OK WhitePaper RadioMonitoring For SO v108

Ref.
: WP-RMON01
Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08
Date: 04/16/18
SIGFOX
Radio Monitoring
Whitepaper for SO
Version Description Auteur Date
1.08 Update Florian BAUDOU 04/16/2018
NOTICE: The contents of this document are proprietary of SIGFOX and shall not be disclosed, disseminated, copied,
or used except for purposes expressly authorized in writing by SIGFOX.
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Revision history
Rev. Date Author Change description
1.0 draft 08/04/2015 GF Creation
1.01 02/06/2015 GF Some fix and Acronyms table added
1.03 03/07/2015 GF Structure change
1.04 10/07/2015 LS Review and refactoring
1.06 29/07/2015 GF Add Internal metrics
1.07 04/02/2016 GF Precision on LNA ByPass & Voltage
1.08 04/16/2018 FB Refresh: branding, values, tools
Table of contents
1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 4
2 SBS Hardware & Signal Processing Basics ...................................................................................... 5
2.1 Simplified SBS setup............................................................................................................. 5
2.2 System Noise Floor ............................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Down-Conversion and local oscillator leakage ..................................................................... 6
2.4 Return loss & VSWR tests .................................................................................................... 7
2.4.1 What is VSWR? .................................................................................................................. 7
2.4.2 VSWR assessment for commissioning ............................................................................... 7
2.4.3 VSWR assessment for monitoring ...................................................................................... 7
2.5 Radio levels reported by SIGFOX SBS ................................................................................ 8
2.5.1 Spectrum display and noise floor ........................................................................................ 8
2.5.2 MSPEC, TAP_MEAN_SPEC minimum values ................................................................. 9
2.6 Mast preamplifier equipment .............................................................................................. 10
2.6.1 Preamplifier DC Supply implementation .......................................................................... 10
2.7 Example of a SBS in nominal conditions ............................................................................ 11
2.7.1 Operating mode - 600bps or 100bps ................................................................................. 11
2.7.2 VSWR Test........................................................................................................................ 11
2.7.3 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 100bps operation ....................................................... 11
2.7.4 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 600bps operation ....................................................... 13
3 Failure detection .............................................................................................................................. 14
3.1 Failure detection based on low MSPEC values................................................................... 14
3.2 Failure detection based on low spectrum floor values ........................................................ 14
3.3 Failure detection based on messages statistics .................................................................... 15
3.4 Failure detection based on high MSPEC values ................................................................. 16
3.5 Assumptions taken for margin computation ....................................................................... 16
NOTICE: The contents of this document are proprietary of SIGFOX and shall not be disclosed, disseminated, copied, or
used except for purposes expressly authorized in writing by SIGFOX.
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4 Root causes analysis........................................................................................................................ 17

4.1 Faulty Mast-LNA, Pre-Amp1, Pre-Amp2, or cable ............................................................ 17
4.2 Symmetric Spectrum (Transfox-related Issue) .................................................................... 18
4.3 Saturation Phenomenon ....................................................................................................... 18
4.4 Software freeze .................................................................................................................... 19
4.5 Inappropriate radio environment & blocking ...................................................................... 19
4.5.1 Harmless interferers .......................................................................................................... 19
4.5.2 Non-critical interferers ...................................................................................................... 20
4.5.3 Critical interferers ............................................................................................................. 20
5 ANNEX: Acronyms and definitions ............................................................................................... 21
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1 Introduction
This document presents radio-level monitoring of the SIGFOX Network. It contains technical basics related
to telecom, signal processing, as well as Sigfox Base Station hardware (a.k.a “SBS”) which are necessary to
perform failure detection and root cause analysis.
This introduction section presents hardware and firmware elements to be checked, in order to apply radio
monitoring methodology and use quantitative criteria presented in the next parts of this document.
Section 2 illustrates SIGFOX SBS in nominal operation.
Section 3 presents quantitative Failure detection criteria, and section 4 details root cause analysis.
1. Hardware Assumptions
• Site implementation parameters (LNA gain, Cable Loss) are properly set on Backend
• SIGFOX receiver presents 4dB Noise Figure .
• System bandwidth in use is 192kHz.
2. Software Assumptions
• MSPEC values are presented in SIGFOX backend GUI.
• Receiver resolution filter is 282Hz for SIGFOX 100bps protocol (ETSI)
• Receiver resolution filter is 882Hz for SIGFOX 600bps protocol (FCC)
3. Target Audience
This document is for SO use only.
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2 SBS Hardware & Signal Processing Basics
SIGFOX Basestation software provides following information for failure detection and root cause analysis:
• Spectrum streaming;
• MSPEC data;
• VSWR;
• LNA Rx and Tx control-voltages.
2.1 Simplified SBS setup

