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How To Do RF Planning
How To Do RF Planning
How To Do RF Planning
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
The world has seen phenomenal changes in the telecommunication industry during the last
decades. Communication that was wired formerly is now performed wirelessly or in other
words by radio means. Thus, the wireless communication, which uncouples the telephone
In 1985 the governing body of the European Postal Telephone and telegraph (PTT) and
CEPT set up a committee known as Group Special Mobile, later changed to Global System
for Mobile Communications (GSM). The advantages of GSM over the previous technologies
were, improved spectrum efficiency, international roaming, low cost mobile sets and base
stations (BSS), support for new services, high quality speech, compatibility with Integrated
The early years of the GSM were devoted mainly to the selection of the radio interface and
techniques for network access. Thus, since the very beginning radio access network is of
prime importance. The radio access network is the part that includes the base station
(BTS), the mobile station (MS) and the interface between them. The combination of
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple access (TDMA)
technique is used in GSM networks and it can operate in frequency bands of 400MHz,
900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz. The allocated operating band is divided into 200 KHz
channels called ARFCNs (Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers) which are also
referred as physical channels. There are also logical channels in the GSM network that
carry user data (Traffic channels) and control information (Control channels). As the
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Chapter 1 Introduction
frequency is considered as limited resource, so for spectrum efficient utilization the concept
of frequency reuse is used. The basic construction block of the network is a “cell”. In a
cellular system like GSM, the coverage area is divided into hexagonal cells also called as
sector.
The designing of Radio Access Network (RAN) is a multidiscipline task that needs
designing a RAN which are mainly classified as optimum radio coverage, sufficient network
In this project, the radio access network is to be designed for the given area or terrain
taking under consideration the specifications, allocated resources and requirements given
by Huawei, one of the world’s leading telecommunication vendor. The total cost for the
radio access network cost is given as: 2 Million $, one Base Transmission Station (BTS)
cost is 0.2 Million $, operating frequency bands are 900MHz and 1800MHz with 27
ARFCNs allocated, the number of users that are to be provided with services are 140,000
For sake of estimation and prediction, post processing RF tools are used. Here, such a tool
namely TEMS, Mapinfo and our own developed software Quick online Budget is used.
TEMS and Mapinfo are comprehensive planning tool to assist in fulfilling the requirements
of network designing and optimization. These tools were provided by Huawei and are
The process of RAN designing consists of two phases that are, pre-planning and system
growth phase. The phase one of preplanning can be accomplished in four discrete steps.
First step is of Coverage and traffic analysis, the objective is to provide optimum coverage
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Chapter 1 Introduction
and enable the network to have a capacity of at least 7,000 users. The aspect of network’s
coverage includes defining the clutter profile of the given terrain and the related signal
strength. The clutters are made for the sake of resource dimensioning. Dimensioning of the
resource means finding answers to two fundamental questions: How many traffic channels
(TCH) does a sector can handle and how many TCH are actually required in the area it is
covering? The result of the first step is the number of BTS per clutter needed to provide
The second step is the nominal cell planning, which leads to a layout of cell pattern on the
given map. The propagation, frequency reuse and interferences are catered in second step.
gains and received signal power. The frequency reuse pattern is chosen and two types of
interferences that are Co-channel (C/I) and adjacent channel (C/A) are decreased to
The step three consists of two major tasks that are, “Surveys of proposed Sites” and
“Tuning of prediction model”. The aspects like exact location, space for the equipment and
antenna types etc are checked in site survey which leads to the approval for physical
installment of BTS. The model tuning is done to enhance the accuracy of predictions model
applied in post processing tool. A transmitter is mounted on the proposed Site location and
the changes of one variable (losses) at different time interval are taken. Then each change
The final step for RAN designing is dimensioning of Base Control Stations (BSC) .So, at the
end of this fourth step the final design of radio access network is ready to be deployed.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
CHAPTER 2
2.1 Introduction
The radio access network is between the mobile stations and the fixed infrastructure. It is
the most important part of the GSM system, being the key element to enable mobility and
wireless access. One of the main objectives of GSM is roaming. Therefore, in order to
In this chapter the Base Station Subsystem (BSS) is illustrated, giving the clear picture of
equipment used; its integration and respective working. The second part consisting of the
Radio interface gives a comprehensible idea of “which access technology is used and how
The Base Station subsystem (BSS) provides connection between MS and Network
Switching Subsystem (NSS) though Air interface. The BSS provides radio coverage on
prescribed geographical areas, known as the cells. The BSS consists of following parts:
The Base Station Controller (BSC) provides the connectivity of BTS to Mobile Switching
Center through E1 or microwave links. A group of BTSs are connected to a particular BSC
which manages the radio resources for them. Today's intelligent BTSs have taken over
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
many tasks that were previously handled by the BSCs. The primary function of the BSC is
call maintenance. The mobile stations normally send a report of their received signal
strength to the BSC every 480ms. With this information the BSC decides to initiate
The BTS is the radio transmission equipment and covers each cell. BTS is also referred as
station and Mobile Station Center when dedicated channel is assigned .Each TRX
d. Control Module (CM) - Controls the micro wave link of the site that provides the
Figure 2.1 shows the block diagram of RBS-900 illustrating the different elements of RBS.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
The transcoder multiplexes four 16 Kbps speech or data (at 300, 600, and 1,200 bps)
synchronizing data. Then, four 16 Kbps channels are multiplexed onto a DS0 (64 Kbps)
channel.
The spectrum efficiency depends on the radio interface and the transmission of signals,
particularly in aspects such as the capacity of the system, techniques used in order to
decrease the interference and to improve the frequency reuse scheme. The specification of
The operating frequency band is divided into uplink and downlink channels with a guard
band in between them. The uplink channel or reverse channel is from MS to BTS. The
downlink channel or forward channel is from BTS to MS. This table lists the specification of
the GSM–900, GSM–1800 and GSM–1900 system. For this project GSM-900 band is used.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Table 2.1: Specifications of GSM System
A combination of Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple
Access (TDMA), combined with frequency hopping, has been adopted as the multiple
The 200 KHz carrier spacing is required to provide the necessary bit rate per carrier
frequency. The 200 kHz carrier spacing yields 125 carriers from the 25MHz spectrum
allocation. Because some of the energy in a GMSK modulated signal lies outside the
nominal 200KHz band, GSM recommends that carriers 1 and 124 will be used (guard band
of 200 KHz) in order to protect services using adjacent spectrum bands as shown in figure
2.2. These 124 possible carriers are defined for the uplink (Fu) and downlink (Fd) as
follows:
Fd (n)
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There are two types of channels in GSM networks, the physical and the logical channels.
other channels, most notably those with the same carrier frequency
Logical channels are, so to speak, laid over the grid of physical channels.
physical channel. During this process, logical channels can occupy a part
There are two different types of logical channel within the GSM system:
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
i. Traffic channels
Traffic channels carry user information such as encoded speech or user data. Traffic
channels are defined by using a 26-frame multi-frame structure. Two general forms are
defined:
a. Full rate traffic channels (TCH/F), at a gross bit rate of 22.8 kbps.
b. Half rate traffic channels (TCH/H), at a gross bit rate of 11.4 kbps.
