RF Engineering

Module IV
RF Engineering
TNS Institute For Telecom
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CHAPTERS
I.
SLIDES NO.
4 - 57
RF Fundamentals
II. Planning and Optimization of GSM Network
58 - 143
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RF Fundamentals
Introduction to RF planning:RF planning plays a critical role in the Cellular design process.
The goal is to achieve optimum use of resources and maximum revenue potential
whilst maintaining a high level of system quality.
By doing a proper RF Planning by keeping the future growth plan in mind we can
reduce a lot of problems that we may encounter in the future and also reduce
substantially the cost of optimization.
On the other hand a poorly planned network not only leads to many Network problems ,
it also increases the optimization costs and still may not ensure the desired quality.
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RF Fundamentals
TOOLS USED FOR RF PLANNING

Network Planning Tool
CW Propagation Tool
Traffic Modeling Tool
Project Management Tool
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RF Fundamentals
Network Planning Tool:Planning tool is used to assist engineers in designing and optimizing wireless networks by providing an accurate and reliable prediction of coverage , doing frequency planning automatically, creating neighbor lists etc.
With a database that takes into account data such as terrain, clutter, and antenna radiation patterns, as well as an intuitive graphical interface, the Planning tool gives RF engineers a state-of-the-art tool to:
Design wireless networks
Plan network expansions

Optimize network performance
Diagnose system problems

The major tools available in the market are Planet, Pegasos, Cell Cad.
Also many vendors have developed Planning tools of their own like Netplan by Motorola, TEMS by Eric sson and so on.
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Propagaton Test Kit

The propagation test kit consists of
Test transmitter.
Antenna ( generally Omni ).
Receiver to scan the RSS (Received signal levels). The receiver scanning rate should be settable so that it satisfies Lees law.
A laptop to collect data.
A GPS to get latitude and longitude.
Cables and accessories.
Wattmeter to check VSWR.

A single frequency is transmitted a predetermined power level from the canditate site.
These transmitted power levels are then measured and collected by the Drive test kit. This data is then loaded on the Planning tool and used for tuning models.
Commonly Graysons or CHASE prop test kits are used.
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Traffic Modeling Tool

Traffic modelling tool is used by the planning engineer for Network modelling and dimensioning.
It helps the planning engineer to calculate the number of network elements needed to fulfil coverage, capacity and quality needs.
Netdim by Nokia is an example of a Traffic modelling tool.
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RF Fundamentals
Project Management Tool

Though not directly linked to RF Design Planning, it helps in scheduling the RF Design process and also to know the status of the project
Site database : This includes RF data, site acquisition ,power, civil ,etc.
Inventory Control
Fault tracking
Finance Management
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RF Fundamentals
Radio wave propagation:Isotropic RF Source
A point source that radiates RF energy uniformly in all directions (I.e.: in the shape of a sphere)
Theoretical only: does not physically exist.
Has a power gain of unity I.e. 0dBi.

Effective Radiated Power (ERP)
Has a power gain of unity i.e. 0dBi
The radiated power from a half-wave dipole.
A lossless half-wave dipole antenna has a power gain of 0dBd or 2.15dBi.

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)
The radiated power from an isotropic source

EIRP = ERP + 2.15 dB
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Radio signals travel through space at the Speed of Light

C = 3 * 108 meters / second
Frequency (F) is the number of waves per second (unit: Hertz)
Wavelength () (length of one wave) = (distance traveled in one second)
(waves in one second)
= C / F
If frequency is 900MHZ then
wavelength = 3 * 108
900 * 106
= 0.333 meters
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RF Fundamentals
Decible (dB):
dB is a a relative unit of measurement used to describe power gain or loss.
The dB value is calculated by taking the log of the ratio of the measured or calculated power (P2) with respect to a reference power (P1). This result is then multiplied by 10 to obtain the value in dB.
dB = 10 * log 10(P1/P2)
The powers P1 ad P2 must be in the same units. If the units are not compatible, then they should be transformed.
Equal power corresponds to 0dB.
A factor of 2 corresponds to 3dB
If P1 = 30W and P2 = 15 W then
10 * log10(P1/P2) = 10 * 10 * log10(30/15)
=2
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RF Fundamentals
Link budget planning:Link budget analysis provides
Coverage design thresholds
EIRP needed to balance the path
Maximum allowable pathloss
It is important that the uplink and downlink paths be balanced, otherwise not enough signal will survive the transmission process to achieve the required signal to noise ratio(SNR) or the bit-error-rate(BER).
Path imbalance results from the facts that the gains and losses in the uplink and downlink paths are not the same.
The calculations have to be done separately on the uplink and the downlink.
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RF Fundamentals
THE RF PATH
PBS
Path Loss
Downlink
MS
Sensitivity
Noise
Fading
Interference
PMS
BS
Sensitivity
Path Loss
Uplink
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RF Fundamentals
INPUTS
Base station and Mobile receiver Sensitivity Parameters
Minimum acceptable Signal to Noise ratio
Environmental / Thermal Noise
Receiver Noise figure
Antenna gain at the base station and mobile station.

