03) Radio Signal Propagation

Radio Signal Propagation
ZTE University
ZTE University
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Content
1. Radio wave propagation
2. Propagation models
3. Antenna systems
4. Diversity technique
5. Interference and interference reduction
6. Link budget
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Radio Link Propagation
Multi-path propagation
Radio path is a complicated propagation medium
Limited transmitting energy

The service range is determined by the
transmission power of mobiles
Battery life-time
Limited spectrum
Set upper limitation for data rate
(Shannons
theorem)
Additional effort needed for channel coding
Frequency
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reused result in self- interference univ.zte.com.cn
Radio Propagation Environment
Multi-path propagation
Shadowing
Terrain
Building
Reflection
Interference
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Reflections
Strong echoes can cause excessive transmission delay

No impact If the delay falls in the equalizer window
Cause self-interference if the delay falls out of the
direct signal
strong reflected signal
equalizer window
long echoes, out of equalizer window:

self-interference
amplitude
equalizer window 16 s
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delay time
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Fading(1)
Slow fading (Lognormal
Fading)
Shadowing due to large
obstacles on propagation
direction
Level (dB)
+10
0
Fast
fading
(Rayleigh
fading)
Serious interference from
multi-path signals
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-10
-20
920 MHz
v = 20 km/h
-30
0
5m
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Fading(2)
power
Rayleigh
fading
+20 dB
lognormal
fading
mean
value
- 20 dB
2 sec
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4 sec
6 sec
time
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Signal Variations
Rayleigh
fading
Lognormal
fading
Large scale
variation
Cause
Superposition of
multiple
propagation
paths with
different phase
Shadowing or
reflection by
cars, trees,
buildings
Prop. path profile, terrain

& clutter structure, Earth
curvature
Correlation
<
10 ... 100m
> 100m
Prediction
unpredictable
mostly
predictable
(buildings!!)
predictable (maps, terrain

database)
Planning
method
apply statistical
thresholds for
Rayleigh fading
signals
consider
lognormal
distribution
around local
mean (use =
3 ... 10dB)
use maps or digital

terrain & clutter
databases to predict
(50 ..200m pixel
resolution)
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Propagation
Free- space propagation

D
Signal strength decreases with distance increases
Reflection
Specula R.
Amplitude
Phase
*A (< 1)
: A -->
specula reflection
: --> -
Polarization : material determining phase shift
Diffuse R.
Amplitude : A -->
Phase
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*A (<< 1)
: random
diffuse reflection
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Propagation
Absorption
Heavy amplitude attenuation
A - 5..30 dB
Material determining phase shift
Diffraction
Wedge-model
Knife edge
Multiple knife edges
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Mobile Radio Link
3. Antenna systems
6. Link budget
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Propagation Model
Historical CCIR- Model for Radio station
Not very accurate nor serious
Okumura- Hata
Empirical model
Measure and estimate additional attenuations

Applied for larger distance estimation (range: 5 ..
20km)
Not suitable for small distance ( < 1km)
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Hata Model
Model used for 900 MHz

L A B log f 1382
. log hb a (hm )
(44.9 6.55 log hb ) log d Lmorpho
with
f
h
a(h)
d
frequency in MHz
additional attenuation due
BS antenna height [m]
to land usage classes
function of MS antenna height
distance between BS and MS [km] and
A= 69.55, B = 26.16 (for 150 .. 1000 MHz)

A= 46.3 , B = 33.9 (for 1000 ..2000MHz)
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Land Usage Types
Urban
small cells, 40..50 dB/Dec attenuation
Forest
heavy absorption; 30..40 dB/Dec;
differs with
season (foliage loss)
Open, farmland
easy, smooth propagation conditions
Water
propagates very easily ==> dangerous !
Mountain surface strong reflection, long echoes
Glaciers
strong
Hilltops
not
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very strong reflection; extreme delay ,
interferences over long distance

can be used as barriers between cells, do
use as antenna or site location
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Walfish- Ikegami Model
Model used for urban micro-cell propagation. Assume
regular city layout (Manhattan grid). Total path loss

