Contents

Abstract
Acknowledgements
Declaration
What is a transmission medium?
What are the transmission mediums that we can see in the day to day world?
o Guided media
o Unguided media
Why we need a micro wave radio transmission?
What is terrestrial microwave link planning?
o Initial planning and site selection
o Topographical analysis
o Preliminary path and frequency planning analysis
o Site Survey
The tools that we use in radio network planning
Problem fond and Solution suggestions for that
References

1
2-4
2-4
4
5-6
7-42
7-8
8-11
12-31
31-42
43-53
53-56
57

Abstract

Networking is the one of most important thing of telecommunication sector. Most of time there are
using microwave link to networking process. Microwave system is very user friendly to networking
engineers. If we use fibers, it is very costly and lot of time is wasting than microwave links.
When we consider two site which are located with a distance of 5km in between them. If we use an
optical fiber cable to connect these two sites we will have to spend sometimes weeks to lay the fiber
cable in between the two sites. But when implementing terrestrial microwave link it will only get two
days.
But when it comes to the terrestrial microwave network planning if cant plan a perfect microwave
link which suites our needs it will be a total loss and the implementation teams will find it difficult it
implement our solution perfectly.
During last few years of my carrier I have experienced some badly planned microwave links which
were suggested to implement. When it comes to the implementation stage whole action that we are
doing at the sites must be verified unless we will not be able to achieve the targets what we are hoping
to get. So as the time, money, accuracy will not be achieved.
So as the Advanced Diploma project I thought to find out how to plan a radio network. And at the end
I have included a planed microwave link which I have given as a solution for a problem that I got
found by examining the Mobitel microwave network.

Acknowledgement

I owe my great thank to everybody who helped me and supported me during this project,
from its beginning to the end.
My deepest thank goes to Mr. Sameera Bandaranayke and Mr.N.R.Bernadge who guided me
throughout the project with attention and care. And also for the Mobitel (Pvt) ltd collaterals
who gave me information to build up my project document.
I would also be thankful for all my friends who helped me to complete this project
successfully.
Last, but not least my sincere gratitude goes to all the authors of the books and the articles,
and the authors of the websites that I have used in my project.
Thank you.

What is a transmission media?

In Telecommunications, information can be transmitted between two nodes or one to
multiple nodes or in broadcast method by using single either it is analogy or digital. The
way that we use to transmit the information signal or the data between nodes is called
as the transmission media.
In modern day world digital transmission is used exclusively. Even where the analogue
transmission used today we convert it to digital by using a method called Sampling in order
to facilitate long distance transmission.
These digitalise signals are combined by using a technique called Time Division
Multiplexing (TDM). The most popular TDM system is known as the Tier 1 (T1) system, in
which an analogue voice channel is sampled 8,000 times per second, and each sample is
encoded into a 7-bit byte. Twenty-four such channels are mixed in to two copper pairs and
transmitted at a bit rate of 1.544 megabits per second (Mbps).
T1 in North America (E1 in the rest of the world) remains an important method of
transmitting voice and data in the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
A talking path (i.e., a switched circuit) in the PSTN can be either analogue or digital or a
combination thereof. In fact, a digital signal can be transmitted over a packet-switched
network as easily as a circuit-switched network. Digitized voice is similar to data; therefore,
if data can be transmitted over a packet network, then so can digitized voice.
One of the most common applications is now known as voice over IP (VOIP). The challenge,
of course is to get the transmitted signal to a destination fast enough (delay-related issues), as
in instances in which the conversation may be time sensitive. A second challenge is to get
each packet, which is a small piece of a voice conversation, to its destination in the proper
way.

What are the transmission mediums that we can see in the day
to day world?
There are three types of media (physical layers) can be used in transmitting information in the
telecommunications world:

Copper lines (twisted-pair and coaxial cables), for low- and medium-capacity
transmission over a short distance
Fibre-optic transmission, for medium- and high-capacity transmission over any
distance
Wireless transmission, including:
o Low (mobile radio) and medium-capacity (microwave point-to-point) over
short and medium distances
o Satellite for low- and medium-capacity transmission over long distances

Basically these transmission media are categorised under tow main groups. They are
Guided Transmission media and Unguided Transmission media.

Guided Transmission media

There is a transmission media that transport electrical waves between two nodes
through physical medium such as metal, glass, plastic etc.

Unguided Transmission media

A transmission media which transports, electrical waves between two nodes
through non physical medium such as air.

Transmission mediums

Guided

Copper cables
Fibre cables

Unguided

Air
Vacuum

Guided media
Copper cables
In years ago, copper wire was the only means of transporting information. Technically
it was known as an unshielded twisted pair (UTP). It consists of a large number of
pairs of copper wire of varying size within a cable. The cable did not have a shield, so
the signal (primarily the high-frequency part of the signal) was able to leak out. In
addition, the twisting on the copper pair was very casual, designed as much to identify
which wires belonged to a pair as to handle transmission problems. Even with these
limitations, it was quite satisfactory for use in voice communications.
Coaxial cable technologies were primarily developed for the cable TV industry. In the
last few years, this technology has been extended to provide an Internet services to
residences. The high capacity of coaxial cable allows it to support multiple TV
channels, and this capacity can also be used for high-speed internet access. Like fibre
optics, the cost of cable installation limits the deployment of new services, and current
deployments are not typically in areas that allow this service which is to be offered to
business establishments.

Fiber optic systems

Fibre cables has becoming the third transmission medium apart from copper and
microwaves.
Fiber optic cables can be placed in ducts, buried in the ground or suspended in the air
between poles or can be installed as part of the ground wire on the high-voltage
transmission towers optical power ground wire (OPGW), and so forth.

Now, with the use of fiber cable higher data rates are a common in the industry
installed as part of the ground wire on the high-voltage transmission towers optical
power ground wire (OPGW), and so forth.
Though fiber cable provides huge amount of data rates for some areas laying fiber may
be costly.

Wireless Systems or Unguided media

Wireless communications can take several forms: microwave (point-to-point or pointto-multipoint), synchronous satellites, low Earth orbit satellites (LEOs), cellular,
personal communications service (PCS), and so on. For years, microwave radio
transmissions have been used in the telecommunications industry for the transport of
point-to-point data where information transmissions occur through carrier signals.
Microwave carrier signals are typically relatively short in wavelength and can transmit
information using various modulation methods.
The targeted wireless transmission type that we discuss here is microwave point to
point communication that we used in mobile communication.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Terrestrial Microwave Links

Advantages
Rapid installation

Disadvantages

Cost-effective

Line-of-sight will be disrupted if any obstacle,

such as new buildings, are in the way
Disruptions can be caused by the weather

Low planning costs

Insensitive towards unplanned disruptions (e.g.
those caused by underground work) or natural
disasters

Limited transmission capacity

Relay stations necessary for long distances

High degree of flexibility as a result of being able to

de-install and re-install at other locations

Why we need terrestrial microwave wireless transmission?

Radio links poses some advantages over the fiber- optic cables. For an example

cost-effective transmission links in inaccessible terrain and difficult environments

the quick coverage of large areas by new operators
higher security due to the fact that equipment can be physically concentrated

Radio-relay transmission is therefore a very attractive alternative for applications ranging from the
coverage of the rural, sparsely populated areas, of developing countries having ineffective or
minimal infrastructures to the well-developed industrial countries that require expansion of their
telecommunications networks.
Considering the three transmission media mentioned above, radio-relay transmission is the most
suitable option for networks that are located in areas of difficult terrain topography or where other
limitations are imposed on the use of optical fiber and/or copper coaxial cables. Generally
speaking, radio-relay transmission is most suitable in the following applications:

Long-haul routes for national and international networks covering areas of difficult terrain
topography
National networks containing radio-relay in parallel with optical fiber
Backbone routes
Urban access routes connecting interurban optical-fiber cable routes and in-town terminal
stations
Rapid geographical changes of station location as a consequence of catastrophic or
emergency situations
Short-term projects
Access links from cellular to public networks
Cellular transmission networks
Radio in the local loop
Point-to-multipoint operation

It is possible to combine the different applications presented above, thus making radio-relay
transmission a very competitive option both technically and economically.

