Topics covered

Free Space Propagation Model, Two Ray Ground

Reflection (Two Ray) model – Outdoor Propagation
Models: Okumura Model, Hata Model – Indoor
Propagation Model: Attenuation Factor Model.
 Free Space Propagation Model
• Free space power received by a receiver antenna located at
a distance ‘d’ from the radiating transmitter antenna is
given by Friis free space equation
Pt Gt Gr 2
Pr d =
4π 2 d2 L

• 𝑃𝑡 and 𝑃𝑟 must be expressed in same units.

• 𝐺𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑟 are dimensionless quantities.
•  and 𝑑 expressed in meters.
• 𝐿 is system loss factor – not related to propagation; its due
to transmission line attenuation, filter losses and antenna
losses. L 1 (L=1 indicates no loss in system hardware).
 Free-space Propagation

hb

hm

Transmitter Distance d
Receiver

• The received signal power at distance d:

AeGtPt
Pr =
4d 2
where Pt is transmitting power, Ae is effective area, and Gt is the
transmitting antenna gain. Assuming that the radiated power is uniformly
distributed over the surface of the sphere.

3
 Free Space Propagation Model
Gain of the antenna is related to its effective aperture
4πAe
G=
2 Area through
which power
• Effective aperture is associated with the receiving antenna. is radiated or
received.

• Effective Aperture of an antenna is the measure of the ability of an antenna

to extract energy from the electromagnetic wave.
Effective isotropic radiated power EIRP =PtGt (Omni directional antenna) (dBi)
ERP (Effective Radiated Power)=dipole antenna (dBd)
• Path loss, which represents the signal attenuation as a positive quantity
measured in dB, is the difference between the effective transmitted power
and the received power and may or may not include the effect of antenna
gains.
𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 2
𝑃𝐿 𝑑𝐵 = 10 log = −10 log
𝑃𝑟 4𝜋 2 𝑑 2
 Free Space Propagation Model
• When Gt=Gr=1,

• Conditions:
➢ Predicts Pr for values of d which are in the far-field of the
transmitting antenna.
➢ Far-field (Fraunhofer region) of a transmitting antenna
2
is the
2𝐷
region beyond the far-field distance 𝑑𝑓 . [𝑑𝑓 = , where D –

largest physical dimension of the antenna].
➢ Additionally to be in far-field region,
𝑑𝑓 ≫ 𝐷 and 𝑑𝑓 ≫ 
➢d0
 Free Space Propagation Model
• Large scale propagation models use a close-in distance,
d0, as a known received power reference point.
• Received power Pr(d) at any distance d>d0, is predicted
𝑑0 2
from 𝑃𝑟 𝑑 = 𝑃𝑟 𝑑0 , 𝑑 ≥ 𝑑0 ≥ 𝑑𝑓
𝑑
𝑃𝑟 (𝑑0 ) 𝑑0
• 𝑃𝑟 𝑑 𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 10 log + 20 log , 𝑑 ≥ 𝑑0 ≥
0.001 𝑊 𝑑
𝑑𝑓
• The reference distance d0 for practical systems using
low gain antenna in the 1-2 GHz range is chosen to be
1m in indoor and 100m or 1km in outdoor
environments.
eg 4.2
If a transmitter produces 50watts of power express the
power of(a) dBm (b)dBw. If 50 watts is applied to a
unity gain antenna with a 900 MHz carrier frequency,
find the received power in dBm at a free space distance
of 100m from the antenna. What is Pr(10km)? Assume
unity gain for the receive antenna.
Relation between power and radiating field

Field equation of antenna

Relation between power and radiating field
Assume a receiver is located at 10 km from a 50W transmitter.
The carrier frequency is 900 MHz, antenna gain at the
transmitter end and receiver is 1 and 2 respectively. Free space
propagation is assumed. Find
(a) power at the receiver
(b) the magnitude of the E field at the receiver
(c) power flux density
(d) the rms voltage applied to the receiver input assuming that
the receive antenna has a purely real impedance of 50 and is
matched to the receiver.
(e) Free space path loss
Two Ray Ground Reflection Model
Two Ray Ground Reflection Model
Two Ray Ground Reflection
Path Difference
 Phase Difference

