LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Radio network dimensioning includes coverage dimensioning and capacity dimensioning.

 Obtain the scale of sites and configuration according to input requirements when the
coverage and capacity are balanced.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The type of area will affect the pass loss during the link budget, including
 Channel mode
 Indoor penetration loss
 Standard deviation of shadow fading margin
 Path loss factor
 Morphologies determines the propagation model formula using in cell radius calculation, as
well as other parameters such as eNodeB antenna height and penetration loss
 Channel model has effect on the demodulation threshold and lead to difference cell radius
 ETU: Extended Typical Urban model
 EVA: Extended Vehicular A model

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Similar to other wireless communications systems, such as CDMA2000 EVDO, WiMAX and
HSPA, the LTE features a rate layering feature. That is, the higher the required edge rate, the
smaller the cell coverage radius. The lower the required edge rate, the larger the cell coverage
radius.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Some operators assume that throughput won’t be a problem if RSRP and SINR are good
enough.
 Commercial Test reveals that outdoor RSRP ≥ -110dBm @95% and RS SINR ≥-3dB @95%
guarantees a good network performance.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Wireless network dimensioning intends to obtain the approximate EUTRAN scale. Based on
the network dimensioning, geography and traffic distribution, the network is pre-planned in
detail by using planning software and digital map.
 Based on the network dimensioning and site information, the initially selected LTE site is
imported into the planning software, and coverage is estimated by parameters setting. Then
an analysis is made to check whether the coverage of the system meet the requirements. If
necessary, the height and tilt of the antenna and the eNodeB quantity are adjusted to
optimize the coverage. And then the system capacity is analyzed to check whether it meets
the requirement.
 Plan implementation parameters, such as antenna type / azimuth / tilt / altitude / feeder type /
length …
 Plan cell parameters, such as tracking area planning, PCI planning, Neighbor relation planning,
PRACH configuration planning…

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The carrier bandwidth of LTE could be 6RBs, 12RBs, 25RBs, 50RBs, 100RBs , the number of
RB affects the cell border throughput directly.
 MIMO is normally the different configuration in LTE, it can improve the LTE coverage and
capacity, we should consider the gain of MIMO in planning
 MCS : Modulation & Coding Scheme, which is a radio channel auto adaptive algorithm . With
high order MCS, the throughput can be higher, but it is not suitable in poor channel condition.
So we have to select different MSC for different channel quality when calculating the
coverage and capacity.
 3GPP define a number of bands for LTE, so the propagation model should be selected
accordingly.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Site number is determined by effective cell radius.

 In the coverage dimensioning, the link is estimated according to elements such as planned
area, network capacity, and equipment performance in order to obtain the allowed maximum
path loss. The maximum cell radius is obtained according to the radio propagation model and
allowed maximum path loss. And then the site coverage area is calculated. Finally, the site
quantity is calculated. Of course, the site quality is only for the ideal cell status, and some
additional sites will be needed in actual terrain environment.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Normally the link budget is limited by data channel, so in this course data channel link budget
is discussed mostly.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 For Channel Mode:

 EPA is Extended Pedestrian A model. EPA 3 means the speed in the model is 3km/h.
 ETU is Extended Typical Urban. EUT 3, ETU 30, ETU 60 and ETU 120 means the speed
in the model is 3km/h, 30km/h, 60km/h and 120km/h.
 EVA is Extended Vehicular A model. EVA 3, EVA 30, EVA 60 and EVA 120 means the
speed in the model is 3km/h, 30km/h, 60km/h and 120km/h.
 HST is High Speed Train. HST 350 means the speed in the mode is 350km/h.

 For MIMO Scheme:

 SFBC is Space-Frequency Block Code.
 FSTD is Frequency Switched Transmit Diversity.
 MIMO can bring gain to LTE link budget. So MIMO scheme is considered in input
parameters.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The following propagation models can be used for LTE link budget.Cost231-Hata, SPM and
Cost231-Hata (Huawei) can be used for LTE band higher than 1500MHz. Okumura-Hata and
Okumura_Hata (Huawei)can be used for LTE band lower than 1500MHz.
 Cost231-Hata
 Cost231-Hata（Huawei）
 Okumura- Hata
 Okumura- Hata（Huawei）
 SPM

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Generally ,the max allowed path loss is calculated from the transmission power and the
reception sensitivity.
 In the propagation, the Losses are normally static , such as penetration loss, body loss and
cable loss.
 The gains (e.g. antenna gain, MIMO gain) can improve the max allowed path loss , since it
enhances the signal strength or it can bring some compensation to the losses.
 The margins are reserved to ensure the coverage performance. With the margin revered , the
coverage( calculated by link budget) can always satisfy the planning target even in case of the
cell is loaded or in somewhere the slow fading is greater than the average value.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 EIRP is Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power.