Figure 1: Transmission options for different capacities and covered distances.

Radio-relay transmission suitability

Subject
Transmission capacity
Routes
Terrain topography
Infrastructure
Project implementation
Initial operation
Coverage
Special operation
Damaging intention
Availability

Suitable conditions for radio-relay transmission

Low, medium and high (not very high)
Short and medium (not very long)
Inaccessible terrain (not over water)
None or hardly existing
Short time
High initial investment
Continental rural and urban
Emergency use
Easy to protect important sites (nodes)
Very high (if required)

Table 1: Suitable conditions for radio-relay transmission.

What is Terrestrial Microwave Link planning?

Terrestrial microwave link planning can be a quite complicated and time-consuming task. The
degree of difficulty is a function of that which is to be included in the task. For instance, the task
may include initial planning plus an overview of the entire network, frequency planning, site
survey, path analysis, installation and tests. Network operational requirements may also constitute
a crucial factor in the planning process.

Generally when speaking, the initial design of a radio network planning there are four steps;

Initial planning and site selection

Topographical analysis
Preliminary path and frequency planning analysis
Site survey

When planning a radio network, we have to consider three key points. Those are;

Availability, currently expressed as a fraction of time

Quality, currently expressed in bit-error ratio (BER) for digital links
Cost, expressed in the actual currency

If we cant design our radio network to full fill above mentioned key point our radio network will
be a total failure though we went through the main four steps.

Initial Site selection and Planning

When it comes to the initial site selection and planning step few questions (customer
questionnaire) need to be answered with regards to the topics such as economic, area topology, the
existing network and what the services hope to be established with the installation. The following
questions will be such exemplarily question should be asked. With these questions we can do the
planning process with more understandable manner.
Who is the operator, what economic resources that he process, and what kind of services is
the operator going to offer?
Are we planning for many years ahead or just dealing with todays demand?
Are we expanding the existing network or designing a new one?
If there is an existing network, what spare capacity is available?
What are the requirements for reliability and performance of the network?

After getting answers for above questioners some basic things can be done. Those are;
Identify all the main nodes in the network like switch location, hub sites, collocated sites,
and so on.
Meet with customers, contractors, vendors, and/or partners) and determine responsibilities
for the transmission (leased lines, fiber, MW) network design and deployment.
Clearly define and describe in detail the scope of work (SOW). There is no such thing as
too detailed a scope of work.
Complete the scope and task delineation list (who is doing what). To avoid any future
confusion, this document should be as detailed as possible.
Sign the nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with all parties (customer, vendors, partners,
and so forth) involved in the project.
Identify potential microwave sites, MW link capacity requirements, and MW frequency
bands/channels available and/or approved for the project and conforming to relevant ITUR (or other regional) recommendations.
Identify the available license-exempt microwave spectrum in case rapid deployment
microwave systems (spread-spectrum or some other type) are required.
Identify existing MW systems in the area and the source of information (microwave
frequency coordination).
Attain information (drawings, maps, and so forth) of the existing transmission facilities in
the area (e.g., MW, fiber optics, copper) as well as PSTN offices and POPs of the local
Telco companies.
Determine existing tower and other antenna mounting structures capabilities, establish
whether there is sufficient space for the MW radio equipment and antenna installation
(provide site layouts and tower profiles), and verify access to those sites.
Find out all the customer-specific requirements (preferred equipment and services
suppliers, power backup requirements, schedule, internal processes, and so forth).
Identify equipment and service resources (for international projects, try to find local
companies).
Develop a preliminary transmission network build-out schedule.

Topological analysis
When considering the second step of network design process which is topological analysis we
have to have clear idea about the network topologies that we can see commonly in microwave
networks.
There are few main topologies we can commonly see in microwave networks. They are;
Star
Ring
Tree
Chain
Mesh
Figure 2: Common topology arrangements
8

 Star topology
A common pattern in which are all cell-sites directly connected to the switch & to form a star
network. The advantage of this configuration is that the cell-sites may be established to expand
capacity requirements in a particular area separately from capacity requirements in other parts of
the network. The network may be gradually taken into service in accordance with the
establishment of new sites.
This configuration also has the following disadvantages:
o It involves a large number of antennas in one place. This may cause space and strength
problems for antenna support structures. Large and robust structures are generally more
expensive.
o The high number of incoming routes may lead to problems in finding a sufficient number
of available channels.
This configuration is used mainly in leased lines networks and only under special circumstance in
microwave networks.

Figure 3: A Simple Star Topology

Ring Topology
By using radio links in a ring topology network, each node in the ring (i.e., each base station in
wireless network) is provided with two alternative routes. In the event of a failure in one link, the
traffic can be sent in the other direction of the ring. The main advantage of this configuration is
that it improves the availability of the network and can be built using PDH as well as SDH
technology.
If the ring has sufficient capacity to carry all the traffic from every site in both directions, then
complete redundancy has been achieved.
Unavailability time caused by hardware failure is reduced without the necessity of doubling the
radio equipment. That means that an unprotected (1 + 0) configuration can be used for all the links
forming the ring without sacrificing the availability of the network. Most links in the ring use a
9

higher capacity than would be used in a simple tandem chain. This means that each link works
with lower system gain than in a corresponding tandem chain, which is compensated by less fade
margin needed due to the ring protection. As a result, the links in a ring-protected network should
be able to use smaller antennas.
It is important to notice that the physical layout does not necessarily have to form a ring; it is the
actual flow of traffic (i.e. logical connection) that determines the ring topology.
It is important to notice that the physical layout does not necessarily have to form a ring; it is the
actual flow of traffic (i.e. logical connection) that determines the ring topology.

Figure 4: A Simple ring topology

Chain topology
The overall transmission performance of a tandem (also called daisy-chain) network is largely
influenced by the propagation characteristics of the individual hops. It is sometimes possible to
achieve the same overall physical connection by using different combinations of hop lengths.
Increasing the length of individual hops inevitably results in an increase in the probability of
outage for those hops. On the other hand, such an approach could mean that fewer hops might be
required, and the overall performance of the tandem network might not be impaired.
In the wireless network, this type of configuration consists of linking cell-sites in a chain such that
every cell-site in the chain acts as an active repeater for the previous one (see Figure 4.3). This
figure illustrates two chains converging to a common switch and, in this particular case; the
configuration can also be considered a tree. A common application of chain is the connection of
cell-sites along roads (called highway cell sites).
Closer to the switch, where the capacity is higher, it is recommended to have some degree of
hardware protection (1 + 1 configuration). If some of the microwave sites are in the remote areas
where time-to-repair can be long, protected configuration is also recommended.
10

Figure 5: A Simple Chain Topology

Mesh topology
The mesh topology is a mixture of the previously described configurations and is currently employed to
improve the availability to the network.

Figure 6: A Mesh Topology

With the information gathered from above questions we can decide what type of protection model
we need to apply. Do we need to implement new sites or can we use the existing sites. For this we
can use the existing topological map of the network.

11

Preliminary path and frequency planning analysis

After the topological analysis we can decide path of the network. When we decide regarding the
path of a microwave network there are few factors which are to be considered.
o
o
o
o
o
o

We need to consider about the LOS availability

Distance between the two nodes
Protection topology arrangement
Antenna diameters that we have to use
Losses that could happen
Solutions for the losses and LOS issues

LOS availability;
There is a main factor in microwave link designing. Microwave links that we use in
communication are point to point links. So we need line of sight (LOS) availability between two
nodes that we hope to connect. For LOS conformation we can use electronic tools as well as site
surveys. By the use of electronic tools we can examine the site locations and the path clearance
with use of GPS co-ordinations.
For more confirmation we can use site survey, by visiting the sites personally and confirming the
path clearance.
The ultimate goal of LOS survey is to have MW connectivity between the two sites to ascertain
the Line of Site clearance. The LOS survey is carried out physically checking the terrain between
the hop and selecting the sites for acquisition. The survey is highly critical because any failure in
LOS can lead to a delay in project and a subsequent loss on account. Then all site networks are
depending on this LOS survey. If we do it wrong, network planning will be very difficult. This
LOS survey is very important.
At the full network plane, that all links are very important. If any link is blocked, whole network
plane will destroyed, all links are connecting each others. LOS survey is very important to our
network planning.

