In the Vector edition bar, click the Intersection icon , Draw one or several polygons on the map,

ATOLL only keeps the intersection areas between polygons and erases all the areas outside.

To clear the current icon selection, press the Esc button on your keyboard or click on the selected icon. To split polygons, proceed as follows :


In the Vector edition bar, click the Split icon ,



Draw one or several polygons on the map, ATOLL uses each polygon side intersecting the existing polygon(s) to cut them.

To clear the current icon selection, press the Esc button on your keyboard or click on the selected icon. Additional management features are available when right clicking on any vector object on the map (polygons, lines or points). When a vector layer is in Edition mode, you may select in the vector object context menu: Delete: To remove vector objects on the map, Convert to line: To convert a polygon into a closed line, Convert to polygon: To convert a closed line into a polygon, Open line: To open a closed line; ATOLL removes segment between the last and the first point, Close line: To close line; ATOLL adds a segment between the last and the first point of the line, Insert point: To add a point into polygon contour or line; the point is created at the pointer location, Move: To shift vector objects on the map (place the pointer where you want to locate vector object and left click to

release it), Quit edition: In order for a vector layer to be no more editable, Properties: To access the vector object property dialog. The General tab sums up the vector layer name, the

vector object identification number and vector object attributes. The Geometry tab lists coordinates of points composing the selected vector object. Coordinates are stated in the coordinate system specified in the vector layer property dialog (General tab).

III.13.2.d MANAGING VECTOR OBJECT PROPERTIES Vectors properties can be managed in two ways, either from a table containing all vectors and their attributes or from the related standard property dialog. Vector table

All the vectors (polygons, lines, points and groups of polygons) of a vector layer and their attributes are listed in the corresponding table. To open this table, proceed as follows :

Click the tab (Data or Geo) in which in currently located the vector layer in the Explorer window, Right click on the vector folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open.

Standard features for managing table contents (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort, Fields…) are available in a context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus. Property dialog

As classical property dialog in ATOLL, vector layer property dialog consists of a General tab, a Table tab and a Display tab. To open the property dialog related to a vector object, proceed as follows :

Click the tab (Data or Geo) in which in currently located the vector layer in the Explorer window, Right click on the vector folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on the Properties command, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs.

In the General tab, ATOLL indicates: - The vector layer name, - If the vector layer is embedded in the .atl document or just linked. In this case, ATOLL displays the directory path used to access the file, The Embed button can be used to embed the vector layer in the .atl document when this one is just linked. The Find button enables you to redefine a new path when file location has changed. - The coordinate system of the vector layer, When vector layer is linked, the coordinate system used is the one of the file (system specified when importing the file). It corresponds to the projection coordinate system when the vector layer is embedded.



The coordinate system can be changed (click on the Convert button to change it). In this case, coordinates of points composing vector objects of the layer will be converted in the selected coordinate system. In addition, you can define, in this tab, sort and filter criteria that will be applied to vector objects of the layer contained in the table. The Table tab enables you to manage the vector layer table content. Therefore, you may add custom fields in the table in order to describe vector attributes. The Display tab enables you to manage the vector layer display; it is possible to display vectors with colour depending on any attribute.

III.14 MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA EXPORT

III.14.1 EXPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS MAP Like for DTM, clutter height and traffic raster maps, it is possible to export the current clutter class description in either a tiff, a bil or a bmp format. You may choose to keep the squared part of the current clutter class map that contains the defined computation zone. To export a part or the complete clutter class map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Clutter classes folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :

The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole clutter class map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of the clutters listed in the Clutter classes folder are updated.

The computation zone option allows you to save the clutter region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional clutter object is created and listed in the Clutter classes folder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for clutter from the following criteria : If one clutter object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object resolution. If several objects are extracted, the suggested resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

objects. The resolution value must be an integer The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.

Click OK to validate. Notes : When you save files using BIL and TIF formats, .hdr and .tfw files are automatically created in the same folder.

The .hdr and .tfw files are respectively associated with .bil and .tif files; they contain geocoding information and resolution.

Clutter classes file path (and clutter description) is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.

III.14.2 SAVING THE EDITED RASTER POLYGONS Saving the edited polygons consists either in creating a new clutter class (or traffic - raster map) file including your modifications, or in storing your modifications in the existing clutter class (or traffic) files. To store modifications in a new file, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Clutter classes folder (or Traffic raster object) to open the associated context menu, Select the Save as command from the opened scrolling menu, Indicate the path, the name and the format( *.tif, *.bil and *.bmp) for the file to be exported, Press OK to validate,



Comment: When you save files using BIL and TIF formats, .hdr and .tfw files are automatically created in the same folder. The .hdr and .tfw files are respectively associated with .bil and .tif files; they contain geocoding information and resolution. Saving a file with the BMP format doesn't involve the automatic creation of georeferencement file. Thus, it is advised to associate with .bmp files a text document including the same information as the .hdr or .tfw files.

Select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file in the opened Export dialog box, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog box,

The whole covered region option allows to save in the file the whole clutter class map (or traffic map) including the clutter class (or traffic) modifications made by the user. As soon as the modifications are saved, the properties of clutter (or traffic) object listed in the Clutter classes (or Traffic) folder are updated.

The only pending changes option allows just to save in the file the created clutter class (or traffic) polygonal area. As soon as the modifications are saved, an additional clutter class (or traffic) object is created and listed in the Clutter classes (or Traffic) folder.

The computation zone option allows to save in the file the rectangular clutter region (or traffic region) containing the computation zone encompassing the clutter class (or traffic) modifications made by the user. As soon as the modifications are saved, an additional clutter class (or traffic) object is created and listed in the Clutter classes (or Traffic) folder.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for clutter from the following criteria:

If one clutter object is modified, the displayed resolution will be the object resolution. If several objects are modified, the suggested resolution will be the smallest resolution of the altered

clutter class objects. If there is no initial clutter class object, the resolution will equal the resolution of DTM object which

the modifications are made on or the smallest resolution of the merged DTM objects if the modifications are performed on several DTM objects.

If you draw your own clutter data without initial DTM, clutter class or traffic object, a 100 m default resolution will be suggested.

For any raster object, the resolution value must be an integer. The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.

The same criteria are used to define the resolution of traffic objects: firstly, ATOLL looks for resolution in the modified traffic objects, secondly in the clutter class objects if there is no imported traffic objects, then in DTM objects in case neither traffic nor clutter class data is available and finally give the 100 m default resolution if there is no traffic, no clutter class and no DTM data.


Caution : once the modifications are saved, the polygon dimensions are fixed and cannot be modified. To store modifications in an existing file, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Clutter classes folder (or Traffic folder - raster map) to open the associated context

menu, Select the Save command from the opened scrolling menu, A message is displayed warning the user that some current clutter class (or traffic) files will be updated, Press OK to validate



Note : the existing file is made of a fixed size matrix. Hence, changes made outside from this matrix will not be taken into account.

III.14.3 EXPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT MAP Like for DTM, clutter class and traffic raster maps, it is possible to export the current clutter height map in either a tif or a bil format. You may choose to keep the squared part of the current clutter height map that contains the defined computation zone. To export a part or the complete clutter height map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Clutter height folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :

The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole clutter height map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of clutter height object listed in the Clutter height folder are updated.

The computation zone option allows you to save the clutter height region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional clutter height object is created and listed in the Clutter height folder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for clutter height from the following criteria : If one clutter height object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object resolution. If several objects are extracted, the suggested resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

objects. The resolution value must be an integer. The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.


The .hdr and .tfw files are respectively associated with .bil and .tif files; they contain geocoding information and resolution,

Clutter height file path is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.

III.14.4 EXPORTING A DTM MAP Like for clutter class, clutter height and traffic raster maps, it is possible to export the current DTM map in either a tif or a bil format. You may choose to keep the squared part of the current DTM that contains the defined computation zone. To export a part or the complete DTM map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the DTM folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :

The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole DTM map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of DTM object listed in the DTM folder are updated.

The computation zone option allows you to save the DTM region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional DTM object is created and listed in the DTM folder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for DTM from the following criteria : If one DTM object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object resolution. If several objects are extracted, the suggested resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

objects. The resolution value must be an integer. The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.




Notes : When you save files using BIL and TIF formats, .hdr and .tfw files are automatically created in the same folder.

The .hdr and .tfw files are respectively associated with .bil and .tif files; they contain geocoding information and resolution,

DTM file path is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.

III.14.5 EXPORTING A VECTOR OBJECT You can save any edited vector layer in a vector format file. In this case, the vector layer is no longer embedded in the .atl document; it is a linked file. It can be embedded afterwards. To export a vector layer, proceed as follows :

Click the tab (Data or Geo) in which in currently located the vector layer in the Explorer window, Right click on the Vector layer to be exported in order to open the associated context menu, Select the Save as command from the opened scrolling menu, Indicate the path, the name and the format for the file to be exported. Possible formats are Arcview

(.shp), MapInfo (.mif) and an ATOLL internal format (.agd), Press OK to validate,

Notes : Only polygons can be saved in the Arcview (.shp) format. Therefore, a vector layer mixing polygons and lines,

polygons and points, or containing just points or lines can only be saved in MapInfo (.mif) or ATOLL internal format (.agd).

The ATOLL internal format (.agd) is a new format only supported by ATOLL. Reading of .agd files is faster than other vector files with classical supported formats (MapInfo, Arcview, Autocad).

In addition, in case of linked file, it is possible to save modifications performed on the vector layer. To save modifications on a vector layer, proceed as follows :

Click the tab (Data or Geo) in which in currently located the vector layer in the Explorer window, Right click on the Vector layer to be saved in order to open the associated context menu, Select the Save command from the opened scrolling menu,

ATOLL displays a warning to inform you that the source file will be modified,

Click OK to update the source file. Note : the Save command is available only if there are some pending changes on the vector layer.

C H A P T E R 4

Managing Radio Network Data

4



IV MANAGING RADIO NETWORK DATA

IV.1 MANAGING RADIO NETWORK DATA : OVERVIEW As a reference radio planning tool, ATOLL is able to work on several technologies. This feature indicates that there may be a large amount of data in any project. Nevertheless, ATOLL has been developed in order to maximize the number of common features for any type of projects, either dealing with geo data management or radio data management. Of course, several specific items dealing with the management of radio data are introduced depending on the considered technology (e.g. TRXs and Subcells in GSM/TDMA, Cell level in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, etc...). All the organisation tools (filters, sorts, groups, etc...) described in the user interface basics can be applied on the radio data, working in the explorer, tables or on the map. That way, working on sites, antennas, transmitters (including multi-sectored stations and multi-antennas transmitters) and repeaters stays always easy. Moreover, it is also possible to define easily, and in the same way in any technology, radio equipment, that will be assigned to each transmitter of any network. Specific parts dealing with radio data on GSM/TDMA, UMTS/W-CDMA and CDMA/CDMA 2000 will be seen next. Optimisations on networks will be described also on specific parts dealing with each of these project templates.

IV.2 SETTING DEFAULT RADIO UNITS To build your network, like for the projection of display coordinate system or default length unit used in any ATOLL project, you must define reception and transmission units as they have to be taken into account in the working environment. ATOLL allows you to define the units of measurement for transmission and reception of signal levels, in your working environment. The options for units are as follows : Signal transmission units : dBmilliwatts (dBm), Watts or kiloWatts; Signal reception units : dBmilliwatts (dBm), dBmicroVolts (dBµV) or dBmicroVolts/meter (dBµV/m).

To define reception and transmission units in the current project, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, select the options... command in the Tools menu, Left click on the Units tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available and the way to use them, Choose in the scrolling lists the default reception/transmission units for the current .atl ATOLL project. Click OK to validate.

The default unit length can be defined in the same dialog box.

IV.3 SITES

IV.3.1 SITE PROPERTIES IV.3.1.a CREATING A SITE

In ATOLL, a site is a geographical point where one or several transmitters (multi-sector site or station) equipped with antennas with particular characteristics are located. Proceed as follows to create a site :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the New command from the opened scrolling menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the new site dialog window.

Notes : If the new site seems to not appear on the map, expand the Site folder by left clicking on the associated button.

Right click on the site you want to see in order to open a menu from which you select the centre map option. Site is automatically created when dropping a base station on the map.



From the Display tab window, you can display sites with colours depending on their attributes. The attributes of the sites can be displayed as labels in the workspace or in help popups using the tip tool. In UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, in addition to the geographic information, the definition of site equipment and their use has to be tuned.

IV.3.1.b NAMING AUTOMATICALLY SITES ATOLL integrates, by default, a prefix to site names : "Site". In addition to this prefix, a number is added and is incremented automatically. Nevertheless, you can force ATOLL not to use these default prefix and to prefer user-defined prefixes. You can customise it by adding the syntax described below in an ATOLL.ini file. You must create this file and place it in the ATOLL installation directory. The syntax in order to define a new prefix to site names in the ATOLL.ini file is the following : [Site] Prefix=”newprefix” Each new site will be named “newprefixN” instead of “SiteN”. Notes : This file is read only when ATOLL is started. Therefore, it is necessary to close the ATOLL session and to restart

it in order to take into account any modification performed in ATOLL.ini. Naming automatically transmitters is also possible, either from a fixed prefix or based on the site name with which

the considered transmitter refers.

IV.3.1.c MANAGING SITE PROPERTIES Like for all objects organised in folders (Sites, transmitters, Antennas, Predictions, Simulations, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, sites can be managed either individually or globally. Global setting is applied to all the filtered sites. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the properties associated with existing sites of your network : To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The displayed window contains 3 tabs (General, Table, Display). The General tab allows you to use the advanced filter/sort/group by features. The Table tab manages the contents of the Site table. The Display tab is designed to assign colours, labels and tips to sites. An additional Other Properties tab is possible if some user defined fields are added to the Site table. Individual property management

There are two ways to edit properties of each existing site in the current network. To do so,

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the Sites folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the site you want to manage,

or

Select on the map the site you want to manage by right clicking on it ( ), Choose the Properties option from the context menu Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The displayed window contains at least 2 tabs (General and Display). An additional Other Properties tab is possible if some user-defined fields are added to the Site table. In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, an additional tab dealing with Site equipment is available. Managing site properties is also possible from the Site table.



IV.3.1.d CHANGING A SITE POSITION ATOLL permits easy management of the site positions. You can proceed in two ways, either by using geographic coordinates, by integrating the field topology, or by moving sites manually (using the mouse). A context menu is associated with each created site. This can be obtained identically by right clicking on the site on the map or in the Sites folder from the Explorer window. Using the geographic coordinates

To do so, proceed as follows : Double click on the site (on the map, or in the Sites folder from the Explorer window) you want to move,

in order to obtain the site properties window. You can do the same by selecting the Properties option from the context menu associated with this site (see above).

Choose the General tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window Give the site coordinates (X,Y) in the display system you have chosen. The position of the site by default

(just at the creation) corresponds to the centre of your active map. Note : in the General tab of the site properties window, you can also change the name of the site, add comments for each site, and lock its position on the map. Locking the site position allows "safety" for manual movements (using the mouse) for sites on the map. When you move the site, a message will ask you to confirm your action. Move sites to a high point

When creating a network, it may be very useful to get sites high enough to propagate signals easily. ATOLL permits to put sites on the highest point (based on the DTM) around a site on a certain range. To do so, proceed as follows :

Activate the site context menu (see above), Select the Move to a high point... option, Display the radius of highest point test around the current site.

Note : ATOLL can use either the DTM or a user-defined height for sites in computations Moving sites using the mouse

You can move sites manually on the map, by selecting (left click) one and then by dragging it on the map, left button pressed, wherever you want. A moving confirmation is asked if the site has a locked position (see above).

IV.3.1.e MANAGING SITE ALTITUDES ATOLL computes automatically the altitude from the imported DTM map. Nevertheless, it is possible to define "real" altitudes that will be the ones taken into account for computations. It is possible to have both altitudes per site, one altitude read from the DTM map (non editable value) and another one that the user may define in the Real box. Only the real altitude defined by the user is stored in database (Sites table). To manually define a site altitude, proceed as follows :

Either, Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the Sites folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the site you want to manage the altitude,

or,

Select on the map the site you want to manage the altitude by left clicking on it ( ), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the General tab of the opened dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Enter the real altitude in the appropriate field. Click OK or Apply to validate your choice

Notes : In the Sites table, ATOLL displays the real altitude of the site if defined or the DTM altitude in brackets in case the

site has no real altitude. In calculations, ATOLL takes into account the site real altitudes and the DTM value in case it does not find any

real altitude. You may force ATOLL to consider only site altitudes determined from the DTM map by selecting the Compute with the DTM altitudes option in the Properties window (General tab) of the site folder. In this case, ATOLL ignores the entered real altitudes.



Altitude is global height compared with sea level (Sea is 0 altitude) and depends on the data of the imported DTM file (which could be DEM, i.e. including clutter height)

IV.3.1.f GETTING DISTANCES AROUND SITES The radial grid is a graduated grid on the map around the site, with site text colour. This grid enables the user to have a

better distances around site visualisation. You can set its parameters by using the button. To do so, proceed as follows :

Either, Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the Sites folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the site you want to get distances around,

or,

Select on the map the site you want to get distances around by left clicking on it ( ), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Display tab of the opened dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window,

Left click the button to open the site grid parameter setting dialog box, Set the maximum radius, the distance between each graduation and the deviation between angular

graduations. Note : You can access directly to the grid parameters from the Grid option from the site context menu. Clicking ok is equal to ticking the Show radial grid box. Example :

- Maximum radius of grid : 5 000 m - Concentric distance between graduations : 500 m - Distance between angular graduations : 30°

Grid display with above parameters

IV.3.1.g DISPLAYING THE LINE OF SIGHT AREA The line of sight represents an area within which visible contact can be made, i.e. the visible zone from a site, choosing either to work on a simple radius or on a more constraining Fresnel ellipsoid. To display the line of sight area associated with a site, proceed as follows:

Left click on the desired site in the Sites folder (Explorer window) or on the map Left click to select the Line of sight area option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Enter the desired parameters and left click, Click on OK to validate. ATOLL then displays the line of sight area.



IV.3.1.h SETTING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF A SITE ATOLL always permits the user to manage object displays easily. For the sites, this can be done by selecting the display tab of the site properties window. The properties window is reached from the site context menu (right click on the site on the map or in the Sites folder from the Explorer window). On the site display window, you may :

Define the site display colours (text and symbol). You can display sites with colours depending on their attributes. The attributes of the sites can be displayed as labels in the workspace,

By left clicking on the symbol button, you may change the symbol font, colour, type, style (bold, italic, underline) and background (colour and type). Concerning the background, you may choose between :

- , none,

- , halo,

- , opaque.

Display of the site name, or not and define the related font style, Display of a radial grid around the site, or not.

Note : If you use the Display tab in the Site folder properties dialog box in the Explorer window, you may define globally symbol and text sites display, depending potentially on their attributes.

IV.3.1.i DELETING BUILT SITES In ATOLL, sites (like transmitters) are organized in folders. Even if these two tables are linked, it is possible to delete easily, in one shot, sites and transmitters which refer to. To do so, proceed as follows :

Open the Sites table, Select the Sites you want to delete, Either,

Press the Del button of your keyboard, Or,

Choose the Delete record command from the Edit menu. Note : When deleting a site where transmitters are positioned, ATOLL automatically removes the site and the

transmitters without displaying a warning. Hence, to cancel a deletion, use the undo feature available in the Edit menu.

Sites can be deleted directly on the map, using their context menu.

IV.3.2 SITE LISTS IV.3.2.a CREATING A SITE LIST

In addition to the dynamic filtering features, ATOLL also enable users to define static lists of sites. Unlike filter/sort/group criteria that may be only saved in user configuration files, site lists are stored in the database. Therefore, when creating an .atl document from the database, it is possible to recover only the sites of a list you can choose. These site lists may be also used as filter so as to study in predictions only sites of the list(s). In addition, site lists can be imported and exported as ASCII files.



To create lists of sites, proceed as follows : Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Choose the [Site list : List management…] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Site lists dialog, you may define one list per row. To validate a list creation, select another row. Either

Select a list in the table and click on the Properties… button. Or

Select a row and double click on it. In the List properties dialog, enter the sites belonging to the list (copy/paste is supported).

IV.3.2.b MANAGING A SITE LIST It is possible to add a site, a group of sites or all the sites in an existing list subsequently. To add a site in a list, proceed as follows :

Right click on a site in the explorer or on the map, Choose the Add a site to a list… command in the context menu, In the Addition of sites in a list dialog, open the scrolling menu and select a list.

To add a group of sites in a list, proceed as follows :

Right click on a group of sites in the explorer, Choose the Add sites to a list… command in the context menu, In the Addition of sites in a list dialog, Either

Enter the name of a new list, Or

Open the scrolling menu and select an existing list. To add all the sites in a list, proceed as follows :

Right click on the Sites folder in the explorer, In the context menu, choose Site lists and then the Add sites to a list… command, In the Addition of sites in a list dialog, Either

Enter the name of a new list, Or

Open the scrolling menu and select an existing list.

IV.3.2.c EXPORTING A SITE LIST Site lists can be exported in ASCII text files To export a site list, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Choose the [Site list : List management…] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Site lists dialog, either

Select an existing list in the table, Or

Type the name of a new list. Then, click on the Properties… button (or double click on it). Click on Export, In the Save as dialog, choose a directory to save the file, give a name to the file and click on OK.

The ASCII text file has the following syntax: Site name 1 Site name 2 … It contains only a list of site names; the coordinates and other attributes of sites are not saved. Thus, this file can be imported only if the sites have been previously created in the .atl document.



IV.3.2.d IMPORTING A SITE LIST Site lists can be created within ATOLL. They can also be imported from an external ASCII file. To import a site list, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Choose the [Site list : List management…] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Site lists dialog, either

Select an existing list in the table, Or

Type the name of a new list. Then, click on the Properties… button (or double click on it). Click on Import, In the Open dialog, specify the path to access the file and click on Open to import the file.

ATOLL fills in the selected list with sites from the imported file. Sites listed before importing the file are kept. ATOLL displays a warning if a site in the list does not exist in the .atl document.

IV.3.2.e DISPLAYING SITE LISTS Site lists created in the .atl document can be stored in the database. Therefore, when a user opens an .atl document from a database that contains site lists, he has the possibility to choose the list(s) of sites he wants to recover in his .atl document. To choose the site list to be displayed from a database, proceed as follows :

After selecting the database to be opened, ATOLL displays the Options dialog, In this window, either

Select the value <ALL> to load all the sites in the .atl document Or

Tick only the box(es) of site lists you want to recover. Click on OK to validate.

Only the sites from the selected list(s) will be available in the .atl document. Note : It is possible to select several lists at once. To do this, click one or several lists using shift and/or Ctrl button at the same time and then, tick/untick one of the boxes.

IV.3.2.f FILTERING SITE LISTS To use site lists as filters, proceed as follows :

Right click on the Sites folder and select Properties, In the General tab, click on the Filter button, In the filter dialog, open the Site lists tab and tick/untick box(es) of site lists you want to keep/exclude in

the .atl document. Click on OK to validate.

ATOLL only keeps sites belonging to site lists you have selected. In this case, sites are not definitively removed from the .atl document. This is only a filter you can cancel (by opening the Sites table and select Show all records in the Records menu). Notes : It is possible to select several lists at once. To do this, click one or several lists using shift and/or Ctrl button at the

same time and then, tick/untick one of the boxes. All the boxes can be unticked at once by clicking the Clear all button. By default, the value <ALL> is selected; it means there is no filter.



IV.4 ANTENNAS

IV.4.1 CREATING AN ANTENNA An antenna is a device used for radiating or receiving electromagnetic energy. Depending on the type of project (GSM, UMTS, etc.), ATOLL provides antennas well-suited to the studied projects. Furthermore, ATOLL permits you to create antennas and set the parameters for the characteristics of each of them (Name, manufacturer, gain, horizontal pattern, vertical pattern, and comments). Note : Creating and setting parameters for different antennas on the basis of manufacturers data is a long and meticulous operation. To make it easier for you ATOLL allows the use of copy and paste functions as easily as in all office automation tools. You may thus create an antenna from a blank sheet or from an existing one ; the ATOLL display is compatible with most of spreadsheets or word processors. To create an antenna, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Antennas folder to open the context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New to create a new antenna, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened windows, Fill out the appropriate fields either manually, or by importing existing values, Click either OK or Apply to validate

Notes : When performing a calculation along an angle on which no data is available, ATOLL computes a linear

interpolation from existing pattern values. In the other properties tab, there are 3 ATOLL custom properties like the Antenna beamwidth, minimum and

maximum frequencies corresponding to the antenna utilization range. The Beamwidth is, in a plane containing the direction of the maximum lobe of the antenna pattern, the angle between the two directions in which the radiated power is one-half the maximum value of the lobe. Translated in terms of dB, half power corresponds to -3 dB. In this window, you may enter this angle in degrees.

An Electrical tilt field is available in the General tab, but is not taken into account for computations. Patterns must already integrate this parameter in their shape.

IV.4.2 MANAGING THE ANTENNA PROPERTIES In ATOLL, you may edit and even modify the current parameters of an antenna. You may do this action either individually for each antenna, or globally. Single radiation pattern editing

You may edit horizontal or vertical patterns of each antenna by doing nearly the same as creating an antenna. To do so, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Antennas folder by left clicking on the sign left to the directory Select the antenna from which you want to edit the radiation pattern by left clicking on it, Activate the antenna properties window either by double clicking or by choosing the properties option

from the scrolling menu. Choose the pattern tab associated with the pattern you want to edit.

You may change the values by filling new ones directly on the tables. Patterns can be copied to clipboard or printed. Note : it is possible to display antenna patterns with either linear or logarithmic axes. To choose your display system, right click in the pattern window and choose the appropriate option from the opened scrolling menu. The new shape is automatically displayed in the pattern window. Multiple radiation pattern editing

Like for the other parameters (sites, transmitters, etc...), ATOLL permits to manage antennas in table form. To activate the antenna table, double click on the antenna folder or choose the Open option from the antenna context menu (right



click on the antenna folder). By resizing cell heights and widths, you may obtain all the antenna patterns on a view in order to make a comparative choice.

Data Tab/Antenna/Open - Antenna Data table

Notes : By using the copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) functions, you may even attribute patterns from one antenna to

another one by working directly on the pattern cells of the antenna table, The way patterns are displayed (linear or logarithmic) is reported in the antenna table as chosen in any single

antenna properties dialog box.

IV.4.3 MODIFYING ANTENNA PARAMETERS IN TABLES ATOLL can manage easily antenna data with its table form availability. Like for the other items, you may change data directly in the table (left click on the cell you want to modify), or use the copy and paste (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) functions. This last feature is very useful in that way you may reuse patterns of an antenna to others. Example : In the following table, an new antenna called Antenna1, from Martin SA, has been built, with a 12 dBi Gain, and some patterns. The goal, here, is to export the patterns of a certain antenna to the one of Antenna1. To do so

Activate the antenna table, Select the pattern cell from the antenna you want to export the patterns, Copy the cell by using the Ctrl+C function,

Data Tab/Antenna/Open/Pattern copying - Antenna Data table

Select the pattern cell from the antenna you want to change the pattern, Paste the patterns by using the Ctrl+V option.



Data Tab/Antenna/Open/Pattern Pasting - Antenna Data table

ATOLL replaced the old pattern by the new one both in the antenna table and properties window. You can check that data have also been adapted in the patterns table of the modified antenna properties window.

IV.4.4 COPYING ANTENNA PATTERNS TO THE CLIPBOARD To copy the horizontal/vertical pattern of an existing antenna to the clipboard, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Antennas folder by left clicking on the sign left to the directory Select the antenna from which you want to copy the radiation pattern by left clicking on it, Activate the antenna properties window either by double clicking or by choosing the properties option

from the scrolling menu. Choose the pattern tab associated with the pattern you want to edit (horizontal/vertical), Right click on the pattern window in order to open the associated context menu, Choose the Copy command from the opened menu.

This can be made either on a linear or a logarithmic display

IV.4.5 IMPORTING ANTENNA PATTERNS Using existing values

If you already have table formatted values for antenna patterns in a file (spreadsheet or word processor), you can “import” them directly into the cells of the patterns table by copying and pasting from your application (a spreadsheet in the following example). To do so, proceed as follows :

Select from your spreadsheet the columns containing angles and values you want to import, Copy your selection,

Horizontal pattern values copying



Switch to ATOLL, Click the first top left cell of the corresponding pattern table in the antenna properties window, Paste the data by using the Ctrl+V shortcut. Left click on the Apply button

Missing values in selection

If there are some missing values (blank lines) in your data sheet, ATOLL is able to interpolate the values in order to obtain a complete and realistic pattern all around the antenna. To do so, just follow exactly the steps as just above. When pasted, blank lines are being compacted in the pattern table when the apply button is pressed.

IV.4.6 PRINTING ANTENNA PATTERNS To print the horizontal/vertical pattern of an existing antenna, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Antennas folder by left clicking on the sign left to the directory Select the antenna from which you want to print the radiation pattern by left clicking on it, Activate the antenna properties window either by double clicking or by choosing the properties option

from the scrolling menu. Choose the pattern tab associated with the pattern you want to edit (horizontal/vertical), Right click on the pattern window in order to open the associated context menu, Choose the Print... command from the opened menu.

This can be made either on a linear or a logarithmic display

IV.5 TRANSMITTERS

IV.5.1 TRANSMITTERS : OVERVIEW A transmitter is the source or generator of any signal on a transmission medium. A transmitter is a piece of equipment composed of some antennas located on a site. Depending on the type of project, ATOLL manages differently the transmitters parameters. Whatever is the project, you may manage globally or individually the transmitter parameters and their single activity/inactivity. A base station is a group of transmitters on the same site. With ATOLL, you may work on several types, from single to multi-sectored stations, by creating new ones from nothing or templates. Then depending on the project type, transmitters are managed differently. Hence, additional levels are introduced like subcells and TRXs in TDMA/GSM projects, cells (one carrier on a transmitter) for UMTS/W-CDMA and CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. So, the items referenced in this part deal with common management of transmitters and station templates. All specific parts depending on the technology are described in their respective parts. In the coming sections, will be described the steps consisting on the creation, deletion, moving and setting of the global properties of the transmitters and station templates.

IV.5.2 TRANSMITTERS PROPERTIES IV.5.2.a CREATING A TRANSMITTER

In ATOLL, several antennas can be installed on the same transmitter. The creative steps for one antenna and more antennas transmitters are identical. The second antenna used is automatically placed at the same height than the first one. To create a transmitter, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the New option from the context menu. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened windows, Fill out the appropriate fields in the several tab windows,



Click OK or Apply to validate the new transmitter. ATOLL opens the "Transmitter new element properties" window containing the main characteristics describing the transmitter you are building. This window contains at least 2 tabs, additional tabs being linked with the type of project template you are working on. The standard tabs are General and Transmitter, and deal with the definition of the transmitter, its location, the assignment to some specific radio equipment (leading to losses computation), and the antenna(s) used on this transmitter. The power definition is located in the Transmitter part in GSM/TDMA projects, whereas its definition is made at the cell level in UMTS/W-CDMA or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. Note : The Other Properties tab window is available for any project if a user-defined field has been added to the transmitter table.

IV.5.2.b NAMING AUTOMATICALLY TRANSMITTERS ATOLL integrates, by default, a prefix to transmitter names which is the name of the related site. In addition to this prefix, the sector number corresponding the considered transmitter is added. Nevertheless, you can force ATOLL not to use these default prefix and to prefer user-defined prefixes. You can customise it by adding the syntax described below in an ATOLL.ini file. You must create this file and place it in the ATOLL installation directory. The syntax in order to define a new prefix to transmitter names in the ATOLL.ini file is the following : [Transmitter] Prefix=”newprefix” Each new transmitter will be named “newprefixN” instead of “TxN”. Another solution is to use an automatic prefix by writing these lines: [Transmitter] Prefix=”<AUTO>” In this case, each new transmitter is called “Site name_n”. Site name is the name of the site where the transmitter is located and n is the transmitter number on this site. Notes : This file is read only when ATOLL is started. Therefore, it is necessary to close the ATOLL session and to restart

it in order to take into account any modification performed in ATOLL.ini. Naming automatically sites is also possible.

IV.5.2.c MANAGING TRANSMITTER PROPERTIES Like for all objects organised in folders (Sites, Transmitters, Antennas, Predictions, Simulations, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, transmitters can be managed either individually or globally. Global setting is applied to all the filtered transmitters. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the properties associated with transmitters of your network : To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The 4 standard tab windows are : General, Table, Propagation and Display. - The General tab deals with folder organisation and associate configurations. - The Table tab helps you to manage contents in the Transmitter table. - The Propagation tab make possible to assign the same propagation model(s), calculation radius (or radii), path loss resolution(s) to all filtered transmitters of the folder, and to manage the path loss result storage, - The Station templates tab allows you to manage (creation, modification, deletion) models of stations. - The Display tab allows you to manage the display of transmitters depending on their attributes, to manage the legend,

labels on the map, and the contents of help popups using the tip tool . Notes : To attribute different colours to the transmitters (used in coverage prediction for example) in the network easily,

use the automatic command from the Display type scrolling box in the Display tab window (and validate by pressing the Apply button).

In GSM/TDMA projects, a BSIC format tab is available. In this one, you can define if BSICs are in octal or decimal



notations. � Individual property management There are two ways to edit properties of each transmitter in the current network. To do so,

u Either : u Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, u Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, u Right click on the transmitter you want to manage,

u or u Select on the map the transmitter you want to manage by left clicking on the appropriate Tx

symbol (arrow), u Choose the Properties option from the context menu, u Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The displayed window contains at least 4 tabs (General, Transmitter, Propagation, Display). The Other Properties tab is available if some user defined fields have been added to the Transmitter table : - The General tab deals with the referring site and the location of the current transmitter - The Transmitter tab is linked with the definition of power (in GSM/TDMA projects), assigned losses and antennas built on this transmitter, - The Propagation tab makes possible to assign propagation model(s), calculation radius (or radii), path loss resolution(s) to the current transmitter, and to manage the path loss result storage, - The display tab allows you to manage the colour assigned to the current transmitter. Note :

� You can open the property dialog of the Site on which is built the transmitter by clicking the button right to the scrolling site selection box in the General tab.

� You can open the property dialog of the Antenna used as main antenna on the transmitter by clicking the button right to the scrolling antenna selection box in the Transmitter tab.

IV.5.2.d MOVING A TRANSMITTER ON THE MAP Even if transmitters are linked with sites, it is possible to shift them from their reference site by adjusting Dx and Dy contained in each transmitter property dialog box. Dx (resp. Dy) is the distance (in metres) between the considered transmitter and the basis site X-positive (Y-positive) directed. Nevertheless, it is possible to move a transmitter by using your mouse. To do so, proceed as follows :

u Select the transmitter you want to move on the map by left clicking on it and maintaining it, a specific second pointer appears close to the mouse pointer,

u Drag the transmitter until the desired location,

u Release the mouse button when reached.

Dx and Dy values are automatically modified in the transmitter properties.

IV.5.2.e ADJUSTING TRANSMITTER AZIMUTHS In ATOLL, it possible to modify the azimuth of the antenna(s) of any transmitter by accessing its property dialog box. Azimuth values are defined in degrees, 0° indicating north, and are ordered in a clockwise direction. It is also possible to modify the azimuth of the first antenna of any transmitter by using your mouse. To do so, proceed as follows :



Select the transmitter you want to move on the map by left clicking on it and release the mouse button,

Move the pointer to the arrow extremity of the selected transmitter, a specific rotation pointer appears close to the mouse pointer,

Left click on the green dot and maintain the mouse button pressed, Drag the pointer in order to execute a rotation around the original location,

The value of the azimuth is displayed in real time in the extreme left part of the status bar

, Release the mouse button when the desired angle is reached.

Azimuth value for the first antenna of the considered transmitter is automatically modified in the transmitter properties.

IV.5.2.f INSTALLING SEVERAL ANTENNAS ON A TRANSMITTER In ATOLL, it is possible to assign several antennas on the same transmitter in order to compose the several associated patterns of each of them. To build several antennas on the same transmitter, proceed as follows :

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter you want to manage,

or Select on the map the transmitter you want to manage by left clicking on the appropriate Tx

symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Transmitter tab of the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog, In the Other antennas part, define additional antennas. Click on the first cell in the Antenna column,

open the scrolling menu (by clicking on the arrow) and choose an antenna in the scrolling menu. Then, enter its characteristics: azimuth (Azimuth column), down tilt (Tilt column) and the percentage of power dedicated to this antenna (Percent_power column). Select another row to validate the new antenna installation,

Click OK or Apply to validate the antenna building. Notes : Entering 0% in the Percent_power column means that only the first antenna will be considered. The other used antennas are automatically placed at the same height as the first one. The characteristics of additional antennas are no longer described in the Transmitters table.

IV.5.2.g SETTING TRANSMITTER ACTIVITY When transmitters are built in a network, you may decide to active them or not. Predictions, simulations and associated reports/statistics take into account only active transmitters (and not filtered transmitters). In the Explorer window, active transmitters are displayed in red ( symbol) in the transmitter folder, unlike inactive ones which are displayed in white ( symbol). To set the activity of a transmitter,

Either, Select the Transmitter tab from the transmitter properties

or Activate the transmitter table window

(Un)tick the active box in order to make the transmitter (un)active in the network



You may also manage the transmitters activity from the context menu associated with each transmitter individually (right click on the transmitter subfolder in the geo tab from the explorer window) or globally (right click on the transmitters folder in the geo tab from the explorer window)

IV.5.2.h DELETING A TRANSMITTER To delete an existing transmitter, proceed as follows :

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the transmitter you want to delete,

or Select on the map the transmitter ( )you want to delete by left clicking on the appropriate Tx

symbol (arrow), Choose the Delete option from the context menu.

Another alternative is to delete the line associated with the transmitter you want to delete in the Transmitters table.

Note : When selecting a transmitter, be careful to reach the selection. is different. In that case, that is the site which is selected. Since the deletion action is possible on sites on which transmitters are built, be sure of your selection.

IV.5.3 STATION TEMPLATES IV.5.3.a CREATING A STATION TEMPLATE

A station is one transmitter or a group of transmitters on a same site sharing the same properties. With ATOLL, you may create, modify or delete station templates and build your network from stations instead of single transmitters. To create a new station template, proceed as follows :

Either From the toolbar, left click on the template scrolling box

Select the Manage Templates... tool

Or

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Station templates tab,

Click the button to create a new station template, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Enter the parameters of the station being currently built, Click OK to validate.

The new station template is then available in the station scrolling menu. Note : In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000, the station template must integrate the site equipment properties related to the site on which it will be dropped.



IV.5.3.b DEFINING STATION TEMPLATE PROPERTIES A station is one transmitter or a group of transmitters on a same site sharing the same properties. With ATOLL, you may create, modify or delete station templates and build your network from stations instead of single transmitters. To manage a station template, proceed as follows :

Either, From the toolbar, left click on the template scrolling box

Select the Manage Template... tool

Or


Select the template you want to manage in the Available templates box,

Click the button to open the station template properties dialog box, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current station, Click OK to validate.

Note : the properties you can adjust are similar to the ones of the transmitter properties.

IV.5.3.c DELETING A STATION TEMPLATE A station is one transmitter or a group of transmitters on a same site sharing the same properties. With ATOLL, you may create, modify or delete station templates and build your network from stations instead of single transmitters. To delete a station template, proceed as follows :

Either From the toolbar, left click on the template scrolling box

Select the Manage Template... tool

Or


Select the template you want to delete in the Available templates box,

Click the button, Click either OK or Cancel to close the dialog box.



IV.5.3.d DROPPING A STATION FROM A TEMPLATE In ATOLL, as for (site, transmitter) pairs, you can easily build station from available templates. Proceed as follows to create a station :

Select in the station template scrolling box (located in the toolbar) the template to use,

Left click on the New station button, left to the scrolling box, Put the station on the appropriate location on your map,

You may also build several identical stations from a template in ATOLL. To do so, you must have previously defined a hexagonal cell radius for the corresponding template in its properties dialog window. When this is made, proceed as follows to create groups of stations :

Select in the station template scrolling box (located in the toolbar) the template to use,

Left click on the Hexagonal design1 button, left to the scrolling box, Draw the zone in which you want to build the stations on the map as a computation or focus zone, Stations with associated hexagonal shapes around are built as well as possible in the drawn zone.

Once built, stations objects (sites and transmitters) are put in the corresponding folders, and you may work on them as if they were sites and transmitters. Hence, you may add additional antennas on each created transmitter. Notes :

When you select a specific template, if the Hexagonal design button is not available ( ), please define a hexagonal cell radius for this template in its properties dialog window, used as the hexagonal shape radius.

In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000, the site on which is dropped the station has UMTS equipment properties which are defined in the station template dialog.

It is also possible to drop a station on an existing site.

IV.5.3.e DROPPING A STATION ON AN EXISTING SITE In ATOLL, the standard way in dropping stations is in the same time the creation of related site and corresponding properties (e.g. site equipment in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000). Nevertheless, it is easily possible to drop a station from a template on existing site. Once the reference site is available, to drop a station from a template on it, proceed as follows :

Select in the station template scrolling box (located in the toolbar) the template to use, Uncheck the visibility flag in front of the hexagonal design folder,

Left click on the New station button, left to the scrolling box, Move your pointer until the reference site on your map, When sticked on it, put the station on the site by left clicking.

IV.5.3.f MANAGING A MULTI-SECTORED STATION Even if you can select only one transmitter at a time, it is possible to group all together the transmitters composing a same base station (defined in the station templates properties). To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitter folder to open the context menu Choose the group by sites option Transmitters are then displayed under sites subfolders in the transmitters folder.

IV.5.3.g MERGING HEXAGONAL GROUPS OF BASE STATIONS When you build several hexagonal groups of different station templates, some hexagon overlaps can happen. This overlapping zones can overestimate the number of needed sites regarding to the number of transmitters. To avoid that, ATOLL provides a tool that helps you to merge sites of different hexagon groups. To merge sites of different hexagonal groups located within a certain distance, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Display the several hexagon groups by ticking the box ( ) in front of the Hexagonal design folder,

1An hexagonal design is a group of stations created from the same station template



Right click on the Hexagonal design folder to open the context menu, Choose the Merge sites... command from the opened menu, Enter the distance within which you want to merge sites, Click OK to start the merging process.

Example : let's imagine that two base bi-sector stations of different hexagon groups are located within a radius of 200 metres, and their respective hexagon cell radius is 500 m and 1000m. With this feature, you can merge sites located within a distance of e.g. 300 metres. At the end of the process, there will be only one site on which 4 transmitters will be built.

IV.6 REPEATERS

IV.6.1 REPEATERS : OVERVIEW A simple modelling of repeaters is available in the ATOLL 2.2 version. The modelling focuses on the impact of repeaters and the additional coverage they provide to transmitters. Broad-band repeaters are not modelled. A repeater is similarly modelled for 2G and 3G networks, except that on the 2G side, ATOLL deals with EIRP and on the 3G side with a global amplification gain. We assume that all the TRXs from the 2G donor transmitter, as well as all the carriers from the 3G donor transmitter are amplified.

IV.6.2 CREATING A REPEATER It is possible to model repeater for which there is a donor transmitter. To create a repeater, proceed as follows :

Select a transmitter on the map or in the Transmitters folder of explorer ; it will be the donor transmitter,

In the toolbar, click on the icon (active only if a transmitter has been previously selected), Place the repeater on the map.

Repeater can be added on an existing site or generates a new site. ATOLL creates a repeater linked to the selected donor transmitter. In the explorer, the new site is listed in the Sites folder and the repeater under its donor transmitter.

The repeater is represented on the map by the symbol . The repeater has the colour of the donor transmitter and by default, the same azimuth. When clicking on it, ATOLL displays a link to the donor transmitter.

IV.6.3 MANAGING REPEATER PROPERTIES The repeater property dialog can be open either by double-clicking on the repeater on the map or in the explorer, or by selecting Properties… in the repeater context menu. It consists of four parts, the General part, the Donor part, the Coverage part and the Propagation part. Standard properties are available in the General tab. This tab contains general information on the repeater : The name of the repeater. By default, repeaters are called RepeaterN. The donor transmitter name that cannot be changed after the repeater creation, The site which it is located on, The distance offset on x (Dx) and y (Dy) axis, The amplifier gain (amplification gain), It will be used in the link budget to evaluate the repeater total gain. The delay offset (Internal delay) of the repeater, Delay offset is an informative field in this version. Comments.

All the created repeaters and donor side properties are listed in the Repeaters table. To open this table, right click on the Transmitters folder and then, select Repeaters and Open. Note : the table cannot be used to create repeaters since only properties of donor side may be specified. On the other hand, it allows you to delete repeaters of modify their characteristics ; standard features for managing table content (Fill down/up, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort, Fields…) are available in a context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menu.



IV.6.4 SETTING DONOR PROPERTIES OF A REPEATER Donor properties can be accessed from the donor tab of any repeater property dialog. Parameters of this tab model the repeater donor side facing the donor transmitter. The different settings are listed below : The repeater donor side antenna has to be selected in the model scrolling menu. By default, if no antenna is

installed on the repeater, ATOLL takes into account an omni antenna with 0 dBi gain. Enter the repeater antenna height. ATOLL evaluates the repeater azimuth and downtilt considering that the donor

side antenna of the repeater is pointed to the antenna of the donor transmitter. Azimuth and downtilt can also be user-defined. The Calculate button enables you to update azimuth and downtilt values after changing the repeater donor side

antenna height or the repeater location. If you choose another site or change site coordinates in the General tab, click on Apply before using the Calculate button.

Finally, you may model the feeder equipment used. Choose a type of feeder in the Feeders scrolling menu and enter its length.

IV.6.5 SETTING COVERAGE PROPERTIES OF A REPEATER Coverage properties can be accessed from the Coverage side tab of any repeater property dialog. This tab enables you to model the repeater coverage side. The different settings are listed below : The repeater activity status has to be chosen. Only active repeaters (displayed with red colour in the explorer) are

calculated. Choose the repeater coverage side antenna in the model scrolling menu. By default, if no antenna is installed on

the repeater, ATOLL takes into account an omni antenna with 0 dBi gain. Enter height, azimuth and downtilt of the repeater coverage side antenna. Additional antennas can be specified.

Note : by default, characteristics (antenna, azimuth, height,…) of the repeater coverage side corresponds to characteristics of the donor transmitter. Finally, you may model the feeder equipment used. Choose a type of feeder in the Feeders scrolling menu and

enter its length. You may define EIRP in case of GSM/TDMA networks or total gain in UMTS/CDMA/CDMA2000 networks.

ATOLL will use this value (EIRP or total gain) to calculate the signal level received from the repeater. Either directly enter a value, or click on the Calculate button in order for ATOLL to deduce the value from the link budget. The Calculate button enables you to update the value after changing any characteristic in the Coverage tab. If you modify other characteristics in the General and Donor side tabs, click on Apply before using the Calculate button.

Note : default EIRP takes into account donor transmitter EIRP, propagation loss between donor transmitter and repeater, donor part characteristics (donor antenna gain, feeder losses), amplifier gain and coverage part characteristics (coverage antenna gain and feeder losses). The default gain is applied to each power (pilot power, SCH power,…) and takes into account the same information about donor transmitter, donor and coverage parts of the repeater. Assumptions : The link between donor transmitter and repeater has the same frequency than the network, Propagation loss between donor transmitter and repeater is calculated using UIT 526-5 propagation model.

Since repeaters will be involved in computations, propagation parameters have to be set like in transmitters. They can be accessed from the Propagation side tab of any repeater property dialog. As for transmitter, you may specify: A propagation model, a calculation radius and a resolution used to compute the main path loss matrix, A propagation model, a calculation radius and a resolution taken into account to calculate the extended path loss

matrix. Notes : By default, ATOLL assigns to the repeater calculation settings (propagation model, calculation radius, grid

resolution,…) defined for the donor transmitter, The definition of the calculation radius in the repeater property dialog has an effect on the related transmitters that

will be taken into account or not because of the use of a computation zone.



IV.6.6 UPDATING REPEATER PARAMETERS As for transmitters, it is possible to select a repeater on the map, to change its azimuth and its position relating to its site. Angle calculation In addition, it is possible to globally update calculated azimuths and downtilts of repeater donor side antennas by selecting Repeaters and Calculate angles… in the Transmitters context menu. Finally, it is possible to globally update calculated total gains (or calculated EIRP) of all the repeaters by selecting Repeaters and Calculate gain… (or Calculate EIRP…) in the Transmitters context menu.

IV.6.7 USING REPEATERS IN CALCULATIONS Repeaters have an impact on the donor transmitter coverage. Path loss matrices ATOLL calculates a main path loss matrix and potentially an extended one for each active repeater: Which satisfies filter criteria defined, Which has a calculation area (intersection between the calculation radius and rectangle including the computation

zone). Computations are performed with the standard validity management carried out for any transmitter. Features such as export of repeater path loss matrices, possibility to evaluate the number of transmitters/repeaters to recalculate, list of transmitters/repeaters calculated and their invalidity reasons, … are available in the Result storage dialog and in the Propagation tab of the Transmitters property dialog. Coverage predictions The calculation area is the union between calculation areas of the donor transmitter and the repeater. ATOLL displays a composite coverage ; on each pixel, it takes the sum of both signals, the signal level received from the donor transmitter and the signal level from the repeater. The desynchronisation, which would lead to constructive or destructive operation on signals, is not modelled. Point analysis In the Profile tab, it is possible to study the profile between a repeater and a target receiver. In this case, ATOLL gives the signal level from the repeater. In the Reception and Results tabs, it provides the composite signal, the signal level received from the donor transmitter more the signal level from the repeater. GSM/TDMA specific calculations Repeaters have no direct impact on: TRX dimensioning, The donor transmitter (which has an extended coverage) is supposed to deal with more traffic and so naturally

needs more TRXs. Neighbour allocation, The donor transmitter would naturally have more neighbours as its coverage is extended. Frequency allocation, The donor transmitter (which has an extended coverage) is supposed to create more interference so allocation will

naturally be more constrained. UMTS, CDMA2000 and CDMA/ IS 95 specific calculations Repeaters have no direct impact on: Power control simulation, Neighbour allocation, The donor transmitter would naturally have more neighbours as its coverage is extended. Scrambling code allocation.



IV.7 RADIO EQUIPMENT

IV.7.1 RADIO EQUIPMENT : OVERVIEW Radio equipment are related to several devices producing losses on transmitters. In ATOLL, it is possible to calculate such losses for each type of equipment regarding to their specific characteristics. The calculated values may then be used to either determine total losses on transmitters or indicate their order of magnitude for each of them. Furthermore, for UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, assigning equipment to transmitter helps in the determination of the Total noise figure using the Friis equation. ATOLL enables you to model transmitter equipment in any project. Radio equipment consists of three main parts: Tower Mounted Amplifier (also called Mas Head Amplifiers): it is used to reduce the composite noise figure of the

base station. TMAs are connected between antenna and feeder cable, Feeders, BTS.

All the components, tower mounted amplifiers, feeders and BTS, are described in three associated tables. In addition, some characteristics, which may be different for transmitters using the same equipment, are specified in each transmitter properties. Equipment can also be managed in a database structure.

IV.7.2 MANAGING TMA EQUIPMENT TMA (Tower Mounted Amplifier) are used in the equipment specifications linked with each transmitter. When defined, TMA are available and can be assigned individually to each transmitter of the network. To create/manage tower mounted amplifiers equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Equipment : TMA equipment... option from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window, Click on the Records tab to open the TMA definition table, Create TMA equipment (give an equipment name to each newly created one), and, for each of them,

specify noise figure (noise figure TMA, dB), uplink gain (reception gain TMA, dB) and downlink loss (transmission losses TMA, dB),

Click the Close button to validate. Notes : Losses and gains must be positive values. The Table tab window allows you to manage user-defined variables in the Records tab window. Only transmission values are used in TDMA/GSM projects.

IV.7.3 MANAGING FEEDER EQUIPMENT Feeders are used in the equipment specifications linked with each transmitter. When defined, feeder types are available and can be assigned individually to each transmitter of the network. To create/manage feeder equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Equipment : Feeder equipment... option from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window, Click on the Records tab to open the Feeder definition table, Create Feeder equipment (give an equipment name to each newly created one), and, for each of them,

specify losses per metre (feeder losses per metre, dB/m) and the connector transmission and reception losses (dB),

Click the Close button to validate.



Notes : Losses must be positive values. The Table tab window allows you to manage user-defined variables in the Records tab window. Only transmission values are used in TDMA/GSM projects. In CDMA/CDMA 2000 or UMTS/W-CDMA projects, feeder and connector losses are not included in the

transmitter uplink total losses since they are already taken into account in the noise figure evaluation.

IV.7.4 MANAGING BTS EQUIPMENT BTS equipment are used in the equipment specifications linked with each transmitter. When defined, BTS types are available and can be assigned individually to each transmitter of the network. To create/manage BTS equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Equipment : BTS equipment... option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window, Click on the Records tab to open the BTS definition table, Create BTS equipment (give an equipment name to each newly created one), and, for each of them,

specify noise figure (BTS noise figure, dB), Click the Close button to validate.

Notes : Noise figures must be positive values. The Table tab window allows you to manage user-defined variables in the Records tab window. Only transmission values are used in TDMA/GSM projects.

IV.7.5 ASSIGNING RADIO EQUIPMENT TO TRANSMITTER Once defined, TMA, feeder and BTS equipment can be assigned to transmitters taking part of a network in order to determine corresponding total losses. For example, in GSM/TDMA projects, losses due to equipment will be available only when the Power and Losses option is chosen to define the efficient power of transmitters instead of EIRP. To define transmitter radio equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Either,

Right click on the transmitter you want to parameter radio equipment to open the associated context menu,

Choose the Properties command from the opened menu, Or

Double click on the transmitter you want to parameter radio equipment, Click on the Transmitter tab from the opened window,

Click the button to open the associated dialog box, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to validate.

Notes : Losses and gains must be positive values. Only transmission values are used in TDMA/GSM projects.

IV.7.6 USING EQUIPMENT TO COMPUTE TRANSMITTER LOSSES TMA, feeder and BTS equipment allows you to calculate losses on transmitters. Once their characteristics defined for each transmitter, ATOLL calculates downlink losses for GSM/TDMA projects, and downlink and uplink losses for CDMA



projects, including the total noise figure, using the Friis equation. To display calculated loss regarding to equipment specifications for each transmitters, open the properties dialog associated with the considered transmitter, and choose the Transmitter tab window. Calculated values are indicated in brackets right to the boxes linked with the different types of losses. This fields are editable and can be user modified. Notes : When loss information is lacking, the following default values are considered: Gain=0dB and Noise figure=0dB. Only transmission values are used in TDMA/GSM projects. Since they are already taken into account in the noise figure evaluation, feeder and connector losses are not

included in the transmitter uplink total losses (CDMA/CDMA 2000 or UMTS/W-CDMA projects). ATOLL does not automatically recalculate total losses and total noise figure when modifying equipment characteristics in their respective tables, in each transmitter Equipment specifications window or in the Transmitters table. It keeps initial values and displays updated values in parentheses. For automatic total losses and total noise figure update from equipment characteristics, proceed as follows :

Either, Right click on the Transmitters folder, choose Equipment : Apply to transmitters.

Or Open the Transmitters table, Select the whole column(s) you want to calculate Empty it (them) using the Delete key on your keyboard.

Note : The first way enables you to update total losses and total noise figure of all the transmitters while the second one can be used on a group of transmitters.

IV.7.7 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN A DATABASE STRUCTURE In ATOLL, TMA, feeder and BTS equipment are related to some objects from a database. These are available when creating a new environment .atl or when opening an existing one (even from a version previous to 1.9.2) not connected to a database. To enable the equipment modelling in existing projects connected to a central database, a specific procedure must be achieved. This is given below :

Let several users be connected with a central database. The database administrator is one of them, In database, the administrator must create three tables, called ‘TMAEquipments’, ‘FeederEquipments’,

and ‘BTSEquipments’, respectively dedicated to TMA, feeder and BTS equipment. Tables are described hereafter. In each table, assign a primary key to the field ‘NAME’,

Field Label Length Description NAME Text 255 Name of Tower Mounted Amplifier DL_LOSSES Float 4 Downlink losses of Tower Mounted Amplifier NOISE_FIGURE Float 4 Noise figure of Tower Mounted Amplifier UL_GAIN Float 4 Uplink gain of Tower Mounted Amplifier

TMAEquipments table

Field Label Length Description NAME Text 255 Name of Feeder LOSS_PER_METER Float 4 Feeder loss per meter

FeederEquipments table

Field Label Length Description NAME Text 255 Name of base station NOISE_FIGURE Float 4 Noise figure of base station

BTSEquipments table

The administrator must also define fields, listed below, in the existing Transmitters and TplTransmitters tables,

Field Label Length Description TMA_NAME Text 255 Name of the TMA equipment FEEDER_NAME Text 255 Name of the feeder equipment BTS_NAME Text 255 Name of the BTS equipment FEEDERLENGTH_DL Float 4 Length of DL feeder



FEEDERLENGTH_UL Float 4 Length of UL feeder ANTDIVGAIN Float 4 Antenna gain diversity MISCDLL Float 4 Miscellaneous DL loss MISCULL Float 4 Miscellaneous UL loss

Fields to add in the Transmitters and TplTransmitters tables Users may then refresh their documents .atl or open a new one from the database from projects created under ATOLL version prior to 1.9.2.

C H A P T E R 5

Managing Computations in ATOLL

5

Managing computations in ATOLL




V MANAGING COMPUTATIONS IN ATOLL

V.1 COMPUTATIONS IN ATOLL : OVERVIEW Once the network has been built, ATOLL allows you to create some general studies. To make this easier, ATOLL provides calculation tools like multithread and distributed computing features. Moreover, the several processes can be either displayed in an event viewer window or inside a log file. ATOLL provides also the possibility to limit the calculation loading and time by introducing polygonal zones. These help you to restrict the computation to a certain set of transmitters, and to clip related computations, coverages and other outputs. This is made by using two type of polygonal zones : the computation zone and the focus zone. The first one is the one on which are made the computations, the second one on which are made the statistical outputs. Depending on the project type on which you are working on, you may choose between the different propagation models available in ATOLL. Selecting the most appropriate one, you may even decide to attribute different ones to the different transmitters composing the network. Predictions may be featured in two ways : by using the point analysis tool in order to predict, at any point of the current map, the reception profile between a

reference transmitter (in real time) and the value of the several signal levels of the surrounding transmitters at a given point (using existing path loss matrices).

by computing different types of standard coverage predictions : coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping zones. Many customisation features on coverage studies are available in order to make their analysis easier.

All of these are easily manageable. Furthermore, ATOLL allows you to export coverage and path loss results with a view to use them elsewhere in another application. Notes : For CDMA technology projects (UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000), ATOLL provides also an active set analysis

based on a particular scenario (given terminal, mobility and terminal) for an existing simulation at a given point. Other specific studies like interference studies (GSM/TDMA projects) or handover, service availability, etc...

(UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000) are also possible.

V.2 COMPUTING IN POLYGONAL AREAS

V.2.1 COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES : OVERVIEW The computation and focus zones are user-definable polygonal areas based on the map cutting. Drawing such polygonal zones allows the user to reduce calculation area and calculation times, and to permit a more precise analysis on computation results. The computation zone had several functions : Determining transmitters geographically involved in computations. The transmitters that will be taken into account

are the ones which have at least one calculation radius (main and/or secondary, at the transmitter or repeater level) intersecting the rectangle around the computation zone.

Determining the validity of path loss matrices (i.e. Increasing the computation zone size invalidates path loss results),

Clipping traffic maps (during Monte-Carlo simulations, mobiles are dropped within the computation zone)., Clipping all the coverage areas.

In other words, path loss matrices are computed within the rectangle around the computation zone and coverages are displayed within the computation zone itself. The focus zone help you in : Clipping all reports and statistics, Clipping the graphic display with lighter colours around the polygon (and optionally when printing).

To sum up, computation zone is the area where ATOLL works out path loss matrices, coverage studies, Monte-Carlo and power control simulations while focus zone is the area where you want the results. These features provide a



practical way of analysing sub-areas once the main area is fully calculated. Furthermore, they enable you to analyse simulation results and coverage without border effect. Like other polygonal objects (e.g. clutter or traffic), computation and focus zone are easy to manage in ATOLL. Hence, this zones can created either by drawing, or importing from an external file. Several drawing tools are available, e.g. resizing, adding points to the zones, removing a point. Moreover, these can be saved in external files. Information on these zones are also very easy to reach (size and coordinates). Note : You may perform propagation calculations without geographic data (free space propagation). Nevertheless, it is necessary to define a computation zone.

V.2.2 COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES : EFFECTS Computation and focus zones helps you to reduce calculation area and calculation times. They are applied on several items listed below. Clutter classes or traffic statistics

Clutter classes, traffic, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment statistics refer to the focus zone if there is one. Only areas inside the focus zone are taken into account. Note : If not defined, the focus zone is the computation zone. Clutter classes ATOLL calculates the surface of each clutter class contained in the focus zone and its percentage. Traffic In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, statistics are available only in case of traffic raster maps (traffic maps based on environments). ATOLL works out surface of each traffic class (environment) contained in the focus zone. For each of them, it provides surface of each clutter class covered by the traffic class and its percentage. In GSM/TDMA projects, ATOLL evaluates the surface of each traffic class contained in the working zone and its percentage. UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 environments statistics For each user profile described in the environment, ATOLL calculates density of users and the number of users on a clutter class. The density of users remains the same. On the other hand, the number of users is related to the focus zone. Path loss matrices

ATOLL works out a path loss matrix for each active and filtered transmitter (or related repeater) which at least a calculation radius intersects a rectangle containing the computation zone. Only contents of the matrices inside the rectangle around the computation zone are calculated. Coverage studies

Calculation and display Coverage calculations are achieved by taking into account the computation zone. ATOLL checks coverage conditions on the areas inside the computation zone. Therefore only bins contained in the computation zone will be covered. Tip information on coverage is related to the computation zone. The focus zone has no effect on tip contents. Statistics on UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 studies To be taken into account, the focus zone must be defined before accessing study statistics. It is not necessary to define it before computing coverage. When accessing the Statistics tab (in the study Properties window), ATOLL considers only covered areas inside the focus zone. For each threshold value defined in the Display tab, it works out the covered surface and its percentage. These data are evaluated for each environment class, when using maps based environments as traffic cartography. Note : If not defined, the focus zone is the computation zone. Study reports To be taken into account, the focus zone must be defined before accessing reports. Reports are dynamically updated to take into account the focus zone without requiring a coverage re-calculation. ATOLL considers only covered surfaces inside the focus zone. Therefore, in case of coverage by transmitter, only transmitters which coverage intersects the



focus zone can be considered in the report. Note : If not defined, the focus zone is the computation zone. UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations

Calculation ATOLL drops mobiles on the traffic area contained in the computation zone. During power control, ATOLL considers all the active and filtered transmitters which the calculation radius intersects rectangle containing the computation zone. Simulation reports To be taken into account, the focus zone must be defined before checking simulation results (UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000). It is not necessary to define it before calculating simulation. When accessing the results of the simulation, only sites, transmitters and mobiles located inside the focus zone are considered. The global output statistics are based on these mobiles. Notes : - If not defined, the focus zone is the computation zone. The computation zone is not used as filter. Therefore, all the transmitters with a calculation area, even those located outside the computation zone, and all the created mobiles are analysed in the simulation results. - If the focus and computation zones are the same, only sites and transmitters located inside the focus zone are dealt with in the simulation results. Display All the mobiles even those outside the focus zone are represented on the map. ATOLL provides information for any of them, in tips and by left clicking on them. Other calculation algorithms

Other calculation algorithms for allocating primary scrambling codes, neighbours, frequencies, BSIC or working out the number of requested TRXs take into account all the active and filtered transmitters which the calculation radius intersects rectangle containing the computation zone. Printing

You may print either the whole selected area or only the area inside the focus zone when selecting the Erase outside of the focus zone option [File : Page setup command]. Note : If the focus zone is not defined, ATOLL will consider the computation zone instead of focus zone.

V.2.3 DRAWING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To draw a computation or a focus zone, proceed as follows :

Select the Draw command from the Tools : computation (resp. focus) zone menu in the menu bar, Position the pointer (polygonal selection arrow) on the map, Press the mouse left button (a first point is created), Slide the pointer on the map and press the mouse left button to create another point, Carry out the two last steps until you draw the polygonal area you want, Double click to close off the polygonal area.

The selected computation zone is delimited by a red line. The focus zone is delimited by a green line and the background is lighter. Note : If not defined, the focus zone is the computation zone.

V.2.4 CREATING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM POLYGONS You can create a computation (resp. focus) zone from any polygon contained in a vector object (created or imported). To do so, proceed as follows :

Right click on the polygon you want to become the computation (resp. focus) zone to open the associated context menu,

Select the Use as computation (resp. focus) zone command from the available scrolling menu.



V.2.5 IMPORTING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM A FILE As many other geo data objects, ATOLL allows you to import the computation (resp. focus) zone from a file with either an Autocad (.dxf), Arcview (.shp), MapInfo (.Mif), Agd or PlaNET® format. The imported computation (resp. focus) zone takes the place of an already existing one. To import a computation (resp. focus) zone file, proceed as follows :

Either, Select the Import... command from the Tools : computation (resp. focus) zone menu in the menu

bar, Or,

Select the Import... command from the File menu in the menu bar, Specify the directory where the file to be imported is located, the file name and the file type in the

opened dialog box, Press the OPEN button to validate, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Select the computation (resp. focus) zone option from the Import to scrolling menu, If necessary, precise the coordinate system associated with the file being currently imported, Click the Import button to achieve the procedure.

Notes : The drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL to import the computation

(resp. focus) zone, Any computation (resp. focus) zone must be a polygon, The Tools: computation (resp. focus) zone menu is available only if the map of the project is currently displayed. Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file

name is made of more than 8 characters.

V.2.6 EXPORTING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE TO A FILE In ATOLL, it is possible to export the computation (resp. focus) zone in order to make it available in other applications/projects. This can be made in the Arcview (.shp), MapInfo (.Mif) or Agd formats. To export the current computation (resp. focus) zone to a file, proceed as follows :

Select the Save as... command from the Tools : computation (resp. focus) zone menu in the menu bar, Specify the path, the name and the format of the file to be exported, Press the SAVE button to validate, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, If necessary, precise the coordinate system associated with the file being currently exported, Click the Export button to achieve the procedure.

Notes : The Tools: computation (resp. focus) zone menu is available only if the map of the project is currently displayed. Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file

name is made of more than 8 characters.

V.2.7 DELETING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To delete the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Either, Left click on the red (resp. green) line (limit of the computation/focus zone). The pointer becomes

position indicator ( ), Right click on this limit to open the associated context menu, Select the Delete zone command from the opened scrolling menu,

Or, Choose the computation (resp. focus) zone : Delete command from the Tools menu when the

workspace is displayed on top.



V.2.8 RESIZING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To resize the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Left click on the red (resp. green) line (limit of the computation/focus zone). The pointer becomes position indicator ( ),

Press and hold the mouse left button, Drag the pointer until its target location, Release the mouse button.

V.2.9 MOVING A POINT OF THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To move an existing point of the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Left click on the point of the computation zone limit (red line) you want to move. The pointer becomes position indicator ( ),

Press and hold the mouse left button, Drag the pointer until the target location, Release the mouse button.

V.2.10 ADDING A POINT IN THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To add a point to the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Left click on the location on the computation zone limit (red line) you want to add a point. The pointer becomes position indicator ( ),

Right click on this limit to open the associated context menu, Select the Insert point command from the opened scrolling menu.

V.2.11 REMOVING A POINT IN THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE To remove a point from the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Left click on the point from the computation zone limit (red line) you want to delete. The pointer becomes position indicator ( ),

Right click on this limit to open the associated context menu, Select the Delete point command from the opened scrolling menu.

V.2.12 DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE SIZE By using the tips button , ATOLL allows the user to read several information about any object. Thus, it is possible to display information (here : area size) on the current computation (resp. focus) zone. To do so, proceed as follows :

Rest the pointer on the red (resp. green) line (limit of the computation/focus zone) except on the main points making up the computation zone until the information appears.

Note : Information about surface will appear only if the tips button is on.

V.2.13 DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE COORDINATES To display the coordinates of points composing the computation (resp. focus) zone, proceed as follows :

Either, Left click on the red (resp. green) line (limit of the computation/focus zone). The pointer becomes

position indicator ( ), Right click on this limit to open the associated context menu, Select the Properties command from the opened scrolling menu, The coordinates (in the defined display system) of the point composing the computation (resp.

focus) zone are then displayed in a table window, Or,



Choose the computation (resp. focus) zone : Properties... command from the Tools menu when the workspace is displayed on top.

Advice: To draw an appropriate computation/focus zone, you can copy a list of point coordinates from a spreadsheet and paste it in the computation zone properties window. The format of the data contained in the table is the following : X_coordinate TAB Y_coordinate on each line. Inside this interface, TAB and Return commands are available by using simultaneously the Ctrl key and the appropriate key. Coordinates are displayed as defined previously.

V.3 PROPAGATION MODELS

V.3.1 PROPAGATION MODELS : OVERVIEW By computing losses along transmitter-receiver paths, propagation models permit to predict the received signal level at a given point and take into account : the Radio data, the Geo data like DTM and/or clutter classes, according to the model.

The mechanisms involved in electromagnetic propagation are : Free space propagation, Reflections, Diffraction, Scattering.

All these mechanisms can be more or less taken into account by propagation models depending on their complexity. ATOLL provides, by default, some model based on empirical approaches. For any type of project, you must find the best suited one. Nevertheless, ATOLL allows you to manage any project with several propagation models. These can be assigned either globally or at the transmitter level. Each transmitter may have a main propagation model (high resolution and short calculation radius) and a secondary one, with a lower resolution, and an extended calculation radius. Some propagation models (Okumura-Hata and Cost-Hata) are based on a “model type” principle. On the base of the formulae they offer, you can use these models to develop customized models by duplicating the existing base model (Okumura-Hata and Cost-Hata). The Okumura-Hata, Cost-Hata, Longley-Rice, Standard propagation model and WLL models available in ATOLL are based on formulae whose parameters can be set. Okumura-Hata and Cost-Hata in particular are based on one formula for each clutter class. The ITU 526-5 and ITU 370-7 (Vienna 93) models are deterministic and therefore their parameters cannot be set. Like other ATOLL objects, propagation models can be easily managed. Notes : When performing consecutive calculations with different thresholds : If no calculation radius has been defined, ATOLL recalculates the complete coverage for each prediction. If a relatively large calculation radius has been defined, ATOLL "stores in memory" the calculations for the defined

area and only calculates the difference between the two predictions.

V.3.2 PROPAGATION MODEL GENERAL INFORMATION V.3.2.a SELECTING PROPAGATION MODELS

In ATOLL, propagation models can be chosen at different levels. For this reason, you must be very careful with the propagation models priority order given to the different places where these models are defined. ATOLL is able to calculate two path loss matrices per transmitter, a first matrix over a near radius computed with a high resolution and a propagation model, and a second matrix over a far radius computed with a low resolution and another propagation model. Note : in addition, it is possible to differentiate resolution of path loss matrices from plot resolution.



To define propagation model(s) simultaneously to all transmitters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, choose from the scrolling list a propagation model (with a calculation radius and

a resolution used to compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, choose from the scrolling list a propagation model (with a

calculation radius and a resolution taken into account to calculate the extended path loss matrix), Click OK to validate.

To define propagation model(s) to one transmitter at a time, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Transmitters folder by left clicking on the button, Either :

Right click on the transmitter to which you want to assign a specific propagation model, Choose the Properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter to which you want to assign a specific propagation model,

Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, choose from the scrolling list a propagation model (with a calculation radius and

a resolution used to compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, choose from the scrolling list a propagation model (with a

calculation radius and a resolution taken into account to calculate the extended path loss matrix), Click OK to validate.

You can also define these parameters in the Transmitters table. Notes : The calculation radius limits the scope of the calculations to the radius that has been defined. The calculation

radius prevents the system from calculating over too long distances (e.g. in an urban area). In the case of very large environments, the calculation radius allows you to improve the calculation time. If no main calculation radius has been defined (and no secondary propagation model), ATOLL takes into account automatically the prediction minimum threshold to define the calculation radius for each transmitter. Nevertheless, this could drive to long calculation times

Since it is a matrix (or 2 in case of extended calculation radius) which is computed for each transmitter, the calculation radius represents the half side length of the potential matrix located around the considered transmitter.

ATOLL computes an extended matrix only if the three parameters, propagation model, calculation radius and resolution, are specified. Therefore, an extended matrix will not be worked out if its resolution is null.

ATOLL computes at the same time the main and extended matrices of a transmitter with a global management. Therefore, it will recalculate both matrices even if only one is invalid.

To select a default propagation model on predictions, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, Choose from the scrolling list a propagation model, Enter the grid resolution, Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the current dialog window, Click OK to validate.

Note : this selected model is taken into account only if the value of the main propagation model (transmitter property) is (Default model).

V.3.2.b SETTING PROPAGATION MODEL PRIORITY Even if it is possible to choose a propagation model in the Predictions folder, priority is given firstly to model(s) defined at the transmitter level (in any case, for either coverage studies or point analysis predictions). In that next case, you can choose a propagation model (and potentially a secondary one) for each transmitter. What is then displayed as propagation model in the Transmitters folder properties is the summary of what has been chosen for each independent transmitter.



For example, if you chose the same main propagation model X for each single transmitter, X will be displayed as main propagation model in the Transmitters folder properties. If you assign a main propagation model X to some transmitters and Y to others, no main propagation model will be displayed in the Transmitters folder properties. Because of the priority given to the transmitters in term of propagation models, the one displayed in the Predictions folder will be kept as reference for the complete project if the (default model) value has been selected for all the transmitters in the network.

V.3.2.c DISPLAYING GENERAL INFORMATION ON PROPAGATION MODEL Under ATOLL, the user interface is homogeneous for the different available propagation models. Indeed, for all of them, a common General tab window is available. In this tab, you may enter the model name, add some descriptions and check the model signature. The model signature is used for validity purpose. A unique model signature is assigned to each propagation model and its settings. When modifying model parameters, the associated model signature is changed. This enables ATOLL to detect potential path loss matrix invalidity. In the same way, two identical propagation models in different projects do not have the same model signature. Notes : Model signature corresponds to the MODEL_ID field you can find in .par files when externalising path loss matrices. Nevertheless, the real name of the used propagation model is also explicitly written in .par files (TX_MODEL_NAME field).

V.3.2.d CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE PROPAGATION MODEL The different propagation models are more or less suited depending on the type of project, radio and geographic data in use in the .atl current project. A summarized description is given in the following table.

Model Frequency band

Take into account

Required settings Recommended use

Longley-Rice (theoretical)

~ 40 MHz - Terrain profile - Reflection

- Calibration - Flat areas - Very low frequencies

ITU 370-7 Vienna 93

100 - 400 MHz - Terrain profile - Percentage time while real field > calculated field

- Long distances (d>10km)

- Low frequencies ITU 526-5 (theoretical)

30 - 10.000 MHz - Terrain profile - Diffraction (3 knife-

edge Deygout method)

Fixed receivers

WLL 30 - 10.000 MHz - Terrain profile

- Deterministic clutter - Diffraction (3 knife-

edge Deygout method)

- Free space loss - Receiver height and clearance per clutter

Fixed receivers > Microwave links

Okumura-Hata 150 - 1.000 MHz - Terrain profile

- Statistical clutter (at the receiver)

- 1 formula per clutter - Reflection

- With diffraction or not - Urban loss + correction

a(Hr)

1 < d < 20 km > GSM 900

> CDMA/CDMA 2000

Cost-Hata 1.500 - 2.000

MHz - Terrain profile

- Statistical clutter (at the receiver)

- 1 formula per clutter - Reflection

- With diffraction or not - Urban loss + correction

a(Hr)

1 < d < 20 km > GSM 1800

> UMTS

Standard Propagation Model

150 - 2.000 MHz - Terrain profile - Statistical clutter - Effective antenna

height

- With diffraction weight - K1, ..., K6 (single

formula) - LOS or NLOS differentiation

- Loss per clutter with clutter weighting

- Receiver clearance

1 < d < 20 km > GSM 900

> GSM 1800 > UMTS

> CDMA/CDMA 2000 (Automatic calibration

available)



V.3.2.e MANAGING PROPAGATION MODEL FOLDERS In the Modules tab, propagation models are organized in folders. That way, these items are easy to manage like other objects. Hence it is easily possible to delete, duplicate, copy and rename each of them. To access the different managing properties of any propagation model, right click on the model you want to manage to open the related context menu. Then choose among the several available commands : delete, duplicate, copy, rename. All newly created propagation models will then be available in the propagation model selection boxes (Prediction or Transmitter properties). The copy function can be useful to copy and paste a specifically tuned model in an atl project to another one (considering the name does not already exist).

V.3.3 PROPAGATION MODELS AVAILABLE IN ATOLL V.3.3.a WORKING WITH LONGLEY-RICE MODEL

The Longley-Rice is a theoretical model particularly suitable for predictions in the 40 MHz band in flat areas. This model uses the terrain profile to calculate propagation. However, the Longley-Rice model parameters can be set in the form of a calibration involving the distance and an additional loss value. To manage the Longley-Rice model, proceed as follows :

Click the Modules tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Propagation models by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the Longley-Rice subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Longley-Rice subfolder,

Click on the Parameters tab,

Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Define the loss parameters to be added to the model (in constant terrain, 0 values means a signal linear

decreasing as function of distance). dkm is the distance (in kilometres) from the transmitter, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.b WORKING WITH ITU 526-5 MODEL The ITU 526-5 model is particularly suitable for predictions in the 30-10000 MHz band at fixed receivers. It uses the terrain profile and the diffraction mechanism (3 knife-edge Deygout method) to calculate path loss. The ITU 526-5 recommendation considers that : If there are no obstacles, propagation will take place in free space ; If there is an obstacle, attenuation will be taken into account.

If there is an obstacle, an attenuation will be caused on contact with the relief with diffraction on the main peak (represented by a red line in the Profile tab of the point analysis window). The main peak taken into account is the one that intersects the most with the Fresnel ellipsoid. Any attenuation that occurs is then calculated between the station and the main peak and between the main peak and the receiver. The result may then show up to two new attenuation peaks in addition to the main peak. The various peaks are identified by red lines. The attenuation generated by all the peaks is displayed above the main peak. To access the ITU 526-5 model properties box, proceed as follows :


Right click on the ITU526 subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the ITU526 subfolder,


Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, A dialog window opens in which you may choose or not to apply an empirical tuneable corrective formula



on the Deygout method, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.c WORKING WITH ITU 370-7 MODEL (VIENNA 93) The ITU 370-7 model follows the recommendations of the Vienna 1993 international conference on telecommunications network coordination. This model is particularly suitable for predictions in the 100-400 MHz band over long distances (d>10 km), such as in Broadcast studies. It uses the terrain profile to calculate propagation. Vienna 93 model parameter setting is limited to defining the percentage of time during which the real field is higher than the signal level calculated by the model (1%, 10% or 50% of the time). The 50% value is usually used for coverage predictions, and 1% is usually used for interference studies. To access the ITU 370-7 model properties box, proceed as follows :


Right click on the ITU370 subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the ITU370 subfolder,


Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Choose the appropriate time percentage for the current study, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

Notes : when using this model, take care not to define reliability level different from 50%, or will be considered twice.

V.3.3.d WORKING WITH WLL (WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP) MODEL The WLL model is specially intended for "Radio Local Loop" applications in the 30-10000 MHz band. It is derived from the ITU 526-5 model from which it takes the prediction algorithms while applying specific changes : The possibility of setting loss parameters dealing with free space propagation and loss within the line of sight area

only or not, If the option ‘Line of sight only’ is not selected, ATOLL computes the path loss on each calculation bin, using formula defined in the dialog box. If the option ‘Line of sight only’ is used, ATOLL checks for each calculation bin if the receiver is in the transmitter line of sight. Receiver is in the transmitter line of sight if 100% of the Fresnel half ellipsoid is cleared (no obstacle along the transmitter-receiver profile). If the receiver is in the transmitter line of sight, ATOLL computes the path loss on each calculation bin, using formula defined in the dialog. When the receiver is not in the transmitter line of sight, ATOLL considers that the path loss tends towards infinite. The use of an “altimeter” clutter whose heights for different items (trees, buildings, etc.) will be added to those for

DTM, The possibility of defining a height and a receiver clearance associated with each clutter class; (e.g.. receiver on a

building, etc.). These heights will be added to the heights of the clutter, Adding notions of transmitter clearance.

The WLL model uses the terrain profile but also takes into account the height of clutter components. These components (houses, trees, buildings, etc.) will be added to the DTM altitudes to predict propagation and path loss. You can define a clearance space around transmitters and receivers (20 metres by default).This feature permits in particular to simulate holes in clutter areas. Example : the clearance can be used to simulate streets in an area of buildings where the clutter class file used does not show street detail. To access the WLL model properties box, proceed as follows :

Click the Modules tab in the Explorer window,



Expand the Propagation models by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the WLL subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the WLL subfolder,


Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Set the free space path loss prediction parameters, Define an overall clearance for all the transmitters, Define a default clearance for each receiver, Define a height and clearance specific to the receiver for each clutter class. If, for a given class, you

have not defined any value, the default height will be used. This land use part will be available only if the document contains a Land use folder,

Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.e WORKING WITH OKUMURA-HATA MODEL

V.3.3.e.i Working with Okumura-Hata model : Overview The Okumura-Hata is a model particularly suitable for predictions in the 150-1000 MHz band over long distances (1 < d < 20km) and is very adapted to GSM 900, IS95 and 1xRTT technologies. This model uses the terrain profile, diffraction and reflection mechanisms in order to calculate propagation. Hata models are well adapted to urban environment. Nevertheless, in order to make them available in a wide range of environments, It is possible to define several corrective formulas, and to associate each one to each clutter class available in the project. Furthermore, it is also possible to define a default formula used when no land use data is available.

