CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to Mobile Network
Mobile networks are the fastest growing, most popular and least understood Internet systems. It’s
the most widely used commercial wireless network that provides voice and data services across
the globe. The primary operations in the telecommunication network industry include network
site identification and planning, signal strength measurements
with coverage estimation for the expansion of system. In the electrical engineers developed many
models to analyze telecom site deployment and design for cellular networks. But out of these
models none of them provides a final solution because each technique has some particular
limitation in its application. The quality of the mobile service relies on the signal strength
available at the user’s location. The signal originates from a network of antennas sited at
strategic locations across the landscape. However, trying to work out the best network of
antennas over a large area is difficult and is dependent on numerous factors, which include land
cover, terrain undulations, building heights, composition and morphology. Remote Sensing
technology and Geographic Information System (GIS) can be incorporated into this procedure
because most of the factors in radio wave propagation are geographic features. This modeling
enables field engineers to conduct wave propagation studies, and identify the optimal tower
location, height, and signal strength. Therefore Remote sensing and GIS modeling has become a
critical component in developing our wireless networks around us and the better data models we
are provide to our field engineers, the more reliable our wireless services.
Operation of mobile networks is successful only when there is required and expected coverage
and capacity and quality of service across the network. Conventionally,
operators of networks continuously follow up their networks in the beginning during network
planning and while it is operational so that they can maintain a given required
network performance. Optimization and expansion are methods to enable operators to excel
performance of their existing networks or deploy new networks in order to deliver a
given required/expected quality of their coverage and capacity. These planning and of existing
network performance. Furthermore, understanding of end users/customers
practical experience of the network is very key for operators to make both technology and
business decisions. As a result, network performance measurement has played significant role in
optimizing and updating mobile networks and in assisting business decisions. This role of
network measurement has been the main motivation for this project work. And also in our
country, Ethiopia, there is lack of this kind of technology that measures the network performance
real-time is additional motivation for this work.
1.2 Historical and Background Concepts
Mobile communications is currently at its fastest growth period in history due to enabling
technologies which permit wide spread deployment. Historically, growth in the mobile
communications field has come slowly, and has been linked to technological advancements. The
ability to provide wireless communications to an entire population was first conceived when Bell
Laboratories developed the cellular concept in the 1960s and 1970s. The greatest growth in the
mobile communications is primarily due to development of highly reliable, miniature solid state
devices and the development of the
cellular concept. The future growth of user-based mobile communication systems will depend on
the technology advances in the signal processing and network operator. The utilization of
telecommunications and information technology by using the network has been introduced in
network performance measurement significantly by updating mobile networks. Statistics show
that there are now 6.78 billion mobile subscriptions globally; around 89.8% of the subscriptions
are under 3GPP mobile technology family (GSM/WCDMA/HSPA/LT) and the rest goes to
3GPP2 (CDMA 1x/EVDO) and IEEE WiMAX technologies. In Ethiopia, mobile penetration
reaches 23.7 million subscribers in 2013 and there is on-going huge expansion works to
dramatically extend both voice and data capacity across the nation. The economic and
development role of mobile network is very significant; and it is more crucial.

1.3 Hypothesis,
The rapid growth of wireless communications requires efficient network planning of cellular
mobile communication. The characteristic of radio wave propagation prediction algorithms based
on computer databases or empirical results give only approximate coverage, which are not
suitable for detailed network design. The efficiency of radio wave propagation prediction system
can be improved greatly, with powerful capability of handling geo-spatial data through Remote
Sensing and GIS techniques. The variation in signal strength depends upon many factors, such as
the type of trees, trunks, leaves, branches, their densities, and their heights relative to the antenna
heights. When the signal strikes the surface of a building, it may be diffracted or absorbed. This
is an important consideration in the coverage planning of a radio network. The multi spectral and
stereo satellite data in conjunction with GIS/GPS (Global Positioning System) techniques can be
utilized to formulate suitable plans and strategies for an effective telecom planning and
development.

