GSM Network Planning Principle

Outline
1. Introduction to GSM Network
1.1. GSM System Architecture 1.2. GSM Bandwidth 1.3. Difference between GSM900/1800 1.4. GSM Logical Channels

2. Mobile Radio Link

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Outline
3. Network Planning Procedure
3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Traffic Estimation 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

4. Advanced Network Planning Items

4.1. Network Evolution 4.2. Indoor Coverage Planning 4.3. Tunnel Coverage 4.4. Parameters Planning

Introduction To GSM Network

1. Introduction to GSM Network

we are HERE

1.1. GSM System Architecture 1.2. GSM Bandwidth 1.3. Difference Between GSM900/1800 1.5. Logical Channels in GSM

GSM System Architecture

other MSC

VLR

HLR EIR AuC

OMC

other BTSs

GSM Bandwidth

GSM 900 :
890 Channel spacing 200kHz 915 935 960 duplex distance : 45 MHz

GSM 1800 :
1710 Channel spacing 200kHz 1785 1805 1880 duplex distance : 95 MHz

not allocated

Operator A

Operator B

Op. A

Op. B

System Difference Between GSM900/1800

GSM 900 and GSM 1800 are twins GSM 900 Frequency band 890...960 MHz Number of channels Channel spacing 200 kHz Access technique TDMA Mobile power 0,8 / 2 / 5 W 124 200 kHz TDMA 0,25 / 1 W GSM 1800 1710...1880 MHz 372

There Thereare areno nomajor majordifferences differencesbetween betweenGSM GSM900 900and and GSM 1800 GSM 1800

Logical Channels
GSM900 and GSM1800 have the some logic channel architecture Logical Channels
Common Channels (CCH) Dedicated Channels (DCH)

Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)

Common Control Channel (CCCH)

Control Channels

Traffic Channels (TCH)

FCH

SCH

BCCH (Sys Info)

PCH

AGCH

RACH

SDCCH

FACCH SACCH

TCH/F

TCH/H

TCH/9.6F TCH/ 4.8F, H TCH/ 2.4F, H

Downlink Channels

FCCH

Common Channels

BCCH

SCH BCCH

CCCH

PCH AGCH

SDCCH

Dedicated Channels

DCCH

SACCH FACCH

TCH

TCH/F TCH/H

Uplink Channels

RACH

CCCH

Common Channels

SDCCH SACCH FACCH TCH/F TCH/H TCH DCCH

Dedicated Channels

Use of Logical Channels

FCCH SCH BCCH PCH RACH AGCH SDCCH FACCH TCH FACCH

off state

Search for Frequency Correction Burst Search for Synchronization sequence Read System Information
idle mode

Listen for Paging Send Access burst

dedicated mode

Wait for signaling channel allocation

Call setup Traffic channel is assigned Conversation

idle mode

Call release

Mapping of Logical Channels

Logical channels are mapped to physical channels Signalling : sequences of 51 frames Traffic : sequences of 26 frames

BCCH + CCCH (downlink) F SBBBBCCCCF SCCCCCCCCF SCCCCCCCCF SCCCCCCCCF SCCCCCCCC 51 TDMA frames ~ 235,4 msec

BCCH + CCCH (uplink)

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

For combined BCCH

CCCH blocks can be either PCH or AGCH Some blocks may be configured as SDCCH

The Mobile Radio Link

we are HERE

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Theory of Wave Propagation

Theory of wave propagation is an exact science

Mobile Telecommunications
Multi-path propagation radio path is a miserable propagation medium Limited transmit energy transmitting power of mobiles determines service range battery life-time Limited spectrum sets upper limit for data rates (Shannons theorem) additional effort needed for channel coding frequencies need to be re-used ==> self- interference Many mobile users

