A method and arrangement for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for terminal-oriented performance monitoring in a telecommunications network comprising a public side and a subscriber side with terminals. According to the invention, information with respect to network performance is collected by the subscriber terminals or in connection with the subscriber terminals and transferred to the public side. The information includes the grade of service, information on error conditions and information on the quality of the transmission channel in the network. With the aid of the invention the network operator is provided with a picture of the performance from the point of view of the customer and he can thus operate the network more effectively at the same time as the performance experienced by the customer is kept under control.

Description: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network and, in particular, a mobile telephone network. A telecommunications network has one side thereof which consists of a public or landline network and the side thereof which consists of a subscribers' network. The subscribers' network includes terminals which, in the case of a mobile telephone network, can be mobile terminals. With a mobile telephone network, the subscriber's perception of the performance of the network can provide important information for the network operator. Known methods for collecting information relating to network performance in a mobile telephone network can be divided into two major groups. With the first of these groups, information is collected on the traffic handled, the number of successful or unsuccessful calls established, transferred and disconnected, and so on, on the public or landline side of the network. In known performance monitoring system architectures, information can be stored, in principle, at a very detailed level, for example, radio channels, subscribers, terminals, connections and so forth. However, such systems presuppose that it is possible to establish a connection with and identify the terminal concerned. In the second of these groups, test traffic is used on the subscribers' i.e. mobile, side of the network. Network operators have recently established various performance monitoring systems for obtaining information concerning network operation as seen from the mobile side of the network. In such systems, geographical and system-related information can be collected for subsequent compilation at a central location. The collected items of information are obtained as a result of the use of test traffic, for example, in the form of a large number of connections, calls, transfers and disconnections made along a test link. This type of test traffic also provides the network operator with information concerning how the mobile telephone network looks from the mobile side, with the important reservation that it is test traffic and not "real" traffic that is monitored and thereby observed during the test period. With this performance monitoring arrangement, it is likely that the reliability of the statistics obtained through use of the test traffic will be of doubtful validity because the test traffic to which the statistics relate will be disturbed by other test traffic or the marginal test traffic will result in the mobile telephone network demonstrating problems which would not otherwise have occurred. EP-A-0 431 956 discloses a method for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network having a first side which comprises a public network "base station" and having a second side which comprises a subscriber network with subscriber terminals "mobile units" whereby the method includes the steps of collecting information relating to the performance of the telecommunications network on the subscriber side of the network and transferring the collected information to the public side of the network. This method belongs to the first group of the above-mentioned known methods, since it presupposes that a connection is established between the public and subscriber sides. Even though the mobile units are designed to perform the measurements, the monitoring is performed by the modified base stations during the subscriber calls. Thus, some information is not accessible as is explained below. 28th IEEE VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE, DENVER, 22-24 March, 1978, p. 66-72; D.L. Huff et al.: "The Chicago developmental cellular system", which is considered to represent the most relevant state of the art, belongs to the second group of the above-mentioned known methods for collecting information relating to network performance. This article relates to a developmental cellular system, i.e. a start-up system. Technical and economic evaluations will be accomplished in two phases: an Equipment Test phase and a Service Test phase. During the Service Test phase a selected number of Service Test mobiles, having a telemetry capability built in, performs monitoring operations and telemeters this information to the public side (MTSO). Thus, it is clear that the Service Test mobiles are dedicated test equipment only. In contrast, in the present invention the actual subscriber terminals perform the monitoring during the actual operation of the telecommunications network and consequently on real traffic. It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing problems by using a terminal-orientated performance monitoring method and arrangement wherein information related to call and network performance of a telecommunications systems is stored in, or in association with, the subscribers' terminals which are connected to the system. The provision of storage can consequently be included in the system specification and not only in dedicated test equipment. The information which can then be obtained is not accessible by any of the above-mentioned known methods for monitoring the network performance. The invention provides a method for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network having a first side which comprises a public network and having a second side which comprises a subscribers' network with subscriber terminals, including the steps of collecting information relating to the performance of the telecommunications network on the subscribers' side of the network and transferring the collected information to the public side of the network, wherein the subscriber terminals operate during actual operation of the network independently of the public side and also when no communication with the public side is possible, in order to collect information and store said information for later transfer to the public side upon connection of the subscriber terminals to the public side, characterized in that said collected information includes information relating to grade of service provided by the network, wherein said grade of service information includes information relating to the amount of time a subscriber terminal was unable to communicate with the public side of network during the period of time the said terminal was activated but outside the coverage area of a base station. The invention also provides an arrangement for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network having a first side which comprises a public network and a second side which comprises a subscribers' network with subscriber terminals, wherein the subscriber terminals include or are associated with means for collecting information on network performance and for transferring the collected information to the public side of the network, wherein the subscriber terminals include means operating during actual operation of the network independently of the public side and also when no communication with the public side is possible, in order to collect information and store said information for later transfer to the public side upon connection of the subscriber terminals to the public side, characterized in that said collected information includes information relating to grade of service provided by the network, wherein said grade of service information includes information relating to the amount of time a subscriber terminal was unable to communicate with the public side of network during the period of time the said terminal was activated but outside the coverage area of a base station. The foregoing and other features according to the present invention will be better understood from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention. As stated above, a telecommunications network consists of a public or landline side and a subscribers' side. The public or landline side consists of stations and connection channels and is controlled by the network operator. The subscribers' side consists of subscriber terminals, for example, data terminals and telephones. In order to facilitate efficient operation of the network by the network operator and to minimise network problems, it is important for the operator to be able to obtain detailed information concerning the performance of the network, as experienced by the customer. This information will enable the operator to rectify any errors and/or other problems that may arise, to expand the network as and when required in a suitable/preferred way, etc. In a mobile telephone network, the following information, for example, can be used by the network operator: (a) information on the grade of service, that is to say the amount of time a subscriber's terminal was unable to communicate with the public or landline side of the network during the period of time the terminal was activated but outside the coverage area of the base station, i.e. without being able to communicate with the base station; (b) detailed information on all error conditions associated with call switching i.e. call set-up, call communication and call disconnection coupled with information on traffic area, base station identity, position, etc. This information is not accessible by means of error monitoring functions in base stations and exchanges when it is not possible to identify the terminal concerned; and (c) information on the quality of the transmission channel, for example, soft information from an error-correcting decoder. The subscriber terminals according to the present invention comprise sensing elements which are adapted to sense selected activities of the terminals, for example, how long the terminal is activated, which switching actions are carried out and how much work is being carried out by the error-correcting decoder. The information relating to the operation of the sensing elements is stored in suitable registers. Thus, for the collection of the information referred to at (a) above relating to grade of service, the sensing elements will need to include a time-controlled unit and a memory unit. The stored information is suitably transferred from the subscribers' side of the network to the public side of the network by means of the protocol established between the two sides of the network or by deduced protocols/sequences, for example, in connection with call set-up, call transfer, or call disconnecting or by developing general protocols/sequences. The method and arrangement according to the present invention provides the network operator with many advantages compared with known performance monitoring technology in that the network operator is provided with customer-orientated information concerning the performance of a telecommunications network and is thereby able to effect more efficient operation of the network and at the same time ensure that the network performance, as experienced by the customer, is kept under control. Thus, in comparison to known systems, the operator obtains a significantly more representative basis for analysis of the system performance, as experienced by the customer. Furthermore, by compiling information on activated terminals and in respect of areas where the operator lacks cover, a valuable information data base can be established for planning network expansion. If individual subscribers are experiencing an unusually large number of problems, then such subscriber or the terminal owner will be able to obtain from the network operator information concerning such problems and can also obtain help to correct the problems. Known systems provide abundant examples of poor or gradually deteriorated antenna installations, etc., which, in turn, can entail problems even for other subscribers. Whilst the preferred embodiments of the invention, as outlined above, have been directed towards mobile telephone networks, it will be directly evident to persons skilled in the art that the present invention can be generalised in many ways so as to make the invention suitable for application to a network for landline telecommunication or data communication, that is to say everything from the telephones in the home to satellites and personal computers in the data network.

