Radio Wave Propagation PDF

ITU/BDT Arab Regional Workshop on “Transition from Analog to Digital Terrestrial
Television: “Trends ,Implementation & Opportunities ” - Tunisia 2012
CoE/ARB Workshop
On
“Transition from Analog to Digital (Digital Terrestrial Television:
Trends, Implementation & Opportunities)
Tunisia – Tunis , 12 – 15 March 2012
Session 3 : Radio wave propagation and
planning
Speaker M. Hakim EBDELLI
1 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Topics for discussion

Subscriber Management
Content
Provider A
Main MUX Center
Coverage
Zone
? System parameters
Video CA Sites parameters
Injection Receiver and RX
Network Adapter
Audio Encoder
Data conditions
MUX
Environment and
Video Mpeg
Encoder Analog propagation conditions
Audio MUX
TV
Data
Service Why consider
Information propagation?
What’s Propagation
SI Management Combiner models,
Fresnel zone, etc.?
Network Adapter
What are
Content propagation
Provider B effects?
Link budget?
Network Modulator  Allotment/Assignments
Amplifier
Regional TX Site

Contents
1 Propagation : General Overview
2 Propagation models
3 Coverage planning
4 Gap fillers
5 Example: Coverage planning and analysis

Radio transmission

Why consider propagation?

• 1. Could my system operate correctly (wanted
signal)?
– Required signal intensity/ quality of service over required distance/
area, given the geographic/ climatic region and time period
• 2. Could my system coexist with other systems
(unwanted signals)?
– Degradation of service quality and/ or service range/ area due to
potential radio interference?
• Will my system suffer unacceptable interference?
• Will it produce such interference to other systems?

Classical physics
• Coulomb (1736-1806) • Maxwell (1831-1879)
• Galvani (1737-1798) • Heaviside (1850-1925)
• Volta (1745-1827) • Tesla (1853-1943)
• Ampere (1775-1836) • Hertz (1857-1894)
• Faraday (1791-1867) • Popov (1859-1906)
• Henry (1791-1878) • Marconi (1874-1937)

What is EM field?
• A pair of vectors E and H
– (Magnitude, Direction, Orientation)
• Varying in time and space
– Six numbers at every point:
• Ex(x,y,z,t), Ey(x,y,z,t), Ez(x,y,z,t)
• Hx(x,y,z,t), HY(x,y,z,t), HZ(x,y,z,t)
• An antenna produces a field that is approximately a plane wave far from
the antenna in its far-field region
– E ⊥ H ⊥ direction of wave propagation
– E/H = 120π (~377) Ω - wave impedance
• [E] = V/m, [H] = A/m
c[m / s] 3 108 300
   : wavelength
F [ Hz] F [ Hz] F[ MHz]

Polarization
• It’s the orientation of the wave's electric field at a
point in space
Linear polarization Circular polarization

Radio propagation
• Radio propagation is the behavior of radio waves when they are
transmitted, or propagated from one point on the Earth to another, or into
various parts of the atmosphere.
• Affected by :
– The phenomena of Reflection, refraction, diffraction, absorption and scattering.
– The daily changes of water vapor in the troposphere and ionization in the upper
atmosphere due to the Sun
• Radio waves at different frequencies propagate in different way

Propagation effects: long-term modes

Propagation effects: short-term modes

Anomalous (short-term) interference propagation mechanisms

Propagation effects
Reflection Scattering Refraction
• the abrupt change in direction of a wave •a phenomenon in which the direction (or Redirection of a wavefront passing
front at an interface between two dissimilar polarization) of the wave is changed when through a medium having a
media so that the wave front returns into the the wave encounters propagation medium refractive index that is a
medium from which it originated. discontinuities smaller than the wavelength continuous function of position
•Reflecting object is large compared to (e.g. foliage, …) (e.g., a graded-index optical fibre,
wavelength. •Results in a disordered or random change or earth atmosphere) or through a
in the energy distribution boundary between two dissimilar
media
Diffraction Absorption
The mechanism the waves spread as •The conversion of the transmitted EM energy into another
they pass barriers in obstructed radio form, usually thermal.
path (through openings or around •The conversion takes place as a result of interaction
between the incident energy and the material medium, at the
barriers)
molecular or atomic level.
P.526 : Propagation by diffraction -
•One cause of signal attenuation due to walls, precipitations
Approved in 2009-10 (rain, snow, sand) and atmospheric gases

