Capacity Planning Service for Radio Access CDMA Networks

The paper describes a holistic capacity planning methodology for radio access networks and presents a case study focusing on the CDMA technology. It addresses the complex problem of how the Radio Access Network (RAN) should be optimally equipped to accommodate traffic growth (and fluctuations in traffic patterns in broader terms) over time, while fulfilling the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of a Mobile Network Operator. A bottom-up approach is used, i.e. first it evaluates the required resources over the air-interface; then the base stations hardware resources, and finally, the transport/ backhaul domain dimensioning. This methodology provides the rapid and repeatable dimensioning, which is required to implement just-in-time provisioning processes, and support the network cost modeling an operator requires to quickly model quality of service and call plan strategy. The approach has been largely tested with field data and is being used by several mobile network operators.