Cell-Level Data — The second column in Fig. 3 lists the set of
PHY layer measurements that are reported by a base station
and all user equipment (UE) within the coverage of that base
station to the OMC. We categorize these data streams within
big data as cell-level information. The utilities of cell-level data
can complement the subscriber level data. For example, Mminimization
of drive test (MDT) measurements, which contain
the reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal
received quality (RSRQ) values of the serving and neighboring
cells, are particularly useful for autonomous coverage
estimation and optimization. The same measurements can also
be exploited to develop automated fault detection and localization
solutions for identifying coverage holes, sleeping cells, or
cells in outage. Similarly, on an aggregated level, layer 2 measurements
such as average cell load together with subscriber
level data and contextual data such as time, day, and weather
information can act as input to the SON engine for performing
load balancing, traffic steering, and prediction operations.