Site Stuttgart Originator(s) U.

Birkel

CELLULAR OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT Antenna Engineering Rules

Domain Division Rubric Type

: : : :

MCD Operations Radio Network Planning Guide Line

Distribution codes :

Predistribution: R.Collmann R. Klahm H. Knieer ACS/OSB ACS/OSB ACS/MT C.Guetin S. Grillon COR-F COR-F

Abstract: This document is a guideline on antenna engineering rules, which can be applied when planning mobile radio networks.

Approval Name Signature Name Signature R.Klahm K.Eckert R.Collmann

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Table of Contents
1 HISTORY .................................................................................................. 3 2 REFERENCES............................................................................................. 3 3 SCOPE...................................................................................................... 3 4 BASICS ON ANTENNAS............................................................................ 5 4.1 ANTENNA PARAMETERS ........................................................................................ 5 4.2 ANTENNA SYSTEM .............................................................................................. 7 4.3 OMNI AND SECTOR ANTENNAS ............................................................................. 7 4.4 ANTENNA NEAR AND FAR FIELD - FRESNEL ELLIPSOID.................................................... 9 4.5 EMC ASPECTS: BLOCKING AND MINIMUM COUPLING LOSS (MCL)............................. 11 4.6 ANTENNA TILT ................................................................................................. 14 4.7 PRINCIPLE OF AIR COMBINING ............................................................................. 16 4.8 INFLUENCE OF ANTENNA HEIGHT ON COVERAGE RANGES ........................................ 17 5 SPACE AND POLARIZATION DIVERSITY ..................................................17 6 ANTENNA TYPES.....................................................................................21 7 ANTENNA CONFIGURATIONS IN MOBILE NETWORKS ...........................22 7.1 ANTENNA CONFIGURATION FOR OMNI SITES........................................................... 22 7.2 ANTENNA CONFIGURATIONS FOR SECTOR SITES ....................................................... 23 7.3 MICROCELL ANTENNA CONFIGURATION ................................................................ 26 7.4 SPECIAL ANTENNA CONFIGURATIONS .................................................................... 30 7.5 DUAL BAND ANTENNA SETUP............................................................................... 32 8 SUMMARY...............................................................................................34 9 ABBREVIATIONS .....................................................................................35

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1 History
Date 8. July 1997 14. October 1997 Edition Draft 01 Origin OC NPL OC NPL Comments Creation Comments of RC inserted

2 References
[1] 3DF 00995 0000 UAZZA: [2] 3BK 1023 0001 DSZZA: [3] R. Collmann [4] 3DC 20008 0001 UAZZA: Engineering Rules for Radio Networks U. Birkel, Aspects on Polarization Diversity Antenna catalogue Hardware Commercial Configurator For Antenna Systems [5] 3DC 21019 0001 TQZZA: Alcatel GSM/DCS Antenna Systems Product Description [6] Rothammel, K., Krischke, A.: Rothammels Antennenuch, ISBN 3-4440-07018-2 [7] William C.Y. Lee: Mobile Cellular Telecommunications Systems [8] 3DC 21032 0001 TQZZA: G2 BTS Product description [9] 3DF 00945 0001 TQZZA: S. Grillon, Indoor Coverage Solutions [10] Draftversion M. Hahn, Standard Link Budgets for G2 and G3 BTS [11] 3DC 21037 0001 TQZZA Alcatel 900/1800 Multiband Operation GSM/DCS 1800 Concept Description

3 Scope
This document describes antenna engineering rules which should be taken into account when planning mobile radio networks. The main tasks of antenna engineering consist of the selection of proper antenna types, antenna sytems and antenna configurations provision of the antenna specification as an input for the field strength prediction realisation of antenna systems according to the planning specification, taking into account the according antenna engineering rules. Thus in the following chapters the antenna parameters, which are relevant for the selection of a proper antenna type, possible antenna configurations, fading and antenna diversity, influence of obstacles and electromagnetical compatibility aspects will be discussed, according engineering rules will be given.

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4 Basics on antennas
4.1 Antenna parameters
The following antenna parameters are relevant for radio network engineering and are explained more detailed in [1],[6]: Directivity D is a direction-dependent gain of the power flow of an real antenna compared to the power flow of an isotropic radiator and is defined as the ratio of the power densitiy of the real antenna S(,) to the power density Si of the isotropic radiator (figure 1): D(,)=S(,)/Si (1)

Thus S(,) forms the antenna radiation pattern in spherical coordinates

Si

isotropic antenna

Pt
D = S/Si, Pt = const.

real antenna

Pt

Figure 1 Definition of the Directivity D Additionally taking into account antenna internal losses (figure 2) with the efficiency , the more commonly known antenna gain G is defined, which is given in [dBi]: G = D (2)

Si

Pt

Pt0
G = D, = Pt/Pt0

Pt

Pt0

Figure 2 Definition of antenna gain G EIRP, the equivalent isotropic radiated power, defines the power which has to be feeded in an isotropic radiator in order to achieve the same power density in main beam direction of a real antenna. Thus EIRP automatically takes into account the antenna gain.

