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Development of a GSM Signal Booster for the 900 and 1800 MHz Bands using
BA-ANN

Conference Paper · October 2017

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 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

DHYHORSPHQW RI D GSM SLJQDO BRRVWHU IRUWKH 900 DQG

*
1800 MHz BDQGV XVLQJ BA-ANN
S. Aliyu, E. N. Onwuka, M. Okwori, A. Victor & M. Suleiman
1
Telecommunication Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology , PMB 65 Minna
Niger State, Nigeria
*Corresponding author email: salihu.aliyu@futminna.edu.ng, +2347039335074
ABSTRACT
The increasing number of GSM users has brought to the lime light the progressive decline in the Quality of service
(QoS) experienced by mobile users. A number of factors are attributable to this problem. One observable cause of
this decline is the event associated with weak signal reception (WSR). WSR limits the reception area of a mobile
station (MS) thereby causing connectivity problems such as dropped calls and network inaccessibility. Thus, it has
become very important to develop systems that can boost the received weak signal and extend its range. In literature
many research efforts have been made in the design of GSM signal booster, and different techniques have been
proposed. However, there have been minimal research in the use of meta-heuristic optimization techniques for
components selection in GSM signal booster design. In this paper, a novel approach for designing GSM signal
booster is proposed. Specifically, an artificial intelligent technique involving the use of Bat Algorithm (BA) and
Artificial Neural Network (ANN) have been proposed. Results obtained from the developed GSM signal booster
suggests the system as a viable solution for the problem of WSR in our local environment. The GSM signal booster
achieved a maximum percentage boost of 73.59% on 2G network and 72.06% on 3G network.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, GSM, meta-heuristic Bat Algorithm, Signal booster, Weak signal reception.

serving 1.5 billion subscribers (MobiThinking, 2014; NCC,

INTRODUCTION
The use of wireless communications in Nigeria has
grown rapidly over the last ten years with expectations for
further exponential progression (Isiaka, 2010). Statistics
from the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC)
revealed that more than 132 million Nigerians have
connected lines (these includes mobile lines, mobile
CDMA lines and fixed/wireless lines) with over 96.6
million lines being active. However, most of these mobile
phone users are in the high population density cities and
only a fraction of this population are in the rural and
suburban areas (Adegoke, Babalola, & Balogun, 2008;
Isiaka, 2010). GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communications) is a standard developed by the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe
protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular
networks used by mobile phones. It was first deployed in
Finland in July 1991 (Hillebrand, 2011), and as at 2014 it
had become the default global standard for mobile
communications (Hillebrand, 2011). The GSM standard
originally described a digital, circuit-switched network
optimized for full duplex voice telephony. This expanded
over time to include data communications, first by circuits
switched transport, then by packet data transport via GPRS
(General Packet Radio Services) and EDGE (Enhanced
Data rates for GSM Evolution or EGPRS) (Hillebrand,
2011). In the year 1991 considerations were made to
expand the GSM standard to the 1800 MHz frequency band
and the first 1800 MHz network became operational in the
UK by 1993. By 2005, GSM networks accounted for more
than 75% of the worldwide cellular network market,
2016). In 2005 the first HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink
Packet Access) capable network became operational and
the first HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access)
network was launched in 2007. This brought the number of
worldwide GSM subscribers to three billion as at 2008
(MobiThinking, 2014; NCC, 2016).This imbalance in the
population distribution of cell phone users is largely due to
lack of GSM infrastructures in the rural and suburban areas
and in other cases where few infrastructures exist, this
could be due to the challenge of Weak Signal Reception
(WSR).
A number of factors can be responsible for WSR, even
in urban areas where wireless carriers should provide
optimum coverage. Typical causes include limitations in
the GSM network architecture and installation due to
antenna location, limited network density, and interference
with other cell sites and propagation impairment in the
environment. However, in rural areas, typical causes of
WSR include inadequate GSM network coverage,
vegetation or foliage loss; foliage loss can be as high at 20
dB in GSM 900 systems (“GSM Radio Frequency
optimization,” 2016, “Phone jammers,” 2012).
In this paper a low-cost GSM signal booster, with
optimal components selection, using the Bat Algorithm
(BA) and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is proposed
to solve the problem of weak signal reception. The Bat
algorithm (BA) was initially developed by Yang (2010)
and has been found to be very efficient. Bats have the
capability of echolocation (also referred to as bio sonar).
Among all the bats species, micro bats use echolocation to
detect prey, avoid obstacles and locate their roosting