V.3.3.e.ii Considering losses due to diffraction (Okumura-Hata) Okumura-Hata is able to take into account or not diffraction mechanisms by using a 1-knife edge Deygout method. To compute losses due to diffraction in the total path loss, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Okumura-Hata subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Okumura-Hata subfolder,

Click on the Configuration tab,

Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Choose from the dedicated scrolling menu to take into account (1) or not (0) losses due to diffraction, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.e.iii Defining an environment default formula (Okumura-Hata) ATOLL takes into account that even if you do not have a clutter file or clutter data missing, it is possible to use the Okumura-Hata model. To achieve this, you may define a default type formula to be assigned to the undefined zones. To select the environment default formula, proceed as follows :







Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Choose from the dedicated scrolling menu one of the available formulas (tuneable by accessing the

Formulas dialog box) to assign to undefined zones, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.e.iv Assigning environment formulas to clutter types (Okumura-Hata) When environment formulae and clutter data are available for the current project, you need to assign to each detected clutter class a type of formula, in order to make this model valid for a wide range of media. To configure clutter types with available formulae, proceed as follows :





Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Select in the scrolling lists cells from the Formula column the clutter-formula associations, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

Comment : Without this association, the Okumura-Hata model, which uses the clutter classes, will be unable to correctly perform prediction calculations. The default formula will be used on all clutter classes.

V.3.3.e.v Creating/Modifying environment formulas (Okumura-Hata) To create/modify an environment formula :





Click on the button to open the associated dialog box,

Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Adjust formula types and coefficients depending on the considered environment type, Validate by clicking on OK.

V.3.3.f WORKING WITH COST-HATA MODEL

V.3.3.f.i Working with Cost-Hata model : Overview The Cost-Hata is a model particularly suitable for predictions in the 1500-2000 MHz band over long distances (1 < d < 20km) and is very adapted to DCS 1800 and UMTS technologies. This model uses the terrain profile, diffraction and reflection mechanisms in order to calculate propagation. Hata models are well adapted to urban environment. Nevertheless, in order to make them available in a wide range of environments, It is possible to define several corrective formulas, and to associate each one to each clutter class available in the opened project. Furthermore, it is also possible to define a default formula used when no land use data will be available.

V.3.3.f.ii Considering losses due to diffraction (Cost-Hata) Cost-Hata is able to take into account or not diffraction mechanisms by using a 1-knife edge Deygout method.



To compute losses due to diffraction in the total path loss, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Cost-Hata subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Cost-Hata subfolder,


Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Choose from the dedicated scrolling menu to take into account (1) or not (0) losses due to diffraction, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.f.iii Defining an environment default formula (Cost-Hata) ATOLL takes into account that even if you do not have a clutter file or clutter data missing, it is possible to use the Cost-Hata model. To achieve this, you may define a default type formula to be assigned to the undefined zones. To select the environment default formula, proceed as follows :





Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Choose from the dedicated scrolling menu one of the available formulas (tuneable by accessing the

Formulas dialog box) to assign to undefined zones, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

V.3.3.f.iv Assigning environment formulas to clutter types (Cost-Hata) When environment formulae and clutter data are available for the current project, you need to assign to each detected clutter class a type of formula, in order to make this model valid for a wide range of media. To configure clutter types with available formulae, proceed as follows :





Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Select in the scrolling lists cells from the Formula column the clutter-formula associations, Validate by clicking on Apply or OK.

Comment : Without this association, the Cost-Hata model, which use the clutter classes, will be unable to correctly perform prediction calculations. The default formula will be used on all clutter classes.

V.3.3.f.v Creating/Modifying environment formulas (Cost-Hata) To create/modify an environment formula :

Click the Modules tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Propagation models by left clicking on the button,



Either Right click on the Cost-Hata subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,



Click on the button to open the associated dialog box,

Use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the displayed window, Adjust formula types and coefficients depending on the considered environment type, Validate by clicking on OK.

V.3.3.g WORKING WITH STANDARD PROPAGATION MODEL

V.3.3.g.i Working with Standard Propagation model : Overview The Standard Propagation Model is a model particularly suitable for predictions in the 150-2000 MHz band over long distances (1 < d < 20km) and is very adapted to GSM 900/1800, UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 technologies. This model uses the terrain profile, diffraction mechanisms (calculated in several ways) and takes into account clutter classes and effective antenna heights in order to calculate path loss. An automatic calibration tool is available. The model may be used for any technology. It is based on the following formula :

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )clutterfKHKHdKlossnDiffractioKHKdKKL clutterRxeffTxeffTxeffel ++×+×+++= 654321mod loglog loglog

with,

PR: received power (dBm). PTx: transmitted power (EIRP) (dBm) K1: constant offset (dB). K2 : multiplying factor for log(d). d : distance between the receiver and the transmitter (m). K3 : multiplying factor for log(HTxeff). HTxeff : effective height of the transmitter antenna (m). K4 : multiplying factor for diffraction calculation. K4 has to be a positive number. Diffraction loss : loss due to diffraction over an obstructed path (dB). K5: multiplying factor for log(HTxeff)log(d). K6: multiplying factor for RxeffH .

RxeffH : effective mobile antenna height (m). Kclutter: multiplying factor for f(clutter). f(clutter): average of weighted losses due to clutter.

All of these parameters are user-definable in the Standard Propagation Model Properties window consisting in 4 tabs (General, Parameters, Clutter, Calibration). See Typical values for Standard Propagation Model formula parameters.

V.3.3.g.ii Accessing Standard Propagation Model properties Users cannot access the internal formula of the Standard Propagation Model. Nevertheless, you may set all its parameters in the Parameters and Clutter tab windows from the SPM properties dialog box. To access the Standard Propagation Model properties box, proceed as follows :


Right click on the SPM subfolder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double-click on the SPM subfolder,

A dialog window opens,



Select the tab according the way you want to adjust model parameters. See Typical values for Standard Propagation Model formula parameters.

V.3.3.g.iii Adjusting Standard Propagation Model parameters You may adjust the parameters contained in the SPM base formula by using both the General and the Clutter tab windows from the SPM properties box. Excepting for the loss and clearance per clutter class (defined in the Clutter tab window), all parameters (including the Diffraction terms) are user-definable in the Parameters tab window. Moreover, in 5 cases, user have to select his choice in scrolling menus : Effective antenna height determination method, Diffraction calculation method (Deygout, Epstein-Peterson, Deygout with correction, Millington). The Profiles cell : if you select the radial option, ATOLL establishes a profile between each transmitter and each

point located on its calculation perimeter (user-defined by the calculation radius) and then, uses the nearest profile to make a prediction on a point inside the calculation perimeter (radial optimisation). When choosing the systematic option, ATOLL systematically determines a profile between each transmitter and any points in its calculation area. To avoid longer calculation times, it is recommended to choose the radial option.

Corrective term for hilly regions, The Grid calculation method. You can perform the calculations either at the centre (centred option) or in the

bottom left corner (bottom left option) of each grid. For all the other parameters, user may enter directly the appropriate values directly in the associated boxes. See typical values for Standard Propagation Model formula parameters.

V.3.3.g.iv SPM General tab window

V.3.3.g.iv.i SPM General tab window

When opened, use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the available fields.



V.3.3.g.v SPM Parameters tab window

V.3.3.g.v.i SPM Parameters tab window

When opened, use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the available fields. This tab manage parameters from the Standard Propagation model base formula. In the Near transmitter and Far from transmitter parts, specify the maximum distance, max distance, and four (K1,K2) sets (two sets per part). Max distance is a maximum distance from transmitter. When d (distance between receiver and transmitter) is inferior to this distance, the receiver is considered near transmitter. On the other hand, if d is greater than the maximum distance, the receiver is considered far from transmitter. Two (K1,K2) sets, (K1,K2)los and (K1,K2)nlos, are defined in each part. They enable to differentiate the case where the receiver is in the transmitter line of sight path (los index) or is not (nlos index). Therefore, the (K1,K2) sets taken into account in prediction calculations will depend on d and visibility. In the Effective antenna height part, define the Heff calculation method, the minimum and maximum distances (distance min and distance max) and K3 factor. Heff may be calculated with six different methods. Note : distance min and distance max are set to 3000 and 15000 m according to ITU recommendations and to 0 and 15000 m according Okumura recommendations. These values are only used in two methods of effective antenna height calculation and have different meanings according to the method. In the Diffraction part, specify which method you want to use for calculating the Diffraction term and K4 factor. These diffraction calculation methods are based on the General method for one or more obstacles described in ITU 526-5 recommendations. The calculations take earth curvature into account via the effective Earth radius concept. Four different methods (Deygout, Epstein-Peterson, Deygout with correction and Millington) are available.



In the Other parameters part, specify the values for K5, K6, Kclutter and hilly terrain corrective factor. Enter 1 or 0 to respectively take it into account or not. In the calculation profile, if you select the radial option, ATOLL establishes a profile between each transmitter and each point located on its calculation perimeter (user-defined by the calculation radius) and then, uses the nearest profile to make a prediction on a point inside the calculation perimeter (radial optimisation). On the other hand, when choosing the systematic option, ATOLL systematically determines a profile between each transmitter and any points in its calculation area. Comment: To avoid longer calculation times, choose the radial option. Finally, you can perform the calculations at the centre (centred option) or in the bottom left corner (bottom left option) of each grid. To select a method (in Effective antenna height and Diffraction parts)

Right click on the method line and then, on the arrow on the extreme right side. Choose a method in the list.

Note : Default values have been assigned to multiplying factors. The default values correspond to the quasi-open Okumura-Hata formula valid for a 935 MHz frequency. (See Sample values for SPM formula parameters).

V.3.3.g.v.ii Effective Antenna Height SPM Effective transmitter antenna height (HTxeff) may be calculated with six different methods. Height above ground

The transmitter antenna height is above the ground (HTx in m). HTxeff = HTx

Height above average profile

The transmitter antenna height is determined in relation to an average ground height calculated along a profile between a transmitter and a receiver. The profile length depends on distance min and distance max values and is limited by the transmitter and receiver locations. Distance min and Distance max are respectively minimum and maximum distances from the transmitter.

( )00 HHHH TxTxTxeff −+=

where,

TxH0 is the ground height (ground elevation) above sea level at transmitter (m).

0H is the average ground height above sea level along the profile (m).

Note : If the profile is not located between the transmitter and the receiver, HTxeff equals HTx. Slope at receiver between 0 and distance min

The transmitter antenna height is calculated using the ground slope at receiver.

( ) ( ) dKHHHHH RxRxTxTxTxeff ×++−+= 00

where,

RxH is the receiver antenna height above the ground (m).

H Rx0 is the ground height (ground elevation) above sea level at receiver (m).

K is the ground slope calculated over a user-defined distance (Distance min). In this case, Distance min is a distance from receiver.

Notes : 1. If m20<HTxeff then, ATOLL uses 20m in calculations.

2. If m200>HTxeff then, ATOLL takes 200m.



Spot Ht If HoTx > HoRx then, ( )RxTxTxTxeff HHHH 00 −+=

If HoTx ≤ HoRx then, TxTxeff HH = Abs Spot Ht

HHHH RxTxTxTxeff 00 −+=

Enhanced slope at receiver ATOLL offers you a new method called “Enhanced slope at receiver” to evaluate the effective transmitter antenna height.

Let x-axis and y-axis respectively represent positions and heights. We assume that x-axis is oriented from transmitter (origin) to receiver. This calculation is achieved in several steps:

1st step: ATOLL determines line of sight between transmitter and receiver. The LOS line equation is:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )( ) isd

HHHHHHiLOS RxRxTxTxTxTx ⋅⋅

+−+−+= Re00

0

where, i is the point index. Res is the profile resolution (distance between two points).

2nd step: ATOLL extracts the transmitter-receiver terrain profile.

3rd step: Hills and mountains are already taken into account in diffraction calculations. Therefore, in order

for them not to unfavourably influence the regression line calculation, ATOLL filters the terrain profile. ATOLL calculates two filtered terrain profiles, one established from transmitter and another from receiver. It determines filtered height of every profile point. Profile points are evenly spaced on the basis of profile resolution. To determine filtered terrain height at a point, ATOLL evaluates ground slope between two points and compares it with a threshold set to 0.05; three cases are possible. Some notations defined hereafter are used in next part. Hfilt is the filtered height. Horig is the corrected original height. Original terrain height is determined from extracted ground profile and corrected by considering Earth curvature.

- Filter starting from transmitter



Let us assume that Hfilt-Tx(Tx) = Horig(Tx)

For each point, we have three different cases:

1st case: If ( ) ( )1−> iHiH origorig and ( ) ( )( )

05.0Re

1≤

−−s

iHiH origorig ,

Then, ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )( )11 −−+−= −− iHiHiHiH origorigTxfiltTxfilt

2nd case: If ( ) ( )1−> iHiH origorig and ( ) ( )( )

05.0Re

1>

−−s

iHiH origorig

Then, ( ) ( )1−= −− iHiH TxfiltTxfilt

3rd case: If ( ) ( )1−≤ iHiH origorig

Then, ( ) ( )1−= −− iHiH TxfiltTxfilt

If ( ) ( )iHiH origfilt > additionally

Then, ( ) ( )iHiH origTxfilt =−

- Filter starting from receiver Let us assume that Hfilt(Rx)=Horig(Rx)

For each point, we have three different cases:

1st case: If ( ) ( )1+> iHiH origorig and ( ) ( )( )

05.0Re

1≤

+−s

iHiH origorig ,

Then, ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )( )11 +−++= −− iHiHiHiH origorigRxfiltRxfilt

2nd case: If ( ) ( )1+> iHiH origorig and ( ) ( )( )

05.0Re

1>

+−s

iHiH origorig

Then, ( ) ( )1+= −− iHiH RxfiltRxfilt

3rd case: If ( ) ( )1+≤ iHiH origorig

Then, ( ) ( )1+= −− iHiH RxfiltRxfilt

If ( ) ( )iHiH origfilt > additionally

Then, ( ) ( )iHiH origRxfilt =−

Then, for every point of profile, ATOLL compares the two filtered heights and chooses the greatest one.

( ) ( ) ( )( )iHiHiH RxfiltTxfiltfilt −−= ,max

4th step: ATOLL determines the influence area, R. It corresponds to the distance from receiver at which the original terrain profile plus 30 metres intersects LOS line for the first time (when beginning from transmitter). The influence area must satisfy additional conditions:

• R ≥ 3000 m, • dR ⋅≥ 01.0 ,

• R must contain at least three bins. Notes : 1. When several influence areas are possible, ATOLL chooses the highest one. 2. If d < 3000m, R = d. 5th step: ATOLL performs a linear regression on the filtered profile within R in order to determine a regression line.



The regression line equation is:

bxay +⋅=

( )( ) ( )( )

( )( )∑

∑−

−⋅−=

im

imfiltm

did

HiHdida 2 and daHb mm ⋅−=

where,

( )∑⋅=i

filtm iHnH1

i is the point index. Only points within R are taken into account.

2Rddm −=

d(i) is the distance between i and transmitter (m). Then, ATOLL extends the regression line to transmitter location. Therefore, its equation is:

( ) ( ) bsiairegr +⋅⋅= Re

6th step: Then, ATOLL calculates effective transmitter antenna height, HTxeff (m).

a

bHHH TxTxTxeff

2

0

1+

−+=

If HTxeff is lower than 20m, ATOLL recalculates it with a new influence area, which begins at transmitter. Notes : 1. In case mHTxeff 1000> , 1000m will be used in calculations.

2. If HTxeff is still lower than 20m, an additional correction is taken into account (7th step). 7th step: If HTxeff is still lower than 20m (even negative), ATOLL evaluates path loss using HTxeff = 20m and applies a correction factor. Therefore, if mHTxeff 20< ,

( ) KfdmHLL lowantTxeffelel +== ,,20modmod

where,

( ) ( )( )

+⋅

+

−−⋅−−⋅−=

100093.6

100063.9

20120203.0105 dd

HHd

K TxeffTxefflowant

f is the frequency (MHz).



V.3.3.g.v.iii Diffraction computation in SPM This feature is available in the General tab window from the SPM properties box. In the Diffraction part, user has to define calculations method for the Diffraction term and K4 factor. These diffraction calculation methods are based on the General method for one or more obstacles described in ITU 526-5 recommendations. The calculations take earth curvature into account via the effective Earth radius concept. Four different methods (Deygout, Epstein-Peterson, Deygout with correction and Millington) are available. In order to define precisely the diffraction profile, a clearance per clutter class must be defined. To do so, enter the appropriate values in the Clutter tab window from the SPM properties box in cells just left to the clutter classes ones.

V.3.3.g.v.iv Deygout The Deygout construction, limited to a maximum of three edges, is applied to the entire profile from transmitter to receiver. This method is used to evaluate path loss induced by multiple knife-edges. Deygout method is based on a hierarchical knife-edge sorting, so as to distinguish the main edges, which induce the strongest losses, and secondary edges, which have a lower effect. The edge hierarchy depends on the obstruction parameter (ν) value.

1 obstacle A straight line between transmitter and receiver is drawn and the heights of obstacles above the Tx-Rx axis, hi, are calculated. The obstruction positions, di, are also recorded. From these data, νi are evaluated. The point with the highest ν value is termed the principal edge, p, and the corresponding loss is J(νp).

Point p

Rx

Tx hp

Sea level

Deygout construction – 1 obstacle

Therefore, we have ( )ν pJlossnDiffractio =

3 obstacles Then, the main edge (point p) is considered as a secondary transmitter or receiver. Therefore, the profile is divided in two parts: one half profile, between the transmitter and the knife-edge section, another half, constituted by the knife-edge-receiver section. The same procedure is repeated on each half profile to determine the edge with the higher ν. The two obstacles found, (points t and r), are called ‘secondary edges’. Losses induced by the secondary edges, J(νt) and J(νr), are then calculated. Once the edge hierarchy is determined, the total loss is evaluated by adding all the intermediary losses obtained.

Point t

Point r

Point p

Rx

Tx hp

hr

ht

Sea level

Deygout construction – 3 obstacles



Therefore,

If 0>ν p , we have ( ) ( ) ( )ννν rtp JJJlossnDiffractio ++=

Else ( )ν pJlossnDiffractio =

Note : In case of ITU 526-5 and WLL propagation models, Diffraction loss term is determined as follows:

If 78.0−>ν p , we have ( ) ( ) ( )( )ννν rtp JJtJlossnDiffractio +⋅+=

Where, ( )

= 1,

6min ν pJ

t

Else 0 =lossnDiffractio Deygout with correction

The Deygout with correction (ITU 526-5) method is based on the Deygout construction (3 obstacles) plus an empirical correction, C. Therefore,

If 0>ν p , we have ( ) ( ) ( )ννν rtp JJJlossnDiffractio ++= +C

Else ( ) CJlossnDiffractio p += ν

Note : In case of ITU 526-5 propagation model, Diffraction loss term is determined as follows:

If 78.0−>ν p , we have ( ) ( ) ( )( )CJJtJlossnDiffractio rtP ++⋅+= ννν

Where,

( )

= 1,

6min ν pJ

t

dC 04.00.8 += (d: distance stated in Km between the transmitter and the receiver).

Else 0 =lossnDiffractio

V.3.3.g.v.v Epstein-Peterson The Epstein-Peterson construction is limited to a maximum of three edges. First of all, the Deygout construction is applied to determine the three main edges over the whole profile as described above. Then, the main edge height, hp, is recalculated; according to the Epstein-Peterson construction, hp is the height above a straight line connecting t and r points. The main edge position dp is recorded and hence, from these data, νp and J(νp) are evaluated.

Point tPoint r

Point p

Rx

Tx

hp

hr

ht

Sea level

Epstein-Peterson construction

Therefore, we have ( ) ( ) ( )ννν rtp JJJlossnDiffractio ++=



V.3.3.g.v.vi Millington The Millington construction, limited to a single edge, is applied over the whole profile. Two horizon lines are drawn at the transmitter and at the receiver. A straight line between the transmitter and the receiver is defined and the height of the intersection point between the two horizon lines above the straight line , hh, is calculated. The position dh is recorded and then, from these values, νh and J(νh) are evaluated using the same previous formulas.

Point h

Rx

Tx hh

Sea level

Millington construction

Therefore, we have ( )ν hJlossnDiffractio = Note : If you select no diffraction, the Diffraction term equals zero and is not taken into account in calculations.

V.3.3.g.v.vii Receiver effective antenna height In the Standard Propagation Model, the receiver effective antenna height is estimated as following :

( ) TxRxRxRxeff HHHH 00 −+=

where, RxH is the receiver antenna height above the ground (m).

RxH0 is the ground height (ground elevation) above sea level at the receiver (m). TxH0 is the ground height (ground elevation) above sea level at the transmitter (m).

Note : The calculation of effective antenna heights ( RxeffH and TxeffH ) is based on extracted DTM profiles. They are not properly performed if you have not imported heights (DTM file) beforehand.

V.3.3.g.v.viii Sample values for SPM formula parameters Here are some orders of magnitudes for the different parameters composing the Standard Propagation Model formula

Min Typical Max K1 Variable Variable Variable K2 20 44.9 70 K3 -20 5.83 20 K4 0 0.5 0.8 K5 -10 -6.55 0 K6 0 0 1

Concerning the parameter K1, this really depends on the frequency, and so, on the technology type. Here are some examples :

Project type Frequency (MHz) K1 GSM 900 935 12.5

GSM 1800 1805 22 GSM 1900 1930 23

UMTS 2110 23.8 1xRTT 900 12

Since K1 is a constant, its value is strongly dependant on the values given to losses per clutter class (if needed)



V.3.3.g.v.ix Correction for hilly regions An optional corrective term enables ATOLL to correct path loss for hilly regions when transmitter and receiver are in LOS. Therefore, if receiver is in transmitter line of sight and the Hilly terrain correction option is active, we have:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) KclutterfKHKdHKHKdKKL LOShillclutterRxTxeffTxeffLOSLOSel ,653,2,1mod loglogloglog ++⋅++++= When transmitter and receiver are not in line of sight, the path loss formula is:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )clutterfKHKdHKnDiffractioKHKdKKL clutterRxTxeffTxeffNLOSNLOSel +⋅+++++= 6543,2,1mod loglogloglog Khill,LOS is determined in three steps. Influence area, R, and regression line are supposed available.

1st step: For every profile point within influence area, ATOLL calculates height deviation between the original terrain profile (with Earth curvature correction) and regression line. Then, it sorts points according to the deviation and draws two lines (parallel to the regression line), one which is exceeded by 10% of the profile points and the other one by 90%.

2nd step: ATOLL evaluates the terrain roughness, ∆h; it is the distance between the two lines.

3rd step: ATOLL calculates Khill,LOS.

We have KKK hfhLOShill +=, If mh 200 ≤∆< , 0=K h Else ( ) ( ) 746.6log29.15log73.7 2 +∆−∆= hhKh If mh 100 ≤∆< , ( )( )iregrHHK RxRxRxhf −+⋅⋅−= 01924.02

Else ( ) ( )( ) ( )h

iregrHHhhK RxRxRxhf ∆

−+⋅−∆+∆−⋅−= 02 21.11log75.14log616.12

iRx is the point index at receiver.

V.3.3.g.vi SPM Clutter tab window

V.3.3.g.vi.i SPM Clutter tab window



When opened, use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the available fields. In this tab, you may define the average of weighted losses due to clutter, f(clutter) in the case of statistical clutter maps.

( ) ∑=

=n

iiiwLclutterf

1

where,

L: loss due to clutter user-defined in the Clutter tab (dB). w: weight determined thanks to the weighting function. n: number of points taken into account over the profile. Points are evenly spaced depending on the profile resolution.

The losses due to clutter are evaluated over a maximum distance from receiver, Max distance. Each clutter class is assigned specific loss, Loss per clutter class. The losses are calculated from ground and clutter heights. The weighting function enables to give a weight to each point. Four weighting functions are available: Four weighting functions are available:

Uniform weighting function: n

wi1

=

Triangular weighting function: ∑

=

= n

jj

ii

d

dw

1

'ii dDd −= , where d’i is the distance between the receiver and the i point and D is the maximum distance user-defined.

Logarithmic weighting function:

∑=

+

+=

n

j

j

i

i

Dd

Dd

w

11log

1log

Exponential weighting function:

∑=

−

−=n

j

Dd

Dd

i j

i

e

ew

11

1

To select the weighting function Right click on the weighting function line and then, on the arrow. Choose a function type in the list.

In the case of semi-deterministic clutter maps only, you may define a clearance (m) around the receiver for each clutter class . In the case of deterministic clutter maps only, all information related to the evaluation of losses per clutter class are given directly by the data contained in the maps Clearance and heights can be determined, and there is no need to define them again in this dialog.

V.3.3.g.vi.ii Typical values or losses per clutter class (SPM)

Losses per clutter class Dense urban from 4 to 5

Woodland from 2 to 3 Urban 0

Suburban from -5 to -3 Industrial from -5 to -3

Open in urban from -6 to -4 Open from -12 to -10 Water from -14 to -12

These values have to be entered only when considering statistical clutter maps only.



V.3.3.g.vii SPM Calibration tab window

V.3.3.g.vii.i SPM Calibration tab window

When opened, use the button to get a context-sensitive help on the available fields. In this tab, you may statistically analyse difference between predictions and measurements (Click on the Statistics.... button) and perform an automatic model calibration (Click on the Calibrate... button) from measurement survey. Choose in the list the measurement paths you want to use. In the Filter part, you may select the measurement points to be taken into account in statistics and for the model calibration by specifying distance and measurement intervals, los (measurement points in the transmitter line of sight) and nlos (measurement points which are not in the transmitter line of sight) options. Note : Statistical analysis and calibration cannot be performed without measurement survey.

V.3.3.g.vii.ii Displaying statistics before calibration (SPM) This feature is available in the Calibration tab window from the SPM properties box. With this, you may statistically analyse difference between predictions and an existing measurement survey. To statistically compare measurements with prediction results, left click on the Statistics… button. The study is carried out on the measurement points which check filter criteria. The report window is displayed: All parameters defined in General and Clutter tabs are summarized in the Model parameter part: the formulas used for calculations depending on visibility and distance from transmitter, the algorithms for evaluating Diffraction and Heff terms and the losses per clutter classes. In the Global statistics part, the number of measurement points which check filter criteria (Num points), the average value (Mean), the standard deviation (Std deviation), minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) values are evaluated for data like error, error (LOS), error (NLOS), log(d), log(Heff), Diff, log(d)log(Heff) and Hmeff. The difference between experimental (measurement) and theoretical (prediction) values (named Error), is calculated on the whole path. On the other hand, Error (LOS) is only calculated from points in transmitter line of sight path and Error (NLOS) takes into account points which are not in transmitter line of sight path. Other data (log(d), log(Heff), Diff, log(d)log(Heff) and Hmeff) are calculated on the whole path. In the Statistics per clutter classes part, Num points, Mean and Std deviation on error are detailed per clutter classes. Finally, the correlation matrix is specified.



V.3.3.g.vii.iii Calibrating the Standard Propagation Model This feature is available in the Calibration tab window from the SPM properties box. With this, you may perform an automatic model calibration from an existing measurement survey. Choose in the list the measurement paths you want to use. In the Filter part, you may select the measurement points to be taken into account in statistics and for the model calibration by specifying distance and measurement intervals, los (measurement points in the transmitter line of sight) and nlos (measurement points which are not in the transmitter line of sight) options. Note : Statistical analysis and calibration cannot be performed without measurement survey. From a selected measurement session, you may either display statistics on comparison with the current propagation model or choose to calibrate this model in order to stick its results to the measurements. To calibrate the model, press the Calibrate... button. The Calibration window is open. The calibration is carried out on the measurement points which check filter criteria using the linear regression method. The variables (cste, clutter, log(d), log(Heff), Diff, log(d)log(Heff), Hmeff) to be calibrated, the corresponding correlation coefficients (except for cste and clutter which are constant) and the corrections to be made on Ki initial factors to take into account the calibration are listed in a table. You may compare the average error (Mean) and the error standard deviation (Std deviation) before (initial statistics) and after (current statistics) calibrating the model. To achieve the model calibration, right click one or several variables (using shift and/or Ctrl button at the same time) and then, press Identify button. The calibration will be achieved when the current Mean and Std deviation values and hence, all correlation coefficients are as close to zero as possible. When selecting a specific variable, you may see, in the right small window, the correlation between error and this variable. When the correlation coefficient is close to one, a straight line can be drawn from the points: the error is strongly dependent on the variable. On the other hand, when the correlation coefficient is close to zero, the points are scattered around the straight line: there is no correlation between the error and the variable. When all the variables are selected, identification is processed for each variable from the most correlated to the less correlated to error. To recover the initial data before calibration, press Reinitialise button. To validate the calibration, press OK. The corrections will be added to Ki factor values. Note : K1 and K2 factors are the same for near and far options. Important : Model automatic calibration solution is a mathematical solution. Before committing results, ensure of their

relevance towards a physical and realistic solution. See Typical values for Standard Propagation Model formula parameters

We remind you that model calibration and its result (standard deviation) strongly depend on the measurement samples you use. A calibrated model must restore the behaviour of measurements depending on their configuration on a large scale, not totally stick to a few number of measurements. The calibrated model has to give correct results for every new measurement point performed in the same geographical zone, without having been calibrated on these measurements.

See also (to calibrate 1 variable - to calibrate several variables)



V.3.3.g.vii.iv To calibrate one variable Let us consider the scatter of measurement points depending on their calculation values for a given variable.

calculated values for the variable

ERROR (measurement – prediction)

Regression line

If the regression line (where the sum of square differences is minimised) is :

baxy +=

It is easy to prove that :

∑∑= 2X

XYa where xxX i −= and yyY i −= with yxab +−=

When a variable is calibrated, the new value of the coefficient Ki is equal to a and the constant value is equal to b. The coefficients are effectively affected to the model by clicking on OK. b is generally not null, that’s why Cste is often set when identifying a variable. CAUTION: The Correction column means the difference between the new value and the current value of the model for each coefficient. The correlation equals to:

∑∑∑=

YXXY

r

A correlation is considered satisfying when its absolute value is closed to 1. When it is not the case, the resulting correction may be unstable and so not reliable. Once the variable has been calibrated (after pushing the Identify button), a correction is suggested and the correlation is then set to zero because the differences between measurements and predictions are no longer dependent on the calculated values. Once the identification is processed, the correlation graphic becomes:

calculated values for the variable

ERROR (measurement – prediction)

Regression line



V.3.3.g.vii.v To calibrate several variables We can generalise the regression line for a set of N coefficients :

[ ]

×=

N

N

x

xaay MK

0

0

We can prove by the same mean :

=

×

∑

∑∑

∑∑

∑∑∑∑∑

YX

YXYX

a

aa

XXX

XXXXXXXX

NNNN

N

MM

KL

OM

K

1

0

1

0

20

2110

01020

with

( ) 000 xxX i −= , ( ) 111 xxX i −= …… and ( ) ( ) ( )yyY i −= By inverting the matrix, we can get the coefficients ai. CONCLUSION: It is important to notice that the matrix may be not inverted (or nearly not) in some cases.

When the correlation is wrong (When ( )iNX is nearly a constant (for example log(Heff) when Heff is unique) and more generally variables whose correlation is wrong (its absolute value near to zero). When the variable is actually a constant, the correlation is 0 and no calibration is offered (in this case the chart is empty).

When two variables depend on each other (2 lines are proportional in the matrix: for example log(d) and log(d)*log(Heff) when Heff is nearly a constant), the process works wrongly and may diverge.

So, it is advised to process identification for several variables at a time but only for those which are well correlated and do not depend on another one already involved.

V.4 TUNING RECEPTION PARAMETERS

V.4.1 SETTING THE RECEIVER PROPERTIES In ATOLL, the calculation of signal levels at any point, for point analysis or coverage purpose, is linked with the definition of a receiver. Depending on the considered project type, different properties might be set. To set receiver properties, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Either,

Right click on the Predictions folder to open the context menu, Choose the Properties option from the context menu.

Or Double click on the Predictions folder

Left click on the Receiver tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about receiver fields, Enter its height and, for GSM/TDMA studies, associated antenna, losses, and the adjacent channel

protection level. Notes : By default, the antenna is set to an omni one with a 0 dB gain, In GSM/TDMA projects, its is possible to set the adjacent channel protection level. This parameter is used in

interference computations in order to simulate the signal level offset due to an adjacent channel contribution on the considered channel. For example, if the value is set to 18 dB (default value), this means that the signal level coming from an adjacent channel will be decreased by 18 dB on the total noise computation on the considered channel.

For UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 studies, the point analysis tool is used for a particular scenario. Depending on the type



of mobility, service or terminal (or Radio configuration in CDMA/CDMA 2000) chosen, radio parameters are not the same for the receiver. Consequently, to manage receiver parameters used in the point analysis, you must set the characteristics of each used UMTS parameters (type of service, mobility, terminal) or CDMA/CDMA 2000 (type of service, Radio Configurations) in the corresponding properties dialog window. In GSM/TDMA projects, ATOLL has also an option which limits the representation for coverages around stations, in order to consider synchronisation problems. This feature is a graphic representation for coverages and is not taken into account in calculations. To define the maximum range value limiting the coverage display (GSM/TDMA studies only) around stations, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Predictions folder to open the context menu, Choose the Properties option from the context menu.

Or Double click on the Predictions folder

Left click on the System tab (if available) from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the current window, Set maximum range value, Click OK or Apply to validate.

V.4.2 COMPUTING SHADOWING MARGINS PER CLUTTER CLASS Propagation models are mathematical tools used for the prediction of losses along a path with the better accuracy possible. In reality, if we were to stay on a same location measuring a signal level, we would observe some variations of results due to slow fading/shadowing, i.e. surrounding environment. We would observe that real results are spread on a gaussian curve, around an average value, and with a specific standard deviation. If we consider the model correctly calibrated, its result should stick to this average value. So, in that case, we assume that the model gives a result which is at least correct in an average case, that is to say, in 50% of the measured cases. 50% means that 50% of the measurements will be better that the predicted value, the other values, being worst. This can be taken into account by considering a model standard deviation per clutter class. The considered clutter is the one on which you compute a signal level. These standard deviations, linked with a certain needed reliability level on results (point analysis or coverages) lead to additional losses per clutter class called shadowing margins. These are margins from a result given by propagation model (in dB) for which the probability of error is 50%. They indicate that, on the real field, results will at least the value computed by ATOLL with the defined reliability level (this means maybe better but not worst). For example, let's consider the model (correctly calibrated) gives a loss that should lead to a signal level of -70 dBm. The user wants a reliability level of 85 %. Let's imagine ATOLL provides a shadowing margin of 7 dB for the considered location. All of this lead to the fact that the real signal will be equal or better than -77 dBm in 85% of cases. Of course, the same reliability level provides the same shadowing margins to all the receivers located on the same clutter type. Different reliability levels will impose different values of shadowing margins even if considering the same clutter type. To display the computed shadowing margins per clutter class as a function of reliability level, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Shadowing margins... option from the scrolling menu, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the current window, Set the reliability level,

Click the button to start computation, Click OK to close the dialog.

Notes : When the reliability level is greater than 50%, shadowing margin values are not null only if standard deviations are

defined for clutters. In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, uplink soft handover gains due to multipath (2 and 3 links) are also

indicated in this window, If no clutter data is available, shadowing margin will be set to 0dB, and UL soft handover gain will be set to the



default global value (defined in the Transmitter global parameters in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000), When the reliability level is 50%, even if UL SHO gains (2 and 3 links) are computed in this window, the value

taken into account is the default global value (defined in the Transmitter global parameters) for coverage studies and point analysis.

In UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations, these losses are evaluated by computing random shadowing errors and are added to the model path loss.

V.4.3 USING RELIABILITY LEVEL IN PREDICTIONS ATOLL models the probability of error on the predicted path loss; errors on calculations depend on the transmitter-receiver path and the receiver position. They are due to some obstacles, which are not taken into account by the propagation model (in case geographic data are not up-to-date or appropriate enough, or when there are point obstacles). This phenomenon is called shadowing or slow fading; variation occurs over distances comparable to the width of obstacles (buildings, hills …) along the path. From a user-defined standard deviation corresponding to the clutter class where the receiver is located and a reliability level, ATOLL evaluates a shadowing margin and adds it to the path loss predicted by the model. In order for ATOLL to take into account a defined reliability level in calculations, you must define model standard deviation per clutter class. All coverage studies integrate the possibility to enter a reliability level (in their property dialog box). Notes : In case of a correctly calibrated propagation model, typical standard deviations should be around 6 dB to 9 dB. We remind you that model calibration and its result (standard deviation) strongly depend on the CW measurement

samples you use. A calibrated model must restore the behaviour of CW measurements depending on their configuration on a large scale, not totally stick to a few number of CW measurements. The calibrated model has to give correct results for every new CW measurement point performed in the same geographical zone, without having been calibrated on these CW measurements.

In Interference computation (GSM/TDMA, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000), Shadowing margins (depending on the entered reliability level and the standard deviation per clutter class) are applied only on signal level values. These are not taken into account in noise determinations.

When calculating coverage with a x% reliability level, ATOLL displays the areas where the measured field exceeds the predicted signal during x% of time. When increasing the reliability level, the predicted signal deviates from average and hence, the shadowing margin raises. Notes : When using the ITU 370 model, take care not to define reliability level, the reliability level being already included

as a parameter. The possibility to make soft handover in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 make available the computation of UL SHO

gains for 2 and 3 links in predictions or simulations (UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000).

V.5 COVERAGE STUDIES

V.5.1 COVERAGE STUDIES : OVERVIEW A coverage is a set of covered pixels. The coverage is a result of path loss matrix computations depending on the choice of propagation models, calculation areas and computation and coverage resolutions. Coverage areas defined by coverage conditions in order to select the transmitters that must be taken into account for the study. Then, according to this selection, any pixel will be covered as depending on the display type chosen, either by transmitter, by signal level, by overlapping zones in the standard case (for all projects). So, a coverage is a graphic representation of points for which a coverage condition is satisfied. Depending on the type of project considered, some specific studies (treated in their specific parts) are also available : - Interference studies in GSM/TDMA projects - Specific E/GPRS studies dealing with coding schemes or rates colouring, - Specific UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 studies based either on simulations or user-defined traffic loads. Like for many other ATOLL objects, the management of coverage studies is both easy and powerful. The generic ATOLL display dialog (including legend, label et tip management) is used and allows you to display your study on several attributes related to transmitters. Furthermore, some organization features (filter, sort and groups) are also available on



the displayed result. Many features help in the management of coverage in ATOLL. Indeed, it is possible to lock/unlock either complete studies or individual matrices, to display, print or export exhaustive coverage reports, to export matrices or coverage zones, to check the validity of current results regarding to the current radio configurations, and other tools always with a view to make handy coverage studies in ATOLL.

V.5.2 COVERAGE PREDICTION GENERAL SETTINGS V.5.2.a SETTING CALCULATION AREAS

In ATOLL, calculation areas are defined at the transmitter level. ATOLL is able to calculate two path loss matrices per transmitter, a first matrix over a near radius computed with a high resolution and a propagation model, and a second matrix over a far radius computed with a low resolution and another propagation model. In addition, the calculation areas of each transmitter occur only within the computation zone. To define calculation area(s) simultaneously to all transmitters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, enter a calculation radius (with a propagation model and a resolution used to

compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, enter a calculation radius (with a propagation model and a

resolution used to compute the extended path loss matrix), Click OK to validate.

To define calculation area(s) to one transmitter at a time, proceed as follows :


Right click on the transmitter to which you want to define a specific calculation area, Choose the Properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter to which you want to assign a specific calculation area,

Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, enter a calculation radius (with a propagation model and a resolution used to

compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, enter a calculation radius (with a propagation model and a




Since it is a matrix (or 2 in case of extended calculation radius) which is computed for each transmitter, the calculation radius represents the half side length of the potential matrix located around the considered transmitter.



The main calculation radius (and the related propagation model) can be also set at the station template level. When modifying a computation zone (e.g. reduction of the area) in which some predictions studies have already

been made, it is strongly recommended to run again predictions in order to ensure validity of results with current computation zone.



V.5.2.b SETTING CALCULATION RESOLUTIONS In ATOLL, it is possible to calculate two path loss matrices per transmitter, a first matrix over a near radius computed with a high resolution and a propagation model, and a second matrix over a far radius computed with a low resolution and another propagation model. The resolution of matrices is not a global parameter since it can be managed for each transmitter depending on its location. In addition, it is possible to differentiate resolution of path loss matrices from plot resolution. Prediction plot resolution can be actually defined on a per study basis. Thus, you can calculate several coverage studies with different resolutions without invalidating and recalculating path loss matrices. To define calculation resolution(s) simultaneously to all transmitters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, enter a calculation resolution (with a propagation model and a calculation radius

used to compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, enter a calculation resolution (with a propagation model and a


To define calculation resolution(s) to one transmitter at a time, proceed as follows :


Right click on the transmitter to which you want to define a specific calculation resolution, Choose the Properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter to which you want to assign a specific calculation resolution,

Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window, In the main matrix part, enter a calculation resolution (with a propagation model and a calculation radius

used to compute the main path loss matrix), Optionally, in the extended matrix part, enter a calculation resolution (with a propagation model and a

calculation radius used to compute the extended path loss matrix), Click OK to validate.





In addition to the default propagation model, a default grid resolution can be specified in the property dialog of the Predictions folder. ATOLL takes into account the default grid resolution when no value or zero is defined for the main resolution in the transmitter properties. In this case, the main path loss matrix of the transmitter will be worked out with the default grid resolution. To define a default calculation resolution, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Propagation tab from the opened window,



Enter the default calculation resolution, Use the What's this help to get further description about the fields available in the current dialog window, Click OK to validate.

V.5.2.c CREATING COVERAGE CALCULATIONS Whatever the project type is, all existing predictions are listed in the Predictions folder (Data tab). When starting a new project, no prediction is available. To create any prediction, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New..., Choose from the list a prediction template in the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the associated prediction window, Set prediction parameters, Click OK to validate your choice.

At this step, no calculation is made. The prediction with the parameters is just ready to b run. Notes : User interface of each prediction study Properties is standardised. For any common study, the Properties window consists of three tabs: The General tab where you may rename the study, define the coverage resolution, add some comments, define

group, sort and filter criteria, on the coverage display only (not on the results), The Condition tab where you can specify the study parameters, The Display tab to define coverage display settings.

V.5.2.d CREATING COVERAGE STUDIES PER GROUP OF TRANSMITTER In ATOLL, it is possible to automatically create prediction studies restricted to a given transmitter or group of transmitters. To create a coverage study by transmitter or by group of transmitters :

Either, Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the transmitter/transmitter subfolder you want to manage,

Or, Select on the map the transmitter you want to manage by left clicking on the appropriate Tx

symbol (arrow), Choose the Predictions... option from the context menu, Choose a prediction study in the opened window and press OK, Click on the Calculate button to run calculations. The created study is listed in the Predictions folder.

Notes : The general tab of the prediction dialog can be also used to restrict the results display identically, Coverages per transmitter or group of transmitters work like when filtering transmitters in coverage studies, i.e.,

the filter is made on display only, and not on computations.

V.5.2.e ACCESSING COVERAGE PREDICTION PROPERTIES Coverage predictions are manageable identically as point analysis prediction. Firstly, because propagation models may be specified either in the Predictions folder or in the Transmitters folder, you must be very careful to its priority order. The main propagation model defined with transmitters is taken first before the one defined with Predictions (See Selecting and managing propagation models). Then take care about the fact that reception is modelled as if it was made using a specific receiver and its associated parameters. Predictions are organised as the other ATOLL objects, i.e. in a folder form. The Predictions folder is the parent item for all the performed coverage predictions. So, it is possible to access the properties either of the Predictions folder or of any prediction. To access predictions global properties, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window,



either Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

or Double click on the Predictions folder

Click either the Predictions, Receiver or the System tab (if available), Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in each dialog, Set predictions global parameters, Click OK to validate your choice.

To access the properties of any single existing prediction, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Predictions folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the prediction study of which you want to access properties, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the prediction study of which you want to access properties,

Click on the available tabs to display the different windows, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in each window, Check or adjust prediction parameters, Click OK to validate your choice.

V.5.2.f SETTING COVERAGE RESOLUTIONS In the property dialog of each prediction study (General tab), it is possible to specify the plot resolution. Prediction plots are generated from multi-resolution path loss matrices. Nevertheless, the plot resolution is independent from matrix resolutions and can be defined on a per study basis. Therefore, in ATOLL, you can: Change the plot resolution without making multi-resolution path loss matrices invalid. This enables you to save

calculation and recalculation times. Display prediction plots with a resolution different from path loss matrix resolutions.

V.5.2.g ORGANISING RESULT OUTPUTS OF A COVERAGE STUDY In ATOLL, it is possible to filter the results of a coverage study by excluding some zones involved in the initial result. These filters only deals with display. Of course, during calculation, ATOLL takes into account all the active and filtered transmitters (at the transmitter folder level) to calculate the prediction and displays only coverage related to this transmitter. Practical example: the network consists of 4 stations (Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 and Tx3). Coverage by transmitter study: with best server, no margin and filter on Tx0.

ATOLL displays the areas where the signal level from Tx0 is higher than the specified threshold and Tx0 is the best server. Interfered areas study: any calculation option and filter on Tx0.

Tx1, Tx2 and Tx3 are possible interferers; they are taken into account in calculations. The covered areas are the areas where Tx0 is interfered by one of these items. To make a filter on any study, open its associated properties, and use the standard filter tools by clicking the

button. Notes : Filters defined in the Transmitters folder and filters inside a polygon have priority over the prediction filters.

Transmitters, which do not check these filter criteria, are considered as inactive in predictions. In the General tab, Group and Sort features enable you to organise study result in the Explorer. You can group or

sort a study according to any transmitter attribute. These commands are always available except when selecting display of best signal level, best server path loss, best server total losses or number of servers.

It is also possible to set the plot resolution in the General tab of any coverage study.



V.5.2.h DEFINING THE COVERAGE CONDITIONS In ATOLL, all the common coverage studies use the same dialog made of 3 tabs (General, Condition, Display). The condition tab of any coverage study property dialog allows you to filter the active transmitters (with calculation area) that will be part of the computation. So, in this tab, you must specify (using the What's this help to get information about available fields in the condition tab window): The study criterion you want ATOLL to calculate: you can choose to evaluate the signal level at the receiver

(Signal level), the path loss (Path loss) or the total losses (Total losses), as in point analysis, Minimum and maximum thresholds: a bin of the map will be covered only if the calculated criterion for each

considered transmitter on the bin is between minimum and maximum thresholds. Servers you want to study from the evaluation of their service area. You may choose to keep, on each pixel All

the servers, the one with the Highest signal level or the one with the Second highest signal level, as far as they check the other conditions (e.g. minimum reception threshold)

A margin in case of a best signal study. - In case of all the servers are considered (All), the coverage area of Txi is the zone where:

( ) threshold Maximum or orthreshold Minimum ≤−< LossesTotalLP TxiTxi

totTxirec

- In case of best signal level (Best signal level) and a margin, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:

( ) ( ) threshold Maximum or or threshold Minimum <−≤ LossesTotalLicP TxiTxitot

Txirec

and ( ) ( )( ) MicPBesticP Txj

recij

Txirec −≥

≠ where

M is the specified margin (dB). Best function : considers the highest value.

Notes If the margin equals 0 dB (best signal level and no margin), ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level

received from Txi is the highest one. If the margin is set to 2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is either the highest

one or 2dB lower than the highest one. If the margin is set to -2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is 2dB higher than

the signal levels from transmitters, which are 2nd best servers. - In case of second best signal level and a margin, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:

( ) ( ) threshold Maximum or or threshold Minimum <−≤ LossesTotalLicP TxiTxitot

Txirec

and ( ) ( )( ) MicPBesticP Txj

recij

ndTxirec −≥

≠2

where

M is the specified margin (dB). 2nd Best function : considers the second highest value.

Notes If the margin equals 0 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is the second highest

one. If the margin is set to 2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is either the second

highest one or 2dB lower than the second highest one. If the margin is set to -2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is 2dB higher than

the signal levels from transmitters, which are 3rd best servers. In GSM/TDMA projects, some specific server conditions related with the potential use of HCS layers are available for the service area determination. The last parameters to define in the Condition tab, whatever the project type is, are : The study reliability level. Entering 60% as reliability level means that the measured criterion exceeds the

predicted one, 60% of the time.



The selection of an item defining power in transmitters (TRX types in GSM/TDMA projects, carrier in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000)

Note : this tab deals with the determination of covering transmitter only. The way they cover the bin is managed in the Display tab.

V.5.2.i MANAGING PREDICTION DISPLAY Like for the other ATOLL objects classified under folders, prediction results can be either displayed (by ticking the box just left to each prediction) or not (by unticking the box just left to each prediction) on the map. You may even display all the calculated predictions by ticking the box just left to the Predictions folder (See Managing object visibility). Coverages are organised as layers. The layer order can be modified in order to make some of them displayed on the top. Concerning the coverage itself, ATOLL uses the generic display dialog in order to make easy and complete its management. So, when creating a prediction study, once the filter on the transmitters to take into account in computations and coverage (and interference) condition are set (condition tab), the display tab allows you to colour the defined zones depending on selected attributes (using the What's this help to get information about available fields in the display tab window). Attributes can be chosen in order to realize either common studies (coverage by transmitter, by signal level, overlapping zones), or specific studies (e.g. interference studies in GSM/TDMA projects, handover status, pilot pollution, etc.., in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects), or studies depending on any other attributes (zone, manufacturer, site status, any user-defined flag). These attributes can be, for example : Signal level (in dBm, dBµV, dBµV/m)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates signal level received from the transmitter. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if signal level exceeds (=) entered minimum thresholds (bin colour depends on signal level). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as transmitter coverage areas. Each layer shows the different signal levels available in the transmitter coverage area. Best signal level (in dBm, dBµV, dBµV/m)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates signal levels received from transmitters, which coverage areas overlap the studied one, and chooses the highest value. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if the signal level exceeds (=) entered thresholds (the bin colour depends on the signal level). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the signal level from the best server exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Path loss (dB)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates path loss from the transmitter. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if path loss exceeds (=) entered minimum thresholds (bin colour depends on path loss). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as coverage areas. Each layer shows the different path loss levels in the transmitter coverage area. Total losses (dB)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates total losses from the transmitter. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if total losses exceed (=) entered minimum thresholds (bin colour depends on total losses). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as coverage areas. Each layer shows the different total losses levels in the coverage area. Best server path loss (dB)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates signal levels received from transmitters, which coverage areas overlap the studied one, determines the best transmitter and evaluates path loss from the best transmitter. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if the path loss exceeds (=) entered thresholds (bin colour depends on path loss). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the path loss from the best server exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Best server total losses (dB)

On each bin of each transmitter coverage area, ATOLL calculates signal levels received from transmitters, which coverage areas overlap the studied one, determines the best transmitter and evaluates total losses from the best transmitter. A bin of a coverage area is coloured if the total losses exceed (=) entered thresholds (bin colour depends on total losses). Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the total losses from the best server exceed a defined minimum threshold.



Number of servers ATOLL evaluates how many coverage areas cover a bin in order to determine the number of servers. The bin colour depends on the number of servers. Coverage consists of several independent layers for which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the number of servers exceeds (=) a defined minimum threshold. Reliability level (%)

On each bin of each transmitter service area, the coverage corresponds to the pixels where the signal level from this transmitter fulfils signal conditions (defined in Conditions tab) with different reliability levels. In the explorer, there is one coverage area per transmitter. Best reliability level (%)

On each bin of each transmitter service area, the coverage corresponds to the pixels where the best signal level received fulfils signal conditions (defined in Conditions tab). In the explorer, there is one coverage area per reliability level. Caution: In case of a signal level, path loss or total losses display, the lowest defined threshold must be equal to the minimum threshold entered in the Condition tab. Notes : ATOLL provides default calculation and display parameters when creating common prediction studies (coverage

by signal level, coverage by transmitter and overlapping), but it is possible to cover by signal level even if choosing a coverage by transmitter study.

The definition of a study (coverage condition and display parameters) can be chosen for a study template. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage.

V.5.2.j RUNNING COVERAGE CALCULATIONS In ATOLL, coverage studies can be firstly created and tuned, and then calculated. So, it is possible to prepare a complete set of coverage studies, and let them work all together only when necessary. To run calculations on created predictions, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Calculations will be made only on unlocked predictions (symbolized ), Either,

From the menu bar, click either the Calculate button2 or the Calculate all button3, Or,

Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose either the Calculate or Calculate all command from the opened scrolling menu,

The event viewer opens showing the calculations progress in the Tasks tab (you may stop calculations even by clicking the Stop button or pressing the Esc key),

When finished, results are then displayed on the current map (if the visibility flag is checked). Notes : The calculate and calculate all features can be also accessed either : by using respectively the F7 and Ctrl+F7 keys, from the Tools menu in the menu bar, from the Predictions folder context menu.

V.5.2.k LOCKING COVERAGE STUDIES ATOLL allows you to lock some coverage predictions (and to freeze their result display) whereas you desire to commit calculations on other studies. So, this feature enables the user to easily compare prediction results made with different parameters individually. This can be made either globally or for each single prediction. To lock/unlock any single prediction study :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Predictions folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the prediction study you want to lock/unlock the calculations, Select/Unselect the Locked study option from the opened scrolling menu,

2In this case, locked path loss result matrices (in the Result storage window from the Predictions context menu) are not calculated again. Only invalid path loss matrices (compared to the current radio parameters) will be computed again. If locked, even invalid matrices are not recalculated 3In this case, even locked matrices are all deleted and totally calculated from scratch. If there are some valid matrices, ATOLL warns you about the potential destruction of existing data



To lock/unlock all the existing prediction studies :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Select either the Lock studies or Unlock studies from the opened scrolling menu.

Locked predictions are displayed with the icon, whereas unlocked predictions are given by the icon. Note : Be careful not to mix up locking predictions with locking path loss results from the Result storage. Even if some predictions are locked and other unlocked, path loss matrices may stay unchanged if either they are locked in the Result

storage window or if the user does not use the Calculate all button. Caution : when calculations have to be completed, be sure to have already defined the coordinate system used in the current project.

V.5.3 PREDICTION STUDY TEMPLATES V.5.3.a CALCULATING A COVERAGE BY TRANSMITTER

In ATOLL, all studies are classified in a study types box, referencing standard and customized studies. Standard studies are divided into two parts, common studies and studies which are specific to the current project (GSM/TDMA, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000). Common studies for any projects are : coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping zones. The coverage by transmitter study enables the user to predict coverage zones by transmitter depending either on their signal level, their path loss or total losses defined within a user-defined range. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the coverage by transmitter option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows (See also Defining the coverage condition and Manage prediction display). The coverage by transmitter study is a template for which the field 'Transmitter' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, coverage zones will be displayed with the same colours than the ones defined for each transmitter. Notes : ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating common prediction studies but it is

possible to cover by signal level even if choosing a coverage by transmitter study just by setting this in the display tab.

Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate prediction study in order to update coverage.

V.5.3.b CALCULATING A COVERAGE BY SIGNAL LEVEL In ATOLL, all studies are classified in a study types box, referencing standard and customized studies. Standard studies are divided into two parts, common studies and studies which are specific to the current project (GSM/TDMA, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000). Common studies for any projects are : coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping zones. The coverage by signal level study enables the user to predict coverage zones by field strength from transmitter depending either on their signal level, their path loss or total losses defined within a user-defined range. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the coverage by signal level option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows (See also Defining the coverage condition and Manage prediction display). The coverage by signal level study is a template for which the field 'Best signal level' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, each layer corresponds to an area where the signal level from the best server exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Numerous option related to signal level coverage are available in the Display tab. Notes :



ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating common prediction studies but it is possible to cover by transmitter even if choosing a coverage by signal level study just by setting this in the display tab.

Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate prediction study in order to update coverage.

Choosing a display per best signal level creates a study item made of threshold items whereas choosing a display per signal level let the folder be made of transmitter items. On each of these items, it is possible to check/uncheck the visibility flag.

V.5.3.c CALCULATING OVERLAPPING AREAS In ATOLL, all studies are classified in a study types box, referencing standard and customized studies. Standard studies are divided into two parts, common studies and studies which are specific to the current project (GSM/TDMA, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000). Common studies for any projects are : coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping zones. Overlapping is a coverage whose points correspond, for a defined condition, to the common points of areas covered by the signal of, at least, two transmitters. Therefore, ATOLL displays the areas where the signal level from at least two transmitters (signal level option), the path loss of the signal received from at least two transmitters (path loss option), or total losses along two paths between the considered point and transmitters (total losses option), is between minimum and maximum user-defined thresholds. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Overlapping option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows (See also Defining the coverage condition and Manage prediction display). The coverage by overlapping area study is a template for which the field 'Number of servers' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, each layer corresponds to an area where the number of servers exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Notes : ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating common prediction studies but it is

possible to cover by transmitter even if choosing an overlapping study just by adjusting display. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage.

V.5.3.d CREATING A COVERAGE STUDY TEMPLATE ATOLL provides a feature allowing you to save the definition of a coverage study (General, condition and display tab properties) in a study template. To save the settings of any study in a template, proceed as follows :

Right click the coverage study you want to save as a template, Choose the "Save as a template" command from the opened context menu, ATOLL saves the study parameters in a “Studies.xml” file stored in the ATOLL installation directory.

All the study templates saved in this file are available when creating new prediction studies. In the Study types window, ATOLL lists all the classical studies available for a type of project in the standard studies part and the study templates you have created in the customised studies part. Note : the name given to the reference study is kept as template name. It is possible to remove a study template from the file. In the Study types window, select a customised study and click on the Delete button.

V.5.3.e DELETING A COVERAGE STUDY TEMPLATE In ATOLL, coverage study templates are saved in a “Studies.xml” file stored in the ATOLL installation directory. These templates contain settings of reference studies set in their General, condition and display tab properties. To delete an existing study template proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New...,



Select from the list the study template (customized studies) you want to delete,

Click the button, Click OK to close the dialog.

Note : you can also delete globally all the customized studies by deleting the Studies.xml file in the ATOLL directory.

V.5.4 PATH LOSS MANAGEMENT V.5.4.a STORAGE OF PATH LOSS MATRICES

The first step of coverage predictions consist in the determination of the path loss matrices associated with each active and filtered transmitter in the network. This is automatically made for the first coverage prediction. Results (path loss matrices) may be stored either directly in the current atl project or can be externalised either in the same directory than the .atl project or in any directory you can specify. To set the location of the path loss matrices of an .atl ATOLL project, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Properties... option from the scrolling menu,

In the Predictions tab, click on the button and choose a location to store multi-resolution path loss matrices: Embedded: matrices are included in the .atl document. \<ATL_name>.losses: Multi-resolution matrices are stored in an external folder located in the same

directory as the .atl document. ATOLL memorises a relative path to access path loss matrices. By default, this folder is called <ATL_name>.losses (<ATL_name> is the name of the .atl document). Nevertheless, it is possible to change the folder name afterwards; all the names are supported. When using the Save as command, ATOLL creates a new folder associated to the new .atl document in the same directory; this folder contains path loss matrices and has the same name as the .atl document. No recalculation occurs if you move the .atl document and its related path loss matrix folder in another directory.

Browse: In this case, specify the directory where you want to save path loss matrices and click on OK. ATOLL memorises the whole path to access path loss matrices. The path can be manually typed or modified. In that case, ATOLL works differently than in the previous option when using the Save as command. It only creates the new .atl document.

Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the current window, Click OK to validate.

When externalising path loss results, ATOLL creates an external folder containing : One .los file per transmitter ; it corresponds to its main path loss matrix. A .dbf file giving validity information for all the main matrices. A folder called LowRes dedicated to extended path loss matrices.

This folder contains one .los file per transmitter, which has an extended path loss matrix, and a .dbf file giving validity information for all the extended matrices. Using this option, calculations are no longer stored in the .atl file. This feature enables the user to store bigger calculations in external files without storage size limitation (2 Gbytes for a file). Caution : the external files are updated without saving the ATOLL environment as soon as calculations are performed. To keep consistency with the stored calculations, the corresponding ATOLL environment must be saved before closing. Notes : Since the dbf file has a standard format, its contents can be checked by opening it in Access. This feature allows you to create matrices that will sharable between several users. In the case of a project in which some matrices were initially embedded, ATOLL provides a feature that

compresses .atl files when getting out



V.5.4.b LOCKING PATH LOSS RESULTS

This feature enables you to let freeze any path loss matrix, even if invalid when using the Calculate button.

Nevertheless, all existing (even locked) matrices are recalculated if you use the Calculate all button during calculations. There are two ways to lock path loss matrices, either from the Predictions global properties in a table form, or from any transmitter properties. To lock/unlock propagation results (one transmitter at a time), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Transmitters folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the transmitter you want to lock the associated path loss matrix, Choose the Properties option from the opened scrolling menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter you want to lock the associated path loss matrix

Click on the Propagation tab, Tick/Untick the Locked box, Use the What's this get description about other fields available in the current window, Click OK to validate.

To lock/unlock propagation results (possibly on several transmitters), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Result storage... option from the opened scrolling menu, Either

Tick/Untick the Locked box associated with the transmitters you want to lock/unlock the associated path loss matrix,

Or Select the transmitters you want to lock path loss matrix, Choose the Lock/Unlock option from the Action button,

Use the What's this get description about other fields available in the current window, Click OK to validate.

Notes : Be careful not to mix up locking matrices with locking calculations. It is possible to lock/unlock matrices from the context menu of the Propagation tab of the Transmitter global

properties.

V.5.4.c CHECKING PATH LOSS RESULTS VALIDITY This feature enables you to check if current path loss results are consistent with the current radio parameters. There are two ways to check path loss matrices validity, either from the Predictions global properties in a table form, or from any transmitter properties. If validity is not ok, you may calculate path loss matrices again in order to keep consistency. Reasons of invalidity are displayed for each transmitter. To check propagation results validity (one transmitter at a time), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Transmitters folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the transmitter you want to check the associated path loss matrix validity, Choose the Properties option from the opened scrolling menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter you want to check the associated path loss matrices validity,

Click on the Propagation tab, Check the label displayed in the Validity line. If the label is "No", the invalidity reason is given just below, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the current window,



Click OK to validate. To check propagation results validity (possibly on several transmitters), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Properties... option from the opened scrolling menu, Click on the Propagation tab, Check the label displayed in the Validity column. If the label is "No", the invalidity reason is given on the

same line, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the current window, Click OK to validate.

From this dialog box, it is possible to know how many transmitter path loss data must be recalculated in order to be consistent with the current radio configuration before starting calculations. Only matrices dealing with active

transmitters are taken into account in that case. To do so, click on the button. The number is automatically given in the dialog. The number of transmitters available in the current network is also indicated. Notes : It is possible to check the validity of existing path loss matrices from the [Predictions: Result storage...] command. ATOLL manages path loss matrix validity, transmitter by transmitter, even in case transmitters have main and

extended path loss matrices. Therefore, even if only one path loss matrix of the transmitter is invalid, ATOLL will recalculate both of them.

In the Results storage dialog and in the Propagation tab of the Transmitters property dialog, ATOLL lists calculated transmitters (transmitters with main and extended matrices) without distinguishing main path loss matrices from extended ones.

V.5.4.d EXPORTING MAIN PATH LOSS MATRICES Existing main path loss matrices may be exported in external files in order to be used in external applications. For the export, the user must select the type of value to export (Path loss or Signal levels). If “Signal level“ is selected, units have to be chosen. Furthermore, ATOLL enables the user to select the storage file format (binary, text or table). To export one or several path loss matrices, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Result storage... option from the opened scrolling menu, Select the transmitter(s) from which you want to export the existing main matrix, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the current window, Choose the Export... option from the Action button, Choose the directory, the format, and the field to export, Click OK to validate.

Two files are created by exported matrix. One is the exported field, the other, the georeferencement file related to the involved transmitter and its related calculation area. Possible exports are : Attenuations in dB ; Signal levels in dBm, dBµV or dBµV/m.

Possible file formats to export values are : Binary format : .bil ; Text : .txt with tab as separating character ; Table : .csv with semicolon as separating character.

Caution : take care not to mix-up with externalising path loss matrices (where each matrix is "made" of a .par and .los file) Note : Secondary matrices, linked with extended calculation radius, cannot be exported.



V.5.5 PREDICTION COVERAGE OUTPUTS V.5.5.a MANAGING PREDICTION RESULTS : OVERVIEW

ATOLL contains several features in order to manage prediction results. Prediction results concern both coverages or matrices. From available results, it is possible to display associated statistical reports on the coverage zones associated with each prediction study, and to easily export or print them. When a coverage display is satisfactory, it is possible to lock it in order to create further comparative coverage with different parameters. Depending on their type, coverage results may be exported in vector or raster formats. Exported data are covered areas and related threshold definition. Another ATOLL feature allows you a complete management of path loss matrices related to transmitters. Firstly, it is possible to lock only some path loss matrices (even if invalid), while calculating path loss matrices from other transmitters of the network. Then, it is possible to check the validity of current matrices regarding the current radio parameters. Then, these path loss matrices my also be exported in order to be used in external applications. Results (path loss matrix for each transmitter) may be either directly embedded to any current project, or outsourced to an external folder, in order to let them available from other users. Indeed, ATOLL permits to share propagation results stored in an external folder between several users. Therefore, this special results storage permits to use in the same project, both external results for some transmitters and private results for others. This part is treated in the specific multi-users chapter. Note : even if several cells can be defined per transmitter in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000, only one path loss matrix is computed per transmitter, powers not being parameters of interest for matrix computation.

V.5.5.b DISPLAYING PREDICTION REPORTS ATOLL provides a report editing feature on all available prediction for any project type. These can be done either for each single prediction or for all displayed prediction ( box ticked for predictions in the Predictions folder from which you want a report). Reports are displayed in a table form and their content can be managed like in any other table. When a report table is active, columns can be managed by using the columns to display option from the Format menu. On first opening, the report will only display the name and coverage areas columns. To edit a report about any displayed coverage, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Predictions folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Prediction from which you want a report to open the associated context menu, Choose the Report option from the scrolling menu, The associated report is then displayed as a new window, Choose the Display columns... option from the Format menu, Tick the boxes associated with the related information to display as columns is the current report.

Notes : You may display simultaneously report on all displayed coverages by using the Report option from the Predictions

folder context menu. The obtained report concerns all displayed predictions, and is organised in the same order than the one defined in the Explorer window Data tab.

Columns to display are either related to the global coverage or to each transmitter taking part into the coverage.

V.5.5.c EXPORTING PREDICTION REPORTS The report on any coverage prediction can be exported to any other Office-like application. To do so, like for any other table in ATOLL, perform a copy and paste action for the entire report, then reformat the text if required (change into a table, modify, etc...). You may also export the displayed map (including currently displayed results) and the results from the point analysis window to any other application program supporting image data format.



V.5.5.d PRINTING PREDICTION REPORTS You can use ATOLL to print both characteristics tables and reports as well as maps with their coverage. To print a prediction report, proceed as follows :

Make active a report window, Choose the Print... option from the File menu in the menu bar, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Adjust the printing parameters (We assume that your printer is correctly configured for your Windows

applications. If this is not the case, first use the Print configuration... option), Click OK to validate and activate the printing.

Print reports can be centred on the sheet and possibly spread over a number of sheets for large-scale tables. Cell sizes are then displayed on the screen. Comment : When printing a report, a footnote is created automatically in order to indicate the date (in month/day/year format) and the time of printing as well as the page numbering.

V.5.5.e EXPORTING PREDICTION COVERAGES With ATOLL, it is possible to export the coverage areas resulting from any coverage prediction in Bmp or Tiff raster formats or in ArcView©, MapInfo© or Agd vector formats. Of course, it is possible to only export predictions that have been calculated beforehand. Exporting coverage predictions allows the user to generate data file easy to import as vector or raster objects within ATOLL or within other applications. For each exported prediction (total or for a transmitter), the exported zone is delimited by the rectangle encompassing the coverage. All coverage type can be exported. To export any prediction coverage zone, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Predictions folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Prediction from which you want to export the coverage zones, Choose the Export... option from the scrolling menu, Choose the name, the format and the path for the file to be exported, Click on the Save button to validate, Check or modify the reference coordinate system for the file to be exported (if needed - vector format), Click the Export button to achieve the prediction export.

Notes : Be very careful about the accuracy of the coordinate system format to export. Indeed, when selecting a different

coordinate system than the one initially defined within ATOLL, the file is converted thanks to this other coordinate system.

Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file name is made of more than 8 characters.

Raster format export is not possible when the coverage is made per transmitter (coverage studies with display type per transmitter, per any transmitter attribute, per signal level, per path loss, per total losses). In this case, only coverage area of a single transmitter can be exported in BMP or TIFF raster format.

See Coverage prediction available exports

V.5.5.f COVERAGE PREDICTION AVAILABLE EXPORTS Depending on the type of prediction, the following exports are possible :

Prediction Possible export

Overlapping Coverage by signal level

Coverage by C/I level Pilot pollution

Downlink total noise The total coverage handover status

E/GPRS max rate per timeslot E/GPRS coding scheme



Coverage by transmitter

Interfered zones Service area (Eb/Nt) uplink The total coverage

Service area (Eb/Nt) downlink Coverage of each transmitter Effective service area

Pilot reception analysis Ec/Io

For each exported prediction (global or for a single transmitter), the exported zone is delimited by the rectangle encompassing the coverage Note : exporting coverage zones by transmitter is possible only when the coverage study item is made of transmitter sub-items.

V.6 POINT ANALYSIS PREDICTIONS

V.6.1 POINT ANALYSIS PREDICTIONS : OVERVIEW ATOLL contains several propagation models for specific needs. Once the choice has been made, the associated parameters have been set and the receiver has been tuned, you are able to make radiowave propagation predictions. Moreover, ATOLL provides a point analysis tool allowing you, in the standard case (for all types of projects), to study reception along a profile between from a reference transmitter in real time (no matrix needed), to evaluate the signal levels coming from the surrounding transmitters at a given point (using existing path loss

matrices). Furthermore, this tool is very helpful in the analysis of cases related to specific technologies. With this, you can : evaluate interferences on a selected transmitter at a given point, and determine the interferers and associated

noise levels in GSM/TDMA projects, make a complete active set analysis at a given point for a probe UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 user moving in the

network with a particular behaviour. This tool will help you to study also, at a point, the pilot reception and the connection status.

These specific studies are available in their specific parts. Of course due to the fact that several powers can be defined on an identical transmitter (at the subcell level in GSM/TDMA or at the cell level in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000), point analysis window provides the possibility to select either the TRX type or the carrier of the study. Using the Standard Propagation Model, it is possible to obtain further data along a terrain profile with the point analysis. Other tools like export ease, link budget, the possibility to adjust in real time reliability level, etc...are also available Note : like for coverage predictions, and because propagation models may be defined either in the Predictions folder or in the Transmitters folder, you must be very careful to its priority order. The propagation model defined with transmitters is taken first compared to the one defined with Predictions (See Selecting and managing propagation models).

V.6.2 DISPLAYING POINT ANALYSIS RESULTS V.6.2.a USING THE RECEIVER

To make the point analysis active, just click on the icon (or tick the Point analysis in the View menu). When this is made, you can move on the active map, and have displayed in Point analysis window the profile analysis between a given transmitter and the current location, the predictions from all the surrounding transmitters, and specific GSM/TDMA or CDMA/UMTS studies.

If you click on the map, the receiver is fixed on a particular point. To move it again, just click the icon, and drag it over the map.



V.6.2.b STUDYING THE PROFILE FROM A TRANSMITTER With the point analysis tool, ATOLL is able to display a view of the terrain profile between a given station and the point defined by the receiver on the map using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect). Results are given in real time (no need for path loss matrices). To make active the reception profile window :

From the menu bar, tick the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Left click on the Profile tab, Select the transmitter on which you want to base the prediction from the associated scrolling list, Either

Click the button in the Point analysis window, Or

Click the button from the toolbar, The data appearing on the profiles (ellipses, clutter, etc.) will be function of the considered model (See

below). In this profile tab window, ATOLL indicates the propagation model associated with the selected transmitter; this model is used for analysis. You may choose to display either the signal or several losses at any point. You can also choose the item level at which the power(s) of each transmitter are defined (TRX type or carrier). The altitude (expressed in metres) is reported on the vertical scale. A green line shows the line of sight (LOS) from the studied transmitter and ATOLL displays the angle of the LOS read in the antenna vertical pattern. Along the profile, if the signal meets an obstacle, this causes an attenuation with diffraction symbolized by a red vertical line (if the model used takes into account diffraction mechanisms). The main peak taken into account is the one that intersects the most the Fresnel ellipsoid. Any attenuation that occurs is then calculated in one hand, between the station and the main peak, in the other hand, between the main peak and the receiver. With some propagation models using a 3 knife-edge Deygout diffraction method, the result may then show up two new attenuations peaks in addition to the main peak. The various peaks are identified by red lines. The attenuation generated by all the peaks is displayed above the main peak. Profile with ITU 526-5, Okumura-Hata or Cost-Hata model When you use the ITU 526-5, Okumura-Hata or Cost-Hata models, Fresnel ellipsoids (blue) will appear on the profile and possible diffraction peaks will be represented by a red line. The attenuation generated by these peaks will be displayed above the main peak. Profile with WLL model

When you use the WLL model, clutters will also appear on the profile in addition to DTM. As for the previous models, the Fresnel ellipsoids (in blue) and possible diffraction peaks due to the DTM and/or clutters symbolized by red lines with attenuation calculated for all these peaks are displayed above the main peak. Profile with the Longley-Rice and Vienna 93 models

Only the first Fresnel ellipsoid and the terrain profile appear for these two models. Profile with the Standard Propagation model

Peaks of diffraction are displayed regarding to the selected method (Deygout, Epstein-Peterson, Deygout with correction and Millington). Both the terrain profile and the clutter (and its height, if defined) appear using this model. A report containing information on transmitter-receiver profile can be displayed.

V.6.2.c DISPLAYING PREDICTED SIGNAL LEVELS AT A POINT With the point analysis tool, ATOLL is able to display the signal from active transmitters in a network at the point defined by the receiver on the map by using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect). To make active the reception window :

From the menu bar, tick the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Left click on the Reception tab,

Click the button from the toolbar, Move over the current map to the places where you want to make your analysis.



The value of the different signal levels coming from different transmitters is reported in the Reception window in bar form, from top to bottom from the highest predicted signal level to the lowest one. Displayed bars have the same colours as defined for each transmitter. Notes : Displaying the predicted signal level at a point is possible only if path loss matrices have been already determined.

To do this, you must have previously executed any coverage prediction or simulations (CDMA/CDMA 2000, UMTS) before using the point analysis tool.

You can choose the item level at which the power(s) of each transmitter are defined (TRX type or Carrier), IN GSM/TDMA projects, it is possible to select the HCS layer on which you want to study signal levels. For UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 studies, that is the pilot power which is displayed in this window whereas it is the

Ec/Io which is given in the AS analysis window.

V.6.2.d LISTING ALL SIGNAL AND C/I LEVELS AT A POINT In addition to the studies with point analysis of the profile from a transmitter, predicted signals from surrounding transmitters, and, potentially interferences in case of GSM/TDMA projects, ATOLL provides an additional tab in the point analysis window allowing you to display, in the same window, general information at the receiver. So, ATOLL provides in the Results tab of the Point analysis window: General information on the receiver: its coordinates (stated in the Display coordinate system) and the clutter class

which it is located on, The signal level received from each transmitter containing the receiver in its calculation area, (Transmitters are

sorted in a descending signal level order), C/I levels due to surrounding transmitters, first both in co-channel and adjacent cases, then in adjacent channel

case only (studying always the most interfered TRX) in GSM/TDMA projects. Notes : Displaying interference levels at a point is possible only if path loss matrices have been already determined. To do

this, you must have previously executed any coverage prediction or simulations (CDMA/CDMA 2000, UMTS) before using the point analysis tool.

Interferences are possible only if some channels have been allocated to TRXs. You can choose the item level at which the power(s) of each transmitter are defined (TRX type or Carrier), IN GSM/TDMA projects, it is possible to select the HCS layer on which you want to study signal levels. For UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 studies, that is the pilot power which is displayed in this window whereas it is the

Ec/Io which is given in the AS analysis window.

V.6.3 MANAGING POINT ANALYSIS V.6.3.a SELECTING A TRANSMITTER IN POINT ANALYSIS

When studying reception profile and interferences using the point analysis tool, it is possible to display results at an identical point for several transmitters.

To do so, when using the point analysis icon over the map as a moving receiver, click on the map at the location you want to study different transmitters. Then, the receiver is fixed on the map. In the Point analysis window (Profile or Interference tab), select the transmitter to study then. Results are automatically displayed in the Point analysis window.

V.6.3.b SELECTING THE POWER DEFINITION ITEM IN POINT ANALYSIS Depending on the considered technology, power can be defined with different values within the same transmitters. The point analysis window allows you to select the level at which several powers can be defined for the same transmitter. Hence, you can select : In GSM/TDMA, the TRX type (BCCH, TCH or TCH_INNER) over which to study the profile. Choosing the (All)

option takes the TRX type with the highest signal level In UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000, the carrier, assuming that several cells can be assigned to a transmitter, each

cell characterising a carrier on a transmitter. Choosing the (All) option takes the carrier where the related cell has the highest signal level.

This feature is available both when working in the Profile, Reception, Interference, Results and AS Analysis tabs in UMTS/CDMA. Nevertheless, concerning the last one, the (all) option (for cells) works regarding the carrier selection mode as defined in the site equipment (UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000)



V.6.3.c ADJUSTING RELIABILITY LEVEL IN A POINT ANALYSIS ATOLL allows the user to display the properties of a probe receiver used in a point analysis window. Depending on the tab in use (reception profile, predicted signal, interference analysis, Results, and AS Analysis tabs in UMTS/CDMA, it is possible to display different pieces of information. The reliability level can be set at the receiver level, in order to calculate shadowing margins (using standard deviation defined per clutter class) to apply to computed path loss (made by the model). In any tab window of the point analysis window, to access the reliability setting box, proceed as follows :

Right click in the current Point analysis window, Choose the Properties... option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the value of the reliability level (and UL SHO gains in UMTS/CDMA), The related shadowing margin value is automatically displayed, Click OK to close the dialog.

Notes : When the reliability level is greater than 50%, shadowing margin values are not null only if standard deviations are

defined for clutter classes. If no clutter data is available, shadowing margin will be set to 0dB, and UL soft handover gain will be set to the

default global value (defined in the Transmitter global parameters in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000), In UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations, these losses are evaluated by computing random shadowing errors

and are added to the model path loss.

V.6.3.d DISPLAYING SIGNAL LEVELS OR LOSSES IN POINT ANALYSIS ATOLL allows the user to display the properties of a probe receiver used in a point analysis window. Depending on the tab in use (reception profile, predicted signal, interference analysis, Results, and AS Analysis tabs in UMTS/CDMA, it is possible to display different pieces of information. Hence, you can choose to display results at a given point in term of path loss, total losses or signal level in the Profile tab of the point analysis window. This can also be made as a coverage condition. In the Profile tab window, to access the result type box, proceed as follows :

Right click in the current Point analysis window, Choose the Properties... option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Choose to display either the signal level, path loss or total losses in the Result type scrolling box, Click OK to close the dialog and validate your choice.

The available study criteria are detailed in the table below.

Study criteria Formulas

Signal level ( recP ) ( )RxantShadowingpathrec LGMLEIRPPRx

−+−−=

Path loss ( pathL ) LLL antpath Tx+= model

Total losses (Total-Losses) ( ) ( )GGLLMLLossesTotal antantRxTxShadowingpath RxTx+−+++=−

Note : In case of coverage studies, it is possible to calculate the signal level at the receiver in dBm, dBµV or dBµV/m.

V.6.3.e DISPLAYING LINK BUDGET AT A RECEIVER ATOLL allows the user to display the link budget at a receiver along a path profile. The link budget is made of powers, gains and losses composing the resulting signal level. To display the link budget box at any point, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, check the Point analysis command in the View menu, Left click on the Profile tab, Right click in the current Point analysis window, Choose the Link budget... option from the context menu.



V.6.3.f USING A SITE AS A TARGET FOR POINT ANALYSIS ATOLL provides a feature in order to drop the receiver used for point analysis on the exact location of an existing site, using any tab (reception profile, predicted signal, interference analysis, Results, or AS Analysis tabs in UMTS/CDMA of the point analysis window. To put the point analysis tool on an existing site, proceed as follows :

Make active the point analysis, Right click on the receiver to open the associated context menu, Select the Target site command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Target site dialog, choose one existing site from the scrolling list, Click OK to close the dialog.

V.6.3.g DISPLAYING SPM PARAMETERS OVER A PROFILE ANALYSIS When using Standard Propagation model, you may display a report containing information on transmitter-receiver profile. To get it, proceed as follows :

Right click on the profile part of the current window in order to open the associated context menu, Choose the Model details command from the displayed menu.

