LTE-TDD technology in 3.4-3.8 GHz is a new band deployment scenario for both Rural and Urban areas for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks. Following international literature and books or papers, pathloss and propagation models in C-Band especially for FWA were not fully analysed and measured in different terrains and under different environmental conditions. The problem was that most of the proposed or existing models were specific to a carrier frequency with specific terrain and restricted user equipment in a typical height of 1-2 meters, making the model inappropriate for Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) typically installed into height ranges from 3 meters to 15 meters in Rural areas on the rooftops of cottage houses. These inaccuracies made more difficult the link budget analysis with proper and accurate per case fitted propagation model and channel model.
MCNS in the framework of this project prepared and executed several drive tests under different channel conditions and geographical rural areas, with the ultimate goal of exporting a proper propagation pathloss model. A semi-empirical model close to Standard Propagation model (SPM) was fitted considering parameters like site height, clearance or not, CPE height, terrain clutter, scattering factor and Fresnel losses. In order to produce a well fitted to Rural conditions model with variance on the CPE height, several measurements with different CPE hypothetical locations and parameters were executed, making the measurements quite unique.
The Line of site (LoS) model was initially extracted for conditions in low hilly geographical areas and valleys with low vegetation and almost non-existing Fresnel losses, where the clearance was close to 100%.
Moreover a non-LoS model was also extracted for conditions in highly hilly geographical areas with Fresnel losses more than 50%, where in most of the cases were valleys with high seasonal vegetation obscuring the CPE clearance and introducing also scattering factor.
Finally the measurements were also supported by proper empirical measurements for different MIMO configurations (2×2, 4×4 and 8×8) combined with mathematical theoretical ray-trace analysis to produce a proper channel model based mostly on channel delay and multipath conditions due to far objects like mountains and hills. This model was used later on for BLER vs. SINR plots and throughput analysis.
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