Special Cases: Indoor and

Tunnel Environments

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Module objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to
DESCRIBE HOW TO IMPROVE INDOOR COVERAGE EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPLES OF INDOOR PLANNING DESCRIBE THE BASICS OF TUNNEL PLANNING LIST THE BASICS OF REPEATERS

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Content of Special Cases

INDOOR PLANNING TUNNEL PLANNING REPEATERS

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Special Cases
INDOOR PLANNING TUNNEL PLANNING REPEATERS

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Why Indoor Sites?

Normally two reasons to build an indoor site
Improve poor indoor coverage Free capacity to outdoor cells

Indoor cell's interference area vs outdoor cell's interference area is much more limited High buildings, interference come as far as tens of kms => partition indoor frequency plan from outdoor frequency plan Problem: Strong signals coming from outdoors to indoors Buildings
Public (shopping malls, railway stations etc.) => improves the network
quality and service => operator finance Private (companies etc.) => possibility to sell mobile services => possibility to offer special tariffing => tie up the company to operator
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Building Losses
Basics

Signal levels in buildings are estimated by a applying a building penetration loss margin Big differences between rooms with window and deep indoor (10 ..15 dB) Signal losses for building penetration vary greatly with building materials used, e.g.:
concrete wall, windows concrete wall, no windows concrete wall within building brick wall armed glass wood or plaster wall window glass mean value 17 dB 9 dB 30 dB 9 dB 10 dB 9 dB 8 dB 6 dB 2 dB sigma

7 dB 6 dB 6 dB 6 dB 6 dB

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Building Losses
Incident Angle

Penetration loss depends heavily on incident angle of radio wave

30

dB
25 20 15 10 5 0 15 30 45 60 105 120 135 150 165 180

incidence angle of radio wave 90 180 glass pane

deg

75

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90

Building Losses
In-Building Path Loss

Simple path loss model for in-building environment

Outdoor losses: Okumuras formula Wall losses: Lwall = f(material; angle) Indoor losses: linear model
for picocells: Lin = L0 + ad Lout Lwall Lin

building type old house commercial type open room, atrium

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losses 0,7 dB/m

application example (urban residential) (modern offices)

0,5 dB/m 0,2 dB/m

(museum, train station)

Indoor System Planning Process

A) Pre-planning phase (= nominal planning) Monitoring macro cell network (at office!!) Traffic distribution (macro cell blocking) Timing advance distribution (mobile locations) B) Planning phase Detailed planning (on site!!!) Configuration and Coverage planning (field measurements + input info = #antenna locations!!!!) Capacity planning (based on monitoring + input info) Frequency planning (manually, field measurements) Parameter planning and Verification (indoor based modifications + field measurements) C) Post-planning phase Monitoring (key performance indicators, especially HOs!!) Optimisation (field measurements)
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Indoor Propagation
Three main propagation mechanisms
Reflection Diffraction Scattering
TX

R S D

RX

Similar to microcellular propagation, except in smaller scale! Delay spread very small => large coherence bandwidth!!

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Indoor Coverage Planning

Indoor environment very difficult to model (as microcell)
Coverage planning based on measurements

Two distinct types of survey

Existing coverage surveys New cell surveys and Proposal

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Existing Coverage Survey

To determine whether an in-building cell is required Survey of current digital networks, to show coverage level available Test mobile in dedicated mode while walking in the building Download measurement data to PC for analysis Post measurement tool, SAM are used to analyse measurement data

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Measurement showing RxQual & Event Types using NIB and SAM

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Measurement Methods
Test transmitter emitting at a designated test frequency set up Antenna positioned to achieve the required coverage Data collected while walking around the building Test equipment will be
a calibrated GSM900/1800 test transmitter (InSite or any generic signal
generator) feeding via a cable of measured attenuation and either a omni or directional antenna mounted on a tripod

Same data acquisition apparatus for exisitng coverage survey measurement will be used Using SAM, coverage level against position will be overlaid on the building plan

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Indoor Coverage
Solutions

Small BTS
FlexiTalk PrimeSite, MetroSite, InSite

Repeaters
Active, passive Optical

Antennas
Distributed antennas Radiating cable

Signal distribution
Power splitters Optical fibre

Inconspicuous placing of BTS: hide antennas from public view!

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Indoor Coverage
Solutions

BASE STATIONS

Direct connection

SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION
Passive repeater RF repeater for indoors RF repeater with optical interface

ANTENNAS

Indoor BTS

Coaxial antenna

Op t T x

R i F n

Op t R x

R out F

A-bis / BSC
Optical RF Distribution Outdoor BTS
Outdoor cell

R out F

R out F

Distributed antenna system (RF signal splitters) Distributed antenna system with amplifier (in line RF amplifiers)

Directional antenna (wallmounted) Bi-directional antenna (wall-mounted) Omni-directional antenna (ceiling-mounted)

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Indoor Coverage
Transmission Media

Distributed Antenna System (DAS)

Benefit: low equipment price Disadvantage: lack of control over antenna signal level, due to the variation in
size of distribution network Use: shopping malls, airports, etc

