Radio planning Transmission Optimisation

360° Telecom Engineering

Our engineers size coverage and capacity, secure MW/FO backhaul and tune radio parameters to sustain traffic growth without degrading QoS KPIs.

Scope

2G -> 5G, LTE, NR

Domains

Radio, Transmission, Core

Mission type

3-5 year master plan

Target clients

  • Operators & MVNOs
  • TowerCos & integrators
  • Institutions & national programmes

Key deliverables

  • 2G to 5G coverage & capacity dimensioning (HLD/LLD, link budget)
  • Frequency plans, SON & continuous optimisation
  • Transmission engineering, MW/FO backhaul & CAPEX/OPEX roadmaps

Deliverables & methodology

Actionable, validated and measurable engineering plans

Our deliverables turn CAPEX/OPEX trade-offs into operational indicators that RNO and PMO teams can use directly.

Key deliverables

  • 3-5 year master plan and CAPEX/OPEX budgets
  • Radio, transmission and backhaul HLD/LLD
  • Optimisation roadmap & action plan

KPIs & outputs

  • Target coverage & site density per area
  • Capacity per sector & sustainable traffic
  • MW/FO backhaul availability
  • SON gains and QoE improvement

Methodology

  • 360° assessment and traffic data collection
  • RF modelling & technical trade-offs
  • Field validation, pilots & handover

Network design

Radio & backhaul HLD/LLD

Multi-level design to ensure scalability and CAPEX/OPEX optimisation.

High-Level Design (HLD)

  • Overall network architecture (RAN, Transport, Core)
  • Multi-band frequency strategy (700/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz)
  • Technology roadmap (2G sunset → 5G standalone)
  • Target capacity per area (GB/month, active subscribers)

Low-Level Design (LLD)

  • Site-by-site files (GPS coordinates, azimuths, tilts)
  • Detailed link budget (antenna gains, propagation losses)
  • TRX/sector count dimensioning per site
  • Neighbour engineering (adjacency lists, handover, ANR)

Smart optimisation

SON (Self-Organising Networks)

Radio parameter automation to ensure optimal QoS and spectral efficiency.

MLB (Mobility Load Balancing)

  • Inter-frequency & inter-RAT load distribution based on congestion
  • Dynamic handover threshold tuning (A3 offset, hysteresis)
  • 3G/4G traffic balancing in co-coverage areas

MRO (Mobility Robustness Optimisation)

  • Reduction of HO failures, ping-pong and RLF via automatic tuning
  • TTT (Time To Trigger) and CIO (Cell Individual Offset) optimisation
  • Detection of neighbour issues (missing/wrong neighbours)

CCO (Coverage & Capacity Optimisation)

  • Pilot power auto-tuning (CPICH, RS EPRE)
  • RACH parameter and admission control adjustment
  • Interference management (ICIC, eICIC for HetNets)

Financial planning

3-5 year CAPEX/OPEX dimensioning

Investment and operating cost modelling for a sustainable master plan.

CAPEX (investments)

  • Sites: BBU, RRU, antennas, cables, civil works
  • Transmission: MW hops, fibres, aggregators
  • Core: EPC/5GC, IMS, HSS, software licences
  • Tools: SON, OSS/BSS, OMC, monitoring

OPEX (annual operations)

  • Sites: energy, rentals, preventive/curative maintenance
  • Transmission: leased lines, IP transit, backhaul
  • Core: servers, vendor support, licences
  • Teams: consultants, training, continuous optimisation

Modelling & sensitivity

  • Traffic forecasts (voice/data CAGR, 4G/5G penetration)
  • Rollout scenarios (aggressive/moderate/conservative)
  • Sensitivity analysis (site cost, FX rates, ARPU)
  • Business case with IRR, NPV, payback period

Field validation

SSV & acceptance

Standardised post-installation tests to ensure design and SLA compliance.

SSV (Single Site Verification)

  • RF measurements: RSRP, RSRQ, SINR per sector and frequency
  • Throughput tests: max achievable DL/UL vs design
  • Intra/inter-site handover validation, CSFB (4G→2G/3G)
  • OMC alarm screening, configuration parameters

Cluster acceptance

  • Inter-site validation (configured neighbours, HO success ≥98%)
  • Aggregated KPIs per cluster (CSSR, CDR, average throughput)
  • Benchmarking vs adjacent sites or similar areas
  • Load tests (traffic-simulator stress tests)

Acceptance report

  • Dossier with field measurements, OMC screenshots
  • Gap report vs design + tuning recommendations
  • Compliance checklist (alarms, KPI, configuration)
  • Client sign-off after lifting any reservations

Flagship offerings

End-to-end expertise

GWIT combines strategic planning, detailed engineering and continuous optimisation to align your business ambitions with network reality.

Master plan & dimensioning

Marketing studies, traffic scenarios, coverage & capacity needs, spectrum assessment and CAPEX/OPEX budgets.

  • Multi-band planning & refarming
  • Marketing/technical fit analysis
  • Technology evolution roadmap

Radio & transmission engineering

Cellular design, link budget, site selection, LoS survey, MW/FO/IP engineering and HLD/LLD backhaul.

  • 2G/3G/4G/5G and NB-IoT design
  • MW, WDM and FO design
  • Power & energy planning

Optimisation & performance

OMC monitoring, targeted drive-tests, SON analyses, radio & transmission parameter tuning, incident management.

  • KPI dashboard & root cause analysis
  • Azimuth, tilt and frequency-plan optimisation
  • Continuous QoE improvement programme

Approach

Project methodology

Each phase relies on internal frameworks, modelling tools and validation gates shared with your teams.

01

360° assessment

Network, marketing and finance data collection, SLA & regulatory constraints review.

02

Collaborative design

HLD/LLD, RF tool modelling, CAPEX/OPEX trade-off workshops and recommendations.

03

Validation & pilots

SSV, drive-tests, parameter tuning and SON script industrialisation.

04

Assisted operations

Support to NOC/RNO teams, executive reporting and skills transfer.

Differentiators

What makes GWIT strong

Senior leadership

Engineers with 25+ years of experience, former RNO & planning directors at major operators.

Tools and methodology

Full software suite (Atoll, Planet, iBwave, in-house tools) and quality frameworks inspired by ITIL/PMI.

Business vision

Systematic alignment with marketing, financial and regulatory stakes to maximise ROI.

Success stories

Measurable results for our clients

African operators have transformed their performance with our integrated solutions.

Telecom Engineering

Accelerated 2G to 5G modernisation

Client: Regional mobile operator

3-5 year master plan, coverage/capacity KPIs and SON optimisation to accelerate the 5G transition.

  • Radio and backhaul HLD/LLD
  • CAPEX/OPEX roadmap

Challenge

Fragile legacy 2G/3G network, no 4G/5G master plan and poorly optimised CAPEX.

GWIT solution

Coverage/capacity master plan, SON optimisation, transmission planning and RNO team coaching.

Impact

  • Compressed timelines on engineering
  • Reduced CAPEX through frequency optimisation
  • Increased 4G capacity without overdimensioning
  • Autonomous, certified teams

Time to do better

Let's build your next network

Whether you are planning a 5G extension, a swap or an optimisation programme, our teams are ready to deploy.