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The spatial antenna diagramm (as shown in figure 1, 2) can be cut in horizontal and vertical direction, resulting in two radiation patterns, characterising the antenna behaviour. Each antenna diagram is characterised by the main beam direction, aiming at the direction where the maximum power is radiated and the side lobes which are local maxima in the antenna diagramm causing a certain risk of interference. Nulls are directions in which no power is radiated. The HPBW (half power beamwidth) specifies the angular range of main power emission. The HPBW is limited by the directions where the antenna radiates half of the power compared to main beam direction: 3dB power decrease. The front-to-back ratio specifies the relation between the gain in main beam direction and the radiation in the opposite direction of the antenna. The polarization direction is given by the direction of the electric field vector. For mobile radio antennas, mainly vertical polarization is used. For antenna diversity however, concepts with dual polarized antennas, as discussed in chapter 5 can be used. Electrical and/or mechanical downtilt can be introduced in order to reduce the interference level in the whole network and to limit the coverage area of a cell individually. Basically an antenna downtilt is an inclination of the main beam related to the horizontal line. Antennas are specified for a specific frequency range. Antennas usually cover the whole frequency band (e.g. EGSM, DCS, TACS, AMPS,...) including uplink and downlink direction. E.g. DCS antennas usually cover accordingly 1710 MHz to 1880 MHz. The impedance of antennas in mobile networks is generally 50 . Since it is not possible to have an exact impedance of 50 over the entire frequency range, the parameter VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) defines accordingly the maximum mismatch. VSWR is the ratio of the maximum and minimum voltage of the standing wave, in feeder cables caused by reflection and impedance mismatch. Mechanical aspects such as weight, size, maximum windload (for mast dimensioning), resistance against vibrations or quality aspects like protection against lightening, corrosion effects etc. have to be taken into account accordingly.

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4.2 Antenna system

The topic of antenna engineering does not only cover the antenna itself. There are further items which belong to a complete antenna system and are more detailed described in [4]: Mechanical Antenna Support Structures Antennas including mounting clamps and mechanical downtilt kit Feeder cable including installation sets (clamps) Accessories (earthing kits, wall glands, plugs, jumper cables) Options are: Special installation sets Power dividers Duplex filters Tower mounted amplifier (TMA)

4.3 Omni and Sector antennas

For the link between base stations and mobile stations in general linear antennas are used, which are made of either monopole (slab) or dipole antenna elements. Mobile station antennas consist of a single monopole or patch antennas. Base station omni and sector antennas are realised by group antennas of dipole arrays. Omni antennas are characterised by a homogeneous power distribution in the horizontal plane. Figure 3 shows the according horizontal and vertical radiation pattern. horizontal
0 dB -3 dB

vertical

0 dB -3 dB

-10 dB

-10 dB

HPBW

Figure 3 Horizontal and vertical radiation pattern of a omnidirectional antenna

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This type of antenna is used in order to achieve large continuous coverage ranges especially in homogeneous, rural, low traffic areas or as an umbrella cell for microcellular networks. Antenna installation is more simple than for sector antennas. Drawbacks of omni antennas are, that no mechanical (but electrical) downtilt is possible and clearance of the antenna is required. Typical parameter: Gain = 11 dBi, Vertical HPBW = 7, (horizontal HPBW = 360) Sector antennas are characterised by a inhomogeneous power distribution both in horizontal and vertical direction, resulting in a horizontal and a vertical beam. By applying e.g. a grid arrangement of dipoles (dipole array) as shown in figure 4 and by feeding dipoles with weighted and phase-shifted signals, nearly arbitrary antenna diagramms can be composed.

Dipole element

Figure 4: Grid arrangement of a panel antenna Figure 5 shows the horizontal and vertical radiation pattern of a sector antenna.
horizontal
0 dB -3 dB

vertical

0 dB -3 dB

-10 dB

-10 dB

sidelobe

HPBW

main beam null direction

Figure 5 Horizontal and vertical radiation pattern of a sector antenna

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This type of antenna is used in order to focus on special areas (road coverage, indoor coverage) and to achieve low coverage in regions of no interest (e.g. forest). Sector antennas are typically used in high traffic areas to increase capacity with sectorized sites. Besides the electrical downtilt, which is possible for both omni and sector antennas, mechanical downtilt is additionally possbile. Furthermore sector antennas can be wall mounted. Setting up sector sites has the drawback, that more hardware is required. Typical parameter: Gain= 17dBi, Horizontal HPBW = 65, Vertical HPBW = 8.5 The horizontal beamwidth typically varies between 65 and 105. Wide horizontal beams, such as 90, are often used in areas with few reflecting and scattering objects (rural areas) and e.g. to achieve area coverage with 3-sector sites. The cell overlap in between the sectors is usually sufficient to allow successful handovers. Antennas with smaller beamwidths (e.g. 65) are used for urban areas with high scattering. The overlap between the sectors is reduced due to the lower beamwidth, but the coverage between sectors is achieved by increased scattering in urban environments.

4.4 Antenna near and far field - Fresnel ellipsoid

The antenna radiation behaviour is splitted in a near and a far field characteristic. There should not be any obstacles whithin the near field since then the antenna diagramm is then severely disturbed. The range of the antenna near field is dependent on the maximum size of the antenna aperture D and the wavelength . It can be estimated as follows: Rmin=2D/ (3) The simplest form of wave propagation is the free-space propagation. The pathloss can be calculated with the free space formula, which is valid in case of direct line of sight. This is the case if a specific region called the Fresnel ellipsoid is clear of any obstacles. It can be shown that this ellipsoid carries the main power flow. In case of an obstruction within this region additional losses have to be taken into account. Figure 6 shows this first Fresnel zone. For further information see [1].