Hardware Losses (Cable , Connectors, Combiners, Duplexers etc)
Target Coverage reliabilty.
Fade margins.
OUTPUTS
Base station ERP
Maximum allowable pathloss
Cell size estimates
Cell count estimates
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RF Fundamentals
GAINS AND LOSSES:Gains

Base station Antenna gain
Mobile antenna gain
Diversity gains
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RF Fundamentals
Losses
Hardware losses
Combiner
Cables
Connectors
Duplexer
Air Interface
Fade Margin
Penetration Losses
In-car
In-building
Body Loss
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA GAINS:Mobile Station Antenna

Portable mobile phones antenna have typically gain of 0 to 1 dBd.
Car mounted antenna has a typical gain of 1 to 3 dBd.
Base Station Antenna
Omni directional antenna typically have a gain of 0-9dBd.
Directional antenna typically have a gain of 9 to 14 dBd.
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RF Fundamentals
DIVERSITY GAIN:Diversity is used on the uplink to overcome deep fades due to multipath by combining multiple uncorrelated signals.
Diversity antenna systems are used mostly at the BTS on the uplink.
Diversity antenna system can be realised by physically separating two receive antenna in space or by using polarization diversity.
Diversity gain should be considered in Link Budget Analysis whenever it is used.
Typically a gain of 3dB is considered whenever diversity is used in the Uplink calculation.
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RF Fundamentals
CABLE LOSS:Two types of cables are used, maincable and jumper cable.
Cable losses are given in per 100feet.
Jumper cable have more loss than main cable.
Cable loss is also dependant on frequency
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RF Fundamentals
CONNECTOR & COMBINER L OSS:Co nnector Lo ss

Connectors used to connect RF components hav e a ty pical loss of 0.1dB eac h.
Co mbiner Loss
A combiner is a dev ice that enables sev eral trans mitters of diff erent f requenc ies to transmit f rom the same antenna.
Two ty pes of combiners are av ailable.
Hy brid combiners combine two inputs to one output.
Hy brid combiners hav e a ty pical insertion loss of 3dB.
Cav ity combiners combine more input to one output ( ty pically 5 inputs)
Cav ity combiners hav e around 3dB loss.
Cav ity combiners cannot be used in cells where sy nthes izer f requency hopping is used.
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RF Fundamentals
BODY LOSS:For all receiving environments a loss associated with the effect of users body on propagation has to be used I.e. proximity of the user with the mobile.
This effect is in the form of few dB loss in both the uplink and downlink directions.
Body loss is typically taken as 2 dB .
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RF Fundamentals
PENETRATION LOSSES:Penetration losses depend on the location of the subscriber with respect to the site.
Generally 3 types of scenarios are taken into consideration viz. In-building, In-car and on street.
Body loss is also a type of penetration loss .
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RF Fundamentals
IN A NUTSHELL:DOWNLINK
Transmitter power
Combiner loss
Cable loss includes jumper and connector loss)
Transmit Antenna gain
Fade margin
Body loss
Mobile antenna gain
Mobile receiver sensitivity
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RF Fundamentals
UPLINK:Mobile Transmit power
Mobile antenna gain
Body Loss
Fade Margin
Receive antenna gain
Cable loss includes jumper and connector loss)
BTS receiver sensitivity
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNAS:Antennas form a essential part of any radio communication system.
Antenna is that part of a transmitting or receiving system which is designed to radiate or to receive electromagnetic waves.
An antenna can also be viewed as a transitional structure between free-space and a transmission line (such as a coaxial line).
An important property of an antenna is the ability to focus and shape the radiated power in space e.g.: it enhances the power in some wanted directions and suppresses the power in other directions.
Many different types and mechanical forms of antennas exist.
Each type is specifically designed for special purposes
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNAS TYPES:In mobile communications two main categories of antennas used are
Omni directional antenna
These antennas are mostly used in rural areas.
In all horizontal direction these antennas radiate with equal power.
In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles
and have a main beam with upper and lower side lobes
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RF Fundamentals
Directional antenna:
These antennas are mostly used in mobile cellular systems to get higher gain compared to omni directional antenna and to minimise interference effects in the network.
In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles and have a main beam with upper and lower side lobes.
In these type of antennas, the radiation is directed at a specific angle instead of uniformly across all azimuth angles in case of omni antennas.
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS:Radiation Pattern

The main characteristics of antenna is the radiation pattern.
The antenna pattern is a graphical representation in three dimensions of the radiation of the antenna as a function of angular direction.
Antenna radiation performance is usually measured and recorded in two orthogonal principal planes (E-Plane and H-plane or vertical and horizontal planes).
The pattern of most base station antennas contains a main lobe and several minor lobes, termed side lobes.
A side lobe occurring in space in the direction opposite to the main lobe is called back lobe.
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS:-
Antenna Gain
Antenna gain is a measure for antennas efficiency.
Gain is the ratio of the maximum radiation in a given direction to that of a
reference antenna for equal input power.
Generally the reference antenna is a isotropic antenna.
Gain is measured generally in decibels above isotropic(dBi) or decibels above a
dipole(dBd).
An isotropic radiator is an ideal antenna which radiates power with unit gain
uniformly in all directions. dBi = dBd + 2.15
Antenna gain depends on the mechanical size, the effective aperature area, the
frequency band and the antenna configuration.
Antennas for GSM1800 can achieve some 5 to 6 dB more gain than antennas for
GSM900 while maintaining the same mechanical size.
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS:Front-to-back ratio

It is the ratio of the maximum directivity of an antenna to its directivity in a specified rearward
direction.
Generally antenna with a high front-to-back ratio should be used.
First Null Beamwidth

The first null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angular span between the first pattern nulls adjacent to
the main lobe.
This term describes the angular coverage of the downtilted cells.
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RF Fundamentals
Antenna Lobes
Main lobe is the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum radiation.
Side lobes
Half-power beamwidth
The half power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between the points on the main lobe that are 3dB lower in gain compared to the maximum.
Narrow angles mean good focusing of radiated power.
Polarisation
Polarisation is the propagation of the electric field vector .
Antennas used in cellular communications are usually vertically polarised or cross polarised.
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RF Fundamentals
Frequency bandwidth
It is the range of frequencies within which the performance of the antenna, with respect to some characteristics, conforms to a specified standard.
VSW R of an antenna is the main bandwidth limiting factor.
Antenna impedance
Maximum power coupling into the antennas can be achieved when the antenna impedance matches the cables impedance.
Typical value is 50 ohms.
Mechanical size
Mechanical size is related to achievable antenna gain.
Large antennas provide higher gains but also need care in deployement and apply high torque to the antenna mast.
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA INSTALLATION:Antenna installation configurations depend on the operators preferences.

