Patent ID: 8036668

Claim:
A method for planning a cellular mobile telecommunications network comprising at least one network cell and intended to provide network services to users located in said network cell, wherein the network services comprise at least one network service deliverable at a plurality of provisioning rates, comprising: generating an overall cell global service area for the cell, comprising combining a plurality of sub-areas, wherein each sub-area represents an area where the network service is deliverable at a particular provisioning rate, and wherein the sub-areas are generated by: a) setting a current provisioning rate to the highest of said provisioning rates; b) estimating a power required to the at least one network cell for providing the at least one network service in the service area of the cell at the current provisioning rate; c) comparing the estimated required power to a maximum power deliverable by the at least one cell; and if the estimated required power does not exceed the maximum deliverable power, providing the service area of the cell as the sub-area for the chosen provisioning rate; or if the estimated required power exceeds the maximum deliverable power, d) providing a reduced service area of the cell as the sub-area for the chosen provisioning rate, wherein the estimated power required to the at least one network cell for providing the at least one network service at the current provisioning rate in the reduced service area does not exceed the maximum deliverable power; e) updating the current provisioning rate to the immediately lower provisioning rate of said plurality, if any; and f) repeating steps b) and c) and, if required, steps d) and e).