Ionospheric “reflections”
• The ionosphere is transparent for
• microwaves but reflects HF waves
• There are various ionospheric
layers (D, E,F1, F2, etc.) at various
heights (50 – 300 km)
• Over-horizon communication
range: several thousand km
• Suffers from fading
• Ionospheric reflectivity depends
on time, frequency of incident
wave, electron density, solar
activity, etc. Difficult to predict
with precision

Ducting
• When ducting occurs, signals travel along and
within the inversion layer, reflected off its
boundarie
• Ducting effects occur primarily because
of temperature inversions at a height of
between 500m and 1500m, and occasionally up
to 3000m. Such inversions are not caused by
local "weather" or terrain, but rather by climatic
conditions
• radio signals:
– are bent by atmospheric refraction
– are guided or ducted
– tend to follow the curvature of the Earth,
– experience less attenuation in the ducts than they
would if the ducts were not present
• It also causes long distance propagation
of radio signals in bands that would normally be
limited to line of sight

Ducting and Range Limitation

• The earth’s curvature limits the maximum range to be
achieved
• The maximum cell range can be calculated with Equation
below
– approximately 40 km with an 80 m antenna high assuming that the terminal is at ground
level.
– To achieve 100 km cell range, the required antenna height is 580 m!!!
• Ducting helps improve the range of radio sites
R 2  d 2  ( R  h) 2
R = 8650 km
(Effective earth radius for radio propagation h  R2  d 2  R
is 4/3 larger than real radius)

Latency & frequency shift

• Consequences of limited velocity of radio wave:
– Received wave is delayed due to the travel time
– Received wave frequency is shifted due to Doppler effect (if
transmitter or receiver move)
Doppler effect: the apparent
change in frequency of a
wave that is perceived by an
observer
moving relative to the
source of the wave

Quiz
• What is latency of signals
– From HAPS (dist. 20 km)?
– From International Space Station (360 km)?
– From a geostationary satellite (36000 km)?
• What is Doppler shift of 3 GHz signal received at a
fixed station From :
– a car (100 km/h)?
– jet aircraft (1000 km/h)?

Contents
3 Coverage planning
4 Gap fillers

What is propagation model?

• A propagation model :
– describes the average signal propagation, and it converts the maximum allowed propagation loss to
the maximum cell range.
– Is a relation between the signal radiated and signal received as a function of distance and other
variables
• It depends on:
– Environment : urban, rural, dense urban, suburban, open, forest, sea…
– Distance, Frequency, atmospheric conditions, Indoor/outdoor
• Different models
– different environments (indoor-outdoor; land-sea-space; … )
– Different applications (point-to-point, point-to-area, …)
– Different frequency ranges
• Recommendation ITU-R P.1144-5 (10/2009)
– Guide to the application of the propagation methods of Radiocommunication Study Group 3
– It advises users on the most appropriate methods for particular applications as well as the limits,
required input information, and output for each of these methods.

Free space propagation

• ITU-R P.525 : Calculation of free-space attenuation -
Approved in 1994-08 4d
Lbf  20  log( ) [dB]
– where: 
• Lbf : free-space basic transmission loss (dB)
• d: distance
• λ: wavelength, and
• d and λ are expressed in the same unit.
OR
Lbf  32.4  20  log( f )  20  log( d ) [dB]
– where:
– f :frequency (MHz)
– d :distance (km).

LoS (Line-of-Sight) Model

• Power flow from T to R
concentrates in the 1st
Fresnel zone
• Propagation is assumed
to occur in LoS, i.e. with
negligible diffraction
phenomena if there is
no obstacle within the
first Fresnel ellipsoid.

Fresnel Zone
• Fresnel zones are loci of points of constant path
length difference of λ/2 (1800 phase difference )
– The radius of an ellipsoid at a point between the transmitter and the
receiver can be approximated by:
– or, in practical units(where f :frequency (MHz) ,d1 and d2 :the distances

(km) between TX and RX at the point where the ellipsoid radius (m) is
calculated:
T R
d1 d2

Quiz
• Max. radius of the 1st Fresnel zone:
– Frequency = 3 GHz (λ= 0.1m)
– T – R distance =4 km
• A LOS link shown in the figure was designed with
positive link budget. After deployment, no signal was
received. Why?

