Today's mobile networks constantly face challenges of ever developing technologies and changing user demands for higher transmission rates and wider variety of services. To stay ahead as a provider, you will need a truly competitive solution to enhance network capabilities and maximise performance while protecting your existing network infrastructure.
As a leading supplier of network infrastructure equipment, NEC has acquired an abundance of technical expertise and contributed to the innovation of mobile technologies, through decades of experience in mobile network deployment. W-CARD is an advanced coverage designing and optimisation solution, incorporating NEC's leading-edge technologies founded on a comprehensive understanding of network operators' needs.


W-CARD* is developed by NEC's top engineers, combining their technical expertise and experience in active planning and optimisation operations of W-CDMA networks in countries worldwide. W-CARD aims to be a network lifecycle partner for W-CDMA network operators, supporting the network deployment process, from coverage designing through optimisation (RAN SAITEKIKA, as NEC specifically defined) before and after service launch.

Supports: W-CDMA, HSDPA, GSM/PDC

*W-CARD stands for Computer Aided Radio Coverage Design system for W-CDMA.

Features & Benefits of W-CARD

The features of W-CARD include:

Easy and fast site deployment

• Site deployment by Latitude/Longitude coordinates or map-based designation, or using hexagonal shape build-up scheme
• 3G site deployment in a 2G and 3G coexisting network to assist a successful 2G to 3G migration
• Coverage prediction based on propagation loss calculation
• Service quality prediction based on CDMA traffic modelling

Precise and speedy analysis

• Several propagation models for predicting the coverage supplied by input sector parameters
• Detailed traffic modelling for mixed service environment
• "Real" RF environment evaluation based on drive test measurement data
• Parameter calibration capabilities for optimisation planning
• Automated complex calculation & simulation processes

Smart usability

• Measurement data & analysis results in versatile presentation forms (i.e., tables, bar graphs, line charts)
• Flexible import and export capabilities
• User-friendly GUI interface

Benefits of using W-CARD

• High quality mobile communication services to provide customers with high levels of satisfaction
• Improving investment efficiency and making profits in the growing radio-based information communication market

Technical Highlights
Propagation Models
W-CARD supports a variety of propagation models for propagation loss calculation that forms the basis of coverage prediction: Each of the propagation models has unique criteria for applying calibration factors like building density, land to sea ratio, diffraction loss, and antenna height.

• PTP model
  When applying calibration factors, the PTP model uses terrain classes as filtering criteria.
• Hata Model
  The Hata model refers to land classes.
• Sakagami-1 Model, Sakagami-2 Model, Walfisch-Ikegami Model, Walfisch-Bertoni Model
  These models have no particular criteria for calibration considerations. Calibration factors such as building density, land to sea ratio, and diffraction loss are equally applied.

Building Density-Based Land Classification

To adopt building density to a service area and use it to calibrate the propagation loss equation, W-CARD applies a land classification scheme sectioned by thresholds of building density, where four land classes are defined accordingly: dense urban, urban, rural, and open. To which land class the calculation point shall belong is decided by mapping the building density of the calculation point location into the land classification scheme.

Network Traffic Modelling

W-CARD's traffic modelling capabilities enable operators to accurately model UE behaviours of mobile traffic and simulate service areas in a complex and mixed service environment. This feature consists of two components, i.e., traffic designation and UE generation.


W-CARD supports quality evaluation per channel by applying a grid-based scheme. UEs are generated per grid and evaluated via CDMA analysis using the propagation loss derived from the RX signal level distribution calculation. Based on the result of quality evaluation, W-CARD allows service area prediction for a mixed service environment.



W-CARD calculates Ec/No distribution of CPICH, based on the UEs generated in quality evaluation grids. Ec/No distribution calculation addresses the following concerns:

• Interference power consideration
• Average Ec/No
• Ec/No distribution when UEs spread uniformly (i.e., at the centre of each grid)

W-CARD offers versatile visibility for measurement and analysis data presentation. With colour-coded display, W-CARD produces many tables, graphs, and distribution plots that enable network performance trend tracking and allow operators to quickly identify problems or verify effects of optimisation. This visualisation capability does not only help evaluate the current network performance, it can also encourage future performance improvement.

W-CARD can produce:

• Various operational statistics reports
• RF parameter-specific profile to demonstrate regional performance fluctuations
• Contour view and mosaic-structured distribution plot for coverage and service quality predictions & evaluation

W-CARD employs a server-client architecture built on an open platform powered by Windows* operating system. This configuration features a common database residing on the server, enabling centralised data processing to eliminate the burden of data management on each client and thus reduce data processing time.

The simple and adaptive hardware environment of W-CARD adds more flexibility in system configuration. For a large-scale network that requires integrated optimisation operations, using LAN-infrastructure to link a server with multiple clients at remote sites is recommended as a powerful solution that allows for the capability to add processing power as network needs dictate. For local optimisation operations at site, just a standalone notebook PC is enough to run both a client and a server of W-CARD.
*Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.