Drive Test Plan, Procedure and output for GSM

Drive test is simply test of coverage for radiating BTS . from drive test you can imagine BTS coverage boundary and foot print of bad coverage and good coverage.lets understand dt basic.

Drive Test Plan

• Each drive route should be marked on a detailed road map showing the exact route to be driven.
• These maps should be used during the actual drive for navigation of the test vehicle.
• They can also be used during the drive test verification to check that the positioning information in the drive test file is correct.
• A separate map should be prepared for each route.
• Both line of site (LOS) and non-LOS points have to be included in the drive test.
• The data collected should represent typical coverage scenarios.
• In urban area the effect of street orientations has to be considered.
• The selection of drive test route should be based on the terrain variations, Major highways and thoroughfares, potential shadowing areas and handoff region.

Drive Test Procedure

• The actual dive test must be performed carefully to insure that the data collected is accurate.
• It is important that all equipment used be tested and all setup information be recorded.
• If any of the procedures are not followed or any of the data is not properly recorded then the drive test data will not be usable and the drive will have to be repeated.
• Engineer should study the drive test plan ahead of time and highlight the intended drive test routes.
• For each drive test a team of two people should get involved.
• The measurement process should be stopped the car stops (eg near traffic lights) or whenever the sampling and measurements look suspect.

Drive Test Output

• The result of drive test is a collection of data files which has lat, long, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) at that point and the frequency.
• The location information (lat, long) is used by the post processing tools as a reference of correlation between the measured vs. predicted signal levels for measurement integration.
• This file has to be transferred onto the planning tool either by a floppy or by data transfer using LAN.

Which Basic parameter take at your eye when drive test progress.

For GSM,

1. Rx Level sub
2. Rx Level Full
3. Rx Quality Sub
4. Rx Quality Full
5. C/I
6. FER
7. Drop Call,Handover,Call Attemp etc.
8. BCCH-BSIC
9. Neighbor data

This all are basic parameter more other like layer 3 parameter which you can also set and also check after drive test complete by playing or by using different post processing tool.