Control channels carry system signalling and synchronisation data for control procedures
such as location registration, mobile station synchronisation, paging, random access etc.
between base station and mobile station. Three categories of control channel are defined:
a. Broadcast
b. Common
c. Dedicated
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.1.2.4 Interfaces
The following are the interfaces between different network entities of GSM. Figure 2.3
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Any flow of data in a network requires some additional information that helps the data to
reach the destination in the desired fashion. This additional information is known as
signalling. Signalling in GSM is required at all the interfaces, but radio network planners
deal mostly with the signalling between the mobile station and base station [2].
Signalling on all the interfaces except for the air-interface is done at 64 kbps. On the air-
interface the signalling can be done either by using the slow associated control channels
(SAACH), or by using the main channel itself wherein the signalling channel is sent instead
of sending the data – this is known as fast associated control channel (FAACH) signalling.
Fig 2.4 illustrate physical layer signalling protocol between entire network entities.
The processing of protocols happen at different network entities, for example the
processing of Communication management (CM) is at MSC not on the BSC or BTS. The
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Figure 2.5 elaborates GSM specific signalling protocols of OSI layers on the radio interface.
Layer 2 signalling employs a modified version of the ISDN layer 2 signalling protocol, LAPD,
that is called LAPDm (m for modified). Layer 3 signalling on the GSM radio interface
These processes are Call Control (CC), Mobility Management (MM), Radio Resource
The system design fundamentals include cellular concept and concept of frequency reuse.
GSM architecture is a cellular architecture. The region is divided into cells of hexagon
geometry. Hexagon are chosen because it covers largest area as compared to other
shapes of geometry like square or circle and it covers the region without leaving gap
between them.
2.2.1 Cell
A cell is defined as the area covered by one sector, i.e. one antenna system. The
hexagonal nature of the cell is an artificial shape (Figure 2.6). This shape is being closest to
circular, which represents the ideal coverage of the power transmitted by the base station
antenna. The circular shapes are themselves inconvenient as they have overlapping areas
of coverage; but, in reality, their shapes look like the one shown in the ‘practical’ view in
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Figure 2.6. A practical network will have cells of non geometric shapes, with some areas not
which transmits power equally in all directions (360 degrees) as shown in fig 2.7
• Sector cell - A sector cell is the area of coverage from an antenna, which transmits
in a given direction only. The coverage area may be equal to 120˚ or 180˚.
Commonly BTS uses 3 sector cell with each antenna covering an area of 120˚ as
2.2.2 Site
A site is the position where the tower and antennas are located. Normally, a site has TRXs,
power supplies, radio base station units (RBS) etc. A site may serve an omni-cell or two or
more sector cells. In the first case the site is called an omni site, in the latter case a sector
site.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.2.3 Cell Splitting
Cell splitting is a process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells each with its own
base station and a corresponding reduction in antenna height and transmitted power as
shown in fig 2.8. Cell splitting increase the capacity of cellular system since it increase the
It is the process of dividing a cell into three cells .Cell Sectoring keeps the cell radius
unchanged and seek methods to increase coverage and capacity. Sectoring increases
signal to noise ratio so that the cluster size may be reduced. Signal to noise ratio is
improved using directional antennas then capacity improvement is achieved by reducing the
number of cells in a cluster, thus increasing the frequency reuse [3]. The interference in
cellular system may be decreased by replacing a single omni directional antenna at the
base station by several directional antennas each radiating within specified sector as shown
in figure 2.9.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.2.5 Frequency Re–use
Frequency re-use means that two radio channels within the same network can use exactly
the same pair of frequencies, provided that there is a sufficient geographical distance (the
frequency re-use distance) between them so they will not interfere with each other. The
tighter frequency re-use plan, the greater the capacity potential of the network. Based on
the traffic calculations, the cell pattern and frequency re-use plan are worked out not only
for the initial network, but also for the future demands.
In [6], Groups of frequencies can be placed together into patterns of cells called clusters. A
cluster is a group of cells in which all available frequencies have been used once and only
once. Since the same frequencies can be used in neighboring clusters, interference may
become a problem. Therefore, the frequency reuse distance must be kept as large as
possible. However, to maximize capacity the frequency re-use distance should be kept as
low as possible.
The re-use patterns recommended for GSM are the 4/12 and the 3/9 pattern. 4/12 means
that there are four three-sector sites supporting twelve cells using twelve frequency groups.
The 3/9 cell pattern is use in the project as shown in figure 2.10.
.
Figure 2.10: Frequency Reuse
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2.2.6 Resource Dimensioning
design. The architects study the system performance requirements and come up with an
architecture that meet or exceed the requirements in a cost effective fashion. Resources
mean any hardware or software entity needed to perform transactions initiated by users.
The load handled by a system varies based on the time of day and day of the week. Most
systems are heavily loaded for a few hours in a day. The main objective of resource
dimensioning is to make sure that the system performs well during these busy hours. This
will make sure that the system has adequate resources to handle peak as well as off-peak
traffic.
2.2.6.2 Erlang
the originator of traffic engineering and queuing theory. Traffic of one Erlang refers to a
single resource being in continuous use, or two channels being at fifty percent use. Erlang
A = λh 2.1
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Erlang calculation is used to determine whether the system is over provisioned or under
provisioned (too many or too few resource allocated). The traffic calculation is also used to
calculate E1 to determine how many voice lines are likely to be used during the busiest
hours.There are a range of different Erlang formulae to calculate these, including Erlang B
and Erlang C.
The blocking probability defines the chance that a user will be denied service due to lack of
resources. For example, a blocking probability of 0.01 means that 1% of the users will be
denied service. Blocking probability calculations refer to the busy hour only. Blocking
hours
Grade of service is directly related to the blocking probability. A higher grade of service
guarantee to the user means ensuring a low blocking probability during the busy hours.
Providing a higher grade of service requires increasing the number of resources in the
system. Conversely, reducing number of resources; lower the system cost, but at the
There is a tradeoff between resource dimensioning and grade of service. The choice of
using the Erlang-B and Erlang-C formulas is dependent upon the handling of users when all
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Erlang-B is used when failure to get a free resource results in the user being denied
Erlang-C is used when failure to get a free resource results in the user being added into a
queue. The users stay in the queue until a free resource can be found.
The formulas of Erlang B and Erlang C works under the following conditions:
• The number of customers is much larger than the number of resources available. In
general, the formula gives acceptable results if the number of customers is at least
• Customer requests are blocked/ queued only when no resources are available to
service them.
• The resource is allocated exclusively to one customer for the specified period.
2.2.7 Clutter
Clutter is defined as the man-made and natural features that may impair radio frequency
There are various sources of clutter (morphological) data. The more current the clutter data,
the more accurate the propagation predictions will be. The benefits of updated clutter data
are:
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Consist of densely built areas with mainly high buildings. Typically there is small number of
trees and vegetation within this area due to the density of buildings.
2.2.7.2 Urban:
Consist of metropolitan regions, industrial areas and closely spaced residential homes and
multi-storied apartments. Building density is high but may be interspersed with trees and
other vegetation.
2.2.7.3 Suburban:
Consist mainly of single family homes, shopping malls and office parks. Significant
vegetation, trees and parking lots are intermixed with buildings. Most buildings are 1 to 3
stories but significant exceptions do occur. Significant areas within small and medium cities
along with suburban communities surrounding major cities are examples of this
environment.
2.2.7.4 Rural/Quasi-Open:
Consist of open space with few buildings or residences. Major interconnecting highways,
farms, and barren land are found within rural areas. The largest variations in cell coverage
area are found in rural areas due to differences in vegetation and terrain.
