CONGESTION CONTROL IN GSM NETWORK A CASE STUDY OF 9MOBILE NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
Traffic Congestion of GSM has always
been a major problem and challenge in Nigeria to the service provider and the
subscribers. This work deals greatly with the traffic control congestion and
management in mobile wireless communications with the aim of guaranteeing
customer’s satisfaction so as to provide very accurate and reliable throughput
whenever wireless network is utilized. Also increase reliability and error free
data transfer in mobile communication, so as to ensure concurrent access to
users without any interference or congestion. The research was developed by
exploring the use 9 Mobile and critically analyzed the call data for a period
of busy hour for a week that was collected, and these data are used to describe
a model to estimate the maximum number of calls a channel can handle
concurrently based on the number of 9 Mobile’s channel. The data are used to
determine the total load per call setup attempts, the effective load or
successful call setup (times), the available channels or successful TCH assignments
and also the blocking rate or TCH congestion ratio (%). This was done using
correlated analysis hypothesis. In this work, from the result analysis obtained
graphically, it was discovered that a lot of available channels are being
underutilized especially in areas with low blocking ratio where the available
channels exceeded the required channels for transmitting the effective load.
Therefore, in reducing impulsive congestion in most of these cells, excess
channels that are been underutilized should be converted to other cells that
may be experiencing congestion. Thereby will help to reduce traffic congestion
and save a lot of cost from been wasted on acquiring more cells or more
channels for effective transmission on congested cells should be setting up.
Microsoft Visual BASIC programming language was used because of its powerful
features with the visual studio 2012 development environment.
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The world is fast becoming a global
village and a necessary tool for this process is communication of which
telecommunication is a key player. The quantum development in the
telecommunications industry all over the world is very rapid as one innovation
replaces another in a matter of weeks. A major breakthrough is the wireless
telephone system which comes in either fixed wireless telephone lines or the
Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM). Communication without doubt is a
major driver of any economy. Emerging trends in socio-economic growth shows a
high premium being placed on information and communication technology (ICT) by
homes, organizations, and nations.
Nigeria is not left out in this race
for rapid development as the nation’s economy has been subjected to years of
economic reversal via mismanagement and bad leadership. The Nigerian
telecommunications sector was grossly underdeveloped before the sector was
deregulated under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1992 with
the establishment of a regulatory body, the Nigerian Communication Commission
(NCC). So far the NCC has issued various licenses to private telecommunications
operator. These include 7 fixed telephony providers that have activated 90,000
lines, 35 Internet service providers with a customer base of about 17,000.
Several VSAT service providers are in operation, and have improved financial
intermediation by providing on-line banking services to most banks in Nigeria.
These licenses allowed private telephone operators (PTOs), to roll out both
fixed wireless telephone lines and analogue mobile phones. The return of
democracy in 1999 paved the way for the granting of GSM license to 3 service
providers: 9 MOBILE Nigeria, ECONET Wireless Nigeria which is now called ZAIN
and NITEL Plc which is now called ZOOM in 2001 and later GLO.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It has been observed that calls
across different networks are always difficult to connect, at times diverted
and also attract more cost. This creates room for users to be confused as how
much is deducted from their call credits or are compelled to having multiple
GSM lines. As the network increases, more users makes call across different
networks and there is need to record the call time, call network, and line
identification and be able to put calls across the networks with out much
congestions.
Transmission of calls requires at
least two points, A and B (point-to-point; point-to-multipoint or
multipoint-to-point). Consequently, the interconnectivity problem within Nigeria
is simply stated as follows:
1. How can A and B, separated possibly
by thousands of kilometers within Nigeria, transmit voice to each other without
each having to be subscribers to the same operator?
2. More importantly, how can we ensure
multi-user resource allocation such that if A is the originating consumer, it
does not matter technologically (even if financially) which of ALL the other
operators that B is a subscriber to, nor does it matter what type of
transmission he or she is sending?
3. The transmission of calls with out
much congestion in the network.
This will form the bases for the
project work.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this
research work is to establish a transparent set of Interconnection Rules, which
shall encompass at least the following requirements:
* Every operator must
allow all other operators full interconnection to its network at technically
feasible and convenient points of interconnection, such that traffic may
originate on one network and terminate on another, or otherwise pass across
networks, without interference, signal deterioration, delay, congestion, or
restriction.
* To design software that
will serve as a congestion control system for multi-user telecommunication
networks.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will help us to know the status of GSM network
resource allocation in Nigeria with a view to knowing areas to be addressed for
better performance. This
research work will aid telecommunication companies in Nigeria to achieve the
following:
1.
Keep record of calls across the GSM networks.
2.
Use Interswitch to put calls through to the right designation without
delay, distortions or diversion.
3.
Determine the calling network and receiving network and use this
information for the purpose of interconnectivity tariffs.
4.
Maintain a database of all registered GSM lines for all GSM communication
companies.
1.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Basically
the aim of this project work is to design and simulate a multi-user congestion
control system for 9 MOBILE.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
This research covers network
connectivity and traffic control of 9 MOBILE network in Nigeria. The system
covers all forms of voice calls across the network. Both call identification,
recording and network interconnectivity.
1.7 CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS
Some
of the constraints encountered during this project design include the
following:
·
Financial Constraints: The design was achieved but not
without some financial involvements. One had to pay for the computer time. Also
the typing and planning of the work has its own financial involvements. However, to solve the problems I solicited
fund from guardians and relations.
·
High programming Technique: The programming aspect of this
project posed a lot of problematic bugs that took me some days to solve.
Problems such as the ADO, DAO and Jet Engine related run time errors. For
instance, the Ms Access office 2000 edition does not work with VB-6. Jet Engine
unless converted to lower version of Ms ACCESS of office 1997 edition (i.e.
version 2.0). Also other technical problem, which requires semantic and
syntactic approaches where encountered as well. In seeking for the solution to
these problems, I acquired more knowledge from well –versed textbooks and
programmes.
·
The epileptic nature of power supply cannot be
overlooked.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Inter-switch: Inter-Switch Link (ISL) is a trunking method
developed by Cisco to use for Ethernet and Token Ring trunk connections.
Congestion:
It is the overcrowding of route, leading to slow and inefficient flow. In
computing, it is a situation in which the amount of information to be
transferred is greater than the amount that the data communication path can
carry.
Air
interface: In a mobile phone network, the radio
transmission path between the base station and the mobile terminal.
Asymmetric
Transmission: Data transmissions where the traffic
from the network to the subscriber is at a higher rate than the traffic from
the subscriber to the network.
SIM:
Subscriber Identity Module; A smart card containing
the telephone number of the subscriber, encoded network identification details,
the PIN and other user data such as the phone book. A user’s SIM card can be
moved from phone to phone as it contains all the key information required to
activate the phone.
Telecommunication: Are
devices and systems that transmit electronic or optical signals across long
distances. Telecommunication enables people around the world to contact one
another to access information instantly, and to communicate from remote areas.
Computer Network: It is a system used to connect two
or more computers using a communication link.