Indoor acceptance testing SSV/CV: complete methodology with walk test on floor plan

Indoor acceptance testing is the final step that validates whether an indoor radio deployment (DAS, small cells, repeaters) meets coverage and performance objectives. Called SSV (Site Survey Validation) or CV (Cell Validation) depending on the operator, this procedure requires a rigorous methodology to produce usable and defensible results. This guide covers the entire process: from preparation to delivery of the final report.

SSV and CV: definitions and differences

SSV — Site Survey Validation

The SSV validates the overall coverage of an indoor site after deployment. It answers the question: “Is the building properly covered according to the operator’s specifications?”

The SSV focuses on:

• Signal level (RSRP) in all defined areas
• Radio quality (SINR) in occupied zones (offices, meeting rooms)
• Coverage continuity (absence of dead zones)
• Handover capability between indoor and outdoor cells

CV — Cell Validation

The CV is more granular: it validates the behavior of each individual cell. It answers the question: “Does each indoor cell cover its design zone and deliver the expected performance?”

The CV focuses on:

• Individual coverage of each cell (dominance zone)
• Power levels compared to the design (plan vs. measurement comparison)
• Proper handover operation between adjacent cells
• Throughput performance within each cell’s coverage area

When to perform each type

Context	Test type	Objective
New DAS deployment	SSV + CV	Complete validation before commissioning
Coverage extension	SSV on extended areas	Validate only the new zone
Customer complaint / escalation	Targeted SSV	Verify current coverage
Technology migration (4G to 5G)	CV	Validate each 5G indoor cell
Periodic audit (SLA contract)	SSV	Verify performance maintenance

Preparing for indoor acceptance testing

Collecting preliminary data

A poorly prepared indoor acceptance test produces unusable results. The preparation phase is as important as the measurement itself.

Documents to collect:

1. Floor plans (mandatory)

   • Format: high-resolution image (PNG, JPEG) or vector PDF
   • Scale: known and verifiable (measure a reference distance on the plan vs. reality)
   • One plan per floor, including technical areas and corridors
   • Identification of critical zones (VIP meeting rooms, call centers, trading floors…)

2. Radio design (strongly recommended)

   • Indoor antenna positions (coordinates on floor plan)
   • Transmit power per antenna
   • Activated bands and technologies (LTE B3, LTE B7, NR n78…)
   • Frequency plan and PCI (Physical Cell Identity)
   • Target coverage areas per cell

3. Operator specifications

   • Acceptance KPI thresholds (minimum RSRP, minimum SINR, minimum throughput)
   • Required coverage percentage (e.g., 95% of area > -85 dBm)
   • Technologies to validate (4G only, 4G+5G, VoLTE)
   • Expected report format

Defining acceptance thresholds

Acceptance thresholds vary by operator and building type. Here are common reference values:

RSRP coverage:

Level	RSRP (dBm)	Rating	Heatmap color
Excellent	> -75	Strong coverage	Dark green
Good	-75 to -85	Nominal coverage	Light green
Acceptable	-85 to -95	Minimum coverage	Yellow
Weak	-95 to -105	Degraded coverage	Orange
Insufficient	< -105	Dead zone	Red

Typical SSV threshold: 95% of measured area > -85 dBm (RSRP)

SINR quality:

Level	SINR (dB)	Impact
Excellent	> 20	Maximum throughput, 256QAM possible
Good	10 to 20	Nominal throughput
Acceptable	3 to 10	Reduced throughput, 16QAM/64QAM
Degraded	0 to 3	Low throughput, retransmissions
Unacceptable	< 0	Near-disconnection

Typical SSV threshold: 90% of measured area > 5 dB (SINR)

Throughput:

Service	Minimum DL throughput	Minimum UL throughput
General data	10 Mbps	2 Mbps
Video conferencing	5 Mbps	3 Mbps
VoLTE (MOS)	MOS > 3.5	-
Critical environment	50 Mbps	10 Mbps

Configuring the measurement terminal

Before entering the building, the measurement terminal must be configured correctly:

1. Operator lock: ensure the terminal is on the operator’s network being tested (no roaming)
2. Band lock (if necessary): force the terminal onto the band to validate (e.g., B3 only to validate the B3 DAS)
3. WiFi disabled: avoid interference and WiFi calling fallbacks
4. GPS / positioning: indoors, GPS does not work — enable floor plan positioning mode
5. Floor plan import: load plans into the measurement tool, calibrate the scale
6. Storage check: a walk test session generates 50-200 MB of data per hour

Executing the indoor walk test

Planning the route

The walk test route must be systematic and reproducible. The fundamental rules:

Cover 100% of the accessible area: all rooms, corridors, stairwells, elevators, break areas, restrooms (yes, coverage in restrooms is often problematic due to concrete partitions and tile walls).

