iDEN 101

Introduction to Cellular
concepts, RF, and iDEN.

Basic Radio

This block diagram represents the basic components of a radio

transmitter. A carrier frequency is generated by an oscillator,
voice/data is modulated onto the carrier, which is amplified and
transmitted out through the antenna in the form of
electromagnetic waves.
851 - 866 MHz

Modulator

Oscillator

Modulates the carrier

frequency with data to be
transmitted

Oscillating circuit which generates

the carrier frequency to be
transmitted.

Amplifier

The transmitter oscillator can be tuned to

transmit at different carrier frequencies.
Microphone
Vocoder
Converts voice tones
into binary format.

Antenna

Basic Radio

This block diagram represents the basic components of a radio receiver.

The electromagnetic waves sent by the transmitter are received at the
antenna, amplified, and demodulated, restoring the voice/data back to its
original form.

The receiver oscillator is tuned to mix with the incoming frequency to

produce an IF (Intermediate Frequency) frequency.
851 - 866 MHz
Demodulator
Amplifier

Demodulates the carrier

frequency to restore the data

Vocoder
Converts voice tones
into binary format.

Oscillator

Speaker

Basic Radio

Each frequency has a different wavelength; the higher the

frequency, the shorter the wavelength.
A receiver will be tuned to receive a specific frequency, and will
reject all other frequencies.
This particular receiver is tuned to 865.9750 MHz.
1 Wavelength

Antenna

851.0125 MHz

851.0375 MHz

865.9750 MHz

Phone Receiver

Modulation

There are several forms of modulation. Modulation occurs by

mixing the voice/data audio frequency with carrier RF frequency.

Unmodulated
carrier

Frequency
modulated
carrier

Amplitude
modulated
carrier

Phase
modulated
carrier

1
1

0
0

0
1

Frequencies are
measured in Hertz
(Hz), or cycles per
second. 860 MHz
would be equal to
860 million cycles
per second.

Spectrum
The Radio Spectrum consists of frequencies from 3 kHz to 300 GHz. Nextel
sites transmit at frequencies from 851 MHz to 866 MHz. Nextel sites
receive frequencies from 806 MHz to 821 MHz. This frequency range is
known as the SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) band.

0 Hz

60 Hz AC
electrical
power
1310 kHz
Sports Talk
AM Radio
Station

815 MHz 860 MHz

SMR
SMR
receive transmit

94.5 MHz
Alternative
music FM
Station

1.5 GHz
PCS
Carriers

875 MHz A Band

Cellular transmit

The Radio Spectrum

3 kHz

300 GHz

600 channels
SMR RX

A band Cellular RX

B band Cellular RX

SMR TX

A band Cellular TX

B band Cellular TX

15 MHz
806 MHz

821 MHz

851 MHz

866 MHz

The SMR and Cellular Bands

894 MHz

Spectrum

Each frequency, or channel, in the SMR band is separated by 25 kHz,

and each channel is 25 kHz wide. This is the bandwidth of the
frequency. The first frequency would be 851.0125 MHz, the next would
be 851.0375, then 851.0625, and so on.
SMR Transmit band
851 MHz

866 MHz

600 Channels @ 25 kHz per channel = 15MHz

0.0250 MHz
25 kHz
Adjacent Channel

Bandwidth

25 kHz

865.9750 MHz

851.0125 MHz
851.0000 MHz

851.0375 MHz

866.0000 MHz

This frequency range represent the range of frequencies transmitted by the sites and received by the subscribers phones.

Summary Slide
Power and Signal Strength

Power and Signal Strength

The power of transmitted and received signals is commonly measured in

watts or dBm. Typically, transmitted powers are measured in watts,
received signals in dBm (this would be the RSSI reading on your phone in
trace mode).
A decibel, or dB, is simply a logarithmic ratio of two
powers. A doubling of power would be a 2:1 ratio:

P
dB 10 log out
Pin

2
3dB
1

10 log

Cutting power in half would be a ratio of 1:2

1
3dB
2

10 log

A dBm is the ratio of power Ain3 dB

dB,
referenced to 1 milliwatt (.001 watts).
increase over 0 dBm, would double the power, giving you 2
Zero dBm = 1 Pmw.
milliwatts.

( watts )

dBm 10 log

.001

( watt )

.002 ( watts )

3dBm 10 log

.001

( watt )

Power and Signal Strength

Why do we use dBm instead of watts?

35
45.4dBm
A typical received signal strength is -85 dBm, which equals 0.00000000000316227766
.001 watts
10 log

The difference between

the transmitted
85dBm
10 log and received signals, in dB, is 130.4 dB.

130.4watts.
dB
The difference between the transmitted and received signals, in watts, is 34.999999999996800

A typical transmit power for an iDEN site is 35 watts, or 45.4 dBm.

.00000000000316227766
.001

45.4dBm
85dBm

Expressed as a ratio, the transmitted signal is 10,964,781,960,000 times more powerful than the received signal,
35times!
watts .00000000000316227766 watts 35.9999999999968watts
almost 11 trillion

35watts

10when
,964,781
,960,000 and comparing
As you can see, dBm is a much more convenient unit to use
measuring
.00000000000316227766watts
signal strengths. If your received signal strength improves to -80dBm, it is much easier to
say that it increased by 5 dB rather than it increased by 0.00000000000683772234 watts.

Thermal Noise

Thermal noise is the product of random, thermally excited vibrations

of charged particles. The strength of thermal noise is uniformly
distributed across the entire radio spectrum.
The measured strength of thermal noise depends on the bandwidth
of the spectrum being measured.

By doubling the bandwidth being measured, we are doubling the amount

of energy being measured, which appears as a 3 dB rise in thermal noise.

-127 dBm
-130 dBm

25 kHz

50 kHz

Since iDEN uses a 25 kHz bandwidth, the measured strength of

thermal noise for our receivers is -130 dBm. This is referred to as
the Thermal Noise Floor.

Noise Figure and Noise

Floor

Active devices such as a receiver amplifier, not only amplify

thermal noise, but also generate its own internal noise.
Consequently there will be more noise power coming out of the
receiver than what went in. The ratio of noise power at the output
of an amplifier to the noise power at the input of the amplifier is
called noise figure.

The noise figure for an iDEN phone is approximately 9 dB. This means the
phones receiver, by amplifying thermal noise, and by generating its own
internal noise, is producing a noise power at the output of the receiver
which is 9 dB higher than thermal noise. The sum (-121 dBm) becomes
the noise floor of the receiver; the receiver cannot detect any signals
below this value.
-121 dBm
NF = 9 dB
-130 dBm
25 kHz

Signal to Noise Ratio S/N

A signal being received has to be high enough above the noise floor of the
receiver for the receiver to be able to detect and demodulate it.
The ratio of the strength of the desired signal to the strength of the
receiver noise floor is called the signal to noise ratio (S/N).
-91 dBm

30dB

S
25 kHz

-116 dBm
-121 dBm
Analog cellular phones or two-way radios, or even
you favorite radio station, will sound noisy or
staticy when the Signal to Noise ratio is too low.