 2 h r ht
  0 .6 rad
d
E 0 d 0 2 h r ht k
E TO T (t )  2 V /m
d d d 2
2. Check whether two ray model can be applied
for the following specification:
a) ht=35m, hr=3m d=250m
b) ht=30m, hr=1.5m d=450m
Justify your answer
3. Assume a receiver is located at 10km from a 50W
transmitter. The carrier frequency is 1900MHz. Free space
propagation is assumed. Gt=1, Gr=2, find the
a) Power at the receiver
b) Magnitude of E field at the receiver antenna
c) Open circuit rms voltage applied to the receiver input
assuming that the receiver antenna has a purely real
impedance of 50 and is matched to the receiver
d) Find the received power at the mobile using two ray
ground reflection model assuming height of the
transmitting antenna is 50m and receiving antenna is
1.5m above the ground and ground reflection is -1
4. Determine the propagation path loss for a radio signal at 800
MHz, with a transmitting antenna height of 30 m and a receiving
antenna height of 2 m, over a distance of 10 km, using two-ray
mobile point-to-point propagation model. How is it comparable
with that of free-space propagation path loss model?
 Propagation Mechanisms
• Reflection
– Propagation wave impinges on an object which is large
as compared to wavelength
- e.g., the surface of the Earth, buildings, walls, etc.
• Diffraction
– Radio path between transmitter and receiver
obstructed by surface with sharp irregular edges
– Waves bend around the obstacle, even when LOS (line
of sight) does not exist
• Scattering
– Objects smaller than the wavelength of the
propagation wave
- e.g. foliage, street signs, lamp posts 21
 Radio Propagation Effects

Building

Direct Signal

hb Reflected Signal
Diffracted
Signal hm

d
Transmitter Receiver

22
Multipath Propagation
 Models of Path Loss
• Log-distance Path Loss Model

PL (d ) = PL (d 0 ) + 10 log( d / d 0 )
• Log-normal Shadowing
PL (d ) = PL (d 0 ) + 10 log( d / d 0 ) + X 
– Xσ: N(0,σ) Gaussian distributed rv

25
 Path Loss

• Path loss in decreasing order:

– Urban area (large city)
– Urban area (medium and small city)
– Suburban area
– Open area

26
Example of Path Loss (Urban Area: Large City)

Path Loss in Urban Area in Large City

180
fc=200MHz
170
fc=400MHz
Path Loss Lpu (dB)

160 fc=800MHz
150 fc=1000MHz
140 fc=1500MHz
fc=150MHz
130
120
110
100
0 10 20 30

Distance d (km)

27
 Example of Path Loss
(Urban Area: Medium and Small Cities)
Path Loss in Urban Area for Small & Medium Cities

180
170
Path Loss Lpu (dB)

fc=150MHz
160
fc=200MHz
150
fc=400MHz
140
fc=800MHz
130
fc=1000MHz
120
fc=1500MHz
110
100
0 10 20 30

Distance d (km)

28
 Example of Path Loss (Suburban Area)

Path Loss in Suburban Area

170
160
Path Loss Lps (dB)

fc=150MHz
150
fc=200MHz
140
fc=400MHz
130
fc=800MHz
120
fc=1000MHz
110
fc=1500MHz
100
90
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Distance d (km)

29
 Example of Path Loss (Open Area)

Path Loss in Open Area

150

140
Path Loss Lpo (dB)

fc=150MHz
130
fc=200MHz
120 fc=400MHz
110 fc=800MHz

100 fc=1000MHz
fc=1500MHz
90

80
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Distance d (km)

30
Typical large-scale path loss
Measured large-scale path loss
 Shadow Fading
• Same T-R distance usually have different path
loss. Surrounding environment is different
• Reality: simplified Path-Loss Model
represents an “average”.
• How to represent the difference between the
average and the actual path loss?
• Empirical measurements have shown that
• it is random (and so is a random variable)
• Log-normal distributed

21
 Log-normal distribution
1  [ln( r ) − m]2 
p(r ) = exp− 
r 2 2
 2 2

• A log-normal distribution is a probability distribution
of a random variable whose logarithm is normally
distributed: logarithm of the random
variable
1 log 𝑥 − 𝜇 2
𝑓𝑋 𝑥; 𝜇, 𝜎 2 = exp −
𝑥𝜎 2𝜋 2𝜎2

normalized so that the integration of the

pdf=1
• 𝑥: the random variable (linear scale)
• 𝜇, 𝜎2: mean and variance of the distribution (in dB)

