Cellsite BudgetMaster

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for cell site planning and for vendor selection. According to embodiments of this invention, a cell site planning information system receives initial cell site information, accesses historical cell site information and/or vendor information, and integrates the information to provide a proposed cell site design plan, to recommended vendors, to determine benchmark costs, and/or to provide billing records of the recommended vendors.

1 . A method for generating a cell site design for a proposed cell site, comprising:
 recognizing data received by a cell site design system as data comprising initial cell site data relating to the proposed cell site, wherein the initial cell site data indicates a configuration of the proposed cell site and a module for the proposed cell site;   generating, using a processor in communication with the cell site design system, a proposed cell site design based upon the initial cell site data;   analyzing, using the processor, the proposed cell site design to determine services to be performed by vendors during construction of the proposed cell site;   accessing a first storage device in communication with the cell site design system to retrieve vendor data stored by the first storage device, the vendor data comprising a unitized charge for a vendor to perform the services; and   using the processor to generate a billing record by associating the unitized charge for the vendor to perform the services with the services included in the proposed cell site design.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing a second storage device associated with the cell site design system to retrieve historical data, the historical data comprising cell site data relating to an existing cell site.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data comprises retrieving a water parameter associated with the existing cell site. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the generating further comprises generating, using the processor, the proposed cell site design based, at least partially, upon the water parameter. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data comprises accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data associated with a plurality of vendors. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data comprises accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data associated with a plurality of existing cell sites. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data further comprises:
 restricting the plurality of vendors for which vendor data is retrieved based upon at least one restriction parameter.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprises restricting vendors based upon geographic proximity to a location of the proposed cell site, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor not within a designated geographic proximity. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein:
 more than one service is needed to construct the proposed cell site; and   restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprises restricting vendors based upon whether the vendor can provide the more than one service.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprises restricting vendors based upon whether the vendor has the ability to charge in unitized increments, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor that does not have the ability to charge in unitized increments. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising making a benchmark calculation, wherein making a benchmark calculation comprises:
 ranking, using the processor, the retrieved vendor data based upon a cost associated with the vendor data; and   calculating, using the processor, an average cost associated with the retrieved vendor data, wherein the average cost comprises a benchmark value.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 updating the vendor data stored by the first storage device to generate updated vendor data; and   storing the updated vendor data at the first storage device, wherein the updating comprises indicating if the cost associated with the vendor data exceeds the benchmark value.   
     
     
         13 . A cell site design system for generating a proposed cell site design, the cell site design system comprising a memory for storing computer-readable instructions, executable by a processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 recognize data received by the cell site design system as data comprising initial cell site data relating to the proposed cell site, wherein the initial cell site data indicates a configuration of the proposed cell site and a module for the proposed cell site;   generate, using the processor, a proposed cell site design based upon the initial cell site data;   analyze, using the processor, the proposed cell site design to determine services to be performed by vendors during construction of the proposed cell site;   access a first storage device to retrieve vendor data stored by the first storage device, the vendor data comprising a unitized charge for a vendor to perform the services; and   use the processor to generate a billing record by associating the unitized charge for the vendor to perform the services with the services included in the proposed cell site design.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the computer-readable instructions further comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 access a second storage device to retrieve historical data, the historical data comprising cell site data relating to an existing cell site.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 retrieve a water parameter associated with the existing cell site.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to retrieve a water parameter and a parametric parameter, wherein:
 the water parameter comprises data indicating the presence and the depth of water, if present at the location; and   the parametric parameter comprises data indicating the average wind speed at the location.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for generating the proposed cell site design comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 generate, using the processor, the proposed cell site design based upon the initial cell site data and the historical data.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 access the first storage device to retrieve vendor data associated with a plurality of vendors.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 access the second storage device to retrieve historical data associated with a plurality of existing cell sites.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data further comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 restrict the plurality of vendors for which vendor data is retrieved based upon at least one restriction parameter.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 restrict vendors based upon geographic proximity to a location of the proposed cell site, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor not within a designated geographic proximity.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein:
 more than one service is needed to construct the proposed cell site; and   the computer-readable instructions for restricting comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to restrict vendors based upon whether the vendor can provide the more than one service.   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to make the cell site design system operable to:
 restrict vendors based upon whether the vendor has the ability to charge in unitized increments, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor that does not have the ability to charge in unitized increments.   
     
     
         24 . A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions, executable by a processor to perform the steps of:
 recognizing data received by a cell site design system as data comprising initial cell site data relating to the proposed cell site, wherein the initial cell site data indicates a configuration of the proposed cell site and a module for the proposed cell site;   generating, using the processor, a proposed cell site design based upon the initial cell site data;   analyzing, using the processor, the proposed cell site design to determine services to be performed by vendors during construction of the proposed cell site;   accessing a first storage device in communication with the cell site design system to retrieve vendor data stored by the first storage device, the vendor data comprising a unitized charge for a vendor to perform the services; and   using the processor to generate a billing record by associating the unitized charge for the vendor to perform the services with the services included in the proposed cell site design.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 24 , wherein the computer-readable instructions further comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 accessing a second storage device in communication with the cell site design system to retrieve historical data, the historical data comprising cell site data relating to an existing cell site.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 retrieving a water parameter associated with the existing cell site.   
     
     
         27 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of retrieving a water parameter and a parametric parameter, wherein:
 the water parameter comprises data indicating the presence and the depth of water, if present at the location; and   the parametric parameter comprises data indicating the average wind speed at the location.   
     
     
         28 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for generating the proposed cell site design comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 generating, using the processor, the proposed cell site design based upon the initial cell site data and the historical data.   
     
     
         29 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 24 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data associated with a plurality of vendors.   
     
     
         30 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 29 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 accessing the second storage device to retrieve historical data associated with a plurality of existing cell sites.   
     
     
         31 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 29 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for accessing the first storage device to retrieve vendor data further comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 restricting the plurality of vendors for which vendor data is retrieved based upon at least one restriction parameter.   
     
     
         32 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 29 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 restricting vendors based upon geographic proximity to a location of the proposed cell site, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor not within a designated geographic proximity.   
     
     
         33 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 31 , wherein:
 more than one service is needed to construct the proposed cell site; and   the computer-readable instructions for restricting comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of restricting vendors based upon whether the vendor can provide the more than one service.   
     
     
         34 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 31 , wherein the computer-readable instructions for restricting vendors based upon at least one restriction parameter comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the step of:
 restricting vendors based upon whether the vendor has the ability to charge in unitized increments, wherein vendor data is not retrieved for a vendor that does not have the ability to charge in unitized increments.   
     
     
         35 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 24 , wherein the computer-readable instructions further comprise computer-readable instructions, executable by the processor to perform the steps of:
 recognizing data received by the cell site design system as data comprising updated vendor data received from an updating vendor;   retrieving, from the first storage device, the vendor data associated with the updating vendor;   updating the vendor data to generate updated vendor data; and   storing the updating vendor data in the first storage device.