Lecture 3

Communications Systems
Mobile Cellular Communications Systems
Lecture Outline

 Improving Cellular System Capacity

◼ Cell splitting
◼ Sectoring
◼ Microcell-zone concept

 Fading

 Radio Signal Propagation

◼ Reflections (two-ray model)
◼ Diffraction
◼ Scattering

 Path-loss models
2
I. Improving Cellular System Capacity

 As the demand on wireless service increases, the number of

channels eventually becomes insufficient.

◼ Need to provide more channels per unit coverage area

◼ Would like to have orderly growth
◼ Would like to upgrade the system instead of rebuild
◼ Would like to use existing towers as much as possible

 Techniques to improve system capacity

✓ A- Cell splitting
◼ B- Sectoring
◼ C- Microcell-zone concept

3
B - Sectoring

 Capacity is improved by reducing

co-channel interference which allows for
reducing cluster size (N) → increasing
frequency reuse → (C) increased

 Cell radius (R) is kept unchanged, but

Interference is reduced by sectoring

 The group of channels at each cell is

split into three/six sectors using directional
antennas.
Sectoring
 The factor by which co-channel interference is reduced depends on the
amount of sectoring used

 Cell channels broken down into sectored groups (three or six)

 3 sectors → 3 120° antennas
 6 sectors → 6 60° antennas

 CCI is reduced because only some of neighboring co-channel

cells radiate energy in direction of the main cell

5
How co-channel interference is reduced by
sectoring

 center cell labeled "5" has all co-

channel cells illustrated

 only two co-channel cells, rather

than six, would interfere if all are
using 120° sectoring

 only one co-channel cell would

interfere when using 60° sectoring

6
How is capacity increased (VI)?

◼ sectoring only improves SIR which increases voice quality,

beyond what is necessary

◼ by reducing CCI ↓, the cell system designer can choose

smaller cluster size (N ↓) for acceptable voice quality

◼ smaller N → greater frequency reuse → larger system

capacity (C)

◼ The minimum required 𝑆𝐼𝑅 = 18 𝑑𝐵 can be easily achieved

with 7-cell reuse in 120𝑜 sectoring, compared to 12-cell
reuse in the unescorted case

◼ Capacity improvement by a factor of 12/7 or 1.714.

7
Advantage of sectoring

✓ Increased capacity

✓ much less costly than cell splitting

◼ only require more antennas at base station vs. multiple new base
stations for cell splitting

8
 Disadvantages of sectoring

❑ primary disadvantage is that the available channels in a cell are

subdivided into sectored groups
◼ Number of trunked channel pool is decreased, therefore
trunking efficiency is decreased

 must design network coverage with sectoring decided in advance

 can’t effectively use sectoring to increase capacity after setting

cluster size N and CANNOT be used to gradually expand capacity
as traffic increases like cell splitting

 More Handoffs between sectors, because sectoring reduces the

coverage area. (not a major concern, because hand off is completed
by the BS without the intervention from the MSC)
9
 Example

 Consider a cellular system, the average call is 𝑯 = 𝟐 𝒎𝒊𝒏. The probability

of blocking 𝑷𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 ≤ 𝟏%. Assume that every subscriber makes one call
per hour on average 𝝀 = 𝟏. If there are 395 traffic channels for 7-cell reuse
system. Assume Erlang B distribution, determine the decrease in trunking
efficiency if 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒐 sectoring is used?

Solution:

2
Traffic intensity per user 𝐴𝑢 = 𝜆𝐻 = 1 × = 0.033 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠
60
395
 Without sectoring: the number of channels per cell = = 57 channels/cell.
7
For GoS=0.01, from Erlang B chart, the total offered traffic 𝐴 = 44.2 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠
𝐴 44.2
The total number of users 𝑈 = = = 1326 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑠 → 𝟏𝟑𝟐𝟔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔/𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓
𝐴𝑢 0.033

10
 57
 With 120 sectoring: the number of channels per sector = = 19
3
From Erlang B chart, each sector can handle 𝐴 = 11.2 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠 →
336 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟.
Each cell can handle 𝟑 × 𝟑𝟑𝟔 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟖 calls/hour