2.2.7.5 Terrain:
Terrain descriptions focus on the land mass. Examples of terrain description are:
mountainous, desert, water (ocean, lake, and stream), etc. Types of terrains are
i. Forest: Foliage descriptions focus on the tree density and tree height.
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ii. Roads: Roads are normally described in terms of their capacity to carry traffic. For
example, highways are described as being primary if they are heavily traveled multi-
lane roads (such as toll roads and inter-state highways). Smaller roads in and
The design of a new radio communication system starts with determination of a proper
location of the base station and determination of the frequency plan, both of which depend
highly on the propagation loss. By determining a model for the transmission of the
information through the channel, these two characteristics can be accurately determined.
In general the propagation model can be made in three steps. In the first step information
for the environment has to be considered. The second step includes the definition of
mathematical approximations of the physical propagation mechanisms, and the third step is
the formalization of the results of the previous two steps. These steps are described in
The environments, where mobile radio systems are intended to be installed, are ranging
from in-door up to large rural areas. Wave propagation prediction methods are required
covering the whole range of macro-, micro, and pico –cells. In order to be described
accurately, different data is considered for the different types of environment. While for the
prediction of macro-cells terrain height information and land usage data is taken into
account for urban environment. Table 2.3 illustrate cell type definition
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Calculation of the path loss is called prediction. Exact prediction is possible only for simpler
cases, such as the free space propagation or the flat-earth model. For practical cases the
The propagation in free space can be characterized with the following formula:
Where f (MHz) is the operating frequency and d (km) is the distance between the
The receiving power in free space is decreasing proportionally with the square root of the
mobile radio channel (fig. 2.11): shadowing, reflection, refraction, scattering, and diffraction.
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Three types of approaches have been used in order to find solutions for the problem of
channel planning.
These methods produce more accurate and reliable predictions of the path loss
than the empirical methods; however, they are significantly more expensive in
computational effort and depend on the detailed and accurate description of all
objects in the propagation space, such as buildings, roofs, windows, doors, and
The aim of propagation model is “to predict signal strength at a particular receiving point or
in a in a specific location area”. The propagation models are usually divided into:
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
The large scale models normally are used to predict the mean signal strength for
Small scale model or fading models, describe rapid fluctuations of the received signal
strength over very short T-R separation distances (d) or short time durations. In general
1. Longley-Rice Model
2. Durkin’s Model
3. Okumura Model
4. Hata Model
A proper system design requires accurate and reliable radio channel models, among which
the selection of prediction models are most important. Investigation of different existing
selected. Okumura-Hata model is suitable in GSM 900 MHz network for macro - micro cells
and has better accuracy in dense urban areas especially for pico cells.
The Okumura-Hata model is a simple empirical approach for prediction. This model is
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
The equations derived from the measurement data require only the four parameters;
Figure 2.12: BTS and MS height for Okumura and Hata Model
Because of the calibration with measurement data the model is restricted to the following
The basic transmission loss in dense urban areas is computed according to the formula:
2.4
) 2.5
2.6
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.7
In addition to the main formula for the dense urban case, there are some modifications for
2.8
2.9
These formulas describe the model in flat way, because they describe the wave
propagation without taking into account the local effects around the receiver, like reflection
or shadowing.
Radio interface is the most vulnerable part of GSM connection. The air interface has to
cope with problems, such as variable signal strength due to presence of obstacles along the
way, radio frequencies reflecting from buildings, interference from other radio sources etc.
This section briefly discuss some of the problems occur during transmission of radio signals
and some solutions. Some of the most common problems are described below.
2.2.10.1 Problems
i. Shadowing
Shadowing occurs when there are physical obstacles including buildings between the BTS
and the MS (fig 2.13). Instead of reflecting the signal, these obstacles attenuate signal
strength. When the MS moves, the signal strength fluctuates depending on the obstacles
between the MS and BTS. Drop in strength are called fading dips.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
information at a much higher power compared that from MS. The solution to over come this
problem is known as Adaptive Power Control. Based on quality and strength of the received
Multi path fading occurs when there is more than one transmission path to the MS or BTS,
and therefore more than one signal is arriving at the receiver. This may be due to buildings
either close to or far from the receiving device. Rayleigh fading and time dispersion are
In figure 2.14, the received signal is the sum of identical signals that differ only in phase
(and to some extent amplitude). A reflected signal that has traveled some distance causes
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Each MS on a call is allocated a time slot on a TDMA frame. This is an amount of time
during which the MS transmits information to the BTS. The information must also arrive at
the BTS within that time slot. The time alignment problem occurs when part of the
information transmitted by an MS does not arrive within the allocated time slot. Instead, that
part may arrive during the next time slot, and may interfere with information from another
MS using that other time slot. A large distance between the MS and the BTS causes time
alignment. Effectively, the signal cannot travel over the large distance within the given time.
In figure 2.15, an MS is assigned time slot 1 initially. During the call MS moves from position
A to position B. As distance increases, answer from MS arrives late at the BTS. The delay
becomes so long that the transmission from the MS in time slot 1 overlaps with the
i. Channel Coding
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Channel coding is normally used for overcome the problems caused by fading dips. In
channel coding, user data is coded using standard algorithms. This coding is not for
ii. Inter-leaving
Inter-leaving is the spreading of the coded speech into many bursts. By spreading the
information into many bursts, it is easy to recover the data even if one burst is lost.
As shown in Figure 2.16, the bits of each block are sent in a non-consecutive manner. If
one block is lost in transmission, it is still manageable to recover the data [2].
In frequency hopping, the frequency on which the information is transmitted is changed for
every burst. In GSM there are 64 patterns of frequency hopping; one of them is a simple
which an operator can choose from. Generally it does not significantly improve the
performance if there are less than four frequencies in the cell. The reasons of using
Antenna diversity increases the received signal strength by taking advantage of the natural
properties of radio waves. Increased received signal strength at the BTS is achieved by
mounting two receiver antennae instead of one. Two Rx antennas are physically separated;
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
the probability that both of them are affected by a deep fading dip at the same time is low as
shown in figure 2.17. There are two primary diversity methods: space diversity and
polarization diversity.
v. Timing advance
Solution to counteract the problem of time alignment. It works by instructing the misaligned
MS to transmit its burst earlier or later than it normally would. In GSM, the timing advance
number of bit-times earlier or later related to previous position, to reach its timeslot at the
BTS in right time. Maximum 63 bit-times can be used in GSM systems. This limits GSM
As shown in figure 2.18 , BTS instruct MS to start sending information at TS-4 so that it
2.2.11 Interference
The signal at the receiving antenna can be weak by virtue of interference from other
signals. These signals may be from the same network or may be due to man-made objects.
Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of cellular radio systems.
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Sources of interference include mobile in the same cell, a call in progress in a neighboring
cell, another base station operating in the same frequency band. Interference is a major
Co-channel interference is caused by the use of a same frequency close to another cell.