860.0125 MHz

5dB

860.0375 MHz

The signal at -91 dBm is 30 dB

above the noise floor; strong clean
signal.
The signal at -116 dBm is only 5
dB above the noise floor; weak,
messy signal.

ratio

SignaldBm
N oisedBm

Interference

Interference is caused when two carriers transmitting on the same frequency, but
modulated with different voice or data, are received by the phones receiver. The
effect is shown below. The top frequency is the desired carrier , modulated with
someones voice, coming from a nearby transmitter. The second signal, at the same
frequency but modulated with someone elses voice, is coming from a more distant
transmitter (resulting in the lower amplitude).

Combine the two signals, which is what the phones receiver will do since it is tuned to this frequency, and you
get what you see below: a mess, cross talk, garbled audio. If the second signal were on a different frequency,
the phones receiver would not be able to see it; no interference. What you see below is commonly called cochannel interference.

Interference

The ratio of the power of the desired signal to the power of the
interfering signal is call C/I (C to I) ratio. It is similar to signal to
noise ratio; the exception being that C/I assumes the strength of
the interfering signal is above the receiver noise floor. It is also
called C/I+N ratio.
The desired signal on the right is experiencing a lower C/I+N because
of interference. If 20 dB is the desired C/I+N, it can be achieved by
increasing the desired signal strength by 5 dB, or by lowering the
-101 dBm
interfering signal by 5 dB.

Interfering signal
C/I+N = 20 dB

C/I+N = 15 dB

-116 dBm
-121 dBm

Carrier
C

SQE
IN
I nterference N oise

This is the SQE shown on your phone in trace mode. The bars on your phone
display also represent SQE. SQE is dependent on the ratio of the strength of the
desired signal to the strength of the interfering signal. Higher signal strength
will give you higher SQE, more interference will give you a lower SQE.

Interference
P

-99 dBm
-101 dBm
SQE = 20 dB

-110 dBm
-119 dBm
-121 dBm

SQE = 9 dB

The signal on the right has more

severe interference because the SQE
is only 9 dB vs. the left signal which
has an SQE of 20 dB. Note that the
left signal is also getting interfered
with, but the carrier signal strength is
higher also to maintain 20 dB SQE.

Interference
The C/I+N specification for iDEN is 20 dB. The desired carrier
signal must be at least 20 dB above any noise and interference
to obtain good voice quality. C/I+N above 20 dB does not
necessarily result in further improvements in voice quality, but
C/I+N below 20 dB can definitely result in reduced voice quality.
Maintaining a C/I+N of 20 dB or higher throughout the market is
the goal of a system design and system optimization.
Areas with low SQE are generally caused by two things:
Carrier signal strength is low. Even with no interference, the carrier
is too weak to be more than 20 dB above the noise floor.
Interference is too high. Even in areas with a strong carrier, the level
of interference may be strong enough to push SQE below 20 dB.

Where does interference come from and how do we control it?

Frequency Reuse

Interference comes from frequency reuse. We use the same frequency multiple time throughout a
market area. Why do we do this when we know it will cause interference? CAPACITY.
The FCC has allocated 15 MHz, or 600 channels to the SMR band. The spectrum around the SMR
band is allocated to Cellular. In other words, spectrum is a finite resource, there is no more
spectrum available to allocate to the SMR band. There will never be more than 600 channels
available to Nextel unless we adopt a new technology which utilizes a range of frequencies other
than the SMR frequencies.

Consider the two scenarios below. Assume Nextel owns 280 frequencies in a market (Each of the Texas markets
has approximately that number). Assume we do not reuse frequencies, so all 280 have to be divided up by
6 channels can support
Few big, high sites
among the sites in each market.

40 channels can support

3,400 busy hour customers.
If our entire system has 7
sites, we can only support
23,800 total customers
during a busy hour.

Many small, low sites

40

40

6
6
6
6

370
busy hour customers. If our
entire system has 49 sites,
we can only support 18,130
total customers during a
busy hour.

40

40

Channels
per site

40

6 Channels per site

40

40

Both of these systems will

have virtually no
interference. Great voice
quality. Neither will have
near enough capacity either.

Frequency Reuse

Now assume we can reuse frequencies within a market. Sites are group
geographically into reuse clusters. In this case each cluster consists of
seven sites each. The 280 frequencies available to the market are divided
up among the seven sites in a cluster, giving each site 40 channels apiece.
Those same 280 channels are reused in all the other clusters in the
system.
40 channels can support 3,400 busy hour customers.
Each cluster is capable of serving 23,800 customers.
Seven clusters give this system a busy hour capacity
of 166,600 customers.

40

40
40

40
40

40
This system will have more than 9 times the capacity
of the similar system from the previous page.
However, because we are reusing frequencies, we are
introducing interference, and quality will decline.

40

The number of sites

in a reuse cluster is
called the reuse
factor, or K.

Interfering Cells

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40
40

40
40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40
40

40

40

40

40

40

40

Serving Cell

40

40
40

Quality vs Capacity
K

Capacity

Interference

Quality

Increasing K increases the distance between the interfering sites. This is why interference decreases, and quality increases.

Capacity

Interference

K=7

K=12

40
23

Quality

Decreasing K increases the

number of channels available to
assign to individual sites. This is
why capacity increases. It also
decreases the distance between
interfering cells which raises
interference and degrades
quality.

Propagation Constant
RSSI vs Distance

How does the distance between interfering cells reduce interference?

Common sense tells us that signal strength from a site decreases as we move
farther away from a site, whether it is a serving site, or an interfering site. The
reduction in signal strength is quantifiable through the following relationship:
n

RSSI d

d is the distance from the site, and n is the propagation constant.

n = 2 free space loss

n = 3.8 Texas
n = 4 typical mobile radio environment
n = 4.8 New York City

Distance from Site

The propagation constant varies market

to market and even site to site and is
influenced by antenna height, foliage,
buildings, and other man-made
structures.
RSSI is inversely proportional, to the nth
power, to the distance from the site.
Dense urban areas such as New York
will have a higher propagation constant
than relatively open areas like Texas.
This means the strength of desired
signals erode at a faster rate in New
York than in Texas. The strength of any
interfering signals also erodes at a faster
rate, which is a big advantage for reuse.

Quality vs Capacity

Using the propagation constant we can see that C/I is related to the ratio
of the radius of a sites coverage area, to the distance from the interfering
RSSI d n
n
sites. If

C Radius

Then:

and
n
is tan ce

I 6D
Therefore:

RSSI of the serving cell (C) is proportional to the radius (to the n th power) of
the serving cells coverage area.

Interference (I) is proportional to the distance from the serving cell (to the n th
power) to the interfering cell. Since there are 6 potential interfering cells, this
is multiplied by six.

C
R n

I
6 D n

This is simply saying that:

If D
If D

or R
or R

then

C
SQE
I

then

C
SQE
I

Capacity vs Quality

If our C/I is 20 dB (100:1) and our propagation constant is 3.8, then our D/R ratio
would equal:
1

D C
6
R I

We can now find our reuse factor,

What is the point of all this?

3.8

5.38
1

5.382

10
3

Our desired C/I (SQE), along with our propagation constant, determine what our
maximum reuse efficiency can be.
In order to achieve this reuse, the RF engineers must establish a proper ratio
between the coverage areas of sites, and the distance between co-channel sites.

