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Antenna Tiltguide
Antenna Tiltguide
1 (6) 1999-09-29
Antenna Downtilt Guideline
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 3
2 ANTENNAS...................................................................................................... 3
2.1 The Antenna diagram ............................................................................................... 3
2.1.1 Gain .................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.2 Horizontal beamwidth .......................................................................................... 3
2.1.3 Vertical beamwidth .............................................................................................. 3
2.1.4 First null beamwidth............................................................................................. 5
2.1.5 Null-fill ................................................................................................................. 5
2.1.6 Back-lobe ............................................................................................................ 6
2.2 Mechanical versus electrical tilt .............................................................................. 6
2.3 Super high gain antennas ........................................................................................ 8
2.4 Theoretical tilt-effects............................................................................................... 8
3 MEASUREMENTS ......................................................................................... 12
3.1 Signal strength MEASUREMENTS in forward direction....................................... 13
3.1.1 18 dBi Antennas ................................................................................................ 13
3.1.2 15 dBi antennas ................................................................................................ 15
3.2 Signal strength MEASUREMENTS in side direction............................................. 17
3.3 Signal strength MEASUREMENTS in Backward direction ................................... 19
4 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 20
4.1 General recommendations..................................................................................... 20
4.2 Recommended tilt-values....................................................................................... 22
4.2.1 Areas with large cells......................................................................................... 22
4.2.2 Areas with small cells ........................................................................................ 22
5 CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 23
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1 INTRODUCTION
2 ANTENNAS
2.1.1 Gain
The most interesting part of the antenna pattern when it comes to tilting
is the vertical antenna-gain pattern in the forward direction. A 15 dBi
antenna usually has a vertical half power beam width of around 15°(i.e.
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+/- 7.5 °). The high gain 18 dBi antennas have a narrower vertical beam
width, typically 6°-8°(i.e. +/- 3°- 4°).
Below is an example of two typical antennas with 15.5 and 18 dBi gain.
5
0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
-10
dB -15 GAIN 15 dBi
-20 GAIN 18 dBi
-25
-30
-35
-40
Degrees
Figure 1. Vertical gain for two typical 15 dBi and 18 dBi antennas.
If the antenna tilted for example 5°, the gain in the horizontal direction,
relative the maximum gain, equals the gain at –5°in the antenna
diagram. For the antennas above, a 5°downtilt would mean
approximately –1.5 dB for the 15.5 dBi antenna, and –8.5 dB for the 18
dBi antenna.
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0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
-5
-10
GAIN 18 dBi, 5 degrees
dB
-15 GAIN 18 dBi, 0 degree tilt
GAIN 18 dBi, 8 degree tilt
-20
-25
-30
degrees
Figure 2. Vertical antenna diagram for 18 dBi antenna. 0°, 5°and 8°tilt
applied.
Note that the antenna diagram is valid only in the forward direction.
When mechanical downtilt is applied, the tilt effect in directions other
than straight forward is different, which means that the horizontal
antenna diagram is changed (see further chapter 2.2).
The first null beam width is the angle between the nulls adjacent to the
main lobe. In the antenna diagram in Figure 1, it can be seen that the 15
dBi antenna has a First null Beam width of 32°(+/- 16°). The 18 dBi
antenna has a First null Beam width of 15°(+/- 7,5°). These figures may
vary a little bit for different antennas models, but the figures are roughly
the same for all 65°antennas with 15 or 18 dBi gain.
Tilting half of the First null Beam width will, at least in theory, suppress
the antenna gain towards the horizon with up to 20 dB or more.
2.1.5 Null-fill
Some antennas use “null-fill”in order to make the first null under the
horizon smaller. This is to limit the loss of signal strength that the mobile
may experience if it is located at a position where the vertical angle from
the basestation antenna corresponds to the first null under the horizon in
the antenna diagram. Such antennas do however tend to loose some of
its maximum gain. Most of the large antenna manufacturers such as
Kathrein, has a the first null specified to be > -25 dB relative the
maximum gain. This figure is however somewhat theoretical, since the
actual antenna diagram for these low power dips is effected by the
antenna mounting. Moreover, the reflections and diffractions in the wave
propagation will even out the dip in the antenna diagram, and the
receiving mobile will not experience such a dramatic decrease in signal
strength.
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2.1.6 Back-lobe
The theoretical back-lobes for two typical 65°antennas are shown in the
picture below. However, the actual antenna gain for different vertical
directions is very difficult to estimate. Things like the mounting masts
and the near environment on the roof has a large impact on the radiation
in the backward direction. The actual signal strength behind the cell may
also be the result of reflections from the energy transmitted in the
forward direction. It is therefore difficult to theoretically predict the effect
that down tilting has on the signal strength in the backward direction.
