Mobile phone network management systems

• US 10,091,668 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2015
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Actix Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kateley, Richard, Haines, Chris, Harris, Richard, Hunt, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosme, Natasha W
• Application Number:
  US14/846,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20150382210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 370216, 370229, 370241, 370242, 370252, 370254, 3703102, 370318, 370328, 370331, 370332, 370338, 370352, 455 25, 455 634, 455 6711, 455 6713, 455 69, 4551151, 4551152, 455423, 455424, 455446, 455453, 4554561, 455522, 455524, 455561, 4555621
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/22 Traffic simulation tools or models
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A system and methods for maintaining or optimizing a mobile phone network by spatially correlating geolocated radio access network (RAN) performance measurement data and geolocated subscriber account data, which in embodiments provides additional technical information on the RAN performance. These data are integrated in a spatial data structure and provided with a spatial querying and data correlation system for identifying, and addressing problem areas of the RAN.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving subscriber data for subscriber accounts of a plurality of subscribers, the subscribers including at least one of present or past subscribers and the subscriber data comprising subscriber identification information and subscriber location information;

receiving geolocated radio access network (RAN) performance data for one or more quality of service parameters of a RAN over a region of coverage of the RAN of a mobile phone network;

combining, in a data structure defining a spatial grid of spatial elements each corresponding to a different spatial location within the region of coverage, the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data by spatially correlating in the spatial elements defined by the data structure the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data, including creating a new spatial element in the spatial grid when none exists having a corresponding spatial location associated with a portion the geolocated RAN performance data and the subscriber data for use in the combining; and

outputting data from the combining including smoothing one of the spatial elements in the spatial grid based on additional spatial elements neighboring the spatial element by;

identifying, from the geolocated RAN performance data and subscriber data spatially correlated in the spatial element, a value of a particular attribute;

identifying, from each additional spatial element neighboring the spatial element, an additional value of the particular attribute;

modifying the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element, based on the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements, to blur the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element using the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements;

displaying the modified value of the particular attribute in the spatial element.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising targeting RAN coverage improvement towards identified high value subscribers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputted data from the combining includes data for improving the region of coverage of the RAN and comprises data identifying a parameter of the mobile phone network to modify.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputted data from the combining includes data for improving the region of coverage of the RAN and comprises data identifying an additional RF transmitter/receiver to use with the mobile phone network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber data includes data identifying a value of a subscriber account, the method further comprising selecting predicted problem areas for improving the region of coverage of the RAN responsive to the value of the subscriber account.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising identifying a location of a picocell or femtocell to add to the RAN for an individual identified high value subscriber account to address a predicted problem for the individual high value subscriber account.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically updating changes associated with the geolocated RAN performance data over a time period.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the dynamic updates include dynamic visualization of the changes of the geolocated RAN performance data over the time period.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the time period includes a month-by-month period.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing information associated with subscribers who are predicted to churn.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing information associated with subscribers who require in-home or in-business repeaters.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising validating reasons for subscribers who churned historically.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying locations with poor coverage and with large numbers of subscribers.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying subscribers with problematic devices.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the geolocated RAN performance data includes receiving geolocated RAN performance data defining a map of the one or more quality of service parameters of the RAN over the region of coverage of the RAN of the mobile phone network.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting data from the combining includes outputting data predicting problem areas of the region of coverage of the RAN from the combining, for improving the region of coverage of the RAN in the predicted problem areas.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the subscriber data further comprises receiving at least one of:

deactivation of subscriber accounts;

a reason for the deactivation of subscriber accounts;

subscriber complaint information;

or

data that identifies high value subscribers.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified value of the particular attribute in the spatial element is a maximum value or a minimum value selected from the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element and the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified value of the particular attribute in the spatial element is an average of the particular attribute in the spatial element and the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements.

18. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer code for:

receiving subscriber data for subscriber accounts of a plurality of subscribers, the subscribers including at least one of present or past subscribers and the subscriber data comprising subscriber identification information and subscriber location information;

receiving geolocated radio access network (RAN) performance data for one or more quality of service parameters of a RAN over a region of coverage of the RAN of a mobile phone network;

combining, in a data structure defining a spatial grid of spatial elements each corresponding to a different spatial location within the region of coverage, the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data by spatially correlating in the spatial elements defined by the data structure the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data, including creating a new spatial element in the spatial grid when none exists having a corresponding spatial location associated with a portion the geolocated RAN performance data and the subscriber data for use in the combining; and

outputting data from the combining including smoothing one of the spatial elements in the spatial grid based on additional spatial elements neighboring the spatial element by;

identifying, from the geolocated RAN performance data and subscriber data spatially correlated in the spatial element, a value of a particular attribute;

identifying, from each additional spatial element neighboring the spatial element, an additional value of the particular attribute;

modifying the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element, based on the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements, to blur the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element using the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements;

displaying the modified value of the particular attribute in the spatial element.

19. A system, comprising:

at least one processor configured for;

receiving subscriber data for subscriber accounts of a plurality of subscribers, the subscribers including at least one of present or past subscribers and the subscriber data comprising subscriber identification information and subscriber location information;

receiving geolocated radio access network (RAN) performance data for one or more quality of service parameters of a RAN over a region of coverage of the RAN of a mobile phone network;

combining, in a data structure defining a spatial grid of spatial elements each corresponding to a different spatial location within the region of coverage, the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data by spatially correlating in the spatial elements defined by the data structure the geolocated RAN performance data for the one or more quality of service parameters with the subscriber data, including creating a new spatial element in the spatial grid when none exists having a corresponding spatial location associated with a portion the geolocated RAN performance data and the subscriber data for use in the combining; and

outputting data from the combining including smoothing one of the spatial elements in the spatial grid based on additional spatial elements neighboring the spatial element by;

identifying, from the geolocated RAN performance data and subscriber data spatially correlated in the spatial element, a value of a particular attribute;

identifying, from each additional spatial element neighboring the spatial element, an additional value of the particular attribute;

modifying the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element, based on the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements, to blur the value of the particular attribute in the spatial element using the additional values of the particular attribute identified from the additional spatial elements;

displaying the modified value of the particular attribute in the spatial element.