A simplified SBS setup is given in Figure 1 with a focus on amplifier stages.
Figure 1 - Simplified SBS setup
1. The antenna feeds incoming signals to SIGFOX receiver. It contains thermal noise, interferences and
SIGFOX messages.
2. The RF signal is amplified by the Mast-LNA (approx. +20dB gain),
3. RF feeder (cable) then incurs a loss (0.1 to 6dB loss);
4. RF signal is then amplified by SBS internal amplifiers (approx. +20dB gain, each);
5. RF signal is finally down-converted to baseband, and fed to SIGFOX SDR signal processing.
▪ Amplifier stage failure results in abnormally low signal level reported by the SBS, both spectrum levels and
MSPEC values.
▪ RF feeder failure can result from:
1. Faulty DC connection (shortcut, wrong connection…): SBS does not DC supply Mast-LNA, and
incoming RF is not amplified. It results in abnormally low signal levels reported by SB (15 to 20dB
below the expected)
2. Faulty cable (e.g. due to humidity) results is abnormally high noise, and low signal levels.
2.2 System Noise Floor
Radio systems continuously receive ambient radio activity (Signals and Noise). In ideal condition, only
thermal noise is present in the ambient radio environment. While passing through the receiver active and
passive subsystems, the incoming noise is degraded by the receiver Noise Factor. The collected Noise Power
at the output of the receiver is then integrated in the system Noise Bandwidth (Resolution bandwidth).
Thermal Noise Floor at the output of the receiver can be computed by Eq. 1:
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𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 = −174 + 10log(𝐵𝑊) + 𝑁𝐹

Eq. 1 - Thermal Noise Floor computation
Where:
• Thermal Noise Floor is a power value in dBm;
• -174 is the thermal noise density at 20° (Celcius Degrees), in dBm/Hz;
• BW (in Hz) is the receiver system bandwidth over which power is integrated;
• NF is the receiver Noise Factor. NF is computed from gain and NF of all individual receiver stages,
with the Friis Formula
▪ A SBS can NOT receive signal or noise power below its own thermal noise floor. If a displayed value is
below the thermal noise floor, it indicates a potential amplification stage failure or a misconfiguration.
2.3 Down-Conversion and local oscillator leakage
SIGFOX operates in a 192kHz band at 868.13 MHz in ETSI domain. To demodulate SIGFOX signals present
on the air interface, the down-conversion of the RF 192kHz band is performed by mixing the incoming
spectrum with a 868.13 MHz carrier, as illustrated in Figure 2. A RF mixer performs a frequency subtraction
operation.
Figure 2 - Down-Conversion of the input signal
In Figure 2, the orange arrow is representing the receiver local oscillator carrier used to down-convert the
incoming RF to Baseband. Note that a small portion of the local oscillator energy is present in the baseband,
its power is usually very low (around -148 dBm), slightly below thermal noise floor described in §2.5.1.
Abnormally high residual of local oscillator in the basesand can be due to carrier leakage or to improper unit
earthing.
▪ Significant 0Hz carrier level observed on SBS spectrum display may indicate a failure.
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2.4 Return loss & VSWR tests
2.4.1 What is VSWR?
Figure 3 - VSWR simplified

During SBS transmission cycle, major part of the energy is radiated by the antenna, while a portion is reflected
by impedance discontinuities (e.g. LNA or antenna connections, matching networks). The reflected energy
combines with the transmitted signal and creates a Standing Wave along the radio path.
SIGFOX SBS is able to sense and measure voltage levels present at its RF connector. VSWR (Voltage
Standing Wave Ratio) and return loss ratio can easily be derived from these measurements (Eq. 2 & Eq. 3).
𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡
𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 20 log ( )
𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡
Eq. 2 - Return Loss (dB) formula
𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡 + 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡
𝑉𝑆𝑊𝑅 =
𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡 − 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡
Eq. 3 - VSWR formula
with:
• V Direct, the effective outgoing voltage measured at SBS connector (green arrow on Figure 3).
• V Reflect, the reflected effective voltage measured at SBS connector (red arrow on Figure 3).
2.4.2 VSWR assessment for commissioning