600

If we increase the coverage area (radius) of our sites, we must increase the distance
between co-channel sites to maintain desired SQE. Doing this reduces reuse efficiency,
which reduces capacity.
If we increase the coverage area of our sites, and DO NOT increase the distance
between co-channel sites, our SQE will degrade below an acceptable level.

This is one of the reasons we cannot simply design big booming sites to cover
large areas. Our capacity would be significantly reduced.

Key Points
Frequency spectrum is the ultimate limit on cellular capacity.
We reuse available frequencies within a market to increase
system capacity.
Frequency reuse introduces interference, reducing quality.
Signal quality is measure by C/I, or SQE. The minimum
acceptable SQE is 20 dB.
C/I is the ratio of the signal strength of the desired signal to
the signal strength of the interfering signals.
Capacity and Quality are inversely proportional.
C/I, reuse efficiency, radii of sites, and distance between cochannel sites are all interrelated and impact capacity and
quality.

Interference Reduction

How do we reduce interference to maintain 20 dB C/I?

Retune interfering frequencies to more distant sites. In essence, this is

increasing the distance between co-channel cells; capacity is reduced so
this is not the best option. It is usually, however, the easiest solution.
Lower the transmit power of the interfering sites. A 2 dB reduction in
transmit power (decreasing the radius) of the interfering site results in a
corresponding 2 dB increase in C/I on the serving site. Care must be
taken to ensure the radius of the site with the reduced transmit power
does not lower the C/I in its own coverage area below 20 dB.
Downtilt antennas of the interfering cell. The effect of downtilting an
antenna is to focus the power radiated from the antenna off of the
horizon. This reduces the radius of the offending site, increasing C/I in
the serving site. Same caution applies as lowering the transmit power.
Sectorization. Taking a site which transmits frequencies in all directions
and converting it to three sectors, each sector transmitting a different
set of frequencies.

Sectorization

R n

I
2 D n

Interference is only coming from two sites now instead ofC

six.

D C
2
R I

R
K
D

200

3 .8

4.03
6
3

4.03

Less interference will be seen by the serving

site. This allows us to lower the D/R ratio. If
our cell radii remain constant, we can decrease
the distance required between co-channel sites,
reusing them closer together.

Reducing the distance required between cochannel sites allows us to reduce our reuse
factor, increasing capacity without sacrificing
quality.

D
Secotizing does NOT increase capacity of individual sites. It only increases
total system capacity through more efficient reuse. In fact, sectoring an
individual site reduces the capacity of that site through a reduction in trunking
efficiency. Trunking efficiency refers to the ability of a large, single pool of
frequencies to handle more traffic than smaller, separate pools of frequencies,
although the total number of frequencies may be the same.

Trunking Efficiency

The total number of frequencies assigned to each site is 42. The

sectored site has its frequencies divided up between three
different sectors.
42 channels can support 3,654
busy hour customers.

14 channels per sector can support 1,058 busy

hour customers per sector. Three sectors can
support only 3,174 busy hour customer.

14
42

14
14
Large pool of frequencies more
efficient than 3 smaller pools.

Propagation

Now that we understand the concepts of signal strength and C/I we can talk about
what happens to the signal from the time it leaves the transmitter to the time it gets
to your phone. Here are some of the elements that affect received signal strength
(RSSI).
nsite (ERP-effective radiated power).
TransmittedRSSI
power from
dthe
Path loss.
Site antenna height and phone antenna height.
Terrain contour and terrain obstructions.
Foliage, trees.
Fading.
Man-made obstructions; buildings, cars, etc.

Distance from Site

ERP

ERP, or Effective Radiated Power, is the power of the transmitted signal

emanating from the antenna. A dB increase in ERP results in a
corresponding dB increase of the received Antenna.
signal strength at the phone.
How is ERP determined?

TX

Base Radio 1
Transmitter

RX

BR 2
Transmitter

Duplexer. Allows transmitted and received signal to use the same antenna and
coax feed line simultaneously.
Bandpass filters. TX bandpass filter allows transmit frequencies to pass and
attenuates all others. RX bandpass filter allows receive frequencies to pass and
To receiver
attenuates all others. This prevents the transmitters from transmitting directly
into the receivers.
Hybrid combiner. Combines transmitter output of two or more transmitters into
one output.
Dummy load. Absorbs reflected RF power to prevent damage to other
components. Absorbed power is dissipated as heat.
Isolator: allows RF power to pass in the forward direction. Any RF power coming
in the reverse direction is shunted off to the dummy load. This prevent the
transmitter of one BR from transmitting directly into another BRs transmitter.

An iDEN BR is capable of
transmitting 70 watts, or 48.5 dBm

ERP

ERP is calculated by simply taking the power from the transmitter,

subtracting the attenuation caused by coax, connectors, combiners, and
duplexers, and adding the gain of the+10
antenna.
dB Antenna.

TX

-2.5 dB coax and connectors

-3.1 dB duplexer.

RX

Add all the gains and losses up

and your transmitter power of
48.5 dBm is radiating out of
the antenna at 49.2 dBm = 83
watts.

To receiver

-3.0 dB hybrid. The signal is divided into two. Half going to the
duplexer to be transmitted out the antenna, and the other half being
shunted off to the dummy load. Remember, 1/2 power is -3 dB.
-.5 dB isolator
-.2 dB cable/connector
Base Radio 1
Transmitter

BR 2
Transmitter

An iDEN BR is capable of
transmitting 70 watts, or 48.5 dBm

Balanced ERP

You can see that the site is capable of transmitting at a much higher ERP than
the mobile. Under this scenario, the phone could hear the site but the site
could not hear the phone. We compensate for the weakness of the phones
transmitter by doing three things.

83 watt ERP
49.2 dBm

1 Diversity: each BR has three

receivers which combine the received
signal from all three antennas, instead of
just one antenna.

Downlink
3 Lower the sites ERP. In this case we
would lower it to 43.6 dBm, or 23 watts.

Balanced ERP = 23 watts.

The site is now balanced. If the phone

can hear the site then the site can hear
the phone.. This will give you the
same voice quality on both the uplink
and downlink.

87 milliwatts ERP
19.4 dBm
Uplink

Site

This is one reason why we

cannot just turn up sites
powers to fix a coverage hole.
The hole will still exist on you
uplink, and it could cause
additional interference to other
sites (increasing R).

-7.6 dB antenna gain

Phone

2 Receiver Sensitivity: the

sites receivers are more
sensitive than the phones
receiver, so it takes less signal
from the phone to get the
same SQE.

1/2 watt transmitter

27 dBm

Path Loss

We briefly covered the propagation constant and the relationship between RSSI and distance from
the site.
If we convert distance d to a logarithmic
RSSI scale,
d nwe can come up with a simple slope-intercept
method of calculating path loss.

