2G Network Dimension Ing

DIMENSIONING OF MOBILE AND WLL NETWORKS
Work Instruction
NOKIA
Number/Version Checked by Approved by Page
NTCD ASXX 0455/1.0 en 03.98 Matti Manninen 03.98 Ari Niininen 1(53)
This document is for INTERNAL USE ONLY. Please request written
Owner unit: NTC/CS/PS
permission from the responsible person before distribution outside Nokia.
Company Confidential
DIMENSIONING OF CELLULAR AND WLL
NETWORKS
CONTENTS
1. GENERAL
2. THE PRINCIPLES OF NETWORK DIMENSIONING

2.1. Overview
2.2. Structure of dimensioning plan
2.3. Flow of dimensioning
3. REGION CALCULATION
3.1. Coverage calculation
3.1.1. Radio link power budget
3.1.2. Location probability for outdoor, incar and indoor
3.1.3. Site area
3.1.4. Site length
3.2. Capacity calculation
3.2.1. RF units, traffic channels and traffic
3.2.2. Traffic per subscriber
3.2.3. Frequency reuse number
3.2.5. Intelligent Underlay Overlay
3.2.6. Micro cell Calculations
3.2.7. Dual Band
3.2.7. Frequency Hopping
3.3. Number of sites
3.3.1. Triggers between systems and layers
3.3.2. Example: Capacity enhancement triggers
3.4. BTS access transmission
3.4.1. General
3.4.2. Common information
3.4.3. Common information for base station
3.4.4. Number of links for different topologies
3.4.5. Total number of link
3.4.6. Cross Connection equipment
3.4.7. ET cards
3.4.8. Submultiplexing
3.5. Controller calculation
4. PLAN CALCULATION
4.1. Switch calculation
4.2. Transmission in a plan
4.2.1. General
4.2.4. Transmission for controller - switch interface
4.3. Consolidation of region calculation
4.3.1. Region inputs in a plan
4.3.3. Configurations base stations and controllers in Excel
Number/Version Date Page

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4.3.4. Transmission configurations
5. CONFIGURATION OF NETWORK ELEMENTS

5.1. Base station
5.2. Mobile
5.3. Controller
5.4. Switch
5.5. Transmission
7. WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP AND DIMENSIONING

7.1. Six approaches to build a WLL network
7.1.1. Easywave Access with mobile phones
7.1.2. Easywave Access with PremiCell terminals
7.1.3. Easywave System
7.1.4. Combined Mobile and WLL network in the same
coverage area
7.1.5. Combined Mobile and WLL network with partially
overlapping coverage areas
7.1.6. Combined Mobile and WLL network using different
frequencies
8. RELATED DOCUMENTS
DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. BTS RX RF-Input Sensitivity with Mast Head Amplifier
Appendix 2. Sensitivity
Appendix 3. Isolators, combiners and filters
Appendix 4. Antennae for WLL terminal
Appendix 5. Output powers

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1 GENERAL
The purpose of this document is to describe the tool and methods used in
network dimensioning within Nokia. Also, the document gives default
parameters for base stations, mobiles, terminals, controllers, etc.
Radio link power budget is described in document Power Budget

Calculations, Work Instruction. If reader has a need to study power budget
more detailed he or she can refer the work instruction.
Network dimensioning tool (NetDim) is described partly in this document.

In this document calculation principles are explained. However, there is a
user manual for the tool, as well. The manual describes how to install the
tool and how to use it.
2. THE PRINCIPLES OF NETWORK DIMENSIONING
2.1. Overview
Network Dimensioning Tool (NetDim) is used to calculate the number of

network elements. Calculation is based on radio link power budget, given
coverage and capacity requirements. Quality targets are considered partly
on power budget and partly in NetDim.
Firstly, the number of sites is calculated based on power budget and

capacity requirements. Secondly, the number of controllers is calculated if
the selected system(s) is using controllers. Together with controllers
transmission is calculated. Finally, the number of switches is calculated.
2.2. Structure of dimensioning plan
The structure of dimensioning plan is shown in the picture below.

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Dimensioning Plan
Area 1 Area 2 Area n
System 1 System 2 System m
Macro layer Micro layer

Area Area
Subscriber Subscriber
Traffic / Subscriber Traffic / Subscriber
Location Probability Location Probability
Blocking Probability Blocking Probability
etc. etc.
Figure 1. The structure of dimensioning plan. The plan consists of one or

several areas (regions). Each area may have several systems and each
system has macro and/or micro layer.
Dimensioning plan consists of one or several areas (regions). Geographical

area is divided into the regions based on radio wave propagation and traffic
distribution. Traffic distribution should be flat in each region and
propagation environment should not vary too much. If these two
assumptions are not valid in a region, the region should be divided into
smaller regions to fulfil the assumptions.
2.3. Flow of dimensioning
As described earlier in dimensioning both coverage and capacity

requirements together with quality targets must be fulfilled. However,
coverage and capacity calculations can not be separated totally, because
capacity needs may have an impact on coverage and vice versa. The
following chart shows the flow of dimensioning as implemented in NetDim.

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Figure 2. The flow of dimensioning as implemented in NetDim. The chart

presents the flow in plan level. Later in the document the flow charts for
BTS, controller, switch and transmission calculation are presented.
In NetDim regions are independent objects that are calculated separately.

Firstly, coverage, capacity and quality requirements are given for each area.
Secondly, the number of base stations and their configurations are
calculated. Thirdly, if there are controllers available (BSCs in GSM) the
number of controllers together with configurations are determined. Finally,
for each area transmission for BTS access network is calculated if
transmission calculation is selected. If there are no controllers available or
no transmission is selected, transmission is not calculated.
After all areas are calculated the plan is calculated. If there are switches
available in the plan they are calculated as well as controller access
transmission. Finally, the results from the plan and areas are consolidated to
a summary sheet.
The calculation procedure described above is repeated for all the phases in a
plan. It is possible to link phases together (for example, number of sites is
not decreasing in time) but the basic calculation is independent on the
previous or following phases.

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In the following chapters the parts on the previous flow chart are explained
more detailed. First, calculation related to areas is explained. This part is
divided into smaller parts because a region is the most important calculation
object in NetDim. Special attention is paid on base station calculation.
Other parts are controller calculation and transmission calculation. Second,
plan calculation is described. This includes switch calculation and
consolidation of the area calculation. Third, configuration of network
elements are explained and finally and default values for different network
elements are given.
3. REGION CALCULATION
Calculation in NetDim is divided to a plan and areas. Each area in a plan

may have several systems in used and each system can include both macro
and micro layer. The main part of area calculation is related to base stations
and theirs configurations. Other parts are controller calculation and base
station access transmission calculation. Calculation flow is presented on the
following figure.
Figure 3. The flow of area dimensioning as implemented in NetDim.

Firstly, the number of sites is calculated based on coverage and quality
targets. Secondly, traffic requirements are fulfilled and, if necessary,
more sites are added. Finally, controllers and area transmission are
calculated.

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3.1. Coverage calculation
In this chapter the calculation of coverage in NetDim is described. In

NetDim there are three kinds of base stations. Repeaters will provide only
coverage but no capacity, regular base stations are providing both capacity
and coverage and there are base stations providing only capacity.
Base stations can be used to cover area (square km or miles) or length (km
or miles).
3.1.1. Radio link power budget
Radio link power budget is calculated for each base station in each area and
layer. Calculation method is described in the document ‘Power Budget
Calculations, Work Instruction’.
The only difference in calculation in NetDim relates to combiner loss. In

Power Budget Calculations document combiner loss is fixed but in NetDim
combiner loss is changed according to RF unit count per sector (see 5.1).
3.1.2. Location probability for outdoor, incar and indoor
In NetDim location probability can be given for outdoor, indoor or incar. If

only outdoor location probability is used in NetDim only standard deviation
of field strength is used to calculate slow fading margin.
If indoor (or incar) coverage is planned, higher field strength on street level
is required. To calculate slow fading margin for indoor coverage building
penetration loss and its standard deviation are needed. Basically, for indoor
coverage, coverage threshold is increased to compensate the loss due to
buildings. Then standard deviation of building penetration loss is used to
calculate the slow fading margin. However, in NetDim this margin and
building penetration loss are added and the sum is called slow fading
margin.
The location probability definition used in NetDim is for single, isolated

cell. If location probability is calculated over the network the result will be
higher. The situation in theory is presented on the following graph.

