LTE FDD User Guide PDF

>> LTE FDD
User Guide
version 5.4
Copyright © 2012
Mentum S.A. All rights reserved.
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Last updated February 21, 2012

Contents
>> LTE FDD User Guide 1
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1
Organization of this user guide 2
Using this documentation 3
User documentation updates 3
Online Help 3
Documentation library 5
Notational conventions 5
Textual conventions 6
Contacting Mentum 7
Getting technical support 7
Send us your comments 8
CHAPTER 2 Defining network settings 9

Understanding network settings 10
Technology types 10
Carriers 10
Modulations 10
Frame Setup 11
Slow Fading 12
Hard Handover 12
Base station types 13
Workflow for defining network settings 14
Defining network settings 15
To define network settings 15
To define frame configurations 16
LTE FDD User Guide i

CHAPTER 3 Configuring and placing sites 17
Workflow for configuring and placing sites 18
Using site templates 19
To create a site template 19
To rename a site template 20
To set the site template as active 20
To view a site template 20
To delete a site template 20
Understanding sites and sectors 21
General site parameters 23
General sector parameters 23
Custom user data 23
Link parameters 24
Implementation parameters 24
Configuration parameters 25
Power parameters 25
Neighbor list 25
Antenna Systems 25
Placing sites automatically 26
Determining site placement in the Basic mode 26
Determining site placement in the Advanced mode 27
To place sites in Basic mode 29
To place sites in Advanced mode 31
Defining link configurations 33
Losses and gains 33
To define link configurations 36
To view or hide unassigned link configurations 36
Creating and editing sites 37
ii LTE FDD User Guide

To create a new site 37
To edit site parameters 37
To create a new site based on an existing site 39
CHAPTER 4 Adding repeaters 40

Understanding repeaters 41
Types of repeater implementations 42
Using split sectors 42
Using distributed antenna systems 43
Repeaters and predictions 43
Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors 44
Adding repeaters to sectors 45
To add repeaters to sectors 45
Locating repeaters in a Map window 53
To locate repeaters in a Map window 53
CHAPTER 5 Defining subscribers 54

Understanding subscribers 55
Workflow for creating subscriber types 56
Defining subscriber equipment types 57
LTE bearers 57
To define subscriber equipment types 57
Defining subscriber services 59
To define subscriber services 59
Defining subscriber types 60
Example 60
To define subscriber types 61
Defining environment settings 63
To define environment settings 65
Creating a fixed subscriber database 67
LTE FDD User Guide iii

To create a fixed subscriber table 67
CHAPTER 6 Generating network analyses 68

Understanding network analyses 69
Workflow for generating an analysis 70
Defining default analysis layers 71
To define default analysis layers 71
Defining default analysis settings 72
To define default analysis settings 72
Creating and generating a network analysis 73
To create and generate a network analysis 73
Generating an existing analysis 75
To generate an existing analysis 75
Viewing analysis layers 76
To view analysis layers 76
Generating multiple analyses 77
To generate multiple analyses 77
Deleting analyses 78
To delete analyses 78
Recoloring best serving sector layers 79
To recolor best serving sector layers 79
Examining layer statistics 80
CHAPTER 7 Generating Monte Carlo simulations 81

Understanding Monte Carlo simulations 82
The phases of a Monte Carlo simulation 82
Placing subscribers in a random pattern 83
Sorting subscribers by priority 83
Analyzing the downlink and uplink 83
Generating operating points and subscriber information 84
iv LTE FDD User Guide

Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs 85
Convergence method 85
Level of Convergence calculation 85
Factors affecting the required number of runs 87
Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers 89
Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation 91
Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings 92
To define default Monte Carlo simulation settings 92
Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation 93
To create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation 93
Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation 101
To generate an existing simulation 101
Viewing simulation layers 102
To view simulation layers 102
Deleting simulation layers 103
To delete simulation layers 103
Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results 104
To update analysis cell loads 104
To calculate layer statistics 106
Creating reports 111
To create reports 111
CHAPTER 8 Generating fixed subscriber analyses 114

Understanding fixed subscriber analyses 115
Before you generate an analysis 115
How the analysis is performed 116
Editing fixed subscribers 117
To edit fixed subscribers using the Subscriber Editor 117
LTE FDD User Guide v

Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis 118
To generate a fixed subscriber analysis 118
To view analysis results 119
Analyzing a single fixed subscriber 120
To analyze a single subscriber 120
CHAPTER 9 Generating frequency And physical cell ID plans

automatically 121
Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID planning 122
Frequency planning 122
Cell ID planning 122
Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning constraints
and costs 123
Frequency, preamble, and perm base planning constraints 123
Frequency and physical cell ID planning violation costs 123
Addressing frequency planning requirements 124
Multi-channel frequency planning 124
Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning 125
Creating a frequency plan 126
To create a frequency plan 126
To save current frequency and physical cell ID assignments 128
Setting up general frequency and physical cell ID planning
parameters 134
To set up general frequency and physical cell ID parameters 134
Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID plan 136
To generate a frequency or physical cell ID plan 136
Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors 137
To apply a frequency plan to sectors 137
CHAPTER 10 Planning PRACH Root Sequences 138

Understanding PRACH root sequence planning 139
vi LTE FDD User Guide

Workflow for PRACH Root Sequence planning 140
Defining PRACH-related network settings 141
To define PRACH-related network settings 141
Defining PRACH-related parameters 142
To define PRACH-related parameters 142
Displaying PRACH root sequence assignments 143
To display PRACH root sequence assignments 143
CHAPTER 11 Optimizing Network Design 146

Using optimization goals 147
Creating optimization profiles 148
To create an optimization profile for LTE goals 148
To create an optimization profile with goals for disparate technologies

151
To create an optimization profile for cdma2000 goals 152
LTE FDD User Guide vii

CHAPTER 1 Introduction
The user guides provided with Mentum Planet are intended to provide you with
the information required to successfully use the software in your day-to-day
activities. Additional resources including online Help and Technical Notes are
also available.
This chapter covers the following topics:
Organization of this user guide 2
Using this documentation 3
Contacting Mentum 7
LTE FDD User Guide 1

Chapter 1
Organization of this user guide

This user guide contains information specific to the technology you are using. It does
not contain information on the RF principles behind designing a communication
network for a specific technology. Instead, it focuses on the steps in the overall
Mentum Planet workflow that are technology specific and provides additional
information on technology-specific parameters. You should use this guide in tandem
with the Mentum Planet User Guide, which details steps in the workflow that are
common to all technologies.
Each chapter in this guide provides details about how to perform a step in the
planning process and explains how it relates to the other steps. Before you begin,
you should read the “Understanding...” sections in each chapter for an overview of
the planning process.
2 LTE FDD User Guide

Introduction
Using this documentation

Before using this documentation, you should be familiar with the Windows
environment. It is assumed that you are using the standard Windows desktop,
and that you know how to access ToolTips and shortcut menus, move and copy
objects, select multiple objects using the Shift or Ctrl key, resize dialog boxes,
expand and collapse folder trees. It is also assumed that you are familiar with
the basic functions of MapInfo ProfessionalÒ . MapInfo Professional functions
are not documented in this User Guide. For information about MapInfo
Professional, see the MapInfo online Help and MapInfo Professional User Guide.
You can access additional MapInfo user documentation from the Pitney Bowes
Business Insight website at
http://www.pbinsight.com/support/product-documentation.
All product information is available through the online Help. You access online
Help using the Help menu or context-sensitive Help from within a dialog box by
pressing the F1 key. If you want to view the online Help for a specific panel or
tab, click in a field or list box to activate the panel or tab before you press the
F1 key. The following sections describe the structure of the online Help.
TIP: Read the "Basic Usage" chapter of the Getting Started Guide to begin
learning how to use Mentum Planet. It provides a quick start tutorial of
common tasks.
User documentation updates

User documentation is continually evolving to address feedback or introduce
improvements. You can download the latest user documentation from the
Customer Care Product Downloads page where it is available as a separate
download from the software.
Online Help
From the Help menu, you can access online Help for Mentum Planet software
and for MapInfo Professional. This section describes the structure of the
Mentum Planet online Help.
The online Help provides extensive help on all aspects of software use. It
provides

Chapter 1
n help on all dialog boxes

n procedures for using the software
The following sections provide details about the resources available through the
online Help.
Resource Roadmap
When you first use the online Help, start with the Resource Roadmap. It describes
the types of resources available to help you use the software and explains how best
to use them. It includes a step-by-step guide that walks you through the available
resources.
Knowledge Base
You can access the Knowledge Base maintained by the Customer Care group by
choosing the Knowledge Base command from the Help menu. The Knowledge Base
contains current information on Mentum products such as How To procedures as well
as solutions to issues.
Printing
You have two basic options for printing documents:
n If you want a good quality print of a single procedure or section, you

can print from the Help window. Click Print in the Help window.
n If you want a higher quality print of a complete User Guide, use
Adobe Reader to print the supplied print-ready PDF file contained in
the Mentum Planet documentation library. Open the PDF file and
choose File Print.
Library Search
You can perform a full-text search on all PDF files contained in the Mentum Planet
documentation library if you are using a version of Adobe Reader that supports full-
text searches. The PDF files are located in the Mentum\Planet\Help\User Guides
folder.

Introduction
You can also perform a search on all online Help topics by clicking the Search
tab in the Help window. Type a keyword, and click List Topics to display all
Help topics that contain the keyword. The online Help duplicates the
information found in the User Guide PDF files in order to provide more complete
results. It does not duplicate the information in the Release Notes, or Glossary.
TIP: You can easily access the PDF library from the Help menu by choosing
Guides or Technical Notes.
“What’s This?” Help
“What’s This?” Help provides detailed explanations of all dialog box elements
and is accessible by pressing F1 from any dialog box.
NOTE: To browse the Help, right-click the topic page and choose Back or
Forward. You can use the Search tab to perform a full-text search of the
information contained in the Workflows, “What’s This?” Help, and User Guide
online Help sections.
User Guides
User Guides are incorporated into the online Help.
Documentation library
Mentum Planet comes with an extensive library of User Guides and Technical
Notes in PDF format. You can access PDF versions of the user guides by
navigating to the Help folder within the Mentum Planet installation folder or by
choosing the Guides or Technical Notes command from the Mentum Planet
Help menu.
Additional documents are available at http://www.mentum.com.
Notational conventions
This section describes the textual conventions and icons used throughout this
documentation.

Chapter 1
Textual conventions
Special text formats are used to highlight different types of information. The
following table describes the special text conventions used in this document.
Bold text is used in procedure steps to identify a user

interface element such as a dialog box, menu item, or
button.
bold text
For example: In the Select Interpolation Method dialog
box, choose the Inverse Distance Weighting option,
and click Next.
Courier text is used in procedures to identify text that a

courier text user must type.For example: In the File Name box, type
Elevation.grd.
bright blue Bright blue text is used to identify a link to another

text section of the document. Click the link to view the section.
Menu arrows are used in procedures to identify a sequence

of menu items that you must follow.
For example, if a step reads “Choose File Open,” you

would click File and then click Open.
For example, if a menu item changes depending on the

<> chosen unit of measurement, the menu structure would
appear as Display <unit Of Measurement>.

Introduction
Contacting Mentum
Mentum is committed to providing fast, responsive technical support. This
section provides an extensive list of contacts to help you through any issues
you may have.
We also welcome any comments about our documentation. Customer

feedback is an essential element of product development and supports our
efforts to provide the best products, services, and support we can. See "Send
us your comments" on next page.
Getting technical support

You can get technical support by phone or email, or by visiting the Self-Service
Portal on the Mentum website at http://www.mentum.com/customer-care.
When you call for technical support, ensure that you have your product ID
number and know which version of the software you are running. You can
obtain this information using the About command from the Help menu.
When you request technical support outside of regular business hours, a

Product Support Specialist will respond the next working day by telephone or
email, depending upon the nature of the request.
The technical support options available depend on the edition of the software
you are using as shown in Figure 1.1. For more details about the levels of
support, see the Mentum website.
Figure 1.1: Abbreviated list of support options

Chapter 1
North America
Phone: +1 866 921-9219 (toll free), +1 819 483-7094

Fax: +1 819 483-7050
Email: support.americas@mentum.com
Hours: 9am – 7pm EST/EDT (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Phone: +33 139 26 46 42 (Paris)

Fax: +33 1 39264601
Email: support.emea@mentum.com
Hours: 9am – 6pm CET/CEST (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Asia Pacific (excluding Japan)
Phone: +852 2593 1287

Fax: +852 2593 1234
Email: support.apac@mentum.com
Hours: 9am – 6pm HKT (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Japan
Phone: +81 3 6861 7555

Fax: +81 3 5847 7901
Email: support.japan@mentum.com
Hours: 9am – 6pm JST (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Send us your comments

Feedback is important to us. Please take the time to send comments and
suggestions on the product you received and on the user documentation shipped
with it. Send your comments to:
techpubs@mentum.com

CHAPTER 2 Defining Network Settings
After you create a project, you must define the network settings. Network
settings include the technology type, supported modulations, frame
configuration, and the spectrum allotment. This chapter describes how to
define network settings.
Understanding network settings 10
Workflow for defining network settings 14
Defining network settings 15

Chapter 2
Understanding network settings

Network settings define the technology type, supported modulations and the frame
configuration settings that apply to your network as well as the spectrum definition.
All network settings are grouped in the Network Settings dialog box.
Technology types
Mentum Planet supports WiMAX TDD, Fixed WiMAX TDD, Fixed WiMAX FDD, LTE FDD,
cdma2000, and WCDMA technologies as well as a generic technology. You define
which technologies are available on the Spectrum Allocation tab. It is important to
configure bands correctly in order to avoid cases where a single real physical band is
defined to several sub-bands; therefore, making it difficult to manage the channels
correctly at the sector level.
Carriers
Carriers define the frequencies available in your network and the bandwidth of each.
They are automatically calculated according to the available spectrum and channel
bandwidth specified on the Spectrum Allocation tab. After carriers are calculated,
you can assign them to individual sectors. Once you do so, you cannot modify the
spectrum allocation or carriers. The start and end frequencies are read-only when
the carriers are in use. You can define multiple bands per technology and overlapping
between bands is allowed.
Each sector in the network is assigned to a single band but can be allocated one or
more carriers within that band. Subscriber equipment is configured to support one or
more bands.
You can view details of all available carriers and specify carrier availability on the
Carriers tab in the Network Settings dialog box for the selected technology. When
carriers are reserved, for example, clear the Availability check box.
Modulations
System modulations define downlink and uplink modulation schemes used by the
network. Each modulation can be defined by either a single CINR/spectral efficiency
value or by a CINR to spectral efficiency curve. Each modulation can be defined by its
modulation efficiency (Useful bits per symbol) and required CINR (C/(N+I)). You can
also specify a downlink amplifier back-off level, which represents the reduction of

Defining Network Settings
power used when using a specific modulation. This is sometime required with
higher order modulations in order to increase the linearity of the amplifier
given the higher required CINR of these modulations. This applies, for
example, in OFDM as the peak-to-average power ratio of OFDM signals is
actually high.
Default modulations are provided depending on the configuration file that you
chose when you created a project. You must define any additional modulations
supported by your network.
Frame Setup
The configuration of the OFDM frame provides a means of controlling (in a
detailed way) the allocated frame structure and resources.
In the time domain, a channel is divided into frames.
On the Frame Setup tab in the Network Settings dialog box, you can define the
OFDM sampling factor. You can also add or remove the frame configuration or
edit the frame configuration using the Frame Editor. The Frame Editor
consolidates all parameters related to a frame configuration in one dialog box.
You can specify the cyclic prefix. The cyclic prefix is the fraction of each data
symbol that is copied from the end of the symbol and added to the beginning.
The cyclic prefix functions as a guard interval between OFDM symbols in order
to limit the Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) that is caused by the multipath
propagation of radio signals.
The standard defines two cyclic prefix values (i.e., Normal and Extended). The
choice you make for the cyclic prefix is based on the frequency band and the
radio environment. You can eliminate the ISI by selecting a guard interval that
is larger than the expected multipath delay spread. However, the larger guard
interval increases the symbol period, which leads to a loss of bandwidth
efficiency and a waste of transmit power.

