Connected City Infrastructure RF Network Design and Planning 5G Link Budgets - Together We Build, Test & Deploy
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Connected City Infrastructure RF Network Design and Planning 5G Link Budgets Together We Build, Test & Deploy
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Introduction
The aim of this study is accessing the coverage in desired area (downtown of Dublin) planned for 5G small cell/street pole
deployment, mainly to set expectations in terms of coverage and number of site needed in the area.
Before coverage simulations are done, solution analysis and link budgets should be tackled, to obtain the first indication of
what can be expected in planned deployment as well as to get the good input for RF design and planning, natural pre-step is a
Link Budget study.
In order to get the indication of “How many sites are needed to cover certain area?” we need to define target level of
performance (UL/DL throughput) at the cell edge, which translated to Maximum Isotropic Loss (MIL) supported and detailed
Link Budget study for defined environment will lead to cell ranges for different deployment scenarios.
Typical cell edge target which is considered for MBB networks performance is 1/10 Mbps in UL/DL. Advanced target of 10/50
Mbps was considered as well.
Two types of deployment (phases) were considered during the project:
1. 5G small cell/street pole deployment with directional antenna solution focusing on both indoor and outdoor
coverage
2. 5G small cell/street pole deployment with omni antenna solution focusing on outdoor coverage only
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5G RF Network Design Flow
From Link Budgets to RF design
- Solution analysis (power, frequency
band, antenna system, topology…) Coverage and
- Use case (indoor/outdoor, target
performance…)
Link - Estimation of performance
in terms of user experienced throughput
- Coverage predictions
simulations (Atoll)
budgets throughput at the cell edge
mapping
Cell edge Coverage
Solution - Inputs for coverage and throughput
performance maps maps
analysis - Link budget calculations
- Determination of critical
channel from coverage perspective
- First solution evaluation
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Link Budget Basics
Main Concept and Terminology
Supported Max Isotropic Loss (MIL) depends on Tx power, Rx sensitivity, antenna gains
• MIL ~ path loss + other losses (e.g. wall losses, margins)
• Calculated MIL and RF conditions can be translated to the expected cell edge performance or/and cell range can be
calculated for the target performance at the cell edge
EIRP
Tx antenna gain
Transmit Gtx
Max Isotropic loss power Ptx
MIL = Ptx+Gtx+Grx-Prx
= Lpath + Lwall + L…
Coupling loss (Lsa)
Lc = Ptx – Prx
Losses:
= Lpath + Lwall + L… - Gtx - Grx
Air path loss,
Wall loss etc.
Received Power
Prx
Rx antenna gain
Grx
EIRxP
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Link Budgets Main Assumptions
General Assumptions
Frequency Band LTE 1.8 GHz NR 3.7 GHz
Channel Bandwidth 20 MHz 100 MHz
Resource Block Bandwidth 180 360 kHz
Sub Carrier Spacing (SCS) 15 kHz 30 kHz
TDD / FDD FDD TDD
NR TDD DL % - 75 %
NR TDD UL % - 25 %
UE noise figure 7 dB 7 dB
UE Max Tx Power 23 dBm 23 dBm
UE Antenna Gain 0 dBi 0 dBi
UE Antenna Height 1.5 m 1.5 m
Propagation Model 3GPP UMi 3GPP UMi
Environment Urban Street Canyon Urban Street Canyon
17.2 dB for indoor, 3.2 dB 21.2 dB for indoor, 3.2 dB
Fixed Losses (BPL, jumper loss, other losses etc.)
for outdoor for outdoor
LOS/NLOS NLOS NLOS
LNF margin 4.5 dB for Outdoor, 8.7 dB for Indoor 4.5 dB for Outdoor, 8.7 dB for Indoor
Interference margin 2 dB 2 dB
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Directional Solution Evaluation
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Main Inputs
Deployment/Solution Choice
Deployment Micro Macro
Frequency Band LTE 1.8 GHz NR 3.7 GHz LTE 1.8 GHz NR 3.7 GHz
Baseband 6303 6303 6303 6303
AIR 6488
Radio 2203 4408 4443 (4T4R)
(64T64R)
AW 3744 AW 3744 AW 3707 Gain AIR 6488
Antenna
Gain 12.8 dBi Gain 11 dBi 17 dBi 25.1 dBi
Bandwidth
20 MHz 100 MHz 20 MHz 100 MHz
(TBD with operators)
1/10 Mbps UL/DL
Performance target (at the cell edge)
10/50 Mbps UL/DL
Macro solutions would give better coverage (Link Budgets) mainly due to higher antenna gains. However, these
solutions are typically not suitable/intended for street pole deployments (size, weight, outpower etc.). Therefore,
Micro solution is logical the way to go in this case.
