Cellular Network Planning

and Optimization
Part IV: Antennas
Jyri Hmlinen,
Communications and Networking Department,
TKK, 18.1.2007

Basics

Preliminaries
Note: In the following we concentrate on the base staton antennas.
This is due the fact that mobile terminal antenna gains are usually
small from link budget perspective (although antenna is critical
element in mobile station)

Most common antenna gain measure is dBi = dB(isotropic).

It is the forward gain of a certain antenna compared to the
ideal isotropic antenna which uniformly distributes energy
to all directions.
An other measure that is used is dBd = dB(dipole). It is the
forward gain of an antenna compared to a half-wave dipole
antenna.
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Preliminaries
First question: What is antenna?
An antenna is the converter between cable
bounded electromagnetic waves and free space
waves

Dipole element

Basic radiating element is usually a /2 dipole.

The resonance frequency of the dipole is
determined by its mechanical length, which is
half of the corresponding wave length
Relation between frequency and wave length is
given by
= 300/f, where [m] and f [MHz]
Example : f = 900 MHz => =0.33m and dipole
length is 165 mm
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Radiation pattern

The 3-dimensional antenna gain pattern is usually described

by a vertical and horizontal cut



Vertical polarization: Horizontal pattern = H-plane (magnetic

field)
Vertical pattern = E-plane (electric field)

The half power beam width (power reduced by 3dB) is

depicted in the figure as well as the opening angle of the
beam determined by the half power points

Horizontal pattern

Omnidirectional
antenna 6
Vertical pattern

Polarization

The polarization is defined as the

direction of oscillation of the
electrical field vector


Dipole orientation vertical: Vertical

polarization is mainly used for mobile
communication
Dipole orientation +/-45slanted :
cross polarization used for
polarization diversity

Antenna gain

In order to direct the

radiated power into a
specific area half wave
dipoles are arranged
vertically and combined in
phase


While doubling the number of

dipoles the half power beam
width approximately halves
The gain increases by 3 dB in
the main direction
Note: Here antenna gain is measured in dBds

Antenna gain

Gain references are

Vertical pattern Horizontal pattern

Half wave dipole (dBd)

Isotropic radiator (dBi)

Relation between dBi and dBd:

dBi = dBd + 2.15dB
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Omnidirectional antenna

Standard omni gain antenna for cellular

application. Antenna gain is 11dBi.

Horizontal pattern

Vertical pattern

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Antenna gain

Like in vertical plane, also

in horizontal plane a beam
can be created
 While halving of the
beam width the gain is
increased by 3 dB
 The resulting gain of an
antenna is the sum of
the vertical and
horizontal gain

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Panel antenna

Standard directional panel antenna for cellular

networks: Antenna gain 15.5 dBi, 3dB beam
width 65 degrees.


Gain from both planes

Horizontal pattern

Vertical pattern
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3-Sector sites

Site = location (premises)

for base station, antennas,
cables, etc.
The use of 3 sectors in each
site is the most common
approach.
Omnidirectional antennas
used in cells with low traffic
load
Here color code refers to
coverage areas of different
antennas (frequencies can
be same or different in
different sectors)

1
2
3

1
2

2
3

1
2

2
3
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3D Radiation pattern/panel antenna

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3D Radiation pattern/panel antenna

Horizontal pattern

Vertical pattern
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Example

Assume an antenna in which there are 6 /2

dipoles on top of each other so that narrow vertical
beam can be formed.


What is antenna gain (in dBis) of an ideal panel antenna

when horizontal 3dB beam width is 65 degrees (3-sector
site)?

Solution.





Gain of vertical pattern is 10*log(6)dBd = 7.78dBd

In dBis the gain of vertical pattern = 9.93dBi
Gain from horisontal pattern is 10*log(360/65) = 7.43dB
Total antenna gain = 17.36dBi

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Antenna tilting

Compared to case where vertical

beam is pointing to the horizon the
down tilting of the pattern provides
the following benefits:
The majority of the radiated power
is concentrated within the sector
 The reduction of the power
towards the horizon avoids
interference problems with the
adjacent cells
 Selected down tilt angle depends
on the vertical half power beam
width as well as the radio access
system.


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Mechanical down tilt

Mechanical down tilt is

used to point the vertical
pattern towards desired
direction





The main impact of down

tilt is achieved in main
direction
Effective down tilt varies
across the azimuth.
Change is smallest in
sideslopes
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Mechanical down tilt

The effect to the

horizontal pattern



8 degree DT
10 degree DT

0 degree DT
6 degree DT

Largest gain reduction

in main direction
The form of the
horizontal pattern
changes
It is difficult to consider
pattern deformation in
network planning.
Horizontal pattern 105/ mechanical DT
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Electrical down tilt

In electrical down tilt the antenna remains upright

position


Instead of equal phases on the dipoles, different phase

combinations are selected by varying the cable lengths to
the dipoles. As a result different vertical patterns is formed.