 Considering indoor coverage Penetration Loss is in the formula to calculate MAPL.
 Shadow fading indicates the fading brought by obstruction due to a building or a natural
feature. Shadow fading changes slowly, and is thus called “slow fading”. Statistics repeatedly
show that the median levels of received signals follow log-normal distribution with the time
and location at a certain distance. Fading caused by location (mainly from obstruction) far
exceeds fading caused by time. Therefore, the major concern for shadow fading is those
caused by location changes.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 In downlink the total power is distributed evenly over all subcarriers of the whole bandwidth.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 AWS band:
 UL: 1710MHz – 1755MHz, DL:2110MHz – 2155MHz

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Thermal noise per subcarrier is:

 Thermal noise per subcarrier = 10*lg(K*T*W) = -132.2dBm
 K is Boltzman constant. It is equal to 1.38*10-23.
 T is temperature in Kelvin. Normally it is 290.
 W is the signal bandwidth. Here W is 15KHz (one subcarrier in LTE).

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The interference margin in practice depends heavily on the planned capacity so there is a
tradeoff between capacity and coverage just like other cellular technologies.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 LTE: no interference from serving cell, only interferences from neighboring cells.
 UMTS: interferences from both serving and neighboring cells.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Here the signal attenuation means the coupling loss between eNB TOC and UE antenna.
 TOC: transmit power at the top of the BTS cabinet

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 LTE: no interference from users within serving cell, only interferences from users in
neighboring cells.
 UMTS: interferences from users within serving and neighboring cells.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Uplink IM is determined by coverage scenarios, cell load, UE distribution, etc.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Penetration Loss indicates the fading of radio signals from an indoor terminal to a base
station due to obstruction by a building. It is related to the incident angle, building materials,
terrain, and working frequency.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The shadow fading margin is related to the area coverage probability requirement and the
standard deviation of fading.
 The standard deviation of slow fading shows the distribution of the radio signal strength at
different test points at similar distances from the transmitter. The standard deviation of slow
fading varies with the geological form.
 In plain areas, such as rural areas and open areas, the standard deviation of slow
fading is lower than that in suburban and urban areas.
 Standard deviations requirement in Dense Urban area with highly integrated building
layout and deeper indoor coverage requirement is even higher than typical urban
environment.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Higher the area coverage probability requirement is, more shadow fading margin is required.
 Higher the standard deviation is, more shadow fading margin is required.
 Hard Handover Gain
 Due to orthogonal subcarriers in OFDM system, only hard handover is supported in
LTE.
 Hard handover can lower the Rx signal strength requirement and intermit probability
at cell edge, which can bring a gain of 2 to 5dB for coverage.
 The value of hard handover gain will affect the shadow fading margin.
 Higher the hard handover gain is, lower the shadow fading margin is .

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 STD=Standard deviation

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 IRC Gain = 1dB only for QPSK

 AMC+HARQ Gain = 3dB when Fd<70Hz; and =1.5dB when Fd=other value (Fd is the Doppler
frequency offset)
 VoIP TTI Bundling Gain = 4dB when QPSK 120/1024 (the lowest MCS)

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The parameters with zero value are not shown in the table.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 3GPP defines that maximum Tx power of LTE UE is 23dBm.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Thermal noise per subcarrier is:

 Thermal noise per subcarrier = 10*lg(K*T*W) = -132.2dBm
 K is Boltzman constant. It is equal to 1.38*10-23.
 T is temperature in Kelvin. Normally it is 290.
 W is the signal bandwidth. Here W is 15KHz (one subcarrier in LTE).

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 AWS band:
 UL: 1710MHz – 1755MHz, DL:2110MHz – 2155MHz

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The parameters with zero value are not shown in the table.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Site height is 30m, Okumura-HATA.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Site height is 30m, Okumura-HATA.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Site height is 30m, COST231-HATA.

 BPL: Building Penetration Loss

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Site height is 30m, COST231-HATA.

 BPL: Building Penetration Loss

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 By repeating the same uplink information, lower SINR will be required by the receivers at the
eNodeB. The application of this feature is ideal for lower data rate applications such as VoIP
and Packet data services requiring slower rate. At least 4 dB gain can be achieved through
this data repetition.
 TTI bundling Gain is included as part of SINR in link budget estimation.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The concept of Interference Rejection Combining (IRC) is to regenerate the transmitted signal
based on the estimated data from the previous receptions, emulate the distortion occurring
from the multi-path channels and, finally subtract all regenerated interfering signals from the
uplink received signals to obtain more reliable estimation of original user’s data. This feature
utilizes the spatial separation and characteristics of inter-cell interference to determine the
power of the interfering UE which belongs to another cell. Once the pattern and power level
is determined, the victim cell can then remove the interferer from the received signals.
 In comparison, Maximum ratio combining (MRC) do not make use of the spatial
characteristics of the interference when calculating antenna weighting. So in cases where
there are only a small number of dominating interfering sources, IRC can provide more
improvement than MRC especially when there are a reasonable number of receive antennae
for IRC to execute the compensation. Conversely, if there are a large number of equal power
signals arriving at the receive antennae, the gain of IRC over MRC is not as significant.
 MRC is more applicable for the scenario with white noise while IRC is more applicable for the
scenario with colored noise.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 D:Downlink subframe
 U:Uplink subframe
 S:Special subframe