The default text editor. In this report, ATOLL gives the number of points taken into account along the transmitter-receiver path and details for every point:

• The distance between the point and the transmitter (Dist) in m, • The ground height (Alt) in m, • The ground height with earth curvature consideration (Gr H) in m, • The total height (Tot H) in m: Tot H = Gr H + clutter height.

Note : At the transmitter (first point in the list) or at the receiver (last point in the list), we respectively have: Tot H = Gr H + Clutter height + HTx and Tot H = Gr H + Clutter height + HRx, where, HTx and HRx are respectively transmitter and receiver antenna heights above the ground (m).

• The clutter class, • The filtered total height (Flt H) in m. ATOLL determines this parameter only when the Enhanced slope at

receiver method is selected. Then, it recapitulates effective transmitter antenna height (Tx effective height), K1 and K2 parameters used in calculations (Far or Near, LOS or NLOS) and detailed propagation results. Correction for low Tx effective height, are different from zero.

V.6.3.h EXPORTING A POINT ANALYSIS STUDY Whatever the point analysis on which you are working (reception profile, predicted signal level, interference analysis, and AS Analysis - UMTS/CDMA - tabs) is, ATOLL allows the user to export a result as displayed in the Point analysis window as in image in any application. To do so, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, tick the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Choose the tab associated with your current study, Make your results displayed, Right click in the Point analysis window, Choose the Copy option from the context menu, Switch to another application supporting any format image, Paste the current content of your clipboard by : Either

by using the Ctrl+V shortcut, Or

by choosing the Paste command from the Edit menu.



V.6.3.i PRINTING A POINT ANALYSIS STUDY Whatever the point analysis on which you are working (reception profile, predicted signal level, interference analysis, and AS Analysis - UMTS/CDMA - tabs) is, ATOLL allows the user to print a result as displayed in the Point analysis window : To do so, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, check the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Choose the tab associated with your current study, Make your results displayed, Right click on the Point analysis window, Choose the Print... option from the context menu, The Print dialog window opens, Choose the appropriate printing parameters, Click OK to start printing.

V.7 CALCULATION TOOLS IN ATOLL

V.7.1 ATOLL FEATURES FOR COMPUTING ATOLL provides a multi-thread feature allowing you to spread the some computations on several processors. Hence, ATOLL can use two processors of the local machine for propagation computations, UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations and coverage studies (standard or specific GSM/TDMA, UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000) and automatic scrambling code allocation. This feature is automatic. That means that, on a dual-processor pc, each processor works out one path loss matrix, one prediction study or one simulation. Therefore, calculation times are divided in two. It is also possible to distribute path loss calculation using several Pcs on the same time.

V.7.2 DISTRIBUTING CALCULATIONS ON SEVERAL PCS ATOLL provides you the possibility to share computations using two processors of a multi-processors PC. Moreover, another feature enables you to distribute path loss calculations on several workstations. The ATOLL package provides a computing server application; it can be installed either on workstations or servers and used by ATOLL sessions installed on other stations. Once the computing server application is installed on a workstation, this one is considered as a potential calculation server for other workstations with computing server application. Therefore, a user can distribute calculations of path loss matrices on another workstation if the computing server application is installed on his workstation and the other one. This application (working only on path loss matrix computations) supports dual-processor configurations. Once the computing server application is installed on some computation servers, the distributed computation feature is possible for other computers of the network. To activate the distributed calculation on a local workstation, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, select the Distributed calculation... command in the Tools menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Check the Activate the distributed calculation option, Either,

Type the name of calculation servers, which you want to distribute computations on (use semicolon as separator). ATOLL automatically saves the list of calculation servers to be used in an ATOLL.ini file located in the ATOLL installation directory. The file has the following syntax:

[RemoteCalculation] Servers=Workstation_1;Workstation_2 If the list is empty, ATOLL considers that the distributed calculation option is inactive. Then, computations are run on the local workstation.

Or, When clicking on the Detect button, ATOLL searches and displays all the potential calculation

servers you can use.



Or, When clicking on the All button, ATOLL displays the symbol * in the Use servers dialog. In this

case, it will scan all the potential calculation servers when starting calculations. ATOLL will use all the found calculation servers.

Click OK to validate your choice. When starting propagation computations, ATOLL searches the calculation servers of the list and distributes calculations on the found servers. It displays in the Events tab the found calculation servers. Notes : If calculation servers entered in the list are not available (workstation is off), computations are run on the local

workstation. The distributed calculations do not work in case of embedded geographic data and ISTAR format maps (*.ist). Several users can distribute their computations on the same calculation server. Path loss matrices are not

simultaneously calculated but one at a time (e.g. 1st matrix from user1, 1st matrix from user2 and so on) An ATOLL.ini file can be prepared by an administrator in order to specify the computing servers, and marked as

read only.

V.7.3 DISPLAYING CALCULATION EVENTS IN A LOG WINDOW An event viewer window is available in ATOLL. To make it opened, use the View menu. This window consists of two tabs, the Events and Tasks tabs. Events tab

ATOLL lists some events and provides for each of them, the type, the hour the event occurred and a description. Events detailed in the Events tab concern PlaNET imports and calculations (path loss matrices and coverage studies). You may encounter three types of events, displayed with a specific symbol: - Errors occurred during PlaNET import or calculations: ATOLL does not stop the import or calculation process; it automatically opens the Events tab to warn you, - Warnings about minor problems happened during calculations. Be careful, ATOLL does not open the Events tab to inform you, - Information on time a calculation or PlaNET import process is started and ended. Some features in order to manage events are available. To access them, right click on the window in order to open the related context menu. Then you will be able to : - Delete the selected event(s) (Clear command), - Delete all the events (Clear all command), - Copy the event description in the clipboard (Copy command), - Display the entire event description (Properties command). Tasks tab

The Tasks tab enables you to visualise progress of path loss matrix, prediction study, UMTS, CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation calculations and neighbour allocation. As calculation progress is managed in the Tasks tab, it is possible to work with ATOLL while calculations start. The Tasks tab is automatically open as soon as calculations are started. To interrupt calculations, click on the button, available in the Tasks tab. Notes : Messages listed in the events tab can be saved in a log file. The log window is automatically magnetised within the other set of ATOLL windows. To break this magnetism,

and freely move this window, use the CTRL key when dragging it.

V.7.4 EXPORTING CALCULATION EVENTS IN A LOG FILE The Event viewer window contains two tabs : Events and Tasks. The events tab displays details about processes and potential errors, information and warnings. Messages listed in this tab can be saved in a .log file. To do that, add an option when starting ATOLL from a command line, with the syntax above : “C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -log “C:\….\events.log”

C H A P T E R 6

GSM/TDMA Projects management

6



VI GSM/TDMA PROJECT MANAGEMENT

VI.1 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS : OVERVIEW GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and DCS ((Digital Communications System) are radio technologies using TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) principles, each on a different frequency band. In TDMA technology, users are spread over frequency bands made of physical channels. Each of these physical channels is divided into a certain number of logical channels called timeslots. The norm in standard TDMA is 8 timeslots per channel. This means that a channel can carry simultaneously 8 speaking users. Even if users on a same physical channel do not interferer each other (spread on time), every data carried on a physical channel can be potentially interfered by other communications occurring on co-channel or on adjacent channel. The goal of planning such a GSM/TDMA network will be to provide a sufficient coverage to cover a maximum area, to assign to transmitters enough channels in order to absorb the traffic demand by limiting interferences in the network. Geo data are easily manageable as in the other projects. You may either create or import any of these data. Sites, antennas, station templates, transmitters, measurements, and propagation models work in the same way for GSM/TDMA projects than for the other technology types. Nevertheless, the complexity of such a modelling has led to the introduction of several specific radio data for GSM/TDMA in order to optimise the management of radio resources. As many objects in ATOLL, these data are easy to manage and use generic dialogs. Traffic is also a parameter than can be easily generated and managed in ATOLL. This is useful in order to dimension TRXs (set of logical channels) for each transmitter. Once the number or resources needed to absorb the traffic is set, you can easily manually assign frequencies to transmitters. Even if all common studies are available (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level, overlapping) with some specific conditions due to GSM/TDMA, ATOLL provides also some other specific coverage studies dealing with interferences : interfered zones and coverage by C/I level. Furthermore, like for the study of the profile and reception in point analysis (and active set in UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000), it is possible to study interferences in GSM/TDMA using the point analysis. These results show clearly that most of the time the network has to be optimised in order to stick to the goals (see above). Hence, ATOLL provides powerful features dealing with the determination (manually or automatically) and the management of neighbourhoods. These definitions, used with some other constraints can be used as input constraints for an automatic planning tool. The results have to provide a frequency plan with enough resources to absorb the defined traffic minimizing interferences on the basis of input constraints. Once the frequency plan is set, an automatic tool is available in order to check its consistency. EDGE (Enhanced Data-rates for GSM - or Global - Evolution) and GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) are technologies using also TDMA concepts. Contrary to GSM working in circuit switched mode, EDGE and GPRS use timeslot working on packet switched mode, but can be mixed with GSM timeslots on transmitters. Hence, it is possible in ATOLL to work on such projects using a unique template, and some transmitters will be defined as E/GPRS stations or not. Related properties will be adapted. Once the composite network (and related equipment) is set, ATOLL provides specific computations on E/GPRS such as coverage by coding schemes or by rate per timeslot. Furthermore, coming from rate studies, it is possible to calculate the average capacity per timeslot per transmitter. For all the dialogs used in TDMA projects, the What's this context tool allows the user to understand the specific fields and available features. See GSM/TDMA projects protocol

VI.2 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS PROTOCOL A classical GSM/TDMA project protocol, within ATOLL, is described below : Network design : Setting radio data

Determination of domains and groups (frequencies, BSICs, HSNs) Setup of cell types Definition and tuning of transmitters and subcells

Common coverage studies (by transmitter, by signal level, HCS layers, etc...)

Traffic input

Traffic map design : density of traffic



Dimensioning of the network

Required number of TRXs per transmitter to absorb the input traffic Determination of the traffic load per transmitter

Resource manual allocation

Manual allocation of frequencies Manual allocation of BCCH Manual allocation of BSICs

GSM/TDMA oriented prediction studies

Interference areas Coverage by C/I level

Network optimisation

Neighbour allocation GSM/TDMA automatic frequency planning Network consistency checking

For E/GPRS projects, Coding scheme definitions

Setup of E/GPRS equipment

Setup of transmitters carrying packet data

Specific E/GPRS prediction studies

Coverage by coding schemes Coverage by rates per timeslot Computation of the average capacity per timeslot of transmitter

VI.3 MANAGING GSM/TDMA RADIO DATA

VI.3.1 MANAGING GSM/TDMA RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW In ATOLL, radio network modelling and radio resource management has lead to the introduction of specific radio data for GSM/TDMA projects : Frequencies HSNs BSICs TRX types and Cell types HCS layers

As many other objects in ATOLL, these parameters have been integrated to the tool with a will to make their management and their use easy. By their use, it is possible to define subcells and TRXs of stations. For all of these, you can describe and manage several frequency and BSIC domains. Thanks to this advanced description level, concentric cells are supported. In addition, modelling of several hopping modes are supported : no hopping, Base Band Hopping and Synthesised Frequency Hopping. Some parameters such as MAL (Mobile Allocation List), HSN (Hopping Sequence Number), MAIO (Mobile Allocation Index Offset) are managed.

VI.3.2 FREQUENCIES VI.3.2.a FREQUENCIES : OVERVIEW

In ATOLL, for a complete exploitation of frequencies, it is possible to define frequency domains and groups based on standard frequency bands. A domain is a set of groups; it consists of one or several groups. A frequency domain belongs to a frequency

band; it is a subset of the frequency band.



A group is a set of channels. A frequency group belongs to one or several frequency domains; it is a subset of frequency domains.

Manual and automatic frequency planning is based on frequency domains assigned to the TRX types in cell types. The creation and the management of frequency domains and groups, like for many other objects in ATOLL always stays easy and clear.

VI.3.2.b MANAGING FREQUENCY BANDS Frequency bands represent the reference frequency set that frequency groups and domains (which include specific rules, steps and exclusions) refer to. Frequency bands can be seen as a fixed item, whereas groups and domains are the frequency subsets that can be managed in order to stick to available frequency lists. Frequency band properties can be accessed in two ways, either from a frequency band table, either from a frequency band dialog. To open the frequency band dialog, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Properties option from the opened menu, Click on the Frequencies tab, Use the What's this help to get description about available fields in the opened window, Either

Select the frequency band you want to manage, Click the modify button to open the associated dialog,

Or, Double click the frequency band you want to manage.

Click the General tab, Define the frequency band parameters, Click OK to validate your choice, Click again OK to close the transmitters properties dialog box.

Notes : The Frequency domains tab lists the domains related to the current frequency band,

Addition, deletion of frequency bands are made using respectively the and buttons,

The button helps you to manage the content of the frequency band table (See below). To open the frequency band table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Frequency bands...] command from the opened menu, Define the parameters of each frequency band.

Notes : The dialog of each frequency band (see above) is reachable by either double clicking the related record in the

table, or by using the button once a record is selected,

The button helps you to manage the content of the frequency band table. An Other Properties tab is available when some user defined fields have been added to the Frequency band table.

VI.3.2.c MANAGING FREQUENCY DOMAINS AND GROUPS For an easier resource management, frequency domain and group tables are available. Frequency domains are linked to types of TRXs. When defining a cell type, you must assign a frequency domain to each TRX type. To define domains and groups of frequencies, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu,



Choose the [Network settings : Domains : Frequencies…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Domains dialog, enter a domain per line and specify the related frequency band. To validate a

domain creation, select another line. Either

Select a domain in the table and click on the Properties… button. Or

Select the line relating to a domain and double click on it. In the domain properties dialog, specify the name of group(s) that you want to associate to this domain

and define for each of them: - The lowest available frequency (Min channel number), - The highest available frequency (Max channel number), - The value interval between the frequencies (Step between channels), - Frequency (frequencies) you do not want to use (Excluded channel numbers). You can paste a list of channels; separator must be a blank character, - Additional frequency (frequencies) you want to consider during allocation (Extra channel numbers). You can paste a list of channels; separator must be a blank character.

You can also define the domain-group pairs in the Group of frequencies window. To do so, proceed as follows :

After defining all the domains, close the Domains dialog, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Groups : Frequencies…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Group of frequencies window, select a domain and associate one or several groups of

frequencies to each of them. Define the groups as explained above. The defined domains can be now assigned to TRX types of each cell type in order then to be used as constraints in the automatic allocation of frequencies.

VI.3.3 HSNS VI.3.3.a HSNS : OVERVIEW

In ATOLL, modelling of base frequency hopping and synthesised frequency hopping are supported. So, some parameters such as MAL (Mobile Allocation List), HSN (Hopping Sequence Number), MAIO (Mobile Allocation Index Offset) are managed. HSN (Hopping Sequence Number) parameter is used to describe frequency hopping sequence; this is one of 4 input parameters for GSM hopping sequence generator algorithm. HSN may take 64 different values; they are numbered from 0 to 63. Frequency sequences are pseudo-random, except for the special case of HSN = 0, where frequencies are used one after the other (cyclic hopping). In ATOLL, for a complete exploitation of HSNs, it is possible to define HSN domains and groups. A domain is a set of groups; it consists of one or several groups. A group is a set of HSNs. A HSN group belongs to one or several HSN domains; it is a subset of HSN domains.

Manual and automatic HSN planning are based on the HSN domains assigned to TRX types in cell types. Creation and management of HSN domains and groups, like for many other objects in ATOLL always stays easy and clear.

VI.3.3.b MANAGING HSN DOMAINS AND GROUPS For an easier resource management, HSN domain and group tables are available. HSN domains are linked to types of TRXs. When defining a cell type, you must assign a HSN domain to each TRX type. To define domains and groups of HSNs, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu,



Choose the [Network settings : Domains : HSNs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Domains dialog, you can enter a domain per line. To validate a domain creation, select another

line. Either


Select the line relating to a domain and double click on it. In the domain properties dialog, specify the name of group(s) included in this domain and define for each

of them: - The lowest available HSN (Min), - The highest available HSN (Max), - The value interval between the HSNs (Step), - HSN(s) you do not want to use (Excluded). You can paste a list of HSNs; separator must be a blank character, - Additional HSN(s) you want to consider during allocation (Extra). You can paste a list of HSNs; separator must be a blank character.

Note : A default domain called “ALL HSNs” exists; it contains the 64 HSNs. You can also define the domain-group pairs in the Group of HSNs window. To do so, proceed as follows :

After defining all the domains, close the Domains dialog, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Groups : HSNs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Group of HSNs window, select a domain and associate one or several groups of HSNs to each of

them. Define the groups as explained above. The defined domains can be now assigned to TRX types of each cell type in order then to be used as constraints in the automatic allocation of HSNs.

VI.3.4 BSICS VI.3.4.a BSICS : OVERVIEW

In GSM/TDMA, the BSIC (Base Station Identity Code) colour code is associated with a BCCH in order for a mobile to distinguish the base station to which both are assigned from the other surrounding ones. The BSIC is composed of a NCC (Network Colour Code) and BCC (BTS Colour Code). NCC and BCC are integers between 0 and 7. Hence, the BSIC is a result of a (NCC-BCC) couple and can be noted using two types of notation : octal or decimal. ATOLL supports both syntaxes and will make its allocation depending on the chosen format. As available BSICs depend on the country and on the area; it is sometimes necessary to distinguish borders from other zones. To model this, domain and group tables have been created. A domain is a set of groups; it consists of one or several groups. A group is a set of BSICs. A BSIC group belongs to one or several BSIC domains.

Therefore, a BSIC domain can contain more or less than 8 BSICs. Manual or automatic BSIC planning is based on the BSIC domain assigned to transmitter. Creation and management of BSIC domains and groups, like for many other objects in ATOLL always stays easy and clear.

VI.3.4.b DEFINING BSIC FORMAT The BSIC colour code is the result of two digits : NCC (Network Colour Code) and BCC (BTS Colour Code). NCC and BCC are integers between 0 and 7. 64 BSICs are available. They are distributed in 8 groups (one group per possible NCC) of 8 BSICs. For each pair, it is possible to define a BSIC number, following either the octal or the decimal notation.



Decimal format

By considering NCC (Network Colour Code [0..7]) and BCC (Base station Colour Code [0..7]), it is possible to build a BSIC number with the rule : NCCx8 + BCC. For example, the (3-2) pair leads to a BSIC value of 26. Octal format

The octal rule is identical to the decimal rule, except the fact that 8 is replaced by 10 (NCCx10 + BCC). For the case above, the (3-2) pair drives to a value of 32 in octal format. To choose the BSIC format globally for a project, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the BSIC format tab, Select either the Octal or Decimal option in the Display format scrolling box Click OK or Apply to validate,

Notes : When defined, the selected BSIC format will be taken into account by the BSIC manual allocation (i.e. only values

consistent when the selected choice are available in the BSIC scrolling box – TRX tab of transmitter property dialog), the AFP and consistency checking tool.

Take care about the definition of the BSIC domain, in order to be consistent with the chosen BSIC notation. It is still possible to enter the BSIC in NCC-BCC format in the TRX tab of the transmitter dialog. Depending on the

BSIC format, ATOLL will translate the NCC-BCC pair in BSIC number. The BSIC format has to be defined correctly prior to the Test mobile data imports.

VI.3.4.c MANAGING BSIC DOMAINS AND GROUPS For an easier resource management, BSIC domain and group tables are available. You must assign a BSIC domain to each transmitter. To define domains and groups of BSICs, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Domains : BSICs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Domains dialog, you can enter a domain per line. To validate a domain creation, select another

line. Either



and define for each of them: - The lowest available BSIC (Min), - The highest available BSIC (Max), - The value interval between the BSICs (Step), - The BSIC(s) you do not want to use (Excluded). You can paste a list of BSICs; separator must be a blank character, - Additional BSIC (s) you want to consider during allocation (Extra). You can paste a list of BSICs; separator must be a blank character.

Note : A default domain called “ALL BSICs” exists; it contains the 64 BSICs in 8 groups (NCC = 0, ..., 7). You can also define the domain-group pairs in the Group of BSICs window. To do so, proceed as follows :

After defining all the domains, close the Domains dialog, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Groups : BSICs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Group of BSICs window, select a domain and associate one or several groups of BSICs to each of



them. Define the groups as explained above. The defined domains can be now assigned to each transmitter in order then to be used as constraints in the automatic allocation of BSICs.

VI.3.5 CELL TYPES VI.3.5.a CELL TYPES : OVERVIEW

In ATOLL, a cell type describes the types of TRXs that a cell can use and their parameters, which can be different. Examples: Default cell types are available in the tool: The cell type GSM900_N_NORMAL (a non concentric GSM900 normal cell) contains BCCH and TCH TRXs. The cell type DUALBAND_CC_MINI (a concentric dual band cell) contains BCCH, TCH and TCH_INNER TRXs.

Cell types are linked to station templates or transmitters. Indeed, when defining a station template or transmitter properties, you must specify the cell type which the station or transmitter refers to. Creation and management of cell types, like for many other objects in ATOLL always stays easy and clear.

VI.3.5.b TRX TYPES : DEFINITION By default, three types of TRXs are modelled in ATOLL: The BCCH TRX type: this TRX type is the BCCH carrier, The TCH TRX type which is the default traffic carrier, The TCH_INNER TRX type: this TRX type is the inner traffic carrier.

Note : you can define additional TRX types directly from the GSM_EGPRS.mdb document template. The cell type definition must include a TRX type, which is the BCCH carrier (BCCH TRX type), and a TRX type, which is the default traffic carrier (TCH TRX type). Only one TRX type carrying the broadcast and only one TRX type carrying the default TCH are supported. TRX types are the standard elements which compose cell types.

VI.3.5.c MANAGING CELL TYPES Cell types are linked to station templates or transmitters. Indeed, when defining a station template or transmitter properties, you must specify the cell type which the station or transmitter refers to. Cell type properties can be accessed in two ways, either from a Cell type table, either from a Cell type dialog. To open the cell type dialog, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Properties option from the opened menu, Click on the Cell types tab, Use the What's this help to get description about available fields in the opened window, Either

Select the cell type you want to manage, Click the modify button to open the associated dialog,

Or, Double click the cell type you want to manage.

Click the General tab, Define the cell type parameters, Click OK to validate your choice, Click again OK to close the transmitters properties dialog box.

Notes :

Addition, deletion of cell types are made using respectively the and buttons,

The button helps you to manage the content of the cell type table (See below).



To open the cell type table, proceed as follows : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : Cell types...] command from the opened menu, Either

Select the cell type you want to manage, Click the modify button to open the associated dialog,

Or, Double click the cell type you want to manage.

Define the parameters of each cell type. Notes : The dialog of each cell type (see above) is reachable by either double clicking the related record in the table, or by

using the button once a record is selected,

The button helps you to manage the content of the cell type table. An Other Properties tab is available when some user defined fields have been added to the Cell type table.

VI.3.5.d CELL TYPE PARAMETERS In the cell type properties window, you can rename it, enter the types of TRXs (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) used by this cell type and specify for each of them: The assigned frequency domain,

Only channels belonging to this frequency domain will be allocated to TRXs during automatic or manual frequency planning. Maximum MAL (Mobile Allocation List) length,

This is the maximum size of the MAL. In other words, it corresponds to the maximum number of channels allocated to TRXs of a subcell during automatic frequency planning in case SFH (Synthesized Frequency Hopping) or BBH (Base Band Hopping) is supported and allocation mode is free. Allocation mode,

It refers to the allocation strategy used during manual or automatic frequency planning. Two allocation strategies are offered: - Free allocation: all the channels of the frequency domain can be assigned to TRXs. - Grouped allocation: Only channels belonging to a same group of the frequency domain can be chosen. Min C/I,

This is a quality condition; you can enter specific quality requirements for each TRX type. It can be used as reference value in interference studies and in AFP. % max interference,

This is the maximum percentage of interfered area or interfered traffic that ATOLL must not exceed during automatic frequency planning. Default DL power offset,

This is a reduction of power relative to the transmitter power. It enables you to model power control of TCH TRXs and concentric cells (TCH_INNER TRXs that transmit a power lower than BCCH TRX and TCH TRXs). Default hopping mode,

Here, you can specify if frequency hopping technology is supported for this TRX type. If frequency hopping is supported, choose either the Base Band Hopping mode (BBH), or the Synthesized Hopping mode (SFH). Else, select Non Hopping. Default reception threshold,

This is the reception condition for this TRX type. You can enter a specific reception condition for each TRX type. AFP weight,

This is a cost factor used to increase or decrease the importance of a TRX type during automatic frequency planning. The cost factor must be a positive real. The higher the AFP weight is, the higher the constraint on the TRX type is. HSN domain,

Only HSNs belonging to this HSN domain will be allocated to subcells during automatic or manual frequency planning. Allocation of HSN is performed in case of BBH or SFH.



Freeze HSN, Selecting this option enables you to keep the current HSN allocation of subcells related to this TRX type when starting a new AFP session. DTX support (default),

Here, you can specify if DTX (Discontinuous Transmission) technology is supported for this TRX type. Number of circuit TS (default),

This is the number of time slots per TRX dedicated to circuit traffic (voice) ( NcircuitTS ).

Number of packet TS (default),

This is the number of time slots per TRX supporting packet traffic ( N packetTS ).

Number of composite TS (default),

This is the number of time slots per TRX supporting both voice and packet traffic ( NcompositeTS ).

Note : These time slots are exclusively dedicated to traffic channels; they are not used for BCCH and CCCH (Control Common Channels). In case of BCCH TRX type, at least one time slot is used for BCCH. So, we have:

1−≤++ FNNN ngmultiplexicompositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS

In case of TCH or TCH_INNER TRX types, we have:

FNNN ngmultiplexicompositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS =++

F ngmultiplexi is the multiplexing factor of the frequency band, which the frequency domain assigned to this TRX type belongs to. The number of requested TRXs for voice traffic depends on these values. In case of E/GPRS stations, ATOLL considers

only time slots available for voice traffic ( NN compositeTS

circuitTS + ). If the E/GPRS option is not selected (GSM station), ATOLL

considers all the time slots ( NNN compositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS ++ ).

In addition, these parameters are taken into account in GPRS dimensioning (Timeslot capacity calculation) Default hysteresis,

This parameter is not used in this ATOLL version. This is a default value of a subcell specific parameter. It denotes the handover hysteresis margin (when going below min reception level). It concerns intra-cell handovers only. Priority,

This parameter is not used in this ATOLL version. If a probe mobile can be served by more than one subcell of a transmitter, the subcell that has a higher service priority will serve it. When a cell type is assigned to a transmitter, its parameters are used to initialise the properties of the transmitter subcells. If you modify the values in the TRX types of the cell types afterwards, these are not updated automatically in the subcells which were already set with the previous values.

VI.3.5.e EXAMPLES OF CELL TYPES Two examples of cell types provided by default in ATOLL are explained below : Normal cell type

A normal cell type consists of two TRX types: - BCCH TRX type - TCH TRX type



The table below described parameters to be specified for any selected hopping mode.

Characteristics Type Used in ATOLL Hopping mode Non

hopping BBH SFH

Frequency domain Global Automatic or manual frequency planning

x x x

Maximum MAL (Mobile Allocation List) length

Global Automatic frequency planning Not used x x

Allocation mode Global Automatic or manual frequency planning

x x x

Min C/I Global Interference studies, Automatic frequency planning

x x x

% max interference Global Automatic frequency planning x x x Default DL power offset Default Signal level studies = 0 for

BCCH = 0 for TCH

= 0 for BCCH = 0 for TCH

= 0 for BCCH = 0 for TCH

Default hopping mode Default Interference studies Non Hopping

Base Band Hopping

Synthesized Hopping

Default reception threshold Default Signal level studies x x x AFP weight Global Automatic frequency planning x x x

HSN domain Global Automatic frequency planning Not used x x Freeze HSN Global Automatic frequency planning x x x

DTX support (default) Default Automatic frequency planning, Interference studies

x x x

Number of composite TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs, GPRS-like studies

x x x

Number of packet TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs, GPRS-like studies

x x x

Number of circuit TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs, GPRS-like studies

x x x

Default hysteresis Default Not used Not used Not used Not used Priority Global Not used Not used Not used Not used

Concentric cell type

A concentric cell type consists of three TRX types: - BCCH TRX type - TCH TRX type - TCH_INNER

The table below described parameters to be specified for any selected hopping mode.

Characteristics Type Used in ATOLL Hopping mode Non hopping BBH SFH

Frequency domain Global Automatic or manual frequency planning

x x x

Maximum MAL (Mobile Allocation List) length

Global Automatic frequency planning

Not used x x

Allocation mode Global Automatic or manual frequency planning

x x x

Min C/I Global Interference studies, Automatic frequency

planning

x x x

% max interference Global Automatic frequency planning

x x x

Default DL power offset Default Signal level studies

= 0 for BCCH => 0 for TCH

<> 0 for TCH_INNER


<> 0 for TCH_INNER


<> 0 for TCH_INNER

Default hopping mode Default Interference studies Non Hopping Base Band Hopping

Synthesized Hopping

Default reception threshold Default Signal level studies x x x AFP weight Global Automatic frequency

planning x x x

HSN domain Global Automatic frequency planning

Not used x x

Freeze HSN Global Automatic frequency planning

x x x

DTX support (default) Default Automatic frequency planning,

Interference studies

x x x

Number of composite TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs, x x x



GPRS-like studies Number of packet TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs,

GPRS-like studies x x x

Number of circuit TS (default) Default Number of requested TRXs, GPRS-like studies

x x x

Default hysteresis Default Not used Not used Not used Not used Priority Global Not used Not used Not used Not used

VI.3.6 HCS LAYERS VI.3.6.a HIERARCHICAL CELLS : OVERVIEW

In ATOLL, It is possible to model hierarchical networks. Indeed, you may define several types of layers, a given priority on each of them, and then, assign one of them to transmitters. Hierarchical cells are taken into account (including priority) in any prediction study (e.g. coverage by transmitter, interfered zones and coverage by C/I levels) based on search for best server for coverage conditions.

VI.3.6.b MANAGING HCS LAYERS In ATOLL, HCS layers are listed in a table form. Hence, their management (creation, deletion or modification) is identical to standard management of data in tables. To manage HCS layers that will be available to assign to transmitters, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the [Network settings : HCS Layers...] command from the opened menu, Define and modify each HCS layer with its name, and its related priority, by editing cells.

The priority of each HCS layer is taken into account in coverage predictions, when considering, on each pixel, the server which has the highest signal level on the highest priority layer. Note : priority is organised in ascending order, i.e. 1 has an higher priority than 0 (lowest priority).

VI.3.7 TRANSMITTERS VI.3.7.a ASSIGNING HCS LAYERS TO TRANSMITTERS

To assign a HCS layer among existing ones to a transmitter, proceed as follows : Either :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it Right click on the transmitter which you want to assign a HCS layer to,

or Select on the map the transmitter which you want to assign a HCS layer to by left clicking on the

appropriate Tx symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click on the General tab, Choose the HCS layer to assign to the current transmitter in the associated scrolling menu, Click OK or Apply to validate.

Notes : Layer priority is then automatically assigned to transmitter. This parameter maybe taken into account in

GSM/TDMA coverage conditions in prediction studies, Assigning HCS layers to transmitters is optional.

VI.3.7.b ASSIGNING CELL TYPES TO TRANSMITTERS A cell type consists in TRX types (BCCH, TCH or TCH inner). Assigning a cell type to a transmitter enables you to define its subcells (TRX type properties become subcell properties). A subcell corresponds to the transmitter-TRX type pair.



To assign a cell type to a transmitter, proceed as follows : Either :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter you want to manage,


symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Click on the scrolling menu and choose a cell type in the list, Click OK to close the dialog

Notes : If you modify the settings of a Cell type which is already assigned to a transmitter, ATOLL does not update

transmitter subcell characteristics automatically.

Once selected, cell type property dialog can be open by clicking on the button, ATOLL indicates the main frequency band of the transmitter. This is the frequency band, which the frequency

domain assigned to BCCH TRX type belongs to. ATOLL takes into account this frequency band in path loss matrix evaluation.

VI.3.7.c ASSIGNING BSIC DOMAINS TO TRANSMITTERS Once defined, a BSIC domain have to be assigned to a transmitter. Only BSICs included in the assigned BSIC domain can be manually or automatically allocated to a transmitter. To assign a BSIC domain to a transmitter, proceed as follows :



symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, In the Identification part, click on the scrolling menu and choose a BSIC domain in the list, Click OK to close the dialog

Notes : The BSIC domain must be consistent with the defined BSIC format. When choosing a format, ATOLL adapts

automatically the related domain in order not to consider inconsistent values. BSIC domain associated to the transmitter can be changed afterwards,

Once selected, BSIC domain dialog can be open by clicking on the button, The BSIC domain is an input required for manual or automatic BSIC allocation, When running the AFP, you can also select the BSIC allocation.

VI.3.7.d ASSIGNING MANUALLY BSICS TO TRANSMITTERS The colour code BSIC (Base Station Identity Code) for a transmitter is made up of the NCC (Network Colour Code) and the BCC (BTS Colour Code). The NCC code is, for example, 0 or 4 for France. The BCC code (respectively NCC) is a digit between 0 and 7. The BCCH-BSIC pair permits, on a given territory, to identify precisely a cell. At a higher level, it may exist identical BCCH-BSIC pairs characterising very distant zones. In ATOLL, you can either allocate it manually to each transmitter or automatically to all transmitters in the network. Once a BSIC domain has been allocated to a transmitter, it is possible either to manually or automatically choose a BSIC among available ones for any transmitter.



To manually allocate a BSIC to a transmitter, proceed as follows : Either :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter you want to manage,


symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Click on the scrolling menu and choose a BSIC in the list, Click OK to close the dialog

Notes : BSIC associated to the transmitter can be changed afterwards. The selected BSIC must be part of the chosen BSIC domain. Once chosen in single digit format, the related NCC-BCC format is automatically displayed above the scrolling

box. It is possible to edit the BSIC scrolling box. Furthermore, you can enter the BSIC value with a NCC-BCC format in

the scrolling box, and click the Apply button. ATOLL will convert it in the single digit format consistent with the related BSIC domain.

VI.3.7.e ALLOCATING MANUALLY A BCCH TO TRANSMITTERS BCCH (Broadcast Control CHannel) permits the diffusion of the cell characteristic data, including the steady diffusion of several types data systems. This channel must be part both of the main frequency band (coming from the selected cell type) and allocated channels in TRXs. The BCCH is defined on the timeslot 0 of a selected frequency. To allocate manually a BCCH to a transmitter, proceed as follows :



symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Either,

In Non Hopping or Base Band Hopping, Create a new TRX of type BCCH and enter the related channel,

Or, In Synthesised Frequency Hopping, Create a new TRX of type BCCH, fill the related MAL in the

TRX part, and enter the channel on which will be located the timeslot 0 dedicated to the steady diffusion of BCCH information,

Click OK to close the dialog Note : you can also automatically a TRX of type BCCH by entering the related frequency in the BCCH columns from the transmitter global table.

VI.3.8 SUBCELLS AND TRXS VI.3.8.a MANAGING SUBCELLS IN TRANSMITTERS

The subcells of transmitter and their settings are defined in this part. A subcell is a group of TRXs sharing the same radio characteristics, the same quality (C/I) requirements, and common settings. A subcell is defined by the transmitter-TRX type pair. Subcells of transmitter and their settings depend on the cell type selected for the transmitter. The cell type predefines the



TRX type of each subcell since the properties of each TRX type initialise the ones of each subcell. The default values reported for subcells can be modified without changing reference for the cell type. On the other hand, ATOLL updates subcell characteristics when selecting another cell type. Except their TRX type (coming from the selected cell type), all subcell properties are editable and can be modified in the subcell part of any transmitter property. To access the subcell table from the transmitter properties, proceed as follows :



symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Define the Subcell settings in the subcell part, Click OK to close the dialog.

VI.3.8.b DISPLAYING THE SUBCELL LIST Even if subcells are linked to transmitters, it is possible to display all existing subcells of a network in an editable form. To open the subcell general table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Subcells : Subcell list…] command from the opened menu, Define the Subcell settings.

The button helps you to manage the content of the subcell table.

VI.3.8.c SUBCELL PROPERTY DETAILS Whatever is the way to reach subcell properties (from transmitter properties or from the subcell table), for any of them, ATOLL details: Requested TRXs

This is the number of TRXs requested for a subcell. In case of BCCH TRX type, the number of requested TRXs is 1 by default. In case of TCH or TCH_INNER TRX type, this is a network dimensioning result, which depends on the traffic density in the subcell and on the blocked call percentage. Traffic load,

It indicates the usage rate of TRXs; its value is between 0 and 1. This parameter may be, either user-defined, or

automatically reported after calculating the number of requested TRXs. In this case, traffic load ( trafficL ) is a dimensioning result; this is a global traffic load for all the subcells of each transmitter. We have:

TRXtraffic N

TrafficL =

Traffic is the traffic request (Erlang) on the transmitter coverage area,

TRXN is the total number of TRXs requested by a transmitter. It is taken into account in interference calculation and automatic frequency planning. HSN

This is the hopping sequence number of subcell. All the TRXs of the subcell have the same HSN. HSN can be manually entered or automatically allocated. Only HSN belonging to the HSN domain assigned to this TRX type (in the selected cell type property dialog) can be allocated. This parameter is taken into account in interference calculation in case of SFH or BBH.



Synchronisation Type the same string of character in order for the TRXs of several subcells are synchronized during frequency hopping. By default, synchronization is performed at the site level; TRXs of subcells on a same site are synchronized. You may also define synchronization at the subcell level (different values for each subcell) or group of transmitters level (unique value for subcells of this group). Notes 1. Any string of character can be entered. 2. This field is case sensitive. This parameter is taken into account in interference calculation in case of frequency hopping (BBH or SFH). DL power offset

This is a reduction of power relative to the transmitter power. Entering 3 dB means that the subcell power will be 3 dB lower than the transmitter power defined in the Transmitter tab. Hopping mode

If frequency hopping is supported, choose either the Base Band Hopping mode (BBH), or the Synthesized Hopping mode (SFH). Else, select Non Hopping. Reception threshold

This is the reception condition for the subcell. This value can be used as reference value in signal level coverage predictions (lowest received signal level in order for receiver to be covered by the subcell). Hysteresis

This parameter is not used in this ATOLL version. DTX supported

Select this option if DTX (Discontinuous Transmission) technology is supported for the subcell. Number of circuit TS (default)

This is the number of time slots per TRX dedicated to circuit traffic (voice) ( NcircuitTS ).

Number of packet TS (default)

This is the number of time slots per TRX supporting packet traffic ( N packetTS ).

Number of composite TS (default)

This is the number of time slots per TRX supporting both voice and packet traffic ( NcompositeTS ).

Note : These time slots are exclusively dedicated to traffic channels; they are not used for BCCH and CCCH (Control Common Channels). In case of BCCH TRX type, at least one time slot is used for BCCH. So, we have:

1−≤++ FNNN ngmultiplexicompositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS

In case of TCH or TCH_INNER TRX types, we have:

FNNN ngmultiplexicompositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS =++

F ngmultiplexi is the multiplexing factor of the frequency band, which the frequency domain assigned to this TRX type belongs to. The number of requested TRXs for voice traffic depends on these values. In case of E/GPRS stations, ATOLL considers

only time slots available for voice traffic ( NN compositeTS

circuitTS + ). If the E/GPRS option is not selected (GSM station), ATOLL

considers all the time slots ( NNN compositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS ++ ).

In addition, these parameters are taken into account in GPRS dimensioning (Timeslot capacity calculation). Excluded

When defining frequency domains, you have to choose the range of channels, the step, exceptional and excluded channels. Excluded channels are channels that are in the defined range that you do not want to make allocatable. Excluded channels can be set first in the frequency domain definition. In addition, you can also define less constraining domains (with less excluded channels) and define excluded channels at the subcell level. All subcells related to this domain must not have access to these excluded channels for the allocation.



Notes : 1. Channels must be separated by a blank character. 2. When defined, the excluded channels (per subcell) will be taken into account by the frequency manual allocation (i.e. only consistent values are available in the TRX channel scrolling box – TRX tab of transmitter property dialog), the AFP and consistency checking tool. 3a. In Non Hopping mode or Base Band Hopping, in Free or Group Constrained strategy, excluded channels are not visible in their related domains. So, subcells are allocated with consistency within their defined domain. 3b. In Synthesized Frequency Hopping, in Free strategy, excluded channels are not visible any more in their related domains. 3c. In Synthesized Frequency Hopping, in Group Constrained strategy, since the allocation is made per exact group, as soon as a group has a defined excluded channel, the complete group is excluded from the domain. The allocation (and what is visible in frequencies scrolling boxes) is then possible only over groups with initially no excluded channel. These 3 rules are checked by the consistency checking tool. The assigned frequency domain,

Only channels belonging to this frequency domain will be allocated to TRXs during automatic or manual frequency planning. Maximum MAL (Mobile Allocation List) length,

This is the maximum size of the MAL. In other words, it corresponds to the maximum number of channels allocated to TRXs of a subcell during automatic frequency planning in case SFH (Synthesized Frequency Hopping) or BBH (Base Band Hopping) is supported and allocation mode is free. Allocation mode,

It refers to the allocation strategy used during manual or automatic frequency planning. Two allocation strategies are offered: - Free allocation: all the channels of the frequency domain can be assigned to TRXs. - Grouped allocation: Only channels belonging to a same group of the frequency domain can be chosen. Min C/I,

This is a quality condition; you can enter specific quality requirements for each subcell. It can be used as reference value in interference studies. % max interference,

This is the maximum percentage of interfered area or traffic (defined during the interference histogram determination) that ATOLL must not exceed during automatic frequency planning. AFP weight,

This is a cost factor used to increase or decrease the importance of a subcell during automatic frequency planning. The cost factor must be a positive real. The higher the AFP weight is, the higher the constraint on the subcell is. HSN domain,

Only HSNs belonging to this HSN domain can be allocated to subcells during manual frequency planning. Allocation of HSN must be performed in case of SFH or BBH. Freeze HSN,

Selecting this option enables you to keep the current HSN allocation of subcells related to this TRX type when running a new AFP. With this data model, all data contained in cell types become default ones, i.e. they are used to initialise subcell properties when creating a transmitter; they can be modified in the transmitter property dialog without modifying the default values defined for the cell type, which the transmitter refers to. If you modify one of these data in cell types, transmitters already dealing with these cell types will not have their default parameters modified.

VI.3.8.d ALLOCATING FREQUENCIES MANUALLY IN GSM/TDMA In ATOLL, for GSM/TDMA projects, frequencies (or channels) are defined at the TRX level. The manual allocation of frequencies is made by the management of TRXs in transmitters. The allocation can be also made by filling the Channels column from the transmitter table. When entering channel values in the table, TRXs of type TCH are automatically created in the related transmitters. BCCH can be assigned identically. Automatic frequency allocation can also be made using the optional AFP module. By using the advanced filter feature on transmitters, it is possible, for example, to display only transmitters linked to a



frequency and their adjacent ones. Using the filter feature in the study display tab, it is also possible to display all cells with a specific frequency (f), and also all cells with frequencies (f+1) and (f-1) in different colours.

VI.3.8.e MANAGING TRXS IN TRANSMITTERS From transmitter properties, it is possible to list TRXs of transmitter and channels allocated to TRXs. This TRX table can be automatically filled after an automatic frequency planning. You may also fill it manually. It contains a TRX per line. TRX is the transmitter level at which channels are defined. To access the TRX table from the transmitter properties, proceed as follows :



symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the TRXs tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Define the TRX settings in the TRXs part, Click OK to close the dialog.

VI.3.8.f DISPLAYING THE TRX LIST Even if TRXs are linked to transmitters, it is possible to display all existing TRXs of a network in an editable form. To open the TRX general table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Subcells : TRX list…] command from the opened menu, Define the TRX settings.

The button helps you to manage the content of the TRX table.

VI.3.8.g TRX PROPERTY DETAILS Whatever is the way to reach TRX properties (from transmitter properties or from the TRX table), for any of them, ATOLL details: Index

This is identification number of TRX. This number (integer) may be user-defined or automatically given by ATOLL (after closing the dialog). TRX type

Channels

Specify channel(s) allocated to TRX: 1 channel per TRX if the hopping mode for the TRX type is “Non Hopping” or “Base Band Hopping”, several channels per TRX if the hopping mode for the TRX type is “Synthesized Hopping”. Channel(s) can be either copied, or manually selected one by one in the scrolling menu (select the box and click on the arrow to open the scrolling menu). The scrolling menu offers you channels of the frequency domain assigned to this TRX type (Cell type property dialog). Note : When pasting a list of channels, separator must be a blank character. MAIO (Mobile Allocation Index Offset),

The MAIO is selectable for each TRX separately. It is used in case of frequency hopping (BBH or SFH) to avoid intra-site collisions due to co or adjacent channel consumption. This is an integer; its range of value is between 0 and N-1 (N is the number of channels used in the hopping sequence). MAIO can be manually entered or automatically allocated. Freeze Channels

Select this option to keep the current channel allocation at the TRX level when starting a new AFP.



Note : the Freeze channels option can be also imposed at the transmitter level only.

VI.4 WORKING ON GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC DATA

VI.4.1 CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP : OVERVIEW IN GSM/TDMA projects, ATOLL provides a raster traffic map type. A class related to Erlang densities is assigned to each pixel of the working environment. This traffic map is similar to clutter raster maps within ATOLL in term of management. Hence, these are easy to manage. In ATOLL, it is possible to import easily a traffic map and manage its properties. You can also create or modify your own traffic maps using the cartography editor. The resulting traffic map can be analysed using statistic features. Furthermore, ATOLL permits to export generated traffic map in external files.

VI.4.2 CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP ATOLL permits to import several raster formats of traffic maps. These maps can be either imported from data files or directly created with the polygon drawing tool available in ATOLL. To import a raster file as traffic data in GSM/TDMA projects. To do so, proceed as follows :

Choose the Import command from the File Menu in the menu bar, Indicate the path and the name of the file to be imported in the opened dialog box, Choose the traffic density option from the scrolling menu in the File import window to consider the file as

traffic,

Press the button to validate. The traffic editor works like the cartography editor. Note : clutter files can be imported as traffic files.

VI.4.3 DESCRIBING THE GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER CLASSES From any traffic raster data file, ATOLL assign a traffic class to each code, and traffic density (Erlang/km²) in GSM/TDMA studies. To describe the different traffic raster classes available in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Traffic density folder,

Click the Description tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Assign colour, name and density (Erlang/km²) to each code. Press OK or Apply to validate.

To assign a colour to a traffic raster class, click on the colour box and choose a colour in the colour table. You can then manually enter name and density for all traffic classes if these data haven't been automatically specified during the import procedure. Notes : The description table can be fully copied and pasted (using Ctrl+V and Ctrl+C) in a new ATOLL project after

importing the traffic raster file.



ATOLL considers as transparent colour. Thus, the geographic layer below the traffic will be visible in the area where the white colour is assigned.

Before importing traffic raster file, it is important to define a reference class corresponding to zero code, white colour and no data. Thus, the code "0" is allocated to area without any traffic.

The class names cannot exceed a length of 50 characters. Path and description are stored in the external user configuration file.

VI.4.4 ADDING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER CLASS ATOLL allows you to add a new traffic class. To add a traffic raster class to the current geo environment in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :




Click the Description tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Press the button and describe it. Press OK or Apply to validate.

VI.4.5 REFRESHING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP The refresh feature allows the user to clear all the traffic raster classes not used in the current project. To refresh a traffic raster map in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :





Press the button, ATOLL scans the traffic raster objects from the map and associates them with the ones in the current table, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Advice: Use this function to keep consistency between the traffic raster classes described in the table and the map. Example: ATOLL automatically memorizes the different traffic raster classes of imported file. Even after deleting the file,

traffic raster classes are stored in the description table. Pressing the button will remove them.

VI.4.6 EXPORTING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP Like for DTM map and clutter class maps, it is possible to export a traffic raster map in either a 8 bits/pixel tiff, a bil or a bmp format. You may choose to export a part or the complete traffic raster map. To export a part or the complete traffic raster map in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder in order to get the related context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :



The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole traffic map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of the traffic maps listed in the Traffic map subfolder are updated.

The only pending changes option allows just to save in the file the created traffic polygonal area. As soon as the modifications are saved, an additional clutter (or traffic) object is created and listed in the Traffic folder.

The computation zone option allows you to save only traffic map region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional traffic object is created and listed in the Traffic map subfolder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for clutter from the following criteria : If one traffic object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object resolution. If several objects are modified, the suggested resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

altered clutter objects. If there is no initial clutter object, the resolution will equal the resolution of DTM object which

the modifications are made on or the smallest resolution of the merged DTM objects if the modifications are performed on several DTM objects.

If you draw your own traffic data without initial DTM, clutter or traffic object, a 100 m default resolution will be suggested.

The resolution value must be an integer. The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.

Click OK to validate. Comment: When you save files using BIL and TIF formats, .hdr and .tfw files are automatically created in the same folder. The .hdr and .tfw files are respectively associated with .bil and .tif files; they contain geocoding information and resolution.

VI.4.7 MANAGING GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY To manage the display of any traffic map in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Click on the Display tab from the opened window. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the display parameters of the current map, Press OK to validate.

VI.4.8 DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC Statistics on the traffic raster maps are available. Statistics are given globally and relatively as functions of traffic classes. Traffic density statistics indicates the proportion of each traffic class. Traffic statistics refer to the focus zone is existing. To display traffic statistics of the map in GSM/TDMA projects, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Statistics option from the scrolling menu The surface (Si in km²) of imported or edited traffic class (i) included in the focus (if existing) zone and

its percentage (% of i) are specified:

100 of % ×=∑

kk

i

SSi

Notes : If no focus zone is defined, statistics are given over the computation zone.

Current statistics are printable by clicking the button.



VI.5 GSM/TDMA NETWORK DIMENSIONING

VI.5.1 COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF REQUESTED TRXS Once you have imported or created the traffic map(s), you will have to use these data in order to dimension the transmitter network. Since the reference element for carrying data is TRXs, the dimensioning consists in determining the number of TRXs required for each transmitter in order to handle a certain amount of the defined circuit traffic. Transmitters are based on several TRX types (BCCH, TCH, TCH inner). Each of them is composed of as many timeslots as defined in reference frequency band. Hence, ATOLL it is useful to calculate the number of TRXs requested by each subcell. Dimensioning calculation requires: A traffic map, A coverage by transmitter study related to each TRX type (you want to dimension), The percentage of traffic to be covered by each TRX type, The grade of service (GOS) in term of Erlang B (blocked calls) or Erlang C (delayed calls),

To run the required number of TRXs calculation, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the [Dimensioning : Requested TRX number calculation...] option from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window,

The window is divided into three parts: A table which enables you to assign related coverage per transmitter study and percentage of traffic to be covered

by each TRX type, A part to specify dimensioning parameters, The Results part.

For each TRX type except BCCH, open the prediction study scrolling list and select corresponding

coverage by transmitter study in the list. By default, ATOLL assigns to each TRX type, the first coverage by transmitter study with the right TRX type it finds in the Predictions folder. A run option enables you to specify if you want ATOLL to recalculate the selected study before dimensioning the network.

Note : when the related study is not already defined, ATOLL systematically proposes New study (you will be able to specify study conditions after clicking on Run).

Then, for each TRX type except for the BCCH, enter a percentage of traffic to be covered on the related coverage. It is now possible to define a value different from 100% for the traffic to be covered by the TCH subcells.

Specify the percentage of blocked calls (Grade Of Service) and either the Erlang B mode, or the Erlang C mode.

Then, click on Run to start computations. Once calculations are completed, results are given in the table. For each subcell, ATOLL displays the required number of TRXs for to match the traffic demand on the transmitter coverage area with a given GOS, the related number of useful timeslots per subcell (depending on the defined number of TS dedicated to circuit/composite data – see above), the traffic load (one value per transmitter).

Note : by default, selected studies are taken as they are, i.e. using their current results. If you want to re-compute them, tick the Calculate box. Even if frozen, the study will be temporarily computed for the determination of the number of required TRXs. Of course, the locked study will not be modified in the Predictions folder. Important The number of timeslots given in the Results part is not the required number of timeslots but the number of

available timeslots because of the required number of TRXs, i.e. for each subcell ( )( )SubcellTRXSubcell NNC × . In prediction reports, it is possible to display, for a given coverage, the GoS per transmitter (e.g. percentage of

blocked calls). This value will be consistent only if TRXs have been allocated, i.e., frequencies are assigned to transmitters. In addition, this output refers to the number of existing TRXs and not to the number of required TRXs.



ATOLL also computes a global traffic load for each transmitter. Traffic load ( )TrafficL indicates the average occupancy of TRXs; its value is between 0 and 1. We have:

( )( ) ( )TCHSubcellTRXSubcell

TCHTraffic Traffic

NNCAL %××

=

( )( )∑ ×

SubcellsSubcellTRXSubcell NNC

is the total number of timeslots “available” for a transmitter. TCHA is the traffic request (Erlang) for the subcell of type TCH (on the area covered by the subcell).

( )TCHTraffic% is the traffic percentage specified for the TCH TRX type.

Click the button to report this number to requested TRX number. Values are then automatically reported in the subcell part of the transmitter property dialog boxes. Notes : In order not to consider twice some traffic data, use the best server option with a 0 dB option for the reference

coverage by transmitter, The number of requested TRXs for voice traffic depends on the number of timeslots dedicated to voice in subcells.

In case of E/GPRS stations, ATOLL considers only time slots available for voice traffic ( NN compositeTS

circuitTS + ). If the

E/GPRS option is not selected (GSM station), ATOLL considers all the time slots ( NNN compositeTS

packetTS

circuitTS ++ ).

VI.6 SPECIFIC GSM/TDMA PREDICTION STUDIES

VI.6.1 SETTING SPECIFIC COVERAGE CONDITIONS IN GSM/TDMA STUDIES Whatever the project type is, the way to create or to manage coverage studies is identical. Only study parameters are different. Hence, in GSM/TDMA projects, even if coverage study dialogs are composed of the three classical tabs : The General tab where you may rename the study, define the coverage resolution, add some comments, define

group, sort and filter criteria, on the coverage display only (not on the results), The Condition tab where you can specify the study parameters, The Display tab to define coverage display settings,

coverage conditions are managed with some specifics related to GSM/TDMA technology. GSM/TDMA specific settings in predictions are described below : 1- Indeed, coverage conditions include the possibility to choose between two options for the definition of reception thresholds. You can either manually enter a lower threshold for the transmitters to be part of a coverage, or you can

choose the lower threshold defined in subcells (taking into account the power offset) for this. To do this, select the button next to the threshold boxes. In each pixel, ATOLL will then take into account all subcells respecting its minimum signal level at that point for the coverage. The best server notion (+ margin) and the reliability level options are then considered. 2 - Concerning the best (or second best) server option, ATOLL provides the possibility to consider or not HCS layers and associated priorities. Let us assume that: Each transmitter, Txi, belongs to a Hierarchical Cell Structure (HCS) layer, k, with a defined priority. The maximum range option (available in the System tab of the Predictions property dialog) is inactive.

- In case of all the servers are considered (All), for each HCS layer, k, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:

( ) ( ) threshold Maximum or or threshold Minimum <−≤ LossesTotalLttP TxiTxitot

Txirec



- In case of the best signal level per HCS layer and a margin, for each HCS layer, k, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:


Txirec

and ( ) ( )( ) MBCCHPBestBCCHP Txj

recij

Txirec −≥

≠ where


Notes : If the margin equals 0 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is the highest one. If the margin is set to 2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is either the highest


the signal levels from transmitters, which are 2nd best servers. - In case of the best signal level on the highest priority layer and a margin, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:


Txirec


recij

Txirec −≥

≠ and

Txi belongs to the HCS layer with the highest priority where


Notes If the margin equals 0 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is the highest one. If the margin is set to 2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is either the highest


the signal levels from transmitters, which are 2nd best servers. - In case of the second best signal level per HCS layer and a margin, for each HCS layer, k, the service area of Txi corresponds to the bins where:


Txirec


recij

ndTxirec −≥

≠2

where

M is the specified margin (dB). 2nd Best function : considers the second highest value.

Notes If the margin equals 0 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is the second highest

one. If the margin is set to 2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is either the second

highest one or 2dB lower than the second highest one. If the margin is set to -2 dB, ATOLL will consider bins where the signal level received from Txi is 2dB higher than

the signal levels from transmitters, which are 3rd best servers. Note : choosing the Best signal level per HCS layer makes ATOLL consider the best server of each HCS layer on the considered pixel. Overlapping best server zones are enable. 3 - Furthermore, it is possible to restrict the reception on certain TRX types using the appropriate scrolling box. It is possible to select the All option in interference studies.



4 - In interference studies, it is possible also to use the button in order to consider the min C/I threshold defined per subcell as lower or upper ratio signal to noise for interference definition. 5 - As for the TRX type filter at reception on a pixel (See above 3 - ), you can also restrict the study to potentially interfered TRX type using the appropriate scrolling box. Selecting the (All) option makes ATOLL study C/I over each TRX type. 6 - Other specific options are relative to interference studies or E/GPRS studies and are described in the corresponding context sensitive help. Note : since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set (e.g. : adjacent channel protection level).

VI.6.2 STUDYING INTERFERED ZONE PREDICTIONS The determination of interference zones is possible as soon as channels have been allocated to the transmitters composing the current network, exactly like for interferences study using the point analysis tool. This study is closely based on the principle of common prediction studies from which it takes the definition mode and to which it adds an interference condition. Nevertheless, specific coverage GSM/TDMA conditions are available. Prediction parameters are also standard. The interfered zones study enables the user to predict areas where transmitters are interfered (taken into account depending on signal level) by other transmitters sharing either an identical channel or an adjacent channel as function of signal to noise ratio. ATOLL computes C/I level on each calculation bin where conditions on signal reception are satisfied. Then, it considers in coverage the bins where the calculated C/I is lower than an upper threshold and colours the bin depending on an interfered transmitter attribute. The interference definition is proper to each study. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the interfered zone option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The interfered zone study is a template for which the field 'Transmitter' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, interfered zones will be displayed with the same colours than the ones defined for each transmitter. Notes : Shadowing margins (depending on the entered reliability level and the standard deviation per clutter class) are

applied only on the C values. These are not taken into account in I determinations. ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating interference area prediction studies but it

is possible to colour by any other consistent attribute just by adjusting display. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage. The study depends on the hopping mode, and the study will be made on :

The most interfered channel (this one with the lowest C/I) of TRXs belonging to the selected TRX type (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered channel of all the TRX types (All), in case of a non hopping mode,

The MAL of the selected subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered MAL of all the subcells (All), in case of base band hopping,

The most interfered MAL-MAIO of the selected subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or all the subcells (All), in case of synthesised frequency hopping.

on each pixel Tick the detailed results option if you want to display details on interference :

per TRX (one channel) in Non Hopping mode, per MAL (indicating the related TRX type) in Base Band Hopping mode, per MAL-MAIO (indicating the related TRX type) in Synthesised Frequency Hopping mode,

per transmitter in the current prediction folder. Since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set (e.g. : adjacent channel protection

level).



VI.6.3 COMPUTING A COVERAGE STUDY BY C/I LEVEL The determination of zones by C/I level is possible as soon as channels have been allocated to the transmitters composing the current network, exactly like for interferences study using the point analysis tool. This study is closely based on the principle of common prediction studies from which it takes the definition mode and to which it adds an interference condition. Nevertheless, specific coverage GSM/TDMA conditions are available. Prediction parameters are also standard. The coverage by C/I level study enables the user to predict C/I levels involving transmitters (taken into account depending on signal level) sharing either an identical channel or an adjacent channel with other transmitters as function of signal to noise ratio. The interference definition is proper to each study. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Coverage by C/I level option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The coverage by C/I level study is a template for which the field 'C/I level' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, each layer corresponds to an area where the C/I level exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Numerous option related to signal level coverage are available in the Display tab. Notes : Shadowing margins (depending on the entered reliability level and the standard deviation per clutter class) are

applied only to the C values. These are not taken into account in I determinations. ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating coverage by interference level but it is

possible to colour by any other consistent attribute just by adjusting display. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage. When selecting a "highest signal level" option with a margin or the "All" option, you may have areas where several

transmitters are interfered. On these bins, several C/I values are calculated. Therefore, you may choose to display either the lowest one of these values (Min C/I option) or the highest one (Max C/I option) in the Field scrolling box of the display tab.

The study depends on the hopping mode, and the study will be made on : The most interfered channel (this one with the lowest C/I) of TRXs belonging to the selected TRX type

(BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered channel of all the TRX types (All), in case of a non hopping mode,

The MAL of the selected subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered MAL of all the subcells (All), in case of base band hopping,

The most interfered MAL-MAIO of the selected subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or all the subcells (All), in case of synthesised frequency hopping.

on each pixel Tick the detailed results option if you want to display details on interference :

per TRX (one channel) in Non Hopping mode, per MAL (indicating the related TRX type) in Base Band Hopping mode, per MAL-MAIO (indicating the related TRX type) in Synthesised Frequency Hopping mode,

per transmitter in the current prediction folder. Since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set (e.g. : adjacent channel protection

level).

VI.6.4 STUDYING INTERFERENCES WITH THE POINT ANALYSIS With the point analysis tool, ATOLL is able to display interferers for a given transmitter, at the receiver location on the map using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect). To permit interferences, user must not have forgotten to attribute frequencies to transmitters. Furthermore, since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set. To make active the Interference analysis window (GSM/TDMA projects only):

From the menu bar, check the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Left click on the Interference tab, Select the transmitter you want the receiver to be currently connected from the associated scrolling list,

Click the button from the toolbar, Move over the map to display the transmitter interferers at any point, The data appearing in the Point analysis window on receiver interference at the point clicked on will be



as follows : You can study a TRX type or all the TRX types. ATOLL displays the signal level and interference received on: The most interfered channel of the selected transmitter subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered

of all the transmitter subcells (All), in case of a non hopping mode. The MAL of the selected transmitter subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most interfered MAL of all the

transmitter subcells (All), in case of base band hopping. The most interfered MAL-MAIO of the selected transmitter subcell (BCCH, TCH, TCH_INNER) or the most

interfered MAL-MAIO of all the transmitter subcells (All), in case of synthesised frequency hopping. In this tab, ATOLL provides for a given receiver: The signal level received from the interfered subcell. The overall interference received from interferer transmitters, The interference level received from each interferer. Interferers are sorted in a descending signal level order.

ATOLL informs you when reduction factors of signal level and interference level are taken into account; reception bars consist of two parts, a full part, which shows the received signal or interference level, and an empty part corresponding to signal or interference level reduction. In case of the interfered subcell reception bar, signal level reduction can be due to the subcell power offset. For each interferer transmitter reception bar, interference level reduction can be due to power offsets of subcells, adjacent channel protection and fractional load.

Let's imagine the following scenario : Site 1_0 is a transmitter made of two subcells, one is TRX type BCCH (no power offset), the other is TRX type

TCH (power offset 3dB). The channel 520 is assigned to TRX BCCH Site 3_2 is a transmitters made of two subcells, one is TRX type BCCH (power offset 3dB), the other is TRX type

TCH (power offset 3dB). The channel 520 is assigned to TRX BCCH Site 3_1 is a transmitters made of two subcells, one is TRX type BCCH (no power offset), the other is TRX type

TCH (power offset 3dB). The channel 520 is assigned to TRX BCCH Site 1_1 is a transmitters made of two subcells, one is TRX type BCCH (no power offset), the other is TRX type

TCH (power offset 3dB). The channel 519 is assigned to TRX BCCH No channel is assigned to any TRX TCH for these transmitters. The Non hopping mode is assigned to TRX of types BCCH for these transmitter.

The studied transmitter is Site1_0, we observe potential interferences on all its TRX types, i.e. we study the worst case. The asked reliability level is 75 % (some standard deviations per clutter class have been defined). Like for interfered zones and coverage by C/I levels, the study is made on the most interfered channel per subcell in case of non hopping mode. Point analysis drives to the following results : - The 1st bar in red indicates the signal level from the transmitter Site1_0 at the receiver point (- 123.34 dBm) ; Initially, its value would have been -118.62 dBm, but its signal level value is decreased by 4.72 dB due to the shadowing margin. - The 2nd bar indicates the overall interference for interfering stations (- 103.09 dBm) ; - The following bars indicate, respectively, in descending order, signal levels caused by each interferer subcell on the station studied (Site3_2 : -103.31 dBm, Site3_1 : -188.81 dBm and Site1_1 : - 119.44 dBm). You can see that interferences on Site1_0 are due to the fact that overall interferences are greater that the Site1_0 signal level itself. Overall interferences are made of the signal level contributions of several transmitters. Nevertheless, we can observe partly or fully filled bars for each them coming from different reasons : The partly filled purple bar comes from the power offset on the TRX BCCH (3 dB) of the transmitter Site3_2. The fully filled blue bar is due that no power offset is defined on the TRX BCCH of the transmitter Site3_1. The partly filled green bar is due to the fact that the TRX BCCH of the transmitter Site1_1 is made of the channel

519. Since the adjacent channel protection level is set to 18 dB, its contribution is -119.44 dB, instead of -111.44 dB initially. If a supplementary power offset would have been defined for this subcell, the related bar would have been cleared from 3dB more.



If the bar representing interference of the station is full, this means that this station interference on the interfered station is not attenuated by one of the factors described above. Notes : Only signal level (C) is downgraded by the shadowing margin (depending on the entered reliability level and the

standard deviation per clutter class). The interference level (I) is not altered by the shadowing margin. Neither DTX, nor traffic load of TRXs are taken into account to evaluate the interference levels (ATOLL calculates

interference level by considering 100% as voice activity factor and traffic load). Determining interferers at a point is possible only if an interference coverage study has already been performed, If a MAL is defined on the most interfered subcell, you can obtain, for example, the following result :

Interference on : TCH M.A.L. 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525

VI.7 GSM/TDMA NETWORK OPTIMISATION

VI.7.1 NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW Once the network has been dimensioned, you may define transmitters neighbours. This can be made manually, but ATOLL proposes an optional function allowing you to automatically allocate neighbours. Allocating transmitter neighbours manually can also be made for external transmitters from a linked network in co-planning. Neighbour definition helps in the automatic frequency planning in order to impose frequency separation constraints on neighbours. Once the neighbours are defined, it is possible to improve the current frequency allocation by using an automatic allocation tool. This helps you in imposing separation constraints on : - Neighbours - Within transmitters, - On transmitters located on unique sites - Defined exceptional pairs of subcells. This automatic tool will try to reach a best solution respecting also the number of requested TRXs per transmitter. Furthermore, this tool can help you for the determination of HSNs, MAIOs, BSICs, SFHs. ATOLL provides also an automatic tool in order to check the consistency on the reached frequency plan, obtained either manually or by the use of the automatic allocation tool.

VI.7.2 GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS VI.7.2.a ALLOCATING GSM/TDMA TRANSMITTER NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY

When defined, cell neighbours are a way to optimise the search of possible cells aiming to perform handover from the current coverage area. Allocating neighbours in a network is optional. Defining neighbours helps in imposing constraints for frequency automatic allocation. Note : neighbours are not a filter for transmitters being part of interferers. All transmitters in a network take part in interferences on each transmitter. Neighbours of any linked project in co-planning can also be listed and chosen manually. Manual allocation of GSM/TDMA neighbours must be performed for each transmitter, one at a time. To do this, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Either,

Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Either,

Right click on the transmitter from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Choose the properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter from which you want to define the neighbourhood,

Click the Neighbours tab from the current window, Use the What's this help to get information about fields available in the current window, In the displayed window, in the top table, click on cell to choose from the scrolling box the desired



cell as a transmitter for the current one. In the scrolling box are displayed all the transmitters located within a radius of 30 km around the reference transmitter,

Click either another table cell, or the button to validate and add a new line to the table,

When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box. or

Choose the [Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, click on a table cell to determine either base transmitters or associated

neighbours in the network, Click another table cell to validate and add a new line to the table, When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

Notes : Neighbours manual allocation tools are also ways to check currently allocated neighbourhoods, Due to the organisation of neighbourhoods in tables, the copy-paste feature can be used in order to generate the

neighbour table of a global network (or per transmitter). This feature only deals with GSM/TDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 and UMTS technologies.

An automatic allocation tool is also available.

VI.7.2.b ALLOCATING GSM/TDMA TRANSMITTER NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY You can carry out neighbour allocation globally on all the transmitters or only on a group of transmitters. In this case, ATOLL will consider all the transmitters contained in the group of transmitters, the symmetric neighbours of these transmitters and all the other ones, which have an intersection area with the transmitters of the group. Note : neighbours are not a filter for transmitters being part of interferers. All transmitters in a network take part in interferences on each transmitter. Allocating automatically permits to allocate neighbours globally in the current network by imposing constraints on active transmitters that must be satisfied. Force neighbour reciprocity, adjacency and within co-site is possible. To automatically allocate GSM/TDMA neighbours in a network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Neighbours:Automatic allocation...] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters for the current Auto Neighbours allocation study,

You can force neighbour adjacency. A candidate cell is adjacent to a reference cell if candidate cell is 2nd best server in the reference cell neighbour list on at least one pixel of the reference cell best-server area. Adjacent cells are listed in a descending overlapping area order. Note : determination of best server is based on signal level in GSM/TDMA documents whereas it is based on Ec/Io in case of UMTS, and CDMA/CDMA2000 networks. Therefore, when selecting the Force adjacent cells as neighbours option, adjacent cells are top ranked in the neighbour list just after co-site cells. If there is not enough space in neighbour list, ATOLL displays a warning in the Events viewer indicating that the adjacent cell constraint cannot be respected.

Click the button to start calculations,

Once calculations are achieved, click the button to attribute neighbours to transmitters as displayed in the current table,

When clicking on the Commit button, ATOLL assigns neighbours to transmitters. Neighbours are listed in the Neighbours tab of each transmitter properties window. In the Results part, ATOLL lists all the cells fulfilling the specified neighbourhood criteria. Then, it orders them so as to eliminate some of them from the list if the maximum number of neighbours is exceeded. Cells are sorted according to a ring strategy. If transmitters have a current allocation, they are noted existing. For each pixel of the overlapping area (where neighbourhood conditions are fulfilled), ATOLL draws up a list of cells



ordered by signal reception. ATOLL gives to each candidate cell a weight depending on the reference cell rank in the list. The higher the rank of the reference cell (2nd best server, 3rd best server,…) is, the higher the weight is. Then, ATOLL lists candidate cells according to a descending weight. When selecting the Reset option, ATOLL deletes all the current neighbours and carries out a new neighbour allocation. If not selected, the existing neighbours are kept. Therefore, if you add a new transmitter i and start a new allocation without selecting the Reset option: ATOLL determines the neighbour list of the transmitter i, It examines the neighbour list of other transmitters. If there is space in neighbour list of another transmitter j:

- The transmitter i enters the transmitter j neighbour list if allocation criteria are satisfied. The transmitter i will be the first one in the neighbour list. - The transmitter i does not enter the transmitter j neighbour list if allocation criteria are not satisfied.

If the transmitter j belongs to the transmitter i neighbour list and the force symmetry option is selected: - The transmitter i will enter the transmitter j neighbour list if there is space in the transmitter j neighbour list. - If the transmitter j neighbour list is full, ATOLL removes the transmitter j from the transmitter i neighbour list in order to preserve the link symmetry

Click the Close button to achieve the procedure.

Notes : This feature only deals with GSM/TDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 and UMTS technologies. No prediction study is needed to perform the automatic neighbour allocation. When starting an automatic

neighbour allocation, ATOLL automatically calculates path loss matrices if it does not find them.

VI.7.2.c DISPLAYING CURRENT GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOUR LIST ATOLL provides the possibility to open an editable table referencing all the GSM/TDMA neighbours of the current network. To access the GSM/TDMA neighbour table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, left column lists reference transmitters, right column, the related neighbours.

This table can be used to allocate neighbours manually.

VI.7.2.d DELETING ALLOCATED GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS To do this, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Either

Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter from which you want to exclude some neighbours, Choose the properties option from the context menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the current window,

Or Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the [Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] option from the context menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window,

In the displayed table, select the target neighbour line, Press the keyboard Del (or Suppr.) key Click on OK to validate and close the dialog box.

Note : this can also be made for external neighbours from a linked project in co-planning.

VI.7.2.e DISPLAYING GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP Once the GSM/TDMA neighbours have been allocated, you can display a given neighbourhood on the map. To display the neighbours of any transmitter, proceed as follows :

Click on the visible neighbourhood icon from the toolbar,



Left click on the desired transmitter to select it on the map, The neighbours are displayed (colour of the reference transmitter) on the map such as :

for the transmitter Site4_0 located on Site 4 Note : This feature only deals with GSM/TDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 and UMTS technologies.

VI.7.3 GSM/TDMA GENERIC AFP MANAGEMENT VI.7.3.a ADJUSTING AFP PARAMETERS FROM THE DATA MODEL

In ATOLL, it is possible to adjust AFP parameters per transmitter and not only as global constraints. In the TRXs tab of the transmitter property dialog, it is possible to force : Subcell part : The main frequency band used by propagation model when assigning cell types to transmitters, The frequency domains for each subcell in which the automatic tool chooses frequencies as defined, The allocation mode (Free or Group constrained) for the AFP to allocate frequencies to TRX, The allowed C/I and max percentage of interference per subcell, The minimum reception threshold for each subcell, The max MAL length allowed per subcell, The hopping mode, for each subcell of each transmitter, The site synchronisation at the subcell level, The support of DTX per subcell (or not),

Furthermore, ATOLL is able to compute automatically the requested number of TRXs (at the subcell level) for all transmitters of the network. When computed, values are automatically reported in the subcell part of the transmitter property dialog boxes. TRX part : In the transmitter property dialog (TRXs tab), you can choose manually the frequencies related to each TRX. The MAIO can also be manually specified. Concerning the AFP itself, it is possible to freeze channels of each TRX at this level. This way, existing channels will not be overwritten by any new automatic allocation. In the AFP tab of the transmitter property dialog, it is possible to impose : A weight on cost function used for convergence on this specific transmitter. For example, entering a value of 2 for

a specific transmitter whereas the value for other transmitters is 1 means that we will consider convergence when the reached cost function on this transmitter will be half the one of the other transmitters.

To avoid recalculation by AFP of parameters as frequencies, HSNs and BSICs at the transmitter level, it is possible to freeze them. Frequencies can be also frozen at the subcell level (see above).

Exceptional channel separations with other (transmitter, subcell) pairs that are neither co-site nor neighbours of the currently considered (transmitter, subcell) pair.



VI.7.3.b DEFINING EXCEPTIONAL SEPARATIONS FOR FREQUENCY ALLOCATION In ATOLL, the Separation table, in GSM/TDMA projects, allows you to impose/relax some channel separations between items which are neither co-cell, nor co-site, nor part of neighbour transmitters during an automatic allocation of frequencies. Standard separations are defined in the generic AFP dialog. For example, if we take Tx1 and Tx2, which are neither neighbours nor co-site, we can impose in the separation table a

value of 3. This will mean that if we assign f1 to Tx1 and f2 to Tx2, the AFP has to respect : 321 ≥− ff . This constraint is also checked by the consistency checking tool. The separations are defined per couple of (Transmitter, TRX type) pairs, and they deal with imposing or relaxing constraints. Relaxing constraints means that the defined separation in the Separation table has priority on the imposed separation between co-site, co-cell or neighbour items. It is even possible to define intra-cell separations, e.g. between BCCH and TCH subcells of a same transmitter. Examples : Tx1 and Tx2 are neither neighbours or co-site. We impose in the separation table the following rules :

Separation of 3 channels between (Tx1, BCCH) and (Tx2, BCCH) Separation of 2 channels between (Tx1, TCH) and (Tx2, TCH) If we assign respectively f11 and f12 to the BCCH and the TCH of Tx1, and respectively f21 and f22 to the BCCH and

the TCH of Tx2, we must have : 32111 ≥− ff , 22211 ≥− ff . Nevertheless, we could have 1121 ff = and 1221 ff = . We impose a co-cell minimum separation of 3. We defined also in the transmitter table a separation of 2 for the

(Tx1, BCCH) and (Tx1, TCH) pairs. So, if we assign f11 to the BCCH and f12 to the TCH, it may be possible to

have 21211 =− ff , even if there is a co-cell configuration. For any transmitter, to define channel separations with any other transmitter, proceed as follows :



symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the AFP tab of the current dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, In the displayed table window, enter the (Transmitter, TRX type) couples and their related imposed

separation,

Click either another table cell, or the button to validate and add a new line to the table. When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

To access the exceptional pair table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Frequency plan : Exceptional pairs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, In the displayed table, enter the (Transmitter, TRX type) couples and their related imposed separation, Click another table cell to validate and add a new line to the table, When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

The button helps you to manage the content of the Exceptional separation table. Other constraints are imposed in transmitter properties. The separation table can also be completed from the AFP generic dialog. The consistency checking tool takes into account the defined separation table with priority compared to co-cell,

co-site or neighbour separation constraints. It is possible to Copy and Paste (Ctrl-C – Ctrl-V) the separation list in the tables.



In the TRX type column, it is possible to select the ‘All’ value in order to force the separation for all the subcells of the considered transmitter

VI.7.3.c USING THE GENERIC AFP INTERFACE The role of an Automatic Frequency Planning tool (AFP) is the assignment of frequencies within a GSM network, in order to match the traffic demand (number of requested TRXs) with respect to the quality (e.g. limitation of interferences). A certain number of inputs are defined in the data model (transmitter properties and exceptional pairs of subcells) of from the generic AFP Graphic User Interface. In addition, depending on the selected AFP model, specific parameters may be set. The Automatic Frequency Planning (AFP) module of ATOLL is an option that allows users to automatically generate frequency plans for GSM and TDMA networks. The following parameters may be allocated: Frequencies Frequency hopping groups (MAL) HSN, MAIO BSIC

The AFP aims to generate optimal allocations, i.e. allocations that minimise interference over the network and comply with a set of constraints defined by the user. The two main types of constraints are the separation constraints and the spectrum limitations. The AFP uses a ‘cost function’ to evaluate frequency plans, and the aim of the algorithm is to find frequency plans with minimal costs. In ATOLL, the GSM/TDMA data model has been adapted to be consistent with any AFP model. ATOLL provides generic options and parameters, which can be taken into account during the automatic frequency plan. ATOLL provides a set of generic dialogs available for any AFP model implemented by various vendors. The different AFP models are activated in the same way. For any AFP model, the convergence criterion is based on a cost function taking into account all the requirements given by the network inputs. The goal of the model is to try to minimize the value of the cost function involved in the process. The cost function mainly consists of two components. The first component is related to interferences, the second one considers separation constraint violations. Both components are normally added in order to get global cost. Nevertheless, the user will be able to consider only the separation cost component. Before starting an AFP session, you have to insure that the number of required TRXs per transmitter has been already defined. The related traffic loads have an effect on the cost function used in the AFP. As separation constraints may be set on neighbours, this allocation should also be performed before starting an AFP session. Starting AFP You may perform an automatic frequency planning on all the transmitters or only on a group of transmitters. To start an AFP session, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder or on a group of transmitters, Choose the [Frequency plan: Automatic allocation…] option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The first step consists in setting AFP inputs such as the resources to allocate and the separation requirements. During the second step, ATOLL loads and checks the network. The third step consists in optionally computing the theoretical level of interference that the AFP model will have to minimize. If you choose not to make this calculation, the mathematical model will work with respect to separation constraints only. This dialog will allow you also to set the AFP model and to run it. Finally, ATOLL provides AFP results in the last step. Notes : An audit on the computed frequency plan is available. By using the advanced filter feature on transmitters, it is possible, for example, to display only transmitters linked

to a frequency and their adjacent ones. Using the filter feature in the study display tab, it is also possible to display all cells with a specific frequency (f), and also all cells with frequencies (f+1) and (f-1) in different colours.



VI.7.3.d AFP STEP 1 : GENERIC INPUTS After having started an AFP session, the 1st step consists in the AFP generic inputs. In this first dialog, you can :

Check the boxes related to the resources you wish to allocate during this AFP session. It is possible to allocate several resource types: channels, MAL, MAIO, HSN and BSIC (depending on the considered model – if supported).

Define the channel separations within co-transmitters, within co-site transmitters, between neighbours. Click on the Exceptional pairs… button in order to check/add separations within exceptional pairs of

transmitters and subcells. Indicate if you want AFP model to work with interferences. Check/uncheck the ‘Take interferences into

account’ box. If this box is unchecked, the cost function will only consist of the separation violation cost. In case interferences are taken into account, you may select the DTX option and enter an activity factor

to consider discontinuous transmission mode on subcells which support DTX. Click OK to run the loading of the selected network and its checking,

VI.7.3.e AFP STEP 2 : LOADING AND CHECKING THE NETWORK After the AFP generic inputs, ATOLL loads and check the involved items in the 2nd step ATOLL loads : The transmitters to be allocated : they are the active and filtered transmitters which calculation radius intersects

the rectangle containing the computation zone. We will call them “TBA transmitters”. The potential interferers with TBA transmitters if the option “Take interferences into account” is selected. The transmitters involved in the specified separation conditions with the TBA transmitters: the neighbours, co-site

transmitters, transmitters or subcells of exceptional pairs. Note : In case of the BSIC allocation, neighbours of neighbours are systematically loaded. Once loaded, ATOLL checks the network consistency. It reports mainly non-blocking warnings in an additional event viewer. These warnings deal with, for example, values out of their range or inconsistencies of the existing allocation. For example, ATOLL can report the fact that a list of frequencies is assigned to a TRX supporting a non-hopping or base band hopping mode. In this case, AFP will fix it if frequencies are not frozen. In case of inconsistent values (e.g. a value of 100 for the traffic load), these will be replaced by ATOLL in order to avoid blocking the AFP process. Nevertheless, in some cases, like an empty HSN (resp. BSIC) domain when the HSN allocation is requested, the AFP process is stopped and an error message is reported to the user in order to fill the domains. Caution : Information given by the event viewer have to be read carefully before going further.