Which is 24% decrease in trunking efficiency compared to the unescorted

cell

11
 Cell splitting and Sectoring
Cell splitting sectoring
Reason for Capacity improvement is achieved Sectoring reduces co-channel
improving by down-scaling the system→ interference → allows reducing the
capacity Increases the number of channels per number of cells/cluster → more
unit area by using smaller sells frequency reuse → increases capacity

Cell-radius (R) decreased unchanged

Co-channel reuse Q=D/R: unchanged CCI is decreased, N is decreased →
factor Q Q=D/R: decreased → Number of cells in
a cluster is decreased → more frequency
reuse → capacity increased

Transmit Power Reduced power in micorcells Power remains unchanged

Tx
SIR unchanged increased

Trunking Increased because of increased Decreased because channels are split

efficiency number of channels/ unit area between sectors

scalability Scalable Not scalable

12
C. Microcell-Zone Concept

 Hybrid between cell-splitting & sectoring

 Each cell is composed of three/or more-zones (microcells)

13
 C. Zone Microcell Concept
 Multiple microcell zones and a single BS makeup a cell
 Each zone has its own Tx/Rx at the cell edge
 Zones are connected to the same BS and share the same radio equipment.
 Zones are connected to the same BS by coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, or a
microwave link.

14
 C. Zone Microcell Concept
 As the mobile travels through the cell, it is served by the zone which has
the strongest signal.

 The mobile keeps the same channel, unlike sectoring, while moving
from one zone to another. No handoff is required.

 The BS simply switches the same channel to the new zone site.

 This is superior to sectoring since

◼ Zone antennas are placed at the cell edge instead of the center of the cell →
localized radiation → less interference
◼ Any BS channel maybe assigned to any zone → no decrease in trunking
efficiency.
 A given channel is active only in the particular zone in which the mobile
is located→ BS radiation is localized, and interference is reduced,
15
 Advantages of zone microcell concept
 Reduced CCI: central BS is replaced by several low-power transmitters
ON THE ZONE EDGE

 No degradation in trunking efficiency because the pool of channel is

kept the same. 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚

 Increased capacity

 Link performance is
determined by co-channel zones
𝑫𝒛 , 𝑹𝒛 → 𝑺𝑰𝑹
𝑺𝑰𝑹

 System capacity is
determined by co-channel cells
𝑫, 𝑹 → 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 16
 Zone Microcell and Capacity
 The conventional 7-cell reuse system achieves satisfactory performance
𝐷
with 𝑆𝐼𝑅 = 18 𝑑𝐵 → 𝑄 = = 4.6
𝑅

 In zone microcell system, link performance (SIR) is determined by the

𝐷
distance between co-channel zones 𝑧 = 4.6 , achieves SIR=18 dB
𝑅𝑧

 However, system capacity is determined by co-channel cells, from figure

𝐷
geometry → = 3, which corresponds to cluster size 𝑁 = 3
𝑅
7
→ = 2.33 increase in system capacity.
3
For the same SIR=18 dB, capacity has increased by 2.33 due to
microcell-zone concept. The effective cluster size (N) has decreased →
increased frequency reuse → increased capacity

17
Mobile Radio Propagation

18
II. Problems Unique to Wireless (not wired) systems:

 Paths can vary from simple line-of-sight (LOS) to ones that are
severely obstructed by buildings, mountains, and foliage.

 Radio channels are extremely random and difficult to analyze.

https://rfmw.em.keysight.com/wireless/helpfiles/n5106a/about_fading.htm

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 Interference from other service providers
◼ out-of-band & non-linear Tx emissions

 Interference from other users (same network)

◼ CCI due to frequency reuse
◼ ACI due to Tx/Rx design limitations & large number of users
sharing finite BW

 Reflection, diffraction and Shadowing

◼ Obstructions to line-of-sight paths cause
areas of weak received signal strength

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III. Radio Signal Propagation

21
 The smoothed line is the average signal strength. The actual is the
more jagged line.
 Actual received signal strength can vary by more than 20 dB over
a few centimeters.
 The average signal strength decays with distance from the
transmitter and depends on terrain and obstructions.

