Optimization, Urban, Antenna Location

Optimize the location or number of antenna sites in an urban scenario.

Antenna Location Optimization Overview

During the installation of new radio networks, it is often difficult to find the optimum location of new base-station antennas. With OptMan, you can find the best suitable subset of a larger set of possible, user-defined transmitters/cells within a radio network. Firstly, you define a ProMan radio-planning project with many possible and fully configured transmitters/cells (typically more transmitters than expected). Based on any specified network-planning result type, such as data rate, signal level and interference levels well as corresponding optimization target definitions, OptMan finds the best subset of transmitters/cells to meet these specified targets or approach the defined targets as closely as possible.

OptMan computes the wave-propagation and network-planning predictions automatically. It adds a first transmitter/cell to the configuration from the list of available predefined transmitters/cells. Then the next transmitter/cell is added to the network if a minimum cell area is required by this transmitter. This process repeats until all user-defined thresholds are achieved.

Model Type

The ProMan project is an example of a network planning project for an urban scenario.

Sites and Antennas

The database contains 25 sites, see Figure 1. All transmitter antennas are at a height of 35 m and are operating on a single carrier frequency of 2625 MHz.
Tip: Click Project > Edit Project Parameter and click the Sites tab to view the sites and antennas.


Figure 1. Urban database with 25 antenna sites in ProMan.
In OptMan the 25 antennas (transceivers) are listed as shown in Figure 2.
Note: This is the list after optimization and after assigning the best run.
Only a subset of the sites is enabled.


Figure 2. Transceiver list in OptMan

At the beginning of an Optimization, usually they are all in the Enabled state and all selected for “Consider for Optimization” in the settings at the bottom of the list.

Optimization Target

The optimization target is set for a data rate of at least 100 kBit/s in 65% of the area. Each cell in the area should cover at least 4% of the area.
Tip: Click Project > Parameter and click the Target tab to define an optimization target.
Tip: If ProMan fails to start, check the path in Project > Local Settings.

Results

The results in ProMan demonstrates how less than 25 cells were needed. The cell area is depicted in Figure 3, and the data rates that can be achieved are shown in Figure 4.



Figure 3. Cells after optimization.


Figure 4. Data rates achieved with the small number of transceivers.