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1,00
0,95
Multiple server location probability

0,90
0,85
0,80
0,75
0,70
0,65
0,52
0,56
0,60
0,65
0,69
0,73
0,77
0,80
0,84
0,86
0,89
0,91
0,93
0,95
0,96
0,97
0,98
0,98
0,99
0,99
Single cell area location probability
Figure 4. Multiple server location probability versus single cell location

probability. If fading of signals from neighbouring servers are non-
correlating the curve shows the relation between single cell location
probability and probability over network. In practise location probability
over network is not as good as the graph shows.
When entering location probability figures in NetDim user should consider

single cell location probability as a way to provide good location probability
in a network but not as location probability over a network. Also, user
should not that NetDim uses the tightest location probability criterion in
calculations. If, for example, the target is 90% outdoor location probability
for indoor and incar fairly low location probability values should be given.
The low figure could be, for example, 30%.
3.1.3. Site area
NetDim calculates maximum cell ranges for all base station types following
area type distribution. Because the formulas to calculate cell area are
different for omni, two-sectored or three-sectored base stations NetDim uses
base station distribution and corresponding formulas to calculate a weighted
average cell area for the region. The formula to calculate cell area is shown
in equation below.
A  K  R2 Equation 1

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In the formula A is cell area, R is cell range and K is constant for each site
type. Based on hexagons for omni site K is 2.6, for two-sectored K is 1.3,
three-sectored base stations K is 1.95, etc. K factor may vary because it
depends on 3dB beam with of the used antenna. Figure 5 shows the way in
which Nokia defines K for three-sector-site (left) and, also, how K factor
and site area is sometimes defined (right).
R R Sector
Sector
K=1.95 K=2.6
Figure 5. The definition of area of the cell as a function of cell range. On
the left there is the way Nokia has used (65  antenna) and on the right the
way that has been used commonly (120 antenna).
So far 1.95 as K has been used as a default value for three-sector-base

station in NetDim. Considering the studies made with NPS/X, K factor
depends on 3dB beam width, side lobes, and front - back ratio of the
antenna.
Based on the studies made the following values can be used for different
antennae.
Table 1. Recommendations for K factors for antennae with different 3 dB
beam width for three-sector-base station.
Antenna type K factor
Omni 2.6
60 1.95
90 2.15
120 2.3

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K factors given in the table above are only recommendations. The different
K factors are results of the coverage area of a site. If 120 antennae are used
coverage area of a site is quite round but with 60 antennae between
coverage area looks like a clover. If a site has more than three sectors K
factor must be selected according to the shape of coverage area. If it can be
assumed that coverage area of a site is circle K factor can be 2.6. Otherwise
K factor should be little less.
3.1.4. Site length
Site length is calculated by using cell range and K factor. On the following
graph the calculation of site length is described. In the example K would be
3 x R.
S=KxR
Site length
Figure 6. The definition of length of the cell as a function of cell range.
3.2. Capacity calculation
Capacity calculation in NetDim is based on the following assumptions.

Firstly, traffic is evenly distributed over the target area. If this is not valid
the area should be divided into smaller areas where the assumption is valid.
Secondly, in the target area all subscribers share the same quality targets
(location probabilities, blocking probabilities, etc.). Thirdly, each base
station is using its own parameters (max. number of RF units, propagation,
capacity features).

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3.2.1. RF units, traffic channels and traffic
In NetDim it is assumed that blocking probability in the air interface can be

estimated from Poison distribution. The number of traffic channels, which
are needed for given capacity can be calculated by using Erlang B tables.
NetDim has functions to calculate either the number of traffic channels
needed with given traffic and blocking probability but also the number of
RF units (TRXs) needed. In GSM each RF unit has eight time slots for
signalling and traffic. The default distribution of time slots for GSM based
systems are given in the table below.
Table 2. Traffic and signalling time slots in GSM based air interface. For
other systems user can define a multiplier to calculate traffic time slots from
the number of RF units. On the table traffic is given with 1%, 2% and 5%
blocking probability. In calculation Erlang B formula has been used.
TRXs Time Traffic Signalling Traffic Traffic Traffic
Slots TSs* TSs (1%) (2%) (5%)
1 8 7 1 2.5 2.9 3.7
2 16 15 1 8.1 9.0 10.6
3 24 22 2 13.7 14.9 17.1
4 32 30 2 20.3 21.9 24.8
5 40 38 2 27.3 29.2 32.6
6 48 45 3 33.4 35.6 39.5
7 56 53 3 40.6 43.1 47.5
8 64 61 3 47.9 50.6 55.6
9 72 69 3 55.2 58.2 63.7
10 80 76 4 61.7 64.9 70.8
*TS = time slot
For other than GSM based systems user can define a multiplier that defines
how many traffic time slots each RF unit has. For example, in analogue
networks the multiplier is 1 (e.g. one RF unit has one traffic channel) and
for TETRA the multiplier is 4.
Blocking in the air interface has been normally between 2% and 5%, but
lately 1% blocking has been more common.
3.2.2. Traffic per subscriber
The load of the network varies during the day. Also the load varies between
weeks and months. To handle this variance in traffic networks are
dimensioned for the busy hour usage. This means that in cellular network
traffic per subscriber is usually higher than the average traffic load during
the day. Currently, traffic per subscriber usually varies in between 10 mErl
and 30 mErl in cellular network. In WLL applications traffic can be 100
mErl per subscriber or more.

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3.2.3. Frequency reuse number
The frequency reuse number defines the pattern how frequencies are reused
in the network. Frequency reuse number itself does not affect the capacity
directly but it defines how many carriers each cell can have. For example, if
GSM 900 operator has 5 MHz band available and reuse is 12, operator can
have 2.08 carrier per cell in average (5 MHz / (0.2 MHz x 12).
Reuse number and bandwidth are defined for each layer (macro, micro),
each system and each area. Reuse is given as a plain number but bandwidth
can be given in MHz, number of radio channels or as percentage of total
bandwidth.
3.2.5. Intelligent Underlay Overlay
The dimensioning of IUO needs some new inputs. The following list gives
the most common inputs needed in IUO calculation.
 The total number of channels available for regular layer

 The total number of channels available for super reuse layer
 Frequency reuse numbers for regular layers
 Frequency reuse numbers for super reuse layers
 Number of interferes
 C/I threshold
In this chapter the calculation of IUO layer is presented. First, the possible
configurations are calculated based on frequency reuse numbers. Second,
the capacity of each configuration is calculated based on assumptions of
evenly distributed traffic, propagation, interference sources, and C/I
threshold.
The average number of TRXs is used when the possible configurations in

IUO cell are created. When calculating the number for regular or super
reuse layer the same formula can be used.
layer
chs total Equation 2
aveTRX layer 
reuse layer
where
aveTRXlayer average TRXs/sector in a layer
chstotal total channels in a layer
reuselayer frequency reuse in a layer

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For both regular and super reuse layers the average TRXs/sector is
calculated. However, the minimum value for macro layer is 1 TRX/sector.
The optimal configuration based on the bandwidths and frequency reuse

numbers would be aveTRXregular TRXs in regular layer and aveTRXsuper
TRXs in super layer. Because it is not possible to have fractional TRXs in
layers there are maximum four combinations that are possible. The
combinations are presented below.
TRXs in regular layer + TRXs in super layer

floor(aveTRXregular) + floor(aveTRXsuper)
floor(aveTRXregular) + ceiling(aveTRXsuper)
ceiling(aveTRXregular) + floor(aveTRXsuper)
ceiling(aveTRXregular) + ceiling(aveTRXsuper)
Function ‘floor’ rounds down the parameters to the nearest integer and
‘ceiling’ rounds up the parameter to the nearest integer. For example,
floor(2.3) equals to 2 and ceiling(2.3) equals to 3.
Capacity of IUO cells depends on the total number of TRXs in a cell, how
TRXs are shared between regular and super reuse layers, traffic distribution,
C/I threshold, propagation of radio waves, interference sources and cell
sizes. Before capacity can be calculated some of these inputs must be given
and some interim results must be calculated.
The figure 7 presents how the layers provide service in different parts of
IUO cell. The bad C/I area is the same as the outer ring of normal cell and it
is calculated based on normal cell size calculations. The area of good C/I
depends on traffic distribution, interference, how TRXs are shared between
layers and selected thresholds.