Radio Propagation Environment

Multi-path propagation Shadowing Terrain structures Reflections Interferences

Reflections
Strong echoes can cause excessive propagation delay
if within equalizer window and can cause self-interference if out of equalizer window
direct signal strong reflected signal

amplitude

long echoes, out of equalizer window: ==> interference contributions

delay time equalizer window 16 s

Fading(1)
Slow fading (Lognormal Fading)
shadowing due to large obstacles on propagation direction level (dB) +10 0 -10 -20
920 MHz v = 20 km/h

Fast fading (Rayleigh fading)

serious interference of several signals fading dips, radio holes

-30 0 1 2 3 4 5m

Fading(2)

power

Rayleigh fading
+20 dB

lognormal fading

mean value

- 20 dB

2 sec

4 sec

6 sec

time

Signal Variations
Rayleigh fading Cause
Superposition of multiple propagation paths with different phase < unpredictable

Lognormal fading

Large scale variation

Shadowing or Prop. path profile, terrain reflexion by cars, & clutter structure, Earth trees, buildings curvature

Correlation Prediction Planning method

10 ... 100m mostly predictable (buildings!!) consider lognormal distribution around local mean (use = 3 ... 10dB)

> 100m predictable (maps, terrain database)

apply statistical thresholds for Rayleigh fading signals

use maps or digital terrain & clutter databases to predict (50 ..200m pixel resolution)

Propagation

Free- space propagation

signal strength decreases as the with distance increases
D

Reflection Specular R.
amplitude: A --> *A ( < 1) phase : --> - polarization: material dependant phase shift
specular reflection

Diffuse R.
amplitude: A --> *A ( << 1) phase : --> random phase polarization : random
diffuse reflection

Propagation

Absorption
heavy amplitude attenuation material dependant phase shifts the waves depolarization

A - 5..30 dB

Diffraction
wedge- model knife edge multiple knife edges

The Mobile Radio Link

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation

we are HERE

2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Propagation Model

Historical CCIR- Model for radio/ TV-stations

not very accurate nor serious

Okumura- Hata
empirical model measured and estimated additional attenuations estimations for larger distances (range: 5 .. 20km) Not suitable for small distances ( < 1km)

Hatas Model
Adapted for 900 MHz, Europe, different land usage classes L = A + B log f 13.82 log hb a ( hm )

+ ( 44.9 6.55 log hb ) log d + Lmorpho

with f frequency in MHz h BS antenna height [m] a(h) function of MS antenna height d distance between BS and MS [km] and A= 69.55, B = 26.16 (for 150 .. 1000 MHz) A= 46.3 , B = 33.9 (for 1000 ..2000MHz) additional attenuation due to land usage classes

Land Usage Types

Urban Forest
small cells, 40..50 dB/dec attenuation

heavy absorption; 30..40 dB/dec; differs with season (foliage losses)

Open, farmlands Water Mountain faces Glaciers

easy, smooth propagation conditions signal propagates very easily ==> dangerous !

strong reflections, long echoes

very strong reflections; extreme delays strong interferences over long distance

Hilltops

can be used as barriers between cells do NOT use as antenna sites locations

Walfish- Ikegami Model

Model for urban microcellular propagation Assumes regular city layout (Manhattan grid) Total path loss consists of three parts:
line-of-sight loss LLOS roof-to-street loss LRTS mobile environment losses LMS

h w b

The Mobil Radio Link

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models

we are HERE

2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Antenna Characteristics
Lobes
main lobes side / back lobes front-to-back ratio

Half-power beam-width (3 dB- beam width) Antenna down-tilting Polarization Antenna bandwidth Antenna impedance Mechanical size

Coupling Between Antennas

main lobe

Horizontal separation
needs approx. 5 distance for sufficient decoupling antenna patterns superimposed if distance too close

5 .. 10

Vertical separation
distance of 1 provides good decoupling values good for RX /TX decoupling

