5G New Radio

Network
Planning
Whitepaper

February 2019

Abstract- In this whitepaper,

firstly, we give a brief overview of
the key enabling technologies for
5G New Radio (NR). Secondly, we
analyse 5G NR network planning
requirements. Finally, we use
Ranplan Professional to study
three 5G NR deployment scenarios
- fixed wireless access (FWA),
outdoor urban dense small
cell/HetNet deployment and stadium.
 Table of contents

Table of contents
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3
2. 5G new radio overview ...................................................................................... 5
2.1. 5G NR standardisation and deployment timeframes .............................................5
2.2 Key enabling technologies ......................................................................................6
2.2.1 Millimetre wave (mmWave) communications .................................................. 6
2.2.2 Ultra-dense small cell and heterogeneous network (HetNet) deployments .... 7
2.2.3 Massive MIMO .................................................................................................. 7
2.2.4 Beamforming (3D) ............................................................................................. 8
2.2.5 Scalable OFDM numerology .............................................................................. 9
3. 5G NR access network planning requirements .................................................. 10
3.1. 5G NR operating environment modelling ............................................................10
3.1.1 Geographic information system (GIS) ............................................................. 11
3.1.2 3D building models ......................................................................................... 11
3.1.3 Integrating outdoor GIS and indoor 3D building models ................................ 12
3.2 Radio propagation modelling ....................................................................................13
3.3 5G NR system modelling.......................................................................................14
4. Case studies ..................................................................................................... 16
4.1 Fixed wireless access (FWA) ......................................................................................16
4.2 Outdoor urban HetNet deployment .....................................................................18
4.3 Stadiums ...............................................................................................................19
5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 20
Reference ............................................................................................................... 21
About Ranplan Wireless .......................................................................................... 22

Ranplan Wireless Network Design Ltd i

 Table of contents

Li st o f Ta bl es
Table 1-1. 3GPP NR requirements ............................................................................................4
Table 3-1. 5G NR numerologies ...............................................................................................14
Table 3-2. 5G NR modulation schemes ...................................................................................15
Table 3-3. Uplink and downlink channel .................................................................................16

List o f Figures
Figure 1-1. New categories in 5G [1] .........................................................................................3
Figure 2-1. 5G NR standardisation ............................................................................................5
Figure 2-2. 5G NR deployment modes ......................................................................................5
Figure 2-3. Effect of oxygen and water on Frequency band .....................................................6
Figure 2-4. Ultra-dense small cell deployment .........................................................................7
Figure 2-5. Massive MIMO ........................................................................................................8
Figure 2-6. A diagram for BF to show beam steering ................................................................9
Figure 2-7. Comparison between analogue and digital beamformers......................................9
Figure 2-8. OFDM numerology ................................................................................................10
Figure 3-1. Outdoor GIS with vegetation (Screenshot of Ranplan Professional) ....................11
Figure 3-2. 3D model building model ......................................................................................11
Figure 3-3. Material database in Ranplan Professional covering all 5G frequency bands. .....12
Figure 3-4. Seamless integration of GIS and 3D building model with outdoor and indoor
radio signal in Ranplan Professional .....................................................................13
Figure 3-5. True 3D multiple-path ray tracing/launching radio propagation model...............14
Figure 3-6. 5G numerologies ...................................................................................................15
Figure 4-1. FWA Scenario ........................................................................................................17
Figure 4-2. Outdoor urban HetNet deployment .....................................................................18
Figure 4-3. Stadium 3D modelling and prediction with Ranplan Professional ........................20

ii
 Introduction

1. Introduction
The fifth generation (5G) mobile network promises to create a platform and an eco-system to
provide ubiquitous access to a wide range of applications and services. It will support both the
mobile industry and verticals such as automotive, industry automation and public safety. It is
foreseen that 5G will co-exist with other radio access technologies (RATs) such as LTE-A/Pro, NB-IoT,
and WiFi for a considerable amount of time.

