Method of analyzing the operation of a cellular mobile telecommunications network

A workstation for analyzing the operation of a cellular mobile telecommunications network including a set of cells each associated with a base station adapted to communicate with a mobile station present in the cell, the workstation including:

• a) collector means for collecting, for each cell, one or more characteristic variables from measurements carried out by at least one of the corresponding base station and the mobile station, the one or more characteristic variables relating to the operation of the cellular mobile telecommunications network in said cell, the collector means comprising;
• a1) means for sampling each characteristic variable over time;
• and
• b) supply means for supplying each characteristic variable in association with the collection cell to facilitate optimization of a configuration for the cellular mobile telecommunications network, the supply means comprising:
• b1) means for selecting, on a map of the cellular mobile telecommunications network based on said cells, an observation line passing over the map across adjacent cells;
• b2) means for making available, on said map, a structured representation of each characteristic variable for the adjacent cells crossed by said observation line in the order in which they are encountered along said line for analysis of operation of the cellular mobile telecommunications network;
• b3) means for selecting a single analysis cell;
• and
• b4) means for making a structured representation of the evolution over time of one or more characteristic variable for the selected analysis cell.

A method of analyzing operation of a mobile telecommunications network, comprising:

• a) for each cell of a set of cells relating to a corresponding set of base stations, collecting a characteristic variable relating to operation of the mobile telecommunications network in the corresponding cell, wherein the set of base stations form a coverage area for the mobile telecommunications network and each base station is adapted to communicate with a mobile station present in the corresponding cell, the characteristic variable collected from measurements carried out by at least one of the corresponding base station and the mobile station, the collecting comprising:
• a1) sampling the characteristic variables over time;
• and
• b) supplying the collected characteristic variables for a succession of adjacent cells to an operator to facilitate optimization of a configuration for the mobile telecommunications network, the supplying comprising:
• b1) selecting an observation line on a map of the coverage area formed by the set of cells, wherein the line passes through the succession of adjacent cells;
• and
• b2) providing a structured representation of the collected characteristic variables for the succession of adjacent cells through which the observation line passes on the map for analysis of operation of the mobile telecommunications network, wherein the structured representation is arranged in the order in which the succession of adjacent cells are encountered along the observation line;
• and
• b3) providing successive structured representations of the collected characteristic variables over time for the selected observation line in relation to the corresponding sampling in a1) in conjunction with the analysis of operation of the mobile telecommunications network.