22
 Log-normal Shading
• Log-normal distribution:
- The pdf of the received signal level is given
in decibels by (M − M )2
1 −
p (M ) = e 2 2
,
2 

where M is the true received signal level m

in decibels, i.e., 10log10m, M is the area
average signal level, i.e., the mean of M, 
is the standard deviation in decibels
Log-normal Distribution

2

p(M)

M
M

The pdf of the received signal level

36
 Log-normal Shadowing
Expressing the path loss in dB, we have
𝑑
𝑃𝐿 𝑑 𝑑𝐵 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑 + 𝑋𝜎 = 𝑃𝐿 𝑑0 + 10𝛾 log + 𝑋𝜎
𝑑0
❑ 𝑿𝝈: Describes the random shadowing effects

❑ 𝑿𝝈~𝑵(𝟎, 𝝈𝟐)

❑ (normal distribution with zero mean and 𝝈𝟐 variance)

❑ Same T-R distance, but different levels of clutter.

❑ Empirical Studies show that 𝝈 ranges from 4 dB to

23
13dB in an outdoor channel.
Path Loss, Shadowing, and
Multi-Path

25
 Cell Coverage Area
• Cell coverage area: expected percentage of locations
within a cell where the received power at these
locations is above a given minimum.

Some area within the

cell has received
power lower than
Some area outside of
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛
the cell has received
power higher than
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛

26
 Cell Coverage Area
• We can boost the transmission power at the BS
• Extra interference to the neighbor cells
• In fact, any mobile in the cell has a nonzero
probability of having its received power below 𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒏.
• Since Normal distribution has infinite tails
• Make sense in the real-world:
in a tunnel, blocked by large buildings, doesn’t matter if it is very
close to the BS

27
Area versus Distance coverage model
with shadowing model
Outdoor propagation Environment
◼ Based on the coverage area, the Outdoor
propagation environment may be divided
into three categories
1. Propagation in Macro cells
2. Propagation in Micro cells
3. Propagation in street Micro cells
Outdoor propagation Environment
Macrocells over Microcells
Macrocell Microcell
Cell Radius 1 to 20 km 0.1 to 1 km
TX power 1 to 10W 0.1 to 1 W
Fading Rayleigh Nakgami- Rice
RMS Delay 0.1 to 10 s 10 to 100 ns
Spread
Max. Bit Rate 0.3 Mbps 1 MBps
Outdoor propagation Models
◼ Outdoor radio transmission takes place over
an irregular terrain.
◼ The terrain profile must be taken into
consideration for estimating the path loss
e.g. trees, buildings and hills must be taken into
consideration
◼ Some common models used are
➢ Longley Rice Model
➢ Okumura Model
➢ Hata model
 Longley Rice Model
◼ Longley Rice Model is applicable to point to point
communication.
◼ It covers 40 MHz to 100 GHz
◼ It can be used in wide range of terrain
◼ Path geometry of terrain and the refractivity of
troposphere is used for transmission path loss
calculations
◼ Geometrical optics is also used along with the two ray
model for the calculation of signal strength.
◼ Two modes
❖ Point to point mode prediction: Path specific parameters
are available/ Detailed terrain path profile
❖ Area mode prediction : Terrain path profile not available.
 Longley Rice Model
◼ Longley Rice Model is normally available as a
computer program which takes inputs as
• Transmission frequency
• Path length
• Polarization
• Antenna heights
• Surface reflectivity
• Ground conductivity and dielectic constants
• Climate factors
▪ A problem with Longley rice is that it doesn't
take into account the buildings and
multipath, though additional attenuation due
to urban clutter is considered.
 Okumura Model
◼ In 1968 Okumura did a lot of measurements and produce
a new model applicable from 150-1920 MHz.
◼ The new model was used for signal prediction in urban
areas for distances 1 km – 100 km with base station
antenna heights from 30 m to 1000 m.
◼ Okumura introduced a graphical method to predict the
median attenuation relative to free-space for a quasi-
smooth terrain.
◼ The model consists of a set of curves developed from
measurements and is valid for a particular set of system
parameters in terms of carrier frequency, antenna height,
etc.
 Okumura Model
◼ First of all the model determined the free space path loss
of link.
◼ After the free-space path loss has been computed, the
median attenuation, as given by Okumura’s curves has
to be taken to account
◼ The model was designed for use in the frequency range
100 MHz to 1920 MHz and mostly in an urban
propagation environment. Distance 1km to 100kn
◼ Okumura’s model assumes that the path loss between
the TX and RX in the terrestrial propagation environment
can be expressed as:
 Okumura Model
▪ Estimating path loss using Okumura Model