The former will interfere with the latter, leading to the terms interfering frequency (I) and
(C/I) ratio is greater than 9 decibels (dB). However, its recommended that 12 dB be used as
Adjacent frequencies (A), that is frequencies shifted 200 kHz from the carrier frequency (C),
must be avoided in the same cell and preferably in neighboring cells also. Although
adjacent frequencies are at different frequencies to the carrier frequency they can still
cause interference and quality problems. The GSM specification states that the carrier-to-
adjacent ratio (C/A) must be larger than -9dB. It is recommended that higher than 3 dB be
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By planning frequency re-use in accordance with well established cell patterns, neither co-
channel interference nor adjacent channel interference will cause problems. In reality cells
vary in size depending on the amount of traffic they are expected to carry. Therefore, real
cell plans must be verified by means of predictions to ensure that interference does not
become a problem. Nevertheless, the first cell plan based on hexagons, the nominal cell
2.2.12 Handover
As a mobile station moves away from its serving BTS towards the coverage area of
neighboring BTSs, the mobile station measurement reports will show a gradual decrease in
signal strength from its serving BTS while showing an increase in measured signal strength
from one or more neighboring BTSs. It is the responsibility of the serving BSC to analyze
the measurement reports from the mobile station and to decide when a handover should be
performed.
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Figure 2.21 shows that as MS moves from cell ‘a’ to cell ‘b’, RSL of MS decreases
gradually. When RSL drop down to minimal RSL level (i.e. less than -100dBm) it hand over
to neighboring BTS.
The type of handover procedure executed depends on what level of switching must be
performed in order to move the call from the serving BTS to the new candidate BTS.There
• Intra-cell handover
• Inter-cell handover.
• Intra-MSC handover
• Inter-MSC handover.
If the serving and candidate BTSs reside within the same BSS, the BSC for the BSS can
perform the handover without the involvement of the MSC; thus termed internal or intra-
BSS handover. This type of handover can also be sub-divided into intra-cell and inter-cell
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handovers. An intra-cell handover is an intra-BSS handover within the same BTS. An inter-
If the serving and candidate BTSs do not reside within the same BSS, then an inter-BSS
handover is performed, which requires the MSC to coordinate and switch facilities
(handover the call) between the serving BTS and the candidate BTS. This type of handover
Power Control enables the mobile station and/or the BTS to increase or decrease the
transmission power on a radio link. Power Control is separately performed for the uplink
and downlink. In both cases the BSC is responsible for initiating Power Control. The mobile
station and the BTS adopt transmit power according to the BSC power control commands.
Reasons for Power Control - While a mobile station is active on a call, it has the
periodically to its serving BTS so that the serving BSC can decide if a power control should
be performed. Reason of power control is to save mobile station battery power. The main
reason for power control is improving the carrier-to-interference ratio within the cellular
network.
GSM system network planning undergoes extensive modification so as to fulfill the ever-
increasing demand from operators and mobile users with issues related to capacity and
coverage. In order to meet the requirements of the mobile services, the radio network must
offer sufficient coverage and capacity while maintaining the lowest possible deployment
costs. The designing of Radio Access Network (RAN) consists of mainly three stages that
are:
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The Radio Access Network designing begins with traffic and coverage analysis. The
analysis should produce information about the geographical area and the expected capacity
• Cost of network
• Available frequencies
• Speech quality
Coverage in a cell is dependent upon the area covered by the signal. The distance traveled
by the signal is dependent upon radio propagation characteristics in the given area, since it
is important for the interference management to correctly estimate the situation of the
propagation from the base station. Radio propagation varies from region to region so
predictions are different for both coverage and capacity. The radio wave propagation loss
varies greatly depending on the incidence of buildings and the population density in the
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area. The propagation loss can be estimated either by statistical or deterministic
techniques. The prime requirement is that the network design should cover 100% of the
area. Fulfilling this requirement is usually impossible, so efforts are made design a network
that covers all the regions with no ‘holes’. The whole land area is divided into five major
classes – dense urban, suburban, industrial, residential and rural – based on human-made
structures and natural terrains. The cells (sites) that are constructed in these areas can be
classified as outdoor and indoor cells. Outdoor cells can be further classified as macro-
Capacity can be understood in simplest terms as the number of mobile subscribers a BTS
can cater for at a given time. The greater the capacity, the more mobile subscribers can be
connected to the BTS at a given time, thereby reducing the amount of base stations in a
given network. This reduction would lead to an increase in the operation efficiency and
thereby profits for the network operator. Capacity planning is a very important process in
the network rollout. Capacity plans are made in the preplanning phase for initial estimations,
as well as later in a detailed manner. The number of base stations required in an area
comes from the coverage planning, and the number of transceivers required is derived from
capacity planning as it is directly associated with the frequency re-use factor. The minimum
frequency re-use factor calculation is based on the C/I ratio. As soon as the C/I ratio
decreases, the signal strength starts deteriorating, thereby reducing the frequency re-use
factor.
Another factor is the antenna height at the base station. If the antenna height is too high
then the signal has to travel a greater distance, so the probability that the signal causes
interference becomes greater. The average antenna height should be such that the number
of base stations (fully utilized in terms of their individual capacities) is enough for the
needed capacity of the network. There are three essential parameters required for capacity
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
planning: estimated traffic, average antenna height, erlang calculations, busy hour and
frequency usage.
• Average Antenna Height - The average antenna height is the basis of the cellular
antenna height is low, then the covered area is small in an urban environment. This
will lead to the creation of more cells, and hence increase the number of times the
same frequency can be re-allocated. Exactly the opposite is the case in a macro-
cellular environment. Here the coverage area would be more, so the same
frequency can be reallocated fewer times. All these calculations are based on the
conditions.
to both coverage and capacity usage. Frequency re-use basically means how often
transceivers and the total number of frequencies are known, the frequency re-use
factor can be calculated. Example :If there are 3 TRX that are used per base station
and the total number of frequencies available is 27, then the total number of
In the radio planning process, the maximum utilization of the available frequencies is known
frequency plan ensures that frequency channels are used in such a way that the capacity
and coverage criteria are met without any interference. This is because the total capacity in
a radio network in terms of the number of sites is dependent upon two factors: transmission
power and interference. Frequency plan must ensure that C/I > 12 dB and C/A > -12 dB
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
(GSM recommendation).The re-use of the BCCH TRX (which contains the signalling time
slots) should be greater than that of the TCHs, since it should be the most interference-free.
2.3.4 Quality
The quality of the radio network is dependent on its coverage, capacity and frequency
allocation. The quality of the network is dependent upon the parameter settings. Most of
these are implemented during the rollout of the network and are based on measurements.
Once there are measurements available from the initial launch of the network, these
parameters then can be fine-tuned. This process becomes a part of the optimization of the
radio network. Most of the severe problems in a radio network are attributed by signal
interference. When interference exists in the network; the source needs to be found. The
entire frequency plan is checked again to determine whether the source is internal or
external. The problems may be caused by flaws in the frequency plan, in the configuration
plans (e.g. antenna tilts), inaccurate correction factors used in propagation models, etc.
2.4.1 Introduction
The Cell Planning process consists of three phases, preliminary tasks, design and
implementation. This section describes these activities and the links between them.
The first phase’s main objective is to gather hypotheses (antenna heights and technical
data such as terrain database, link budget calculation, traffic dimensioning, and propagation
The second phase objective is cell planning (target site locations, frequency planning, TRX
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
The third phase covers the cell planning implementation (final site locations, coverage
acceptance support).
These phases are named as preliminary tasks, design and implementation and are
Before starting this project several assumptions were made. The objective of preliminary
tasks is to summarize the required inputs for the design activities into the cell planning. This
phase is further divided into several parts which are shown below.