Leaky Cable
Benefit: evenly distributed coverage along the length of the cable Disadvantage: relatively small coverage area Use: tunnels

Fibre Optical Distribution System (FODS)

Benefit: easy installation due to use of thin optical fibre Disadvantage: higher price and propagation delay within the fibre Use: when the cable runs are too long for a DAS
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Indoor Coverage
DAS

Indoor antennas are connected to base station via coaxial feeder cable Choose antennas that match to the environment - i.e. hard to spot! Install high enough - prevent desensitization

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Indoor Coverage
Leaky Cable
RFX 1/2"-50 Cable Antenna RFF 1/2"-50 SuperFlexible RF 7/8"-50 Feeder Cable RFX 7/8"-50 Cable Antenna

1/2" 7/8" 1-1/4" Symbol in system diagram

Leaky feeders
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Indoor Coverage
Leaky Cable

Coaxial cable with perforated leads energy leak Radiating losses 10 ..40 dB per 100m
Coupling loss typ. 55 dB (at 1m ref. dist.)

Constant field strengths along cable runs Operate in wide frequency range
Radiating losses become higher with frequency

Very large bending radii

Disturbs field distribution

Formerly often used for tunnel coverage VERY EXPENSIVE

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Indoor Coverage
FODS

RF signal is converted to optical signal and fed into the optical fibre. Conversion from optical signal to RF signal takes place at the antenna end.

Downlink

Splitter

Optical Converter

Optical Converter

Uplink

Combiner

Optical Converter

Optical Converter

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Indoor Coverage
Optical Repeater

Signal from in-building BTS Fibre optic distribution system

Very low cabling losses (2 dB/
1000m) >50 remote antennas possible Signal amplification and distribution at remote end Easy cabling (very thin fibres)

Application examples
Multi-level offices, shops Airport halls (large distances!) Industrial plants

Indoor BTS Indoor Panel Antenna

Master Unit

Optical Fiber

RF Cable

Remote Unit

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RF DAS System Diagram

A5
Floor 3

A4 10dB A3 A2
Floor 2

15dB dB

A1

Floor 1

1/2" BT S
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Basement

InSite
Capacity is always 1 BTS & 1 TRX (Combined CCCH/SDCCH/4 + 7 TCH) If there is a need for 2 TRX in the same area, 2 InSites can be installed near each other Direct Retry -parameter needed If many InSites are used in a building, frequencies are reused more tightly Planner can plan frequency manually or use APP (Automatic Picocell Planning) Interference area and coverage area has to be verified so that the same frequency can be reused

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InLite
One option to provide coverage if cable length from BTS to antenna comes long Fiber optic cables up to 1.5 km without any remarkable attenuation (optical link budget < 3 dB) Flexible & easy integration with MetroSite

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InLite
InLite is a system for indoor cellular coverage, based on use of fiber optics and remote antennas Consists of two main parts, main unit MU and remote unit RU MU is a central unit for RF transmission and reception

Main function is to convert RF-signal to optical mode and vice versa Each LU can support and continuously monitor up to 4 RUs Can expand up to 8 LU 32 RU 64 output ports Two optical fibres for each RU one for DL and one for UL In DL, a laser in LU is modulated by the RF electrical signals to generate optical carrier LU carries out 1:4 optical splitting at DL In UL, LU optically combines the optical signals from RU and a PIN photo diode converts the optical signals into RF electrical signals A LNA is used to increase the received power from the RU in the UL path

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InLite Architecture
Nokia InLite
Optical Converters
e o e o e o e o e o e o e o e o

Air Interface Antenna (Panel) Antenna RU Multi-fibre cable (Omni)

RU
Dual band RF module#1 Dual band RF module#2 Dual band RF module#3 Dual band RF module#4

Multi-fibre cable

SWITCH MATRIX 8:4

32 fibre optic Remote Units

BTS Interface

BTS

BTS

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Indoor Coverage
Example

With repeater
Relay outdoor signal into target building Needs donor cell; adds coverage, no capacity

With indoor BTS and distributed antennas

Heavy losses by power splitting and cabling
50m

-50 dBm

Outdoor Antenna Gain: 18 dBi

1:1

50m 50m

4th floor 3rd floor 2nd floor 1st floor ground floor
7/8'' Cable Loss: 4dB / 50m Cable length : 25m 4th Floor 3rd Floor 2nd Floor 1st Floor Ground Floor Indoor Antenna Gain: 9dBi

1:1
1:1

50m 50m

1:1
1:1

50m 50m 50m 50m

1:1:1

1:1

1:1

50m

Target Indoor Coverage Building

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Indoor Cell Frequency Planning

Target to find clear enough channel
Planning tool cannot predict accurate interference in upper floors in high
buildings Channel can be optimised by indoor measurement Quality HOs typically problem

Frequency re-use can be high if antenna planning good

Minimised leaking outside

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Indoor Cell Parameter Planning

In general no need to do many changes to the Nokia's default parameter set before implementation Idle mode
C2-per cell basis parameter in idle mode (phase 2 mobiles) Can be used to guide call setup in indoor cell when moving indoors Measurements needed for fine tuning

Dedicated mode
PBGT HO can be disabled from indoor cell in order to keep traffic indoors. Good
indoor plan with uniform coverage needed. Important that mobiles are using an indoor cell(s) inside a building and handovers at building entrance work as wanted. PBGT HO margin optimization from other cells. Umbrella HO-parameter?