Minimum coupling loss

Installation Examples
Recommended decoupling
TX - TX: ~20dB TX - RX: ~40dB
0,2m

Horizontal decoupling distance depends on

Antenna gain Horizontal rad. pattern

Omnidirectional antennas
RX + TX with vertical separation RX, RX div. , TX with vertical separation (fork)

omnidirectional.: 5 .. 20m directional : 1 ... 3m

Vertical decoupling is much more effective

Installation Examples
Directional antennas
beamed sites

Antenna (down-) tilting

improve spot coverage

reduce interference
5..8 deg

Feeder

Feeder Parameter
Type 1800MHz dB/100m 3/8 5/8 7/8 1 5/8 47 10 17 25 3 14 9 6 2 10 6 4 Diameter (mm) 900MHz dB/100m

Keeping the Feeder as short as it can

Distributed Antennas
Leaky feeders
cables with very high loss per length unit ==> distributed antenna often used for tunnel coverage this kind of feeder is very expensive
Propagation loss: 4 ... 40 dB/100m

50 Ohm coupling loss: ~ 60 dB (at 1m dist.)

Fiber-optic distribution feeder

distribute RF signal via (very thin) fiber-optic cables radiate from discrete antenna points at remote locations

Repeaters
The repeaters are used to relay signal into shadowed areas :
behind hills into valleys into buildings

Needs a host cell Channel selective repeater or wide-band repeater

decoupling ~40 dB needed

The Mobile Radio Link

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems
we are HERE

2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Diversity
t

Time diversity

coding, interleaving

Frequency diversity

frequency hopping

Space diversity

multiple antennas

Polarization diversity

Dual-polarized antennas

Multi-path diversity

equalizer

Benefit From Diversity

Diversity gain depends on environment Is there coverage improvement by diversity ?
antenna diversity 5dB more signal strength more path loss acceptable in link budget higher coverage range R(div) ~ 1,3 R

A 1.7 A 70% more coverage per cell needs less cells in total

The above case can be satisfied only under Ideal condition. That is environment is infinitely large and flat

Interference
2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference
we are HERE

2.6. Interference Reduction 2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Interference

Signal quality = sum of all expected signals sum of all unexpected signal
expected signal atmospheric noise

carrier (C ) interference ( I )

other signals

GSM specification :

C / I >= 9 dB

Effects of Interference
Affects signal quality Causes bit errors
repairable errors : channel coding, error correction
irreducible errors : phase distortions, random FM

Interference situation is
non- reciprocal unsymmetrical uplink If. =/= downlink If. different situation at MS and BS

Concept C/I

Signal Quality in GSM

RX Quality (RXQUAL parameter) RXQUAL classes 0 ... 7
bit error rate before all decoding/ corrections

good usable signal acceptable

unusable signal

RXQUAL class 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mean BER (%) 0,14 0,28 0,57 1,13 2,26 4,53 9,05 18,1

BER range from... to < 0,2% 0,2 ... 0,4 % 0,4 ... 0,8 % 0,8 ... 1,6 % 1,6 ... 3,2 % 3,2 ... 6,4 % 6,4 ... 12,8 % > 12,8 %

Interference sources
Multi-path components (long echoes) Frequencies reusing External interferences

Network performance shall be interference-limited rather than coverage- limited

Push interference limits as far as possible

Methods for reducing Interference

Frequency planning Suitable site locations Antenna (down-)tilting
bad location

good location

Methods for reducing Interference

Frequency hopping
a diversity technique, interference reduction as a side-effect frequency diversity ==> less fading loss de-coding gain interference averaging

Quality based power control

evaluate signal level AND quality

DTX
silent transmitter in speech pauses

Adaptive antennas
follow the user concentrate signal energy to certain directions

Adaptive channel allocation

always assign best available frequency during call-setup

Frequency Hopping
Diversity technique
frequency diversity can reduce fast fading effects useful for static or slow-moving mobiles

Cyclic base-band hopping

BS hops cyclic between its allocated frequencies (min. =3 TRX)

RF hopping
either cyclic or random hopping needs wideband combiner can use any frequency included in the Hopping list (not on 1st TRX)

