Coverage Atlas
Functional Requirements
Context
Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) in accordance with
its missions and attributions, ensures that the operators of telecommunications networks
respect the provisions of their conventions and specifications in order to ensure the
provision of quality services throughout the national territory at reasonable prices.
In this capacity, it carries out the following activities, among others
Monitoring the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure;
Promoting the pooling and sharing of infrastructure;
Monitoring the quality of services provided by telecommunications network operators ;
Technical control of radio stations (radio, TV etc.).
Thus, for these activities to be successful, it must be equipped with technical tools or means.
This is why it has recently equipped itself with tools for a continuous QoS monitoring
solution and measurement DT tools. It plans to acquire a database, a platform for simulating
coverage and geo-referenced management of all the infrastructures of telecommunications
network operators in the Republic of Zambia.
It has also chosen to make available to users all information relating to coverage, quality of
service of networks (Mobile) and the position of infrastructures.
To this end, the ZICTA plans to equip itself with a tool having a web portal to visualise the
coverage, the quality of services of the networks and the geographical position of
radioelectric sites. The objective is to set up a platform which allows access to information
relating to the coverage, the quality of networks and services and information on
radioelectric sites to consumers through an online interactive public portal.
Global Objective
The aim is to set up a platform for simulating coverage, mapping all the infrastructures and
the quality of services of the telecommunications networks and accessible to end-users in
Zambia in form of mobile applications Android /iOS
Specific Objectives
Specifically this will involve :
 Establish a database of telecommunication network operators' infrastructures
(passive and active elements of fibre optic networks, radio sites etc.);
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To provide a tool for :
o Mapping the infrastructure of telecommunications network operators;
o Carry out network coverage forecasts and simulations;
o Mapping network quality of service data based on information collected from
different sources (drive tests, monitoring systems, continuous monitoring and
engineering parameters collected from operators) with dynamic updating;
o Identify white areas and areas with very low coverage;
o Produce statistics on territorial coverage and population by
telecommunications network operator;
o Automatically retrieve the data processed by the ARPT's continuous quality of
service monitoring tool;
o Provide public access via a web and mobile portal (Android and IOS) to
coverage data, quality of service data of operators' networks according to
technology, services and locality;
o Allow access to information (coverage, QoS, site parameters, etc.) according
to user profile (rights).
The solution will be based on a geographic information system (GIS) with digital maps of
the Republic of Zambia and its Provinces and Districts.
System Features and Functionality
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With regard to the simulation of the coverage and quality of mobile networks, the
system
will have to allow in more detail to :
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• Retrieve network data from operators and other structures (statistical data) in
Zambia, ideally with the possibility of automating the retrieval of data from operators;
ideally with the possibility of automating the retrieval of data from operators;
 Publish operators' network coverage and quality of service information in the most
accessible form for consumers (graphs or maps);
 Publish maps by operator or overlaid to simplify comparison between operators and
improve visibility of information;
 View coverage and quality of service maps for an address entered by users
(provinces, district/neighbourhood)
 Enable all coverage and quality of service simulation maps to be saved before
publication;
 Regularly update coverage and quality of service information while maintaining
historical data;
 View the coverage assessment levels with the corresponding colour codes;
Coverage assessment levels can be entered in terms of field strength in dBm or field
strength (Excellent, Good, Medium, Poor, etc.)
 Visualise the areas of non-compliance for a given indicator;
 Indicate the geographical areas where coverage/quality is low and where monitoring
should take place;
 Check the coverage and quality of service in public places such as hospitals, schools,
clinics, markets, etc., by entering the addresses of these places;
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Select by time period, geographical area, technology and indicator for each operator
to obtain coverage and quality of service data;
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Calculate area and population coverage statistics by selected geographical area and
by technology;
Display site settings on a map according to the user's profile.
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The system should allow the integration of coverage data from simulations of planning and
drive-testing software.