Figure 1-1. New categories in 5G [1]

In addition to supporting traditional services provided by the existing mobile networks, three new
service categories are envisioned for 5G – enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and
low latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine type communications (mMTC). The
eMBB category includes services such as HD video, virtual/augmented reality; the URLLC category
includes services such as vehicular communication and industry automation; and the mMTC
category includes services such as IoTs for smart city.
These three new categories of services have diverse requirements in terms of bandwidth, latency,
mobility, connection density, and data rates, as illustrated in Figure 1-1. For example, eMBB services

3
 Introduction

place high requirements on spectrum efficiency, user experienced data rate, peak data rate, area
traffic capacity and network energy efficiency. Detailed requirements of eMBB, URLLC and mMTC
services can be found in the following table:
Table 1-1. 3GPP NR requirements

Use Cases Key Performance Indicator Specification

10-20Gbps peak
Data Rate
100 Mbps whenever needed
Enhanced Mobile
10000x more traffic
Broadband
(eMBB) Mobility Speed 500km/h
Use Scenario Marco and small cells
Network Energy efficiency Network energy saving by 100 x
Connection Density 2 × 105 − 106 /𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘2
Massive Machine Coverage Long Range
Type Data rate 1-100 kbps
Communications Battery Life 10 years
(mMTC) Cost M2M ultra low cost
Access method Asynchronous access
<1ms air interface latency
Ultra-Reliability Latency
5 ms E2E latency
and Low Latency
Communications Reliable and Available 99.9999%
(URLLC) Data Rate 50 kbps – 10 Mbps
Mobility High speed mobility

In order to account for a greater diversity of services that will be supported by 5G, and to be
spectrum and energy efficient, 5G New Radio (NR) needs to have a much higher degree of flexibility
and scalability unseen in the previous generations of mobile networks. This results in a much more
complicated radio system.
To fulfil what 5G promises, 5G NR, which sits at heart of the 5G network, needs to be empowered by
the following key enabling technologies:
• Millimetre wave (mmWave) communications;
• Massive MIMO and 3D beamforming;
• Ultra-dense small cell and heterogeneous network (HetNet) deployments;
• Scalable OFDM numerologies: 2N sub-carrier spacing, scalable CP, TTI, etc.
Aiming at enabling a first phase of 5G NR deployments in 2020, a set of initial 5G NR features have
been defined in 3GPP Release 15 (aka phase 1), with a frozen date at the end of June 2018. The
complexity of 5G NR, the need of cost-effective deployment and the inter-working with existing
networks based on multi-RATs will bring the complexity of 5G NR network planning to an
unprecedented level unseen in previous generations of mobile networks.
In this whitepaper, we aim to analyse 5G NR network planning requirements and demonstrate how
5G NR networks can be planned in typical eMBB scenarios and evaluate their expected performance
in terms of a set of defined key performance indicators (KPIs).
The rest of the whitepaper is organised in the following manner: In Section 2, we give a brief
introduction to 5G NR specified in 3GPP Release 15, followed by the requirement analysis of 5G NR
access network planning in Section 3. We will present three case studies for typical 5G NR
deployment scenarios in Section 4 and draw some conclusions in Section 5.

4
 5G new radio overview

2. 5G new radio overview

In Section 2, firstly, we give a brief introduction to 5G NR standardisation and deployment
timeframes. Secondly, we explain the key enabling technologies for 5G NR.

2. 1. 5G NR sta nda rdi sa tio n a nd deplo yment

timefra mes

Figure 2-1. 5G NR standardisation

5G NR standardisation is divided into two phases. The first phase mainly focuses on providing eMBB
services, as there is a more urgent need from operators on eMBB than URLLC and mMTC services.
The low latency part of URLLC is also standardised in this phase. The second phase will address
mMTC and the ultra-reliability part of URLLC. The first phase of 5G NR standardisation was
completed in June 2018. The second phase of 5G NR standardisation is scheduled to complete by the
end of 2019. The first phase of 5G NR deployment is likely to start in late 2019-2020, while the
deployment of the second phase will start in 2021, refer to Figure 2-1. 5G NR networks can be
deployed in two modes, i.e., non-standalone (NSA) or standalone (SA) modes, see Figure 2-2.