P0

P1

Figure 6 First Fresnel Zone

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A basic engineering rule is that the direction of the antenna sector should be free from any obstacles. The antenna sector can either be defined by the first fresnel zone or by the HPBW with an additional safety margin. Accordingly, the following rules can be defined, based on the HPBW:
Obstacles within near field range (30m): Consider vertical HPBW with a margin of 20 Roof mounting: Dominating obstacle = roof itself Omni
HPBW/2++20

Sector

H D

H D

HPBW/2 ++20

Taking into account the vertical HPBW, downtilt angle and a securtiy margin of 20, which means no obstacle 20 below the 3dB point: H>=D*tan(HPBW/2++20) (4) Example: 8.5 vertical HPBW, 2 downtilt results in: Distance Required height
1

D [m]: 1 H [m]: 0.51

5 2.5

10 5

>20 10

Note: If there is a risk, that the clearance of the antenna might be influenced (e.g. by pedestrians) increase the antenna height from 0.5m to 2m Wall mounting at sector sites: Consider horizontal HPBW with a margin of 20 Wall mounting: Sector antenna Wall

Top View
Ideal setup if main beam is directed orthogonal to wall as shown above. If the Front-to-back ratio is sufficient high (> 20dB), then no distortion has to be expected from reflection. Antennas with a horizontal HPBW>=105 should not be inclined For antennas with a horizontal HPBW <105 the following rules can be applied: The sector antenna might be directed within a certain range: [0;max] as shown below. max depends on the HPBW of the used sector antenna, taking into account a saftey margin of 20:

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max

HPBW/2 20

max=70-HPBW/2 (5) (e.g. for a 60 sector antenna max=40)

Wall Top View

max

Close to corner: max=70-HPBW/2+arctan(h/d) (6)

Top View

4.5 EMC Aspects: Blocking and Minimum Coupling Loss (MCL)

One important aspect in antenna engineering is EMC (electromagnetical compatibility), which covers aspects of spurious emission, switching and modulation spectrum, intermodulation, receiver sensitivity and blocking. Especially the receiver blocking scenario has to be taken into account in antenna engineering. Receiver Blocking The GSM recommendation 05.05 defines the blocking requirement as the capability of a receiver, to receive a weak useful signal fuse, with a level of -101dBm, which is 3 dB above the static sensitivity threshold, with an acceptable BER of max. 2%, while a strong interfering signal fint is also received, with a frequency offset of f = n*200kHz. Due to the strong interferer level, the receiver sensitivity will be reduced, since the receiver is operating close to its 1 dB compression point P1dB. Figure 7 shows this scenario.
P [dBm]
-13

Receiver Pout Characteristic fuse fint TX RX Pblock Pin P1dB

-101

n*200kHz

fuse

fint

f[MHz]

Figure 7 Receiver Blocking Scenario

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Basically one distinguishes the in-band and out-of-band blocking requirement, depending if the interferer is within or outside the GSM/DCS band. For antenna engineering aspects the out-of-band requirement is relevant, since it has to be taken into account, that the decoupling between the Tx and Rx antenna is sufficiently high. According to the GSM recommendation (11.20 or 05.05), the out of band interfering signal level may be up to +8dBm, while for DCS +0dBm are specified. Based on this requirement a minimum decoupling, thus a minimum antenna spacing can be evaluated in order to make sure that the transmitted signal will not block the receiver of the same base station. Especially in microcellular environments in-band-blocking problems can occur, this has to be accordingly taken into account, as will be discussed in chapter 7.3. Intermodulation: Especially the third order intermodulation product (IM3) (2f1f2) can cause EMC problems. Therefore it is strongly recommended for co-site frequency planning not to use frequency combinations, which have a IM3-interferer potential on used frequencies within the RX band: Example: The following frequencies are assigned to one BTS: TRX 1 on channel 1 => TX: 935.2 MHz TRX 2 on channel 119 => TX: 959.0 MHz TRX 3 on channel 103 => TX: 956.4 MHz, RX=911.4 MHz TRX 1 and TRX 2 can cause a potential IM3 product at 2*935.2-959 MHz = 911.4MHz, which is Rx frequency of TRX 3. E.g. for GSM, there is a IM3 interferer potential for RX frequencies above 910MHz =2*935-960MHz. The following table gives an overview on further EMC relevant antenna engineering rules, taking into account aspects of decoupling.

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Decoupling:

Tx-Tx = 20 dB Tx - Rx GSM = 30 + 10log (n) dB Tx-Rx DCS = 40 + 10log (n) dB (n = number of transmitters) Vertical separation to achieve decoupling (omni): (sector):

Vertical separation to achieve decoupling

Tx
Mast

Tx
Mast

dv Rx dm dm

dv Rx

(Note: This configuration for omni antennas is not recommended, since the omni antenna pattern will be disturbed by the mast.) Vertical separation is recommended to provide sufficient Tx/Rx decoupling The following formula can be applied to calculate the achievable decoupling DV, based on vertical separation dV, dependent on the wavelength (GSM 30cm, DCS 15cm) : DV=28+40log(dV/) [dB] (7) Typically vertical separation dv used for GSM and DCS: dv=50cm Typically separation dm from mast Omni dm=2m, but not recommended to use Sector dm=20 cm is typically applied Horizontal separation to achieve decoupling Omni: Sector:

dH

dH

The required separation depends on antenna gain The required separation depends on antenna gain and can be calculated according to the formula G, antenna orientation and HPBW. Thus the given below: antenna gain G() in direction of the interfered antenna has accordingly to be taken into account DH=22+20log(dH/)-(GT+GR) [dB] (8) in the formula given below. E.g. two omni antennas with GT=GR=11dBi DH=28+20log(dH/)-(GT()+GR()) [dB] (9) separated 20m(!) results in an decoupling of 36dB only, calculated for GSM. Pure horizontal separation is not recommended to provide sufficient Tx-Rx decoupling, since the antenna gain increases the required separation drastically, especially for omni antennas.

