COVERAGE/CAPACITY ANALYSIS FOR 4th GENERATION LONG TERM EVOLUTION (LTE)

Diana Lopes1, Duarte Sousa1

1 Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL), rea Departamental de Engenharia Electrnica e Telecomunicaes e de Computadores (ADEETC), Lisboa, Portugal [33008; 31452]@alunos.isel.pt

Pedro Vieira1,2
2

Instituto de Telecomunicaes (IT), Lisboa, Portugal pvieira@deetc.isel.pt

Keywords: Abstract:

LTE, Radio Planning, Coverage, Capacity. The Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the 4th generation of mobile communications. This paper consists in analyzing the coverage and capacity of an LTE network in three different types of synthetic environments. After the technology preliminary study, planning is performed for each type of scenario (urban, suburban and rural), according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for LTE. Using a simulator developed in Matlab and available in open source, simulations were performed. They allowed to analyse the influence of certain parameters, such as antenna tilt at capacity and coverage levels. After data analysis, it was possible to conclude which parameters are the most important for network optimization.

INTRODUCTION

The Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an evolution of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). It was introduced in 3GPP Release 8 and is based on a flat network architecture "all IP". With regard to previous technologies, it offers a variety of advantages, allowing faster transmission rates (100 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink), an increase on spectral efficiency, low latency and support for users with high mobility (up to 350 km/h). In this paper we intend to study the impact of mechanical/electrical tilt angles, bandwidth, among others, drawing conclusions on capacity and coverage obtained. Finally, the goal is to analyze the data in order to optimize the network, taking into account the main factors that influence the planning. The paper is organized in five sections. Section 1 presents a brief introduction to this new technology (LTE), addressing the paper objectives as well as its organization. Section 2 is the State of Art section where a LTE features and operation are presented. Section 3 presents a description of the scenarios under study, based on the Link Budget calculations.

Section 4, Performance Analysis is described, concerning the simulator. Finally, Section 5 presents the main conclusions.

STATE OF ART

LTE comes with an architecture completely revamped compared to the architectures of existing networks, presenting itself more transversal and able to operate simultaneously with previous generations, at the network layer. LTE was developed to meet the following requirements [3]: 100 Mbps for downlink and 50 Mbps uplink; Flexibility bandwidth, supporting 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz; Use of adaptive modulation (QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM); High level of mobility and safety; Substantial reduction in latency to 10 ms; Increased spectral efficiency compared to prior technologies; Operability in both TDD mode and FDD mode.

2.1 LTE Architecture and Radio Interface

carriers corresponding to seven OFDM symbols at each time slot. LTE uses a variable bandwidth according to Table 1. This bandwidth is scalable and can be selected according to the volume of transmission or considering a level of Quality of Service (QoS) to meet.
Table 1: Channel Bandwidth configuration. Bandwidth [MHz] Number of RBs 1.4 6 3 15 5 25 10 50 15 75 20 100

2.2.1 Downlink
In Downlink is used the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), a multiple access technique based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). The OFDM is a technique based on the concept of a digital multicarrier modulation that achieves higher transmission rates. The basic principle seeks to divide a frequency band into multiple sub-carriers with lower bandwidths. In Figure 2 we can observe the main characteristics of an OFDM signal in frequency and time. In the frequency domain, multiple sub-carriers are modulated independently with data. Next, using the time domain, guard intervals are inserted between each of the symbols. These gaps serve to prevent inter-symbolic interference in the receiver, caused by the different propagation delays in the radio channel.

Figure 1: LTE Architecture [1].

In Figure 1 is represented the LTE architecture, in which the more complex processing of the radio interface is centred on the eNodeBs. Based on the 3GPP specifications of LTE can be deployed in different frequency bands. This new technology allows great flexibility in spectrum allocation. LTE can operate in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD), having at its disposal some spectral allocation schemes. In order to allow a greater number of users per cell, it is possible to use the two modes simultaneously. The FDD method requires the use of paired bands, since the transmitter and receiver operate at different sub-carriers frequencies, by providing a band for the downlink and one for uplink. The TDD mode uses only one frequency band for transmitting downlink and uplink, it allows for a higher rate of transmission, because if there is a free time slot, may be used by another channel. In LTE the basic unit for resource allocation is called Resource Block (RB) being flexible enough to different UEs in both time domain and frequency domain. Each RB has a bandwidth of 180 kHz, with 12 sub-carriers per block, with spacing of 15 kHz and 0.5 ms in frequency and in time respectively,

Figure 2: Representation in time and frequency domain of a OFDMA signal [4].

The access technology considers different modulation levels of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), which may be of Quadrature

Phase Shift Key (QPSK), 16-QAM or 64-QAM, depending on the presented conditions by the channel and the required transmission rate.