We obtain the blue data points from drive testing. The drive test equipment records the location of the
vehicle and the RSSI at that location.
When we process the data, the processing tool compares the location of the site with the location of
each data point to calculate the distance from the site. This distance is plotted with its corresponding
RSSI on the graph.
By using these data points, we can come up with a Path Loss Slope in dB/decade. The path loss
slope shown here represents 38 dB/decade. The signal will decrease by 38 dB from one mile to 10
miles, another 38 dB from 10 miles to 100 miles, etc.
We also obtain the 1 mile intercept point. Since modeling propagation within one mile of the site is
unreliable, we use the one mile intercept as a reference point. In this case, the one mile intercept is
-68 dBm. At one mile away from the site, the RSSI will typically be -68 dBm. The intercept and slope
mile intercept -68 dBmUrban, Suburban, and rural are
depend on the ERP, height of the site and type -60
of 1morphology.
ERP=43.6 dBm
-68
common classes of morphology.
-70

Height=150

-80
38 dB / decade
-90
-100
-106
-110
-120
-130

Distance from Site

-140
1 mile

10 miles

100 miles

Path Loss Slope

The path loss slope allows us to determine the path loss relative
to 1 mile away from the site. This is an illustration of the path
loss from 1 mile to 3 miles away
d from the
3 site.
L p S log

38 log

18dB

Subtract this path loss from the 1 mile intercept and the RSSI can
be determined 3 miles from the site.
d

RSSI L1mile S log

3
86dBm
1

RSSI 68dBm 38 log

You can see how inaccurate this can be by looking

at the data points on the graph. Notice how far off
some of the measurements are from the slope line.
Other things need to be considered to make any kind
of prediction more accurate. This particular slopeintercept also only applies at this particular ERP and
particular height. Variations in ERP and height will
also vary the slope-intercept.

-60 1 mile intercept -68 dBm

-68
-70
-80
-86
-90

38 dB / decade

-100
-106
-110
-120
-130
-140
1 mile

3 miles

10 miles

100 miles

Height

The height of the antenna above ground level is commonly called

the radiation center (RC) and it has a significant impact on RSSI.
A common thumbrule is that if the height of a site doubles, RSSI increases by 6
dB. If the height is halved, RSSI decreases by 6 dB.

h2
75
20 log
4.4dB
h
125

RSSI 20 log

RC 100

h1
125
Site

h2
75

-86 dBm
-90.4 dBm

The difference in ground elevation must also be

taken in to account.

Terrain Contour
The path loss slope assumes that the terrain around the site is flat. This is because
the drive test was done over the entire area of the site, at both high elevations and
low elevations, balancing each other out.
Terrain contour has the effect of increasing or decreasing the effective antenna
height. This is because of the relationship between the direct wave and the reflected
wave. The larger the incident angle
the more in phase
of the reflected wave
the direct and reflected wave are, increasing the signal strength. This is quantified
through effective antenna height using the slope of the ground.

h2
170
20 log
3.02dB
h
120

RSSI 20 log
RC
100

h1 120

Refle
cted

h2

170

Effective antenna height

RSSI increases by 3.02 dB because it

is moving uphill, away from the site,
increasing the incident angle of the
reflected wave.

Direc
t wav
e

wave

Uphill away from site RSSI increases

Downhill away from site RSSI decreases
Uphill toward site RSSI decreases
Downhill toward site RSSI increases

Terrain Obstructions

Terrain obstruction can also severely degrade RSSI.

If this path were unobstructed, the phones RSSI would be

approximately -86 dBm if we used the path loss slope.
The phone going behind the hill in this case will cause an 18 dB
degradation in the RSSI due to signal diffraction losses caused by the
hill.
This results in an RSSI of -104 dBm.

R1 2 miles

50

R2 1 mile

3 miles

Foliage

Foliage loss is very difficult to quantify, even more so because it

changes with the seasons and weather. One way to attempt to
quantify foliage loss is to assign a path loss slope to foliage along
the radio path. Another is to treat foliage the same as terrain
obstruction and calculate diffraction loss when the phone is close
Pine needles can be particularly problematic when the length reaches
to the trees.
1/2 mile

-12 dB additional path loss

approximately six inches. This is half the wavelength of an 800 MHz

signal; the pine needles act as antennas and absorb a lot of signal.

Diffraction loss -36 dB

40 dB/ decade
heavy foliage in radio path
dB

RSSI -127 dBm with

heavy foliage along
radio path and
diffraction losses when
phone is close to heavy
foliage.

40
30
2 miles
distance

Path loss slope RSSI -79 dBm

Fading

Slow fading, or log-normal fading, is caused by movement of your phone

or movement of other objects in the radio path; behind trees, buildings,
walls, vehicles, hills, etc. Anything that causes your RSSI to go down
because of an obstructive condition is slow fading.
Fast fading, or Rayleigh fading, is caused by the fact that the signal the
phone is receiving can come from many different paths. Different paths
mean some reflected signals arrive before others; these signals will not be
completely in phase with each other and can cancel each other out.

180 degrees out of phase

Site

Rayleigh Fading

The effect of multiple paths and Rayleigh fading is a standing

wave pattern.

Another way to visualize the standing wave pattern in to think of a

pool of water with little whirlpools every six inches across the
entire surface of the water. If your phones antenna happens to be
within one of the troughs, you are in a fade and your RSSI will be
lower. You have probably noticed this effect with your car stereo at
a red light. Your reception is poor and you inch forward a little bit
and your reception gets better.

RSSI

1/2 wavelength
6 inches at 800 MHz

Objects moving near the phone,

such as other vehicles can alter
the standing wave and shift it.

When you are moving, you are passing through the troughs of the standing wave
pattern. The blue line on the graph to the left indicate your signal strength
decreasing through slow fading, as you move away from the site. The red
represents Rayleigh fading as you move through the troughs. The fade durations
decrease as vehicle speeds increase.

RSSI

distance

Your phones receiver measures a number of samples of the received signal before
producing an RSSI or SQE measurement. This is to combat Rayleigh fading. If the
phone only took one measurement and the phone happened to be passing through a
fade at that time, you would get an erroneous indication. The phone averages out
the samples to produce a more accurate RSSI measurement.

Building/Vehicle
Penetration Loss

Vehicle penetration loss. The strength of a signal is attenuated by

the materials your vehicle is made of. Of course, this can vary
widely, depending on where the phone is in your vehicle, type of
vehicle, etc. Many tests were performed with phones in various
positions in various vehicles and an average vehicle penetration
loss of -5 dB was determined.
Building penetration loss. This is a highly variable number
depending mostly on building materials and size. Urban areas
usually have buildings constructed with concrete, steel, lead-tinted
skyscraper windows, etc.; all reflect and absorb RF to varying
degrees. Suburban and rural buildings typically are built with wood,
plaster, brick; not as large or RF unfriendly as urban building
materials. Elevators, submerged parking garages, and basements
are very difficult to penetrate. Typical values for building
Super-urban
-30 dB
Suburban
-15 dB
penetration:
Urban
-20 dB
Rural
-10 dB

Building/Vehicle
penetration loss.

Good signal strength outside

-68 dBm

Poor signal strength

inside
-98 dBm
Good signal strength outside

1 mile

-79 dBm
2 miles

Super-urban
-30 dB

-94 dBm

Site

Suburban -15 dB

Phone antenna

The position of the phones antenna also has an impact on the received signal
strength.
Signals emitted from the site are vertically polarized.
An antenna is most efficient when it polarized the same as the signal it is
receiving.