After having checked the messages in the event viewer, click the Close button to go on. ATOLL then opens a new dialog dealing with other AFP settings.

VI.7.3.f AFP STEP 3 : GENERIC AFP SETTINGS After having loaded and checked the involved network, ATOLL opens a dialog made of three parts. The first part reports the validated network conditions : Resources to be allocated, Separation constraints, Type of the loading

• Full : both potential interferers (interferences taken into account) and transmitters/subcells considered in separation requirements have been loaded and checked.

• Partial : only transmitters/subcells involved in separation requirements have been loaded and checked. State of the network loading : number of loaded subcells, number of subcells selected for the AFP process,

warnings during the consistency checking, etc… At this step, the status box in the part “Step 3” indicates that the allocation will be based on separation constraints only. The second part of the dialog enables user to calculate/import interference histograms interferences are taken into



account in AFP (not only separation requirements). Interference histograms can be computed only if the user has previously selected the option “Take into account interferences” (leading to the loading of all the potential interferers) in the previous dialog. Else, buttons are greyed. In the first case, for each pair (interfered subcell, interferer subcell), ATOLL calculates a C/I value on each bin of the interfered subcell service area (determined by the min reception threshold defined at the subcell level); all the subcells are supposed to share the same channel. Then, ATOLL integrates C/I values calculated over the service area of the interfered subcell and determines an interference histogram. Histogram shows the different interference probabilities. Interference probability is the probability that users of the interfered subcell receive a C/I higher than a C/I value; interference probability is stated either in percentage of interfered area or in percentage of interfered traffic. Example: Let (Tx1, BCCH) and (Tx2, BCCH) be the victim and interferer subcells. The service areas have been defined using best server with 0 dB margin. The interference probability is stated in percentage of interfered area.

Representation of the probability to have at least C/I levels for a couple of subcells

In that case, we observe that the probability for C/I (BCCH of Tx2 on the BCCH of Tx1) to be greater than 0 is 100% (which is normal because Tx1 is best server). The probability to have a C/I value at least equal to 31 is 31.1%. If we introduce the fact that the required C/I level on the BCCH of Tx1 is 12, we consider in that case that, since the probability that C/I is at least equal to 12 is 93.5%, the percentage of interfered areas in the service area of the BCCH of Tx1 caused by the BCCH of TX2 is 6.5%. To calculate interference histograms, proceed as follows :

Click on Calculate… to compute interference histogram for each pair of subcells, In the Interference calculation dialog, specify the servers to study (All, best signal level per HCS layer), a

margin in case of a best signal level study and choose how to define the interference probability, either in percentage of interfered area or in percentage of interfered traffic.

Then, click on OK to run the interference histogram calculations. Caution: Changing some transmitter or subcell properties such as power offset, reception threshold and transmitter power or EIRP makes invalid interference histograms. In this case, you must recalculate them. Note : It is possible to export the computed interference histograms (by clicking the Export button). When exporting interference histograms, ATOLL creates two ASCII text files in the specified directory: xxx.dct and xxx.clc (xxx is the user specified name). The .dct file contains the name of transmitters taken into account in AFP and their associated identification numbers; the .clc file details interference histogram of each pair (interfered subcell, interferer subcell). For further information about the storage format, please refer to the Technical Reference Guide. To import an existing interference histogram, proceed as follows :

Click on Import… and specify the .clc file to be imported. ATOLL looks for the associated .dct file in the same directory and uses it to decode transmitter identifiers. When this file is unavailable, ATOLL assumes that the transmitter identifiers are the transmitter names.

Notes : No validity control is performed when importing an interference histogram file. Be sure that imported histograms

are consistent with the current configuration. ATOLL only imports interference histograms related to active transmitters with a calculation area. The histogram interference computation needs path loss results. If matrices are invalid, they will be updated

during the computation process. After computing or importing interference histograms, the status box in the part “Step 3” indicates that the allocation will be based on separation constraints and interferences.



Caution : If the interferences were supposed to be taken into account, but no histogram has been determined, the AFP process will be based on separation constraints only. Finally, the third part of the dialog enables you to:

Choose the AFP model, Adjust its parameters by clicking the properties button,

Note : All the AFP models listed in the Modules tab will be available in the scrolling list.

Indicate a target time (in minutes) on which the AFP will base its method in order to lower its cost function and converge to a solution.

Note : This target time is used only by the model to select the best suited method. This means that you will not be able to consider the result reliable as far as the target time is not reached. The model will be able to stop by itself before this target time, but if after this elapsed time the model considers that the result is not satisfying enough, it will go on improving the frequency plan.

Once these parameters are set, click on Run to start the automatic frequency planning.

VI.7.3.g AFP STEP 4 : GENERIC OUTPUTS After starting AFP, ATOLL displays a new dialog providing information about the AFP progress. It indicates : The cost of the best solution (best cost), The elapsed time since the session has been started, The value of the cost component related to separations only.

In addition, in the general AFP display space, some general information about the current solution is given in real time (depending on the selected AFP model). As said in step 3, the target computation time provides to the model an indication about the method to take in order to find a suitable solution. Nevertheless, computations can be stopped any time by clicking the Stop button and confirming it. Best results (related to the best solution – lower cost value) will be then displayed as they are. When calculations are completed or stopped, ATOLL displays the frequency plan proposed by the AFP tool. All the results/violations are listed in a dialog. The first tab (Frequency plan) shows a table listing the assigned resources. Resources can be coloured in different ways in the table for different reasons such as : Artic blue : frozen resource, Red : resource modified since the previous allocation but with separation constraint violation, Green : resource modified since the previous allocation with respect to separation constraints, Black : resource not modified, Blue : resource assigned with separation constraints respected, Purple : resource assigned but with separation violation, Grey : Transmitters and subcells involved in computations.



You may choose the results you want to display. It is actually possible to list the results related only to : Cells (BSICs) Subcells (HSNs) TRXs (Channels/MAL, MAIO and related separation violations)

Use the boxes “Cells”, “Subcells” and “TRXs” to do this. Of course, all of them can be displayed at the same time. In addition, you may choose to display the resources assigned during the current AFP session to the TBA transmitters (option “Studied transmitters only”) and in addition, the existing frequency plan of potential interferers and transmitters involved in separation requirements (option “Transmitters involved in computations”). In the table, when pointing the resources, a tip balloon gives the meaning of the colouring. In case of separation violations, a button is available at the right side of the table. Its name indicates the type of violation. When clicking on it, ATOLL opens a message box detailing the reason.



When there are separation violations, it is interesting to open the Separation constraint violations tab. Click on the “Compute and Display” button in order for ATOLL to summarise all the separation violations of the current AFP session. Note : the bottom part of the Frequency plan tab displays the messages related to the last solution (maybe not the best one) and potential related allocation problems. Before closing this dialog, use the Commit button to assign the allocated resources. Notes : an audit on the computed frequency plan is available.

VI.7.3.h CHECKING THE FREQUENCY PLAN CONSISTENCY Once frequencies have been assigned to TRXs (manually, automatically), ATOLL provides a tool in order to check the consistency of the current frequency plan. Some systematic checking : Definition of a unique BCCH TRX per transmitter, Consistency between TRXs and related cell types, In case of Non Hopping or Base Band Hopping : definition of one unique frequency per TRX, In case of Synthesised Frequency Hopping : definition of a frequency list per TRX, In case of Synthesised Frequency Hopping : respect of max MAL lengths, In case of Synthesised Frequency Hopping : MAIO less than the number of MAL frequencies The number of timeslots per subcell must be lower than or equal to the multiplexing factor (-1 for the BCCH

subcell) The number of timeslots per subcell cannot be null

Furthermore, you can parameter some additional checking on Frequencies, HSN and/or BSIC elements : Check of the compliance of the current frequency plan with the allocation strategy (Free or Group constrained) at

the TRX type level (subcells in transmitters), Check of the respect of domains for allocated resources of type frequency, HSN or BSIC. These domains are

tested in order to check that they are not empty. Concerning frequencies, the tool is able to check compliance of frequency domains within related frequency bands, • Consistency between the defined BSIC format and the assigned BSICs (BSIC domain option checked), • Consistency between the excluded channels (at the subcell level) and the assigned ones (Frequency

domain option checked), • In case of Synthesized Frequency Hopping and Group constrained strategy, respect of exactly a group of a

domain for the allocated TRXs (Frequencies and Allocation strategy options checked), Respect of the exceptional separation constraints (between subcells) prior to co-cell, co-site or neighbour

separations (relaxation). To start the Frequency plan consistency checking, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Frequency plan : Check consistency…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Click the OK button.

Results about consistency are displayed in the tasks tab of the event viewer. This can be also stored in an external log file.

VI.8 E/GPRS PROJECTS MANAGEMENT HELP

VI.8.1 E/GPRS PROJECTS : OVERVIEW GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data-rates for GSM - or Global - Evolution) are 2.5th numeric telephony norms working around the 900-1800 MHz band, using the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology as classical GSM norm. The aim of these technologies is to increase data rates, spectral efficiency and coverage to open up new applications for mobile use. These are available from standard ATOLL when creating a new project by choosing the GSM_EGPRS template. GSM and E/GPRS projects share the same template. A station will be able to allow both GSM and GPRS services



depending on its properties. This will be set at the subcell level with timeslot either dedicated to circuit, packet or composite services. Each transmitter dealing with E/GPRS must have a piece of E/GPRS equipment. ATOLL allows the user to either create or modify easily these equipment. These are linked with so-called coding schemes functions of C or C/I thresholds. GPRS technology provides 4 coding schemes whereas EDGE can offer 9. With ATOLL, you can set these coding schemes and display their effects in graphs. Since E/GPRS technology is based on GSM norm, it is possible to define or not, in the same network, transmitters as E/GPRS stations. Compared to GSM norm, E/GPRS provides the support of larger amounts of data services. Moreover, this technology permits to carry more data per timeslot. Depending on the radio data and the number of timeslots dedicated to packet service transmissions for the transmitters part of the current network, ATOLL can determine the average capacity per timeslot per transmitter. Finally, ATOLL provides specific E/GPRS coverage studies depending either on only C or both C and C/I and E/GPRS equipment as defined with each transmitter : E/GPRS coding schemes analysis, E/GPRS max rate per timeslot analysis.

The What's this context tool allows the user to understand the specific E/GPRS fields and features available in the several dialog boxes.

VI.8.2 SETTING E/GPRS PARAMETERS VI.8.2.a CREATING AN E/GPRS EQUIPMENT

A folder called E/GPRS equipment is available in the Explorer window Data tab. It enables you to manage specific equipment for GPRS and EDGE networks. Thresholds associated with coding schemes are defined in these equipment. Any transmitter dealing with GPRS or EDGE technology have to be assigned an existing piece of equipment. To create a new E/GPRS equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Equipment : E/GPRS Equipment…] command from the opened menu, Fill the empty table line in order to create the new piece of equipment,

Click the button to open the related complete dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the E/GPRS equipment settings, Click OK or Apply to achieve the creation,

Notes :

The button helps you to manage content of the E/GPRS Equipment table. An Other Properties tab is available if some user defined fields have been added to the E/GPRS Equipment table.

VI.8.2.b MANAGING E/GPRS EQUIPMENT PROPERTIES In ATOLL, it is possible to modify properties (name, number of coding schemes, thresholds and associated graphs) of any existing equipment. These equipment have to be defined for each transmitter taking part in specific E/GPRS coverage predictions (Coding schemes and Max rate per timeslot). To manage an E/GPRS equipment, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Equipment : E/GPRS Equipment…] command from the opened menu, The associated Data table opens, Define the parameters of each E/GPRS Equipment.



Notes : The dialog of each E/GPRS Equipment is reachable either by double clicking the related record in the table, or by

using the button once a record is selected,

The button helps you to manage content of the E/GPRS Equipment table. An Other Properties tab is available if some user defined fields have been added to the E/GPRS Equipment table.

VI.8.2.c SETTING CODING SCHEMES PARAMETERS In GPRS or EDGE technology, the main data is the number of coding schemes. Coding scheme is a coding algorithm used to introduce more or less redundancy (rate multiplier) and improve packet transmission. Four and nine coding schemes are respectively available for GPRS and EDGE networks. The more important the coding scheme is, the less redundancy there is. Therefore, in GPRS networks, using a coding scheme 4 means that there will be no redundancy. To adjust the parameters associated with coding schemes from any equipment, proceed as follow :

Access the property dialog of the equipment you want to adjust the associated coding schemes, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click on the General tab to check or modify the name and/or the maximum number of coding schemes

available for the current equipment, Click on the Thresholds tab to define, for each coding scheme :

Power threshold and Signal noise ratio threshold : They are respectively the minimum power (C) and the minimum signal noise ratio (C/I) required at the receiver in order for the coding scheme to be used,

Max rate (kbps): It is the maximum rate (kbps) obtained when there is no data transmission error, Rates depending on C (kbps) and rates depending on C/I (kbps): These columns contain values

used to represent Rate=f(C ) and Rate=f(C/I) graphs, Click OK or Apply to validate.

The and buttons allows to display graphs associated with the currently selected coding scheme.

VI.8.2.d DISPLAYING RATE GRAPHS In E/GPRS technology, coding schemes are linked with data transmission redundancy level. The least redundancy deals with riskier data transmissions with potentially higher transmission rates. The most redundancy deals with safer data transmissions but with lower rates. Coding schemes are hence defined in order to obtain the best compromise between enough transmission speed and safety of data packet transmission. That is why each coding scheme has an optimum working range depending on either C or C/I values. This can be pointed out through graphs attached with the definition of each coding scheme linked to E/GPRS equipment. To display the rate graph as function of C or C/I values for a given coding scheme, proceed as follows :

Access properties dialog box of the equipment you want to adjust the associated coding schemes, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click on the Thresholds tab, Either,

Click on the C or C/I cell you want to display the associated rate graph, Or,

Select the line of the coding scheme you want to display a rate graph,

Click either the or button to open the graph (as function respectively of C or C/I) dialog window,

The Rate graph window opens. It consists of a table where you can define C (or C/I) and rate values (copying and pasting a set of values, adding and deleting values is possible) and a part where the graph is displayed,

Click OK or close the window. Note : these graphs show the rate evolution depending on radio conditions (C and C/I) by considering block error rates. Therefore, from these graphs, you can choose a coding scheme suitable to radio conditions.



VI.8.2.e DEFINING A TRANSMITTER AS AN E/GPRS STATION In ATOLL, transmitters part of network dealing either with GPRS or EDGE can be or not considered as E/GPRS stations by default. In this last case, they are taken as classical GSM stations. For this reason, except the specific E/GPRS part, all transmitters can be either created or managed identically that transmitters from a complete GSM/TDMA network. To assign E/GPRS properties to any transmitter, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Either,

Double click the Transmitters folder to open the associated table, Tick the boxes associated with such transmitters in the E/GPRS column, Assign the associated E/GPRS to cells,

Or Access the properties dialog box of the transmitter you want to define as an E/GPRS station, Click on the E/GPRS tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the current window, Tick the Station E/GPRS box and complete the E/GPRS equipment field, Click OK or Apply to validate.

Notes : When choosing the equipment, all pieces of equipment previously described in the E/GPRS equipment folder are

available in the E/GPRS equipment scrolling menu. If none is chosen, ATOLL does not consider the associated transmitter in the E/GPRS specific studies,

The average rate per timeslot is an uneditable field coming from output calculation.

VI.8.3 SPECIFIC E/GPRS PREDICTION STUDIES VI.8.3.a CREATING A COVERAGE BY E/GPRS CODING SCHEMES

This study displays areas according to the used coding schemes. The coverage colour depends on the assigned coding scheme. The coding scheme choice is determined from radio conditions (C or/and C/I). Therefore, the strongest C and C/I values are, the higher the coding scheme will be. When both graphs are used, ATOLL uses the lowest one. As this study can be based on C/I, some parameters are similar to the ones found in interference predictions. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the E/GPRS option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. In the condition tab, specific coverage GSM/TDMA conditions are available. Moreover, if you tick the 'Calculations based on C/I option, both conditions on signal (C ) and signal noise ratio (C/I) must be satisfied to be able to use a given coding scheme. The coverage by coding scheme is a template for which the field 'Coding Schemes' is selected by default in the display tab. In that case, each layer shows the coding schemes to be used in the transmitter coverage area. You can also choose to display your coverage in term of Best coding schemes. The resulting coverage shows the best coding scheme that can be used on each pixel. Other options related to E/GPRS coverage are available in the Display tab. Note : ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating E/GPRS prediction studies. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage. Since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set (e.g. : adjacent channel protection

level).

VI.8.3.b COMPUTING A COVERAGE BY E/GPRS RATE PER TIMESLOT This study displays the areas where the rate carried by transmitter on one packet timeslot exceeds the user-defined thresholds. The rate is determined from rate=f(C ) or/and rate=f(C/I) graphs defined for each coding scheme. When both graphs are used, ATOLL chooses the less favourable rate. As this study can be based on C/I, some parameters are similar to the ones found in interference predictions.



To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the E/GPRS option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Condition, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. In the condition tab, specific coverage GSM/TDMA conditions are available. Moreover, if you check the 'Calculations based on C/I option, both conditions on signal (C ) and signal noise ratio (C/I) must be satisfied to be able to use a given coding scheme. To calculate the coverage per rate/timeslot, two coverage display options are available. Firstly, you can choose the Rate/timeslot. In that case, each layer shows the rates that a transmitter can carry one timeslot. You can also choose to display your coverage in term of Best rate/timeslot. The resulting coverage gives the best rate/timeslot per pixel from the previous display. Other options related to E/GPRS coverage are available in the Display tab. Notes : ATOLL offers default calculation and display parameters when creating E/GPRS prediction studies. Choosing another display type can make invalid coverage study. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate

prediction study in order to update coverage. Since each pixel can be seen as a receiver, its related properties have to be set (e.g. : adjacent channel protection

level).

VI.8.3.c CALCULATING THE AVERAGE CAPACITY PER TIMESLOT PER TRANSMITTER ATOLL provides a calculation tool in order to determine the spatial average capacity per timeslot for each E/GPRS transmitter with a calculation area. This analysis is based on E/GPRS study definition. ATOLL does not use the calculated E/GPRS coverage; it only takes into account study parameters specified in the Condition tab of the property dialog. To calculate the average capacity per timeslot for all the transmitters in an E/GPRS network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu, Choose the [Dimensioning : Timeslot capacity calculation...] option from the opened menu, A dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Choose the rate per timeslot reference study to base on the current calculation, Click on the Run button to start calculations, When finished, results are displayed for each transmitter in the current table, Click on the Commit results button to assign to each transmitter its associated rate, The committed rate is reported in the properties dialog box of each transmitter.

Note : if no prediction is available to base the average rate per timeslot study on, it is proposed to the user to create a new one in order to use its parameters for the calculation.

C H A P T E R 7

GSM/TDMA AFP module

7

GSM/TDMA AFP module


GSM/TDMA AFP module


VII GSM/TDMA AFP MODULE

VII.1 ATOLL AFP MODULE : OVERVIEW The ATOLL AFP model supports Base Band Hopping (BBH) and Synthesized Frequency Hopping (SFH) modes. It enables you to automatically plan : Channels and HSN (Hopping sequence numbers) in case of BBH, MAL (Mobile Allocation List), MAIO (Mobile Allocation Index Offset) and HSN in case of SFH, Only channels in case of non hopping, BSICs.

The ATOLL AFP model is implemented using simulated annealing, taboo search, graph heuristics and machine learning. It manages its time resources to match the user time directives. If given a lot of time, the model will use a major part of this time to “learn” the network. During the learning phase, the model adjusts its internal parameters. At the end of the user-defined time period, the AFP switches to a randomised combinatorial search phase. If the user-defined time period is extremely short, the AFP may carry on only deterministic heuristics that converge quickly. In all the cases where randomness is used, the random seed is initialised by the machine time. The network learning is performed by executing many fast and deterministic instances of the AFP. The one that gains the best performance is memorized in the document and is therefore the most adapted to the specific network. The next time that an AFP will be executed it will start where the learning process ended – it will use the parameter profile of the best solution stored in the .atl document. The convergence criterion studied by the ATOLL AFP model is based on a cost function taking into account all the requirements given by the network inputs. The goal of the model is to try to minimize the value of the cost function.

VII.2 MANAGING THE ATOLL AFP MODULE

VII.2.1 ATOLL AFP COST FUNCTION : OVERVIEW The cost function is stated in interfered Erlangs (i.e. in number of interfered timeslots) ; it corresponds to the cost of the entire loaded network. It is based on four components, the cost component due to interferences, the cost component due to separation violations, the cost component due to missing requested TRXs and the cost component due to assigned frequencies out of the domain. Each cost component is described hereafter. Nevertheless, for further information about the cost function calculation, please refer to the Technical Reference Guide. Parameters considered in the cost function components can be fully controlled by the user. Some of these parameters are part of the general data model (quality requirements, allowed percentage of interference per subcell) ; others can be managed inside the property dialog of the ATOLL AFP model such as separation costs and diversity gains.

VII.2.2 ACCESSING THE ATOLL AFP PROPERTIES In the property dialog of the ATOLL AFP model, you may manage some parameters to be considered in the cost function and in addition, give some directives to the AFP model. To open the ATOLL AFP model property dialog, proceed as follows :

Either In the Modules tab, open the Frequency allocation modules list, Right click on the ATOLL AFP Module subfolder, Select the Properties command in the context menu.

Or Right click on the Transmitters folder, Select the [Frequency plan: Automatic allocation…] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the second dialog (after the loading of the network), select the model in the scrolling box, Click the Properties button.

Note : Like for the propagation models, it is possible to duplicate the AFP model in several ones with different sets of parameters. They will be available in AFP sessions (once duplicated, the model is then available in the AFP scrolling list of the generic AFP dialog).

GSM/TDMA AFP module


The AFP property dialog consists of 4 tabs : the General, Cost, Interference and Directives tabs. The Cost and Interference tabs include parameters to take into account in the cost function estimation. The Directives tab contains allocation options in case of frequency hopping.

VII.2.3 DEFINING INTERFERENCE COST IN THE AFP The interference cost component is evaluated for each TRX. Estimation is based on interference histograms calculated for pairs of subcells and takes into account frequency and interferer diversity gains modelling frequency hopping and gain due to DTX. For each single TRX, ATOLL estimates the probability for the TRX to be interfered. A TRX v is interfered by a TRX i when the C/I level on TRX v is lower than an “evaluated threshold”. This one is calculated by adding the different gains listed above to the minimum C/I threshold specified in the subcell properties. ATOLL reads the interference probability (probability to have a C/I lower than the “evaluated threshold”) in the corresponding interference histogram. Then, for each TRX v, it adds the interference probabilities from all the TRX i ; the sum is limited to 100% of the TRX traffic. This cost component may be weighted by a cost weight of interference available in the AFP model property dialog. For further details, please refer to the Technical Reference Guide.

VII.2.4 DEFINING SEPARATION VIOLATION COST IN THE AFP The separation violation cost component is evaluated for each TRX.

Estimation is based on costs specified for the required separations. Let 12S denote the required separation between two

transmitters Tx1 and Tx2 in the network. If we assign f1 at Tx1 and f2 at Tx2, and if 1221 Sff <− , then we can consider that the separation requirement is not respected. A separation can be strongly or weakly broken : for example, the pair of frequencies 1 and 2 breaks a separation requirement of 3. The pair of frequencies 1 and 3 breaks this requirement as well, but is closer to answer it, since the reached separation is 2. Therefore, this second pair should provide a lower cost than the first one. In addition, frequencies that are part of a MAL with a low fractional load and that break a separation should not be weighted the same as in a non-hopping separation breaking case. Therefore, the cost is weighted by the burst collision probability (which is the multiplication of the victim and interferer fractional loads) and the interferer diversity gain. For each single TRX, separation violations are summed up. This sum is limited to 100% of the TRX traffic. Note : The TRX traffic depends on the number of circuit and composite timeslots available and the TRX traffic load. These parameters are given in the subcell properties. For further details, please refer to the Technical Reference Guide.

The separation cost component takes as input a matrix ijS denoting the separation constraints, and a matrix skP

indicating the cost of breaking a required separation “s” with a reached frequency distance kff ji =−

. This state is

called a k-breaking of a s-separation. In this table, you may specify the skP values ; the entered cost values are stated in % of interfered TRX traffic. All values must be equal or less than 100. To set the cost of separation violations, proceed as follows :

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Cost tab, In the Separations part, scroll in the list until displaying the requested separation “s”, Click on the reached separation “k” and enter the desired cost value.

Notes : The higher the violation is, the greater the cost value should be. If the same TRX is involved several times in separation violations, its cost value will be limited to 100% (100% of

its traffic is interfered).

GSM/TDMA AFP module


VII.2.5 MISCELLANEOUS COSTS INVOLVED IN AFP COST FUNCTION In addition to the standard interference and separation violation cost, ATOLL provides two other components in the global cost value. These cannot be set. Missing TRX cost component

For each missing TRX, ATOLL considers 100% of TRX traffic as cost. Let us imagine a transmitter involved in AFP session for which the number of requested TRXs is 5 ; this transmitter is not a transmitter to be allocated. It has currently 3 assigned TRXs. In that case, the two missing and undefined TRXs have to be considered for this allocation because they would have an effect on the current frequency plan if allocated. Corrupted TRX cost component

A TRX is corrupted when an allocated frequency does not respect the frequency domain constraints. In this case, ATOLL considers 1000% of TRX traffic as cost.

VII.2.6 SETTING INTERFERER DIVERSITY GAIN IN THE AFP Values specified in the second table of the Cost tab are only used in case of frequency hopping. When a frequency hopping mode is used, a mobile is linked to a list a frequencies (MAL) and the frequency collision probability is spread over the several frequencies. The use of frequency hopping drives to two types of gains, the interferer diversity gain and the frequency diversity gain. This last one is described in the Interferences tab. The interferer diversity gain (in dB) models the geographic diversity of interferers and is applied both to the interference and separation cost components of the cost function. This gain depends on the MAL length of the victim TRX. A long MAL leads to average the negative effects over users with different geographic locations. In the interference cost component, the gain is applied to lower the defined minimum C/I threshold per subcell, i.e. to shift the entrance point in the interference histograms. In the separation violation cost component, the gain is translated in a linear value and applied directly to the separation cost by division. To set the values of the interferer diversity gains, proceed as follows:

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Cost tab, In the bottom table, select the MAL length and specify a gain value.

Example : Let us consider the following simple case of a network consisted of two TRXs. The first one TRXi carries the (MAL)i and is interfered by TRXj carrying the (MAL)j. TRXi and TRXj have a separation requirement of 2. Their lengths are respectively 5 and 4. Unfortunately, they share a same frequency (separation = 0). In this case, the cost of the separation violation is 90 for each TRX. The interferer diversity gain is 1.4 for a MAL of 5 and 1.2 for a MAL of 4. In the interference histograms of the interfered TRXi (resp. TRXj), the entrance point is shifted by 1.4 dB (resp. 1.2 dB).

For TRXi, with a gain of 1.4 dB, the effect on the separation cost is given by the linear value ( ) 38.110 104.1 ≈ . The

contribution of the MAL length of 5 divides the separation cost for this interfered MAL by 1.38. Considering the initial

separation cost and the interferer diversity gain, we reach a separation cost of ( ) 21.6538.190 = . If we now consider the fractional load (considering the fact that only one channel of each TRX causes interferences, with (MAL length)I=4 and

(MAL length)j=4, the collision probability is 201 . The separation violation cost to consider for TRXi is therefore 3.25%. In the same way, the separation violation cost to consider for TRXj is :

%41.3

10

90201

102.1

=

. Now, in order to compute the separation violation cost on each TRX, the current values have to be multiplied by the number of timeslots dedicated to traffic (by default, 7 in BCCH and 8 for TCH) and by its related traffic load (given in units of Erlang/timeslot).

GSM/TDMA AFP module


VII.2.7 WEIGHTING INTERFERENCE COST IN THE AFP In the global value of the ATOLL AFP cost function, it is possible to impose a weight on the cost component. To access the weighting part on the interference cost, proceed as follows :

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Cost tab, In the Interferences part, you can :

To take into account or not the interference cost component in the global cost function. Check/uncheck the option “Take interference cost into account”.

To weight its influence when it is considered. You may enter a value between 0 and 1 as coefficient. The default interference weight is 0.35 in order to give a strong importance to the separation constraints (which weight is fixed to 1).

VII.2.8 SETTING THE FREQUENCY DIVERSITY GAIN IN THE AFP The frequency diversity gain is taken into account in case of frequency hopping. When a frequency hopping mode is used, a mobile is linked to a list a frequencies (MAL) and the frequency collision probability is spread over the several frequencies. The use of frequency hopping drives to two types of gains, the interferer diversity gain and the frequency diversity gain. This first one is described in the Cost tab. The frequency diversity gain (dB) models the gain due to diversity of multi-path effects and is applied to the interference cost component only. Depending on the victim MAL length, the gain is applied to lower the defined minimum C/I threshold per subcell. To set the values of the frequency diversity gains, proceed as follows:

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Interferences tab, In the top table, select the MAL length and specify a gain value.

VII.2.9 TUNING THE GAIN DUE TO LOW TIME SLOT USE RATIO IN THE AFP The gain due to low time slot use ratio is taken into account in case of interferers supporting DTX. When considering an interferer, the use of DTX reduces its amount of interference. This is modelled by a gain (in dB) associated to the voice activity factor ; it is applied to the minimum C/I threshold of the interfered subcell. To tune the gains due to low time slot use ratio, proceed as follows:

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Interferences tab, In the bottom table, select a gain in the list and specify an activity factor. For each voice activity factor, a

certain gain value will be estimated. Notes : DTX is only applied over subcells for which the “DTX supported” box has been flagged (Subcell property). Take care not to mix up voice activity factor in DTX and traffic load. Traffic load represents the average occupancy

of TRXs and is always applied to the value of cost function (as defined per subcell during dimensioning).

VII.2.10 DEFINING TARGET PARAMETERS IN SFH (AFP) When working in Synthesized Frequency Hopping, it is possible to fix some targets to the AFP. To access the SFH target parameters, proceed as follows :

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Directives tab.

The ATOLL AFP model is currently capable of doing a free MAL assignment. When using this allocation mode (free allocation mode option available in subcell properties), the AFP model may assign any MAL that satisfies the needs of TRXs. Then, the size of MAL, the HSNs and the MAIOs can be assigned either according to user directives, or completely freely. In the last case, the AFP model takes all the decisions during allocation.

GSM/TDMA AFP module


Note : The AFP model will always assign the same MAL to all the TRXs within a same subcell. In order to get correct results, the user must keep in mind some of the possible trade-offs, for example : - When assigning the same HSN and MAL to synchronized subcells, the lowest bound of the MAL length is increased, since it must be at least equal to the total number of TRXs sharing the same HSN, - When assigning the same HSN and MAL to synchronized subcells, we limit the choice of the MAL frequencies, - When assigning the same HSN and MAL to synchronized subcells, we may gain more on interference and frequency diversity. In order to understand how to work the AFP model, some notions are detailed below. Definition of an Atom

An atom is a set of synchronized subcells sharing the same HSN, the same frequency domain, and the same MAL. The MAIO assignment of an atom manages the frequency collisions between the MALs in it. If an atom contains more than one subcell, the AFP may assign partially different MALs to it. Synchronized networks

Working at the atom level, and with the definition of a user-defined synchronisation reference (subcell table), the AFP model is able to fully support the benefits of synchronization in a GSM network. Optimisation of the hopping gains

When the number of TRXs is small, and when the AFP is free to choose the MAL size, the first priority is to increase a bit the MAL length in order to benefit of hopping gains. Target fractional load

The fractional load (value between 0 and 1) represents, at the atom level, the ratio between the number of TRXs using a given MAL and the number of assigned frequencies in the MAL (MAL length). It equals 1 in non hopping or base band hopping modes. Therefore, giving a value has a meaning only in case of synthesised frequency hopping. Both the HSN assignment and the MAL size determination are performed so as to obtain a user defined fractional load. Since this fractional load cannot always be obtained, we will consider this parameter as a guideline rather than a constraint. Let us consider a fractional load n to be obtained. The AFP model will choose a MAL length such that the MAL length equals the number of TRXs in the atom divided by n. In the Directives tab of the AFP dialog, the value of the target fractional load parameter can be edited ; the value will be used as guideline. Furthermore, this parameter can be auto calibrated by the AFP model if you check the box “Automatic adjustment”. Note : Entering a target fractional load value has a meaning only if the “Adjust MAL length” option is checked. Else, the specified value is not taken into account. Target frequency reuse

The frequency reuse ratio represents the ratio between the MAL length and the total number of frequencies in the domain. The reuse ratio is not directly linked to the reuse pattern. Nevertheless, we can assume that a 1x1 reuse pattern has a frequency reuse ratio of 1. A 4x12 reuse pattern can have a reuse ratio between 1/4 and 1/12, depending on whether all TRXs sharing the same sites have the same MAL (and HSN) or not (considering synchronisation at the site level). Since the MAL length is fixed in non hopping or base band hopping modes, giving a value has a meaning only in synthesised frequency hopping. Both the HSN assignment and the MAL size determination are carried out so as to obtain a user defined frequency reuse. As the target fractional load, the target reuse pattern is more like a guideline rather than a constraint. The AFP model will choose the HSNs and the MAL lengths so that this parameter is respected. In the Directives tab of the AFP dialog, the value of the target frequency reuse parameter can be edited ; the value will be used as guideline. Furthermore, this parameter can be auto calibrated by the AFP model if you check the box “Automatic adjustment”. Notes : - The target frequency reuse directive has a lower priority than the ideal fractional load directive.

GSM/TDMA AFP module


- The target frequency reuse directive has a lower priority than the optimisation of hopping gains when the MAL is small. - Entering a target frequency reuse value has a meaning only if the “Adjust MAL length” option is checked. Else, the specified value is not taken into account. User-defined MAL length

From the Directives tab, it is possible to allocate directly to TRXs the maximum MAL length defined in the subcell properties. In that case, the target fractional load and frequency reuse values specified by the user do not have any effect on the automatic allocation (since the MAL length will be fixed). MAIO allocation

The AFP assigns MAIOs to TRXs in order to be able to reuse the same MAL within a subcell, within a transmitter, or even within a site. Furthermore, the MAL-MAIO allocation will be made together in order to respect the separation requirements between frequencies on air. The HSN strategy is taken into account both in Base Band Hopping and SFH.

VII.2.11 IMPOSING A STRATEGY ON THE HSN ALLOCATION (AFP) In ATOLL, the HSN (Hopping Sequence Number) is defined at the subcell level. So, for interfering and non-synchronized subcells, the AFP model tries to allocate different HSNs. When the subcells are synchronized (usually within a same site), it tries to assign the same HSN and different MAIOs. To access the HSN strategy parameters, proceed as follows :

Access the ATOLL AFP property dialog, Click the Directives tab.

In this tab of the ATOLL AFP dialog, the user can manage the HSN allocation in order to respect one of the following options : Assignment of the same HSN to all the subcells of a site, Assignment of the same HSN to all the subcells of a transmitter, Assignment of different HSNs to a pair of subcells which mutually interfere, Optimised assignment (free HSN) so as to obtain the best frequency assignment.

VII.3 ATOLL AFP MODULE GUI

VII.3.1 ATOLL AFP COST TAB

Two tables are available in the cost tab. The first one contains costs you want to take into account each time separation

GSM/TDMA AFP module


constraints are violated. The other one enables you to specify interferer diversity gains for different MAL lengths. Finally, it is possible to give a weight to the interference cost component.

VII.3.2 ATOLL AFP INTERFERENCES TAB

Parameters available in this tab are used to evaluate the interference cost component. They have no influence on the separation cost component.

VII.3.3 ATOLL AFP DIRECTIVES TAB

This tab enables you to give an allocation strategy in case of frequency hopping. You may specify : HSN directives (in case of SFH or BBH), MAL size directives (in case of SFH),

Advanced SFH planning directives (in case of SFH).

C H A P T E R 8

UMTS/W-CDMA Projects Management

8

UMTS/W-CDMA Projects management




VIII W-CDMA/UMTS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

VIII.1 UMTS PROJECTS : OVERVIEW UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) is a radio technology using W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) principles. UMTS is based on Wideband CDMA air interface whereas CDMA/CDMA 2000 (1xRTT and IS95) on Narrowband CDMA. W-CDMA/UMTS is available in ATOLL with the optional UMTS module. In UMTS, everybody works at the same frequency, signals are spread over a band of 3.84 MHz (on each carrier) and distinguished by the use of OVSF codes on them. Nevertheless, this induces potentially high levels of noise which can be defeated by sophisticated power controls on uplink (from terminals) and on downlink (from transmitters) traffic channels. Because of power control, there is not a single solution to model a UMTS network, and results depend totally on network parameters such as traffic and user behaviours. Hence, these parameters have to be modelled before starting calculations via user distributions. Simulation results provide a snapshot of the UMTS network at a certain time. In order to simulate user distributions and associated behaviours, some parameters have to be set. These are services, mobility types, terminal, user profiles and environment types. Each of these is easy to manage like any other folder-like object within ATOLL. All these parameters go together with traffic maps, based on environments, on user profiles (with no required definition for environment parameters) or on Transmitters and Services (in term of rates or number of users - with no required definition for environment and user profile parameters). UMTS power control simulations and UMTS specific coverage predictions need the definition of the previous parameters. Classical coverage predictions are also available to study cell pilots. The point analysis tool allows a specific analysis of any active set at any given point on the map, for a particular scenario (service, terminal, and speed of a probe mobile which current status is provided by network simulation results). Geo data are easily manageable like for other projects. You may either create or import geographic objects. Sites, antennas, station templates, transmitters, measurements, and propagation models work in the same way for UMTS and the other technology projects. Nevertheless, due to an enhanced resource management to consider at site level, site equipment and resource management per service have been introduced. Furthermore, since UMTS support several carrier networks, a new item characterising each carrier per transmitter has been introduced : UMTS cells. Hence, many properties are defined at the cell level (e.g. powers). Like for the other types of technologies, neighbours may be manually defined by the user or with the help of the neighbour automatic allocation tool, but at the cell level. UMTS Downlink primary scrambling codes enable the user to distinctly identify cells (transmitters and carriers). They can also be defined manually or automatically imposing a large number of constraints. The What's this context tool allows the user to understand the specific UMTS fields and features available in dialog boxes.

VIII.2 UMTS SPECIFIC CONCEPTS In a W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network, a code is allocated to each link transmitter-terminal. This code allows the terminal to identify the useful signal spread over the whole bandwidth as mobiles use the same frequency band simultaneously. Consequently, each mobile is indirectly interfered by all the others. It is thus essential for UMTS to perform reliable power control especially on the uplink, in order to limit network interference level. To achieve power control simulation and coverage calculation, UMTS planning requires traffic snapshots unlike GSM planning, which only needs traffic data when dimensioning a network for a certain grade of service. UMTS coverage directly depends on offered traffic : the more the traffic is, the smaller the coverage zones are. This phenomenon is called cell breathing. As Traffic is dynamic, coverage calculation is necessarily statistical. ATOLL achieves coverage predictions in two steps : First, it simulates power control)for realistic user distributions to obtain network parameters and interference level

(simulation part). Then, it generates bin-based coverage probability predictions (prediction part).

See UMTS projects protocol



ATOLL enables W-CDMA/UMTS network planning, 3G network based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access technique (W-CDMA) and multi-service management. These major concepts and new technologies require new network and data modelling, with appropriate needs for traffic modelling. A wide range of different UMTS services (speech, web, video-conferencing,...), available to consumers, generates a more complex traffic than standard voice transmissions. Appropriate traffic data model and relevant localisation on a map, i.e. traffic cartography represents a major input for UMTS planning. Specific UMTS objects are available when creating a new project with ATOLL. The UMTS project is designed to provide specific UMTS radio and traffic data structures, UMTS simulations and predictions folders.

VIII.3 UMTS PROJECTS PROTOCOL A classical UMTS project protocol, within ATOLL, is described below : Network design : Setting radio data

Pilot studies based only on signal reception

Traffic input

Traffic description : activity probabilities Traffic map design : number of subscribers or users (depending on the type of map)

Simulations (Evaluation of interference level)

Realistic user distribution generation Power control simulation

UMTS oriented prediction studies

Point predictions Coverage predictions


Neighbour allocation Primary scrambling code allocation

VIII.4 MANAGING UMTS RADIO DATA

VIII.4.1 MANAGING UMTS RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW Due to their complexity, UMTS networks, in ATOLL have been modelled by the introduction of specific radio items. Firstly, due to the fact that the number of channel elements is limited by site, these are set from the Site folder. Hence, in ATOLL, you can model several pieces of equipment with different radio resource management parameters and describe channel element consumption for each equipment type/service couple. Then, you can assign a piece of equipment to each site. Some features have been introduced in order to adjust the global specific parameters of UMTS networks. UMTS supports multi-carrier networks, i.e. a transmitter can work on several carriers on the same time, each carrier being set with different properties. Hence, to take it into account, a new level has been introduced in order to simulate the carrier level on each transmitters : UMTS cells. Like many other objects in ATOLL, these are easily manageable and provide several tools in order to make their use easy.

VIII.4.2 UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT VIII.4.2.a CREATING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT

In UMTS, site equipment allows the user to define some equipment related to channel elements and some other specific UMTS parameters and calculation options (MUD factor, Rake efficiency factor, Carrier selection, Overhead CEs, AS restricted to neighbours) .



To create a UMTS site equipment, proceed as follows : Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Equipment : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Equipment window, describe a piece of equipment per line. Type its name, the manufacturer

name and define: MUD factor

Multi-User Detection is a technology used to decrease intra-cellular interference on uplink. MUD is modelled by a coefficient between 0 and 1; this factor is considered in the UL interference calculation. In case MUD is not supported by equipment, enter 0 as value. Rake receiver efficiency factor

This factor enables ATOLL to model macro-diversity on uplink. ATOLL uses it to calculate the uplink macro-diversity gains and uplink signal quality in simulations, point-to-point handover analysis and coverage studies. This parameter is considered on uplink for softer and softer-softer handovers; it is applied to the sum of signals received on the same site. The factor value can be between 0 and 1. It models losses due to the signal recombination imperfection. Carrier selection

It refers to carrier selection mode used during the transmitter admission control in mobile active set. Three methods are available: - UL min noise: The least loaded carrier (carrier with the lowest UL load factor) is selected, - DL min power: The carrier with lowest used total DL power is selected, - Random: The carrier is randomly chosen. Overhead CEs uplink and downlink: number of channel elements that a cell uses for common channels on

uplink and downlink. AS restricted to neighbours

This option is used to manage mobile active set. If you select this option, the other transmitters in active set must belong to the neighbour list of the best server.

Click on to close the table. Note : Rake efficiency factor for computation of recombination in downlink has to be set in terminals.

VIII.4.2.b MANAGING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT Site equipment are listed in a table in ATOLL. So, as many other objects, they are easy to manage both in term of contents or handy tools. To access to the UMTS site equipment table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Equipment : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, The table displays each piece of equipment in each line. Click on to close the table.

Notes : Standard features for managing table content (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort,

Fields…) are available in context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus.

Rake efficiency factor for computation of recombination in downlink has to be set in terminals.

VIII.4.2.c MANAGING CHANNEL ELEMENT CONSUMPTION PER UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT UL and DL channel elements are independently dealt with in power control simulation. Furthermore, the number of channel element required by a site depends on site equipment, user service and link direction (up or down). To describe channel element consumption during UMTS simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Equipment : Channel Element consumption] command from the opened scrolling menu,



In the CE consumption window, enter for each equipment-service pair the number of UL and DL channel elements that ATOLL will consume during power control simulation,

Click on to close the table.

VIII.4.2.d ASSIGNING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT TO SITES Once equipment related to channel element are defined, it is possible to assign a piece of equipment to each site. To assign a piece of equipment to a site proceed as follows :


or

Select on the map the site you want to manage by right clicking on it ( ), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Equipment tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window. Enter the maximum number of uplink and downlink channel elements available for the site; then, click

on the Equipment scrolling menu and choose a piece of equipment in the list, Click on OK to validate.

Notes : In case you have defined neither equipment nor channel element consumption, ATOLL considers the following

default values, Rake efficiency factor = 1, MUD factor = 0, Carrier selection = UL minimum noise, Overhead CEs downlink and uplink = 0, AS restricted to neighbours option not selected, and uses one channel element per link (up or down) for any service, during power control simulation.

Equipment can be also assigned by accessing site table.

VIII.4.3 TRANSMITTER UMTS SPECIFIC PARAMETERS VIII.4.3.a DEFINING THE TRANSMITTER UMTS GLOBAL PARAMETERS

In ATOLL, some parameters which are globally related to the UMTS technology can be accessed easily and applied to all the items of a network; these are called global parameters. Some of them are used as global values, other as default values. All of these are essential in UMTS power control simulations. To access the global parameters of a UMTS network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Global parameters tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Click OK to close the dialog.

Note : users may choose the way to calculate the total noise Nt taken into account in downlink and uplink Eb/Nt. Select in the Nt scrolling menu, either the option “Without useful signal” to deduct the signal of the studied cell from the total noise, or the option “Total noise” to take into account the noise generated by all the cells.

VIII.4.4 UMTS CELLS VIII.4.4.a UMTS CELLS : DEFINITION

Because ATOLL supports multi-carriers networks, and also since it is possible to define some rules about carrier selection for a mobile when defining its active set, a new level has been introduced, the cell level. A cell defines a carrier on a transmitter. Data of interest like transmission powers (Pilot, Synchronisation, Other common channels, Maximum power), total power, UL load percentage, primary scrambling codes, active set thresholds are defined at the cell level. Hence, neighbours are also defined at the cell level.



The number of cells per transmitter is limited by the number of carriers available for a network as defined in the global parameter dialog. Cells can be listed either by transmitter, in a specific dialog, or in a table form, as other radio data (sites and transmitters). So, here again, the management of cells stays easy and comfortable.

VIII.4.4.b CREATING A UMTS CELL The cell concept is fully supported in ATOLL. Cell is characterised by the transmitter-carrier couple. Therefore, you can define several cells per transmitter (as many cells as carriers associated to transmitter). To define UMTS transmitter cells, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Cells : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu,

The Cells table contains all the identifiers of a cell, its name, transmitter and carrier which the cell refers to, cell primary scrambling code, scrambling code domain to which the allocated scrambling code belongs, all the values defining transmitted signal level, pilot power, synchronisation power, other common channels power, maximum power, total power used, information about the cell uplink load and an active set management parameter, AS threshold.

Click on to close the table. Notes : Cells are automatically created and described in the table when you drag and drop a station. On the other hand,

you must define them manually after adding a new transmitter (New… command when right clicking on the Transmitters folder) or copying a list of transmitters in the Transmitters table.

Cell default name is: Transmitter name(carrier). If you change transmitter name or carrier, ATOLL does not update the cell name.

You cannot create two cells related to the same transmitter-carrier couple.

VIII.4.4.c MANAGING UMTS CELL PROPERTIES In UMTS, cells are defined per transmitter. Nevertheless, their associated properties can be reached by several ways. Like many other objects (Sites, Transmitters, Antennas, Predictions, Simulations, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, cells can be managed either individually (per transmitter or in a single dialog) or globally. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the cell properties of your network by accessing the cell table : To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Cells : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, Click on to close the table.

Individual property management

There are two ways to edit cell properties of each transmitter in the current network. To do so,

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter which cell properties you want to access,

or Select on the map the transmitter which cell properties you want to access by left clicking on the

appropriate Tx symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Cell tab from the opened dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

It is also possible to open a single dialog for each cell. To do so, proceed as follows :

Open the cell table (see above) Either



Double click the record which property dialog you want to open, Or

Right click on the record which property dialog you want to open to get its associated context menu,

Select the Record Properties command from the opened scrolling menu (or the Record Properties command from the Records menu),

Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window. Notes : Cell Properties dialog consists of three tabs: cell characteristics entered in the cells table are grouped in the

General and Transmission/Reception tabs, Internal and external neighbours may be allocated to the cell in the Neighbours tab.

It is possible to define additional fields in the cell table by using the Fields command in its related context menu (or from the Records menu). If it is the case, this new field will then be available in the Other properties tab of any cell property dialog.

VIII.4.4.d POWER PARAMETERS IN UMTS Because powers can be defined differently within a same transmitter depending on carriers, these are defined at the cell level in ATOLL. To define the different powers related to UMTS technology, access the cell properties (either from the table or from dialogs) and fill the following fields (Transmission/Reception tab) : Max power Pilot power SCH power Other CCH power

The total power used and UL load used in specific UMTS coverages are also defined in the cell properties. The active set threshold (default value : 5dB) used for active set determination has also to be set there.

VIII.4.4.e ACTIVE SET PARAMETERS IN UMTS For a given terminal allowed to perform handover, the active set contains the transmitters with which it is connected. The main parameter to be measured for transmitters in the active set is the pilot quality (Ec/Io). Once the best server, in term of pilot quality, is defined, other transmitters are selected using an active set threshold. This threshold is defined at the cell level, considering the cell which pilot quality is the best for a given active set. To define the active set threshold of any cell, access the cell properties (either from the table or from dialogs) and fill the field AS threshold (Transmission/Reception tab).

VIII.5 MANAGING UMTS TRAFFIC DATA

VIII.5.1 UMTS TRAFFIC DATA : OVERVIEW The aim of UMTS network planning in ATOLL is to provide some specific coverage predictions based on power control simulations. These simulations use the data available from the current network. In UMTS projects, the multi-service ability allows the definition of specific traffic maps. Hence, you may use maps based on either environment types, rates or number of users per service and per transmitter, or on user profiles. To achieve power control simulation, ATOLL use the other classical geo data (clutter class maps, DTM or DEM maps), the radio configuration (sites, antennas, transmitters, cells) and the specific UMTS parameters. These topics are organised in folders and are easily manageable. They deal with : services, mobility types, terminals, user profiles, environment classes.

UMTS traffic data structure describes multi-service traffic on the network. The central data is the user profile, which describes a type of subscriber by listing his communication behaviours:



which terminal(s) does he use ? for which service(s)? with which usage characteristics (frequency, duration, volume,…)?

The mobility concept has been added to take into account strong Ec/Io and Eb/Nt dependence on mobile speed. When defining a mobility type, you have to give Ec/Io requirements, which will determine mobile terminal active set. When creating a new circuit or packet switched service, in addition to basic characteristics (nominal rate,…) you have to provide Eb/Nt targets in uplink and downlink for each mobility type previously defined. You may define different receiver types, called terminals and containing power characteristics and mobile active set size. Environments just associate a list of user profiles with a specific mobility to a subscriber density. Environment classes or user profiles can be used to geographically define multi-traffic areas. As with any Data table in ATOLL, these tables are automatically stored in a database if the user works with a connected document. ATOLL powerful data management features are available on traffic tables. For example, you may group terminals by their active set size. ATOLL manages multi-carrier networks. It allows the user to choose the way carriers are selected by transmitters. Moreover, any specific CDMA study may deal with several carriers depending on the user or on the radio parameters of the network.

VIII.5.2 WORKING ON UMTS SERVICES VIII.5.2.a CREATING UMTS SERVICES

UMTS allows the user to carry not only voice but also data for web, or video conferencing for example. In UMTS, Services are divided into two categories: circuit switched and packet switched. Usually, circuit switched services support soft handover unlike packet switched services. ATOLL provides a function to enable or disable soft handover for a given service. To create a service, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Services folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to set the parameters of the created service, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : In the Eb/Nt tab window, (Eb/Nt)DL and (Eb/Nt)UL targets are the thresholds (in dB) that must be achieved to provide users with the service. These parameters depend on user speed and must be defined for all mobility types.

VIII.5.2.b SETTING UMTS SERVICE PARAMETERS Similar to the other ATOLL object folders, UMTS services are easily manageable. Creation steps and display management are standard. To manage the UMTS services parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Services folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the service of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,

Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties, Or,



Double click on the service of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to adjust the parameters of the current service, Validate by clicking on OK.

Notes : When the Services table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any service

by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left. The coding factors, which penalize UL and DL service rates, may be supplied in two ways. For each service, you may : Either enter high UL and DL coding factors and then, set a low enough UL and DL Eb/Nt threshold so that the

advantage of high coding can be simulated (higher error correction rate means smaller bit error rate and thus a smaller required Eb/Nt),

Or enter low UL and DL coding factors value and take into account the coding to define the required UL and DL Eb/Nt values, i.e. a high enough Eb/Nt threshold to simulate the disadvantage of little coding.

VIII.5.2.c MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS SERVICES In ATOLL, UMTS objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the services table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the Services folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Services folder,

The services table opens. Click on to close the table.

The services table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The advanced grouping/filtering/sorting feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the Services folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the services table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Services table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any service by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.3 CONFIGURING UMTS MOBILITY TYPES VIII.5.3.a CREATING A UMTS MOBILITY TYPE

In UMTS, receiver mobility knowledge is important for efficient active set management: a mobile used by a speed driver or a pedestrian will not necessarily be connected to the same transmitters. Ec/Io requirements and Eb/Nt targets per service and per link (up and down) are largely dependent on mobile speed. To create a UMTS mobility type, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Mobility type folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created mobility, Validate by clicking on OK.



Mobility parameters are pilot quality (Ec/Io) thresholds (in dB). For a given mobility type : Ec/Io threshold is the minimum Ec/Io required from a transmitter to enter the active set. In ATOLL, this value is

verified for the best server.

VIII.5.3.b UMTS ACTIVE SET CONDITIONS The transmitters taking part in the active set have to check the following conditions: They must be using the same carrier (at the cell level). The pilot quality (Ec/Io) of the best server has to exceed the Ec/Io threshold (defined for each mobility type). The pilot quality difference between other cells and the best server must not exceed the AS-threshold value

set per cell. Other cells have to belong to the neighbour list of the best server if you have selected the restricted to

neighbours option (in the definition of the Site equipment).

VIII.5.3.c SETTING A UMTS MOBILITY TYPE Like for the other ATOLL object folders, UMTS mobility types are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the mobility types parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Mobility type folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the mobility of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the mobility of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current mobility, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : When the Mobility type table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any mobility by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.3.d MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS MOBILITY TYPES In ATOLL, UMTS objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the mobility types table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Mobility types folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Mobility types folder,

The mobility types table opens. Click on to close the table.

The mobility types table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The advanced grouping/filtering/sorting feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the mobility types folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the mobility types table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Mobility type table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any mobility by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.



VIII.5.4 SETTING UMTS TERMINAL EQUIPMENT VIII.5.4.a CREATING A UMTS TERMINAL

In UMTS, terminals describe the terminal equipment that can be used in the network (cellular phone, multi-media terminal, in-car navigation device,...). Each terminal is modelled by a minimum and maximum transmission power (dynamic range for uplink power control), its antenna gain and reception loss, and an internal thermal noise. Active set size is the maximum allowable number of transmitters in connection with the terminal (macro-diversity). Finally, you may enter a Rake receiver efficiency factor. This factor enables ATOLL to model macro-diversity efficiency on downlink. ATOLL uses it to calculate the downlink macro-diversity gains and downlink signal quality in simulations, point-to-point analysis and coverage studies. This parameter is considered on downlink for any handover type; it is applied to the sum of signal levels. The factor value can be between 0 and 1. It models losses due to the signal recombination imperfection. To create a UMTS terminal, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Terminals folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created terminal, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : Rake efficiency factor for computation of recombination in uplink has to be set in site equipment.

VIII.5.4.b SETTING UMTS TERMINAL PARAMETERS Like for the other ATOLL object folders, UMTS terminals are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the terminal parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Terminals folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the terminal of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the terminal of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current terminal, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : When the Terminal table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any terminal by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.4.c MANAGING UMTS NETWORK TERMINALS In ATOLL, UMTS objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the terminals table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Terminals folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Terminals folder,

The terminals table opens. Click on to close the table.



The terminals table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the Terminals folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the terminals table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Terminal table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any terminal by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.5 MODELLING UMTS USER PROFILES VIII.5.5.a CREATING A UMTS USER PROFILE

In UMTS, user profiles model the behaviour of the different subscriber categories. Each user profile is constituted by a list of services and their associated usage parameters such as used terminal, call or session frequency (calls/hour) and duration or data volume to be transferred. Parameters for circuit switched services are: Average number of calls per hour Average duration of a call in seconds Used terminal (equipment used for the service (from the Terminals table))

Parameters for packet switched services are: Average number of sessions per hour Volume in Kbytes which is transferred on the downlink during a session Volume in Kbytes which is transferred on the uplink during a session Used terminal (equipment used for the service (from the Terminals table))

Example: For a web-browsing service, a session starts when the user opens his browsing application and ends when he quits the browsing application. Between these two events, sometimes the user may be downloading web pages and other times he may not be using the application, or be browsing local files. A session is described by the volume transferred both on the downlink and the uplink. Those parameters are used in simulation to determine the probability (activity status) that a user is transmitting or receiving communication for the given service and terminal when the snapshot is taken. Notes : For circuit switched services, entering a one-hour call during 1000s corresponds to define 2 calls per hour during

500s…the activity probability is the same in both cases. For all the services defined for a user profile, in order to be taken into account during traffic scenario elaboration,

the sum of activity probabilities must be lower than 1 You can model temporal variations of user behaviour by creating different profiles for different hours (busy hour,

...). To create a UMTS user profile, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the User profiles folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created user profile, Validate by clicking on OK.



VIII.5.5.b ADJUSTING UMTS USER PROFILE PROPERTIES Like for the other ATOLL object folders, UMTS user profiles are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the user profile parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the User profiles folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the user profile of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the user profile of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current user profile, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : When the User profiles table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any user type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.5.c MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS USER PROFILES In ATOLL, UMTS objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to display simultaneously all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the user profiles table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the User profiles folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the User profiles folder,

The user profiles table opens. Click on to close the table.

The user profiles table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the User profiles folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the user profiles table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the User profiles table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any user type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.6 SETTING UMTS ENVIRONMENT CLASSES VIII.5.6.a CREATING A TYPE OF UMTS ENVIRONMENT

Environment classes may be used to describe subscriber spatial distribution on a map; they are the available classes for traffic cartography design. Environment class represents an economic and social concept, which defines the characteristics of user profiles. Each environment class contains a set of three data (user profile, mobility, density) where density is a number of subscribers with the same profile per km². There is no restriction on the number of data sets constituting an environment. To get an appropriate user distribution, you may assign weights per clutter classes, for each environment class.



To create a UMTS environment type, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environments folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to set the parameters of the currently created environment, Validate by clicking on OK.

Particular case: When no multi-service geo-marketing data are available, you may supply ATOLL with usual traffic data like user densities per service (for example, values coming from adapted GSM Erlang maps). In this case, user profile definition and calculation of deduced activity probability are not necessary to create traffic scenario ; traffic distribution will only depend on densities per service. In UMTS, for instance, if you know user densities per service, just avoid handling user profile step by defining one-hour full communication profile per service : 1. for circuit services:

• in service properties: set UL and DL activity factors to 1 • in user profile properties, define 1 call/hour with 3600s duration. Therefore, each user will be connected.

2. for packet services: • in service properties: set efficiency factor to 1 in UL and DL. • in user profile properties : define 1 session/hour and set volume to transmit during 3600s. Therefore, each

user will be connected. Therefore, the activity probabilities calculated during simulation will be equal to 1 and density values defined in Environments will be user densities (no more subscriber densities). Elaborated traffic scenario will fully respect the user profile proportion (i.e service) given in environments. You will fully master the number of users in simulation as well as the service proportion which will drive random trials. Moreover, each user will be connected. This method is not the usual nominal working mode for ATOLL.

VIII.5.6.b SETTING UMTS ENVIRONMENT PARAMETERS Like for the other ATOLL object folders, UMTS environments are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the environments parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Environments folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the environment type of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the environment type of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to adjust the parameters of the current environment, Validate by clicking on OK.

Notes : To get an appropriate user distribution, you may assign weights per clutter classes, for each environment class in

the Clutter weighting tab. When the Environments table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any

environment type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.



VIII.5.6.c MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS ENVIRONMENT TYPES In ATOLL, UMTS objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profile, environment) in a table window. To open the environment types table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Environments folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Environments folder,

The Environment type table opens. The environment types table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the Environments folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the environment types table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Environments table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any environment type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

VIII.5.6.d DISPLAYING STATISTICS PER UMTS ENVIRONMENT TYPE ATOLL allows the user to perform a statistic study on each environment class. These statistics provide the number of mobiles to be created in the traffic scenario for the given environment (based on a raster traffic map, respecting the layer order). This number is given displayed per clutter class. To display a statistic study on any environment type, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Environments folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the environment type you want to display a statistical study to open the associated context

menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Statistics..., Use the What's this help to get description about the opened window.

Note : The statistic study is limited to the focus zone, only the clutter and environment areas inside the focus zone are taken into account in calculations.

VIII.5.6.e WEIGHTING UMTS USERS PER CLUTTER CLASS Enter a weight for each clutter class in order to get an appropriate user distribution The following formula is used for calculations:

∑ ×××=

jjj

kkclassk Sw

SwNN

where :

kN Number of users in the k clutter

classN

Number of users in an environment class

kw k clutter weight at fixed surface

kS k clutter surface (stated in km²)

This weighting method is used when displaying statistics per UMTS environment type.



VIII.5.7 SETTING UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS VIII.5.7.a SETTING UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS : OVERVIEW

ATOLL provides 4 types of traffic maps for UMTS projects : The first one is related to environment classes as defined in UMTS parameters, and is built and managed as any

other raster map within ATOLL (e.g. clutter class map). This map uses all items defined in the UMTS parameters folder.

You can also import vector maps (dxf, mif or shp format) in order to define traffic either inside polygons, roads, etc... using all items defined in the UMTS parameters folder except environment types. Indeed, information contained in environment is supposed to be already embedded in vector traffic maps.

The last two maps deal with network data, i.e. that they are based on existing pilot coverage by transmitter. To each computed area is assigned either rates or amount of users per service (uplink or downlink).

Once created, these maps are stored in a general UMTS traffic folder available in the Geo tab of your current environment.

VIII.5.7.b CREATING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP There are two solutions to create an environment traffic map, either by drawing environment zones using the cartography editor, or by directly importing a raster map in your project as an environment traffic map. To create a UMTS environment traffic map by drawing, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on environments (raster) option in the Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button to validate, Use the cartography editor (selecting one of the available environment classes) to draw environment

polygons,

Click the button to close the editor. Notes : Like other raster maps, it is easily possible to save the generated traffic map. You can only choose among existing environment classes in the cartography editor. To make available additional

classes, do it in the UMTS parameters. To import a raster map as a UMTS environment traffic map, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the directory where the file to be imported is located, the file name and the file type in the opened

dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Traffic density option in the scrolling data type box The map is located within the lastly created environment map folder.

Note : if you import a raster map to be an environment traffic map, do not forget to assign clutter classes to existing environment classes.

VIII.5.7.c ASSIGNING CLUTTER CLASSES TO UMTS ENVIRONMENT CLASSES Even if the link between 2G and UMTS traffic maps is not obvious, and since clutter classes are commonly related to traffic classes in 2G, you can, if you wish, import a clutter class map to be a UMTS environment traffic map. To do so, proceed as follows :

Import a raster clutter class map as an environment traffic map, Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Either

Right click on the related environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the related environment map folder,

Click the description tab,



Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the name column, left click cells in order to replace clutter names by existing environment classes, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Notes : In order to manage traffic on the entire map, this operation has to be carried out for all classes. The description table can be fully copied and pasted (using Ctrl+V and Ctrl+C) in a new ATOLL project after

importing the raster file. To select globally the environment class table, just left click on the top left angle of the environment table.

VIII.5.7.d REFRESHING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP Like in the clutter classes property dialog, the refresh feature allows the user to clear from the dialog all environment classes not used in the current project. To refresh a UMTS environment traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the Environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the Environment map folder,


Press the button, ATOLL scans the clutter objects from the map and associates them with the ones in the current table, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Advice: Use this function to keep consistency between the environment classes described in the table and in the imported file. Example: ATOLL automatically memorizes the different environment classes of imported file. Even after deleting the file,

the environment classes are stored in the description table. Pressing the button will remove them.

VIII.5.7.e EXPORTING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP Like for DTM map and clutter class maps, it is possible to export the current environment description in either a tiff, a bil or a bmp format. You may choose to keep the squared part of the current traffic map that contains the defined computation zone. To export a part or the complete environment traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :

The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole traffic map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of the classes listed in the Environment map folder are updated.

The computation zone option allows you to save the environment region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional environment traffic object is created and listed in the Environment map folder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for environment traffic from the following criteria : If one environment traffic object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object

resolution. If several objects are extracted, the displayed resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

objects.



The resolution value must be an integer The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.



Environment traffic file path (and related description) is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.

VIII.5.7.f MANAGING UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY To manage the display of any UMTS environment map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Either


Or Double click the Environment map folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click on the Description tab from the opened window, Set the environment class colours, Click on the Display tab, Set the transparency level per environment class layer, Press OK to validate.

Note : Path and description are stored in the external user configuration file.

VIII.5.7.g DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAPS To display the relative occupancy of each environment area (decomposed also per clutter type) in the current project computation zone (or focus zone if existing), proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Statistics option from the scrolling menu The surface (in km²) of each environment area included in the computation zone (or focus zone if existing)

is specified, The surface (Si in km²) of each clutter class (i) included in each environment zone and its percentage (%

of i) are specified:

100 of % ×=∑

kk

i

SSi

Notes : The statistic study is limited to the computation zone (or focus zone if existing), just the environment areas inside

the computation zone are taken into account,


clipboard (Ctrl+C).



VIII.5.7.h MPORTING A UMTS VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP Unlike raster traffic maps, which are available in any project, vector traffic maps can only be used in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. The vector data (points, lines, polygonal shapes) are expected to directly link a dedicated user profile, mobility and traffic density. The way to get traffic vector maps consists in importing vector files (MapInfo(MIF,MID), Arcview (SHP), Autocad(DXF)) and using them as traffic maps. To import a vector traffic map, proceed as follows :

Either : Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on user profiles (vector) option in the Create a traffic map opened

window,

Press the button to validate, Indicate the path, the name and the format (.mif, .dxf, .shp) of the file to import in the opened

dialog box, In the Create a traffic map window, choose the option and press the Import a file button. Press OK to validate,

or Choose the Import command from the File Menu in the menu bar, Indicate the path, the name and the format (.mif, .dxf, .shp) of the file to import in the opened

dialog box, Press OK to validate,

Choose the UMTS traffic option from the scrolling menu in the opened File import window, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the window,

Press the button to validate. A dialog box is displayed in order to configure traffic vector data.

Click the Traffic tab, In the Traffic fields part, specify the user profiles to be considered on the traffic vector map, their mobilities

(km/h) and their densities (number of users/km2 for polygons and number of user/km for lines). You can decide the type of information that you want to use to define the traffic characteristics, either a field described in the file (by field option in the Defined column) or a value directly user-definable in ATOLL (by value option in the Defined column). The first method can be used only if the file you’re importing contains attributes providing information

about the user profile, mobility or density. In this case, select in the Choice column a suitable field for each data (user profile, mobility and density); ATOLL lists all the attributes described in the file. The attributes of the source file cannot be modified. Using this method, each traffic polygon or linear is assigned specific characteristics (user profile, mobility or density).

Note : Take care to define in ATOLL user profiles and mobilities described in traffic file with exact spelling.

The second way is useful when traffic files contain no attribute. Therefore, you may assign manually user profiles, mobilities and densities created in ATOLL. Select in the Choice column user profile and mobility listed in UMTS Parameters folder and specify manually a global density for all the polygons. Beforehand, just make sure to define in UMTS Parameters the internal data like user profile and mobility you want to allocate. Here, all the polygons are described by global characteristics (user profile, mobility or density).

In the Clutter weighting part, assign a weight to each clutter class. Thus, ATOLL allows you to spread

traffic inside the polygons according to the clutter weighting defined for the whole subfolder. The spreading operation (using a raster step) will be carried out during the simulation process.

Then, press OK to validate the properties setting. Notes : You may set the display parameters of the current map in the Display tab. Embedding data is available from the

General tab. During the import procedure, if the imported user profiles or mobilities are not currently part of the existing user

profiles or mobilities, ATOLL warns you about the fact that these may not be correctly taken into account as traffic data.

Path and description are stored in the external user configuration file.



Examples of vector traffic data

VIII.5.7.i EXAMPLES OF UMTS VECTOR TRAFFIC DATA Structure of two vector traffic files is described hereafter. Niceregion.mif consists of eleven polygons representing the Nice region. Each polygon is characterised by a user profile, the services offered to subscribers, their mobilities and densities. Densities are stated in number of subscribers per km2. Highway.mif represents a highway (linear) where density corresponds to a number of subscribers per km. Niceregion.mif

Name Userprofile Services used MobilityA DensityA MobilityB DensityBHinterland rural user Speech 90 km/h 8 pedestrian 2

Village rural user Speech 50 km/h 10 pedestrian 5 Corniche rural user Speech 50 km/h 10 pedestrian 20

Rural rural user Speech 90 km/h 8 pedestrian 2 Villages rural user Speech 50 km/h 10 pedestrian 10

Nice urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing

pedestrian 700 50 km/h 100

Nice airport urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing


Nice surroundings

rural user Speech 50 km/h 100 90 km/h 100


Nice center urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing

pedestrian 4000 pedestrian 0

Highway.mif

ID User_profile Service used Density Mobilityhighway driver Speech 400 120 km/h

VIII.5.7.j EXPORTING A UMTS VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP Like other CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic maps (raster or cell), it is possible to export traffic maps based on service and transmitter. To export a CDMA/CDMA 2000 vector traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the vector traffic map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported. Possible formats are

Arcview (.shp), MapInfo (.mif) and the ATOLL internal format (.agd), Click the Save button to complete the export procedure.

VIII.5.7.k CREATING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER Traffic maps per transmitter and per service are available only in UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. Before creating a traffic map per transmitter and per service, the user must define a coverage study by transmitter (with best server option and no margin) and calculate it. ATOLL expects rate values (kbits/s) number of active users for each service and each transmitter. Thus, it is possible to define either one map per service or one map with all services. Then, ATOLL expects rate values (kbits/s) for each service and each transmitter. The traffic cartography is built without connection with the initial coverage prediction, the map just consists of polygons (one polygon per transmitter) characterised by UL and DL rates or number of users for each service. These polygons have the same features as the vector traffic polygons.



You can define terminal and mobility distributions :

∑=

ii

i

NN

T

T T of % i

where,

Ti is one terminal (or mobility) type, NT is a value user-defined for each terminal (or mobility) type, i is the number of terminal (or mobility) types.

To create a traffic map per transmitter and per service, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on transmitter and service (Throughput or Number of users) option in the

Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button to validate, The coverage area traffic window opens, Select the prediction study to be considered for traffic distribution. Only coverage per transmitter studies

can be used. A table where you can define specific rates per service and per transmitter is available. It consists of a column dedicated to transmitters and several columns for the different services previously defined in the UMTS Parameters folder. In the TX_ID column, select each line, click on the arrow and choose a transmitter in the list. You may also use the copy and paste commands (respectively Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) from an Excel file already containing the expected columns,

Enter rate values (kbits/s) on uplink and on downlink relating to different services for each transmitter, Press OK to validate the map creation.

The created traffic maps per transmitter and per service are listed in the UMTS Traffic folder. To continue the coverage area map description, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the coverage area traffic map you want to access properties to open the associated

context menu, Choose the Properties option from the opened scrolling list, Click on the General tab from the opened window to define :

The terminal and mobility distribution in the traffic scenario by entering percentage values for each terminal and each mobility type,

A specific weight for each clutter class. The spreading operation is processed on each coverage area,

Click OK or Apply to validate. The rate values or the number of users per sector and per service can be modified by accessing the associated traffic map table (double click on the map or Open command in the context menu). These data are directly considered to calculate the activity probability in the simulation process.

VIII.5.7.l IMPORTING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER To import a traffic map based on service and transmitter, proceed as follows :

Either, Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on transmitter and service (Throughput or number of users per

transmitter) option in the Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button, or

Choose the Import command from the File Menu in the menu bar, Indicate the path, the name and the format of the file to import in the opened dialog box. Only files with

.agd format (ATOLL internal format) is supported for this type of import,



Press Open to validate., Choose the UMTS traffic option from the scrolling menu in the opened File import window,

Press the button to validate, Use the What's this help to get description about fields available in the opened window, Check the type of map to consider (throughput or number of users per transmitter) and fill the standard

fields dealing with terminal and mobility distribution, weighted number of users per clutter class, and display of the current map,

Click OK to complete the import procedure.

VIII.5.7.m EXPORTING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER Like other CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic maps (raster or vector), it is possible to export traffic maps based on service and transmitter. To export a CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic map based on service and transmitter, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the cell traffic map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported. Only .agd format

(ATOLL internal format) can be taken to export such traffic maps, Click the Save button to complete the export procedure.

VIII.6 UMTS SIMULATIONS

VIII.6.1 UMTS SIMULATIONS : OVERVIEW Power control simulation is a necessary step to obtain instantaneous network noise level and perform service area prediction based on it. Furthermore, it is a first, quick and easy analysis tool to get information about network dimensioning. Traffic data is a critical parameter for UMTS studies. Indeed, power control simulation is performed from user distributions, which are obtained by random trials driven by traffic data. Its significance rests on traffic data relevance. ATOLL provides a random user distribution generation, based on a Monte-Carlo algorithm complying with traffic description and cartography. Once realistic user distributions are available, power control simulation is automatically achieved to determine network parameters (such as cells and terminal powers) and estimate interference level. ATOLL provides either actual network audit (taking into account your network constraints) or new dimensioning information about how to handle available traffic. On the same traffic snapshot, you can check how your network works and can be improved. ATOLL offers a wide range of tuneable parameters involved in UMTS simulations. Even from existing simulations, it is possible to modify these parameters with the replay simulations features offered by ATOLL. You may also add simulations to a group of existing simulations. Averaging a group of simulations is also possible. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific UMTS coverage predictions. Indeed, for UMTS projects, ATOLL provides four different groups of studies, listed in a natural planning order, from the indispensable pilot study to the study of downlink total noise, with respect to the propagation model as defined : Pilot-oriented studies to determine pilot coverage by transmitter, the pilot coverage by signal level, overlapping

area (like standard coverage studies), pilot quality (Ec/Io) and pilot pollution, Service-oriented studies to determine service availability in uplink and downlink and effective service areas, handover status study to analyse macro-diversity performance, Downlink total noise study.

With the point analysis tool, it is also possible to build a UMTS scenario defining a probe mobile with a type of terminal, mobility and service) and predict, on each point of the current map, its results. Except pilot coverage, coverage by signal level and overlapping studies, which are similar to classical coverage studies, all other studies are specific to UMTS network planning and closely related to a particular simulation. ATOLL provides powerful simulation outputs. Firstly, you can display requirements, results, initial conditions, and data relative to clutter class data dealing with shadowing margins and gains due to multipath on any of these. Then, you may



choose to display the simulation results either per site, per transmitter, or per mobile for the currently studied simulation. The results can also be displayed on the map as function of any topics dealt with the UMTS simulations (service, terminal, user, mobility, activity, factors, connection and HO status, best server, active set parameters, geographic coordinates, rates, carriers, powers, noise rise, path loss).

VIII.6.2 MANAGING UMTS SIMULATIONS VIII.6.2.a CREATING UMTS POWER CONTROL SIMULATIONS

UMTS networks automatically regulate themselves by using traffic driven uplink and downlink power control in order to minimize interference and maximize capacity. ATOLL simulates this network regulation mechanism with an iterative algorithm and calculates, for each user distribution, network parameters such as base station power, mobile terminal power, active set and handover status for each terminal. To create a (group of) UMTS power control simulation(s), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Right click on the UMTS simulations folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New..., The creation of simulations dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters for the current simulation study(ies), Validate by clicking on OK.

Notes : If you tick the execute later box, computations will be started when using the Calculate command (F7 shortcut or

button), When starting computations, a group of simulations (with the input number of simulations) is automatically created

under the UMTS simulation folder. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific UMTS coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.2.b MANAGING UMTS SIMULATION PROPERTIES Like many other objects (Sites, Transmitters, Cells, Antennas, Predictions, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, simulations can be managed either individually or globally. Nevertheless, due to the fact that some of them have already been started, you can only display their input parameters. Regarding the global properties of simulations, they are related to the way simulation results are displayed on the map. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the display properties of the existing simulations. To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the UMTS Simulations folder to open the context menu, Left click the Properties command from the opened scrolling menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

Note : to manage the display of simulation results, the ATOLL generic dialog window is used. So, it is possible to display simulation results related to, for example, their connection status, handover status, any UMTS parameter, pilot quality, etc... Furthermore, all simulation folders are then organised in threshold items that you can display or not in the workspace. Individual property management

If computations have already been started, the properties you can display on groups of simulations are related to the input parameters. To open the properties related to a group of UMTS simulations, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Simulations folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Either

Right click on the group of UMTS Simulations you want to manage,



Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Or

Double click the group of UMTS Simulations you want to manage Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

Notes : If computations have not been started (using the execute later command), you can access to the group properties

in order to modify them for coming computations. You can access to the Properties of any single simulation. The opened dialog is related to simulations

requirements and results, specific results per site, per mobile, per cell and simulation initial conditions.

VIII.6.2.c UMTS POWER CONTROL SIMULATION INPUTS Before running simulations, you must have a radio network with a satisfying pilot coverage. Then, it is necessary to define traffic description and cartography. Power control simulation needs propagation path loss for cells and mobiles. If these results are not available, ATOLL achieves propagation calculation using the propagation model as defined from either the transmitter or the prediction folders. In ATOLL, the dialog allowing you to create simulations is made of three tabs : General, Traffic and Advanced described below. General tab

In this tab, you can enter a name to the group of simulations that ATOLL is going to compute. Then, you may decide the number of scenarios on which you want to simulate power control. It is possible to create several simulations at the same time or just one by one if you prefer. Selecting the Detailed results option enables you to get additional simulation outputs relating to mobiles (results available in the Mobiles and Mobiles (Shadowing values) tabs of the simulation Properties window). Finally, the Execute later option can be used if you want to predefine simulation calculation settings and start the computation subsequently. In case the option is selected, simulation calculation is not carried out when closing the

dialog; simulation will be worked out when clicking on the Calculate command (F7 shortcut or button). Note : The Execute later feature enables you to automatically calculate UMTS coverage studies after simulations without intermediary step. In the Cell load constraint part, you must select constraints you want ATOLL to respect during power control simulation. If you wish to check your network, just select the constraints about maximum cell power, maximum number of channel elements, maximum uplink cell load (the default value is set to 75%) and OVSF codes availability. The simulation proceeds without exceeding these limits. Mobiles with the lowest service priority (user-defined in each service properties dialog window) are first rejected. In order for the simulation to proceed freely, uncheck all the calculation options. Traffic tab

The global scaling factor for traffic option enables you to increase subscriber density without changing traffic parameters or cartography. For example, setting the global scaling factor for traffic to 2 means doubling the initial number of subscribers (for traffic raster or vector traffic maps) or the rates/users (for traffic maps per transmitter and per service). Then, you can perform simulations using several traffic cartographies. To do this, select them in the Traffic part. In this case, ATOLL takes into account the traffic information provided in all the selected maps. This feature must be carefully used to avoid inconsistencies. Thus, make sure you do not mix several kinds of traffic maps (for example, raster traffic map and transmitter coverage area traffic map) in a simulation study; rather, make several simulation studies, each one based on a same sort of traffic map. On the other hand, you can fully carry out a simulation study using several traffic maps belonging to the same kind. Advanced tab

Generator initialisation enables you to obtain the same random distribution in two simulations just by giving the same non-zero integer in this field. For example, you create a simulation with generator initialisation value of 1 (or whichever integer different from 0). When you create another simulation, giving 1 as generator initialisation, you obtain the same random distribution. To avoid getting similar distributions, just enter zero value in this field. A group of several distributions created at the same time may be repeated with the same principle. This can be useful when one wants to compare two simulations with just one parameter value difference; so to make a just comparison, it is better to have the same user locations (same path loss values for users). You can then specify the maximum number of iterations allowed during a simulation, UL and DL convergence thresholds.



The power control simulation is based on an iterative algorithm. In the Convergence part, you can define how many iterations you want the simulation to run (maximum number of iterations) and specify your own uplink and downlink convergence criteria (percentage power difference for downlink and percentage noise difference for uplink between two successive iterations). When clicking OK, simulation starts running and stops when the convergence criteria are met in two successive iterations (when there is no network parameter evolution). Therefore, the simulation can finish before reaching the maximum number of defined iterations. When calculation is finished, ATOLL has created the required number of simulations in the newly created group of simulations. ATOLL makes easy the consistency management between radio data, simulations and predictions. Average simulations and replays are reachable from each of these subfolders. Display properties are reachable form the Simulations folder.