22
 Fading: Good & Bad !!

 When NO clear LOS path exists, signals are received that are
reflections off obstructions and diffractions around obstructions
 Multipath signals can be received that interfere with each other
causing inter-symbol interference (ISI)
 Wireless Channel → random & unpredictable
 must be characterized in a statistical fashion
 field measurements often needed to characterize radio channel
performance

23
Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI)
Transmission
signal 1 1
Time
0

Received signal
(short delay)
Time

Propagation time
Delayed signals
Received signal
(long delay)
Time

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◼ urban area w/ many buildings distributed over large spatial scale
 large # of strong multipath signals with only a few having a large time delay

◼ suburb with nearby office park or shopping mall:

 moderate # of strong multipath signals with small to moderate delay times

◼ Rural:
 few multipath signals (LOS + ground reflection)
RMS delay spread (𝝈𝝉 ) :

◼ outdoor channel:
 microseconds

◼ indoor channel:
 nanoseconds

◼ Small RMS delay spread 𝝈𝝉 is desired

indoor
Typical values of RMS delay
spread
Indoor picocell 50: 300 𝑛𝑠
Rural area 0.2 𝜇𝑠
(open)
Suburban area 0.5𝜇𝑠
Delay
Urban area 3: 8 𝜇𝑠
spread
26
 Two basic goals of propagation modeling:

1) Predict small scale signal fluctuations (Fading) of received

signal strength (RSS) over short distances/time durations

◼ “short” → typically a few wavelengths (λ) OR seconds

◼ at 1 GHz, λ = c/f = 3x108 / 1x109 = 0.3 meters = 33 cm !!
◼ received signal strength can vary drastically by 30 to 40 dB
◼ these signals can destructively add together by being out-of-phase

27
Two basic goals of propagation modeling:

2) Predict large-scale wave propagation model (average)

received signal strength for given Tx/Rx separation

◼ characterize received signal strength over distances from 20 m

to 20 km
◼ needed to estimate coverage area of BS
◼ in general, large scale path loss decays gradually with distance
from the transmitter

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Small-Scale Fading

29
Types of Small-Scale Fading
 Small-scale fading can be caused by two
independent MRC propagation mechanisms:
1) TIME DISPERTION → multipath delay (Bc ,   )
 Cause by multipath propagation
 𝐵𝑐 : 𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐵𝑊 (~ channel BW)
 𝜎𝜏 : 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑

2) FREQUENCY DISERTION→ Doppler spread (BD , Tc)

 Caused by motion of Tx and Rx
 𝐵𝐷 : 𝐷𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑊
 𝑇𝑐 : 𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

30
Important digital Tx signal parameters

 Coherence BW 𝐵𝑐 ≈ 1/5𝜎𝜏

 symbol period & signal BW

31
Types of small-scale fading

 I- flat vs. frequency selective fading

𝑩𝒄

32
1)- Fading due to Multipath Delay Spread  

A）Flat Fading → Bs << Bc or Ts >> 

 Ts  10
 signal fits easily within the bandwidth of the channel
 channel BW >> signal BW

 most commonly occurring type of fading

33
 spectral properties of Tx signal are preserved
◼ signal is called a narrowband signal, since the bandwidth
of the signal is narrow W.R.T. the channel bandwidth
◼ signal is not distorted

 What does Ts >>   mean??

◼ all multipath signals arrive at mobile Rx during one
symbol period
∴ Little inter-symbol interference occurs (no multipath
components arrive late to interfere with the next symbol)

34
FLAT-FADING CHANNEL

35
 flat fading is generally considered desirable
◼ Even though fading in amplitude occurs, the signal is
not distorted

◼ Forward link → can increase mobile Rx gain

(automatic gain control)

◼ Reverse link → can increase mobile Tx power (power

control)

◼ Can use diversity techniques

36
1)- Fading due to Multipath Delay Spread  

B) Frequency Selective Fading → Bs >> Bc or Ts <<  

◼ Ts  10
◼ channel BW << signal BW
◼ Bs >> Bc → certain frequency components of the signal
are attenuated much more than others

37
Frequency selective fading channel

38
Frequency selective fading channel

Deep fades ~ -30 dB 39

 The signal is called wideband signal

 Ts  10 → delayed versions of Tx signal arrive during different

symbol periods
◼ e.g., receiving an LOS → “1” & multipath “0” (from prior
symbol!)
◼ This results in inter-symbol interference (ISI)
◼ Undesirable

 it is very difficult to predict mobile Rx performance with

frequency selective channels

40
OFDM
 But for WIDEBAND applications, channels will likely be
frequency selective
◼ a new modulation approach has been developed to combat
this.
◼ Called OFDM

 One aspect of OFDM is that it separates a wideband signal

into many smaller narrowband signals
◼ Then adaptively adjusts the power of each narrowband
signal to fit the characteristics of the channel at that
frequency.