Okumura-Hata model
• Suited for mobile transmissions and it is based on extensive empirical
measurements
– Frequency: 150 MHz to 1500 MHz / Mobile Station Antenna Height: between 1 m and 10 m
– Base station Antenna Height: between 30 m and 200 m / Link distance: between 1 km and 20 km
• For Urban Areas

Lu  69.55  26.16 * log( f ) 13.82 * log( hB )  CH  [44.9  6.55 * log( hB )] * log( d )
– for small or medium sized city:
CH  0.8  (1.1* log( f )  0.7) * hM 1.56 * log( f )
– for large cities:
8.29 * (log(1.54 *h M ))2  1.1, if 150  f  200
CH  
3.2 * (log(11.75 * hM ))2  4.97, if 200  f  1500
Parameters Unit Significance Parameters Unit Significance
Lu dB Path loss in Urban Areas f MHz Frequency of Transmission
hB m Height of base station Antenna CH dB Antenna height correction factor
hM m Height of mobile station Antenna d km Distance between Base station and MS

Okumura-Hata model
• For Suburban Areas
– Presence of man-made structures but are not so high and dense as in
the cities
f
Lsu[dB]  Lu  2  (log( ))²  5.4
28
– Lu= Path loss in Urban Areas. [dB]

– Lsu= Path loss in suburban Areas. [dB]
– f = Frequency of Transmission. [MHz]
• For open Areas
– in open areas where no obstructions block the transmission link
Lo[dB]  Lu  4.78  (log( f ))²  18.33  log( f )  40.94

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model

• Method for point-to-area predictions for terrestrial services in the frequency
range 30 MHz to 3 000 MHz : version P.1546-4 (10/09)
– Broadcasting, land mobile, maritime mobile, and certain fixed services (e.g. P-MP)
– Applicable over land paths, sea paths and/or mixed land-sea paths
– Between 1-1 000 km length
– Effective transmitting antenna heights less than 3 000 m
– The method is based on interpolation/extrapolation from empirically derived field-strength
curves as functions of distance, antenna height, frequency and percentage time.
– The calculation procedure also includes corrections to the results obtained from this
interpolation/extrapolation to account for terrain clearance and terminal clutter obstructions.
– The propagation curves represent field-strength values for:
• 1 kW (e.r.p.) at nominal frequencies of 100, 600 and 2 000 MHz, respectively, as a function of various
parameters;
• Some curves refer to land paths, others refer to sea paths.
• Interpolation or extrapolation of the values obtained for these nominal frequency values should be used
to obtain field-strength values for any given required frequency


• Transmitting/base antenna height
– The method takes account of the effective height of the transmitting/base antenna, which is the height of the antenna above
terrain height averaged between distances of 3 to 15 km in the direction of the receiving/mobile antenna. For land paths shorter
than 15 km where the information is available the method also takes account of the height of the transmitting/base antenna
above the height of representative clutter (i.e. ground cover) at the location of the transmitting/base station
– The field strength versus distance curves are given for values of h1 of 10, 20, 37.5, 75, 150, 300, 600 and 1 200 m. For any values
of h1 in the range 10 m to 3 000 m an interpolation or extrapolation from the appropriate two curves should be used,
• Time variability
– The propagation curves represent the field-strength values exceeded for 50%, 10% and 1% of time. A method for interpolating
between these values is given.
• Mixed-path method
– In cases where the radio path is over both land and sea the estimate of mixed-path field strength should be made using the given
method
• Receiving/mobile antenna height
– h2=10m
– To allow for values of h2 different from the height represented by a curve a correction should be applied according to the
environment of the receiving/mobile antenna. The method for calculating this correction is given.
• Terrain clearance angle correction
– For land paths, improved accuracy of predicted field strengths can be obtained by taking into account terrain near the
receiving/mobile antenna, if available, by means of a terrain clearance angle.


• Location variability
– The propagation curves represent the field-strength values exceeded at 50% of
locations within any area of typically 500 m by 500 m. Location variability and the
method for calculating the correction required for percentages of location other
than 50% is given
• Equivalent basic transmission loss
– method for converting from field strength for 1 kW e.r.p. to the equivalent basic
transmission loss is given
• Variability of atmospheric refractive index
– It is known that median field strength and its variability over time varies in different
climatic regions. The field strength curves apply to temperate climates. A method
of adjusting the curves for different regions of the world based on the vertical
atmospheric refractivity gradient data associated with Recommendation ITU-R
P.453 is given

• Maximum field-strength values
– Emax = Efs [dB(μV/m)] for land paths
– Emax = Efs + Ese dB(μV/m) for sea paths
– where Efs is the free space field strength for 1 kW e.r.p. given by:
• E fs =106.9−20log(d) [dB(μV/m)]
– and Ese is an enhancement for sea curves given by:
• Ese =2.38{1−exp(−d /8.94)}log(50/t) dB
• where: d : distance (km) / t : percentage time.
• In principle any correction which increases a field strength must not be allowed
to produce values greater than these limits for the family of curves and
distance concerned.