a) NSA deployment mode b) SA deployment mode

Figure 2-2. 5G NR deployment modes

As shown in Figure 2-2, in the NSA deployment mode, the 5G NR will share the same Evolved Packet
Core (EPC) with LTE. The advantages of this deployment mode are: i) the reduction of time and
CAPEX associated with deploying 5G NR network by leveraging on the existing core; and ii)
eliminating the waiting time for the new core to be available. The NSA mode is more suitable for the

5
 5G new radio overview

initial deployment, e.g., to cover hotspots. In the SA deployment mode, the 5G NR will use a new
core – Next Generation Corporate Network (NGCN). The advantage of the SA lies in its efficiency and
flexibility that is provided by network slicing based on NFV and SDN technologies, OPEX saving,
latency (which is critical for URLLC) and native support for mMTC. Hence, going forward, 5G NR will
be deployed in the SA mode. Thisis particularly beneficial to new entrants for green field
deployment.

2. 2 Key ena bling tec hnologies

In the following, we will briefly describe the key enabling technologies for 5G NR.

2.2.1 Millimetre wave (mmWave) communications

As specified by the well-known Shannon-Hartley channel capacity formula in (1), the channel
capacity C linearly scales up with the channel bandwidth B.
C = B*log2 (1+SNR) (1)
Traditionally, cellular networks use frequencies from 300 MHz to 3 GHz to provide mobile
broadband services, as shown in Figure 2-3. By transmitting a signal in this band, the received signal
power is reliable for detecting after propagation over several kilometres. In particular, the indoor
coverage can also be provided as the penetration loss is low in this sub-mmWave band. However,
with the explosion of the data traffic, relying alone on the spectrum below 3 GHz will be no longer
feasible to deliver eMBB services, which require data rate of 1-10 Gbps. On one hand, the entire
bandwidth in the radio frequency (RF) range under 3 GHz is less than 3GHz, which is obviously not
sufficient for fulfilling the 5G vision. On the other hand, there is a large amount of spectrum above
3GHz, in particular of the mmWave range (30 GHz-300 GHz), to be explored for mobile
communication. Due to its bandwidth in excess of 200 GHz and its potential to provide much higher
capacity than the traditional cellular networks, the mmWave communications is selected as one of
the key technologies for 5G NR. In addition, mmWave goes well with massive MIMO and ultra-dense
small cell deployment, two other key enabling technologies for 5G NR.

Figure 2-3. Effect of oxygen and water on Frequency band

Figure 2-3 shows that mmWave bands suffer from the oxygen absorption at the 57-64 GHz band,
and water vapour absorption at the 164-200 GHz band, thus 225 GHz of potential bandwidth is
available to be exploited for communication in the mmWave RF frequency range.
Due to their short wavelengths, mmWave signal propagation will be more affected by weather
conditions and small objects. Rain and snow may affect the mmWave links dramatically. Small
objects such as vehicles, trees, foliage, furniture, and human bodies will all affect mmWave signal
propagation and even block the radio link completely. Therefore, radio planning tools that support
mmWave are needed to study many “what - if” scenarios for mmWave small cell deployment and

6
 5G new radio overview

the cooperating-working between mmWave small cells and cells operating at sub-6GHz.

2.2.2 Ultra-dense small cell and heterogeneous network (HetNet)

deployments
The capacity CM of a square kilometres in cellular networks can be denoted by CM=D*S*B, where D is
the cell density per square kilometre, S is the spectral efficiency per cell, and B is the available
spectrum in each cell. By increasing the cell density, the spectrum resources are reused more times.
Accordingly, ultra-dense small cell (SC) deployment is regarded as the most promising way to
enhance capacity, with an estimated factor of 50 contributing to the 1000 times capacity increase,
leaving spectral efficiency improvement and spectrum bandwidth expansion a factor of 20.
Historically, densification increased the capacity of cellular networks by approximately 2700 times
from 1950 to 2000 [2].