A VSWR test has to be performed during SBS commissioning for initial sanity assessment (with SIGFOX
AAT application). VSWR test is declared successful if VSWR is lower than 4 (linear scale).
2.4.3 VSWR assessment for monitoring

Return loss and voltages can be remotely assessed by SIGFOX Support level 2. Note that:
• V direct (absolute) value should be above 1000 mV if cable loss is above 2 dB.
• V Direct, V reflect and Return Loss are always to be compared with sample values recorded at
commissioning (stored in SIGFOX Backend).
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▪ Large reflection coefficient indicates that most power is reflected to the SBS instead of being radiated. It
points back to a faulty cable or a faulty connection on the path to the antenna.
▪ When V direct is below 1000 mV, and cable loss > 2dB, it indicates a SBS fault.
▪ Note that failure thresholds are:

- VSWR (linear scale) > 4
- Return Loss (logarithmic scale) < 4.4 dB
▪ See chapter §2.4.1 for computation methodology
2.5 Radio levels reported by SIGFOX SBS
2.5.1 Spectrum display and noise floor

Spectrum display indicates the radio levels received within the 192kHz SIGFOX macrochannel. On the
spectrum display a spectrum “pixel” size depends on selected SIGFOX protocol: “pixel” size is 282Hz for
100bps protocol and 882Hz for 600bps protocol. The “pixel” size is the noise bandwidth described in 2.2.
Figure 4 - Spectrum granularity is protocol dependent

The antenna interface collects the sum of thermal noise, interference and SIGFOX signals. This is why each
spectrum display pixel is a sum of energy as described in Eq. 4.
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑓𝑜𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑𝐵𝑚
Eq. 4 - Spectrum point computation
Spectrum display exhibits a minimal value, the reference spectrum floor. This is a theoretical minimum
spectrum floor (the thermal noise floor), calculated from thermal noise density, noise bandwidth (“pixel size”),
and Receiver Noise Factor.
𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟100𝑏𝑝𝑠 = −174 + 10log(282) + 4 = −145𝑑𝐵𝑚

𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟600𝑏𝑝𝑠 = −174 + 10log(882) + 4 = −141𝑑𝐵𝑚
Eq. 5 - 100bps and 600bps Reference Spectrum Levels
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▪ Reference Spectrum floor values are protocol-dependent (100bps or 600bps). They can be used as thresholds
for monitoring purpose, provided a reasonable accuracy is accounted for (see §3.2).
▪ Power levels inferior to the reference spectrum floor (incl. provision for accuracy) indicate potential amplifier
stage failures and reduced service area.
2.5.2 MSPEC, TAP_MEAN_SPEC minimum values

MSPEC is the total power received by a base station over the 192 kHz spectrum (power meter mode), as
illustrated on Figure 5 and detailed in Eq. 6. MSPEC value includes thermal noise, interference and SIGFOX
signals. MSPEC is also referred as “TAP_MEAN_SPEC” in backend statistic pages.
Figure 5 - MSPEC is the total integrated power received over the macro-channel
𝑀𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑓𝑜𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑𝐵𝑚
Eq. 6 - MSPEC Computation over 192 kHz
MSPEC has a theoretical reference value equal to the thermal noise floor (Eq. 6 & §2.7.3). Eq. 7 provides this
reference value for a 192kHz macrochannel and a 4dB noise figure.
𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑀𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶 = (−174 + 10log(192000) + 4) + 0 + 0 = −117𝑑𝐵𝑚
Eq. 7 - MSPEC reference value (in dBm)
▪ MSPEC reference value is protocol-independent (100bps or 600bps). This reference value can be used as
threshold for monitoring purpose, provided a reasonable accuracy is accounted for (see §3.1).
▪ MSPEC levels inferior to the MSPEC reference value (incl. provision for accuracy) indicate a potential
amplifier stage failure (see §3.1) with resulting reduced service area.
▪ MSPEC reference value and reference Spectrum Floor level are not equal.
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2.6 Mast preamplifier equipment
2.6.1 Preamplifier DC Supply implementation

This section describes how mast preamplifier equipment is DC supplied by a SBS.
Figure 6 - Mast-LNA DC Power Supply
Figure 6:
1. SBS backboard subsystem supplies DC control voltage (8V or 12V);
2. Control voltage is fed to the Power Amplifier-Board;
3. DC is supplied to the Mast-LNA over the RF cable.
SIGFOX mast-preamplifier has two operating modes, mode switch is controlled by DC voltage level step:
• Rx Mode is active when DC voltage is above 10V (ideally 11V-13V on SBS).