The distance between the two sites;

Which, are to be calculated because it will be an important factor, when it comes to choose the
antenna diameters and frequency selection? More the distance would get the antenna diameter
would get bigger, more the distance would get the frequencies that we have to use will get lower.

The protection topology arrangement;

Depending on the capacity or the criticalness of the sites we have to arrange a protection topology
arrangement to the microwave link that we design. There are protection types that we can apply to
the microwave link and to the topology as well.
For the microwave links there are protections types that we use with the configuration for example
here we include two common configuration types that we can see.
12

1+0: one ODU (Out Door Unit) and one IDU (In Door Unit). No redundancy
1+1: one ODU and one IDU. Redundancy is available.
With topology arrangement we can select what type of what type of arrangement that we need that
is also depending with the criticalness of the microwave link.

Antenna diameters that we have to use;

We can select the antenna diameter depending on the distance. There are common diameters we
you use in microwave transmission networks. Those are
0.3m, 0.6m, 0.9m,1.2m, 1.8m, 2.4m, 3m, 4.6m.
Distance Km

Frequency

Antenna Size

0-2.5
2.5-6.5
6-9.5
9-15
10-20
15<

23G
18G
15G
13G
11G
8G

0.3m
0.6m
1.2m
1.2m
1.8m
2.4m/2.7m/3m/3.3m

Table: Relationship of distance and the antenna dia meters

Loss that can happen;

The loss/attenuation calculation is composed of three main contributions: propagation, branching,
and miscellaneous (or other) losses.
The propagation losses contribution comes from the losses due to the Earths atmosphere and
terraine.g., free-space as well as gas, precipitation (mainly rain), ground reflection, and
obstacles.
The branching losses contribution comes from the hardware required to deliver the
transmitter/receiver output to the antennae.g., waveguides as well as splitters and attenuators.
The miscellaneous losses contribution has a somewhat unpredictable and sporadic character,
e.g., sandstorms and dust storms as well as fog, clouds, smoke, and moving objects crossing the
path. In addition, poor equipment installation and less than perfect antenna alignment (field
margin) may give rise to unpredictable losses.
The miscellaneous contribution normally is not calculated, but it can be considered in the planning process
as an additional loss and then as part of the fade margin.

13

o Propagation Losses
Free Space Path Loss
Electromagnetic waves are attenuated while propagating between two geometrically separated
points. The free-space path loss model is used to predict received signal strength when the
transmitter and receiver have a clear, unobstructed line-of-sight path between them.
The attenuation is directly proportional to the square of distance and frequency and gives the freespace loss that represents most of the total attenuation caused by wave propagation effects.
The frequency and distance dependence of the loss between two isotropic antennas is expressed in
absolute numbers by the following equation:
LFSPL=[4d2] = [4fd]2
[]
(C)2

Where;
d = distance between transmit and receive antennas (m)
l = operating wavelength (m)
c = speed of light in vacuum (m/s)
f = frequency (Hz)
It is very important to notice that the free-space path loss model expressed here is valid only for
distances that are in the far field of the transmitter antenna.
Free-space loss is always present, and it is dependent on distance and frequency. After converting
to units of frequency and expressing it in the logarithmic (decibel) form, the equation becomes
LFSPL= 92.45+ 20 log (d)+20 log (f) [dB]
Where
f = frequency (GHz)
d = line-of-sight (LOS) range between antennas (km)
Vegetation attenuation

LOS between stations is required for point-to-point microwave links. For an unexpected obstacle
intercepting the Fresnel zone (e.g., growing vegetation), the additional loss can be calculated.
High-resolution path profiles and careful site and path surveys are important to avoid unexpected
obstacle attenuation. Vegetation is continuously growing, and the rate of growth is very important.
It is important to include a provision for at least ten years of vegetation growth.
Foliage losses at millimetre-wave frequencies are significant. An early empirical relationship was
developed (CCIR Report 236-2) that can predict the loss. For the case in which the foliage depth
is less than 400 m, the loss is given by
L=0.2f0.3d0.6 [dB]
14

Where
f = frequency (MHz)
d = depth of foliage (m)
This relationship is applicable for frequencies in the range 200 MHz to 95 GHz. For example, the
foliage loss at 40 GHz for a penetration of 10 m (which is about equivalent to a large tree or two
in tandem) is about 19 dB. This is clearly a very serious attenuation and has to be considered or,
even better, completely avoided.
Weissbergers modified exponential decay model, or simply, Weissbergers model, is a radio
wave propagation model that estimates the path loss due to the presence of vegetation on a pointto-point telecommunication link and gives slightly different results. If frequency is given in GHz,
we have
0.45f 0.284d

for 0<d < 14m

L=

(dB)
1.33f

0.284 0.588

for 14<d < 400m

This model is found to be applicable to cases in which the ray path is blocked by dense, dry, inleaf trees found in temperate-latitude forests.
The ITU Terrestrial Model for One Terminal in Woodland is a radio propagation model and a
successor of the Early ITU Model. This model is applicable to the scenario where one terminal of
a link is inside foliage and the other end is free.
The ITU Single Vegetative Obstruction Model is a radio propagation model that quantitatively
approximates the attenuation due to the vegetation in the middle of a telecommunication link. The
model is quite complex and does not work for frequencies from 35 GHz.
These last two new ITU methods are described in ITU-R Recommendation P.833-2 (1999) and
could be used for evaluating attenuation through vegetation between 30 MHz and 60 GHz. This
model is based on Radioactive Transfer Modeling and covers propagation through and the
diffraction around vegetation. It should be noted, however, that links passing through vegetation
generally vary significantly with time and wind speed.

Gas Absorption
A major difference in propagation through the real atmosphere versus free space is that there is air
present. Nitrogen and oxygen molecules account for approximately 99 percent of the total volume
of the atmosphere. Since the absorption bands of nitrogen are located far from the microwave
radio communications region of the spectrum, the atmosphere is considered to be composed of a
mixture of two gases: dry air (oxygen molecules) and water vapor (water molecules). Neither
manifests a linear increase with frequency, but instead both exhibit wild fluctuations, with peaks
of absorption followed by valleys and then further peaks, but with an obvious overall upward
trend.
15

The two absorption peaks present in the frequency range of commercial radio links are located
around 23 GHz (water molecules) and 60 GHz (oxygen molecules). Specific attenuation (in
dB/km) for water vapour and oxygen are separately calculated and then summed to give the total
specific attenuation. The specific attenuation is strongly dependent on frequency, temperature, and
the absolute or relative humidity (RH) of the atmosphere

Figure 7: Gas attenuation versus frequency

Incidentally, the patterns for oxygen and water vapor absorption are quite different, and their
peaks and valleys do not coincide. Above 100 GHz, oxygen molecule absorption is quickly
reduced to an insignificant level, while the water vapor absorption trend is still upward and
manifests a series of high peaks and deeps with the increase in frequency.
From 1030 GHz, absorption of either sort is not a very serious problem, and only one absorption
peak of any significance is present, occurring at 23 GHz. Consequently, the entire spectrum
category is useful. Above 30 GHz, water vapor absorption rise is very sharp, exceeding 10 dB/km
at 60 GHz.
Many other atmospheric gases and pollutants have absorption lines in the millimeter bands (e.g.,
SO2, NO2, O2, H2O, CO2, and N2O); however, the absorption loss is primarily due to water
vapor and oxygen only.
Attenuation Due to Precipitation
Precipitation can take the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, and haze. Considering about the climate
conditions in Sri Lanka rain, fog and haze would be calculated. All of these consist of water
particles. Rain attenuation is, however, the main contributor in the frequency range used by
commercial radio links. Rain attenuation increases with frequency and becomes a major
contributor in the frequency bands above 10 GHz.
The main parameter used in the calculation of rain attenuation is rain intensity (rain rate), which is
obtained from cumulative distributions. These distributions are the percentage of time for which a
given rain intensity is attained or exceeded and are furnished for 15 different rain zones covering
the entire Earths surface.
16