It is important to keep sufficient decoupling distances between antennas.
If TX and RX direction use separated antennas, it is advisable to keep a horizontal separation between the antennas in order to reduce the TX signal power at the RX input stages.
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RF Fundamentals
ANTENNA DOWNTILTING:Network planners often have the problem that the base station antenna provides an overcoverage.
If the overlapping area between two cells is too large, increased switching between the base station (handover) occurs.
There may even be interference of a neighbouring cell with the same frequency.
If hopping is used in the network, then limiting the overlap is required to reduce the overall hit rate.
In general, the vertical pattern of an antenna radiates the main energy towards the horizon.
Only that part of the energy which is radiated below the horizon can be used for the coverage of the sector.
Downtilting the antenna limits the range by reducing the field strength in the horizon.
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RF Fundamentals
Antenna downtilting is the downward tilt of the vertical pattern towards the ground by a fixed angle measured w.r.t the horizon.
Downtilting of the antenna changes the position of the half-power beam width and the first null relative to the horizon.
Normally the maximum gain is at 0 (parallel to the horizon) and never intersects the horizon.
A small downtilt places the beams maximum at the cell edge
With appropriate downtilt, the received signal strength within the cell improves due to the placement of the main lobe within the cell radius and falls off in regions approaching the cell boundary and towards the reuse cell.
There are two methods of downtilting
Mechanical downtilting
Electrical downtilting.
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RF Fundamentals
MECHANICAL DOWNTILTING:Mechanical downtilting consists of physically rotating an antenna downward about an axis from its vertical position.
In a mechanical downtilt as the front lobe moves downward the back lobe moves upwards.
This is one of the potential drawback as compared to the electrical downtilt because coverage behind the antenna can be negatively affected as the back lobe rises above the horizon.
Additionally , mechanical downtilt does not change the gain of the antenna at +/- 90deg from antenna horizon.
As the antenna is given downtilt, the footprint starts changing with a notch being formed in the front while it spreads on the sides.
After 10 degrees downtilt the notch effect is quiet visible and the spread on the sides are high. This may lead to inteference on the sides.
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RF Fundamentals
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RF Fundamentals
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RF Fundamentals
Vertical antenna pattern at 0
Vertical antenna pattern at 15 downtilt

Backlobe shoots over the horizon
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RF Fundamentals
ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT:Electrical downtilt uses a phase taper in the antenna array to angle the pattern downwards.
This allows the the antenna to be mounted vertically.
Electrical downtilt is the only practical way to achieve pattern downtilting with omnidirectional antennas.
Electrical downtilt affects both front and back lobes.
If the front lobe is downtilted the back lobe is also downtilted by equal amount.
Electrical downtilting also reduces the gain equally at all angles on the horizon. The that adjusted downtilt angle is constant over the whole azimuth range.
Variable electrical downtilt antennas are very costly.
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RF Fundamentals
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RF Fundamentals
INTERFERENCE:WHAT IS INTERFERNCE ?
Interference is the sum of all signal contributions that are neither noise not the wanted signal.
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RF Fundamentals
EFFECTS OF INTERFERNCE:Interference is a major limiting factor in the performance of cellular systems.

It causes degradation of signal quality.
It introduces bit errors in the received signal.
Bit errors are partly recoverable by means of channel coding and error correction mechanisms.
The interference situation is not reciprocal in the uplink and downlink direction.
Mobile stations and base stations are exposed to different interference situation.
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RF Fundamentals
TYPES OF INTERFERNCE:There are two types of system generated interference
Co-channel interference
Adjacent channel interference
Co-Channel Interference
This type of interference is the due to frequency reuse , i.e. several cells use the same set of frequency.
These cells are called co-channel cells.
Co-channel interference cannot be combated by increasing the power of the transmitter. This is because an increase in carrier transmit power increases the interference to neighboring co-channel cells.
To reduce co-channel interference, co-channel cells must be physically separated by a minimum distance to provide sufficient isolation due to propagation or reduce the footprint of the cell.
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RF Fundamentals
Some factors other then reuse distance that influence co-channel interference are
antenna type, directionality, height, site position etc,
GSM specifies C/I > 9dB.
Carrier f1
dB
Interferer f1
C
I
Distance
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RF Fundamentals
D
C1
C1
C1
C3
C3
C3
C2
C2
C2
C1
C1
C1
C3
C3
C3
C2
C2
C2
In a cellular system, when the size of each cell is approximately the same, co-channel
interference is independent of the transmitted power and becomes a function of
cell radius(R) and the distance to the centre of the nearest co-channel cell (D).
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RF Fundamentals
Q = D / R = 3N
By increasing the ratio of D/R, the spatial separation between the co-channel cells relative to
the coverage distance of a cell is increased. In this way interference is reduced from
improved isolation of RF energy from the co-channel cell.
The parameter Q , called the co-channel reuse ratio, is related to the cluster size.
A small value of Q provides larger capacity since the cluster size N is small whereas a large
value of Q improves the transmission quality.
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RF Fundamentals
Adjacent-Channel Interference
Interference resulting from signals which are adjacent in frequency to the desired signal is called
adjacent channel interference.
Adjacent channel interference results from imperfect receiver filters which allow nearby
frequencies to leak into the pass band.
Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through careful filtering and channel
assignments.
By keeping the frequency separation between each channel in a given cell as large as possible ,
the adjacent interference may be reduced considerably.
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RF Fundamentals
Adjacent-Channel Interference
Carrier f1
dB
Interferer f2
A
C
Distance
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RF Fundamentals
FREQUENCY PLANNING:INTRODUCTION
The objective of a cellular system is to provide quality communication to the maximum number
of users in a defined area.
The number of users supported by the system can be increased by using more frequencies.
Frequency resources are however always limited.
Hence RF Planning engineers are required to maximise spectrum efficiency.
In order to accommodate a maximum number of subscribers per network, the available
frequencies need to be reused as often as possible.
This creates interference towards other cells, which have detrimental impact to the link quality.
Finding the optimum compromise between dense re-use and least interference is the objective
of frequency planning.
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RF Fundamentals
The system design and planning of the system has to be done so as to reuse the frequencies
as often as possible while keeping the co-channel and adjacent channel interference within
acceptable limits.
Also a minimum received signal level has to be provided throughout the coverage area of the
network.
Frequency planning can be done
Manually by skilled expert RF Engineers.
With powerful planning tool having the option of automated frequency planning.
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RF Fundamentals
FREQUENCY PLANNING STEPS:The steps to be followed in manual frequency planning are

