5 Essential RAN KPIs for Telecom Performance Monitoring

Network Performance Monitoring (NPM) involves tracking critical metrics across thousands of base stations to maintain service quality. Technical Managers rely on these KPIs to identify 'worst-performing cells' and allocate engineering resources efficiently.

The three main pillars of RAN (Radio Access Network) performance are Accessibility, Retainability, and Mobility.

Accessibility measures if a user can successfully connect to the network. The primary KPI is CSSR (Call Setup Success Rate) or Service Setup Success Rate in data networks. Retainability measures if a call or data session stays connected once established; the key KPI is CDR (Call Drop Rate) or Session Drop Rate. Mobility measures handovers when moving between cells; the Handover Success Rate (HOSR) is monitored.

Technical Managers set SLA (Service Level Agreement) targets—for example, CSSR must be > 99% and CDR must be < 0.5% at a national level. If a cell falls below these thresholds, RF engineers are dispatched to optimize it.