The specific attenuation of rain is dependent on many parameters, such as the form and size
distribution of the raindrops, polarization, rain intensity, and frequency. The contribution due to
rain attenuation is not included in the link budget and is used only in the calculation of rain fading.
It is important to notice that rain attenuation increases exponentially with rain intensity (mm/hr)
and that horizontal polarization gives more rain attenuation than vertical polarization.
Obstacle Losses
Diffraction is the mechanism responsible for obstacle loss/attenuation. In fact, obstacle loss is also
known in the literature as diffraction loss or diffraction attenuation.
Depending on the shape, size, and properties of the obstacle, diffraction calculations can be
cumbersome and time consuming. Since microwave paths normally require LOS, relatively
simple methods for calculating the obstacle loss are currently employed. One powerful but simple
method for calculation of obstacle loss is the single-peak method, which is based on the knifeedge approximation. This method can easily be extended to comprise the three most significant
peaks inside the Fresnel zones.
There are a number of different methods for estimating diffraction losses, some of them based on
the use of serious mathematical calculations. Here, we will show an estimate of the attenuation of
the signal (in dB), that results from diffraction over a single obstacle (building or tree), using the
knife-edge method.

Figure 8: Knife edge diffraction modelling

Fresnel zone

The concept of Fresnel zone clearance may be used to analyze interference by obstacles near the path of a
radio beam. The first zone must be kept largely free from obstructions to avoid interfering with the radio
reception. However, some obstruction of the Fresnel zones can often be tolerated, as a rule of thumb the
maximum obstruction allowable is 40%, but the recommended obstruction is 20% or less.

17

Figure 9: Fresnel zone

These two blue lines are showing First and second Fresnel zone of the link. According to path loss tool, we
can get the idea about this Fresnel zone.
For establishing Fresnel zones, first determine the RF Line of Sight (RF LoS), which in simple terms is a
straight line between the transmitting and receiving antennas. Now the zone surrounding the RF LoS is
said to be the Fresnel zone.
The general equation for calculating the Fresnel zone radius at any point P in between the endpoints of the
link is the following:

Where,
Fn = The nth Fresnel Zone radius in meters
d1 = the distance of P from one end in meters
d2 = the distance of P from the other end in meters
= The wavelength of the transmitted signal in meters

According to this calculations, we need 100% clearance of first Fresnel zone, and also second
Fresnel zone 60%.if it if not there some attenuation of the microwave signal.

18

 Ground Reflection
Reflection on the Earths surface may give rise to multipath propagation. Depending on the path
geometry, the direct ray at the receiver may be interfered with by the ground-reflected ray, and the
reflection loss can be significant. Since the refraction properties of the atmosphere are constantly
changing (k-value changes), the reflection loss varies (fades). The loss due to reflection on the
ground is dependent on the total reflection coefficient of the ground and the phase shift.
Figure which is below this paragraph illustrates the signal strength as a function of the total
reflection coefficient. The highest value (AMax) of signal strength is obtained for a phase angle of
0, and the lowest value (AMin) is for a phase angle of 180.
The reflection coefficient is dependent on the frequency, grazing angle (angle between the ray
beam and the horizontal plane), polarization, and other ground properties. The grazing angle of
radio-relay paths is very smallusually less than 1.
It is strongly recommended to avoid ground reflection, which can be achieved by shielding the
path against the indirect ray. For large grazing angles, the difference between vertical and
horizontal polarization is substantial.
Changing the antenna heights can move the location of the reflection point. This approach is
usually known as the hi-lo technique, which forces the reflection point to move closer to the
lowest antenna by affecting the height of the higher antenna. The grazing angle increases, and the
path becomes less sensitive to k-value variations.

Figure 10: Signal strength versus reflection coefficient

Space diversity also provides good protection against reflection, and it is usually applied for paths
over open water surfaces.
Obviously, on many paths, particularly at higher frequencies, it is difficult to obtain an accurate
estimate of the effective surface reflection coefficient because of various uncertainties such as the
surface conductivity, surface roughness, and so on, and the degree of subjectivity currently needed
to obtain a calculation. The calculation procedure may only be a rough guide in such situations to
19

help identify problem paths or to help choose one path from another, even if this possibility exists
in the first place.
The contribution resulting from reflection loss is not automatically included in the link budget.
However, when reflection cannot be avoided, the fade margin may be adjusted by including this
contribution as additional loss in the link budget.

Fading and Fade Margins

Fading is defined as the variation of the strength of a received radio carrier signal due to atmospheric
changes and/or ground and water reflections in the propagation path. Fading types normally considered
when planning microwave point-to-point paths are as follows:
Multipath fading, which is divided into

Flat fading
Frequency-selective fading
Rain fading
Refraction-diffraction fading (k-type fading)

All fading types are strongly dependent on the path length and are estimated as the probability of
exceeding a given (calculated) fade margin.

Multipath fading

Multipath fading is the dominant fading mechanism for frequencies lower than approximately 10
GHz. A reflected wave causes a phenomenon known as multipath, meaning that the radio signal
can travel multiple paths to reach the receiver. Typically, multipath occurs when a reflected wave
reaches the receiver at the same time as the direct wave that travels in a straight line from the
transmitter.
Multipath propagation gives rise to two kinds of signal degrading effects, i.e., flat fading and
frequency selective fading. The flat fading effect is due to thermal noise and interference.
Certainly, both flat and selective fading typically occur in combination.

Two scenarios of multipath are possible:

If the two signals reach the receiver in phase, then the signal is amplified. This is known as an up
fade. Up fades can also occur when the radio wave is trapped within an atmospheric duct. As can
be seen from the following formula, higher up fades are possible for longer paths:
Up fade max=10 log d 0.03d (dB)

Path length d is in kilometres and, for the 50 km path; maximum up fade can be up to 16.6 dB.
20

If the two waves reach the receiver out of phase, they weaken the overall received signal. If the
two waves are 180 apart when they reach the receiver, they can completely cancel each other out
so that a radio does not receive a signal at all. A location where a signal is canceled out by
multipath is called a null or down fade.
Under fading conditions, the direct signal may be attenuated and/or distortion increased to the
point where frequency selective notches result and dispersive fading occurs. Such distortion
results in ISI (inter-symbol interference) in the demodulator, an increase in data signal BER, and a
possible loss of data signal recovery.
Smooth surfaces, such as a body of water, a flat stretch of earth, or a metal roof, reflect radio
signals. In the following figure the body of water reflects a wave that cancels out the direct signal
and could bring down the radio link.

Figure 11: Multipath Fading

Some important facts about multipath fading are as follows:

Multipath fading is normally more active over bodies of water (lakes, sea, and so forth) than over
land. It is common practice on over-water paths to use a low-high antenna pair to move any
multipath reflections out of the antenna main beam.
It is important to avoid ground reflection. Multipath fading is more likely on paths across flat
ground than on paths over rough terrain. Horizontal paths give most flat fading.
21

A rule of thumb is that multipath fading, for radio links having bandwidths less than 40 MHz and
path lengths less than approximately 30 km (20 mi), is described as being flat instead of frequency
selective.
Increasing path inclination reduces the effects of flat fading. Reducing path clearance (i.e.,
lowering antennas) will reduce the effect of flat fading, because the risk of multipath propagation
is decreased; however, this technique may increase the risk for refraction-diffraction fading.
On over-water paths, for example, the path inclination might be adjusted to place the surface
reflection on a land surface rather than on water, and even better, on a land surface covered by
trees or other vegetation. The reflection point moves towards an antenna that is being lowered and
away from an antenna that is being raised.
On over-water paths at frequencies above about 3 GHz, it is advantageous to choose vertical
polarization over horizontal polarization. At grazing angles greater than about 0.7, a reduction in
the surface reflection of 2 to 17 dB can be expected over that at horizontal polarization.
Antenna beam tilting effects have been effectively employed to overcome multipath fading
induced by surface multipath or super refractive/ducting layers in microwave point-to-point (LOS)
links. In both cases, upward tilting of the antenna cuts-off or reduces the radio frequency energy
refracted and reduces the multipath fading.