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Combined horizontal and vertical separation:

dV dH

To estimate the decoupling of the combined arrangement a lineare interpolation can be applied, based on the upper formulas for DH and DV: D=(DV_DH)/90+DH [dB] (10) (no tilt considered) Typically used dv=50cm

4.6 Antenna Tilt

Mechanical and electrical antenna tilt can be applied (choose always the same tilt for the Tx and Rx antenna) in order to Reduce the overshoots over the planned cell range Remove insular coverage Lower interference Improve the coverage of the near area, also indoor coverage Adjust cell borders (to arrange the handover zones) The required tilt can be estimated by geometrical optics taking into account the vertical HPBW, antenna heights and topography. Figures 8 and 9 show how the coverage ranges can be estimated, taking into account upper parameters. Note, that the coverage range is limited by point c, only if the downtilt angle is larger then HPBW/2. The following equation gives the dependancy of antenna height, downtilt, HPBW and position of point c:: C= H tan( tilt HPBW / 2) (11)

E.g. for an antenna height of 30m and a HPBW of 7 the following distances of point c from the BTS site can be calculated for various downtilts. Downtilt [] Dist. of point c [m] 4 3473 6 687 8 381

Table 1: Exemplary calculation of point c (figure 8, 9), antenna height= 30m, HPBW=7 based on equation (11)

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HPBW 2 downtilt 7 vertical HPBW

main beam direction HPBW

4 downtilt 7 vertical HPBW HPBW a main beam dir. b c

Figure 8 Assessment of required tilts Increasing downtilts, e.g. from 2 to 4, as shown in figure 9, the overlap area can be decreased.

2 downtilt 7 vertical HPBW

cell border

4 downtilt 7 vertical HPBW

cell border

Figure 9 Adjustment of cell overlap area, by applying different downtilts

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Basically mechanical, electrical and combined downtilts are possible, the advantages and drawbacks are: Advantages of Mechanical Downtilt Antenna diagram is not changed, i.e. nulls and sidelobes remain in their position relative to the main beam Cost effective (single antenna type may be used) Fast adjustments possible Drawbacks of Mechanical Downtilt Sidelobes are less tilted compared to electrical downtilt Occurence of small rotation of the polarization plane in sidelobe direction Accurate adjustment is difficult Problems for sites with difficult access Advantages of Electrical Downtilt Same tilt for both main and side lobes Antenna mounting is more simple no adjustment errors

Drawbacks of Electrical Downtilt Introduction of additional antenna types are neccesary if different downtilts have to be achieved, since electrical adjustable antennas are commonly not used. New antenna installation at the site if downtilting is introduced Long antenna optimization phase

Table 2: Advantages and Drawbacks of electrical and mechanical downtilt Combination of both mechanical and electrical downtilt Distinct range reduction in sidelobe direction (interference reduction) is possible by choosing sector antennas with high electrical downtilt (6...8) and by applying mechanical uptilt installation for optimum coverage range in main beam direction.

4.7 Principle of air combining

The idea of air combining is to combine transmitted signals in the air and not with an internal combiner, in order to save combining losses. Thus the maximum achievable coverage range will be increased. Air combining can be realized with two sector or omni antennas one cross polar antenna transmitting different carriers on +-45.

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4.8 Influence of Antenna Height on Coverage Ranges

For obstacles (trees, buildings etc.) within the near field the engineering rules described in chapter 4.4 can be applied, to evaluate the required mounting height, taking into account the horizontal and vertical HPBW, with an according saftey margin of 20. Besides these aspects, the mounting height of an antenna determines the achievable coverage range: The higher the antenna, the larger the coverage range. The selection of the appropriate height should be based on simulations using A955. Typical ranges for an omni site with antenna diversity, no TMA, calculated for outdoor coverage, GSM are given below as an example: (based on a coverage probability of Pcovarea=95%)
Mounting Height 100 m 30 m 10 m urban flat 3.6 2.0 1.31 urban hilly 1.7 1.0 0.71 suburban flat 5 2.71 2.17 suburban hilly 2.6 1.53 1.54 open flat 19.7 9.4 5.33 open hilly 13.0 6.4 3.8

Table 3: Typical cell ranges [km] dependent on BTS antenna mounting heights

5 Space and Polarization Diversity

Basically three different types of fading are defined: Rayleigh/Rician Fading, lognormal Fading and large-scale fading as described more detailed in [1]. Antenna diversity primarily is introduced to reduce the short-term (Rayleigh) fading effects, in order to increase the receiver sensitivity under fading conditions. In principle antenna diversity is based on combining decorrelated signals containing the same information. In order to achieve maximum diversity gain the correlation between both signals and the difference in signal level in each receiver branch should be low. There are many possibilities to realise the reception of two decorrelated signals, thus many different diversity techniques are possible. Currently space and polarization diversity are used in mobile radio networks. While in space diversity systems the decorrelation is achieved by two spatial separated antennas (horizontal or vertical), polarization diversity system receive on two orthogonal polarized branches, whereas the polarization of the antennas can be horizontal/vertical or +-45 (also called cross polar or slant antenna).

