Radio Engineering and Cellular

system principles
Mobile Network

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 Electromagnetic Spectrum

109 1012 1014 1015 1016 1022

104

Infrared Ultra- X- Ray

Radio Wave Microwave Visible COSMIC
Ray Violet
Light
Hz

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 History to RF Communications
• Radio Frequency, or RF, is defined as “those frequencies of the
electromagnetic spectrum normally associated with radio
wave propagation”. RF has sometimes been defined as transmission at
any frequency at which coherent electromagnetic energy radiation is
possible, usually above 150 kHz.
• In 1865, James Clerk Maxwell published his paper, “Dynamical Theory
of the Electromagnetic Field”. which became an inspiration to those
experimenting in wireless transmission.
• In 1888, Heinrich Hertz detected and produced the waves that Maxwell
predicted. Hertz produced electrical oscillations and detected these
from short distances.
• Lee DeForest concentrated on methods of wireless reception. In 1905,
he invented the thermionic triode which served as a detector of wireless
telegraph signals.

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 Early mobile communications systems (1)
• Mobile telephone system (MTS)
– The mobile telephone system was a manually operated telephone system allowing a
subscriber, or user, to communicate to another party using the landline network.
Initially, the MTS was operated solely by U.S. telephone companies until the late
1940s. Over the next few decades, although the number of subscribers grew
significantly, the number of channels was not expanded and crowding developed.
– An MTS utilized simplex channel operation (information sent on the channel in one
direction only). As a result, when using MTS, only one party could talk at one time. For
example, a subscriber would talk initially and release the “talk” button on the telephone
when he finished speaking. He would then listen while the other party answered.
Simultaneous conversation was not possible on a simplex channel.
– Conventional MTS's utilized a large service area served by a single high powered
transmitter or base station site. The mobile subscriber unit, transmitter site, switching
mechanism and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) worked together to
provide mobile service to the subscribers of the system.

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 Early mobile communications systems (2)
• Improved mobile telephone system (IMTS)
– The Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS) was introduced in 1964 and utilized
the same principles as MTS but improved upon the process. IMTS provides automatic
radio channel selection, automatic accounting and fully redundant duplex operation.
– Duplex channel operation allows information to be sent and received on the same
channel. As a result, a subscriber using IMTS could talk while the other user was
talking and both parties could be heard. Although the system architecture was different,
IMTS was able to interface with MTS when necessary.
– A single transmitter site was still used by IMTS to cover large service area; however,
the switching mechanism was no longer operated by a human being. It was now
placed under telephone company control. As a result, the mobile subscriber was now
capable of direct dialing. The switching mechanism selected the route necessary for
call completion.

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 Cellular Design (1)
• There are 2 types of cellular design :
– Omni Directional antenna
– Directional Antenna (sectorization)

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 Cellular Design (2)
Antenna 1
• Three sectored sites are the most common used in
urban areas.
Azimuth 1
• Multi sector sites are better to use for the following
reasons :
– Physical sites are difficult to acquire.
– Building a site is costly.
– Many base stations might share some modules (Fan,
…….)
– Increasing the capacity of the site.

Antenna 3 Antenna 2
Azimuth 3 Azimuth 2

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 Network Life Cycle

Network transition
decision

I : GESTATION
V : TRANSITION
Mobile
Network Investment decision
optimisation network
life cycle II : BIDDING
IV : MATURITY
Commercial License attribution
Launch
III : BIRTH

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 I : GESTATION
• Strategy definition
• Network Dimensioning
• Business plan

Investment Decision

• In this phase the following should

be established:
1. Service objective definition
2. Geographical assessment
3. NETWORK DIMENSIONING
4. Business plan
5. Network Master Plan

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 Network Master Plan
• Radio Design Criteria
– Level of coverage
– Average height of antennas
– Intersite distance

• Dimensioning parameters
– Coverage
• Back to design
– Traffic
• Type of site
• Intersite distance

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 Radio Coverage Dimensioning
• Cellular network Dimensioning

Service Area

Coverage objectives
Radio Cell
Dimensioning

Service type

Propagation Models

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 Radio Traffic Dimensioning
• Cellular network
Dimensioning

Traffic Study

Channel Radio
Dimensioning

Spectrum Available

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 NSS Dimensioning

• Switch location
• Number of switches

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 Transmission Dimensioning
• Microwave links
• Leased lines
• Optical fiber backbones.