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On this area the TRXs

on both layers can
provide service.
Super reuse area;

Good C/I area
Bad C/I area
On this area only TRXs on

the regular layer can
provide service.
Figure 7. IUO cell. In super reuse area both layers can provide service
but outside of that area only regular layer provides service.
In rough network planning the cellular networks are usually presented with
hexagons. Based on hexagon grid and frequency reuse numbers C/I can be
calculated. Lee 1 gives the formula presented below to calculate the
needed frequency reuse number for omni base station. The formula takes
into account only the first tier of inteferers (six nearest base stations sharing
the same RF channel).
2
1
C/ I
 Equation 3
K   6  10 10

3 
where
K frequency reuse
C/I minimum C/I ratio allowed
 decay index, slope
Because frequency reuse number is already given, the minimum C/I ratio
can be calculated. However, the equation 3 gives frequency reuse number
for omni base stations in ideal environment. The equation can be modified
in such way that it could be used for any kind of base station. The modified
version of the equation is given below.

C  3K 
 10  log10   Equation 4.
I n 
 
where

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K frequency reuse
C/I minimum C/I ratio allowed
n number of interferes
Equation 4 gives C/I value on the edge of the serving cell. The interference
situation is presented in the figure below.
Interference
I   D  R

R
C  R 
Carrier D
Figure 8. Cell range (R), Reuse distance (D) and interference on the cell
edge.
The super reuse area is calculated based on interference thresholds and

decay index. Equation 4 gives C/I on the edge of the cell. If the given C/I
threshold for super reuse cell is lower than the calculated value on the cell
edge, super reuse are defined by reuse factor. Otherwise it is defined by C/I
threshold.
The absolute area of super reuse layer is not needed but the area relative to
the regular area. The average distance between the cells sharing the same
frequency (reuse distance, D) can be calculated from the cell range and
frequency reuse number. Equation 5 gives reuse distance 1.

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D 3K R
Equation 5
where
K frequency reuse
D reuse distance
R cell range; regular layer
The range of super reuse area can be calculated from decay index and
interference threshold with the equation 8. The assumption for the equation
8 has been that both the carrier (C) and interfering (I) powers are
attenuating according the formula presented in equation 6.
P  d  Equation 6
where
P Power
D Distance from a site
 Decay index; slope
In equation 8 inteferers are assumed to have equal field strength at the

serving base station. The situation is presented on the following figure.

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Interference
I   D  r

Carrier
R

Cr
r
Figure 9. C/I calculation for super reuse cell. Calculation point is not any
more on the edge of regular cell. Thus the distance from servicing cell is r
and from interfering cells D - r.
C/I is determined in the situation presented in Figure 9 according to the

following formula.
PC  r  , PI   D  r  

Equation 7
C PC r 
 
I  PI   D  r  
If D - r is the same for all interfering cells
C r 

n D  r 

I
where
C/I C/I on the edge of super reuse cell
D reuse distance
r super reuse cell range
n number of inteferers

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The range of super reuse cell r can be solved if C/I is given as a threshold
C/Ith.
1

 C  Equation 8
n 
 Ith 
rD 1

 C 
1 n 
 Ith 
where
C/Ith C/I threshold
D reuse distance
R super reuse cell range
N number of inteferers
In Equation 8 C/I is as an absolute ratio - not a dB value. If C/I threshold is

given in dB conversion can be made with the formula show below.
C / I dB
Equation 9
C / I  10 10
where
C/I C/I threshold; absolute value
C/IdB C/I threshold; dB value
If equation 5 and equation 8 are combined the super reuse cell range can be
presented as a function of regular cell range, C/I threshold, frequency reuse
and the number of interferes.
1

 C  Equation 10
n 
 Ith 
r 3K R 1

 C 
1 n 
 Ith 
Good C/I probability is defined as a ratio between the areas of super reuse
cell and regular cell. The ratio is presented in equation 11. Probability is
calculated from the squares of super reuse cell range and regular cell range.

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2
 
1
 Equation 11
  C  

n 
 r
2   Ith  
GoodC / I      3K 
 R  
1

 C 
 1 n  
  Ith  
Good C/I probability is needed when the traffic of IUO cell is calculated. Of
course, good C/I should be between 0 and 1. If using equation 11 it is
possible that Good C/I is large than 1. To avoid this the maximum value of
equation 11 is limited to 1.
The next step in calculating the capacity of IUO cell is define mobile
distribution between regular and super layer by assuming that the location
of a mobile follows binomial distribution. This means that there is a
probability p that each mobile is on good C/I area (in Figure 9. inner part of
the cell) and probability q = 1-p that a mobile is on bad C/I area (outer part
of the cell).
If there are n traffic time slots available in regular layer and m traffic time
slots in super layer, traffic of the cell can be calculated with the following
formula. The time slots in regular layer are always available. This means
that there will be at least n traffic channels available in a cell. If all the
mobiles are in bad C/I area there are only n traffic time slots available.
Probability for this state is calculated when i = 0 in equation 12. If there is
one mobile in good C/I area - and all the others are in bad C/I area - the
result is calculated with i = 1. If m mobiles (total m + n) or more are in
good C/I area traffic of the cell is maximum. In this case there are m + n
traffic channels available. In equation 12 all possible mobile combinations
are calculated and traffic of the cell is weighted average of the traffic of
each combination.
mn
TrafIUO   pi , n  m  npErlbTraf  pb, min n  m, n  i  Equation 12
i0
i n mi
 m  n  AreabadC / I   AreabadC / I 
pi , n  m    1    
 i   Areatotal   Areatotal 
         
Good C / I Bad C / I
where

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TrafIUO traffic of IUO cell

N time slots in regular layer
M time slots in super reuse layer
I ith combination
Pb blocking probability
AreabadC/I bad C/I area
Areatotal area of the cell
npErlbTraf A formula to calculate traffic according to Erlang B
On table 3 there is an example where it is assumed that in regular layer

there can be maximum 7 (n) time slots and in super reuse layer maximum of
8 (m) time slots in used. Traffic of each combination together with
probability is calculated. The total traffic of the cell is calculated as a sum
of weighted traffic figure for each combination.

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Table 3. An example of IUO capacity calculations. Cell configuration is

1+1 and good C/I probability is 50%.
Go o d C/ I T ra ffic P ro b a b ility T o ta l T ra ffic
T ime s lo ts (1 % b lo c king )
0 2.5 0 0.00
1 3.1 0.0005 0.00
2 3.8 0.0032 0.01
3 4.5 0.0139 0.06
4 5.2 0.0417 0.22
5 5.9 0.0916 0.54
6 6.6 0.1527 1.01
7 7.4 0.1964 1.45
8 8.1 0.1964 1.59
9 8.1 0.1527 1.24
10 8.1 0.0916 0.74
11 8.1 0.0417 0.34
12 8.1 0.0139 0.11
13 8.1 0.0032 0.03
14 8.1 0.0005 0.00
15 8.1 0 0.00
T o ta l 1.00 7.34
Note that the total traffic of the cell is less than the traffic of normal 2-TRX-
cell (8.1 Erl).
As described earlier there are four different configuration needed to fulfil

frequency reuse constrains for regular and super layers. All four
combinations can be used when implementing IUO.
There are three constrains for configuration distribution:
 sum of all configurations is 100%

 the average number of TRXs/sector of regular layer must match with
frequency band and reuse number
 the average number of TRXs/sector of super layer must match with
frequency band and reuse number
If percentage of one of the possible configurations is fixed (afix) the others

percentages can be calculated using matrix algebra. The 4 x 4 matrix A
presents the constrains, X presents the distribution vector and k presents the
values of constrains. However, for all xi xi0.

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1 1 1 1   x1   1  Equation 13
s  
s2 s3 s4   x 2   avesru 
1    X  A 1  k
 r1 r2 r3 r4   x3   ave reg 
     a 
 1 0 0 0 x
       4    fix 
A X k
where
si number of super reuse TRXs in ith combinations
ri number of regular TRXs in ith combinations
xi percentage of ith combination
avesru average number of super reuse TRXs
avereg Average number of regular TRXs
afix fix percentage for the first combination
The first row in matrix A defines the constrain where the sum of
distributions must be 100% (i.e. 1). The second row presents average TRX
number for super reuse layer. This is defined by the bandwidth and
frequency reuse number of super reuse layer. The third row presents
average TRX number of regular layer. Finally, the last row fixes one
combination.
NetDim creates distribution for different configurations based on

calculation above. Because the possible combinations in IUO cell depend on
how the frequency band is divided between regular and super reuse layer,
the selected division may not give to best capacity. That is the reason why
the user should test different sets of super reuse channels, regular channels
and overlapping between frequency pools.
The base station configurations are presented either based on hardware or

IUO configurations. If hardware configurations are presented only the total
amount of TRXs per sector are given. For example, configuration with 5
TRXs per sector would be 5 + 5 + 5 (site configuration). However, if IUO
configurations are presented the result could be 3 + 2 (sector configuration,
3 regular TRXs and 2 super TRXs).
3.2.6. Micro cell Calculations
Micro cellular dimensioning follows the principles defined for macro layer
and IUO. However, there are some details that must be handled differently
for micro cells compared to macro layer. This chapter presents the basic
procedure and formulas how micro cellular dimensioning is done. The
previous chapters are referred if calculation principles are already presented.

