Self-configuration of basic LTE radio parameters using Magnetic Field Model

The success of communication service providers (CSPs) relies on efficient operational strategies for managing their networks, including the planning, optimisation and maintenance, in order to meet the desired Quality of Service (QoS), Quality of Experience (QoE) and business goals and requirements. Such business goals and requirements include, amongst others, the reduction of Operational and Capital Expenditure (OPEX and CAPEX). Self Organising Networks (SON) functionalities, including self-configuration, self-optimisation and self-healing, play a crucial role in minimising OPEX [1]. SON has been leveraged by the operator forum Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) [12] and standardised by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) [9][11], in particular for Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access networks. This paper presents a new solution for the self-configuration of the basic LTE radio parameters Physical Cell ID (PCI) and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) using Magnetic Field Model (MFM) techniques, providing a new approach with respect to the existing solutions for PCI allocation [3] in LTE networks.