◼ Results in much improvement over other wideband

transmission approaches (like CDMA).

41
OFDM

◼ OFDM is used in the new 802.11g 54 Mbps

standard for WLAN’s in the 2.4 GHz band.

◼ Previously it was thought 54 Mbps could only be

obtained at 5.8 GHz using CDMA, but 5.8 GHz
signals attenuate much more quickly.

◼ Signals are split using FFT, break into pieces in the

frequency domain, use inverse FFT to create
individual signals from each piece, then transmit.

42
Types of small-scale fading

 II- fast vs. slow fading

43
 Doppler effect

 The received frequency changes with motion

 The problem happens when not all multipaths suffer from the
same doppler shift. This leads to frequency dispersion and random
frequency modulation which affects the received signal

Received
signal Fast fading
power

slow fading

time

𝒇 = 𝒇𝒄 − 𝒇𝒅 𝒇 = 𝒇𝒄 + 𝒇𝒅
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect 44
 Doppler Spread (𝑩𝑫 )

 Doppler spread 𝑩𝑫 : is a measure of spectral broadening of the

Tx signal caused by motion i.e., Doppler shift

◼ Doppler spread is not significant if the signal bandwidth 𝐵𝑠 ≫ 𝐵𝐷

𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒇
𝐵𝐷 = max 𝑑𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡 = 𝒇𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒙 = = 𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 /𝝀
𝒄
signal

𝑩𝑫

𝑓𝑐 − 𝑓𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑓𝑐 𝑓𝑐 + 𝑓𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑥 frequency

45
Coherence Time (𝑻𝒄 )

 Coherence time 𝑻𝒄 : time interval in which the channel

does not change significantly. i.e., all received signals
have the same characteristics.

9 0.423
𝑇𝑐 = 2 =
16𝜋𝑓𝑑𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐵𝐷

46
Example:

Determine the coherence time 𝑻𝒄 and the Doppler spread 𝑩𝑫 , for a channel with a
moving vehicle with speed 𝒗 = 𝟓𝟎 𝒎/𝒔, transmitting with carrier frequency 𝒇𝒄 =
𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟎 𝑴𝑯𝒛,

Solution:

 The Doppler spread

𝑣𝑓𝑐 50×1900×106
𝐵𝐷 = = = 316.66 𝐻𝑧
𝑐 3×108

9 0.423 0.423 × 𝜆 0.423 × 𝑐

 The coherence time 𝑇𝑐 = 2 = = =
16𝜋𝑓𝑑𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐵𝐷 𝑣 𝑣×𝑓𝑐

0.423 × (3 × 108 )
𝑇𝑐 = 6
= 26.7 𝜇𝑠
50 × 1900 × 10
2)- Fading due to Doppler Spread

A) Fast Fading → Bs << BD or Ts >> Tc

◼ Channel variations are faster than signal BB variations
◼ 𝐵𝐷 > 10𝐵𝑠
 Doppler spread is significant → signal “spreading”
 Doppler shifts significantly alter spectral BW of TX
signal

◼ 𝑇𝑠 > 10𝑇𝑐
 MRC changes rapidly within one symbol period
 rapid amplitude fluctuations

◼ Uncommon in most digital communication systems

48
2)- Fading due to Doppler Spread

B) Slow Fading → Ts << Tc or Bs >> BD

◼ MRC is almost constant over many symbol periods

◼ slow amplitude fluctuations
◼ for v = 60 mph @ fc = 2 GHz → BD = 178 Hz
∴ Bs ≈ 2 kHz >> BD
 Bs almost always >> BD for most applications

49
Large-Scale Fading

50
 Free-Space Signal Propagation (LOS)

 Clear, unobstructed line-of-sight path

◼ e.g., satellite and fixed microwave links

hb

hm

Transmitter Distance d
Receiver

51
 Friis free-space equation
 Received power 𝑃𝑟 vs. T-R separation (d)
𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 = 𝑃𝑡
4𝜋 2 𝑑2 𝐿

 The received power decays with distance at a rate of 20 dB/decade.