Constant walking speed: approximately 1 m/s (slow walk). Walking too fast under-samples areas; walking too slowly over-samples and biases the statistics.

Serpentine path: in open spaces and large rooms, walk in parallel strips spaced 2-3 meters apart to obtain a uniform measurement grid.

Position marking: in the absence of indoor GPS, position marking on the floor plan is done via touch-and-go (tap on the plan at regular intervals to anchor the position).

Room-by-room measurement protocol

For each room or zone, the following protocol ensures complete results:

For each room / zone:
  1. Mark the entry point on the floor plan
  2. Walk the room in a serpentine pattern (2-3 m spacing)
  3. Mark a point at the center of the room
  4. Stop for 10 seconds at the center to stabilize measurements
  5. Perform a throughput test (if required by specifications)
  6. Make a 30-second VoLTE call (if VoLTE is in scope)
  7. Mark the exit point
  8. Move to the next room

Zone-specific measurements

Meeting rooms: measure at the center of the table (typical user position). If the room is large (> 20 m2), measure at 4 points (corners + center).

Open spaces: serpentine path. Pay attention to areas near windows (macro outdoor interference) and areas far from indoor antennas.

Elevators: measure at each floor, doors open and doors closed. Metal cage attenuation is typically 20-40 dB.

Stairwells: measure while ascending, with position marking at each landing.

Basements / parking garages: often under-covered zones. Measure each level methodically, including access ramps.

Technical areas: server rooms, utility rooms — often shielded (partial Faraday cages). Coverage is rarely an objective here, but documenting the level is useful.

Indoor positioning management with HiCellTek

Floor plan positioning is the critical point of indoor acceptance testing. HiCellTek offers a dedicated indoor module:

1. Floor plan import: load the floor plan as an image (PNG, JPEG, PDF)
2. Scale calibration: define 2 reference points with a known distance
3. Real-time marking: tap the floor plan to anchor position during the walk
4. Interpolation: between two marked points, measurements are linearly interpolated
5. Real-time heatmap: visualization of coverage (RSRP, SINR, throughput) directly on the floor plan during measurement

This approach eliminates the need for post-processing: the technician immediately sees red zones and can adjust the route to confirm a dead zone.

For detailed information on indoor walk test techniques, see our indoor walk test practical guide. The Android drive test tool covers the full capabilities available for indoor acceptance testing on a standard smartphone.

Analyzing results

Primary acceptance KPIs

Post-measurement analysis is structured around three axes:

Axis 1: Coverage (RSRP)

% coverage = (Number of RSRP samples > threshold) / (Total number of samples) x 100

Produce:

• Overall coverage percentage vs. threshold (-85 dBm typically)
• RSRP heatmap per floor
• Identification of areas < threshold (dead zones) with precise location on floor plan
• RSRP distribution histogram (CDF)

Axis 2: Quality (SINR)

% quality = (Number of SINR samples > threshold) / (Total number of samples) x 100

Produce:

• Percentage of area at acceptable quality (> 5 dB typically)
• SINR heatmap per floor
• Identification of pilot pollution zones (good RSRP but poor SINR)
• Analysis of interference zones between adjacent indoor cells

Axis 3: Performance (throughput and MOS)

For throughput measurement points:

• Average and minimum DL/UL throughput
• Comparison vs. specification thresholds
• Throughput vs. SINR correlation (identify whether throughput issues are radio-related or transport-related)

For VoLTE calls:

• Average MOS score
• Call drop rate (if any calls were interrupted)
• Call duration vs. target duration

Per-cell analysis (CV)

For Cell Validation, the analysis must be done per cell:

Cell (PCI)	Coverage zone	Average RSRP	Min RSRP	Average SINR	% coverage > -85 dBm	Status
PCI 101	Floor 1 - North Wing	-72 dBm	-88 dBm	18 dB	98%	PASS
PCI 102	Floor 1 - South Wing	-78 dBm	-96 dBm	12 dB	91%	PASS
PCI 103	Floor 2 - Center	-81 dBm	-102 dBm	6 dB	82%	FAIL

For cell PCI 103 in failure, Layer 3 analysis can reveal the cause: interference zone with the outdoor macro cell, insufficient transmit power, or antenna positioning to be reviewed.