Frequency diversity for static mobiles feature: interference averaging

Power Control
Save battery life-time Minimize interference GSM : 15 steps and 2 dB for each Use power control in both uplink & downlink
level or quality-driven
signal level target level e.g. -85 dm

Power control not allowed on BCCH carrier

time

DTX
DTX: discontinuous transmission
switch transmitter off in speech pauses and silence periods both sides transmit only silence updates (SID frames) comfort noise generated by transcoder

VAD: voice activity detection

transcoder function

Transcoder is informed on use of DTX/ VAD (in call setup)

Battery Batterysaving savingand and Interface Reducing Interface Reducing

The Mobile Radio Link

2.1. Radio Wave Propagation 2.2. Propagation Models 2.3. Antenna Systems 2.4. Diversity Techniques 2.5. Interference 2.6. Interference Reduction
we are HERE

2.7. Link Budget Calculation

Link Budget
Why we need a link budget? Which will decide the coverage range ?
The coverage range is limited by the weaker one (up or down link)

Two-way communication needed

link usually limited by mobile power

Desired result: downlink = uplink Link budget must be balanced

Network Planning

we are HERE

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Traffic Estimation 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Network Planning Principle

initial NW dimensioning

marketing

business plan transmission plan coverage plan traffic assumptions freq. & interference plan final NW topology parameter planning

Scope of Network Planning

Operators requirements External information sources

subscriber forecasts coverage requirements quality of service recommended sites

terrain & morphological data population data bandwidth available frequency co-ordination constraints

Network planning team

data acquisition site survey field measurement evaluation CW design and analysis transmission planning

Network design

number and configuration of BS antenna systems specifications BSS topology dimensioning of transmission lines frequency plan network evolution strategy

Network performance

grade of service (blocking) outage calculations interference probabilities quality observation

Input Data
Maps
main cities important roads location of mountain ranges inhabited area shore lines

Local knowledge
city skylines typical architecture structure of city

Demographic Data

Statistical yearbook
largest towns, cities population distribution where are expected customers?
250 000 pop.

Local knowledge
population migration routes traffic volumes subscriber concentration points
400 000 pop.

300 000 pop.

Network Configuration
Estimate number of BS needed
VERY rough initial assumption : total operators bandwidth planned freq. re-use rate

= average number of TRX allowed per cell number of BS needed for traffic reasons

Evaluate achievable cell sizes

=f (topography, requirements, signal levels, environment, ...) number of BS needed for coverage reasons

Normally: BS coverage >> BS traffic

==> problem with finance people

Finances

Marketing

Planning

Network Planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles

we are HERE

3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Traffic Estimation 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Cell Hierarchies

Umbrella Cell/Macro cell Micro cell Pico cell Satellite Cell

Macro Cell Network

Cost-effective solution Suitable for covering large areas
large cell ranges high antenna positions

Cell ranges 2 ..20km (depends on geography!) Used with low traffic volumes
typically rural areas road coverage

k 2..20

Commonly use omnidirectional antennas

use beamed antenna for road coverage

Optimization for coverage

Micro Cell Network

Capacity oriented network

additional capacity by multiple cell coverage

Suitable for areas with high traffic Mostly used with beamed cells
most cost-efficient solution best usage of available cell sites

0,5 .. 2km

Typical applications
medium towns suburbs

Typical coverage range: 0,5 .. 2km

Optimization for capacity

Cell coverage range

Achievable cell coverage range depend on frequency band (450, 900, 1800 MHz) surroundings, environment link budget figures antenna types antenna positioning minimum required signal levels

Hexagons and Cells

Three hexagons

Three cells

Network Planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies

we are HERE

3.3. Traffic Estimation 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Traffic Estimation
Estimate number of subscribers over time
long-term predictions numbers available from marketing people