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In the previous chapters the general parameters needed in dimensioning

were described. The parameters were
 The total number of channels available for micro cellular layer (regular
+ super)
 Location probability for micro cells
 Frequency reuse numbers
Micro cells can be used to improve coverage (specially indoor coverage) or

increase capacity in a certain area. Depending the usage of micro cells
dimensioning can be done differently.
The area of micro cell is calculated in a similar way as the area of macro
cell is calculated. In micro cell layer Okumura-Hata would not be a good
propagation model. Walfish-Ikegami propagation model is more suitable for
the calculations. The model is described in work instructions Power Budget
Calculations.
Area of a site depends on the number of sectors and the antennae used. The
following table can be used when calculating the cell/site area.
Table 4. Area of the cell in function of cell range R.
Number of Type of site Area
sectors (default)
1 Omni 2.6 x R2
1 Sectored 0.65 x R2
2 Sectored 1.3 x R2
3 Sectored 1.95 x R2
4 or more Sectored 2.6 x R2
For micro cell omni, one-sector and two-sector –base stations are the most
common.
If capacity is the driving force in micro cell calculations, the capacity of one
micro cell should be known. As in IUO calculations truncking gain could be
taken into account.
Microcell Umbrella cell
On this area both microcell

and umbrella TRXs can
provide service.
Figure 10. Micro cellular network. On micro cell area both umbrella and
micro cell can provide service
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Truncking gain in micro cellular network is not very high because capacity
of the time slots in overlay are shared by both the subscribers in micro and
macro layer. This means that every time slot is potentially shared by many
subscribers. That is why the capacity can be calculated separately for both
layers without making remarkable error. The following table shows that the
truncking gain with different cell sizes in continuous micro cellular
network. The percentage presents relative size of micro cell compared to
umbrella cell.
Table 5. Truncking gain in micro cellular network. One TRX in overlay and
one TRX in micro cell. Micro cell area is relative to overlay cell. The
reference level in the calculation has been 1+1 configuration where TRXs
are in different cells.
uCe ll Are a T o ta l T ra ffic Ga in
R e la tiv e (%) E rl %
0 5.62 0.0 %
10 5.62 0.0 %
20 5.62 0.0 %
30 5.62 0.0 %
40 5.63 0.2 %
50 5.68 1.0 %
60 5.80 3.2 %
70 6.04 7.6 %
80 6.47 15.2 %
90 7.14 27.0 %
100 8.10 44.2 %
Table 5 shows that if there are several micro cells under one umbrella cell
truncking gain is low. If micro cells are small compared to macrocells and
the number of micro cells is high enough within one macrocell area, the
capacity of one micro cell can be estimated simply assuming that there is no
truncking gain. This means that capacity is calculated based on the number
of TRXs / sector in micro cell as it calculated for overlay. The number of
TRXs / sector is calculated based on the base station hardware, frequency
reuse and frequency band dedicated for micro cells.
When the total traffic of micro cell is known the total number of micro cells
is calculated by dividing the total traffic of micro cellular layer by the
traffic of one micro cell.

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3.2.7. Dual Band
In dual band service is provided by two or more networks that are

independent or partly independent. Dual band can be realised with
 dual band base station

 two base stations co-located
 no co-located elements
Currently NetDim assumes that there are no co-located base stations. This
means that each system is calculated separately based on the given inputs.
For example, the total number of sites is a sum of all sites in every system.
In practise some of the sites, if not all, would be used by all the systems.
3.2.7. Frequency Hopping
Frequency hopping is one capacity enhancement that can be used to

increase the maximum capacity of the network. In NetDim frequency
hopping would be taken into account by decreasing the corresponding
frequency reuse number.
Currently it is not yet clear how much frequency hopping will decrease
frequency reuse number. However, the magnitude could be around 30% –
40% but the actual gain depends the environment and how well the network
will be made.
3.3. Number of sites
NetDim calculates the number of sites based on coverage and capacity

requirements. First the number of sites is calculated for coverage. NetDim
uses the maximum cell range and K factor to calculate the maximum site
area. Next the total area is divided by the average site area and output is the
number of sites.
If the sites needed to fulfil coverage requirements with one TRX per sector
cannot provide enough capacity NetDim increases the number of TRXs
until the provided traffic is high enough. If the traffic demand is very high
or base stations cannot provide as high capacity as needed, NetDim
increases the number of sites.
The number of sites needed for coverage may change when NetDim is
increasing TRXs because combiner loss depends on the number of TRXs
per sector. For this reason NetDim is iterating the number of TRXs to fulfil
both coverage and capacity requirements.

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3.3.1. Triggers between systems and layers
In NetDim user can defined triggers that are used to divide traffic between
different systems or layers. There are three different trigger points which
user can define between two layers. The trigger point options are as follows.
 No trigger, layers are calculated separately,

 Coverage vs. Capacity, on the staring layer no sites are added to
increase capacity, i.e. the maximum cell range of each starting station is
used,
 Cell range vs. Max = nn %, on the staring layer sites are added to get
more capacity until cell range vs. maximum cell ranges equals to nn %.
In this option the number of sites is determined by capacity, and
coverage is better than required.
Triggers can be defined between macro and micro layers within the same
system as well as between layers in two different systems.
The following example shows how triggers can be used to divide traffic
between layers.
3.3.2. Example: Capacity enhancement triggers
Operator has plans to operate GSM 900 and GSM 1800 networks.
Currently, the existing GSM 900 network is congested and operator things
the ways to increase capacity to meet capacity requirements in the future.
There are following options available.
 Intelligent underlay overlay for GSM 900

 micro cells for GSM 900
 dual band - GSM 1800
Operator may want to build his network in following way. Firstly, IUO will
be taken into use when needed. Secondly, micro cells are introduced when
macro layer together with IUO cannot handle traffic demand. However, few
sites in macro layer can be added to increase traffic. Finally, if micro cells
cannot provide enough capacity some of the subscribers are directed to 1800
MHz band. In the same time there are some subscribers using only 1800
MHz band.

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The described case would lead to the following triggers. Firstly, for GSM
900 regular layer IUO introduction phase should be 1 to make sure that IUO
is taken into use when needed. The IUO introduction phase tells the phase
when IUO is taken in used if needed. Secondly, there should be a trigger
point between GSM 900 macro and GSM 900 micro layer. The trigger
could be Cell range vs. Max = 90%, to allow some extra site in macro layer
to increase capacity. With this trigger new sites are added in GSM 900
macro layer until cell range vs. max. range is 90%. In this case user do not
have to entry any area or subscribers for micro layer. For GSM 1800 layer
user should enter some subscribers because there were pure GSM 1800
users in the network. In addition to this user should define trigger point
between GSM 900 micro layer and GSM 1800 macro layer to direct
possible extra traffic from GSM 900 to GSM 1800 network. The trigger
point should be Coverage vs. Capacity.
In this example IUO is used only in GSM 900 macro layer. When using
IUO user should pay attention to frequency reuse and frequency bands to
get optimum dimensioning. If IUO is not needed NetDim combines the
channels given for regular and super reuse layer and uses all these channels
for regular. When IUO is taken into use channels are used as given in reuse
table.
3.4. BTS access transmission
3.4.1. General
This chapter describes transmission between base stations and controllers

and between base station and switch. Similar transmission module can be
applied between controller and switch with some modifications.
Transmission calculation is based on the tool developed by Junshu Zhang.
3.4.2. Common information
The transmission capacity need by each network element can be calculated

with the following ways.
 Based on hardware, for example the number of TRXs,

 Based on traffic - Erlang B formula,
 Based on traffic - Erlang C formula,
 Combination of hardware and traffic.
In NetDim transmission capacity calculation can be done by using

hardware, Erlang B or Erlang C.

