CSE-820: Advanced Computer

Networks

Mobile Radio Propagation: Large Scale Path Loss

Hassaan Khaliq Qureshi

School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST)
Pakistan
Credits and Acknowledgements
 Throughout this course, I will be borrowing examples, explanations
and figures from the following books:
 Rappaport, Wireless Communications, Prentice Hall, 2002.
 Wireless Communications and Networks by William Stallings.

 I will also be borrowing examples and figures from the online course
material provided by Prof. Andrea Goldsmith, Stanford University

 In this particular lecture, I will be borrowing concepts and figures from

the Advanced Communication Systems Course by Dr. Syed Ali
Khayam who taught this course 2 years back.

 I am also borrowing figures from Mike Willis’s online tutorial:

http://www.mike-willis.com/Tutorial/PF7.htm

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What will we cover in this lecture?
 This lecture will cover some basic details on
propagation and the largescale propagation
effects that are commonly observed on a
wireless communication system:

 Modes of Propagation and some basic concepts

 Free-Space Propagation
 Isotropic and Directional Antennas
 Terrestrial Propagation: Large Scale Physical Models
 Reflection and Diffraction
 Terrestrial Propagation: Large Scale Statistical Models
 Median and Local Path Losses
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 Terrestrial Propagation:
Large Scale Statistical Models

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Statistical Models
 Generally, a signal undergoes multiple reflections and
diffractions during propagation

 Therefore, many different attenuated and phase-rotated versions

of the signal are received at the receiver

 With so many different rays, it is difficult to characterize the

power of the received signal using physical propagation models

 Alternatively, a statistical approach is used in which the signal

characteristics are measured at different points and then a
statistical model is fit to match the measurements
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Statistical Models
 In a statistical model, signal characteristics are measured at
different points and then a statistical model is fit to match the
measurements

 Generally two signal components are measured:

 Median Path Loss: Average signal attenuation based on the distance
between a sender and receiver

 Local Variations: Deviation around the median path loss

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Median Path Loss
 The median path loss between a sender and receiver at a
distance d meters is generically represented as:
PR b
= n
Where: PT d
 n is called the path loss exponent which varies between 2 and 5
depending on the environment
 β represents the loss due to antenna parameters and signal wavelength

 Median path loss can also be represented in decibels as:

æd ö÷
L p = b 0 (dB) + 10n log ççç ÷ ÷
çèd 0 ø÷
Where β0 is the attenuation at reference distance d0

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Log-Normal Shadow Fading
 Large variations around the median are generally
observed in urban environments

 The variations are modelled as a Gaussian distribution:

æd ö÷
ç
L p = b 0 + 10n log çç ÷ + Xs
÷
çèd 0 ø÷
where Xσ is zero-mean Gaussian distributed random variable with
standard deviation σ
All quantities in the above expression are in decibels
 This path loss model is called the lognormal shadow fading
model

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Median Path Loss
PR b æd ö÷
= n L p = b 0 (dB) - 10n log ççç ÷ ÷
PT d çèd 0 ø÷

Environment Path loss exponent, n

Free Space 2
Flat Rural 3
Rolling Rural 3.5
Suburban, Low Rise 4
Dense urban, Skyscrapers 4.5

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Log-Normal Shadow Fading
 The variations around the median are modeled as a Gaussian
distribution
æ
çç x dB ö ÷
- çç ÷
÷
1 çè2 s 2 ø
÷
÷
÷
fX (x dB ) = e dB

s
2ps dB
All quantities in the above expression are in decibels.

-- It is a function which tells the probability of a number in some

context falling between any two real numbers.

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Local Variations

æ
ç x dB - mdB ö÷
÷
1 - çç
çè 2 s dB ø÷
2 ÷
fLp (x dB ) = e ÷

2ps dB

 Loss relative to median path is greater than 10dB for only 10% of
the times with standard deviation of 8dB.
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Exercise- Availability
 A measurement campaign in a large city indicates that the
propagation can be reasonably well modeled with a loss
exponent of n= 2.9. The shadowing deviation about this loss is 6
dB. What is the range of coverage if 99% availability is required
for a public- safety radio application? Assume that the receiver
sensitivity is -100 dBm and the required power at 10 meters is
2mW.

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Example: Availability
 A service is said to be X% available if the received signal strength
is above the receiver sensitivity more than X% of the times

 What is the range of coverage under the following conditions:

 99% availability
 Path loss exponent, n = 2.9
 Shadowing deviation, σ = 6dB
 Receiver sensitivity = -100dBm
 Measured power at 10m is 2 mWatts (3.01dBm)

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Example: Availability

14dB

99% availability

Copyright Pearson Education Inc. © 14

Example: Availability
ær ö÷
PR = PT - L p = PT (dBm ) - b 0 (dBm ) - 10n log ççç ÷ ÷
çèr0 ø÷
ær ö÷
10n log ççç ÷ ÷ = 3.01 (dBm ) - PR
çèr0 ø÷
(
= 3.01 (dBm ) - - 100 (dBm ) + 14 (dBm ) )
ær ö÷
- 10n log ççç ÷ ÷ = - 89.01 (dB )
è10 ø÷
ær ö÷
10 log ççç ÷ ÷ = 30.69 (dB )
è10 ø÷
10 log (r ) = 40.69 (dB )
r = 11.72 km

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Problem
 In previous example, the estimates were based on median path
loss.
 In the same city, the deviation about the median path loss was
estimated to be 8 dB. Assuming a log normal model, how much
additional power must be transmitted to cover the same service
area with 90% availability at the edge of coverage when local
shadowing is taken into account.