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Electrical down tilt

Electrical Downtilt :





6 degree DT
8 degree DT

0 degree DT

The shape of the

10 degree DT
horizontal pattern
remains constant
More accurate network
planning is enabled
Maximum electrical DT
angle approximately 14.
For higher DT angle a
combination of
mechanical and electrical
DT is recommended
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Diversity antennas

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Diversity antennas
Diversity antennas for
one sector (cell)

Diversity antennas are used

in BS to catch two or more
uncorrelated signals
simultaneously
Here uncorrelated means
that fast fading in diversity
antennas is different => by
combining signals from
such antennas we obtain
diversity.
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Recall: Fast fading

Conventionally diversity methods have been used to

increase the signal level from MS to BS. This is due to
asymmetry between downlink and uplink:
Uplink (MS): Small antenna, very limited power resources
and practically no antenna gain
 Downlink (BS): High power transmission and high antenna
gain


Especially in build areas signals between BS and MS

doesnt usually contain direct wave component but
instead, signals are merely combinations of reflected,
scattered and heavily attenuated wave components.

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Illustration of diversity reception

Two receiver antennas in BS

Signal power

Time

Power gain ~ 10*log(M), where M

is the number of antennas
Diversity gain = gain in detection
due the decrease in signal
variation
Single receiver antenna in BS

Total gain = power gain + diversity gain

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Diversity methods/2 antennas

In selection combining (SC) there is

switching between the two antennas
and aim is to select the stronger
signal
In maximum ratio combining (MRC)
signals are equalized and summed
up
MRC is more effective method but
SC is more simple from
implementation perspective
Gain from 2 BS antennas is usually
3-7dB depending on the
environment, diversity method,
antenna system and applied service.
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Space diversity/omnidirectional

Space diversity uses two vertical

polarized RX antennas (RXa and
RXb) with a horizontal spacing of
12-15
Example



Omnidirectional diversit antennas

TX antenna on a higher level to
achieve an ideal omnidirectional
radiation pattern and to reach the
required isolation between RX and
TX (>30 dB)
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Space diversity/panel antennas

Space diversity admit good

performance, but big spacing
between antennas is required




Towers/masts are relatively

expensive
By using duplexers the number
of antennas can be reduced
In some countries it can be
difficult to receive permission for
large antenna systems.
Site prices can be huge.
Duplexer is needed to separate
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RX and TX branches

Space diversity/sectorization

3-sector site



3 directional antennas
per sector
All antennas at the same
level due to better
isolation compared to
omnidirectional antennas
TX antenna in the middle
so that RX (diversity)
antenna separation is
maximized

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Space diversity/range
Recall Okumura-Hata
example. Path loss in large
city when

= 450 MHz ()
= 900 MHz (*)
= 1800 MHz (o)
= 1950 MHz (x)

Assume that allowed PL is

150dB. Then by antenna
diversity (6dB gain) we can
increase the cell range

160
Path Loss [dB] (Okumura-Hata Model)

f
 f
 f
 f


170

150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70

4
Range [km]

f = 1800MHz: 2.5 km -> 3.3 km; 74% coverage increase

f = 900MHz: 4.7km -> 6.7km; 103% coverage increase
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BS height = 30m, MS height = 1.5m

Space diversity/comments

Dimension of the diversity antenna system depends on the

carrier frequency. In space diversity we usually need antenna
separation larger than 12







= 300/f, where [m] and f [MHz] =>

F = 900MHz: separation > 12*0.33m = 4m (GSM)
F = 1800MHz: separation > 2m
(GSM)
F = 2600MHz: separation > 1.38m (mobile WiMAX)
F = 3500MHz: separation > 1.02m (fixed WiMAX)

Diversity reception is commonly used in uplink. Recently

diversity reception has been introduced also to mobile
terminals.
If diversity is used only in uplink then it doesnt necessarily
lead to range extensions if downlink becomes a bottleneck

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V/H Polarization diversity

Signal contains vertical (V) and

horizontal (H) polarization component.
V and H polarizations are orthogonal
i.e. component signals are not
correlating. Yet they may have
different mean power
In polarization diversity V and H
polarized antennas are used. Great
advantage is that space separation
between diversity branches is not
needed.
Disadvantage


In rural areas power difference

between V and H polarization can be
large
Duplexer is needed to separate
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RX and TX branches

Some theory behind

Let us take a simple complex signal model



Received signal is denoted by S = X+jY

Assume V/H polarized signals

 S V , S H are signals in vertically and horizontally polarized
antennas respectively
 Problem is that in some environments powers of differently
polarized signals can be very different, i.e.

