Capacity and Dimensioning Problems of a GSM Radio Access Network after Seismic Activity

A study of the behavior of a subset of Cosmote GSM land mobile radio network under peak traffic conditions was conducted, after a recent earthquake in Greece. A group of urban and suburban cells, relatively close to the focal point was chosen, in order to study their performance. Initially, the cell group capability to support additional traffic was examined. Intensive analysis of the group capacity proved that because of the seasonality effect, performance is potentially affected by the time of the year that a disastrous event takes place. Moreover, the limits of Erlang B formula were examined, since analysis of the busy hour traffic results showed that Erlang B formula can not accurately account for the congestion results. Ultimately, the Neal & Wilkinson traffic model is described and used as a more precise alternative for network design purposes, under mass traffic conditions.