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3.4.3. Common information for base station
In this chapter the inputs, outputs and calculations are described more
detailed. The transmission capacity need can be calculated based on
hardware or Erlang B or C formulae. If hardware is used in calculations the
following formula is used.
CapaTraf  aTraf  RFUnits Equation 14

where
CapaTraf Transmission capacity needed for traffic
ATraf 64 kb/s time slots needed for single RF unit
RFUnits RF units per site
If Erlang formulae are used to calculate transmission capacity of a site the

following formula is used.
CapaTraf  ErlangC (bp, traf , qu, cl ) Equation 15

where
Bp Blocking probability
Traf Traffic of a site
Qu Queuing time
Cl Call length
If queuing time is zero Erlang C formula equals to Erlang B formula.
If signalling capacity is calculated based on hardware. There are three

possible signalling needs. RF unit, sector and BTS may have signalling
needs. These three needs in the following formulae define signalling
capacity need. Signalling need of a base station consists of the signalling
need for TRX, sector and base station. All these may not be used in all
systems.
CapaSig  aSigRFUnit  RFUnits  aSigsec  Secs  aSigBTS Equation

16
where
CapaSig Transmission capacity needed for signalling
aSigRFUnit Signalling need for a single RF unit
RFUnits RF units in a BTS
aSigsec Signalling need for a single sector
Secs Number of sectors in a BTS
aSigBTS Signalling need for a BTS
Based on calculation above the total capacity need can be presented by the
following formula.
Capatot  CapaTraf  CapaSig Equation 17

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where
CapaTot Transmission capacity needed for a BTS
CapaSig Transmission capacity needed for signalling
3.4.4. Number of links for different topologies
Point-to-Point
The number of links for point-to-point topology is derived with the formula
below.
 CapaTot  Equation 18
Links PtoP  TPtoP  sites  max1, 
 TperLink 
where
LinksPtoP Number of links for point-to-point topology
TPtoP Percentage of point-to-point topology
CapaTot Transmission capacity need of a network
element
TperLink Capacity of a link in traffic channels
sites Number of sites
Percentage of point-to-point topology tells how many percentages of sites

are connected to the controller with point-to-point links. Capacity of link in
traffic channels tells how many traffic channels one link can carry.
Multidrop chain
The number of links for chain topology is derived with the formula below.
TChain  sites  LperCChain Equation 19

LinksChain  ,
ChainL
LperCChain  TperLink
ChainL 
CapaTot
where
LinksChain Number of links for chain topology
TChain Percentage of chain topology
CapaTot Transmission capacity need of a network element
LperCChain Max. links per connection for chain topology

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If chain length is less than one, instead of equation 19 the formula for point-
to-point connections is used. In chain, multidrop loop and star topology
calculations capacity of one link is replaced by capacity of the connection.
This means that between two network elements there can be more than one
link. For example, if there are microwave radios used capacity of one
connection can be 4 x 2Mb/s. Also, capacity need for one base station can
be close to 30 time slots (BTS 4 + 4 + 4). In this case in chain there could
be 4 BTSs. If the assumption is one link per connection the only possible
topology would be point-to-point because in one link there is not enough
capacity to handle more than one BTS.
Multidrop Loop
The number of links for loop topology is derived with the formula below.
TLoop  sites  LperC Loop Equation 20

Links Loop  ,
Lenght Loop
LperC Loop  TperLink
Lenght Loop 
CapaTot
where
LinksLoop Number of links for star topology
Sites Number of sites
TLoop Percentage of loop topology
LenghtLoop Length of a loop
If loop length is less than one, instead of Equation 20 the formula for point-
to-point connections is used.
Star
The number of links for star topology is derived with the formula below.
TStar  sites  CapaTot Equation 21

Links Star 
TperLink
where
LinksStar Number of links for star topology
TStar Percentage of star topology
3.4.5. Total number of link
The total number of links is calculated as a sum of different topologies.

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Links  LinksPtoP  LinksChain  LinksLoop  LinksStar Equation 22

where
Links Total number of links
LinksPtoP Number of links for point-to-point topology
LinksChian Number of links for chain topology
LinksLoop Number of links for loop topology
LinksStar Number of links for star topology
3.4.6. Cross Connection equipment
Generally, cross connection equipment is used when using loops or stars in

transmission. However, the calculation information can be given for all
topologies.
Formulae
The number of cross connection equipment is calculated with the following

formulae.
Number of cross connection equipment for point-to-point topology.
2  n PtoP  Links PtoP Equation 23

CrossCPtoP 
SizeCrossC PtoP
where
nPtoP Percentages of point-to-point links using cross
connection equipment
LinksPtoP Number of links in point-to-point topology
CrossCPtoP Number of cross connection equipment for point-
to-point
SizeCrossCPtoP Size of cross connection equipment in number of
links (point-to-point)
Number of cross connection equipment for multidrop chain topology.
2  nChain  LinksChain Equation 24

CrossCchain 
SizeCrossCChian
where
nChain Percentages of multidrop chain using cross
LinksChain Number of links in chain topology
CrossCstar Number of cross connection equipment for chain
SizeCrossCChain Size of cross connection equipment in number of
links
Number of needed cross connection equipment for multidrop loop topology.

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3  n Loop  Links Loop Equation 25

CrossCloop 
SizeCrossC Loop
where
nLoop Percentages of multidrop loop links using cross
LinksLoop Number of links in loop topology
CrossCLoop Number of cross connection equipment for loop
topology
SizeCrossCLoop Size of cross connection equipment in number of
links
For star configuration the formula is as follows.
n Star   links Star  sites  Equation 26

CrossCstar 
SizeCrossCStar
where
linksStar Number of links in star topology
nStar Percentages of star links using cross connection
equipment
CrossCStar Number of cross connection equipment for loop
star
SizeCrossCStar Size of cross connection equipment in number of
links
sites Number of sites in star topology
The total number of cross connection equipment
The total number of cross connection equipment is calculated with the

formula below.
Equation 27
CrossC  CrossCloop  CrossCstar  CrossCchain  CrossCPtoP
3.4.7. ET cards
The number of ET cards is calculated based on the number of links needed.

Calculation is simple as the following formula shows.
LinkspET  links Equation 28

ETs 
SizeET
where
ETS Number of ET cards
LinkspEt Number of links per ET card
SizeET Size of ET cards (in number of links per ET
cards)

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3.4.8. Submultiplexing
Submultiplexing is optional in transmission. It can reduce the needed

number of links between network elements.
If submultiplexing is used between two network elements the interface can

be divided into two interfaces, one that is submultiplexed and the one after
transcoder. The transmission capacity in submultiplexed interface is given
in traffic channels.
The number of links after submultiplexer (for example, A ter in GSM) is

calculated with the following formula.
Capacity Equation 29
Links ASM 
LinkCapa SM
where
LinksASM Number of links after submultiplexer
Capacity Transmission capacity need
LinkCapaSM Capacity of one link with submultiplexing
If it is needed to calculate the links after transcoder the formula below can
be applied.
Capacity Equation
Links ATC  30
LinkCapa
where
LinksATC Number of links after transcoder
Capacity Total number of traffic channels needed
LinkCapa Capacity of one link without submultiplexing
3.5. Controller calculation
Controller are used between base stations and switches. In GSM they are
called as base station controllers (BSC) but in some systems functionality of
a controller is integrated a switch.
In NetDim controllers can be dimensioned with two criteria. Criteria are RF

units or traffic.
Currently one criterion can be selected for each system. For example, in
GSM the number of RF units would be the right criterion.

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Number of controllers can be calculated manually when user gives the

number of each controller type manually. This allows user to take into
account geographical facts as well as spare capacity. However,
dimensioning for controllers can be calculated automatically, as well. If
automatic calculation is used NetDim selects the controllers in a way that
first, it minimises the number of controllers and then their sizes. User can
select the controllers that NetDim is allowed to use.
Automatic calculation
 Controllers are selected. By default all controllers that are defined for
the system(s) of the area selected. User can remove from the group the
controllers that he/she does not want to use.
 Number of largest controllers. NetDim selects first the largest controller
that is available. The needed capacity is divided by the capacity of the
largest controller. The result is rounded down to get the number of
largest controllers.
TotalCapacity
nConthigh  Equation 31
max(controlleri )
 The capacity that is not covered with the largest controllers is calculated
by the following formula. This capacity is handled with the smallest
possible controller that is available. This means that the capacity of this
controller must be higher than Capacitylow.
Capacitylow  TotalCapacity  nCont high  Capacityhigh
Equation 32
Number of low capacity controllers is always one except when the only
possible controller that can handle Capacitylow is the largest controller. In
this case the number of largest controllers is increased by one.
Controllers are calculated for each system. If there are controllers that can
handle several systems, for example GSM 900 and GSM 1800, the
capacities of the base stations are first consolidated and then the number of
controllers is calculated as it is calculated for one system.
4. PLAN CALCULATION
A plan consists of several regions. The most of calculation is done in

regions but there are two main areas that are covered in plan level. The
areas are switch calculation and transmission between controllers and
switches. Also, in plan the results from regions are consolidated.
4.1. Switch calculation
Switches connect calls between subscribers. In GSM switches are called

mobile switching centres (MSC).