 𝑃𝑡 , 𝑃𝑟 (𝑑) is the transmitted and received power respectively
 𝐿 ≥ 1: system loss factor (due to transmission line attenuation, filter and
antenna losses in the communication system)
𝑐 2𝜋𝑐
 𝜆 ∶ wavelength = = (𝑚)
𝑓 𝜔𝑐
 𝐺𝑡 , 𝐺𝑟 : Tx and Rx antenna gain, respectively (unitless)
 The gain of an antenna is related to its effective aperture, 𝑨𝒆 ,
4𝜋𝐴𝑒
𝐺= 2 ⇒𝐺∝𝑓
𝜆
The effective aperture is related to the physical size of the antenna

52
 Example

 Antenna with diameter = 2 m, frequency = 6 GHz,

𝑐 3×108
wavelength 𝜆 = = = 0.05 𝑚
𝑓 6×109
𝟒𝝅𝑨
let 𝐴𝑒 = 2 𝑚 → 𝑮 = 𝟐 𝒆 = 𝟒𝟎𝐝𝐁
𝝀

 Frequency = 14 GHz, same diameter,

𝑐 3×108 𝟒𝝅𝑨𝒆
wavelength 𝜆 = = = 0.021𝑚 → 𝑮 = = 𝟒𝟕. 𝟓 𝒅𝑩
𝑓 14×109 𝝀𝟐

The higher the frequency, the higher the gain for the same antenna size

53
Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)

 𝐸𝐼𝑅𝑃 = 𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡

 Represents the max. radiated power available from a

Tx in the direction of max. antenna gain as compared
to an isotropic radiator

54
Far-filed (Fraunhofer region)

 Friis free-space model is only valid for values of d which are in the
far-filed region of the transmitting antenna.

 𝑑𝑓 : is the far field distance which defines the far-filed region

2𝐷2
𝑑𝑓 = 𝑑𝑓 ≫ 𝐷, 𝑑𝑓 ≫ 𝜆
𝜆

 D: the largest physical linear dimension of antenna

55
Example

 Find the far-filed distance for an antenna with maximum

dimension of 1m and operating frequency of 900 MHz?

 Solution: Given: D = 1m,

𝑐 3×108 𝑚/𝑠
𝑓 = 900 𝑀𝐻𝑧 → 𝜆 = = = 1/3 𝑚
𝑓 900×106 𝐻𝑧
2𝐷2
The far-filed distance 𝑑𝑓 = =6𝑚
𝜆

𝑑𝑓 > 𝐷, 𝑑𝑓 > 𝜆

56
 Received Power Reference Point
 Friis free-space model does not hold for 𝒅 = 𝟎, relating the received power
to a reference point instead of the origin

𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆 2
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 = 𝑃𝑡 2 2
→ 𝑃𝑟 𝑑 𝑑 2 = 𝑃𝑡 2
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
4𝜋 𝑑 𝐿 4𝜋 𝐿

 Choose a reference point (do) is used in large-scale models

2
𝑑𝑜
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 = 𝑃𝑟 𝑑𝑜 , 𝑑 > 𝑑𝑜 > 𝑑𝑓
𝑑

 𝑑𝑜 : known received power reference point - typically @1-2 GHz

◼ 100 m or 1 km for outdoor systems
◼ 1 m for indoor systems
𝑑𝑜
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 𝑑𝐵 = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑃𝑟 (𝑑𝑜 ) + 20 log 𝑑 > 𝑑𝑜 > 𝑑𝑓
𝑑
57
Example

If a transmitter produces 50 watts of power. Express the transmitted power

in dB and in dBm?
If the transmitter is applied to a unit gain antenna with 900 MHz carrier
frequency, Find the received power in dBm at a free-space distance of
100 m from the antenna? What is 𝑷𝒓 (𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝒎)? Assume unit gain for the
receiver antenna?

