AIRCOM

Model Tuning Guidance

y 13th September
Wednesday p 2006

Raju. Chukkana
 Model Tuning

To learn how to tune the ASSET Propagation Models

• Modeling
M d li
• Model Calibration Process
• Model Calibration
• Typical Results
• Model Validation
• Recommendations
 Modelling !

• What is Modeling?
• The Purpose of a Model
• Model
M d lCCriteria
it i
• Propagation Models
 The Purpose of a Model

• Characterise the topology with network limits – identification of operating range for
each model.

• Minimise Standard Deviation Error.

• Provide
P id zero mean error

• Determine model parameters in accordance to realistic propagation effects existing

within proposed regions.
regions

• Make sure calibrated model corresponds well with the collected data – data is
essential.
 The Purpose of a Model

▪ To predict the receiving signal strength from a Base Station (BTS)

▪ To help with the Radio Plan without the need for an individual CW
measurement verification
▪ Most steps in the planning of a network are highly dependent on the
accuracy of the model. e.g.

▪ C
Coverage
▪ Traffic Analysis
▪ Frequency Planning
▪ Parameter Analysis
 Model Criteria
▪ Accurate close to and far from the site
(DISTANCE INDEPENDENT)

▪ Accurate in hilly as well as flat areas

(TERRAIN INDEPENDENT)

▪ Accurate in Urban as well as in open areas

(CLUTTER INDEPENDENT)

▪ Accurate for varying antenna heights

(ANTENNA INDEPENDENT)

▪ Applicable in different areas with similar characteristics

(AREA INDEPENDENT)

▪ Have an overall RMS error of between 6 and 8 dB.

▪ Have mean error of zero.

 Okumura-Hata Model

• Okumura conducted propagation tests for land-

mobile radio service in Japan.

• Curves were produced which allowed the

estimation of field strength at different distances
from the transmitter

• Hata
H t th
then analysed
l d Okumura’s
Ok ’ work
k and
d
presented it in a mathematical formula.

• It requires some correction factors

 Okumura-Hata in Asset
Asset uses slightly modified Okumura-Hata:
▫ Ploss =K1 + K2*log(d) + K3*Hms + K4*log(Hms) + K5*log(Heff) +
K6*log(Heff)*log(d) + K7*Ldiff + Lclutter
▫ d is distance in km between Tx antenna and mobile station
▫ Hms is mobile station height
▫ Heff is effective antenna height in metres
▫ Ldiff is a loss due to diffraction
▫ Lclutter is a clutter loss
▪ Asset has 4 algorithms
g for calculating
g effective antenna height
g
▪ Absolute
▪ Average
▪ Relative
▪ Slope
▪ Asset has 4 algorithms for calculating diffraction
▪ Epstein Peterson
Epstein-Peterson
▪ Bullington
▪ Deygout
 K parameters
▪ K1 and K2 Intercept
p and Slope.
p These factors correspond
p to a constant offset ((in
dBm) and a multiplying factor for the log of the distance between the base station
and mobile.
▪ K3 and K4 relate to the mobile height and how it affects the path loss. Since the
MS height is normally fixed (e.g. 1.5m) these two terms in the equation become
constants. They only require calibration if you employ a variable mobile height.
▪ K5 and K6 are very important parameters since they relate to the effective base
station antenna height, and how this affects the path loss. These values are difficult
to calibrate without gathering data at a wide variety of base station heights. The
default Hata values are K5=-13.82 and K6=-6.55. If sufficient data has been
gathered then these can be calibrated (one at a time) by an iterative process of
incremental changes and reanalysis until the standard deviation of the error is
minimized.
▪ K7 (Diffraction Parameter)
▪ Diffraction effects occur only where there is no line of sight (LOS) from the site to
the mobile. Therefore, in order to determine the K7 parameter the survey data
needs to be filtered to exclude the LOS data.
data
▪ All K parameters must keep the same polarity as in the original Okumura Hata
model
▫ K1, K2, K7 >0 0
▫ K3, K5, K6 <0
▪ Above step can be easily fulfil by determining the delta range under Auto tune
window
 General Principles.

Models are generally based on the

principle that the level (measured in
Intercept
p dB) falls in a linear fashion with
distance from the transmitter.
transmitter This is
represented by a term in the model of
Offsets Caused Klog(d) where K is the slope.
By Clutter etc. At some distance from the transmitter
the level is set to a fixed value.
value This
e Level

takes the form of a “magic number”

and is known as the intercept.
An offset may be applied for effective
Slope
Receive

base station antenna height or mobile

effective antenna height all along the
path.
“Local” offsets may be applied to the
model at different points to reflect the
effects of different clutter types at
different points along the path or the
effects of a diffracted path i.e..
shadowing g by y terrain or other
obstructions.