0
155 160 165 170 175 -5180 185 190 195 200 205
-10
-15
-20
-25
GAIN 15 dBi
dB
-30
GAIN 18 dBi
-35
-40
-45
-50
-55
-60
degrees
Figure 3. Vertical gain for the back-lobe for two typical 15 dBi and 18 dBi
antennas.
Mechanical tilt
Electrical tilt
Electrical tilt means an in-built tilt that lowers the vertical beam in all
horizontal directions. Electrical tilt can be combined with additional
mechanical tilt.
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0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
-5
-10
6 degrees EDT
dB
-15 18 dBi
6 degrees mechanical
-20
-25
-30
degrees
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20
15
10
MDT
dB Gain
5
No tilt
0
EDT
-90 -60 -30 -5 0 30 60 90
-10
-15
Degrees
For 1800 MHz, there are extremely high gain (around 21 dBi) 65°
antennas available. These antennas have an even narrower vertical
beam width, around half the beam width of an 18 dBi antenna. These
antennas are larger than the standard 18 dBi 1800 MHz antennas. The
effect that these antennas have on coverage in urban areas has not
been verified, but with such narrow beam width, at least in theory an
even larger tilting effect can be achieved.
When selecting the optimum tilt angle, the goal is to have as high signal
strength as possible in the area where the cell should be serving traffic.
Beyond the serving area of the cell, the signal strength should be as low
as possible.
The basic theory is that down tilting an antenna increases the signal
strength in the area close to the site, whereas the signal strength
becomes lower at far distances. The relation between the signal strength
and distance from the site depends on:
• Antenna type
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• Antenna height
Example
α=arctan(50/500) = 5.7°
It the antenna was not down tilted, the antenna gain for the mobile would
correspond to –5.7°in the antenna diagram. However, since the antenna
is down tilted, the corresponding angle in the vertical antenna diagram
is:
In the figure below, the theoretical antenna gain for different distances
from the site have been calculated for a typical 18 dBi gain antenna. The
antenna gain has been added to a simple path propagation model in
order to show the signal strength in relation to the distance from the site
for different antenna tilt angles.
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-40
-90
-100
Distance from site (meter)
-90 8 degrees
14 degrees
-110
-130
Distance from site (meter)
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-40
0 500 1000 1500
-50
Max Gain
-60
0 degrees
dBm
-70 5 degrees
-80 9 degrees
-90
-100
Distance from site (meter)
-90 5 degrees
9 degrees
-110
-130
Distance from site (meter)
As can be seen from the figures, with a 50 meter antenna height and no
down tilt, a 18 dBi antenna will have its first null at around 400 meter
from the site, and a 15 dBi antenna will have its first null around 200
meter from the site. Down tilting the antenna moves the first null closer
to the site. At far distance, the signal strength is lower with down tilt,
which means less coverage (if the cell is serving there) or reduced
interference (if the cell is not serving). This is the basic theory behind all
antenna down tilting.
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3 MEASUREMENTS
The area refereed to as “Urban”is dense, but not extremely dense. The
buildings are of various heights, including skyscrapers up to 100 meter
or more. A photo from a typical Urban site is shown in Appendix.
Five sites were selected for the measurements. These sites where all 3-
sector, using 65°horizontal beamwidth antennas with no Electrical
downtilt. This means that all tilts were done using mechanical downtilt.
For each site, two cells where selected. Two of the sites had 18 dBi
antennas, the other three sites where equipped with 15.5 dBi antennas.
For each cell, the signal strength was measured for three different tilt
angels. If possible, the first measurement was always performed with 0°
tilt, as a reference. For some cells, the antenna mounting was however
such that 0°tilt could not be applied.
Measurement procedures
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The signal strength from the three different tilt angles are plotted in
graphs, as a function of the distance from the site. Only the
measurement samples with a horizontal angle of +/- 40°has been used.
The tilt angles used for each cell can be seen in the graph labels. In
addition to the signal strength plots, the relative difference, compared to
0°tilt (or the lowest measured tilt where not applicable) is also plotted.