Calculating the frequency reuse distance theoratically.
Determining the cell repeat pattern
Planning the frequency groups.
Inputting the planned frequency into the planning tool.
Generating the C/I and C/A plots and checking out the results.
Rectifying the fault areas.
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RF Fundamentals
Determining the cell repeat pattern

Frequencies have to be reused at different cells throughout the network to maximise capacity.
The distance cells using the same set of frequencies is called the frequency reuse distance.
This reuse distance depends on the number of frequency reuse groups N.
Once N has been determined every Nth cell will be assigned the same frequencies.
Also a minimum received signal level has to be provided throughout the coverage area of the
network.
The cell repeat pattern is dependent on the frequency spectrum available, the traffic required
and most important on the way the network is planned.
Generally 7/21 or 7 site repeat pattern and 4 site repeat patterns are used.
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RF Fundamentals
Cell reuse pattern

The distribution of the C/I ratio desired in a system determines the number of frequency groups,
F, which may be used.
If we have N carrier frequencies then
No of carriers / group = N/F
Since the number of frequency groups are fixed, a smaller number of frequency groups(F)
results in more carriers per set and per cell.
Hence a reduction in the number of frequency groups would allow each site to carry more traffic.
However decreasing the number of frequency groups and reducing the frequency reuse
distance results in lower average C/I distribution in the system.
Generally 7/21 and 4/12 reuse patterns are used.
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RF Fundamentals
7/21 Cell reuse pattern

Say we have 42 frequencies and we require 2 carriers per site then we can use 7 site repeat
pattern.
Hence a cluster will be formed of 7 sites.
The frequencies for manual frequency planning for a cluster size of 7 are arranged a s shown
below
A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 A2 B2 C2 D2 E2 F2 G2 A3 B3 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3
Carrier1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Carrier2 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
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RF Fundamentals
4/12 Cell reuse pattern

Say we have 48 frequencies and we require 4 carriers per site then we can use 4 site repeat
pattern.
Hence a cluster will be formed of 4 sites.
The frequencies for manual frequency planning for a cluster size of 4 are arranged a s shown
below
Carrier1
Carrier2
Carrier3
Carrier4
A1
1
13
25
37
B1
2
14
26
38
C1
3
15
27
39
D1
4
16
28
40
A2
5
17
29
41
B2
6
18
30
42
C2
7
19
31
43
D2
8
20
32
44
A3
9
21
33
45
B3
10
22
34
46
C3
11
23
35
47
D3
12
24
36
48
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CHAPTER - III
Planning and Optimization of GSM Network
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Planning
Activities involved in determining the cell locations for optimum coverage,

effective way of managing the radio resources to have better quality,
anticipating the network growth etc.,
The major activities involved in the cell planning process are:
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Initial Planning
System Growth
Traffic & Coverage Analysis
System Tuning
Nominal Cell Plan
Implementation
Survey
System Design
Figure TP006.21 : Planning
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Traffic & Coverage Analysis
Planning process starts with traffic and coverage analysis.

The analysis should produce information about the geographical area
and the expected need of capacity.
Cost
Capacity
Coverage
Grade of Service (GoS)
Available frequencies
Speech Quality Index
System growth capability

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Geographical distribution of traffic demand can be estimated by using

demographic data
Population distribution.
Car usage distribution
Income level distribution.
Land usage data.
Telephone usage statistics.
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Nominal Cell Plan
Nominal cell plan is produced based on the data received from the
traffic and coverage analysis.
The first cell plans forms the basis for further planning.
At this stage, coverage and interference predictions are usually started.
Planning tools are used at this stage.
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Surveys
Radio measurements are performed in order to verify the coverage and

interference predictions.
The sites where the radio equipment will be placed are visited.
System Design
The dimensioning of the RBS equipment, BSC, and MSC is performed.

A document called Cell Design Data (CDD) is filled out containing all
cell parameters for each cell.
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Implementation
System installation
Commissioning
Testing
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System tuning & Optimization
To evaluate the network how well it meets the demand
Checking that the final cell plan was implemented successfully.
Evaluating customer complaints.
Checking that the network performance is acceptable.
Changing parameters and performing other measures (if needed).
The system needs constant retuning because the traffic and number of
subscribers increases continuously. Eventually, the system reaches a point
where it must be expanded so that it can manage the increasing load and
new traffic. At this point, a traffic and coverage analysis is performed and the
cell planning process cycle begins again.
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Propagation models
Simple analytical models
Used for understanding and predicting individual paths and specific

obstruction cases.
General area models
Primary drivers: statistical.
Used for early system dimensioning (cell counts, etc.).
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Point-to-Point models
Primary drivers: analytical
Used for detailed coverage analysis and cell planning
Local variability models
Primary drivers: statistical

Characterizes microscopic level fluctuations in a given locale,confidenceof-service probability
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Figure TP006.22 : Types of propagation models and their uses.