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model - Example

Propagation model tuning

• Tune propagation model parameters using CW
drive test
• 03 steps: preparation/Propagation/processing
• 1: Test preparation
– Equipment required 3
– Antenna selection
– Channel selection
– Power setting
– Route planning
– Test site selection
• 2: Propagation test 1
– Transmitter setup
– Receiver setup
– Drive test
2
– Transmitter dismantle
• 3: Data processing
– Measurement averaging
– Report generation

Propagation model tuning - 1: Test preparation

• Equipment required • Channel selection:
– Receiver with fast scanner – should be free from occupation
• From the guard bands
• The receiver scanner rate should conform
to the Lee Criteria of 36 to 50 sample per • Other free channels according to the up-to-
date frequency plan
40 wavelength
– will need to be verified by conducting a
– CW Transmitter pre-test drive
– Base Station test antenna • It should always precede the actual CW drive
test to verify the exact free frequency to be
– Accessories : Including flexible coaxial used
cable/jumper, Power meter, GPS, • It should cover the same route of the actual
compass, altimeter propagation test
• A field strength plot is generated on the
• antenna selection: collected data to confirm the channel suitability
– an omni-directional antenna is • Power setting:

preferred – the maximum transmit power is used
– On sites with existing antenna system, it is
recommended that the transmit power be
reduced to avoid interference or inter-
modulation to other networks.

Propagation model tuning - 1: Test preparation

• Route planning: • Test site selection:
– The drive route of the data collection is planned
prior to the drive test using a detail road map – Test sites should be selected
– Eliminate duplicate route to reduce the testing so that:
time • They are distributed within the
– Each clutter is tested individually and the drive clutter under study
route for each test site is planned to map the • The height of the test site should
clutter under-study for the respective sites be representative or typical for
– It is important to collect a statistically significant the specific clutter
amount of data, typically a minimum of 300 to • Preferably not in hilly areas
400 data points are required for each clutter
category
– The data should be evenly distributed with
respect to distance from the transmitter
– In practice, the actual drive route will be
modified according to the latest development
which was not shown on the map. The actual
drive route taken should be marked on a map for
record purposes

Propagation model tuning - 2: Propagation test

• Transmitter Equipment Setup • Scanning Receiver Setup
• Test antenna location – The scanning rate of the receiver
– Free from any nearby obstacle, to should always be set to allow at least
ensure free propagation in both 36 sample per 40 wavelength to
average out the Rayleigh Fading
• horizontal and vertical dimension effect.
– For sites with existing antennas, • For example: scanning rate = 100
precaution should be taken to avoid sample/s
possible interference and/or inter- • test frequency = 600 MHz
modulation • therefore, to achieve 36 sample/40
• Transmitter installation wavelength, the max. speed is
=(40*300/600)*(100/36)=55.56
• A complete set of 360° photographs m/s=200 km/h
of the test location (at the test
height) and the antenna setup should
be taken for record

Propagation model tuning - 2: Propagation test

• Drive test – Monitor the GPS signal and
– Initiate a file to record the field strength level
measurement with an agreed throughout the test, any
naming convention extraordinary reading should
be inspected before resuming
– Maintain the drive test the test
vehicle speed according to
the pre-set scanning rate • Dismantling Equipment
– Follow the pre-plan drive – It is recommended to re-
route as closely as possible confirm the transmit power
– Insert marker wherever (as the pre-set value) before
necessary during the test to dismantling the transmitter
indicate special locations such setup
as potential interferer etc.