Without of network any mobile is not possible to carry any signals strength (The most critical
aspects of any mobile system is a network to carry any signals) in the world.
Network is an essential for mobile signal strength measurement. According to the Network
Quality Assessment, the level of signaling intent among mobiles users’ increases proportionally
as the number of network quality problems experienced increases.

1.4 Statement of problem

The most common and conventional method used to measure the network performance is
called drive test with network measurement devices and drive systems across the
network and collect data that can be analyzed and used. This conventional network performance
measurement method has also been used in Ethiopia by Ethio Telecom to collect information
about its network. The collected data has been used in different optimization tasks and expansion
projects.

Drive test is characterized by its requirement sophisticated and costly measurement equipment
and systems together with car that carry the system and move around across the network. In
addition, it needs large amount of time to collect enough data for appropriate conclusions highly
skilled human powers to continuously operate the measurement system. As a result, network
operator spend significant amount money initially to own efficient measurement system and then
continuously to make it operational and usable. Therefore, an alternative cost and time efficient
measurement method is always interesting for all involved stakeholders in mobile network
systems, particularly mobile operators who are responsible to maintain a quality network. In this
project, we present an alternative analyzing mobile signal strength measurement
system that will address most challenges of the conventional drive test.

1.5 Objective of the Project

1.5.1 General objective
Analyzing signal strength in MATLAB application and implementing in a mobile terminal that
can measure signal strength performance of mobile networks.
1.5.2 Specific objective
Collect and grasp knowledge and understanding on mobile technologies, signal strength and
propagations models.
Measure the signal strength using the MATLAB software.
Identify the received signal strength level by reference signal (RS) measurements ( i,e.,
RSRP,RSSI,RSRQ).

1.6 Scope of the Project

The scope of this project is focused to measuring and analyzing the signal strength performance
with different BS antenna height and Propagation models parameter.
1.7 Methodology
We mainly follow the following methodologies to accomplish the project work:
Literature review: we survey literature on subjects related with cellular network
performance measurement. Then the knowledge grasped will be used to model analytical
expressions for received signal strength and also design
the terminal-based mobile signal strength measurement system.
Programming: we will implement it in MATLAB platform system. Then understanding the
result and conclude.
1.8 Outline of the Project
The project is organized as follows:
Chapter-1 Gives “introduction”, it includes background concepts, hypothesis, problem
statement, objectives and scope of the project.
Chapter-2 presents “Literature review”, it includes Cellular Network, Network Generations, and
Drive Test.
Chapter-3 description of “Signal strength”, it includes Mobile phone signal, SINR, Propagation
model, Link budget calculation and Received Signal Strength (RSS) in Mobile Communication.
Chapter-4 presents “System design and implementation”, it includes Setup system, Simulation
Setup,
Chapter-5 Finally we close including with “Conclusion and Recommendation”
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Cellular Network
Any cellular network consists of many base stations including the respective antennas that serve
the nearby cell phones respectively mobile phones. A cell phone shall be called mobile station
within this project, therefore the abbreviation MS is comfortable. For the GSM network the base
stations are called Base Transceiver Stations (BTS). Some BTS are controlled by a Base Station
Controller (BSC). The next higher hierarchy is the
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) that routes calls between MSs and between MS and fixed-line
network phones. The region controlled by an MSC is frequently identical to the location area
(LA) that plays an important role for positioning techniques, as may be seen later on. The
number of BSC controlled by one MSC as well as the number of BTS controlled by one BSC
may vary from provider to provider as well as from region to region. Data, and not only
positioning relevant data, may be acquired at different interfaces. Between the BTS and the BSC
the so-called Abis-interface is defined. The data available at one of these interfaces are restricted
to all BTS assigned to this one BSC;
but it is more detailed than on the higher level interfaces. The next hierarchy is the A-interface
that is defined between the BSC and the MSC. All data of the BSC assigned to one MSC may be
acquired at one of these interfaces.

