FALCON: An accurate real-time monitor for client-based mobile network data analytics

TL;DR

FALCON is a new open-source tool that accurately monitors mobile network load in real-time, even under interference, by significantly reducing errors compared to previous methods, enabling better network management and mobile applications.

Contribution

Introduces FALCON, a novel shortcut-decoding approach for LTE control channel analysis that greatly improves accuracy and reduces data pollution in real-time mobile network monitoring.

Findings

Reduces errors by three orders of magnitude compared to previous methods.

Enables reliable real-time analysis in interference-prone environments.

Compatible with standard hardware and software defined radios.

Abstract

Network data analysis is the fundamental basis for the development of methods to increase service quality in mobile networks. This requires accurate data of the current load in the network. The control channel analysis is a way to monitor the resource allocations and the throughput of all active subscribers in a public mobile radio cell. Previous open-source approaches require either ideal radio conditions or long-term observations in order to obtain reliable data. Otherwise, the revealed information is polluted by spurious assignments with random content. In this paper, we present a new open-source instrument for Fast Analysis of LTE Control channels (FALCON), which combines a novel shortcut-decoding approach with the most reliable techniques known to us to reduce the aforementioned requirements significantly. Long-term field measurements reveal that FALCON reduces errors in average by three orders of magnitude compared to currently the best approach. FALCON allows observations at locations with interference and enables mobile applications with single short-term tracking of the local load situation. It is compatible with numerous software defined radios and can be used on standard computers for a reliable real-time analysis.

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