1. Determine free space loss and Amu(f ,d ), between points of interest

2. Add Amu(f ,d) and correction factors to account for terrain

L50 = 50% value of propagation path loss (median)

LF = free space propagation loss
Amu(f,d) = median attenuation relative to free space
G(hte) = base station antenna height gain factor
G(hre) = mobile antenna height gain factor
GAREA = gain due to environment
 Okumura Model
◼ Amu(f,d) & GAREA have been plotted for wide range of
frequencies.
◼ Antenna gain varies at rate of 20 dB or 10 dB per
decade
G(hte) = h
20 log te 30m < hte < 1000m
200
h re
G(h)re = 10 log hre 3m
3
hre
G(hre) = 20 log 3m < hre <10m
3
◼ model corrected for
h = terrain undulation height, isolated ridge height
average terrain slope and mixed land/sea parameter
 Median Attenuation Relative to Free Space (Amu(f,d) ) (dB)

70 Urban Area 100

ht = 200m 80
60 hr = 3m
70

50 60
Amu(f,d) (dB) 50
40 40
d(km)
30 30
20
20
10
5
10 2
1

100 200 300 500 700 1000 2000 3000 f (MHz)

Correction Factor GAREA
Calculate the mean path loss using Okumara’s model for
d=50km, the hte=100m, hre=10m in a suburban
environment. If the base station transmitter radiates an
EIRP of 1 kW at a carrier frequency of 900 MHz, Find
EIRP(dBm) and the power at the receiver where gain at
receiving antenna is 10 dB.
 Hata Model
◼ Most widely used model in Radio frequency.

◼ Predict the behavior of cellular communication in

built up areas.

◼ Applicable to the transmission inside cities.

◼ Suited for point to point and broadcast

transmission.

◼ 150 MHz to 1.5 GHz, Transmission height up to

200m and link distance less than 20 Km.
 Hata Model
◼ Hata transformed Okumura’s graphical model into an analytical
framework.

◼ The Hata model for urban areas is given by the empirical formula:

L50urban = 69.55 dB +26.16 log fc (MHz) − 13.82 log hte (m) − a [hre
(m)] + (44.9 − 6.55 log hte (m)) log d(km)

◼ Where L50urban is the median path loss in dB

◼ The formula is valid for

150 MHz  fc  1.5GHz,
1 m  hre  10m, 30m  hte  200m, 1km<d<20km
 Hata Model
◼ The correction factor a(hre) for mobile antenna height hre
for a small or medium-sized city is given by:
a(hre) = (1.1 logfc − 0.7)hre − (1.56 log(fc) − 0.8) dB
◼ For a large city it is given by
a(hre) = 8.29[log(1.54hre)]2 − 1.10 for fc  300 MHz
dB =3.20[log (11.75hre)]2 − for fc  300 MHz
4.97 dB
◼ To obtain path loss for suburban area the standard Hata
model is modified as
L50 = L50(urban) − 2[log(fc/28)]2 − 5.4
◼ For rural areas
L50 =L50(urban) − 4.78log(fc)2 − 18.33logfc −
40.98
 Indoor Models
◼ Indoor Channels are different from traditional
channels in two ways
1. The distances covered are much smaller
2. The variability of environment is much greater for a
much small range of Tx and Rx separation.

◼ Propagation inside a building is influenced by:

Layout of the building
Construction materials
Building Type: office , Home or factory
 Indoor Models
◼ Indoor models are dominated by the same
mechanism as out door models:
- Reflection, Diffraction and scattering
◼ Conditions are much more variable
- Doors/Windows open or not
- Antenna mounting : desk ceiling etc
- The levels of floor
◼ Indoor models are classifies as
- Line of sight (LOS)
- Obstructed (OBS) with varying degree of clutter
 Indoor Models
◼ Distances covered are much smaller :Indoor
path loss
◼ Variability of the environment is much greater
than for much smaller T-R separation distances
◼ Indoors models are effected by type of building
e.g. Residential buildings, offices, stores and
sports area etc.
◼ Multipath delay spread
- Building with small amount of metal and hard partition
have small delay spread 30 to 60ns
- Building with large amount of metal and open isles
have delay spread up to 300ns
 Partition losses (same floor)
◼ Two types of partitions
1. hard partitions: Walls of room
2. Soft partitions : Moveable partitions that do
not span to ceiling
◼ Partitions vary widely in their Physical and
electrical properties.
◼ Path loss depend upon the types of partitions
◼ Wooden frame partition with plaster board to
form internal walls or nonreinforced concrete
between floors in houses.
◼ Movable office partitions use metal reinforced
concrete between floors.
Partition losses (same floor)
Material Type Loss(dB) Frequency (MHZ)