Chapter 2
Figure 2.1: LTE Frame Editor
You can define the cyclic prefix and duration as well as the number of reference
symbols per subframe and the frequency separation between them. You can also
specify various parameters related to the OFDM symbols and the resource blocks.
Slow Fading
On the Slow Fading tab, you can specify how slow fading is accounted for and
whether it is applied to only the server or to the server as well as interferers.
Hard Handover
The hard handover gains are used in the calculation of margin layers (i.e., uplink,
downlink, and worst margin layers) as well as the reference coverage layers (i.e.,
reference coverage probability and reference coverage layer). Hard handover gains
are taken into consideration for both network analysis layers as well as Monte Carlo
simulation layers.

Base station types

Base station types are used to define different base station configurations in
terms of the modulations supported and are also used in neighbor planning.

Chapter 2
Workflow for defining network settings

Step 1 Specify the technologies supported by the network.
Step 2 Define the spectrum allocation.
Step 3 For each available technology, specify which carriers (or carriers) are
available, define supported modulations, and determine the frame
configuration.

Defining network settings

When you define network settings, you specify the technology types for the
project. You also define the carriers supported, the available downlink and
uplink modulations, as well as the frame configuration.
To define network settings

1 Choose Edit Network Settings.
The Network Settings dialog box opens.
2 On the Network Technologies panel, enable the technologies

supported by the network.
3 In the tree view, choose Spectrum Allocation.
4 Click the LTE FDD tab and modify LTE parameters as required.
5 In the tree view, choose LTE FDD.
6 Define carrier and modulation parameters as required.
7 Click the Frame Setup tab, define OFDM settings.
8 In the Frame Configuration table and click any of the following

buttons:

Chapter 2
n Edit—to open the Frame Editor and modify frame parameters

for the selected frame configuration.
n Add—to add a new frame configuration.
n Remove—to delete a frame configuration.
To define frame configurations

1 In the LTE Frame Editor, define frame parameters as required.
2 Click OK.

CHAPTER 3 Configuring And Placing Sites
Once you have created a project and defined network settings you can
configure and place the sites in your network. This chapter describes how to
configure and place sites.
Workflow for configuring and placing sites 18
Using site templates 19
Understanding sites and sectors 21
Placing sites automatically 26
Defining link configurations 33
Creating and editing sites 37

Chapter 3
Workflow for configuring and placing sites

Step 1 Create a new site using one of the following methods:
n by defining a new site

n based on the settings of an existing site
n based on a site template
Step 2 Define the supported antenna system.
Step 3 Define sector parameters.
Step 4 Define traffic settings.
Step 5 If required, edit placed sites and sectors.
Step 6 If required, save a site template.

Configuring And Placing Sites
Using site templates

Site templates store the settings defined in the Site Editor and make it easy to
add sites with the same configuration at a later time. You can create a site
template from either a site or a repeater. You can create as many site
templates as required for your project. By default, the active site template is
used in site creation. When you export a site template, you can view all the
site and sector parameters in Excel.
CAUTION: When the active site template is for a repeater, the donor sector
value in the template is not copied over to the new site. You need to manually
set the donor sector for the new site using the Site Editor.
To create a site template

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the
Sites node, right-click the site upon which you want to base the
template and do one of the following:
n Choose Create Site Template Local if you want to save

the site template on your workstation
n Choose Create Site Template Local if you want to save
the site template on your workstation
n Choose Create SiteTemplate Shared if you want to
share the site template with other users using the Data
Manager
2 Type a name for the site template.
3 Enable the Set as Active Template check box to set this site
template as active.
The active site template is used when creating new sites. If there is no
active site template, default values are used.
4 Click OK.
The site template is added to the Project Explorer.

Chapter 3
To rename a site template

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site
Templates node, right-click the site template you want to rename,
and choose Rename.
2 Modify the name as required.
To set the site template as active

n In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site
Templates node, right-click the site template you want to be active
and choose Active.
The active site template is used when creating new sites. If there is no active
site template, default values are used.
To view a site template

Templates node, right-click the site template you want to view,
and choose View.
The site template opens in Excel.
To delete a site template

Templates node, right-click the site template you want to delete,
and choose Delete.

Understanding sites and sectors

A site is a fixed geographical location. At the site, there are technology-
specific base stations, each with associated sectors as illustrated in Figure 3.1.
Hence, antenna systems can be shared between sectors that support different
technologies.
Figure 3.1: Example of how a site, base stations, and sectors relate.
In the Site Editor, you can access all pertinent information about a site,
associated base stations and the sectors they support. This includes link
information, quality and performance criteria, as well as details about the
supported antenna systems as shown in Figure 3.2.

Chapter 3
Figure 3.2: Site Editor

A unique name identifies each site. You can add additional identification
information about a site such as a detailed site name, descriptive site details,
and a Universal ID.
You can view and update site and sector parameters using the Tabular Editor.
General site parameters

On the General tab at the base station level, you define the maximum pooled
throughput allowed and assign a base station type.
General sector parameters

On the General tab at the sector level, you define the flags and groups that are
applicable to the sector and you specify the frequency band supported.
Custom user data

You can add additional attributes to project data in order to clarify or expand
on it. This is particularly useful when you are working in a multi-user
environment where projects are being shared.
There are two types of custom user data:
n user data that can be shared with others and is saved in Data
Manager
n user data that is only saved locally and is not stored in Data
Manager
For custom data to be shared using Data Manager, the Data Manager
Administrator must define the attributes and type definitions. The name and
type of the attribute is then displayed on the User Data tab and you can
specify a value for it. The Shared check box is enabled to indicate that the data
is saved in Data Manager when sharing projects.
On the other hand, if you only need to save the custom data locally, you can
define attributes and type definitions in the project settings. These attributes
are also displayed on the User Data tab but the Shared check box is cleared
indicating that the information will be saved locally and cannot be shared using
Data Manager.

Chapter 3
You can add custom user data to base stations, sites, sectors, repeaters, antennas,
and carriers.
Link parameters
The parameters on the Link tab focus on the settings required to model a
communication link between the user and the sector. This includes antenna
parameters, prediction parameters, and the link configuration (as defined in the link
configuration).
Implementation parameters
The parameters on the Implementation tab center around the performance and
quality of the signal provided by the sector. This includes filter loss parameters and
quality parameters (such as the best server coverage threshold).
You can use filters to suppress unwanted interference from adjacent channels. Filter
characteristics are saved as filter (.flt) files. You can specify filters for the downlink
(i.e., the transmit mask) and you can also specify filters for the uplink (i.e., the
receive filter).
The filter loss table allows you to specify the frequency offset and the associated
filter loss parameter. The frequency is the difference between the first and second
channel away from the center frequency. Filter loss values depend on the filter
chosen by the equipment manufacturer. These values will be used to determine the
nature of the adjacent-channel interference.
You can save the values in the Filter Loss table as a .flt file using the options from the
File menu.
Figure 3.3 illustrates a filter that models a channel with a 10 MHz bandwidth. With a
5.45 MHz frequency separation, the excessive energy transmitted outside the
channel bandwidth is attenuated by 25 dB while at 9.75 MHz, it is attenuated by 32
dB.
If your filter files are not configured correctly, this could result in an excess or
shortage of adjacent channel interference. The latter is a less desirable situation
because it could lead to overestimated coverage.

Figure 3.3: This figure illustrates a sample filter loss graph for the transmit
signal. In this example, the filter loss is specified as 32 dB for 9.75 MHz
frequency separation. You can also define a separate filter loss graph for the
receive signal.
Configuration parameters
Configuration parameters include the carrier and frame configuration for the
sector. You define the frame configuration in the Frame Editor.
Power parameters
Power parameters define the power requirements for the sector. You can view
the power distribution.
Neighbor list
It is on the Neighbor List tab in the Site Editor that you can specify how to
determine candidate neighbors (i.e., what is the allowable distance between
neighbors) as well as which sites are not to be considered as part of the
neighbor planning process (and are black listed). You can also view neighbor
candidates in the Map window.
Antenna Systems
In the Site Editor, you define various elements of the antenna system including
the antenna pattern, associated antenna parameters, and location, which are
grouped on the Antenna - General tab making it easy to set up a non co-
located sector. You can also define the degree of correction to apply during
antenna masking in order to improve modeling of the antenna backlobe in
predictions, specify optimization constraints to consider in automatic cell
planning and, if available, you can specify custom antenna attributes.
You can also access the Antenna Editor where you can define more detailed
elements of the antenna system including the supported antenna ports and
bands, electrical controllers, and antenna pattern parameters.

Chapter 3
Placing sites automatically

Using the Automatic Site Placement Tool (ASPT), you can place sites in a defined
area quickly and easily. There are two modes that you can use with the ASPT:
n Basic—the tool generates hexagons based on the criteria you

define and places a site at the center of each hexagon using either
the default site configuration or the site template you specify. If you
are using a clutter file, you can exclude clutter classes such that no
sites will be placed within them.
n Advanced —the tool generates complex shapes based on the
planning strategy you choose and the criteria you define (including
clutter-specific criteria) and places a site at the center of the shape
using the site template you specify. Each site is given a level of
priority that determines whether it becomes a possible site
candidate. In Advanced mode, you can use a traffic map in order to
generate more accurate shapes. In addition, you can use existing
and candidate sites in the site placement process.
Determining site placement in the Basic mode

Step 1 The ASPT divides the selected polygon into a series of hexagons based on
the hexagon radius or the number of hexagons you define in the
generation options.
Step 2 A proposed site is placed at the center of each hexagon using the site
template that you specify.

Step 3 When you create sites, sites are added to the Sites node in the
Project Explorer and placed on the map.
Determining site placement in the Advanced mode

Step 1 The ASPT divides the selected polygon into a series of shapes based
on the planning strategy you define. There are two types of
planning strategies:
n Greenfield, where there are no existing sites in the network

n Expansion, where there are existing sites
Step 2 Depending on the settings you define, the ASPT displays possible
site locations on the map. In Advanced mode, there are three types
of sites identified during the automatic site placement process:
n Existing Sites—sites you have placed in the network at existing

locations.
n Candidate Sites—sites you have placed in the network at
possible site locations.
n New Sites—sites that will be placed by the ASPT automatically
based on the defined criteria to fill in any gaps.
You can specify when to place a site in individual clutter classes and
which site template you use. You can also define propagation model
parameters including the site radius, the minimum and maximum
site radius, the Okumura class as well as the frequency band
(whether network-defined or user-defined).

Chapter 3
Step 3 A possible site is placed at the center of each shape using the site
template that you specify. If the planning strategy you choose is
"Expansion" with existing sites, then existing sites are considered first in
the planning process, candidate sites are considered next, and new sites
are placed to fill in any gaps. In the illustration that follows, the blue sites
are existing sites, the green sites are candidate sites, and the purple sites
are new sites. Candidate sites are considered in order of priority (defined
in the Site Editor).
Step 4 When you create sites, candidate sites become permenant sites and are
added to the Sites node in the Project Explorer. New sites are placed in
gap areas, added to the Project Explorer and placed on the map. A new
local group is also created that contains the newly created sites.

To place sites in Basic mode

1 To specify the boundaries of the area within which you want to
place sites, do one of the following:
n Make the cosmetic layer editable, draw a polygon using the

tools on the Drawing toolbar, and then select it.
n Create an area grid.
2 Choose Optimization Automatic Site Placement.
The Automatic Site Placement dialog box opens.

Chapter 3
3 In the Mode section, choose the Basic option.
4 In the Region section, choose one of the following options:
n Polygon—to identify the region within which you want to place sites
using a polygon. When you use this option, you must create a
polygon on the cosmetic layer using the tools on the Drawing
toolbar.
n Area—to identify the region within which you want to place sites
using an area grid. When you use this option, you must first have
created an area grid.
5 Click the Settings tab and define how to place sites.
6 Click Generate.

To place sites in Advanced mode

1 To specify the boundaries of the area within which you want to
place sites, do one of the following:
n Make the cosmetic layer editable, draw a polygon using the

tools on the Drawing toolbar, and then select it
n Create an area grid.
2 Choose Optimization Automatic Site Placement.
The Automatic Site Placement dialog box opens.
3 In the Mode section, choose the Advanced option.
4 Define the required parameters on each of the following tabs:
n General—includes network planning strategy (i.e., greenfield

or expansion), existing and candidate site selection, and

Chapter 3
region definition.
n Site Templates—includes site template for each class, ability to
adjust antenna heights, minimum and maximum antenna heights as
well as minimum and maximum traffic loads.
n Propagation Model—includes Okumura class, site radius as well
as minimum and maximum site radius.
5 Click Generate.
Cells are placed across the region.

