3.

UMTS Coverage
3.1 Definitions
Maximum Cell Area
Suitable Cell
UL/DL Coverage Probability
(Service-) Coverage Area
3.2 Settings

3.3 Representation/ Analysis

3.4 Exercises
3.5 Discussion of the Results
Appendix: Ec/Io deviations in PegaPlan

UMTS Coverage
3.1 Definitions and Parameters
3.1.1 Maximum Cell Area (MCA)
The MCA is automatically calculated in the first UMTS analysis step for the
pilot channel (pCPICH). It is used to
collect the traffic (potential subscribers) in the cell
represent cell-based calculation results
The MCA is only calculated for the downlink only without load being taken into
account (no Cell Breathing)
The size of the MCA is determined by:
A minimum required received level
A maximal radius

Maximum Cell Area - Visualization

Note: MCA as best server does not mean that the idle mode is possible over
the entire MCA range (No Interferences have been taken into account).

UMTS Coverage
3.1.2 Suitable Cell
A suitable cell is located within the maximum cell area.
By contrast with the MCA, in this case the received pilot level, the available and
the permitted UE transmission power and also the signal-to-noise ratio Ec/Io
are taken into account. A pixel counts to a suitable cell if two conditions are met:
(S1)
(S2)

Prscp > Prscp,min + Pcomp

Ec/I0 > (Ec/I0)min

Pcomp= max{SUE,RACH-SUE,max;0}

Prscp
Prscp,min
SUE,RACH
SUE,max
Ec/I0

received (calculated) pilot signal at the pixel

minimum required pilot signal at the pixel
max. permitted UE transmission power on the RACH
max. possible UE transmission power
calculated Ec/Io at the pixel

(Ec/I0)min minimum required Ec/Io at the pixel

UMTS Coverage
Example of a suitable cell
Calculation of the necessary field strength/received power for the suitable cell
with 90% coverage threshold and in-house loss:
Prscp > Prscp,min + Slow Fading Margin+Ortho Factor Margin+Body Loss +In-house Loss

Prscp > -115dBm + 5.13dB + 1.25dB + 2dB +20dB = -86.62

~> -87dBm

Translation dBuV/m: -87dBm + 143dB (for 2Ghz) = 56 dBuV/m

The calculated value represents the received power which must be present, at
least on-street, in order to receive the pilot channel indoors with a probability of
90%. Nothing can yet be said about service coverage.

Note: In order to calculate the suitable cell, the UE with the lowest path losses
is always considered. Therefore, no outdoor service may be used in the mix if
an indoor suitable cell is to be calculated.
=

Suitable Cell - Maximum Cell Area

Note: At the edge

of a network the
suitable cell is
smaller than the MCA.

Max. Cell Area

Suitable Cell Border

UMTS (Service-) Coverage

3.1.3 UL/DL Coverage Probability
In Pegasos, coverage probability is the probability that the necessary
transmission power is lower than the available transmission power.
Coverage probability is calculated separately for each service of the service mix

and separately for UL and DL per pixel.

UL coverage probability:
The probability that the necessary UE transmission power does not exceed the
maximum permitted UE transmission power.
Max. perm. UE trans. pwr = min(SUE,DCH, SUE,max )
SUE,DCH = FSCPNetwork EditorUMTS Parameters UE TX Pwr Max
SUE,max = FSCPOptionsParameters(UMTS)UE+bearer(UMTS)UE power

UMTS (Service-) Coverage

The necessary UL transmission power for a subscriber
is dependent on:

UL target Eb/No (service-dependent)

Path loss, slow fading
Uplink load
IF from serving cell
IF from other cells
Additional path loss (indoors)
Noise figure of the BS receiver

UMTS (Service-) Coverage

DL Coverage Probability:
The probability that the necessary transmission power per traffic channel
does not exceed the maximum permitted transmission power per traffic channel.
Max. perm. power per traffic channel = TCH Max Pwr
Network editor UMTS parameters TCH Max Pwr