All metal Partition 26 815

Concrete block wall 13 1300

Empty Cardboard boxes 3-6 1300

Dry Plywood(0.75 inches) 1 9.6

Dry Plywood(0.75 inches) 4 28.8

Partitions losses (between floors)
◼ Partition losses between the two floors
depend on
❑ External dimension and material used for
buildings
❑ Types of construction used to create floors
❑ External surroundings
❑ No of windows used
❑ Tinting on the windows

◼ Floor Attenuation Factor (FAF) increases as we

increase the no of floors.
Partitions losses (between floors)
Log distance path loss model
◼ Path loss can be given as

where n is path loss exponent and σ is

standard deviation
◼ n and σ depend on the building type.
◼ Smaller value of σ indicates better accuracy of
path loss model
Log distance path loss model
Ericsson Multiple Break Point Model
Attenuation factor model
Attenuation factor model
 Models for Path Loss
Empirical Models: Indoor Case
• Indoor Log-distance path loss model
Q P
PL (d ) = PL (d 0 ) + 10 log( d / d 0 ) +  FAF (q) + WAF ( p)
q =1 p =1

– FAF(q): floor attenuation factor

– WAF(p): wall attenuation factor

70
 Models for Path Loss
Empirical Models: Indoor Case
• Indoor Log-distance path loss model
Q P
PL (d ) = PL (d 0 ) + 10 log( d / d 0 ) +  FAF (q) + WAF ( p)
q =1 p =1

• γ ranges from
1.5 to 4

• γ depends on
frequency and
building
materials

71
 Land Propagation

• The received signal power:

Gt Gr Pt
Pr =
L
where Gr is the receiver antenna gain,
L is the propagation loss in the channel, i.e.,
L = LP LS LF
Fast fading

Slow fading
Path loss

72
 Path Loss (Free-space)

• Definition of path loss LP :

Pt
LP = ,
Pr
Path Loss in Free-space:

LPF (dB ) = 32.45 + 20 log 10 f c ( MHz ) + 20 log 10 d (km),

where fc is the carrier frequency.

This shows greater the fc , more is the loss.

73
 Path Loss (Land Propagation)

• Simplest Formula:
Lp = A d-α

where
A and α: propagation constants
d : distance between transmitter and receiver
α : value of 3 ~ 4 in typical urban area

74
Example of Path Loss (Free-space)

Path Loss in Free-space

130
fc=150MHz
Path Loss Lf (dB)

120
fc=200MHz
110
fc=400MHz
100
fc=800MHz
90
fc=1000MHz
80 fc=1500MHz
70
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Distance d (km)

75
Ex 4.19 If Pt=10W, Gt=10dB, Gr=3dB and L=1 dB at 900MHz compute
the received power for knife edge geometry. Compare this value with
the theoretical free space received power if an obstruction did not
exist. What is the path loss due to diffraction for this case?

If geometry and all other parameters are same redo for (a) f=50 MHz and (b) f=1900
MHz
❑ Given an indoor path loss model of the form
𝑃𝐿 𝑑 𝑑𝐵 = 40 + 20 log 𝑑 + σ 𝐹𝐴𝐹
where d is measured in meters, find the mean received
power between three floors of a building if FAF is 15dB
per floor. Assume the transmitter radiates 20 dBm and
unity gain antenna are used at both transmitter and
receiver and that the straight line path between the
transmitter and receiver is 1.5m through the floors.

❑ Given median path loss 𝐿𝑃 = 15𝑑𝐵 + 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑟 2.8

where fixed loss=15dB and path loss component, n=2.8
If a cell phone has sensitivity -90dBm, calculate the
transmitted power required to service a circular area of
radius 10 km.