Flat Fading

A flat fading is a reduction in input signal level where all frequencies in the channel of interest are
equally affected. Flat fading implies barely noticeable variation of the amplitude of the signal
across the channel bandwidth.
Flat fading is dependent on path length, frequency, and path inclination. In addition, it is strongly
dependent on the geoclimatic factor (temperature/pressure variations), which is the factor that
accounts for the refraction properties in the atmosphere, antenna altitudes, and the type of terrain.
Deep flat fading is assumed to follow the Rayleigh distribution.
If necessary, the flat fade margin of a link can be improved, including using larger antennas, a
higher-power microwave transmitter, lower-loss feed line, and splitting a longer path into two
shorter hops in several ways.

Frequency selective fading

Frequency-selective fading implies amplitude and group delay distortions across the channel
bandwidth produced by the multipath nature of the transmission media. Actually it happens
because of some ionized particles in the transmission media. It particularly affects medium- and
high-capacity radio links (>32 Mbps).

22

Rain fading

Rain attenuation basically happens because of the oxygen and vapour gaseous absorption. Oxygen
loss is negligible for frequencies up to about 50 GHz. The first and best known effect of rain is
that it attenuates the signal. The attenuation is caused by the scattering and absorption of
electromagnetic waves by drops of liquid water. The scattering diffuses the signal, while
absorption involves the resonance of the waves with individual molecules of water. Water vapor
absorption is highly dependent on the frequency as well as the density of the water vapor
(absolute humidity, gm/m3). Water vapor absorption can be significant for long paths (>10 km).
Loss has a local maximum at 23 GHz and a local minimum at about 31 GHz. Absorption
increases the molecular energy, corresponding to a slight increase in temperature, and these results
in an equivalent loss of signal energy.
The extent of the attenuation due to rain is primarily a function of the form and the size
distribution of the raindrops. Rain fading starts increasing noticeably at about 10 GHz and, for
frequencies above 15 GHz, rain fading is normally the dominant fading mechanism.
Rain events are statistically predictable with reasonable accuracy if short-integration or
instantaneous rain measurements are available. Models that are based on measured cumulative
distributions of rain events are currently employed in the prediction of the probability that a
certain fade margin will be exceeded. The model estimates the time (normally expressed in
percentage of a year) during which a given fade depth (fade margin) is exceeded. Next, the result
is converted to worst-month statistic. The concept of worst month for a certain specific value of
the worst month is defined as that month with the highest probability of exceeding that specific
value.
Apart from the rain the other forms of precipitation such as fog and haze do not affect radio-relay
links as much as rain events and are considered negligible.
The rain rate enters into this equation because it is a measure of the average size of the raindrops.
When the rain rate increases (i.e., it rains harder), the raindrops are larger, and thus there is more
attenuation. Rain models differ principally in the way the effective path length L is calculated.
Two authoritative rain models that are widely used are the Crane model and the ITU-R P.530-xx
model, but there are a number of other models developed specifically for a certain region and/or
application.
Heavy rainfall, usually in cells accompanying thunderstorm activity and weather fronts, has a
great impact on path availability above 10 GHz. Rain outage increases dramatically with
frequency and then with path length. Fading due to rain attenuation is described empirically from
link tests and point rainfall data. Location variation is based on selected point rainfall data and
radar reflectivity data accumulated around the world. Ten- to fifteen-minute duration fades to over
50 dB have been recorded on an 18-GHz, 5-km path, for example, and increased outage at 23
GHz can require a 2-to-1 reduction in path length compared to 18 GHz for a given availability.

23

Much is known about the qualitative aspects, but the problems faced by the microwave
transmission engineer remain formidable. To estimate probability distribution, instantaneous
rainfall data is needed.
Unfortunately, the available rainfall data is usually in the form of a statistical description of the
amount of rain that falls at a given measurement point over various time periods.
Important fact is the total annual rainfall in an area has little relation to the rain attenuation for the
area. In some cases, the greatest annual rainfalls are produced by long periods of steady rain of
relatively low intensity at any given time. Other areas of the country, with lower annual rates,
experience thunderstorms and frontal squalls, which produce short-duration rain rates of extreme
intensity.
The incidence of rainstorms of this type determines the rain rates for an area, and thus the highfrequency microwave links long-term path outage time and unavailability. Even the rain
statistics for a day or an hour have little relationship to rain attenuation.
A day with only a fraction of an inch/centimeter of total rainfall may have a path outage due to a
short period of concentrated, extremely high-intensity rain. Another day with several
inches/centimeters of total rainfall may experience little or no path attenuation, because the rain is
spread over a long time period or large area. The predicted annual outage may not occur for years
and then accumulate over a single rainy season for a long-term average.
The worst rain outages occur during the heaviest thunderstorms.

Refraction and Diffraction

In the real world, the k-factor varies with time and location in accordance with complex physical
interactions involving the refractivity gradient (dn/dh) in the lowest part of the atmosphere and
other mechanisms as detailed in the propagation P series of ITU Recommendations.
An important objective in planning terrestrial microwave link systems is to ensure that outages
resulting from these variations are extremely rare events; thus, system fade margins, linked to
error performance and availability objectives, of the appropriate order are implemented to ensure
that this is so. Accordingly, to take account of the statistical nature of radio wave propagation, the
application of appropriate propagation prediction models is necessary.
Refraction-diffraction fading, also known as k-type fading, is characterized by seasonal and daily
variations in the Earth-radius factor k. For low k values, the Earths surface becomes more curved,
and terrain irregularities, manmade structures, and other objects may intercept the Fresnel zones.
The probability of refraction-diffraction fading is therefore indirectly connected to obstruction
attenuation for a given value of Earth-radius factor. Since the Earth-radius factor is not constant,
the probability of refraction-diffraction fading is calculated based on cumulative distributions of
the Earth-radius factor.
For high k values, the Earths surface gets close to a plane surface, and better LOS (lower antenna
heights) is obtained.
24

Losses could happen in the hardware

o Cable loss
o Connector loss
o Coupler loss (Applied in 1+1 configuration)

Common Solutions for the losses and LOS Problems

Diversity techniques are used as a solution for multipath problem is available. There are few
diversity techniques that we use. Those are;

Space diversity
Frequency diversity
Polarization diversity
Hybrid diversity

Space diversity
Output of the transmitter is fed to more than one antenna and received by more than one antenna.

Figure 12 : Space diversity

Space diversity technique is the widely used diversity technique used to combat Multipath fading.

Frequency diversity
The signal is transmitted using several frequency channels or spread over a wide spectrum that is
affected by frequency-selective fading.

25

Figure 13: Frequency diversity

Polarization diversity
Multiple versions of a signal are transmitted and received via antennas with different polarization.
A diversity combining technique is applied on the receiver side. This is a solution for multiple
climate conditions.

Hybrid diversity
Hybrid diversity (HD) is an enhancement (SD+FD) of space diversity that uses frequency
diversity (when permitted). Hybrid diversity is the most effective of all of the diversity
arrangements and is preferred in difficult propagation areas, such as those covering very long
distances or transmitting over water. Here, one side of the link has one antenna and the other one
has two antennas (SD).

In the LOS issues we mostly we like to change the path of the link. But some time we will not be
able to change the path as well. In those kinds of issues we used put repeaters.
In cases where a direct microwave path cannot be established (i.e., there is no line of sight)
between two points, it is possible to establish a path by using a repeater. The function of such a
repeater is to redirect the beam so as to pass the microwave beam around or over the obstacle
(e.g., a building or hill).
The main requirement is that there should be a clear line of sight between the repeater and both
sides of the microwave link. This could be an active repeater (two microwave radios connected
back to back) if distances are long, or a passive repeater if distances are relatively short.

