APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SIGNAL QUALITY MEASUREMENTS IN DRIVE TEST SYSTEMS FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

摘要

An apparatus and method for assessing the signal strength, quality and sources of interference in a wireless network. A drive test is performed using a receiving scanner (310) in a geographic area that contains a plurality of base stations (330, 340) within a carrier's wireless network, The receiver (310) and companion logic (340) measure, analyze and record synchronization channels across all the frequencies used by the local base station (330). Signal quality is computed and expressed in the form of RxQual. Multiple readings are taken in a brief time of about 480 msec so that an average, representative quality is assessed. Signal fading, degradation, and interference are calculated using correlative techniques, for each used frequency. If the signal quality level is insufficient, then a scan for adjacent channel and co-channel interference is done. The data and analyses are used by the carrier to fine tune the wireless network system.