MSC Leased Line

BSC

Fiber Backbone Micro-

wave BTS
Link
MSC

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 Business Plan
• Business plan defines in time the overall money to be spent
• Tries to anticipate with accuracy the evolution of the Network, and so the coming
spendings
• Two types of spendings are usually considered :
– CAPEX
– OPEX

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 II : BIDDING

• Network Planning and Pre-Design

• Operation Rollout

License Attribution

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 Initial Network Design
• Definition of radio Design Criteria
• Definition and validation of database
• Calibration of propagation models
• Network Design {Nss, Bss, Transmition, ….}
• Initial site specification.
• Site search area definition
• ………………
• ……………

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 Propagation Model Calibration

Installation of the
Database Validation geographical database

Accuracy of the
Installation of the coverage and
propagation model interference
calculations
Field measurements
Model Calibration

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 Coverage Design

• Engineering thresholds.

• Power budget.

• Theoretical sites

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 Initial site specification

• Indoor sites, outdoor shelters

• Equipment
• Antennas
• Cables
• Energy
• Grounding
• Lightning protection

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 Site search area definition
• Searching area is the area in which you
want to put the site , according to its
objectives

Coverage
objectives

Site Search Area

Definition
Master plan

morphology

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 Frequency Band Validation

• Scan the allocated spectrum.

• Existence of other services.
• Impact on future network.

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 III : BIRTH
• At this phase after sites are built & NSS & BSS
systems are established, the Network goes ON
AIR
• After the network is running ON AIR, the
commercial launch comes to start compensating
the money that was paid.

Commercial Launch

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 Candidate Site Evaluation
• Coverage study
• Potential interference analysis

• Ranking :
– Radio
– deployment

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 Final Frequency Planning

• Actual design configuration

• Traffic cartography
• Number of TRX’s
• Frequency group allocation
• Reuse matrix calculation
• Automatic frequency allocation
• Interference analysis

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 Deployment Equipment Specification

• Energy

• Cabinets

• BTS

• Feeders

• Lightning Protection

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 Deployment Parameters Assignment
• Fixed Parameters
( Cabinet & configuration parameters)

• Fine tuning parameters

(parameters that can be optimized through optimization process)
– Access levels
– Handover hysteresis and Thresholds
– Neighboring
– Power control
– ………
– ………

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 Deployment Site Specifications

• Site visit for final specification of the

Installation
• Draft visit

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 Deployment Integration Measurements

• Installation Acceptance

• Commissioning

• Coverage Survey

• Integration Survey

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 MATURITY

Network
optimisation
• Operation & Maintenance
• Service Quality Management

IV : MATURITY

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 Network Monitoring
• Regular drive test through important areas.
– Coverage
– Quality

• Regular monitoring of OMC counters

– Traffic Evolution
– Call blocking
– Handover failures
– Call drops
– ……

• Customer Complaints

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 Trouble Shooting
• Coverage Problems.
– Bad site configuration
– Insufficient sites
– Incorrect parameter settings

• Quality Problem (Interference).

– Bad site configuration
– Bad frequency plan
– Bad coverage
– Incorrect parameter settings
• Traffic Problem
– Insufficient TRX’s
– Insufficient sites
– Incorrect parameter settings

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 Optimization
• Site configuration
– Antenna type
– Antenna height
– Tilt
– Azimuths
– Number of TRX’s
– Sectorization.
• Parameter settings
– Handover margin
– Access Levels
– Neighbor list
– BTS power
– TRX Frequencies
• Site construction
– Addition of Macro cell sites
– Addition of micro cell sites
– Repeaters

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 TRANSITION
• Transition :
– Expansion & densification
– Network master plan update Network transition
Decision

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• 1680 : Newton Theory of composition of white light
• 1805 : Thomas Young Wave theory of light.
• 1820 : Ampere Electricity and Magnetism connection.
• 1831 : Faraday Electromagnetic induction.
• 1863 : Maxwell Electromagnetic waves (Maxwell’s equation).
• 1884 : Hertz ⇒λ = c/f
• 1896 : Marconi first long distance transceiver.
• 1901 : Marconi first transatlantic Link.
• 1903 ⇒ 1920 : Cordless telegraphy development world wide (Low Frequency)
• 1914 : Radio first use in World War 1.
• 1920 : Radio broadcasting
• 1936 : First TV transmission

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 History & Abbreviations (2)
• 1940 : Radar birth.
• 1950’s : First commercial Television
• 1960’s : First Mobile Telephony.

• ITU : International Telecommunication Union

– ITU-R
– ITU-T
– ITU-D

• ETSI : European Telecommunication Standardization Institute

– include some operators, manufacturers and Administrators of the RF industry
– In charge of setting standards & defining technical specifications for Radio systems operating
in Europe.

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 History & Abbreviations (3)
• IEEE : Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
– American scientific institute,that’s active for developing standards within the IEEE.
– Proposed standards are developed in technical committees of the IEEE societies
– For more info. [http:// www.ieee.org]

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