It is less efficient when not polarized the same as the signal it is receiving.

The area or aperture of the antenna available to receive the signal decreases as
the antenna polarization becomes more perpendicular to the signal. This is
called polarization loss.
Dont let anyone tell you that extracting the antenna does not make a difference
in RSSI. It does.
The mean antenna gain for an i370 antenna is -7.6 dB and will vary widely
according to polarization, for an i1000 the mean gain is -9.4 dB.

Key Points

The propagation effects presented are based on a model by Dr. William

C.Y. Lee. There are several other commonly used models and all contain
the same basic elements.
Propagation modeling and trying to predict how strong a signal will be at a
given location is educated guesswork. We are trying to predict something
that by nature is unpredictable.

The path loss slope has a standard deviation of about 8 dB. In other words,
many of the measured signals can be 8 dB above the slope, and 8 dB below the
slope. This makes predictions based on path loss slope alone inherently
unreliable. If you predict an RSSI of -85 dBm, you could very well end up with
-93 dBm.
Foliage loss, building and vehicle penetration losses, and antenna polarization
losses also have large standard deviations. Add these standard deviations to
your -93 dBm and you could end up with -99 dBm when you predicted -85 dBm.
This is a 14 dB difference, the difference between good voice quality at 20 dB or
terrible voice quality and dropped calls at 6 dB.
Drive testing data is used to make prediction more accurate and reliable.

Design Thresholds

Now that we have the basics of RF propagation, how do we

determine how much area our sites can cover?
Your iDEN phone has a receiver sensitivity of -101 dBm @ 20 dB
C/I+N.

This means that the RSSI must be -101 dBm or higher in order to
achieve 20 dB C/I+N (receiver noise floor would be -121 dBm).

Propagation prediction tool uses site location, ground elevation,

radiation center, ERP, antenna configuration, and terrain files to
predict signal strength at various points, or bins, around the site.
We can set the threshold to -101 dBm and it will plot out all areas
which the site would cover at -101 dBm.
Threshold
Notice that the sites
coverage area does not
resemble a hexagon!

>= -101 dBm

Design Thresholds

Any predicted signal strength by the propagation tool is a mean

value with a standard deviation. If you measured RSSI through
the predicted areas, half the measurements would be above the
mean value and half below. This means that your prediction is
only 50% reliable.
To increase the probability that the predicted value is 90% reliable
throughout the coverage area, we calculate a log-normal fade
margin.

The fade margin is based on desired reliability, path loss slope and the
deviation
The fade standard
margin is added
to the of that slope.
Threshold
sensitivity
Fade Margin
90%
receiver
whichfor
gives
us reliability is 5.5 dB.
>= -101 dBm
a new threshold of -95 dBm. This
>= -95 dBm
will ensure that we will receive
-101 dBm with 90% reliability.

If we wanted 100% reliability, the fade margin would be

19 dB!! Thats a LOT smaller site and building that
number of sites would cost too much.

Design Thresholds
Recall that your phones antenna had a gain of -9.4 dB.
-95 dBm

Antenna gain

Phone

-9.4 dB

We need another 9.4 dB to make up for the loss of

the antenna and still get -95 dBm (-101 dBm @90%)
at the phones receiver.

-105 dBm

Threshold
-85 dBm

Antenna gain

-9.4 dB

Phone

-95 dBm

>= -101 dBm

>= -95 dBm
>=-85 dBm

Design Thresholds

Vehicle penetration loss: mean value of -5 dB.

Building penetration loss: mean value of -15 dB suburban.
Our design thresholds become -81 dBm for In Car Portable
coverage and -71 dBm for In Building Portable coverage.
The green area is our predicted coverage area for In Car Portable
coverage, the red area for In Building Portable coverage. Most
markets are designed to provide In Car Coverage with some
selected areas for In Building Coverage.

The ANET coverage plots that you see

typically only show the In Car and In
Building thresholds.

Threshold
>=-85 dBm
>=-81 dBm
>=-71 dBm

Design Process

Coverage Objectives - Sales and Marketing determine areas that

need to be covered to meet net adds goals.
Capacity Objectives - Sales, Marketing, and Finance project
number of net adds the system needs to be able to support.
Quality Objectives - 20 dB C/I+N.
The RF Engineers design sites to meet these objectives.

Site location - determine best location for a site to meet coverage

objectives, or for a site to offload traffic from surrounding sites.
Height/Radiation Center - determine height which will allow site to
meet coverage objectives, and at the same time, will not adversely
affect frequency reuse.
Link Budget - determine type of antennas to be used, ERP, power
control settings.
Site configuration - omni, SST, sector, quasi-highway.

Design Process

Site Configurations.

Omni - uses omni-directional antennas to transmit in 360 pattern. Inexpensive

and efficient. Limits capacity because omni-directional pattern makes it more
difficult to reuse frequencies.
SST (Sectored Simulcast Transmission) - Directional antennas are used but but
the radio equipment is the same as that used for an omni. The same
frequencies are transmitted from all sectors so the site actually resembles an
omni, except it is using directional panel antennas. SSTs are used when we
want to maintain the cost and efficiency of omnis but cannot use omnidirectional antennas. Reasons would include zoning or height restrictions,
landlords who do not want omnis onOmni-directional
their building
or tower, aesthetic
antenna
considerations, etc.

Omni

SST

Panel antennas

Design Process

Site Configurations.

Quasi-highway - uses highly directional, narrow beam antennas to

focus energy up and down highway corridors. Not a sectored site, its
basically a 2-sector SST with different antennas. Tower Top Amplifiers
are also used to boost the received signal so the site can cover long
distances since there is no need to worry about capacity.
Sector - A sectored site is basically three sites in one. Each sector
transmits a different set of frequencies, hands off to other sectors and
sites, and processes its own calls. Expensive and poorer trunking
efficiency than an omni, but increases capacity through more efficient
frequency reuse.

Sector
Quasi-highway

Design Process

Coverage Plots - coverage plots are produced with thresholds showing inbuilding and in-car coverage to ensure objectives were met.
Capacity Analysis - a capacity analysis is performed to determine if the
system as a whole, and individual sites, have enough capacity to serve the
projected number of subscribers.

Site capacity.

System capacity.

Omnis, SSTs, and Quasi-highways are limited to 20 BRs per site.

Sectored sites are limited to 24 BRs per site, or 12 BRs per sector.
Limited by frequency reuse and number of available channels.
If we have a reuse of K=19, and 280 frequencies available, each site can only support
about 15 BRs.
If we sector and have a reuse of K=7, then each site will have 40 frequencies available
for use.

System Metrics - metrics are put together for bench-marking and

comparison. Common metrics are Pops Covered, Area Covered,
Subscriber/Site, Pops/Site, Subscribers/BR, and %Pops Covered.

Design Process

Site Classification - Sites are classified as Capacity, Quality, or

Coverage sites for budgeting purposes.

Capacity - if a site exceeds its maximum BR or frequency limit,

capacity sites are placed around it to offload traffic. Justified by
capacity analysis.
Quality - A site is a quality site if it is needed to fill in a coverage
hole in the core area. Justified by drive tests, trouble tickets,
customer complaints, performance statistics, and feedback from Sales.
Coverage - A site is classified as a coverage site if it expands the
footprint of the system, or if it is to provide in-building coverage to a
new area within the core. Justified by Sales and Marketing input.
Capacity site are usually approved first, followed by Quality sites.
Coverage sites require significant input from Sales and Marketing.