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 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

cervices in the dark (Bhole, Chaugule, Damankar, & METHODOLOGY

Yadav, 2015). While the BA is proposed for selecting the
The design stage involves design and performance
optimal components for the circuit design, ANN is
evaluation of the modular circuitry of the booster system.
proposed to predict the performance of the selected
The block diagram of the booster circuit is shown in Figure
components. Artificial Neural networks (ANN) has found
1. It comprises of the 900MHz and 1800MHz band
widespread use for modelling complex and non-linear
combination using a 2-1 multiplexer, power amplifier, and
problems. This has been largely motivated by its ability to
RF transmitter/receiver circuit.
mimic natural intelligence in learning from experience.
The power amplifier unit amplifies the received weak
This research is focused to overcome the difficulties
signal, while the band pass filter provides frequency
associated with the use of wireless communications in
selection for the GSM signal band. The RF circuitry
Nigeria and how to improve the Quality of service (QoS)
provides the function of receiving and retransmitting the
experienced by users. The rest of this paper is organized as
GSM signal. Major discussion is presented on the bandpass
follows: section 2 discusses the methodology used to
and RF circuit designs.
achieve the GSM signal booster, while section 3 presents
test and results obtained from the developed system.
Section 4 concludes this paper.

Outdoor Antenna
Indoor Antenna (Rx/Tx)
(Rx/Tx)

Band Pass Power Band Pass

Filter Amplifier Filter

RF Circuit Multiplexer Multiplexer RF Circuit

Band Pass Power Band Pass

Filter Amplifier Filter

Figure 1: Block diagram of the dual bands (900 and 1800 MHz) GSM signal booster

2.1 BAND PASS CIRCUIT DESIGN

The proposed GSM signal booster has the capability to
boost both the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. This is because
all the mobile networks in Nigeria operate within these two
bands. To achieve this, a band pass filter whose frequency
response lies within these bands was used to pass signals in
these bands and reject other signals. The downlink
frequency range (from base station to mobiles) of network
providers in Nigeria lie in the range 935 to 960 MHz for
the 900 MHz band and the range 1805 to 1880 MHz for the
1800 MHz band. Therefore, the first bandpass filter design
Figure 2. Circuit diagram of the bandpass filter.
has a low frequency cutoff fL of 935 MHz and a high
frequency cutoff fH of 960MHz. Similarly, the 1800 MHz The values of the resistors and capacitors used for the
bandpass filters were obtained using equation (1)
bandpass filter has f L  1805MHz and 1
fL  (1)
f H  1880MHz . The circuit diagram of the bandpass 2 R1C1
filter is as shown in Figure 2.