VIII.6.2.d REPLAYING A UMTS SIMULATION ATOLL allows the user to replay existing simulations in order to keep the same radio configuration (including reference maps, initialisation number) and to modify the convergence parameters and the constraints on the cell loads. The new group of simulations is based on the same random user distribution (number of users who try to be connected, allocated service, mobility and activity status, geographic position), just the power control is recalculated and the outputs updated. To replay a group of UMTS simulations (one of several ones), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the UMTS simulation group subfolder you want to replay the simulations to open the

associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Replay..., The replay simulation(s) dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters on the convergence parameters and the constraints on the cell loads for the current

group of simulations to replay, Validate by clicking on OK.

Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool. Note : giving several times the same integer number (different from 0) as initialisation number in the simulation creation dialog box leads to replay simulations with identical user random distribution. See Generator initialisation - Replay differences Comment: as the generator initialisation function, this feature enables you to obtain the same user distribution in two simulations. Nevertheless, the generator initialisation option is more powerful since it can be used to create several simulations with the same distribution at the same time and several sets of different simulations with the same set of distributions.

VIII.6.2.e GENERATOR INITIALISATION - REPLAY DIFFERENCES (UMTS) The main differences between two features are the inputs taken into account in simulations. Comparison is detailed below. Replay: ATOLL reuses the same user distribution (user with a service, a mobility and an activity status) and traffic

parameters (such as maximum and minimum traffic channel powers allowed, Eb/Nt targets...) as in the initial simulation. Just radio data (new transmitter, azimuth...) modifications are taken into account during power control simulation.

Generator initialisation: If generator initialisation entered when creating both simulations is an integer different

from 0, ATOLL finds the same user distribution (user with a service, a mobility and an activity status) in both simulations. On the other hand, in this case, both traffic parameter (such as maximum and minimum traffic channel powers allowed, Eb/Nt targets...) and radio data (new transmitter, azimuth...) modifications are taken into



account during power control simulation.

VIII.6.2.f AVERAGING UMTS SIMULATIONS With ATOLL, it is possible to average some available groups of simulations. This feature also allows the user to calculate standard deviations on the averaged simulations. Results are automatically displayed per cell, identically than in a single simulation. To display average results per cell over a group of UMTS simulations, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the UMTS simulation group subfolder you want to average the simulations to open the

associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Average simulations..., The average simulation dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click on the available tabs to display either the Statistics, Means or Standard deviation window, Click OK to close the window.

Average simulations may be used in specific UMTS coverage predictions or in an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.2.g ADDING A SIMULATION TO AN EXISTING GROUP OF UMTS SIMULATIONS In ATOLL, It is possible to add a new simulation to an existing group of simulations. When creating the new simulation, ATOLL takes into account the same inputs (radio and traffic data, simulation parameters) as used for generating the group of simulations and replays user distribution and power control simulation. To add a simulation to an existing group of simulations, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS Simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the simulation group on which you want to add a simulation, Choose the New... command from the opened context menu, A new simulation is being computed using the parameters of the current group, After calculation, a new simulation is added to the group.

Note : The added simulation is then considered if you calculate an average simulation.

VIII.6.3 UMTS SIMULATION PROCESS VIII.6.3.a POWER CONTROL UMTS SIMULATION CONCEPTS

Power control consists of two steps in ATOLL : 1st step : obtaining realistic user distribution To get user distribution, you need to have traffic cartography at your disposal. Each user is assigned a service, a mobility type and an activity status by random trial, according to a probability law that complies with the traffic database (and packet switched services as well as circuit switched services). User activity status is an important output of random distribution, which will have direct consequences on simulation and network noise level. In UMTS, a circuit switched service user is either active or inactive: Active means: a radio resource has been allocated to the user, and the user is speaking (i.e. he creates

interference both on the downlink and the uplink). Inactive means: a radio resource has been allocated to the user, but he is not speaking (i.e. he does not create

interference).



A packet switched service user can be either inactive or active on the downlink or active on the uplink: Inactive means: the user is currently not transmitting or receiving packets, so he does not use any radio resource

and does not create interference: he is neither taken into account in simulation, nor represented on map. Active on the downlink: the user is receiving data, he has been assigned a radio resource and he creates

interference on the downlink. Active on the uplink: the user is transmitting data, he has been assigned a radio resource and he creates

interference on the uplink A second random trial determines user positions in their respective traffic zone. 2nd step : Power control simulation Power control simulation needs propagation path loss for cells and mobiles. If these results are not available, ATOLL achieves propagation calculation using the propagation model as defined from either the transmitter or the prediction folders. Based on CDMA air interface, network automatically regulates itself by using traffic driven uplink and downlink power control in order to minimize interference and maximize capacity. ATOLL simulates this network regulation mechanism with an iterative algorithm and calculates, for each user distribution, network parameters such as base station power, mobile terminal power, active set and handover status for each terminal. The power control simulation is based on an iterative algorithm. Each iteration, all the mobiles selected during the user distribution generation (1st step) try to be connected one by one to network transmitters. The process is repeated from iteration to iteration until convergence. The algorithm steps are detailed below.

Initialisation

2nd step : Mi active set determination

3rd step : Uplink power control+

radio resource control

1st step : Mi best server determination

For each mobile Mi

4th step : Downlink power control +


5th step : Uplink and downlink interference update

Congestion and radio resource control

Convergence study

Schematic view of power control simulation algorithm

During simulation, mobiles penalizing too much the others are ejected. Different causes of ejection can be distinguished: The signal quality is not sufficient:

- On the downlink, not enough pilot signal quality: Ec/I0 pilot < Ec/I0 min pilot - On the downlink, not enough reception on traffic channel: Ptch > Ptch max - On the uplink, not enough power to transmit: Pmob > Pmob max



When constraints above are respected, the network may be saturated: - The maximum load factor is exceeded (at admission or congestion). - Not enough channel elements on site: channel element saturation - Not enough power for cells: Cell power saturation - OVSF code saturation When the network is saturated; mobile ejection may be due to different reasons described above: multiple causes.

VIII.6.3.b UMTS SIMULATION CONVERGENCE METHOD The convergence criteria is evaluated as follows: Each iteration k, ATOLL evaluates:

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

×

−

×

−=∆

×

−

×

−=∆

−−

−−

100max

int,100maxintmax

100max

int,100max

intmax

11

11

icN

icNicN

icIicIicI

icN

icNicN

icP

icPicP

kULuser

kULuserk

ULuserStations

kULtot

kULtotk

ULtot

StationsUL

kDLuser

kDLuserk

DLuserStations

ktx

ktxktxStationsDL

Where:

UL∆ is the UL convergence threshold, DL∆ is the DL convergence threshold,

( )icPtx is the cell total transmitted power on the carrier ic, ( )icIUL

tot is the total interference received by cell on the carrier ic, ( )icNUL

user is the number of users connected on UL on the carrier ic, ( )icNDL

user is the number of users connected on DL on the carrier ic, ATOLL stops the algorithm if:

1st case: Between two successive iterations, UL∆ and DL∆ are lower ( ≤ ) than their respective thresholds (defined when creating a simulation).

The simulation has reached convergence. Example: Let us assume that the maximum number of iterations is 100, UL and DL convergence thresholds are 5. If

5≤∆UL and 5≤∆DL between the 4th and the 5th iteration, ATOLL stops the algorithm after the 5th iteration. Convergence is reached.

2nd case: After 30 iterations, UL∆ or/and DL∆ are still higher than their respective thresholds and from the 30th

iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ do not decrease during 15 successive iterations. The simulation has not reached convergence (specific divergence symbol). Examples: Let us assume that the maximum number of iterations is 100, UL and DL convergence thresholds are 5.

- 1. After the 30th iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ equal 100 and do not decrease during 15 successive iterations: ATOLL stops the algorithm at the 46th iteration. Convergence is not reached.

- 2. After the 30th iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ equal 80, they start decreasing slowly until the 40th iteration (without going under the thresholds) and then, do not change during 15 successive iterations: ATOLL stops the algorithm at the 56th iteration without reaching convergence. 3rd case: After the last iteration.

If UL∆ or/and DL∆ are still strictly higher than their respective thresholds, the simulation has not reached convergence (specific divergence symbol).

If UL∆ and DL∆ are lower than their respective thresholds, the simulation has reached convergence.



VIII.6.3.c ADMISSION CONTROL IN UMTS SIMULATIONS ATOLL checks cell UL load during admission control (1st step: mobile best server determination) and congestion control (after considering all the mobiles during an iteration). Therefore, a mobile can be rejected due to a higher UL load either during admission control, or during congestion control. It is possible to distinguish both rejection causes. A bit more information concerning the admission control is provided. During admission control, ATOLL calculates the uplink load factor of a considered cell assuming the handled mobile is connected to it. Here, activity status assigned to users is not taken into account. So even if the mobile is not active on UL, it can be rejected due to cell load saturation. To calculate the cell UL load factor, either ATOLL takes into account mobile power determined during power control if mobile was connected in previous iteration, or it estimates a load rise due to mobile and adds it to the current load. The load rise ( ULX∆ ) is calculated as follows:

RQWX

ULb

ULreq

UL

×+

=∆1

1

Where W is the chip rate (bit/s), QUL

req is the Eb/Nt target on uplink (defined in service properties for a given mobility), RUL

b is the service uplink effective bit rate (bit/s).

VIII.6.3.d CHANNEL ELEMENT MANAGEMENT IN UMTS SIMULATIONS In ATOLL, the number of channel elements needed for a user with given service and link direction depends on site equipment and channel element consumption defined for the equipment-service couple.

VIII.6.3.e OVSF CODES MANAGEMENT OVSF codes are now managed on the downlink during the simulation. ATOLL performs OVSF code allocation during the resource control step. OVSF codes form a binary tree; codes with a longer length are generated from codes with a shorter length. Indeed, length-k OVSF codes are generated from length-k/2 OVSF codes. Therefore, if one channel needs 1 length-k/2 OVSF code; it is equivalent to use 2 length-k OVSF codes, or 4 length-2k OVSF codes,….

512 codes per cell are available in UMTS projects. During the resource control, ATOLL determines, for each cell, the number of codes, which will be consumed. It allocates: A code with the longest length per common channel, for each cell. The number of common channels corresponds

to the number of overhead DL channel elements per cell defined for the site equipment. A code per cell-receiver link, for traffic channels. The length of code to be allocated, Code-Length, is determined

as follows:

WRLengthCode DLb =×−

Where,

- RDLb is the downlink service effective bit rate (bit/s),



- W is the spreading bandwidth (Hz).

Note : GlengthCode DLp=− (GDL

p is the service downlink processing gain). When the calculated code length does not correspond to the code lengths available into the tree, ATOLL takes the code with the shorter length. For instance, ATOLL will use a 128 bit OVSF code in case the calculated code length is 240. The OVSF code allocation follows the “Buddy” algorithm, which guarantees that: If a k-length OVSF code is used, all of its children with lengths 2k, 4k… cannot be used because they are no

longer orthogonal. If a k-length OVSF code is used, all of its ancestors with lengths k/2, k/4… cannot be used because they are no

longer orthogonal. Example: Let a 16 kbit/s service user active on DL be connected to a cell. We assume that site equipment requires four overhead downlink channel elements per cell. Therefore, ATOLL will consume four 512 bit-length OVSF codes for common channels and a 128 bit-length OVSF code for traffic channels, that is to say four additional 512 bit-length OVSF codes. Notes : 1. The OVSF code allocation follows the mobile connection order (mobile order in the Mobiles tab). 2. The OVSF code and channel element management is differently dealt with in case of “softer” handover. ATOLL allocates OVSF codes for each cell-receiver link while it globally assigns channel elements to a site. Constraint on the OVSF codes is available when creating simulation. Therefore, when selecting it, ATOLL checks the OVSF code availability and then: Ejects the mobile if there is no OVSF code available (without considering the service priority).

When this constraint respect is not required, ATOLL just checks the OVSF code availability without rejecting mobiles in case of OVSF code unavailability.

VIII.6.3.f OVSF CODES AVAILABILITY An additional constraint on the OVSF codes, Number of codes, is available when creating simulation. Therefore, when selecting the Number of codes option, ATOLL checks the OVSF code availability and then ejects the mobile if there is no OVSF code available (without considering the service priority). See OVSF codes management

VIII.6.3.g MODELLING SHADOWING IN UMTS SIMULATIONS In order to take into account prediction errors along paths in UMTS simulations, ATOLL keeps a neutral predicted path loss for mobiles; a random shadowing value is computed and added to the average predicted path loss. Reliability level and shadowing margin are then introduced in prediction studies and point analysis only. From a user-defined model standard deviation associated to the receiver position, a random shadowing error is

computed and added to the model path loss ( Lpath ). This random vale is drawn during Monte-Carlo simulation; each user is assigned a service, a mobility type, an activity status, a geographic position and a random shadowing value. For each link, path loss (L) can be broken down:

ξLL path += ξ is a zero mean gaussian random variable ( )dB,σG 0 representing variation due to shadowing. It can be expressed as

the sum of two uncorrelated zero mean gaussian random variables, Lξ and Pξ . Lξ models error related to the receiver

local environment; it is the same whichever the link. Pξ models error related to the path between transmitter and receiver. Therefore, in case of two links, we have:

11 PL ξξξ += for the link 1


From iξ , the model standard deviation ( )σ and the correlation coefficient ( )ρ between 1ξ and 2ξ , we can calculate



standard deviations of Lξ ( )Lσ and iPξ ( )Pσ (assuming all

iPξ have the same standard deviations).

We have:

222PL σσσ +=

2

2

σσρ L=

Therefore,

( )ρσσP −×= 122

ρσσL ×= 22

There is currently no agreed model for predicting correlation coefficient ( )ρ between 1ξ and 2ξ . Two key variables influence correlation: The angle between the two paths. If this angle is small, correlation is high. The relative values of the two path lengths. If angle is 0 and path lengths are the same, correlation is zero. Correlation is different from zero when path lengths differ. A simple model has been found [1]:

21

DD

φφρ

γT

=

when πφφ ≤≤T

Tφ is a function of the mean size of obstacles near the receiver and is also linked to the receiver environment. In a normal handover state, assuming a hexagonal schema for sites, φ is close to (+/- /3) and D1/D2 is close to 1. We found in literature that ρ = 0.5 when γ = 0.3 and ϕt = π/10. In ATOLL, ρ is set to 0.5. So, we have:

2σσL =

and

2σσP =

Therefore, to model shadowing error common with all signals arriving at mobile ( E ceiverShadowingRe

), values are randomly drawn

for each mobile; they follows a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard deviation

2σ

where ( )σ is the standard deviation associated to the mobile clutter class. Then, for each mobile-transmitter couple, ATOLL draws

another value representing shadowing part uncorrelated with the position of the mobile ( EPathShadowing ); this value follows a

zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard deviation

2σ

. Random shadowing error means are centred on zero. Hence, this shadowing modelling method has no impact on the simulated network load. On the other hand, as shadowing errors on the receiver-transmitter links are uncorrelated, the method will influence the evaluated SHO gain in case mobile is in SHO. Random shadowing values used for each mobile and mobile-transmitter pair are detailed in simulation results.



VIII.6.4 UMTS SIMULATION RESULTS SUMMARY VIII.6.4.a DISPLAYING UMTS SIMULATION REQUIREMENTS AND RESULTS

When a simulation study has been created, ATOLL creates a statistical report on simulation results. A part is dedicated to traffic request determined from the 1st step of simulation (traffic scenario elaboration) and another one refers to network performance (results coming from 2nd step of simulation: power control). If a focus zone has been defined in your project, only sites, transmitters and mobiles located inside the focus zone are considered when accessing simulation results. The global output statistics are based on these mobiles. Traffic request: ATOLL calculates the total number of users who try to be connected. It is a result of the first random trial, the

power control has not yet been achieved. This result depends on the traffic description and cartography. During the first random trial, each user is assigned a service. Therefore, UL and DL rates that all the users could

theoretically generate are provided. Breakdown (number of users, UL and DL rates) per service is given.

Results: The number and the percentage of rejected users are calculated and detailed per rejection cause. These results

are determined after the power control and depend on network design. ATOLL supplies the total number and the percentage of connected users, UL and DL total rates that they

generate. These data are also detailed per service. To display requirements and results on any simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the requests and

results by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the requests and results to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the requests and results, Click on the Statistics tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

Note : The traffic rates are calculated at the user level without taking into account handover. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific UMTS coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.4.b DISPLAYING INPUT PARAMETERS OF AN EXISTING UMTS SIMULATION After a UMTS simulation, ATOLL can display the associated transmitter global parameters and the inputs defined during the simulation creation To display the input parameters of an existing simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the initial

conditions by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the initial conditions to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the initial conditions, Click on the Initial conditions tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.



The initial condition tab window contains : The transmitter global parameters as:

- The spreading width, - The orthogonality factor, - The default uplink soft handover gain, - The MRC in softer/soft option: if it is defined or not, - The method used to calculate Io The inputs available when creating simulation:

- The maximum number of iterations, - The uplink and downlink convergence thresholds, - The simulation constraints such as the maximum power, the maximum number of channel elements, the uplink load factor and the maximum load, - The name of used traffic maps. Then, if available, are displayed the values of orthogonality factor and standard deviation as defined per clutter type. Note : When the simulation does not converge (UL and DL convergence criteria not reached at the end of the simulation), ATOLL displays a special warning icon in front of Simulation object.

VIII.6.4.c SUMMARISING RESULTS PER SITE (UMTS PROJECTS) After a UMTS simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per site. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :



Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per site to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per site, Click on the Sites tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

In this window, ATOLL displays the maximum number of channel elements previously defined for each site, the number of required channel elements in uplink and downlink at the end of simulation, the number of extra channel elements due to soft handover, the properties related to each site equipment (MUD factor, Rake receiver efficiency factor, carrier selection mode, AS restricted to neighbours option and overhead channel elements on uplink and downlink), the uplink and downlink throughputs (kbits/s) per service supported by site. The UL and DL throughputs are the number of kbits per second supported by the site on uplink and downlink to supply (mobiles connected with the transmitters located on the site) one kind of services. The throughput calculation takes into account the handover connections. If the maximum channel element number is exceeded, sites are displayed with red colour.

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.4.d SUMMARISING RESULTS PER CELL (UMTS PROJECTS) After a UMTS simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per cell. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the results per cell

by left clicking on the button,



Either Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per cell to open the associated

context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or, Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per cell,

Click on the Transmitters tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

In this window, ATOLL provides the simulation input data like the maximum power, the pilot power, the SCH power, the other CCH power, the AS threshold (which is a cell parameter since version 2.1), the gain, the reception and transmission losses, the noise figure, and simulation output data regarding cells such as the total DL power used, the UL total noise, the UL and DL load factors, the UL and DL noise rises, the percentage of used power, the UL reuse factor, the number of UL and DL links, the number of used OVSF codes, the percentage of handover types, the UL and DL throughputs, the minimum, maximum and average traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each cause, for each cell. See Simulation outputs on cell components

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. The "Commit loads" button permits to copy UL loads and total powers DL (or their average in the case of several carriers) in the cell table in order to be taken potentially as reference for specific CDMA predictions (by selecting the None option from the simulation scrolling box). Average simulations are ordered by cells. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.4.e COMMITTING SIMULATED LOADS TO CELLS (UMTS PROJECTS) In ATOLL, to enable simulation result sharing, two fields, the UL load (UL load factor) and total power (total DL power used), are available in cell properties. Both parameters can be results coming from a single or an average simulation or inputs manually specified in the Cell table or in the Transmission/Reception tab of each cell Property window. To assign any simulated UL load factor and total DL power to cells from a network, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to use the simulated results

by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to use the simulated results to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to use the simulated results, Click on the Cells tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Click the to assign calculated loads and total powers to cells, Values are automatically copied in each cell properties window, Click OK to close the window.

When assigned to cells, these values can be used for coverages based on no simulation. Note : this feature is also available from the mean tab window of any average simulation. Reminder : the Commit load button is inactive as long as both fields, UL load and total power, do not exist.



VIII.6.4.f SUMMARISING RESULTS PER MOBILE (UMTS PROJECTS) After a UMTS simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per mobile. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :



Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per mobile to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the results per mobile, Click on the Mobiles tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

In this window, ATOLL gives information about calculated terminal parameters. First, ATOLL mentions simulation input data: X, Y, service, terminal, user profile, user mobility and activity obtained from random trial. ATOLL displays simulation output data for these users: carrier, DL and UL requested and obtained rates, mobile power, best server, connection status, handover status, transmitters in active set and Ec/Io from cells in active set. ATOLL displays which carrier is used for connection and calculates the power transmitted by the terminal. ATOLL identifies the best server among the cells taking part in mobile active set. Connection status refers to mobile ejection causes previously defined. It gives the reasons why the mobile, even active, is not connected to any transmitter at the end of the simulation. ATOLL allows to analyse what type of handover is possible for a mobile; providing the HO status information. HO status represents the real number of sites compared to the number of cells in active set. For example, when a mobile is in connection with three cells and among them two co-site cells (soft - softer handover), its HO status is 2/3. When the mobile is connected with only one transmitter (no handover) its HO status is 1/1. When the mobile is connected with three co-site transmitters (softer - softer handover), its HO status is 1/3. Active set is the list of transmitters (or cells since on unique carrier) in connection with the mobile. The maximum number of transmitters in active set is defined by the user in Terminal Properties and besides limited to 4 in ATOLL. Soft handover can be enabled/disabled for every service. For each transmitter in active set, Ec/Io values are calculated and may be compared to Ec/Io thresholds previously defined in Mobility Type Properties. Transmitters, which provide an Ec/Io pilot quality that is lower than [ Best server Ec/Io - AS-threshold ], are rejected from the active set.

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific UMTS coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool. Ticking the Detailed results box during the simulation creation enables you to get additional simulation outputs relating to mobiles and shadowing values computed along paths between transmitters and mobiles.

VIII.6.4.g DISPLAYING SHADOWING VALUES OF A UMTS SIMULATION This feature is available only when selecting the Detailed results option in the simulation creation dialog. Here, ATOLL details for each mobile: Its number Id, The clutter class where the receiver is located, The model standard deviation associated to the clutter class,

The random shadowing error ( E ceiverShadowingRe

) related to the receiver local environment (Value at receiver); this one is the same whichever the link.

The random shadowing errors ( EPathShadowing ) due to the transmitter-receiver path (Value). ATOLL gives this error

for a maximum of ten paths; it considers the ten transmitters, which have the mobile in their calculation areas and the lowest path losses (Lpath). Transmitters are sorted in an ascending path loss order.



To display shadowing values for each mobile in any simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display by left clicking on

the button, Either

Right click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the clutter data to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the UMTS simulation you want to display the clutter data, Click on the Mobile (Shadowing values) tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

Notes

The values E ceiverShadowingRe

computed for all the mobiles follow a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard

deviation

2σ

.

The values EPathShadowing computed for a given mobile follow a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard

deviation

2σ

.

VIII.6.4.h MANAGING UMTS SIMULATION RESULTS ON THE MAP From any simulation, ATOLL can, globally or individually, display the associated results on the map in several ways. These can be managed globally for all the simulations. To make available the display dialog window on all the simulations of the current project, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the UMTS simulations folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties...,

Or, Double click on the UMTS simulations folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the display parameters for all the simulations of the current project, Click OK to close the window.

Like for most of the other display dialog windows in ATOLL, you can choose the display type associated with the values (unique, discrete, values interval) and some corresponding fields. Due to the complexity of UMTS technology simulations, these fields are numerous and can be obtained as indicated in the following table. Display type Field

Unique All the simulations

Discrete Values Service

Terminal User Mobility Activity Carrier Connection status Best server HO status Asi Clutter



Value intervals X

Y DL requested rate (kbits/s) UL requested rate (kbits/s) DL obtained rate (kbits/s) UL obtained rate (kbits/s) Mobile Total power Ec/Io Asi Cell power TCH Asi (DL) Ntot DL ASi Load factor Asi Noise rise Asi Reuse factor Asi Iintra Asi Iextra Asi Total path loss Asi Nb UL CEs Nb DL CEs Name Orthogonality factor Macro-diversity gain UL Macro-diversity gain DL

Note : Existing simulations, in the explorer window contain sub-items which depend on results are displayed on the map. The simulation display is managed with the standard display dialog in use under ATOLL. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific UMTS coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

VIII.6.5 UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS VIII.6.5.a UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON SITES

Each site is characterised by its maximum number of channel elements previously defined in the site properties. Results are detailed for : The number of channel elements required on uplink and downlink at the end of simulation, The number of channel elements due to soft handover overhead, for UL and DL (Nb CEs due to SHO

overhead UL and DL), The properties related to the equipment associated to each site (parameters used during simulation) : MUD

factor, Rake receiver efficiency factor, carrier selection mode, AS restricted to neighbours option and overhead channel elements on uplink and downlink

The uplink and downlink throughputs (kbits/s) per service supported by site. UL and DL throughputs are the number of kbits per second supported by the site on uplink and downlink to supply (mobiles connected with the transmitters located on the site) one kind of services. The throughput calculation takes into account the handover connections.

VIII.6.5.b UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is defined by its carrier, its maximum power, the pilot power, the SCH power, other CCH power, the AS threshold, the gain, reception and transmission losses, the noise figure. Results are detailed for the total power used on a carrier, the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, UL and DL noise rises, the percentage of used power, the reuse factor, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of OVSF codes, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL throughputs, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason. See UMTS Simulation outputs on cell components

VIII.6.5.c UMTS AVERAGE SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is detailed by its carrier, by the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, UL and DL noise rises, the total power used, the Reuse factor, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of OVSF codes, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL throughputs, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason.



See UMTS Simulation outputs on cell components

VIII.6.5.d UMTS STANDARD DEVIATION OF SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is detailed by standard deviation on the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, the total power used, the Reuse factor, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of OVSF codes, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL throughputs, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason.

VIII.6.5.e UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELL COMPONENTS The total DL power used is the total power transmitted by the transmitter on a carrier. When constraints are

settled, the calculated power cannot exceed the maximum power value previously defined in Transmitter Properties.

The uplink total noise takes into account the total signal received at the transmitter on a carrier (from intracell and extracell terminals) and the thermal noise.

From uplink total noise and uplink interference, ATOLL calculates uplink load factor of transmitter on a carrier. If this constraint has been selected, UL cell load factor is not allowed to exceed the user-defined value.

The uplink reuse factor is determined from uplink intra and extra-cellular interference (signals received by transmitter respectively from intracell and extracell terminals).

The DL load factor of the cell i corresponds to the (DL average interference [due to transmitter signals on the same carrier] for terminals in the transmitter i area) / (DL average total noise [due to transmitter signals and to thermal noise of terminals] for terminals in the transmitter i area) ratio.

The uplink and downlink noise rises are respectively calculated from uplink and downlink load factors. These data point out the signal degradation due to cell load (interference margin in the link budget).

The percentage of used power is determined from the total DL power-maximum power ratio (power stated in W). This value also represents the cell load, as a percentage of the total capacity reached.

Reminder: the maximum power is an input data user-definable for each cell in the Properties window. On the other hand, the power is a simulation output data calculated for each transmitter, carrier by carrier. The number of radio links corresponds to the number of users-transmitters links on the same carrier. This data is

calculated on uplink and on downlink. A single user can use several radio links (handover). ATOLL estimates the percentages of handover types in which the transmitter takes part. ATOLL only details the

results for the following handover status, no handover (1/1), softer (1/2), soft (2/2), softer-soft (2/3) and soft-soft (3/3) handovers; the other handover status (other HO) are globally analysed.

The uplink and downlink throughputs represent respectively the numbers of kbits per second delivered by the transmitter on uplink and on downlink.

Minimum traffic channel power is the lowest of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

Maximum traffic channel power is the greatest of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

Average traffic channel power is the average of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

VIII.6.5.f UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILES Each user is defined by his location, the service and the terminal used, his profile, his mobility and his potential activity. Results are given on carriers, UL and DL requested and obtained rates, mobile powers, connection status, best servers, HO status, active set transmitters and associated Ec/Io. If the detailed results box has been checked for the current simulation, results are also given, for each (mobile - transmitters in active set) link, on the Cell power used on the TCH (Traffic Channel), the downlink total noise, the downlink load factor, the downlink noise rise, the downlink reuse factor, the total noise received at the terminal from the transmitter area (Iintra (DL) and the total noise received at the terminal from other transmitter areas (Iextra (DL), the total path loss on the link(s) and the number of uplink and downlink channel elements. Moreover, ATOLL provides the name of the clutter class where the probe receiver is located, the orthogonality factor, the UL and DL macro diversity gains associated with the clutter class. See UMTS Simulation outputs on mobiles

VIII.6.5.g UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILE COMPONENTS ATOLL gathers power control simulation inputs and outputs, for all the users who try to be connected. X and Y are the coordinates of users who try to be connected (geographic position determined by the 2nd random

trial). The power control is based on this order.



Note : Ejected users at the end of the power control are included in this list. Service, user mobility and status activity are the 1st random trial results (user distribution generation). Terminal and user profile are based on traffic description. According to the service and activity status assigned to

a user, ATOLL determines his terminal and the corresponding user profile. The carrier used for the mobile-transmitter connection. DL and UL requested rates: they respectively correspond to the DL and UL effective bit rates of service. DL and UL obtained rates: after power control simulation, the obtained rate equals the requested rate if the mobile

is connected. Else, the obtained rate is zero. The total power transmitted by the terminal. The best server among the transmitters entering mobile active set. The Connection status refers to mobile ejection causes previously defined. It gives the reasons why the mobile,

even active, is not connected to any transmitter at the end of the simulation. The HO status is represented by the number of sites compared to the number of transmitters in active set.

For example, when a mobile is in connection with three transmitters and among them two co-site transmitters (soft - softer handover), its HO status is 2/3 (two sites and three transmitters). When the mobile is connected with only one transmitter (no handover) its HO status is 1/1. When the mobile is connected with three co-site transmitters (softer - softer handover), its HO status is 1/3. The list of transmitters in connection with the mobile (Active set). The maximum number of transmitters in active

set is defined by the user in Terminal Properties and limited to 4 in ATOLL. Soft handover can be enabled/disabled for every service.

Ec/Io values are calculated for each transmitter in active set and may be compared to Ec/Io thresholds defined in Mobility Type Properties.

Note : Transmitters, which Ec/Io value is AS-threshold (handover margin) lower than the best one (Active Set link 1), are rejected from the active set. The cell power transmitted on traffic channel. This parameter is determined for each (mobile – transmitters in

active set) link. The DL total noise is calculated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link. This parameter is calculated

from the transmitter thermal noise and the DL total interference at the terminal. The DL load factor (determined for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) corresponds to the downlink total

interference – total noise at the terminal ratio. The DL noise rise4 (evaluated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is deduced from the DL load

factor. The DL reuse factor (calculated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is evaluated from the

interference received at the terminal from the intra transmitter area and the total interference received at the terminal from all the transmitters (intra and extra areas).

DL intra-cellular interference for each cell (i) of the mobile active set:

( ) ( )

−×−=

T

SCHDLtoti

orthoDLtoti

DLra L

PicPFicPI int

DL extra-cellular interference for each cell (i) of the mobile active set

( ) ( )

−×−= ∑

∉ T

SCHDLtotortho

TxiTx

DLtot

DLextra L

PicPFicPI,

The total path loss (determined for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is calculated from transmitter and terminal losses, path loss (propagation result), transmitter and terminal gains.

The number of uplink and downlink channel elements respectively refer to the number of channel elements consumed by the user on UL and DL,

The orthogonality factor is user-defined in the clutter class Properties window. The UL macro diversity gain is determined for mobile receivers connected either on UL or on UL and DL.

( ) ( )NtEb

NtEbGainsityMacrodiverUL

UL

BStch

UL

−−=−−

The DL macro diversity gain is evaluated in case mobile receivers are connected either on DL or on UL and DL.

( ) ( )NtEb

NtEbGainsityMacrodiverDL

DL

BStch

DL

−−=−−

4The downlink noise rise Nr is calculated from the downlink total noise Ntot : Nr = -10log (Nterm/Ntot), Nterm being the thermal noise



VIII.7 SPECIFIC UMTS/W-CDMA PREDICTION STUDIES

VIII.7.1 UMTS PREDICTION STUDIES : OVERVIEW For UMTS projects, ATOLL provides two kinds of predictions : Point analysis which enables you to get prediction at a specific location within your network :

− Standard studies on pilot reception (Profile, Reception and Results tab), − Active set analysis of a real time probe user in order to determine the UMTS pilot quality and connection

status at the receiver by using the AS analysis tab.

AS analysis is a radio reception diagnosis provided for: − a given simulation (determining network parameters) − a user-definable probe receiver with associated terminal, mobility and service. This receiver does not

create any interference. Coverage studies where each map bin is considered as a probe user with associated terminal, mobility and

service. These are ordered in four different groups of studies, listed in a natural planning order, from the indispensable pilot study to the study of downlink total noise, with respect to the propagation model as defined : − Pilot-oriented studies to determine pilot coverage by transmitter, the pilot coverage by signal level,

overlapping area, pilot quality (Ec/Io) and pilot pollution, − Service-oriented studies to determine service availability in uplink and downlink and effective service

areas, − handover status study to analyse macro-diversity performance, − Downlink total noise study.

Except pilot coverage, coverage by signal level and overlapping studies, which are similar to classical coverage studies, all other studies are specific to UMTS network planning and closely related to a particular UMTS simulation.

Power control is achieved once only during simulation but never during prediction studies. Simulation outputs such as uplink and downlink noise levels generated by the users may be used to evaluate the radio reception. Therefore, prediction studies may be based on: UL load and DL total power modelled during power control simulation for point analysis, UL load and DL total power modelled during power control simulation for coverage studies, User-definable UL load and DL total power for coverage studies :

Specific predictions can be based on either user defined load estimations (when filling manually the UL_load and Total power cells from the cell table) or by using the "Commit loads" button (assigning to these columns the calculated uplink loads and total powers from the current simulation) in the Cells tab window of a simulation result window. To use these reported values, just select the None option from the Simulation scrolling box.

Specific UMTS coverage studies may be performed with three different purposes: Analyse in detail one particular simulation, Globally analyse all simulations and evaluate network stability with regard to traffic fluctuations, Analyse an average simulation, Analyse user-definable parameters such as UL load and DL total power without simulation.

For these coverage studies, since study GUI is generic, the general rule is to choose : either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of

simulations and average option, or, finally, no simulation, a terminal, a mobility (or All), a service (or All), a specific carrier or all the carriers.

and to display the results as function of the attribute you want. In this studies, each bin may be seen as a probe mobile, which does not create any interference Caution : If you modify radio parameters, before recalculating predictions, do not forget to replay UMTS simulations first in order to base predictions on up-to-date simulations. Ensure consistency between predictions, point analysis and simulation displayed on map before further analysis. To help on that, ATOLL provides a feature to automatically



calculate CDMA predictions after simulations without any intermediary step. Important : Any of these specific UMTS studies requires propagation path loss on each bin.

VIII.7.2 UMTS PREDICTION PROCESS VIII.7.2.a PREDICTING ON GIVEN UMTS CARRIERS

In ATOLL, specific UMTS studies can be based on given carriers. To base your prediction on given carriers, proceed as follows :

Create a new prediction or access the properties of an existing coverage study you want to calculate again, Click the Simulation tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Choose the carrier selection mode you want to consider in the Carrier scrolling menu, Click OK or Apply to validate.

Note : when choosing a carrier, only cells using this carrier are taken into account in calculations. ATOLL will display a coverage by carrier. To get a coverage based on all the carriers, select the All option. In this case, ATOLL displays a multi-carrier coverage. It selects on each bin the best carrier according to the selection mode specified in the properties of the transmitters from the current network.

VIII.7.2.b MODELLING SHADOWING IN UMTS PREDICTIONS Transmitted powers on downlink and uplink interference determined during simulation are used. In each analysed bin, a probe mobile is placed. The path loss of the probe mobile is the computed path loss (Lpath) plus a margin (MShadowing). This one depends on the required reliability level, model standard deviation associated to the clutter class where the probe mobile is and the mobile handover status. In case of SHO, a gain is calculated depending on the number of used links. You can enter a reliability level (x%) when defining prediction properties (point analysis: Profile, Reception and AS analysis tab and coverage studies). Therefore, the evaluated pilot quality, uplink and downlink traffic channel qualities are reliable x% of time. Formulas used to compute shadowing margin in case of no handover and SHO (2 and 3 links) and SHO gains are detailed in the Technical reference guide.

VIII.7.3 MANAGING UMTS PREDICTIONS VIII.7.3.a CREATING PREDICTIONS FROM MODIFIED UMTS SIMULATIONS

This feature is provided to automatically calculate UMTS predictions after simulations without intermediary step. In fact, you just need to define the UMTS prediction studies you want to perform and then, press the Calculate command: first, ATOLL calculates the simulations and then, the predictions based on simulations. Therefore, it is no more necessary to wait for the simulations to be finished to create the UMTS prediction studies and start the calculations. To do so, proceed as follows :

Create the UMTS prediction studies you want to perform and define their properties (colour, terminal, mobility, service). As no simulation has been previously performed, you cannot base prediction studies on a specific simulation,

Thus, choose either an average analysis (Average) or a statistical analysis based on a probability (All) on all the future simulations.

Left click on the Calculate button (or F7), The Creation of simulations window opens, Specify the simulation inputs (number of simulations to be created, convergence criteria, Press OK to start the calculations

ATOLL performs the simulations and lists them in the UMTS simulation folder. Then, ATOLL carries out the prediction calculations based on the created simulations.



VIII.7.3.b MANAGING UMTS PREDICTION DISPLAY UMTS prediction dialogs include the ATOLL generic display tab. It enables to display covered areas with graphic settings depending on any attribute (from transmitter, site, etc...) and to easily manage legends, tips, thresholds, etc... Since prediction study user interface is generic, many associations between selected items in the Simulation tab (a terminal, a mobility - or all -, a service - or all -, a specific carrier - or all) and in the Display tab are available. So several calculation and display settings are possible. You can analyse different mobility and several services in a same study. For any UMTS study, in the Simulation tab, you can choose All in the Service or/and Mobility scrolling menus. In this case, ATOLL works out the coverage criterion for each service or/and mobility type; a bin of the map will be covered if the studied coverage criterion is met for any service or/and mobility. In addition, receiver definition and coverage display are not linked. Parameters set in the Simulation tab are used in order to predetermine the coverage area (area where ATOLL will display coverage) while graphical settings (available in the Display tab) enable you to choose how to represent the coverage area. For example, it is possible to perform multi-service or/and multi-mobility pilot reception analysis and to choose a coverage display per transmitter or depending on any transmitter attribute. The available display types (depending on the study to be carried out) are listed below : Single colour : Coverage is mono colour; it displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied, Colour per transmitter : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied. Moreover, the bin colour

corresponds to the colour of the first transmitter in active set (best server) Colour per service : The receiver is not totally defined. Its service can take all existing service types. There are

as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined services. For each service, coverage layer displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied

Colour per mobility : The receiver is not totally defined. Its mobility can take all existing mobility types. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined mobilities. For each mobility, coverage layer displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied

Colour per probability : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied with different levels of probability. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined probability thresholds (by default 0.5 and 0.9)

Colour per quality margin : Each coverage layer displays area where the quality margin is greater than the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. The quality margin is the difference between the quality level and the target quality level. There is intersection between layers

Colour per maximum quality level : Each coverage layer displays area where the maximum signal quality (even if not reaching the quality target) exceeds the user-defined quality level. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. There is intersection between layers

Colour per effective quality level : Each coverage layer displays area where the effective signal quality (min between the maximum and the quality target) exceeds the user-defined quality level. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. There is intersection between layers

Colour per handover status : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied for at least one transmitter pilot quality. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined handover status. Each layer represents a handover status. There is no intersection between layers

Colour per potential active transmitter number : Each coverage layer displays area where the number of potential active transmitters is greater than the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined potential active transmitters. The potential active transmitter number corresponds to transmitters checking all conditions to enter the active set. There is intersection between layers

Colour per required power level : Each coverage layer displays area where the required terminal power (in order for transmitter to get a service) is greater than the user-defined required power thresholds. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined required power level. There is intersection between layers.

Colour per required power margin : Each coverage layer displays area where the required power margin exceeds the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined power margin. The required power margin corresponds to the difference between the required terminal power and the maximum terminal power. There is intersection between layers

Colour per minimum noise level: The displayed noise level is the lowest of the values calculated on all carriers. Colour per average noise level: The displayed noise level is the average of calculated values on all carriers. Colour per maximum noise level: The displayed noise level is the greatest of the values calculated on all

carriers. Colour per minimum noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the lowest of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per average noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the average of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per maximum noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the greatest of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per polluter number : The coverage displays areas where user is interfered by pilot signal from polluter

transmitters. A polluter transmitter is a transmitter that meets all the criteria to enter the active set but which is not admitted due to the active set limit size..



VIII.7.4 UMTS PREDICTION STUDIES VIII.7.4.a ANALYSING PILOT RECEPTION (UMTS)

This study displays areas where there is at least one transmitter which pilot quality at receiver (Ec/Io) is sufficient to be admitted in the probe mobile active set [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Only the pilot quality from best server is displayed. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Pilot reception analysis (Ec/Io) option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of

simulations and average option, or, finally, no simulation, a reliability level (in %) a terminal, a mobility (or all), a service (or all), a specific carrier or all the carriers.

Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,

% of i = (Si)covered*100 / (Si)total (Si)covered is the surface where the prediction criterion is met. (Si)total is the total surface of the computation zone (or an environment class). Caution : It is not recommended to modify radio parameters and recalculate only predictions. Simulation(s) must have been

replayed first. Like point prediction, coverage prediction does not take into account possible network saturation. Thus, there is no

guarantee that a simulated mobile in the prediction service area is connected, simply because simulated network may be saturated.

Ensure consistency between predictions, point analysis and simulation displayed on map before further analysis.



VIII.7.4.b STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) DOWNLINK (UMTS) This study displays areas where there is one transmitter (or several transmitters in macro-diversity) which traffic channel quality at the receiver (Eb/Nt or combined Eb/Nt) is sufficient for the probe mobile to obtain a service [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Downlink service area is limited by maximum allowable traffic channel power. Comment : Actually, for a circuit switched service, when there are several transmitters in active set, Eb/Nt from different transmitters are combined in terminal and improve reception with a macro-diversity gain. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Service area (Eb/Nt) downlink option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. When choosing Max Eb/Nt, ATOLL calculates the maximum downlink traffic channel quality you can get at terminal or transmitter; it displays the areas where the downlink traffic channel quality calculated by considering the maximum allowed traffic channel power of each transmitter in receiver active set, is higher than the user-defined thresholds. The “Effective Eb/Nt” display is also offered. Here, ATOLL considers required traffic channel quality instead of maximum traffic channel quality; it colours bins of the map where the required DL traffic channel quality is higher than the user-defined thresholds. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,







VIII.7.4.c STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) UPLINK (UMTS) This study displays areas where the traffic channel quality of probe mobile at transmitter (Eb/Nt) is sufficient for the transmitter to get a service [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Uplink service area is limited by maximum terminal power. Comment : The macro diversity concept is also dealt with on the uplink. Its value depends on the handover status. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Service area (Eb/Nt) uplink option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. When choosing Max Eb/Nt, ATOLL calculates the maximum uplink traffic channel quality you can get at terminal or transmitter; it displays the areas where the uplink traffic channel quality calculated by considering the maximum terminal power, is higher than the user-defined thresholds. The “Effective Eb/Nt” display is offered. Here, ATOLL considers required traffic channel quality instead of maximum traffic channel quality; it colours bins of the map where the required UL traffic channel quality is higher than the user-defined thresholds. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,

% of i = (Si)covered*100 / (Si)total (Si)covered is the surface where the prediction criterion is met.



(Si)total is the total surface of the computation zone (or an environment class). Caution : It is not recommended to modify radio parameters and recalculate only predictions. Simulation(s) must have been




VIII.7.4.d STUDYING EFFECTIVE SERVICE AREA (UMTS) Effective service area is the intersection zone between uplink and downlink service areas [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. It is the area where a service is really available for the probe mobile. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Effective service area option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,







VIII.7.4.e DEFINING HANDOFF STATUS (UMTS) This study displays areas [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)] where the selected service is available and where probe mobile has in its active set: Only one transmitter : no handover (1/1) Two non co-site transmitters : soft handover (2/2) Two co-site transmitters : softer handover (1/2) Three non co-site transmitters : soft-soft handover (3/3) Three transmitters among them two co-site : softer-soft handover (merged with soft-softer handover) (2/3) Three co-site transmitters : softer-softer handover (1/3)

Comment : In parenthesis is given equivalence between usual handover name and HO status notation sometimes used in ATOLL, referring to number of sites/number of transmitters in the active set (See UMTS Simulations : Overview). Caution : Like point prediction, coverage prediction does not take into account possible network. In this study, handover is allowed on areas where the service chosen by the user is available. For each study, a simulation tab enables to connect to one or all simulations. Furthermore, you can choose different ways of displaying the same coverage to get a better analysis and dimensioning information on the network. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the handover status option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography.



For an environment class i,





VIII.7.4.f STUDYING DOWNLINK TOTAL NOISE (UMTS) This study enables you to display areas where the total noise (Nt as it is defined in formulas) exceeds user-defined levels [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Downlink total noise option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Note : In case of given service and carrier, the calculated and displayed coverage is the same for any selected display per noise level (average, minimum or maximum) or any display per noise rise (average, minimum or maximum). Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,

% of i = (Si)covered*100 / (Si)total



(Si)covered is the surface where the prediction criterion is met. (Si)total is the total surface of the computation zone (or an environment class). Caution : It is not recommended to modify radio parameters and recalculate only predictions. Simulation(s) must have been




VIII.7.4.g CALCULATING PILOT POLLUTION (UMTS) This study displays the areas where user is interfered by pilot signal from polluter transmitters [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. A polluter transmitter is a transmitter that meets all the criteria to enter the active set but which is not admitted due to the active set limit size. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Pilot pollution option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of


Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Representation on map may are given regarding to the number of polluters. Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,

% of i = (Si)covered*100 / (Si)total (Si)covered is the surface where the prediction criterion is met.



(Si)total is the total surface of the computation zone (or an environment class).

VIII.7.4.h ANALYSING A SCENARIO AT A POINT IN UMTS PROJECTS To get reception information for a given point on the map, you may use ATOLL point analysis window. Even in UMTS projects, you may use the Profile, Reception and Results tab windows as for the other projects, on the signal received from the cell pilot. Concerning pilot quality given by (Ec/Io) (which is the main parameter to enter an active set) and connection status, with the point analysis tool, ATOLL is able to get information about the active set analysis of a UMTS scenario (for given mobile, mobility and service) at the by using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect). To make active the AS analysis window :

From the menupoint defined by the receiver on the map bar, tick the Point analysis command in the View menu,

The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Left click on the AS analysis tab,

Click the from the toolbar, Move over the current map to the places where you want to make your analysis.

Note : The Point analysis window is automatically displayed when clicking on the button from the toolbar, Point analysis is a radio reception diagnosis provided for: a given simulation (determining network parameters) a user-definable probe receiver terminal, a mobility and a service

Pilot quality and connection status (Pilot, Uplink, Downlink) are displayed for previous conditions and without taking into account possible network saturation. Thus, there is no guarantee that a simulated mobile in the receiver conditions can check the point analysis diagnosis, simply because simulated network may be saturated. A context sensitive description of the AS analysis window is given below. Click on the following image to get A description of the AS analysis window is given below.

Bar graph shows pilot reception from all transmitters on the same carrier (with same colours as defined for each transmitter), displaying limit values required to be in active set (Ec/Io threshold, (Ec/Io)best server-A-S threshold). Grey background displays transmitters in active set. You may modify receiver characteristics, ATOLL will automatically check pilot quality and channel availability: If you change terminal, it will modify maximum available transmitting power in uplink and the active set size.

Displays the pilot reception of transmitters out of the active set forthis scenario. Filled bars indicate thetransmitters which respect the active set constraints. Even if more transmitters respect the constraints,the active set size is limited to the number defined in the terminal properties and is function of the current service. Transmitters withempty bars do not respect the activeset constraints

Displays the pilot reception in term ofactive set components for this scenario. Active set is represented in grey. Filled bars indicate the transmitters which respect the active set constraints. Even if more transmitters respect the constraints,the active set size is limited to the number defined in the terminal properties and is function of thecurrent service

Vertical bar representing the lower boundaryto enter the active set (defined as the signalvalue of the best server at the current pointminus the AS_Threshold - defined in the Globalproperties from the transmitters folder)

Vertical bar representing the Ec/Io threshold to enter the active set (defined in the mobility type properties page)

Displays the connection status (pilot, uplink and downlink traffic) for the current scenario.

: successful connection,

: failed connection

Choose from the scrolling list the single simulation you want this point analysis to be based on

Choose from the scrolling lists the parameters of aprobe user to be studiedamong the selectedsimulation



If you change mobility, it will modify pilot quality thresholds and Eb/Nt target per service in downlink. If you change service, it will modify the active set size and Eb/Nt target in downlink.

VIII.8 UMTS/W-CDMA NETWORK OPTIMISATION

VIII.8.1 UMTS NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW Once your UMTS network is built, ATOLL provides you with some additional features in order to complete your network planning by the allocation of neighbour cells and primary scrambling codes. Like in GSM/TDMA or CDMA/CDMA 2000, it is possible to easily allocate neighbours within ATOLL. This can be made either manually, or automatically, imposing several constraints on the potential cells that could be part of a neighbourhood. Then, once allocated, neighbours can be easily managed (modification or deletion). Finally, ATOLL makes easy the visualisation of neighbourhoods on the active map. Downlink scrambling codes permit to separate cells from others. It is strongly recommended to assign different codes to a given cell and to cells belonging to its neighbour list. Some additional separation constraints can be also defined. In ATOLL, you can either allocate it manually for each cell or automatically for all cells or a group of cells in the network. Depending on the allocation strategy, several constraints can be imposed on scrambling code groups and domains, exceptional pairs, distance and neighbours. At any moment, it is possible to check the consistency of the current scrambling code allocation in the studied network.

VIII.8.2 UMTS NEIGHBOURS VIII.8.2.a ALLOCATING UMTS CELL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY

Cell neighbours list represents a way to optimise the search for possible cells aimed to perform handover from the current coverage area. Allocating neighbours in a network is optional but makes the handover process easier. Defining neighbours helps in the determination of appropriate scrambling codes. Note : Neighbours have no impact on interference calculations : all cells in a network interfere with the others. Neighbours of any linked project in co-planning can also be displayed and chosen manually. Manual allocation of UMTS neighbours must be performed for each cell, one at a time. To do this, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Either,

Choose the [Cells:Open] command from the opened menu Once the cells table is opened, Either

Right click on the cell from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Choose the record properties option from the context menu (or from the Records menu

from the menu bar), Or

Double click on the cell from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Click the Neighbours tab from the current window, Use the What's this help to get information about fields available in the current window, In the displayed window, in the top table, click on cell to choose from the scrolling box the desired

cell as a neighbour for the current one. In the scrolling box are displayed all the transmitters located within a radius of 30 km around the reference transmitter (cell),


When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box. Or

Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, click on a table cell to determine either base cells or associated

neighbours in the network, Click another table cell to validate and add a new line to the table,



When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box. Notes : You can also use manual allocation tools to check currently allocated neighbourhoods, This feature only deals with GSM/TDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 and UMTS technologies.


VIII.8.2.b ALLOCATING UMTS CELL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY You can carry out neighbour allocation globally on all the cells or only on a group of cells. In this case, ATOLL will consider all the cells contained in the group of transmitters, the symmetric neighbours of these cells and all the other ones, which have an intersection area with the cells of the group. Allocating automatically permits to allocate neighbours globally in the current network by imposing constraints on cells of active transmitters that must be satisfied. Force neighbour reciprocity, adjacency and within co-site is possible. To allocate automatically UMTS neighbours in a network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Automatic allocation...] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters for the current Auto Neighbours allocation study,

You can force neighbour adjacency. A candidate cell is adjacent to a reference cell if candidate cell is 2nd best server in the reference cell neighbour list on at least one pixel of the reference cell best-server area. Adjacent cells are listed in a descending overlapping area order. Note : determination of best server is based on Ec/Io in case of UMTS, and CDMA/CDMA2000 documents whereas it is based on signal level in GSM/TDMA networks. Therefore, when selecting the Force adjacent cells as neighbours option, adjacent cells are top ranked in the neighbour list just after co-site cells. If there is not enough space in neighbour list, ATOLL displays a warning in the Events viewer indicating that the adjacent cell constraint cannot be respected.



When clicking on the Commit button, ATOLL assigns neighbours to cells. Neighbours are listed in the Neighbours tab of each cell Properties window. In the Results part, ATOLL lists all the cells fulfilling the specified neighbourhood criteria. Then, it orders them so as to eliminate some of them from the list if the maximum number of neighbours is exceeded. Cells are sorted according to a ring strategy. If transmitters have a current allocation, they are noted existing. ATOLL gives to each candidate cell a weight depending on its average Ec/Io on the area where the reference cell is the best server. The higher the average Ec/Io from the candidate cell is, the higher the weight is. Then, ATOLL lists candidate cells according to a descending weight. When selecting the Reset option, ATOLL deletes all the current neighbours and carries out a new neighbour allocation. If not selected, the existing neighbours are kept. Therefore, if you add a new cell i and start a new allocation without selecting the Reset option: ATOLL determines the neighbour list of the cell i, It examines the neighbour list of other cells. If there is space in neighbour list of another cell j:

- The cell i enters the cell j neighbour list if allocation criteria are satisfied. The cell i will be the first one in the neighbour list. - The cell i does not enter the cell j neighbour list if allocation criteria are not satisfied.

If the cell j belongs to the cell i neighbour list and the force symmetry option is selected: - The cell i will enter the cell j neighbour list if there is space in the cell j neighbour list. - If the cell j neighbour list is full, ATOLL removes the cell j from the cell i neighbour list in order to preserve the link symmetry





neighbour allocation, ATOLL automatically calculates the path loss matrices if it does not find them.

VIII.8.2.c DISPLAYING CURRENT UMTS NEIGHBOUR LIST ATOLL provides the possibility to open an editable table referencing all the UMTS neighbours of the current network. To access the UMTS neighbour table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, left column lists reference cells, right column, the related neighbours.


VIII.8.2.d DELETING ALLOCATED UMTS NEIGHBOURS To do this, proceed as follows :





Double click on the cell from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Click the Neighbours tab from the current window,

or Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window,

In the displayed table, select the desired neighbour line, Press the keyboard Del (or Suppr.) key Click on OK to validate and close the dialog box.


VIII.8.2.e DISPLAYING UMTS NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP Once the UMTS cell neighbours have been allocated, you can display a given neighbourhood (at the transmitter level) on the map. To display the neighbours of any transmitter (whatever the carrier is), proceed as follows :

Click on the visible neighbourhood icon from the toolbar, Left click on the desired transmitter to select it on the map, The neighbours are displayed (colour of the reference transmitter) on the map such as :




VIII.8.3 SCRAMBLING CODES (UMTS PROJECTS ONLY) VIII.8.3.a SCRAMBLING CODES : OVERVIEW

512 scrambling codes are available. They are distributed in 64 clusters of 8 scrambling codes. Clusters are numbered from 0 to 63. Scrambling codes are numbered from 0 to 511. Available scrambling codes depend on the country and on the area; it is necessary to distinguish borders from other zones. To model this, domain and group tables have been created. A domain corresponds to a border or a zone of the country. A group is a set of clusters. Each group must be associated to one or several domains. Therefore, a domain consists of several groups.

Firstly, scrambling codes can be manually assigned to any cell of a UMTS network. Then, using the definition of groups and domains, and imposing some constraints on them and on neighbours, second neighbours, minimum distance and exceptional pairs, we can choose a strategy (clustered or distributed) in order to start the automatic tool. Once allocation is completed, a consistency checking tool is available.

VIII.8.3.b ALLOCATING SCRAMBLING CODES TO UMTS CELLS MANUALLY ATOLL allows you to manually force scrambling codes for cells of your network. Hence, these can be locked in order to be kept unchanged by the automatic tool. To give a primary scrambling code to a cell, you must access cell properties. This can be made either from : The transmitter property dialog (Cells tab), The cell property dialog, The cell table.

After allocation is completed (manually or automatically), constraints can be also checked also by an automatic tool.

VIII.8.3.c CREATING SCRAMBLING CODE DOMAINS AND GROUPS 512 scrambling codes are available. They are distributed in 64 clusters of 8 scrambling codes. Clusters are numbered from 0 to 63. Scrambling codes are now numbered from 0 to 511. Available scrambling codes depend on the country and on the area; it is necessary to distinguish borders from other zones. To model this, domain and group tables have been created. A domain corresponds to a border or a zone of the country. A group is a set of clusters.



Each group must be associated to one or several domains. Therefore, a domain consists of several groups. To define domains and groups of scrambling codes, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Domains…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Domains dialog, you can enter a domain per line. To validate a domain creation, select another

line. Either



and define for each of them: - The lowest available primary scrambling code (Min), - The highest available primary scrambling code (Max), - The value interval between the primary scrambling codes (Step), - The scrambling code(s) you do not want to use (Excluded). You can paste a list of codes; separator must be a blank character, - Additional scrambling code(s) you want to consider during allocation (Extra). You can paste a list of codes; separator must be a blank character,

You can also define the domain-group pairs in the Group of primary scrambling codes window. To do so, proceed as follows :

After defining all the domains, close the Domains dialog, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Groups…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Group of primary scrambling codes window, select a domain and associate one or several groups

of scrambling codes to each of them. Define the groups as explained above. The defined domains can be now assigned to cells in order then to be used as constraints in the automatic allocation of scrambling codes.

VIII.8.3.d ASSIGNING A SCRAMBLING CODE DOMAIN TO A CELL After having defined domains and groups, you can assign a domain to each cell. Therefore, ATOLL will choose primary scrambling codes of the associated domain during allocation. To assign a domain to cells, you must access cell properties and fill the appropriate field. This can be made either from : The transmitter property dialog (Cells tab), The cell property dialog, The cell table.

The domain association will then be used by the automatic allocation tool.

VIII.8.3.e DEFINING EXCEPTIONAL PAIRS FOR SCRAMBLING CODE ALLOCATION In addition to standard constraints (reuse distance, neighbours and domains), it is possible to specify pairs of cells, which cannot have the same primary scrambling code. You can enter these forbidden pairs in the Exceptional separation constraints table. To access the Exceptional pairs table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Exceptional pairs…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Exceptional separation constraints dialog, indicate the pairs of cells.

Standard features for managing table content (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort, Fields…)



are available in context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus.

VIII.8.3.f ALLOCATING SCRAMBLING CODES TO UMTS CELLS AUTOMATICALLY You can carry out scrambling code allocation on all the cells or only on a group of cells. In this case, ATOLL will consider all the cells defined in the group of transmitters. Scrambling code allocation is based on: Neighbourhood and secondary neighbourhood if neighbour allocation has been performed beforehand, Reuse distance, Domains of scrambling codes, Forbidden pairs.

Scrambling code automatic allocation can also be made on a specific carrier or on all. ATOLL assigns scrambling codes to transmitters using the selected carrier. To automatically allocate primary scrambling codes to all the cells, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Automatic allocation…] command from the opened

menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

In this dialog, you can impose to the algorithm to take into account : The existing neighbours listed in the Neighbours table (option “Existing neighbours”) : A cell and its neighbours

cannot have the same scrambling code. The neighbours of the cell cannot have the same scrambling code. The neighbours of listed neighbours (option “Second neighbours”) : A cell and the neighbours of its neighbours

cannot have the same scrambling code. In addition, all the neighbours (first neighbours and second neighbours) cannot have the same scrambling code.

Note : ATOLL automatically selects the option “Existing neighbours” when choosing the option “Second neighbours”. A criterion on Ec/Io (option “Additional Ec/Io conditions”) : All the cells fulfilling Ec/Io condition will not have the

same scrambling code. When this option is selected, you must specify a minimum threshold (minimum Ec/Io), a margin (Ec/Io margin) and a reliability level. In this case, for a reference cell “A”, ATOLL considers all the cells “B” that can enter active-set on the area where the reference cell is the best server (area where (Ec/Io)A exceeds the minimum Ec/Io and is the highest one and (Ec/Io)B is within a Ec/Io margin of (Ec/Io)A). Note : ATOLL takes into account the total downlink power used by the cell in order to evaluate Io. Io equals the sum of total transmitted powers. In case this parameter is not specified in the cell properties, ATOLL uses 50% of the maximum power. A reuse distance : radius within which two cells on the same carrier cannot have the same primary scrambling

code An allocation strategy. Two allocation strategies are now offered:

• Clustered allocation: The purpose of this strategy is to choose scrambling codes among a minimum number of clusters. ATOLL will preferentially allocate all the codes from same cluster.

• Distributed allocation: This strategy consists in using as many clusters as possible. ATOLL will preferentially allocate codes from different clusters.

Select one carrier or all on which you want to run the allocation, Select the Reset all codes option to delete the existing codes and carry out a new scrambling code

allocation. If not selected, existing codes are kept. Click on Run to start the automatic allocation; ATOLL displays the automatic allocation results in the

Results part, Then, click on Commit to assign primary scrambling codes to cells.

To automatically allocate primary scrambling codes to a group of cells, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the group of transmitters folder to get the related context menu,



Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Automatic allocation…] command from the opened menu,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Select calculation options (as defined above) in the dialog, Click on Run to start the automatic allocation; ATOLL displays the automatic allocation results in the

Results part, Then, click on Commit to assign primary scrambling codes to the group of cells.

Note : ATOLL will take into account both real distance and the azimuths of antennas to calculate the inter-transmitter distance to be compared with the reuse distance.

VIII.8.3.g SCRAMBLING CODE ALLOCATION PROCESS Algorithm works as follows: ATOLL assigns different primary scrambling codes to a given cell i and to its neighbours, For a cell j which is not neighbour of the cell i, ATOLL gives it a different code:

- If the distance between both cells is lower than the reuse distance, - If the cell i -cell j pair is forbidden.

When the “Second neighbours” option is checked, a cell and the neighbours of its neighbours cannot have the same scrambling code. In addition, all the neighbours (first neighbours and second neighbours) cannot have the same scrambling code.

ATOLL allocates scrambling codes starting with the most constrained cell and ending with the lowest constrained one. The cell constraint level depends on its number of neighbours and whether the cell is neighbour of other cells. Here, the neighbour term includes both manually specified or automatically allocated neighbours and cells, which are within the reuse distance of a studied cell. When cells have the same constraint level, cell processing is based on order of transmitters in the Transmitters folder. Note : In order to calculate the effective inter-transmitter distance (which will be compared to the reuse distance), ATOLL takes into account both real distance and azimuths of antennas. For further information, please, refer to Technical reference guide. The scrambling code choice depends on domains associated to cells and on the selected allocation strategy. When no domain is assigned to cells, ATOLL uses the 512 primary scrambling codes. Several scenarios are detailed hereafter: Let us consider 10 scrambling codes to be allocated. 1st case: We assume that any domain is assigned to cells. Here, ATOLL will be able to use the 512 primary

scrambling codes. If selected the Clustered option, ATOLL will choose eight codes in the cluster 0 and two codes in the cluster 1. Therefore, the allocated scrambling codes will be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. If you tick the Distributed option, ATOLL will take the first code of clusters 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. So, it will assign the codes 0, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64 and 72. 2nd case: We assume that the domain 1 is associated to cells. Domain 1 contains two groups, the group 1

consisted of cluster 0 (available codes: 0 to 7) and the group 2 including clusters 2 and 3 (available codes: 16 to 31).

If selected the Clustered option, ATOLL will choose eight codes in the group 1 and two other ones in the group 2 (the first two codes of the cluster 2). So, allocation result will be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 17. If you tick the Distributed option, ATOLL will select the first code of the group 1 (cluster 0), the first code of the cluster 2 (group 2), the first code of the cluster 3 (group 2), the second code of the group 1 (cluster 0), the second code of the cluster 2 (group 2), the second code of the cluster 3 (group 2) and so on…. Result of allocation will be 0, 16, 24, 1, 17, 25, 2, 18, 26, 3. 3rd case: We assume that the domain 1 is associated to cells. Domain 1 contains one group, the group 1

consisted of cluster 1 (available codes: 8 to 15). As there are not enough scrambling codes available in the group 1, ATOLL does not allocate any scrambling code and displays an error message “Primary scrambling code allocation failed”.



VIII.8.3.h CHECKING SCRAMBLING CODE CONSISTENCY A checking algorithm is available. It enables you to examine if there are some inconsistencies after having manually performed some changes. To use the checking algorithm, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Primary scrambling codes: Check consistency…] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the Scrambling code checking window, select the allocation criteria that you want to check:

- Neighbourhood: checking is carried out on the neighbour cells (listed in the Neighbour tab); they must not have the same scrambling codes, - Exceptional pairs: checking is performed on the forbidden pairs of cells; they must not have the same scrambling codes, - Reuse distance: checking concerns cells which inter-transmitter distance is lower than the reuse distance you can define; they must not have the same scrambling codes, - Domains: ATOLL checks if the allocated scrambling codes belong to the domain assigned to the cells.

Click on OK to start the checking algorithm. ATOLL details the checking results in a report. This report is a text file called ScramblingCodeCheck.txt; it is stored in the temporary folder on your workstation. For each selected criterion, ATOLL gives the number of detected inconsistencies and details each of them. For criteria 1, 2 and 3, it displays the name of cells and the common scrambling code. In case of criterion 4, it lists the name of cells, which do not satisfy the criterion, the associated domains and the allocated scrambling codes.

C H A P T E R 9

CDMA/CDMA 2000 Projects Management

9

CDMA/CDMA 2000 Projects management




IX CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

IX.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS : OVERVIEW 1xRTT (1st eXpansion Radio Telephone Technology) and IS95 (Interim Standard 95) are radio technologies using CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) principles. UMTS is based on Wideband CDMA air interface whereas CDMA/CDMA 2000 , like IS95, on Narrowband CDMA. CDMA/CDMA 2000 is available in ATOLL with the optional UMTS module. In CDMA/CDMA 2000, everybody works at the same frequency, signals are spread over a band of 1.2288 MHz (on each carrier) and distinguished by the use of OVSF codes. Nevertheless, this induces potentially high levels of noise which can be defeated by sophisticated power controls on uplink (from terminals) and on downlink (from transmitters) traffic channels. Because of power control, there is not a single solution to model a CDMA network, and results totally depend totally on network parameters such as traffic and user behaviours. Hence, these parameters have to be modelled before starting calculations via user distributions. Simulation results provide a snapshot of the CDMA network at a certain time. In order to simulate user distributions and associated behaviours, some parameters have to be tuned. These are services, radio configurations, user profiles and environment types. Each of these is easy to manage like any other folder-like objects within ATOLL. All these parameters go together with traffic maps, based on environments, on user profiles (with no required definition for environment parameters) or on Transmitters and Services (in term of rates or number of users - with required of definition for environment and user profile parameters). CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations power control and specific CDMA coverage predictions need the definition of the previous parameters. Classical coverage predictions are also available to study cell pilots. The point analysis tool allows a specific analysis of any active set at a given point on the map, for a particular scenario (service and radio configuration of a probe user which the current status is provided by network simulation results). Geo data are easily manageable like for other projects. You may either create or import geographic objects. Sites, antennas, station templates, transmitters, measurements, and propagation models work in the same way for CDMA/CDMA 2000 and the other technology projects. Nevertheless, due to an enhanced resource management to consider at site level, site equipment and resource management per service have been introduced. Furthermore, since CDMA support several carrier networks, a new item characterising each carrier per transmitter has been introduced : CDMA cells. Hence, many properties are defined at the cell level (e.g. powers). Like for the other types of technology, neighbours may be manually defined by the user or with the help of the neighbour automatic allocation tool, but at the cell level. The What's this context tool allows the user to understand the specific CDMA fields and features available in dialog boxes.

IX.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SPECIFIC CONCEPTS In a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network, a code is allocated to each link transmitter-terminal. This code allows the terminal to identify the useful signal spread over the whole bandwidth as mobiles use the same frequency band simultaneously. Consequently, each mobile is indirectly interfered by all the others. It is thus essential for IS95 or CDMA/CDMA 2000 to perform reliable power control especially on the uplink, in order to limit network interference level. To achieve power control simulation and coverage calculation, CDMA planning requires traffic snapshots unlike GSM planning, which only needs traffic data when dimensioning a network for a certain grade of service. CDMA coverage directly depends on offered traffic : the more the traffic is, the smaller the coverage zones are. This phenomenon is called cell breathing. As Traffic is dynamic, coverage calculation is necessarily statistical. ATOLL achieves coverage predictions in two steps : First, it simulates power control for realistic user distributions to obtain network parameters and interference level

(simulation part). Then, it generates bin-based coverage probability predictions (prediction part).

See CDMA projects protocol



ATOLL enables or CDMA/CDMA 2000 network planning, 2 (2,5G) network based on Narrowband Code Division Multiple Access technique (N-CDMA) and multi-service management. These major CDMA concepts and new technologies require new network and data modelling, with appropriate needs for traffic modelling. A wide range of different CDMA/CDMA 2000 services available to consumers, generates a more complex traffic than standard voice transmissions. Appropriate traffic data model and relevant localisation on a map, i.e. traffic cartography represents a major input for CDMA/CDMA 2000 planning. Specific CDMA objects are available when creating a new project with ATOLL. The CDMA projects are designed to provide specific CDMA radio and traffic data structures, CDMA simulations and predictions folders. CDMA and CDMA 2000 technologies are available in ATOLL only if the optional UMTS module is installed.

IX.3 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS PROTOCOL A classical CDMA/CDMA 2000 project protocol, within ATOLL, is described below : Network design : Setting radio data

Pilot studies based only on signal reception

Traffic input

Traffic description : activity probabilities Traffic map design : number of subscribers or users (depending on the type of map)

Simulations (Evaluation of interference level)

Realistic user distribution generation Power control simulation

CDMA/CDMA 2000 oriented prediction studies

Point predictions Coverage predictions


Neighbour allocation

IX.4 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO DATA

IX.4.1 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO DATA : OVERVIEW Due to their complexity, CDMA networks, in ATOLL have been modelled by the introduction of specific radio items. Firstly, due to the fact that the number of channel elements is limited by site, these are set from the Site folder. Hence, in ATOLL, you can model several pieces of equipment with different radio resource management parameters and describe channel element consumption for each equipment type/service couple. Then, you can assign a piece of equipment to each site. Some features have been introduced in order to adjust the global specific parameters of CDMA/CDMA 2000 networks. CDMA supports multi-carrier networks, i.e. a transmitter can work on several carriers on the same time, each carrier being set with different properties. Hence, to take it into account, a new level has been introduced in order to simulate the carrier level on each transmitters : CDMA cells. Like many other objects in ATOLL, these are easily manageable and provide several tools in order to make their use easy.

IX.4.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT IX.4.2.a CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT

In CDMA/CDMA 2000, site equipment allows the user to define some equipment related to channel elements and some other specific CDMA parameters and calculation options (MUD factor, Rake efficiency factor, Carrier selection, Overhead CEs, AS restricted to neighbours) .



To create a CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Equipment : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the Equipment window, describe a piece of equipment per line. Type its name, the manufacturer

name and define: MUD factor

Multi-User Detection is a technology used to decrease intra-cellular interference on uplink. MUD is modelled by a coefficient between 0 and 1; this factor is considered in the UL interference calculation. In case MUD is not supported by equipment, enter 0 as value. Rake receiver efficiency factor

This factor enables ATOLL to model macro-diversity on uplink. ATOLL uses it to calculate the uplink macro-diversity gains and uplink signal quality in simulations, point-to-point analysis and coverage studies. This parameter is considered on uplink for softer and softer-softer handovers; it is applied to the sum of signals received on the same site. The factor value can be between 0 and 1. It models losses due to the signal recombination imperfection. Carrier selection

It refers to carrier selection mode used during the transmitter admission control in mobile active set. Three methods are available: - UL min noise: The least loaded carrier (carrier with the lowest UL load factor) is selected, - DL min power: The carrier with lowest used total DL power is selected, - Random: The carrier is randomly chosen. Overhead CEs uplink and downlink: number of channel elements that a cell uses for common channels on

uplink and downlink. AS restricted to neighbours

This option is used to manage mobile active set. If you select this option, the other transmitters in active set must belong to the neighbour list of the best server.

Click on to close the table. Note : Rake efficiency factor for computation of recombination in downlink has to be set in terminal radio configurations.

IX.4.2.b MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT Site equipment are listed in a table in ATOLL. So, as many other objects, they are easy to manage both in term of contents or handy tools. To access to the CDMA/CDMA 2000 site equipment table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Equipment : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, The table displays each piece of equipment in each line. Click on to close the table.

Notes : Standard features for managing table content (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort,

Fields…) are available in context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus.

Rake efficiency factor for computation of recombination in downlink has to be set in terminal radio configurations.

IX.4.2.c MANAGING CHANNEL ELEMENT CONSUMPTION PER CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT UL and DL channel elements are independently dealt with in power control simulation. Furthermore, the number of channel element required by a site depends on site equipment, user service and link direction (up or down). To describe channel element consumption during CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Sites folder to open the context menu,



Left click the [Equipment : Channel Element consumption] command from the opened scrolling menu, In the CE consumption window, enter for each equipment-terminal(RC) pair the number of UL and DL

channel elements that ATOLL will consume during power control simulation, Click on to close the table.

IX.4.2.d ASSIGNING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT TO SITES Once equipment related to channel element are defined, it is possible to assign a piece of equipment to each site. To assign a piece of equipment to a site proceed as follows :


or

Select on the map the site you want to manage by right clicking on it ( ), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Equipment tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window. Enter the maximum number of uplink and downlink channel elements available for the site; then, click

on the Equipment scrolling menu and choose a piece of equipment in the list, Click on OK to validate.

Notes : In case you have defined neither equipment nor channel element consumption, ATOLL considers the following

default values, Rake efficiency factor = 1, MUD factor = 0, Carrier selection = UL minimum noise, Overhead CEs downlink and uplink = 0, AS restricted to neighbours option not selected, and uses one channel element per link (up or down) for any service, during power control simulation.

Equipment can be also assigned by accessing site table.

IX.4.3 TRANSMITTER CDMA/CDMA 2000 SPECIFIC PARAMETERS IX.4.3.a SETTING THE TRANSMITTER CDMA/CDMA 2000 GLOBAL PARAMETERS

In ATOLL, some parameters which are globally related to the CDMA technology can be accessed easily and applied to all the items of a network; these are called global parameters. Some of them are used as global values, other as default values. All of these are essential in CDMA/CDMA 2000 power control simulations. To access the global parameters of a CDMA/CDMA 2000 network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Global parameters tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window, Click OK to close the dialog.

IX.4.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELLS IX.4.4.a CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELLS : DEFINITION

Because ATOLL supports multi-carriers networks, and also since it is possible to define some rules about carrier selection for a mobile when creating its active set, a new level has been introduced, the cell level. A cell defines a carrier on a transmitter. Data of interest like transmission powers (Pilot, Synchronisation, Paging, Maximum power), total power, UL load percentage, or active set thresholds are defined at the cell level. Hence, neighbours are also defined at the cell level. The number of cells per transmitter is limited by the number of carriers available for a network as defined in the global parameter dialog. Cells can be listed either by transmitter, in a specific dialog, or in a table, as other radio data (sites and transmitters). So, here again, the management of cells remains easy and comfortable.



IX.4.4.b CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL The cell concept is fully supported in ATOLL. Cell is characterised by the transmitter-carrier couple. Therefore, you can define several cells per transmitter (as many cells as carriers associated to transmitter). To define CDMA/CDMA 2000 transmitter cells, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Cells : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu,

The Cells table contains all the identifiers of a cell, its name, transmitter and carrier which the cell refers to, all the values defining transmitted signal level, pilot power, synchronisation power, paging power, maximum power, total power used, information about the cell uplink load and an active set management parameter, AS threshold.

Click on to close the table. Notes : Cells are automatically created and described in the table when you drag and drop a station. On the other hand,

you must define them manually after adding a new transmitter (New… command when right clicking on the Transmitters folder) or copying a list of transmitters in the Transmitters table.

Cell default name is: Transmitter name(carrier). If you change transmitter name or carrier, ATOLL does not update the cell name.

You cannot create two cells related to the same transmitter-carrier couple.

IX.4.4.c MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL PROPERTIES In CDMA/CDMA 2000, cells are defined per transmitter. Nevertheless, their associated properties can be reached by several ways. Like many other objects (Sites, Transmitters, Antennas, Predictions, Simulations, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, cells can be managed either individually (per transmitter or in a single dialog) or globally. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the cell properties your network by accessing the cell table : To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the context menu, Left click the [Cells : Open] command from the opened scrolling menu, Click on to close the table.

Individual property management

There are two ways to edit cell properties of each transmitter in the current network. To do so,

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the transmitter which cell properties you want to access,

or Select on the map the transmitter which cell properties you want to access by left clicking on the

appropriate Tx symbol (arrow), Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click the Cell tab from the opened dialog, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

It is also possible to open a single dialog for each cell. To do so, proceed as follows :

Open the cell table (see above) Either

Double click the record which property dialog you want to open, Or

Right click on the record which property dialog you want to open to get its associated context menu,

Select the Record Properties command from the opened scrolling menu (or the Record Properties command from the Records menu),



Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window. Notes : Cell Properties dialog consists of three tabs: cell characteristics entered in the cells table are grouped in the

General and Transmission/Reception tabs, Internal and external neighbours may be allocated to the cell in the Neighbours tab.

It is possible to define additional fields in the cell table by using the Fields command in its related context menu (or from the Records menu). If it is the case, this new field will then be available in the Other properties tab of any cell property dialog.

IX.4.4.d POWER PARAMETERS IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 Because powers can be defined differently within a same transmitter depending on carriers, these are defined at the cell level in ATOLL. To define the different powers related to CDMA/CDMA 2000 technologies, access the cell properties (either from the table or from dialogs) and fill the following fields (Transmission/Reception tab) : Max power Pilot power Synchronisation power Paging power

The total power used and UL load used in specific CDMA coverages are also defined in the cell properties. The active set threshold (default value : 5dB) used for active set determination has also to be set there.

IX.4.4.e ACTIVE SET PARAMETERS IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 For a given terminal allowed to perform handover, the active set contains, the transmitters with which it is connected. The main parameter to measure for transmitters potentially in the active set is the pilot quality (Ec/Io). Once the best server in term of pilot quality is defined, other transmitters are selected such as their pilot quality has to be greater than a T-Drop value defined in the mobility (radio configuration) part. To define the active set threshold of any cell, access the cell properties (either from the table or from dialogs) and fill the field AS threshold (Transmission/Reception tab).

IX.5 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC DATA

IX.5.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC DATA : OVERVIEW The aim of CDMA/CDMA 2000 network planning in ATOLL is to provide some specific coverage predictions based on power control simulations. These simulations use the data available from the current network. In CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, the multi-service ability allows the definition of specific traffic maps. Hence, you may use maps based on either environment types, rates or number of users per service and per transmitter, or on user profiles. To achieve power control simulation, ATOLL use the other classical geo data (clutter class maps, DTM or DEM maps), the radio configuration (sites, antennas, transmitters, cells) and the specific CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters. These topics are organised in folders and are easily manageable. They deal with : services, Radio Configurations (RC) made of mobility type and terminal folders, user profiles, environment classes.

In CDMA/CDMA 2000 , Radio Configuration (RC) is an important concept; different radio configurations can be described in the Terminals folder. The mobility concept is not considered in CDMA/CDMA 2000 technology. Nevertheless, the Mobility type folder used for UMTS traffic management will be kept in the short term. The mobility will be considered as a radio configuration; it will allow you to enter specific quality targets for each couple (service, RC). The main data is the user profile, which describes a type of subscriber by listing his communication behaviours: which radio configuration(s) does he use ? for which service(s)? with which usage characteristics (frequency, duration)?



The services are similar to circuit-switched UMTS services because the FCH channel is always on-air. The quality levels on pilot and traffic channels, respectively Ec/I0 and Eb/Nt, strongly depend on the radio configuration and not on the mobility type as in ATOLL UMTS project. Therefore, when creating new services, in addition to standard characteristics (nominal rate,…), you have to provide Eb/Nt in uplink and downlink for each radio configuration previously defined. The Ec/I0 requirements for each radio configuration must be entered in the Mobility type folder. Environments just associate a list of user profiles with a specific “mobility type (RC)” to a subscriber density. Environment classes or user profiles can be used to geographically define multi-traffic areas. Practical advice: to keep consistency with the UMTS traffic structure, respect the following rules: Define as many “mobility types” as radio configurations with their respective names. Assign each user profile to a one or several services, using the same radio configuration. When describing each environment, specify the mobility type corresponding to the radio configuration defined for

the user profile, otherwise, simulations could use inconsistent data. As with any Data table in ATOLL, these tables are automatically stored in a database if the user works with a connected document. ATOLL powerful data management features are available on traffic tables. For example, you may group terminals by their active set size. ATOLL manages multi-carrier networks. It allows the user to choose the way carriers are selected by transmitters. Moreover, any specific CDMA study may deal with several carriers depending on the user or on the radio configuration of the network.