Solution: (a): Transmitter power 𝑃𝑡 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log 50 = 𝟏𝟕 𝒅𝑩

transmitter power 𝑃𝑡 𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 𝑃𝑡 𝑑𝐵 + 30 = 𝟒𝟕 𝒅𝑩𝒎

𝑐 3×108 1
(b): 𝑓 = 900 𝑀𝐻𝑧 → 𝜆 = = = 𝑚
𝑓 900×106 3
1 2
𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2 50 1 1
Received power 𝑃𝑟 = = 3
= 3.5 × 10−3 𝑚𝑊
4𝜋 2 𝑑 2 𝐿 4𝜋 2 100 2 (1)

𝑃𝑟 𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑃𝑟 𝑚𝑊 = −𝟐𝟒. 𝟓 𝒅𝑩𝒎

58
 The received power at 10 kM,
let 𝑑𝑜 = 100 𝑚, 𝑑 = 10 𝑘𝑚 in the relation

𝟐
𝒅𝒐
𝑷𝒓 𝒅 = 𝑷𝒓 𝒅𝒐
𝒅

100
 𝑃𝑟 10 𝑘𝑚 = 𝑃𝑟 100 + 20 log =
10×103
𝑃𝑟 10 𝑘𝑚 = −24.5 𝑑𝐵𝑚 − 40 = −𝟔𝟒. 𝟓 𝒅𝑩𝒎

59
Path loss

 Defined as the difference in dB between the effective transmitted

and the received power 𝑃𝑡 𝑑𝐵 − 𝑃𝑟 (𝑑𝐵).
𝑃𝑡
𝑃𝐿𝑑𝐵 = 10 log
𝑃𝑟
𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2
= −10 log
4𝜋 2 𝑑2 𝐿
𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2
= −10 log + 10 log 𝑑2
4𝜋 2 𝐿

𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝜆2
𝑃𝐿𝑑𝐵 = −10 log 2
+ 20 log 𝑑
4𝜋 𝐿
For unity gain antenna and no losses
𝜆2
𝑃𝐿𝑑𝐵 = −10 log
4𝜋 2 𝑑 2
60
◼ Pr decreases at a rate proportional to d2 (20 dB/decade )
◼ For example, path loses 20 dB from 100 m to 1 km
◼ Path loss increases with frequency (high frequencies are harder to
propagate !!)
Path Loss in Free-space

130 𝒇↑
Path Loss Lf (dB)

120 fc=150MHz
fc=200MHz
110
fc=400MHz
100
fc=800MHz
90
fc=1000MHz
80 fc=1500MHz
70
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Distance d (km)

61
 IV. Propagation Mechanisms

 There are three basic propagation mechanisms in addition to line-

of-sight paths

Reflection - Waves bouncing off objects of very large dimensions

compared to the wavelength (e.g., earth, buildings, and walls)

Diffraction - Waves bending around sharp irregular edges of objects

(bending of waves around the obstacles, even if LOS does not exist)

Scattering - Waves traveling through a medium with small objects

compared to the wavelength in it, and the number of obstacles is
large (e.g., foliage, street signs, lamp posts, etc.)
OR reflecting off rough surfaces. ( GSM: 𝜆 ≈ 10 𝑐𝑚)

62
Sketch of Three Important Propagation Mechanisms
Examples of typical indoor propagation profile
A. Reflection
 Reflection occurs when RF energy is incident upon a boundary between
two different electrical properties (e.g., air/ground)
 Permittivity ε
 Permeability µ
 Conductance σ

 If the wave is incident on a

◼ perfect dielectric, part of the energy is transmitted through the second
medium and part is reflected
◼ perfect conductor, all the incident energy is reflected.

 Reflecting surface must be large relative to λ of RF energy

 Reflecting surface must be smooth

 “specular” reflection
65
 Fresnel Reflection Coefficient (Γ)
 describes the magnitude of reflected RF energy

𝐸𝑟 = Γ 𝐸𝑖 , & 𝐸𝑡 = 1 − Γ 𝐸𝑖 0≤Γ≤1

 depends upon material properties, wave polarization,

angle of incidence, and wave frequency

66
Typical electromagnetic properties

67
Ground Reflection (Two-Rays) Model

 A single LOS path between BS and MU, is not realistic.