Figure 2-4. Ultra-dense small cell deployment

An illustration of the ultra-dense SC deployment underlying traditional macrocells is given in Figure

2-4. The ultra-dense SC deployment gives rise to challenging issues such as interference control,
mobility management and cost-effective backhaul [3-5]. Hence, careful radio planning is needed for
the ultra-dense SC deployment.
It is worth mentioning that the network densification has a limit. When the average number of
active UEs during peak hours is less than the number of deployed SC BSs, any further network
densification becomes non-cost effective as the sum UE throughput does not increase linearly with
the densification. Based on simulations with UE density being 300 or 600 per square kilometres, it
was observed in our study that the extreme network densification, with 46,189 SC BSs deployed per
square kilometre with an inter-site distance (ISD) of 5 metre, can provide up to 48 fold of the
throughput gain for cell-edge UEs.

2.2.3 Massive MIMO

Massive multiple-input multiple output, or massive MIMO, shown in Figure 2-5, refers to a multiple
antenna system with hundreds of antenna elements equipped at each BS to simultaneously serve
dozens of UEs, using the same time-frequency resources. In 5G, massive MIMO extends the number
of antenna elements in LTE BSs to hundreds, e.g., 100 and up to 256, to further improve link
reliability, throughput, spectral efficiency and energy efficiency compared with the traditional
multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO). In a massive-MIMO enabled cell, the number of antenna elements
equipped in the BS usually outnumbers the number of concurrent users in the cell by an order of

7
 5G new radio overview

magnitude. With TDD mode, the downlink capacity of a massive MIMO system in each cell can be
denoted by: Cdl = max log 2 det(I M + ρ dl GPG H ) , where M is the antenna number, ρ dl is the downlink
P

SNR, P is a positive diagonal matrix with the power allocations { p1 , p2 ,  , pK } as its diagonal

∑
K
elements and k =1
pk = 1 , K is the number of users, G is the channel matrix from the BS antennas
to UEs, dimensioned M*K. TDD mode is always used in the massive MIMO system for less resources
consumption for channel state information (CSI). The computation of downlink capacity requires the
solution of a convex optimization problem.
Massive MIMO can provide spatial multiplexing and diversity gains. The most important advantage
that massive MIMO can bring to 5G is its spectral efficiency enhancement (over 10 times compared
with that in LTE-A). By exploiting spatial multiplexing, massive MIMO can turn a hostile severe fading
channel (e.g., iid Rayleigh fading channel) into several independent channels that can be used to
transport multiple information streams simultaneously. By exploiting spatial diversity, the link
reliability can be increased as the same information streams are transmitted on several antennas to
the same UE.

CSI

1 Data s tream 1
Decoding

2 Data s tream 2
.
.. ... ..
.
M
M Data s tream K

UE K
UE K

Figure 2-5. Massive MIMO

In the meantime, massive MIMO will also improve energy efficiency. This is achieved by transmitting
much narrower beam towards the intended receiver rather than radiating power in the entire cell.
The Intra-cell interference between UEs served by the same time-frequency resource can also be
reduced. Nevertheless, the number of served UEs in each massive-MIMO enabled cell is limited by
the capability of handling required number of CSI. Additionally, pilot contamination is a major
bottleneck of the performance of massive MIMO system.

2.2.4 Beamforming (3D)

Beamforming is a spatial signal processing technique with antenna array for directional signal
transmission and reception, which is shown in Figure 2-6. It is achieved by intentionally controlling
the phase and relative amplitude on the same signal at each antenna by a beamformer. In the
receive beamformer, the signal from each antenna is amplified by its own with appropriate scale-
factors or phase-shifts to regenerate the composite signal.

8
 5G new radio overview

Figure 2-6. A diagram for BF to show beam steering

The comparison between the digital and analogue beamforming is given in Figure 2-7. There are two
main differences. One is that digital baseband processing is required in the digital beamforming,
which can become very complicated in the massive MIMO system. The other is each antenna needs
its own RF chain in the digital beamforming, which will be costly and complicated if mmWave band is
applied. Thus, hybrid beamforming has been suggested for the massive
MIMO system.

Figure 2-7. Comparison between analogue and digital beamformers

The most advantage of beamforming is to restrain the transmitted signal at a desired angle by
exploiting the spatial properties of antennas. Consequently, much denser deployment of BSs can be
supported as compared with single antenna system, as co-channel interference can be suppressed.
Additionally, beamforming increases the signal transmission range, the indoor penetration capability
and the possibility of operating high-order modulations. In 3GPP Release 15, 3D beamforming
enables each BS to adjust beam direction at both horizontal and vertical dimensions, supporting up
to 256 antennas. Moreover, mobile mmWave, supported by adaptive 3D beamforming and beam
tracking, is essential in 5G NR to provide UE seamless mobility and extreme throughput
simultaneously. The challenge is how to allow each BS to fast steer its beams.