IX.5.2 WORKING ON CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES IX.5.2.a CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES

CDMA/CDMA 2000 allows the user to carry not only voice but also data for web, or video conferencing for example. Services are divided into two categories (type field): speech and data. ATOLL provides a function to enable or disable soft handover for a given service. To create a service, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Services folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to set the parameters of the created service, Validate by clicking on OK.

Notes : In the Eb/Nt tab window, (Eb/Nt)DL and (Eb/Nt)UL targets are the thresholds (in dB) that must be achieved to

provide users with the service. These parameters are linked with radio configurations, and must be defined with some potentially different multiples of nominal rate (defined in the terminal properties in RC) for the SCH rate

Service nominal rates are defined within the services for UMTS. In CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, nominal rates for FCH are defined within the terminal (RC) properties and the SCH rates are given as multiple of this in the Eb/Nt tab.

Maximum and minimum allowed powers allowable for any type of service are defined in General tab in UMTS whereas they are defined on FCH and SCH in the Eb/Nt tab in CDMA/CDMA 2000 , for each type of radio configuration linked with the considered service (See Data service creation for CDMA/CDMA 2000)

IX.5.2.b DATA SERVICE CREATION CDMA/CDMA 2000 The fundamental channel is a continuous nominal rate channel used for voice services. For data services, the fundamental channel and an additional temporary channel, the supplemental channel, are required. The supplemental channel is a short duration channel with a rate equal to two, four, eight, or sixteen times the nominal data rate. The rate of high speed data services is variable and depends on the amount of data to be sent. The user should enter 9.6kbps or 14.4kbps (according to the RC) in the nominal rate of the service. Plus, the user needs



to define the probability that an SCH will be required or requested with a multiple of the nominal rate. The user will enter probabilities for each possible multiple (2, 4, 8 and 16). In a real system, the sum of probabilities should be less than 1 since the SCH is needed for only a fraction of the total connection time (the probability reflects the percentage of time that the service will need an SCH with the given multiple of nominal rate).

IX.5.2.c SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES PARAMETERS Similar to the other ATOLL object folders, CDMA/CDMA 2000 services are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the services parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Services folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the service of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the service of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to adjust the parameters of the current service, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : When the Services table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any service by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left. The coding factors, which penalize UL and DL service rates, may be supplied in two ways. For each service, you may : Either enter high UL and DL coding factors and then, set a low enough UL and DL Eb/Nt threshold so that the

advantage of high coding can be simulated (higher error correction rate means smaller bit error rate and thus a smaller required Eb/Nt),

Or enter low UL and DL coding factors value and take into account the coding to define the required UL and DL Eb/Nt values, i.e. a high enough Eb/Nt threshold to simulate the disadvantage of little coding.

IX.5.2.d MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES In ATOLL, CDMA/CDMA 2000 objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the services table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the Services folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Services folder,

The services table opens. The services table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the Services folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the services table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Services table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any service by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.



IX.5.3 CONFIGURING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO CONFIGURATIONS IX.5.3.a CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO CONFIGURATION

In CDMA/CDMA 2000 , Ec/I0 requirements and Eb/Nt targets per service and per link (up and down) knowledge, contrary to UMTS, are not dependant on mobility. In order to keep the UMTS structure, mobility type and terminals folders are used but deal with only one concept : Radio Configurations. Due to the fact that mobility type and terminals folders deal with same topics, consistency has to be respected by setting the same RC in both folders. To create a CDMA/CDMA 2000 Radio Configuration, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Mobility type folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created mobility, Validate the RC mobility folder part by clicking on OK, Right click on the Terminals folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created terminal, Validate the RC terminal folder part by clicking on OK.

Parameters which are located into the mobility type folder are pilot quality (Ec/Io) thresholds (in dB). For a given mobility type : Ec/Io (TAdd in CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects) threshold is the minimum Ec/Io required from a transmitter to enter

the active set. In ATOLL, this value is verified for the best server. T-Drop is the minimum Ec/Io required from a transmitter not to be ejected from the active set. This data is

important for CDMA/CDMA 2000 . In ATOLL, this value is verified for transmitters other than the best server. Terminals summarise the different radio configurations that can be used in the network. Each radio configuration is described by a minimum and maximum transmission power (dynamic range for downlink power control), its antenna gain and reception losses, and an internal thermal noise (calculated from the noise figure). Active set size is the maximum allowable number of transmitters in connection with the terminal (macro-diversity). This parameter is settable for FCH as well as for SCH. The maximum active set size can reach 6. The number of fingers represents the maximum number of active set links the terminal (rake) can combine. This criterion is considered in simulations, point analysis and coverage prediction. The number of fingers is the same for FCH and SCH. You can also define UL and DL nominal rates i.e. the fundamental channel (FCH) rate. Finally, you may enter a percentage of the mobile total power dedicated to the UL pilot channel. The UL pilot power is than taken into account to calculate the total UL interference

IX.5.3.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 ACTIVE SET CONDITIONS The transmitters taking part in the active set have to check the following conditions: They must be using the same carrier (at the cell level). The pilot quality (Ec/Io) from the best server has to exceed the Ec/Io threshold (defined for each mobility type -

radio configuration). The pilot quality from other transmitters has to be greater than the T-Drop value (defined for each mobility

type - radio configuration). Other cells have to belong to the neighbour list of the best server if you have selected the restricted to

neighbours option (in the definition of the Site equipment).

IX.5.3.c SETTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO CONFIGURATION Like for the other ATOLL object folders, CDMA/CDMA 2000 mobility types and terminals (composing Radio Configuration) are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the Radio Configuration parameters dealing with Ec/I0 requirements, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Mobility type folder by left clicking on the button, Either,



Right click on the mobility of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the mobility of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current mobility, Validate by clicking on OK.

To manage the Radio Configuration parameters dealing with terminals, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Terminals folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the terminal of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the terminal of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current terminal, Validate by clicking on OK.

IX.5.3.d MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO CONFIGURATIONS In ATOLL, CDMA/CDMA 2000 objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. Because Radio Configurations are made of mobility type and terminal folders, Radio Configuration parameters are spread within the two related tables To open the Radio Configuration table dealing with Ec/I0 requirements, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Mobility types folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Mobility types folder,

The mobility types table opens. To open the Radio Configuration table dealing with terminals, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Terminals folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Terminals folder,

The terminals table opens. The mobility types and terminal tables work exactly like the other tables. Their cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the mobility types or terminals folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the mobility types or terminals table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Mobility type or terminals table are displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any mobility or terminal by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated



arrow at left.

IX.5.4 MODELLING CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILES IX.5.4.a CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILE

In CDMA/CDMA 2000 , user profiles describe the behaviour of different user categories. Each user profile is assigned a service and its associated usage parameters such as used terminal, session frequency (calls/hour) and duration. Parameters for speech services are: Average number of calls per hour Average duration of a call in seconds Used terminal (equipment used for the service (from the Terminals table))

Parameters for data services are: Average number of sessions per hour Volume in Kbytes which is transferred on the downlink during a session Volume in Kbytes which is transferred on the uplink during a session Used terminal (equipment used for the service (from the Terminals table))

Those parameters are used in simulation to determine the probability (activity status) that a user is transmitting or receiving communication for the given service and terminal when the snapshot is taken. Notes : For speech services, entering a one-hour call during 1000s corresponds to define 2 calls per hour during

500s…the activity probabilities will be the same in both cases. In order for all the services defined for a user profile to be taken into account during traffic scenario elaboration,

the sum of activity probabilities must be lower than 1 You can model temporal variations of user behaviour by creating different profiles for different hours (busy hour,

...). To create a CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profile, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the User profiles folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the currently created user profile, Validate by clicking on OK.

IX.5.4.b ADJUSTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILE PROPERTIES Like for the other ATOLL object folders, CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profiles are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the user profile parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the User profiles folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the user profile of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the user profile of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters of the current user profile, Validate by clicking on OK.



IX.5.4.c MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILES In ATOLL, CDMA/CDMA 2000 objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profiles, environment) in a table window. To open the user profiles table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the User profiles folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the User profiles folder,

The user profiles table opens. The user profiles table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the User profiles folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the user profiles table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the User profiles table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any user type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

IX.5.5 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT CLASSES IX.5.5.a CREATING A TYPE OF CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT

Environment classes may be used to describe subscriber spatial distribution on a map; they are the available classes for traffic cartography design. Environment class represents an economic and social concept, which defines the characteristics of user profiles. Each environment class contains a set of three data (user profile, mobility, density) where density is a number of subscribers with the same profile per km², and where the mobility corresponds to the radio configuration defined in the user profile folder. There is no restriction on the number of data sets constituting an environment. To get an appropriate user distribution, you may assign weights per clutter classes, for each environment class. To create a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment type, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environments folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to set the parameters of the currently created environment, Validate by clicking on OK.

Particular case: When no multi-service geo-marketing data are available, you may supply ATOLL with usual traffic data like user densities per service (for example, values coming from adapted GSM Erlang maps). In this case, user profile definition and calculation of deduced activity probability are not necessary to create traffic scenario ; traffic distribution will only depend on densities per service. Therefore, the activity probabilities calculated during simulation will be equal to 1 and density values defined in Environments will be user densities (no more subscriber densities). Elaborated traffic scenario will fully respect the user profile proportion (i.e service) given in environments. You will fully master the number of users in simulation as well as the service proportion which will drive random trials. Moreover, each user will be connected. This method is not the usual nominal working mode for ATOLL.



IX.5.5.b SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT PARAMETERS Like for the other ATOLL object folders, CDMA/CDMA 2000 environments are easily manageable. Creation steps and the display management are standard. To manage the environments parameters, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Environments folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the environment type of which you want to manage the properties to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the environment type of which you want to manage the properties, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click the available tabs to adjust the parameters of the current environment, Validate by clicking on OK.

Note : to get an appropriate user distribution, you may assign weights to clutter classes, for each environment class in the Clutter weighting tab.

IX.5.5.c MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TYPES In ATOLL, CDMA/CDMA 2000 objects are organized in folders. For this reason, ATOLL allows the user to simultaneously display all topics of one type (services, mobility, terminal, user profile, environment) in a table window. To open the environment types table, proceed as follows :


Right click on the Environments folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Open,

Or, Double click on the Environments folder,

The Environment type table opens. The environment types table works exactly like the other tables. Its cells are editable, sorting and filtering tools, and copy/paste functions are available. Notes : The grouping/filtering/sorting advanced feature may be used on the services from the context menu associated

with the Environments folder. From the properties dialog box, you may also manage the contents of the environment types table. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different windows.

When the Environments table is displayed and active, it is possible to open the property dialog window of any environment type by simply double clicking on any cell in the associated line, or on the associated arrow at left.

IX.5.5.d DISPLAYING STATISTICS PER CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TYPE ATOLL allows the user to perform a statistic study on each environment class. These statistics provide the number of mobiles to be created in the traffic scenario for the given environment (based on a raster traffic map, respecting the layer order). This number is given displayed per clutter class. To display a statistic study on any environment type, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Environments folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the environment type you want to display a statistical study to open the associated context

menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Statistics...,



Use the What's this help to get description about the opened window. Note : The statistic study is limited to the focus zone, only the clutter and environment areas inside the focus zone are taken into account in calculations.

IX.5.5.e WEIGHTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 USERS PER CLUTTER CLASS Enter a weight for each clutter class in order to get an appropriate user distribution The following formula is used for calculations:

∑ ×××=

jjj

kkclassk Sw

SwNN

where :

kN Number of users in the k clutter

classN

Number of users in an environment class

kw k clutter weight at fixed surface

kS k clutter surface (stated in km²)

This weighting method is used when displaying statistics per CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment type.

IX.5.6 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS IX.5.6.a SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS: OVERVIEW

ATOLL provides 4 types of traffic maps for IS95 or 1xRTT projects : The first one is related to environment classes as defined in CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters, and is built and

managed as any other raster map within ATOLL (e.g. clutter class map). This map uses all items defined in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters folder.

You can also import vector maps (dxf, mif or shp format) in order to define traffic either inside polygons, roads, etc... using all items defined in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters folder except environment types. Indeed, information contained in environment is supposed to be already embedded in vector traffic maps.

The last two maps deal with network data, i.e. that they are based on existing pilot coverage by transmitter. To each computed area is assigned either rates or amount of users per service (uplink or downlink).

Once created, these maps are stored in a general CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic folder available in the Geo tab of your current environment.

IX.5.6.b CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP There are two solutions to create an environment traffic map, either by drawing environment zones using the cartography editor, or by directly importing a raster map in your project as an environment traffic map. To create a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map by drawing, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on environments (raster) option in the Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button to validate, Use the cartography editor (selecting one of the available environment classes) to draw environment

polygons,

Click the button to close the editor. Notes : Like other raster maps, it is easily possible to save the generated traffic map. You can only choose among existing environment classes in the cartography editor. To make available additional

classes, do it in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters.



To import a raster map as a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map, proceed as follows : Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Specify the directory where the file to be imported is located, the file name and the file type in the opened

dialog box, Press OK to validate, Select the Traffic density option in the scrolling data type box The map is located within the lastly created environment map folder.

Note : if you import a raster map to be an environment traffic map, do not forget to assign clutter classes to existing environment classes.

IX.5.6.c ASSIGNING CLUTTER CLASSES TO CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT CLASSES Even if the link between only speech and speech and data traffic maps is not obvious, and since clutter classes are commonly related to traffic classes in speech technology, you can, if you wish, import a clutter class map to be a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map. To do so, proceed as follows :

Import a raster clutter class map as an environment traffic map, Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Either

Right click on the related environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties,

Or Double click on the related environment map folder,

Click the description tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, In the name column, left click cells in order to replace clutter names by existing environment classes, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Notes : In order to manage traffic on the entire map, this operation has to be carried out for all classes. The description table can be fully copied and pasted (using Ctrl+V and Ctrl+C) in a new ATOLL project after

importing the raster file. To select globally the environment class table, just left click on the top left angle of the environment table.

IX.5.6.d REFRESHING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP Like in the clutter classes property dialog, the refresh feature allows the user to clear from the dialog all environment classes not used in the current project. To refresh a CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Either


Or Double click on the Environment map folder,


Press the button, ATOLL scans the clutter objects from the map and associates them with the ones in the current table, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Advice: Use this function to keep consistency between the environment classes described in the table and in the imported file. Example: ATOLL automatically memorizes the different environment classes of imported file. Even after deleting the file,

the environment classes are stored in the description table. Pressing the button will remove them.



IX.5.6.e EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP Like for DTM map and clutter class maps, it is possible to export the current environment description in either a tiff, a bil or a bmp format. You may choose to keep the squared part of the current traffic map that contains the defined computation zone. To export a part or the complete environment traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported, Click the Save button when this is made, In the Export dialog box, select one of the options and define the resolution (in metres) of file :

The whole covered region option allows you to save the whole traffic map in another file. As soon as the file is saved, the properties (name,...) of the classes listed in the Environment map folder are updated.

The computation zone option allows you to save the environment region inside the computation zone in another file. As soon as the file is saved, an additional environment traffic object is created and listed in the Environment map folder. To enable this option, you must have drawn a computation zone beforehand.

A resolution value is suggested; it is defined for environment traffic from the following criteria : If one environment traffic object is clipped, the displayed resolution will be the object

resolution. If several objects are extracted, the displayed resolution will be the smallest resolution of the

objects. The resolution value must be an integer The minimum resolution is set to 1 metre.



Environment traffic file path (and related description) is part of the contents of exported .geo or .cfg files.

IX.5.6.f MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY To manage the display of any CDMA/CDMA 2000 environment map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Either


Or Double click the Environment map folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the different tabs, Click on the Description tab from the opened window, Set the environment class colours, Click on the Display tab, Set the transparency level per environment class layer, Press OK to validate.

IX.5.6.g DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAPS To display the relative occupancy of each environment area (decomposed also per clutter type) in the current project computation zone (or focus zone if existing), proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Environment map folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Statistics option from the scrolling menu The surface (in km²) of each environment area included in the computation zone (or focus zone if existing)

is specified, The surface (Si in km²) of each clutter class (i) included in each environment zone and its percentage (%

of i) are specified:



100 of % ×=∑

kk

i

SSi

Notes : The statistic study is limited to the computation zone (or focus zone if existing), just the environment areas inside

the computation zone are taken into account,


clipboard (Ctrl+C).

IX.5.6.h IMPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP Unlike raster traffic maps, which are available in any project, vector traffic maps can only be used in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. The vector data (points, lines, polygonal shapes) are expected to directly link a dedicated user profile, mobility and traffic density. The way to get traffic vector maps consists in importing vector files (MapInfo(MIF,MID), Arcview (SHP), Autocad(DXF)) and using them as traffic maps. To import a vector traffic map, proceed as follows :

Either : Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on user profiles (vector) option in the Create a traffic map opened

window,

Press the button to validate, Indicate the path, the name and the format (.mif, .dxf, .shp) of the file to import in the opened

dialog box, In the Create a traffic map window, choose the option and press the Import a file button. Press OK to validate,

or Choose the Import command from the File Menu in the menu bar, Indicate the path, the name and the format (.mif, .dxf, .shp) of the file to import in the opened

dialog box, Press OK to validate,

Choose the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic option from the scrolling menu in the opened File import window, Use the What's this help to get description about other fields available in the window,

Press the button to validate. A dialog box is displayed in order to configure traffic vector data.

Click the Traffic tab, In the Traffic fields part, specify the user profiles to be considered on the traffic vector map, their mobilities

(km/h) and their densities (number of users/km2 for polygons and number of user/km for lines). You can decide the type of information that you want to use to define the traffic characteristics, either a field described in the file (by field option in the Defined column) or a value directly user-definable in ATOLL (by value option in the Defined column). The first method can be used only if the file you’re importing contains attributes providing information

about the user profile, mobility or density. In this case, select in the Choice column a suitable field for each data (user profile, mobility and density); ATOLL lists all the attributes described in the file. The attributes of the source file cannot be modified. Using this method, each traffic polygon or linear is assigned specific characteristics (user profile, mobility or density).

Note : Take care to define in ATOLL user profiles and mobilities described in traffic file with exact spelling.

The second way is useful when traffic files contain no attribute. Therefore, you may assign manually user profiles, mobilities and densities created in ATOLL. Select in the Choice column user profile and mobility listed in CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder and specify manually a global density for all the polygons. Beforehand, just make sure to define in CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters the internal data like user profile and mobility you want to allocate. Here, all the polygons are described by global characteristics (user profile, mobility or density).



In the Clutter weighting part, assign a weight to each clutter class. Thus, ATOLL allows you to spread

traffic inside the polygons according to the clutter weighting defined for the whole subfolder. The spreading operation (using a raster step) will be carried out during the simulation process.

Then, press OK to validate the properties setting. Notes : You may set the display parameters of the current map in the Display tab. Embedding data is available from the

General tab. During the import procedure, if the imported user profiles or mobilities are not currently part of the existing

CDMA/CDMA 2000 user profiles or mobilities, ATOLL warns you about the fact that these may not be correctly taken into account as traffic data.

Examples of vector traffic data

IX.5.6.i EXAMPLES OF CDMA/CDMA 2000 VECTOR TRAFFIC DATA Structure of two vector traffic files is described hereafter. Niceregion.mif consists of eleven polygons representing the Nice region. Each polygon is characterised by a user profile, the services offered to subscribers, their mobilities and densities. Densities are stated in number of subscribers per km2. Highway.mif represents a highway (linear) where density corresponds to a number of subscribers per km. Niceregion.mif

Name Userprofile Services used MobilityA DensityA MobilityB DensityBHinterland rural user Speech 90 km/h 8 pedestrian 2

Village rural user Speech 50 km/h 10 pedestrian 5 Corniche rural user Speech 50 km/h 10 pedestrian 20


Nice urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing


Nice airport urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing


Nice surroundings

rural user Speech 50 km/h 100 90 km/h 100


Nice center urban user Speech, Web, Simple messaging, Video conferencing

pedestrian 4000 pedestrian 0

Highway.mif

ID User_profile Service used Density Mobilityhighway driver Speech 400 120 km/h

IX.5.6.j EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP Like other UMTS traffic maps (raster or cell), it is possible to export traffic maps based on service and transmitter. To export a UMTS vector traffic map, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the vector traffic map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported. Possible formats are

Arcview (.shp), MapInfo (.mif) and the ATOLL internal format (.agd), Click the Save button to complete the export procedure.



IX.5.6.k CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER Traffic maps per transmitter and per service are available only in UMTS and CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. Before creating a traffic map per transmitter and per service, the user must define a coverage study by transmitter (with best server option and no margin) and calculate it. ATOLL expects rate values (kbits/s) number of active users for each service and each transmitter. Thus, it is possible to define either one map per service or one map with all services. Then, ATOLL expects rate values (kbits/s) for each service and each transmitter. The traffic cartography is built without connection with the initial coverage prediction, the map just consists of polygons (one polygon per transmitter) characterised by UL and DL rates or number of users for each service. These polygons have the same features as the vector traffic polygons. You can define terminal and mobility distributions :

∑=

ii

i

NN

T

T T of % i

where,

Ti is one terminal (or mobility) type, NT is a value user-defined for each terminal (or mobility) type, i is the number of terminal (or mobility) types.

To create a traffic map per transmitter and per service, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on transmitter and service (Throughput or Number of users) option in the

Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button to validate, The coverage area traffic window opens, Select the prediction study to be considered for traffic distribution. Only coverage per transmitter studies

can be used. A table where you can define specific rates per service and per transmitter is available. It consists of a column dedicated to transmitters and several columns for the different services previously defined in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Parameters folder. In the TX_ID column, select each line, click on the arrow and choose a transmitter in the list. You may also use the copy and paste commands (respectively Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) from an Excel file already containing the expected columns,

Enter rate values (kbits/s) on uplink and on downlink relating to different services for each transmitter, Press OK to validate the map creation.

The created traffic maps per transmitter and per service are listed in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Traffic folder. To continue the coverage area map description, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the coverage area traffic map you want to access properties to open the associated

context menu, Choose the Properties option from the opened scrolling list, Click on the General tab from the opened window to define :

The terminal and mobility distribution in the traffic scenario by entering percentage values for each terminal and each mobility type,

A specific weight for each clutter class. The spreading operation is processed on each coverage area,

Click OK or Apply to validate. The rate values or the number of users per sector and per service can be modified by accessing the associated traffic map table (double click on the map or Open command in the context menu). These data are directly considered to calculate the activity probability in the simulation process. Note : In CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, it is necessary to define one map per radio configuration. Thus, enter a percentage value different from 0 for a given radio configuration (choose the same radio configuration, for terminal and mobility), and 0 for the other ones.



IX.5.6.l IMPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER To import a traffic map based on service and transmitter, proceed as follows :

Either, Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Traffic density folder to open the associated context menu, Select the New map command from the scrolling menu, Choose the map based on transmitter and service (Throughput or number of users per

transmitter) option in the Create a traffic map opened window,

Press the button, or

Choose the Import command from the File Menu in the menu bar, Indicate the path, the name and the format of the file to import in the opened dialog box. Only files with

.agd format (ATOLL internal format) is supported for this type of import, Press Open to validate, Choose the CDMA/CDMA 2000 traffic option from the scrolling menu in the opened File import window,

Press the button to validate, Use the What's this help to get description about fields available in the opened window, Check the type of map to consider (throughput or number of users per transmitter) and fill the standard

fields dealing with terminal and mobility distribution, weighted number of users per clutter class, and display of the current map,

Click OK to complete the import procedure.

IX.5.6.m EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER Like other UMTS traffic maps (raster or vector), it is possible to export traffic maps based on service and transmitter. To export a UMTS traffic map based on service and transmitter, proceed as follows :

Click the Geo tab in the Explorer window, Expand the UMTS traffic folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the cell traffic map folder to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Save as... option from the opened scrolling menu, Define the format, the directory path and the name to give to the file to be exported. Only .agd format

(ATOLL internal format) can be taken to export such traffic maps, Click the Save button to complete the export procedure.

IX.6 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS

IX.6.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS : OVERVIEW Power control simulation is a necessary step to obtain instantaneous network noise level and perform service area prediction based on it. Furthermore, it is a first, quick and easy analysis tool to get information about network dimensioning. Traffic data is a critical parameter for CDMA studies. Indeed, power control simulation is performed from user distributions, which are obtained by random trials driven by traffic data. Its significance rests on traffic data relevance. ATOLL provides a random user distribution generation, based on a Monte-Carlo algorithm complying with traffic description and cartography. Once realistic user distributions are available, power control simulation is automatically achieved to determine network parameters (such as cells and terminal - radio configuration - powers) and estimate interference level. ATOLL provides either actual network audit (taking into account your network constraints) or new dimensioning information about how to handle available traffic. On the same traffic snapshot, you can check how your network works and can be improved. ATOLL offers a wide range of tuneable parameters involved in CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations. Even from existing simulations, it is possible to modify these parameters with the replay simulations features offered by ATOLL. You may also add simulations to a group of existing simulations. Averaging a group of simulations is also possible. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA/CDMA 2000 coverage predictions. Indeed, for CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, ATOLL provides four different groups of studies, listed in a natural planning



order, from the indispensable pilot study to the study of downlink total noise, with respect to the propagation model as defined : Pilot-oriented studies to determine pilot coverage by transmitter, the pilot coverage by signal level, overlapping

area (like standard coverage studies), pilot quality (Ec/Io) and pilot pollution, Service-oriented studies to determine service availability in uplink and downlink and effective service areas, handover status study to analyse macro-diversity performance, Downlink total noise study.

A specific 1xEV-DO coverage is also available for CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects, but this is not relative to any simulation. With the point analysis tool, it is also possible to build a CDMA scenario defining a probe mobile with a type of terminal, SCH multiple rate and service and predict, on each point of the current map, its results. Except pilot coverage, coverage by signal level and overlapping studies, which are similar to classical coverage studies, all other studies are specific to CDMA/CDMA 2000 network planning and closely related to a particular simulation. ATOLL provides powerful simulation outputs. Firstly, you can display requirements, results, initial conditions, and data relative to clutter data dealing with shadowing margins and gains due to multipath on any of these. Then, you may choose to display the simulation results either per site, per transmitter, or per mobile for the currently studied simulation. The results can also be displayed on the map as function of any topics dealt with the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations (service, terminal, user, mobility, activity, factors, connection and HO status, best server, active set parameters, geographic coordinates, rates, carriers, powers, noise rise, path loss).

IX.6.2 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS IX.6.2.a CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 POWER CONTROL SIMULATIONS

CDMA/CDMA 2000 networks automatically regulate themselves by using traffic driven uplink and downlink power control in order to minimize interference and maximize capacity. ATOLL simulates this network regulation mechanism with an iterative algorithm and calculates, for each user distribution, network parameters such as base station power, mobile terminal (RC) power, active set and handover status for each terminal. To create a (group of) CDMA/CDMA 2000 power control simulation(s), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New..., The creation of simulations dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters for the current simulation study(ies), Validate by clicking on OK.

Notes : If you check the execute later box, computations will be started when using the Calculate command (F7 shortcut

or button), When starting computations, a group of simulations (with the input number of simulations) is automatically created

under the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation folder. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA/CDMA 2000 coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

IX.6.2.b MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION PROPERTIES Like many other objects (Sites, Transmitters, Cells, Antennas, Predictions, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, simulations can be managed either individually or globally. Nevertheless, due to the fact that some of them have already been started, you can only display their input parameters. Regarding the global properties of simulations, they are related to the way simulation results are displayed on the map. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the display properties of the existing simulations. To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations folder to open the context menu,



Left click the Properties command from the opened scrolling menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

Note : to manage the display of simulation results, the ATOLL generic dialog window is used. So, it is possible to display simulation results related to, for example, their connection status, handover status, any CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameter, pilot quality, etc... Furthermore, all simulation folders are then organised in threshold items that you can display or not in the workspace. Individual property management

If computations have already been started, the properties you can display on groups of simulations are related to the input parameters. To open the properties related to a group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Either

Right click on the group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations you want to manage, Choose the Properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click the group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations you want to manage

Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window. Notes : If computations have not been started (using the execute later command), you can access to the group properties

in order to modify them for coming computations. You can access to the Properties of any single simulation. The opened dialog is related to simulations

requirements and results, specific results per site, per mobile, per cell and simulation initial conditions.

IX.6.2.c CDMA/CDMA 2000 POWER CONTROL SIMULATION INPUTS Before running simulations, you must have a radio network with a satisfying pilot coverage. Then, it is necessary to define traffic description and cartography. Power control simulation needs propagation path loss for cells and mobiles. If these results are not available, ATOLL achieves propagation calculation using the propagation model as defined from either the transmitter or the prediction folders. In ATOLL, the dialog allowing you to create simulations is made of three tabs : General, Traffic and Advanced described below. General tab

In this tab, you can enter a name to the group of simulations that ATOLL is going to compute. Then, you may decide the number of scenarios on which you want to simulate power control. It is possible to create several simulations at the same time or just one by one if you prefer. Selecting the Detailed results option enables you to get additional simulation outputs relating to mobiles (results available in the Mobiles and Mobiles (Shadowing values) tabs of the simulation Properties window). Finally, the Execute later option can be used if you want to predefine simulation calculation settings and start the computation subsequently. In case the option is selected, simulation calculation is not carried out when closing the

dialog; simulation will be worked out when clicking on the Calculate command (F7 shortcut or button), Note : The Execute later feature enables you to automatically calculate CDMA/CDMA 2000 coverage studies after simulations without intermediary step. In the Cell load constraint part, you must select constraints you want ATOLL to respect during power control simulation. If you wish to check your network, just select the constraints about maximum cell power, maximum number of channel elements, maximum uplink cell load (the default value is set to 75%) and Walsh codes availability. The simulation proceeds without exceeding these limits. Mobiles with the lowest service priority (user-defined in each service properties dialog window) are first rejected. In order for the simulation to proceed freely, uncheck all the calculation options. Traffic tab

The global scaling factor for traffic option enables you to increase subscriber density without changing traffic parameters or cartography. For example, setting the global scaling factor for traffic to 2 means doubling the initial number of subscribers (for traffic raster or vector traffic maps) or the rates/users (for traffic maps per transmitter and per service). Then, you can perform simulations using several traffic cartographies. To do this, select them in the Traffic part. In this case, ATOLL takes into account the traffic information provided in all the selected maps. This feature must be carefully



used to avoid inconsistencies. Thus, make sure you do not mix several kinds of traffic maps (for example, raster traffic map and transmitter coverage area traffic map) in a simulation study; rather, make several simulation studies, each one based on a same sort of traffic map. On the other hand, you can fully carry out a simulation study using several traffic maps belonging to the same kind. Advanced tab

Generator initialisation enables you to obtain the same random distribution in two simulations just by giving the same non-zero integer in this field. For example, you create a simulation with generator initialisation value of 1 (or whichever integer different from 0). When you create another simulation, giving 1 as generator initialisation, you obtain the same random distribution. To avoid getting similar distributions, just enter zero value in this field. A group of several distributions created at the same time may be repeated with the same principle. This can be useful when one wants to compare two simulations with just one parameter value difference; so to make a just comparison, it is better to have the same user locations (same path loss values for users). You can then specify the maximum number of iterations allowed during a simulation, UL and DL convergence thresholds. The power control simulation is based on an iterative algorithm. In the Convergence part, you can define how many iterations you want the simulation to run (maximum number of iterations) and specify your own uplink and downlink convergence criteria (percentage power difference for downlink and percentage noise difference for uplink between two successive iterations). When clicking OK, simulation starts running and stops when the convergence criteria are met in two successive iterations (when there is no network parameter evolution). Therefore, the simulation can finish before reaching the maximum number of defined iterations. When calculation is finished, ATOLL has created the required number of simulations in the newly created group of simulations. ATOLL makes easy the consistency management between radio data, simulations and predictions. Average simulations and replays are reachable from each of these subfolders. Display properties are reachable form the Simulations folder.

IX.6.2.d REPLAYING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION ATOLL allows the user to replay existing simulations in order to keep the same radio configuration (including reference maps, initialisation number) and to modify the convergence parameters and the constraints on the cell loads. The new group of simulations is based on the same random user distribution (number of users who try to be connected, allocated service, mobility and activity status, geographic position), just the power control is recalculated and the outputs updated. To replay a group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations (one of several ones), proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation group subfolder you want to replay the simulations to

open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Replay..., The replay simulation(s) dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters on the convergence parameters and the constraints on the cell loads for the current

group of simulations to replay, Validate by clicking on OK.

Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool. Note : giving several times the same integer number (different from 0) as initialisation number in the simulation creation dialog box leads to replay simulations with identical user random distribution. See Generator initialisation - Replay differences Comment: as the generator initialisation function, this feature enables you to obtain the same user distribution in two simulations. Nevertheless, the generator initialisation option is more powerful since it can be used to create several



simulations with the same distribution at the same time and several sets of different simulations with the same set of distributions.

IX.6.2.e GENERATOR INITIALISATION - REPLAY DIFFERENCES (CDMA/CDMA 2000) The main differences between two features are the inputs taken into account in simulations. Comparison is detailed below. Replay: ATOLL reuses the same user distribution (user with a service, a mobility and an activity status) and traffic

parameters (such as maximum and minimum traffic channel powers allowed, Eb/Nt targets...) as in the initial simulation. Just radio data (new transmitter, azimuth...) modifications are taken into account during power control simulation.

Generator initialisation: If generator initialisation entered when creating both simulations is an integer different

from 0, ATOLL finds the same user distribution (user with a service, a mobility and an activity status) in both simulations. On the other hand, in this case, both traffic parameter (such as maximum and minimum traffic channel powers allowed, Eb/Nt targets...) and radio data (new transmitter, azimuth...) modifications are taken into account during power control simulation.

IX.6.2.f AVERAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS With ATOLL, it is possible to average some available groups of simulations. This feature also allows the user to calculate standard deviations on the averaged simulations. Results are automatically displayed per cell, as in a single simulation. To display average results per cell over a group of CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation group subfolder you want to average the simulations

to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Average simulations..., The average simulation dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click on the available tabs to display either the Statistics, Means or Standard deviation window, Click OK to close the window.

Average simulations may be used in specific CDMA coverage predictions or in an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

IX.6.2.g ADDING A SIMULATION TO AN EXISTING GROUP OF CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS In ATOLL, It is possible to add a new simulation to an existing group of simulations. When creating the new simulation, ATOLL takes into account the same inputs (radio and traffic data, simulation parameters) as used for generating the group of simulations and replays user distribution and power control simulation. To add a simulation to an existing group of simulations, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the simulation group on which you want to add a simulation, Choose the New... command from the opened context menu, A new simulation is being computed using the parameters of the current group, After calculation, a new simulation is added to the group.

Note : The added simulation is then considered if you calculate an average simulation.

IX.6.3 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION PROCESS IX.6.3.a POWER CONTROL CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION CONCEPTS

Power control consists of two steps in ATOLL : 1st step : obtaining realistic user distribution



To get user distribution, you need to have traffic cartography at your disposal. Each user is assigned a service, a mobility type (RC) and an activity status by random trial, according to a probability law that complies with the traffic database. User activity status is an important output of random distribution, which will have direct consequences on simulation and network noise level. A user is either active or inactive: Active means: a radio resource has been allocated to the user, and the user is speaking (i.e. he creates

interference both on the downlink and the uplink). Inactive means: a radio resource has been allocated to the user, but he is not speaking (i.e. he does not create

any interference). A second random trial determines user positions in their respective traffic zone. 2nd step : Power control simulation Power control simulation needs propagation path loss for transmitters and mobiles. If these results are not available, ATOLL achieves propagation calculation using the propagation model as defined from either the transmitter or the prediction folders. Based on CDMA air interface, network automatically regulates itself by using traffic driven uplink and downlink power control in order to minimize interference and maximize capacity. ATOLL simulates this network regulation mechanism with an iterative algorithm and calculates, for each user distribution, network parameters such as base station power, mobile terminal power, active set and handover status for each terminal. The power control simulation is based on an iterative algorithm. Each iteration, all the mobiles selected during the user distribution generation (1st step) try to be connected one by one to network transmitters. The process is repeated from iteration to iteration until convergence. The algorithm steps are detailed below.

Initialisation

2nd step : Mi active set determination

3rd step : Uplink power control+


1st step : Mi best server determination

For each mobile Mi

4th step : Downlink power control +


5th step : Uplink and downlink interference update

Congestion and radio resource control

Convergence study

Schematic view of power control simulation algorithm



In CDMA/CDMA 2000 , downlink power control simulation is independently carried out on fundamental channel and on supplemental channel. Point analysis (Downlink availability) and prediction study (Service area Downlink) are based on the same principle. During power control simulation, the DL rate on SCH is downgraded until the DL quality level on SCH is reached. SCH is not used when the downgraded rate is twice lower than the rate on FCH. Practically, the DL rate on SCH is multiplied by a downgrading factor which is 2(-k) multiple. Therefore, the number of rejections due to an insufficient reception on traffic channel (Ptch > PtchMax) should decrease. Moreover, during power control simulation, the UL rate on SCH is downgraded until the required power on UL is lower than the mobile maximum power. SCH is not used when the downgraded rate is lower than twice the FCH rate. Practically, the UL rate on SCH is multiplied by a downgrading factor, which is a multiple of 2(-k) (every downgrading step is halving). Therefore, the number of rejections due to an insufficient power to transmit (Pmob > PmobMax) should decrease. SCH downgrading is also modelled during power control simulation when there is not enough channel elements on UL and DL to enable the link. Therefore, mobile will be rejected only if site lacks of channel elements to support FCH. As in case of DL downgrading due to an insufficient reception on traffic channel, the downgrading is driven by the best server of active set. Therefore, no downgrading occurs if there is not enough channel elements on sites where other transmitters of active set are located; mobile is directly rejected. Notes : Power control on SCH will be carried out just for data service users. During simulation, mobiles penalizing too much the others are ejected. Different causes of ejection can be distinguished: The signal quality is not sufficient:

- On the downlink, not enough pilot signal quality: Ec/I0 pilot < Ec/I0 min pilot - On the downlink, not enough reception on traffic channel: Ptch > Ptch max (FCH or SCH) - On the uplink, not enough power to transmit: Pmob > Pmob max When constraints above are respected, the network may be saturated:

- The maximum load factor is exceeded (at admission or congestion). - Not enough channel elements on site: channel element saturation - Not enough power for cells: Cell power saturation - OVSF code saturation When the network is saturated; mobile ejection may be due to different reasons described above: multiple causes.

IX.6.3.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION CONVERGENCE METHOD The convergence criteria is evaluated as follows: Each iteration k, ATOLL evaluates:

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )( )

×

−

×

−=∆

×

−

×

−=∆

−−

−−

100max

int,100maxintmax

100max

int,100max

intmax

11

11

icN

icNicN

icIicIicI

icN

icNicN

icP

icPicP

kULuser

kULuserk

ULuserStations

kULtot

kULtotk

ULtot

StationsUL

kDLuser

kDLuserk

DLuserStations

ktx

ktxktxStationsDL

Where:

UL∆ is the UL convergence threshold, DL∆ is the DL convergence threshold,

( )icPtx is the cell total transmitted power on the carrier ic, ( )icIUL

tot is the total interference received by cell on the carrier ic, ( )icNUL

user is the number of users connected on UL on the carrier ic, ( )icNDL

user is the number of users connected on DL on the carrier ic, ATOLL stops the algorithm if:

1st case: Between two successive iterations, UL∆ and DL∆ are lower ( ≤ ) than their respective thresholds (defined when creating a simulation).



The simulation has reached convergence. Example: Let us assume that the maximum number of iterations is 100, UL and DL convergence thresholds are 5. If

5≤∆UL and 5≤∆DL between the 4th and the 5th iteration, ATOLL stops the algorithm after the 5th iteration. Convergence is reached.

2nd case: After 30 iterations, UL∆ or/and DL∆ are still higher than their respective thresholds and from the 30th

iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ do not decrease during 15 successive iterations. The simulation has not reached convergence (specific divergence symbol). Examples: Let us assume that the maximum number of iterations is 100, UL and DL convergence thresholds are 5.

- 1. After the 30th iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ equal 100 and do not decrease during 15 successive iterations: ATOLL stops the algorithm at the 46th iteration. Convergence is not reached.

- 2. After the 30th iteration, UL∆ or/and DL∆ equal 80, they start decreasing slowly until the 40th iteration (without going under the thresholds) and then, do not change during 15 successive iterations: ATOLL stops the algorithm at the 56th iteration without reaching convergence. 3rd case: After the last iteration.

If UL∆ or/and DL∆ are still strictly higher than their respective thresholds, the simulation has not reached convergence (specific divergence symbol).

If UL∆ and DL∆ are lower than their respective thresholds, the simulation has reached convergence.

IX.6.3.c ADMISSION CONTROL IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ATOLL checks cell UL load during admission control (1st step: mobile best server determination) and congestion control (after considering all the mobiles during an iteration). Therefore, a mobile can be rejected due to a higher UL load either during admission control, or during congestion control. It is possible to distinguish both rejection causes. A bit more information concerning the admission control is provided. During admission control, ATOLL calculates the uplink load factor of a considered cell assuming the handled mobile is connected to it. Here, activity status assigned to users is not taken into account. So even if the mobile is not active on UL, it can be rejected due to cell load saturation. To calculate the cell UL load factor, either ATOLL takes into account mobile power determined during power control if mobile was connected in previous iteration, or it estimates a load rise due to mobile and adds it to the current load. The load rise ( ULX∆ ) is calculated as follows:

RQWX

ULb

ULreq

UL

×+

=∆1

1

Where W is the chip rate (bit/s), QUL

req is the Eb/Nt target on uplink (defined in service properties for a given mobility), RUL

b is the service uplink effective bit rate (bit/s).

IX.6.3.d CHANNEL ELEMENT MANAGEMENT IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS In ATOLL, the number of channel elements needed for a user with given service and link direction depends on site equipment and channel element consumption defined for the equipment-service couple.

IX.6.3.e WALSH CODES MANAGEMENT Walsh codes can be managed on the downlink during the simulation. ATOLL performs Walsh code allocation during the resource control step. Walsh codes form a binary tree; codes with a longer length are generated from codes with a shorter length. Indeed, length-k Walsh codes are generated from length-k/2 Walsh codes. Therefore, if one channel needs 1 length-k/2 Walsh code; it is equivalent to use 2 length-k Walsh codes, or 4 length-2k Walsh codes,….



128 Walsh codes per transmitter and per carrier are available in CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects while 512 codes are available in UMTS projects. During the resource control, ATOLL determines, for each transmitter and each carrier, the number of codes, which will be consumed. Therefore, it allocates: A code with the longest length per common channel, for each transmitter end each carrier, A code per transmitter-receiver link, for FCH. The length of code to be allocated, Code-Length, is determined as

follows:

WRLengthCode FCHDLb =×− −

A code per transmitter-receiver link, for SCH, in case SCH is supported by the user radio configuration. The length of code to be allocated, Code-Length, is determined as follows:

WRLengthCode SCHDLb =×− −

where,

R FCHDLb

− is the service downlink bit rate on FCH,

R SCHDLb

− is the service downlink bit rate on SCH,

W is the spreading bandwidth.

Note : GlengthCode DLp=− (GDL

p is the service downlink processing gain). The Walsh code allocation follows the “Buddy” algorithm, which guarantees that: If a k-length Walsh code is used, all of its children with lengths 2k, 4k… cannot be used because they are no longer orthogonal. If a k-length Walsh code is used, all of its ancestors with lengths k/2, k/4… cannot be used because they are no longer orthogonal. Notes : 1. The Walsh code allocation follows the mobile connection order (mobile order in the Mobiles tab). 2. The Walsh code and channel element management is differently dealt with in case of “softer” handover. ATOLL allocates Walsh codes for each transmitter-receiver link while it globally assigns channel elements to a site. Example: In CDMA/CDMA 2000 , let a voice user with a RC1 be in softer handover. Therefore, ATOLL will allocate two Walsh codes (one for each transmitter-receiver link) and only one channel element to the site.

IX.6.3.f WALSH CODES AVAILABILITY An additional constraint on the Walsh codes, Number of codes, is available when creating simulation. Therefore, when selecting the Number of codes option, ATOLL checks the Walsh code availability and then: Ejects the mobile if there is no Walsh code to support FCH rate. Downgrades the DL SCH rate if there is no Walsh code free to support the requested SCH rate and enable the

link.



Therefore, a mobile will be rejected for code saturation cause only if there is no Walsh code to support FCH rate. The unavailability of Walsh code to support SCH rate leads to a DL SCH rate downgrading. Note : When the Number of codes option is not selected, ATOLL just checks the Walsh code availability. No DL SCH rate downgrading is performed in case of Walsh code unavailability. See Walsh codes management

IX.6.3.g MODELLING SHADOWING IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS In order to take into account prediction errors along paths in CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations, ATOLL keeps a neutral predicted path loss for mobiles; a random shadowing value is computed and added to the average predicted path loss. Reliability level and shadowing margin are then introduced in prediction studies and point analysis only. From a user-defined model standard deviation associated to the receiver position, a random shadowing error is

computed and added to the model path loss ( Lpath ). This random vale is drawn during Monte-Carlo simulation; each user is assigned a service, a mobility type (RC), an activity status, a geographic position and a random shadowing value. For each link, path loss (L) can be broken down:

ξLL path += ξ is a zero mean gaussian random variable ( )dB,σG 0 representing variation due to shadowing. It can be expressed as

the sum of two uncorrelated zero mean gaussian random variables, Lξ and Pξ . Lξ models error related to the receiver

local environment; it is the same whichever the link. Pξ models error related to the path between transmitter and receiver. Therefore, in case of two links, we have:



From iξ , the model standard deviation ( )σ and the correlation coefficient ( )ρ between 1ξ and 2ξ , we can calculate

standard deviations of Lξ ( )Lσ and iPξ ( )Pσ (assuming all

iPξ have the same standard deviations).

We have:

222PL σσσ +=

2

2

σσρ L=

Therefore,

( )ρσσP −×= 122

ρσσL ×= 22

There is currently no agreed model for predicting correlation coefficient ( )ρ between 1ξ and 2ξ . Two key variables influence correlation: The angle between the two paths. If this angle is small, correlation is high. The relative values of the two path lengths. If angle is 0 and path lengths are the same, correlation is zero. Correlation is different from zero when path lengths differ. A simple model has been found [1]:

21

DD

φφρ

γT

=

when πφφ ≤≤T

Tφ is a function of the mean size of obstacles near the receiver and is also linked to the receiver environment. In a normal handover state, assuming a hexagonal schema for sites, φ is close to (+/- /3) and D1/D2 is close to 1. We found in literature that ρ = 0.5 when γ = 0.3 and ϕt = π/10.



In ATOLL, ρ is set to 0.5. So, we have:

2σσL =

and

2σσP =

Therefore, to model shadowing error common with all signals arriving at mobile ( E ceiverShadowingRe

), values are randomly drawn

for each mobile; they follows a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard deviation

2σ

where ( )σ is the standard deviation associated to the mobile clutter class. Then, for each mobile-transmitter couple, ATOLL draws

another value representing shadowing part uncorrelated with the position of the mobile ( EPathShadowing ); this value follows a

zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard deviation

2σ

. Random shadowing error means are centred on zero. Hence, this shadowing modelling method has no impact on the simulated network load. On the other hand, as shadowing errors on the receiver-transmitter links are uncorrelated, the method will influence the evaluated SHO gain in case mobile is in SHO. Random shadowing values used for each mobile and mobile-transmitter pair are detailed in simulation results.

IX.6.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION RESULTS SUMMARY IX.6.4.a DISPLAYING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION REQUIREMENTS AND RESULTS

When a simulation study has been created, ATOLL creates a statistical report on simulation results. A part is dedicated to traffic request determined from the 1st step of simulation (traffic scenario elaboration) and another one refers to network performance (results coming from 2nd step of simulation: power control). If a focus zone has been defined in your project, only sites, transmitters and mobiles located inside the focus zone are considered when accessing simulation results. The global output statistics are based on these mobiles. Traffic request: ATOLL calculates the total number of users who try to be connected. It is a result of the first random trial, the

power control has not yet been achieved. This result depends on the traffic description and cartography. During the first random trial, each user is assigned a service. Therefore, UL and DL rates that all the users could

theoretically generate are provided. Breakdown (number of users, UL and DL rates) per service is given.

Results: The number and the percentage of rejected users are calculated and detailed per rejection cause. These results

are determined after the power control and depend on network design. ATOLL supplies the total number and the percentage of connected users, UL and DL total rates that they

generate. These data are also detailed per service. To display requirements and results on any simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the requests and


Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the requests and results to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the requests and results, Click on the Statistics tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,



Click OK to close the window. Note : The traffic rates are calculated at the user level without taking into account handover. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA/CDMA 2000 coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

IX.6.4.b DISPLAYING INPUT PARAMETERS OF AN EXISTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION After a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation, ATOLL can display the associated transmitter global parameters and the inputs defined during the simulation creation To display the input parameters of an existing simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the initial

conditions by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the initial conditions to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the initial conditions, Click on the Initial conditions tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

The initial condition tab window contains : The transmitter global parameters as:

- The spreading width, - The orthogonality factor, - The default uplink soft handover gain, - The MRC in softer/soft option: if it is defined or not, - The method used to calculate Io The inputs available when creating simulation:

- The maximum number of iterations, - The uplink and downlink convergence thresholds, - The simulation constraints such as the maximum power, the maximum number of channel elements, the uplink load factor and the maximum load, - The name of used traffic maps. Then, if available, are displayed the values of orthogonality factor and standard deviation as defined per clutter type. Note : When the simulation does not converge (UL and DL convergence criteria not reached at the end of the simulation), ATOLL displays a special warning icon in front of Simulation object.

IX.6.4.c SUMMARISING RESULTS PER SITE (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS) After a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per site. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :



Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per site to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per site, Click on the Sites tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,



Click OK to close the window. In this window, ATOLL displays the maximum number of channel elements previously defined for each site, the number of required channel elements in uplink and downlink at the end of simulation, the number of extra channel elements due to soft handover, the properties related to each site equipment (MUD factor, Rake receiver efficiency factor, carrier selection mode, AS restricted to neighbours option and overhead channel elements on uplink and downlink), the uplink and downlink throughputs (kbits/s) per service supported by site. The UL and DL throughputs are the number of kbits per second supported by the site on uplink and downlink to supply (mobiles connected with the transmitters located on the site) one kind of services. The throughput calculation takes into account the handover connections. If the maximum channel element number is exceeded, sites are displayed with red colour.

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

IX.6.4.d SUMMARISING RESULTS PER CELL (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS) After a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per cell. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display the results per cell


Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per cell to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per cell, Click on the Transmitters tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

In this window, ATOLL provides the simulation input data like the maximum power, the pilot power, the synchro power, the paging power, the AS threshold (which is a cell parameter since version 2.1), the gain, the reception and transmission losses, the noise figure, and simulation output data regarding cells such as the total DL power used (on the fundamental and on the supplemental channel), the UL total noise, the UL and DL load factors, the UL and DL noise rises, the percentage of used power, the UL reuse factor, the number of UL and DL links, the number of used Walsh codes, the percentage of handover types (on FCH and SCH), the UL and DL throughputs (on FCH and SCH), the minimum, maximum and average traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each cause for each cell. See Simulation outputs on cell components

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. The "Commit loads" button permits to copy UL loads and total powers DL (or their average in the case of several carriers) in the cell table in order to be taken potentially as reference for specific CDMA predictions (by selecting the None option from the simulation scrolling box). Average simulations are ordered by cells. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.

IX.6.4.e COMMITTING SIMULATED LOADS TO CELLS (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS) In ATOLL, to enable simulation result sharing, two fields, the UL load (UL load factor) and total power (total DL power used), are available in cell properties. Both parameters can be results coming from a single or an average simulation or inputs manually specified in the Cell table or in the Transmission/Reception tab of each cell Property window. To assign any simulated UL load factor and total DL power to cells from a network, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window,



Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to use the simulated results


Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to use the simulated results to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to use the simulated results, Click on the Cells tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Click the to assign calculated loads and total powers to cells, Values are automatically copied in each cell properties window, Click OK to close the window.

When assigned to cells, these values can be used for coverages based on no simulation. Note : this feature is also available from the mean tab window of any average simulation. Reminder : the Commit load button is inactive as long as both fields, UL load and total power, do not exist.

IX.6.4.f SUMMARISING RESULTS PER MOBILE (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS) After a CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation, ATOLL can display the associated results per mobile. To display the results on any simulation per site, proceed as follows :



Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per mobile to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the results per mobile, Click on the Mobiles tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

In this window, ATOLL gives information about calculated terminal parameters. First, ATOLL mentions simulation input data: X, Y, service, terminal, user profile, user mobility and activity obtained from random trial. ATOLL displays simulation output data for these users: carrier, DL and UL requested and obtained rates, mobile power (on the fundamental channel and on the supplemental channel), best server, connection status, handover status, transmitters in active set and Ec/Io from cells in active set. ATOLL displays which carrier is used for connection and calculates the power transmitted by the terminal (on FCH and SCH) . ATOLL identifies the best server among the cells taking part in mobile active set. Connection status refers to mobile ejection causes previously defined. It gives the reasons why the mobile, even active, is not connected to any transmitter at the end of the simulation. ATOLL allows to analyse what type of handover is possible for a mobile; providing the HO status information. HO status represents the real number of sites compared to the number of cells in active set. For example, when a mobile is in connection with three cells and among them two co-site cells (soft - softer handover), its HO status is 2/3. When the mobile is connected with only one transmitter (no handover) its HO status is 1/1. When the mobile is connected with three co-site transmitters (softer - softer handover), its HO status is 1/3. Active set is the list of transmitters (or cells since on unique carrier) in connection with the mobile. The maximum number of transmitters in active set is defined by the user in Terminal Properties and besides limited to 4 in ATOLL. Soft



handover can be enabled/disabled for every service. For each transmitter in active set, Ec/Io values are calculated and may be compared to Ec/Io thresholds and T-Drop previously defined in Mobility Type Properties. Transmitters, which provide an Ec/Io pilot quality that is lower than [ Best server Ec/Io - AS-threshold ], are rejected from the active set.

Note : The allows the user to choose the data to be displayed in the current table. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool. Ticking the Detailed results box during the simulation creation enables you to get additional simulation outputs relating to mobiles and shadowing values computed along paths between transmitters and mobiles.

IX.6.4.g DISPLAYING SHADOWING VALUES OF A CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION This feature is available only when selecting the Detailed results option in the simulation creation dialog. Here, ATOLL details for each mobile: Its number Id, The clutter class where the receiver is located, The model standard deviation associated to the clutter class,

The random shadowing error ( E ceiverShadowingRe

) related to the receiver local environment (Value at receiver); this one is the same whichever the link.

The random shadowing errors ( EPathShadowing ) due to the transmitter-receiver path (Value). ATOLL gives this error

for a maximum of ten paths; it considers the ten transmitters, which have the mobile in their calculation areas and the lowest path losses (Lpath). Transmitters are sorted in an ascending path loss order.

To display shadowing values for each mobile in any simulation, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the simulation group subfolder containing the simulation you want to display by left clicking on

the button, Either

Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the clutter data to open the associated context menu,


Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation you want to display the clutter data, Click on the Mobile (Shadowing values) tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Click OK to close the window.

Notes

The values E ceiverShadowingRe

computed for all the mobiles follow a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard

deviation

2σ

.

The values EPathShadowing computed for a given mobile follow a zero-mean gaussian distribution with a standard

deviation

2σ

.

IX.6.4.h MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION RESULTS ON THE MAP From any simulation, ATOLL can, globally or individually, display the associated results on the map in several ways. These can be managed globally for all the simulations. To make available the display dialog window on all the simulations of the current project, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab from the Explorer window, Expand the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder by left clicking on the button, Either,

Right click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Properties...,



Or, Double click on the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulations folder,

Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the display parameters for all the simulations of the current project, Click OK to close the window.

Like for most of the other display dialog windows in ATOLL, you can choose the display type associated with the values (unique, discrete, values interval) and some corresponding fields. Due to the complexity of CDMA/CDMA 2000 technology simulations, these fields are numerous and can be obtained as indicated in the following table. Display type Field

Unique All the simulations

Discrete Values Service

Terminal User Mobility Activity Carrier Connection status Best server HO status Asi Clutter

Value intervals X Y DL requested rate (kbits/s) UL requested rate (kbits/s) DL obtained rate (kbits/s) UL obtained rate (kbits/s) Mobile FCH power Mobile SCH power Ec/Io Asi Cell power FCH Asi (DL) Cell power SCH Asi (DL) Ntot DL ASi Load factor Asi Noise rise Asi Reuse factor Asi Iintra Asi Iextra Asi Total path loss Asi Nb UL CEs Nb DL CEs Name Orthogonality factor Macro-diversity gain UL Macro-diversity gain DL

Note : Existing simulations, in the explorer window contain sub-items which depend on results are displayed on the map. The simulation display is managed with the standard display dialog in use under ATOLL. Once achieved, simulations are available for specific CDMA coverage predictions or for an AS analysis with the point analysis tool.



IX.6.5 CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS IX.6.5.a CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON SITES

Each site is characterised by its maximum number of channel elements previously defined. Results are detailed for : The number of channel elements required on uplink and downlink on FCH and SCH channels at the end of

simulation, The number of channel elements due to soft handover overhead, for UL and DL (Nb CEs due to SHO

overhead UL and DL), The properties related to the equipment associated to each site (parameters used during simulation) : MUD

factor, Rake receiver efficiency factor, carrier selection mode, AS restricted to neighbours option and overhead channel elements on uplink and downlink

The uplink and downlink throughputs (kbits/s) per service supported by site on FCH and SCH channels. UL and DL throughputs are the number of kbits per second supported by the site on uplink and downlink to supply (mobiles connected with the transmitters located on the site) a particular service. The throughput calculation takes into account the handover connections.

IX.6.5.b CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is defined by its carrier, its maximum power, the pilot power, the sync power, the paging power, the AS threshold, the gain, reception and transmission losses, the noise figure. Results are detailed for the total power used on a carrier (DL), DL FCH and SCH powers, the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, UL and DL noise rises, the percentage of used power, the reuse factor, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of Walsh codes allocated to a transmitter, the number of Walsh codes dedicated to FCH, then to SCH, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL number of channel elements used on FCH and on SCH, the UL and DL throughputs on FCH and SCH, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason. See CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on cell components

IX.6.5.c CDMA/CDMA 2000 AVERAGE SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is detailed by its carrier and the average on the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, UL and DL noise rises, the total power used, the percentage of used power, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of Walsh codes, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL throughputs, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason. See CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on cell components

IX.6.5.d CDMA/CDMA 2000 STANDARD DEVIATION OF SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS Each cell is detailed by its cell and the standard deviation of the UL total noise, UL and DL load factors, the total power used, the percentage of used power, the number of UL and DL radio links, the number of Walsh codes, the percentage of each handover type, the UL and DL throughputs, minimum, average and maximum traffic channel powers, the number of users rejected for each reason.

IX.6.5.e CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELL COMPONENTS The total power used is the total power that the transmitter transmits on a carrier. When constraints are settled,

the calculated power cannot exceed the maximum power value previously defined in Transmitter Properties. The total FCH Power used is the power transmitted on FCH. The total SCH Power used is the power transmitted on SCH. The uplink total noise takes into account the total signal received at the transmitter on a carrier (from intracell and

extracell terminals) and the thermal noise. From uplink total noise and uplink interference, ATOLL calculates uplink transmitter load factor on a carrier. If this

constraint has been selected, UL cell load factor is not allowed to exceed the user-defined value. The uplink reuse factor is determined from uplink intra and extra-cellular interference (signals received by the

transmitter respectively from intracell and extracell terminals). The DL load factor of the cell i corresponds to the (DL average interference [due to transmitter signals on the

same carrier] for terminals in the transmitter i area) / (DL average total noise [due to transmitter signals and to thermal noise of terminals] for terminals in the transmitter i area) ratio.

The uplink and downlink noise rises are respectively calculated from uplink and downlink load factors. These data point out the signal degradation due to cell load (interference margin in the link budget).



The percentage of used power is determined from the total DL power-maximum power ratio (power stated in W). This value also represents of the cell DL loading (percentage of DL capacity reached).

Reminder: the maximum power is an input data user-definable for each cell in the Properties window. On the other hand, the power is a simulation output data calculated for each transmitter, carrier by carrier. ATOLL estimates the percentages of handover status which the transmitter takes part in. HO status represents the number of sites compared to the number of transmitters in active set size. Active set is the list of transmitters in connection with mobiles. The maximum number of transmitters in the active set is defined by the user in Terminal Properties and limited to 6 for CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects. For example, when a mobile is in connection with three transmitters and among them two co-site transmitters (soft - softer handover), its HO status is 2/3. When the mobile is connected with only one transmitter (no handover), its HO status is 1/1. When the mobile is connected with three co-site transmitters (softer-softer handover), its HO status is 1/3. Note : ATOLL details only the results for the following handover status, no handover (1/1), softer (1/2), soft (2/2), softer-soft (2/3) and soft-soft (3/3) handovers; the other handover status (other HO) are globally analysed. The number of radio links corresponds to the number of users-transmitters links on the same carrier. This data is

calculated on uplink and on downlink. A single user can use several radio links (handover). The number of channel elements required by FCH and SCH to provide connected mobiles with the service is

estimated on UL and DL. These data are given without taking into account handover status. Therefore, the sum of channel elements requested by transmitters on the same site may exceed the number of channel element required by the site (result provided in the Sites tab).

The uplink and downlink throughputs represent respectively the numbers of Kbits per second delivered by the transmitter on FCH and on SCH. These data are calculated on uplink and on downlink.

Minimum traffic channel power is the lowest one of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

Maximum traffic channel power is the greatest of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

Average traffic channel power is the average of the powers allocated to traffic channels for supplying services to mobiles connected to the transmitter.

IX.6.5.f CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILES Each user is defined by his location, the service and the terminal used, his profile, his mobility and his potential activity. Results are given on carriers, UL and DL requested and obtained rates, mobile total, FCH and SCH powers, connection status, best servers, HO status, active set transmitters and associated Ec/Io. If the detailed results box has been checked for the current simulation, results are also given, for each (mobile - transmitters in active set) link, on the UL and DL downgrading factors applied on the SCH, the downlink total noise, Cell powers transmitted on the FCH and the SCH, the downlink load factor, the downlink noise rise, the downlink reuse factor, the total noise received at the terminal from the transmitter area (Iintra (DL) and the total noise received at the terminal from other transmitter areas (Iextra (DL), and the total loss on the link(s). Moreover, ATOLL provides the name of the clutter class where the probe receiver is located, the orthogonality factor, the UL and DL macro diversity gains (on FCH and SCH) associated with the clutter class. See CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulation outputs on mobile components

IX.6.5.g CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILE COMPONENTS ATOLL sums up power control simulation inputs and outputs, for all the users who try to be connected. X and Y are the coordinates of users who try to be connected (geographic position determined by the 2nd random

trial). The power control is based on this order. Note : Ejected users at the end of the power control are included in this list. Service, user mobility and status activity are the 1st random trial results (user distribution generation). Terminal and user profile are based on traffic description. According to the service and activity status assigned to

a user, ATOLL determines his terminal and the corresponding user profile. The carrier used for the mobile-transmitter connection. DL and UL requested rates: they respectively correspond to the DL and UL effective bit rates of service. DL and UL obtained rates: after power control simulation, the obtained rate equals the requested rate if the mobile

is connected. Else, the obtained rate is zero. The total power transmitted by the terminal. The best server among the transmitters entering mobile active set. The Connection status refers to mobile ejection causes previously defined. It gives the reasons why the mobile,



even active, is not connected to any transmitter at the end of the simulation. The HO status HO status represents the real number of sites used compared to the number of fingers.

For example, if the terminal active set size is 6 and if its number of fingers is 3, the mobile will be able to be connected with none, one, two or three transmitters. ATOLL will consider in simulations and in predictions (HO status study) the following handover status, no handover (1/1), softer (1/2), soft (2/2), softer-soft (2/3), soft-soft (3/3), or softer-softer (1/3) handovers. The list of transmitters in connection with the mobile (Active set). The maximum number of transmitters in active

set is defined by the user in Terminal Properties and limited to 6 in ATOLL. Soft handover can be enabled/disabled for every service.

Ec/Io values are calculated for each transmitter in active set and may be compared to Ec/Io thresholds and T-Drop previously defined in Mobility Type Properties.

Note : Transmitters, which the Ec/Io value is AS-threshold value lower than the best one (Active Set 1), are rejected from the active set. The Downgrading factor for SCH: ½ means the rate on the SCH was halved to remain within the maximum SCH

power, and the maximum cell power. It results in better signal quality because reducing the SCH rate increases the processing gain, thus reduces the required C/I ratio for successful decoding.

The cell power transmitted on traffic channel. This parameter is determined for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link.

The DL total noise is calculated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link (FCH and SCH). This parameter is calculated from the transmitter thermal noise and the DL total interference at the terminal.

The DL load factor (determined for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) corresponds to the downlink total interference – total noise at the terminal ratio.

The DL noise rise (evaluated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is deduced from the DL load factor. The DL reuse factor (calculated for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is evaluated from the

interference received at the terminal from the intra transmitter area and the total interference received at the terminal from all the transmitters (intra and extra cells).

DL intra-cellular interference for each cell (i) of the mobile active set:

( ) ( )

−×−=

T

SCHDLtoti

orthoDLtoti

DLra L

PicPFicPI int

DL extra-cellular interference for each cell (i) of the mobile active set

( ) ( )

−×−= ∑

∉ T

SCHDLtotortho

TxiTx

DLtot

DLextra L

PicPFicPI,

The total path loss (determined for each (mobile – transmitters in active set) link) is calculated from transmitter and terminal losses, path loss (propagation result), transmitter and terminal gains.

The number of uplink and downlink channel elements respectively refer to the number of channel elements consumed by the user on UL and DL,

The orthogonality factor is user-defined in the clutter Properties window. The shadowing margin is calculated from the reliability level specified when creating simulation and the model

standard deviation assigned to the corresponding clutter class in the clutter Properties window. The UL macro diversity gain is determined for mobile receivers connected either on UL or on UL and DL.

( ) ( )NtEb

NtEbGainsityMacrodiverUL

UL

BStch

UL

−−=−−

The DL macro diversity gain is evaluated in case mobile receivers are connected either on DL or on UL and DL.

( ) ( )NtEb

NtEbGainsityMacrodiverDL

DL

BStch

DL

−−=−−

IX.7 SPECIFIC CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES

IX.7.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES : OVERVIEW For CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) projects, ATOLL provides two kinds of predictions : Point analysis which enables you to get prediction at a specific location within your network :

− Standard studies on pilot reception (Profile, Reception and Results tab), − Active set analysis of a real time probe user in order to determine CDMA pilot quality and connection

status at the receiver by using the AS analysis tab.



AS analysis is a radio reception diagnosis provided for: − a given simulation (determining network parameters) − a user-definable probe receiver with associated terminal, mobility and service. This receiver does not

create any interference. Coverage studies where each map bin is considered as a probe user with associated terminal, mobility and

service. These are ordered in four different groups of studies, listed in a natural planning order, from the indispensable pilot study to the study of downlink total noise, with respect to the propagation model as defined : − Pilot-oriented studies to determine pilot coverage by transmitter, the pilot coverage by signal level,

overlapping area, pilot quality (Ec/Io) and pilot pollution, − Service-oriented studies to determine service availability in uplink and downlink and effective service

areas, − handover status study to analyse macro-diversity performance, − Downlink total noise study.

Except pilot coverage, coverage by signal level and overlapping studies, which are similar to classical coverage studies, all other studies are specific to CDMA/CDMA 2000 network planning and closely related to a particular CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation.

Power control is achieved once only during simulation but never during prediction studies. Simulation outputs such as uplink and downlink noise levels generated by the users may be used to evaluate the radio reception. Therefore, prediction studies may be based on: UL load and DL total power modelled during power control simulation for point analysis, UL load and DL total power modelled during power control simulation for coverage studies, User-definable UL load and DL total power for coverage studies :

Specific predictions can be based on either user defined load estimations (when filling manually the UL_load and Total power cells from the cell table) or by using the "Commit loads" button (assigning to these columns the calculated uplink loads and total powers from the current simulation) in the Cells tab window of a simulation result window. To use these reported values, just select the None option from the Simulation scrolling box.

Specific CDMA coverage studies may be performed with four different purposes: Analyse in detail one particular simulation, Globally analyse all simulations and evaluate network stability with regard to traffic fluctuations, Analyse an average simulation., Analyse user-definable parameters such as UL load and DL total power without simulation.

For these coverage studies, since study GUI is generic, the general rule is to choose : either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of

simulations and average option, or, finally, no simulation, a Radio configuration, a SCH rate (or All), a service (or All), a specific carrier or all the carriers.

and to display the results as function of the attribute you want. In this studies, each bin may be seen as a probe mobile, which does not create any interference Caution : If you modify radio parameters, before recalculating predictions, do not forget to replay CDMA simulations first in order to base predictions on up-to-date simulations. Ensure consistency between predictions, point analysis and simulation displayed on map before further analysis. To help on that, ATOLL provides a feature to automatically calculate CDMA predictions after simulations without any intermediary step. Important : Any of these specific CDMA studies requires propagation path loss on each bin.

IX.7.2 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION PROCESS IX.7.2.a PREDICTING ON GIVEN CDMA/CDMA 2000 CARRIERS

In ATOLL, specific CDMA studies can be based on given carriers.



To base your prediction on given carriers, proceed as follows : Create a new prediction or access the properties of an existing coverage study you want to calculate again, Click the Simulation tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Choose the carrier selection mode you want to consider in the Carrier scrolling menu, Click OK or Apply to validate.

Note : when choosing a carrier, only cells using this carrier are taken into account in calculations. ATOLL will display a coverage by carrier. To get a coverage based on all the carriers, select the All option. In this case, ATOLL displays a multi-carrier coverage. It selects on each bin the best carrier according to the selection mode specified in the properties of the transmitters from the current network.

IX.7.2.b MODELLING SHADOWING IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTIONS Transmitted powers on downlink and uplink interference determined during simulation are used. In each analysed bin, a probe mobile is placed. The path loss of the probe mobile is the computed path loss (Lpath) plus a margin (MShadowing). This one depends on the required reliability level, model standard deviation associated to the clutter class where the probe mobile is and the mobile handover status. In case of SHO, a gain is calculated depending on the number of used links. You can enter a reliability level (x%) when defining prediction properties (point analysis: Profile, Reception and AS analysis tab and coverage studies). Therefore, the evaluated pilot quality, uplink and downlink traffic channel qualities are reliable x% of time. Formulas used to compute shadowing margin in case of no handover and SHO (2 and 3 links) and SHO gains are detailed in the Technical reference guide.

IX.7.3 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTIONS IX.7.3.a CREATING PREDICTIONS FROM MODIFIED CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS

This feature is provided to automatically calculate CDMA/CDMA 2000 predictions after simulations without intermediary step. In fact, you just need to define the CDMA/CDMA 2000 prediction studies you want to perform and then, press the Calculate command: first, ATOLL calculates the simulations and then, the predictions based on simulations. Therefore, it is no more necessary to wait for the simulations to be finished to create the CDMA/CDMA 2000 prediction studies and start the calculations. To do so, proceed as follows :

Create the CDMA prediction studies you want to perform and define their properties (colour, terminal, mobility, service). As no simulation has been previously performed, you cannot base prediction studies on a specific simulation,

Thus, choose either an average analysis (Average) or a statistical analysis based on a probability (All) on all the future simulations.

Left click on the Calculate button (or F7), The Creation of simulations window opens, Specify the simulation inputs (number of simulations to be created, convergence criteria, Press OK to start the calculations

ATOLL performs the simulations and lists them in the CDMA/CDMA 2000 simulation folder. Then, ATOLL carries out the prediction calculations based on the created simulations.

IX.7.3.b MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION DISPLAY CDMA/CDMA 2000 prediction dialogs include the ATOLL generic display tab. It enables to display covered areas with graphic settings depending on any attribute (from transmitter, site, etc...) and to easily manage legends, tips, thresholds, etc... Since prediction study user interface is generic, many associations between selected items in the Simulation tab (a Radio configuration, a SCH rate - or all -, a service - or all -, a specific carrier - or all) and in the Display tab are available. So several calculation and display settings are possible. You can analyse different mobility and several services in a same study. For any CDMA/CDMA 2000 study, in the Simulation tab, you can choose All in the Service or/and SCH scrolling menus. In this case, ATOLL works out the coverage criterion for each service or/and SCH rates; a bin of the map will be covered if the studied coverage criterion is met for any service or/and SCH rate. In addition, receiver definition and coverage display are not linked. Parameters set



in the Simulation tab are used in order to predetermine the coverage area (area where ATOLL will display coverage) while graphical settings (available in the Display tab) enable you to choose how to represent the coverage area. For example, it is possible to perform multi-service or/and multi-SCH rate pilot reception analysis and to choose a coverage display per transmitter or depending on any transmitter attribute. The available display types (depending on the study to be carried out) are listed below : Single colour : Coverage is mono colour; it displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied, Colour per transmitter : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied. Moreover, the bin colour

corresponds to the colour of the first transmitter in active set (best server) Colour per service : The receiver is not totally defined. Its service can take all existing service types. There are

as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined services. For each service, coverage layer displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied

Colour per mobility : The receiver is not totally defined. Its mobility can take all existing mobility types. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined mobilities. For each mobility, coverage layer displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied

Colour per probability : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied with different levels of probability. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined probability thresholds (by default 0.5 and 0.9)

Colour per quality margin : Each coverage layer displays area where the quality margin is greater than the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. The quality margin is the difference between the quality level and the target quality level. There is intersection between layers

Colour per maximum quality level : Each coverage layer displays area where the maximum signal quality (even if not reaching the quality target) exceeds the user-defined quality level. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. There is intersection between layers

Colour per effective quality level : Each coverage layer displays area where the effective signal quality (min between the maximum and the quality target) exceeds the user-defined quality level. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined quality margins. There is intersection between layers

Colour per handover status : Coverage displays areas where radio conditions are satisfied for at least one transmitter pilot quality. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined handover status. Each layer represents a handover status. There is no intersection between layers

Colour per potential active transmitter number : Each coverage layer displays area where the number of potential active transmitters is greater than the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined potential active transmitters. The potential active transmitter number corresponds to transmitters checking all conditions to enter the active set. There is intersection between layers

Colour per required power level : Each coverage layer displays area where the required terminal power (in order for transmitter to get a service) is greater than the user-defined required power thresholds. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined required power level. There is intersection between layers.

Colour per required power margin : Each coverage layer displays area where the required power margin exceeds the user-defined threshold value. There are as many graphical coverage layers as user-defined power margin. The required power margin corresponds to the difference between the required terminal power and the maximum terminal power. There is intersection between layers

Colour per minimum noise level: The displayed noise level is the lowest of the values calculated on all carriers. Colour per average noise level: The displayed noise level is the average of calculated values on all carriers. Colour per maximum noise level: The displayed noise level is the greatest of the values calculated on all

carriers. Colour per minimum noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the lowest of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per average noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the average of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per maximum noise rise : The displayed noise rise is the greatest of the values calculated from the

downlink total noise, on all carriers. Colour per polluter number : The coverage displays areas where user is interfered by pilot signal from polluter

transmitters. A polluter transmitter is a transmitter that meets all the criteria to enter the active set but which is not admitted due to the active set limit size..

IX.7.4 CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES IX.7.4.a ANALYSING PILOT RECEPTION (CDMA/CDMA 2000)

This study displays areas where there is at least one transmitter which pilot quality at receiver (Ec/Io) is sufficient to be admitted in the probe mobile active set [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Only the pilot quality from best server is displayed. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Pilot reception analysis (Ec/Io) option from



the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of

simulations and average option, or, finally, no simulation, a reliability level (in %) a Radio configuration, a SCH rate (or all), a service (or all), a specific carrier or all the carriers.

Notes : In the SCH scrolling list, the choice “none” refers to a null SCH rate. You must keep consistency between the chosen radio configuration and the selected SCH rate. For example, take

care not to associate a RC1 or RC2 terminal with a SCH rate different from 0 (2, 4, 8 or 16 in the scrolling list). Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,





IX.7.4.b STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) DOWNLINK (CDMA/CDMA 2000) This study displays areas where there is one transmitter (or several transmitters in macro-diversity) which traffic channel quality at the receiver (Eb/Nt or combined Eb/Nt) is sufficient for the probe mobile to obtain a service [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Downlink service area is limited by maximum allowable traffic channel power. Comment : Actually, for a circuit switched service, when there are several transmitters in active set, Eb/Nt from different



transmitters are combined in terminal and improve reception with a macro-diversity gain. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Service area (Eb/Nt) downlink option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of










IX.7.4.c STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) UPLINK (CDMA/CDMA 2000) This study displays areas where the traffic channel quality of probe mobile at transmitter (Eb/Nt) is sufficient for the transmitter to get a service [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. Uplink service area is limited by maximum terminal power. Comment : The macro diversity concept is also dealt with on the uplink. Its value depends on the handover status. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Service area (Eb/Nt) downlink option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of










IX.7.4.d STUDYING EFFECTIVE SERVICE AREA (CDMA/CDMA 2000) Effective service area is the intersection zone between uplink and downlink service areas [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. It is the area where a service is really available for the probe mobile. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Effective service area option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of










IX.7.4.e DEFINING HANDOFF STATUS (CDMA/CDMA 2000) This study displays areas [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)] where the selected service is available and where probe mobile has in its active set: Only one transmitter : no handover (1/1) Two non co-site transmitters : soft handover (2/2) Two co-site transmitters : softer handover (1/2) Three non co-site transmitters : soft-soft handover (3/3) Three transmitters among them two co-site : softer-soft handover (merged with soft-softer handover) (2/3) Three co-site transmitters : softer-softer handover (1/3)

Comment : In parenthesis is given equivalence between usual handover name and HO status notation sometimes used in ATOLL, referring to number of sites/number of transmitters in the active set (See CDMA/CDMA 2000 Simulations : Overview). Caution : Like point prediction, coverage prediction does not take into account possible network. In this study, handover is allowed on areas where the service chosen by the user is available. For each study, a simulation tab enables to connect to one or all simulations. Furthermore, you can choose different ways of displaying the same coverage to get a better analysis and dimensioning information on the network. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the handover status option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of



care not to associate a RC1 or RC2 terminal with a SCH rate different from 0 (2, 4, 8 or 16 in the scrolling list). Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography.



For an environment class i,





IX.7.4.f STUDYING DOWNLINK TOTAL NOISE (CDMA/CDMA 2000) This study enables you to display areas where the total noise (Nt as it is defined in formulas) exceeds user-defined levels [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Downlink total noise option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of



care not to associate a RC1 or RC2 terminal with a SCH rate different from 0 (2, 4, 8 or 16 in the scrolling list). Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Note : In case of given service and carrier, the calculated and displayed coverage is the same for any selected display per noise level (average, minimum or maximum) or any display per noise rise (average, minimum or maximum). Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole



computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,





IX.7.4.g CALCULATING PILOT POLLUTION (CDMA/CDMA 2000) This study displays the areas where user is interfered by pilot signal from polluter transmitters [using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect)]. A polluter transmitter is a transmitter that meets all the criteria to enter the active set but which is not admitted due to the active set limit size. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the Pilot pollution option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Simulation, Display. An additional Statistics tab is created after computation. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In the Simulation tab window, you may decide which simulation to study or choose a group of simulations and prefer either an average analysis of all the simulations included in the group or a statistical analysis of all simulations based on a user-definable probability (probability must be a value between 0 and 1). Finally, you can perform prediction studies without simulation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account UL load and DL total power defined in the Cells properties. The general rule is to choose: either a single simulation, or a group of simulations and a user-definable probability, or a group of



care not to associate a RC1 or RC2 terminal with a SCH rate different from 0 (2, 4, 8 or 16 in the scrolling list). Note : When calculating a study based on no simulation, ATOLL takes into account UL load percentage and DL total transmitted power defined for each cell. In case these fields are not filled, ATOLL considers default values, 50% for UL load percentage and 40 dBm for DL total transmitted power. The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. Representation on map may are given regarding to the number of polluters. Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Comment : for each study, there are as many layers as user-defined thresholds (quality level, quality margin…). Each layer may be displayed independently by selecting visibility flag in folder. Once computations have been achieved, the Statistics tab is available and contains the detailed results of displayed layers. For each threshold value (corresponding to a specific layer), the surface ((Si)covered stated in km2) where the prediction criterion is met and its percentage (% of i) are specified. These data are calculated in relation to the whole



computation zone and each environment class, when environments are used to describe the traffic cartography. For an environment class i,

% of i = (Si)covered*100 / (Si)total (Si)covered is the surface where the prediction criterion is met. (Si)total is the total surface of the computation zone (or an environment class).

IX.7.4.h ANALYSING A SCENARIO AT A POINT IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS To get reception information for a given point on the map, you may use ATOLL point analysis window. Even in CDMA projects, you may use the Profile, Reception and Results tab windows as for the other projects, on the signal received from the cell pilot. Concerning pilot quality given by (Ec/Io) (which is the main parameter to enter an active set) and connection status, with the point analysis tool, ATOLL is able to get information about the active set analysis of a CDMA scenario (for given mobile, mobility and service) at the receiver location on the map by using the propagation model as defined before (with priority order respect). To make active the AS analysis window :

From the menu bar, tick the Point analysis command in the View menu, The point analysis window opens in the lower right corner of your current environment, Left click on the AS analysis tab,

Click the from the toolbar, Move over the current map to the places where you want to make your analysis.

