Interesting Congestion Observation

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Interesting Congestion Observation

Shoes2468

785 posts

Ultimate Geek

#85151 14-Jun-2011 22:08

Hi

Just an observation I made shortly after the June 13th earthquake, like most people I reached for my 2degrees mobile to check on my loved ones etc, Surprize surprize Network busy, after three tries I changed my data settings to use 2g networks only, then tried calling again, boom straight through, but to their voice mail, then tried again and the call went through, this surprized me as I thought that the call would have been handed from 3g down to the 2g network automatically, Is this not the case? It seems silly I was not able to make the call while on 3g when there was obviously capacity on the 2g network, or was it just a fluke? I was located in opawa area Christchurch.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#481226 14-Jun-2011 22:20

I am not surprised

No network is designed to carry everyone calling and sending SMS at the same time, Blocking goes sky high when something like the chch EQ happens!

insane

3239 posts

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#481251 14-Jun-2011 23:20

johnr: I am not surprised

No network is designed to carry everyone calling and sending SMS at the same time, Blocking goes sky high when something like the chch EQ happens!

John can you please explain how the call capacity works per tower or region? Are there only x number of slots available per cell tower / region , and is this number related to the technology used or the amount of backhaul provisioned to the region / tower?

ie, is the only cure for a huge rush of calls more towers or can more capacity be added by other means? I've heard a bit of talk about this with the upcoming Rugby World Cup and its interesting to see how the different players have chosen to tackle the situation.

johnr

19282 posts

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Inactive user

#481256 14-Jun-2011 23:34

3G does not have time slots like 2G (GSM / TDMA)

All sites are different depending on so many factors! right down to how much spectrum the carrier has, How far the site can see depending on the tilt / height of the panels in relation to the neighboring cell. Higher capacity cell with many TRXs would require more transmission over a cell that is 2+2+2 and then you have to factor in packet switch channels. So much planning / drive testing goes into deploying these things the mind boggles,

I am no expert on this subject, I have done Nokia Systra 2G/3G and know bits here and there. Don't ask me to design / build a mobile network please. I just might pass you some Walkie talkie Radios from Jaycar

tdgeek

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#481257 14-Jun-2011 23:36

I use Telecom Mobile, and I did make calls but that was intermittent, texts got through although one failed, but a resend went through. I did get a text back 5 hours later from a Voda number (not criticising Voda). In these events, anything can happen, but both networks did a great job and worked well.