The Mast equipment filters and amplifies the signal.
• Tx Mode is active when DC voltage is below 10V (ideally 7V-9V on SBS).
LNA is bypassed. The mast equipment forwards the incoming signal.
This mode is active during SBS emission (Downlink, VSWR), or on demand for
diagnosis purpose by SIGFOX Support level 2.
▪ When LNA receives improper DC voltage, it cannot perform normal operation. Therefore, MSPEC and
Spectrum floor values are decreased. Cell service area is impacted.
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2.7 Example of a SBS in nominal conditions

This section illustrates spectrum display, MSPEC statistics and VSWR tests for a SBS in nominal operation
and a calm radio activity.
2.7.1 Operating mode - 600bps or 100bps
SIGFOX operates networks in countries with different regulatory constraints (FCC, ETSI, …), and has
developed protocol variants (100bps or 600bps) that can be selected independently from the operating center
frequency.
Note that the backend SBS information page indicates the equipment operating protocol (Bit rate) in use under
“Configuration information” field:
2.7.2 VSWR Test

Example of good VSWR assessment for a site with proper impedance matching is given in Figure 7.
Figure 7 - VSWR assessment
• V direct is above 1000mV, indicating properly amplified Tx signal;

• Return loss is high, indicating that most of the Tx energy is radiated over the air.
2.7.3 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 100bps operation

Under nominal operating condition and no interferer on the radio interface, spectrum display and MSPEC are
as follows for 100bps operation:
• Noise Floor is -145 dBm;
• spectrum display is slightly convex, due to the 192kHz analog filter;
• MSPEC is -123 dBm (approx. 6 dB lower than the reference value, see §3.1);
• the 868.13MHz carrier is not present;
• MSPEC presents slight variations, which is normal.
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Figure 8 - MSPEC and Spectrum Display for a 100bps calm radio interface
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2.7.4 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 600bps operation

Under nominal operating condition and no interferer on the radio interface, spectrum display and MSPEC are
as follows for 600bps operation:
• Noise Floor is -141 dBm;
• spectrum is slightly convex, due to the 192kHz analog filter;
• MSPEC varies between -117dBm and -105dBm (radio activity varies with time);
• spectrum granularity is grosser than for 100bps protocol, which is normal.
Figure 9 - MSPEC and spectrum display for a calm spectrum @600bps
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3 Failure detection
3.1 Failure detection based on low MSPEC values
With reported values below thermal noise floor, a failure in the amplification chain is possible, resulting in cell
service area reduction.
Thresholds for failure detections based on MSPEC have to take into account accuracy of MSPEC value, which
is tainted by imperfect LNA gains, cable losses, receiver conversion gain (sensitive to hardware variability).
𝑀𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑀𝑖𝑛 = −117𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = −126𝑑𝐵𝑚

Eq. 8 - MSPEC thresholds for monitoring alerts
Hence, there is a 9dB margin below the theoretical minimum value.
The Base Station BIT (Built-In Test) will trigger an alert in case of MSPEC value below this threshold:
▪ When a backend MSPEC value is below -126dBm, it potentially indicates that Mast-LNA, internal amplifiers,
or the RF cable, is faulty. Refer to §4.1 for root cause analysis.
▪ When a backend MSPEC value is between -126dBm and -117dBm, it is necessary to cross-check backend
SBS parameters values (LNA gain and cable loss).
▪ When a backend MSPEC value is at -200dBm, it indicates a SDR computation error, it may come from:
- The Transfox (radio block) is no more detected by the SBS, this error can be seen on the
“TRANSCEIVER_CONNECTION” CBIT as follows:
- The SDR did not retrieve enough values to be able to compute the real MSPEC, this can be assessed
through the “MSPEC_SOFTWARE_FAILURE” CBIT:
3.2 Failure detection based on low spectrum floor values
With reported values below thermal noise floor, a failure in the amplification chain is possible, resulting in cell
service area reduction.
Thresholds for failure detections based on Spectrum floor have to take into account accuracy of spectrum
levels.
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟100𝑏𝑝𝑠𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑀𝑖𝑛 = −145𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑅𝑥𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = −155𝑑𝐵𝑚
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟600𝑏𝑝𝑠𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑀𝑖𝑛 = −141𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑅𝑥𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = −151𝑑𝐵𝑚
Eq. 9 - Spectrum Floor practical thresholds to radio-monitor SIGFOX network
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▪ When Spectrum displayed levels are below the Spectrum floor threshold, it potentially indicates a fault in
Mast-LNA, internal amplifiers, or RF cable. Refer to §4.1 for root cause analysis.
▪ When Spectrum displayed levels are up to 10dB below the spectrum floor threshold, SBS parameters values
have to be cross-checked (LNA gain and cable loss).
3.3 Failure detection based on messages statistics
A fault can be detected by analyzing SBS traffic statistics. On an hourly basis, drop of number of messages
potentially indicates service reduction. Due to fluctuation in hourly messages collection, the number of unique
devices on a daily basis may also be a good indicator.
▪ Sharp drop in unique devices count is unusual
▪ A correlation often exists between SBS statistics and MSPEC variations:

▪ A strong MSPEC drop indicates a hardware failure, which causes service degradation (see Figure 10).
▪ A MSPEC raise indicate interferers appearance, which can cause service degradation (see Figure 11)
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Figure 10 - Drop of received devices number due to amplification failure (MSPEC drop)
Figure 11 - Drop of messages number due to local interferer (MSPEC raise)
3.4 Failure detection based on high MSPEC values

Upper MSPEC threshold cannot be defined unambiguously: a -90dBm MSPEC indicates strong signal
condition, but does not cause identical service degradations as described in §4.5. Expert spectrum diagnosis is
required, please contact SIGFOX support.
3.5 Assumptions taken for margin computation
The following hypothesis are considered to margins definition:

• Backend parameter margin consists in the cable loss: a +/-1.5dB margin applies.
• RxGain margin: NF=4dB +/-0.5dB, SBS +/-2dB, LNA=22dB +/-1dB, for a total of 3.5dB margin.
• Computation margin: on TAPOS v2.9.5 and below, power computation is biased (+/-5dB).
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4 Root causes analysis

This section explains the different possible root causes.
4.1 Faulty Mast-LNA, Pre-Amp1, Pre-Amp2, or cable
Main symptoms: MSPEC or spectrum levels are below thresholds described in §2.5.1 and §2.5.2.
Secondary symptoms: Sunken spectrum phenomenon (see Figure 14), messages statistics.
Failure validation:
• Check SBS Unique Devices variations and messages count over time. Unique Devices sharp decrease
indicates a failure.
• Find correlation between MSPEC variations and messages statistics.
Request further diagnosis from SIGFOX Support level 2:
• Bypassing individual amplification stages.
If a bypassing action has no effect, the considered amplifier is faulty or the cable/connection is faulty.
Analysis: Once the failure is confirmed, the following analysis trees are used to failure diagnosis. Please note
that only expert assessment can 100% validate the causes. Level 2 LNA voltage and gain check is operated by
SIGFOX Support.
Figure 12 - Amplification stage main failure analysis Tree
Figure 13 - LNA Gain & Voltage Analysis Tree
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Figure 14 - Sunken Spectrum, as secondary symptom
4.2 Symmetric Spectrum (Transfox-related Issue)
Figure 15 - Symmetric Spectrum Trouble

Main symptom: permanent symmetric spectrum
Analysis: this a hardware problem, digital I or Q channel are not correctly fed to the SIGFOX SDR.
4.3 Saturation Phenomenon
Main symptom: spectrum replica and noise floor increase (see Figure 17). TSBS is still able to demodulate
SIGFOX frames but service area is significantly reduced.
Analysis: Under strong signal condition, SBS receiver can enter non-linear operation.
Actions: Please contact SIGFOX Support for Level 2 diagnosis.
Figure 17 - Saturation causes intermodulation products and spectrum replica
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4.4 Software freeze
Main symptom: -165 dBm and below MSPEC values on the backend, service is unavailable.
Analysis: SIGFOX SDR does not receive any digital sample, this is a software issue.
Actions: A software restart can be performed using the “Restart” button available on the SBS information
page:
If problem persists, please contact SIGFOX Support for Level 2 diagnosis.
4.5 Inappropriate radio environment & blocking
Main symptom: -90 dBm and above MSPEC values on backend statistics page.
Secondary symptom: -120 dBm and above spectrum floor values on spectrum display.
Analysis:
• observe spectrum on near SBSs. If strong interferer is not present on near SBSs, this is a site interferer
or a self-generated noise.
• observe radio activity with spectrum display and waterfall display. Service degradation severity
depends on interferers properties, as illustrated in the following examples.
4.5.1 Harmless interferers