Defining link configurations

Link configurations track the gains and losses that occur as a signal travels. In
other words, a link configuration calculates the radiated power for a sector
based on the power output of the sector’s power amplifier (PA) plus or minus
system gains and losses. In Mentum Planet , you define link configurations in
the Link Configuration Editor. You can define several link configurations for a
project. When link configurations are assigned to sectors, the link
configuration icon is blue as shown in Figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4: Assigned link configuration identified with a blue icon.
Losses and gains

For both the downlink and uplink, a default antenna gain value is added based
on the antenna type assigned to the sector. You cannot modify this value.
Initially, the value is 0 but will be updated once the link configuration is
assigned to a sector. A default Feeder value on both the downlink and the
uplink is added to account for cable and connector losses and a main feeder
loss is calculated by multiplying the cable length defined on the Link tab and
the main feeder loss per meter defined in the associated link configuration. The
main feeder value is always included in the link configuration calculations.
A default BTS Noise Figure is assigned to the uplink to account for base station
receiver noise gain. You should modify the BTS Noise Figure according to the
manufacturer's hardware specifications.

Chapter 3
You can add additional losses and gains as required. Because the Friis noise formula
(see Equation 3.1) is used to calculate the Uplink Noise Figure, the order of the items
in the Link Configuration Editor must match the hierarchy of the sector hardware
(see Figure 3.5). By default, the BTS Noise Figure is always the last item in the list.
Figure 3.5: Example sector hardware configuration
The Reverse Composite Noise Figure (Composite System Noise Figure (NFs)) is
calculated as follows, using the Friis noise formula:
Equation 3.1 Friis noise formula

When you assign a link configuration to a sector, you can view the impact it
has in the Information section of the Link tab.
Figure 3.6: Information section on the Link tab in the Site Editor.
If you are using an Excel spreadsheet to import link configuration settings, you
must use the Index column to specify the order of the items in the Losses and
Gains list. For more information, see “Importing and exporting project data” in
“Working With Network and Project Data”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide.

Chapter 3
To define link configurations

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click
Link Configurations and choose New.
The Link Configuration Editor opens.
2 In the Name box, type a name to identify the link configuration.
3 Click the Uplink/Reverse tab and define link configuration

parameters.
To view or hide unassigned link configurations

n In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click
Link Configurations and choose one of the following commands:
n Show Unassigned Link Configurations—displays in the

Project Explorer those link configurations that have not been
assigned to a sector.
n Hide Unassigned Link Configurations—hides in the
Project Explorer those link configurations that have not been
assigned to a sector.

Creating and editing sites

Once you have defined site and sector parameters, you can create a site
template based on these settings and use this template to add similar sites to
the network. See “Using site templates”.
Once a site has been placed, you can change any of the settings that have
been defined. If you have acquired GPS readings for all your sites and you want
to update the position of a sector, you can edit the site location manually.
For more information on general site, base station, and sector properties, see
“Working with Sites and Sectors”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
CAUTION: By default, site updates are saved in the site set. To update the
site table (.tab) file, you must right-click the Sites node and choose Update
Site File. Site updates are not automatically added to the site table.
To create a new site

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, do one of the
following:
n To use a specific site template, expand the Site Templates

node, expand the Local or Shared node, and right-click the
template upon which you want to base the site, then choose
New Site.
n To use the active site template, right-click the Sites node and
choose New Site.
The active site template is identified with a green arrow.
2 Click in the Map window at the location where you want to place
the site.
To edit site parameters

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the
Sites node, right-click the site you want to edit, and choose Edit.

Chapter 3
2 Modify site parameters as required.
3 To change the antenna systems available for this site, do one of the
following:
n In the tree view, right-click the Antennas node, and choose Add.
n Click the Add Antenna System button at the top of the dialog box.
A default antenna system is added.
4 Choose the newly-added antenna system and modify antenna

parameters as required.
TIP: To define parameters for all sectors at the site, click the Tabular Edit button.
TIP: You can also edit sites by clicking the Edit Site button on the Site toolbar, and
then clicking in the Map window to select the sector.

TIP: To move a site, open the Site Editor, change the x and y coordinates,
and click Apply. To get the coordinates from the map, click the Get Coordinates
from Map button, click in the Map window at the desired location, and click
Apply. You can also move a site by clicking the Move Site button on the
toolbar.
To create a new site based on an existing site

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the
site that you want to copy and choose Place Copy.
2 In the Map window, click once on a location to place the site.
The created site is displayed in the Map window and a site having the
name Copy of <site name> is added to the Sites category in the Project
Explorer.
3 In the Project Explorer, right-click the newly copied site and

choose Edit.
4 In the Site Editor, adjust site parameters as required.

CHAPTER 4 Adding Repeaters
In order to increase network coverage, you can add repeaters to your network.
Repeaters are electronic devices that receive a signal, amplify it, and then
retransmit it at a higher power. This chapter describes how to add repeaters to
your project.
Understanding repeaters 41
Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors 44
Adding repeaters to sectors 45
Locating repeaters in a Map window 53

Chapter 4
Understanding repeaters
Repeaters are used to retransmit signals received from donor sectors to locations
that have insufficient coverage. For example, repeaters can be used to extend
coverage or fill in shadow areas caused by hills, large buildings, and other structures
that obstruct signals.
A repeater receives a signal from the donor antenna of a donor sector, and then
amplifies and retransmits the signal through its service antenna. Repeaters are
primarily used to reduce path loss without providing an increase in network capacity.
Generally, repeaters add noise and amplify noise in the uplink, which can limit their
effectiveness; however, a well placed repeater can reduce noise levels within a
network and enhance the overall capacity.
Implementing repeaters can be an efficient and cost-effective method of increasing

the received signal strength for mobiles in an area without having to place additional
sites.
A repeater’s power is defined by its Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP). EIRP
measures the maximum radiated power in the direction of the maximum gain
relative to an isotropic antenna (typically in the direction the antenna is pointing).
The EIRP of repeaters is based on the power of the first active carrier, and is
calculated as shown in Equation 4.1.
Equation 4.1 Repeater EIRP

Adding Repeaters
Types of repeater implementations

There are several different ways to implement repeaters in a network. For
example, in areas where
n there are a lot of buildings, you could implement split sectors

where several directional antennas are used to transmit the
same signal. See “Using split sectors”.
n you want to extend indoor coverage, you could implement a
Distributed Antenna System (DAS). See “Using distributed
antenna systems”.
Using split sectors

When split sectors are used in the network, sectors use several directional
antennas to transmit the same signal. In Mentum Planet , you define split
sectors in the Site Editor by adding additional antennas on the Link tab for the
sector you want to use.

Chapter 4
Using distributed antenna systems

When distributed antenna systems are used in the network, the transmitted power is
divided between several elements in the network and consists of split sectors and
repeaters depending on the maximum distance between antennas.
Repeaters and predictions

When you generate predictions for a sector that has one or more repeaters assigned
to it, signal strength grid (.grd) files are generated for the sector and for each
repeater. The analyses use the separate predictions for the donor sectors and
repeaters.
A combined signal strength file is also generated, which merges the separate sector
and repeater signal strength files. Combined signal strength predictions are used
when the full coverage area of a sector is required, such as when you generate a
traffic map or interference matrix, or analyze the interference between two sectors.
After you have generated predictions for a sector, you can choose to view a
prediction for the donor sector or individual repeaters. You can also view a combined
prediction that displays the combined signal strengths of the donor sector and all of
its repeaters. For information on generating and viewing predictions, see “Chapter 8:
Generating Predictions” in the Mentum Planet User Guide.

Adding Repeaters
Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors

Step 1 Configure and place sites.
Step 2 Add repeaters to sectors with insufficient coverage.

Chapter 4
Adding repeaters to sectors

When you add a repeater to a sector, you define general settings, such as the donor
sector for which the repeater will retransmit a signal, and the location of the
repeater. You must also define settings for service and donor antennas, predictions,
repeater links, implementation criteria (such as filters and quality limits), as well as
configuration settings.
The gain of a repeater in Mentum Planet is maintained at a constant level. Any

changes to the donor sector and repeater system that affect the power received by
the repeater will result in a similar change in the EIRP of the repeater. For example, a
change in the masked pathloss between the donor sector and the repeater, the
donor sector’s pilot power, or the antenna system at the donor sector which results
in a change to the EIRP of the sector, will result in a similar change in the EIRP of the
repeater. The EIRP value at the repeater will also change in line with a change in
either of the repeater’s antenna systems. As such, it is important to review repeater
settings following any changes of this nature.
To add repeaters to sectors

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the sector
to which you want to add a repeater, and choose Add Repeater.
2 Click in the Map window in the location where you want to add the
repeater.
A repeater is added to the Map window and, in the Project Explorer, a repeater
node is added beneath the associated sector. In addition, a new site is added
to the Sites node. This new site contains only the repeater location and
repeater parameters. For example, if you add a repeater to Site 2, sector 2, an
additional site is added.

Adding Repeaters
3 To view the repeater settings, in the Project Explorer, double-

click the repeater node.
4 Define repeater parameters as required.

Chapter 4
TIP: You can change the status of a repeater by right-clicking a repeater node in
the Project Explorer and choosing Active. A check mark indicates that the repeater is
online.
TIP: For maximum accuracy, enter a measured value of pathloss in the Masked
Path Loss From Donor box. The measured pathloss can be determined by measuring
the signal strength with a known EIRP from the donor sector. If you choose to
calculate the masked path loss, ensure you specify an appropriate model. The most
appropriate propagation model will depend on the specifics of the environment
between donor sector and the repeater donor antenna. If you suspect obstruction at
the repeater location, choose a deterministic model with the correct receiver height.
You may need to create a model specifically for repeater installations.
Mentum Planet will not update the stored masked pathloss automatically, even if the
current value is generated using the Calculate Masked Pathloss dialog box. If there
are changes to the network that would impact the pathloss between the donor sector
and the repeater, you must apply a new value to the repeater, either by manually
entering a new value in the Repeater Settings dialog box or re-calculating the value
using the Calculate Masked Pathloss dialog box.
Site Editor
Configuration
Carriers
Status—enable the check box next to those carriers you want the repeater to
support.
Carrier Name—displays the carrier name. The carrier name is defined in the
network settings.
Equipment
Total EIRP—displays the total EIRP.

Adding Repeaters
Repeater Gain—type in this box the system gain experienced by the

repeater. The value in the Power EIRP box is updated based on the value you
enter.
System Losses—type in this box the system losses experienced by the

repeater. The value in the Power EIRP box is updated based on the value you
enter.
Downlink Maximum Power Per Carrier—type in this box the maximum

power output per carrier.
Site Editor
Donor
Use the Donor tab to define the parameters of the relationship between the
repeater and its donor sector, including the donor antenna (i.e., the repeater
antenna that receives the signal from the donor sector on the downlink and
transmits the amplified signal to the donor sector on the uplink) for RF
repeaters.
Type
RF—enable this option to indicate that the donor antenna receives the signal
from a conventional RF signal.
Fiber—enable this option to indicate that the donor antenna receives the
signal from a fiber-optic cable. When the Fiber option is enabled, the Donor
Antenna parameters are not available.
Donor Antenna—displays the name of the donor antenna.
Edit—click this button to change the antenna parameters and location.
Downlink Port—specify the port to use on the downlink. Ports are defined in
the Antenna Editor.
Uplink Port—specify the port to use on the uplink. Ports are defined in the
Antenna Editor.

Chapter 4
Link Configuration—choose from this list the link budget you want to associate
with the repeater.
View —click this button to open the link configuration dialog box. Values are read-
only.
Cable Length—type in this box the length of the feeder cable. This value is included
in the main feeder loss calculated in the associated link budget.
Model—choose from this list the propagation model with which to calculate the
masked path loss.
Edit—click this button to open the Propagation Model Editor where you can change
the settings defined for the model.
Masked Pathloss—click in the box to define a masked pathloss value for the donor.
Calculate—click this button to automatically calculate the masked pathloss for the
donor using the selected propagation model.
NOTE: For maximum accuracy, enter a measured value of pathloss in the Masked
Pathloss box. The measured pathloss can be determined by measuring the signal
strength with a known EIRP from the donor sector. To calculate the masked pathloss,
ensure you specify an appropriate model. The most appropriate propagation model
will depend on the specifics of the environment between the donor sector and the
repeater donor antenna. If you suspect obstruction at the repeater location, choose
a deterministic model with the correct receiver height. You may need to create a
model specifically for repeater installations.
Site Editor
Link
Service
Antenna—choose from this list the antenna pattern that the service antenna will
use to retransmit the signal received from the donor sector.

Adding Repeaters
Power Split—type in this box how the power is to be divided between the
service antennas. This field is only available if there is more than one service
antenna.
Edit—click this button to open the Antenna - General tab where you can
change the antenna parameters.
Remove—click this button to remove the antenna.
Link Configuration—choose from this list the link budget you want to
associate with the service antenna.
Cable Length—type in this box the length of the feeder cable. This value is
included in the main feeder loss calculated in the associated link budget.
View—click this button to open the link configuration dialog box. Values are
read-only.
Downlink Ports—enable the check box next to those ports you want to use
with multi-beam antennas.
Uplink Ports—enable the check box next to those ports you want to use with
multi-beam antennas.
Add—click this button to add additional service antennas to the link. When you
click add, a new Antenna section is added on the tab.
Predictions
Model—choose from this list the prediction model for the repeater.
Edit—click this button to open the Propagation Model Editor where you
can modify propagation model settings.
Distance—type in this field the maximum distance from the repeater to

calculate signal strength.
Number of Radials—type in this field the number of radials originating from a

site along which to calculate predictions. More radials produce a more accurate
but slower calculation.

Chapter 4
Isolation
Additional Isolation—type in this box a value in dB that will be added to the total
isolation calculated.
Isolation—displays the calculated isolation based on the masked pathloss (i.e., free
space propagation including antenna gains) between the donor and service antenna
as well as the additional isolation value you define. The Isolation box is not available
if there is no defined donor sector (i.e., this is an orphaned repeater) or if the donor
type is fiber. If you are using split sectors, the isolation calculation is based on the
first service antenna.
Site Editor
Implementation
Filters
Use this section to open an existing filter loss (.flt) file or create a new one. A .flt file
instructs Mentum Planet how adjacent channels contribute to the interference level.
You can define a filter loss that increases as frequencies move further from the
center frequency, which results in frequencies further from the desired frequency
being filtered out more effectively than frequencies close to the desired frequency.
Transmit Mask—displays the filter loss file to be applied to the repeater on the
downlink.
Browse—click this button to open a filter loss (.flt) file.
New/Edit—click this button to define or edit the values in a filter loss (.flt)
file.
Remove—click this button to remove this filter from the repeater. Removing
the filter does not delete the .flt file. When no transmit mask is specified, the
interference caused by the excessive energy transmitted outside the channel
bandwidth is not accounted for.
Receive Filter—displays the filter loss file to be applied to the repeater on the
uplink.
Browse—click this button to open a filter loss (.flt) file.