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Area Models
Area models mimic an average path in a defined area.

Theyre based on measured data alone, with no consideration of
individual path features or physical mechanisms.
Typical inputs used by model.
Frequency
Distance from transmitter to receiver
Actual or effective base station & mobile heights
Average terrain elevation
Morphology correction loss (Urban, Suburban, Rural, etc.)

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Figure TP006.23 : General principles of area models.

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The Okumura Model: General Concept
Is based on detailed analysis of exhaustive drive-test

measurements made in Tokyo and its suburbs during the late
1960s and early 1970s.
The collected data included measurements on numerous VHF,
UHF, and microwave signal sources, both horizontally and
vertically polarized, at a wide range of heights.
The measurements were statistically processed and analyzed
with respect to almost every imaginable variable.
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This analysis was distilled into the curves , showing a median

attenuation relative to free space loss Amu (f,d) and correlation
factor G area (f,area), for BS antenna height ht = 200 m and MS
antenna height hr = 3 m.
Okumura has served as the basis for high-level design of many
existing wireless systems, and has spawned a number of newer
models adopted from its basic concepts and numerical
parameters.
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Formula derived in Okumura model

Path Loss [dB] = LFS + Amu(f,d) - G(Hb) - G(Hm) - G area
LFS = Free-Space Path Loss
Amu(f,d) = Additional Median Loss From Okumuras Curves
G(Hb) = Base Station Height Gain = 20 x Log (Hb/200)
G(Hm) = Mobile Station Height Gain = 10 x Log (Hm/3)
Garea = Morphology Gain
0 dense urban
5 urban
10 suburban
17 rural
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The Okumura Model uses a combination of terms from basic

physical mechanisms and arbitrary factors to fit 1960-1970 Tokyo
drive test data.
Later researchers (HATA, COST231, others) have expressed
Okumuras curves as formulas and automated the computation.
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The Hata Model
The Hata model is an empirical formula for propagation loss derived

from Okumuras model, to facilitate automatic calculation.
The model is applicable to:
Frequencies 100 MHz -1500 MHz
Distances 1-20 km
BS antenna heights 30 - 200 m
MS antenna heights 1-10 m
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Although Hata model does not imply path-specific corrections, it

has significant practical value and provides predictions which are
very closely comparable with Okumuras model
Hata Model Formulas:
(1) LHATA (urban) [dB] = 69.55 + 26.16 x log ( f ) + [ 44.9 - 6.55 x log
( hb ) ] x log ( d )-13.82 x log ( hb ) - A ( hm )
(2) LHATA (suburban) [dB] = LHATA (urban) - 2 x [ log ( f/28 ) ] 2 - 5.4
(3) LHATA (rural) [dB] = LHATA (urban) - 4.78 x [ log ( f ) ] 2 - 18.33 x log
( f ) -40.98
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Clutter Classifications
Also called as Morphological Zones
Suburban:
Urban:
Mix of residential and business communities. Structures include

1-2 story houses 50 feet apart and 2-5 story shops and offices.
Urban residential and office areas (Typical structures are 5 -10

story buildings, hotels, hospitals, etc.).
Dense urban:
Dense business districts with skyscrapers (10-20 stories and

above) and high-rise apartments.
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Rural - Highway
Highways near open farm land, large open spaces, and

sparsely populated residential areas. Typical structures are 1-2
story houses, barns, etc.
Rural - In-town:
Open farm land, large open spaces, and sparsely populated

residential areas. Typical structures are 1-2 story houses, barns,
etc.
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Traffic theory
Traffic theory in telephony is focused on the voice paths which users

occupy.
They have different names:
Trunks
Circuits
Radios
Transceivers (TRXs)
Channel elements (CDMA)
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Units of Traffic Measurement

Traffic is expressed in units of Erlang.
An Erlang of traffic is one circuit continuously used during an
observation period of one hour long.
Traffic studies are usually for periods of one hour.
In one hour, one trunk can carry one hour of traffic -- One Erlang.
It can be calculated as follows :
A = n * T / 3600
Were,
A = Offered Traffic
n= No of calls per hour
T= average call time in seconds
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To determine the number and layout of BTSs the number of
subscribers and the Grade Of Service (GOS) have to be known.
The GOS is the percentage of allowed congested calls and
defines the quality of the service.
e.g. If n=1 and T=90 seconds then the traffic per subscriber is:
A = 1 x 90 / 3600 = 25mE
If the following data exists for a network:
Number of subscribers: 10,000
Available frequencies: 24
Cell pattern: 4/12
GOS: 2%
Traffic per subscriber: 25mE
this leads to the following calculations:
Frequencies per cell = 24 / 12 = 2
Traffic channels per cell = 2 x 8 - 2 (control channels) =
14 TCH
Traffic per cell = 14 TCH with a 2% GOS implies 8.2
Erlangs per cell (see Table 10-1)
The number of subscribers per cell = 8.2E / 25mE = 328
subscribers per cell
If there are 10,000 subscribers then the number of cells
needed is 10,000 / 328 = 30 cells.
Therefore, the number of three sector sites needed is
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Offered and carried traffic

Offered traffic is what users attempt to originate.
Carried traffic is the traffic actually successfully handled by the system.
Blocked traffic is the traffic that could not be handled.
Since blocked call attempts never materialize, blocked traffic must be estimated based on number of
blocked attempts and average duration of successful calls.
Offered Traffic = Carried Traffic + Blocked Traffic
T Off = NCA x TCD
T Off = Offered traffic
NCA = Number of call attempts
TCD = Average call duration
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Grade of service
Blocking probability
Blocking is inability to get a circuit when one is needed
In principle, blocking can occur anywhere in a wireless system:
Not enough radios, the cell is full.
Not enough paths between cell site and switch.
Not enough paths through the switching complex.
Not enough trunks from switch to PSTN.
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Blocking probability is usually expressed as a percentage using a

shorthand notation %
P.02 is 2% probability, etc
Most blocking in cellular systems occurs at the radio level.
P.02 is a common goal at the radio level in a system.
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Figure TP006.24 : Erlang B table.