Note : The Point analysis window is automatically displayed when clicking on the button from the toolbar, Point analysis is a radio reception diagnosis provided for: a given simulation (determining network parameters) a user-definable probe receiver terminal, a SCH rate and a service

Pilot quality and connection status (Pilot, Uplink, Downlink) are displayed for previous conditions and without taking into account possible network saturation. Thus, there is no guarantee that a simulated mobile in the receiver conditions can check the point analysis diagnosis, simply because simulated network may be saturated. A description of the AS analysis window is given below.

Displays the pilot reception of transmitters out of the active set forthis scenario. Filled bars indicate thetransmitters which respect the active set constraints. Even if more transmitters respect the constraints,the active set size is limited to the number defined in the terminal properties and is function of the current service. Transmitters withempty bars do not respect the activeset constraints

Displays the pilot reception in term ofactive set components for this scenario. Active set is represented in grey. Filled bars indicate the transmitters which respect the active set constraints. Even if more transmitters respect the constraints,the active set size is limited to the number defined in the terminal properties and is function of thecurrent service

Vertical bar representing the lower boundaryto enter the active set (defined as the signalvalue of the best server at the current pointminus the AS_Threshold - defined in the Globalproperties from the transmitters folder)

Vertical bar representing the Ec/Io threshold to enter the active set (defined in the mobility type properties page)

Displays the connection status (pilot, uplink and downlink traffic) for the current scenario.

: successful connection,

: failed connection

Choose from the scrolling list the single simulation you want this point analysis to be based on

Choose from the scrolling lists the parameters of aprobe user to be studiedamong the selectedsimulation



Bar graph shows pilot reception from all transmitters on the same carrier (with the same colours as the one defined for each transmitter), displaying limit values required to be in active set (Ec/Io threshold, T-drop). Grey background displays transmitters in active set. A third vertical bar indicating T-Drop defined in the mobility properties boxes may be displayed on the AS analysis window. Reminder: The transmitters taking part in the active set have to check the following conditions: They must be using the same carrier. The pilot quality (Ec/Io) from the best server has to exceed the Ec/Io threshold (defined for each mobility type). The pilot quality from other transmitters has to be greater than the T-Drop value (defined for each mobility

type). Other transmitters have to belong to the neighbour list of the best server if you have selected the restricted to

neighbours option (in Global parameters tab). You may modify receiver characteristics, ATOLL will automatically check pilot quality and channel availability: If you Radio configuration, it will modify maximum available transmitting power in uplink and the active set size. If you SCH rate multiple, it will modify pilot quality thresholds and Eb/Nt target per service in downlink. If you change service, it will modify the active set size and Eb/Nt target in downlink.


care not to associate a RC1 or RC2 terminal with a SCH rate different from 0 (2, 4, 8 or 16 in the scrolling list).

IX.8 SPECIFIC 1XEV-DO FEATURES

IX.8.1 DEFINING A (EB/NT <-> MAX RATE) LOOK-UP TABLE A default (Eb/NtMax rate) look-up table is implemented in the tool. Nevertheless, if there is an ATOLL.ini file stored in the ATOLL installation directory, ATOLL considers values contained in the file; else, it takes into account default values. So, it is possible to define a user-defined look-up table giving the relationship between rate and Eb/Nt in an ATOLL.ini file. These values will be used in order to predict 1xEV-DO coverages. You must create this file and place it in the ATOLL installation directory. The file must have the following syntax: [RatesEbNt] Values="Rate1 value EbNt1 value Rate2 value EbNt2 value….” Example: Information described below [RatesEbNt] Values="38.4 4.5 76.8 4.5 102.6 4.3 153.6 4.5 204.8 4.1 307.2 4 614 4 921.6 4.7 1228.8 5 1843 7.4 2457 8.5" Corresponds to this look-up table Rate Eb/Nt 38.4 4.5 76.8 4.5 102.6 4.3 153.6 4.5 204.8 4.1 307.2 4 614 4

921.6 4.7 1228 8.5 1843 7.4 2457 8.5 Note : This file is read only when ATOLL is started. Therefore, it is necessary to close the ATOLL session and to restart it in order to take into account any modification performed in ATOLL.ini. From rate and Eb/Nt, it is easy to calculate the corresponding C/I using the following relation:



RW

IC

NE

t

b ×= (in W)

Hence, we get: Rate Eb/Nt Corresponding C/I 38.4 4.5 -10.6 76.8 4.5 -7.5 102.6 4.3 -6.5 153.6 4.5 -4.5 204.8 4.1 -3.7 307.2 4 -2.0 614 4 1

921.6 4.7 3.5 1228 8.5 5 1843 7.4 9.2 2457 8.5 11.5

IX.8.2 CREATING 1XEV-DO SPECIFIC PREDICTIONS This study displays areas according to the C/I level (C/I) or the maximum downlink rate that can be supported. This study is linked with the definition of a look-up table linking required (Eb/Nt)and defined rates. To prepare this prediction study, in the prediction creation steps, select the 1xEV-DO coverage option from the study types window. The opened window is made of three tab windows : General, Receiver, and Display. For all of these, use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the windows. The General tab works exactly like in common studies (coverage by transmitter, coverage by signal level and overlapping), i.e. you may rename the study, add some comments, define group, sort and filter criteria In this study, each bin of the map corresponds to a probe user with associated terminal and service. Hence, in the receiver tab, you have to define choose a reliability level (in %), a Radio configuration, a service (or all) and a carrier (or all). The Display tab is the ATOLL generic display dialog allowing you to display your resulting coverage as function of any compatible attribute. On each bin, ATOLL calculates the C/I level. If you have selected a colour per C/I threshold, it just compares the calculated value to the defined thresholds. In case of a colour per maximum data rate, ATOLL uses the look-up table to determine the supported maximum data rate. It considers the C/I interval around the calculated C/I and takes the rate associated to the lower C/I limit. Finally, when choosing a display per Ec/Io, it works out Ec/Io value on each bin and compares it to the defined thresholds. Different display types are detailed hereafter. Display per C/I level

In the Receiver tab, choose one terminal, the service and one carrier or all of them. Then, in the Display tab, select Value intervals as display type and C/I as field. On each bin inside the computation zone, ATOLL calculates the C/I level.

∑ +=

≠ ijTxj

termTxjM

TxiM

NPP

IC

,0

where

PTxM is the maximum signal level received from Tx ( L

PP TxT

TxTxM

max=),

PTxmax is the transmitter maximum power,

LTxT is the transmitter-terminal total loss.

A bin of the map is coloured if the C/I level exceeds (=) entered thresholds (the bin colour depends on the C/I level). Coverage consists of several independent layers which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the C/I level exceeds a defined minimum threshold.



Display per Ec/Io level

In the Receiver tab, choose one terminal, the service and one carrier or all of them. Then, in the Display tab, select Value intervals as display type and Ec/Io as field. On each bin inside the computation zone, ATOLL calculates the Ec/Io level.

∑∈

+=

+=

jiTxj

termTxjM

TxiM

NPP

ICC

IoEc

,0

A bin of the map is coloured if the Ec/Io level exceeds (=) entered thresholds (the bin colour depends on the Ec/Io level). Coverage consists of several independent layers which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where the Ec/Io level exceeds a defined minimum threshold. Display per maximum rate

In the Receiver tab, choose one terminal, the service and one carrier or all of them. Then, in the Display tab, select Value intervals as display type and Max rate as field. On each bin inside the computation zone, ATOLL calculates the C/I level. To determine the supported maximum data rate, ATOLL uses the look-up table defined in the ATOLL.ini file if it exists or the default table. It considers the C/I interval around the calculated C/I and takes the rate associated to the lower C/I limit. A bin of the map is coloured if the rate equals or exceeds entered thresholds (the bin colour depends on the rate). Coverage consists of several independent layers which you may manage visibility in the workspace. There are as many layers as defined thresholds. Each layer corresponds to an area where a maximum rate (threshold value) is supported. Other displays

On each bin inside the computation zone, ATOLL calculates the C/I level and determines the corresponding data rate as explained above. A bin of the map is coloured if the calculated rate equals or exceeds the lowest rate defined in the ATOLL.ini file or the default look-up table (38.4 kbps). Coverage consists of several independent layers which you may manage visibility in the workspace.

IX.9 CDMA/CDMA 2000 NETWORK OPTIMISATION

IX.9.1 CDMA/CDMA 2000 NETWORK OPTIMISATION : OVERVIEW Once your CDMA/CDMA 2000 network is built, ATOLL provides you some additional features in order to complete your network planning by the allocation of neighbour cells. Like in GSM/TDMA or UMTS, it is possible to easily allocate neighbours within ATOLL. This can be made either manually, or automatically, imposing several constraints on the potential cells that could be part of a neighbourhood. Then, once allocated, neighbours can be easily managed (modification or deletion). Finally, ATOLL makes easy the visualisation of neighbourhoods on the active map.

IX.9.2 ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY Cell neighbours list represents a way to optimise the search for possible cells aimed to perform handover from the current coverage area. Allocating neighbours in a network is optional but makes the handover process easier. Note : Neighbours have impact on interference calculation : all cells in a network interfere with the others. Neighbours of any linked project in co-planning can also be displayed and chosen manually. Manual allocation of CDMA/CDMA 2000 neighbours must be performed for each cell, one at a time. To do this, proceed as follows :







Double click on the cell from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Click the Neighbours tab from the current window, Use the What's this help to get information about fields available in the current window, In the displayed window, in the top table, click on cell to choose from the scrolling box the desired

cell as a neighbour for the current one. In the scrolling box are displayed all the transmitters located within a radius of 30 km around the reference transmitter (cell),


When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box. Or

Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, click on a table cell to determine either base cells or associated

neighbours in the network, Click another table cell to validate and add a new line to the table, When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

Notes : You can also use manual allocation tools to check currently allocated neighbourhoods, This feature only deals with GSM/TDMA, CDMA/CDMA 2000 and UMTS technologies.


IX.9.3 ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY You can carry out neighbour allocation globally on all the cells or only on a group of cells. In this case, ATOLL will consider all the cells contained in the group of transmitters, the symmetric neighbours of these cells and all the other ones, which have an intersection area with the cells of the group. Allocating automatically permits to allocate neighbours globally in the current network by imposing constraints on cells of active transmitters that must be satisfied. Force neighbour reciprocity, adjacency and within co-site is possible. To allocate automatically CDMA/CDMA 2000 neighbours in a network, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Automatic allocation...] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Set the parameters for the current Auto Neighbours allocation study,

You can force neighbour adjacency. A candidate cell is adjacent to a reference cell if candidate cell is 2nd best server in the reference cell neighbour list on at least one pixel of the reference cell best-server area. Adjacent cells are listed in a descending overlapping area order. Note : determination of best server is based on Ec/Io in case of UMTS, and CDMA/CDMA2000 documents whereas it is based on signal level in GSM/TDMA networks. Therefore, when selecting the Force adjacent cells as neighbours option, adjacent cells are top ranked in the neighbour list just after co-site cells. If there is not enough space in neighbour list, ATOLL displays a warning in the Events viewer indicating that the adjacent cell constraint cannot be respected.





When clicking on the Commit button, ATOLL assigns neighbours to cells. Neighbours are listed in the Neighbours tab of each cell Properties window. In the Results part, ATOLL lists all the cells fulfilling the specified neighbourhood criteria. Then, it orders them so as to eliminate some of them from the list if the maximum number of neighbours is exceeded. Cells are sorted according to a ring strategy. If transmitters have a current allocation, they are noted existing. ATOLL gives to each candidate cell a weight depending on its average Ec/Io on the area where the reference cell is the best server. The higher the average Ec/Io from the candidate cell is, the higher the weight is. Then, ATOLL lists candidate cells according to a descending weight. When selecting the Reset option, ATOLL deletes all the current neighbours and carries out a new neighbour allocation. If not selected, the existing neighbours are kept. Therefore, if you add a new cell i and start a new allocation without selecting the Reset option: ATOLL determines the neighbour list of the cell i, It examines the neighbour list of other cells. If there is space in neighbour list of another cell j:

- The cell i enters the cell j neighbour list if allocation criteria are satisfied. The cell i will be the first one in the neighbour list. - The cell i does not enter the cell j neighbour list if allocation criteria are not satisfied.

If the cell j belongs to the cell i neighbour list and the force symmetry option is selected: - The cell i will enter the cell j neighbour list if there is space in the cell j neighbour list. - If the cell j neighbour list is full, ATOLL removes the cell j from the cell i neighbour list in order to preserve the link symmetry



neighbour allocation, ATOLL automatically calculates the path loss matrices if it does not find them.

IX.9.4 DISPLAYING CURRENT CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOUR LIST ATOLL provides the possibility to open an editable table referencing all the CDMA/CDMA 2000 neighbours of the current network. To access the CDMA/CDMA 2000 neighbour table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the transmitters folder to get the related context menu, Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, left column lists reference cells, right column, the related neighbours.


IX.9.5 DELETING ALLOCATED CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOURS To do this, proceed as follows :





Double click on the cell from which you want to define the neighbourhood, Click the Neighbours tab from the current window,

or



Choose the [Cells:Neighbours:Neighbour lists...] command from the opened menu, Click the Neighbours tab from the opened window,

In the displayed table, select the desired neighbour line, Press the keyboard Del (or Suppr.) key Click on OK to validate and close the dialog box.


IX.9.6 DISPLAYING CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP Once the CDMA cell neighbours have been allocated, you can display a given neighbourhood (at the transmitter level) on the map. To display the neighbours of any transmitter (whatever the carrier is), proceed as follows :

Click on the visible neighbourhood icon from the toolbar, Left click on the desired transmitter to select it on the map, The neighbours are displayed (colour of the reference transmitter) on the map such as :


C H A P T E R 10

Management measurements

10

Managing measurements




X MANAGING MEASUREMENTS

X.1 MANAGING MEASUREMENTS : OVERVIEW in ATOLL, the measurement module provides two types of drive tests : CW measurements and Test mobile data. The aim of CW measurements is to analyse measurements made on the real field referring to only one transmitter (at a given frequency - Continuous Wave) in order to calibrate propagation models. Test mobile data refer to measurements related to several servers, each point referring to a serving cell and to a list of neighbours. The goal of test mobile data is to check and to improve the quality of an existing network. The creation of CW measurements in ATOLL is very easy and can be made either by importing measurements or general data samples (even from PlaNET® data) or by pasting measurement results. The way CW measurements are imported can be managed in configurations which permits the user to make easier import procedures. In addition, the multiple import of CW measurement files is supported. It is also possible to create paths to define a set of points where a prediction calculation can be performed. The management of any CW measurement path is very complete and provide several features concerning, for example, the update of geo data, user-defined additional fields, the display of any path in a generic way. By using the features which compares imported measurements values and ATOLL prediction calculation results, you can apply measurements import either to select the best suited model or, more accurately, to refine the parameters of the selected model. Furthermore, it is possible to add predictions from other transmitters on any CW measurement path. The CW Measurements window allows you to analyse both measurement and prediction fields very precisely using the point analysis tool. It is also possible to synchronise the analysis of a CW measurement path both in the table, on the map and on the specific CW measurement window. It is possible the export path and measurement results in order to make them available in other application. The creation of Test mobile data path is possible by importing ASCII text or TEMS files for any type of technology. All the information contained along the considered path can be listed in a manageable table and be used for analysis in a specific test mobile data window. Like for the CW measurements, import configuration and multiple import is supported on test mobile data files. In addition, all other classical features concerning the properties of any test mobile data path have been implemented (filters, display, export in a vector file, management at the folder level, synchronisation between the specific test mobile data window, the map and the related data table).

X.2 CW MEASUREMENT DATA PATHS

X.2.1 CREATION OF A CW MEASUREMENT PATH X.2.1.a CREATING A CW MEASUREMENT SESSION

In ATOLL, CW measurements sessions are sorted as sites or transmitters, i.e., in folders in the Data tab explorer window. Because a CW measurement session refers to a main transmitter, ATOLL groups the imported or created CW measurement paths by transmitter. Like other objects organized in folders in ATOLL, these are easily manageable. So, to reach a specific CW measurement session, expand both CW measurements and reference transmitter folders by clicking the buttons (or contract with the buttons). CW Measurements folder global properties are reachable from the associated context menu (right click on the CW measurements folder). To create a CW measurement session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the CW Measurements folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New..., A CW measurement session properties box is opened, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window : Give a name to the CW measurement path,



Specify the transmitter name which the CW measurements have been performed around, Indicate the transmitter frequency, the receiver height and the gain of receiver antenna. Define the reception unit compatible with CW measurements.

When this is made, you may either edit the opened CW measurement table, paste values in it, or create a CW measurement path. Notes : To establish the CW measurement session, you must link it with a transmitter for the measures to be based on. Features available in the CW Measurement folder context menu are also offered in each group context menu.

Therefore, you can add a new CW measurement path in a group using New and Import commands and define unique prediction, statistics and display settings for all the paths available in a group thanks to the Properties command.

X.2.1.b PASTING A CW MEASUREMENT PATH During a CW measurement session creation, you may paste the coordinates of a path and, eventually, its associated CW measurement values. This procedure is useful if your CW measurements are stored in a spreadsheet (Excel, Word). Coordinates to be pasted refer to the display coordinate system currently defined. To do this, proceed as follows :

Make displayed the New CW measurement session window, Use the What's this help to get description about available fields in the opened dialog window, Open the spreadsheet where your CW measurement file is stored, Select X and Y coordinates and CW measurements to be imported and copy them with either the Ctrl+V

command or the Copy command from the Edit menu, Switch to the opened New CW measurement session window, Precise the paste data reception unit,

Click on the button Click OK to validate.

Note : if you paste only the X and Y coordinates, CW measurement values are set to 0 along the associated path. If CW measurements are not included at this time, you won't be able to do it next.

X.2.1.c DRAWING A CW MEASUREMENT PATH When a CW measurement session has been defined, you can create a CW measurement path on the current map by simply using the mouse. You can either put CW measurement points one by one, or draw a path with equal distance separating each CW measurement point. To add points in a CW measurement session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to add CW measurement points, Choose the add points... option from the context menu,

Left click on the map with the pointer where to put the appropriate location for the CW measurement points,

Press the 'Esc' button on your keyboard or double click to finish the current points adding. To add a path in a CW measurement session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to add CW measurement points, Choose the add path... option from the context menu, Precise the length step separating two consecutive CW measurement points,

Left click on the map with the pointer for each CW measurement path corner, Press the 'Esc' button on your keyboard or double click to finish the current path building.



Note : adding points or adding a path is available only when no measures values have been imported in the current CW measurement session. Nevertheless, you may add points to any other CW measurement session. Caution : these functions cannot be used to modify the imported CW measurement.

X.2.1.d IMPORTING A CW MEASUREMENT PATH In ATOLL, you may import CW measurement text files with .dat, .txt and .csv extensions. To do this, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the CW Measurements folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Import..., Specify the path, name and the format of the file to be imported in the opened window,

Click to validate your choice, A CW measurement import window is opened, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window : Click on the Setup tab :

Check that you have chosen the right configuration. You may change it: click on the Configuration scrolling menu and select another one,

Check also the import setting automatically provided by the configuration, You can change some parameters in the File part such as the number of the first CW

measurement line, the list separator (“ “, “tab”, “;”) and decimal symbol (“,” or “.”) used in the file to be imported,

Give a correlation between the displayed columns and ATOLL internal CW measurement fields by either clicking on each cell in the Field line and then, selecting a field in the list or by clicking on the Setup button. In the last case, the CW Measurement setup window, where three ATOLL internal fields, X, Y and CW measurements, are listed, is displayed. The X and Y fields have to be assigned unlike the CW Measurements field which is optional.

In order to go on the import, open the General tab : Indicate the CW measurement name, Specify the name of transmitter on which the CW measurements refer to Enter the transmitter frequency, the receiver height, the gain and losses of the receiver antenna, Define the unit of CW measurement and the coordinate system of CW measurement points,

Click on the button to achieve the import CW measurement procedure. Using this procedure, you may also import general data (location names, field characteristics, etc...) along the imported CW measurement path, if the extra data has the same format as the imported coordinates and CW measurement data. To achieve this, you just have to select the appropriate format in the cell type in each column. When this is done, data are available to be displayed on the map with the CW measurement points. Notes : To establish the CW measurement session, you must link it with a transmitter for the measures to be based on. When the CW measurement file to be imported contains fields, which the name corresponds to name of an

ATOLL internal field (e.g. field “Distance”), ATOLL imports the field but changes its name to differentiate it. In fact, ATOLL ends the imported field name with “(file)” (e.g. field “Distance(File)”).

When the imported file contains fewer lines than the defined number of the first CW measurement line, ATOLL warns you the current configuration will be applied with a reinitialisation of the first CW measurement line number to 1.

With configuration, it is possible to import several CW measurement at the same time. You can optionally import a CW measurement path to existing reference transmitter folders. To do that, follow the

procedure above, but reach the reference transmitter folder (instead of the CW Measurement folder only) by expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button.



X.2.1.e IMPORTING SEVERAL CW MEASUREMENT PATHS It is possible to import several CW measurement files at once. To do this, proceed as follows :

Follow the standard steps of the import CW measurements procedure, select several files in the Open window,

Either, In the Open window, optionally specify an import configuration in the "Files of type" scrolling box"

in order to filter only files respecting the format defined in the considered configuration, Select the files you want to import simultaneously (multi-selection is possible by using the 'Shift'

key,

Click the button,

Or, Select the files you want to import simultaneously (multi-selection is possible by using the 'Shift'

key,

Click the button, The import CW measurements window opens, Optionally specify an import configuration (Configuration part) that will be consistent with the

format of the files being imported, In that case, you may import several CW measurement files based on the same transmitter and with the

same associated configuration. In this case, you just need to indicate the transmitter and the configuration once,

Click on the all button: all the paths will be imported at the same time. Notes If the selected CW measurement files are based on several transmitters and/or have different configurations,

you cannot use the button. For each file, indicate a transmitter and/or a configuration and then, click

the button. When using the Import all button, ATOLL does not import files for which the configuration does not correspond to

the selected one. It displays an error message and goes on the import with next file.

X.2.1.f ADDING PREDICTIONS ON EXISTING CW MEASUREMENT PATHS Since a CW measurement path is mainly related to a given transmitter, only the signal measured from this transmitter can be studied and compared with predictions along the path. Nevertheless, it is possible, in ATOLL to get predictions of signal received from other transmitters along the path. To add a prediction from another transmitter, proceed as follows :

Access the CW measurement path you want to add a transmitter, Right click on the CW measurement path in order to open the associated context menu, Select the Properties command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the current dialog,

In the Properties dialog, open the Parameters tab, Click the button and choose the Add a prediction... command from the opened menu,

In the New prediction dialog, click on the Transmitter scrolling menu and choose a new transmitter, which the prediction will refer to,

Click OK to achieve the transmitter addition The new transmitter becomes available in the CW measurement session table as a new column. Computations using this transmitter are made in the same way as computations on classical reference transmitter for a CW measurement path. Notes : Like for classical single transmitter CW measurement sessions, computations along the CW measurement paths

are possible with several transmitters. To delete columns related to additional transmitters, delete the related field in the table management dialog (Table

tab) of the considered CW measurement session.



X.2.1.g CREATING AN IMPORT CW MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION In ATOLL, import CW measurement configurations can be defined in order to make easier some future import procedures based on the same model as a reference one. Moreover, configurations may be useful to import several CW measurement data set at once. To create an import CW measurement configuration, you must use the generic import feature. When the import CW measurements windows is opened, proceed as follows :

Define configuration characteristics in the Setup tab : You can change some parameters in the File part such as the number of the first CW


Give a correlation between the displayed columns and ATOLL internal CW measurement fields by either clicking on each cell in the Field line and then, selecting a field in the list or by clicking on the Setup button. In the last case, the CW Measurement setup window, where three ATOLL internal fields, X, Y and CW measurements, are listed, is displayed. The X and Y fields have to be assigned unlike the CW Measurements field which is optional.

In the Configuration part, enter the extension (e.g. *.txt) for the files that will be considered (and filtered) with this configuration

Click the button and enter a name for the current configuration. Click OK to save the import configuration.

In order to go on the import, open the General tab : Indicate the CW measurement path name, Specify the name of transmitter on which the CW measurements refer to Enter the transmitter frequency, the receiver height, the gain and losses of the receiver antenna, Define the unit of CW measurement and the coordinate system of CW measurement point

Click on the button to achieve the import CW measurement procedure. Notes : Configuration is saved as soon as you click on the Save button. It is not necessary to complete the import

procedure (by pressing the Import button). When importing a CW measurement file, the existing configurations are available in the Files of type scrolling

menu (Open window). They are sorted according to their creation order. During import, if ATOLL recognises the extension, it automatically proposes the corresponding configuration. In case several configurations are associated with an extension, ATOLL chooses the first configuration in the list.

When importing a CW measurement file, of course, the existing configurations are also available in the Configuration scrolling box of the Setup tab of the import CW measurement data file dialog. When selecting the appropriate configuration, correspondences are automatically set.

The defined configurations are stored in the file “MeasImport.ini”. This file is located in the directory where ATOLL is installed. You can copy it on other workstations (in the directory where ATOLL is installed) in order to make available the configurations.

Caution : It is no longer necessary to define a projection coordinate system to be able to import a CW measurement path.

However, in order to avoid some inconsistencies, you must specify it in case the CW measurement points are stated in a geographic coordinate system.

In order to avoid some inconsistencies, do not assign the *.* extension to a configuration.

X.2.1.h DELETING AN IMPORT CW MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION In ATOLL, Import CW measurements configurations can be defined in order to make easier some future import procedures based on the same model as a reference one. Moreover, configurations may be useful to import several CW measurement data set at once. To delete an import CW measurement configuration, you must use the generic import feature. When the import CW measurements windows is opened, proceed as follows :

Click on the Setup tab, In the Configuration part, click on the Configuration scrolling list, Choose the configuration you want to remove

Click on the button.



Another solution is to open the file “MeasImport.ini” (located in the directory where ATOLL is installed), select and erase the configurations that you want to remove.

X.2.2 MANAGEMENT OF A CW MEASUREMENT PATH X.2.2.a DEFINING CW MEASUREMENT PATH PROPERTIES

In ATOLL, CW measurements sessions are organized in items located in reference transmitter folders. CW Measurements folder global properties are reachable from the associated context menu (left click on the CW measurements folder). Measure sessions properties are reachable from CW measurements folders associated context menus (left click on the CW measurements folders). To manage the properties of an existing CW measurement path, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to manage properties, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window.

The dialog is made of 4 tabs (General, Parameters, Table, and Display) in which you can respectively manage : The CW measurement conditions,

The General tab contains information on the receiver and the header of the imported file. Predictions and related filters over the CW measurement path,

Predictions are used for comparison between real CW measurement and prediction using the propagation model to be calibrated. Filter features enable you to limit the CW measurement data points listed in the table and displayed on the map. The CW measurement table content,

The table tab works like all the other ones, with the standard features on how to manage the contents of any table. It is possible to add new attribute in the table. The display of the CW measurement points composing the path.

X.2.2.b OPENING A CW MEASUREMENT TABLE All the CW measurement points of a path, attributes, predictions and the error are listed in related table. To open this table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the CW measurement session you want to open the related table, Choose the Open command from the context menu,

Or, Double click on the CW measurement session you want to open the related table.

Standard features for managing table contents (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort, Fields…) are available in a context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus. You can also access the table content management from the Table tab of the CW measurement session property dialog.



X.2.2.c PREDICTING SIGNAL LEVELS ON A CW MEASUREMENT PATH In ATOLL, it is possible to make coverage predictions along a CW measurement path, using the reference transmitter for the current CW measurement session, and potentially added one. This feature is possible using any prediction model along an existing CW measurement path, either created from a spreadsheet, from a drawing of points or paths, or from a data import. The goal of this feature will be to play on the propagation model parameters with a view to calibrate it. To open the prediction window associated with the current CW measurement session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to predict coverage on CW measurement path, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the Parameters tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

When prediction parameters are set (filter + selection of a propagation model), Click the button and choose the Calculate predictions command from the opened menu to start calculation,

Statistics between CW measurement and predictions are automatically displayed in a new window, Results are then available in the CW measurement session table.

Notes : This feature allows you also to predict signal level of added transmitters in an existing CW measurement path. It is also possible to use the path loss stored in the path loss matrices if they have been previously calculated for

prediction studies (select Path loss matrices instead of a propagation model). In this case, the prediction values on the CW measurement path are just extracted from path loss matrices.

When a transmitter is made of several elements for which it is possible to define several powers (TRX types in GSM/TDMA, cells in UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000), ATOLL computes using the highest power level (e.g. BCCH in GSM/TDMA)

When using the button, The Refresh geo data command update heights (Alt DTM, Clutter height, Clutter+DTM) and clutter class of CW measurement points after adding new geographic maps or modifying existing ones, and recalculates predictions to take into account modifications (Calculate predictions command).

X.2.2.d FILTERING POINTS ALONG CW MEASUREMENT PATHS When predicting along CW measurement paths, it is possible to impose some filter. This can be made in the Filter part of the Parameters tab of any CW measurement session property dialog, you may specify filter criteria on: Distance between CW measurement point and reference transmitter : enter minimum and maximum distances

(Min distance and Max distance) in respective boxes. ATOLL will keep only CW measurement points which distance from reference transmitter is between minimum and maximum distances.

Measured signal (CW measurement value) : enter low and high limits for CW measurement values in respective boxes (Min meas. and Max meas.). ATOLL will keep only CW measurement points which CW measurement value is between low and high limits.

Azimuth between the filtered points and the reference transmitter. Hence, it is possible to keep CW measurement points, which angle with the reference transmitter azimuth is between user-defined negative and positive angle values.

Example: If you enter –90 as negative angle and +90 as positive angle, ATOLL will only keep CW measurement points which have an angle between –90° and +90° with the reference transmitter azimuth. Clutter class where CW measurement point is located : tick boxes of clutter classes you want to keep in table and

map. It is possible to select several values at once. To do this, click one or several clutter classes using shift and/or Ctrl button at the same time and then, tick/untick one of boxes. ATOLL will keep only CW measurement points located on the selected clutter classes.

Filters are applied to CW measurement points in the table and on the map; only these points are taken into account for statistics calculations. Selecting the Delete points outside from the filter option enables you to definitively remove CW measurement points, which do not fulfil filter criteria, from table and map. It is possible to define advanced filters on other fields by clicking the More… button. ATOLL opens the classical Filter dialog available for any table.



Notes : Error corresponds to difference between CW measurement value and predicted signal level from reference

transmitter. ATOLL calculates signal level predictions for all the CW measurement points even the filtered ones.

X.2.2.e DISPLAYING STATISTICS BETWEEN CW MEASUREMENTS AND PREDICTIONS Since ATOLL allows users to make predictions along a CW measurement path, it is possible to compare field results in order either to calibrate the currently used propagation model, or to determine the best suited one for the current project. To display comparative results on CW measurements and prediction along a path, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you already realized some comparative predictions,

Click the button and choose the Display statistics command from the opened menu, Results are displayed on the in a Statistics window (per clutter class).

The Display tab window allows you to manage comparative results directly on the map. Note : Even it is possible to add other transmitters in an existing CW measurement path, and start predictions on them,

comparison is possible only with the reference transmitter. We remind you that model calibration and its result (standard deviation) strongly depend on the CW measurement

samples you use. A calibrated model must restore the behaviour of CW measurements depending on their configuration on a large scale, not totally stick to a few number of CW measurements. The calibrated model has to give correct results for every new CW measurement point performed in the same geographical zone, without having been calibrated on these CW measurements.

X.2.2.f MANAGING DISPLAY ON A CW MEASUREMENT PATH In ATOLL, since CW measurement sessions are organized in item folders, these are managed in the same way than in other folder items, i.e. sites, transmitters, etc... Hence, the generic ATOLL display dialog is available in order to manage each CW measurement path, and works exactly as in the other cases. To access the display dialog of any CW measurement session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to manage the data display, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the Display tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window.

Thresholds, legend, tips and other handy display tools are available as classically. Notes : When selecting Discrete values, you can choose “Best server”. ATOLL will give the measurement points the

colour of transmitter, from which the predicted signal level is the best one. When using Value intervals, you can choose “Best prediction”. ATOLL will colour the measurement points

depending on the best predicted signal level.

X.2.2.g EXPORTING CW MEASUREMENT PATHS in ATOLL, CW measurement path may be exported in ArcView© (.shp) and MapInfo (*.mif) file formats as well as ATOLL internal format (*.agd). If the first case, When exporting, two other files with .dbf and .shx are created. The .dbf file may be read with a spreadsheet word processor and contains all fields available in the table associated with the CW measurement session that data are currently being exported. In the second case, in addition to the Mif file, a text file is created and contains necessary text information in order to



define path attributes. To export data from a CW measurement sessions (path included) :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the CW Measurements folder by left clicking on the button, Expand the Reference transmitter folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the CW measurement session you want to export data, Choose the Export... option from the context menu, Enter name and path for the files to export (for both .shp, .dbf and .shx files), Click Save when this is made, A dialog window opens in which you must precise the coordinate system to use in the exported file Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Click to confirm the export. Note : Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file name is made of more than 8 characters.

X.2.3 USING THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW X.2.3.a CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW : ACTIVATION

In ATOLL, the CW Measurements window allows users to display curves for CW measurements, predictions and any other parameters on each point of an existing CW measurement path. To open the CW Measurements window, proceed as follows :

Either Left click on the View menu from the menu bar, Tick the CW Measurements option from the scrolled menu.,

Or Access the CW measurement path you want to study, Right click on it in order to open the related context menu, Select the Analyse... command from the opened menu.

The CW Measurements window is manageable by right clicking on it. From the opened scrolling menu, you may either zoom, copy the displayed window (in order to use it in another application), print it, manage display parameters, and add a second ordinary axis in order to study in parallel several parameters. To use efficiently the CW measurement window, move the mouse pointer inside it, and you will be able to follow the analysis along a complete selected CW measurement path.

X.2.3.b DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW ATOLL provides several tools to manage the display of the CW measurement window, in order to make complete and easy a complete analysis of CW measurement paths. To access the CW measurement window display dialog, proceed as follows :

Make active the CW measurement window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Display command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about available fields in the opened dialog, In this dialog, you can specify Y-axis scale by entering minimum and maximum values, choose style and

colour of CW measurement, prediction (from transmitter which the CW measurement path is related to) and attribute curves and select a unique style for prediction (from other transmitters) curves. Colours of prediction (from other transmitters) curves correspond to transmitter colours,

Click OK to close the dialog. Note : The X-axis represents the distance (in m) between the point CW measurement and the transmitter, according to the CW measurement path refers to. The X-axis scale can be changed. The Y-axis (left vertical axis) is dedicated to CW measurement and prediction values; its scale is user-definable. When using a second ordinary axis, the Y’-axis (right vertical axis) is related to attribute values; its scale is fixed.



X.2.3.c SYNCHRONISING DISPLAY IN TABLE/MAP/CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW It is possible to simultaneously visualise information and predictions about a CW measurement point in the table, on the map and in the CW measurement window thanks to display synchronisation. This synchronisation is also possible on vector data. To do this, proceed as follows :

Open the table related to the studied CW measurement data path, check the CW measurement path is displayed on the map and select the test mobile data path in the CW measurement window,

Arrange the table, the map and the CW measurement window on the screen so as to display everything and click on the map window to make it active,

Set the display options of the CW measurement window. Then, in the CW measurement window, click to display a cursor and move it along the path ; ATOLL

simultaneously selects both in the table and on the map the corresponding CW measurement point.

X.2.3.d ANALYSING FIELDS USING A SECOND ORDINARY AXIS IN CW MEASUREMENT PATHS In ATOLL, It is possible to compare one CW measurement path with predictions from different transmitters. In the CW Measurements window, you can visualise variations of CW measurements, predictions from different transmitters and any CW measurement path attribute (distance, clutter class, altitude…) along the path using a second ordinary axis. Attributes and their definitions are listed in the table below. X : CW Measurement point abscissa (stated in the display coordinate system) Y : CW Measurement point ordinate (stated in the display coordinate system) Z : CW Measurement point altitude above sea level (m) M : CW Measurement values (if available), P : Prediction values (if completed), Difference between measured and predicted values (M – P) D : Distance between transmitter and CW measurement point (m) CLUTTER : Clutter class at the CW measurement point H : Clutter height at the CW measurement point (m) P (Tx) :Signal level received from Tx (dBm) DTM + CLUTTER : Clutter height + ground altitude at the CW measurement point (m)

When the CW Measurements window is displayed, all of these data are available in the Field scrolling list (CW measurement and prediction values always stay visible). Once a field is selected, a second ordinary axis opens at extreme right and associated value is given just right to it. To analyse data at along a path in the CW measurement window, proceed as follows :

Make the CW Measurements window active, Left click in the CW Measurements window, A cursor (vertical line) appears in the CW Measurement window positioned on the closest CW

measurement point. This ”cursor” can be moved over the curves from one point to another.

Simultaneously, a receiver-like cursor appears on the map on the associated CW measurement point. As for point-to-point calculations and interference, this “cursor” symbolizes a receiver placed on the CW measurement point to be studied. This receiver will be synchronized such as two pointing modes on the CW measurement points are available : on the map and on the curves,

Choose from the Field scrolling box the value to display on each point, and the curve to display in parallel with the ones referring to the main ordinary axis.

Note : to come back to the initial state (no second ordinary axis), select the blank field from the field scrolling box.

X.2.3.e ZOOMING IN THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW ATOLL provides some zoom tools in order to be able to analyse with precision data contained in the CW measurement window. To access a zoom command in the CW measurement window, proceed as follows :

Make active the CW measurement window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose either the Zoom in, Zoom out, 1st zoom point or last zoom point command from the opened

menu, The CW measurement window adapt itself according to your choice.

By using the 1st zoom point or last zoom point commands, it is possible to define a zoom range for the current CW



measurement window. In the CW Measurement window, place the cursor where you want to start the zoom, right click and select the 1st zoom point command. Then, place the cursor where you want to end the zoom, right click and select the last zoom point command. ATOLL will display the path between the first and the last selected CW measurement points. Clicking on Zoom out enables you to undo the zoom area and to display the whole path.

X.2.3.f EXPORTING THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW In ATOLL, like for many other objects displayed in a window form (point analysis , antenna patterns, etc...), it is possible to export the contents of the CW measurement window to another application. To export the CW measurement window to another application, proceed as follows :

Make active the CW measurement window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Copy command from the opened menu, Switch to another application (e.g. Word), then paste the content of the clipboard.

Note : additional data related to the second ordinary axis are kept during export.

X.2.3.g PRINTING THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW In ATOLL, like for many other objects displayed in a window form (point analysis , antenna patterns, etc...), it is possible to print the contents of the CW measurement window to another application. To export the CW measurement window to another application, proceed as follows :

Make active the CW measurement window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Print command from the opened menu, The print dialog opens.

Note : additional data related to the second ordinary axis are kept during print.

X.2.3.h COMBINING CW MEASUREMENT AND POINT ANALYSIS WINDOWS The combined use of the CW measurements window and the point analysis window may help the user to interpret some results that could be difficult to understand. Nevertheless, some prediction differences may happen between the two windows. Differences can be explained as follows : In the point analysis window, prediction results are given for each bin from the calculation grid (defined in the

prediction properties). There is uniqueness in prediction results for each picture element from the calculation grid in the point analysis window.

In the CW Measurements window, prediction results are given for the exact geographic location where have been taken CW measurements. No computation (or prediction) resolution is not taken in account in this part.

X.3 TEST MOBILE DATA PATHS

X.3.1 CREATION OF A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH X.3.1.a IMPORTING A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH

In ATOLL, you may import any ASCII text file (with tab, semi-colon or blank character as separator) as well as TEMS FICS-Planet export (*.pln) and TEMS text export (*fmt) to create a test mobile data path. To do this, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Test mobile data folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Import..., Specify the path, name and the format of the file to be imported in the opened window,



The Test mobile data import dialog is opened. It is similar to the one available when importing CW measurement data: In the General tab, give a name and indicate the receiver height, gain and losses of the receiver antenna, the

units and the coordinate system used in the file. In the Setup tab, select an import configuration if defined or specify import settings such as the first test mobile

data line, the separator and the decimal symbol.

Click on the Setup button to set correspondence between the file columns and the ATOLL internal fields. Mandatory information that ATOLL needs to succeed in importing a file is: The position of test mobile data points: indicate abscissa and ordinate columns in the file, ID of serving cells and their neighbours. For each point, ATOLL is capable of importing the measurements from a

serving cell and six neighbour cells. In UMTS networks, a cell is identified thanks to its scrambling code. Therefore, you must indicate the columns relating to the scrambling code of cells, the scrambling code format (decimal or hexadecimal) used in the file and the scrambling code group if needed. As a scrambling code can belong to several groups, it is useful to know the group, from which it has been selected. If the scrambling code group information is not contained in the file, do not specify anything. In case of GSM/TDMA networks, a cell is identified thanks to its pair BCCH-BSIC. Thus, you must specify the fields corresponding to BCCH and BSIC of cells, and the BSIC format (decimal or octal) used in the file. For scrambling code, scrambling code group, BCCH and BSIC information, it is not required to associate a column of the file for the serving cell and each neighbour cell; this operation was considered too long. Here, you must enter a unique character string for the serving and neighbour cells; this character string is a substring that must be contained in the column names relating to the serving and neighbour cells. Important: ATOLL is case sensitive. So, be careful when defining column titles. Example: If you enter the character string “SC” for the scrambling code information, ATOLL will search for the scrambling codes of serving and neighbour cells in the columns which name contains SC.

In the Setup tab, specify the data type of columns to be imported. The default type of columns is <Ignore>. If you do not change it, columns will not be recovered in ATOLL.

In order to go on the import, click on . Notes : Some files like *.pln and some *.fnt files (created with previous TEMS versions) have a well-known fixed structure.

In this case, import is automatic and direct. Multiple imports are supported. In the Import dialog, it is important to specify the right data type (Integer, Real, Text…) of each column in order for

data to be correctly displayed (only numerical fields will be able to be displayed in the Test mobile data window). Columns with <Ignore> type will not recovered.

The import settings may be saved in a configuration (test mobile data import configuration) that you will be able to reuse for next file imports.

X.3.1.b IMPORTING SEVERAL TEST MOBILE DATA PATHS It is possible to import several test mobile data files at once. To do this, proceed as follows :

Follow the standard steps of the import test mobile data procedure, select several files in the Open window,

Either, In the Open window, optionally specify an import configuration in the "Files of type" scrolling box"

in order to filter only files respecting the format defined in the considered configuration, Select the files you want to import simultaneously (multi-selection is possible by using the 'Shift'

key,

Click the button,

Or, Select the files you want to import simultaneously (multi-selection is possible by using the 'Shift'

key,



Click the button, The import CW measurements window opens, Optionally specify an import configuration (Configuration part) that will be consistent with the

format of the files being imported, In that case, you may import several test mobile data files based on the same transmitter and with the

same associated configuration. In this case, you just need to indicate the configuration once,

Click on the all button: all the paths will be imported at the same time. Notes

If the selected test mobile data files are based on different configurations, you cannot use the

button. For each file, indicate a configuration and then, click the button. When using the Import all button, ATOLL does not import files for which the configuration does not correspond to

the selected one. It displays an error message and goes on the import with next file.

X.3.1.c CREATING AN IMPORT TEST MOBILE DATA PATH CONFIGURATION In ATOLL, import test mobile data configurations can be defined in order to make easier some future import procedures based on the same model as a reference one. Moreover, configurations may be useful to import several test mobile data set at once. To create an import test mobile data configuration, you must use the generic import feature. When the import test mobile data windows is opened, proceed as follows :

Define configuration characteristics in the Setup tab : You can change some parameters in the File part such as the number of the first CW


Click on the Setup button to set correspondence between the file columns and the ATOLL internal fields.

Mandatory information that ATOLL needs to succeed in importing a file is: The position of test mobile data points: indicate abscissa and ordinate columns in the file, ID of serving cells and their neighbours. For each point, ATOLL is capable of importing the measurements from a

serving cell and six neighbour cells. In UMTS networks, a cell is identified thanks to its scrambling code. Therefore, you must indicate the columns relating to the scrambling code of cells, the scrambling code format (decimal or hexadecimal) used in the file and the scrambling code group if needed. As a scrambling code can belong to several groups, it is useful to know the group, from which it has been selected. If the scrambling code group information is not contained in the file, do not specify anything. In case of GSM/TDMA networks, a cell is identified thanks to its pair BCCH-BSIC. Thus, you must specify the fields corresponding to BCCH and BSIC of cells, and the BSIC format (decimal or octal) used in the file. For scrambling code, scrambling code group, BCCH and BSIC information, it is not required to associate a column of the file for the serving cell and each neighbour cell; this operation was considered too long. Here, you must enter a unique character string for the serving and neighbour cells; this character string is a substring that must be contained in the column names relating to the serving and neighbour cells. Important: ATOLL is case sensitive. So, be careful when defining column titles. Example: If you enter the character string “SC” for the scrambling code information, ATOLL will search for the scrambling codes of serving and neighbour cells in the columns which name contains SC.

Click the OK button when the correspondence is complete, In the Setup tab, specify the data type of columns to be imported. The default type of columns is

<Ignore>. If you do not change it, columns will not be recovered in ATOLL. In the Configuration part, enter the extension (e.g. *.txt) for the files that will be considered (and filtered)

with this configuration

Click the button and enter a name for the current configuration. Click OK to save the import configuration.

In order to go on the import, open the General tab :



Indicate the test mobile path name, Enter the transmitter frequency, the receiver height, the gain and losses of the receiver antenna, Define the unit and the coordinate system of the current test mobile data,

Click on the button to achieve the import test mobile data procedure. Notes : Configuration is saved as soon as you click on the Save button. It is not necessary to complete the import

procedure (by pressing the Import button). When importing a test mobile data file, the existing configurations are available in the Files of type scrolling menu

(Open window). They are sorted according to their creation order. During import, if ATOLL recognises the extension, it automatically proposes the corresponding configuration. In case several configurations are associated with an extension, ATOLL chooses the first configuration in the list.

When importing a test mobile data file, of course, the existing configurations are also available in the Configuration scrolling box of the Setup tab of the import test mobile data file dialog. When selecting the appropriate configuration, correspondences are automatically set.

The defined configurations are stored in the file “MeasImport.ini”. This file is located in the directory where ATOLL is installed. You can copy it on other workstations (in the directory where ATOLL is installed) in order to make available the configurations.

Caution : It is not necessary to define a projection coordinate system to be able to import a test mobile data path. However,

in order to avoid some inconsistencies, you must specify it in case the test mobile data points are stated in a geographic coordinate system.

In order to avoid some inconsistencies, do not assign the *.* extension to a configuration.

X.3.1.d DELETING AN IMPORT TEST MOBILE DATA PATH CONFIGURATION In ATOLL, Import test mobile data configurations can be defined in order to make easier some future import procedures based on the same model as a reference one. Moreover, configurations may be useful to import several test mobile data set at once. To delete an import test mobile data configuration, you must use the generic import feature. When the import test mobile data windows is opened, proceed as follows :

Click on the Setup tab, In the Configuration part, click on the Configuration scrolling list, Choose the configuration you want to remove

Click on the button. Another solution is to open the file “MeasImport.ini” (located in the directory where ATOLL is installed), select and erase the configurations that you want to remove.

X.3.2 MANAGEMENT OF A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH X.3.2.a DEFINING TEST MOBILE DATA PATH PROPERTIES

In ATOLL, test mobile data sessions are organized in items located under the Test mobile data folder. Test mobile data folder global properties are reachable from the associated context menu (left click on the Test mobile data folder). Measure sessions properties are reachable from Test mobile data subfolders associated context menus (left click on the Test mobile data subfolders). To manage the properties of an existing Test mobile data path, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Test mobile data folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Test mobile data session you want to manage properties, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window.



The dialog is made of 4 tabs (General, Parameters, Table and Display) in which you can respectively manage : The Test mobile data conditions,

The General tab contains information on the receiver and the header of the imported file. Filters over the Test mobile data path,

Filter features enable you to limit the test mobile data points listed in the table and displayed on the map. The Test mobile data table content,

The table tab works like all the other ones, with the standard features on how to manage the contents of any table. It is possible to add new attribute in the table. The display of the Test mobile data points composing the path.

X.3.2.b OPENING A TEST MOBILE DATA TABLE All the test mobile data points of a path, serving cells, neighbours and related attributes are listed in a table. To open this table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the test mobile data folder by left clicking on the button, Either

Right click on the test mobile data session you want to open the related table, Choose the Open command from the context menu,

Or, Double click on the test mobile data session you want to open the related table.

Standard features for managing table contents (Copy/Paste, Fill up/down, Delete, Display columns, Filter, Sort, Fields…) are available in a context menu (when right clicking on column(s) or record(s)) and in the Format, Edit and Records menus. You can also access the table content management from the Table tab of the test mobile data session property dialog. All the test mobile data points from the imported file are listed in a related table. For each test mobile data point, ATOLL provides the file attributes and other information such as the ground altitude above the sea level (Alt. DTM), the distance from its serving cell (Dist), the clutter class (Clutter), the clutter height (Clutter Height) and the total height including the clutter height and the ground altitude (DTM+Clutter). Note : It is possible to display either the BCCH-BSIC pair, or the scrambling code group-scrambling code pair, in the columns of the serving and neighbour cells. To display this information in the table when importing a file, add these lines in the ATOLL.ini file. [TestMobileData] ShowCoupleInfo=1 To be taken into account, the file must be located in the ATOLL installation directory. This file is read only when ATOLL is started. Therefore, it is necessary to close the ATOLL session and to restart it in order to take into account any modification performed in ATOLL.ini.

X.3.2.c FILTERING POINTS ALONG TEST MOBILE DATA PATHS When working on a test mobile data path, it is possible to impose some filter in order to exclude inaccurate points from the study. This can be made in the Filter part of the Parameters tab of any test mobile data session property dialog, you may specify filter criteria on : Clutter class where test mobile data point is located : tick boxes of clutter classes you want to keep in table and

map. It is possible to select several values at once. To do this, click one or several clutter classes using shift and/or Ctrl button at the same time and then, tick/untick one of boxes. ATOLL will keep only test mobile data points located on the selected clutter classes.

It is possible to define advanced filters on other fields by clicking the More… button. ATOLL opens the standard Filter dialog available for any table. The Refresh geo data feature, available when clicking on the Actions button, enables you to update heights (Alt DTM, Clutter height, DTM+Clutter) and the clutter class of test mobile data points after adding new geographic maps or



modifying existing ones. Selecting the Delete points outside from the filter option enables you to definitively remove test mobile data points, which do not fulfil filter criteria, from table and map. Filters are applied to test mobile data points in the table and on the map.

X.3.2.d MANAGING DISPLAY ON A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH In ATOLL, since test mobile data sessions are organized in item folders, these are managed in the same way than in other folder items, i.e. sites, transmitters, etc... Hence, the generic ATOLL display dialog is available in order to manage each test mobile data path, and works exactly as in the other cases. To access the display dialog of any test mobile data session, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Test mobile data folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the Test mobile data session you want to manage properties, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Click on the Display tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window.

Thresholds, legend, tips and other handy display tools are available as classically. Important : When the number of test mobile data points is very high, it is possible to improve the speed of test mobile data display by adding these lines in the ATOLL.ini file. [Measurement] QuickDisplay=1 In this case, the symbol of test mobile data points is fixed ; it is just possible to change size and colour. To be taken into account, the file must be located in the ATOLL installation directory. This file is read only when ATOLL is started. Therefore, it is necessary to close the ATOLL session and to restart it in order to take into account any modification performed in ATOLL.ini. Note : Display of test mobile data paths can be globally managed from the property dialog of the Test mobile data folder. It is possible to display on the map the serving and neighbour cells of a test mobile data point. To visualise the serving and neighbour cells of a test mobile data point, proceed as follows :

On the map, click on a point, ATOLL displays the link(s).

ATOLL graphically displays link(s) from the test mobile data point to its serving cell (solid line - S as symbol) and neighbours (dotted line and N as symbol). The link colour corresponds to the transmitter colour.

X.3.2.e EXPORTING TEST MOBILE DATA PATHS in ATOLL, Each test mobile data path may be exported in ArcView© (.shp) and MapInfo (*.mif) file formats as well as ATOLL internal format (*.agd). If the first case, When exporting, two other files with .dbf and .shx are created. The .dbf file may be read with a spreadsheet word processor and contains all fields available in the table associated with the test mobile data session that data are currently being exported. In the second case, in addition to the Mif file, a text file is created and contains necessary text information in order to define path attributes. To export data from a test mobile data session (path included) :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Test mobile data folder by left clicking on the button,



Right click on the Test mobile data session you want to export data, Choose the Export... option from the context menu, Enter name and path for the files to export, Click Save when this is made, A dialog window opens in which you must precise the coordinate system to use in the exported file Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Click to confirm the export. Note : Under ATOLL, shp filenames are not limited in number of characters when exporting or importing, even if the file name is made of more than 8 characters.

X.3.3 USING THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW X.3.3.a TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW : ACTIVATION

In ATOLL, the Test mobile data window allows users to display the variation of any selected numeric field along the path. To open the Test mobile data window, proceed as follows :

Either Left click on the View menu from the menu bar, Tick the Test mobile data option from the scrolled menu.,

Or Access the test mobile data path you want to study, Right click on it in order to open the related context menu, Select the Analyse... command from the opened menu.

The Test mobile data window is manageable by right clicking on it. From the opened scrolling menu, you may either zoom, copy the displayed window (in order to use it in another application), print it, manage display parameters to make easy the analysis of the several parameters. To use efficiently the CW measurement window, move the mouse pointer inside it, and you will be able to follow the analysis along a complete selected CW measurement path.

X.3.3.b DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW ATOLL provides several tools to manage the display of the Test mobile data window, in order to make complete and easy a complete analysis of Test mobile data paths. To access the CW measurement window display dialog, proceed as follows :

Make active the Test mobile data window, Either,

Click the button to choose information you want to visualise. In the Display dialog, ATOLL lists all the test mobile data path attributes. Only values from numerical fields can be displayed in the Test mobile data window; discrete fields are made grey.

Or, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Display command from the opened menu,

Tick the boxes of fields which you want to visualise variation and choose a colour for each of them. A context menu is available when right clicking anywhere in the table. It contains following commands: Select all: Selects all the attributes listed in the table, Display: Ticks boxes of all the selected attributes, Hide: Unticks boxes of all the selected attributes, Colour: Assigns the chosen colour to all the selected attributes,

It is possible to select several attributes at once. To do this, click one or several attributes using shift and/or Ctrl button at the same time, and then use the Display, Hide and Colour commands of the context menu.

Click on OK to validate the display settings.



X.3.3.c SYNCHRONISING DISPLAY IN TABLE/MAP/TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW It is possible to simultaneously visualise information about a test mobile data point in the table, on the map and in the Test mobile data window thanks to display synchronisation. This synchronisation is also possible on vector data. To do this, proceed as follows :

Open the table related to the studied test mobile data path, check the test mobile data path is displayed on the map and select the test mobile data path in the Test mobile data window,

Arrange the table, the map and the Test mobile data window on the screen so as to display everything and click on the map window to make it active,

Set the display options of the Test mobile data window. After selecting and validating attributes you want to visualise in the Test mobile data window, ATOLL regroups and colours columns relating to the displayed attributes in the table. The column colour corresponds to the colour associated to the attribute in the Display dialog of the Test mobile data window.

Then, in the Test mobile data window, click to display a cursor and move it along the path ; ATOLL simultaneously displays in the table and on the map the corresponding test mobile data point and its links to serving and neighbour cells (only on the map).

Note : To remove the colour of columns in the table and to display all of them again, use the Column format and the Display columns commands available in the Format menu.

X.3.3.d ZOOMING IN THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW ATOLL provides some zoom tools in order to be able to analyse with precision data contained in the Test mobile data window. To access a zoom command in the Test mobile data window, proceed as follows :

Make active the Test mobile data window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose either the Zoom in, Zoom out, 1st zoom point or last zoom point command from the opened

menu, The Test mobile data window adapt itself according to your choice.

By using the 1st zoom point or last zoom point commands, it is possible to define a zoom range for the current Test mobile data window. In the Test mobile data window, place the cursor where you want to start the zoom, right click and select the 1st zoom point command. Then, place the cursor where you want to end the zoom, right click and select the last zoom point command. ATOLL will display the path between the first and the last selected CW measurement points. Clicking on Zoom out enables you to undo the zoom area and to display the whole path.

X.3.3.e EXPORTING THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW In ATOLL, like for many other objects displayed in a window form (point analysis , antenna patterns, etc...), it is possible to export the contents of the Test mobile data window to another application. To export the Test mobile data window to another application, proceed as follows :

Make active the Test mobile data window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Copy command from the opened menu, Switch to another application (e.g. Word), then paste the content of the clipboard.

X.3.3.f PRINTING THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW In ATOLL, like for many other objects displayed in a window form (point analysis , antenna patterns, etc...), it is possible to print the contents of the Test mobile data window to another application. To export the Test mobile data window to another application, proceed as follows :

Make active the Test mobile data window, Right click in it in order to get the related context menu, Choose the Print command from the opened menu, The print dialog opens.

C H A P T E R 11

Co-Planning features

11



XI CO-PLANNING FEATURES

XI.1 CO-PLANNING FEATURES : OVERVIEW Since ATOLL is a complete multi-technology planning tool, the possibility to work on several networks on the same environment has been developed. Hence, it is possible to display in parallel any object (sites, transmitters, geo data, etc...) of a project in another external project. You can choose, for example, to display simultaneously transmitter coverages from both GSM/TDMA and W-CDMA/UMTS technologies. Moreover, it is also possible to study inter-technology handover by allocating external neighbours, either manually or automatically. Because ATOLL is able to work connected to a database, working in co-planning in such a context is also possible, whatever is the database in use (MS Access, SQL server, Oracle, Sybase).

XI.2 CO-PLANNING USING ATOLL

XI.2.1 DISPLAYING EXTERNAL OBJECTS IN A CURRENT ATOLL PROJECT In ATOLL, the co-planning feature enables you to compare networks based on different technologies in the same document .atl. Therefore, you can visualise GSM sites, transmitters, coverage and measurement paths in a UMTS project. This feature is enabled for any technology (UMTS, GSM, CDMA/CDMA 2000 …). More than two networks can be compared in the same document. You can visualise sites, transmitters, prediction studies, measurement paths and geographic maps (DTM, clutter, traffic…). To visualise any object from a project A in a project B, proceed as follows :

Open both projects A.atl and B.atl, In the document A.atl, right click on the folder(s) (Sites, Transmitters, Predictions, Measurements, Clutter

classes, Traffic, DTM…) you want to visualise in the project B in order to display the associated context menu,

Choose the Creating a link in: document B.atl command from the opened scrolling menu, The selected objects are displayed in the document B workspace window. Moreover, additional folders

relating to project A data are created in the document B Explorer window. The projects A and B are linked. You can change project A object properties in document A or B. In any case, the modifications will be taken into account both in the project A (source document) and in the project B (in the workspace and Explorer windows). Note : When closing the project A, ATOLL displays special warning icon in the document B Explorer window and objects relating to the document A disappear in the project B workspace window. Co-Planning in ATOLL also allows you to display neighbours between linked projects. This co-planning feature is available even when using database connections (Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, MS Access).

XI.2.2 ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY (CO-PLANNING) In ATOLL, the co-planning feature allows you to compare networks based on different technologies in a same document .atl. Therefore, you can visualise GSM/TDMA sites, transmitters, coverage studies and measurement paths in a UMTS project. From this, an external neighbours feature has been integrated to each transmitter in a network. This permits you to choose manually, for any transmitter, neighbours from a linked project. An automatic tool is also available. To make active the external neighbours (from a project A.atl) window for any transmitter (from a network B), proceed as follows :



Open both projects A.atl and B.atl, In the document A.atl, left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder in order to open the associated context menu, Choose the Creating a link in : document B.atl command from the opened menu, Transmitters from A are displayed in the network B, In the document B.atl, left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Either,

Expand the transmitters folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Either,

Right click on the transmitter from which you want to define the external neighbourhood, Choose the properties option from the context menu,

Or Double click on the transmitter from which you want to define the external neighbourhood,

Click the Neighbours tab from the current window, In the displayed window, in the bottom table, click on a cell to choose from the scrolling box the

desired transmitter as an external neighbour for the current one. In the scrolling box are displayed all the transmitters located within a radius of 30 km around the reference transmitter in the linked network,

Click either on the button or on Apply to validate and add a new line to the table, When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

Or Right click on the Transmitters folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Neighbours : Neighbour lists... (Cells : Neighbours : Neighbour lists... for UMTS or

CDMA/CDMA 2000 projects ) command from the scrolling list, Click the External neighbours tab from the opened window, In the displayed table, click on a cell to determine either reference transmitters (in the network B)

or associated neighbours (in the network A), Click on the button to validate and add a new line to the table, When you have completed your entry, click on OK to close the dialog box.

Note : Only external transmitters located within 30 km from the reference internal transmitter are listed in the scrolling lists of the Neighbours dialog.

XI.2.3 ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY (CO-PLANNING) In addition to the manual availability, an external neighbour allocation (simulating inter-technology handover) algorithm is available. Therefore, GSM-UMTS neighbours, for instance, can be automatically allocated. This feature enables you to establish a list of external neighbours in an .atl document; external neighbours are also stored in database. The 2G-3G neighbour allocation algorithm is based on the following criteria: Neighbours are selected within a maximum radius from the transmitter site, Transmitter azimuths are taken into account to evaluate inter-transmitter distance, The maximum number of neighbours is fixed, Forcing co-site transmitters as neighbours is allowed.

Therefore, a UMTS transmitter will consider a GSM transmitter as neighbour if: The distance between both transmitters is lower than a user-definable max inter-site distance, The number of neighbours in the list does not exceed the maximum number of neighbours,

To automatically allocate GSM neighbours to UMTS transmitters, proceed as follows :

Open both projects GSM.atl and UMTS.atl, In the document GSM.atl, left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Transmitters folder in order to open the associated context menu, Choose the Creating a link in : document UMTS.atl command from the opened menu, Transmitters from GSM.atl are displayed in the network UMTS, In the UMTS.atl document, right click on the Transmitters folder in order to get the related context menu

and select the [Cells : Neighbours : Automatic allocation] command from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the current dialog, In the Automatic neighbour allocation dialog, choose the External neighbours tab, In the External neighbours tab, set allocation parameters. Click on Run to start algorithm. In the Results part, ATOLL provides for each transmitter a list of



neighbours and distance between transmitter and each neighbour. Click on Commit to allocate neighbours.

Notes : Ticking the co-site transmitters option enables you to force co-site transmitters to be considered as neighbours.

Co-site transmitters will be first neighbours in the list. When selecting the Reset neighbours option, ATOLL deletes all current neighbours and carries out a new

neighbour allocation. If not selected, the existing neighbours are kept. It is also possible to allocate UMTS neighbours to GSM transmitters. In this case, you must go in the UMTS.atl

document and create a link in the GSM.atl document. Then, you can perform the automatic allocation in the GSM.atl document (In the Transmitters folder context menu, select Neighbours and Automatic allocation…).

XI.3 CO-PLANNING USING DATABASES

XI.3.1 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A MS ACCESS DATABASE Unlike Oracle, Sybase and SQL server, MS Access users can store only one .atl project in the same database. Nevertheless, you can create a link between the databases and manage simultaneously tables which have the same structure as Sites, Antennas, Links or Link equipment tables. To manage a single table (e.g., Sites table) in an MS Access database, proceed as follows :

Open the project B.atl in ATOLL, Remove the transmitters from the Transmitters table and sites from the Sites table, Export the project B.atl in the database B.mdb, In the database, open the document B.mdb and delete the Sites table, In ATOLL, open the project A.atl and export it in the database A.mdb, In the Access database, open the document B.mdb, Select the Get External Data: Link Tables… command from the File menu, Select A.mdb from the Link window, Click on the Link button, Choose the Sites table in the Link tables window, Press OK to create a Sites table linked to the A.mdb Sites table in B.mdb. Both tables contain the same

objects.

XI.3.2 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A SQL SERVER DATABASE Oracle, Sybase and SQL server users can store several projects .atl in the same database. When connecting ATOLL to the database (exporting a document .atl in the database or opening a document .atl from the database), you can visualize all the environments .atl stored in the database in the Choosing a project window and select one of them. Then, by creating synonyms, you can share tables which have the same structure as Sites, Antennas, Links or Link equipment tables. This procedure can be carried out only by the database administrator. To manage a single table (e.g., Sites table) in an SQL server database, proceed as follows :

Let the sites of both projects A.atl and B.atl be identical, Let’s assume two users, user A and user B, have been created in the database, Open the project B.atl in ATOLL, remove the transmitters from the Transmitters table and sites from

the Sites table, Export the project B.atl in the database by logging on to user B, In the database, log on to user B and delete the Sites table, In ATOLL, open the project A.atl and export it in the database by logging on to user A, In the database, log on to user A, Click on the Sites table and select the Create a synonym on command from the associated context

menu. The Create synonym window is displayed, Specify the synonym name (Sites), the name of the schema containing the synonym (User B), the object

type (table), the name of the schema you want to use (User A), the object which will be the synonym model (Sites),

Click on Create to validate the synonym creation in the schema B (user B), Therefore, the user B Sites table is the same than the user A Sites table. Both tables are linked.



XI.3.3 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH AN ORACLE DATABASE Oracle, Sybase and SQL server users can store several projects .atl in the same database. When connecting ATOLL to the database (exporting a document .atl in the database or opening a document .atl from the database), you can visualize all the environments .atl stored in the database in the Choosing a project window and select one of them. Then, by creating synonyms, you can share tables which have the same structure as Sites, Antennas, Links or Link equipment tables. This procedure can be carried out only by the database administrator. To manage a single table (e.g., Sites table) in an Oracle database, proceed as follows :






XI.3.4 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A SYBASE DATABASE Oracle, Sybase and SQL server users can store several projects .atl in the same database. When connecting ATOLL to the database (exporting a document .atl in the database or opening a document .atl from the database), you can visualize all the environments .atl stored in the database in the Choosing a project window and select one of them. Then, by creating synonyms, you can share tables which have the same structure as Sites, Antennas, Links or Link equipment tables. This procedure can be carried out only by the database administrator. To manage a single table (e.g., Sites table) in an Sybase database, proceed as follows :






C H A P T E R 12

Import MSI PlaNET® Data

12



XII IMPORT MSI PLANET® DATA

XII.1 IMPORT MSI PLANET® DATA : OVERVIEW Geographic data, radio data (antennas, network data - sites and transmitters -, carriers ), neighbours, propagation models (possibly path loss matrices), text data files, and CW measurement previously created with PlaNET® project (version 2.8) can be imported. This feature is available in any type of project. ATOLL imports PlaNET® database even if there are errors or inconsistencies in files to be imported. Indeed, ATOLL imports all the objects, except these which description syntax is incorrect and data which depend on nonexistent objects (ex: station located on a site which does not exist). Errors occurred during import are listed and described in the Events tab of the Event viewer window. Note : Each import deletes and recreates all the objects to be imported.

XII.2 PLANET® GEO DATA FILES

XII.2.1 PLANET® GEO DATA FORMAT The PlaNET® geographic data are described by a set of files regrouped in a PlaNET directory. The directory structure depends on the geographic data type. ATOLL supports the following objects in PlaNET® format: Digital Terrain Model (16 bits) Clutter classes maps (16 bits) Raster images (1, 4, 8 and 24 bits) Vector data Text data

DTM :

The DTM directory consists on three files, the height file and two others: The index file structure is simple, it is an ASCII text file which holds positional information about file. It contains five columns. You can open an index file using any ASCII text editor. The format of the index file is as follows:

Field File name East min East max Acceptable values

Float Float Float

Description File name: name of file referenced by the index file

x-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel in metres

x-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-right pixel in metres

Field North min North max Square size Acceptable values

Float Float Float

Description y-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-left pixel in metres

y-axis map coordinate of the centre of the upper-right pixel in metres

dimension of a pixel in metres

Example: Index file associated with height file (DTM data). sydney1 303900 343900 6227900 6267900 50 The projection file provides information about used projection system. This file is optional, it is an ASCII text file with up to four lines.

Line Description Spheroid Zone Projection Central meridian

Latitude and longitude of projection central meridian and equivalent x and y coordinates in metres (optional)



Example: Projection file associated with height file (DTM data). Australian-1965 56 UTM 0 153 500000 10000000 Clutter classes :

The Clutter classes directory consists on three files, the clutter file and two others: The menu file, an ASCII text file, defines the feature codes for each type of clutter. It consists of as many lines (with the following format) as there are clutter codes in the clutter data files.

Field Type Description Clutter-code Integer (>1) Identification code for clutter class Feature-name String Name associated with the clutter-code. It may contain spaces

Example: Menu file associated with the clutter file

1 open 2 sea 3 inlandwater 4 residential 5 meanurban 6 denseurban

7 buildings 8 village 9 industrial 10 openinurban 11 forest 12 parks

13 denseurbanhigh 14 blockbuildings 15 denseblockbuild 16 rural 17 mixedsuburban

The index file gives clutter spatial references. The structure of clutter index file is the same as the structure of the DTM index file. Vector :

Vector data contains features such as coastlines, road, etc. Each of these features is stored in a separate vector file. Four types of file are used, the vector file ,where x and y coordinates of vector paths are stored, and three other files: The menu file, an ASCII text file, lists the vector types stored in the database. The menu file is composed of one or more records with the following structure:

Field Type Description Vector type code Integer > 0 Identification code for the vector type Vector type name String (up to 32 characters in length) Name of the vector type

The fields are separated by space characters. The index file, an ASCII text file, lists the vector files and associates each vector file with one vector type and optionally, one attribute file. The index file consists of one or more records with the following structure:

Field Type Description Vector file name

String (up to 32 characters in length)

Filename of the vector file

Attribute file name


Filename of attribute file associated with the vector file (optional)

Dimensions Real Consist of four fields as follows - vector file eastmin: minimum x-axis coordinate of all vector path points in

the vector file - vector file eastmax: maximum x-axis coordinate of all vector path points in

the vector file - vector file northmin: minimum y-axis coordinate of all vector path points in

the vector file - vector file northmax: maximum y-axis coordinate of all vector path points in

the vector file



Vector type name


Name of the vector type which the vector file is associated with. This one must match exactly a vector type name field in the menu file.

The fields are separated by space characters. Example: Index file associated with the vector files

sydney1.airport 313440 333021 6239426 6244784 airport sydney1.riverlake 303900 342704 6227900 6267900 riverlake sydney1.coastline 322837 343900 6227900 6267900 coastline sydney1.railways 303900 336113 6227900 6267900 railways sydney1.highways 303900 325155 6240936 6267900 highways sydney1.majstreets 303900 342770 6227900 6267900 majstreets sydney1.majorroads 303900 342615 6227900 6267900 majorroads

The attribute file stores the height and description properties of vector paths. This file is optional. Image :

The Image directory consists of two files, the image file with .tif extension and an index file with the same structure as the DTM index file structure. Text file :

The text data directory consists of: - The text data files, ASCII text files with the following format: Airport 637111.188 3094774.00 Airport 628642.688 3081806.25 Each file contains a line of text followed by easting and northing of that text, etc…. - The index file, an ASCII text file, stores the position of each text file. It consists of one or more records with the following structure:

Field Type Description File name Text (up to 32 characters in length) Filename of the text data file East Min Real Minimum x-axis coordinate of all points listed in the text data file East Max Real Maximum x-axis coordinate of all points listed in the text data file North Min Real Minimum y-axis coordinate of all points listed in the text data file North Max Real Maximum y-axis coordinate of all points listed in the text data file

Text feature Text (up to 32 characters in length) This field is omitted in case no menu file is available Separator is a blank character. railwayp.txt -260079 693937 2709348 3528665 Railway_Station airport.txt -307727 771663 2547275 3554675 Airport ferryport.txt 303922 493521 2667405 3241297 Ferryport - The menu file, an ASCII text file, which contains the text features. This file is optional. 1 Airport 2 Ferryport 3 Railway_Station



XII.2.2 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® GEOGRAPHIC DATA Several types of geographic data coming from PlaNET® (version 2.8) can be imported into ATOLL : clutter, DTM, vectors or image. Whatever data, the procedure always consists in importing an index file either from the File menu, or with drag and drop from any file explorer application to ATOLL. To import any PlaNET® geographic database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box either : The PlaNET® Geo data (index) option,

Give the path of the index file, Click the Open button, Choose from the opened window the type of geo data to be imported and if you want to embed it

or not in the current .atl ATOLL project, Press OK to achieve the geographic database procedure import,

The PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box(es) associated with the data to be imported and locate the index file(s) with the

browser, Check or modify the projection coordinate system attached to the geographic data to be

imported, Press OK to achieve the geographic database procedure import.

Note :

The button helps you to locate any file by accessing an Open file dialog window. Selecting the PlaNET® Geo data (index) option from the File of types scrolling box is not compulsory. This option

is taken by default when importing an index file. ATOLL also supports as index file all the files which name begins with the string of character « index ». ATOLL is

not case sensitive. Examples: index, Index2, INDEX.new... Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, network, text data files, carriers, neighbours, propagation model parameters, path loss matrices

XII.2.3 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® TEXT DATA FILES In ATOLL, you can import text data coming from PlaNET® (version 2.8). The procedure consists in locating an index file. To import any PlaNET® text data files, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® Geo data (index) option, Give the path of the index file, Click the Open button, In the Data type dialog, select Text data, Press OK to achieve the text data procedure import.

ATOLL creates a folder called “Text data” in the Geo tab; this folder contains all the objects listed in the index file. Note : Selecting the PlaNET® Geo data (index) option from the File of types scrolling box is not compulsory. This option

is taken by default when importing an index file. ATOLL also supports as index file all the files which name begins with the string of character « index ». ATOLL is

not case sensitive. Examples: index, Index2, INDEX.new... Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, network, carriers, neighbours, propagation models parameters, path loss matrices



XII.3 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® DATABASE

XII.3.1 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® ANTENNA DATABASE In ATOLL, you can import antennas coming from PlaNET® (version 2.8). The procedure consists in locating an index file containing the name of the antennas to import from the current folder. Standard fields defined in ATOLL data structure are directly imported. Depending on the type of data, other PlaNET® fields are imported and considered as information fields (Other properties tab of the imported data). If the database system does not allow the creation of fields by program (e.g. Oracle), it is necessary to create the new fields in database before importing. For antennas, the information fields to be created are : FREQUENCY The design frequency of the antenna H_WIDTH The azimuth beamwidth V_WIDTH The elevation beamwidth FRONT_TO_BACK The ratio of forward antenna gain at 0 and 180 degree elevation TILT Indicates whether the antenna is to be electrically or mechanically tilted

To import a PlaNET® antenna database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box associated with the data to import and locate the linked index file in the appropriate box, Press OK to achieve the antenna database procedure import.

Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Other PlaNET® imports : CW measurement, network, geographic data, text data files, carriers, neighbours, propagation models parameters, path loss matrices

XII.3.2 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® NETWORK Network data (only sites or sites and transmitters) from PlaNET® (version 2.8) can be imported into an ATOLL document. The procedure consists in selecting an ASCII site database file and a Flag type file (optional). PlaNET® Site database contains 5 flags. Selecting the Flag type file imports flag names instead of flag values. Take car to ensure consistency between the imported database and data from the Flag type file. Standard fields defined in ATOLL data structure are directly imported. Depending on the type of data, other PlaNET® fields are imported and considered as information fields (Other properties tab of the imported data). If the database system does not allow the creation of fields by program (e.g. Oracle), it is necessary to create the new fields in database before importing. For sites, the information fields to be created are : FLAG_1 to FLAG5 Site status flags (number or flag name if flag types file also imported) LAYER MACRO for macrocell or MICRO for microcell (or empty)

To import a PlaNET® network database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box(es) associated with the data to import and locate the linked file(s) in the appropriate boxes, Press OK to achieve the network database procedure import.



Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Comment: transmitters cannot be created without antenna data. When importing a network, you must make sure that antenna types referenced by sites already exist in the current project. If not, you must import the appropriate antennas database. Therefore, select antenna import and ensure a suitable directory path for antennas. Important : in PlaNET® projects, transmitters are characterized by the EIRP (2G). In ATOLL 3G projects, this field is not available, instead the pilot power has to be defined. Thus, when importing PlaNET® network data, the pilot power is calculated from the EIRP value as follows : Pilot power = EIRP - antenna gain + emission losses. Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, geographic data, text data files, carriers, neighbours, propagation models parameters, path loss matrices

XII.3.3 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® CARRIER DATABASE Carrier data from PlaNET® (version 2.8) can be imported in GSM/TDMA projects. Standard fields defined in ATOLL data structure are directly imported. Depending on the type of data, other PlaNET® fields are imported and considered as information fields (Other properties tab of the imported data). If the database system does not allow the creation of fields by program (e.g. Oracle), it is necessary to create the new fields in database before importing. For the carrier import, the information fields to be created are : LAC Location area code CELLID Alphanumeric cell identity MOB_COUNTRY_CODE Mobile Country Code BSC Base Station Controller MSC Mobile services Switching Centre

related to a consistent transmitter network. Note : the transmitters are supposed either to exist in the ATOLL document or to be imported first. To import a PlaNET® carrier database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box(es) associated with the data to import and locate the linked file(s) in the appropriate boxes, Press OK to achieve the carrier database procedure import.

Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, geographic data, text data files, network, neighbours, propagation models parameters, path loss matrices

XII.3.4 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET® NEIGHBOUR DATABASE Neighbour data coming from PlaNET® (version 2.8), related to a consistent transmitter network, can be imported in GSM/TDMA or UMTS/CDMA projects. To import a PlaNET® neighbour database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box(es) associated with the data to import and locate the linked file(s) in the appropriate boxes,



Press OK to achieve the neighbour database procedure import.

Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, geographic data, text data files, carriers, network, propagation model parameters, path loss matrices

XII.3.5 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® PROPAGATION MODEL PARAMETERS ATOLL provides an automatic import of PlaNET® models. Standard propagation K1 to K6 values as well as calculation methods and clutter management parameters are imported. The procedure consists in selecting an index file containing the name of the models to be imported. To import a PlaNET® propagation model database, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box associated with the data to import and locate the linked index file in the appropriate box, Press OK to achieve the propagation models database procedure import.

Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Note : It is necessary to know that PlaNET® deals with gains contrary to ATOLL which deals with losses. Indeed, for PlaNET® a loss is a negative value. Hence, clutter parameters are the opposite between PlaNET® and ATOLL. In the same way and for the same reason, K1 to K6 values are the opposite between PlaNET® and ATOLL, except K4 (diffraction parameter) which is considered as a loss. The automatic import of PlaNET® models is supposed to avoid that the user have to manage any conversion. Examples : : Let's imagine a clutter class in a PlaNET® project for which is assigned a -10 dB gain. It is assigned a 10 dB loss

(positive value) within the ATOLL document. If a clutter class generates an increase of signal (i.e. 5dB in a PlaNET® project), then ATOLL considers a

negative loss (-5dB). Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, network, text data files, carriers, neighbours, geographic data, path loss matrices

XII.3.6 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® PATH LOSS MATRICES Imported path loss matrices are listed in the Result storage window from the context menu of the Predictions folder. They are locked; thus, new prediction studies performed in ATOLL will just be based on the imported results without recalculating path loss matrices. When importing PlaNET® predictions, ATOLL uses signal level and EIRP available in each binary .sig file to calculate the path loss (EIRP-signal level). This path loss is then used by ATOLL as any path loss result coming from a propagation model. To import a PlaNET® path loss matrices, proceed as follows :

Select the Import command in the File menu from the menu bar, Choose from the File of types scrolling box the PlaNET® database option, A specific PlaNET® data import dialog window opens, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the box associated with the data to import and locate the linked .sig directory in the appropriate

box,



Press OK to achieve the path loss matrices database procedure import.

Note : the button helps you to locate any object in directories by accessing to a classical Open file dialog window. Comment: If you change some parameters like grid resolution…, a dialog will warn you about the fact that calculations will be unlocked. In this case, to perform prediction studies, ATOLL will recalculate the path loss matrices using the default model. Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, CW measurement, network, geographic data, text data files, carriers, neighbours, propagation model parameters

XII.4 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® CW MEASUREMENT DATA

XII.4.1 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® CW MEASUREMENT CW Measurement from PlaNET® (version 2.8) may be imported into ATOLL. This feature is available in any type of project. To make the PlaNET® survey import easier, the drag and drop feature is available from any file explorer application to ATOLL. To import a PlaNET® CW measurement file in ATOLL, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the CW Measurements folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Import..., In the opened window, in the type of file box, specify the survey files PlaNET® (*.hd) format, Precise the path and the name of the file to be imported,

Click to validate your choice, The CW measurement is directly imported in the ATOLL environment. PlaNET® data are included in

ATOLL internal fields of the properties window, Press OK to validate.

