FINGERPRINTING ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS IN CELLULAR SYSTEMS

A processor implemented method of identifying a root cause of degraded network quality in a wireless network. The method includes accessing historical network performance data, the performance data including a time sequenced measure of performance indicators for the network. The method evaluates the historical performance data to determine regularly occurring associations between indicators to define a set of rules characterizing the associations of the wireless network, and stores the set of rules in a data structure. The wireless network is monitored by accessing analysis data reporting time sequenced performance indicator data. Next, anomalies are detected in a performance indicator in the analysis data and matched to at least one rule in the set of rules. The method outputs an indication of a cause of degradation in the wireless network resulting from the anomaly in the performance indicator.