Walk test simulator for LTE/LTE-A network planning

A walk test is a tedious and time consuming task for mobile network operators, typically required to verify signal levels and quality of service provided by a newly deployed cell site. The resources spent in such tests can be reduced with the use of accurate planning and designing tools. In this paper, we describe and validate an LTE/LTE-A downlink simulator that is capable of accurately modeling the main performance metrics collected during walk tests. We evaluated the accuracy of the simulator to model and capture the characteristic behavior of the quality and strength of the received signal as users are handed over between cells. Furthermore, we evaluated the capability of the walk test simulator to accurately predict the user experience at the handover region in terms of the downlink data rate under different network loading conditions. Two traffic models were tested: a Quality of Service (QoS) based model and the typical Full Buffer model. Our validation was carried out based on experimental walk test data collected from a live LTE network. Our results indicated a significant reduction of the estimation error of the data rate of up to 86% with the QoS-aware traffic model.