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Radio Antenna Solution Choice
Directional AW 3744
Radiation pattern taken from: www.alphawireless.com
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Micro Solutions Link Budgets
Main Takeaways and RF design Inputs
• NR 3.7 GHz only:
Indoor: 10 Mbps UL @ Cell edge: around 46 m Dimensioning criteria
Outdoor: 10 Mbps UL @ Cell edge: around 194 m and starting point for
Maximized DL capacity (full access to both NR and LTE initial planning securing
layer) maximized use of
offered capacity
• Interworking with LTE 1.8 GHz:
Dual Connectivity brings significant UL coverage
extension but with limited DL capacity (no access to NR
layer at the cell edge defined by Link Budgets for LTE).
Carrier Aggregation with 1.8 GHz would lead to full
coverage extension.
Indoor cell ranges are low due to challenging propagation at 3.7 GHz. Good outdoor coverage could be expected which is the main
coverage target. Density of the street poles could be the subject of further discussion and change after more detailed evaluation of
current/expected load and planning of selected area is done.
*Presented results are highly dependent on assumptions taken. Expected cell ranges could vary depending on the use case, antenna solution choice, throughput targets, network load, propagation environment
type, losses, margins, UE type assumption etc.
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.
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5G RF Network Design
From Link Budgets to RF Design
- Solution analysis (power, frequency
band, antenna system, topology…) Coverage and
- Use case (indoor/outdoor, target
performance…)
Link - Estimation of performance
in terms of user experienced Throughput
- Coverage predictions
simulations (Atoll)
budgets throughput at the cell edge
mapping
Cell edge Coverage
Solution - Inputs for coverage and throughput
performance maps maps
analysis - Link budget calculations
- Determination of critical
channel from coverage perspective
- First solution evaluation
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5G RF Network Design
Introduction and Main Inputs
Link Budget considerations give a good indication and
understanding of what are the possibilities and general
expectations of deferent solutions/configurations in typical
environments.
To access the coverage in certain area proper planning exercise
with 3D maps, more sophisticated propagation models, antenna
patterns should be taken into consideration.
Most of the inputs in planning exercise were aligned with Link
Budget assumptions. Pole selection was done from the subset of
available locations (8 m high street poles) considering Link Budget
outcomes as the reference point for dimensioning.
One of the most widely used RF planning tools on the market is
Atoll which has internal build-in 3D propagation models (Aster), 3D
maps and clusters as well as its own capacity/performance
estimations. Due to that and certain level of mismatch comparing
to initial Link Budget results could be expected.
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5G NR UL and DL Coverage
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5G NR UL Capacity
App. Throughput per User
Low load Medium load High load
UL user performance is mainly driven by the pathloss, so it will not be highly affected by the load.
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5G NR DL Capacity
App. Throughput per User
Low load Medium load High load
DL user performance and capacity is highly driven by the load and level of interference in the system.
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DL Coverage
The Impact of Power Decrease
Decreasing DL
power from
4x5 W to 4x1 W
Power decrease from 5 W to 1 W per branch will impact DL coverage by lowering signal strength by around 7 dB which
would shrink coverage in some parts with less poles or at the edge of target area.
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.Powered by
5G RF Network Design
From Link Budgets to RF Design
- Solution analysis (power, frequency
band, antenna system, topology…) Coverage and
- Use case (indoor/outdoor, target
performance…)
Link - Estimation of performance
in terms of user experienced Throughput
- Coverage predictions
simulations (Atoll)
budgets throughput at the cell edge
mapping
Cell edge Coverage
Solution - Inputs for coverage and throughput
performance maps maps
analysis - Link budget calculations
- Determination of critical
channel from coverage perspective
- First solution evaluation
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.Omni Solution Evaluation Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.