2.2.5 Scalable OFDM numerology

As mentioned before, mmWave bands that have wider channel bandwidths are expected to be
deployed in 5G NR. In order to accommodate large bandwidths in mmWave bands, scalable OFDM
numerology is proposed to support wider carrier bandwidths while limiting the size of the FFT. The

9
 5G new radio overview

principle is to introduce scalable OFDM subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix durations based on the
carrier frequency and bandwidth. Specifically, to simplify the implementation of scalable OFDM
numerology, it was proposed to use a certain number of scaling factors, a common value of
subcarrier spacing, and a common value of cyclic prefix duration to determine all the subcarrier
spacings and cyclic prefix durations for all configurations of carrier frequencies and bandwidths. This
can simplify the design of sampling clock rates since the duration of OFDM symbol is inverse of
subcarrier spacing. Furthermore, to simplify the scheduling and reference signal design, it has been
proposed that the number of OFDM symbols in a subframe should be equal for all values of
subcarrier spacing, which means that the increase in subcarrier spacing shortens the subframe
duration, as shown in Figure 2-8.

Figure 2-8. OFDM numerology

A specific solution adopted by 3GPP uses integer power of 2 as the scaling of subcarrier spacing from
15 kHz. This solution can also address the requirement of strict subframe alignment in an LTE-TDD
network, as the subframe duration of a certain carrier frequency and bandwidth is integer divisible
by all smaller subframe durations.

3. 5G NR access network planning

requirements
In Section 3, we analyse 5G NR access network planning requirements in terms of environment
modelling, radio propagation modelling and 5G NR system modelling.

3. 1. 5G NR o pera ting enviro nment mo del li ng

In order to reduce the cost and implementation time of 5G NR networks, the urban environments
where 5G NR will be deployed need to be modelled accurately. This is mainly because mmWave
signals will be affected by small objects such as trees, vegetation, street furniture, vehicles and the
crowd. In addition, 5G NR will be more integrated with their operating environments, e.g., small cells
will be mounted under roof tops and on street furniture, antennas are integrated with building
structures and IoT nodes are embedded in walls, roads, etc.
The accurate modelling of the 5G NR operating environments includes: GIS with high resolution 3D
vector data for urban outdoor; 3D building structure and material electromagnetic (EM) property for
indoor; and the seamless integration of outdoor GIS and indoor 3D building models.

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 5G NR access network planning requirements

3.1.1 Geographic information system (GIS)

GIS has been widely used for outdoor radio network planning tools since 1990s. GIS provides
multiple layers of information for radio network planning use, including terrain, clutter and vector
data (e.g., for buildings). The resolution of GIS required has evolved from 20m to 5m for2G to 4G
radio network planning.
For 5G NR network planning, to reveal objects such as trees, vegetations, street furniture (e.g.,
lampposts), buildings, 3D vector data of resolution of 1m or higher (e.g., 0.10m or 0.40m) is needed
for 5G NR planning. This is illustrated in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1. Outdoor GIS with vegetation (Screenshot of Ranplan Professional)

3.1.2 3D building models

As of today, over 80% of mobile traffic takes place indoors. The predicted exponential mobile traffic
growth of 1000 times in the next decade is not uniform across geographical areas and mainly takes
place in hot spots that are usually in the built environments (BEs) such as Central Business Districts
(CBDs), stations, airports, shopping malls, etc.

a) 3D building models (one floor) b) 3D building models

automatically created in Ranplan (whole building) created in
Professional by loading CAD file. Ranplan Professional.

