Patent ID: 8060102

Claim:
A method for analysing a wireless network with a proposed base station added at a proposed location, the method comprising: receiving first data representative of a test signal received at a measurement location from a test transmitter at the proposed location, and second data representative of at least one communication signal received at the measurement location from the existing wireless network, wherein the first data comprises a signal strength for the test signal received at the measurement location, wherein the second data comprises a power spectrum density indication for the existing wireless network at the measurement location, and wherein the second data further comprises signal strengths for a plurality of communication signals received at the measurement location, each communication signal corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of communication channels transmitted by one or more existing base stations within the wireless network; and processing the first and second data to estimate at least one signal characteristic at the measurement location for the wireless network with the proposed base station added; wherein said processing comprises: estimating a test signal strength for a signal received at the measurement location from the proposed base station using the signal strength for the test signal; estimating a power spectrum density at the measurement location for the wireless network with the proposed base station added using the power spectrum density indication for the existing wireless network at the measurement location and an estimate of a total signal strength for a signal received at the measurement location from the proposed base station; estimating a signal-to-noise ratio for a communication channel at the measurement location transmitted by the proposed base station, the estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio comprising the estimate of the test signal strength for a signal received at the measurement location from the proposed base station divided by the estimate of the power spectrum density at the measurement location for the wireless network with the proposed base station added; and estimating a signal-to-noise ratio for each of the plurality of communication channels at the measurement location, each signal-to-noise ratio comprising the signal strength for the respective communication signal received at the measurement location from the corresponding existing base station divided by the estimate of the power spectrum density at the measurement location for the wireless network with the proposed base station added; estimating the number of handoff states available to a wireless device at the measurement location within the wireless network with the proposed base station added by counting the number of communication channels at the measurement location transmitted by the proposed base station or one of the existing base stations that have an estimated signal-to-noise ratio equal to or greater than an acceptable signal threshold level.