26

Preliminary path and frequency planning analysis

When it comes to the frequency planning there are few areas that we need to get know.
o Less Than 3 GHz
Many UHF analog microwave links still are deployed in the 400-MHz band with the 1.4GHz band now being used for low-capacity, digital links. The 2.4GHz is used for
unlicensed links. In these lower frequency bands, long hops, even greater than 100 km, can
be accommodated. This is due to the more robust modulation scheme sand the less
stringent line of sight (LOS) requirements. Due to the larger wavelength, the antenna
surface accuracy on solid parabolic dishes is not critical and simple horn feeds can be
used.

o 311 GHz
This group of frequencies is typically where the main medium-to-high capacity long haul
band links are deployed; 4 GHz, 6 GHz, 7/8 GHz, and 11 GHz are typical. The 5.8 GHz is
used for unlicensed links. These links require full LOS and are affected mainly by
multipath fading. Thirty miles (50 km) is considered the ideal hop length that balances the
requirement to maximize hop length with costs, ease of design, and deployment
complications. Short hops should not be put in these bands, as they are a waste of valuable
spectrum.

o 1338 GHz
This group of frequencies is used for short hops, and there is an abundance of spectrum.
The main fading effect is from rain attenuation. Links below 30 km can typically be
deployed in the 13-GHz or 15-GHz band, whereas for very short hops (less than 5 km), the
38-GHz band should be used. Other link frequencies in this category are 18 GHz, 23 GHz,
26 GHz (ETSI), 32 GHz (new band) and 38 GHz. The 24 GHz is used for unlicensed
links.
When it comes to frequency selection there are few factors need to be considered.
o
o
o
o
o

Distance of the microwave link

Atmospheric nature of the area
Radio models that is available with vendor
Interference
Topological arrangement

27

Distance of the microwave link

As we know frequencies get degraded with the distance it travels in the medium. Lower
frequencies travel higher distances than the higher frequencies that would travel. So the distance
of the planed microwave link is needed to select the frequency range.

Atmospheric nature of the area

Geographical factors play a role in selecting the frequencies such as;
If the area is full of greenery the vegetation attenuation can be happen
If area is an aquatic area losses can be happen such as absorption losses
If the area is open for EMI it can be another problem
If the frequency that we going to use is not matching with the frequencies that is already used in
the sites it cause an interference issue.
Such like problems can be happening if not consider about the geographical area.

Radio models that is available with vendor

When selecting the radio frequencies we have to look up with the vender specifications for the
radio models and the frequency bands that they operate at. It will allow us choose the suitable
frequencies for the sites.

These are the popular venders of the microwave equipments

1. Ericson
Famous equipment is vender in industry. These equipments are using in world wide. These
equipments are made in Europe
Generally in Sri Lanka, Dialog, Mobitel and Etisalat companies are using these equipments
2. Alcatel
Alcatel also made in Europe. Little bit expensive than Huawei and ZTE. But these equipments are
having some good qualities. This is also very famous vender name in world. Mainly in Sri Lanka
Etisalat uses this brand for their microwave needs.

28

3. Huawei
This is one of the most popular telecommunication equipment venders in Sri Lanka. These
equipments are cheaper than others. Airtel, Dialog, Mobitel and Hutch companies are
using these equipments most of times. These equipments are made in China.
4. ZTE
This is also popular telecommunication equipment vender in Sri Lanka. Especially Mobitel
Company is using these equipments.
5. Siemens
This is Europe Company; they are providing quality equipments to telecommunication industry.
Little bit expensive than other venders. But it has some good stranded and quality.
6. NEC
This NEC Company produces mostly Microwave equipments. (ODU and IDU). These
equipments are also use in Sri Lanka
7. Ceragon

Interference
. Interference is the general term for any kind of radiation disturbance on radio-link systems.The
effect of interference can be happen if do not use the appropriate frequencies for the sites. There
are several ways that interference can happen;
1. From equipment housing one unit to that of another unit, between components housed in the
same cabinet, or among units in the same telecommunications room
2. From the transmitter antenna to the receivers equipment housing
3. From the transmitters antenna to the receivers antenna
4. From the transmitters equipment housing to the receivers antenna
5. As spurious signals in the power supply system
These factors can be eliminated by a proper documentation work. This means we need a proper
plan of frequencies that we have already used.

Topology arrangement
Interference aspects may severely limit the number of links in a network if appropriate caution is
not exercised in the earlier stages of frequency planning. In what follows, some general aspects,
based on former sections, are illustrated.
1. Since paths of a chain have very sharp angles, using the same channels by changing
polarization (HP/VP) may be a good alternative to using two alternate channels in the chain.

29

2. Figure shows the same channel used alternately with horizontal (HP) and vertical (VP)
polarization. Upper (U) and lower (L) duplex halves for the transmitters are illustrated in each
site.
3. In the tree configuration, and for sharp angles, polarization discrimination ensures the
possibility of using the same channel with different polarization (HP and VP). Both transmitters
on the common node have the same duplex half (U).
4. In the ring configuration, the same channel, with the same polarization, is employed in the
perpendicular paths but with different polarization in the parallel paths. The transmitters are
alternately labeled upper (U) and lower (L) duplex halves. Although the picture does not represent
a physical ring configuration, the logical configuration and traffic flows is indeed ring in nature. If
the ring consisted of an odd number of sites, there would be a conflict of duplex halves, and
changing the frequency band would be a good alternative.
5. In the star configuration, as noted earlier, all transmitters on the common node should have the
same duplex half (L). Keep in mind that this configuration displays a difficult frequency planning
scenario and is very sensitive to the geometry (mutual angles). If the node is a concentration point
for high-capacity links, wide bandwidth is required, thus making the allocation of smaller
channels in other portions of the network quite complicated. It is recommended that the link
carrying the traffic out of the hub should use a frequency band other than the one employed inside
the cluster.
6. Mesh configuration presents a complicated frequency planning scenario as a result of several
conflicts of duplex halves. In addition, it normally requires more channels than do other
configurations.

30

Figure 14: Polarization arrangement for different topological arrangements

Site survey
The ultimate goal of LOS survey is to have MW connectivity between the two sites to ascertain
the Line of Site clearance. The LOS survey is carried out physically checking the terrain between
the hop and selecting the sites for acquisition. The survey is highly critical because any failure in
LOS can lead to a delay in project and a subsequent loss on account. Then all site networks are
depending on this LOS survey. If we do it wrong, network planning will be very difficult. This
LOS survey is very important.
At the full network plane, that all links are very important. If any link is blocked, whole network
plane will destroyed. Then these all LOS survey is very important to our network planning .If we
do a wrong survey, that one link can be very effective to network planning. Then we should be
make sure all things about the survey should be done up to the task.
What are the tools we need to do LOS survey?
o Compass
o GPS
31

o 100m tape
o 5m stele tape
o Binocular
o Mirrors
o Touches
o Camera

o How can we do LOS survey properly?

Requirements for LOS survey

Get correct GPS coordinates at the site

First we should go to site and want to get exacts Latitude and longitude at the site. This coordinates should
be right under the tower. After it we must get the Elevation of the site. This is so important to do the survey
.because elevation is very useable to get Wright idea about terrain vive of earth.
After we are getting these detail. We can manually put this data to path loss. Then we can find the correct
azimuth of two sites and terrain view of the land

Figure 15: GPS co-ordinations

32

 Get correct tower leg azimuth of the tower

Then we must find the leg azimuths of the tower. Generally there are three types of towers and
we use different methods to get leg azimuths of these towers

1. Ground base 4 lag tower

Figure 16: Four Leg Towers

At the 4 leg tower, first we go behind the one leg and watch the opposite leg of the tower. Then get the
compass and direct it to those two legs, then turn the Wright north of compass. Then there is the valve.
That azimuth is the far end leg azimuth

40 (Example)

33

As an example, if we think that valve is 40 degree. We can easily find the other leg azimuth.
Because this is 4 leg tows, 360/4 is 90.then difference (azimuth) between neighbor lags is 90
Then we can find other legs azimuths as a (40+90), (40+180), (40+270)
2. Ground base 3 leg tower

Figure: Three Leg Towers

At the 3 leg tower, first we go between two legs. Actually center of the two legs and direct the compass to
other (3rd) leg. Then we can turn compass to north. Then there is the valve. That azimuth is the 3rd leg
azimuth

20 (example)

34

As an example, if we think that valve is 20 degree. We can easily find the other leg azimuth.
Because this is 3 leg towers, its looks like eggers of equilateral triangle. Then 360/3 is 120.then
difference (azimuth) between neighbor legs is 120
Then we can find other legs azimuths as a (20+120), (20+240),

3. Roof top pole

Figure: Roof Top Pole

This is only one pole. We can directly propose the antenna for any azimuth using Pole.
To the documentation posses, we need to put correct north of the tower

Then, first we go behind the one leg and watch the neighbor leg of the tower. Then get the compass and
direct it to those two legs, then turn the Wright north of compass. Then there is the valve. According to
That azimuth we can find the north according to tower

35

After these things we can find the correct leg we want to propose the antenna according to far end
azimuth.