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In NetDim switches can be dimensioned with several criteria. Criteria are

subscribers, RF units or traffic.
Switch calculation is similar to controller calculation in which both manual

and automatic calculation is possible. See controller calculation chapter for
more details.
4.2. Transmission in a plan
4.2.1. General
Transmission for a plan is very similar to the transmission in region. The

main differences are related to the source of capacity. In region transmission
capacity is calculated based on base stations. In plan transmission the
starting point can be the transmission capacity need of base stations but also
it can be for example traffic generated by subscribers.
4.2.4. Transmission for controller - switch interface
Transmission calculation for controller - switch interface differs from

transmission calculation methods described earlier slightly. However,
transmission configuration is similar to the other transmission solutions. In
this chapter the differences in calculation are explained.
Transmission capacity
In transmission configuration it is possible to select either hardware or

traffic based capacity calculation. If hardware is selected for calculation
method the total number of RF units in a plan is divided for each controller
type based on the system of the controller. Transmission capacity is
calculated using the number of RF units per controller and time slots per RF
unit that is defined in transmission configuration.
If traffic is selected for capacity calculation method, total traffic generated

by subscribers is divided for each controller type. Transmission capacity
need is calculated with either Erlang B or Erlang C.
 RFUnitsConti  TSperRFUnit, HW selected Equation 33

Capacity  
 Erlang bp, traf , qu, cl  , traffic selected
where

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Capacity Transmission capacity needed for transmission

TSperRFUnit Time slots needed per RF unit
RFUnitsCont RF units per controller type
Erlang Erlang B or C formula
bp Blocking probability
traf Traffic per controller
qu Queuing time
cl Average call length
If queuing time is zero Erlang C formula equals to Erlang B formula.
Excluding transmission capacity calculation described above transmission in

plan is calculated similar way as in region. For details see page 28 onwards.
4.3. Consolidation of region calculation
In a plan the results from regions are consolidated. If there are many regions
in a plan it is almost impossible to get a clear picture of the plan without a
good summary of the results.
4.3.1. Region inputs in a plan
All the main inputs are summarised in a plan. The total number of
subscribes, total traffic and the covered area are presented in each phase.
This way user can see how the penetration develops during the roll-out.
User should note that on summary all areas entered in regions are added
together. This applies to macro and micro layers, as well.
4.3.3. Configurations base stations and controllers in Excel
In Excel sheets which can be generated in NetDim configurations for base

stations and controllers are given. For each region the needed configurations
are shown and on summary the results are consolidated from the areas.
4.3.4. Transmission configurations
The results from transmission calculation in regions are summarised in a

plan. The number of links for each system is added up for each phase. Also,
the number of cross connection equipment and ET cards are calculated.
5. CONFIGURATION OF NETWORK ELEMENTS
In NetDim different network elements may have different versions

depending on the parameters that have been used. Always the calculation
follows the same methods but the selected parameters have an effect on the
results. In this chapter the configuration of each network element is
described.
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5.1. Base station
Base station is the most complex object in NetDim. Configuration of the

base station is divided into three parts. The parts are Global, Sector and
Options and they are presented in different tabs in base station
configuration.
Global sheet include all the general parameters related to a base stations.
The parameters are listed below.
Parameter Explanation
System BTS belongs to one system
Used for BTS can be used to provide only coverage, only
capacity or both
uCell BTS can be used in macro or in micro layer
IUO BTS may have IUO feature
Antenna height The height of antenna
Sensitivity Dynamic sensitivity defined by BTS product line
TX max. power Maximum output power of TRX
Jumper loss (optional)
Cable loss (optional)
Duplex filter loss (optional)
Connector loss (optional)
Propagation model Okumura-Hata or Walfish-Ikegami
Combiner loss Combiner loss can be set for different TRX counts
(optional)
Transmission capacity: Transmission capacity needed for each RF Unit. (time
RF Units slots in PCM link), in GSM TRXSig
Transmission capacity: Transmission capacity needed for each sector. (time
Sector slots in PCM link)
Transmission capacity: Transmission capacity needed for each BTS. (time
BTS slots in PCM link), in GSM OMUSig
Antenna gains Antenna gains for transmitting and receiving ends
Diversity gains For uplink and downlink directions
Combiner loss calculation is improved compared to the previous NetDim

version. Loss is calculated by using linear approximation and the known
combiner losses. The figure below shows an example.

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Combiner Loss
Defined combiner loss value
TRXs
1 TRX 2 TRXs 3 TRXs 4 TRXs
Figure 11. Combiner loss calculation. If only one value is given, for all TRX counts the
same combiner loss is used. In cases where more than one value is given NetDim
calculates combiner loss by using linear approximation. If the TRX count is below the
lowest defined value, the lowest value is used. Also, if the TRX count is above the highest
given value, it is used for combiner loss. If TRX count is between two given values,
combiner loss is calculated as described in the figure.
On Sector sheet the inputs related to sectors is given. In calculations the

number of sectors and the maximum number of TRXs are important as well
as K factors. If only one sector is used in a BTS it is possible that the
antenna configuration is directional or omni. The selection can be done on
Sector sheet.
Options sheets include data related to low noise amplifier (LNA), booster
(power amplifier installed in base station cabinet) and CEMA (cell
extension masthead amplifier, not Nokia’s product at the moment).
LNA is used to improve uplink by compensation cable losses and improving

sensitivity of system. LNA calculation is described in work instructions
Power Budget.
Booster has higher output power than regular TRX so it can be used to
improve downlink. When using booster cable and combiner losses are taken
into account.
If using CEMA there is no losses because CEMA is installed in a mast and

cables from antenna to CEMA are usually short (assumed 0 dB loss).
5.2. Mobile
User can create mobiles for the systems that exists. The inputs must/can be
given are.
 System, can be selected among the existing systems

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 Class (not used in calculation)

 Receiver sensitivity in dBm
 Antenna height (in meters)
 Receiving antenna gain
 Transmitter antenna gain
 Output power in dBm
 Cable loss (optional)
 Connector loss (optional)
If creating a new mobile or terminal user has to give a name that is used in
dimensioning. The name can be used to differentiate mobiles or terminal.
5.3. Controller
User can configure controller based on the system of the controller. For
each system user has to give the calculation criteria for controllers and
switches. For this reason a controller has only one calculation criterion
available. User can define the capacity of controller based on calculation
criterion. For example in GSM the capacity of controller is given in number
of TRXs. The possible calculation criteria are as follows.
 Number of RF units
 Traffic
In addition to calculation criteria user can define what systems the

controller supports.
5.4. Switch
Configuration of switch is very similar to controller. Also for switches the

system defines what is the calculation criterion. Criterion is the same as for
controllers except number of subscribers is also available.
5.5. Transmission
User can create several transmission options for different purposes. Possible
interfaces are
 Base station - Controller
 Base Station - Switch
 Controller - Switch
For each interface there are several inputs. The inputs can be defined to
region/plan specific inputs and general inputs. Region/plan specific inputs
are
 Transmission interface selection

 Percentage for point-to-point connections
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 Percentage for multidrop chain connections

 Percentage for multidrop loop connections
 Percentage for star connections
Region/plan inputs are given for each region and plan.
General parameters are given for each transmission object in transmission

configuration. The given values are used in all regions that are using this
transmission object. For this reason the changes will affect even in plans
that are made before the changes. General inputs are listed below.
 Interface selection for the transmission object

 Submultiplexing usage and capacity of submultiplexed link
 Cross connection equipment usage, size of cross connection equipment
and percentage of links using cross connection equipment
 Transmission capacity calculation method
 Time slots needed per RF units
 Blocking probability (if traffic is used as capacity calculation method)
 Queuing time (if traffic is used as capacity calculation method)
 Call length (if traffic is used as capacity calculation method)
 Capacity of one link in time slots
 Number of ET cards per one link
 Capacity of an ET card in number of links (currently 1 or 2)
 Number of traffic channels per one time slot in a link
 Maximum number of links between two network elements.
User can define several transmission objects for each transmission interface.

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7. WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP AND DIMENSIONING
There are some significant differences between cellular and WLL

dimensioning. In this chapter those differences are explained. Also, at the
end of this chapter six different approached of building a WLL network are
presented.
In WLL network mobility is restricted to few cells or it is totally forbidden.