Expected traffic load per subscriber

different subscriber segments expected behavior of user segments

Particular habits of subscribers

e.g. mainly heavy indoor usage phoning while in traffic jams

Busy hour conditions

time of day traffic patterns

Traffic Planning
Estimation of traffic expected

number of subscribers in area traffic load per subscriber geographical area to cover ==> traffic per sq.km ==> traffic per cell ==> number of TRX needed per BS

allow extra capacity for roamers and busy hour traffic

Bottleneck of the system shall not be caused by transmission

Traffic Patterns
Traffic is not evenly spread across the day (or week) Estimated traffic must be able to cope with peak loads
Busy hour traffic is typically twice that of the average hour
100 % 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 hr peak time off-peak

Network Planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Traffic Estimation
we are HERE

3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Coverage Planning
external inputs:
(traffic, subs. forecast, coverage requirements...) Initial network dimensioning TRXs, cells, sites bandwidth needed NW topology

nominal cell plan

suggestions for site locations cell parameters coverage achieved

coverage prediction signal strength multi-path propagation

go to frequency planning

create cell data for BSC

coverage, ok?

site inspection field measurements planning criteria fulfilled? N

real cell plan

site accepted ? N

Coverage Requirements
Roll-out phases & time schedules Coverage level requirements
agree on min. levels for outdoor coverage phase 1 CW launch

Loss requirements Indoor coverage areas Mobile classes to plan for Operators cell deployment strategies
omni-cells in rural areas? 3-sector cells in urban areas? rollout phase 3 rollout phase 2

Coverage Planning
Loss
due to coverage gaps due to interferences

Pno_cov

PIf

Total probable coverage area for a cell:

(1- Pno_cov) * (1- PIf)

Full coverage of an area can never be guaranteed ! common values: 90 .. 95% probability (time and location probabilities)

Network planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Dimensioning 3.4. Coverage Planning
we are HERE

3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Frequency Planning
Why we reuse the frequency? 8 MHz = 40 channels * 8 timeslots = 320 users ==> max. 320 simultaneous calls!!! Limited bandwidth ==> re-use frequencies as often as possible Interferences are unavoidable ==> minimize total interferences in network Allocate frequency combination that creates least overall interference conditions in the network Use calculated propagation predictions for frequency allocations

Frequency Planning(1)

Target: find solution with minimum interferences in total network

Traditional method
hexagonal cell patterns regular grid cluster sizes frequency re-use distance D = R *sqrt(3*cluster-size)
D

Do not use this ancient concept!

Frequency Planning(2)
Frequency planning always consider the worst case
actual situation is less severe power control, actual traffic and distribution of MS improve situation

Average frequency re-use rate as a criteria for good allocation scheme:

physical practical limit limits 10

20 safe, but uneconomical

Frequency Re-Use
Re-use frequencies as often as possible
increases network capacity but maybe cause some interferences
f2 f3 f6 f3 f5 f2 f3 f4 f2 f3 f5 f4 f6 f3 f5 f4 D f4 f6 f3 f5 f2 f4 f7 f2

Do not use
hexagon cell patterns systematic frequency allocation
f5

f5 f7 f2 f3 f4 f6

f4 f6

f7 R f5

f7

But
interference matrix calculation calibrated propagation models minimize total interference in network

Multiple Re-use Rates

Frequency re-use rate
measure for effectiveness of frequency plan trade-off : effectiveness interferences

Interactions (iteration loops) with coverage planning Multiple re-use rates increase effectiveness of freq. plan
compromise between safe, interference free planning and effective resource usage
1 3 6 9 12 15 18 21

same frequency in every cell (spread spectrum)

tight re-use planning (tight layer)

normal planning (TCH macro layer)

safe planning (BCCH layer)

Multiple Re-use Rates

Capacity increase with multiple re-use rates:
e.g. network with 300 cells bandwidth : 8 MHz (40 radio channels)

Single re-use: =12

==> NW capacity = 40/12 * 300 = 1000 TRX

Multiple re-use:
BCCH layer: re-use =14, (14 freq.) normal TCH: re-use =10, (20 freq.) tight TCH layer: re-use = 6, (6 freq.) ==> NW cap. = (1 +2 +1)* 300 = 1200 TRX