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 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
where f L is 935 MHz. Using a value of R1  100 ,
C1 was obtained to be 1.7pF. However, 1.7pF is not a
standard capacitance value available in the market,
therefore, 2pF was used. Similarly, with f H  960MHz ,
R2  100 C2 was obtained as 1.66pF.
f L and f H , gives the bandwidth
The range between
BW as 25 MHz, i.e. BW  f H  f L .
The bandpass filter used is an active type with
amplification gain given as:
R4
Gain  1 
R3
2.2 RF CIRCUIT DESIGN
This stage involves the use of an RF receiver and
Figure 3. Circuit diagram of the Colpitts oscillator
transmitter. The receiver receives the weak signal, while
the transmitter retransmits the boosted signal. Both circuits
were designed around a wideband Colpitts oscillator. The
circuit design of this unit is shown in Figure 3.
Resistors R2 and R3 were selected using an artificial
intelligence approach involving the use of Bat algorithm.
The algorithm is a metaheuristic algorithm based on the
echolocation of Bats. Detailed analysis of Bat algorithm
can be found in (Yang & He, 2013).
From Figure 3, the oscillator frequency was obtained as
follows:
1
f 
2 L1Ceq
C3C4
Where Ceq  , similarly, the Thevenin
C3  C4
resistance between the aforementioned resistors are given
as:
R2 R3
Rth 
R2  R3
While the Thevenin voltage is given as:
R3
Vth  Vcc (5)
R2  R3
From (4) and (5) an objective function for the determining
the optimum values for R2 and R3 was derived as:
R3
f ( R2 , R3 )  Vcc (6)
R2  R3
Where Vcc  5V . This objective function was used
with Bat algorithm and ANN in MATLAB environment.
More details of the Colpitts oscillator design, can be found
in (M. G. B. A. Amsa, Aibinu, & Salami, 2014; M. G. B.
(2) A. Amsa, Aibinu, & Salami, 2013). The algorithm was
simulated using MATLAB with 500 generations,
population size of 20, amplitude of 0.8, and pulse rate of
0.5. From the pair of resistors obtained from 500
generations of the algorithm, the pair that gives the
maximum Thevenin voltage with minimum transient time
was selected. The transient time for all the optimized pair
of resistors were predicted using the ANN model.
2.3 BA-ANN MODEL
An artificial intelligence approach involving the use of
Bat Algorithm (BA) and the artificial Neural network
(ANN) was used to select the two resistor values of (6). The
BA is a meta-heuristic Algorithm based on echolocation of
Bats. BA was used to generate several optimum resistance
combinations for resistors R2 and R3, while ANN was used
on the other hand to predict the transient response of the
generated combinations. It was used to learn and
understand the underlying relationship that exists between
the resistance combinations ( R1 and R2 ) and the transient
response obtained from the circuit simulation (M. G. B. A.
Amsa et al., 2014). The objective function used is given as
in (6). It was obtained from the Thevenin equivalent circuit
of the oscillator. Vcc is the supply voltage which was set to
5 V, R2 and R3 were constrained to lower bound of 100 kΩ
and upper bound of 1 MΩ which serve as the range that
produced pure sine wave. The BA-ANN model is
summarized in the flowchart shown in Figure 4.
(3)
(4)
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 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

The indoor antenna is an omnidirectional wideband

Start
Circuit modelling and
analysis of the Colpitts
oscillator
Obtain objective function
Initialize Bat parameters
and initial solution space
Find optimized pairs of
resistors using Bat
ceiling-mount antenna. It has an operating frequency of 700
MHz to 2.5GHz with a gain of 2dBi and a coverage range
of 80sqm. It provides an enhanced signal strength in all
Simulation of
the Colpitts
direction and should be installed at the center of the
oscillator location where the boosted signal is desired. This antenna
is shown in Figure 6.
Obtain transient response for
various pairs of resistors RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The different circuit modules were coupled and
Train ANN using the transient
tested, after troubleshooting the individual modules. First,
response data
a preliminary test was carried out. Two locations at the
Gidan kwano campus of the Federal University of
No Technology, where signal reception is known to be
Network
converge? predominantly poor, were selected for the test. Location 1
is the Telecommunication Engineering laboratory. which is
Yes located at the ground floor of a two story building with
Obtain model for predicting concrete walls, while location 2 is the Chemical
transient response

Predict transient response for

optimized pairs of resistors
Select the pair that gives the
Stop
shortest transient response

Figure 4. Flow chart for selection of R2 and R3

2.4 RF ANTENNA
The GSM booster design comprises of an indoor and
outdoor antennas. The outdoor antenna receives the weak
GSM signal, while the indoor antenna rebroadcast the
boosted signal. For the outdoor antenna, a wide band
directional antenna operating at a frequency range of 700
to 2700 MHz was used. It has high gain, wide bandwidth
and it is weather resistant. The antenna is shown in Figure
5.
Figure 6. Indoor omnidirectional antenna
Engineering Building Complex, which is not only located
in a shallow valley, but is also surrounded by taller concrete
buildings. Results obtained from location 1 is shown in
Tables 1 and 2, while Tables 3 and 4 show results for
location 2. These result are average signal strengths
received from all the four mobile networks in the country.
TABLE 1. LOCATION 1 (900 MHZ BAND)

Network Frequency Signal Signal

Provider Band (MHz) Strength Strength
before after
boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 955 - 960 -83.71 -79.64
Figure 5. Outdoor Antenna Etisalat 935 - 940 -77.66 -78.34
GlobaCom 945 - 950 -78.54 -74.95
MTN 950 - 955 -83.03 -79.91