The necessary DL transmission power in

order to supply a subscriber is dependent on:
DL target Eb/No (service-dependent)
DL IF received power
IF from dedicated cell
IF from other cells
Path loss, slow fading
Additional path loss (indoor)
=

UMTS (Service-) Coverage

3.1.4 Coverage Area
A pixel is considered to be covered by a service if two conditions are met:
The pixel is located within the suitable cell
The coverage probability for the pixel exceeds a coverage threshold
The coverage threshold is defined for each service per DL and UL bearer

FSCP->Options Parameters(UMTS) UE+bearer(UMTS)

=

UMTS (Service-) Coverage

Coverage Area
There are three possibilities for graphic representation:
Balanced Coverage
UL+DL availability is represented per service A,B,C
Combined Coverage
The availability for the service combination A+B+C is represented separately
for UL and DL

Balanced Combined Coverage

The availability of the services A+B+C is represented jointly for UL and DL

UMTS Coverage
3.2 Settings
Basic settings as per chapter 1.2
Parameter settings: TMO Planning Guide

UMTS (Pilot-) Coverage

3.3 Representation/ Analysis
Since the pilot coverage is a basic prerequisite for all UMTS services, the
coverage analysis is broken down into pilot analysis and service analysis.
3.3.1 Evaluation of pilot coverage without load

In order to check the basic coverage by the pilot channel and to rule out
influences by the traffic, in the first step the network is taken into account
without much traffic (Section 1.4 Service Mix 1)
The following analyses/representations are to be taken into account:
Pilot field strength: at least 56 dBuV/m =-87dBm (corresp. indoor, 90%)
(derivation, see 3.1.2 or [6])
Suitable cell: ought to cover, without gaps, the region that is to be covered
Ec/Io: ought not to fall below -16 dB (median) (corresp. approx. 18dB 90%)
Pilot pollution: lists all interferers sorted according to field strength
Number of soft handover links: planning value is max 3

UMTS (Pilot-) Coverage

Ec/Io and Suitable Cell (contour) low traffic load

Not optimised

UMTS (Pilot-) Coverage

Soft Handover Links and Suitable Cell (contour) low traffic load

Not optimised

UMTS (Pilot-) Coverage

Evaluation of pilot coverage
Representation of suitable cell
A check of the Ec/Io is generally
recommended.
Pilot
coverage gap

no
Representation of SHO

yes
Received Power < pCPICH min 90%?

yes
SHO links <4 ?

Section
4

Ec/Io 90% > Ec/Io min?

no
Optimization of the server

IF problem

Optimization of the
interferers

yes

FS+IF problem

yes

Section
4

FS problem

Success?

no
Missing site ?

Success?

no
Missing site ?

Section
4

UMTS (Pilot-) Coverage

The servers/interferers of the network can be optimized by means
of the following measures
Changing the down tilt of the antennas
- Heed the manufacturers maximum possible electrical lowering angle
- Heed side lobes in the vertical diagram
Changing the azimuth angle of the antenna
- Only helpful to a limited extent as the Io is increased in the adjacent cells
Changing of the antenna height
- Check structural conditions of the site
Moving the site
Reduction in the transmission power of interferers
- Only helpful to a limited extent as the Ec of the cell is reduced
Additional site
=

UMTS Coverage
Ec/Io and Suitable Cell (contour) low traffic load

Optimised

UMTS Coverage
Soft Handover Links and Suitable Cell (contour) low traffic load

Optimised

UMTS coverage
3.3.2 Checking of the pilot coverage under load
In order to be able to say something about the availability of the pilot channel
under load or to find future gaps in coverage, there must be sufficient traffic
in the network. The presently assumed subscriber traffic intensity produces too
little load to discover critical regions.
For this purpose, the traffic settings as per Section 1.4 (network at load
limit, Service Mix 2) are selected.
After increasing the amount of traffic, the pilot analysis is again carried
out as shown in 3.3.1.