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When setting up antenna diversity systems, aspects of decoupling, decorrelation of the two receiver branches as well as difference in signal level have to be considered. The concept of space and polarization diversity is described more detailed in [2]. The important engineering rules can be summaried as follows: Diversity Gain The diversity gain basically depends on the difference in signal level of both receiver branches, which should be low and on the signal decorrelation, which should be high. With space diversity better signal decorrelation can be achieved, on the other hand the difference in signal level is higher compared to polarization diversity. Therefore in urban and suburban areas, the achievable diversity gain for space and polarization diversity is equal (2.5 - 6dB, depending on the propagation condition), due to shifted weights of the upper two effects. In rural areas neglectible diversity gain can be expected from polarization diversity. Further cross polar antennas have no additional diversity gain compared to horizontal/vertical polarized antennas. Tx-application with dual polarized antennas From the transmission point of view cross polarized antennas are used in order to introduce air combining. When air combining with cross polar antennas is introduced, one TRX will be transmitted on the +45 inclined branch, the other will be transmitted on the -45 inclined branch. With air combining a combiner can be saved, resulting in 3 dB lower path loss. On the other hand, transmitting a signal on a 45 inclined branch introduces 2 dB additional losses compared to a vertical transmitted signal. This has to be accordingly taken into account in the link budget. Therefore the max. path loss is slightly increased by ca. 1dB (=3dB-2dB) using a cross polar antenna with air combining compared to a vertical polarized antenna without air combining. Transmitting a signal on the horizontal branch of a hor/ver antenna would introduce 3dB loss compared to a vertical transmitted signal, therefore air combining with a hor/ver antenna is not recommended. Figure 10 summarizes these aspects.

3dB

2dB

Figure 10 Effect of different antenna polarizations on propagation Therefore in urban areas cross polar antennas should be preferred, since it is possible to introduce air combining.

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In rural areas the usage of this configuration still has to be validated, based on measurements. The following scenario might cause problems with the usage of air combining, especially in rural areas (as shown in figure 11): Assuming a 4 TRX BTS, with 2 TRX on branch 1, transmitted with +45 and 2 TRX on branch 2, transmitted with -45. The BCCH is assigned to branch 1 (+45). If a neighbour cell mobile tries to perform an HO, based on Power Budget or level, the decision is based on the received BCCH level. If the mobile will then be allocated on a TCH of the other branch (-45), there will be a sudden change in signal level, due to different polarization. In the worst case there is a drastic signal drop and the level based decision for the HO was incorrect and might lead to a call drop.

Cell Border TRX2 TRX3 BCCH TRX1 Mobile performing a HO based on BCCH level measurement, which will be assigned to a TCH of TRX2 (orthogonal branch).

4 TRX BTS with cross polar antenna

Figure 11: Worst case scenario which may cause problems while using air combining in rural areas Conclusion: Apply cross polar antennas with air combining in urban and suburban areas. Prefer space diversity in rural areas. Space diversity: Full benefit from space diversity can be taken if the spacing is: dH=20, dV =15 Recommended horizontal separation Recommended vertical separation dH: dV: GSM = 6m GSM = 4.5m DCS = 3m DCS = 2.25m

If the installation space is limited, lower separations can be applied, at the cost of diversity gain, but they should not be reduced below 50% of upper values. Higher gains are achieved with horizontal separation, therefore prefer horizontal separation

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The higher the antenna is mounted above ground, the higher is the required separation [7], therefore the required antenna spacing is not only determined by the rules above, an additional condition needs to be taken into account: d > antenna height/10 (12) Both conditions need to be fullfilled, whichever is higher is valid. It further has been evaluated [7], that highest gains are achieved from broadside, thus setup the orientation of the diversity arrangement accordingly to the cell orientation:

RxA RxB

Maximum Diversity RxA

Maximum Diversity RxB

Correct orientation

Cell Border

Incorrect orientation

Figure 12: Orientation of space diversity setup Polarization Diversity For the selection of the proper antenna type aspects of decoupling between the horizontal and vertical branch has to be taken into account. The decoupling needs to be high enough to avoid problems with intermodulation and receiver blocking. Investigations showed that intermodulation aspects are determining the required decoupling. The following configurations had been investigated, taking into account intermodulation products 5th order. Intermodulation products 3rd order are not taken into account, this has to be considered by an according co-cell frequency planning, as described in chapter 4.5 (intermodulation). Required decoupling of dual polarized antennas for G2 BTS Antenna configurations will be discussed in chapter 7. Please refer to figure 15, for the according configurations. Generally the following rule can be applied for the required decoupling between the polarization branches: G2 BTS: If no duplexer is used, the TX and RX antenna are separated, thus 20 dB decoupling for cross-polarised RX antennas are sufficient (configuration F, two antenna system). Decoupling is achieved by spatial separation. If a duplexer is used (configuration G, one antenna system) without an addtional RX-Filter for the second branch, 45 dB decoupling is required for the G2 GSM BTS and 30dB is required for the G2 DCS BTS, due to intermodulation problems. G3 BTS:

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 The G3 BTS is equipped with the ANx, a twin receiver front end with duplexers. Thus minimum 25 dB decoupling is sufficient (configuration i, figure 16, one antenna system with air combining). Typicaly decoupling values of cross polar antennas offered at the market are 25dB to 30dB.

