Telecommunications Blog

TOOLS USED FOR RF PLANNING :



Network Planning Tool :

• Planning tool is used to assist engineers in designing and optimizing wireless networks by providing an accurate and reliable prediction of coverage,  doing  frequency planning  automatically,  creating neighbor lists etc.







•  With a database that takes into account data such as terrain, clutter, and  antenna radiation patterns,  as  well  as  an intuitive  graphical interface, the Planning tool gives RF engineers a state-of-the-art tool to:

       – Design wireless networks
       – Plan network expansions
       – Optimize network performance
       – Diagnose system problems
• The major tools available in the market are Planet, Pegasos, Cell Cad.
• Also many vendors have developed Planning tools of their  own like Netplan by Motorola, TEMS by Ericsson and so on.

• Designing a cellular system - particularly one that incorporates both  Macrocellular  and Microcellular  networks  is  a delicate  balancing  exercise.

• The goal  is  to  achieve  optimum  use  of  resources and maximum revenue potential whilst maintaining a high level of system quality.

• Full consideration must also be given to cost and spectrum allocation limitations.

• A properly  planned system  should allow  capacity  to  be added economically when traffic demand increases.

• As every urban environment is different, so is every macrocell and microcell network. Hence informed and accurate planning is essential in order to ensure that the system will provide both the increased capacity and  the  improvement  in network  quality where  required,
especially when deploying Microcellular systems.


• RF planning plays a critical role in the Cellular design process.

• By doing a proper RF Planning by keeping the future growth plan in mind we can reduce a lot of problems that we may encounter in the future and also reduce substantially the cost of optimization.

• On the other hand a poorly planned network not only leads to many Network problems , it also increases the optimization costs and still may not ensure the desired quality.