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Radio network design
Overall System Design Objectives are
Coverage objectives
Area coverage objectives
Coverage penetration objectives
Traffic objectives
Number of subscribers defined
Traffic per subscriber defined
Desired grade of service defined
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Business and logistical objectives
Capital budget
Timing: launch data
Operating revenue Vs. total costs
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The basic objectives of Radio network design are:
Coverage
Building/Vehicle penetration
Provide sufficient cells to deliver RF coverage of the

entire desired area.
Deliver sufficient signal levels to adequately penetrate buildings and vehicles

where appropriate.
Traffic
Ensure that no cell captures more traffic than it can handle at the
desired grade of service (i.e., blocking percentage).
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Schedule
Performance
Construct the network and bring it to successful commercial launch at a date

which will prevent significant loss of potential customers to competitors.
Design, construct, and adjust the network to deliver reliable service free
from excessive origination and call delivery failures, dropped calls, quality
impairments, and service outages.
Economics
Provide return on investment sufficient to support operating and capital

expenses, expand the network to take advantage of growth opportunities, and
retire costs of construction prior to depreciation of the network equipment.
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Coverage Objectives
Outdoor coverage
The outdoor coverage is defined as the possibility to make and receive

calls using a hand held phone outdoors on street levels.
In-car coverage
The in-car coverage is defined as the possibility to make and receive
calls using a hand held phone inside a car without external antenna.
Indoor coverage
Indoor coverage is defined as a percentage of the ground floor of all
the buildings in the area where the signal strength is above required
signal level of the mobile.
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Building penetration loss
Defined as the difference between the average signal strength

immediately outside the building and the average signal strength
over the ground floor inside the building.
Planning Tools
A wide variety of software tools are available for propagation prediction

and system design.
Some tools are implemented on PC/DOS/Windows platforms, others on
more powerful UNIX platform.
Capabilities and user interfaces vary greatly.
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Some of the better known planning tools are:
MSI
PlaNet (Unix)
CNET
Wings (Unix)
Solutions (Mainframe)
LCC
Cell Cad (Unix)
Anet (DOSPC)
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ComSearch
MCAP (Unix)
AT&T
PACE (DOSPC)
TEC Cellular
Wizard (DOS)
Elebra:
CONDOR, CELTEC
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Motorola
proprietary (Unix)
Qualcomm
QEDesign CDMA Tool(Unix)
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General Features of Planning Tools
Automatically calculates signal strength at many points over a

geographic area.
Use databases of terrain data, environmental conditions, land use,
building clutter, estimated geographic traffic distribution, etc.
User-definable 3-dimensional antenna patterns.
Automatically analyzes paths, selects appropriate algorithms based on
path geometry.
Produces plots of coverage, C/I, etc.
Used for analysis of sites, interference, frequency planning, C/I
evaluation, etc.
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At last drawback: requires significant computation power, time and RF

staff special training.
Accepts measurement input, can automatically generate predicted-Vs
measured statistics and map displays.
Automatic hexagon-manipulation grid utility.
Maintains cell sites in relational database.
Easy manipulation, import, export.
Flexible user interface allows multitasking.
Allows multiple user-defined propagation models.
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Three dimensional terrain view.
Roads, boundaries, coastline easily overlaid onto any display.
Produces plots of server boundaries, C/I plots, handoff boundaries, etc.
Allows interactive change of antenna number, type, orientation, power

and tilt.
Using growth-scaleable traffic input mask, can predict traffic carried by
each site, # channels required.
Can automatically highlight cells not meeting specified grade of service.
Algorithms for automatic frequency planning and optimization.
User can define or mask cells to be changed or unchanged during

automatic optimization.
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Commonly-used Resources prediction Models
Terrain databases.
Morphological/clutter databases.
Databases of existing and proposed sites.
Antenna characteristics databases.
Unique user-defined propagation models.
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Typical Composite Coverage Plot from a Planning tool
A composite coverage plot shows the overall coverage produced

by each sector in the field of view.
The color of each pixel corresponds to the signal level of the
strongest server at that point.
Such plots are useful for identifying coverage holes and overall
coverage extant.
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Figure TP006. 25
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Optimization
To check the performance of the network and to tune the network

for further improvements.
Objective of optimization procedure is:
To check whether the network meets the customers given

requirements, on the basis of which network was designed.
To check whether the parameters and configuration are defined
correctly or not.
To find out and suggest in the defined parameter and configuration to
achieve best possible quality of service.
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Optimization is the
Post process of network planning.
Follows the network planning and the activity goes for ever.
Optimization inputs come from
Network Statistics:
Extracted either through switch commands or routine programs.
Further processing with operator defined formulas.
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Customer complaints for network problems
Routine planning schemes
Optimization activity gives output as
Changes in parameters with the proposals and reasons.
Report with the existing network performance.
Present network growth and the future requirements.
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Tools used for optimization are
Drive test tools
Statistics tools
Other network performance tools
Quality of service
Contiguity of coverage
Accessibility to the network
Speech quality
Number of dropped and blocked calls

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Important Network tuning parameters
Frequency
Basic and most important tuning parameter in GSM.
Most of interference problems are solved by changing the frequency.
Also called as ARFCN.
Needs to be changed not only because of the internal tuning

configuration but also to avoid external interference.
Needs efficient way of handling it since frequency is limited resource.
Also called as BCCHNO.
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BSIC
Base Station Identify Code
Is a combination of two parameters called NCC and BCC
NCC is Network Color Code
BCC is the Base Station Color code
Used to differentiate a cell with another cell for the selection criteria
by the mobile when they (the two cells) use the same frequency
Plays an important role at the network borders
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Power
BSPWR
Base station output power in dbm for the BCCH RF channel number.
HSN
Hopping Sequence Number.
Ranges from 1 63.
Helps in avoiding interference from the adjacent cells when they use the
same hopping frequencies.
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Extended Range
For the cell coverage range in KM.