BW i cap.= N re usei

Frequency Co-ordination

Regulations for international boundaries

25 dBV/m at borderline 10 dBV/m at 15km distance from border

Set of preferential and reserved frequencies must be mutually agreed between operators

A
international borderline

15km

C B

Network Planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Dimensioning 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning
we are HERE

3.6. Site Selection 3.7. Transmission Planning

Site locations
Cells performance has a close relationship with site location Sites are expensive Sites are long-term investments Site acquisition is a slow process Hundreds of sites needed per network

Base station site is a valuable long-term asset for the operator

Bad Site Location

Avoid hill-top locations for BS sites
uncontrolled interferences interleaved coverage awkward HO behaviors but: good location for microwave links!

wanted cell boundary

uncontrolled, strong interferences

interleaved coverage areas: weak own signal, strong foreign signal

Good Site Location

Prefer sites off the hill-tops

use hills to separate cells contiguous coverage area needs only low antenna heights if sites are slightly elevated above valley bottom

wanted cell boundary

Site Selection Criteria

Non-radio criteria
space for equipment availability of leased lines or microwave link power supply access restrictions house owner rental costs

Radio criteria
good view in main beam direction no surrounding high obstacles good visibility of terrain room for antenna mounting LOS to next microwave site short cabling distances

Site Acquisition Process

site hunter radio planner site owner

measurement teams

network operator

fixed network planner

architect

Site Information
Questionnaire sheet
collect all necessary information about site details
site coordinates, height above sea level, exact address house owner type of building building materials (photo) possible antenna heights 360deg photo (clearance view) neighbourhood, surrounding environment drawing sketch of rooftop antenna mounting conditions access possibilities (truck, road, roof) BS location, approx. feeder lengths

Network planning

3.1. Cellular Planning Principles 3.2. Network Topologies 3.3. Dimensioning 3.4. Coverage Planning 3.5. Frequency Planning 3.6. Site Selection
we are HERE

3.7. Transmission Planning

Transmission Planning
Cost for transmission lines account for a great portion of NW operational costs per year ==> design for minimum overall costs !
Radio part design
BTS BSS

Fixed part design

BTS MSC BSS BSC Hub BTS BTS

BTS BTS

BTS BTS

Transmission Concept

Transmission methods
CATV
ent

ISDN PCM HDSL

ATM

equ ipm

Transmission techniques
PDH SDH

Tra nsm

iss i

on

Transmission media
Fiber Coaxial cable Copper cable Microwave radio
Terrestrial/satellite

Microwave Links

High capacity transmission links Operating frequencies: 7 .. 38 GHz band

Pro
low operating costs easy to install flexible quick & reliable solution

Contra
needs extra frequencies weather dependant link quality (rainfall) not always available at ideal sites (LOS path) long distance hops are problematic

Repeater station Terminal station A Terminal station B

Fresnel Zone
Line-of-sight path needed between both nodes of a microwave link Keep 1st Fresnel zone clear of obstacles N-th Fresnel zone: Ellipse around direct path, where path difference to direct line is n * /2.
1st Fresnel zone 2nd 3rd

d b

b = 274

d [km] f [ MHz]

[m]

Radius for n-th zone = b * sqrt(n)

Basic Transmission Topologies

Transmission topologies are often dictated by availability of lines. Costs vs. fail safety (redundancy)

POINT-TO-POINT

STAR (CONCENTRATION POINTS)

MULTIDROP CHAIN

LOOP

Network topology
Prefer centralized or decentralized NW architecture
BTS MSC

BTS BSC BTS BTS

BTS

BSC/ MSC 2 small BSC plus cheap transmission 1 large BSC plus expensive transmission

BTS

BTS BTS

Cross-Connects
Transmission equipment to branch data streams between different link sets Non-blocking stage
each input stream is routed to an output stream

Tasks
switching between link sets switching between timeslots of a PCM trunk dropping & inserting timeslots

Advanced Network Planning Items

we are HERE

4.1. Network evolution 4.2. Indoor coverage 4.3. Tunnel coverage 4.4. Parameters 4.5. Network Optimizing

Cell Size Evolution

LARGE CELLS 5-50 km Early 80's

SMALL CELLS 1-5 km Mid-end 80's

MICROCELLS 100 m - 1 km Mid 90's

PICOCELLS 10-100m 's

MACRO CELLS

LAYERED NETWORK

Smaller Cells Bring Higher Capacities but ...

