Network Design

Network configuration Cell coverage Comparison of half power beam widths Vertical downtilt Mechanical downtilt Electrical downtilt Adjustable electrical downtilt

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Base station

Antenna System

Downlink frequencies : GSM 900 : 935 - 960 MHz

Radio Link Downlink Connection

GSM 1800 : 1805 - 1880 MHz

Uplink frequencies :
Uplink Connection

GSM 900 : 890 - 915 MHz GSM 1800 : 1710 - 1785 MHz

Base Station Equipment Base Station

Mobile Station
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Configuration

honeycomb structure omni base stations using omnidirectional antennas for low traffic cells sector sites with 3 cells (directional antennas) of different frequencies for a higher amount of subscribers smaller cells (micro cells, pico cells) in high traffic areas (cities, city centers) the topography, the repeatability of the frequencies and the real base station locations influence the network planning

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Cell Coverage

Cell coverage To avoid interferences to adjacent cells the target is to provide coverage just for the concerning sector but not beyond the sector border tools for cell matching half power beam width tilt of the vertical pattern

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Half Power Beam Width

Which half power beam width is needed to cover a 120 sector ? standard comparison indicates significant differences at the sector borders 65 90 105 120 mistake : gain variation is not considered
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Half Power Beam Width

antennas with the same vertical length but different horizontal half power beam width differ in the overall gain value example : 900 MHz / 1.3m length 65 15.5 dBi 90 14.0 dBi 105 13.5 dBi 120 13.0 dBi result : no significant difference between 90, 105 and 120 regarding half power beam width and overlapping area to the adjacent cell

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Half Power Beam Width

Conclusion : the range of half power beam widths can be limited to 65 and 90

field of application : urban areas : 65 Theoretically the overlapping area between the cells is too small. But due to reflections from the surrounding the half power beam width is increased. rural areas : 90 (65) Reflection intensity is much lower. Therefore many network planners prefer 90 to provide sufficient overlapping. But also 65 is used
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Vertical Downtilt

as a standard the vertical beam is pointing to the horizon downtilting of the pattern provides the following benefits : - the majority of the radiated power is concentrated within the sector - the reduction of the power towards the horizon avoids interference problems with the next sector best results when fieldstrength in the horizon is reduced by about 6 dB

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Mechanical Downtilt

a mechanical downtilt kit increases the upper distance to the mast and makes the antenna pointing down the requested downtilt angle is achieved only in main direction at +/- 90 from the main direction the downtilt angle is always zero (rotation axis) effective downtilt varies across the azimuth

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Mechanical Downtilt

Mechanical Downtilt 0 6 8 10 effect on the horizontal pattern at the horizon : reduction of the fieldstrength in main direction without any change +/- 90 to it results in deformation of the horizontal pattern this effect of changing half power beam width can hardly be considered in the network planning and reduces the prediction accuracy
Horizontal pattern 105 / mechanical DT
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Electrical Downtilt

more elegant is the electrical downtilt with the antenna remaining upright; instead of equal phases on the dipoles, perticular phase distributions are selected by varying the cable lengths to the dipoles

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12 downtilt

Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Electrical Downtilt

Electrical Downtilt : 0 6 8 10 the fixed phase distribution applies to all azimuth directions electrical downtilt angle is constant the shape of the horizontal pattern remains constant accurate network planning is assured

Horizontal pattern 105 / electrical DT

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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Network Design / Adjust. Electrical DT

maximum flexibility is achieved with adjustable electrical downtilt by combining the adjustability of the mechanical DT and the technical advantage of the electrical DT

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Network Design / Adjust. Electrical DT

phase shifters at each dipole provide variable phase distributions for sidelobe control the dipoles are fed with different power max. electrical DT angle approx. 14 for higher DT angle a combination of mechanical and electrical DT is recommended

adjusting mechanism with scale

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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Downtilt Angle versus Vertical Half Power Beam Width

Antenna Type 741 988 Xpol F-Panel 1710-2170 88 14dBi 0-10T Antenna Type 741 990 Xpol F-Panel 1710-2170 88 18dBi 0-6T

6dB point

6dB point

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Vertical pattern example at 9T (polar-logarithmic scale)

Vertical pattern example at 3T (polar-logarithmic scale)

The selected downtilt angle is linked to the respective vertical half power beam width. A greater vertical half power beam width means a higher downtilt angle in order to receive similar results.
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Maximum Electrical Downtilt Angle

Antenna Type 742 212 / Xpol F-Panel 1710-2170 65 18dBi 0-8T

Vertical pattern example at 0T (polar-logarithmic scale)

Vertical pattern example at 8T (polar-logarithmic scale)

Max. power reduction towards the horizon is achieved with the first null. A higher downtilt angle increases the power again due to the first upper sidelobe. Max. DT angle is determined by the angle between the mainlobe and the first sidelobe .
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02

Special Cases

In general: Adjustable electrical downtilt is normally used for coverage fine tuning.

In special cases, i.e. antenna mounting on high rise buildings or in special test scenarios, a higher downtilt angle could be stipulated.

In this cases, an acceptable compromise is to combine electrical and mechanical DT mechanical downtilt kit : primary downtilting adjustable electrical downtilt : fine tuning
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Kathrein/Scholz 07/02