 Two-ray model is reasonably accurate for systems with

◼ Distances of several kilometers between Tx and Rx.
◼ tall towers ( > 50 m tall)
◼ line-of-sight microcell systems in urban environments

68
 Two-rays model
 The received power at a distance d from the transmitter
𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 ℎ𝑡2 ℎ𝑟2
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 =
𝑑4
 Unlike Friis free space model
◼ 𝑃𝑟 (𝑑) ∝ 1/𝑑 4
◼ Path loss is independent of propagation frequency

 Two-ray pathloss mode in dB

𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝐵
= 40 log 𝑑 − 10 log 𝐺𝑡 + 10 log 𝐺𝑟 + 20 log ℎ𝑡 + 20 log ℎ𝑟

 The received power relative to a reference point at distance 𝑑𝑜

4
𝑑𝑜
𝑃𝑟 𝑑 = 𝑃𝑟 𝑑𝑜
𝑑
69
B. Diffraction

 Diffraction allows the RF energy to propagate:

◼ around the curved surface of the Earth
◼ beyond the line-of-sight horizon
◼ behind obstructions

 Although EM field strength decays rapidly as Rx moves deeper

into “shadowed” or obstructed (OBS) region, the diffraction field
often has sufficient strength to produce a useful signal

70
Phenomenon of diffraction: Huygen’s principle

 All points on a wavefront can be considered as point sources for

additional wavelets which combine to produce a new wavefront
in the direction of propagation

 The wavefront on top of an obstruction generates secondary

(weaker) waves.

71
Knife-edge diffraction geometry

 Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction parameter (𝑣)

2 𝑑1 + 𝑑2
𝑣=ℎ 𝜆 ≪ ℎ ≪ 𝑑1 , 𝑑2
𝜆𝑑1 𝑑2

72
Diffraction Loss

 The diffraction gain (loss) due to the presence of a knife

edge, as compared the free space E-field

−5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

73
Example
𝟏
 Compute the diffraction loss if the wavelength 𝝀 = 𝒎,
𝟑
𝒅𝟏 = 𝒅𝟐 = 𝟏 𝒌𝒎, 𝒉 = 𝟐𝟓 𝒎?

 Solution: Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction parameter

2 𝑑1 + 𝑑2 2 1000 + 1000
𝑣=ℎ = 25 = 2.74
𝜆𝑑1 𝑑2 1
1000 1000
3

from figure 4.14, the diffraction loss = 22 dB

74
C. Scattering

 Received signal strength is often stronger than that predicted by

reflection & diffraction models alone due to scattering

 The EM wave incident upon a rough or complex surface is scattered

in many directions and provides more energy at a receiver
than that would have been absorbed and reflected to the Rx.

 Scattering is caused by trees, lamp posts, towers, etc.

 flat surface → EM reflection (one direction)

 rough surface → EM scattering (many directions)

75
 V. Path Loss Models
 Used to predict large scale coverage using analytical and empirical
(field data) methods

 It has been repeatedly measured and found that the received power 𝑃𝑟 at
the receiver Rx decreases logarithmically with distance

 The average of many PL values at a given value of d (Tx-Rx separation)

𝑛
𝑑
𝑃𝐿 (𝑑𝐵) ∝
𝑑𝑜
n : path loss exponent, 𝑑𝑜 is free-space close-to-transmitter reference point
𝑑
𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝐵 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝑜 + 10 𝑛 log( )
𝑑𝑜
@ 𝑑 = 𝑑𝑜 → 𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝐵 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝑜
76
 Pathloss exponent (n)
 depends on the propagation
environment

77
 At any specific d the
measured values vary
drastically because of
variations in the surrounding
environment (obstructed vs.
line-of-sight, scattering,
reflections, etc.)

 Some models can be used to

describe a situation generally,
but specific circumstances
may need to be considered
with detailed analysis and
measurements.

78
Log-Normal Shadowing

 a more accurate model, the pathloss is random and is distributed

log-normally (normal in dB) around the average value.

𝑃𝐿 𝑑 𝑑𝐵 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑 + 𝑋𝜎
𝑑
𝑃𝐿 𝑑 𝑑𝐵 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝑜 + 10 𝑛 log + 𝑋𝜎
𝑑𝑜
 describes how the path loss at any specific location may vary
from the average value

79
80
 Xσ : zero mean Gaussian random variable, a “bell curve”

 σ: the standard deviation that provides the second moment for the
distribution

 This model takes into account the RSS variations due to shadowing
◼ measurements verify this distribution

 n & σ are computed from measured data for different area types

81
82