Have you ever noticed that your cell service seems better during certain times of the year compared to others? You may be surprised to learn that cyclical changes in nature—as simple as the shift between seasons—can have an affect on the strength of your signal. Jeffery Kraus, Data Science and Tools Manager for the Networks Business at Samsung Electronics America, explains how the changing seasons impact mobile connectivity and the ways Samsung helps operators stay a step ahead of these variables.

Is it true that service connection and strength fluctuates throughout the year?

Jeffery: Yes. A lot of people don't realize that nature can affect cellular connectivity. Seasonal changes—especially the presence or absence of foliage in the environment—play a largely unexpected role when it comes to mobile connectivity. During summertime, trees are dense with water-filled leaves that can absorb and scatter radio frequency (RF) signals, particularly from higher-frequency bands like 5G millimeter wave. The more moisture and density in the vegetation, the more distruption your signal could encounter, which can impact user experience and network KPIs. On the other hand, when the leaves start to fall, signal can travel more freely due to the open skies.

So how does the signal’s journey from tower to device change when leaves start falling?

Jeffery: As trees drop their leaves, several things happen that benefit your signal. First, there are fewer physical obstacles for signals to pass through. Second, the line-of-sight between your device and the nearest tower often improves significantly. Finally, lower foliage density means reduced signal absorption and reflection.

The result? You'll typically experience faster data speeds, stronger connections and fewer disruptions—particularly in outdoor areas that were previously spotty during summer months.

Do winter conditions have any affect on network performance?

Jeffery: Winter weather and conditions also have a positive influence on connectivity. Bare trees mean less RF interference, similar to fall conditions. Cold, dry air can actually improve signal propagation because there's less moisture that could absorb the signal compared to the humid summer air.

What about spring and summer—does the return of vegetation immediately impact service?

Jeffery: It can. Spring into summer marks a transitional period where we see vegetation blooming and thriving again, which brings us back to RF signal absorption and scattering obstacles. But it's not just about the leaves returning—humidity and moisture levels in the air also increase during spring, which can impact signal propagation..

Can Samsung help network operators prepare for these seasonal variations?

Jeffery: Absolutely. As a leading RAN vendor, Samsung leverages a variety of solutions to help operators stay a step ahead of nature by observing and optimizing their networks to adapt to such changes. 

Innovation is ingrained in Samsung’s DNA, driving not only the products we deliver to our customers but also enhancing every aspect of our operations. The team leverages statistical, machine learning and advanced artificial intelligence techniques to build innovative solutions that we use to ensure the best experience for our customers. As such, we've developed a home-grown seasonality decomposition tool that monitors operator network performance and determines whether changes in performance are due to seasonal factors or represent true deviations from expected behavior. 

In other words, the tool allows us to assess and measure our RAN or virtualized RAN (vRAN) system’s performance by removing external, expected factors like seasonal impacts. By isolating these variations, Samsung can identify and address underlying issues more efficiently, leverage the data to inform network optimizations and ultimately enhance the experience for operators and their customers. Further, having a dedicated, intelligent tool designed specifically for this purpose allows our team to devote more time to addressing and troubleshooting any issues that arise.

Looking ahead, we’re actively working to evolve this functionality. We’re currently testing a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) framework that can accomplish seasonality monitoring with Variational Autoencoders (VAEs)—a cutting-edge machine learning model inspired by transformer technology. These VAEs are designed to not only analyze seasonal patterns but also predict and adapt to them in real time, which has the potential to make the tool more intelligent and proactive.

Is there anything else operators can do to ensure the best connectivity for their customers from season-to-season?

Jeffery: The key here is ensuring that their network is equipped to identify and optimize for these natural variations. That's why choosing an infrastructure vendor who utilizies advanced network planning and seasonal monitoring tools is essential for maintaining consistent service year-round.

It’s important for operators to embrace intelligent technology that adapts to the natural world around us. As network performance evaluation continues to become more sophisticated with functionality like Samsung’s seasonality decomposition tool, natural variations will become more manageable and less disruptive. Choosing the right partner now will set tomorrow’s networks up for success.