A REPORT ON THE PLANNING DETAILS FOR A GSM NETWORK IN OSHODI,

VICTROTIA ISLAND AND GBAGADA AREAS OF LAGOS STATE.

CHAPTER ONE
PRE-PLANNING REPORT

1.0 DATA COLLECTION

1.1 OSHODI
• The population of Oshodi – Isolo Local Government is about 1,134,548.
About, 514,857 males and 619,691 Females (source: Lagos state official
website).
• The Area of Oshodi – Isolo LG is about 50km2
• Oshodi is a densely populated area with a lot business activity.
• High potential number of callers due to business activities.
• Average height buildings i.e between 1 – 4 storey buildings
• Scarcity ol land due to high population density
• Power supply is eratic.

1.2 VICTORIA ISLAND

• Population is About 393,406
• Area is about 8km2
• Densely populated during working hours because it has a lot of
offices and is home to headquarters of many organizations. Population
during working hours (9am – 5pm) is above the stated value.
• High potential number of high profile callers
• Lots of tall building (10 – 20 storeys).
• Scarcity of land.
• Erratic power supply.

1.3 GBAGADA

• Gbagada is within Shomolu Local Government area. Estimated

population is about 85, 024.
• Area is about 1.95km.
• Moderately populated area with lots os residential buildings. This
imples that there are less people in this area during normal working hours
(9 am – 5pm)
• Mostly one storey buildings and maximum of about 4 storey building
houses.
• Power supply is also erratic.
• Available land is owned by land lords.
1.4 SIMULATION AND NOMINAL CELL DESIGN
Due to the fact that we are not privy to the design software, we obtained a formula
from a document; Second Generation Network Planning and Optimization (GSM):
Area covered by each site = K * R2
Where, k = 1.95 and R is the range of the antenna

A. OSHODI (Area = 50km2)

We assume a range of 1km for each antenna because Oshodi is a densely
populated area. Also, the network is just rolling out, we don’t expect everyone to
subscribe immediately. Network integration could happen later.
K * R2
= 1.95 * (1) 2 = 1.95
Therefore, number of sites = 50/1.95 = 25.6
Rounded to 26 sites

B. VICTORIA ISLAND (Area = 8km2)

We assume a range of 0.5km for each antenna because Victoria Island has many
high profile potential callers. We recommend rooftop sites because of land shortage and
lots of high-rise buildings.
1.95 * (0.5) 2 = 0.4875
Therefore, number of sites = 8/0.4875 = 16.4
Rounded to 16 sites.

C. GBAGADA (Area = 1.95km2)

We assume a range of 0.6km for each antenna so as to cater for capacity and
avoid interference at the same time.
1.95 * (0.6) 2 = 0.702
Therefore, number of sites = 1.95/0.702 = 2.778
Rounded up to 3 sites.
CHAPTER TWO
PLANNING REPORT

2.1 SITE SURVEY: From the information gotten from pre-planners and first hand
observation, the following points can be stated:
• OSHODI: is a motorable place with fair weather conditions and no natural
obstructions like mountains, rocks or seas. It is congested with a lot of business
activities and power supply is erratic. Therefore normal sites can be built and
installation of power generating sets is a must. The sites are to be located away
from high tension cables to avoid interference.
• VICTORIA ISLAND: Business zone with highest number of potential
subscribers. It is very accessible with cars. Has a lot of high-rise buildings and
vacant lands for site location are scarce. Erratic power supply and no high tension
cables. Therefore sites will be used here and a power generating set is also a must.
• GBAGADA: Residential buildings are predominant here and tallest building in
this area is about four storeys. BTS sites are to be built on vacant lands owned by
landlords which will require bilateral agreements. Also there are no natural
obstructions in this area and high tension wires are rare. Installation of a power
generating set is also a must.

2.2 COVERAGE PLANNING: This deals with the area of land to be covered by the
network. The radio parameters of the antennae installed in these places are considered.
1. Since Victoria Island, Oshodi and Gbagada are all urban areas, micro-cells will be
used to cover small areas and to ensure proper handovers. This definitely implies the
construction of many BTSs as predicted by the pre-planners.
2. Type of Model: Since M900 and M1800 microcells are being used, the Keenan
model is most suitable for this coverage planning.
3. Antenna Height: The antenna height will be between 20m – 25m range.
4. Antenna Tilt: Down tilting is done to avoid interefernce and the antenna tilt angle
is high.
5. Antenna HPBW: Antennas with high horizontal HPBW and low vertical HPBW
are used to avoid interference but enable good coverage.
6. Antenna Polarization: Dual polarized antennas are used.
7. Antenna gain: Low gain antennas are used in Victoria Island and in Gbagada
considering the area of coverage while medium to high gain antennas are used in Oshodi
because the antennas here are meant to cover larger areas.

2.3 CAPACITY PLANNING: Available bandwidth on both M900 and M1800 is

5MHz. We shall select the S333/333 TRX configuration for all our sites. This is to enable
each BTS to be able to cater for many subscribers at a time.
Also, for each sector, we shall configure one physical channel for BCCH and two
physical cahnnels for SDCCH (for quick and easy connections), while the rest will be
configured for TCH.
Haven stated the above facts, we can calculate the number of subscribers each
BTS will be able to cater for at any given time.
CALCULATIONS
S333/333
Taking the M900 band,
We have that, for sector A:
We have: 1 physical channel for BCCH
2 physical channels for SDCCH
21 physical channels for TCH
We assume a GOS of 2%.
21 under 2% (from the Erlang table) gives 14.9
Being urban areas, we’ll use an Erlang factor of 0.025
Number of subscribers = 14.9/0.025
= 596 subscribers per sector
For the 3 sectors, we have 596 * 3 = 1788 subscribers
For the M1800 band, the number of subscribers will be the same, since we are using the
same configuration.
Therefore, a BTS can cater for 1788 * 2 = 3576 subscribers at any given time.

2.4 FREQUENCY PLANNING: We were allotted 5MHz on the M900 bandwidth

and 5MHz on the M1800 bandwidth. Therefore on each bandwidth we have:
5/0.2 = 25 carrier points
We leave off the first one to avoid interference. We are then left with 24 carrier points on
each bandwidth.