Design Review package - All of this information is put together in

a presentable format.

Design Process

Design Review - Engineering, Sales, and Marketing present the

proposed design to Management. Engineering assumptions and
guidelines are reviewed. This is basically the sales pitch to get
as many of the proposed sites approved as we can.
Budget proposal and approval - A budget is prepared based on the
number or proposed sites. The capacity analysis is also used to
project the number of BRs required as well as other hardware
needed to support the build. Finally, we get the word on how
many sites we are approved to build that year.
After the number of approved sites has been determined, another
capacity analysis is usually performed to ensure objectives are
met, and to project new numbers for BRs and other hardware.

Site Development Process

Search Rings - The RF Engineers release Search Rings for the

approved sites. A search ring is an area where the Site
Development group should look for site candidates. 1 week.
Candidate search and approval - A Site Development employee
looks for candidates within the search ring. They are looking for
buildings, existing towers, water tanks, or raw land areas where we
can build our own towers. Candidates are submitted to RF for
approval. The RF Engineer runs an analysis based on the candidate
information to determine whether a site placed in that location will
meet the coverage objectives for that site. 1 to 4 weeks.
Leasing - If the site is approved by RF, a Leasing Agent will negotiate
with the landlord to obtain a lease on their property. Occasionally,
lack of suitable candidates or willing landlords necessitate moving a
search ring to another area. 2 weeks to 6 months.

Site Development Process

Zoning - A Zoning Specialist works with the communities to get approval

to build sites within their jurisdictions. Some areas are more difficult to
get zoned than others. Generally, well-to-do areas are difficult, rural
areas relatively easy. Some areas have no zoning requirements while
others have lengthy approval processes. 1 week to 6 months.
Construction - After zoning is approved, construction drawings are
completed, reviewed, and approved by a Construction Specialist and an
RF Engineer. A building permit is obtained and construction can begin.
Drawings and permit - 1 to 6 weeks. Construction - 2 to 4 weeks.
Power, Telco, Equipment, ATP - Once the shelter is in place, electrical
power and a T1 line are installed. Radio equipment is installed and
tested through an Acceptance Test Procedure.
ON-AIR! - The operating parameters for the site are determined and built
into the site software load, at the switch. This is then downloaded to
the site, through the T1, and the site comes on-air.

Optimization Process

Now that the site is on the air, it needs to be integrated with the rest of the
system and optimized.

Drive testing is performed to ensure that the site covers the area it was
expected to cover. The drive data is also used to update the propagation model
used to predict coverage.
The RF Engineer ensures that the site is operating with the correct frequencies
and power levels, is able to initiate and receive interconnect and dispatch calls,
does not have or cause excessive interference, is handing over to neighbor sites
and is being handed over to from neighbor sites.
If necessary, the site and/or surrounding sites are adjusted to compensate for
the new site. New sites affect the D/R relationship and can allow us to improve
our reuse efficiency by shrinking the coverage areas (R) of the surrounding sites.
The Engineer can perform a much more detailed analysis of the operating
characteristics of the site through the use of field test software. Each handover
can be analyzed; if any dropped calls occurred during the drive test, they can
also be analyzed, along with any other potential problems. Solutions can be
implemented by changing software parameters in the sites load.

Optimization Process
Time

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-98.2971
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Coordinates

Number of
samples
Frequency measured
of serving
RSSI
SQE
cell

First/best
neighbor
information

Second
neighbor
information

*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -83 24 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 2 -81 24 0x6 0x455 10 -9 0 22 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -101 16 0x2 0x431 0 -12 7 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x42 9 1 -1 08 8 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -83 24 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 2 -82 24 0x6 0x455 11 -8 8 24 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -100 13 0x2 0x431 0 -12 7 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x42 9 2 -1 06 9 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -82 25 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 2 -83 22 0x6 0x455 10 -8 8 26 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -100 13 0x2 0x431 0 -12 7 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x42 9 2 -1 04 1 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -84 23 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 1 -83 23 0x6 0x455 11 -8 7 25 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -9 9 14 0 x2 0 x431 0 -127 0 0x5 0 x4 13 0 -127 0 0 x2 0x4 29 2 -104 1 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -84 22 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 1 -82 25 0x6 0x455 11 -8 8 22 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -9 9 15 0 x2 0 x431 0 -127 0 0x5 0 x4 13 0 -127 0 0 x2 0x4 29 2 -104 1 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -85 23 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 1 -78 29 0x6 0x455 12 -8 7 20 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -9 9 14 0 x2 0 x431 0 -127 0 0x5 0 x4 13 0 -127 0 0 x2 0x4 29 1 -103 -1 |
T <- | 1 9.99 4 Mea sureme nt re port tran smi tted - A | 0 x2 0 x08f 28 -85 2 2 6 2 0x5 0x33f 11 -77 29 0x6 0x455 1 2 -8 7 20 0 x2 0 x43d 3 -100 12 0x2 0x43 1 0 -1 27 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x4 29 1 -112 -2 | |
T <- | 1 9.99 4 Mea sureme nt re port tran smi tted - B | 0 x5 0 x33f -78 | |
T <- | 1 9.99 7 Logi cal Channe l Moni to r Respo nse | ib ACP 0615 03533 fb2 | |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x2 0x08 f 28 -84 22 6 2 0x5 0x33f 1 2 -77 28 0x6 0x455 12 -8 8 19 0 x2 0x4 3d 3 -100 12 0x2 0x431 0 -12 7 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x42 9 1 -1 12 -2 |
T <- | 2 0.56 1 Logi cal Channe l Moni to r Respo nse | ob ACP 06 2b846 f1 90059 e6d12 46070 533f | |
T <- | 2 0.56 7 Logi cal Channe l Moni to r Respo nse | ib RACH 06 2a004 32100 00000 00000 | |
T <- | 2 0.57 3 Hand over ac cess tran smi tted | | |
T <- | 2 0.58 2 Hand over co mman d rece ived | 0x5 0 x46f | |
T <- | 2 0.65 7 Chan nel co nnecti on | Succ ess TCCH 0x5 0 x46f 03 01 | |
T <- | 2 0.66 9 Data Link Moni to r Respo nse | RAP Uni tdata Con fi rm -- Acce ss | |
T <- | 2 0.75 3 Chan nel co nnecti on | Succ ess TCH 0x5 0 x46f 0 3 01 | |
T <- | 2 1.11 3 Logi cal Channe l Moni to r Respo nse | ob ACP 06 1d238 6172c 62a82 429a8 539ba 86455 a8238 9a853 8fa8541 3a851 25 | |
T <- | 2 1.11 9 Hand over succe ss | 0x5 0x46 f | |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 2 -7 7 28 7 0 0x2 0x4 29 0 -127 0 0x5 0x39 b 1 -1 10 5 0x6 0x45 5 1 -87 22 0x2 0x3 89 0 0 0 0x5 0x38f 0 0 0 0x5 0x4 13 0 0 0 0x5 0x125 0 0 0 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 14 -77 29 7 0 0x2 0x429 1 -102 2 0x5 0x39b 1 -11 0 5 0x6 0x455 2 -85 28 0x2 0x389 2 -83 27 0x5 0x38f 1 -1 00 -1 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x5 0x1 25 2 -91 31 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 25 -78 28 7 2 0x2 0x389 5 -84 28 0x6 0x455 5 -88 22 0x5 0x125 3 -89 27 0x5 0x39b 1 -110 5 0x5 0x38f 1 -1 00 -1 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x4 29 2 -104 2 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 28 -79 27 7 2 0x2 0x389 9 -84 25 0x6 0x455 8 -86 25 0x5 0x125 3 -89 27 0x5 0x39b 1 -101 0 0x5 0x38f 0 -1 27 0 0x5 0x41 3 0 -1 27 0 0x2 0x4 29 3 -105 2 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 28 -78 27 7 2 0x2 0x389 11 -84 2 5 0x6 0 x4 55 12 -87 24 0x5 0x12 5 3 -89 27 0x5 0x39b 1 -10 1 0 0x5 0x38 f 0 -127 0 0 x5 0x4 13 1 -108 0 0 x2 0 x429 3 -105 2 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 28 -79 26 7 2 0x2 0x389 11 -84 2 5 0x6 0 x4 55 12 -86 24 0x5 0x12 5 3 -89 29 0x5 0x39b 1 -10 1 0 0x5 0x38 f 0 -127 0 0 x5 0x4 13 1 -108 0 0 x2 0 x429 3 -109 7 |
*** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 28 -79 26 7 2 0x2 0x389 11 -83 2 2 0x6 0 x4 55 12 -85 25 0x5 0x12 5 3 -87 21 0x5 0x39b 1 -10 1 0 0x5 0x38 f 0 -127 0 0 x5 0x4 13 1 -108 0 0 x2 0 x429 2 -109 6 |