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Main Inputs
Deployment/Solution Choice
Deployment Micro Macro
Frequency Band LTE 1.8 GHz NR 3.7 GHz LTE 1.8 GHz NR 3.7 GHz
Baseband 6303 6303 6303 6303
AIR 6488
Radio 2203 4408 4443 (4T4R)
(64T64R)
AW 3388 AW 3672
AW 3707 Gain AIR 6488
Antenna Gain 6.5 dBi Gain 8.5 dBi
17 dBi 25.1 dBi
Omni Omni
Bandwidth 20 MHz 100 MHz 20 MHz 100 MHz
1/10 Mbps UL/DL
Performance target (at the cell edge)
10/50 Mbps UL/DL
Macro solutions would give better coverage (Link Budgets) mainly due to higher antenna gains. However, these
solutions are typically not suitable/intended for street pole deployments (size, weight, outpower etc.). Therefore, Micro
solution is logical the way to go in this case.
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Radio Antenna Solution Choice
Omni AW 3388 and AW 3388
Radiation pattern taken from: www.alphawireless.com
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Micro Solutions Link Budgets
Main Takeaways and RF design Inputs
• NR 3.7 GHz only:
Indoor: 10 Mbps UL @ Cell edge: around 39 m Dimensioning criteria
Outdoor: 10 Mbps UL @ Cell edge: around 165 m and starting point for
Maximized DL capacity (full access to both NR and LTE initial planning securing
layer) maximized use of
offered capacity
• Interworking with LTE 1.8 GHz:
Dual Connectivity brings significant UL coverage
extension but with limited DL capacity (no access to NR
layer at the cell edge defined by Link Budgets for LTE).
Carrier Aggregation with 1.8 GHz would lead to full
coverage extension.
Indoor cell ranges are low due to challenging propagation at 3.7 GHz. Good outdoor coverage could be expected which is the main
coverage target. Density of the street poles could be the subject of further discussion and change after more detailed evaluation of
current/expected load and planning of selected area is done.
*Presented results are highly dependent on assumptions taken. Expected cell ranges could vary depending on the use case, antenna solution choice, throughput targets, network load, propagation environment
type, losses, margins, UE type assumption etc.
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5G RF Network Design
Ways forward
- Solution analysis (power, frequency
band, antenna system, topology…) Coverage and
- Use case (indoor/outdoor, target
performance…)
Link - Estimation of performance
in terms of user experienced Throughput
- Coverage predictions
simulations (Atoll)
budgets throughput at the cell edge
mapping
Cell edge Coverage
Solution - Inputs for coverage and throughput
performance maps maps
analysis - Link budget calculations
- Determination of critical
channel from coverage perspective
- First solution evaluation
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.Powered by
5G RF Network Design
Introduction and Main Inputs
Link Budget considerations give a good indication and understanding of
what are the possibilities and general expectations of deferent
solutions/configurations in typical environments.
To access the coverage in certain area proper planning exercise with 3D
maps, more sophisticated propagation models, antenna patterns should
be taken into consideration.
Most of the inputs in planning exercise were aligned with Link Budget
assumptions. Pole selection was done from the subset of available
locations (8 m high street poles) considering Link Budget outcomes as
the reference point for dimensioning.
One of the most widely used RF planning tools on the market is Atoll
which has internal build-in 3D propagation models (Aster), 3D maps and
clusters as well as its own capacity/performance estimations. Due to
that and certain level of mismatch comparing to initial Link Budget
results could be expected.
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5G NR UL and DL Coverage
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5G NR UL Capacity
App. Throughput per User
Low load Medium load High load
UL user performance is mainly driven by the pathloss, so it will not be highly affected by the load.
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5G NR DL Capacity
App. Throughput per User
Low load Medium load High load
DL user performance and capacity is highly driven by the load and level of interference. However, with this topology (ISD),
sites are quite isolated, so the impact of interference will not be significant.
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DL Coverage
The Impact of Electrical Downtilt
Downtilt 0⁰ Downtilt 5⁰ Downtilt 10⁰
Electrical downtilt will impact DL coverage. In case of AW 3672, downtilts of 0, 5 and 10⁰ are available.
5⁰ downtilting seems like an optimal in this case.
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UL Coverage
The Impact of Electrical Downtilt
Downtilt 0⁰ Downtilt 5⁰ Downtilt 10⁰
Electrical downtilt doesn’t impacts UL coverage significantly.
Nevertheless, 5⁰ downtilting seems like an optimal in this case as well.