2.2.2 Uplink
In Uplink OFDMA is not used, as it associated to a high Peak to Average Ratio (PAR), compromising the efficient use of terminals energy resources, and drastically reducing the battery capacity of the equipment. In this case, it uses the multiple access technique Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) identical to OFDMA, but transmission is made on a single carrier with cyclic extension. The transmission uses Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) of the modulated symbols before mapping into the sub-carriers.

conditions. The transmission diversity depends on the encoded transmission signal from several antennas, exploiting the fading gains between them. For Downlink LTE MIMO 2x2, 4x2 and 4x4 are supported. For Uplink this technique is not yet implemented, so its used the Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) that can go up to 1x4.

2.5 Antenna Tilt Angle

The tilt angle of the antenna is defined as the angle of the main beam of an antenna below the horizontal plane. This technique aims to reduce interference between cells in order to increase the cell capacity and improve the performance of the entire network. There are two methods, which have different effects on signal propagation: mechanical tilt and electrical tilt. In mechanical tilt the antenna is tilted with specific accessories, changing the radiation pattern and without changing the phase of the signal. In the case of electrical tilt, the modification of the radiation pattern is obtained using the change in the phase characteristics of the signal. Both methods are intended to alter the coverage radius. As in the case of mechanical tilt there is a sideways spreading in coverage the larger the value of the angle. By contrast, in electrical tilt, the decrease of the coverage area is more uniform, because is the radiation pattern of the antenna that is changed.

2.3 Modulation
In order to optimize the capacity and coverage of LTE for a given transmission power, the transmitter takes into account the variations in signal quality (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of the receiver by adapting the distribution of resources according with this quality. This type of modulation is dependent on the characteristics of the channel, and is based on measurements made by the UE, that provides the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) to the eNodeB. Thus, based on the CQI, the eNodeB selects the modulation scheme (QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM) which best suits the conditions of the channel.

PLANNING

2.4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)

The technology Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) corresponds to the set of transmission techniques for wireless communication systems with multiple transmitting and receiving antennas. Spatial Multiplexing allows data to be sent in a separate antenna, and later, using the signal processing in the receiver, it is possible to separate these data streams. This separation increases the peak bit rate depending on the antenna configuration. In pre-coding, the signals transmitted by different antennas are mapped to maximize the SINR at reception, taking into account the channel

In order to analyze LTE three types of synthetic scenarios were defined, see Table 2, which, in terms of radio propagation environment are named as: Urban, Suburban and Rural. Using the implemented models and considering a minimum SINR of -10 dB [5], the Link Budget was calculated for each scenario. The used propagation models were the COST231 [6] to the Urban and Suburban environment and TS36942 model proposed in [5] for the rural environment. In order to analyze the behaviour of antennas in the different environments, and using only the available bands in Europe, the scenarios were set to a frequency of 1.9 GHz and 2.6 GHz. In all scenarios synthetic BTS antennas are equipped with the manufacturer's KATHREIN, and for the frequencies of 1.9 and

2.6 GHz the 742 215 [7], and 80010543 [8] models are used, respectively.
Table 2: Scenarios description. Environment Freq. [GHz] 1.9 2.6 1.9 2.6 1.9 Propagation Model COST 231
(Urban Macro)

equation (2), L is the pathloss of the cell which is given by, (2)

Urban Suburban Rural

COST 231
(Suburban Macro)

TS 36942

Vell Radius [m] 625 545 762 663 3464

where

is eNodeB UE distance in km.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

3.1 Urban and Suburban Scenarios

For the definition of these scenarios the COST231 model [6] was used, which allows to explore the Suburban and Urban environments, considering macro cells. For the definition of these scenarios 19 eNodeBs were used, with tri-sectorized configurations, set to the same type of antenna. The bandwidth is 10 MHz, with minimal loss between eNodeB and UE of 70 dB, and 570 users with a Closed Loop Spatial Multiplexing (CLSM) transmission mode 2x2.This calculation is performed based on equation (1), where PL is the media pathloss [6].
(1)

The used simulator during this research work is the System Level simulator [2] developed by Institute of Telecommunications, within the Vienna University of Technology. This simulator was developed in Matlab, it is available in open source and was implemented according to 3GPP [5].

4.1 Bandwidth Variation

As already set, there are 6 available bandwidths, and each of them is associated with a number of RBs. According to 3GPP TS36.101 version [9] for the frequencies in the network only the bandwidths 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz are supported. Thus, based on this standard the following Figure 3 allows to analyse how the bandwidth influences the scenarios under study. 60 40 20 0 10 MHz 15 MHz 20 MHz Bandwidth[MHz] Urban 1.9 GHz Suburban 1.9 GHz Urban 2.6 GHz Rural
Figure 3: Bandwidth variation for different scenarios depending on the capacity of the network.

where, , is the eNodeB height; , the UE height; , the carrier frequency; , is the distance between the eNodeB and UE; C is a constant factor (0 dB for suburban macro and 3 dB for urban macro).