Distance from Base Station

 Asset improvements

▪ K1 near and k2 near are designed to overcome Okumura-Hata

limitation for close distances.

▪ Through Clutter Loss – takes into the account clutter profile

along distance d from mobile station to base station.

▪ Advantages in improved accuracy/reduced standard deviation

error and more realistic calculated predictions
predictions.
 Through Clutter Model Definition

Each clutter category is given Through Clutter Loss (dB/km) on the

path between transmitter and receiver.
Through clutter losses are linearly weighted. The clutter nearest the
mobile station has the highest effect.
ASSET’s Propagation Models
CW Measurements and Model Calibration
Process

Site Selection Drive Route

Propagation Definition
Model
Requirements
Identification CW Survey
y
Campaign

Data Post
Processing

Data
Data
Validation
Validation

Calibration

YES NO
Pass
Report Model?
 Tuning A Model.

▪ Path Loss Slope.

p

▪ Path Loss Intercept.

▪ Clutter Values.

▪ Diffraction Loss.

▪ Effective Antenna Height.

▪ Effective
Eff ti G Gain
i Of M
Mobile
bil Antenna.
A t

▪ Path Clutter.
 Path Loss Slope.
The diagram represents a number of
signal
g level measurements taken at
various points within the coverage area
of a cell. In practice there would be over
a thousand of these measurements.
It is p possible to draw a straight g line
through this plot that will show the
underlying slope of the level/distance
characteristic. To test the accuracy of the
line that has been drawn it is necessary
to calculate the error at every
ed Level (dBm)

measurement point and hence a mean

error.

If the line that had been drawn was

the blue one instead of the red one there
is obviously an error. If the mean error is
calculated, because there are both
positive and negative
p g errors,, it will come
Measure

to zero. To test the slope, therefore, the

RMS error must be calculated.
 Path Loss Intercept.
The slope
p of the line is now fixed.
It is possible to move the line up or
down on the plot. If this is done and
the mean error, between the line
and the actual measurements,
measurements is
calculated it is possible to place the
line so that there is close to zero
mean error. The diagram shows a
el (dBm)

red line with the correct offset and

a blue line with an incorrect offset.
It is now possible to mark the plot
at a fixed distance from the base
Measurred Leve

station and to obtain a value in

dBm for the intercept point. This
point is shown marked in green on
the diagram.
diagram
The slope and intercept values
have now been calculated and may
be used in the propagation model.
 Clutter Values.
The local variations in level may be due to
clutter at the mobile location.
In this slide the samples have been color
coded to indicate the type of clutter present
at each sample site. This helps in deciding
what sort of value to assign to each sort of
clutter.
el (dBm))

Having assigned clutter values, the model

must be run and its predictions compared
with the real measurements. The calculation
of mean errors in different types of clutter
Measurred Leve

and the standard deviation of errors enables

these values to be fine tuned. There is also
an overall clutter weighting to be assigned.
 Diffraction Loss.

▪ Drawing a Path Profile identifies diffracted paths

▪ Diffraction problems are handled as single or multiple

knife edges

▪ An overall weighting factor must be found

 Effective Antenna Height.
Relative Method (Effective Height)
The Relative method calculates the effective antenna height as follows:
H eff = H b+H ob-H 0m (for H 0b > H 0m)
H eff = H b (for H 0b < = H 0m)
Where:
H b : is the base station antenna height above ground
H ob : is the ground height at the base station
H 0m : is the ground height at the mobile
Note: The algorithm already takes into account the affect of earth curvature. The
Effective earth radius is set in the propagation model parameters.
Here is an illustrative diagram of the Relative Method:
 Path Clutter Factors.

▪ Clutter may be considered over a larger area than the point at

which the mobile is located.
located

▪ Clutter Height may be added to Terrain Height to calculate

obstruction losses.
 Site Selection

▫ More
M or 8 sites
it per model.
d l Less
L number
b off sites
it can be
b considered
id d if
modelled geographical area is fairly small.
▫ Within geographic region of model
▫ Spread of site heights representative of network sitesforheights
Height Distribution Site Selection within
modelled region 6