Logistics of planning and implementation => bottleneck to small cell deployment Small cells must be integrated into network & managed by advanced BSS

Layered Network

Macro cell

Micro cell Micro cell Micro cell

Network Capacity evolution

Measure for network spectral efficiency:
Erl/ (MHz * sq.km)
Directed Directed Retry Retry Traffic Traffic reason HO reason HO

A function of
bandwidth frequency efficiency of technology frequency re-use cell sizes trunking gains

Power Power Control Control

DTX DTX

Half-rate Half-rate code code

Load Load distribution distribution

multiple cell multiple cell coverage coverage

Frq. hopping Frq. hopping

Advanced Network Planning Items

4.1. Network evolution 4.2. Indoor coverage

We are HERE

4.3. Tunnel coverage 4.4. Parameters

Why Indoors
Cellular competition moves indoors Subscribers expect continuous coverage and quality Outdoor cells do not provide sufficient coverage indoors
Good Quality!

INDOOR SOLUTION

Benefits

Continuous Coverage Low Transmitting Powers (BTS/MS)

Dedicated Indoor Solution

Subscriber value Continuous Service Good Quality Safety MS Battery Life

Office Equipment Less Interference

Building Losses
Signal levels in buildings are estimated by applying a building penetration loss margin Big differences between rooms with window and deep indoor(10 ..15 dB)

signal level increases with floor number :~1,5 dB/floor (for 1st ..10th floor)

Pindoor = -3 ...-15 dB Pref = 0 dB Pindoor = -7 ...-18 dB

rear side : -18 ...-30 dB

-15 ...-25 dB

no coverage

Building Penetration Loss

Signal losses for building penetration vary greatly with building materials used, e.g.:
mean value reinforced concrete wall, windows 17 dB concrete wall, no windows 30 dB concrete wall within building 10 dB brick wall 9 dB armed glass 8 dB wood or plaster wall 6 dB window glass 2 dB sigma 9 9 7 6 6 6 6

No major differences for 900 or 1800 MHz Total building loss =

add median values superimpose standard deviations add (lognormal) margin for higher probabilities

In-Building Path Loss

Simple path loss model for in-building environment
outdoor losses: Okumuras formula Lout = 42,6 + 20 log( f ) + 26 .. 35 log( d ) wall losses: Lwall = f(material; angle) indoor losses: linear model for picocells Lin = L0 + d

Lout

Lwall

Lin
building type old house commercial type open room, atrium losses 0,7 dB/m 0,5 dB/m 0,2 dB/m application example (urban residential) (modern offices) (museum, train station)

Indoor Coverage Solutions

Small BTS
mini BTS PrimeSite

Repeaters
active, passive optical

Antennas
distributed antennas radiating cable

Signal distribution
power splitters optical fiber

Indoor Planning
Single cell approach Multicell approach

f1..f6 f1..f6 f1..f6

f5 f6 f5

f3 f4 f3

f1 f2 f1

Example 1.2 MHz allocation, one 6-TRX cell 50 mErl/subscriber, 2% blocking no Re-Use of frequencies a) three floors 36 Erlangs => 720 subscribers b) ten floors 36 Erlangs => 720 subscribers

Example 1.2 MHz allocation 50 mErl/subscriber , 2% blocking two-floor Re-Use, separate frequencies within a floor a) three floors 27 Erl => 540 subs b) ten floors 90 Erl => 1800 subs

Radiating cable
Coaxial cable with perforated leads ==> energy leak Radiating losses 10 ..40 dB per 100m
coupling loss typ. 55 dB (at 1m ref. dist.)