The system will have to interface with existing software at ZICTA in particular with the
continuous quality of service monitoring system-RPM System
With regard to the infrastructure of telecommunication network operators, the system
should allow for :
 Entering or importing infrastructure information ;
 Visualize the infrastructures by type (Pylon, optical fibre...) and by zone (Region,
Provinces and Neighbourhood/District)
 Display the capacity to use the infrastructure (fibres, radio sites, etc.) of telecom
network operators;
 Display information on infrastructure sharing;
 Display location information for other infrastructure (water supply and
drainage, electricity, etc.)
The Coverage Simulation Tool
It integrates, on the one hand, a radio planning tool that simulates the coverage of
networks (Mobile ) from information communicated by operators on the base stations of
their networks or from coverage data collected from drive-test measurements and the
continuous monitoring tool.
The radio planning tool should allow the simulation of the radio coverage of the operators'
networks thanks to propagation models corresponding to the environment and physical
conditions of the Republic of Zambia. In particular, it should :
 Enable reconstruction of operator radio networks by importing engineering
parameters: site positioning, radio configuration (cell name/ID, BTS name/ID, BSC
name/ID, RNC name/ID, MSC name/ID, SGSN name/ID, GGSN name :ID of the GGSN,
LAC/RAC/TAC of the cell, number of TRX, ARFCN, PSC, tilt of the antenna, types of
antennas, orientation of the antennas, elevation of the terrain, transmission power of
the BTS,...).
 To simulate the coverage of 2G, 3G, 4G and fixed networks in the Republic of Zambia;
 Enable the generation of field strength, signal quality, data rates, traffic, interference
etc. on maps;
The planning tool will need to incorporate a variety of propagation models suitable for
the access technologies (5G + LTE + WCDMA + GSM + Wi-Fi etc.).
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Database management ;
Manipulating and querying geographic data ;
Formatting and spatial visualization of the data
Real-world representation and foresight ;
Integration of data from other GIS;
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Import and export of projects or data in shapefile, xlxs, csv, tab, word, ...... ;
Import and decode without pre-processing DUMP files from several vendors (Huawei,
Ericsson, ZTE, Nokia,. .. );
Importing and extracting OSS data without pre-processing ;
Client/server use.
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The Geospatial Database
The map provided should cover all administrative units of the Republic of Zambia
(Region, Provinces, Districts).
These maps should include at least :
 A base map integrating the physical and natural data of the Republic of Zambia
(elevation, vegetation cover and hydrography);
 A map of Zambia, as recent as possible, integrating the road, rail, river and
telecommunications networks of the Republic of Zambia;
 For the maps, the resolution will be five (50) metres for Lusaka and ten (100)
metres for the rest of the territory.
The geo-spatial database shall :
 integrate the maps mentioned above;
 integrate demographic data with the finest possible granularity (population, density,
growth rate, birth rate, etc.);
 allow importing data from operators (site location, type of site,.... );
 Integrate key operator coverage data (operator sites and cells);
 allow the import of cell traffic data from the continuous monitoring tool and see the
distribution;
 Integrate any other relevant geographical data.
Features of the Web Portal
The portal should allow :
 publish information on the coverage, infrastructure and quality of service of
operators' networks in the most accessible communication forms for consumers
(graphics or maps);
 publish maps by operator or overlaid to simplify the comparison of coverage between
operators and to improve the visibility of information;
 regularly update information on coverage, infrastructure and quality of service while
maintaining historical data;
 view the levels of coverage assessments with the corresponding colour codes;
 visualise the areas of non-compliance for a given quality of service indicator;
Software Solutions
They will perform the classic functions of:
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Input of geographical information and infrastructure parameters;
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select by time period, geographical area, technology and indicator for each operator
to obtain coverage, infrastructure and quality of service data;
Calculate territory and population coverage statistics by selected geographical area
and by technology;
View the sites and their parameters on a map.
Enable information to be viewed on mobiles with different operating systems
(Android and IOS) via an application in the stores
Enable users of the mobile application to make a detailed malfunction report
Enable questionnaires (QoE surveys) to be distributed to users of the mobile
application
This portal should be multilingual.
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