Propagation model tuning - 3:Data Processing

• Data Averaging • Report Generation
– This can be done during the – The measurement data is
drive testing or during the exported into the planning
data processing stage, tool
depending on the scanner – Plots can also be generated
receiver and the associated using the processing tool or
post-processing software using MapInfo
– The bin size of the distance – During the export of the
averaging depends on the size measurement data, it is
of the human made structure important to take care of the
in the test environment coordinate system used, a
conversion is necessary if
different coordinate systems
are used

Contents
3 Coverage planning
4 Gap fillers

Coverage planning : Purpose

• For TV, universal coverage is general
• A large part of the network costs is related to the number of sites and
investments in transmitters and antennas. It is therefore important to
carefully investigate the station characteristics and optimize coverage.
• With network planning, coverage problems can be identified at an early
stage and solutions can be sought before the network is implemented.
Furthermore, network planning can be an efficient tool for consumer
marketing.
• A coverage presentation shows :
– coverage probability (in the presence of noise and interference) in the wanted service
area,
– Coverage contours and predictions
– the % of population obtaining the required coverage quality,

Coverage Planning process

Start
Regional agreements
Equipments availability Transmitting
Spectrum availability Link budget
Technology choice equipment availability
System performance evaluation
Business case System parameters

Capacity requirements
SDTV/HDTV specifics; identification Radiation characteristics
identifications (link
budget)
Planning criteria
Regional plans
Network quality identification
Conformity check Regional
Service area Coordination plans
identification
Frequency plans
Equipments and antenna characteristics
coverage presentations

Link Budget
• The link budget calculations estimate the maximum allowed
signal attenuation between the Transmitter and Receiver
antennas. The maximum path loss allows the maximum range
to be estimated with a suitable propagation model.
• The range gives the number of sites required to cover the
target geographical area.

Link Budget
dBm dBm ERP : Effective Radiated Power
ERP/EIRP [dBm]
TX Antenna gain [dBd/dBi]
TX power [dBm]
RX Cables/connectors Loss [dB]
TX Cables/connectors Loss [dB]
Corrections and margins [dB]
RX Sensitivity [dBm]

Radiation characteristics
• It’s TX power and antenna selection
– Radiation characteristics can be derived from the specifications of
each Plan entry in the GE06 Agreement (Maximum allowed in the
GE06 Agreement)
• Radiation characteristics may be limited by practical
circumstances such as mast space and the facilities at
a site.
• When more power is needed than allowed or
practically possible, power distribution by means of
an SFN can be considered
Link Budget – TX Power

• It depends on:
– Requirements: High power site, Repeater (gap filler), small/big city, highways, border site…
– Bande: UHF, VHF, L-band
– Maximum allowed in the GE06 Agreement
– National and local regulations (health hazard and EMC considerations)
• Different power classes:

– LARCAN: 1 Watt to 12kW and beyond
– Rhode and Schartz: up to 29 kW
– Thomson: up to 36 kW
– Axcera: up to 30 kW
– …
• In some cases, existing analogue transmitters can be converted to digital by:
– replacing the analogue modulation unit by a digital modulation unit and
– reducing the power amplification to obtain the required linearity for digital transmissions

Link Budget – Antennas

More tiers  more gain
• Different:
– Frequency range: UHF, VHF…
– Antenna gains,
– Antenna patterns
– Supported power
– VSWR
– Polarization
• The choice of radiation characteristics effects:
– Costs of the DTTB transmission;
• use can be made of existing installations in order
to restrict investment costs
– Coverage quality.
• within the limits of the allowed maximum radiated power,
coverage is maximized at all frequencies that are
transmitted from the site

Transmitter power and antenna gain

• Important topics to consider with regard to transmitter power
and antenna gain are:
– Trade off between transmitter power and antenna gain;
Trade-off element Generally less (-), more (+) or more or less neutral (0) contribution
Low TX power High TX power High antenna gain Low antenna gain
Investment costs - + + -
Operational costs - + 0 0
Space requirements - + + -
Reception problems near site 0 0 - +
– Horizontal antenna pattern: Non-directional/directional

Non-directional
Channel 23
directional
Channel 57


• Important topics to consider with regard to transmitter power and antenna
gain are:
– Vertical antenna pattern;
• The maximum antenna gain depends on the number of tiers of the antenna.
• More tiers result in a more directional vertical antenna pattern, a higher maximum gain, but also
more length and weight,
• hence increasing requirements for the mechanical strength of the mast.
• The gain and length of practical non-directional antennas for main stations range from:
– Band III: 2 to 15 dB; length: 1.2 to 25 m;
– Band IV/V: 7 to 18 dB; length: 2.2 to 18.5 m.
– The vertical radiation pattern shows maxima and minima (nulls), causing considerable field
strength variations within a few kilometers from the site.
• In the direction of nulls, reception may be problematic close to the transmitting site. This is more
apparent with portable, mobile or handheld RX where high field strength values are required.
• To cure reception problems near the site the following two solutions can be applied:
– 1. Null-fill, but at the cost of some additional gain;
– 2. An antenna with a lower number of tiers and consequently less gain.


