COMPARISON OF RADIO WAVES PROPAGATION MODELS IN URBAN AREAS

Abstract

The article makes comparative evaluation of radio waves propagation models in urban areas with measurement data for Band 3 (1710–1880 MHz) and Band 7 (2500–2690 MHz) in the LTE network. The mathematical expressions for the Wolfish-Ikegami (WIM) model and the modified Hata model are given. These models are based on averaging a large amount of empirical experimental data and are the most common to solve practical problems of predicting signal levels in radio channels for various purposes. When predicting signal levels using propagation models, the relationship between the losses in the radio line and the parameters of the receiving and transmitting equipment, namely antenna suspension height, transmitter power, frequency, distance from base station, and antenna pattern is taken into account. The signal level measurement (RSRP) in the LTE network was performed for two base stations: MCC = 255, MNC = 03, CID = 41, PCI = 403, f = 2647.5 MHz and MCC = 255, MNC = 03, CID = 32, PCI = 31, f = 1837.5 MHz. The measurements were performed in two Cellular-Z and Net Monitor Lite applications that have similar and rich functionality for analyzing LTE networks. Quantitative estimates of the standard deviation of the measurement data with the signal level prediction data for two models under urban areas were obtained. The root mean square deviation in Band 3 is from 2.98 dB to 3.7 dB, and for lane 7 from 5.98 dB to 7.15 dB. In Band 3, the modified Hata model and the Wolfish-Ikegami model have approximately the same standard deviation to the measurement results. In Band 7, the modified Hatch model is more in line with the experimental data.