Figure 3-2. 3D model building model

In 2G/3G/4G mobile networks, most of the indoor mobile traffic is served by outdoor macrocells.
However, this will become infeasible in the 5G era, as 5G will use higher frequencies, which are not

11
 5G NR access network planning requirements

good at penetrating into buildings. It is estimated over 80% of indoor traffic (i.e., about 2/3 of the
overall traffic) will be served by mobile networks installed in buildings. In order to cost effectively
deploy small cells, DAS indoors, accurate 3D building models are needed. 3D building models will
model: 1) building structures with elements of walls, doors, windows, columns, as shown in Figure
3-2; and 2) whole 3D building models in Figure 3-2.
As the building material EM properties change over frequencies, they need to be measured across
the frequency range in which the 5G NR will operate. Measuring building material EM properties at
mmWave bands is particularly challenging due to the diffuse reflection effect as the material surface
roughness is comparable to the carrier wavelength. The building material EM properties need to be
stored in a database as shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3. Material database in Ranplan Professional covering all 5G frequency bands.

3.1.3 Integrating outdoor GIS and indoor 3D building models

As indoor networks increase, interactions between indoor and outdoor become important. In order
to achieve seamless service and minimize interference between indoor and outdoor networks,
indoor and outdoor networks need to be planned/optimized in coordination. The integrating model
is shown in Figure 3-4.
To plan indoor/outdoor coherently and efficiently, radio network planning tools need to integrate
both outdoor and indoor models.
Firstly, RF engineers need to seamlessly model both outdoor and indoor environments. This means
the RF planning tool needs to be able to input outdoor GIS for outdoor. The RF planning tool also
needs to model the buildings that need dedicated indoor wireless networks.
Secondly, the tool also needs to load both outdoor and indoor network configurations. This means
that your tool needs to be able to lay the outdoor networks on GIS and indoor networks on building
structures. Our tool supports both.
Thirdly, the tool needs to be able to load both networks quickly. The compatibility with operators’
format and major outdoor RF planning tool format is also equally important.

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 5G NR access network planning requirements

Figure 3-4. Seamless integration of GIS and 3D building model with outdoor and indoor radio signal in
Ranplan Professional

3. 2 Ra dio pro pa ga ti o n mo delling

Coverage and capacity are two fundamental requirements for a cellar network. In particular,
coverage is the minimum requirement for a cellular network. Radio propagation model is essential
for the coverage planning of cellular networks.
Hata model and its extended version COST231-Hata, both of which are a kind of empirical model, are
widely used in 2G/3G/4G outdoor macrocell planning in urban environments. The advantage of an
empirical model is its fast speed; however, it is site specific and not accurate. As capacity became more
and more important in the last decade, more accurate deterministic radio propagation models based
on ray tracing/launching have become more and more widely used.
Even though ray-based deterministic radio propagation models are more accurate than empirical
models, they are much more time consuming. In order to reduce time, most commercial ray tracing
models simplify the calculation by the number of rays considered, e.g., by only considering the
dominate path. However, this kind of model doesn’t provide enough information to evaluate
massive MIMO performance.
For 5G NR, true multiple-path information (e.g., AoA, AoD, EoA, EoD, delay and phase information) is
needed to generate MIMO channel matrix, which is essential to evaluate the performance of
massive MIMO. Based on channel matrix and precoding algorithms (e.g., either standard algorithms
such as ZF, MRT and MMSE or vendor specific ones), the massive MIMO performance can be
evaluated; hence, a true 3D multiple-path ray tracing/launching radio propagation model is needed
for 5G NR massive MIMO. See Figure 3-5.

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 5G NR access network planning requirements

a) True 3D multiple-path ray-launching b) Angles of arrival

c) Power delay profile

Figure 3-5.True 3D multiple-path ray tracing/launching radio propagation model

3. 3 5G NR system mo dell i ng
In order to plan a 5G NR network, 5G NR numerologies must first be modelled in the planning tool.
In Table 3-1, we summarise these 5G NR numerologies:
Table 3-1. 5G NR numerologies

OFDM Configuration
Parameters

Subcarrier 15 30 60 120 240 480

spacing (kHz)

Symbol 66.7 33.3 16.6 8.33 4.17 2.08

duration (us)

Nominal CP 4.7 2.41 1.205 0.60 0.30 0.15

(us)

Nominal max 49.5 99 198 396 397.4 397.4

BW (MHz)

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 5G NR access network planning requirements

Max FFT size 4096 4096 4096 4096 2048 1024

Min 1.0 0.5 0.25 0.125 0.0625 0.0312

scheduling
interval (ms)

Second, the corresponding frame structures also need to be modelled. For example, for 120kHz sub-
carrier spacing, 8 slots/sub-frame (1ms), 80 slots/frame (10ms), 14 OFDM symbols/slot. This is
shown in Figure 3-6.