The following spectrum is mainly flat and allows a good service. However, the waterfall indicated a very strong
and temporary -50dBm interferer that strongly increases MSPEC value.
This kind of interference has very few impact on service as it is temporary and SIGFOX protocols emits 3
frames on different frequencies and timeslots and can be received by other SBSs in the area.
Figure 18 - A -85dBm MSPEC can be due to a short -50dBm periodic interferer (seen on waterfall).
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4.5.2 Non-critical interferers

Even if the below spectrum reflects a SBS which is suffering from strong in-band interferer, this is still non-
critical as it affects only a sub-part of the whole SIGFOX band.
Figure 19 - SBS experiences strong interferers, service area is not critically impacted.
4.5.3 Critical interferers

The below spectrum shows a highly-interfered SBS which is suffering from a significant spectrum floor noise
rise, either due to wideband injection, in-band injection or high-power nearby interferer.
Figure 20 - SBS service is critically degraded
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5 ANNEX: Acronyms and definitions
Acronym Definition
bps bit per second
BW Bandwidth
dBm decibel per milliwatt
DC Direct Current
ETSI European Telecommunications Standard Institute
FCC Federal Communications Commission
HW Hardware
LNA Low Noise Amplifier
LO Local Oscillator
MSPEC Mean SPECTtrum: measured power over SBS system bandwidth, in dBm
NF Noise Figure
PA Power Amplifier
RF Radio-Frequency
Rx Receive
SBS SIGFOX Base Station
SDR Software Defined Radio
TAP Transfox Access Point: legacy SIGFOX Base Station name
TAP OS SBS Operating System
TAP_MEAN_SPEC MSPEC for a specific SBS, as seen on Backend server.
Tx Transmit
VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
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Version Description Auteur Date

1.08 Update Florian BAUDOU 04/16/2018

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

4 Root causes analysis........................................................................................................................ 17

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2 SBS Hardware & Signal Processing Basics

2.1 Simplified SBS setup

Figure 1 - Simplified SBS setup

▪ RF feeder failure can result from:

2.2 System Noise Floor

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 = −174 + 10log(𝐵𝑊) + 𝑁𝐹

2.3 Down-Conversion and local oscillator leakage

Figure 2 - Down-Conversion of the input signal

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2.4 Return loss & VSWR tests

2.4.1 What is VSWR?

Figure 3 - VSWR simplified

2.4.2 VSWR assessment for commissioning

2.4.3 VSWR assessment for monitoring

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

▪ Note that failure thresholds are:

▪ See chapter §2.4.1 for computation methodology

2.5 Radio levels reported by SIGFOX SBS

2.5.1 Spectrum display and noise floor

Figure 4 - Spectrum granularity is protocol dependent

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑓𝑜𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑𝐵𝑚

Eq. 4 - Spectrum point computation

𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟100𝑏𝑝𝑠 = −174 + 10log(282) + 4 = −145𝑑𝐵𝑚

Eq. 5 - 100bps and 600bps Reference Spectrum Levels

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2.5.2 MSPEC, TAP_MEAN_SPEC minimum values

𝑀𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑁𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟𝑑𝐵𝑚 + 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑓𝑜𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑𝐵𝑚

Eq. 6 - MSPEC Computation over 192 kHz

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2.6 Mast preamplifier equipment

2.6.1 Preamplifier DC Supply implementation

Figure 6 - Mast-LNA DC Power Supply

• Rx Mode is active when DC voltage is above 10V (ideally 11V-13V on SBS).

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2.7 Example of a SBS in nominal conditions

2.7.2 VSWR Test

Figure 7 - VSWR assessment

• V direct is above 1000mV, indicating properly amplified Tx signal;

2.7.3 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 100bps operation

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

2.7.4 Spectrum display and MSPEC for 600bps operation

Figure 9 - MSPEC and spectrum display for a calm spectrum @600bps

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

3.2 Failure detection based on low spectrum floor values

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟100𝑏𝑝𝑠𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑀𝑖𝑛 = −145𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑅𝑥𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = −155𝑑𝐵𝑚

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟600𝑏𝑝𝑠𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑀𝑖𝑛 = −141𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦𝑅𝑥𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = −151𝑑𝐵𝑚

Eq. 9 - Spectrum Floor practical thresholds to radio-monitor SIGFOX network

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08

3.3 Failure detection based on messages statistics

▪ Sharp drop in unique devices count is unusual

▪ A correlation often exists between SBS statistics and MSPEC variations:

Radio Monitoring Whitepaper Rev.:1.08