Maximum possible cell radius is increased from 35 to
approximately 72 KM.
A consequence of using this feature is that the capacity in such a
cell is reduced.
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Hand over parameters
Hand Over
Hand over plays an important role in mobile communication.

A mobile will always select and camp in a cell which has the highest signal
strength and better quality.
It also measures the signal strength and quality of its neighbors and keeps a
record of it.
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When moving from a place to another, the signal strength of the serving cell
always varies.
When moving away from the serving cell and towards a neighboring cell, the
signal strength of the serving cell decreases and that of the target
neighboring cell increases.
With a certain level of difference in signal strength, the call will be handed
over to the serving cell.
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Figure TP006.26 : Hand over
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Figure TP006.27 : Hysteresis and offset.

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Tuning Parameters in handover process
Hysterisis
Typical value is 3 dB
Offset
Typical value is 3db
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Also for better network performance, quality based handovers

are also performed
Quality will also be a handover trigger criteria.

When the quality degrades to a certain limit, the handover will be
triggered to a target cell with a better quality.
Frequency hopping
Frequency hopping can reduce the influence of signal strength

variations caused by Rayleigh fading.
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Also reduces the effect of other types of interference including: cochannel, adjacent channel, etc.
Rayleigh fading is frequency dependent. This implies that the
fading dips appear at different locations for different frequencies.
Thus a mobile utilizing frequency hopping does not remain in a
specific fading dip for a longer time than one single burst.
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Two types of Hopping in modern networks
Base band Hopping
Each transmitter operates on a fixed frequency.

The advantage of this mode is that narrow-band tunable filter combiners
can be used.
The disadvantage is that it is not possible to use a larger number of
frequencies than there are transmitters.
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Synthesizer Hopping
Synthesizer hopping means that one transmitter handles all bursts that
belong to a specific connection.
The advantage is that the number of frequencies that can be used for
hopping is not dependent on the number of transmitters.
The disadvantage is that wide-band hybrid combiners must be used.
This type of combiner has approximately 3 dB insertion loss, making more
than two combiners in cascade impractical.
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Tuning Functions for optimization
Assignment to another cell
Feature operates at call set-up, during which a traffic channel (TCH) is to

be assigned.
The feature makes it possible to select TCH in a cell other than the one
that is currently serving the connection.
When the serving cell is congested, instead of refusing the call, the
network can accommodate it to another cell, with a little bit sacrifice with
the signal strength and quality.
The network congestion will be very much reduced.
Calls are shared with neighboring idle cells.
Over all network performance will be improved.

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Immediate assignment on traffic channel
Takes into consideration the traffic situation for which the channel
is needed.
For speech/data connections, the operator can choose between

three general strategies:
Immediate assignment on TCH is not allowed.
Immediate assignment on TCH as last preference.
A TCH may only be allocated at immediate assignment when

there are no idle SDCCHs available. The dimensioning.
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Immediate assignment on TCH as a first preference
A TCH is allocated as a first preference at immediate assignment. A

SDCCH may only be allocated at immediate assignment when there
are no idle TCHs available.
However, the load on the TCHs increases.
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EFFICIENT PRIORITY HANDLING (EPH)
Enables the operator to give high priority users good access to the
network.
This is achieved by means of removing connections of low priority

users from a congested cell required by a high priority connection.
High priority users can be given very good access to the network by
allowing them to seize channels already occupied by low priority
users.
Is applicable for both Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channels

(SDCCHs) and Traffic Channels (TCHs).
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NETWORK HEALTH STATISTICS

We have considered a typical network with five BSCs to analyse the
network performance. To undertake this activity statics of at least 2
weeks should be analysed. The key parameters to be considered are:
Call Success Rate

Call Setup Success Rate
Handover Success Rate
Dropped Call Rate
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The typical value of the bench marks for each of the above
mentioned parameters are as follows:
Call Success Rate
98 %
Call Setup Success rate Handover Success Rate Dropped Call Rate
-
98 %
98 %
0.5%
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CALL SUCCESS RATE
Call Success Rate is a network figure of merit which quantifies the

network from a subscribers perspective. It represents the proportion
of calls that are successfully completed.
This
to occur the call must be successfully set-up and should not

suffer a RF Loss prior to subscriber termination or handover.
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Call Success Rate
Call Success Rate
Ca ll Success Rate (%)
100
95
90
BSC wise performance
85
GOS Bench Mark
80
75
BSC1
BSC2
BSC3
BSC4
BSC5
BSCs
Figure TP006.28 : Call Success Rate

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CALL SET UP SUCCESS RATE

The proportion of subscribers that successfully achieve access to
an allocated TCH, implying the end of a successful signalling phase in

assignment procedure.
It shows six cells with poor CSR which is an important key statistics
which is considered for performance analysis of a network.

