MW Network Planning Introduction - Alaa Hamed

MW Network Planning
Introduction
Prepared by Alaa Hamed
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Contents
Microwaves
Microwave link design
Planning service
Way to improve MW link performance
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Microwaves
What is microwave
Microwave transmission
Microwaves advantages and disadvantages
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Microwavesareaformofelectromagneticradiationwithwavelengths
rangingfromonemillimetertoonemeter.
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Microwave transmissionrefers to the technology of

transmitting information
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Microwave technology is extensively used forpoint to

point telecommunications(i.e., non broadcast uses).
Microwaves are especially suitable for this use since
they are more easily focused into narrower beams
than radio waves, allowingfrequency reuse;
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Advantages of Microwave
Linksacrossmountainsandriversaremoreeconomically
feasible
Singlepointinstallationandmaintenance
Theyarequicklydeployed
Becauseoftheirshortwavelength,microwavesusesmaller
antennas
Smallerantennasproduceamorefocusedbeamwhichis
difficulttointercept
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Disadvantages of Microwave
Lineofsightmustbeclearbetweenbothendsofthelink
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Disadvantages of Microwave
Moreaffectedbyatmosphericconditionsrain,snow,
electromagneticinterference
Limitedcapacitycomparedtoopticalfiber
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Microwaves
Planning service
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MicrowaveLinkDesignisamethodical,systematicandsometimes
lengthyprocess.
Thewholeprocessisiterativeandmaygothroughmanyredesign
phasesbeforetherequiredqualityandavailabilityareachieved.
Propagation
losses
Branching
losses
Link Budget
Fading
Predictions
Frequency
Planning
Other
Losses
Rain
attenuation
DiffractionMultipath
refraction losses propagation
Quality
and
Availability
Calculations
Interference
analysis
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Which means a lot of
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Datarequiredforlinkdesign
Sitescoordinates
Capacityrequiredfromcustomer
Networktopology
Frequencyresources
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MicrowaveLinkDesignisaprocessthatincludes:
Loss/attenuationcalculations
Fadingandfademarginscalculations
Frequencyplanningandinterferencecalculations
Qualityandavailabilitycalculations
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Loss / Attenuation Calculations
Theloss/attenuationcalculationsarecomposedofthreemain
contributions
Propagationlosses:DuetoEarthsatmosphereandterrain.
Branchinglosses:Comesfromthehardwareusedtodeliverthe
transmitter/receiveroutputto/fromtheantenna
Miscellaneous(other)losses:Unpredictablelikefog,movingobjects
crossingthepath,poorequipmentinstallationand imperfectantenna
alignmentetc.*
*Thiscontributionisnotcalculatedbutisconsideredintheplanningprocessasanadditionalloss
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Rain attenuation Calculations
Rainattenuationisthemaincontributorinthefrequencyrangeusedby
commercialradiolinks
Rainattenuationincreasesexponentiallywithrainintensity
Thespecificattenuationofrainisdependentonmanyparameterssuchasthe
formandsizeofdistributionoftheraindrops,polarization,rainintensityand
frequency
Horizontalpolarizationgivesmorerainattenuationthanverticalpolarization
Rainattenuationincreaseswithfrequencyandbecomesamajorcontributorinthe
frequencybandsabove10GHz
Thecontributionduetorainattenuationisnotincludedinthelinkbudgetandis
usedonlyinthecalculationofrainfading
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Ground Reflection Calculations
ReflectionontheEarthssurfacemaygiverisetomultipathpropagation.
Thedirectrayatthereceivermayinterferedwithbytheground-reflectedrayand
thereflectionlosscanbesignificant.
Sincetherefractionpropertiesoftheatmosphereareconstantlychangingthe
reflectionlossvaries.
Thereflectioncoefficientisdependentonthefrequency,grazingangle(angle
betweentheraybeamandthehorizontalplane),polarizationandground
properties.
Itisrecommendedtoavoidgroundreflectionbyshieldingthepathagainstthe
indirectray.
Thecontributionresultingfromreflectionlossisnotautomaticallyincludedinthe
linkbudget.Whenreflectioncannotbeavoided,thefademarginmaybeadjusted
byincludingthiscontributionasadditionallossinthelinkbudget.
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Link Budget Calculations
Thelinkbudgetisacalculationinvolvingthegainandlossfactorsassociatedwith
theantennas,transmitters,transmissionlinesandpropagationenvironment,to