▫ Allow
o measurements
easu e e ts in a
all c
clutter
utte types 5

▫ Rooftop sites are preferred in a case test transmitter has to be

4

mounted 3
Frrequency

Frequency

▫ Ease of access 2

▫ No blocking objects in close vicinity 1

0
▫ Nothing
g unusual, we are characterising
g the majority
j y of the network not
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 More

the minority -1
Height of Site

▫ Add Panoramic photographs at every 45 degree interval

 CW Drive Route Definition
istance
▫ Must account for expected coverage propagation
▫ Must account for expected interference propagation
lutter
▫ Sufficient measurement in all local clutter types ( >1000 )
oads
▫ Avoid street canyons, tunnels, elevated roads, cuttings etc
▫ Mix of radial and tangential roads
Miscellaneous
▫ Do not plan a map along the roads with ground height above the
transmitter antenna. Okumura- Hata model can’t model this.
▫ Good balance between measurements taken in LOS and NLOS
situations
▫ Do not plan a route across a big water surface, if site is on the one
side of the lake, do not drive other lake side
▫ Data in regions of terrain slope variation
ariation
▫ Avoid large blocking objects as high building or long roof
▫ Long enough to ensure sufficient data is captured
▫ Check map data validity
 CW Measurements
Spectrum
p clearance
▫ During CW survey allocated test frequency shouldn’t be use for other purposes
▫ 10-15KHz bandwidth monitoring
▫ Check restrictions on test frequency TX EIRP
E i
Equipment
t configuration
fi ti
RF Signals
▫ Accurate Radiated Power setting, EiRP should be greater than 40dBm
▫ Raw/Averaged data
▫ Use Omni antenna with minimum vertical beamwidth of 12 degrees
▫ Directional antenna can be used but in postproccessing everything beyond 3dBm should be dismissed
Driving
▫ Do not drive out of RX noise floor
▫ Avoid street canyons
canyons, tunnels
tunnels, elevated roads
roads, cuttings etc
▫ Distance/Time triggering

In Vehicle,
Omni Antenna Receive
with Transmitter equipment
attached through attached to roof
feeder. mounted
 Sampling - Lee Criteria
Lee C
L Criteria
it i – InI order
d tot eliminate
li i t ffastt fading
f di from
f measurements,
t
minimum 36 samples should be taken over 40λ. A local mean should
be found for the chosen number of samples.
Common practice is to take 50 samples which gives one sample every
0.8λ.
50 samples should be averaged and give the local mean
mean.
 Slow fading vs Fast fading

▪ Fast fading is fading due to multipath effect.

▪ Fast fading is characterized by Rayleigh probability distribution therefore can’t
can t be
modelled by log normal distribution.
▪ Fast fading is superimposed onto signal envelope (slow fading) which we try to
model.
▪ Slow fading is fading due to terrain and clutter.
▪ Slow fading follows log normal distribution.
▪ Okumura-Hata is log normal distribution

L L
 Distance triggering vs time triggering
Di t
Distance triggering
ti i allows
ll us tto easily
il apply
l LLee criterion.
it i
Time triggering is very difficult to follow Lee criterion due to change in
p
drive vehicle speed.
Sampling in time triggering is not a problem since Lee states just
minimum number of samples.
Averaging
A i over 40 λ isi problem
bl tto iimplement
l t iin ti
time ttriggering
i i since
i
there is not constant number of samples over 40 λ caused by speed
variation.
Whenever possible choose distance triggering.
 Total driving route per model
IIn order
d for
f model
d l tto be
b realistic,
li ti statistically
t ti ti ll sufficient
ffi i t number
b off d
data
t
need to be collected.
Aircom p
practise is to have at least 30000 data.
If this distance is not achievable due to limitation in drivable roads it is
recommended to have more than 8 sites per model.
As stated
A t t d before,
b f in
i a case off modelling
d lli smallll geographical
hi l area with
ith
less sites, tuning can be performed with 10000 data per site.
The more data the model is more realistic
 Data Post processing
Depends on customer requirements:
▫ Averaged Measurements – post processing involves simple conversion into Signia format supported
by Enterprise
▫ Signia data file ( .dat ) contains longitude, latitude (decimal degrees) and received level (dBm)
▫ Every
E d
data
t fil
file mustt have
h h
header
d fil
file with
ith id
identical
ti l name b
butt with
ith extension
t i .hd.
hd
▫ Header file must have antenna type (identical name to one in Asset), Tx power, Tx antenna height,
coordinates.
▫ It is common practice to include all gains and losses under Tx power value and leave other fields
relevant to gain/losses in the header blank. Therefore in a Tx field usually is put:
Tx – Ct +Atg –Arg+Crl where
Tx-Tx power(dBm),
Ct-cable loss between transmitter and antenna (dB),
Atg-transmitting antenna gain (dBi)
Arg-receiving antenna gain (dBi)
Crl-cable loss between receiver and receiving antenna (dB)

It is important to get the projection system correctly so collected samples are lined up with the
vectors in map data
data. If vectors are not aligned with measurements
measurements, during post process this should
be adjusted.
 CW Data Validation

Compare the site data (photographs, surrounding

lutter and terrain profile) to the Clutter and DTM
ayer of the map data provided.