Figure 3-6. 5G numerologies

Third, the new modulation schemes such as 256QAM need to be modelled. In Table 3-2, we
summarise all the modulation schemes that are supported in 5G NR.
Table 3-2. 5G NR modulation schemes

Modulation Scheme UL/DL

QPSK UL/DL

16QAM UL/DL

64QAM UL/DL

256QAM UL/DL

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 5G NR access network planning requirements

Fourth, 5G NR control and data channels such as PDSCH, PDCCH and PUSCH need modelling. The
detail is shown in Table 3.3.
Table 3-3. Uplink and downlink channel

PDSCH PDCCH PUSCH

Purpose Transmit DL Data Transmit DL Control Transmit UL control and

data

Waveform CP-OFDM CP-OFDM CP-OFDM and DFT-s-

OFDM

Bandwidth Numerology Flexible, Numerology Numerology Dependent

Dependent Dependent

Reference signals UE-specific UE-specific UE-specific

Phase noise Yes No Yes

compensation

Modulation Up to 256QAM QPSK Up to 256QAM

Coding scheme LDPC Polar LDPC

4. Case studies
In the following, we present three 5G NR planning case studies, including Fixed Wireless Access
(FWA), outdoor urban HetNet deployment and stadium scenario. These case studies demonstrate
Ranplan Professional’s world leading 5G NR network planning capabilities for scenarios such as joint
indoor-outdoor, urban outdoor and large venues.

4. 1 Fixed wireless ac cess (FWA )

FWA is likely to be the earliest 5G NR use case. In FWA, an indoor customer premise equipment
(CPE) will receive the signal from an outdoor macrocell and then retransmit to indoor users. Figure
4-1 shows an FWA scenario with 5G NR macrocells at 3.5GHz deployed on top of the building in an
urban area. In order to obtain optimal received signals from outdoor macrocells, the location where
the CPE will be installed needs to be carefully considered. With Ranplan Professional’s joint outdoor-
indoor modelling capability, the good signal coverage regions for CPE locations are clearly identified,
which help to ensure excellent indoor communications quality and to reduce the manual work of

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 Case studies

testing. Furthermore, given the candidate locations in coverage regions of good signal quality, the
optimal CPE location can be obtained using Ranplan Professional’s optimization modules.

Indoor Floor

Outdoor

Without Beamforming With beamforming

a). Outdoor-indoor scenario

b). Throughput performance c). Ideal CPE locations

Figure 4-1. FWA Scenario

Figure 4-1 a) shows how beamforming in 5G NR can enhance the signal quality, with indoor signal
power reaching -65dBm in a substantial area facing macrocell site; Figure 4-1 b) shows that
compared with 2x2 MIMO, the performance of 8x8 MIMO is greatly improved due to the
beamforming gain, with a peak throughput up to 4.3Gbps for SU-MIMO mode if the CPE is deployed
with 8 antennas; and c) shows the ideal locations to deploy CPE.

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 Case studies

4. 2 Outdoo r urba n HetN et deplo yment

A combination of 5G NR systems at both sub-6GHz and mmWave bands can be deployed in urban
areas to provide coverage, capacity and super data layers. In the following case study, we use a 5G
NR at 3.5GHz to provide wide area coverage and capacity in an urban region and use a 5G NR at
28GHz to improve the coverage and provide super-fast data support in a small area comprising of
20-30 buildings to facilitate eMBB services. The throughput comparison is shown in Figure 4-2 d).
The simulation results returned by Ranplan Professional show the HetNet deployment can
significantly improve both signal quality and network performance and can meet eMBB service
requirements. Figure 4.2 (d) shows that a user can achieve 100Mbps with small cells deployment,
even in places with weak signal.