Adding Repeaters
New/Edit—click this button to define or edit the values in a filter loss

(.flt) file.
Remove—click this button to remove this filter from the repeater.

Removing the filter does not delete the .flt file. When no receive mask is
specified, athe interference caused by the excessive energy transmitted
outside the channel bandwidth is not accounted for.
Quality
Limit Best Server Coverage—type in this box the distance from the
repeater that defines the outer limit of the best server coverage. Beyond this
distance, the server cannot be considered as the Best Server.

Chapter 4
Locating repeaters in a Map window

You can use the Project Explorer to locate repeaters in a Map window.
To locate repeaters in a Map window

n In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the
repeater and choose Locate.
The repeater is selected in the Map window.

CHAPTER 5 Defining Subscribers
Subscribers are categorized into types, which are used when you generate an
analysis of your network. Creating subscriber types that account for the
possible variations of subscribers enables you to generate reliable and
comprehensive analyses of your network.
Understanding subscribers 55
Workflow for creating subscriber types 56
Defining subscriber equipment types 57
Defining subscriber services 59
Defining subscriber types 60
Defining environment settings 63
Creating a fixed subscriber database 67

Chapter 5
Understanding subscribers
The nodes within the Subscriber Settings dialog box represent building blocks for
subscriber types:
n Equipment Types—include the types of mobile equipment and

antennas that are available in your network as well as the bearers
available on each type of equipment.
n Services—relate to the applications that a subscriber uses and the
level of service required. This includes the activity factors used to
calculate the effective amount of time that a subscriber uses a
service. This also includes the quality of service requirements.
n Subscriber Types—consolidate the information from the other
nodes in the Subscriber Settings dialog box into various
combinations to represent the mix of subscribers in your network.
When you define subscribers, you begin at the top of the tree view by defining
equipment types. You then define services and finally, you define subscriber types.
For each subscriber type, you must choose an equipment type and traffic map. You
can define multiple usage types, each of which comprises weightings to spread
subscribers within the four different environments. You also define a service type.
For a detailed example of how to define a subscriber type, see “Defining subscriber
types”. This example shows you how to define usages, explains the effect of
weighting, and describes how the settings that you specify for the subscriber type
translate into a real-world scenario.

Defining Subscribers
Workflow for creating subscriber types

Step 1 Generate traffic maps for the services and area that you want to
analyze. For information on creating traffic maps, see “Managing
Traffic”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide .
Step 2 Define equipment types including hardware and bearers.
Step 3 Define services including the load and quality of service parameters.
Step 4 Create subscriber types and define the subscriber configuration

including priority, equipment type, and usages.
Step 5 Define environment settings.

Chapter 5
Defining subscriber equipment types

A mobile equipment type is a detailed definition of the equipment used by a
particular type of subscriber in the network. Each type of equipment has its own
particularities in terms of the technology it supports, the hardware specification it
has, and the bearers it can use.
Subscriber equipment types you define are added to the Equipment Types node in
the Subscriber Editor tree view.
LTE bearers
Bearers represent the traffic channels in terms of their service data rate. You first
define the modulations used by the bearers in the Network Settings dialog box.
Standard LTE bearers are configured with a direction (uplink or downlink). Bearers
are displayed on the Bearers tab associated with each equipment type.
To define subscriber equipment types

1 Choose Edit Subscriber Settings.
The Subscriber Settings dialog box opens.
2 In the tree view, right-click Equipment Types, and choose Add.

A new subnode is added to the Equipment Types node.
3 In the tree view, choose the equipment type you just added.
4 Define equipment type parameters as required.

Chapter 5
Defining subscriber services

Service types are the applications that your subscribers are using.
To define subscriber services

2 In the tree view, right-click Services, and choose Add.
A new subnode is added to the Services node.
3 In the tree view, choose the service you just added.
4 Define service parameters as required.

Defining subscriber types

Subscriber types are defined by:
n the subscriber equipment used

n the traffic map on which the subscriber type is based
n the different kinds of services that a subscriber uses and the
quality that applies to each service
n the environments where the usage takes place
The information contained in a subscriber type is used when you generate

Monte Carlo simulations or analysis layers. The environment weightings
defined for each subscriber type reflects the probability that a particular
subscriber type will use a specific service in a specific environment. For
example, if a LTE Subscriber using a VoIP service is more likely to be using this
service indoors rather than while in a vehicle than you could set the Indoor
Weight to 2 and the Vehicular Weight to 1.
The total number of subscribers is defined by the traffic map and scaling, not
by the number of usage types or environments. The total number of
subscribers for each subscriber type is spread across the usage types and
environments defined for the subscriber type.
Example
You might create a subscriber type called Advanced Business that represents
subscribers who use mobiles as their primary business tools. The subscribers
represented by this type use their mobiles for everything from downloading
email to placing cellular calls. After you create the usage types, you can assign
a ratio to determine the proportion of the traffic that is in each of the available
environments. In addition, you can set the service type and quality type for
each usage type. For example, if you set up four usage types for the Advanced
Business subscriber type, you could assign the weightings, service types, and
quality types shown in Table 1.

Chapter 5
Table 1 Example usage type settings
Usage Deep Service

Indoor Outdoor Vehicular
type Indoor type
1 5 5 5 5 Voice
2 1 2 1 0 Video
3 2 2 4 0 WWW
4 2 2 4 0 Email
In this example, the total weighting value calculated across all usage types is 40.
Therefore, the Advanced Business subscriber type uses Usage 1 50% of the time,
Usage 2 10% of the time, Usage 3 20% of the time, and Usage 4 20% of the time.
To define subscriber types

2 In the tree view, right-click Subscriber Types, and choose Add.
A new subnode is added to the Subscriber Types node.

3 In the tree view, choose the subscriber type you just added.
4 Click the Description tab, define a name and specify any

additional comments required.
5 Click the Configuration tab and define the subscriber type

configuration as required.

Chapter 5
Defining environment settings

During a Monte Carlo simulation, subscribers are spread across the analysis area
based on the traffic map and then sorted according to:
n the subscriber type priority (defined on the Configuration tab for

each subscriber type)
n the service priority (defined on the Load tab for each service)
n the QoS class priority (defined on the Quality of Service tab)
Mentum Planet then determines in which clutter class a subscriber is located and
assesses the impact of environmental traits on the signal and service using the
environment settings you define as well as the usage weightings specified for each
subscriber type. For each usage type, you can define a weighting indicating the
amount of time that usage type occurs in each environment (for example, you could
define a business subscriber who uses voice service in an outdoor environment 10%
of the time). For all of the environments, you can define the penetration loss and the
required fast fading margin.
For each clutter type, you can define the characteristics of the environments within
that clutter type. The available environments are:
n Outdoor—open air environments

n Vehicular—moving vehicles
n Indoor—buildings or structures (normally representing areas where
single wall penetration is required)
n Deep Indoor—in-building areas where two-wall penetration is
required, or dense buildings where higher than normal penetration
losses are experienced
You can enable one or more of the environments for a clutter type. For each clutter
class, you indicate which environments you want to account for and then specify the
following parameters:
n Downlink Orthogonality—this value represents the signal’s

orthogonality factor in the environment of the clutter.
n Slow Fading Standard Deviation—this value is used to model the
shadowing from obstacles that cannot be handled by a propagation
model. Slightly higher values (approximately 8 dB) may be

appropriate for high density urban areas, lower values

(approximately 6.5 dB) for open areas.
n Outdoor Fast Fading Margin—this value represents the
extra margin required for fast power control to overcome
Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Outdoor environment of this
clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path loss
that occurs on the scale of a few wavelengths; the wavelength
of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches).
n Outdoor Penetration Loss—this value represents the
penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals
in the Outdoor environment for a specific clutter type.
n Vehicular Fast Fading Margin—this value represents the
transmit power headroom required for fast power control to
occur and overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Vehicular
environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation
of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few
wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about
15 cm (6 inches).
n Vehicular Penetration Loss—this value represents the
in the Vehicular environment for a specific clutter type.
n Vehicular Speed—this value represents the typical moving
speed of a mobile subscriber in a vehicular environment for a
specific clutter type.
n Indoor Fast Fading Margin—this value represents the
extra margin required for fast power control to occur and
overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Indoor environment of
this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path
loss that occurs on the scale of a few wavelengths; the
wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches).
n Indoor Penetration Loss—this value represents the
in the Indoor environment for a specific clutter type
n Deep Indoor Fast Fading Margin—this value represents
the extra margin required for fast power control to take place
and overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Deep Indoor
environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation
of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few

Chapter 5
wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm

(6 inches).
n Deep Indoor Penetration Loss—this value represents the
penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals in the
Deep Indoor environment for a specific clutter type
When you generate the analysis, you specify the subscriber environment you want
to model (i.e., Outdoor, Indoor, Deep Indoor, Vehicular). When you generate a
Monte Carlo simulation, if an environment does not apply to a particular type of
clutter (for example, if the deep indoor environment does not apply to the Urban -
Commercial clutter type, the simulation will not place any subscribers in that type of
clutter in that environment.
To define environment settings

1 Choose Edit Environments.
The Environment Editor opens.
2 For each clutter class, do any of the following:
n Double-click in a table cell and type a new value.

n Click the down arrow in a table cell and choose a new value.
n Enable or clear the check box for the chosen setting.

n Click the down arrow next to a table heading to display all the
data or a particular subset.
n Right-click in a table cell to copy and paste data.
3 Use the buttons on the tool strip to change the display and access
additional tools such as the Show Graph window as well as the
Generate Statistics and Generate Labels features.
Press the F1 key for more information on the Environment Editor.

Chapter 5
Creating a fixed subscriber database

Before generating a fixed subscriber analysis, you must place subscribers on the
map and create a fixed subscriber database (i.e., fixed subscriber table). For
example, you can create a fixed subscriber table to address the specific
requirements of the IEEE802.16d standard. When you define the subscriber settings,
you will need to associate a directive antenna with the equipment type.
To create a fixed subscriber table

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Fixed Subscribers category, right-
click the technology node for which you want to create a fixed
subscriber table, and choose New.
A table is added to the Fixed Subscriber Tables node.
2 To change the default table name, right-click “Table 1”, choose

Rename and type a meaning subscriber table name.
3 To add subscribers to the table, right-click the fixed subscribers table

and choose Add Subscriber.
4 Click in the Map window at the location of the subscriber.
5 Repeat Step 4 until you have placed all the subscribers.

CHAPTER 6 Generating Network Analyses
LTE analyses contain the information you require to determine the coverage of
your network. This chapter describes how to generate LTE analyses and view
results. It also explains how to create statistics that you can use to validate
your network design.
For information on how to generate detailed subscriber information or cell

loads, see “Generating Monte Carlo Simulations”.
Understanding network analyses 69
Workflow for generating an analysis 70
Defining default analysis layers 71
Defining default analysis settings 72
Creating and generating a network analysis 73
Generating an existing analysis 75
Viewing analysis layers 76
Generating multiple analyses 77
Deleting analyses 78
Recoloring best serving sector layers 79

Chapter 6
Understanding network analyses

In Mentum Planet 5.x, you can generate an analysis with nothing more than the
equipment type and, for cdma2000 or WCDMA, a service defined in the subscriber
settings. This decreases the time required to prepare for network analysis and
results in less time being required to generate the analysis layers; however, this
type of analysis does not generate detailed subscriber information. The analysis runs
only once and generates analysis layers automatically.

Generating Network Analyses
Workflow for generating an analysis
Step 1 If you want to use the same settings for a number of analyses,
define default analysis settings.
Step 2 If you want to generate the same layers for a number of analyses,
define default layers settings.
Step 3 Create and generate a new analysis.
Step 4 View analysis layers.
Step 5 Generate layer statistics for analysis layers.

Chapter 6
Defining default analysis layers

By default, all of the available analysis layers are generated. To avoid lengthy
generation times when working with a large project, you can exclude layers from the
analysis generation that you do not need. The analysis layer filter enables you to
define a default list of analysis layers that is available for all of the analyses that you
create for the current project.
To define default analysis layers

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, right-
click LTE Analyses and choose Default Layers.
2 In the LTE Analysis Layers dialog box, enable the check box next to
those layers you want to generate by default, and click OK.

Defining default analysis settings

If you want to use the same settings for a number of analyses, you can define
default settings. When you create a new analysis, these defaults are
automatically used.
To define default analysis settings

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analysescategory,
right-click LTE Analyses and choose Default Analyses
Settings.
The LTE Analysis Settings dialog box opens.
2 Define the default settings that you want to use, and click OK.

Chapter 6
Creating and generating a network analysis

When you create a new analysis, it is displayed in the Project Explorer in the
Network Analyses category under the LTE Analyses node. You can create any
number of analyses for a project.
When you finish creating a network analysis, you can generate it immediately or
save the analysis settings without generating it.
To create and generate a network analysis

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, right-
click LTE Analyses and choose New.
The Network Analysis Wizard opens.
2 On each page of the Wizard, provide the required information and

click Next.
3 On the System page, provide the required information and click Next.

4 On the Analysis page, provide the required information, and

click Next.
5 On the last page of the Wizard, complete the final step and click
Finish.

Chapter 6
Generating an existing analysis

You can generate an analysis after it has been created in the wizard. You can
generate an existing analysis as many times as required. If you edit a sector in the
Site Editor, your sector updates are used in subsequent analysis runs.
To generate an existing analysis

n In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category,
right-click the analysis node for which you want to generate analysis
layers and choose Generate.

Viewing analysis layers

Once you have generated your analysis, you can view the analysis layers that
it contains.
To view analysis layers

1 In the Project Explorer, choose the Network Analyses
category.
2 Right-click an analysis layer under the Analysis node and

choose View.
The analysis layer is displayed in the Map window.
TIP: To remove an analysis layer from the Map window, in the Project
Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, under the LTE Analyses node,
right-click an analysis layer, and choose Remove.

Chapter 6
Generating multiple analyses

You can use the Analysis Generator to select multiple analyses to generate
sequentially. Using this method you can, for example, select a series of analyses to
generate overnight.
You can update sector information that impacts a selected analysis, however the
analysis only uses the updated information if it has not yet started to generate.
To generate multiple analyses

1 Choose Tools Analysis Generator.
2 In the Analysis Generator, specify which analyses you want to

generate and click Start.
Analyses are generated in the order displayed in the Analysis Generator.

Sector information for each analysis listed is collected when the analysis
starts. If you change sector parameters and the analysis has not yet started,
changes will be included in the results.
TIP: To reorder entries in the Analysis Generator, click the column title.

