VIAVI Solutions

Application Note

VIAVI Radio Access

Network Coverage

VIAVI field test solutions for radio access networks

(RAN), CellAdvisor 5G and OneAdvisor-800, have

been designed for the installation, maintenance and

optimization of cell sites, including spectrum and

interference analysis, validation of 4G-LTE and 5G-NR

technologies, as well as concurrent analysis of signals

transmitted over Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) and

in Non-Standalone (NSA).

VIAVI RAN analyzers are all-in-one solutions for cell

technicians and RF engineers to effectively verify RF

conditions, including signal analysis route mapping.

There are two main applications of signal analysis route

mapping:

y Outdoor coverage, performing signal analysis route

mapping through drive testing.

y Indoor coverage, performing signal analysis route

mapping through walk testing.

Key Benefits

y G signal analysis including carrier aggregation,

beamform analysis and signal quality

assessment.

y LTE signal analysis including MIMO verification

and signal quality.

y DSS analysis performing concurrent analysis of

LTE and G carriers to quickly identify signal

availability and performance issues.

y Interference analysis, detecting interference

impairments which may affect coverage and

service quality.

y Remote control and cloud services allowing

remote assistance.

y Real-time spectrum analysis for better

representation of LTE and G TDD carriers.

CellAdvisor 5G | OneAdvisor

CellAdvisor 5G | OneAdvisor-800

All-in-one 5G-NR and 4G-LTE test solutions

offering the best total cost of ownership

 VIAVI Radio Access Network Coverage

CellAdvisor 5G | OneAdvisor-800

Signal

Strength

Geo

Location

Radio Access Outdoor Coverage

Outdoor coverage can be affected by shadowing in the case of mm-wave signals that experience high penetration

loss through materials such as concrete, steel or reflective glass; as well as the effects from interfering signals

that collide with the radio’s transmission or reception bands, which in cases despite of acceptable signal levels the

throughput is limited or might even cause call drops.

VIAVI RAN analyzers are equipped with route map test functions that performs coverage testing in real-time, by

plotting signal strength, with different color scheme based on the received power level, in a geographical map

obtaining location from GPS. The resulting route map shows coverage levels and dead-zones or areas with no

coverage which might cause service impairments such as call drops.

Coverage test data can be saved as a mapping test result allowing post-analyze with the RAN analyzer displaying

signal analysis parameters for each data point including originating physical cell identification or PCI, as well as

beamforming profile including beam index and beam power level. In addition, coverage test data can also be saved

as comma separated files for post-processing analysis.

Radio Access Indoor Coverage

Indoor coverage can be affected by many factors, including reflections and attenuation caused by building

materials including concrete walls, steel, and reflective windows, as well as for potential interfering signals that

collide with signals of small cells or customer premise equipment.

Therefore, it is essential in the deployment of indoor networks to verify the spectrum is clear, verifying no other

signals are present, avoiding service quality impairments; and subsequently the network is not causing interference

to other networks.

VIAVI RAN analyzers can perform indoor coverage mapping in two different modes to obtain location and

overcoming the lack of GPS information availability for indoor networks:

y Manual geo-location, assisted by user intervention selecting the physical location.

y Automatic geo-location, assisted by NEON Tracker and NEON Signal Mapper.

RAN analyzer – 5G Signal Analysis Route Mapping