Functions of a BSC; One BSC may control up to 40 BTS (kept in database) and switch calls
from MSC to correct BTS and conversely.
2.1.1 Elements of a Cellular Network
In this section, the general systems of a cellular network are introduced:
Mobile Station (MS): This is basically the mobile phone. The mobile station (MS)
is the starting point of a mobile wireless network.
Base Station (BS): The covered area of a cellular network is divided into smaller
areas called ells. Each cell has a base station which communicates simultaneously
with all mobiles within the cell, and passes traffic to the Mobile Switching Centre.
The base station is connected to the mobile phone via a radio interface.
Base Transceiver Station (BTS): The BTS includes all the radio equipment (i.e.,
antennas, signal processing devices, and amplifiers) necessary for radio
transmission within a geographical area called a cell. The BTS is responsible for
establishing the link to the MS and for modulating and demodulating radio signals
between the MS and the BTS.
Base Station Controller (BSC): The BSC reserves radio frequencies for
communications and handles the handoff between BTSs when an MS roams from
one cell to another. The BSC is responsible for paging the MS for incoming calls.
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC): The mobile switching center (MSC) is a digital
ISDN switch that sets up connections to other MSCs and to the BSCs. The MSCs
form the wired (fixed) backbone of a GSM network and can switch calls to the public switched
telecommunications network (PSTN). An MSC can connect to a large number of BSCs.
public switched telecommunications network (PSTN). An MSC can connect to a
large number of BSCs.
National Carrier Exchange: This is the gateway to the national
fixed public switched telephone network (PSTN). It handles connections on
behalf of the national communication systems, and is usually integrated with the
MSC.
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS): is provides packet radio access for GSM
and time-division multiple access (TDMA) users.
GPRS Support Nodes (GSN): In the core network, the existing MSCs are based on
circuit-switched central-office technology and cannot handle packet traffic. Two
new components, called GPRS support nodes (GSNs), are added:
Serving GPRS support node (SGSN)
Gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)
Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN): The SGSN delivers packets to mobile
stations (MSs) within its service area. SGSNs send queries to home location
registers (HLRs) to obtain profile data of GPRS subscribers. SGSNs detect new
GPRS MSs in a given service area, process registration of new mobile subscribers,
and keep records of their locations inside a predefined area. The SGSN is connected
to the base station subsystem through a Frame Relay connection to the PCU in the
BSC.
Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN): GGSNs are used as interfaces to external
IP networks such as the public Internet, other mobile service providers' GPRS
services, or enterprise intranets. GGSNs maintain routing information that is
necessary to tunnel the protocol data units (PDUs) to the SGSNs that service
particular MSs.
Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC): GMSCs are Links the system to
PSTN and other operators.
Equipment Identity Register (EIR): is a database that stores the international
mobile equipment identities (IMEIs) of all the mobile stations in the network. The
EIR provides security features such as blocking calls from handsets that have been
stolen.
Home Location Register (HLR): The HLR is the central database for all users to
register to the GSM network. It stores static information about the subscribers such
as the IMSI, subscribed services, and a key for authenticating the subscriber. The
HLR also stores dynamic subscriber information (i.e., the current location of the
mobile subscriber).
Authentication Center (AUC): Associated with the HLR and the necessary keys
for encryption to safeguard the user input for authentication.
Visitor Location Register (VLR): The VLR is a distributed database that
temporarily stores information about the mobile stations that are active in the
geographic area. A VLR is associated with each MSC in the network. When a new
subscriber roams into a location area, the VLR is responsible for copying subscriber
information from the HLR to its local database. This relationship between the VLR
and HLR avoids frequent HLR database updates and long distance signaling of the
user information, allowing faster access to subscriber information.