Propose antenna location

This is the most important thing of this survey. First a fall we can get the rough idea
using Pathloss, about the height. Then we can climb a tower until that height. After if get the
compass and can look the far end direction. If the hop length is under 12 or 14 km, if the link is
clear, we can easily see the far end on the sunny day.

Figure 17: Far end Location

Afterwards we might find the far end. According it we can change our height. Because some areas
tree height and budding height is different than general tree height. Sometimes customers asking
some fix clearance margin like 5m, 10m.at that sort of time we need to propose the height
according to clearance margin. Using Pathloss we can find that height. Then we want to check
that height, according to antenna dimension we need some free space at the related leg on the
tower. We must make sure about that height. At that height link should be clear and free leg space
should be there.
If there is no space at that height, we have to propose the antenna more than that minimum height.

36

Figure 17: Proposed Antenna Position

Other thing is; if we cant see a clear view of the far end, we can use binocular to see the far end. It is an
extra advantage for identifying the far end tower.
Cable ladders

Figure18: Vertical cable ladder

Figure 19: Horizontal cable ladder

37

We must check the cable ladder to lay the IF cable. If there a no space. We need to propose new cable
ladder. This IF cable is very sensitive cable. It can be easily damage. Then we must lay the cable properly.
For that we must find space to lay the IF cable from BTS cabin to Microwave antenna. And also we want
to get the length of it. According to it we can find IF cable length.

Outside grounding bus bar

Figure 20: Outside Grounding Bus Bar

These tower heights are bigger than the objects that we can see in the normal ground level. So
lighting issues is the one of main issue for towers. Then we need to make good ground for all the
equipment related to tower. Then we want to check the grounding bus bar of the tower. If there
not any free space to connect our new microwave cable and other thing, we need to add new
outside grounding bus bar to tower.

Cable window

Figure 21: Cable entry point

At the shelter (BTS cabin), there is the window to lay the cable from inside to outside. It calls
cable window. This shelter is fully air condition. Then this window should be fully seal. Then we
need check that cable window to lay our new microwave IF cable. If there a no free cable hall at
the cable window. Then we need to propose new cable window.
38

 Inside grounding bus bar

Figure 22: Inside Grounding Bus Bar

At the shelter, we also need to ground the equipment properly. If it is not, that lighting issues
should effective to that equipments. Because of it we need to ground the new microwave
equipment at in the shelter. If there a no space at the Inside grounding bus bar, we need to propose
new bus bar.
Microwave In Door Unit(IDU) Rack
We know every microwave link have IDU. At the cabin,
there is a rack for fixing IDU properly. According to the new fiber
system, BTS size is very small, then mini BTS also installing on that
rack. Also E1 patch panels are in this rack. If we going to install a
new microwave antenna, we want to check the free space of the IDU
rack. If there are no spaces, we need to propose new rack at the cabin.

Figure 23: Microwave Rack

Power Breakers

39

Figure 24: Power boxes

Generally every microwave IDU racks having power breakers of protecting the IDUs from
lightings. Then there is a power breaker panel on the rack. We need to check that power breaker panel, if
there are no free (not using) breakers .we has to propose a new power breaker panel
These are the main requirements to install the new microwave antenna. At this survey,
we must properly check about these all the things. If anything not at the survey report .there should
be so difficult to do the installation process. These all the requirements are very important. But main
thing is LINE OF SITE clearance should be there
When checking the LOS availability there are few types of tests that we can do manually. Those are
balloon test, mirror test or light test.

Balloon test
We can hydrogen, coloured balloon for this test as we can find the far end site easily if there is an error in
locating the far end.

Figure 25: Balloon test

40

Light test and mirror test

At the town area, hare are lots of building and other physical things disturbing to
telecommunication networks. And other thing is that areas population density also high. Then lots of roof
top towers are there. At that type of area, we can see more towers within 200,300m of land. Then
sometimes we can identify the correct tower form far end. Then we have to do light test or mirror test.

Mirror test

Figure 26: Mirror Test

We need one or two mirrors to do this test. Two persons want to go that two ends of the link and we have
to go to propose position of the tower and reflect the light to other tower direction. If link is clear, we can
easily see the light reflection of the mirror. According to it, we can decide the clearance of the link
If we in the cloudy day. There are no sun shine to do the mirror test. Then we has to light test at night

Light test

We need one or two torch to do this test. Two persons want to go that two ends of the link at night time.
We have to go to propose position of the tower and on the light to other tower direction. If link is clear, we
can easily see the torch light ray. According to it, we can decide the clearance of the link.

41

 Issues of LOS surveys and how we overcome these issues

Looking at wrong tower

This is one of main issues for doing the survey. Selecting wrong tower and take the photos. At the
town area, there are there are lots of towers. Most of times that all towers are look like same. Then
when we look the direction of the far end, we must be sharp. If degree is wrong, we can see other
tower. Then we cant identify the correct tower.
For over come to this issue, we can put a red flag or something like it on the tower, or make
remember antennas of the far end tower .then we can find the other tower easily.

Compass issues

Where using magnetic compass to do the surveys. Because magnetic compasses are light weight
and easy handle on the tower. But there are lots of metal at on the tower. Then it can be disturbed
to compass and it helps showing us to wrong directions. If the compass is wrong, total survey can
be wrong.

Then over come to this issue, we can get the direction far from the tower. At on the tower, we can
pun compass out of the tower and get the direction.

o Another antenna installed at that our proposed antenna location

Sometimes several mobile networks are sharing the same tower. Then after we completing survey
we must put the remark about it on the propose antenna location. If it is not, another user can
install an antenna at that free space.
For over come to this issue, we can put a label at propose antenna location, and also antenna size
should be on there

o Sometimes Cant reach the critical point

Sometimes we cant reach to critical points, because most of time that points is in mountains.
Then we have to go soon as when we can go .if we can see that critical point, we can get the idea
about tree height. Then we can get the elevation of several points around it and match the
elevation of the critical point. This is not the 100% over come for this issue. But this is only what
we can do for this issue

42

The tools that we use in radio network planning

Most microwave network design software tools are developed by radio manufacturers and
therefore are biased toward the manufacturers own equipment. In other cases, the tool may be
proprietary and not sold on the open market. These tools are sometimes provided to engineering
personnel who are working on the customers site and performing network design. While some
microwave equipment manufacturers insist on using their own software tools, some operators and
consultants prefer to use commercially available tools.
One such vendor-independent tool is Pathloss 5.0 (and the older 4.0 version). This tool is probably
one of the best (and most moderately priced) tools for the complex microwave design, including
North American and ITU standards, different diversity schemes, diffraction and reflection
(multipath) analysis, rain effects, interference analysis, and others. Radio equipment parameters
for equipment from any vendor, channel tables, antenna diagrams, and so on are defined and
stored in the default parameters database for easy retrieval.
This tool is widely accepted by microwave system design engineers around the world.
Steps in pathloss tool to do a simple calculation;
Step 1 - Enter site information
Open the Pathloss 5 program; you should see a window with a toolbar and menu. If there is a
menu item called "Initialize Program", you must initialize the program before continuing.
Click View - Site List to bring up the Site index. You can also click the Site list button on the
toolbar.

We are going to manually add two sites to the project. Click on the first cell in the Site Name
Column. Enter a name for the site and press the Tab key to move on to the next cell. Enter
Latitude for the site and press Tab. Enter a Longitude. This is the minimum required information
for a site. Add a second site using the same method.