determinethemaximumdistanceatwhichatransmitterandreceivercan
successfullyoperate.
Receiversensitivitythresholdistheminimumsignallevelthatcanbereceived.
Systemgaindependsonthemodulationused(2PSK,4PSK,8PSK,16QAM,
32QAM,64QAM,128QAM,256QAM)andonthedesignoftheradio.
Thegainsfromtheantennaateachendareaddedtothesystemgain(larger
antennasprovideahighergain).
Thefreespacelossoftheradiosignalissubtracted.Thelongerthelinkthehigher
theloss.
Thesecalculationsgivethefademargin.
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Link Budget Calculations (Cont.)
ReceiveSignalLevel(RSL)
RSL = Po Lctx + Gatx Lcrx + Gatx FSL
Linkfeasibilityformula
RSL Rx (receiversensitivitythreshold)
Po=outputpowerofthetransmitter(dBm)
Lctx,Lcrx=Loss(cable,connectors,branchingunit)betweentransmitter/receiverand
antenna(dB)
Gatx=gainoftransmitter/receiverantenna(dBi)
FSL=freespaceloss(dB)
Thefademarginiscalculatedwithrespecttothereceiverthresholdlevelfora
givenbit-errorrate(BER).Theradiocanhandleanythingthataffectstheradio
signalwithinthefademarginbutifitisexceeded,thenthelinkcouldgodownand
thereforebecomeunavailable.
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Types of Fading affecting MW links
Fadingisdefinedasthevariationofthestrengthofareceivedradiocarriersignal
duetoatmosphericchangesand/orgroundandwaterreflectionsinthepropagation
path.
ThreefadingtypesareconsideredwhileplanningMWlinks:
Multipathfading
Flatfading
Frequency-selectivefading
Rainfading
Refraction-diffractionfading(k-typefading)
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(1) Multipath Fading:
MultipathFadingisthedominantfadingmechanismforfrequencieslowerthan
10GHz.Areflectedwavecausesamultipath,i.e.whenareflectedwavereaches
thereceiverasthedirectwavethattravelsinastraightlinefromthetransmitter
Ifthetwosignalsreachinphasethenthesignalamplifies.Thisiscalledup-fade
Ifthetwowavesreachthereceiveroutofphasetheyweakentheoverallsignal.A
locationwhereasignaliscanceledoutbymultipathiscallednullordown-fade
Asathumbrule,multipathfading,forradiolinkshavingbandwidthslessthan
40MHzandpathlengthslessthan30Kmisdescribedasflatinsteadoffrequency
selective
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Types of Fading affecting MW links (Cont.)
(1-a) Multipath Fading (Flat fading):
Afadewhereallfrequenciesinthechannelareequallyaffected.
Ifnecessaryflatfademarginofalinkcanbeimprovedbyusinglargerantennas,a
higher-powermicrowavetransmitter,lowerlossfeedlineandsplittingalonger
pathintotwoshorterhops
Onwaterpathsatfrequenciesabove3GHz,itisadvantageoustochoosevertical
polarization
(1-b) Multipath Fading (Frequency Selective fading):
Itaffectsmediumandhighcapacityradiolinks(>32Mbps)
Moderndigitalradiosareveryrobustandimmunetospectrum-distortingfade
activity.Onlyamajorerrorinpathengineering(wrongantennaormisalignment)
overthehigh-clearancepathcouldcausedispersivefadingproblems
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(2) Rain Fading:
Rainattenuatesthesignalcausedbythescatteringandabsorptionof
electromagneticwavesbyraindrops.
Itissignificantforlongpaths(>10Km).
Itstartsincreasingatabout10GHzandforfrequenciesabove15GHz,rainfading
isthedominantfadingmechanism.
Rainoutageincreasesdramaticallywithfrequencyandthenwithpathlength.
Microwavepathlengthsmustbereducedinareaswhererainoutagesaresevere
Henceamarginisincludedtocompensatefortheeffectsofrainatagivenlevelof
availability.Increasedfademargin(marginsashighas45to60dB)isofsomehelp
inrainfallattenuationfading.
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(2) Rain Fading How to reduce?:
Multipathfadingisatitsminimumduringperiodsofheavyrainfallwithwellaligned
dishes,soentirepathfademarginisavailabletocombattherainattenuation.
Whenpermitted,cross-banddiversityisveryeffective.
Routediversitywithpathsseparatedbymorethanabout8Kmcanbeused
successfully.
RadioswithAutomaticTransmitterPowerControlhavebeenusedinsomehighly
vulnerablelinks.
Verticalpolarizationisfarlesssusceptibletorainfallattenuation(40to60%)than
arehorizontalpolarizationfrequencies.
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(3) Refraction Diffraction Fading:
Alsoknownask-typefading.
Forlowkvalues,theEarthssurfacebecomescurvedandterrainirregularities,
man-madestructuresandotherobjectsmayintercepttheFresnelZone.
Forhighkvalues,theEarthssurfacegetsclosetoaplanesurfaceandbetter
LOS(lowerantennaheight)isobtained.
Theprobabilityofrefraction-diffractionfadingisthereforeindirectlyconnectedto
obstructionattenuationforagivenvalueofEarthradiusfactor.
SincetheEarth-radiusfactorisnotconstant,theprobabilityofrefraction-diffraction
fadingiscalculatedbasedoncumulativedistributionsoftheEarth-radiusfactor.
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Frequency Planning in MW links