Pass/fail criteria

Pass/fail criteria must be defined before the acceptance test and agreed upon by all parties. A standard format:

Global criteria (SSV):

• PASS if: >= 95% of area > -85 dBm RSRP AND >= 90% of area > 5 dB SINR
• FAIL if: either criterion is not met
• CONDITIONAL PASS if: between 90% and 95% coverage, with a remediation plan

Per-cell criteria (CV):

• PASS if: the cell covers >= 90% of its design zone at the defined threshold
• FAIL if: coverage is < 90% of the design zone

Reporting: acceptance report structure

Standard content of an SSV/CV report

A professional acceptance report contains the following sections:

1. Cover page

• Site / building name
• Address
• Operator
• Acceptance test date
• Tester(s)
• Report version number

2. Executive summary

• Overall status: PASS / FAIL / CONDITIONAL PASS
• Overall coverage percentages
• Key observations (max 3-5 lines)

3. Context and scope

• Building description (number of floors, area, usage)
• Acceptance test scope (floors measured, technologies validated)
• Measurement equipment used
• Pass/fail criteria applied

4. Results per floor

• RSRP heatmap per floor (overlaid on floor plan)
• SINR heatmap per floor
• Statistical table per floor (average RSRP, min, max, % coverage)
• Identification of failed zones on the floor plan

5. Results per cell (CV)

• Summary table per cell (PCI, zone, KPIs, status)
• Cell dominance heatmap

6. Performance tests

• Throughput test results per zone
• VoLTE/MOS test results per zone

7. Analysis of failed zones

• Precise location on floor plan
• Probable cause (under-coverage, interference, obstacle)
• Remediation recommendation

8. Conclusion and recommendations

• Final acceptance test status
• Remediation actions if necessary
• Next appointment (re-test if FAIL)

Export from HiCellTek

HiCellTek generates the key elements of the report directly from the application:

• Heatmaps on floor plan: high-resolution PNG export of RSRP, SINR, and throughput heatmaps overlaid on the floor plan
• Statistical tables: CSV export of statistics by zone and by cell
• Raw data: export in HLOG format (encrypted native format), QMDL (third-party tool compatible), PCAP, or CSV
• Layer 3 traces: decoded RRC/NAS messages for handover and protocol issue analysis

These exports allow you to build the report in the format required by the operator, while preserving raw data for future audits.

Common problems and remediation

Dead zone behind a thick wall

Symptom: RSRP < -105 dBm on a localized area, surrounded by correct coverage.

Diagnosis: measure RSRP on both sides of the wall. If the delta is > 20 dB, the wall is the cause (reinforced concrete, metal partition).

Remediation: reposition an antenna on the other side of the wall, or add a transmit point in the dead zone.

Indoor pilot pollution

Symptom: good RSRP (-75 dBm) but SINR < 3 dB. The terminal is indecisive between two indoor cells.

Diagnosis: analyze Layer 3 handovers. If the terminal performs frequent handovers (ping-pong) between two PCIs, the zone has shared dominance.

Remediation: adjust transmit power of adjacent antennas to create a sharper dominance boundary. Modify handover parameters (hysteresis, time-to-trigger).

Macro-to-indoor interference

Symptom: degraded SINR near windows, with outdoor macro cell RSRP comparable to indoor RSRP.

Diagnosis: identify the interfering macro cell (outdoor PCI in the neighbor list). Check whether the indoor and outdoor frequency plans conflict.

Remediation: coordinate PCIs and frequencies between indoor and outdoor. Adjust indoor power to ensure dominance inside the building (10 dB margin recommended).

For a deeper dive into dead zone detection and indoor DAS issues, see our article on dead zone detection and indoor DAS.

Best practices for an efficient acceptance test

Before the test

• Confirm the date with the building manager (access to all zones)
• Verify that the indoor network is active and configured in nominal mode
• Ensure floor plans are up to date (recent renovations?)
• Prepare the measurement terminal (charged battery, available storage, plans imported)
• Inform the network operations center about the measurement campaign (avoid unnecessary alarms)

During the test

• Maintain a constant walking speed (~1 m/s)
• Mark positions regularly (every 5-10 meters in corridors, every 2-3 meters in rooms)
• Note special conditions (door open/closed, ongoing construction, building occupancy)
• Check heatmaps in real time to identify areas needing re-measurement
• Perform throughput and VoLTE tests under static conditions (pause for 10-30 seconds)

After the test

• Export data immediately (avoid data loss)
• Produce the report within 48 hours (while the field context is fresh)
• Archive raw data (HLOG, QMDL) for future reference
• Schedule a re-test if any zones failed

Conclusion

Indoor acceptance testing SSV/CV is a discipline that demands rigor and methodology. The quality of the result depends as much on preparation and execution as on the measurement tool. With HiCellTek, indoor acceptance testing becomes a streamlined process: floor plan import, walk test with real-time heatmap, integrated performance tests, and structured export for the final report.

The primary benefit is time: where a traditional setup requires 30 minutes of preparation and a return to the office for post-processing, HiCellTek enables real-time result visualization and delivers actionable data directly from the field.

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Planning an indoor acceptance testing campaign? Contact our team for a demo of the indoor module: sales@hicelltek.com or visit hicelltek.com.