WiMAX, Indoor

Model Type

The model consists of a large single-story building. The network planning is based on a description file for the air interface.

Air Interface

The air interface is defined by the WiMAX wireless standard, WiMAX.wst, file. Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM/SOFDMA) is used in this air interface.

Tip: Click Project > Edit Project Parameter and click the Air Interface tab.

Sites and Antennas

There are four antenna sites in this scenario. Each site has an omnidirectional antenna at a height of 2.5 m. The antennas at Site 1 and Site 2 both operate on the same carrier frequency of 3413.50 MHz, while the antennas at Site 3 and Site 4 both operate on 3420.50 MHz. All antennas transmit individual data streams. Therefore Sites 1 and 2 interfere with each other, and also Sites 3 and 4.

Tip: Click Project > Edit Project Parameter and click the Sites tab to view the sites and antennas.

Computational Method

The computation method used for this model is the dominant path model (DPM), which focuses on the most relevant path. This method leads to shorter computation times compared to standard ray tracing model (SRT).

Empirical interaction losses are used for the computation of signal levels along the propagation path. Such empirical parameters are often easier to obtain through measurements compared to obtaining electrical material properties.

Tip: Click Project > Edit Project Parameter and click the Computation tab to change the model.

Results

Propagation results show at every location the power received by a hypothetical isotropic receiving antenna from each transmitting antenna. Field strength and path loss are also available.

The network result show results such as cell area, signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio, and maximum achievable data rate, as well as quantities for specific modulation schemes. Because pairs of antennas interfere in this example, the SNIR is sometimes too low for successful communication. In this example, however, communication is still possible almost everywhere inside the building. Figure 1 shows the maximum achievable data rates.