Capacity [Mbit/s]

5 MHz

3.2 Rural Scenario

The parameters initially set for the rural environment have been 7 eNodeBs, with tri-sectorized configuration, set to the same antenna type. The bandwidth is 5 MHz, as minimal losses between eNodeB and UE of 80 dB, 210 users, and using transmission mode of CLSM 2x2. For this type of scenario, the TS36942 [5] model is used. Using

Suburban 2.6GHz

It can be seen that for the various types of scenarios, the network capacity is larger as the bandwidth increases.

4.2 Tilt Variation

4.2.1 Urban and Suburban Scenarios
Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 illustrate the tilt angle impact into networks coverage and capacity. 30 20 10 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Tilt Angle [] Suburban 1.9 GHz Urban 1.9 GHz Suburban 2.6 GHz Urban 2.6 GHz

Figure 4: Electrical tilt variation for different scenarios on network capacity.

Regarding capacity, it is noticeable in Figure 4 that the capacity average value is higher in scenarios with a 8 electric tilt. In Figure 5, in both electrical and mechanical tilt it is possible to observe a uniform coverage but with lower transmission rates in a large part of the cell area, the throughput will decrease as the user moves away from the center of the cell. By increasing the angle to double, see Figure 6, the area where there are higher transmission rates is increased. For this type of scenario it is preferable to use the electrical tilt, since it is important to ensure a greater capacity to users in the largest possible area of the cell. In the case of a 12 tilt angle, as seen in Figure 7, the coverage area of each cell is too low. When comparing the different simulations it is then possible to conclude that in terms of coverage, as the tilt angle increases, the radius of coverage of the cell decreases. This reduction occurs because as the angle is increased, the vertical radiation pattern of the antenna changes towards the ground, which in turn reduces the coverage distance of the same antenna, minimizing interference. In short, for the different scenarios, the best case in terms of both coverage and capacity is the electrical tilt with an angle of 8.

Capacity [Mbit/s]

Figure 5: Urban Environment coverage at 2.6 GHz with 4 electrical and mechanical tilt angle, respectively.

4.2.2 Rural Scenario

In order to analyse which electrical/mechanical tilt angle is the most suitable for this type of environment, see Figures 8 and 9. Capacity [Mbit/s] 15 10 5 0 2 4 Tilt Angle[] Electrical Mechanical 8

Figure 6: Urban Environment coverage at 2.6 GHz with 8 electrical and mechanical tilt angle, respectively.

Figure 8: Electrical and mechanical tilt impact on downlink capacity for rural scenario.

Figure 7: Urban Environment 2.6 GHz with electrical and mechanical tilt angle 12.

Throughput [Mbit\s]

4 3 2 1 0 Elt. Mec. Elt. Mec. Elt. Mec. 8 8 4 4 2 2

Tilt Angle []

REFERENCES
[1] Harri Holma, Antti Toskala, LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA Based Radio Access, (2009) [2] Institute of Telecommunications Vienna University of Technology, Vienna LTE Simulators, System Level Simulator Documentation. [3] 3GPP TR 25.913 V9.0.0, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; Requirements for Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) and Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), (2010-02). [4] 3GPP TR 36.942 V11, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Acess (E-UTRA); Radio Frequency (RF) system scenarios, (2012-10). [5] 3GPP TR 36.942 V11, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Acess (E-UTRA); Radio Frequency (RF) system scenarios, (2012-10). [6] 3 GPP TR 25.996 V9.0.0, Spatial channel model for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) simulations, (2009-12). [7] (Online) http://www.kathreinscala.com/catalog/742215.pdf (17-07-2013) [8](Online)http://antennasystems.com/Merchant2/pdf/800 _10543.pdf (18-07-2013). [9] 3GPP TS36.101 V10.3.0 Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception, (2011-06).

Peak UE Throughput 95% Average UE Throughput Edge UE Throughput 5%

Figure 9: Electrical and mechanical tilt impact on uplink capacity for Rural scenario.

In Figure 8 we conclude that the angle that allows the network to have better downlink capacity is the 4 electric tilt. With Figure 9 it can be seen that for the scenario under consideration, the electric tilt with 8 is the one that presents a better performance in the UE in the intermediate zone of the cell. However, this is not the ideal case in terms of performance because at the edge of the cell the throughput is null, so the UE does not have coverage in the entire cell. Thus, the mechanical tilt angle is 2 is the one which gives better coverage for this scenario.

CONCLUSIONS

After the study of LTE technology, different implementation scenarios were set. A study to evaluate the influence that some parameters offer in the implemented scenarios was performed, considering a simulation platform. It was concluded that the higher the bandwidth the greater is the number of RBs assigned to each user, i.e, increasing network, thereby increasing the average bit rate for each user. With regard to tilt angles, it is possible to consider that as one increases the tilt of the antenna, the coverage radius of a cell decreases. Thus, the variation of the tilt technique is effective in reducing interference between adjacent cells, and when welldefined within a network, it can optimize the level of coverage and capacity.