Theobjectiveoffrequencyplanningistoassignfrequenciestoanetworkusingas
fewfrequenciesaspossibleandinamannersuchthatthequalityandavailabilityof
theradiolinkpathisminimallyaffectedbyinterference.
Thefollowingaspectsarethebasicconsiderationsinvolvedintheassignmentof
radiofrequencies:
Determiningafrequencybandthatissuitableforthespecificlink(pathlength,
sitelocation,terraintopographyandatmosphericeffects)
Preventionofmutualinterferencesuchasinterferenceamongradiofrequency
channelsintheactualpath,interferencetoandfromotherradiopaths,
interferencetoandfromsatellitecommunicationsystems
Correctselectionofafrequencybandallowstherequiredtransmission
capacitywhileefficientlyutilizingtheavailableradiofrequencyspectrum
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Frequency Planning in MW links (Cont.)
Frequency channel arrangements:
Theavailablefrequencybandissubdividedintotwohalves,alower(go)andan
upper(return)duplexhalf.Theduplexspacingisalwayssufficientlylargesothat
theradioequipmentcanoperateinterferencefreeunderduplexoperation.
Thewidthofeachchanneldependsonthecapacityoftheradiolinkandthetype
ofmodulationused
Themostimportantgoaloffrequencyplanningistoallocateavailablechannelsto
thedifferentlinksinthenetworkwithoutexceedingthequalityandavailability
objectivesoftheindividuallinksbecauseofradiointerference.
Frequencyplanningofafewpathscanbecarriedoutmanuallybut,forlarger
networks,itishighlyrecommendedtoemployasoftwaretransmissiondesigntool.
OnesuchvendorindependenttoolisPathloss4.0.Thistoolisprobablyoneofthe
besttoolsforcomplexmicrowavedesign.
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Frequency planning for different network topologies
Chain/cascadeconfiguration
f1 HP
f1 HP
Ringconfiguration
f1 VP
f1 VP
f1 VP
f1 HP
U
L
f1 VP
L
Starconfiguration
f1 HP
f1 VP
f2 VP
f1 HP
f1 HP
f2 VP
f1 HP
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Interference Fade Margin:
Toaccuratelypredicttheperformanceofadigitalradiopath,theeffectof
interferencemustbeconsidered.
Interferenceinmicrowavesystemsiscausedbythepresenceofanundesired
signalinareceiver.Whenthisundesiredsignalexceedscertainlimitingvalues,the
qualityofthedesiredreceivedsignalisaffected.
Tomaintainreliableservice,theratioofthedesiredreceivedsignaltothe
(undesired)interferingsignalshouldalwaysbelargerthanthethresholdvalue.
Thus,afterperforminginterferenceanalysiswemustchecktheinterferenceeffect
ontheFM.
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Quality & Availability targets
Thequality&availabilitytargetsisdeterminedbasedonthecustomersusedKPI.
Case (1) in case we use reliability method ITU-R P.530-7/8):
ExampleforKPIinthiscase:
1-Availability(needstobe99.999forrainandmultipathandthetotalone).
2-FadeMarginshouldbemorethanorequalto30dB.
3-Maybecustomeraskforspecificreceivedsignal.
Case (2) In case we use reliability method KQ S (1.3)
ExampleforKPIinthiscase:
1-theWORSTMONTHSESRshouldbelessthan10^-6andsothe
seconds/monthshouldlessthan20seconds.
TheFadeMarginshouldbemorethan30dB.
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Basic Recommendations:
Usehigherfrequencybandsforshorterhopsandlowerfrequencybandsforlonger
hops
Avoidlowerfrequencybandsinurbanareas
Usestarandhubconfigurationsforsmallernetworksandringconfigurationfor
largernetworks
Inareaswithheavyprecipitation,ifpossible,usefrequencybandsbelow10GHz.
Useprotectedsystems(1+1)forallimportantand/orhigh-capacitylinks
Leaveenoughsparecapacityforfutureexpansionofthesystem
Spacediversityisaveryexpensivewayofimprovingtheperformanceofthe
microwavelinkanditshouldbeusedcarefullyandasalastresort
Theactivitiesofmicrowavepathplanningandfrequencyplanningpreferably
shouldbeperformedinparallelwithlineofsightactivitiesandothernetworkdesign
activitiesforbestefficiency.
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Useupdatedmapsthatarenotmorethanayearold.Theterrainitselfcanchange
drasticallyinaveryshorttimeperiod.Makesureeveryoneontheprojectisusing
thesamemaps,datum'sandcoordinatesystems.
PerformdetailedpathsurveysonALLmicrowavehops.Mapsareusedonlyfor
initialplanning,asafirstapproximation.
Below10GHz,multipathoutageincreasesrapidlywithpathlength.Italso
increaseswithfrequency,climaticfactorsandaverageannualtemperature.
Multipatheffectcanbereducedwithhigherfademargin.Ifthepathhasexcessive
pathoutagetheperformancecanbeimprovedbyusingoneofthediversity
methods.
Inareaswithlotsofrain,usethelowestfrequencybandallowedfortheproject.
Microwavehopsoverorinthevicinityofthelargewatersurfacesandflatland
areascancauseseveremultipathfading.Reflectionsmaybeavoidedbyselecting
sitesthatareshieldedfromthereflectedrays.
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Microwaves
planning service
Ways to improve MW link performance
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Planning a Microwave Link