• Important topics to consider with regard to transmitter
power and antenna gain are:
– Combining transmissions into one antenna.
• For economical reasons in most cases, all transmissions at a site are
combined into one antenna.
• Horizontal radiation patterns are different per frequency
• When attenuations at certain frequencies are not

acceptable and there is no space on the mast for an
additional antenna, multi-pattern antenna can be Combiner
considered. With a multi-pattern antenna, each
frequency has its own pattern, while using the same
physical antenna.
• The sum of mean power and peak voltage of all Modulator
transmitters should not exceed the allowed mean Amplifier
power and peak voltage of the antenna system.
• Combiners cause some power loss: from 0.2 to 0.7 dB
Reception modes Portable Indoor RX
• GE06 Agreement defines three reception modes:

– Fixed reception;
Fixed
– Portable reception (indoor and outdoor);
– Mobile reception.
RX
• The required minimum median field strength
values for portable, in particular portable indoor,
reception is much higher than for fixed reception. Mobile RX
• Because of the high field strength requirements, Portable outdoor RX
portable reception over large areas can, in
practice, be achieved only by means of power
distribution and use of SFNs
Difference of signal strength requirements for portable and fixed RX

Band Emed difference portable indoor - fixed RX Emed difference portable outdoor - fixed RX
III 31 dB 21 dB
IV/V 37 dB 25 dB

Reception modes
• For selecting the RX mode the following guidance can be
given:
– Public broadcasting services often have a universal coverage obligation and
require nearly full coverage. In practice, in most countries, the universal
coverage obligation is related to fixed reception.
– In situations where fixed analogue TV reception is common practice, fixed
DTTB reception is facilitated if the existing receiving antennas can be used
– In situations where (almost) no rooftop antennas are present, installing
rooftop antennas may form an obstacle for accepting DTTB services. Indoor
portable reception, at least for main population centers should then be the
aim.
– In situations where DTTB has to compete with wired services such as cable TV
or IPTV, portable reception gives an important advantage.

Coverage probability
• The percentage of locations in a small area (say 100 by 100 m) where reception is possible with a
certain receiving installation.
• When the required signal strength of analogue television is decreased below the required value,
the picture is still visible but becomes gradually noisier. For that reason it is common practice to
plan analogue TV services with a location probability of 50%. However a characteristic of digital
television is the sharp degradation of quality when the signal to noise ratio and signal to
interference ratio drop below the required values. To ensure good DTTB coverage quality, a high
percentage of receiving locations should obtain satisfactory reception.
• Coverage quality is related to the reception mode (fixed, portable, mobile) for which the service is
planned
• The minimum median field strength values (Emed) for fixed and portable reception given in the
GE06 Agreement are based on a location probability of 95%
– With 95% location probability, in general good reception can be obtained. Location percentage less than 90% may well lead
to complaints.
– For portable reception, location probabilities as low as 70% are sometimes used as a basis for coverage assessment. A
number of measures can be taken on the receiving site to improve reception. For example, it is possible to move the
receiving antenna to an optimal position.
– For mobile (vehicular) reception often a location probability 99% is chosen.

Polarization
• The choice of polarization of the transmitting antenna depends in principle on:
– The RX mode, with fixed reception generally H polarization is chosen. If portable, mobile or
handheld reception is a major requirement, V polarization is recommended because:
• Portable, mobile and handheld receiving antennas are generally vertically polarized,
• At low receiving height the field strength with V polarization is higher than with H polarization.
– The polarization of the installed rooftop antennas,
• if rooftop antennas are installed on a considerable number of houses, the polarization of these
rooftop antennas (generally horizontal) should be used, otherwise many viewers have to modify their
antenna installations.
– The need to apply orthogonal polarization between co-channel transmissions, in order to
reduce interference (polarization discrimination). However, orthogonal polarization between
main transmitting sites is not much used in practice.
– However, if existing transmitting antennas are used the polarization is given by that of the
existing antenna (generally horizontally polarized).