The information available in the GSM network is the cell ID (unique number assigned to
one Tcell respectively BTS). It is the basic information for all information tasks, because
Electrical and Computer engineering it indicates the provider, if and where a MS is
located within the network. In the point of time when a MS changes from one cell (BTS)
to another one, both IDs are available.
To establish communication between BTS and MS, time slots are used. These time slots
have to be synchronized. To achieve this synchronization, the signal propagation delay
has to take into account. This is ensured by the timing advance (TA) value that is an
approximation of the distance between MS and the serving cell. The TA value indicates
the time delay for the MS to send one data packet and is given with a resolution of
approx. 550m. The accuracy for determination of the distance is limited to approx. 1100m
and depends on the distance between MS and BTS. It increases with approach to the
BTS. The measurement of the TA value is system-intrinsic, thus it enabling
network-based positioning.
The received signal strength (Reception Level / RXLEV-value) at the mobile station is
important information for e.g. handover decisions. Therefore the MS can measure the
signal strength of the serving cell and up to six neighboring BTS. The MS transmits these
measurements to the network during communication. The accuracy of the signal strength
is subject to fluctuations, since it depends on metrology, multipath propagation,
shadowing effects (moving and fixed objects) and short-term-/fast fading. The signal
strength is measured between - 110 dBm and - 48dBm. The unit dBm is transmission
power related to 1mW. The theoretical accuracy for the signal strength is given with 4 dB
(up to -70dBm) respectively 6 dB. The accuracy decreases, in other words the standard
deviation gets higher, with increasing distance.
2.2 Network Generations
In this project we are going to cover off the major differences between the different
'generation' networks and check out some of the technical aspects of the different
technologies.
Before we start: what exactly is a ‘G’ or ‘Generation’? In a nutshell, each Generation is
defined as a set of telephone network standards, which detail the technological
implementation of a particular mobile phone system.
2.2.1 1G - Analog
Introduced in 1987 by Telecom (known today as Telstra), Australia received its first
cellular mobile phone network utilizing a 1G analog system. The analog network was
responsible for those bulky handheld 'bricks' that you might have had the displeasure of
using.
The technology behind 1G was the AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) network.
Permanently switched off at the end of 1999, AMPS was a voice-only network operating
on the 800MHz band. Being a primitive radio technology, AMPS operated in the same
manner as a regular radio transmission, much like your UHF radio where the 800MHz
band was split up into a number of channels (395 voices, 21 controls) via FDMA (Frequency
Division Multiple Access). Each channel was 30 KHz wide and could support
only one user at any time, meaning that the maximum number of mobile phone users per
cell tower was 395. The tower assessed the signal strength of each user and assigned
channels dynamically, ensuring that channels could be reused by multiple towers without
interference.
2.2.2 2G -Digital
Fast forward to 1993 Telecom, now known as Telstra, introduces the digital network. The
introduction came about to overcome many of the issues with the AMPS network, with network
congestion and security being the most important two motivators. With this new technology
came many of the services we now take for granted text messaging, multimedia messaging,
internet access, etc., and also introduced us to the SIM card.
This fancy new digital network is called GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and
its technological backbone of choice is TDMA (similar to FDMA).
The radio frequency band utilized by GSM is the 900MHz spectrum and later introduced
on the 1800MHz band. The FDMA component splits the 900MHz into 200 KHz radiochannels, 8
full-rate, and 16 half-rate TDMA channels per encryption of speech, low speed data service and
support for SMS for which it gained quick popularity. So the network is better than AMPS
because of TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).
Aside from more users per cell tower, the digital network offers many other important
features:
Digital encryption (64 bit A5/1 stream cipher)
Packet data (used for MMS/Internet access)
SMS text messaging
Caller ID and other similar network features.
2.2.3 3G -The Mobile Broadband Revolution
Three Mobile in conjunction with Telstra brought the 3G standard to life in 2005,
servicing major metropolitan areas initially and over the following years expanding
coverage to 50% of the Australian population. Leased out to Optus/Vodafone/Virgin, the
2100MHz combined with a 900MHz network forms the basis of all non-Telstra mobile
broadband services, servicing around 94% of Australian residences.
The 3G standard utilizes a new technology called Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System (UMTS) as its core network architecture. This network combines aspects of the