6 Antenna types
Within Alcatels Mobile Communication Division there is a physical specification for antennas in order to get a common standard antenna set for planning, offers and purchase departments. The standard antenna set covers approximately 80% to 90% of all applications. For details on the specified antennas and parameters please refer to the according document [3]. Besides sector and omni antennas as described in chapter 4.3, the following antenna types are relevant in mobile radio networks: Microcell and Indoor antennas: The environment in which the antenna is installed has a strong influence on the radiation characteristic. Also aesthetical aspects become relevant for the selection of a specific antenna design, as discussed more detailed in [5]. Special antenna types: Dual band antennas can be used for multiband applications (e.g. DCS and GSM) Dual polarized antennas are used for polarization diversity. For repeater applications antennas with a high directivity such as Yagi antennas are used for the link between the donor cell BTS and the repeater. The typical applications of different antenna types are summarized in table 4. indoor macrocell microcell x outdoor x x x-polar x x air combining dual band x (x)1

Table 4: Application of antenna types

1

Note to dual band: Dual band antenna configurations in microcells are in principle possible, but dual band microcell antennas are currently not available on the market.

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7 Antenna configurations in mobile networks

In general there are many possiblities for antenna configurations. In the following configurations for omni and sector sites will be described. The application of duplexer and TMA have to be taken into account for the different configurations: A duplexer (or duplexe filter) consists of a Tx and Rx filter and a combiner, providing sufficient Tx/Rx decoupling. With a duplexer it is possible to save one antenna and a feeder cable, by using only one antenna for transmission and reception. A TMA (Tower mounted amplifier) can be used to increase the sensitivity of the BTS receiver. The gain is usually dimensioned in a way to compensate the feeder cable losses (e.g. 4dB). The TMA should be mounted as close as possible to the receiving antenna. If the TMA is not equipped with a TX bypass, it is not possible to use an one antenna system. TMAs with TX-bypass are available on the market (e.g. ALLGON).

7.1 Antenna configuration for omni sites

The following omni configurations are possible as shown in figure 13: A: No diversity, no duplexer: Two antenna system with optional TMA B: No diversity, with duplexer: One antenna system with optional TMA with TX-bypass C: Diversity, no duplexer: Three antenna system with optional TMA D: Diversity, with duplexer: Two antenna system with optional TMA with TX-bypass E: Air combining configuration (Figure 14)

Config. B Config. A

Config. C

Config. D

TMA+TX Bypass Duplexer

TMA+TX Bypass

TMA RX TX

TMA RX TX

TMA RXd

Duplexer

TMA RXd

RX

TX

RX

TX

G2 BTS G2, G3 BTS G2 BTS G2, G3 BTS Figure 13: Possible omni antenna configurations, with optional TMA Note that in the upper configurations the Tx antenna is usually moved up vertically in order to increase the Tx/Rx decoupling. Space diversity can basically be achieved by

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vertical or horizontal separation, whereas more benefit is taken from horizontal separation of the receiving antennas [2]. G2 BTS: For Tx-coupling wide band combiner (WBC) or remote tunable combiner (RTC) can be used, whereas higher losses are introduced with the WBC. For more details refer to [10]. Depending on the configuration external or internal duplexers are used. G3 BTS: Tx coupling for the G3 BTS can be achieved with the WBC (max. 4 or 8 Tx) or with air combining (one antenna per TX or one cross polar antenna for sector sites). A remote tunable combiner (RTC) solution will not be available before end of 1998. The antenna coupling equipment of the G3 BTS is called ANy (WBC combiner network) and ANx (Twin receiver front end with duplexer). Figure 14 shows a possible air combining configuration for omni sites (configuration E):
Configuration E Antenna

feeder

TXA - RXA - RXdivB

TXB - RXB - RXdivA

Duplexer Filter Filter

Duplexer Filter Filter

BTS
ANx

LNA

LNA

Splitter

Splitter

TXA RXA RXdivA

RXdivB RXB TXB

Figure 14 Omni air combining configuration with the G3 BTS Since the duplexer stage ANx is always included within the G3 BTS, the configuration A and C cannot be used for the G3 BTS.

7.2 Antenna configurations for sector sites

Depending on the requirement sector sites are usually configured with one, two or three sectors. Four sector sites might cause EMC and inteference problems and are therefore applicable for special scenarios only. A two sector site configuration could be

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used for the coverage along a street, three sector sites in order to achieve area coverage in high traffic areas. Basically the same antenna configurations as described for omni sites are also possible per sector. Further dual polarized antennas can be used for sector sites. The following configurations are possible: A: No diversity, no duplexer: Two antenna system with optional TMA (fig. 13) B: No diversity, with duplexer: One antenna system with optional TMA with TX-bypass (fig. 13) C: Diversity, no duplexer: Three antenna system with optional TMA (fig. 13) D: Diversity, with duplexer: Two antenna system with optional TMA with TX-bypass (fig. 13) E: Two antenna air combining configuration for the G3 BTS (fig. 14) F: Polarisation diversity with a hor/ver polarized antenna, no duplexer (fig. 15) G: Polarisation diversity with a hor/ver polarized antenna, with duplexer and optional Rx-Filter (fig. 15). The Rx-Filter is required if the Tx-Rx-isolation is below 45dB for the G2 GSM BTS and below 30 dB for the G2 DCS BTS, due to intermodulation problems. H: Combination of Space and Polarisation diversity with cross polar antennas (e.g. with 4 TRX) and air combining (fig. 15). The TX-filter is an internal filter (G2 BTS). In case of the G3 BTS the configuration would be accordingly different, due to the ANx network, but is in principle possible. I: Polarisation diversity with crosspolar antennas with air combining (G3 BTS, fig. 16) Whereas configuration A to E is similar to the omni configurations according to figure 13 and 14. Figure 15, 16 show further configurations, which are possible for sector sites.
Config. F Config. G Configuration H