Check the driven routes against vectors within the

map data.

ilter out any invalid data that may cause anomalies

n the calibration process

Make sure that details relating to a site (EIRP

(EIRP,
ocation, Height, Antenna file) correspond to reports
rom CW Survey.

se Asset utilities to get visual representation of the

eceived signal vs distance.
 Data filtering
Filter clutter types that have less than 500 bins.
bins Clutter offsets or them
will be estimated later in the model tuning process.
Filter out any file which shows extreme in signal level.
Unusually high signal level at far distance can be caused by reflection
over big water surface, or driving along route which is higher than
antenna.
Unusually weak signal level can be caused by driving behind blocking
object.
Okumura –Hata can’t model above situations,, therefore these data
must be filtered out.
With careful route planning filtering can be avoided.
Having more than one file per site makes filtering during post
processing much easier
Filtering example-Driving above Tx antenna
Filtering example-Blocking object
Displaying CW measurements in Asset

▫ Data Types-CW Measurements-

g
CW Signal
▫ To set up thresholds double click
on CW Signal and specify
thresholds under Categories tab
▫ The same goes for other options
inside CW Measurements
CW Window

▪ 3g/Asset-Tools-Model Tuning
▪ Click
Cli k Add tto add
dd measurements
t
file from its destination, they
mast have extension .hd
▪ Highlight
Hi hli ht Sit
Site ID and
d click
li k
Remove button to remove
particular file
Model setting

▪ Tools-Model Tuning-Options
▪ Select
S l t th
the resolution
l ti off mapping
i
data
▪ Select the model as a start
ttuning
i model.
d l It is
i recommended
d d
to use default model
Filter seting

▪ Tools-Model Tuning-Options-
Filter
▪ Set up distance filtering
▪ Set up signal level filtering
▪ Filter out clutter types with
insufficient data by highlighting
them
▪ If you tune k7 click just NLOS
▪ Click antenna button if
directional antennas were used
Auto Tune

▪ Tools-Model Tuning-Auto Tune

▪ Set
S t up deltas
d lt
▪ Click fix box next to the k factor
you don’t want to tune
▪ Click Auto Tune under Tools tab
▪ Wait for results
▪ You can apply new parameters
by clicking apply new
parameters
▪ Through clutter offsets and
clutter offsets are under Clutter
tab
Default K parameters
 Overview of Model Calibration

▪ There must be project set up (map data data, antennas

antennas, sites
sites, propagation
model) in order to start tuning
▪ Load CW data
▪ Make appropriate filtering
filtering, usually:
▫ -110dBm to -40dBm
▫ 125m to 10000
▪ Start with the default values for k parameters
▪ Do Auto Tune
▪ Tryy all combination of effective antenna height
g and diffraction
algorithms and determine which one gives the lowest standard
deviation
▪ Take note of second and third best
.
 k1,k2 near calibration

▪ If model is not good close to the site, for example up to 700m,

auto tune the model from 700m to 10k.
10k Apply found k
parameters.
▪ Tune model again with k5,k6 and k7 locked and filter out
di
distances above
b 700
700m.
▪ Result will be k1near and k2 near.
▪ If standard deviation is still bad try with other distances until you
find the best fit.
 Clutter offset

▪ Some through clutter offsets and clutter offsets need to be

estimated due to insufficient data
data.

▪ Estimation is done relative to the clutter offsets with sufficient

data.

▪ Clutter offsets must be realistic relative to each other.

▪ Water
W t will
ill h
have th
the smallest
ll t offset
ff t while
hil bbuilding
ildi and
d forest
f t the
th
highest.
 Adjusting ME

▪ Mean error is usually altered after estimation of clutter offsets.

▪ ME can be easily bring back to 0 by changing k1

▪ If mean error is ∆ change k1 to k1+ ∆

 Model analyses

▪ Make statistical analyses for ME and SD for different distance

ranges.
ranges
▪ In the range of interest, typically 1km to 4km, following
requirements should be fulfilled
▫ -1 < ME < 1
▫ SD < 8
▪ If ME or SD is
i outside
t id the
th above
b specified
ifi d values,
l ttry with
ith
changing the dual slope distance or take the second best model
from the initial tuning.
Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot

Sites Details

Over shoot signal from

Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot

Over shoot signal from

DXB3208 and DXB3005
Dxb3217 Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot
Dxb3218 Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot
Dxb3005 Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot
Dxb3208 Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot
Dxb3209 Live sites signal Vs Predicted signal Comparison Plot
Dubai Dense Urban Validation of Tuned Model-Site 8
Dubai Residential Validation of Tuned Model-Site 8
Abu Dhabi Dense Urban Validation of Tuned Model-Site 8
Abu Dhabi Residential Validation of Tuned Model-Site 8
 Recommendations
• Apply the model on Macro cell sites as opposed
to Micro cell or Minicell

• Update clutter classes regularly

• A Generic Model could be applied

• REMEMBER: Models are NOT perfect,

Optimisation will always be required.