2G network with some new technology and protocols to deliver a significantly faster data
rate. The base technology of UMTS is the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA) air interface which is technologically similar to CDMA introduced earlier,
where multiple users can transmit on the same frequency by use of a code based
multiplexing. WCDMA takes this concept and stretches the frequency band to 5MHz.
The system also involves significant improvements in signal transmission, allowing more
efficient transmissions at a lower wattage (250mW compared to 2W for 2G networks).
The new network also employs a much more secure encryption algorithm when
transmitting over the air. 3G uses a 128-bit A5/3 stream cipher which, unlike A5/1 usedin GSM
(which can be cracked in near real-time using a cipher text-only attack), has no
known practical weaknesses.
2.2.4 4G - LTE-Advanced
Initially available in major cities, airports and selected regional areas in October 2011,
Telstra's 4G network offers significantly faster speeds, lower latency, and reduced
network congestion.
The 4G network is based on Long term evolution (LTE)-Advanced, 3rd Generation
Partnerships Projection (3GPP) Long Term Evolution. LTE is a series of upgrades to
existing UMTS technology and will be rolled out on Telstra's existing 1800MHz
frequency band. This new network boosts peak downloads speeds up to 100Mbps and
50Mbps upload, latency reduced from around 300ms to less than 100ms, and significantly
lower coestion.
4G bandwidth is critical in supporting high speed and a high number of users. Because in
order for your connection not to get confused with someone else's, each user is allocated
a small sliver of frequencies that they can transmit on and nobody else can. We will
notice this most during peak usage hours, where as more people start using the tower it
will reduce the width of our sliver of frequencies, resulting in each person getting a
reduced download/upload speed. Naturally this is a very simplified explanation (for more
info read up on OFDMA and SCFDMA) but for our purposes it will suffice.
2.3 Drive Test
Drive Test is a method of measuring and assessing the coverage, capacity and Quality of
Service (QOS) of a mobile radio network (or Drive tests are the main source for
collecting measurement data from cellular networks). Drive test is applied when there is
networking coverage or not in a given area.
A team of people with a car equipped with network measurement device and system drive
across the network and collect data that can be analyzed and used. In Ethiopia, the service
provider is Ethio-Telecom has also applied this Drive Test measurement method to
collect information about its network that can be used in the optimization tasks and
expansion projects.
Drive test requires high cost mainly subjected by measurement equipment’s and cars,
large amount of time to collect enough data, and well trained man powers.
Normally it is conducted in a car, with one driver and one or two drive testing engineers
checking the data and planning the driver to the right direction if necessary. These drive
testing engineers first reach to the tower location and make physical
optimization by inspecting issues like cable swapping, improper hardware, alarms,
antenna tilting (Mechanical and electrical), antenna orientation. After field or physical
optimization he starts drive testing by his vehicle. Drive testing engineer collects network
data by making a lot of calls (short and long). The data collected includes data for serving
cell as well as the neighbors .This data collected helps us to find and
analyze the problems in the network.
Materials for drive test
A notebook - or other similar device
Collecting Software installed
Security Key - Dongle - common to these types of software
At least one Mobile Phone
One GPS
Scanner
Adapters and / or hubs that allow the correct interconnection of all equipment.
The main goal is to collect test data, but they can be viewed / analyzed in real time during
the test, allowing a view of network performance on the field. Data from all units are
grouped by collection software and stored in one or more output files. For example GPS,
MS, SCANNER.
GPS: collecting the data of latitude and longitude of each point / measurement
data, time, speed, etc. It is also useful as a guide for following the correct routes.
MS: mobile data collection, such as signal strength, best server, etc.
SCANNER: collecting data throughout the network, since the mobile radio is a
limited and does not handle all the necessary data for a more complete analysis.
Currently, there are already cell phones that do everything. They have a GPS, as well as a
collection of specific software. They are very practical, but are still quite expensive.
2.3.1 Types of Drive Testing
Drive testing can broadly be categorized into three distinct topics:
I. Network Benchmarking
Benchmarked is used to measure several network technologies and service types
simultaneously to very high accuracy, to provide directly comparable information
regarding competitive strengths and weaknesses. Results from benchmarking activities,