Most of assumptions are derived from the RFQ (Request for Quotation), from meetings with
the customer or from vendor decisions (products used). Hypotheses gathering consist of
collecting data from various sources that are required for cell planning (coverage target,
BTS equipment information, site constraints, existing sites, traffic information, frequency
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.4.2.2 Terrain Database Selection and Improvement
Digital Terrain Map (DTM) is a mandatory input for cell planning. Purchase of a terrain
database is a deal between cost, delay and accuracy. Then, it is required to perform several
checks on the terrain database data (heights, clutters, and vectors, geographical continuity)
to validate it. The objective of DTM with appropriate accuracy in regards to cost and delay is
The link budget calculation specifies for each type of environment (urban, suburban, rural
and other clutters), each type of product (indoor BTS, outdoor BTS, coupling system,
antennas type) and RF design assumptions, a maximum cell radius based on the Quality of
Service requirements (quality of coverage). These radius are used to produce cell counts
The objective for this activity is to identify area where traffic is more constraining than
coverage, like in urban areas; and to determine BTS maximum configuration to be used for
This activity consists of calculation of the number of cell sites required to both fulfill traffic
and coverage requirement, in relation with choice of equipment. The cell count may be
performed before design phase, to work out the number of cell sites that will be positioned.
For this project cells which were required to fulfill the requirement was found to be above 70
cells.
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.4.2.6 Model Design
This activity includes the choice of a propagation model, its calibration to focus on the major
cell planning requirements linked to a contract. The propagation modeling process assumes
that the terrain database is validated. The propagation model is specific to a terrain
2.4.3 Design
The main task of design is Site determination activity. Model tuning, frequency planning and
TRX planning may be part of this phase but not necessarily. Pictorial illustration for this
This activity consists in determination of each site position and characteristics to achieve
compliance with coverage and traffic requirement. Coverage maps are used to represent
the result of this design step. The objective for this is to evaluate the number of sites and
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
their potential locations and to predict the service area. This prediction shows and distinct
This activity is not mandatory but may occur during the design or the implementation phase.
The model tuning might be required if the level of confidence in the terrain database or in
the model is not high enough. The objective for this activity is to check the validity of radio
measurements; and to verify consistency between existing propagation model and radio
measurements.
Based on the contract subscriber profiles and contract products, the traffic planning
specifies the TRX configuration for each site. If the required capacity cannot be provided by
a site location then cell splits may be necessary. A new site determination step might have
to be done. The main objective for this is to determine (or confirm) the number of TRXs per
interference. These two activities (frequency allocation and C/I analysis) are repeated until
Once the cells have been positioned and the number of TRXs per cell has been set (or
confirmed by the TRX Plan), frequencies must be allocated to each cell in a way which
minimizes interference using tilts and azimuths. The ARFCN which have been allotted for
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
2.4.4 Implementation
The last phase for cell processing is of implementation. Objective of the project is planning
of access part not implementation. Last phase is included to give an overview of complete
Theoretical site locations specified during the site determination activity represent target.
SAQ (Site Acquisition) tries to find real locations which are the best matching with site
• Choose a single real location per theoretical site, this location is supposed to be the
• Share data (site location, antennae height, azimuths, and tilts) between cell
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Chapter 2 Radio Access Network
Radio data fill is an iterative process which defines the radio parameters (TRX plan,
• Provide updated values for TRX plan, frequency plan, and BSIC plan.
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
CHAPTER 3
BSS Planning
3.1 Introduction
The main aim of radio network designing is to provide a cost-effective solution for the radio
network in terms of coverage, capacity and quality. The network design criteria vary from
region to region depending upon the dominating factor or priority, which could be capacity
or coverage. Our task was to completely plan the site using 27 ARFCN when its generally
This chapter illustrates the procedure followed for designing the radio access network for
the given area taking under consideration all the parameters, resources allocated and
The approach adopted to accomplish designing of radio access network is broken down in
different steps as shown in figure 3.1. According to project design, fig 3.1, planning steps
are divided in two phases which are initial planning and System growth.
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
The phase of initial or pre-planning starts from first step of “traffic and coverage analysis”
goes till “System design”. The specifications and targets given by HUAWEI are:
GoS : 2%
terrain profile and related signal strength. In this project the area allocated is
It is mandatory to calculate number of sites required to fulfill the coverage and capacity
requirement. As per budget for this project, maximum sites that can be placed are 80.
These sites have to be placed in such a way to give an optimum coverage and capacity.
There are coverage-driven areas and capacity-driven areas in a given network region. The
average cell capacity requirement per service area is estimated for each phase of network
design, to identify the cut-over phase where network design will change from a coverage-
coverage-driven areas is to find the minimum number of sites for producing the required
coverage. It is necessary to experiment with both coverage and capacity, as due to the
capacity requirements the number of sites may have to be increased resulting in a more
The definition of capacity include the number of subscribers and traffic profile in the region,
information on the radio access system and the antenna system performance associated
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Offered Traffic: It is defined as traffic which user attempt to originate .
There are basically two approaches to perform the calculation of network’s capacity and
required equipment.
1. Theoretical approach
2. Practical approach
The theoretical approach is the empirical method to perform the capacity calculations. The
steps involved during the capacity calculations using the data and assumptions are
mentioned below:
i. Sectorization
Sectorization scheme is chosen first for pre-planning. The standard Signal-to- Noise ratio is
For Omni
3.1
For Sector
3.2
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
ii. Voice channels (m)
The number of voice channels for city and highways are calculated using eq 3.3. Voice
channels are used to estimate the number of TRX required in particular area.
3.3
Where;
Traffic density of the city is calculated using eq 3.4. TD has unit of Erlang/km².
3.4
Where;
For a given GoS of 2%, traffic on each sector is calculated using Erlang-B chart for six
different terrains.
v. Number of cells
Area of a single cell is calculated using eq 3.5. Cell area has unit of ‘km²’ and it is used to
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
3.2.1.2 Calculations:
Given Data:
Financial Specifications:
Technical Limitations:
Total BW = 5.4MHz
Channel BW = 200 kHz
Path loss = -156 dB
GoS = 2%
Statistical Analysis:
Traffic per subscriber = [25mEr occupy the resource/channel for 90 seconds (standard)]
Penetration (pene) = 7% [Next year 7% of the net population will be added to network]
Roll out time/year = 15 days
Annual population growth = 20%
Number of Users (PoP) = 16000
Market share = 90% [How much share our network (N) will hold in total telecom market]
Number of Interference Cell (j) = for Omni: j = 1, for Sector: j = 3
Total area = 100 x 7 km2
*If X operators in sum carry Y% of total population, our market share will be = (N/X) * Y
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Capacity Planning:
Number of sites:
It is mandatory to calculate number of sites required to fulfill the coverage and capacity
requirement. As per budget for this project, maximum sites that can be placed are 10.
These sites have to be placed in such a way to give an optimum coverage and capacity.
Busy-hour traffic: A is the maximum traffic on the busiest hour of system or line.
A= a * b * t.