Calculation of minimum median field strengths

 C  1.64 ² 
E min  10  log10 (kTBF )    G  10  log10 ( )  Lf  120  10  log 10(120 )
 N  4 
Emed  E min  Pmmm  Cl for fixed reception
Emed  E min  Pmmm  Cl  Lh for portable outdoor and mobile RX
Aa
Ps min min Emed  E min  Pmmm  Cl  Lh  Lb for portable indoor RX
C
Emin : min field strength at the location of the RX antenna (dB(µV/m)) : RF SNR at the RX input required by thesystem(dB)
N
Emed : min median field strength (dB(µV/m)) Aa : effective antenna aperture (dBm²)
Pmmn : allowance for man - made noise (dB) G : antenna gain related to half dipole (dBd)
Ps min : minimum receiver input power (dBW)  : wavelengt h of the signal (m)
min : minimum power flux - density at receiving place (dBW/m²) Lf : feeder loss (dB), F : Receiver noise figure (dB)
k : Boltzmann’s constant (k  1.38  10 – 23 J/K)
Cl : location correction factor (dB)
T0 : absolute temperature (T0  290 K)
Lh : height loss correction factor (RX antenna at 1.5 m AGL (dB))
B : RX noise BW  6.66  106 Hz for 7 M Hz, 7.61  106 Hz for 8 M Hz
Lb : mean building entry loss (dB)
 7.77 x 106 for 8 M Hz (extended, DVB - T2)
c : combined standard deviation (dB)
m : standard deviation macro - scale (dB) (m  5.5 dB)
b : standard deviation building entry loss (dB) Cl    c
µ : distribution factor (0.52 for 70%, 1.64 for 95% and 2.33 for 99%) c  b²  m²

Calculation of minimum median field strengths - Example
System parameters DVB-T Receiver parameters
FFT size 8K Receiving condition Fixed
Modulation 64-QAM Noise factor (dB) 7
Code rate 2/3 Man-made noise margin 0

(dB)
Guard interval 1/4
Antenna gain (dBd) 10.1
System bandwidth (MHz) 8
Feeder loss (dB) 3.1
Signal bandwidth (MHz) 7.61
Antenna height (m) 10
Required C/N (dB)
Rice 19.5
Outdoor standard deviation (dB): 5.5
Rayleigh 21.8

Calculation of minimum median field strengths - Example

Emed 10m, 95% of locations, Fixed RX mode
58.0
57.0
56.0
55.0
54.0
5.1 dB
dBµV/m
53.0
52.0
51.0
50.0
49.0
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69
Channels 21  69
Emed 10m, 95% of locations, Fixed RX mode
Note: 0.06 dB between 7.77 MHz and 7.61 MHz

Network planning results

• Coverage presentations showing for the chosen reception mode:
– Site locations
– Coverage probability (in the presence of noise and interference) in the wanted service area;
– Population obtaining the required coverage quality.
• Lists of characteristics of each station including:
– Maximum effective radiated power (ERP);
– Horizontal and vertical antenna pattern;
– Antenna height;
– Site location;
– System variant and bit rate of the multiplex.
• These data are the bases for :
– predicting transmission costs, potential number of customers and
– number of services and picture and sound quality of the planned network.
– Network Roll-out

Trade-off between network roll-out speed, network costs and

network quality
• Roll-out speed, networks costs and network quality are interrelated and an
optimal balance should be chosen. Good indoor and
mobile reception
Speed Speed Speed in and around
5 5 5 main population
Phase 1 Phase 1 centers, with
Good coverage of main Roll out of a few MUX with similar new sites to
Phase 2 4 4
coverage as for analogue TV, before 4 obtain better
population centers with
many MUX ASAP ASO and service interruptions due to coverage in
Phase 1 3 3 equipment failure or maintenance are 3 SFN.
Phase 2
Network roll-out is slower acceptable. Site
2 and poor coverage in areas 2 Phase 2 2 acquisition, takes
without competition is After ASO gradually more MUXs will a long time and
1 acceptable. 1 be rolled out and better service 1 slow network
availability will be obtained rollout is
0 0 0 acceptable
Quality Quality Quality
Cost Cost Cost

Contents
3 Coverage planning
4 Gap fillers

Gap filler Overview

• Also called Fill-in transmitters, repeaters.
• Low power transmitters used for coverage
of small areas with poor reception from a
main transmitter.
• Mainly used in complex outdoor
environments or complex terrains such as
mountains, Underground locations,
highways, villages, railways…
• Often have a directional antenna diagram.
•  Consequently a fill-in transmitter has
limited interference potential to other TV
coverage areas. For this reason and
because the coverage area of a fill-in
transmitter is in general shielded from
other transmitters, frequency reuse
distances can be relatively small.