such a comparative coverage analysis or comparative data network speed analysis, are
frequently used in marketing campaigns. Drive testing to gather networking
benchmarking data is the only way mobile network operators can collect accurate
competitive data on the true level of their own and their competitor’s technical
performance and quality levels.
II. Optimization & Troubleshooting
Optimization and troubleshooting information is more typically used to aid in finding
specific problems during the rollout phases of new networks or to observe specific problems
reported by consumers during the operational phase of the network lifecycle. In this mode drive
testing data is used to diagnose the root cause of specific, typically localized, network issues such
as dropped calls or missing neighbor cell assignments.
III. Service Quality Monitoring
Service quality monitoring typically involves making test calls across the network to a
fixed test unit to assess the relative quality of various services using Mean opinion score
(MOS). Quality monitoring focuses on the end user experience of the service, and allows
mobile network operators to react to what effectively subjective quality degradations by
investigating the technical cause of the problem in time-correlated data collected duringthe drive
test. Service quality monitoring is typically carried out in an automated fashion, using devices
that run largely without human intervention carried in vehicles that regularly ply typical drive
testing routes such as garbage collection vehicles, taxis or buses.
2.3.2 Data Collected during Drive Testing
Drive test equipment typically collects data relating to the network itself, services running
on the network such as voice or data services, radio frequency scanner information and
GPS information to provide location logging. The dataset collected during drive testing field
measurements can include information
such as:
Signal intensity
Signal quality
Interference
Dropped calls
Blocked calls
Call statistics
Service level statistics
QoS information
 CHAPTER 3
SIGNAL STRENGTH
3.1 Signal Strength and Quality in Mobile phone
The measure of a connection depends on both the Signal Strength and Signal Quality.
RSSI is a measure of Signal Strength, while CINR, SINR, and Ec/Io are measures of
Signal Quality for various technologies. Signal Strength influences the connection to the
cellular tower and Signal Quality influences data throughput (speeds) on the mobile
network.
A mobile phone signal (also known as reception and service) is the signal strength
(measured in dBm) received by the mobile phone from the cellular network (on the
downlink). Depending on various factors, such as proximity to a tower, obstructions such
as buildings or trees, etc., the signal strength will vary. Most mobile devices use a set of
bars of increasing height to display the approximate strength of the received signal to the
mobile phone user.
In an area where signal reception would normally be strong, certain other factors may
have an effect on the reception, thereby making it either stronger or weaker, or may cause
complete RF interference. For example, a building with thick walls or of mostly metal
construction (or with dense rebar in concrete) may prevent a mobile phone from being
used. Underground areas, such as tunnels and subway stations, lack reception unless they
are wired for cell signals. There may also be gaps where the service contours of the
individual base stations of one's mobile carrier (and/or its roaming partners) do not
completely overlap.
Although there are cell phone base station tower networks across many nations globally,
there are still many areas within those nations that do not have good reception. Some
rural areas are unlikely ever to be effectively covered since the cost of erecting a cell
tower is too high for only a few customers. Even in high reception areas it is often found
that basements and the interiors of large buildings have poor reception.
Weak signal strength can also be caused by destructive interference of the signals from
local towers in urban areas, or by the construction materials used in some buildings
causing rapid attenuation of signal strength. Large buildings such as warehouses,
hospitals and factories often have no usable signal further than a few meters from the
outside walls.
This is particularly true for the networks which operate at higher frequency since these
are attenuated more rapidly by intervening obstacles, although they are able to use
reflection and diffraction to circumvent obstacles.
3.1.1 Signal Strength
The accuracy of the signal strength is subject to fluctuations, since it depends on
metrology, multipath propagation, shadowing effects (moving and fixed objects) and
short-term-/fast fading.
I. Signal Strength-GSM and 3G/HSPA (RSSI)
Applicable to GSM and 3G networks. The exact signal strength, often called Received
Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), is measured in dBm. The dBm scale is roughly
between -50 and -120dBm, with -50 (above -60dBm) being perfect signal and -120
(below -85dBm) being when you fall off the network. RSSI measures both the usable
signal and the noise in a single figure.
Received Signal Strength (RSSI) measured in dBm
Indicator