TMA+TX TMA Bypass TMA TMA RX RXd TX Duplexer TX RX RXFilter RXd

TMA+TX Bypass TxFilter Dupl. Splitter TX1 TX2 Rx1-4

TMA+TX Bypass Dupl. Splitter TX3 RX1-4

TX 4

TxFilter

G2 BTS

G2, G3 BTS

G2, G3 BTS

Figure 15: Possible sector antenna configurations A-I with optional TMA

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G3 BTS: The duplexer is integrated within the ANx, thus configurations without duplexer are not possible. Configuration E as shown in figure 14, is possible. Further, the following one antenna system configuration H is possible with the G3 BTS by applying a cross polar antenna (configuration I):

Configuration I

Antenna

feeder
TXA - RXA - RXdivB TXB - RXB - RXdivA

Duplexer Filter Filter

Duplexer Filter Filter

BTS
Twin RFE and Duplexer stage

LNA

LNA

Splitter

Splitter

TXA RXA RXdivA

RXdivB RXB TXB

Figure 16: Configuration I, Air combining application for a sector site with the G3 BTS Introducing space diversity two or three antenna systems are used per sector, depending on the usage of duplexer. Figure 17 shows a possible side mounted configuration with horizontal space diversity (three antenna system):

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Figure 17 Exemplary 3 sector site setup with horizontal space diversity The following engineering rules should be applied for such a sector site configuration:
Consideration of required distances at sector sites There is a wide range of possible configurations for sector sites. Two exemplary three sector site setups are given below:

Tx1/RxA1 Dmin Tx2/RxA2

Distance according to diversity requirements

Dmin Tx2/Rx2 Tx1/Rx1

RxB1
No space diversity, with duplexer:

With space diversity and duplexer:

The required distance Dmin should be: Dmin = 0,5m if the antennas are not mounted in the same horizontal plane Dmin = 1,5m if the antennas are mounted in the same horizontal plane

7.3 Microcell antenna configuration

The following micro BTS types are offered by Alcatel: Class M1 micro BTS, one TRX with synthesizer or radio frequency hopping (RFH) Class M1 micro BTS, modular with one or two TRX with RFH (if the BTS is equipped with two TRX, hopping is only possible on the second carrier) 2W micro BTS, modular with one or two TRX, RFH only on second TRX

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The micro BTSs are equipped with an internal duplexer and without a diversity receiver. Due to RFH capability no remote tunable combiner (RTC) can be used, a wide band combiner (WBC) has to be used. Thus the following configurations are basically possible: A: One TRX micro BTS: One antenna system (microcell antenna) B: Two TRX micro BTS: One antenna system with wide band combiner (microcell ant.) C: Two TRX micro BTS: One antenna system with air combining (cross polar antenna) Figure 18 shows the three possible configurations:

Config. A

Config. B linear antenna

Config. C

linear antenna TX1/ RX1 2 Duplexer micro BTS 2 TRX TX2/ RX2 TX1/ RX1

cross polar antenna TX2/ RX2

TX/RX Duplexer micro BTS 1 TRX

2 Duplexer micro BTS 2 TRX

Figure 18: Possible microcellular antenna configurations (Config. A-C) Radio conditions in microcellular environment: Especially in microcellular environments close proximity scenarios, causing blocking problems can occur, as shown in figure 19. An indoor mobile is connected to micro BTS 1, while another mobile being connected to micro BTS 2 might turn around the corner and have sudden direct line of sight condition to micro BTS 1. In such a scenario there is a high risk of BTS receiver inband-blocking. In order to achieve a sufficient minimum coupling loss between mobile

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antenna and BTS receiving antenna the mounting height has to be accordingly high, taking into account the following two basic items: In order to increase the minimum coupling loss between MS and BTS, the antenna should be positioned as high as possible. With increasing mounting height the interferer potential will be increased, especially since microcells often are planned with a reduced RCS. A proper compromise has to be found which is usually 50% of the average building height (typically 6-12m).

Micro BTS 2

signal in the limit of sensitivity

Interference
Micro BTS 1

Figure 19 Close proximity scenario in a microcellular network causing receiver blocking Antennas in microcellular networks are usually positioned below roof top level, either within the street or at street crossings (instreet or crossroad BTS). With the instreet BTS a higher site density can be achieved as described more detailed in [1]. The maximum distance R of a omni cross road BTS from the street corner is defined based on experience as follows: The angle is restricted to a maximum angle of 20:
Omni antenna

R Street

R < tan(max)D = 0.36 D (13) max=20 Example: D=50cm results in R=18cm

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Indoor Solutions: Please refer to [9] for detailed information.

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7.4 Special antenna configurations

If omni antennas cannot be mounted at the top of a mast, they also can be sidemounted with a special side mounting kit, but this configuration is not recommended because the pole will severely disturb the antenna radiation pattern. Therefore special solutions are possible in order to realize a omni radiation pattern, by the usage of several panel (sector) antennas. In this section three special arrangements will be discussed: Radial Arrangement Figure 20 shows a radial arrangement of six panel antennas with a horizontal beamwidth of 105. The resulting radiation pattern has a 1 dB ripple, which will increase with increasing radius and with reduced amount of panel antennas. This setup could be used in a rural environment where no scattering is expected, to achieve sufficient coverage between each radiation pattern.