11:56.01 | 29.58 72 -98.3017 | *** | norma l mo de summa ry | 0x5 0x46 f 28 -81 25 7 2 0x2 0x389 12 -82 2 3 0x6 0 x4 55 12 -84 26 0x5 0x12 5 3 -87 21 0x5 0x39b 1 -10 6 8 0x5 0x38 f 0 -127 0 0 x5 0x4 13 1 -108 0 0 x2 0 x429 2 -103 4 |

Request for handover to another site

Optimization Process

15:09.21 |
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0| |
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15:09.23 |
-5 | |
15:09.23 |
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15:09.24 |
15:09.25 |
15:09.25 |
15:09.25 |
15:09.25 |

29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920

-96.6462 | *** | normal mode summary | 0x1 0x0c1 27 -101 17 6 2 0x1 0x4a3 7 -97 23 0x9 0x497 5 -111 7 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 0 -127 0 0x6 0x44f 0 -127 0 0x6 0x37f 0 -127 0 |
-96.6462 | T<- | 56.838 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ob ACP 8302 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.195 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ob ACP 062e80c1196605 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.210 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ib RACH 0629ca121e000000000000 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.216 Assignment access transmitted | | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.222 Assignment command received | 0x1 0x0c1 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.306 Channel connection | Success TCCH 0x1 0x0c1 03 01 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.357 Data Link Monitor Response | RAP Unitdata Confirm -- Access | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.441 Channel connection | Success TCH 0x1 0x0c1 03 01 | |
-96.6462 | T<- | 57.456 Assignment success | 0x1 0x0c1 | |
-96.6462 | *** | normal mode summary | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -101 16 6 2 0x1 0x4a3 7 -97 20 0x9 0x497 5 -111 7 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 0 -127 0 0x6 0x44f 0 -127 0 0x6 0x37f 0 -127 0 |
-96.6456 | T<- | 58.221 Measurement report transmitted - A | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -102 14 6 1 0x1 0x4a3 7 -95 24 0x9 0x497 1 -110 15 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 0 -127 0 0x6 0x44f 0 -127 0 0x6 0x37f 0 -127

29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6920

-96.6456 | T<- | 58.221 Measurement report transmitted - B | 0x1 0x4a3 -96 | |

-96.6456 | T<- | 58.227 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ib ACP 06150314a3a0 | |
-96.6456 | *** | normal mode summary | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -101 14 6 1 0x1 0x4a3 7 -95 21 0x9 0x497 1 -110 15 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 1 -107 -4 0x6 0x44f 0 -127 0 0x6 0x37f 1 -109 -5 |
-96.6456 | T<- | 59.322 Measurement report transmitted - A | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -103 11 6 1 0x1 0x4a3 7 -97 20 0x9 0x497 2 -110 7 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 1 -107 -4 0x6 0x44f 0 -127 0 0x6 0x37f 1 -109

29.6920
29.6920
29.6920
29.6921
29.6921
29.6921
29.6921
29.6921
29.6921

-96.6456 | T<- | 59.325 Measurement report transmitted - B | 0x1 0x4a3 -98 | |

-96.6456 | T<- | 59.328 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ib ACP 06150314a39e | |
-96.6456 | *** | normal mode summary | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -103 9 6 1 0x1 0x4a3 7 -98 19 0x9 0x497 2 -110 7 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 1 -107 -4 0x6 0x44f 1 -109 -3 0x6 0x37f 1 -109 -5 |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.363 Channel release | Fail | |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.411 Phone Response | MO - Stopped - Channel failed - 0481ba | |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.753 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ob BCCH 0002061813f610081c1f79 | |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.753 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ob BCCH 042863206a6700636b1437 | |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.756 Logical Channel Monitor Response | ob BCCH 052842a89497a814a30063 | |
-96.6450 | T<- | 00.756 Channel connection | Success PCCH 0x1 0x0c1 06 00 | |

15:09.25 | 29.6921 -96.6450 | *** | normal mode summary | 0x1 0x0c1 28 -102 10 6 1 0x1 0x4a3 7 -99 18 0x9 0x497 2 -110 7 0x6 0x3a5 0 -127 0 0x6 0x449 2 -108 -5 0x6 0x44f 1 -109 -3 0x6 0x37f 1 -109 -5

Optimization Process

Statistics monitoring.

Operating statistics are pulled from the switch and analyzed daily.
Commonly monitored stats:

Dropped calls - during a call, the site is in constant contact with the mobile.
If the mobile and site lose contact for any reason other than the person
hanging up the phone (normal termination), it is recorded as a dropped call.
Dropped calls and red No Service lights are generally caused by low SQE,
either through poor coverage or excessive interference.
Handover failures - generally transparent to the user. When a handover is
requested, either by the mobile or by the site, the site it is trying to hand
over to has to pass certain criteria. If it does not pass, the handover is
recorded as a failure. Usually the attempt is repeated at regular intervals
until the handover is successful or the condition which necessitated the
handover in the first place is clear. Occasionally, repeated handover failures
may result in a dropped call if the serving signal strength continues to
decline while the mobile is trying to hand over. Handover failures typically
occur on fringe sites, where there are few or no acceptable candidates to
hand over to.