20
10
0
-10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 SS_0
-20
-30 SS_9
dB -40 SS_14
-50
-60 SS_9 - SS_0
-70 SS_14 - SS_0
-80
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
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20
10
0
-10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
-20 SS_0
-30 SS_4
dB -40
SS_12
-50
-60 SS_4 - SS_0
-70 SS_12 - SS_0
-80
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
20
10
0
-10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-20 SS_5
-30 SS_9
dB -40
SS_14
-50
-60 SS_9 - SS_5
-70 SS_14 - SS_5
-80
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
20
10
0
-10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-20
SS_0
-30
SS_5
-40
dB
SS_12
-50
SS_5 - SS_0
-60
SS_12 - SS_0
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
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20
10
0
-10 SS_0
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
-30 SS_8
-40
dB
-50 SS_14
-60 SS_8-SS_0
-70
-80 SS_14-SS_0
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
20
10
0 SS_0
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
SS_8
-30
-40
dB
-50 SS_14
-60 SS_8-SS_0
-70
-80 SS_14-SS_0
-90
-100
-110
Disance form site, km
20
10
0 SS_0
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
SS_8
-30
-40
dB
-50 SS_14
-60 SS_8-SS_0
-70
-80 SS_14-SS_0
-90
-100
-110
Distance from site, km
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20
10
0 SS_1
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
SS_8
-30
dB -40 SS_14
-50
-60 SS_8-SS_1
-70
-80
-90 SS_14-SS_1
-100
-110
Distance form site, km
20
10
0 SS_0
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 SS_8
-30
dB -40
-50 SS_14
-60 delta_8
-70
-80 delta_14
-90
-100
-110
Distance from site, km
20
10
0 SS_0
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
SS_8
-30
dB -40
-50 SS_14
-60 SS_8-SS_0
-70
-80 SS_14-SS_0
-90
-100
-110
Distance form site, km
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The measurements show that the effect of tilting was pretty much as
could be expected from the theoretical calculations.At far distances, the
signal strength becomes lower when the antenna is tilted, but not quite
as much as can be expected from the theoretical calculations based on
the antenna diagram. One reason for this could be that the signal
strength that reaches the mobile actually is transmitting more “straight
forward”(at a lower vertical angle), above the rooftops, and later
diffracted down to the mobile station.
For the 18 dBi antennas, down tilting increases the signal strength at
around 500 meter and closer to the site. For 15 dBi antennas, down
tilting increase the signal strength at closer than around 2 – 300 meter
from the site. It should be kept in mind that these sites where mostly
around 50 meter high. If the sites are lower, the “break point”where the
down tilted antenna is stronger, is closer to the site. At very high sites,
this “breakpoint”is further from the site.
The measurements show that an overall down tilt, of all cells in the
network, can give a positive effect on the signal-to-interference ratio, C/I.
This is however only true if the cell size does not exceed the distance
where down tilting will reduce the coverage. For typical Urban cellplans,
with sites that are 50 meter or lower, this means that the cell ranges
should not exceed around 500 meter. If the cells are larger, an overall
down tilt, for every cell, will reduce the overall coverage, but not have a
significant impact on the overall C/I levels at the cell-boarders. This is
due to that downtilt will lower the signal strength at the cell-boarders in
almost the same extent as it will lower the signal-strength further away
from the site where the cell is causing interference. Hence, the
conclusion is that a general down tilting strategy, down tilting all cells
more than the angle that corresponds to a 3dB loss at the horizon,
should only be applied in areas where the cells are small, with a range of
around 500 meter or less. This corresponds to a site/site distance of
around 700-800 meter.
The results were consistent for every site, therefore one graphs, with a
typical result, are presented here. The graph for the forward direction is
included as a reference.
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20
10
0
-10 SS_0
-20 0 0. 1 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. 7 7. 8 8.
-30 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 SS_8
-40
dB
-50 SS_14
-60 delta_8
-70
-80 delta_14
-90
-100
-110
Distance from site, km
20
10
0 SS_0
-10
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 SS_8
-30
dB -40
-50 SS_14
-60 delta_8
-70
-80 delta_14
-90
-100
-110
Distance from site, km
All measurements where done with mechanical down tilt. The result
shows that the down tilt has a similar effect on the signal strength at an
angle corresponding to the cell border to the co-sited cells, but at a lower
degree. The signal strength becomes stronger close to the site, and
weaker further away, but not as much as in the forward direction. This
result is in-line with what can be expected from a theoretical point of
view.
In practise, this result tells us that if the cell diameter is larger than
approximately 500 meter, the horizontal beam width of the cell becomes
wider. The cells become “shorter and wider”. This will have a negative
impact on frequency planning and the C/I relations between the cells. It
may for example make be impossible to plan a 4/12 plan with sufficient
C/I levels.
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For the graph below, only the measurement samples that had a
horizontal angle of 140°- 220°was used. This corresponds to the back-
lobe +/- 40°.