Its Not Just Line of Sight!
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Planning Service - Main Activities

High Level Design
KPI
Antenna
Installation
Height
Microwave
Backbone
Transmission Equipment
Selection
Mode
Protection
Mode
Microwave
BOQ Risks
Factor
Microwave
Frequency
Selection
Geographic
and Climatic
Information
Site
Capacity
Requirement Attributive
Relation
High
Level
Design
Link Info
Table
Microwav
e BOQ
Technical
Proposal
Design
Guideline
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LOS: Line of Sight
Using high-definition satellite data to generate the

terrain profile data.
On-site LOS survey is also a way to get the info.
Sketch map
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Link Budget Design

TX/RX Power
Net Path Loss
Annual Availability
Other Link Parameters
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Frequency and Interference Analysis
Frequency Design
Polarization
Design
High Low Site

Design
Interference
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Microwaves
planning service
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Way to improve performance
Adaptive modulation : automaticallyreducesmodulationrateas

fadingincreases,solinkisuninterrupted.
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Frequency Diversity : The signals are

transmitting on two frequencies. Reduces fading
by up to 15 dB.
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Space Diversity: Tworeceivingantennasseparatedverticallybyaspacingthat

createstwopathsnotsimultaneouslyaffectedbyfading.
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Questions
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MW Network Planning

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

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Microwave transmissionrefers to the technology of

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave technology is extensively used forpoint to

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Which means a lot of

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Microwave link design

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Planning a Microwave Link

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Planning Service - Main Activities

Prepared by Alaa Hamed

Planning Service - Main Activities

LOS: Line of Sight

Using high-definition satellite data to generate the