Optimization Process

More Statistics:

I:3 Blocked Calls - This is a System Busy when you try to initiate a phone call. The site you
are serving on has no more resources left to handle your call. The blocked call percentage is
based on the busiest hour of the day for each site. A 2% blocked call rate triggers the
addition of a BR to the site.
Dispatch Blocked Calls - System Busy while trying to initiate a private or group dispatch
call. Same cause as an I:3 Blocked call.
DCCH Blocking - The DCCH is the Dedicated Control Channel, which is used to set up calls,
and perform registrations. 0.2% blocking or less is the target.
Percent Sectors above I:3 Blocking Target - this stat measures the percentage of sites or
sectors in the entire network are exceeding the 2% blocked call percentage.
Utilization - This is a measurement of how efficiently the systems BRs are being used. Low
utilization is a sign that BRs are being used where they are not needed, wasting money.
Utilization that is too high is a sign of excessive blocking. Utilization in the 60-70% range is a
good target.
PCCH Utilization - The PCCH is fixed resource control channel used for facilitating all dispatch
functions and location area registrations. There is a lot of debate over what is over-utilized
but common values are 13% for inbound utilization and 70% for outbound utilization. An
over-utilized PCCH can result in collisions, different users colliding with requests. The most
common indication of PCCH blocking is Target Not Available. Sectorization is a solution to
PCCH blocking because the number of PCCHs available for that site is tripled.

iDEN Architecture
PSTN

OMC
MSC

HLR

SMS
DAP

VM
XCDR
BSC

MPS

BSC
DACS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS

EBTS Enhanced Base

Transceiver System

An EBTS is the hardware, or equipment, at the site. It is made up

of the following components:

Base Radios (BRs)

RF Distribution System (RFDS)
Integrated Site Controllers (ISCs)

Rear View

RFDS
Routes transmitted and received RF
signals to and from proper components.

ISCs
ISCs are the brains of the site.
Provides interface between the site and
the switch.

BRs
BRs are the consist of a transmitter and three receivers.
Each BR is tuned to a different frequency.

Front View

RFDS

To/from Antennas
TX

RX

Duplexer

Power Supply for

Low Noise Amplifier
Low Noise Reveiver
Amplifier
6-way power divider

Base Radio 1
Transmitter

BR 2
Transmitter

Combiner/Isolator

BR 1 Receiver
BR 1 Receiver
BR 1 Receiver

BR 2 Receiver
BR 2 Receiver
BR 2 Receiver

Combiners

Hybrid vs. Cavity

Hybrid Combiners.

Not frequency dependent. You can use them regardless of what frequencies you choose to
use on the site. No manual tuning required. Inexpensive.
High loss. Hybrids split the signal in half; one half going to the antenna, the other half being
dissipated as heat through the dummy load.

Cavity Combiners.

Frequency dependent. Each cavity has to be tuned to a specific frequency and frequencies
used on the site cannot be too close together; less flexibility in frequency planning.
Low loss. Power is not being dissipated by dummy loads, but is sent to the antenna. The
signal from one cavity does not go through the other cavities because they are not tuned to
that frequency.

3 dB loss

IN

IN

iDEN Architecture
Description

DACs - Traffic from all EBTS are routed through the DACs. The
DACs splits the different types of traffic (Interconnect, Dispatch,
Control) and routes it to the correct components.
BSC (Base Station Controller) - two kinds:

CP (Call Processor) - performs handover processing, call set up.

XCDR (Transcoder) - converts audio to and from landline form.

MSC (Mobile Switching Center) - This is the actual switch.

Handles interconnect switching to the Public Telephone Network,
translations, call sequencing, billing, and local subscriber database.
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) - Normal landline
telephone network.
MPS (Metro Packet Switch) - Routes dispatch voice packets,
duplicates packets for all sites involved in a dispatch call.

iDEN Architecture
Description

DAP (Dispatch Applications Processor) - Handles all dispatch call

processing and resource allocation.
HLR (Home Location Register) - Master subscriber database, handles
location registration so the system knows what area subscribers are
in.
SMS (Short Message Service) - Functionality of Short Message Service.
VM (Voicemail) - Functionality of Voicemail service.
OMC (Operations Maintenance Console) - This is the control room
for the MSO. Allows for retrieval and display of information of the
network elements, and control of those elements.
MSO (Mobile Switching Office) - The building that houses all of the
above elements.
RSO (Remote Switching Office) - The building that houses all of the
above elements except for the MSC (switch).

Trouble Tickets

Trouble Tickets.

Customer Care Trouble Tickets. If you experience network performance problems

such as dropped calls, garbled audio, unable to make calls, etc., you can call
Nextel Customer Care.

Call 1-800-639-6111.
Give as much information as possible. It will help with trouble shooting.

Type of problem (drop, poor audio, network trouble).

Date and time of day.
Location, cross streets.
Direction travelling.
Number called.

The Customer Care Representative will enter the information in Newt as a Trouble Ticket
and forward the ticket to the appropriate market and department. Most tickets usually
go to either the MSO or the RF Department.
If the Trouble Ticket is routed to RF, the RF Coordinator forwards it to the RF Engineer
responsible for that particular area. The engineer investigates, resolves the problem if
possible, and sends the completed trouble ticket back to the RF Coordinator, who closes
the ticket in Newt.
The person initiating the ticket should get a call explaining the resolution of the problem.

Other Resources

Broadcast voicemail messages.

The RF and Operations team members utilize a voicemail message

system whenever they do any work on a site. Adding BRs, bringing
new sites on line, resetting sites, replacing equipment, etc. If you
would like to receive messages on this broadcast, contact the RF
Coordinator for your market.
Warning! You will get 5 - 20 voicemails a night!
The RF Coordinators are not Customer Care representatives or
engineers! They handle the administrative duties for the department
and do not address customer or network performance problems.

Pin maps.

Use color coded pin maps which are located in all the branch offices to
identify problems in specific areas. We use this for design review and
justifying quality and coverage sites. Be sure to submit a trouble ticket
for each pin.

Other Resources
Weekly Reports
Weekly Performance Report - compares all markets across the
country in key performance metrics. Can be found in the web,
address is http://iq or http://167.20.222.145 .
Performance Graphs that are generated and distributed locally.

Weekly Trouble Resolution Reports - summary by market of many of the

problems found and corrected by Eng/Ops.

Other Resources

Site Status Maps - may be distributed weekly. Show the status of all sites in the
build plan; leased, zoned, under construction, on-air. Gives you an at-a-glance
picture of how far along the planned sites are.
Coverage Maps -may be plotted and distributed quarterly.

Thresholds set to show areas covered for vehicles and buildings for entire market.
Large wall size maps should be posted in each branch office. They can be obtained by
contacting the RF Manager for your market.
Show coverage of system at the end of the last completed quarter.
Once the budget is approved, maps are distributed showing end of the following years
projected coverage.
Keep in mind that these maps represent PREDICTED coverage.

EBTS status meeting/status sheet - Bi-weekly meeting may be set with RF, Ops, and
Site Development to discuss status and schedule of all sites in the approved build
out plan.
Site Build Schedule - may be updated after the EBTS status meeting and distributed
to GMs and Sales Managers. Show status of site and expected on-air date. These
sites can be looked up on the coverage maps or site status maps to get the location.