This can help network planning because the neighbour in WLL list do not
have to include all the neighbouring cells which would be needed in cellular
network. By leaving out intefering neighbours (or interfering frequencies)
on the list, capacity of the network can be improved.
If fixed WLL terminals are used the location of the terminal can be chosen
to get best performance. The location may be chosen because of coverage.
Then the location providing the highest field strength is selected. If location
is selected because of capacity the reason for the selection can be the lowest
interference level or the number of possible servers.
External antennae can be used in WLL terminals. Specially, in rural areas

external antennae can provide much better coverage because of the
following facts. Firstly, when using external antennae network can be
building for outdoor coverage instead of indoor coverge. Depending on the
used building materials the advantage can be from 5 dB to 30 dB. Secondly,
external antennae can be directional which means higher antenna gains.
Thirdly, external antennae can be installed higher, for example on the roof
of the house. This can increase the cell range remarkable because there will
be less obstacles in radio path. All these facts should be considered when
making WLL dimensioning. If the internal antennae of the terminal are used
down link diversity of 1.5 dB can be utilised because the terminal is using
selective diversity scheme.
If building WLL network in city area it will be difficult to use external

antennae in large scale. This means that from coverage point of view WLL
may not differ much from cellular network. However, from capacity point
of view, there is a difference because a little bit lower reuse numbers can be
applied. This advantage is gained because there is no need to apply any
margin because of mobility.
In rural areas where capacity is not constrain there can be remarkable

differences between cellular and WLL network. Specially, the usage of
external antennae will reduce the number of needed base stations in WLL
network. However, if terrain is hilly or there are some other obstacles
external antennae may not give full advantage. If the maximum cell range is
more than 35 km the planner should note that in these cases (cells)
Extended Cell feature is needed.

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7.1. Six approaches to build a WLL network
In this chapter six different approaches to build a WLL network are

described. Each case has its own characteristics that the planner should take
into account.
These cases are as follows.
1) Easywave Access with mobile phones (hand phones)

2) Easywave Access with PremiCell terminals
3) Easywave System
4) Combined Mobile and WLL network in the same coverage area
5) Combined Mobile and WLL network with partially overlapping coverage
areas
6) Combined Mobile and WLL network using different frequencies
Easywave is a brand name for Nokia’s WLL solutions. Easywave Access is

the solutions based on BTSs and DAXnodes that are connected to local
exchanges. Easywave System is a WLL solution that is build by using the
existing GSM hardware (i.e. MSCs, BSCs, BTSs) but the design is
optimised for WLL solution.
PremiCell is the name of Nokia’s WLL terminal. The name is used for 900
MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz terminals.
Because tariffs in WLL applications are usually lower than in mobile

applications it is very essential to minimize both the initial investment costs
as well as the operational costs. This is achieved by maximizing the
capacity of each base station. In coverage limited cases this leads to
maximizing the coverage area of cells with all possible ways (e.g. external
antennae, six-sector-base stations, higher antenna heights in both base
station and mobile end, boosters, low-noise-amplifiers, etc.). In capacity
limited cases the target must be as low reuse as possible.
7.1.1. Easywave Access with mobile phones
Easywave Access with mobile phones is a network that is build by using

DAXnodes instead of BSCs. Each DAXnode is connected to a local
exchange via V5.1 or V5.2 interface. This type of the network is
dimensioned like a standard mobile network with the following exceptions:
 Instead of BSC DAXnode 5000 WLL will be used as a controller

(DAXnode dimensioning is done by FIW System Marketing Manager),
 Frequency reuse can be lower than in a mobile network when targeting
similar quality, e.g. 9 can be used as default
 Subscriber traffic is higher than in mobile network due lower tariffs

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7.1.2. Easywave Access with PremiCell terminals
If the WLL application is built for PremiCell terminals there are a few
important facts. If fixed terminals are used it is possible to used external
antennae to extend the coverage area of cells. This will lead to high-
capacity-base stations (e.g. 4+4+4 or 6+6+6) even in suburban or rural areas
and lower the overall costs of the network.
The following guidelines can be applied.
 Frequency re-use 9 can be used as default (frequency hopping can be

implemented)
 Network will be dimensioned based on outdoor coverage because
PremiCells with external antennas can be used in areas where the indoor
coverage is not sufficient
(DAXnode dimensioning is done by FIW System Marketing Manager)
PremiCells with external antennae will give the following benefits.

 MS height is 3 to 8 meters depending on the building type
 MS antenna net gain is 2 to 12 dB depending on the antenna gain, cable
length and cable thickness
If customer does not approve external antennas then PremiCells should be

located high enough near window. In this case the following assumptions
can be applied.
 Building penetration loss close to 7 dB
 MS antenna diversity gain 1.5 dB (can be implemented as down link
diversity)
 MS height 2 m
7.1.3. Easywave System
Easywave System is a WLL network that is built by using the GSM

hardware and software. The network is build as two previous Easywave
solutions except few exceptions. Firstly, all capacity and coverage
enhancements features that are used in mobile networks are available in
Easywave System. Because of the lack of mobility some features are
providing more benefits that in mobile applications. Secondly, BSCs and
MSCs are used instead of DAXnodes and local exchanges.
As in the previous cases the reduction of network cost is very essential.

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The following guidelines can be applied.
 Frequency re-use 9 can be used as default (frequency hopping can be

implemented)
 Network will be dimensioned based on outdoor coverage because
PremiCells with external antennas can be used in areas where the indoor
coverage is not sufficient
(DAXnode dimensioning is done by FIW System Marketing Manager)
PremiCells with external antennae will give the following benefits.

 MS height is 3 to 8 meters depending on the building type
 MS antenna net gain is 2 to 12 dB depending on the antenna gain, cable
length and cable thickness
If customer does not approve external antennas then PremiCells should be

located high enough and near window. In this case the following
assumptions can be applied.
 Building penetration loss close to 7 dB

 MS antenna diversity gain 1.5 dB (can be implemented as down link
diversity)
 MS height 2 m
7.1.4. Combined Mobile and WLL network in the same coverage

area
This network will be dimensioned like a standard mobile network with the
following exceptions.
 WLL traffic will be collected as far as possible using PremiCells with

external antennas,
 Subscriber traffic is higher than in mobile network due lower tariffs.
7.1.5. Combined Mobile and WLL network with partially

overlapping coverage areas
In this case the dimensioning will be divided into two parts.
a) Mobile and WLL in the same area

b) WLL only area
a) Mobile and WLL in the same area

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This case is dimensioned like Combined Mobile and WLL network in the
same coverage area.
b) WLL only area
This case is dimensioned like Easywave Access of System WLL case.
7.1.6. Combined Mobile and WLL network using different

frequencies
In this case WLL network will be planned mostly as separate network.

However, the case can be divided into two cases. If mobile and WLL
networks are using the same frequency band, BSC capacity and BTS sites
can be shared when panning network. In practice this would be achieved by,
for example, combining both frequency bands and reuse numbers. This
could lead to reuse of 20 to 25 but in the same time more band would be in
use. Also, traffic figures should be added before making the calculations. In
this way the capacity of the network is shared by mobile and WLL
subscribers.
If mobile and WLL networks are using different frequency bands (e.g.
GSM900 and GSM1800) networks should be planed as a dual band network
where WLL aspects are taken into account. When using dual band approach
the capacity of BSCs, MSCs and transmission can be shared.
The assumption has been here that the mobile and WLL networks are
covering roughly the same area. If the assumption is not valid, it may be
better to make two separate dimension plans in which the systems are
separated.
The appendix 4 gives antenna recommendations for WLL terminals. Also,

guidelines for cable loss calculation are presented.
8. RELATED DOCUMENTS
Power Budget Calculations, Work Instruction

NetDim, User’s Reference Manual
DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY
DATE ISSU AUTHOR SUMMARY OF CHANGES

E
31 Feb 1998 1.0 Matti Manninen 1st release

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APPENDICES
Appendix 1. BTS RX RF-Input Sensitivity with Mast Head Amplifier
To calculate the RF input sensitivity for BTS when a mast head amplifier is
used, it is necessary to apply the Fries’ formula for cascaded networks. The
Fries’ formula is presented in the following equation.
FA  FMHA  ( Fcable  1) G MHA  ( FBTS  1) G MHA Gcable Equation 34
FMHA is the noise factor of the mast head amplifier and the noise figure
NFMHA of the mast head amplifier is assumed to be about 2 dB. Fcable is
the noise factor of the cable between mast head amplifier and base station.
The noise figure NFcable for the cable is the cable loss in dB (lets assume it
to be 3 dB). FBTS is the noise factor of the base station and it can be
calculated by using following equation.
Si N i S kT0W Equation 35
F  i , N i  kT0W ,
S0 N 0 Eb N 0
-where E b N 0 is the receiver output signal to noise ratio, k is the

Boltzman constant, T0 is 290K, F is the noise figure for the receiver, and
W is bandwidth of 271 kHz (54 dB).
The noise figure NFBTS in dB can now be calculated as follows (assuming

that the sensitivity of the base station is -104 dBm):
NFBTS   104 dBm  ( 174 dBm)  54 dB  8 dB  8 dB
G MHA is the gain of the mast head amplifier and it can be assumed to be 10
dB. Gcable is the gain of the cable between base station and mast head
amplifier and the value is  NFcable .
The noise figure in point A (in Figure 12) is:
 
FA  10 0,2  (10 0,3  1) 101  (10 0,8  1) 101  10 0,3  2,74
Equation 36
NFA  10  log 10  2,74  4,38 dB
The RF input sensitivity at the antenna port, point A in Figure 12 can be

calculated from equation 36.