Excellent Above -65 (closer to zero is

better)

Good -65 to -75

Fair -75 to -85

Poor Below -85

Table 3.1 Received Signal Strength Indicator measured in dBm.
II. Signal Strength – 4G/LTE (RSRP)
Long Term Evolution (LTE) signal strength is measured on a different scale than
3G/HSPA; it is measured in Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). This often ends up being
around -20dBm lower than RSSI.
RSSRP = RSSI + EC/IO
Where; EC/IO = Ratio of signal to interface.
RSRP does a much more accurate job of measuring signal strength than RSSI, as it
excludes noise and interference on the network, measuring just the usable portion of the
signal. Just because RSRP signals appear lower, it will not mean your signal is worse.
Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measured in dBm
indicator
Excellent Above -85

Good -85 to -102

Fair -103 to -111

Poor Below -112

Table 3.2 Reference Signal Received power measured in dBm.
3.1.1 Signal Quality
I. Signal to Noise ratio (SNR)
The “Signal to Noise Ratio” is a measurement that compares the signal strength to the
level of background noise. The higher the SNR the better your signal quality will be. The
SNR reading will be automatically calculated by the base station in dB. On the SNR scale
4 is poor and, 25 is great.
II. Arbitrary Strength Unit (ASU)
"Arbitrary Strength Unit" is a value that is proportional to your RSRP. The higher the number the
better your signal quality. ASU = RSRP + 140, so if you have a RSRP of
-100dBm, then the ASU will be 40.

III. Signal to Interference ratio (Ec/Io)

Very similar to SNR above, this measurement is the ratio of signal to interference. With the best
being around -4dB and the worst quality being around -10.

Signal to Interference ratio (Ec/Io) measured in dB

Excellent Above -2 (closer to zero is better)

Good -2 to -5

Fair -5 to -10

Poor Below -10

Table 3.3 Signal to Interference ratio measured in dB.
Reference Signal Received Quality is the ratio of usable signal to noise and interference
measured in dBm.
RSRQ=RSRP-RSSI.
3.2 Signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)
In telecommunication engineering, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)
(also known as the signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SNIR)) is a quantity used to
give theoretical upper bounds on channel capacity (or the rate of information transfer) in
wireless communication systems such as networks. Analogous to the SNR used often in
wired communications systems, the SINR is defined as the power of a certain signal of
interest divided by the sum of the interference power (from all the other interfering
signals) and the power of some background noise. If the power of noise term is zero, then
the SINR reduces to the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). Conversely, zero interference
reduces the SINR to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is used less often when
developing mathematical models of wireless networks such as cellular networks.
The complexity and randomness of certain types of wireless networks and signal
propagation has motivated the use of stochastic geometry models in order to model the
SINR, particularly for cellular or mobile phone networks.
3.2.1 Description of SINR
SINR is commonly used in wireless communication as a way to measure the quality of
wireless connections. Typically, the energy of a signal fades with distance, which isreferred to as
a path loss in wireless networks. Conversely, in wired networks the
existence of a wired path between the sender or transmitter and the receiver determines
the correct reception of data. In a wireless network one has to take other factors into
account. The concept of SINR attempts to create a representation of this aspect.
3.2.2 Mathematical Analysis
The definition of SINR is usually defined for a particular receiver (or user). In particular,
for a receiver located at some point x in space (usually, on the plane), then its
corresponding SINR given by
SINR(x) = P/I+N
Where; P =power of the incoming signal of interest,
I = interference power of the other (interfering) signals in the network, and
N = some noise term, which may be a constant or random.
Like other ratios in electronic engineering and related fields, the SINR is often expressed
in decibels or dB.
3.3 Propagation Models
To develop a mathematical model for estimating the SINR, a suitable mathematical
model is needed to represent the propagation of the incoming signal and the interfering
signals. A common model approach is to assume the propagation model consists of a
random component and non-random (or deterministic) component.
The deterministic component seeks to capture how a signal decays or attenuates as it
travels a medium such as air, which is done by introducing a path-loss or attenuation
function. A common choice for the path-loss function is a simple power-law. For
example, if a signal travels from point x to point y, then it decays by a factor given by the
path-loss function.