Deleting analyses
Files generated from a network analysis can take up a lot of hard disk space.
You can delete analyses that are no longer required.
To delete analyses
1 In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, do
any of the following:
n Choose one or more analyses, right-click and choose Delete.

n Expand an analysis node, choose one or more analysis layers,
right-click and choose Delete.
2 In the Mentum Planet dialog box, click Yes.
The analyses or analysis layers you chose are removed from the Project
Explorer and the files are deleted from the project folder.

Chapter 6
Recoloring best serving sector layers

The Best Serving Sector Recolor tool enables you to change the color scheme used
to display best serving sector analysis layers (classified grid files).
You can use the colors defined in a sector display scheme or choose from the default
color schemes used to display best serving sector analysis layers. Sector display
schemes enable you to display analysis layers based on sector properties, such as
the downlink load. When you use a sector display scheme with the Best Serving
Sector Recolor tool, only the colors that have been defined for the scheme are used;
other sector display scheme settings, such as symbol and size, are ignored.
For information about defining sector display schemes, see “Customizing sector
symbols for multiple sites” in “Working With Sites and Sectors”, in the Mentum
Planet User Guide.
To recolor best serving sector layers

1 Choose Tools Best Serving Sector Recolor.
The Best Serving Sector Recolor dialog box opens.
2 Click Browse, navigate to the <technology>_Analyses folder with the

project folder, choose the best serving sector layer (.grc) file that you
want to recolor, and click Open.
3 In the Apply Scheme section, choose a color scheme and click Apply.
The best serving sector layers are displayed in the Map window using the new
color scheme.
NOTE: You can modify an existing sector display scheme from within in the Best
Serving Sector Recolor dialog box by right-clicking a scheme and choosing Edit.

Examining layer statistics

You can calculate statistics on the individual analysis layers that you have
generated, including preamble plan analysis layers. You can calculate
statistics based on the entire numeric grid (.grd) file, an area grid, or a
selection in the Map window. You can further customize the statistics based on
a clutter grid file, traffic map, or a user-defined filter.
After you calculate statistics, you can export statistics to Excel or to .csv files.
In Excel, you can display statistics in a myriad of different ways as shown in
Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1: Example of layer statistics displayed in Excel.

CHAPTER 7 Generating Monte Carlo
Simulations
A Monte Carlo simulation generates information about sectors, channels, and

subscribers in your network. Using the information gathered through a Monte
Carlo analysis, you can establish cell loads and determine the operating points
of the base stations. This chapter describes how to generate a Monte Carlo
simulation and view results.
Because of the detail in Monte Carlo simulations, they can take some time to
generate. For quicker, but less detailed, analyses you can generate a
analysis. See CHAPTER 6 Generating network analyses on page 68.
Understanding Monte Carlo simulations 82
Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs 85
Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers 89
Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation 91
Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings 92
Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation 93
Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation 101
Viewing simulation layers 102
Deleting simulation layers 103
Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results 104
Creating reports 111

Chapter 7
Understanding Monte Carlo simulations

A Monte Carlo simulation is a static analysis method that uses Monte Carlo
simulation techniques to determine the characteristics of your network over
repeated runs.
A run consists of the distribution of random numbers of subscribers throughout the

analysis area in a random pattern, and an analysis of the uplink and downlink. On the
last run, operating points and discrete subscriber information are generated. Once
the runs are complete, you can view simulation layers and, if required, use the cell
load information for further analysis.
Statistically, individual runs are of little value. However, over many Monte Carlo
runs, the average result provides a realistic representation of network performance.
The results are averaged to create the operating points that are used when you
generate simulation layers.
From a network analysis point of view, the ultimate goal of a Monte Carlo simulation
is to obtain loading values on both the downlink and uplink for all sectors and carriers
included in the simulation. These loading values are used to produce coverage and
interference layers, which provide you with a visual representation of network
performance.
The following sections describe the phases of a Monte Carlo run and explain the
methods for determining how many runs are required.
The phases of a Monte Carlo simulation

There are four general phases in a Monte Carlo simulation. They involve:
n placing subscribers in a random pattern

n sorting subscribers based on their assigned priorities
n analyzing the downlink and the uplink
n generating operating points and subscriber information
Once convergence is reached, if there are any remaining network resources

available and you choose to use a Scheduler, the Scheduler will allocate them based
on subscriber priorities.

Generating Monte Carlo Simulations
Placing subscribers in a random pattern

Each run begins with the placement of subscribers in a random pattern
throughout the simulation area. This pattern is created using input values from
the channels defined for the band and the subscribers defined in the Subscriber
Settings. The random distribution pattern corresponds to the traffic map, and
is an efficient method for establishing transmission patterns when the exact
location of each subscriber cannot be established.
Sorting subscribers by priority

On each run, subscribers are served based on their assigned priorities. The
highest priority in each case is 1 while the lowest priority is 100. For each
subscriber type, you define the following priorities:
n a subscriber type priority—defined on the Configuration tab for

each subscriber type.
n a service priority—defined on the Load tab for each subscriber
service
n a Quality of Service priority—defined on the Quality of Service
tab and organized around QoS classes
Analyzing the downlink and uplink

The goal of the uplink and downlinkf analysis phase is to determine the
subscribers who can be served, taking into account the impact of each served
subscriber on the network.
The analysis begins by considering the subscribers in the simulation, then the
serving sectors for each subscriber.
The uplink analysis
n determines the best uplink server that is also the best

downlink server
n calculates the received signal-to-noise ratio C/(N+I) and
checks that the required coverage probability is achieved

Chapter 7
n calculates the noise rise and checks that the limit is not exceeded
on all sectors
n checks that the cell radius and speed limit are not exceeded
The downlink analysis
n determines whether the reference signal strength and reference

signal C/(N+I) are above the targets
n if interference coordination is supported, assigns the subscriber to
either the inner cell or the outer cell
n calculates the received signal-to-noise ratio C/(N+I) and checks
that the required coverage probability is achieved
n checks that the user limit, downlink load and throughput limit are
not exceeded
The simulation also checks the quality thresholds defined for each sector.
Generating operating points and subscriber information

On the last run, operating points and subscriber information are generated.
Operating points provide detailed information about each sector, carrerl, and
subscriber type in the simulation. The operating points are averaged and stored. You
can examine detailed operating point data by viewing the generated layers.
Subscriber information provides details on the coverage status of subscribers (also

known as discrete subscribers). Snapshots of each subscriber’s status are compiled
on each run of the simulation. When the simulation is complete, you can view the
subscriber spreading layer as well as the service status of each subscriber. You can
also view reports on the statistics collected. See “Creating reports”.

Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs

Before you generate a Monte Carlo simulation, you must define the
convergence criteria that determines when the simulation stops. If you
generate too few runs, the results will not accurately reflect the distribution of
subscribers within the network. If you generate too many runs, the processing
time can be high unnecessarily. In order to avoid either of these extremes, you
define the level of convergence, which considers the number of subscribers
blocked during a single run. If this number is stable over several runs, the
simulation ends.
Convergence method
The distribution of subscribers is affected by the traffic density. When there is
greater traffic density, fewer runs are required.
Using this approach, the runs continue until the level of convergence target is
reached. After each run, the tool calculates the level of convergence value
(see “Level of Convergence calculation”). When the level of convergence is
within the specified range (e.g., by default, within 5% of the target values),
the simulation ends.
To achieve results that are statistically valid, you must determine an

appropriate level of convergence. If you specify a low value (for example,
1%), more runs will be required for the solution to converge. A low level of
convergence generally requires a higher resolution digital terrain model (DTM)
to ensure accurate results. If the DTM has a low resolution, small variations in
the interference calculations between runs might cause significant differences
in the coverage area for a particular site.
The required level of convergence option requires a minimum of five runs to

complete.
Level of Convergence calculation

The following calculations are used to determine the level of convergence
during a run.
First, the number of blocked users is calculated using Equation 7.1.

Chapter 7
Equation 7.1 Mean number of blocked users
Where:
is the mean number of blocked users for a particular run
is the number of simulation runs
The divergence of consecutive values is continually calculated using the mean value.
For example:
Equation 7.2 Divergence of consecutive values
The value and the Equation 7.2divergence value from Equation 7.1 are then used
to determine the level of convergence value, as shown in Equation 7.3.
Equation 7.3 Level of convergence calculation

If the analysis does not achieve what you consider to be an accurate model of
the network using the number of runs that you specified, you can generate
additional runs.
Factors affecting the required number of runs

The number of runs required to achieve a given level of accuracy can vary
dramatically based on several factors including:
n the number of bins in the simulation, which is directly

proportional to the simulation area and resolution. The
number of bins in the simulation has an impact as it will
provide the number of potential points for subscribers. The
more potential points for subscribers, the greater the
likelihood of variation.
n the number of subscribers to be spread. This, coupled with the
type of subscriber (for example, high data rate subscribers)
and the traffic map, has potentially the greatest impact on the
number of runs required. If you spread very few subscribers
over a large area, then you need many runs to get a good
statistical representation. If these subscribers are spread in a
limited area, then fewer runs are likely required.
n the impact of each individual subscriber on the simulation.
Higher data rate subscribers create a bigger load and have a
bigger impact in all respects.
n the potential variation in the locations of the subscribers in the
simulation according to the assigned traffic maps. A flat traffic
map will likely require more runs than a map where all of the
subscribers are concentrated.
n the number of sectors in the simulation. A greater number of
servers, coupled with the potential for overlapping coverage
areas, and gaps in coverage, results in a higher potential for
different sectors providing service, and more runs being
required.
In general, the greater potential variability then the greater the number of runs
required to ensure a reasonable level of accuracy. It is often useful to do a
single run first, especially for large simulation areas. A single run can identify
obvious errors quickly, for example, incorrect PA power settings for a sector.

Chapter 7
TIP: To help determine whether additional runs are required, you can view the
subscriber spreading layer and use the Grid Info tool to see how many subscribers
are spread across a bin. You can also view the service status layer to see the served
status of a subscriber.
You can also examine pre-defined reports to view the operating points. For more
information on reports, see “Creating reports”.

Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers

Two types of layers are generated after the final Monte Carlo run:
n the subscriber spreading layer—displays how many

subscribers are spread across a bin. This is the average value
over all runs.
n the service status layer (for each subscriber type)—displays
the served status of each subscriber using the colors shown in
Table 1
Table 1 Subscriber status color map
Color Subscriber Status Displays When..
the subscriber is served and all

Served
simulation conditions are met.
The sectors' signal strength is below

Blocked (reference signal
the signal strength threshold
coverage)
defined in the analysis settings.
Blocked (number of users) The user limit has been reached.
There are no downlink modulation

Blocked (downlink power) coding schemes that can be
achieved.
The uplink power limit has been

Blocked (uplink power)
reached.
There are no downlink resources

Blocked (downlink
(i.e., resource blocks) left to serve a
resources)
particular subscriber.
There are no uplink resources (i.e.,

Blocked (uplink resources) resource blocks) left to serve a
given subscriber.
Serving a given subscriber leads to

Blocked (uplink noise rise) an uplink noise rise on any sector to
be greater than the maximum uplink

Chapter 7
Color Subscriber Status Displays When..
noise rise value defined in the Site

Editor.
Serving a given subscriber leads to

a site pooled throughput that is
Blocked (maximum pooled
greater than the maximum pooled
throughput)
throughput value defined in the Site
Editor.
The subscriber is outside the limit

Blocked (coverage
best server coverage value defined
distance limit)
in the Site Editor.
The subscriber spreading layer and the service status layer are saved in the
<technology>MC_Simulations folder of your project. To ensure that these layers are
always generated during a Monte Carlo simulation, enable the Generate Layers for
4G Monte Carlo Simulations check box on the Miscellaneous panel in the User
Preferences dialog box.

Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation

Step 1 Ensure that you have defined a traffic map for the subscriber types
that covers the same area as your Monte Carlo simulation.
Step 2 If you want to use the same settings for a number of simulations,
define default simulations settings.
Step 3 Create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation.
Step 4 View simulation layers.
Step 5 If required, generate additional runs.
Step 6 Generate statistical reports for simulation layers.
Step 7 Create reports for discrete subscriber information and operating

points.
Step 8 Optionally, generate a network analysis.

Chapter 7
Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings

If you want to use the same settings for a number of Monte Carlo simulations, you
can define default settings. When you create a new simulation, these defaults are
automatically used.
To define default Monte Carlo simulation settings

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category,
right-click LTE Simulations and choose Default Simulation
Settings.
The Monte Carlo Simulation dialog box opens.
2 Define the default settings that you want to use, and click OK.

Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation

When you create a new simulation, it is displayed in the Project Explorer in the
Monte Carlo Simulations category under the <Technology> Simulations node.
You can create any number of simulations for a project. When you finish
creating a Monte Carlo simulation, you can generate it immediately or save the
simulation settings without generating it.
To create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations
category, right-click LTE FDD Simulations and choose New.
The Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard opens.
2 On the System page, provide the following information and click

Next.

Chapter 7
3 On the Analysis page, provide the following information and click

Next.

4 On the Monte Carlo page, provide the following information and

click Next.
5 On the last page of the Wizard, complete the final step and click
Finish.
A new simulation node is created in the Project Explorer.
TIP: To view the settings of a simulation, in the Project Explorer, in the Monte
Carlo Simulations category, right-click the simulation and choose View
Settings.
TIP: To view which sectors are part of a simulation, in the Project Explorer, in
the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click the simulation and choose
View Selected Sectors.

Chapter 7
Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard

A Monte Carlo simulation takes all subscriber parameters into account when
generating simulation layers. To do this, at each Monte Carlo run, Mentum Planet:
n Creates a random pattern of subscribers. The simulation places the

subscribers at random locations using the traffic map densities, and
determines the subscriber types from the definitions in the
Subscriber Editor.
n Generates downlink and uplink analyses. This uses the random
subscriber pattern to determine the number of subscribers that can
be served, while taking into account the impact of each served
subscriber on the network.
n On the last run of the simulation, the simulation tool also generates
two additional types of data:
n Operating points— These are the results of the simulation

divided by sector, carrier, and subscriber type. Mentum
Planet averages these and uses them to create reports.
n Discrete subscriber information—Mentum Planet compiles
snapshots of each subscriber’s status on each run of the
simulation. When the simulation finishes, the coverage status
of each subscriber is stored in a MapInfo table (*.tab).
System
Frequency Band—choose from this list the frequency band you want to simulate.
You define frequency bands in the Network Settings.
Subscriber Types
Use this section to specify the subscriber criteria to focus on when generating the
simulation. Enable the check boxes next to those subscriber types you want to
include in the simulation.
Subscriber Type—displays the name of the subscriber type. The subscriber type is
defined in the Subscriber Editor.