consists of three parts:
Line-of-sight loss LLOS
Roof-to-street loss LRTS

Mobile environment loss LMS
d
h
w
b
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Mobil Radio Link
2. Propagation model
3. Antenna system
6. Link budget
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Antenna Characteristics
Lobes
Main lobes
Side and Back lobes
Front-to-Back ratio
Half-power beam-width
Antenna downtilt
Polarization
Frequency range
Antenna impedance
Mechanical size
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Coupling Between Antennas

main lobe
Horizontal separation
Sufficient decoupling distance: 5-10

Antenna patterns superimposed if
distance too close
5 .. 10
Vertical separation
Decoupling distance:1 can provide good RX /TX
decoupling
Minimum coupling loss
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Installation Examples
Recommended decoupling
TX - TX: ~20dB
0,2m
TX - RX: ~40dB
Horizontal decoupling distance depends on
Antenna gain
Omni-directional.: 5 .. 20m
directional : 1 ... 3m
Horizontal rad. pattern
Omni-directional antenna
Use vertical separation for RX and TX

Use vertical separation (fork) for RX and diversity
RX
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Vertical decoupling is much more effective
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Installation Examples
Directional antenna
Antenna downtilt
Improve hotspot coverage
Reduce interference
5..8 deg
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Feeder
FeederType
parameter
Diameter
1800MHz
(mm)
900MHz
dB/100m
dB/100m
3/8
10
14
10
5/8
17
7/8
25
1 5/8
47
Use the short feeder whenever possible
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Distributed Antennas
Leaking
feeder
Cables
with
very
high
loss
per
length
unit
distributed antenna often used for tunnel coverage.

This kind of feeder is expensive
Propagation loss: 4 ... 40 dB/100m
50 Ohm
coupling loss: ~ 60 dB (at 1m dist.)
Optic
fiber distribution system
Distribute RF signal radiate from discrete antenna

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at remote locations via (very thin) opticuniv.zte.com.cn

fiber.
Repeaters
Repeater type
Narrow-band Repeater
Wide-band Repeater
The Repeater is used to relay signal into shadowed
area
Behind hill
Into valley
decoupling ~40 dB needed
Into building
Note: The Repeater needs a host cell
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Mobile Radio Link
3. Antenna systems
6. Link budget
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Diversity
Time diversity
t
Coding, interleaving
Frequency diversity
Frequency hopping
Space diversity
Multiple antennas
Polarization diversity
Dual-polarized
antennas
Multi-path diversity
Equalizer
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Benefit From Diversity
Diversity gain depends on environment
Antenna diversity
3dB gain
More path loss acceptable in link budget
Higher coverage range

R(div) ~ 1,3 R
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A
1.7 A
70% more coverage per cell
Needs, less cells in total
The above case can be satisfied

only under ideal condition. That
is the environment is infinitely
large and flat
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Mobile Radio Link
3. Antenna systems
6. Link budget
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Interference
Signal quality =
sum of all expected signals
sum of all unexpected signal
expected signal
carrier (C )
interference (I)
atmospheric
noise
other signals
Notes: GSM specification : C / I >= 9 dB (Co-Channel)
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Effects of Interference
Affect signal quality
Cause bit error

Repairable errors :
channel
coding,
error
correction
Irreducible errors :
phase distortions
Interference situation is
Non- reciprocal
Unsymmetrical
uplink <> downlink
different situation at MS and
BTS
C/I
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Co-Channel C/I
: 9dB
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Signal Quality in GSM

RX Quality
RXQUAL class : 0 ... 7
good
usable signal
acceptable
unusable
signal
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RXQUAL
class
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Mean BER
(%)
0.14
0.28
0.57
1.13
2.26
4.53
9.05
18.1
BER range
from... to
< 0.2%
0.2 ... 0.4 %
0.4 ... 0.8 %
0.8 ... 1.6 %
1.6 ... 3.2 %
3.2 ... 6.4 %
6.4 ... 12.8 %
> 12.8 %
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Interference sources
Multi-path (long echoes)
Frequency reuse
External interference
Note : Interference has the same effect as poor coverage.
Reduce the interference

as possible.
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Methods for reducing