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Problem
 A brief measurement campaign indicates that the median
propagation loss at 420 MHz in a midsize North American city
can be modeled with n=2.8 and a fixed loss of 25 dB. Assuming a
cell phone receiver sensitivity of -95 dBm, What transmitter
power is required to service a circular area of radius 10 Km.
 Suppose that measurements were optimistic and n=3.1 is more
appropriate. What is the corresponding increase in transmit
power that would be required??

 Conclude your findings by looking at the difference???

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Indoor Propagation Models

 There is a great deal of interest in characterizing Radio

Propagation inside buildings. The Indoor radio channels differs
from the traditional mobile channel in two aspects:

 The distances covered are much smaller.

 The variability in the environment is much greater for a much

smaller range of T-R separation distance.

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Indoor Propagation Models

 Indoor propagation is dominated by the same mechanisms as

outdoor; reflection, diffraction and scattering. However, the
conditions are much variable depending on whether interior
doors are open or closed inside a building.

 Antennas mounted at desk level in a partitioned office receive

vastly different signals than those mounted on the ceiling.

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Indoor Propagation Models

 Indoor channels may be classified as LOS or OBS. Some of the

key models are:

 Partition Losses: Buildings have a wide variety of partitions and

obstacles which form the internal and external structure. In
general, they are classified as hard partition and soft partition.
Different loss measured during obstruction of common building
material are given in table 4.3 (Rappaport).

 Log distance path loss model has been shown to be quite

accurate in modeling indoor path loss….

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Indoor Propagation Models
Signal penetration into Buildings: RF penetration has been found to
be a function of frequency as well as height within the building.

 At lower floors of a building, the urban clutter induces greater

attenuation and reduces the level of penetration.

 Ericsson multiple breakpoint model and attenuation factor

model are some other models used to model indoor
propagation.

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Example 2.5-Indoor Propagation
 Suppose, in an office building, a 2.4 GHz transmitter located at a
work station is separated from the network access node
(receiver) by a distance of 35m. The transmission must pass
through 5m of an office, through a plaster board wall and then
through an open area. The propagation is modelled as a free
space for the first 5m and with a loss exponent of 3.1 for the
remainder of the distance. The plaster board wall causes 6 dB
attenuation of the signal. The Isotropic transmitter radiates 20
dBm. Can the link be closed if the receiver has a sensitivity of -75
dBm.

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Problem 2.7
 Using the same model as in Example 2.5, predict the path loss for
the site geometry shown in Figure 2.12. Assume that the walls
cause an attenuation of 5dB and the floors 10dB.

03 m R

Open area of 20 m
T 04 m

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Link Calculations
 In designing a system for reliable communications, we must
perform link budget calculation to ensure that sufficient power is
available at the receiver to close the link and meet the SNR
requirement.

 Recall that the phrase “Closing the link” refers to the

requirement that the received power is greater than the receiver
sensitivity.

PR (dB) = PT (dB) + GT (dB) + G R (dB) - LP (dB)

 Right hand side provides enough power at the receiver to detect

the transmitted information.

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Free Space Link Budget
 We can also represent the link budget equation as

PT
PR = GT G R
Lp
 However, the above equation does not include the effect of
noise.

 We know that here are many sources of noise. However, to start

with we assume that the dominant effect is receiver noise and
that this noise is characterized by noise spectral density No.

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Free Space Link Budget
 To include the effect of noise, we divide each side of the Friis
equation by NO.
PR PT
= GT G R
No LpN O

 Recall that No is characterized by thermal noise, which is given by

No = K . T (W/Hz)

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Free Space Link Budget
 To include the effect of noise, we divide each side of the Friis
equation by NO.
PR C G
= = EIR P - L p + - K
No N0 T

 In the above equation, C/No is the received carrier to noise

density ratio (dB-Hz).

 EIRP is GTPT is the equivalent isotropic radiated power of the

transmitter in dBW and G/T is the ratio of receiver antenna gain
to noise temperature in dB/K

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Free Space Link Budget

PR C G
= = EIR P - L p + - K
No N0 T
 The C/No ratio is one of a number of equivalent ways of
expressing the SNR.

 EIRP is GTPT is the equivalent isotropic radiated power of the

transmitter in dBW and G/T is the ratio of receiver antenna gain
to noise temperature in dB/K

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Exercise
 Consider the design of a radio-controlled model airplane with a
maximum range of 300 m. The receiver requires a C/No ratio of
47 dB-Hz. Due to poor isolation from the aircraft engine, the
receiver has a noise temperature of 320 Kelvins. What EIRP
would have to be transmitted to achieve the maximum range?
Assume line-of-sight transmission at 45 MHz, and assume that
transmit and receive antennas have gains of -3 dB relative to an
isotropic antenna.

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Link Budget

 If the C/No ratio is less than the required one, then reliable
communication is not possible.

 If it is greater than the required one, the link has a margin, which
allows for a tolerance under unknown or sudden transmission
impairments.

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