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Close the Site list and the sites will be shown in the GIS window.
Sites can also me imported from a CSV file or any delimited text file. See Pathloss 5 - Import sites
from text file.
To determine what terrain data file(s) you will need, it is helpful to see a geographic grid.
Click Configure - Options - Network display options. Click Axis - map grid. In the bottom right
area, check Show Geographic Grid and Show Labels.

Click the green check button

to accept the settings changes. Make a note of the bounding
coordinates so you will know what terrain data you need.

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Step 2 - Configure terrain data

Terrain data is available from many sources in a wide variety of formats. For this example we will
use SRTM terrain data. Full instructions on downloading and using this data is at SRTM.
Step 3 - Create the links

For this example we will manually link the sites.

You should see the 2 sites marked on the screen. The mouse wheel can be used for zoom the
display in and out.

Select the Point to Point Link cursor

interact with links.

from the toolbar. This cursor is used to create and

Left click
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on one of the sites and drag to the other site to create the link. You can now left click on the link
to access the modules of the link design tool.
Right clicking on links or sites will allow you to adjust attributes (appearance) and access other
options.
Step 4 - Design the links
Generate Profile

The first step in designing the link is to generate a path profile. Select the Point to Point Link
tool

and left click on the link. Select terrain data from the pop-up menu.

This opens the terrain data module in the link design tool. Click on Operations - Generate
Profile. Make sure Primary Terrain DEM is selected and that the terrain database set up in the
first step is shown. Click the green check mark to generate the profile.

Once the operation is finished, a status window will be displayed. Review this data carefully. It
should display, "primary usage - 100.0%." If this is not shown or the usage is less than 100%,
check the file listed and the directory, make sure the file exists and is in the correct directory.
Click the green check to close the status window.
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Antenna Heights
Once the profile has been generated, antenna heights can be calculated. Click on Design Antenna heights to enter the antenna heights module.

Click the calculate button

to calculate antenna heights that satisfy the clearance criteria
(100%F1 at 4/3k is the default).
Transmission analysis
Click on Design - Transmission analysis to open the link budget section of the program.

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The minimum required data for a complete reliability calculation is:

Frequency

Antenna gain

TX Power

RX Threshold level

Path information (roughness, climatic factor, temp)

Click on the Rain cloud in the center of the path window, a dialog box will appear.

Enter the frequency in MHz. Click the green check button

Click on the antenna graphic located on the left or right hand side of the screen. A dialog will
appear.

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Enter the antenna gain in the fields provided. You will need to specify the gain of the antenna for
both site 1 and site 2. Click the green check button
Click on the Radio graphic located on the left or right hand side of the screen. A dialog will
appear.

Enter the TX Power in watts or dBm and the RX Threshold level in dBm for both sides of the link
(both site 1 and site 2). Click the green check button
Click on the Terrain profile graphic located in the center of the screen. A dialog will appear.

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The required fields will all have blue arrow buttons

beside them. The blue arrow button will
either calculate and populate the field or, in the case of Diffraction and Roughness, prompt for
additional information.
Start by clicking the blue arrow button for Diffraction loss. A dialog box will appear.

Accept the defaults by clicking the green check button.

. Next, click the blue arrow button for
Climatic factor and then Terrain roughness after which a dialog will appear.

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Accept the default selections by clicking the calculator button

followed by the green check

button.
Finally, click the Average annual temperature blue arrow button. Click the green check button
to accept and close the Path profile data dialog box.
You should now have the reliability calculations visible in the main window.
Step 5 - Generate reports
From the Link Design Tool, select Design - Transmission Analysis
Select Report - Transmission Summary Report. This opens the report window which is actually a
robust editor similar to MS Word.

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Here you can make any final changes to the appearance of the report. When you are ready,
click File - Print to print the report.
Each module has its own report format. As well, you can select Design - Reports to create batch
reports including data from any module and across multiple link files.

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Problem fond and Solution suggestions for that

Problem Found
House of Fashion is a major clothing store which is going to be open recently around the Borella
area. It is a major clothing store in Sri Lanka which accepts higher number of customers all the
time. Which means simultaneous it will increase the traffic that they will produce with in a small
area. According to the adjacent site analysis and the drive test analysis, these adjacent sites cant
handle a huge traffic that would generate targeting this area.

Solution That I Propose

Implement a new site linking to exciting site. The microwave must be calculated as critical one
because of the huge traffic that we accept and because of availability we would accepts from the
site to give maximum availability to the customers. At last it is capacity upgrade.

Design
When looking at the topological arrangement the perfect site to build up is COL 397 which
already has got a connection with COL 200 which is a main node of the Mobitel network. The
new site build up was COL 403.
After getting the GPS co ordinations of the new site we can get an idea from which direction we
can see the other site from a certain site.
With the survey part we did we are certain a microwave link can be built up to link these two
sites. With the height clearance confirmation we get from the LOS tests we can enter the
calculation part which gives the perfect idea about the microwave link that we are going to
establish.
Since the distance between these two sites is only around two Kilo meters I propose to use 0.3m
antenna size with 23GHz frequency band. The polarization that I hope to use is vertical
polarization because it is the best polarization method of solution against the rain attenuation
ground fading. By analysing the existing frequency plans of the COL 397 and the very
neighbouring sites I proposed to use the following frequencies as mentioned in the TSSR
document that I prepared for these two sites.
Because of the criticalness of this microwave link i propose to use 1+1 HSB (Hot standby)
method to this microwave link. And because of the ring topological protection in COL200 our
link security applies perfectly.
Chose ZTE IDU and ODUs with antennas because it is very cheap and it allows us to achieve our
requirements like the bandwidth - 28Mbps in QPSK modulation and the required E1capacity of 16
E1s and power levels 24dBm. On the other hand it supports Ethernet and STM traffics. ZTE has
strong relationship with Mobitel because of that it provides a good customer support as well.

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Protection applied to the Site existing ring in COL 200 with COL 397

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Microwave Worksheet - COL403-COL397.pl4

COL403

COL397

Elevation (m)
11.00
17.00
Latitude
06 54 42.36 N
06 55 13.40 N
Longitude
079 52 35.25 E
079 52 50.70 E
True azimuth ()
26.46
206.46
Vertical angle ()
1.93
-1.94
Antenna model
WTG03-212D
WTG03-212D
Antenna height (m)
20.00
50.00
Antenna gain (dBi)
34.40
34.40
Circ. branching loss (dB)
1.70
1.70
Frequency (MHz)
23000.00
Polarization
Vertical
Path length (km)
1.06
Free space loss (dB)
120.25
Atmospheric absorption loss (dB)
0.20
Net path loss (dB)
55.05
55.05
Radio model NR8000 23G 28M QPSKNR8000 23G 28M QPSK
TX power (watts)
0.25
0.25
TX power (dBm)
24.00
24.00
EIRP (dBm)
56.70
56.70
TX Channels
21238.0000V
22470.0000V
RX threshold criteria
BER 10-6
BER 10-6
RX threshold level (dBm)
-83.00
-83.00
RX signal (dBm)
-31.05
-31.05
Thermal fade margin (dB)
51.95
51.95
Geoclimatic factor
0.00E+00
Path inclination (mr)
33.79
Fade occurrence factor (Po)
0.00E+00
Average annual temperature (C)
27.50
Worst month - multipath (%)
100.00000
100.00000
(sec)
0.00
0.00
Annual - multipath (%)
100.00000
100.00000
(sec)
0.00
0.00
(% - sec)
100.00000 - 0.00
Rain region
ITU Region N
0.01% rain rate (mm/hr)
95.00
Flat fade margin - rain (dB)
51.95
Rain rate (mm/hr)
327.50
Rain attenuation (dB)
51.95
Annual rain (%-sec)
99.99998 - 5.49
Annual multipath + rain (%-sec)
99.99998 - 5.49
TSSR of the two sites

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Achievement

Frequencies could applied easily because of the proper frequency plan

RSL level was unexpectedly good because of the path clearance, with no interference

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REFERENCES
Microwave Transmission Networks Planning, Design and Deployment - Harvey Lehpamer
Radio Transmission Network and Frequency Planning - Ericsson Radio Systems AB 1999

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