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
a) Theoretical Approach:
(i) Sectorization:
Where;
Total BW = 5.4MHz
Speech/Rf = 8 (since full rate) [Note: At Half rate Speech/Rf is taken 16]
Channels BW = 200 kHz
N=3
Therefore, m = 23
Since
m = 23
Therefore, 27-23 = 4 controls channels
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
(iii) Traffic Density (TD):
TD = 25m x Population x
market share
OR Area
Where;
One site has 3 sectors. Each sector has 3 Radios and each radio has 8 channels/slots so
we have 24 slots per sector, 3 slots per sector are used for other purposes like signaling,
broadcast, and data traffic so we are left with 21 slots per sector.
Our GOS is 2 %. Now using ErlangB table we can find out how much traffic one sector of a
site can carry it turns out to be 14.03 Erlangs, Total trafic a site can carry is 42.09 Erlangs
Total traffic for that area is 0.9 Er/kmsq x 400 kmsq = 360 Erlangs
Cell area has unit of ‘km²’ and it is used to calculate minimum number of cells required to
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
b) Practical Method:
The maximum configuration stated by customer for this project is S333. It means that each
of the three sectors has 3 TRX in it. From the Erlang B table the traffic carried by this
Traffic Carried by Site = Traffic carried by a cell × number of cell in that Site
Total Erlang which is offered by the target population can be found as:
Total offered traffic in Erlang = Number of total users * traffic offered by a user
= 16000 * 25mErlang
= 400 Erlang
(14.03*3)
Frequency hopping and Frequency Reuse – Frequency hopping and tighter reuse plan
Therefore, x = 2 if we want 50 % OR 2x = 4
■ For 1 x 3 scheme
Fractional Load = 50 %
(In other words, 4 frequencies will be assign to each MAL list)
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Uplink frequencies: Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2n MHz where 1 < n < 124
Downlink Frequencies: Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45 MHz
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
NCC: 2, 3
BCC: 0-7
BSIC combinations: 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37
MAL frequencies for sector A 1, 4, 7, 10
MAL frequencies for sector B 2, 5, 8, 11
MAL frequencies for sector C 3, 6, 9, 12
MAIO for sector A: 0, 2
MAIO for sector B: 1, 3
MAIO for sector C: 0, 2
Guard frequency = 20
BCCH = 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Guard Frequency for Next operator = 27
HSN: 0-63
SITE VIEW:
13/4 BCCH distribution scheme
18
24
26
15
17
19
21
23
25
19
16
14
SD Calculation:
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Since no. of slots per sector = 21 and GoS = 2%, From ErlangB TS = 14.03
Total no. of subscribers per sector = TCH traffic per sector = 14.03
Traffic per subscriber 25m
= 561 subscribers
We can also refer to the standard table for SD traffic per sector
E1 Calculations:
= 1.152 Mbps
Therefore, only one E1 will be enough for communication between HUB site and BTS
CGI:
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
TRX
Radio#1 TRX TRX
Radio#2 Radio#3
BCCH
14, 15,
16, 17, Hopping Hopping
18, 19,
20, 21, 1 1
22, 23, 4 4
S333 Sector A 24, 25, 7 7
26 10 10
MAIO (0) MAIO (2)
SD = 2
time slots
TRX
Radio#1 TRX TRX
Radio#2 Radio#3
BCCH
SD = 2
time slots
TRX
Radio#1 TRX TRX
Radio#2 Radio#3
BCCH
Site 1
Site Name = HihfrmB Site Name = HihfrmC
Site Name = HihfrmA
Longitude = 67.27448 Longitude = 67.27448
Longitude = 67.27448
Latitude = 24.97918 Latitude = 24.97918
Latitude = 24.97918
CI = 111 CI = 112
CI = 123
BSIC = 27 BSIC = 27
BSIC = 27
HSN = 59 HSN = 59
HSN = 59
MAL = 1, 4, 7, 10 MAL = 2, 5, 8, 11 MAL = 3, 6, 9, 12
BCCH = 16 BCCH = 19 BCCH = 14
Site 2:
Site 3:
Site 4:
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Site 5
Site 6
Site 7
Site 8
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
i) Coverage Problems:
The terrain configuration and human-made structures are different on different locations
resulting in different area-area predictions. The measurements made in dense urban areas
are different from those made in urban, sub-urban and other areas. During coverage
planning optimum level of RSL (i.e. -65dBm) was not achieved at distinct locations due to
propagation losses. Following approaches are used at cell site to increase the coverage.
Increasing the Transmitted Power - Increasing the transmitted power of each affected cell
results in coverage of a large area. When power level is doubled, gain increases by 3dB.
Increasing Cell-Site Antenna Height – To fill the coverage holes, cell-site antenna’s
height is increased. The effective antenna height is dependent on the location of Site and
MS. Sometimes, doubling the actual antenna height results in a gain increase of less than
High-Gain Antennas at Site – The high gain antennas are also used to increases the
coverage especially in dense urban areas, because coverage is generally found to be less
Selecting Cell-Site Location – Coverage area is also increased by selecting proper site
location for actual antenna height and transmitted power. For better coverage purposes,
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Antenna Pattern - Problem is solved by immediate scrutiny of the deployed antennas
pattern and tilts. Such problems are usually sorted out by moving the antenna positions and
Efficient designing of Radio Access Network is all about building high-capacity networks in
the most economical way, and therefore, GSM radio network capacity solutions are
becoming increasingly important. Following techniques are used to cater the allocated
number of users.
Small Cell Size – Controlling the radiation pattern results in reduction of cell size and
increases the traffic capacity. This approach is based on the assumption that all mobile
met by increasing the number of radio channels in each cell. This is done by increasing
Frequency hopping and Frequency Reuse – Frequency hopping and tighter reuse plan
Apart from achieving capacity and coverage, the two main parameters that are considered
when building a network are monetary cost and time—the actual cost of each solution is
market-dependent, since the costs associated with cell sites (site acquisition, site
preparation, rental costs) and transmission vary from market to market. Over dimensioning
of the network causes too much cost, traffic revenue gets too low to support cost of
network, very poor economic efficiency. Similarly, under dimensioning of the network
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
causes blocking probability to increase, has poor technical performance (in other words
interference), capacity for billable revenue become low, revenue gets lower due to poor
Remedy – The solution to above mention problem is to deploy more transceiver on a cell
site or tighter frequency reuse plan. A third option is to introduce micro cells as it is easier
and less expensive to acquire sites for them. While designing trade off should be made
between resources and requirements to avoid both over and under dimensioning.
A nominal cell plan is produced from the data compiled from traffic and coverage analysis.
The nominal cell plan is a graphical representation of the network and looks like a cell
pattern on a map. First cell plan is laid which formed the basis for further planning. The
nominal plan is made by taking under consideration the following parameters and methods
which help to predict the path losses, make efficient use of available frequency band and
i. Radio propagation
iii. Interference
i. Radio propagation
To predict the signal strength and path losses of the radio wave or transmitted signal many
propagation models are analyzed. The Okumura-Hata model is chosen as the prediction
model .The radio propagation is highly dependent on clutter profile and the terrain assigned
for planning. The Okumura - Hata model is best suited for its loss predictions. Losses due
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
to clutter profile, shadowing, multi-path fading and vertical diffraction losses are catered
Based on the traffic calculations, the cell pattern and frequency re-use plan are worked out
not only for the initial network, but also for future demands.