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Antenna port
Point A
NFMHA
MHA G MHA
Cable
Gcable
BTS Rx
Figure 12. BTS MHA (or LNA) connection.
S A  SW  NFA
Equation 37
where SW is the sensitivity of the system (BTS + MHA) when the noise
figure of independent mast head amplifier is set to zero dB (in Equation 35)
because the noise figure of the whole system (BTS + MHA), NFA, has to be
taken into account instead of individual noise figures.
SW  0 dB  174 dBm  54 dB  8 dB  112 dBm
The result of Equation 37 can be seen from Table 6 when different set of
parameters for NFMHA calculations.
Table 6. RF input sensitivity calculation results when MHA is used. The
first row is the case 1 and the second row is case 2.
NFMHA NFcable G MHA Gcable NFBTS NFA SW Sensitivity
2 dB 3 dB 10 dB -3 dB 8 dB 4,7 dB -112 dBm -107,3 dBm
2,3 dB 4 dB 12 dB -4 dB 6 dB 3,6 dB -112 dBm -108,4 dBm

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Appendix 2. Sensitivity
Sensitivity levels of mobile and base station are given in GSM

recommendations (GSM 05.05).
Table 7. Base station and mobile station sensitivities according to GSM

recommendations (GSM 05.05).
Type Sensitivity
DCS mobile station -100 dBm (42 dBV/m)
GSM hand held -102 dBm (35 dBV/m)
GSM mobile station -102 dBm (33 dBV/m)
Normal BTS (GSM/DCS) -104 dBm (33/38 dBV/m)
In dimensioning the sensitivity values from GSM recommendation should

not be used for base stations because the guaranteed sensitivity levels are
better than the ones in GSM recommendations. BTS product line will define
the sensitivity levels. On the following table sensitivities of 3rd and 4th
generation base stations are given.
Table 8. Typical base sensitivities in fading conditions according to BTS

product line.
Type Dynamic Sensitivity
Talk Family (900 MHz) -108.5 dBm
Talk Family (1800/1900 MHz) -108.0 dBm
PrimeSite (900 MHz) -108.5 dBm
PrimeSite (1800/1900 MHz) -108.0 dBm
For mobiles sensitivity values should be according to the GSM

recommendations if the usage of different values is not agreed with the
customer. For wireless local loop (WLL) applications the sensitivity values
from Nokia Mobile Phones (NMP) should be used.
Table 9. WLL terminal sensitivities.

Type Sensitivity
WLL terminal (900 MHz) -102 dBm
WLL terminal (1800/1900 MHz) -100 dBm 1
1)
typical value -102 dBm

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Appendix 3. Isolators, combiners and filters
Isolator, combiner and filter in transmitting end will decrease output power
at the antenna connector of base station. Normally, this can be compensated
by increasing the output power of TRX unit. In some cases if uplink is
strong output power of TRX may not be enough to balance the power
budget. On the following table the losses of combiner units are presented
for GSM 900, GSM 1800 and PCS 1900.
Table 10. Combiner losses for different combiner units in 900, 1800 and
1900 MHz.
Combiner type Typical loss
AFE 5.2 dB
AFE with bypass 2.2 dB
RTC (6 TRX) 4.5 dB
RTC (1-4 TRX) 3.5 dB

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Appendix 4. Antennae for WLL terminal
The following table gives the maximum antenna gain for WLL terminal
defined by Nokia. In some extreme conditions it is possible to use even
higher antenna gains but before doing it, it must be agreed with account
team.
Gain Window Low gain Medium High gain

antenna gain
900 5 dBi 4 dBi 8 dBi 12 dBi
1800/1900 5 dBi 7 dBi 12 dBi 16 dBi
Cable Loss / 100m

900 90dB 50 dB 20 dB 20 dB
1800/1900 105dB 80 dB 30 dB 30 dB
Diameter 3 mm 5 mm 10 mm 10 mm
The maximum gains are given for external antennae used outdoors.
However, it is possible to use so call window antennae with terminal. This
antenna is placed on a window. Because the antenna is installed on the
window building penetration loss will be lower than normally used in
mobile network. Loss can be around 5 – 10 dB.
If external antennae are used the cable loss in terminal end should be
included in calculations. Loss in 900 MHz band is close to 1dB/m and in
1800/1900 MHz band up to 1.5 dB/m.

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Appendix 5. Output powers
The typical output powers are presented on the following tables for GSM
based systems. User has to notice that the power is measured at the output
of the transmitter, not at the antenna connector.
Table 11. Output powers of base stations.
Type Power
Talk Family (900 MHz) 45 dBm 1
Talk Family (1800/1900 MHz) 45.2 dBm
PrimeSite (900/1800/1900 MHz) 39 dBm
1
Output power of a TRX
Table 12. Output powers of mobiles and terminals.
Type Power
GSM 900, class IV 33 dBm 1
GSM 900, class V 29 dBm 1
GSM 1800, class I 30 dBm 1
GSM 1800, class II 24 dBm 1
GSM 1900 30 dBm
Nokia 09 WLL terminal (900 MHz) 33 dBm
Nokia 18 WLL terminal (1800 MHz) 30 dBm
1
According to GSM recommendations, GSM 05.05.

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DIMENSIONING OF MOBILE AND WLL NETWORKS

2. THE PRINCIPLES OF NETWORK DIMENSIONING

Number/Version Date Page

4.3.4. Transmission configurations

5. CONFIGURATION OF NETWORK ELEMENTS

7. WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP AND DIMENSIONING

DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY

Number/Version Date Page

Radio link power budget is described in document Power Budget

Network dimensioning tool (NetDim) is described partly in this document.

2. THE PRINCIPLES OF NETWORK DIMENSIONING

Network Dimensioning Tool (NetDim) is used to calculate the number of

Firstly, the number of sites is calculated based on power budget and

2.2. Structure of dimensioning plan

The structure of dimensioning plan is shown in the picture below.

Number/Version Date Page

Area 1 Area 2 Area n

System 1 System 2 System m

Macro layer Micro layer

Figure 1. The structure of dimensioning plan. The plan consists of one or

Dimensioning plan consists of one or several areas (regions). Geographical

2.3. Flow of dimensioning

As described earlier in dimensioning both coverage and capacity

Number/Version Date Page

Figure 2. The flow of dimensioning as implemented in NetDim. The chart

In NetDim regions are independent objects that are calculated separately.

Number/Version Date Page

Calculation in NetDim is divided to a plan and areas. Each area in a plan

Figure 3. The flow of area dimensioning as implemented in NetDim.

Number/Version Date Page

3.1. Coverage calculation

In this chapter the calculation of coverage in NetDim is described. In

3.1.1. Radio link power budget

The only difference in calculation in NetDim relates to combiner loss. In

3.1.2. Location probability for outdoor, incar and indoor

In NetDim location probability can be given for outdoor, indoor or incar. If

The location probability definition used in NetDim is for single, isolated

Number/Version Date Page

Multiple server location probability

Figure 4. Multiple server location probability versus single cell location

When entering location probability figures in NetDim user should consider

3.1.3. Site area

Number/Version Date Page

So far 1.95 as K has been used as a default value for three-sector-base

Number/Version Date Page

3.1.4. Site length

Figure 6. The definition of length of the cell as a function of cell range.

3.2. Capacity calculation

Capacity calculation in NetDim is based on the following assumptions.

Number/Version Date Page

3.2.1. RF units, traffic channels and traffic

In NetDim it is assumed that blocking probability in the air interface can be

3.2.2. Traffic per subscriber

Number/Version Date Page

3.2.3. Frequency reuse number

3.2.5. Intelligent Underlay Overlay

 The total number of channels available for regular layer

The average number of TRXs is used when the possible configurations in

chstotal total channels in a layer

reuselayer frequency reuse in a layer

Number/Version Date Page

The optimal configuration based on the bandwidths and frequency reuse

TRXs in regular layer + TRXs in super layer