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Summary of Indoor Planning

Cost efficient solution, repeater/insite/ultrasite Indoor solution should be planned to cover whole building Minimize leaking outdoors in antenna location selection -> reduce interference When planning site minimize # of HOs due to level/quality Use parameters to keep indoor traffic in indoor site

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Special Cases
INDOOR PLANNING TUNNEL PLANNING REPEATERS

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Tunnel Planning
Basics

Extraordinary propagation environment

Tunnel coverage planning differs greatly from the conventional planning

Reliable simulation/prediction is impossible

Test measurements usually difficult to conduct Planning has to be based on known propagation properties and common sense

Signal can be generated by BTS or repeater (optical or RF)

BTS needed if the tunnel is very long or high capacity is needed

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Tunnel Planning
Propagation

Propagation inside tunnels depends on

Tunnel shape
Circular tunnel has higher propagation loss than rectangular Wall structure Newer tunnel more steel in concrete better propagation Filling factor How big part of the tunnel's cross-section is blocked? Depend on cross-section size and number of tubes Tunnel curvature In most cases the curvature is meaningless, not always Location of the antenna Simulations has been made, but it is very difficult to adapt the results into real
world
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Tunnel Planning
Propagation

Rules of thumb concerning propagation when using regular antenna.

Coupling loss ~60 dB

First km ~30 - 50 dB

Next km ~20 - 30 dB

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Tunnel Planning
Example

G=15 dBi X+90,5dBm X dBm X+13dBm X+98dBm X+96dBm Power splitter 20m 1/2", L=3,5 dB L=2 dB X+92,5dBm

EIRP = X+100 dBm

G=9,5dBi

50m 7/8", L=2 dB G=85 dB

20m 1/2", L=2 dB

Typical maximum output power for a channel selective repeater is about +31 dBm In order to have this max power, we'd need -67 dBm by the pick-up antenna. Then the EIRP from the tunnel antennas would be +33 dBm Cable thickness need to be selected based on installation- and loss properties

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Tunnel Planning
Solution Summary

Following table summarizes the feasibilities of different coverage solution types for highway tunnels of different lengths

Highway tunnels < 1000m 1000 2000 m 2000 3000 m 3000 5000 m > 5000 m

RF repeater +++ ++ ++ --

BTS ++ +++ ++ ++ +

FOD --++ ++ +++

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Special Cases
INDOOR PLANNING TUNNEL PLANNING REPEATERS

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RF-repeater Advantages:
Easy and fast way to expand coverage or capacity Abis transmission is not needed

Disadvantages:
Uses BTS capacity -> congestion Output power decreases if number of channels increases

Future swap over to dedicated BTS when traffic increases, so design with the idea of maintaining the same EIRP with new BTS DL: Repeater picks up the signal coming from BTS via donor antenna, amplifies it and re-radiate it via coverage antenna UL: Receives signal from mobile, amplifies it and re-transmits the signal to the BTS Serving BTS handles call initiation, power control messages, HO requests etc. Incoming signal should be at least -70-75 dBm
To achieve sufficient TX power for the repeater To achieve good signal quality
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Repeaters
Basics

Passive repeater
Needs strong external signal Useful only with very short cables Seldom used

Application examples
Places with coverage need and little
traffic Remote valleys Tunnels Underground coverage (e.g. garages)

Active repeater
Amplifies and re-transmits all
received signals

Wideband or narrowband repeater

needs decoupling > amplification

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Repeaters
Overview

Donor Site

Donor Antenna Donor Cell MS

Repeater Antenna Location Site of a CR

Cell Repeater

Combined Coverage

MS

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Repeaters
Interference Caused by Delay Signal to the MS can travel directly from the donor cell (delay0) or through a CR delay= (delay1 + delayR + delay2) - delay0 If delay > equaliser window interferences delayR Repeater Antenna Donor Antenna delay0 Donor Cell Interference Area Location Site of a CR delay2 Cell Repeater Mobile delay1

Donor Site

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Repeaters
BTS vs. Repeater

BTS Cost Coverage Expansion Capacity Expansion RF Characteristics Limitation Expensive New Frequency Allocation needed Higher Frequency Reuse

Repeater Cheap Easy Way to Expand Coverage Uses Radio Resources from Regular BTS Decoupling Donor Antenna Required No use in High Density Traffic Areas BSC Features Not Available

High C/I Higher O/P Power E1/T1 Required

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Exercises / Questions
Why to use indoor sites? List different methods to build indoor coverage! What is different betweenthe indoor planning process and the normal planning process? Which factors affect signal propagation in tunnels? When is it feasible to use a repeater ?

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References
1. S. Saunders, Antennas and Propagation for Wireless Communication Systems, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

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