The re-use patterns recommended for GSM are the 4/12 and the 3/9 pattern. Selected
iii. Interference
Co-channel Interference (C/I) - Cellular networks are more often limited by problems
The criteria of C/I used for designing the radio network is as follow:
I is interfering frequency
Adjacent channel interference (C/A) - The main focus is made to mitigate C/A in the
same cell during the planning. The C/A in neighboring cell is given the second priority as it
does not affect the communication. Here, the criteria of C/A used for designing the radio
network is as follow:
C/A>= 3db
A is adjacent frequency
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
These criterions are chosen after consultations with experienced personals and vendors. As
GSM standards are C/I greater then 9db and C/A greater than -9db, these criterions taken
When the pre-planning phase is completed, the site search process starts. Based on the
coverage plans, prospective sites location is identified for specific areas. The process of site
selection, from identifying the site to site acquisition, is very long and slow therefore it is
worked out in conjunction with transmission planners, installation engineers and civil
engineers to make this process faster. A good site is a place that does not have high
obstacles around it and has a clear view for the main beam. The responsibilities of site
Site Acquisition
The Site Acquisition process is performed in close co-operation with the Civil Works. It
Civil Works
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
Engineering
The Engineering process begins when the Site Acquisition process and ends when Civil
• Designing the antenna and radio configuration and producing cable drawings.
“Radio measurements” are performed to adjust the parameters used in the planning tool to
match the real situations. That is, adjustments are made to meet the specific site climate
and terrain requirements. A test transmitter is mounted on a vehicle, and signal strength is
measured while driving around the site area. Afterwards, the results from these
measurements can be compared to the values the planning tool produces when simulating
the same type of transmitter. The planning parameters can then be adjusted to match the
actual measurements.
Where,
A,B,C =Constant
d = distance
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
hms = Effective height of MS
3. The results of model tuning measurement report are imported in “the planning
system software and alignment with the digital map of the given area is made. This
conversion parameters.
4. In Okumura-HATA model there are many unassailable parameters. At first the slope
of Okumura-Hata model is tuned by changing the factor “C”. In the equation of the
model. It can be seen that first three terms are independent of distance “d”. As
log(d) has the coefficient “C – 6.55log(h)”, by changing the factor “C” model has
been tuned. The values of this very factor depends on the clutter, which is
The correction by factor “D” affects the effect of antenna height on prediction of losses. As
the Okumura- Hata model is suitable for cells that have antenna installed well above roof
tops ( in other words the lattice towers ). If the antenna is installed near the roof-top then
factor “D” in the equation is used for improving the accuracy of the predictions. The height if
mobile antenna is not considered for correction as the correction factor is 0db (given in
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
used to identify the equipment and the network type required in order to cater for coverage
and quality requirement. Network must be planned that capacity needs are fulfilled for next
3-5 years. The inputs that are required for the dimensioning include:
Path loss
With above parameters, number of base stations is calculated for estimated number of
users (Table 3.2) in different clutters. Initially all sites deliver equal power (i.e. -43dBm).
Implementation and deployment completes the 2G-network design process by realizing the
projected site locations, service target requirements and time to service. It takes into
account the solution adopted for the network deployment, e.g. sharing sites with existing
base stations and evolution of core network elements or a complete new overlay network. It
will also take into account the hierarchy of the network, i.e. the macro- and micro layers
where applicable. When deploying in the macro-cell environment the implementation will
take into account the coverage dependency on the transmission rates and technology
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
availability in terms of antenna configuration and interference minimizing features. Thus, the
Networks need to operate at full efficiency with a minimal amount of maintenance; a high
degree of quality and with enough capacity according to the traffic demand. Once the
system has been installed, it is continuously monitored to determine how well it meets
demand. This is called system tuning. It involves checking whether the final cell plan was
necessary.
Drive testing is used for system tuning. It analyzes the current performance of network and
analysis measurable objectives in terms of quality, capacity and cost. TEMS, Test Mobile
coverage, quality or to pinpoint problem areas. Drive Tests are used to capture the
throughput at lower layers over the air interface, measure radio conditions, and monitors
signaling messages between the terminal and the network. Drive Testing assist in detecting
specific problems in the network and performing trouble shooting. This tool composes of
one mobile terminal with special firmware and software that collect information from the
radio interface. Typical information that is achieved from Drive Tests is:
• Information about system serving cell: Cell Id, frequency, broadcast information,
etc.
ratio, RQUAL, Cell selection (C1) and Cell Re-selection (C2), TXPOWER, Call
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Chapter 3 BSS Planning
• Signalling messages
Drive test tools also use GPS (Global Positioning System) in order to correlate the
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Chapter 4 Quick Budget
CHAPTER 4
Quick Budget
4.1 Introduction
The post processing RF tools enables the RF engineers to predict the effect of their
designed network or changes they make to the network will have on the perceived
coverage and quality. Thus expensive problems can be avoided and trouble spots can be
identified early and fixed quickly. These tools basically provide the visualizing the radio
access network for any specific terrain. The combination of the map, ground profiles and
the 3D view can save engineers visiting sites as a lot of information can be deduced by
This chapter provides a description of Quick Budget working and its back programming.
operating and optimizing a cellular radio network. Its database is used to store all the
relevant information on sites, base stations and cell parameters, and from this Quick
Budget.
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Chapter 4 Quick Budget
This is a screenshot of our link budgeting software that has been uploaded on the following
link www.fyp.awardspace.com. For further details, visit the above mentioned link.
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Chapter 5 Optimization
Chapter 5
Optimization
5.1 Introduction
performance. Optimization is basically the only way to keep track of the network by
looking deep into statistics and collecting/analyzing drive test data. It is keeping an eye
on its growth and modifying it for the future capacity enhancements. It also helps
Optimization will be more effective and successful if you are aware of what you are
doing.
The optimization is to intend providing the best network quality using available
• Finding and correcting any existing problems after site implementation and
integration.
network quality.
• Optimization can not reduce the performance of the rest of the network.
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Chapter 5 Optimization
Analyzing performance retrieve tool reports and statistics for the worst performing BSCs
and/or Sites.
• Cluster definitions by investigating BSC borders, main cities, freeways, major roads
• Checking any fault reports to limit possible hardware problems prior to Test
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Chapter 5 Optimization
5.2.4. Subjects to Investigate
• Disabled GPRS
• Coverage holes
• Drop Calls
• Capacity Problems
• Missing Neighbors
• One–way neighbors
• Ping–Pong Handovers
• Equipment Performance
• Faulty Installations
Plotting RX Level and Quality Information for overall picture of the driven
area
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Chapter 5 Optimization
Analyzing Network feature performance after new implementations
5.2.6. Recommendations
Proposing new sites or sector additions with Before & After coverage plots
BSIC changes
HOs)
74
Chapter 5 Optimization
Example of FER is OK
75
Chapter 5 Optimization
RX_Level
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Chapter 5 Optimization
Late Handovers
Ping-Pong Handovers
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Chapter 5 Optimization
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Chapter 5 Optimization
79
Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
CHAPTER 6
6.1 Introduction
The radio access network design being a complex process has been accomplished in eight
discrete steps. Each step has its separate problems, which can be tackled in a number of
ways. The choice of a solution depends on the scenario, priority and resources at hand. In
this chapter the final results of each step are stated and the solutions to mitigate the
problems faced during the designing process are discussed in adequate detail.