UMTS Coverage
Soft Handover Links and Suitable Cell (contour) increased traffic load

UMTS Coverage
Ec/Io and Suitable Cell (contour) increased traffic load

UMTS Coverage
3.4 Exercises, Part 1 (network without load)
Load the exercise network Erfurt_1200m
Parameter settings
- Detail Level 3
- Layer 5 active
- Service Mix 1
- Services for display 8, 9, 10
- Traffic light off
- Additional land usage off
- Traffic: 9.1 million UMTS subscribers
Graphic window settings
- Scale 1:20000
- Center of the window is station 79/80/81 (center view)
Calculate the MCA, Suitable Cell and Soft Handover
=

UMTS Coverage
Exercises

Visualize MCA and suitable cell (contour) and analyze cell formation and
field strength states in the region of cells 79/80/81.
Visualize Ec/Io and suitable cell (contour) and analyze the interference
state.
Visualize soft handover and suitable cell (contour) and analyze the
number of SHO links.

Optimize the area in the region of cells 79/80/81 in accordance with the
provisions of Section 3.3.1 and assess the result.

UMTS Coverage
3.4 Exercises, Part 2 (network with load)

Load the network Erfurt_1200m_opt.

Keep the traffic settings (network without much load).
Calculate the UMTS coverage (analytical model)
Start a second FSCP application.
Load the exercise network Erfurt_1200m_opt
Parameter settings
- Detail Level 3
- Layer 5 active
- Service Mix 2 (now with load!)
- Services for Display 11, 12, 1
- Traffic light on, settings in accordance with Section 1.4 (network under load)
- Additional land usage off
=

UMTS Coverage
Graphic window settings
- Scale 1:20000
- Center of the window is station 79/80/81 (center view)
Calculate the UMTS coverage (analytical model)
Visualize MCA and suitable cell (contour) and compare the result with
the representation of the first FSCP application (minor load).
Visualize soft handovers and suitable cell (contour) and compare the
result with the representation of the first FSCP.
Visualize Ec/Io and suitable cell (contour) and compare the result with
the representation of the first FSCP application.
Assess the results.
=

Appendix

PegaPlan
Ec/Io - Deviations

Dr. Bernd Schrder, T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH, IT321

=

Ec/I0
Calculated by AM, Network: Munich

Screenshot parameter

Ec/I0
Dominant Server, Inner Area

Screenshot parameter

Ec/I0
Many Servers, Inner Area

Screenshot parameter

Ec/I0
Almost dominant Server, Outer Area

Screenshot parameter

Ec/I0
Probability Functions

Ec/I0
Cumulative Probability Functions

Ec/I0
Formula - Case 1

Ec/I0

att BestServer

att BestServer PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer att 2ndServer TotalTxPow er2ndServer ... Background Noise
PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer

att 2ndServer
1
TotalTxPow er2ndServer ...
Background Noise
att BestServer
att BestServer

Case 1: Dominant Server, Inner Area

Ec/I0 dominated by PilotTxPowerBestServer/TotalTxPowerBestServer
=> almost no deviation
(fading on pilot signal and whole signal are the same)
att BestServer Attenuatio n betw een BestServer and UE, including FADING

Ec/I0
Formula - Case 2

Ec/I0

att BestServer

att BestServer PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer att 2ndServer TotalTxPow er2ndServer ... Background Noise
PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer

att 2ndServer
1
TotalTxPow er2ndServer ...
Background Noise
att BestServer
att BestServer

Case 2: Many Server, Inner Area

Ec/I0 influenced by sum of received power from 2nd, 3rd, ... server
=> growing deviation, in particular in SHO-Zones,
due to independent fading
att BestServer Attenuatio n betw een BestServer and UE, including FADING

Ec/I0
Formula - Case 3

Ec/I0

att BestServer

att BestServer PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer att 2ndServer TotalTxPow er2ndServer ... Background Noise
PilotTxPow erBestServer

TotalTxPow erBestServer

att 2ndServer
1
TotalTxPow er2ndServer ...
Background Noise
att BestServer
att BestServer

Case 3: Almost dominant Server, Outer Area

Ec/I0 strongly influenced by Background Noise
=> deviation getting close to deviation of slow fading
att BestServer Attenuatio n betw een BestServer and UE, including FADING