Interference
Frequency planning
Suitable site location
Antenna azimuth, downtilt and height

bad location
good location
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Interference
Frequency hopping
A diversity technique, frequency diversity include:
Less fading loss
De-coding gain
Interference averaging
Power control based on quality

Evaluate signal level and quality
DTX
Silent transmission in speech pauses
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Interference
Adaptive antenna
According to subscriber distribution, concentrate

signal energy to certain direction.
Adaptive channel allocation
Always assign the best available channel during call

setup.
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Frequency Hopping
Diversity technique
Frequency diversity can reduce fast fading effects

Useful for static or slow-moving mobiles
Cyclic base-band hopping
TRX hops cyclic between its allocated frequencies
RF hopping
Either cyclic or random hopping
Needs wideband combiner

Can use any frequency included in the MA
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Power Control
Save battery life-time
Minimize interference
GSM : 15 steps and 2 dB for each

Use power control in both uplink and downlink
triggered by level or quality
signal
level
target level
e.g. -85 dm
Power control isnt allowed

on BCCH
time
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DTX
DTX (Discontinuous transmission)
Switch transmitter off in speech pauses and silence

periods,
both
sides
transmit
only
silence
updates (SID frames) comfort noise generated by
transcoder.
VAD: voice activity detection
Transcoder is informed the use of DTX/ VAD

Battery saving and
interference reducing
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Mobile Radio Link
3. Antenna systems
6. Link budget
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Link Budget Calculation
Why we need a link budget?
Which will decide the coverage range?
The coverage range is limited by the weaker one.
Two-way communication needed
link usually limited by mobile transmitting power
Desired result: downlink = uplink

Link budget should
be balanced
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03) Radio Signal Propagation

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03) Radio Signal Propagation

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Radio Signal Propagation

1. Radio wave propagation

5. Interference and interference reduction

Radio Link Propagation

Limited transmitting energy

reused result in self- interference univ.zte.com.cn

Radio Propagation Environment

Strong echoes can cause excessive transmission delay

long echoes, out of equalizer window:

Slow fading (Lognormal

Prop. path profile, terrain

predictable (maps, terrain

use maps or digital

Free- space propagation

Polarization : material determining phase shift

Heavy amplitude attenuation

Material determining phase shift

Mobile Radio Link

1. Radio wave propagation

5. Interference and interference reduction

Historical CCIR- Model for Radio station

Not very accurate nor serious

Measure and estimate additional attenuations

Not suitable for small distance ( < 1km)

Model used for 900 MHz

A= 69.55, B = 26.16 (for 150 .. 1000 MHz)

Land Usage Types

small cells, 40..50 dB/Dec attenuation

heavy absorption; 30..40 dB/Dec;

season (foliage loss)

easy, smooth propagation conditions

propagates very easily ==> dangerous !

Mountain surface strong reflection, long echoes

very strong reflection; extreme delay ,

interferences over long distance

Walfish- Ikegami Model

Model used for urban micro-cell propagation. Assume

regular city layout (Manhattan grid). Total path loss

Roof-to-street loss LRTS

Mobil Radio Link

1. Radio wave propagation

5. Interference and interference reduction

Coupling Between Antennas

Sufficient decoupling distance: 5-10

Minimum coupling loss

Horizontal decoupling distance depends on

Horizontal rad. pattern

Use vertical separation for RX and TX

Vertical decoupling is much more effective

Use the short feeder whenever possible

distributed antenna often used for tunnel coverage.

fiber distribution system

Distribute RF signal radiate from discrete antenna

at remote locations via (very thin) opticuniv.zte.com.cn

The Repeater is used to relay signal into shadowed

decoupling ~40 dB needed

Mobile Radio Link

1. Radio wave propagation

5. Interference and interference reduction

Benefit From Diversity

Diversity gain depends on environment

Higher coverage range

The above case can be satisfied