The phase of initial or pre-planning starts from first step of “traffic and coverage analysis”
goes till “System design”. The specifications and targets given by HUAWEI are:
ARFCNS: 27
GoS: 2%
Radio network capacity solutions can be divided into three solution categories:
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
i) Cell capacity solutions - These solutions consist of methods and features that permit
more transceivers per cell. Factor that has the greatest influence on cell capacity is
frequency reuse. Cell capacity is thus determined by different methods and functions to
The Multiple Reuse Pattern, which is based on base-band frequency hopping, yields the
best results for network composed mainly of filter combiners. The primary transceiver
carries the broadcast control channel (BCCH) and must therefore have a relatively loose
reuse pattern (explanation: a handset must listen to the information broadcast on the BCCH
before it can make calls in a cell). Where as; due to the frequency hopping gain, all
remaining transceivers in the network can have a successively tighter reuse pattern.
Compared to a non-hopping network, the MRP solution can be more than double cell
Fractional Load Planning is based on synthesized frequency hopping, which requires the
use of hybrid combiners. In FLP, the gain from frequency hopping is not dependent on the
number of transceivers in a cell, since each transceiver can hop on every frequency
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
ii) Network capacity solutions - These solutions focus on adding different kinds of cells
In addition to improving cell capacity, operators can introduce micro cells, since site
acquisition for micro cells is usually easier and less expensive than when adding regular
sizes. With multilayered hierarchical cell structures, cells can be divided in up to eight layers
and traffic can be prioritized and distributed between these layers. There are also numerous
there are too many handovers within a given interval. This function reduces
iii) Channel capacity solutions - These solutions center on ways of using the available
throughput of the channels in the air in a more efficient manner, for example half-rate voice
In the context of circuit-switched traffic, the channel capacity is about half-rate voice
channels and the way they are managed as shown in the figure 5.1. Since the half-rate
technique reduces the quality of voice, it has not been widely deployed. However, operators
are now beginning to use this technique more and more, since it can be allocated on a
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
For comparative analysis purpose capacity planning is done using two approaches.
During the cell based capacity planning of the Global System for Mobile Communications
predictions, the capacity planning of a cell may be done inaccurately. If the capacity of the
cell is not adequate to handle all of the busy-hour requests, the requests are not granted a
channel and users are blocked. Thus, when the blocking ratio is high, the cellular capacity
should be re-planned.
The result of nominal cell planning is shown in the figure 5.2 which is the cell pattern on
map. The densely polluted areas have cells with small radii and others have comparatively
larger radii. The small radius cells are enabling greater number of traffic channels in the
respective area, thus more users can be catered in densely polluted areas.
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
The following results are achieved from the three under considered parameters while
figure 5.3 shows the coverage prediction of a site by using Okumura- Hata.
ii) Interferences
problem, such as
the system efficiency, which is directly proportional to the number of channels per
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
cells increases, decreases. Method ‘c’ is not recommended either because such an
Method ‘b’ is a good approach, because the use of directional antennas in each cell
Initially the co-channel interference was 60%, which is reduced to 10% by using one
be significantly reduced.
antenna.
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
• If Carrier to interference ratio C/I is greater than 15 dB throughout the
• If C/I is greater than 12 dB and Carrier to Noise ratio C/N is greater than
• If both C/N and C/I are greater than 3dB and C/N = C/I in a particular area,
• If both C/N and C/I are greater than 3 dB and C/N > C/I in particular area,
The “site surveys” were conducted for all sites and following are the results of checked
parameters.
• Exact location – Most of the site’s locations were mono pol. These sites are
considerable level.
• Space for the BTS equipment- The equipments used is HUAWEI BSC-6000.
Transceiver (TRX) radio base station for outdoor applications. The HUAWEI
BSC-6000 is a high coverage base station and configured for three sectors
site.
• Antennas – The 25dBi gain antennas are used, one for each sector. It has
The radio measurement is done to find the corrections in prediction model. The quality of a
network plan is dependent on the accuracy of the propagation model used to predict
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
coverage pattern. The model tuning of Okumura-Hata resulted in modified area curves as
under.
Due to the model tuning, the prediction gets better as in figure 5.3, which shows the
coverage pattern of same site as in figure 5.4. These graphs are being provided by external
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
Once the planning parameters have been adjusted to match the actual measurements,
dimensioning of the BSC is performed and the final cell plan produced. As the name
implies, this plan can then be used for system installation. New coverage and interference
predictions are run at this stage, resulting in Cell Design Data (CDD) documents containing
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
i. Calculation of E1s
For calculations of E1s at each site it is mandatory to calculate the traffic carrying capacity
of each Site.
Traffic channel on E1 = 30
Required time slot for carrying traffic of S333 site = 1152 / 64 = 18 TS of E1s
Results show that one E1 is required by each site for supporting S333 configuration. So
total number of required E1 in the network is equal to total number of sites deployed. In total
79 E1 are required.
Total number of Erlang supported by BSC is dependent on type and size of BSC. Here,
The determination of link is dependent on real site location and neighboring sites. This
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Chapter 6 Results & Discussions
iv. Assigning BTSs to BSCs :
The assignment of BTSs to a particular BSC is dependent on amount of traffic and location
of site. In this project, four BSCs have been deployed each is linked to 8 BTSs.
call drop rate, the worst cell, handover success rate and congestion
rate, etc.
c.) Improving voice quality, such as balancing the traffic between the cells
channel.
f.) Creating and maintaining a long term network optimization platform, and
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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
7.1 CONCLUSION
analysis of resources, geographical area and required standards. A fine line or trade
telecommunication industry.
This project provides an individual with intrinsic details of BSS planning and radio
access network. The analysis made between the theoretical and practical
environment testing. Thus this project provides information about working in the
field. The radio access network is developed in four distinguished steps, which can
RAN.
The proposed design is enabling an optimum service of 94%. The required stages of
coverage, capacity, and frequency planning are well accomplished in the designed
RAN and the frequency planning has been taken to the next level, called transceiver
planning for all the sites which contributes in mitigating the problem of interferences.
The coverage prediction and loss estimations are improved by model tuning and
drive testing. The outcome of model tuning is implemented. The surveys and site
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visits gave a clear idea of hardware requirements, its limitations and cost which
The designed RAN is a cost effective design, it can be said so as the cost of
network is 1.6 million$ (cost per site is 0.2 million $ and total sites are 8). The total
given budget for the network was 2 million$, thus 0.4 million$ have been saved. This
RAN also has the dispensation of easy implementation because of likeness between
Although the designed RAN is fulfilling the given target but it can be improved in a
number of ways. The shortcomings of few stages of designing are as follows. In the
stage of coverage planning, the loss and gain factors to cater open qausi terrain
could not be found due to clandestine company data. 100% service could not be
enabled in the given city. Thus, efforts can be made to further improve the tuning of
applied model. In the second stage of capacity planning, the concept of cell
hierarchy can be applied to improve the user catering, as it will classify the outdoor,
The designed RAN in this project is for a 2G technology (GSM), as its currently
deployed all over Pakistan and license of 3G has not been provided by PTA. Yet 3G
in the proposed design. This stage is not implemented as it was not a requirement of
HUAWEI but it can make the network resource utilization efficient. The quality
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GLOSSARY
93
MS: Mobile Station.
94
REFERENCES
Environment”,
http://www.comsoc.org/livepubs/surveys/public/3q00issue/neskovic.html;
http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~microwave/programs/wireless/prop/costWI.htm; access
[5] Wireless Network by Jeffery Wheat
[6] End-to-End Quality of Service Over Cellular Networks: Data Services ...
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