Note : Importing PlaNET® CW measurement in a UMTS project requires that the measured transmitter already exists in the project (site + antenna + transmitter - cell). Ensure the consistency between the cell pilot power in ATOLL UMTS project and the EIRP value defined in the PlaNET® document (Pilot power = EIRP – transmitter antenna gain + emission losses). Other PlaNET® imports : antennas, network, geographic data, text data files, carriers, neighbours, propagation models, path loss matrices

C H A P T E R 13

Multi-User Features

13

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XIII MULTI-USER FEATURES

XIII.1 MULTI-USER PROJECTS : OVERVIEW ATOLL is able to store and to exchange (load or refresh) project data in a standard database. Working with a database allows several users to share the same data without risking hidden data consistency loss. Database do not integrate all radio and geo parameters of a network. Nevertheless, it is also possible to create user configuration files (containing geo file paths and description (including vector or raster traffic data), computation zone definition, prediction definitions, folder configurations, macro file paths) that can be exchanged between users working on the same project. Once the database is created, it is easily possible for each user to make modifications and either reload modified data from the database or refresh database with pending changes. Moreover, potential data conflicts (e.g. on modified or deleted records), due to other users actions are detected and the user is assisted in resolving them. An ATOLL document, once connected to a database, keeps memory of the connection and allows the user to manage data consistency in deferred processing. Furthermore, to open an ATOLL session, connected or not to a project in a database, the tool can be started from a command line, including several management options. Since neither databases nor user configurations store calculation results, ATOLL features the possibility to share externalised path loss matrices between users. So, you can work using a central .losses folder containing matrices related to a database project shared by several users.

XIII.2 CREATING/STARTING DATABASE PROJECTS

XIII.2.1 OPERATING PRINCIPLES At the beginning of a session, you can connect (either creating a new database or a new atl document from a database) to an existing database and load its data in your own ATOLL new file. At any time during the session, you are able to archive your work into the connected database, or refresh your document with radio data coming from the database. You can perform the following operations: Connection between an existing base and an ATOLL new document :

Export of a current ATOLL document data to a database

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Archive in the database:

Refresh from the database :

XIII.2.2 CREATING A NEW DATABASE FROM A DOCUMENT This procedure permits the user to create the reference database that can either be used by several users or handled easily. To create a new database from the currently opened .atl ATOLL document, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, select the Database command in the File menu, Then click on the Export... option from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened export window,

Click on the button after giving the appropriate name and format (MS Access, SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase) to the exported file.

The data which are stored in database deal with radio data (sites, transmitters, antennas, station templates, microwave links, etc...), radio parameters (such as propagation models, frequency bands, etc...), UMTS or CDMA/CDMA 2000 parameters, Neighbours (internal and external), custom fields, units, coordinate systems. The data which are not saved in database are Geo data files (or paths) related parameters, folder configurations, study definitions, computation and focus zones, traffic maps, measurements, path loss results (matrices) and coverage areas. The user configuration feature allows the user to save Geo data paths and related parameters, folder configurations, study definitions, and the computation zone. Traffic maps, measurements and coverage areas can be easily exported. Path loss results can be shared between users using a central matrix private folder. Matrices can be also exported in external files to be used in other applications.

XIII.2.3 CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT FROM A DATABASE This connection must be established when creating a new document. Once connected, ATOLL loads the entire base in your new document. Then connection is interrupted. A new connection with reference database will be activated only when necessary in order to enable other users access. To create a new ATOLL document based on data from an existing database, proceed as follows :

From the menu bar, right click on the File menu, then Either

Choose the open from a database... option from the current menu (if no project is already opened) Or

Select the Database option, then Choose the open from a database... option (if a project is already opened),

Select the database file format (including databases via a Microsoft Data link file (.UDL)) and name (Use

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the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window),

Left click on the button to open the selected database. Connection procedure is specific to each database type.

Note : you will have to check the accuracy of the geo data paths (clutter, traffic, etc...) that may not be valid on your computer.

XIII.2.4 STARTING ATOLL FROM THE COMMAND LINE It is possible to start ATOLL from the command line and open a project stored in an Access or Oracle database by entering the database connection parameters (user/password/server). In the command dialog, type the following instruction : In case of Oracle database:

“C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -Provider <Provider name> -Password <User password > -UserId <User account > -DataSource <server> -Project <Project account> In case of Access database:

“C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -Provider <Provider name> -DataSource “C:\…\database.mdb” Note : To identify the provider name, check the Connection properties command from the Database menu in ATOLL when the associated database is currently opened (the Access and Oracle provider names are respectively Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 and MSDAORA.1). Caution: Note that Provider, Password, UserId, DataSource and Project parameters are case sensitive in the instructions above. In addition to this syntax, some other options are also available. For instance, you can load a user configuration by entering the full path of the configuration file. Therefore, you can open a project from database and load the configuration file by entering the following syntax: “C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -Provider <provider_name> -UserId <login_account> -Password <password> -DataSource <server> -Project <project_account> -Cfg “C:\….\configuration.cfg” Since ATOLL works from a command line with options, you can use this feature to start ATOLL entering the following syntax: “C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -Cfg “C:\….\configuration.cfg” In this case, ATOLL is automatically started and the configuration file is loaded when creating a new project. Note : These options can be configured in the ATOLL desktop shortcut. Finally, messages listed in the Events tab can be saved in a .log file, typing the following syntax in the command line: “C:\Program Files\Forsk\ATOLL\ATOLL.exe” -log “C:\….\events.log”

XIII.2.5 EXPORTING USER CONFIGURATION TO AN EXTERNAL FILE In ATOLL, user configurations can be saved and shared between users. Hence, you can define some settings in an .atl project and store them in an external file. This file has a XML (eXtensible Markup Language) international format and .cfg or .geo extension. A user configuration file may contain the following information: Geographic data set: Paths of imported geographic maps, map display settings (visibility scale, transparency, tips

text…), clutter description (code, name, colour, height, model standard deviation and orthogonality factor of each clutter class) and raster or vector traffic map description

Computation zone, Folder configurations: Sort/group/filter configurations and display settings of radio data folders, Definition of prediction studies: general information (name, comments, group, sort and filters), study conditions

and display settings, The paths of macros.

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All these parameters are not stored in a relational database, as they were in versions previous to 2.1. Therefore, the only way to share these settings is to create a user configuration file. Then, by importing it, users are able to work on the same geographic data, have the same data organisation and representation and work out the same prediction studies on a common computation zone. Moreover, they are able to carry out any modification in their .atl documents without changing reference for the others. Notes : ATOLL can store path of any imported geographic data with any of the supported formats except traffic maps. Be

careful, vectors must be in the same coordinate system as the raster maps. Projection and display coordinate systems are not stored (they are stored in the database) The different settings (geographic data set, computation zone, folder configurations and prediction study

definition) can be stored independently. The default extension of user configuration file is .geo when saving either geographic data set, or computation zone, or both of them.

Since a macro is linked to an ATOLL session (and not to an .atl project), the export in user configurations can be made when an .atl project is opened or not.

User configuration files have an international format; they can be used on workstations with different regional parameters.

ATOLL does not store any simulation settings such as parameters entered when creating simulation or simulation display properties.

Since user configuration files are in standard XML format, they can be opened by XML viewers (and modified and/or improved).

User configuration files can be created by ATOLL, imported into an existing .atl document (into an ATOLL session for macros) and easily exchanged between users. To export a user configuration in an external file, proceed as follows :

In the Tools menu, select the [User configuration:Save as…] command, In the User configuration window, select the options you want to export in the file and then, Click OK, In the Save as dialog, browse to find the directory where you want to save the file and specify its name, Press OK to validate.

XIII.2.6 IMPORTING USER CONFIGURATION FROM AN EXTERNAL FILE User configuration files are one of the tools in ATOLL to share data between users. To import a user configuration from an external file, proceed as follows:

In the Tools menu, select the [User configuration:Import…] command, In the Open window, click on the Files of type scrolling menu and select Configuration files (*.cfg), Specify the directory where the file to be imported is located and its name, Press OK to validate, In the User configuration window, check the items you want to import in your .atl document, Click OK to validate the import procedure

When importing a user configuration file including a geographic data set or a study list, ATOLL checks if geographic maps or prediction studies are available in the .atl document. If it finds a map or a study in the .atl document, it offers new options in the import dialog, “Reset existing geo data” and “Reset existing studies”. Select these options in order to remove existing geographic maps or studies from the .atl document before loading the geographic data set or study list described in the user configuration file. If you choose to import a user configuration file, the syntax of the ATOLL desktop shortcut must not contain -Cfg <configuration_file>. If a configuration file called ATOLL.cfg is located in the ATOLL installation directory, this configuration file is automatically loaded when creating a new project (from template or database). Notes : Since a macro is linked to an ATOLL session (and not to an .atl project), the macros contained in the files

referenced by user configurations can be imported only when no .atl project is opened If the user tries to import a user configuration containing a macro in an opened .atl project, only the other items will

be imported (geo data set, study list, computation zone, folder configurations). If the user tries to import a user configuration containing only macro information in an opened .atl project,

configuration data will not be taken into account.

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XIII.3 SUPPORTED DATABASES

XIII.3.1 SUPPORTED DATABASES : OVERVIEW Four standard databases are presently supported: MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle via the OLE-DB interface and Sybase using the ODBC interface. Note : In addition to the above databases, all the databases that accept .udl files and support ODBC interface can be accessed (see below). When possible, ATOLL allows you to interactively create your database. Some databases, MS SQL Server for example, cannot be created by application and need administrator intervention. It is why ATOLL just suggests to create a new MS Access database. Each database carries its own connection dialog.

XIII.3.2 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS ACCESS DATABASE To export a currently opened ATOLL project in a MS Access database, proceed as follows :

Choose the Database command from the File menu, Click Export.. from the opened menu, An export dialog box is opened, Choose name and path associated with the database to export, Select the database format :

Click Save to validate your choice. Note : opening a project from a database use the same syntax.

XIII.3.3 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS SQL SERVER DATABASE To export a currently opened ATOLL project in a MS SQL server database, proceed as follows :

Choose the Database command from the File menu, Click Export... from the opened menu, An export dialog box opens, Select the SQL Server Database file format in the appropriate scrolling box,

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In the opened dialog, enter information about with the base to connect to as system account, server, user name, password.

Click OK to complete the export procedure. Note : opening a project from a database use the same syntax.

XIII.3.4 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN AN ORACLE DATABASE To export a currently opened ATOLL project in an Oracle database, proceed as follows :

Choose the Database command from the File menu, Click Export... from the opened menu, An export dialog box opens, Select the Oracle Database file format in the appropriate scrolling box,

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In the opened dialog, enter the name, password and server name (as defined in the tnsnames.ora file) relative to the system account,

Click OK to complete the export procedure. Note : opening a project from a database use the same syntax.

XIII.3.5 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A SYBASE DATABASE To export a currently opened ATOLL project in a Sybase database, proceed as follows :

Choose the Database command from the File menu, Click Export... from the opened menu, An export dialog box opens, Select the ODBC data source type in the appropriate scrolling box,

In the opened dialog, enter information related to the base to connect with as system account,

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Click OK to complete the export procedure. Notes : By selecting the previous format, all the databases that support OD-BC interface can be accessed Opening a project from a database use the same syntax.

XIII.4 DATA EXCHANGE

XIII.4.1 CHECKING DATABASE CONNECTION PROPERTIES To check the connection between the currently opened project and the reference database, proceed as follows :

Left click on the File tool from the toolbar, Choose the Database command, Click Connection properties... from the opened menu, A dialog informing you about the current connection is then opened.

A specific message box warns you if you are not currently connected to a database. Note : you can use this feature to switch from a user/project account to another. When this made, do not forget to use the refresh command to update your project regarding to privileges and rules related to the current connection.

XIII.4.2 LOADING DATA FROM A DATABASE When a database connection is already established, ATOLL offers you the possibility to refresh data in several ways. To refresh data, proceed as follows :

Left click on the File tool from the toolbar, Choose the Database command, Click the Refresh option from the opened menu, In the opened dialog window, you may Either :

Modify ATOLL pending changes in your linked database, Refresh only data you did not modify,

or Cancel your changes and reload database as it is.

In case you forgot to archive, you are still able to do it.

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XIII.4.3 ARCHIVING DATA IN A DATABASE When a database connection is already established, ATOLL offers you to check precisely the data you want to transfer into the database. To open the Archive dialog window, proceed as follows :

Left click on the File tool from the toolbar, Choose the Database command, Click the Archive... option from the opened menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened dialog window.

Each table may be checked independently. Inside a table, data are sorted by the kind of action you realized : update an existing data or add a new one. You can actually check each data. You can request a global archive of pending changes to the database using Run all or prefer to run through differences between previous and current data values. To detail differences, just select the record you want to check and ask ATOLL to show differences. If you prefer to archive step by step, you can select the desired record and archive it with the Run command. ATOLL also allows you to cancel any of the changes that have been made to your document with respect to the initial state of the database when you connected to it (without taking into account any changes that have been made to the database since you connected to it) by using the Undo command. When your changes have been archived, you get either a dialog window indicating that all modifications have been successfully archived, or a warning dialog about data conflict. ATOLL helps you to manage it (either when modifying or deleting records). Note : The Archive dialog window is available only when some changes have been made and not already archived.

XIII.5 DATA CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT

XIII.5.1 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A MODIFIED RECORD The record field you modified and you try to archive has already been modified in the linked database by another user. For example, you are connected to a MS Access database whose transmitters table has been modified since your initial load. Indeed, the altitude of transmitter Tx34 has been increased from 30 to 35 metres (See below in the database).

MS Access database modified by another user

In your current project, you also increased this altitude, but from 30 to 33 metres only (See the transmitters table from ATOLL current project below).

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Transmitters table you modified in ATOLL

Ignoring that someone already modified this value, you try to archive. Trying to archive, ATOLL detects the conflict and warns you about it with the following window :

In the opened Archive dialog window, if you select the conflicting data, ATOLL offers you to see differences between the current document and the linked database (Show Differences command) :

In the Archive dialog window, select the conflicting data and click on the Resolve command :

A dialog box summarizing the associated conflict opens. Line(s) in grey represent(s) the conflict location(s). By ticking the box on the left, database will be updated with current ATOLL data. If you let the box unticked, ATOLL data are loaded from the linked database.

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You can then check the database. You check that Tx34 altitude is 33 metres, like in the current ATOLL project.

Updated MS Access database after conflict resolving

Note : Only differences between database and current project on the same field of the same record can cause a conflict.

XIII.5.2 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A DELETED RECORD The record you modified and you try to archive has been deleted from the linked database by another user. Somebody deleted the transmitter Tx34 on Site 29. You have modified its altitude on the current ATOLL project and you try to archive. When trying to archive, ATOLL detects the conflict and warns you about. When using the Resolve command, ATOLL will display the following message :

If you choose Yes, you recreate the deleted record in the database. Choosing No, you delete the record in your document as well as in the linked database.

XIII.6 SHARING CALCULATIONS BETWEEN USERS

XIII.6.1 SHARING PATH LOSS MATRICES BETWEEN USERS In ATOLL, some path loss results can be shared by several users. This feature enables the users both to optimise calculation times and to minimize disk occupation on their computer by limiting the .atl environment and the externalised calculation matrix sizes.

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To use shared calculation matrices, proceed as follows :

In the File menu, select the Database: Refresh command to update your .atl environment or the Database: Open from a database command to create your .atl environment. Then, save your environment.

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Either

Right click on the Predictions folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Properties... option from the scrolling menu,

Or Double click on the Predictions folder,

In order to specify the shared directory to be used, you may either directly edit the path to access the

shared directory, or click on the button and choose in the Save as dialog the file Pathloss.dbf included in the shared directory to be used,

Click OK to validate. Note : It is not mandatory to store private path loss matrices in an external folder in order to access public path loss matrices. Therefore, you may specify a shared directory to be used even if private path loss matrices are embedded in your .atl document. The feature use requires a specific work configuration. Indeed, all the users must be connected with a central database and the project must be managed by a calculation administrator (somebody centralizing the calculation result database) also connected with the database which will provide the calculation matrices by externalising its results. The private external path loss matrix folder of the calculation administrator will be the shared folder which will be used by the other users. ATOLL performs prediction studies using the shared path loss matrices only when it does not find the matrices in the user private external folder (or embedded in the atl project). Therefore, to base the prediction studies exclusively on the shared matrices, you need to delete the matrices stored in the private external folder (or embedded in the .atl document) using the Delete command in the Results window. ATOLL accesses the shared path loss matrices using a “read only” mode. it directly reads matrices it needs in the shared directory (these matrices cannot be locked due to consistency with read only mode). If a user modifies in its environment some parameters, ATOLL detects which matrices are invalid and recalculates them. Then, after saving and closing the .atl environment, ATOLL keeps only the recalculated matrices either embedded or in the user private external folder. Therefore, if you change the height of a transmitter and if you carry out predictions, ATOLL will recalculate only the path loss matrix related to this transmitter and will save it in the private external folder associated with the .atl environment. The prediction studies will be based on the recalculated matrix and on the other matrices coming from shared directory. This feature is very useful when several users working on a same project want to perform predictions on different areas. They can plan the network on their area and store in their private folder the associated path loss matrices. Note : Only the calculation administrator is able to update the shared matrices by refreshing its .atl environment and then, restarting calculations. The calculation administrator must feed the calculation matrices only when they are no longer used by the users.

C H A P T E R 14

Microwave Links

14

Microwave Links


C H A P T E R 13


XIV MICROWAVE LINKS

XIV.1 MICROWAVE LINKS : OVERVIEW The optional Microwave Links module allows you to define microwave link network, to display these links on the map, to perform engineering calculations (margin, availability) and analyse interference globally on the network or for a particular link. Since several links can share their extremities (either start or end), the description of a network in ATOLL is divided into two folders located in the explorer window : A Sites folder which contains the set of points that can be used as link extremities. This folder can also contain

sites for 2G/3G networks. A Links folder which contains the description of the links. Each link refers to two items in the Sites folder.

Each folder works as the other objects from the explorer window as far as data visibility, data priority or data display are concerned. Furthermore, each item in the Stations folder can also be used as a link extremity.

XIV.2 CREATING AND MANAGING A MICROWAVE LINK

XIV.2.1 CREATING A MICROWAVE LINK : OVERVIEW In ATOLL, a microwave link can be managed in the same way as sites and transmitters for example. There are two ways to create a link, either using the mouse or using the creation wizard. These can also been made directly from the microwave link table. Microwave links are easy to manage, for display as well as for parameter setup. The settings are available either in the link itself or in the radio equipment.

XIV.2.2 CREATING A LINK USING THE MOUSE To create a new microwave link using the mouse, proceed as follows :

Click on the button from the tool bar,

The pointer shape changes to , Left click a first time on the map to locate the start of the new link,

The pointer shape changes to Left click a second time on the map where to define the link end.

You can create a new link directly on the map, either on existing sites or on new sites automatically created. During the link creation, when placing the pointer near to an existing site highlights it, indicating that it is a potential extremity for the link. Otherwise, a new site will be created. When the link is created, its parameters can be defined in its properties dialog box.

XIV.2.3 CREATING A LINK USING THE WIZARD To create a new microwave link with creation wizard, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Microwave links folder to open the context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on New to start the link creation wizard, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the wizard dialog windows,

Click the button to validate the new microwave link.

Microwave Links


Note : Radio equipment must be defined before creating links. The step 3 of the creation wizard does not allow to create a new equipment.

XIV.2.4 LISTING ALL MICROWAVE LINKS OF A NETWORK Like other objects listed in folders (sites, transmitters, coverage studies, etc...), it is possible to list all the existing microwave links of a network (and its associate properties) in a table form. To open the microwave link table, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Either

Double click on the Microwave links folder Or

Right click on the Microwave links folder to open the associated context menu, Choose the Open command in the scrolling menu.

Due to this organisation, microwave links table benefits from all the features usually available in tables (content management, filtering, sorting, etc...).

XIV.2.5 SETTING MICROWAVE LINK PROPERTIES Like for all objects organised in folders (Sites, Transmitters, Antennas, Predictions, Simulations, measurements, etc...) within ATOLL, microwave links can be managed either individually or globally. Global properties management

In ATOLL, you may manage globally the properties associated with all existing microwave links of your network : To do so, proceed as follows :

Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Right click on the Microwave links folder, Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The 3 standard tab windows are : General, Table, Display. - The General tab deals with folder organisation and list of configurations. - The Table tab helps you to manage contents in the Microwave links table. - The Display tab allows you to manage the display of links depending on their attributes, to manage the legend, labels

on the map, and the contents of help popups using the tip tool . Notes : - Since version 2.1, the microwave links folder benefits from the generic ATOLL display dialog in order to make its display management easier through, for example, labels, legends, threshold definition and the tip tool.

- If you create a new microwave link, the apply current configuration (or F5 : Refresh - icon) command gives the colour to new links according to the display properties of the microwave links folder. Individual property management

There are two ways to edit properties of each microwave link in the current network. To do so,

Either : Left click on the Data tab of the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by clicking on the button in front of it, Right click on the microwave link you want to manage,

or Select on the map the microwave link you want to manage by left clicking on the appropriate link,

Choose the Properties option from the context menu, Use the What's this help to get description about the opened dialog window.

The displayed window contains at least 4 tabs (General, Link, Parameters, Display). The Other Properties tab is available if some user defined fields have been added to the Microwave links table : - The General tab deals with the name, the length, an the cluster name of the current link.

C H A P T E R 13


- The Link tab contains the names of antennas, equipment, power and losses related to each extremity of the current link, - The Parameters assign to the link an environment type, a rain zone and a climate type, - The Display tab allows you to manage the colour and the style of the current link. Note :

You can open the property dialog of the Antennas used at extremities by clicking the buttons on the right of the antenna selection boxes in the Link tab.

Some parameters are linked with environmental behaviours. In the Parameters tab, rain zones (America, Europe and Africa, Asia), Vapour density and atmospheric refraction (February, May, August, November) are based on map following ITU recommendations.

XIV.2.6 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN MICROWAVE LINKS The radio equipment is a device with specific power, reception threshold and FKTB (equipment noise power). To manage the radio equipment available in the current network, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the microwave links folder to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Radio equipment..., Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Precise the names of each piece of equipment and the associated power, reception threshold, FKTB,

and other parameters related to interference studies and total and fading outage probabilities computations,

Press the Close button to validate. In addition to power, reception threshold and thermal noise (FKTB), you may specify the following parameters in the Equipment window: The first of them is taken into account to determine interferer and interfered sites in interference study: Spectrum width (MHz): It corresponds to the signal spreading around the central frequency. Spectrum width

depends on the type of modulation supported by equipment. The other ones are considered to calculate total and fading outage probabilities in link analysis: Saturation (dBm): This parameter enables ATOLL to predict signal level enhancement (paragraph 2.3.3 in ITU–R

530-8 recommendation).

Saturation = E + Received signal

where E is the enhancement (dB) not exceeded for p% of the time. Signature width (MHz) and depth (dB): they are used to model signal distortion due to frequency selective fading

and delay during multipath propagation (paragraph 5.1 in ITU–R 530-8 recommendation). Correction factor discrimination: This term is considered to predict reduction of cross-polar polarization (XPD) in

multipath or precipitation conditions (paragraph 4 in ITU–R 530-8 recommendation).

Corr. Fact. Discrimination = (Co/I) without XPIC (Cross-polar interference canceller), or

Corr. Fact. Discrimination = (Co/I) - XPIF with XPIC (Cross-polar interference canceller),

where (Co/I) is the carrier-to-interference ratio for a reference BER and XPIF is a laboratory-measured cross-polarisation improvement factor. Note : The XPDg parameter is used during the first step of the prediction. XPDg is the minimum of the transmitting and receiving antenna boresight XPDs. ATOLL determines XPDg from cross-polar antenna pattern in case of az = 0 and el = 0 (az and el are respectively the calculated azimuth and tilt angles).

Microwave Links


Caution: These parameters are taken into account only when the analysis is based on the ITU–R 530-8 recommendation. Notes :

From this dialog, you can access the IRF dialog by clicking the button. Transmission powers and reception thresholds of a link are automatically initialised with the equipment values

when choosing equipment in the Link tab of the link Properties window. When no equipment is specified in the link properties, ATOLL considers the following default values : Spectrum

width = 100MHz, Saturation = 0 dBm, Signature width = 0 MHz, Signature depth = 0 dB and Corr. Fact. Discrimination = 0

You can add customised fields in the equipment table by clicking on the Fields button.

XIV.3 ANALYSIS OF A MICROWAVE LINK

XIV.3.1 PATH PROFILE AND LINK RELIABILITY ANALYSIS XIV.3.1.a ADJUSTING COMPUTATION PARAMETERS IN LINK ANALYSIS

Once a microwave link has been correctly build, ATOLL can interactively analyse the signal level profile along it. Path loss attenuations are calculated from recommendations : ITU-R PN 525-6 for the losses due to diffraction (with or without corrective term on Deygout method), ITU-R PN 525-2 for the free space propagation loss, ITU-R PN 676-3 for the atmospheric Path losses.

Link analysis, considering the application of these recommendations, is made using either ITU–R 530-3 recommendation (P.530-3) or the ITU–R 530-8 one (P.530-8) in order to calculate total and fading outage probabilities of the link. Recommendations ITU-R PN 525-6 and ITU–R 530-3 or ITU–R 530-8 can be set. To choose parameters used in computations of link analysis, proceed as follows :

Select a link in the Explorer or in the workspace, Right click on it to open the associate context menu, Choose the Analysis… command from the context menu, Click the Parameters tab, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the current window Specify longitude and latitude, choose the recommendation and the diffraction evaluation method

you want to use in analysis, Click OK to close the dialog.

Notes : ATOLL automatically updates analysis report when changing any parameter. New properties of equipment (signature width and depth, saturation, correction factor discrimination) are

considered in the link analysis only if it is based on ITU–R 530-8 recommendation. In this case, ATOLL takes into account these parameters to calculate total and fading outage probabilities of the link.

Computations are related to environmental behaviours. In the Parameters tab of any link property dialog, rain zones (America, Europe and Africa, Asia), Vapour density and atmospheric refraction (February, May, August, November) are based on maps following ITU recommendations.

XIV.3.1.b DISPLAYING PROFILE ALONG A MICROWAVE LINK In ATOLL, it is possible to carry out a link analysis in a specific window which displays the Fresnel ellipsoid along the profile and allows to adjust corrective terms. To display the propagation analysis window, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the microwave link you want to display the signal level profile to open the associated

context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Analysis..., Click on the Profile tab from the opened window. Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

C H A P T E R 13


Set the current microwave link radio parameters, Press OK to validate.

Notes : Antenna heights are generally set up using one or several Fresnel zone clearance criteria. For example, the ITU

recommends a clearance of 60% of the first Fresnel zone for standard refractivity conditions, and LOS (line of sight) for the worst conditions.

The Profile tab of the analysis window allows interactive settings of antennas heights, with real time display of the two different clearance criteria.

Additional information is available in the Profile tab. A vertical red line indicates the position of the main edge along the link,

ATOLL displays, above the main edge, the diffraction loss (dB) due to this obstacle ( ( )pJ ν ) in case of the first k value and the distance (m) between the obstacle and the starting of the link extremity. Furthermore, you may move cursor along the link and visualise its position on the map. To do this, click anywhere on the profile to display the cursor; then, click on it without releasing the mouse and shift it along the link. ATOLL indicates at the top of the dialog: The distance (m) between cursor and the starting site of the link, The penetration (h in m) of the Fresnel ellipsoid for the first entered k values (1.33 by default):

Penetration = h(axis) - h(obstacle)

h(axis) and h(obstacle) are respectively height of the Fresnel ellipsoid axis and the height of the obstacle. The ellipsoid radius at the cursor position (F1 in m).

XIV.3.1.c DISPLAYING ANALYSIS RESULTS ON A MICROWAVE LINK ATOLL provides a report for the analysis of each link. The report window contains the radio parameters used as well as the signal profile along, for the worth month and mean year, the percentage of time during which link is not interrupted by fading (Quality), and the percentage of time during which the link is not interrupted by rain (Availability). To open the statistical report window for any microwave link, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the microwave link for which you want to display the statistical report, Left click in the scrolling menu on Analysis..., Click on the Report tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Press OK to close the window.

Notes : Parameters cannot be edited in the Report tab window. You can set only them in the Parameters tab window, When using receiver antenna diversity, ATOLL takes into account an improvement coefficient to work out link

outage probabilities. This coefficient value is provided in the Report tab.

XIV.3.1.d MANAGING THE DISPLAY OF A MICROWAVE LINK PROFILE ATOLL allows the user to adjust several parameters in order to manage path profile display along a microwave link. To open the signal level propagation display dialog window, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Make active the signal profile window, Right click on signal display zone to open the associated context menu, Left click in the scrolling menu on Display..., Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Adjust the current display parameters on graduations, Fresnel representation and earth curvature, Press OK or Apply to validate.

Microwave Links


XIV.3.1.e EDITING PROFILE VALUES (MICROWAVE LINKS) This feature provides a table of values containing the points of the current profile. The values are displayed over a grid with the best resolution of the current geo data. Each point is defined with: Distance, in metres, from the link start, Altitude, Clutter class, Clutter height.

To open the parameter settings window for any microwave link, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the microwave link you want to edit the profile values, Left click in the scrolling menu on Analysis..., Click on the Profile values tab from the opened window, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Displayed data can be accessed and modified (values, clutter class, etc...), Press OK to validate.

In the table, it is possible to create an entire profile either by entering data manually in the cells, or by using the copy and

paste tool with values taken from other applications (SIG) button. Moreover, it is also possible to copy

values defining the profile into other applications (SIG) by selecting line(s), and using the button. Reminder : to select the whole table, left click in the top left-hand corner of the table.

XIV.3.2 INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS XIV.3.2.a INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS IN MICROWAVE LINKS : DEFINITIONS

This function allows you to measure the level of interference generated by the network on a receiver, or the level of interference generated by a transmitter on all the receivers in the network. With or without IRF, ATOLL checks if there is overlapping between frequency spectra of links. To do this, ATOLL takes into account spectrum width around each link central frequency. Note : If no equipment is defined in the link properties, ATOLL considers a 100 MHz spectrum width. When studying interference or when preparing a budget, ATOLL offers you to compute diffraction losses with Deygout model, with or without diffraction correction method. When calculating interference level and the propagation fading, the path loss due to the directivity of both antennas is taken into account, as well as the path loss due to the equipment (polarization discrimination, frequency filtering, etc.). The results can be copied and pasted into a spread sheet to allow you to make further analysis. Note : in order to carry out an interference analysis the radio equipment must be associated to the links (equipment for which IRF curves have been defined). Interference analysis can be carried out either on a particular link or on all the links.

XIV.3.2.b FINDING INTERFERERS OF A GIVEN RECEIVER (MICROWAVE LINKS) To identify the transmitters causing interferences on a given receiver, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the microwave link you want to identify interferers of one of its extremities, Left click in the scrolling menu on Interferences..., Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the Find interferers of option from the opened window, Select from the scrolling list the transmitter with which you want to create your study, Enter the maximum distance at which the potential interferers must be located in order to be taken into

C H A P T E R 13


account, Select the diffraction computation method (Deygout or modified Deygout method),

Click the button to run calculations, If some interferers meet the criteria above, they are displayed in the Results list, Total interference and margin reduction are displayed at the bottom, Press CLOSE to finish.

XIV.3.2.c FINDING RECEIVERS INTERFERED BY A TRANSMITTER (MICROWAVE LINKS) To identify the receivers interfered by a given transmitter, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Expand the Microwave links folder by left clicking on the button, Right click on the microwave link you want to identify interferers of one of its extremities, Left click in the scrolling menu on Interferences..., Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window, Tick the Find interferences victims of option from the opened window, Select from the scrolling list the transmitter you want to study, Enter the maximum distance at which the potential interfered transmitters must be located in order to be

taken into account, Select the diffraction computation method (Deygout or modified Deygout method),

Click the button to run calculations, If some transmitters meet the criteria above, they are displayed in the Results list, Total interference and margin reduction are displayed at the bottom, Press CLOSE to finish.

XIV.3.2.d CALCULATING INTERFERENCES IN A GLOBAL MICROWAVE NETWORK ATOLL provides a tool allowing the user to find out all the interferences in a network. To perform a global interference analysis in the current network, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Microwave links folder in order to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Interferences... command from the opened scrolling menu, Enter the maximum distance for potentially interfering sites, Select the diffraction computation method (Deygout or modified Deygout method), Click OK to validate, A summary table on interferences opens.

The results obtained in this case correspond to the interference analysis on each link. Following data are displayed : Link name, Receiver site name, Signal received; Flat margin, Accumulated interferences (Interferences column), Accumulated margin reduction (Margin reduction column), Effective margin.

XIV.3.2.e INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS ON MICROWAVE LINKS This function allows you to measure the level of interference generated by all the network transmitters on a receiver, or the level of interference generated by a transmitter on all the receivers in the network. Definitions Interferences of B (interfering link transmitter) on A (interfered link receiver) = Signal received from B at A - IRF where : Signal received from B at A = Transmitted power(B) + Weighted gain(B) - Losses(B) Free Space Fading Atmospheric Fading Diffraction Fading + Weighted Gain(A) – Losses(A)

Weighted Gain(A), (resp. B) = value of A gain (resp. B) weighted by the fading values given in the radiation pattern of A

Microwave Links


(resp. B) according to the direction of station B (resp. A). The polarization difference of the two signals is taken into account: if the polarisations are different, the Weighted Gain(A) depends on A crosspolar radiation pattern. IRF IRF (Interference Reduction Factor) = Receiver filtering protection as a function of the difference that exists between the central frequencies of the disturbed signal and of the disturbing signal (which is user-definable). FKTB FKTB : equipment noise power where F : noise figure K : Boltzmann constant=1.38 10e(-23) J / K T : noise temperature ~ 290 K B : passband width (Hz) Margin reduction and accumulated margin reduction

Margin reduction = 10 log(1+10e(interferences - FKTB)/10) Accumulated margin reduction = 10 log(1+10e(Total interferences - FKTB)/10)

Effective margin

Effective margin = Flat margin – Accumulated margin reduction where

Flat margin = Signal received – Reception threshold

XIV.3.2.f USING IRF IN MICROWAVE LINKS IRF (Interference Reduction Factor) is a receiver filtering protection as a function of the difference that exists between the central frequencies of the disturbed signal and of the disturbing signal (which is user-definable). To access the IRF dialog, proceed as follows :


Open the Radio equipment table, Use the What's this help to get description about the fields available in the opened window,

Click the button, Or,

Right click on the Microwave links folder in order to get the associated context menu, Choose the IRF option from the context menu.

The opened window offers a list of all the possible equipment pairs. Each piece of equipment paired with other pieces of equipment can be either interfered with or interferer. For each pair, you will have to enter, in table form, the values for the deltaF(MHz) and for the Protection(dB). Notes : When clicking on the IRF button, ATOLL now opens IRF dialog associated to the selected interfered equipment. Transmission powers and reception thresholds of a link are automatically initialised with the equipment values

when choosing equipment in the Link tab of the link Properties window. When no equipment is specified in the link properties, ATOLL considers the following default values : Spectrum

width = 100MHz, Saturation = 0dBm, Signature width = 0 MHz, Signature depth = 0 dB and Corr. Fact. Discrimination = 0

You can add customised fields in the equipment table by clicking on the Fields button. When no IRF value has been defined for interfering-interferer equipment pairs, there is no protection and

interference are higher.

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XIV.3.2.g DISPLAYING MICROWAVE LINK BUDGETS This function provides a report on the analysis results for all the links in the current project. To obtain the link budgets table, proceed as follows :

Click the Data tab in the Explorer window, Right click on the Microwave links folder in order to open the associated context menu, Left click on the Budgets... command from the opened scrolling menu, Choose the diffraction method to use for link budget computation.

For each link, the following data is displayed: Name of the link, Length, Transmitter site name, Azimuth of the transmitter, Downtilt of the transmitter, Receiver site name, Azimuth of the receiver, Downtilt of the receiver, Signal received, Margin value.

XIV.4 ITU MAPS

XIV.4.1 ITU VAPOUR DENSITY ON EARTH

Annual vapour density on Earth (g/m3)

Microwave Links


XIV.4.2 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : FEBRUARY

ITU Percentage of time during which the gradient <=-100 units N/km : February

XIV.4.3 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : MAY

ITU Percentage of time during which the gradient <=-100 units N/km : May

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XIV.4.4 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : AUGUST

ITU Percentage of time during which the gradient <=-100 units N/km : August

XIV.4.5 ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION : NOVEMBER

ITU Percentage of time during which the gradient <=-100 units N/km : November

Microwave Links


XIV.4.6 ITU RAIN ZONES : AMERICA

Rain Zones : America

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XIV.4.7 ITU RAIN ZONES : EUROPE AND AFRICA

Rain Zones : Europe and Africa

Microwave Links


XIV.4.8 ITU RAIN ZONES : ASIA

Rain Zones : Asia

INDEX

I

INDEX


INDEX


INDEX

A ACCESSING COVERAGE PREDICTION

PROPERTIES ......................... 162 ACCESSING DATA TABLE .............. 42 ACCESSING STANDARD

PROPAGATION MODEL PROPERTIES ......................... 142

ACCESSING THE ATOLL AFP PROPERTIES ......................... 227

ACTIVE SET PARAMETERS IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 ............ 302

ACTIVE SET PARAMETERS IN UMTS........................................... 242

ADDING A CLUTTER CLASS............ 79 ADDING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC

RASTER CLASS ...................... 201 ADDING A POINT IN THE

COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE.... 133 ADDING A SIMULATION TO AN

EXISTING GROUP OF CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................ 320

ADDING A SIMULATION TO AN EXISTING GROUP OF UMTS SIMULATIONS ........................ 261

ADDING PREDICTIONS ON EXISTING CW MEASUREMENT PATHS..... 358

ADJUSTING AFP PARAMETERS FROM THE DATA MODEL................... 212

ADJUSTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILE PROPERTIES .... 307

ADJUSTING COMPUTATION PARAMETERS IN LINK ANALYSIS408

ADJUSTING RELIABILITY LEVEL IN A POINT ANALYSIS .................... 177

ADJUSTING STANDARD PROPAGATION MODEL PARAMETERS ........................ 143

ADJUSTING TRANSMITTER AZIMUTHS........................................... 115

ADJUSTING UMTS USER PROFILE PROPERTIES ......................... 248

ADMISSION CONTROL IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................ 323

ADMISSION CONTROL IN UMTS SIMULATIONS ........................ 264

ADVANCED FILTERING COUNTER EXAMPLE 1 ............................. 50

ADVANCED FILTERING COUNTER EXAMPLE 2 ............................. 50

ADVANCED FILTERING EXAMPLE..49 AFP STEP 1 GENERIC INPUTS ..215 AFP STEP 2 LOADING AND

CHECKING THE NETWORK ....... 215 AFP STEP 3 GENERIC AFP

SETTINGS ............................. 215 AFP STEP 4 GENERIC OUTPUTS217 ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000

CELL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY............................................349

ALLOCATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY..348

ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY (CO-PLANNING)............................................376

ALLOCATING EXTERNAL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY (CO-PLANNING) .....375

ALLOCATING FREQUENCIES MANUALLY IN GSM/TDMA .....198

ALLOCATING GSM/TDMA TRANSMITTER NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY.....................210

ALLOCATING GSM/TDMA TRANSMITTER NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY.............................209

ALLOCATING MANUALLY A BCCH TO TRANSMITTERS ......................195

ALLOCATING SCRAMBLING CODES TO UMTS CELLS AUTOMATICALLY291

ALLOCATING SCRAMBLING CODES TO UMTS CELLS MANUALLY ........289

ALLOCATING UMTS CELL NEIGHBOURS AUTOMATICALLY .287

ALLOCATING UMTS CELL NEIGHBOURS MANUALLY .........286

ANALYSING A SCENARIO AT A POINT IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS............................................345

ANALYSING A SCENARIO AT A POINT IN UMTS PROJECTS..................285

ANALYSING ADDITIONAL FIELDS ALONG CW MEASUREMENT PATHS............................................364

ANALYSING PILOT RECEPTION (CDMA/CDMA 2000) ..........337

ANALYSING PILOT RECEPTION (UMTS) ...............................278

ARCHIVING DATA IN A DATABASE..399 ARRANGE ITEMS IN GROUPS..........51 ASSIGNING A SCRAMBLING CODE

DOMAIN TO A CELL..................290 ASSIGNING BSIC DOMAINS TO

TRANSMITTERS ......................194 ASSIGNING CDMA/CDMA 2000

SITE EQUIPMENT TO SITES.......300 ASSIGNING CELL TYPES TO

TRANSMITTERS ......................193 ASSIGNING CLUTTER CLASSES TO

CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT CLASSES..........311

ASSIGNING CLUTTER CLASSES TO UMTS ENVIRONMENT CLASSES............................................251

ASSIGNING ENVIRONMENT FORMULAS TO CLUTTER TYPES (COST-HATA)............................................141

ASSIGNING ENVIRONMENT FORMULAS TO CLUTTER TYPES (OKUMURA-

HATA) .................................. 140 ASSIGNING HCS LAYERS TO

TRANSMITTERS...................... 193 ASSIGNING MANUALLY BSICS TO

TRANSMITTERS...................... 194 ASSIGNING RADIO EQUIPMENT TO

TRANSMITTER ....................... 124 ASSIGNING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT

TO SITES............................... 240 ATOLL AFP COST FUNCTION

OVERVIEW............................ 227 ATOLL AFP COST TAB ............ 232 ATOLL AFP DIRECTIVES TAB ... 233 ATOLL AFP INTERFERENCES TAB

........................................... 233 ATOLL AFP MODULE OVERVIEW

........................................... 227 ATOLL FEATURES FOR COMPUTING

........................................... 179 AVERAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000

SIMULATIONS ........................ 320 AVERAGING UMTS SIMULATIONS261

B BIL DATA FORMAT....................... 74 BSICS OVERVIEW ................... 187 BUILDING A PROJECT ................... 29

C CALCULATING A COVERAGE BY

SIGNAL LEVEL........................ 167 CALCULATING A COVERAGE BY

TRANSMITTER ....................... 167 CALCULATING INTERFERENCES IN A

GLOBAL MICROWAVE NETWORK411 CALCULATING OVERLAPPING AREAS

........................................... 168 CALCULATING PILOT POLLUTION

(CDMA/CDMA 2000).......... 344 CALCULATING PILOT POLLUTION

(UMTS)............................... 284 CALCULATING THE AVERAGE

CAPACITY PER TIMESLOT PER TRANSMITTER ....................... 223

CALIBRATING THE STANDARD PROPAGATION MODEL ........... 155

CDMA/CDMA 2000 ACTIVE SET CONDITIONS.......................... 305

CDMA/CDMA 2000 AVERAGE SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS........................................... 332

CDMA/CDMA 2000 CELLS DEFINITION ........................... 300

CDMA/CDMA 2000 NETWORK OPTIMISATION OVERVIEW ..... 348

CDMA/CDMA 2000 POWER CONTROL SIMULATION INPUTS .318

CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION STUDIES OVERVIEW ............. 334

INDEX


CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS OVERVIEW............................ 297

CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS PROTOCOL............................ 298

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION CONVERGENCE METHOD......... 322

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELL COMPONENTS........................................... 332

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS ............... 332

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILE COMPONENTS........................................... 333

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILES ............ 333

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON SITES ................ 332

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS OVERVIEW............................ 316

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SPECIFIC CONCEPTS............................ 297

CDMA/CDMA 2000 STANDARD DEVIATION OF SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS ............... 332

CDMA/CDMA 2000 TRAFFIC DATA OVERVIEW............................ 302

CELL TYPE PARAMETERS............ 190 CELL TYPES OVERVIEW............ 189 CENTRING THE MAP..................... 35 CHANGING A SITE POSITION ........ 105 CHANNEL ELEMENT MANAGEMENT IN

CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................ 323

CHANNEL ELEMENT MANAGEMENT IN UMTS SIMULATIONS ............. 264

CHECKING DATABASE CONNECTION PROPERTIES ......................... 398

CHECKING PATH LOSS RESULTS VALIDITY............................... 170

CHECKING SCRAMBLING CODE CONSISTENCY ....................... 293

CHECKING THE FREQUENCY PLAN CONSISTENCY ....................... 219

CHECKING THE MAP GEOCODING... 90 CHOOSING A SCALE..................... 36 CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE

PROPAGATION MODEL ............ 136 COMBINING CW MEASUREMENT AND

POINT ANALYSIS WINDOWS...... 365 COMMITTING SIMULATED LOADS TO

CELLS (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS) ........................... 328

COMMITTING SIMULATED LOADS TO CELLS (UMTS PROJECTS) ..... 269

COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES EFFECTS............................... 130

COMPUTATION AND FOCUS ZONES OVERVIEW............................ 129

COMPUTATIONS IN ATOLL OVERVIEW............................ 129

COMPUTING A COVERAGE BY E/GPRS RATE PER TIMESLOT 222

COMPUTING A COVERAGE STUDY BY C/I LEVEL ............................. 207

COMPUTING SHADOWING MARGINS PER CLUTTER CLASS .............. 158

COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF REQUESTED TRXS.................203

CONSIDERING LOSSES DUE TO DIFFRACTION (COST-HATA) ....140

CONSIDERING LOSSES DUE TO DIFFRACTION (OKUMURA-HATA)............................................139

COORDINATE SYSTEMS BASIC CONCEPTS ..............................71

CO-PLANNING FEATURES OVERVIEW............................................375

COPYING AND PASTING IN TABLES..45 COPYING ANTENNA PATTERNS TO THE

CLIPBOARD............................112 COVERAGE PREDICTION AVAILABLE

EXPORTS ..............................173 COVERAGE STUDIES OVERVIEW 159 CREATE AN ADVANCED GEO DATA

FOLDER ..................................86 CREATING 1XEV-DO SPECIFIC

PREDICTIONS.........................347 CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

CELL ....................................301 CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP....310 CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

RADIO CONFIGURATION..........305 CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER............................................315

CREATING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILE .......................307

CREATING A CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGON ....................92

CREATING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM POLYGONS...........131

CREATING A COVERAGE BY E/GPRS CODING SCHEMES ..................222

CREATING A COVERAGE STUDY TEMPLATE .............................168

CREATING A CW MEASUREMENT SESSION ...............................355

CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP OVERVIEW....................200

CREATING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC RASTER MAP..........................200

CREATING A LINK USING THE MOUSE............................................405

CREATING A LINK USING THE WIZARD............................................405

CREATING A MICROWAVE LINK OVERVIEW ............................405

CREATING A NEW DATABASE FROM A DOCUMENT............................392

CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT FROM A DATABASE.............................392

CREATING A REPEATER ..............120 CREATING A SITE .......................103 CREATING A SITE LIST ................107 CREATING A STATION TEMPLATE..117 CREATING A TRANSMITTER .........113 CREATING A TYPE OF CDMA/CDMA

2000 ENVIRONMENT ..............308 CREATING A TYPE OF UMTS

ENVIRONMENT .......................248 CREATING A UMTS CELL...........241 CREATING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT

TRAFFIC MAP......................... 251 CREATING A UMTS MOBILITY TYPE

........................................... 244 CREATING A UMTS TERMINAL.... 246 CREATING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP

PER TRANSMITTER ................. 255 CREATING A UMTS USER PROFILE

........................................... 247 CREATING A VECTOR LAYER ......... 94 CREATING AN ANTENNA ............. 110 CREATING AN E/GPRS EQUIPMENT

........................................... 220 CREATING AN IMPORT CW

MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION........................................... 359

CREATING AN IMPORT TEST MOBILE DATA PATH CONFIGURATION.... 367

CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 POWER CONTROL SIMULATIONS........................................... 317

CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES............................. 303

CREATING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT........................... 298

CREATING COVERAGE CALCULATIONS........................................... 162

CREATING COVERAGE STUDIES PER GROUP OF TRANSMITTER........ 162

CREATING PREDICTIONS FROM MODIFIED CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................ 336

CREATING PREDICTIONS FROM MODIFIED UMTS SIMULATIONS276

CREATING SCRAMBLING CODE DOMAINS AND GROUPS........... 289

CREATING SUBFOLDERS............... 54 CREATING UMTS POWER CONTROL

SIMULATIONS ........................ 258 CREATING UMTS SERVICES ...... 243 CREATING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT

........................................... 238 CREATING YOUR OWN COORDINATE

SYSTEM.................................. 73 CREATING YOUR OWN TEMPLATE ..28 CREATING/MODIFYING ENVIRONMENT

FORMULAS............................ 140 CREATING/MODIFYING ENVIRONMENT

FORMULAS (COST-HATA) ....... 141 CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW

ACTIVATION........................... 363

D DATA SERVICE CREATION

CDMA/CDMA 2000 ............ 303 DEFINING A (EB/NT <-> MAX RATE)

LOOK-UP TABLE ..................... 346 DEFINING A TRANSMITTER AS AN

E/GPRS STATION................. 222 DEFINING AN ENVIRONMENT DEFAULT

FORMULA (COST-HATA) ......... 141 DEFINING AN ENVIRONMENT DEFAULT

FORMULA (OKUMURA-HATA)... 139 DEFINING BSIC FORMAT ........... 187 DEFINING CW MEASUREMENT PATH

PROPERTIES ......................... 360 DEFINING EXCEPTIONAL PAIRS FOR

INDEX


SCRAMBLING CODE ALLOCATION........................................... 290

DEFINING EXCEPTIONAL SEPARATIONS FOR FREQUENCY ALLOCATION.......................... 213

DEFINING HANDOFF STATUS (CDMA/CDMA 2000).......... 342

DEFINING HANDOFF STATUS (UMTS)........................................... 282

DEFINING INTERFERENCE COST IN THE AFP.............................. 228

DEFINING SEPARATION VIOLATION COST IN THE AFP.................. 228

DEFINING STATION TEMPLATE PROPERTIES ......................... 118

DEFINING TARGET PARAMETERS IN SFH (AFP).......................... 230

DEFINING TEST MOBILE DATA PATH PROPERTIES ......................... 368

DEFINING THE COVERAGE CONDITIONS.......................... 164

DEFINING THE DISPLAY COORDINATE SYSTEM.................................. 72

DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF ANY ITEM FOLDER ............... 55

DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW ............................... 363

DEFINING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW ............................... 371

DEFINING THE PROJECTION COORDINATE SYSTEM............... 72

DEFINING THE TRANSMITTER UMTS GLOBAL PARAMETERS ............ 240

DEFINING VISIBILITY RANGES ON OBJECTS ................................ 36

DELETING A COVERAGE STUDY TEMPLATE............................. 168

DELETING A STATION TEMPLATE..118 DELETING A TRANSMITTER ......... 117 DELETING ALLOCATED

CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOURS......................... 350

DELETING ALLOCATED GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS......................... 211

DELETING ALLOCATED UMTS NEIGHBOURS......................... 288

DELETING AN IMPORT CW MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION........................................... 359

DELETING AN IMPORT TEST MOBILE DATA PATH CONFIGURATION.... 368

DELETING AN OBJECT .................. 41 DELETING BUILT SITES ............... 107 DELETING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC

RASTER POLYGONS.................. 93 DELETING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS

ZONE.................................... 132 DESCRIBING THE GSM/TDMA

TRAFFIC RASTER CLASSES...... 200 DESCRIPTION OF MNU FILES ....... 77 DIFFRACTION

DEYGOUT ............................. 149 DEYGOUT WITH CORRECTION..150 EPSTEIN-PETTERSON ............ 150 MILLINGTON.......................... 151

DIFFRACTION COMPUTATION IN SPM............................................149

DISPLAY THE LINE OF SIGHT AREA106 DISPLAYED CURSORS...................37 DISPLAYING ANALYSIS RESULTS ON A

MICROWAVE LINK ...................409 DISPLAYING CALCULATION EVENTS IN

A LOG WINDOW ......................180 DISPLAYING CDMA/CDMA 2000

NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP .......351 DISPLAYING CDMA/CDMA 2000

SIMULATION REQUIREMENTS AND RESULTS...............................326

DISPLAYING CURRENT CDMA/CDMA 2000 NEIGHBOUR LIST......................................350

DISPLAYING CURRENT GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOUR LIST ....................211

DISPLAYING CURRENT UMTS NEIGHBOUR LIST ....................288

DISPLAYING EXTERNAL OBJECTS IN A CURRENT ATOLL PROJECT ....375

DISPLAYING GENERAL INFORMATION ON PROPAGATION MODEL........136

DISPLAYING GSM/TDMA NEIGHBOURS ON THE MAP .......211

DISPLAYING INFORMATION ABOUT RASTER POLYGONS ..................93

DISPLAYING INPUT PARAMETERS OF AN EXISTING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION...........................327

DISPLAYING INPUT PARAMETERS OF AN EXISTING UMTS SIMULATION............................................267

DISPLAYING LINK BUDGET AT A RECEIVER..............................177

DISPLAYING MICROWAVE LINK BUDGETS ..............................413

DISPLAYING OBJECT LABELS ON THE MAP........................................57

DISPLAYING PREDICTED SIGNAL LEVELS AT A POINT .................175

DISPLAYING PREDICTION REPORTS............................................172

DISPLAYING PROFILE ALONG A MICROWAVE LINK ...................408

DISPLAYING RATE GRAPHS..........221 DISPLAYING RULERS AROUND THE

MAP........................................36 DISPLAYING SHADOWING VALUES OF

A CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION...........................330

DISPLAYING SHADOWING VALUES OF A UMTS SIMULATION .............270

DISPLAYING SIGNAL LEVELS OR LOSSES IN POINT ANALYSIS .....177

DISPLAYING SITE LISTS...............109 DISPLAYING SPM PARAMETERS

OVER A PROFILE ANALYSIS ......178 DISPLAYING STATISTICS BEFORE

CALIBRATION (SPM) ..............154 DISPLAYING STATISTICS BETWEEN

CW MEASUREMENTS AND PREDICTIONS.........................362

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAPS ..312

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON CLUTTER CLASSES ................................ 79

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GENERIC DATA...................................... 87

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC ........... 202

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON POPULATION ........................... 85

DISPLAYING STATISTICS ON UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAPS..253

DISPLAYING STATISTICS PER CDMA/CDMA 2000 ENVIRONMENT TYPE............... 309

DISPLAYING STATISTICS PER UMTS ENVIRONMENT TYPE............... 250

DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE COORDINATES....................... 133

DISPLAYING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE SIZE........................................... 133

DISPLAYING THE OBJECT PROPERTIES............................................. 40

DISPLAYING THE SUBCELL LIST ... 196 DISPLAYING THE TRX LIST......... 199 DISPLAYING UMTS NEIGHBOURS ON

THE MAP ............................... 288 DISPLAYING UMTS SIMULATION

REQUIREMENTS AND RESULTS.267 DISPLAYING VECTOR LAYERS OVER

PREDICTIONS .......................... 83 DISTRIBUTING CALCULATIONS ON

SEVERAL PCS ....................... 179 DRAWING A COMPUTATION/FOCUS

ZONE.................................... 131 DRAWING A CW MEASUREMENT PATH

........................................... 356 DROPPING A STATION FROM A

TEMPLATE............................. 119 DROPPING A STATION ON AN EXISTING

SITE ..................................... 119 DXF DATA FORMAT ..................... 76

E E/GPRS PROJECTS OVERVIEW 219 EDITING A VECTOR OBJECT........... 94 EDITING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC

RASTER POLYGONS.................. 92 EDITING CONTENTS IN TABLES ...... 43 EDITING PROFILE VALUES

(MICROWAVE LINKS)............... 410 EMBEDDING - LINKING COMPARISON

............................................. 88 EMBEDDING GEOGRAPHIC DATA .... 88 ERDAS IMAGINE DATA FORMAT...... 76 EXAMPLES OF CDMA/CDMA 2000

VECTOR TRAFFIC DATA ........... 314 EXAMPLES OF CELL TYPES ......... 191 EXAMPLES OF FILTER IN TABLES.... 48 EXAMPLES OF GROUPING BY......... 52 EXAMPLES OF UMTS VECTOR

TRAFFIC DATA ....................... 255 EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP ... 312 EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER

INDEX


........................................... 316 EXPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP ............ 314 EXPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS MAP97 EXPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT MAP

............................................. 99 EXPORTING A DTM MAP .............. 99 EXPORTING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC

RASTER MAP ......................... 201 EXPORTING A POINT ANALYSIS STUDY

........................................... 178 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS

ACCESS DATABASE................ 395 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A MS SQL

SERVER DATABASE ................ 395 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN A SYBASE

DATABASE ............................ 397 EXPORTING A PROJECT IN AN

ORACLE DATABASE................ 396 EXPORTING A SITE LIST .............. 108 EXPORTING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT

TRAFFIC MAP......................... 252 EXPORTING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP

PER TRANSMITTER ................. 257 EXPORTING A UMTS VECTOR

TRAFFIC MAP......................... 255 EXPORTING A VECTOR OBJECT ... 100 EXPORTING CALCULATION EVENTS IN

A LOG FILE ............................ 180 EXPORTING CW MEASUREMENT

PATHS .................................. 362 EXPORTING MAIN PATH LOSS

MATRICES............................. 171 EXPORTING MAPS TO EXTERNAL FILES

............................................. 38 EXPORTING MAPS TO OTHER

APPLICATIONS ......................... 39 EXPORTING PREDICTION COVERAGES

........................................... 173 EXPORTING PREDICTION REPORTS

........................................... 172 EXPORTING TEST MOBILE DATA

PATHS .................................. 370 EXPORTING THE

COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE TO A FILE ..................................... 132

EXPORTING THE CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW ............................... 365

EXPORTING THE TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW ............................... 372

EXPORTING USER CONFIGURATION TO AN EXTERNAL FILE ................. 393

F FILTERING DATA IN A POLYGON ..... 54 FILTERING POINTS ALONG CW

MEASUREMENT PATHS............ 361 FILTERING POINTS ALONG TEST

MOBILE DATA PATHS............... 369 FILTERING RADIO DATA ................ 48 FILTERING SITE LISTS................. 109 FINDING INTERFERERS OF A GIVEN

RECEIVER (MICROWAVE LINKS) 410 FINDING RECEIVERS INTERFERED BY

A TRANSMITTER (MICROWAVE LINKS) .................................. 411

FREQUENCIES OVERVIEW .........184

G GENERAL PRESENTATION .............21 GENERATOR INITIALISATION - REPLAY

DIFFERENCES (CDMA/CDMA 2000)...................................320

GENERATOR INITIALISATION - REPLAY DIFFERENCES (UMTS)...........260

GENERIC MAPS OVERVIEW..........85 GEO DATA TYPE SUPPORTED ........69 GETTING DISTANCES AROUND SITES

............................................106 GETTING DISTANCES ON THE MAP..36 GROUPING GEO DATA FILES IN

DISPLAY FOLDER ......................90 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS OVERVIEW

............................................183 GSM/TDMA PROJECTS PROTOCOL

............................................183

H HIERARCHICAL CELLS OVERVIEW

............................................193 HOW TO ACCESS THE PROPERTIES OF

ANY OBJECT OR GROUP OF OBJECTS.................................63

HOW TO BE AUTOMATICALLY PLACED IN THE FIND SITE BOX ...............63

HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY A VALUE FOR ALL THE TRANSMITTER .......62

HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS..........64

HOW TO CHANGE GLOBALLY THE NAMES OF ALL THE SITES ..........64

HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE COLUMNS DISPLAYED IN A TABLE ..............64

HOW TO CUSTOMISE THE TABLE STYLE .....................................64

HOW TO DEFINE THE DEFAULT SERVER FOR DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING.............................65

HOW TO DELETE ALL SITES AND THEIR TRANSMITTERS IN ONE SHOT .....63

HOW TO DISPLAY CITY POINTS AND THEIR NAMES ON THE MAP.........65

HOW TO DISPLAY SCRAMBLING CODES ON THE MAP..................65

HOW TO FILTER DATA RAPIDLY ......63 HOW TO FIND EASILY A SITE ON THE

MAP........................................63 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT BY

ITS NAME IN A FOLDER ..............64 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT IN A

TABLE.....................................64 HOW TO FIND EASILY AN OBJECT ON

THE MAP .................................64 HOW TO IMPORT GEO DATA EASILY 62 HOW TO OBTAIN A LINK BUDGET ....65 HOW TO OPEN OR CLOSE RAPIDLY A

FOLDER ..................................64 HOW TO PREDICT SIGNAL LEVEL ON A

ROAD......................................65 HOW TO USE WILDCARD CHARACTERS

TO FILTER TEXT-FORMAT FIELDS 63 HOW TO WORK ON A SET OF SITES

SELECTED BY A POLYGON ......... 65 HOW TO WORK ONLY ON "LIVE" SITES

............................................. 63 HSNS OVERVIEW.................... 186

I IMPORT MSI PLANET® DATA

OVERVIEW............................ 381 IMPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

TRAFFIC MAP PER TRANSMITTER........................................... 316

IMPORTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000 VECTOR TRAFFIC MAP ............ 313

IMPORTING A CLUTTER CLASS FILE 77 IMPORTING A CLUTTER HEIGHT FILE80 IMPORTING A CW MEASUREMENT

PATH.................................... 357 IMPORTING A DTM MAP ............... 81 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET®

ANTENNA DATABASE .............. 385 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET®

CARRIER DATABASE ............... 386 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET®

NEIGHBOUR DATABASE........... 386 IMPORTING A MSI PLANET®

NETWORK ............................. 385 IMPORTING A POPULATION MAP ..... 84 IMPORTING A SITE LIST ............... 109 IMPORTING A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH

........................................... 365 IMPORTING A UMTS TRAFFIC MAP

PER TRANSMITTER ................. 256 IMPORTING A UMTS VECTOR

TRAFFIC MAP......................... 254 IMPORTING A VECTOR FILE ........... 82 IMPORTING ANTENNA PATTERNS .112 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® CW

MEASUREMENT...................... 388 IMPORTING MSI PLANET®

GEOGRAPHIC DATA ................ 384 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® PATH

LOSS MATRICES..................... 387 IMPORTING MSI PLANET®

PROPAGATION MODELS .......... 387 IMPORTING MSI PLANET® TEXT

DATA FILES ........................... 384 IMPORTING SCANNED IMAGES ....... 83 IMPORTING SEVERAL CW

MEASUREMENT PATHS............ 358 IMPORTING SEVERAL TEST MOBILE

DATA PATHS.......................... 366 IMPORTING THE

COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE FROM A FILE................................... 132

IMPORTING USER CONFIGURATION FROM AN EXTERNAL FILE ........ 394

IMPOSING A STRATEGY ON THE HSN ALLOCATION (AFP)................ 232

INSTALLING ATOLL..................... 24 INSTALLING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING

SERVER.................................. 25 INSTALLING SEVERAL ANTENNAS ON A

TRANSMITTER ....................... 116 INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS IN

MICROWAVE LINKS DEFINITIONS........................................... 410

INDEX


INTERFERENCE ANALYSIS ON MICROWAVE LINKS ................. 411

ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION AUGUST ............................... 415

ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION FEBRUARY............................ 414

ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION MAY..................................... 414

ITU ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION NOVEMBER........................... 415

ITU RAIN ZONES AMERICA ....... 416 ITU RAIN ZONES ASIA.............. 418 ITU RAIN ZONES EUROPE AND

AFRICA................................. 417 ITU VAPOUR DENSITY ON EARTH 413

L LISTING ALL MICROWAVE LINKS OF A

NETWORK ............................. 406 LISTING ALL SIGNAL AND C/I LEVELS

AT A POINT............................ 176 LOADING DATA FROM A DATABASE

........................................... 398 LOCATING ANY POINT ON THE MAP.58 LOCATING ANY SITE ON THE MAP ... 59 LOCATING ANY VECTOR ON THE MAP

............................................. 59 LOCKING COVERAGE STUDIES..... 166 LOCKING PATH LOSS RESULTS .... 170

M MANAGING A MULTI-SECTORED

STATION ............................... 119 MANAGING A SITE LIST ............... 108 MANAGING AND DISPLAYING LEGENDS

............................................. 55 MANAGING BSIC DOMAINS AND

GROUPS ............................... 188 MANAGING BTS EQUIPMENT ...... 124 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000

CELL PROPERTIES ................. 301 MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000

ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY................................ 312

MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTION DISPLAY.............. 336

MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 RADIO DATA OVERVIEW ........ 298

MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION PROPERTIES........ 317

MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATION RESULTS ON THE MAP........................................... 330

MANAGING CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT.................... 299

MANAGING CELL TYPES.............. 189 MANAGING CHANNEL ELEMENT

CONSUMPTION PER CDMA/CDMA 2000 SITE EQUIPMENT........... 299

MANAGING CHANNEL ELEMENT CONSUMPTION PER UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT........................... 239

MANAGING CLUTTER HEIGHT MAPS 80 MANAGING CONTENTS IN TABLES ..42 MANAGING DISPLAY ON A CW

MEASUREMENT PATH ............. 362

MANAGING DISPLAY ON A TEST MOBILE DATA PATH.................370

MANAGING DTM MAPS ................81 MANAGING E/GPRS EQUIPMENT

PROPERTIES..........................220 MANAGING FEEDER EQUIPMENT ..123 MANAGING FREQUENCY BANDS ...185 MANAGING FREQUENCY DOMAINS

AND GROUPS .........................185 MANAGING GENERIC MAPS............87 MANAGING GEOGRAPHIC DATA

OVERVIEW ..............................69 MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA

2000 ENVIRONMENT TYPES ....309 MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA

2000 RADIO CONFIGURATIONS............................................306

MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 SERVICES.....................304

MANAGING GLOBALLY CDMA/CDMA 2000 USER PROFILES.............308

MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS ENVIRONMENT TYPES .............250

MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS MOBILITY TYPES.....................245

MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS SERVICES..............................244

MANAGING GLOBALLY UMTS USER PROFILES ..............................248

MANAGING GSM/TDMA RADIO DATA OVERVIEW ............................184

MANAGING GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY .........................202

MANAGING HCS LAYERS ...........193 MANAGING HSN DOMAINS AND

GROUPS................................186 MANAGING MEASUREMENTS

OVERVIEW ............................355 MANAGING OBJECT VISIBILITY .......41 MANAGING POPULATION MAPS ......85 MANAGING PREDICTION DISPLAY .165 MANAGING PREDICTION RESULTS

OVERVIEW ............................172 MANAGING PROPAGATION MODEL

FOLDERS...............................137 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN A

DATABASE STRUCTURE ...........125 MANAGING RADIO EQUIPMENT IN

MICROWAVE LINKS .................407 MANAGING RADIO NETWORK DATA

OVERVIEW ............................103 MANAGING REPEATER PROPERTIES

............................................120 MANAGING SCANNED IMAGES........83 MANAGING SITE ALTITUDES.........105 MANAGING SITE PROPERTIES ......104 MANAGING SUBCELLS IN

TRANSMITTERS ......................195 MANAGING TABLE DISPLAY............44 MANAGING THE ANTENNA

PROPERTIES..........................110 MANAGING THE CLUTTER CLASSES 78 MANAGING THE DISPLAY OF A

MICROWAVE LINK PROFILE.......409 MANAGING TMA EQUIPMENT ......123 MANAGING TRANSMITTER

PROPERTIES..........................114

MANAGING TRXS IN TRANSMITTERS........................................... 199

MANAGING UMTS CELL PROPERTIES........................................... 241

MANAGING UMTS ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP DISPLAY ............ 253

MANAGING UMTS NETWORK TERMINALS ........................... 246

MANAGING UMTS PREDICTION DISPLAY................................ 277

MANAGING UMTS RADIO DATA OVERVIEW............................ 238

MANAGING UMTS SIMULATION PROPERTIES ......................... 258

MANAGING UMTS SIMULATION RESULTS ON THE MAP ............ 271

MANAGING UMTS SITE EQUIPMENT........................................... 239

MANAGING VECTOR OBJECT PROPERTIES ........................... 96

MANAGING VECTOR OBJECT SHAPES............................................. 95

MANAGING VECTOR OBJECTS ....... 82 MERGING HEXAGONAL GROUPS OF

BASE STATIONS ..................... 119 MICROWAVE LINKS OVERVIEW ..405 MIF DATA FORMAT ...................... 76 MISCELLANEOUS COSTS INVOLVED IN

AFP COST FUNCTION ............ 229 MODELLING SHADOWING IN

CDMA/CDMA 2000 PREDICTIONS ........................ 336

MODELLING SHADOWING IN CDMA/CDMA 2000 SIMULATIONS ........................ 325

MODELLING SHADOWING IN UMTS PREDICTIONS ........................ 276

MODELLING SHADOWING IN UMTS SIMULATIONS ........................ 265

MODIFYING ANTENNA PARAMETERS IN TABLES................................. 111

MODIFYING CLUTTER OR TRAFFIC RASTER POLYGONS.................. 93

MOVING A POINT OF THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE.... 133

MOVING A TRANSMITTER ON THE MAP........................................... 115

MULTI-USER PROJECTS OVERVIEW........................................... 391

N NAMING AUTOMATICALLY SITES... 104 NAMING AUTOMATICALLY

TRANSMITTERS...................... 114 NETWORK OPTIMISATION OVERVIEW

........................................... 209

O OPENING A CW MEASUREMENT

TABLE .................................. 360 OPENING A TEST MOBILE DATA TABLE

........................................... 369 OPENING DIALOGS FROM TABLES ..43 OPERATING PRINCIPLES............. 391 OPTIMISING THE LOADING OF

CLUTTER CLASS FILES .............. 77

INDEX


ORGANISING RESULT OUTPUTS OF A COVERAGE STUDY ................. 163

OTHER SUPPORTED FORMATS ...... 77 OVSF CODES AVAILABILITY ....... 265 OVSF CODES MANAGEMENT...... 264

P PASTING A CW MEASUREMENT PATH

........................................... 356 PLANET® GEO DATA FORMAT.... 381 POINT ANALYSIS PREDICTIONS

OVERVIEW............................ 174 POWER CONTROL CDMA/CDMA

2000 SIMULATION CONCEPTS .320 POWER CONTROL UMTS

SIMULATION CONCEPTS .......... 261 POWER PARAMETERS IN

CDMA/CDMA 2000 ............ 302 POWER PARAMETERS IN UMTS..242 PREDICTING ON GIVEN

CDMA/CDMA 2000 CARRIERS........................................... 335

PREDICTING ON GIVEN UMTS CARRIERS............................. 276

PREDICTING SIGNAL LEVELS ON A CW MEASUREMENT PATH ............. 361

PRINTING A MAP.......................... 38 PRINTING A POINT ANALYSIS STUDY

........................................... 179 PRINTING ANTENNA PATTERNS.... 113 PRINTING DATA TABLES................ 46 PRINTING PREDICTION REPORTS .173 PRINTING THE ACTIVE WINDOW ..... 34 PRINTING THE CW MEASUREMENT

WINDOW ............................... 365 PRINTING THE TEST MOBILE DATA

WINDOW ............................... 372 PROPAGATION MODELS OVERVIEW

........................................... 134

R RADIO EQUIPMENT OVERVIEW ..123 RECEIVER EFFECTIVE ANTENNA

HEIGHT................................. 151 REFRESHING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

ENVIRONMENT TRAFFIC MAP ... 311 REFRESHING A GSM/TDMA TRAFFIC

RASTER MAP ......................... 201 REFRESHING A UMTS ENVIRONMENT

TRAFFIC MAP......................... 252 REFRESHING MAPS AND FOLDERS .58 REMOVING A POINT IN THE

COMPUTATION/FOCUS ZONE.... 133 REMOVING ATOLL ..................... 24 REMOVING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING

SERVER.................................. 25 REMOVING THE POLYGON FILTER ..55 RENAMING AN OBJECT ................. 40 REORGANIZE DATA AFTER

MODIFICATIONS ....................... 54 REPAIRING A BROKEN LINK ........... 89 REPEATERS OVERVIEW............ 120 REPLAYING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

SIMULATION .......................... 319 REPLAYING A UMTS SIMULATION260 RESIZING THE COMPUTATION/FOCUS

ZONE ....................................133 RUNNING COVERAGE CALCULATIONS

............................................166

S SAMPLE VALUES FOR SPM FORMULA

PARAMETERS.........................151 SAVING THE EDITED RASTER

POLYGONS ..............................97 SCRAMBLING CODE ALLOCATION

PROCESS ..............................292 SCRAMBLING CODES OVERVIEW 289 SELECTING A TRANSMITTER IN POINT

ANALYSIS ..............................176 SELECTING PROPAGATION MODELS

............................................134 SELECTING THE POWER DEFINITION

ITEM IN POINT ANALYSIS ..........176 SETTING A CDMA/CDMA 2000

RADIO CONFIGURATION..........305 SETTING A UMTS MOBILITY TYPE245 SETTING CALCULATION AREAS.....160 SETTING CALCULATION RESOLUTIONS

............................................161 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000

ENVIRONMENT PARAMETERS ...309 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000

SERVICES PARAMETERS..........304 SETTING CDMA/CDMA 2000

TRAFFIC MAP PARAMETERS OVERVIEW ............................310

SETTING CODING SCHEMES PARAMETERS.........................221

SETTING COVERAGE PROPERTIES OF A REPEATER ..........................121

SETTING COVERAGE RESOLUTIONS............................................163

SETTING DEFAULT LENGTH/HEIGHT/OFFSET UNITS ..71

SETTING DEFAULT RADIO UNITS...103 SETTING DOCUMENT PRINTS .........58 SETTING DONOR PROPERTIES OF A

REPEATER.............................121 SETTING GEO DATA PRIORITY ........91 SETTING INTERFERER DIVERSITY GAIN

IN THE AFP...........................229 SETTING MICROWAVE LINK

PROPERTIES..........................406 SETTING PROPAGATION MODEL

PRIORITY...............................135 SETTING SPECIFIC COVERAGE

CONDITIONS IN GSM/TDMA STUDIES................................204

SETTING THE DISPLAY PROPERTIES OF A SITE ..............................107

SETTING THE FREQUENCY DIVERSITY GAIN IN THE AFP ...................230

SETTING THE RECEIVER PROPERTIES............................................157

SETTING THE TRANSMITTER CDMA/CDMA 2000 GLOBAL PARAMETERS.........................300

SETTING TRANSMITTER ACTIVITY .116 SETTING UMTS ENVIRONMENT

PARAMETERS.........................249 SETTING UMTS SERVICE

PARAMETERS ........................ 243 SETTING UMTS TERMINAL

PARAMETERS ........................ 246 SETTING UMTS TRAFFIC MAP

PARAMETERS OVERVIEW ...... 251 SHARING PATH LOSS MATRICES

BETWEEN USERS ................... 401 SHP DATA FORMAT..................... 76 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A DELETED

RECORD ............................... 401 SOLVING A CONFLICT ON A MODIFIED

RECORD ............................... 399 SORTING A FOLDER ..................... 51 SORTING AND FILTERING IN TABLES46 SPM CALIBRATION TAB WINDOW 154 SPM CLUTTER TAB WINDOW...... 152 SPM GENERAL TAB WINDOW ..... 143 SPM PARAMETERS TAB WINDOW 144 STARTING A NEW PROJECT........... 27 STARTING ATOLL FROM THE

COMMAND LINE...................... 393 STORAGE OF PATH LOSS MATRICES

........................................... 169 STUDYING DOWNLINK TOTAL NOISE

(CDMA/CDMA 2000).......... 343 STUDYING DOWNLINK TOTAL NOISE

(UMTS)............................... 283 STUDYING EFFECTIVE SERVICE AREA

(CDMA/CDMA 2000).......... 341 STUDYING EFFECTIVE SERVICE AREA

(UMTS)............................... 281 STUDYING INTERFERED ZONE

PREDICTIONS ........................ 206 STUDYING INTERFERENCES WITH THE

POINT ANALYSIS .................... 207 STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT)

DOWNLINK (CDMA/CDMA 2000)........................................... 338

STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) DOWNLINK (UMTS) ............... 279

STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) UPLINK (CDMA/CDMA 2000)340

STUDYING SERVICE AREA (EB/NT) UPLINK (UMTS) .................... 280

STUDYING THE PROFILE FROM A TRANSMITTER ....................... 175

SUBCELL PROPERTY DETAILS ..... 196 SUMMARISING RESULTS PER CELL

(CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS)........................................... 328

SUMMARISING RESULTS PER CELL (UMTS PROJECTS) ............... 268

SUMMARISING RESULTS PER MOBILE (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS)........................................... 329

SUMMARISING RESULTS PER MOBILE (UMTS PROJECTS) ............... 270

SUMMARISING RESULTS PER SITE (CDMA/CDMA 2000 PROJECTS)........................................... 327

SUMMARISING RESULTS PER SITE (UMTS PROJECTS) ............... 268

SUPPORTED DATABASES OVERVIEW........................................... 395

SUPPORTED GEO DATA FORMATS OVERVIEW.............................. 74

SYNCHRONISING DISPLAY IN

INDEX


TABLE/MAP/CW MEASUREMENT WINDOW ............................... 364

SYNCHRONISING DISPLAY IN TABLE/MAP/TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW ............................... 372

SYNCHRONIZING VECTOR SELECTION AND DATA TABLE...................... 60

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .............. 23

T TECHNICAL SUPPORT................... 27 TEMPLATES PROVIDED................. 27 TEST MOBILE DATA WINDOW

ACTIVATION........................... 371 THRESHOLDS COLOURS AND

LEGENDS ................................ 56 TIFF DATA FORMAT..................... 75 TO CALIBRATE ONE VARIABLE ..... 156 TRANSMITTERS OVERVIEW ....... 113 TROUBLESHOOTINGS AFTER

INSTALLATION ......................... 26 TRX PROPERTY DETAILS ........... 199 TRX TYPES DEFINITION............ 189 TUNING THE GAIN DUE TO LOW TIME

SLOT USE RATIO IN THE AFP...230 TYPICAL VALUES OR LOSSES PER

CLUTTER CLASS (SPM).......... 153

U UMTS ACTIVE SET CONDITIONS..245 UMTS AVERAGE SIMULATION

OUTPUTS ON CELLS ............... 272 UMTS CELLS DEFINITION......... 240 UMTS NETWORK OPTIMISATION

OVERVIEW............................ 286 UMTS POWER CONTROL SIMULATION

INPUTS ................................. 259 UMTS PREDICTION STUDIES

OVERVIEW............................ 275 UMTS PROJECTS OVERVIEW ...237 UMTS PROJECTS PROTOCOL..... 238 UMTS SIMULATION CONVERGENCE

METHOD ............................... 263 UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON

CELL COMPONENTS................ 273 UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON

CELLS .................................. 272

UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILE COMPONENTS.............273

UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON MOBILES ...............................273

UMTS SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON SITES....................................272

UMTS SIMULATIONS OVERVIEW257 UMTS SPECIFIC CONCEPTS .......237 UMTS STANDARD DEVIATION OF

SIMULATION OUTPUTS ON CELLS............................................273

UMTS TRAFFIC DATA OVERVIEW............................................242

UPDATING REPEATER PARAMETERS............................................122

USER INTERFACE BASICS OVERVIEW..............................................33

USING A GROUP BY/SORT/FILTER CONFIGURATION ......................53

USING A SITE AS A TARGET FOR POINT ANALYSIS ..............................178

USING EQUIPMENT TO COMPUTE TRANSMITTER LOSSES ............124

USING GENERIC MAP DATA IN PREDICTION REPORTS ..............87

USING ICONS FROM THE TOOL BAR 60 USING IRF IN MICROWAVE LINKS.412 USING POPULATION DATA IN

PREDICTION REPORTS ..............85 USING RELIABILITY LEVEL IN

PREDICTIONS.........................159 USING REPEATERS IN CALCULATIONS

............................................122 USING SHORTCUTS IN ATOLL ......62 USING THE GENERIC AFP INTERFACE

............................................214 USING THE PANORAMIC WINDOW ...35 USING THE RECEIVER.................174 USING THE STATUS BAR TO GET

INFORMATION ..........................60 USING THE TIPS TOOL TO GET

INFORMATION ..........................57 USING THE UNDO/REDO COMMAND

..............................................57

W WALSH CODES AVAILABILITY .......324

WALSH CODES MANAGEMENT ..... 323 WAYS TO GET ASSISTANCE........... 26 WEIGHTING CDMA/CDMA 2000

USERS PER CLUTTER CLASS.... 310 WEIGHTING INTERFERENCE COST IN

THE AFP.............................. 230 WEIGHTING UMTS USERS PER

CLUTTER CLASS..................... 250 WHAT'S INSTALLED WITH ATOLL..24 WHAT'S NEW IN ATOLL 2.2......... 21 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A

MS ACCESS DATABASE ......... 377 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A

SQL SERVER DATABASE ........ 377 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH A

SYBASE DATABASE ................ 378 WORKING IN CO-PLANNING WITH AN

ORACLE DATABASE................ 378 WORKING WITH COST-HATA MODEL

OVERVIEW............................ 140 WORKING WITH DOCKING OR

FLOATING WINDOW .................. 33 WORKING WITH DOCUMENT WINDOW

............................................. 33 WORKING WITH ITU 370-7 MODEL

(VIENNA 93) ......................... 138 WORKING WITH ITU 526-5 MODEL

........................................... 137 WORKING WITH LONGLEY-RICE

MODEL ................................. 137 WORKING WITH OKUMURA-HATA

MODEL OVERVIEW ............... 139 WORKING WITH STANDARD

PROPAGATION MODEL OVERVIEW........................................... 142

WORKING WITH THE EXPLORER OVERVIEW.............................. 39

WORKING WITH WLL (WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP) MODEL............. 138

Z ZOOMING AND PANNING ............... 34 ZOOMING IN THE CW MEASUREMENT

WINDOW ............................... 364 ZOOMING IN THE TEST MOBILE DATA

WINDOW ............................... 372

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USER MANUAL ATOLL

RELEASE 2.2.0

NOVEMBER 2003

iPlanner V2.2.0 User Manual

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