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Multiple antennas in LTE may also be used to transmit the same signal appropriately weighted
for each antenna element such that the effect is to focus the transmitted beam in the
direction of the receiver and away from interference, thereby improving the received SINR.
The beam-forming weight vector should increase the antenna gain in the direction of the
desired user while simultaneously minimizing the gain in the directions of interferers. Beam-
forming can provide significant improvement in the coverage range, capacity, and reliability.
To perform transmit beam-forming, the transmitter needs to have accurate knowledge of the
channel, which in the case of TDD is easily available owing to channel reciprocity but for FDD
requires a feedback channel to learn the channel characteristics so it is not implemented in
LTE Release 8 or 9 yet. As of today, beam forming is specific only to LTE TDD and can operate
either under 4x4 or 8x2 configurations.
 Currently, beam forming is only applicable for TDD version of LTE. The time synchronous
version of LTE TDD on uplink and downlink also makes the implementation of beam forming
more attractive than in LTE FDD.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Coverage Dimensioning Output

Uplink Downlink
Path Loss (dB)
Cell Radius (km)
NodeB coverage area (km^2)
Number of NodeB

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

Step1 Link Budget:

Uplink:
Max transmission power = Max Total Tx Power (dBm) - 10*log(The Number of Required
Subcarriers to Distribute Power) = 23dBm – 10log(8*12) = 3.18 dBm
Gain = TX Antenna gain + RX Antenna gain = 0dBi + 15dBi = 15dBi
Loss = Body loss + Penetration loss + Cable loss Rx= 0 dB + 19 dB + 6 dB = 25dB
Margin = Slow Fading Margin + Interference margin = 13 dB +3 dB = 16dB
Sensitivity of eNodeB = Thermal noise + NF + Required SINR
= -132.2dBm +2.3 dB + (-3dB) = -132.9 dBm
UL Max Pathloss = Max transmission power + Gain - Loss - Margin – Sensitivity of eNodeB
= 3.18dBm +15dBi - 25dB -16dB - (-132.9dBm) = 110.08dB

Downlink:
Subcarrier Power (dBm) = Max Total Tx Power (dBm) - 10*log(The Number of Subcarriers to
Distribute Power) = 46dBm – 10log(100*12) = 15.2dBm
Gain = TX Antenna gain + RX Antenna gain = 15dBi + 0dBi = 15dBi
Loss = Body loss + Penetration loss + Cable loss Tx= 0 dB + 19 dB + 6 dB = 25dB
Margin = Slow Fading Margin + Interference margin = 13 dB +3 dB = 16dB
Sensitivity of UE = Thermal noise + NF + Required SINR
= -132.2dBm + 7 dB + (-3dB) = -128.2dBm
DL Max Pathloss = Subcarrier Power + Gain - Loss - Margin – Sensitivity of UE
= 15.2dBm + 15dBi - 25 dB -16 dB - (-128.2dBm) = 117.4dB

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

Step 2. Cell Radius

Because: PathLoss  61  20 log 10 d  20 log 10 f
Pathloss  61  20 log 10 f
Then generate: d  10 20

Pathloss  61  20 log 10 f 110 .08  61  20 log 10 1775

Uplink Radius: d  10 20
 10 20
 0 .160 km
Pathloss  61  20 log 10 f 117 .4  61  20 log 10 1870

Downlink Radius: d  10 20
 10 20
 0 .353 km

Cell Radius = min(UL, DL) = 0.160km

Step 3. eNodeB coverage area

9 9
Area  * 3 R 2  * 3 * 0 .160 2  0 .0499 km 2
8 8

Step 4. eNodeB number:

eNodeB number = 100/0.0499= 2004

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 RND is used for coverage dimensioning and capacity dimensioning.

 GENEX U-NET is used for coverage prediction and capacity simulation during nominal
planning and detailed planning. GENEX-NET can also be used for LTE cell planning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 Before dimensioning some common input parameters need to be set.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 During dimensioning, RND can calculate or simulate some parameters based on input
parameters.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The figure is the result of best server prediction.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The figure is the result of downlink RSRP prediction.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The figure is the result of downlink RS SINR prediction.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The figure is the result of handover area prediction.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

 The figure is the result of PUSCH SINR prediction.

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 LTE Radio Network Coverage Dimensioning

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