Prioritizing Network Repair Tickets via Mobile Location Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless network maintenance systems lack the ability to prioritize repair tickets based on the impact of service outages on subscriber services, leading to inefficient allocation of limited maintenance resources.
Innovation Solution
The system determines the impact of service outages by analyzing mobile device position data, signal characteristics, and terminal population density, allowing for the prioritization of repair tickets based on the estimated impact on network capacity and subscriber services, and can pre-prioritize tickets based on historical and real-time data to minimize processing time and resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all failures are granted equal priority and serviced on first-come-first-serve basis, then likelihood of failure being overlooked is reduced, but maintenance resource allocation efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different priority levels to different failure tickets based on their specific impact on subscriber activity. Instead of uniform treatment, each ticket is evaluated against local conditions such as terminal density, service outage duration, and coverage area characteristics to determine its repair priority, thereby optimizing maintenance resource allocation while maintaining comprehensive failure detection
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of ticket priority from a static equal-value state to a dynamic state that varies based on multiple parameters including terminal population density, service outage duration, and geographic coverage characteristics. This parameter transformation enables the system to prioritize repairs based on actual impact rather than arrival time
2Productivity
If the volume of electronic failure tickets exceeds service resources, then ticket creation threshold is increased, but magnitude of network problem is masked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary prioritization mechanism that sits between ticket generation and resource allocation. This intermediary system evaluates tickets based on their impact on subscriber activity and assigns priority levels, allowing the system to process a high volume of tickets without overwhelming resources while preserving visibility into the true magnitude of network problems through prioritized reporting
3Productivity
If repair tickets are prioritized based on impact to subscriber services, then network performance improvement is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing baseline metrics such as terminal density profiles, coverage area characteristics, and service capacity data before failures occur. When a failure ticket is generated, the prioritization system quickly compares the failure impact against these pre-computed baselines, reducing the computational complexity at the time of ticket processing while still achieving accurate prioritization
Data Source
AI summary
Providing for network repair prioritization as a function of impact on network services is described herein. By way of example, impact of a given service outage on surrounding network infrastructure and associated terminals can be analyzed and estimated. The impact can be characterized at least in part by changes in loading to surrounding network equipment, as well as related quality and performance metrics. Network impact estimates and loading changes can be derived through mobile device position data for an impacted area and identifying overlapping coverage areas, and signal characteristics of the surrounding network infrastructure. Measured or predicted changes in network performance can be scored to provide relative priorities for allocating limited service personnel in repairing base station errors. Personnel resources can therefore be deployed in a manner that more accurately reflects customer service goals of a network provider.