ECE - Global Radio Network Planning Service Provider

European Communications Engineering (ECE) Ltd is an engineering and consulting company specializing in mobile and wireless network design. ECE Ltd's service portfolio covers R&D, training, consulting and engineering of GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS radio networks. ECE Ltd's engineering services focus on the planning and optimization phases of the 2G and 3G radio network roll-outs.

ENGINEERING – PLANNING AND OPTIMIZATION FOR GSM AND WCDMA NETWORKS

ECE Ltd offers a wide range of services for planning and optimising GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS radio networks. The services cover:

• Network dimensioning
• License bid support
• Configuration planning
• Digital map evaluation / purchase
• Propagation model tuning
• Coverage, capacity and quality planning
• Optimization

ECE Benchmarking and ECE End-to-End Turnkey Optimization service products belong to the portfolio of engineering services. In the ECE Benchmarking service, the operator's network is compared to the selected reference networks by using pre-defined KPIs. The service contains a measurement campaign, analysis of the results, reports and presentations, and optional on-the-job-training. ECE End-to-End Turnkey Optimization service is a turnkey optimization service for 2G and 3G radio networks.

ECE Ltd engineers and consultants are highly experienced in the area of radio design and thus are able to work as planning managers or specialists in different wireless planning or consulting projects. These services have been supplied to customers in over 30 countries so far.

CONSULTING – GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS RADIO NETWORK PLANNING

The ECE Ltd consulting function concentrates on the areas of GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS radio network planning. In the GPRS / EDGE area, ECE Ltd develops planning guidelines and analyzes the functionality of the GPRS / EDGE radio network. In the UMTS area, ECE Ltd evaluates equipment vendors as well as radio planning and measurement tools from major suppliers.

ECE Ltd has also widely studied UMTS implementation aspects in multi-band multi-mode environments. Radio network features and parameters are well-known areas at ECE Ltd.

TRAINING - RADIO INTERFACE SYSTEM PLANNING

ECE Ltd offers a wide range of training courses in GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS radio network design and optimization areas. The courses are provided as a complete training program or as separate training modules.

ECE training program modules are:

• GSM radio interface system planning
• GPRS / EDGE radio interface system planning
• UMTS radio interface system planning

Different course programs and contents can be tailored either on the basis of the different course subjects or on specific issues / problems raised by the participants. All training modules include several practical exercises and planning and measurement tool examples from the actual networks!

The training program is designed for engineering and technical professionals working in different areas related to radio network planning. The courses provide participants with the latest knowledge and experience from the field.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) - 3G RADIO PROPAGATION, CAPACITY AND RADIO NETWORK TOPOLOGY

The major ECE R&D areas are:

• 3G radio propagation and coverage
• 3G traffic and capacity
• 3G radio network topology
• 3G Radio Resource Management (RRM)

Recent studies include, for example, coverage and capacity analysis of UMTS network as a function of antenna beamwidth, sectoring, and mechanical and electrical downtilting. Moreover, an optimal network evolution from 3-sector configuration to 6-sector configuration, pilot pollution and repeaters in 3G are analyzed.