(E)GPRS hardware dimensioning rules with minimum quality criteria

After describing the basics of the (enhanced) GPRS system, a set of analytical rules applicable both for initial deployment of GPRS networks and for future network expansion are presented. The same set of rules are fully applicable also to enhanced GPRS (EGPRS). Since they are based on a theoretical model and not on particular measurements or simulations, they can be utilized in any general case. The rules are derived from statistical models to calculate the reduction of user throughput at the link level control (LLC) layer due to user multiplexing on shared time slots (TSL). Statistical models are given for packet switch (PS) only and for PS and circuit switch (CS) mixed scenarios. From these rules it is possible to determine the required (E)GPRS hardware resources to fulfill minimum quality criteria. Furthermore, the analytical results are compared with the results obtained from network simulations.