On the Use of Load Balancing for Saving Capacity in Dual Layer 3G Radio Access Networks

In order to progress in a highly competitive and complex market, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have to be efficient in managing their resources. This is definitely important in what concerns the available network capacity. This work presents a method to improve the longevity of the installed capacity for the MNO's Base Stations. This was achieved using a Load Balancing algorithm, which takes into account the channel element usage of 3rd Generation (3G) sites, and sets a Received Signal Code Power (RSCP) threshold value for each one. Its evaluation is done by using a Traffic Forecast algorithm, based on a fitting method, in order to obtain an estimate of when the sites' capacity limit is reached, before and after applying Load Balancing. The utilised input data consists of real traffic statistics, including geo-located indicators. During the course of this research work it was possible to develop a semi-automatic method for network optimisation using geo-located data, thus contributing to the development of research on Self-Organizing Networks. This project was developed in collaboration with a Portuguese telecommunications consulting company, Celfinet, which provided valuable supervision and guidance. Using the proposed method, and considering a year of observation and implementation, savings of about 70% in capacity expansions in the network were achievable.