Produce constant fieldstrengths along cable runs Operate in wide frequency range
radiating losses become higher with frequency

Very large bending radii

disturbs field distribution

Formerly often used for tunnel coverage VERY EXPENSIVE

Indoor Coverage Examples

With repeater
relay outdoor signal into target building needs donor cell; adds coverage, no capacity

With indoor BTS and distributed antennas

heavy losses by power splitting and cabling
-50 dBm
50m

Outdoor Antenna Gain: 18 dBi

1:1

4th floor
50m 50m

1:1
1:1

3rd floor
50m 50m

7/8'' Cable Loss: 4dB / 50m Cable length : 25m

4th Floor 3rd Floor 2nd Floor 1st Floor

1:1
1:1

2nd floor
50m 50m

1:1:1

1:1

1st floor
50m 50m

Ground Floor Indoor Antenna Gain: 9dBi

1:1

ground floor
50m

Target Indoor Coverage Building

Repeater
Passive repeater
needs strong external signal useful only with very short cables seldomly used

Application examples
places with coverage need and little traffic remote valleys tunnels underground coverage (e.g. garages)
needs decoupling > amplification

Active repeater
amplifies and re-transmits all received signals

Wideband or narrowband repeater

The Light-bulb Principles

... is better than ...

several smaller sites provide more indoor coverage area than a single large site

Newspaper Principles

The newspaper-principle

Indoor coverage may be expected in locations where there is no enough daylight to comfortably read a newspaper without artificial illumination

Where?

e.g.

Where NOT?
hotel lobby elevator hallways

e.g.

rooms with window near a window atrium-style places

Wave Propagation in Tunnels

Ideal antenna position: center of cross-section Distance to walls: min. 2 Tunnel cross-section shape unimportant, if > 10 Time dispersion decreases with distance ==>constant Mount antenna ~50..100m before tunnel entrance Good signal coupling between successive tunnels

Tunnels Tunnelsare arevery veryfriendly friendlyenvironment environment for forradio radiowave wavepropagation propagation

Tunnel Cross-Section
Filling factor determines propagation conditions Typical ranges for filling factors
road tunnels: 10% Metro: 60..90%

filling factor =----------

Advanced Network Planning Items

4.1. Network evolution 4.2. Indoor coverage 4.3. Tunnel coverage

we are HERE

4.4. Parameters

BSS Parameters
Relevant BSS parameter for NW planning
frequency allocation plan logical radio interface configuration transmit power definition of neighboring cells definition of location areas handover parameters power control parameters cell selection parameters radio link time-out settings topology of BSC- BTS network

Handover Types

Intra-cell timeslot Inter-cell Inter-BSC Inter-MSC Inter-PLMN

same cell, different carrier or different cells (normal case) different BSC different MSC areas (technically feasible, not supported)

Intra-cell Inte-rcell

inter-BSC

Handover Criteria

1. Interference, UL and DL 2. Bad C/I ratio 3. Uplink Quality 4. Downlink Quality 5. Uplink Level 6. Downlink Level 7. Distance 8. Rapid Field Drop

9. MS Speed 10. Better Cell, i.e. periodic check (Power Budget) 11. Good C/I ratio 12. PC: Lower quality/level thresholds (DL/UL) 13. PC: Upper quality/level thresholds (DL/UL)

Location Area Design

Location updating affects all mobiles in network

Location update in idle mode Location update after call completion
major road

Location area 2

Location updateresults in signaling and processing load within the network (international location updates!)
Location area 1

Avoid ping-pong location updates

Paging vs. Location update Traffic

signaling traffic

function of user mobility

function of user density, cell size, call arrival rate ...

Paging

Location update

optimum number of cells in Loc. area

# of cells in Loc. area

minimize signaling traffic optimum varies with network evolution

Thank you