{ }>> P

PV = E SV

{ }

= E SH

where E{.} refers to expectation (mean power of the signal is

expectation over the square of absolute value)
 Good news is that S V , S H are uncorrelated, i.e.

E SV* S H = 0

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Some theory behind

The power difference between diversity

branches can seriously reduce the detection
efficiency. In order to get rid of the power
difference we rotate the system 45 degrees
SV
S2 = (SV SH ) / 2

S1 = ( SV + S H ) / 2

SH

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Some theory behind

Now powers of signals from rotated system are

equal:
1
2
2
2
*
*

{ }= 2 (E {S }+ E {S }+ E {S S } E {S S })
1
1
= (E {S }+ E {S }) = (P + P )
2
2
1
P = E {S }= (E {S }+ E {S }) = P
2

P1 = E S1

But on the other hand we will have some

correlation between signals

*
1

E S S2

( { } E {S })

1
= E SV
2

1
= (PV PH )
2
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Some theory behind

We started from V/H polarized system



We rotated system 45 degrees and obtained a system

where




V and H polarized signals are uncorrelated but power

difference between V and H branches might become a
problem

Signal power from branches 1 and 2 are equal

Yet, there is now correlation between signals.
The amount of correlation depends on the power difference
between V and H polarizations. This is related to physical
environment. In rural areas correlation (power difference
between V/H polarizations) is larger than in urban
environments

Now it is time to consider the so-called X-polarized

antennas
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X Polarization diversity

By rotating V and H polarizations

we obtained +/- 45 degrees
slanted polarizations


Antenna branches admit equal

power => easier signal from
receiver perspective.
X-polarized antennas fit well for
both rural and urban environments

Both RX and TX can be

embedded to the same physical
antenna box
Duplexer needed
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Space vs X-polarization diversity

Instead of 9 antennas (or 6

when duplexer is used) per
site/base station, only 3 Xpolarized antennas are
required
Size is reduced => better
opportunities to find good
antenna locations
Site costs may be reduced
(depending on the site
contracts and regulations)

Space diversity, 2RX, 1 TX

per sector, no duplexer

X-polarization diversity, 2RX,

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1 TX per sector, duplexer

Dualband antennas

Dualband antennas are used

when two systems operate on
different frequency bands but
on same sites.
Operators always try to use old
sites for new systems (sites
can be very expensive)
Dualband antennas with
diversity



Space diversity (left; visual

catastrophe)
XX-polarization diversity
(right)

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Diplexer

Problem is solved by using

diplexer. It consists of two
band pass filters
Low insertion loss (approx.
0.2 dB)
 High port isolation (> 50 dB)


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Dualband X-polarization

Using X-polarized antenna

branches, diplexer and duplexer it is
possible to design a compact
antenna design for 3 sectors




900/1800 MHz (e.g. GSM) ,

Two-branch diversity in uplink (Xpolarization)
Design contains only 3 antennas (still 6
feeder cables)

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Example
GSM 900 with 20 W output







Losses and gains

Combiner: -3 dB
Diplexer -0.5 dB
Feeder cable -2.5 dB
Antenna gain +17 dBi
Total +11 dB

Effective Isotropic Radiated

Power (EIRP)


GSM900
TRX/f1
TRX/f2

EIRP = 43dBm + 11 dB =
54dB (=251W)

Combiner

Feeder cable

Diplexer
GSM1800
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Terminology

Combiner (3dB coupler) = device that combines feeds

from several TRXs so that they could be sent out
through a single antenna. To be taken into account in
GSM DL link budget.
Duplexer = Used for separating sending and receiving
signals to/from antenna. Can be used to decrease the
number of antennas.
Diplexer = a device that implements frequency domain
multiplexing. Two ports (e.g., L and H) are multiplexed
onto a third port (e.g., S). The signals on ports L and H
occupy disjoint frequency bands. Consequently, the
signals on L and H can coexist on port S without
interfering with each other.
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Terminology

dBi = dB(isotropic). It is the forward gain of a certain antenna

compared to the ideal isotropic antenna which uniformly distributes
energy to all directions.
dBd = dB(dipole). It is the forward gain of an antenna compared to a
half-wave dipole antenna.
dBm = dB(1 mW) is a power measurement relative to 1 mW (e.g.
20W is 10*log(20/0.001)= 43 dBm
Effective isotropic radiated power is the amount of power that would
have to be emitted by an isotropic antenna (that evenly distributes
power in all directions and is a theoretical construct) to produce the
peak power density observed in the direction of maximum antenna
gain. EIRP can take into account the losses in transmission line and
connectors and includes the gain of the antenna.

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