CP15 Introduction to RF Planning

Chapter 6 Advanced RF Planning

Objectives

List the various steps involved in the RF planning process Explain each of the steps of the planning process State other factors to be considered in the planning process State customer requirements Explain the use of Drive Tests Explain the use of planning tools Describe the customisation of planning models Perform an RF planning exercise

Planning Steps

Understand Customer Requirements

Survey
Prepare Planning Tool Draft plan

Fine Tune Plan

Other Considerations

Site Selection Cell Types

Dictating Factors
Macros Initially Growth Phase

On-going Activities

Customer Requirements

Network boundaries

Government requirements
In-building acceptable coverage areas In-building critical coverage areas High growth areas Initial implementation strategy

Budget restrictions

In-building coverage
Classify buildings: Hotels/Restaurants Commercial Industrial Residential Shopping Malls/Markets Propagation tests in a number of buildings of each variety RF signal on the road Vs signal inside buildings gives penetration loss Repeat tests in as many buildings as possible to get an estimate of building loss for the area In-building coverage affected mostly on ground floor/basements Typical values (examples only): Hotels/Restaurants Commercial 15dB Commercial buildings 20dB Shopping Malls 15dB Industrial estates 12 - 15dB Residential buildings 15 - 20dB Old/historical buildings 25 - 30dB

Planning Tool Preparation and Model Calibration

Many tools available

Planning tool requirements

Authorised Maps Map Categories

Key Points

Coverage probability Expected In-building coverage

Edge Probability
Fade Margin required Maximum permissible path loss Cell radius Number of sites required (coverage) Adequate number of sites for capacity?

Coverage Estimation

Site Selection

Central business areas

Residential/Suburban areas
Industrial areas Quasi-open areas Highways