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DL Coverage
The Impact of Power Increase
Increasing DL
power from
4x0.5 W to 4x1.25
W
Power increase from 0.5 W to 1.25 W per branch will impact DL coverage by increasing signal strength by around 4 dB
leading to extended coverage footprint of all sites.
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5G RF Network Design
From Link Budgets to RF Design
- Solution analysis (power, frequency
band, antenna system, topology…) Coverage and
- Use case (indoor/outdoor, target
performance…)
Link - Estimation of performance
in terms of user experienced Throughput
- Coverage predictions
simulations (Atoll)
budgets throughput at the cell edge
mapping
Cell edge Coverage
Solution - Inputs for coverage and throughput
performance maps maps
analysis - Link budget calculations
- Determination of critical
channel from coverage perspective
- First solution evaluation
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.The Main Takeaways Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.
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Small Cells Urban Micro Deployment
Directional vs Omni Solution Summary
Indoor:
NR 3.7 GHz coverage quite limited (up to ~50 m cell range)
Interworking with LTE 1.8 GHz extends coverage (up to 150 m)
Outdoor:
Fairly good NR 3.7 GHz coverage (up to ~200 m)
Interworking with LTE 1.8 GHz extends coverage (up to ~500 m)
Selected Directional antenna solution provides better gain in the main radiation direction which leads to extended cell
range. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Omni solution is worse. Different radiation patterns/size/weight of the
antennas could fit better depending on the use case.
*Presented results are highly dependent on assumptions taken. Expected cell ranges could vary depending on the use case, antenna solution choice, throughput targets, network load, propagation environment
type, losses, margins, UE type assumption etc.
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Smart Planning & Network Design
From 5G Link Budgets to RF Design
Need/Cause • Use case
• Radio solution • Coverage limiting
• Full 5G small cells deployment design in one urban area of Dublin using street pole assets as • Frequency bands channel determination
the main network topology • Interworking with LTE • Throughput at cell edge
• 5G small cell solutions behaviour, coverage and expected performance evaluation in Urban • Cluster type • Solution evaluation
Micro street environments Link
• Different options evaluation from early project days in order to have smart solution choice for Budgets
deployment Study
Solution
• Complete consideration of RF design in targeted area
• Evaluation on planned solution performance vs different performance targets at the cell edge
• 4G/5G link budget deep dives for different solution choices and interworking scenarios
• Coverage and performance modelling/planning with advanced propagation models Setting RSRP to
Target Throughput
Performance Correlation
Unique Features
• Complete 360⁰ design approach, starting from link budgets and target performance
• Quick dimensioning and good estimation of cell edge performance and solution capabilities
before even entering detailed RF planning
Main Benefits Prediction –
Application
• Support for discussion with regulators, operators and other stakeholders • Atoll (planning) Coverage
• Obtaining Initial radio network dimensioning – maximum cell range and site count exercise Maps • Setting
determination for target performance • Propagation throughput
• Independent solution evaluation and smart deployment choice (i.e. Directional vs Omni) modelling expectations
• Possible re-use of obtained results as the baseline for similar deployment • Coverage and • Load impact
• Knowledge transfer and 5G competence ramp-up throughput modelling
maps
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Company Overview
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Consulting and specialized system integration Network Optimization Integration & Verification Capex Optimization
skills including Open Networks Lab services. Network Operations & Support Telco Cloud & Orchestration New Technology Introduction
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We deliver solutions in over 50 countries, with an
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Contact: declan.friel@aspiretechnology.com
Copyright © 2022 Aspire Technology Ltd and Telecom Infra Project, Inc.Authors/Contributors
Analysis presented in this report was done by Aspire Smart Planning team. For any additional information regarding
the work done, please contact the authors listed below:
Milutin Davidovic Aleksandar Loric Pádraig Ó Seighin
Aspire Technology Unlimited, Vladimira Aspire Technology Unlimited, Vladimira Aspire Technology, 76 Furze Road,
Popovića 6/B10, 11170 Novi Beograd, Popovića 6/B10, 11170 Novi Beograd, Sandyford, Dublin, D18 PF29,
Serbia Serbia Ireland
Contact: Contact: Contact:
milutin.davidovic@aspiretechnology.com aleksandar.loric@aspiretechnology.com; padraig.oseighin@aspiretechnology.com
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