Where; the path-loss exponent, α>2,

|x-y| = the distance between point y of the user and the signal source at point x.
Although this model suffers from a singularity (when x=y), its simple nature results in it
often being used due to the relatively tractable models it gives. Exponential functions are
sometimes used to model fast decaying signals.
The random component of the model entails representing multipath fading of the signal,
which is caused by signals colliding with and reflecting off various obstacles such as
buildings. This is incorporated into the model by introducing a random variable with
some probability distribution. The probability distribution is chosen depending on the
type of fading model.
3.3.1 SINR model
The propagation model leads to a model for the SINR. Consider a collection of 'n' base
stations located at points in the plane or 3D space. Then for a user located at,
say x=0, then the SINR for a signal coming from base station, say, is given by;

Where, Fi are fading random variables of some distribution.

The SINR is can be re-written as
Which under the simple power-law path-loss model becomes?

3.3.2 Stochastic geometry models

In wireless networks, the factors that contribute to the SINR are often random (or appear
random) including the signal propagation and the positioning of network transmitters and
receivers. Consequently, in recent years this has motivated research in developing
tractable stochastic geometry models in order to estimate the SINR in wireless networks.
The related field of continuum percolation theory has also been used to derive bounds on
the SINR in wireless networks.
3.3.3 Okumura-hata propagation Model
The Okumura model is a well-known classical empirical model to measure signal
strength in buildup [Link] is the most widely used radio frequency propagation model for
predicting the terrestrial microwave or other type of cellular communications. This model
has three different path loss models for different environments namely urban, sub-urban
and rural. This model is suited for both point-to-point and broadcast transmissions and it
is based on extensive empirical measurements taken.
This model is expressed in terms of the following parameters;
Parameter Minimum value Maximum value

Frequency, MHz 150 1500

BS Antenna height, 30 200

m

MS Antenna height, 1 20
m

Range, Km 1 20

Table 3.4 Validity range of Okumura–hata path loss model.

The path loss formula for urban environment is given as follows.

Where; PL= path loss in dB,

f =carrier frequency of operation,
ht = height of the transmitter
a(hr)=HATA correction factor,
hr=height of the receiver,
d= coverage distance.
a(hr Is a correction factor for the mobile antenna height based on the size of coverage
area for small to medium sized cities this factor is given by

And for large cities at a frequencies is given by

The path loss formula for Sub-urban environment is

The path loss formula for rural environment is

Where, K ranges from 35.94 (countryside) to 40.94 (desert)

[Link] Modified HATA Model
The actual HATA path loss model is not suitable for the present environment. So the
HATA model is modified as follows for each environment.
For urban environment,

For sub-urban environment,

For rural environment

Where; Cm,urban = correction factor for urban environment and taken as 12.
Cm,rural = correction factor for rural environment and taken as 29.
[Link] Limitations
Though based on the Okumura model, the Hata model does not provide coverage to the
whole range of frequencies covered by Okumura model. Hata model does not go beyond
1500 MHz while Okumura provides support for up to 1920 MHz.
3.3.4 COST-231 Model
Most future Personal Communications Services (PCS) systems are expected to operate in
the 1800-2000 MHz frequency band. It has been shown that path loss can be more
dramatic at these frequencies than those in the 900 MHz range. Some studies have
suggested that the path loss experienced at 1845 MHz is approximately 10 dB larger than
those experienced at 955 MHz, all other parameters being kept constant. The
COST231-Hata model extends Hata's model for use in the 1500-2000 MHz frequency
range, where it is known to underestimate path loss.
This model is expressed in terms of the following parameters
Parameters Minimum Value Maximum Value

Frequency, MHz 1500 2000

BS, Antenna 30 200

height,m

MS Antenna 1 20
height,m

Ranges, km 1 20

Table 3.5 Validity range of COST231 path loss model