It gives CSR for five BSCs in a typical network compared with the
benchmarks of 98% or Call Set-up Success rate compared against

benchmark in typical network.
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Call Set up Success Rate
Ca ll S e tup S ucce ss Ra te (%)
Call Setup Success Rate
100
95
90
Call Setup Success

Rate
85
GOS Bench Mark
80
75
Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3 Cell 4 Cell 5 Cell 6
Cells
Figure TP006.29 : Call Set up Success Rate

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HANDOVER SUCCESS RATE

HSR is a measure of successful handovers from the serving cell to its best
neighbour.
Handovers can be intracell, intra BSS, inter BSS or inter MSC handovers. When
a handover is required to the best neighbour results in a rejection due to
unavailability of resources or any other reason, it is considered as a handover
failure.
It is to be noticed that a handover failure does not necessarily mean a dropped
call.
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Handove r Succe s s rate (%)

100
95
GOS Bench Mark
90
85
80
BSC1 BSC2 BSC3 BSC4 BSC5
BSCs
Figure TP006.30 : Handover Success Rate
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DISCONTINUOUS TRANSMISSION DTX
Mechanism that allows the radio transmitter to be switched off

during speech pauses.
In a normal conversation, this leads to a decrease in

transmission time of about 50%.
For speech as well as for non-transparent data transmission.
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Available on a per cell basis.
Uplink
To save battery in the mobile station.
To reduce the interference in the system.
Downlink
To decrease BTS power consumption, especially during periods when

the BTS is battery-operated due to malfunction in the power supply.
To reduce the interference in the system.
To reduce the inter modulation products.
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DYNAMIC MS (BTS) POWER CONTROL
MS power consumption is reduced, recharging is needed less

frequently, and the maximum possible speech time increases.
The maximum possible speech time increases, if BTS power

control is used.
Co-and adjacent channel interference in the network is reduced.
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Drive Test
Plays a major role in the field of optimization.

Measures Radio network parameters at the air interface between the
base station and the mobile station in a GSM system and presents the
data for further analysis.
It only measures & displays data and doesnt rectify anything.
Over all, from a drive test tool one can find out.
The reason for call drop.
The reason for handover failures.
Coverage distribution.
Quality level.
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From a drive test tool, the following major parameters can be measured.
Down link Signal strength
Bit Error Rate
Measurement frequencies
Co channel interference
Adjacent channel interference
Timing advance
Other network tuning parameters
Layer 3 messages
Layer2 messages
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BIT ERROR RATE
The Bit Error Rate (BER) is the percentage of received bits on a

digital link that are in error relative to the number of bits received,
usually expressed using a logarithmic scale.
The RxQual is a 3 bit value, which means that it has a 0 to 7

value. Use the table below to convert the RxQual to a BER
percentage:
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RxQual
Percentage
of bits failed
(BER)
< 0.2
0.2-0.4
0.40.8
0.8-1.
6
1.63.2
3.2-6.4
6.412.8
>12.8
%
Table No. TP006.1 : Bit Error Rate
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Time Advance
Timing
Advance
.......
63
Distance to
BTS
< 550 m
550 m-1100
m
1100 m-1650
m
1650 m2200 m
2200 m-2750
m
2750 m3300 m
.......
35 Km
Table No. TP006.2 : Time advance
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SQI Rating
Table No. TP006.3 : SQI
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TEST MOBILE SYSTEM (TEMS)
TEMS is one of the drive test tools by Ericsson.
TEMS consists of a mobile station with special software, a

Portable PC, and optionally a GPS receiver.
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MS
GPS
PC
Figure TP006.31 : TEMS Hardware
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MS
GPS
PC
Figure
A06.28
: TEMS
Hardware.
Figure
TP006.32
: TEMS
Connection
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TEMS consists of an Ericsson mobile
Phone with built-in test features, a serial cable and a PC software

package.
The PC is used for presentation, control, and storage of the
measurements.
For the serving cell, it is possible to display, e.g. RxLev, Rxqual,
TX power, TA, Base Station Identity Code (BSIC), and ARFCN.
For the six strongest neighboring cells, it is possible to display
RxLev, BSIC, and ARFCN.
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The GPS receiver gives the position of the measurements.

The TEMS measurements can be imported to a planning tool with
the use of File and Information Converting System (FICS).
The measurements can be displayed on the map so that, e.g. the
measured handovers can be compared with the predicted cell
boundaries.
The information can be displayed in real-time or recorded and
replayed.
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Module IV

TNS Institute For Telecom

II. Planning and Optimization of GSM Network

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TNS Institute For Telecom

TOOLS USED FOR RF PLANNING

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Design wireless networks

Plan network expansions

Diagnose system problems

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Propagaton Test Kit

Antenna ( generally Omni ).

A laptop to collect data.

A GPS to get latitude and longitude.

Cables and accessories.

Wattmeter to check VSWR.

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Traffic Modeling Tool

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Project Management Tool

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Radio wave propagation:Isotropic RF Source

Theoretical only: does not physically exist.

Has a power gain of unity I.e. 0dBi.

Has a power gain of unity i.e. 0dBi

The radiated power from a half-wave dipole.

A lossless half-wave dipole antenna has a power gain of 0dBd or 2.15dBi.

The radiated power from an isotropic source

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Radio signals travel through space at the Speed of Light

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Link budget planning:Link budget analysis provides

Coverage design thresholds

EIRP needed to balance the path

Maximum allowable pathloss

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Minimum acceptable Signal to Noise ratio

Environmental / Thermal Noise

Receiver Noise figure

Antenna gain at the base station and mobile station.

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GAINS AND LOSSES:Gains

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ANTENNA GAINS:Mobile Station Antenna

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CONNECTOR & COMBINER L OSS:Co nnector Lo ss

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Omni directional antenna

These antennas are mostly used in rural areas.

In all horizontal direction these antennas radiate with equal power.

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