Gap Filler Working principles

• Are mainly fed off-air from a main
transmitter
• The received signal is down-
converted to IF and reconverted
to the required transmission
frequency.
• The transmission frequency can
be different from the received
frequency or the same. In the
latter case the fill-in transmitter
operates as SFN with the main
transmitter.

Gap Filler Working principles

• 2 cases:
– Use MFN: no technical limitation in radiated power.
– Use SFN:
• To prevent oscillation, the gain of the fill-in transmitting equipment must be lower than the
measured feedback. Measured isolation values range from about 60 to 110 dB
• A safety margin of 10 dB is applied to the isolation value in order to allow for time variations.
Modern fill-in transmitter equipment allows amplification of 10 to 15 dB above the isolation value.
• The isolation can be improved by:
– Larger separation between receiving and transmitting antenna;
– Increased receiving and transmitting antenna directivity;
– Use of orthogonal polarization between input and output signal.
• If the radiated power is not sufficient to cover the area:
– either a TX frequency different from the RX frequency should be used (MFN) if available, or
– the fill-in should be fed by microwave link, satellite or cable. In this case, the fill in
transmitter should be equipped with a modulator.

Gap Fillers Implementation

• Detailed coverage assessment will identify
the areas where fill-in transmitters are Element Fill-in TX
needed.
• A sufficiently strong input signal should be Measured input signal (Pi) -75 dBW
received. An input level above -55 dBm is
generally needed to ensure a good quality Measured isolation minus 10 dB safety margin (I) 65 dB
output signal. In order to obtain such
input values, LoS between the main TX Gain margin (Gm) 10 dB
antenna and the RX antenna of the fill in
station is likely to be required. Maximum gain (I + Gm) 75 dB
• For SFN Care must be taken to ensure
sufficient isolation between input and Output power (Po = Pi + I + Gm) 0 dBW
output signal. The output power depends
on isolation value. Transmitting antenna gain minus cable loss (Gt) 10 dB
• For that reason measurements and
possibly adjustments are needed at each Allowed radiated power (ERP = Po + Gt) 10 dBW
site and at each frequency before the fill- ! Experience has shown that, for DTTB, fewer fill-in
in station becomes operational. transmitters are needed than for analogue TV.

Contents
3 Coverage planning
4 Gap fillers

Example: Coverage planning and analysis

1 Site Settings
2 Propagation model Settings
3 Coverage analysis
4 Remedying Actions


1 Site Settings
3 Coverage analysis
4 Remedying Actions


1 Site Settings
3 Coverage analysis
4 Remedying Actions

Example: Coverage planning

and analysis 3D
view
1 Propagation : Site Settings
3 Coverage analysis Coverage hole

4 Remedying Actions


1 Site Settings
3 Coverage analysis
4 Remedying Actions New gap filler

Example 2: Propagation models – P.1546

Example 2: Propagation models - CRC

Example 2: Propagation models P.1546 - CRC

thank you
Hakim Ebdelli
Abdeli.Hakim@cert.mincom.tn

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ITU/BDT Arab Regional Workshop on “Transition from Analog to Digital Terrestrial

Television: “Trends ,Implementation & Opportunities ” - Tunisia 2012

Speaker M. Hakim EBDELLI

1 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Topics for discussion

2 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

1 Propagation : General Overview

5 Example: Coverage planning and analysis

3 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

4 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Why consider propagation?

5 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

6 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

7 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Linear polarization Circular polarization

8 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

9 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation effects: long-term modes

10 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation effects: short-term modes

11 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

12 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

13 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

14 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Ducting and Range Limitation

15 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Latency & frequency shift

16 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

17 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

1 Propagation : General Overview

5 Example: Coverage planning and analysis

18 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

What is propagation model?

19 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Free space propagation

20 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

LoS (Line-of-Sight) Model

21 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

– or, in practical units(where f :frequency (MHz) ,d1 and d2 :the distances

22 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

23 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

• For Urban Areas

24 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

– Lu= Path loss in Urban Areas. [dB]

25 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model

26 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model

27 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model

29 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

ITU-R P.1546 Propagation model - Example

30 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation model tuning

31 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation model tuning - 1: Test preparation

– an omni-directional antenna is • Power setting:

32 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation model tuning - 1: Test preparation

33 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn

Propagation model tuning - 2: Propagation test

34 Session 6 : Radio wave propagation and planning www.cert.tn