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 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

Finally, a comprehensive test was carried out using the

Agilent N9342C Handheld Spectrum Analyzer as shown in
Figure 7. Each of the bands, 900 and 1800 MHz were tested
separately on the four mobile networks available in
Nigeria.
The setup used for the test is shown in Figure 8. Figs 9
– 13 graphically show the results of signal sweeps before
and after boosting captured from each of the four mobile
networks both on the 900 and 1800 bands. While Tables 5
– 8 show the average received signal strength for all the
networks.

Figure 7. Agilent N9342C Handheld Spectrum Analyzer

TABLE 2. LOCATION 1 (1800 MHZ BAND)

Network Frequency Signal Signal

Provider Band Strength Strength
(MHz) before after
Boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 1850 - 1865 -85.73 -84.70
Etisalat 1865 - 1880 -80.08 -81.61
GlobaCom 1820 - 1835 -81.24 -80.66 Figure 8. Spectrum analyzer setup with an antenna to receive the
MTN 1835 - 1850 -84.63 -83.60 boosted signal

TABLE 3. LOCATION 2 (900 MHZ) These tests were conducted in the same locations as the
preliminary tests. These results show significant
Network Frequency Signal Signal
improvement in the received signal strength after boosting.
Provider Band (MHz) Strength Strength
before after
Boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 955 - 960 -89.77 -87.86
Etisalat 935 - 940 -91.44 -89.43
GlobaCom 945 - 950 -90.52 -89.77
MTN 950 - 955 -88.77 -90.19
TABLE 4. LOCATION 2 (1800 MHZ)

Network Frequency Signal Signal

Provider Band (MHz) Strength Strength
before after
Boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 1850 - 1865 -86.06 -85.46
Etisalat 1865 - 1880 -85.66 -77.53
GlobaCom 1820 - 1835 -85.70 -85.04
MTN 1835 - 1850 -85.23 -85.64 Figure 9. AirTel 1800MHz band showing signal strength before
and after boosting
From the preliminary results obtained, it was obvious
that signal boosting was not significant for all the four
carried out. The amplification module was enhanced to
improve the gain.

430
 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

TABLE 5. 900 MHZ BAND LOCATION 1

Network Frequency Signal Signal

Provider Band (MHz) Strength Strength
before after
boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 955 - 960 -83.71 -30.32
Etisalat 935 - 940 -77.66 -66.93
GlobaCom 945 - 950 -78.54 -59.67
MTN 950 - 955 -83.03 -72.75
Figure 10. Etisalat 900 MHz band showing signal strength before
and after boosting TABLE 6. 1800 MHZ BAND LOCATION 1

Network Frequency Signal Signal

Provider Band Strength Strength
(MHz) before after
Boosting Boosting
(dBm) (dBm)
AirTel 1850 - 1865 -85.73 -55.54
Etisalat 1865 - 1880 -80.08 -71.81
GlobaCom 1820 - 1835 -81.24 -22.70
MTN 1835 - 1850 -84.63 -65.83

Results obtained show that AirTel network has the best

signal improvement in the 900 MHz band while GlobaCom
network has the best performance in the 1800 MHz band.
However, this cannot be generalized as it strongly depends
on the directionality of the outdoor antenna with respect to
the positions of the various Base Transceiver Stations

Figure 11. MTN 900 MHz band showing signal strength before and
after boosting

Figure 13. GlobaCom 1800 MHz band, signal strength before and after
boosting

Figure 12. Etisalat 1800 MHz, signal strength before and after boosting

431
 2nd International Engineering Conference (IEC 2017)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

(BTS) of the network providers. It also depends on the the support of Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC)
prevailing propagation conditions at the time of test. for this project in which a number of students were trained.
This project was funded from grant number
TABLE 7. 900 MHZ LOCATION 2 NCC/CS/007/15/C/038.
Network Frequency Signal Signal
Provider Band Strength Strength REFERENCES
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bio-Inspired Computation, 5(3), 141–149.
The telecomm research group, on behalf of Federal
University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, appreciates

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