CPE Type—displays the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) type associated

with the subscriber.

generating simulation layers.
Analysis
Best Server
RSRP Threshold—type in this box the Reference Signal Received Power
threshold above which a server can be considered the best server.
Selection Based On—choose how you want the best server determined by
selecting one of the following options:
n RSRP—choose this option if you want the simulation to select

the best server according to the reference signal strength.
n RSRQ—choose this option if you want the simulation to select
the best server according to the reference signal receive
quality.
Reference Coverage Probability Based On
n RSRP—choose this option if you want the simulation to

calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRP
threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based
on the calculated RSRP and the defined threshold.
n RSRQ—choose this option if you want the simulation to
calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRQ
threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based
on the calculated RSRQ and the defined threshold.

Chapter 7
Interference Coordination Scheduling—choose from this list the type of

scheduler to use in order to efficiently coordinate interference. This box is not
available if the selected frequency band does not support interference coordination.
The following options are available:
n Basic—optimizes resource allocations through minimal interaction

between eNodeBs.
n Advanced—optimizes resource allocations through fast and
comprehensive communication between eNodeBs. As a result, the
Advanced scheduler reduces more efficiently the amount of
downlink interference.
Probability of Collision Curve—displays the name of the mapping curve to use for
the probability of collision.
Browse—click this button to open a .cls file.
Edit—click this button to open the Curve Editor.
Account For Fading When Selecting Spatial Multiplexing Gains—enable this

check box to take fading into consideration when computing spatial multiplexing
gains. When this option is enabled, the algorithm subtracts the fast fading margin
and the slow fading margin from the downlink C/(N+I) before calculating the spatial
multiplexing gain. This parameter is only available when sectors use the following
algorithms: AMS, MIMO, Smart Antennas + AMS, or Smart Antennas + MIMO.
Uplink Power Control

Full—choose this option to use full power control on the uplink.
Fractional—choose this option to use uplink fractional power control. You must
specify a power control value in dBm as well as a pathloss compensation factor.
When you choose this option, the transmitted power used for the mobile equipment
is impacted and, hence, so is the uplink CNIR value.

Other System Interference

Use Interference Grid—enable this check box to specify an interference grid
to use during the analysis. If you use an interference grid, the downlink other
system interference value defined in the LTE sector settings will be ignored by
the analysis. At each bin, the value will be replaced by the value provided in
the grid.
Browse—click this button to open a .grd file containing interference

values to use in place of the sector-based downlink interference values.
Remove—click this button if you do not want to use an interference

grid.
Center Frequency—click in this box to define the center frequency of the

interference source.
Bandwidth—click in this box to define the bandwidth of the interference

signal.

generating simulation layers.
Monte Carlo
Minimum Number of Runs—type in this box to define the minimum number

of runs in the Monte-Carlo simulation.
Maximum Number of Runs—type in this box to define the maximum

number of runs in the Monte-Carlo simulation.
Required Level of Convergence—type in this box to define the required

level of convergence in order to end the Monte-Carlo simulation.
Scheduler—choose from this list the type of Scheduler you want to use. The
following options are available:
None—resources that remain once subscribers have been served with

their minimum data rate are not allocated.

Chapter 7
Priority—resources that remain once subscribers have been served with their
minimum data rate are allocated to subscribers based on the priority defined
in the subscriber settings.
Proportional Fair—resources that remain once subscribers have been

served at their minimum data rates are allocated equally to all subscribers
such that subscribers in better conditions have better data rates.
Proportional Demand—resources that remain once subscribers have been

served at their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers.
Subscribers with low data rates are given more resources.
Maximum Capacity—resources that remain once subscribers have been

served at their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers.
Subscribers with high data rates are given more resources.
User-Defined—resources that remain once subscribers have been served at

their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers according to the
following weight:
The larger the weight, the more resources are assigned to the subscriber. Use the
User-Defined Scheduler when you require a compromise between fairness (as in the
proportional demand scheduler) and capacity (as in the maximum capacity
scheduler).
Automatically Update Cell Loads—enable this check box to update cell load
values automatically at the end of the simulation.
Display Subscribers at Each Run—enable this check box to display the subscriber
status in the Map window on each simulation run.
Display Convergence Graph—enable this check box to display a graph illustrating

the convergence process.

Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation

You can generate a simulation after it has been created in the wizard and can
generate an existing simulation as many times as required. After viewing the
simulation report and discrete subscriber information, you may determine that
additional runs are required to achieve greater accuracy. The additional
simulation runs are based on the operating points obtained from the existing
simulation. The new results are generated using the statistics collected from
all simulation runs.
NOTE: If you edit a sector in the Site Editor, your updates are used in
subsequent simulation runs.
To generate an existing simulation

n In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations
category, right-click the simulation node for which you want to
generate layers and choose Generate.

Chapter 7
Viewing simulation layers

Once you have generated a simulation, you can view the simulation layers that it
contains.
To view simulation layers

1 In the Project Explorer, choose the Monte Carlo Simulations
category.
2 Right-click a simulation layer under the LTE FDD Simulations node and

choose View.
The simulation layer is displayed in the Map window.
NOTE: If you rename a simulation in the Project Explorer, any layers currently open
or displayed in the Map window will be closed.

Deleting simulation layers

Files generated from a simulation can take up a lot of hard disk space. You can
delete simulations that are no longer required.
To delete simulation layers

category, do any of the following:
n Choose one or more simulation layers, right-click and choose

Delete.
n Expand a simulation node, choose one or more simulation
layers, right-click and choose Delete.
2 In the Mentum Planet dialog box, click Yes.
The simulation layers you chose are removed from the Project Explorer
and the files are deleted from the project folder.

Chapter 7
Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results

Once you have generated a Monte Carlo simulation, you have the option of using the
results of the simulation to update the target values for the uplink noise rise and
downlink for each sector. These values are used in network analyses.
To update analysis cell loads

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulation category,
right-click a Monte Carlo simulation and do one of the following:
n To Update The Target Values For All Sectors In The Chosen

Group, Choose Apply Cell Loads.
n To update the target values for selected sectors within the group,
choose Apply Cell Loads to Selected Sectors, specify the
sectors to which you want to apply changes, and click OK.
2 In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
The values displayed in the Channels table on the Configuration tab are
updated. This includes the Downlink Loading (%), the Uplink Loading (%), the
Uplink Noise Rise (%), the Segment Zone Usage (dB), and the AAS Usage
(%).

Examining layer statistics

You can calculate statistics on the individual analysis layers that you have
generated, including preamble plan analysis layers. You can calculate
statistics based on the entire numeric grid (.grd) file, an area grid, or a
selection in the Map window. You can further customize the statistics based on
a clutter grid file, traffic map, or a user-defined filter.
To evaluate how using different types of antenna systems impacts network

performance:
n Create layer statistics for the Downlink Maximum Achievable

Data Rate layer.
n In the Layer Statistics Analysis dialog box, use the best server
classified grid to calculate statistics.
n In the Report Preview, filter on a given range and choose the
Percentage Sub Area column.
n Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button and define a
sector display scheme to apply to the map.
After you calculate statistics, you can export statistics to Excel or to .csv files.
In Excel, you can display statistics in a myriad of different ways as shown in
Figure 7.1
Figure 7.1: Example of graph displays in Excel.

Chapter 7
To calculate layer statistics

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, choose
the simulation layers that you want to add to the report, right-click and
choose Statistics.
2 To manually add additional simulation layers to the list, click Add

Layer, navigate to the file that you want to add, and click Open.
3 In the tree view, choose Analysis Settings.
4 On the Analysis Settings panel, define the analysis area.
5 Do any of the following:
n To remove bins with null values from the analysis layer calculations,
enable the Exclude Null Values check box.
n To generate additional statistics, broken down by a classification,
enable the Use Classified Grid check box, click Browse to
navigate to the file, choose the file and click OK.
Any classified grid can be used to perform different kinds of

statistical analysis. For example, to produce a statistical breakdown
for each sector, use a best server layer as the classification grid.
This breaks the statistics down by best server area.

n To generate traffic statistics, enable the Use Traffic Map

check box and choose a traffic map from the Traffic Map list.
n To generate additional statistics, broken down by a
classification, enable the Use Classified Grid check box,
click Browse to navigate to the file, choose the file and click
OK.
Any classified grid can be used to perform different kinds of

statistical analysis. For example, to produce a statistical
breakdown for each sector, use a best server layer as the
classification grid. This breaks the statistics down by best
server area.
n To generate traffic statistics, enable the Use Traffic Map
check box and choose a traffic map from the Traffic Map list.
n To generate additional statistics, broken down by a numeric
classification, enable the Use Numeric Grid check box, click
Browse to navigate to the file, choose the file and click OK.
6 To filter the analysis area based on a grid file, enable the Apply
Area Filter check box.
The area filter is applied globally to all layers.
7 If you want to define individual area filters for each layer, enable
the Set Area Filter By Layer check box.
8 If you are applying area filters globally to all layers, do the

following:
n To define the area raster, click Browse, navigate to the grid

file, and click OK.
n To define the condition for the filter, type an expression in the
Condition box. For example, choosing the SignalStrength.grd
file and defining the expression would only consider pixels
within the analysis area that have a signal strength greater
than 100.
9 To discard statistical results that only contain zero values, enable

the Discard Result That Only Contains Zero Statistics check
box.

Chapter 7
With this check box enabled, records where all columns contain zero values
will be removed from the statistical report.
10 In the tree view, expand the Layers node and choose the analysis
layer for which you want to obtain statistics.
11 If you want to define classification settings for the analysis layer, define
any of the available settings in the Classifications Settings section.
12 If you want to define area filters for individual layers and have enabled
the Set Area Filter By Layer check box on the Analysis Settings
panel, click the Area Filters button.
Area filter settings are saved in LayerStatistics.set file located in the

Settings/Layer Statistics folders within the project folder.
13 Click Calculate Statistics.
The Report Preview dialog box opens
14 Change the Report Preview display as required using the available

toolbar buttons
15 To view statistics on column data, choose one or more data columns

and click the Generate Statistics button.

The Generate Statistics dialog box opens where you can view the mean
value, the minimum value, the maximum value, the median value, the
root mean square, and the standard deviation for each column.
16 If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can
create a sector display scheme to apply to report data by doing
the following:
n Choose the column of data for which you want to create a

sector display scheme.
n Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button.
17 Define the sector display scheme name and ,in the Sector
Display Scheme dialog box, define the parameters upon which
you want the scheme to be based.
18 To view the layer statistics upon which the scheme is based, click
the Data button.
19 Review the data and click Close.
20 In the Sector Display Scheme dialog box, save or apply the

sector display scheme as required.
21 If the report includes site and sector data, you can display labels
in the Map window based on a selected data column by doing the
following:
n Choose the column of data that you want to use as the basis
for the site labels.
n Click the Generate Labels button.
To filter data in the Report Preview dialog box, do any of the following:
n click the arrow next to a column heading and enable the check
boxes next to the information you want to view.
n click the Custom button to create a custom And/Or filter.
22 To save the selected sites, click the

Chapter 7
23 To export the data to Excel, in the Report Preview dialog box, click
the Export Data To A File button and define export settings as
required.

Creating reports
After generating a Monte Carlo simulation, you can view details of the
simulation in the Report Preview dialog box and export the reports to Excel for
further analysis.
To create reports
category, right-click a simulation and choose Generate Reports
and then choose one of the following options:
n Sector/Channel—contains analysis information sorted by

sector and channel including PA power, preamble power,
downlink load, uplink noise rise, etc.
n Subscribers—contains the reasons subscribers were blocked
on either a global or per sector/channel basis.
n Throughput—contains throughput information sorted by
subscriber type, service, and environment on either a global
or per subscriber basis.
n All Run Sector/Channel—contains analysis information for
each run performed in the simulation sorted by sector and
channel.
2 In the Report Preview dialog box, do any of the following:
n To change the columns displayed in the dialog box, click the

Change Options button.
n To sort the data in ascending order, click the Sort In
Ascending Order button.
n To sort the data in descending order, click the Sort In
Descending Order button.
3 To view statistics on a particular column in the report, choose a

data column and click the Generate Statistics button.

Chapter 7
The Generate Statistics window opens where you can view the mean value,
the minimum value, the maximum value, the median value, the root mean
square, and the standard deviation.
4 If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can create a
sector display scheme to apply to report data by doing the following:
n Choose the column of data for which you want to create a sector
display scheme.
n Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button and define the
sector display scheme settings you want to use.
5 If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can display
labels in the Map window based on a selected data column by doing the
following:
n Choose the column of data that you want to use as the basis for the
site labels.
n Click the Generate Labels button.
6 To export the data to Excel, in the Report Preview dialog box, click
the Export Data To A File button.
The Export Options dialog box opens.
7 In the Select Export format section, choose one of the following

options:

n Excel—to export statistics to an Excel (.xls) file.

n CSV—to export statistics to Comma Separated Values (.csv)
file.
8 If you are exporting to Excel, do the following:
n To open the file once the export is complete, enable the Open
File Or Folder Upon Export check box.
n In the Export Settings section, click Browse to define a file
name.
n To use a template, enable the Use A Template check box
and click Browse to specify the template file.
n If the template uses macros, enable the Use Macros check
box.
9 If you are exporting to .csv files, do the following:
n In the Export Settings section, enable the Export Header

Row if you want to include a header in the exported files.
n Click Browse to define a folder for the exported output.
10 Click OK.