a). The 3.5GHz macro cells

b). Weak coverage area c). 28GHz small cells deployment

d). Throughput performance

Figure 4-2. Outdoor urban HetNet deployment

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 Case studies

4. 3 Sta diums
Large venues such as stadiums place high demand for eMBB services such as high definition videos,
VR/AR. How to design 5G NR networks to meet content uploading by thousands of simultaneous
users, data visualization and immersive capabilities of AR and VR is a big challenge.
Ranplan Professional has the best-in-class stadium modelling (detailed building structure and
material property database covering all 5G spectrum) and 5G NR simulation capability, thus it can
accurately design 5G NR networks comprising of both sub-6GHz and mmWave bands to meet this
challenge.
Figure 4-3 a) below shows an accurate 3D building model for a large stadium with picocells
deployment, b) and c) show SS RSRP and PDSCH throughput distribution of a 5G NR network
designed by Ranplan Professional. From (b), we can see that most of the seating area is covered by
indoor picocells, and the SS RSRP can achieve up to -50dBm with beamforming technology, and the
lowest SS RSRP value still reaches -100dBm in the seating area. The PDSCH throughput prediction in
figure c) shows that the 8x8 antennas indoor Pico cells deployment can efficiently enhance the
seating area’s throughput by Massive MIMO technology. The throughput prediction shows that most
of the seating areas can reach 4155Mbps with optimal signal quality, satisfying eMBB services
specified by 5G.

a). Stadium 3D modelling and picocells deployment

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b). The SS RSRP distribution

c). The throughput distribution

Figure 4-3. Stadium 3D modelling and prediction with Ranplan Professional

Ranplan Professional can accurately predict the received signal strength and throughput, thus RF
engineers can plan 5G NR networks using Ranplan Professional in confidence, resulting in much-
shortened time and reduced cost in network design, testing and post-deployment optimization.

5. Conclusion
In this whitepaper, we firstly gave a brief overview of the key enabling technologies in 5G NR,
including mmWave, massive MIMO, 3D beamforming, ultra-dense small cell/HetNet deployments
and scalable OFDM numerologies. Secondly, we analysed 5G NR network planning requirements on
GIS, 3D building models, the seamless integration of GIS and building model, radio propagation
models, and 5G NR system modelling. Finally, we studied three 5G NR deployment cases, i.e., FWA,
outdoor urban dense small cell deployment and stadiums. The case studies demonstrated Ranplan
Professional’s world leading capability in planning and optimisation of 5G NR networks in outdoor-
indoor, outdoor urban and large venues scenarios.

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Reference
[1] Series, M. IMT Vision—Framework and Overall Objectives of the Future Development of IMT for
2020 and Beyond; Recommendation ITU-R: Geneva, Switzerland, 2015.
[2] C. Martin, C. Doyle, and W. Webb. Essentials of modern spectrum management, Cambridge
University Press, 2007.
[3] D. Lopez-Perez, I. Guvenc, G. de la Roche, M. Kountouris, T. Q. S. Quek and J. Zhang, "Enhanced
intercell interference coordination challenges in heterogeneous networks," IEEE Wireless
Communications, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 22-30, June 2011.
[4] D. López-Pérez, I. Guvenc, and X. Chu. "Mobility management challenges in 3GPP heterogeneous
networks," IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 50, no. 12, pp. 70-78, 2012.
[5] A. H. Jafari, D. López-Pérez, H. Song, H. Claussen, L. Ho, and J. Zhang, "Small cell backhaul:
challenges and prospective solutions," EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and
Networking, vol. 2015, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 2015.

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About Ranplan Wireless

Ranplan Wireless is an innovative wireless technology company that has developed the World’s only
solution that can plan, design and optimize in-building and outdoor wireless networks in
coordination. Our solutions enable us to help an ecosystem of companies deploy the next
generation of wireless networks for a range of applications in urban environments, supporting
multiple technologies such as 4G LTE, 5G, WiFi and IoT, providing end users with an unmatched
quality of experience.
Ranplan Wireless is a subsidiary of Ranplan Group AB (Nasdaq First North: RPLAN) whose head office
is in Stockholm, Sweden. The group operates out of offices in the UK, US and China.
www.ranplanwireless.com

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