Integrated minimization of drive test (MDT) and ticketing in a mobile communication network

• US 9,877,213 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2016
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Wang, Yu, Fang, Zheng, Cai, Zheng, Thakore, Udit
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilgrami, Asghar
• Application Number:
  US15/351,423
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/654 International mobile subscriber identity [IMSI] numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5032 Generating service level reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5074 Handling of user complaints or trouble tickets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method of remediating wireless communication issues. The method comprises receiving a ticket by a ticket server computer that identifies a mobile communication device and identifies a service issue category, transmitting the mobile communication device identity and the service issue category to a resolution server computer, analyzing the service issue category by the resolution server computer, based on the analyzing of the service issue category, initiating a minimization of drive test (MDT), a subscriber trace, or a cell trace in a wireless communication network by the resolution server computer, where the wireless communication network provides wireless communication service to the mobile communication device and where the wireless communication network comprises a plurality of cell sites, analyzing the results of the MDT or trace by the resolution server computer; and initiating a corrective action in the mobile communication device or in the wireless communication network.

Claims

1. A method of identifying and remediating wireless communication issues, comprising:

receiving a ticket from a mobile communication device by a ticket server computer, where the ticket identifies the mobile communication device and identifies a service issue category and where the ticket server computer manages a wireless communication network ticketing system;

storing the ticket in a ticket data store by the ticket server computer;

transmitting the mobile communication device identity and the service issue category of the ticket from the ticket server computer to a resolution server computer, where the resolution server computer is part of an operation subscriber subsystem that comprises a core element management system (core EMS), a home subscriber system (HSS), and a radio access network element management system (RAN EMS);

analyzing the service issue category by the resolution server computer;

based on the analyzing of the service issue category, initiating a minimization of drive test (MDT) in a wireless communication network by the resolution server computer, where the wireless communication network provides wireless communication service to the mobile communication device and where the wireless communication network comprises a plurality of cell sites;

analyzing the results of the MDT by the resolution server computer; and

based on the analyzing of the results of the MDT, initiating a corrective action in the mobile communication device or in the wireless communication network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a wearable computer, a headset computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, or a tablet computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ticket further identifies a serving cell that provides wireless communication coverage to the mobile communication device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising

initiating one of a subscriber trace or a cell trace based on analyzing the service issue category;

and

analyzing the results of the trace,

wherein the corrective action is further initiated based on analyzing the results of the trace.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ticket identifies the mobile communication device by comprising an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the ticket further identifies a status of a WiFi radio transceiver of the mobile communication device as one of ON or OFF.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the corrective action comprises the resolution server computer recommending to the ticket server computer that the mobile communication device turn its WiFi radio transceiver to ON.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the corrective action comprises commanding a cell site to adjust an antenna tilt.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the MDT determines a radio signal received quality (RSRQ), a radio signal received power (RSRP), and a geo-location of the mobile communication device, Internet protocol data throughput of a serving cell site associated with the mobile communication device, and a radio link failure data of the serving cell site.

10. A method of identifying and remediating wireless communication issues, comprising:

receiving a plurality of ticket report messages by a resolution server computer, where each ticket report message comprises a mobile communication device identity and a service issue category and where the resolution server computer is part of an operation subscriber subsystem that comprises a core element management system (core EMS), a home subscriber system (HSS), and a radio access network element management system (RAN EMS);

determining by the resolution server computer that at least a threshold number of the plurality of ticket report messages are associated with a same area;

analyzing the service issue category of each of the ticket report messages associated with the same area by the resolution server computer;

based on the analyzing of the service issue category of each of the ticket report messages associated with the same area, initiating a management-based minimization of drive test (MDT) or a cell trace in a wireless communication network by the resolution server computer commanding the RAN EMS to perform the management-based MDT or the cell trace, where the wireless communication network provides wireless communication service to the identified mobile communication devices, the wireless communication network comprises a plurality of cell sites, and the management-based MDT or cell trace is directed towards cell sites in the same area that the threshold number of ticket report messages are associated with;

analyzing the results of the management-based MDT or the cell trace by the resolution server computer; and

based on the analyzing of the results of the management-based MDT or cell trace, initiating a corrective action in the wireless communication network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the same area is a continuous area of less than 300 square miles.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the cell sites in the same area provide wireless communication coverage to mobile communication devices according to a long-term evolution (LTE), a code division multiple access (CDMA), a global system for mobile communication (GSM), or a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) telecommunication protocol or according to a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the corrective action initiated is filling a wireless coverage hole by building a cell site.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the corrective action initiated is reducing a coverage overshoot of a cell site.

15. A method of identifying and remediating wireless communication issues, comprising:

receiving a ticket report message by a resolution server computer, where the ticket report message comprises a mobile communication device identity and a service issue category and where the resolution server computer is part of an operation subscriber subsystem that comprises a core element management system (core EMS), a home subscriber system (HSS), and a radio access network element management system (RAN EMS);

analyzing the service issue category of the ticket report message by the resolution server computer;

based on the analyzing of the service issue category of the ticket report message, iteratively initiating a signaling-based minimization of drive test (MDT) or a subscriber trace in a wireless communication network by the resolution server computer commanding the core EMS to perform the signaling-based MDT, where the wireless communication network provides wireless communication service to a mobile communication device identified by the mobile communication device identity in the ticket report message, the wireless communication network comprises a plurality of cell sites, and the signaling-based MDT comprises collecting radio signal metrics for the mobile communication device for a serving cell site of the mobile communication device and cell site nearest neighbors to the serving cell site;

analyzing the iterated results of the signaling-based MDTs by the resolution server computer; and

based on the analyzing of the iterated results of the signaling-based MDTs, initiating a corrective action in the mobile communication device or in the wireless communication network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein iteratively initiating the signaling-based MDT comprises the resolution server computer initiating the signaling-based MDT periodically for a predefined period of time.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the resolution server computer initiates the signaling-based MDT every about one minute for about four hours.

18. The method of claim 15, where the mobile communication device is one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a wearable computer, a headset computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, or a tablet computer.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the ticket report message further identifies a serving cell that provides wireless communication coverage to the mobile communication device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the ticket report message further identifies a firmware version of the mobile communication device.