Ripple of 1 dB

Figure 20 Radial Arrangement with 6 panel antennas forming a omni antenna

Quasi Omni Arrangement: Figure 21 shows a quasi omni arrangement, consisting of only 3 antennas with a horizontal beamwidth of 105 and the resulting radiation pattern. This type of setup can be used in urban environments. The coverage holes due to the nulls between the sectors are covered by scattering effects in urban environments.

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Figure 21 Quasi Omni Arrangement for urban areas Skew arrangement: A skew arrangement consisting of 4 panel antennas with a horizontal beamwidth of 65 is shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22 Skew arrangement The advantage of this setup is that the ripple is reduced compared to the radial arrangements, resulting in a more homogeneous radiation pattern.

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7.5 Dual band antenna setup

Dual band antennas e.g. for GSM/DCS applications are characterised by being suitable for both frequency ranges (880-960 MHz, 1710-1880 MHz), having two separated input connectors for GSM and for DCS. Thus the GSM and DCS signals are combined in one antenna. There is a wide range of possible dual band configurations. First of all a dual band network not necessarily has to be configured exclusively with dual band antennas, especially if independent GSM and DCS cell coverage has to be achieved. The decision if a dual band antenna or two independent GSM / DCS antenna setups should be used, strongly depends on the planning philosophy of the network and needs to be discussed with the customer. This approach will be explained in two following examples: Example 1: Application of a dual band antenna in high traffic urban areas The customer has a GSM and DCS licence and is currently running a GSM network in an urban area. With increasing traffic, network densification has already been performed, thus the cell ranges are reduced and the omni sites are already sectorized. Typically six or nine antennas are installed per site in case of a three sector diversity configuration. In order to increase the traffic a two layer network should be installed. The coverage ranges of the GSM and DCS cell will be similar, therefore it is a good solution to reuse the existing sites and replace the existing GSM antennas by dual band antennas, instead of increasing the amount of antennas up to twelve or even eighteen, or what is even more difficult to realize, to try to aquire new DCS sites. Examples 2: Application of separated GSM and DCS antenna configurations An operator is installing a new dual band network in lower traffic areas. Since higher coverage ranges can be achieved with GSM, the operator will try to perform coverage in rural areas with GSM cells and choose lower cell sizes in urban areas by applying DCS cells there. In these scenarios no dual band antennas are required, the cells need to be configured independently of each other. So basically antenna configurations in a dual band network can be split up in dual band antenna or mono band antenna configurations. Further setups with or without diversity, with duplexer or wide band combiner etc. are possible. Discussing different dual band antenna configurations, the following decisions have to be made depending on the customer requirements: Setup with GSM and DCS or with dual band antennas Usage of diversity or not separated Tx and Rx antennas usage of duplexer Introduction of air combining or not Coupling loss of dual band antennas?

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 Radiation pattern of dual band antennas in both bands identical? BTS configuration: With the G3 BTS, a BTS can be equipped with DCS and GSM TRXs From the wide range of setups two possible configurations are shown below for the Alcatel G2 BTS: A configuration with a separated GSM and DCS antenna is shown in figure 23.

2 GSM antennas

2 DCS antennas

Duplexer Combine r TX TX TX TX RX Splitter Splitter Combine r TX TX TX

Duplexer Splitter Splitter

RX

RX

RX

RX RX RX RX div div div div

TX

RX

RX

RX

RX

RX RX RX RX div div div div

BTS 1 4 GSM TRXs

BTS 2 4 DCS TRXs

Figure 23 : Dual band configuration with separated GSM and DCS antenna A diversity antenna configuration with a dual band antenna is shown in figure 24. The main advantages of that configuration is, that less installation place is required and the number of antennas is reduced by 50%. On the other hand the tilt and the antenna orientation of the GSM and DCS network cannot be set independently from each other. For more detailed information on the Alcatel dual band concept, please refer to [11].

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3 Dual Band antenna

Combiner TX TX TX TX RX

Splitter RX RX RX RX div

Splitter RX div RX div RX div TX

Combiner TX TX TX RX

Splitter

Splitter

RX

RX

RX

RX div

RX div

RX div

RX div

BTS 1 4 GSM TRXs

BTS 2 4 DCS TRXs

Figure 24 Dual band antenna configuration with space diversity

8 Summary
The document gives an overview on antenna parameters, types, configurations, diversity and EMC aspects. According antenna engineering rules are defined. The given rules focus on the following aspects: Application of omni and sector antennas Required spacing from obstacles within the antenna near field required spacings between antennas to provide sufficient decoupling application of antenna tilt Rules for space and polarisation diversity application Overview on antenna types and possible configurations in macro and micro cellular environments Dual band configurations

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9 Abbreviations

A955 AMPS ANx ANy BTS DCS EGSM EIRP EMC GSM HPBW MCL RCS RFH RTC Rx TACS TMA TRX Tx VSWR WBC

Alcatel RNP-Tool Advanced Mobile Phone System Twin receiver front end with duplexer of the G3 BTS Wide band combiner network of the G3 BTS Base Transceiver Station Digital Cordless System Extended Global System of Mobile Communication Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power Electromagnetical Compatibility Global System of Mobile Communication Half Power Beam Width Minimum Coupling Loss Reuse Cluster Size Synthesizer or Radio Frequency Hopping Remote Receiver Total Access Communication System Tower Mounted Amplifier Transceiver Transmitter Voltage Standing Wave Ratio Wide Band Combiner

END OF DOCUMENT

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