CHAPTER 8 Generating Fixed Subscriber
Analyses
There could be many reasons for generating a fixed subscriber analysis. It

depends on the environment you are modeling and the resources at hand. You
could, for example, be modeling a fixed network. Or, due to capacity
requirements, you could be modeling a hybrid network with support for both
mobile users and fixed subscribers.
By generating a Mentum Planet fixed subscriber analysis, you can evaluate

and analyze network performance at discrete subscriber locations with a
variety of equipment configurations.
Understanding fixed subscriber analyses 115
Editing fixed subscribers 117
Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis 118
Analyzing a single fixed subscriber 120

Chapter 8
Understanding fixed subscriber analyses

An unprecedented demand for wireless data and many advances in mobile
communication technologies are behind the need to move third generation (3G)
networks to forth generation (4G) wireless solutions.
Two popular 4G technologies, LTE and WiMAX, not only enable true mobile
broadband capabilities but also the convergence of fixed and mobile services. The
all-IP based packet core network architecture and the high-efficient flexible air
interface of 4G networks offers operators great opportunities and capabilities to
deploy integrated applications that provide high-speed mobility services, as well as
fixed broadband wireless access services.
In addition to the nature of fixed locations, the services and applications used by
fixed subscribers, quality of service requirement, can be very different from the ones
that are typically used by mobile subscribers.
The behaviors and usage patterns of two types of subscribers can also be very
different. Therefore, when planning or optimizing a 4G-based system that provides
hybrid mobility and fixed access services, you need to ensure that the network not
only meets the performance requirement imposed by mobile subscribers, but also
supports and delivers the robust quality of service to fixed subscribers.
Mentum Planet fixed subscriber analyses provide you with the tools you need to
evaluate and analyze network performance at discrete subscriber locations with
variety of CPE configurations.
Before you generate an analysis

The first step in creating a fixed subscriber analysis is to create a fixed subscriber
table. You then place subscribers on the map. Subscriber information along with the
equipment configuration is saved in a subscriber table as a comma separated value
file and stored in the Fixed Subscriber Tables folder within the project. You can edit
subscriber information using the Subscriber Editor or by editing the subscriber table
directly.
You can set the subscriber prediction type to be either ground level or equipment
antenna height. This enables you to model different types of fixed terminal
equipment. The equipment antenna height type of prediction is particularly useful
when an external antenna is used on the Customer Premise Equipment (e.g., when

Generating Fixed Subscriber Analyses
the equipment is mounted on top of a building). For these types of predictions,

point-to-point predictions are generated on-the-fly from all the neighboring
sectors to the terminal equipment. Neighbors are those sectors with a
prediction distance that is greater than the distance between the sector and
the terminal equipment location.
TIP: You can import an existing fixed subscriber database or you can define
subscribers in the Tabular Editor or Excel worksheet.
How the analysis is performed

Instead of analyzing every bin in a area for a particular type of subscriber
equipment, service, and environment, and then generating a set of analysis
layers in a mobile network analysis, the fixed subscriber analysis analyzes
network performance at discrete subscriber locations defined in the fixed
subscriber table. If required, for each subscriber, you can define a unique
configuration (e.g., locations, CPE with integrated antenna, or CPE with
directional antenna mounted at roof top). For example, at the same location,
you may have multiple subscribers but each subscriber is at a different height.
This is a configuration that would be required if subscribers, for example, in the
same apartment building are located on a different floor (i.e., at a different
level).
For every subscriber, the analysis predicts the signal strengths at the location,
and determines the best parent server and the potential second best server.
The downlink and uplink performance, in terms of best available modulation,
maximum achievable data rate, coverage probability, margins, etc. are then
analyzed. You can, however, change how the best server is determined by
configuring subscribers to use the forced connection. While an optimal
connection uses the best server in the analysis, the forced connection selects
a specific site and sector as the best server as defined in the Fixed Subscriber
Editor for each subscriber.
The analysis results of each subscriber are stored in the fixed subscriber table.

Chapter 8
Editing fixed subscribers

Before you can accurately analyze fixed subscribers, you need to ensure that the
subscriber configuration mirrors the real-world characteristics of the users.
TIP: To edit subscriber information for many subscribers, right-click the

subscriber table and choose one of the following commands:
n Edit to modify information in the Tabular Editor

n Edit in Excel to modify information in Excel
To edit fixed subscribers using the Subscriber Editor

1 In the Map window, right-click a subscriber and choose Edit Fixed
Subscriber.
2 In the Subscriber Editor, define subscriber parameters as required

and click OK.

Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis

When you create a new fixed subscriber analysis, it is displayed in the Project
Explorer in the Fixed Subscribers category. You can create any number of
analyses for a project.
To generate a fixed subscriber analysis

1 In the Project Explorer, right-click the subscribers table and
choose Analyze.
2 In the Sector Selection dialog box, specify those sectors you

want to analyze and click Next.
3 On each page of the Wizard, provide the required information

and click Next.
4 On the Analysis page, provide the required information.

Chapter 8
5 Click Finish.
To view analysis results

n Right-click the subscriber table and choose Edit In Excel.

Analyzing a single fixed subscriber

In order to evaluate the impact of a subscriber, you can generate an analysis
of a single subscriber.
To analyze a single subscriber

1 In the Map window, right-click a subscriber, and choose Edit
Fixed Subscriber.
2 In the Subscriber Editor, click the Analyze tab, and specify the
frequency band, sector selection as well as the prediction
parameter, and then click Analyze.
The Values column is updated with data from the analysis.

CHAPTER 9 Generating Frequency And Physical
Cell ID Plans Automatically
This chapter explains how to create a frequency plan and physical cell ID plan
using the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool.
Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID

planning 122
Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning

constraints and costs 123
Addressing frequency planning requirements 124
Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning 125
Creating a frequency plan 126

parameters 134
Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID

plan 136
Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors 137

Chapter 9
Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID

planning
With the goal of increasing network capacity, the frequencies and physical cell IDs
used in a LTE network need to be reused efficiently.
Frequency planning
Building a frequency plan manually is a labor intensive, error-prone process. Using
the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you can generate a
frequency or cell ID plan automatically.
Cell ID planning
In an LTE network, reference signal symbols inserted on the downlink, are used for
channel estimation and signal demodulation. They are combined with a pseudo-
random sequence and a orthogonal sequence in order to enable cell searches. It is
during cell searches that the primary synchronization signal provides the cell identity
(i.e., 0, 1, or 2) and the secondary synchronization signal determines the cell identity
group. In order to minimize interference, cells belonging to the same site are
assigned cell identities from the same cell identity group.
TIP: To achieve an equitable balance, you should plan frequencies and cell IDs at
the same time.

Generating Frequency And Physical Cell ID Plans Automatically
Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning

constraints and costs
Constraints and costs play a pivotal role in frequency and physical cell ID
planning.
Frequency, preamble, and perm base planning constraints

The constraints considered by the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID
Planning tool include the settings in the Interference Threshold section and the
carrier separations (i.e., the spacing required to separate each carrier at the
site and sector level) defined on the Frequency tab.
Frequency and physical cell ID planning violation costs

Violation costs are the cost factors that are incurred whenever a frequency or
physical cell ID planning constraint is not respected. Frequency or physical cell
ID planning constraints are defined in the Automatic Frequency and Physical
Cell ID Planning dialog box.
The violation cost values you enter in the Interference threshold section for
either co-channel or adjacent channel interference is multiplied by the
interference defined in the interference matrix. Each cost contributes to the
overall cost associated with the assignment of a specific channel to a sector.

Chapter 9
Addressing frequency planning requirements

Various planning scenarios exist, each having specific requirements in terms of
frequency or physical cell ID planning. Using Mentum Planet and the Automatic
Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you can overcome the challenges of
frequency and physical cell ID planning in each specific case.
You can choose to allocate frequencies or physical cell IDs to new sectors only. In
this case, the assignments for existing sectors are not changed; however, they are
considered in the new plan.
NOTE: The Automatic Frequency and Cell ID Planning tool does not support single
channel, non-segmented frames or multiple channel, segmented frames.
Multi-channel frequency planning

One of the ways to reduce co-channel interference is to use make multiple channels
available across the network. The challenge of doing so is then to plan and assign
frequencies using the most optimal configuration; one where both the co-channel
and adjacent channel interference is minimized. Using the AFPP Planning tool, you
can achieve this goal.
NOTE: In multi-channel scenarios, only non-segmented frames are supported.

Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning
Step 1 Create a group of sites that you will use for your interference
matrix, neighbor list, and frequency or physical cell ID planning. See
“Working with Sites and Sectors”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Step 2 Create an interference matrix and a neighbor list using the same
group of sites. See “Working with Interference Matrices”, and
“Working with Neighbor Lists”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Step 3 Define settings and create a frequency or physical cell ID plan. See
“Creating a frequency or physical cell ID plan”.
Step 4 Apply the frequency or physical cell ID plan to the sectors in your
network. See “Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to
sectors”.

Chapter 9
Creating a frequency plan

To create a frequency or physical cell ID plan with the Automatic Frequency and
Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you must first choose a group of sites, and an
interference matrix, and a neighbor list. The Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell
ID Planning tool looks at the weightings contained in the interference matrix to
determine the co-channel and adjacent channel interference. It then assigns a
violation cost when the thresholds you have defined are breached.
You can save the current frequency or physical cell ID assignments for your sectors
as a plan, and make the plan available under the LTE Frequency and Physical Cell ID
Plans node in the Project Explorer.
For more information on how to create a group of sites, “Working with Sites and
Sectors”, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. For more information on interference
matrices, see “Working with Interference Matrices”, in the Mentum Planet User
Guide. For more information on neighbor lists, see “Working with Neighbor Lists”, in
the Mentum Planet User Guide.
To create a frequency plan

1 In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click the LTE
FDD node and choose New.
The LTE FDD Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box
opens.

2 Click any of the following tabs and define the required

parameters:
n General—allows you to define the name, frequency band and

group to plan for. You can also specify the neighbor list and
interference matrix you want to use.
n Frequency—allows you to define the interference thresholds,
the carrier allocation costs as well as solution criteria. This tab
is only available when you choose the Frequency Plan or
Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan option on the General
tab.
n Physical Cell ID—allows you to define the additional
constraints for physical cell ID planning. This tab is only
available when you choose the Physical Cell ID Plan or the
Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan option on the General
tab.

Chapter 9
n Progress—allows you to view the progress and messages that

occur during the creation of the plan. You can also see the cost
associated with the initial plan as well as the cost associated with
the plan generated at each iteration. This is useful because you can
see whether the tool has completed sufficient iterations to create a
plan that meets your requirements.
3 Click one of the following buttons:
n To save the frequency or physical cell ID plan, click Save.

n To create a frequency plan or physical cell ID plan, click Generate.
This button is not available when there are no interference matrices
in the project.
n To close the dialog box without saving a frequency or physical cell
ID plan, click Cancel.
TIP: You can copy an existing frequency or physical cell ID plan using the Save
Copy As command available by right-clicking an existing frequency or physical cell
ID plan and choosing Save Plan As. This can be useful if you want to experiment with
different scenarios.
To save current frequency and physical cell ID assignments

1 In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click LTE
Frequency and Physical Cell ID Plans and choose Save Current.
2 In the Save Current Network As dialog box, do the following:
n In the Plan Name box, type a name for the plan.

n From the Frequency Band list, choose the frequency for which you
want to create a plan.
3 Click OK.
The frequency and physical cell ID plan is added to the LTE Frequency and
Physical Cell ID Plans node.

Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning

Use the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box to define
the settings you want to use to create a frequency plan. Automatic frequency
planning uses the settings that you define to create a plan automatically with
the lowest cost that violates the fewest constraints. An optimal frequency plan
efficiently reuses frequencies while minimizing the total interference
experienced in a network.
You can also create a physical cell ID plan. LTE supports 504 different physical
cell IDs ranging from 0 to 503. The generation of a frequency or physical cell ID
plan is realized through a series of iterations. Each iteration creates a plan.
General
Plan Name—type in this box a name for the frequency and physical Cell ID
plan. This box is unavailable when you are viewing the properties of an existing
plan.
Group to Plan—choose from this list the sector group for which you want to
plan frequencies and/or physical cell IDs. To plan for all sectors, choose All
Sectors. This box is unavailable when you are viewing the properties of an
existing plan. Generally, the group to consider will encompass a larger area
then the group to plan but will include the area covered by the sectors for
which you are planning frequencies.
Frequency Band—choose from this list the frequency band for which to
create the frequency plan.
Interference Matrix
Name—choose from this list the interference matrix you want to use in the
planning process.
Absolute Cost—choose this option to use the affected area or the affected
traffic from the interference matrix as displayed. Using this option results in a
more optimal distribution of CNIR (weighted by area or traffic)
Relative Cost—choose this option to use the affected area or the affected
traffic from the interference matrix as a percentage.

Chapter 9
Plan Generation Option

Frequency Plan—choose this option to generate a frequency plan only.
Physical Cell ID Plan—choose this option to generate a physical cell ID plan only.
Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan—choose this option to generate both
a frequency plan and a physical cell ID plan.
Frequency
Use this tab to define interference thresholds and carrier allocation costs to be used
by the frequency planning algorithm. The carrier spacing between any two carriers is
calculated according to their center frequencies. A constraint is violated if the
separation between two carriers assigned to the same sector or site is less than the
predefined minimum separation. This tab is not visible when you choose the Physical
Cell ID option on the General tab.
Interference Threshold
Use this section to define interference thresholds and associated violation costs to
be used by the frequency planning algorithm. These settings represent the amount
of interference between any two sectors in terms of co-channel and adjacent
channel interference. By default, the relative affected area or relative affected traffic
value is used to evaluate the level of interference between a pair of sectors. If the
plan you are creating is encompasses more than a single carrier, the Adjacent
Channel row is not available.
Threshold (%)—click in this field to define the maximum amount of interference

allowed before a violation cost is incurred.

Violation Cost—click in this field to define the cost incurred when the
threshold is surpassed.
Carrier Allocation Cost

Same Sector—type in this box the violation cost incurred when the
associated carrier separation is violated on the same sector. This setting
represents the minimum separation between carriers that are assigned to the
same sector. The separation unit is a carrier bandwidth (i.e., a separation of 2
equals two carrier bandwidths). The minimum same sector carrier separation
is 1. If a sector needs more than one carrier , the minimum separation between
carriers is 1 x carrier bandwidth. The same carrier will not be used twice by the
same sector.
Same Site—type in this box the violation cost incurred when the associated
carrier separation is violated on the same site. This setting represents the
minimum separation between carriers that are assigned to the same site. The
separation unit is a carrier bandwidth (i.e., a separation of 2 equals two carrier
bandwidths).
Add—click this button to add a row to the Carrier Allocation Cost table.
Remove—click this button to remove the Carrier Allocation Cost table.
Keep Existing Carrier Assignments—enable this check box if you want to

keep the existing carrier assignments.
Algorithm Ending
Manual—choose this option to stop the planning process by clicking Stop or
when the maximum number of runs has been reached.
Convergence—choose this option to stop the planning process using the

convergence criteria you define. The algorithm will stop when one of the three
defined criteria is met.
Minimum Number of Runs—type in this box the minimum number of

iterations you want to generate.
Maximum Number of Runs—type in this box the maximum number of

iterations you want to generate whether convergence is reached or not.