Claims: A method for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network having a first side which comprises a public network and having a second side which comprises a subscribers' network with subscriber terminals, including the steps of collecting information relating to the performance of the telecommunications network on the subscribers' side of the network and transferring the collected information to the public side of the network, wherein the subscriber terminals operate during actual operation of the network independently of the public side and also when no communication with the public side is possible, in order to collect information and store said information for later transfer to the public side upon connection of said subscriber terminals to said public side, characterized in that said collected information includes information relating to grade of service provided by the network, wherein said grade of service information includes information relating to the amount of time a subscriber terminal was unable to communicate with the public side of network during the period of time the said terminal was activated but outside the coverage area of a base station. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the information relating to network performance is collected by means that are part of, or associated with, the subscriber terminals. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the network is a mobile telephone network and in that the subscriber terminals are mobile terminals. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the collected information includes information relating to all error conditions associated with call switching. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the collected information includes information relating to the quality of the transmission channel. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transfer of the collected information is facilitated by a protocol established between the subscriber terminals and the public side of the network. A method as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the transfer of the collected information is effected as part of call set-up, call transfer, or call disconnection. An arrangement for performance monitoring in a telecommunications network having a first side which comprises a public network and a second side which comprises a subscribers' network with subscriber terminals, wherein the subscriber terminals include or are associated with means for collecting information on network performance and for transferring the collected information to the public side of the network, wherein the subscriber terminals include means operating during actual operation of the network independently of the public side and also when no communication with the public side is possible, in order to collect information and store said information for later transfer to the public side upon connection of said subscriber terminals to said public side, characterized in that said collected information includes information relating to grade of service provided by the network, wherein said grade of service information includes information relating to the amount of time a subscriber terminal was unable to communicate with the public side of network during the period of time the said terminal was activated but outside the coverage area of a base station. An arrangement as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the network is a mobile telephone network and in that the subscirber terminals are mobile terminals. An arrangement as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the network is a landline or data network. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the means for collecting and transferring information includes sensing means adapted to sense selected activities of the subscriber terminals, storage means for storing the information relating to the operation of the sensing means and transmission means for effecting the transfer of the stored information to the public side of the network. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the means for collecting said grade of service information include a time-controlled unit and a memory unit. An arrangement as claimed in any of the cliams 8 to 12, characterized in that the means for collecting information are adapted for the collection and transfer of information relating to all error conditions associated with call switching. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the means for collecting information are adapted for the collection and transfer of information relating to the quality of the transmission channel.

Inventors: ARINELL FREDRIK, ARINELL, FREDRIK
Applicants: TELIA AB
Application year: 1992
Main classification: H04Q7
IPC codes: H04M3, H04W24