20
10
0
-10 SS_0
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
-30 SS_8
-40
dB
-50 SS_14
-60 SS_8-SS_0
-70
-80 SS_14-SS_0
-90
-100
-110
Distance form site, km
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4 RECOMMENDATIONS
• One general recommendation is not to apply a large down tilt for all
cells in an area. The reason for this is that:
3. If the cellplan is not very tight (around 700 meter site-to-site distance
or more depending on antenna heights and type), antenna down
tilting will reduce the overall coverage in the network. This is of
course not good for the quality of the network, especially for indoor
areas with weak coverage.
• One good strategy is to have a few default tilt values that are
implemented on every site. The default value can be different
depending on the area, the size of the cell, antenna height and which
type of antenna that is used. The general recommendation is
however to keep it simple, and not do to many theoretical
calculations for every site. It is better to start with a low tilt for every
cell (see further the recommendations in chapter 4.2.1, 4.2.2), and
study the actual coverage and interference situation. On a case by
case bases, apply further down-tilt can be applied (and verified
through drive-tests and analysing statistics!).
• There is no point in tilting an antenna less than the angle which gives
a 3 dB loss at the horizon. This corresponds to around 7°tilt for a 15
dBi antenna, and around 3.5°tilt for an 18 dBi antenna. A smaller tilt
gives a limited impact and is hardly worth the effort.
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• Avoid down tilting more than the angle that correspond to having the
first null towards the horizon. Further down tilting can be done in
extreme cases, but if there is a need for further reduction of
interference or cell-size, a reduction of output power, or possibly
lowering of the antenna height, should also be considered. Very
large down tilts (beyond the first null towards the horizon) should be
carefully verified since the effect of such large tilts is difficult to
predict.
• Define, for every antenna type, four or five tilt-angles, and do only
use these tilts. This makes it easier to work in a structured way, and
to have better control over all the down tilts in the network. An
example of such fixed tilt-values could be:
0 dB 0 0
3 dB 7 3.5
6 dB 9.5 5
10 dB 11.5 6
> 15 dB 14 7
• Document all antenna down tilts! It is important not only to know how
much each cell is down tilted, but also WHY the down tilt was
performed. If an antenna tilt was performed in order to solve a local
interference problem due to for example a bad co-channel, this tilt
should possibly be removed when a new frequency plan (without this
co-channel) is implemented. Another example is a cell that has been
down tilted because of congestion. If the cell is expanded with
additional transceivers, it might be possible to reduce the down tilt.
• A new site effects the coverage area of all cells that are neighbours
to the new site. The downtilt angles in these sites should be revised.
Additional downtilt should be considered in neighbouring cells that
gets a reduced coverage area.
• Verify all the effects after having performed a down tilt of more than
4°(18 dBi antennas) or 8°(15 dBi antennas). Remember that it is
just as important to check the coverage and quality in the down tilted
cell, as the area where the down tilt is expected to reduce
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• It is better to put a lot of effort tilting and verifying the result on a few
cells compared of doing a “quick and dirty”job tilting a larger number
of cells.
4.2.1 Areas with large cells (approximately 800 meter site-site distance
or more):
• Cells that are very large and cause congestion can be further down
tilted. A cell with a very large number of handovers creates problems
with frequency planning, and is a sign that a cell may cause
interference problems. Down tilt the cells in pre-defined steps, e.g. in
steps of 2°or 3°depending on antenna type.
4.2.2 Areas with small cells (approximately 700 meter site-site distance
or less):
• With very small cells, with a range of 300 meter or less, the antennas
should definitely be downtilted, or the first null in the antenna
diagram might create poor coverage at the cell boarder. This may
lead to interference problems in the cell, and the quality will definitely
benefit from antenna down tilt.
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• In areas where interference is a large problem, and the cells are very
small (often the same area), additional down tilt can be applied.
Additional tilt should be decided on a case-by-case basis, and the
result should always be verified.
5 CONCLUSION
Antenna down tilt can be a good tool in order to keep interference levels
under control in a network. Antenna down tilt does have most effect with
high gain, narrow vertical beam-width antennas. Best result is achieved
in areas with small cells, and/or high antenna positions. With large cells,
antenna down tilt can still be useful in order to solve local interference
problems, or to reduce the cell-size. This is however at the cost of
reduced coverage. The result of an antenna down tilt, if not very minor,
should always be verified. It is especially important to verify the effect
that the down tilt has on the coverage and quality in the area close to the
down tilted cell itself.
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Appendix
Picture from a typical “Urban”site. Some of the other Urban cells had
more nearby high-rise buildings, in some cases partly blocking the cell.
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