Chapter 9
Required Convergence Level—type in this box the required level of convergence

in order to end the planning process.
Physical Cell ID Planning
Optimization
Use Same Cell Identity Group for Co-Site Sectors—enable this check box to
assign the same cell identity group to co-site sectors.
Avoid Same Physical Cell ID for Neighbor Sectors—enable this check box to
eliminate or minimize instances where the same physical cell ID is assigned to
neighboring sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost is incurred in the
frequency planning process.
Different Downlink Reference Signal Sequences—enable this check box to use

different reference signal sequences on the downlink. When you choose this option,
the algorithm assigns physical cell IDs so that different downlink reference signal
sequences will be used by interfering sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost
is incurred in the frequency planning process.
Different Uplink Reference Signal Sequences—enable this check box to use

different reference signal sequences on the uplink. When you choose this option, the
algorithm assigns physical cell IDs so that different uplink reference signal
sequences will be used by interfering sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost
is incurred in the frequency planning process.
Neighbor Plan—choose from this list the neighbor plan you want to use in the
frequency and physical cell ID planning process.
Carrier—choose from this list the carrier you want to use in the frequency and
physical cell ID planning process.
Keep Existing Physical Cell ID Assignments—enable this check box if you want
to retain existing Physical Cell ID assignments. By keeping existing Physical Cell ID
assignments, you may preserve PCIDs that are reserved if you apply reserved
values to all assignments.

Reserve Physical Cell ID—type in this box the Physical Cell ID numbers you
want to exclude from the planning process and then choose how you want the
reserved PCIDs applied. You can type reserved physical cell ID numbers
separated by a comma (e.g., 5,6,7) or you can enter a range (e.g., 5-7).
n All Assignments—choose this option to reserve the specified

PCIDs when assigning PCID values to any sector (whether it is
a sector currently assigned a PCID or it is a sector without an
assigned PCID).
n New Assignments Only—choose this option to reserve the
specified PCIDs when assigning PCID values to sectors that do
not currently have PCIDs assigned. The reserved PCIDs will
not be respected when assigning PCIDs to sectors with
existing PCIDs.
Algorithm Ending
Manual—choose this option if you want to click Stop to end the planning
process. As the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool works
to generate a solution, the Generate button changes to a Stop button. Clicking
this button will end the planning process.
Convergence—choose this option to define the end point of the planning

process and define the convergence criteria.
Minimum Number of Runs—type in this box the minimum number of

iterations you want to generate.
Maximum Number of Runs—type in this box the maximum number of

iterations you want to generate whether convergence is reached or not.
Required Convergence Level—type in this box the required level of

convergence in order to end the planning process.

Chapter 9

parameters
Before generating a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you must define general
planning settings such as the plan name, specify the group to plan for, as well as the
neighbor list and interference matrix to use in the planning process.
To set up general frequency and physical cell ID parameters

1 In the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog
box, click the General tab.
2 In the Plan Name box, define a name for the plan.
3 From the Groups To Plan list, choose the group for which you want to
plan or, to plan for all sectors in the project, choose All Sectors.
4 From the Frequency Band list, choose the band for which you want to
generate a plan.
5 In the Interference Matrix section, from the Name list, choose the
interference matrix that you want to use in the planning process.
6 In the Interference Matrix section, choose one of the following

options:
n Absolute Cost—uses the affected area from the interference

matrix (in kilometers squared) and results in a more optimal
distribution of CNIR (weighted by area or traffic)
n Relative Cost—uses the affected area from the interference matrix
(as a percentage).
7 To use a neighbor list, enable the Neighbor List check box and, from
the associated list, choose the neighbor list you want to use.
8 In the Plan Generation Option section, choose one of the following

options:
n Frequency Plan—to generate only a frequency plan

n Physical Cell ID Plan—to generate only a physical cell ID plan

n Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan—to generate both a

frequency plan and a physical cell ID plan

Chapter 9
Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID plan

Once you have generated a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you can define display
options, choose which reports to view, save a report, and apply the plan to a project.
To generate a frequency or physical cell ID plan

1 In the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog
box, click Generate.
The Generate button is unavailable if there are no interference matrices in the

project.
2 To manually stop plan generation, click the Stop button.
3 When the frequency or physical cell ID plan has stopped, click Save to
save the frequency plan and Close to close the dialog box.
4 In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click the

frequency plan you just generated, and choose one of the following
commands:
n View in Map Window—to view a display of carrier, physical cell

IDs, physical cell ID groups, or physical layer identities associated
with each sector in the Map window. This is useful when you want to
determine co-PCI sectors.
n Display Report—to view the report in the Report Preview dialog
box.

Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors

After you create a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you can apply it to the
sectors in the group that you used to create the frequency or physical cell ID
plan. You can also remove any existing carrier assignments from the sectors in
the group.
To apply a frequency plan to sectors

1 In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click
the frequency plan you just generated, and choose Apply.
2 In the Information dialog box, click Yes.
TIP: To view the settings used to generate the frequency plan, right-click the
frequency or physical cell ID plan and choose Properties.

CHAPTER 10 Planning PRACH Root Sequences
Planning the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) is a key task to

complete before network launch in order to ensure that calls are carried
seamlessly. The PRACH channel is used for initial network access or when User
Equipments are in handover. It is also used for uplink synchronization and
cannot carry user data.
Understanding PRACH root sequence planning 139
Workflow for PRACH Root Sequence planning 140
Defining PRACH-related network settings 141
Defining PRACH-related parameters 142
Displaying PRACH root sequence assignments 143

Chapter 10
Understanding PRACH root sequence planning

The LTE physical layer encompasses the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH),
which carries random access requests from the user equipment in the network. The
preamble signal sent to the site is selected from available Zadoff-Chu sequences.
Which sequences are selected is determined by the PRACH parameters assigned to
the sector. This ensures that neighboring sites do not use overlapping sequences.
Figure 10.1: Logical, transport, and physical channel layers.
In Mentum Planet, you must assign sequences to each sector. You can view the
assignments in the Site Editor and export them for further manipulation. You can also
visualize the sequences assigned to sectors using the PRACH Root Sequence Display
tool.

Planning PRACH Root Sequences
Workflow for PRACH Root Sequence planning

Step 1 In the Network Settings dialog box, define the PRACH configuration.
See "Defining PRACH-related network settings" on next page.
Step 2 In the Site Editor, for each sector, define the PRACH-related
parameters and the Zadoff-Chu sequences. See "Defining PRACH-
related parameters" on page 142.
Step 3 Analyze the reuse of PRACH root sequences using the PRACH Root
Sequence Display tool. See "Displaying PRACH root sequence
assignments" on page 143.

Chapter 10
Defining PRACH-related network settings

In order to plan PRACH root sequences, you must define PRACH parameters in the
Frame Editor for the frame configuration you are to use. Valid values depend on the
frame configuration, the special subframe configuration and the downlink cyclic
prefix.
To define PRACH-related network settings

1 With a LTE project open, choose Edit Network Settings.
2 In the Network Settings dialog box, in the tree view, choose LTE FDD
or LTE TDD.
3 Click the Frame Setup tab.
4 In the Frame Configuration section, click Add to define a new

configuration.
5 Click Edit to modify the configuration.
6 In the Frame Editor, click the Uplink tab.
7 In the Preamble Random Access section, define the following

parameters:
n Preamble Format
n Number of PRACH Resources Per Frame
8 Click OK.

Defining PRACH-related parameters

For each sector, you define the Preamble Random Access Channel (PRACH)
parameters as well as the Zadoff-Chu sequences.
To define PRACH-related parameters

1 With an LTE project open, in the Sites category of the Project
Explorer, open the Site Editor.
2 In the tree view, select a sector and click the Configuration tab.
3 Define configuration parameters including the PRACH parameters

and the Zadoff-Chu sequence.
4 Repeat for all sectors.

Chapter 10
Displaying PRACH root sequence assignments

Use the Carrier and PRACH Sequence Display tool to analyze the reuse of PRACH root
sequences.
To display PRACH root sequence assignments

1 With a LTE project open, choose Tools PRACH Root Sequence
Display LTE FDD or LTE TDD.
2 In the Sector Selection dialog box, choose the sectors for which you
want to view the PRACH root sequence assignments and click OK.
The Carrier and PRACH Sequence Display dialog box opens.

3 In the Mode section, choose whether you want to view a display

for all sectors or a specific sector.
4 In the View section, if you have a best server grid available,

enable the Use Best Server Grid check box and choose the one
you want to use from the associated list.
5 Choose one of the following options:
n Carrier—to display the assigned carrier in the Map window.

n PRACH Sequence—to display the assigned PRACH sequence
in the Map window.
n Carrier/PRACH Sequence—to display the assigned carrier
and PRACH sequence in the Map window.
6 Click View.

CHAPTER 11 Optimizing Network Design
You can optimize network design using the Automatic Cell Planning (ACP)
features of Mentum Planet in order to extend coverage and increase capacity
by fine tuning antenna parameters and by activating only those sites that best
fit the network design and goals.
For information about the ACP tool and the workflow to follow, see "Optimizing
Network Design" in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
NOTE: Generic, Fixed WiMAX, WiMAX TDD, and iDEN are not supported in this
release.
Using optimization goals 147
Creating optimization profiles 148

Chapter 11
Using optimization goals

Optimization goals aim to define network coverage and capacity targets. For each
technology, there is an associated list of goals. For each goal, there is a defined
weight that indicates the importance of the goal in the network optimization process.
You can further refine optimization goals by using bin weighting through the use of a
traffic map or customized grid.
NOTE: Optimization goals take into account the penetration losses that are defined
in the Environment Editor.
LTE FDD and LTE TDD

RSRP Coverage—the goal is to maximize the area or traffic with all bins in the
optimization area exceeding the RSRP threshold.
RSRQ Coverage—the goal is to maximize the area or traffic with all bins in the
optimization area exceeding the RSRQ threshold.
Reference C/(N+I) Coverage—the goal is to maximize the area or traffic with all
bins in the optimization area exceeding the Reference C/(N+I) threshold.
Downlink C/(N+I) Coverage—the goal is to maximize the area or traffic with all
bins in the optimization area exceeding the Downlink C/(N+I) threshold.
Spectral Efficiency—the goal is to optimize the spectral efficiency that can be

achieved. By using a traffic map to optimize the spectral efficiency in areas with a lot
of traffic, you can improve the overall network capacity.
Capacity—the goal is for sectors to have loads as close as possible to the user-
defined target cell load.
Uplink Coverage—the goal is to maximize the area or traffic with all sectors in the
optimization area exceeding the uplink signal strength threshold.
Limit Coverage—the goal is to minimize the area or traffic in the optimization area
for which the RSRP exceeds the RSRP threshold.

Optimizing Network Design
Creating optimization profiles

Easy-to-use Wizards take you through the process of optimizing the network.
This section contains examples of how you can use optimization goals.
EXAMPLE: You could create two LTE goals: RSRP Coverage and RSRQ
Coverage. You could then combine these goals in order to optimize your
network.
To create an optimization profile for LTE goals

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Optimization category, right-
click Optimization Profiles and choose New.
2 In the Optimization Profile Editor, in the tree view, right-click

Goals and choose Add LTE FDD Goal.
3 On the associated panel, define the required parameters as

shown below.

Chapter 11
4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add another goal for RSRQ Coverage.
5 To create a combined goal and associated weighting value, in the tree

view, choose the top-level Goals node.

6 On the associated panel, ctrl+click to select the two goals you

defined, then right-click and choose Combine.
The combined goal is added to the tree view.
7 Expand the Combined Goal node and choose the newly created
combined goal.
EXAMPLE: You could create two goals for different technologies: RSRP and
Pilot Ec and then use them to optimize your network.

Chapter 11
To create an optimization profile with goals for disparate

technologies
1 In the Project Explorer, in the Optimization category, right-click
Optimization Profiles and choose New.
2 In the Optimization Profile Editor, in the tree view, right-click Goals

and choose Add LTE Goal.
3 On the associated panel, define the required parameters as shown

below.
4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add a cdma2000 goal for Pilot Ec Coverage as

shown below.

EXAMPLE: You could create two cdma2000 goals: Pilot Ec and Pilot Ec/Io. You
could then combine these two goals in order to optimize your network.
To create an optimization profile for cdma2000 goals

1 In the Project Explorer, in the Optimization category, right-
click Optimization Profiles and choose New.
2 In the Optimization Profile Editor, in the tree view, right-click

Goals and choose Add Cdma2000 - 1xRTT Goal.
3 On the associated panel, define the required parameters as

shown below.

Chapter 11
4 Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to add a goal for Pilot Ec/Io Coverage and define
parameters as shown below.

5 To create a combined goal and associated weighting value, in the

tree view, choose the top-level Goals node.
6 On the associated panel, Ctrl+click to select the two goals you

defined and then right-click and choose Combine.
The combined goal is added to the tree view.
7 Expand the Combined Goal node and choose the newly created
combined goal.

Chapter 11
8 On the associated panel, assign a weight of 1 to the combined goal.
A weight of zero means the goal won't have an impact on the optimization
results.
9 Click OK.

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Last updated February 21, 2012

>> LTE FDD User Guide 1

CHAPTER 2 Defining network settings 9

LTE FDD User Guide i

ii LTE FDD User Guide

CHAPTER 4 Adding repeaters 40

CHAPTER 5 Defining subscribers 54

LTE FDD User Guide iii

CHAPTER 6 Generating network analyses 68

CHAPTER 7 Generating Monte Carlo simulations 81

iv LTE FDD User Guide

CHAPTER 8 Generating fixed subscriber analyses 114

LTE FDD User Guide v

CHAPTER 9 Generating frequency And physical cell ID plans

CHAPTER 10 Planning PRACH Root Sequences 138

vi LTE FDD User Guide

CHAPTER 11 Optimizing Network Design 146

To create an optimization profile with goals for disparate technologies

LTE FDD User Guide vii

This chapter covers the following topics:

Organization of this user guide 2

Using this documentation 3

LTE FDD User Guide 1

Organization of this user guide

2 LTE FDD User Guide

Using this documentation

User documentation updates

LTE FDD User Guide 3

n help on all dialog boxes

You have two basic options for printing documents:

n If you want a good quality print of a single procedure or section, you

4 LTE FDD User Guide

“What’s This?” Help

User Guides are incorporated into the online Help.

Additional documents are available at http://www.mentum.com.

LTE FDD User Guide 5

Bold text is used in procedure steps to identify a user

Courier text is used in procedures to identify text that a

bright blue Bright blue text is used to identify a link to another

Menu arrows are used in procedures to identify a sequence

For example, if a step reads “Choose File Open,” you

For example, if a menu item changes depending on the

6 LTE FDD User Guide

We also welcome any comments about our documentation. Customer

Getting technical support

When you request technical support outside of regular business hours, a

Figure 1.1: Abbreviated list of support options

LTE FDD User Guide 7

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8 LTE FDD User Guide

This chapter covers the following topics:

Understanding network settings 10

Workflow for defining network settings 14

Defining network settings 15

LTE FDD User Guide 9