GSM Products Division

Diversity Antenna Systems

For

GSM900/GSM1800/PCS1900 Networks

Issue A

Jun Xiang Product Management GSM Products Division Email xiangj@ecid.cig.mot.com Phone +44(0)1793565680 Fax +44(0)1793514215

About this issue

This document has been requested by a number of staff in Motorola system/field engineering groups.

It is a technical primer intended to give a rational background to the issues of diversity antenna application and selection. The content allows for a very wide variety of experience and application knowledge.

It is intended for this document to cover all the fundamental information that Motorola GSM system/field engineers need to implement a diversity antenna system. The complete package will include: basic principles, applications, system specifications, Motorola preferred antenna vendors, procedures for the diversity antenna trial and analysis tool.

There is however an urgent need for earlier release of the document, hence some parts have not been completed in this issue.

Ultimately this document will include practical recommendations derived from all Motorola experiences. These recommendations will also incorporate the most commercially advantageous equipment selections based on global purchasing advantage.

This version covers section 1 to 6 and Appendix D.

The antenna vendors listed in Appendix A are a preliminary selection based on a purely technical analysis. This is because the antenna vendors need to be commercially assessed by the Wireless Network Products Division (WNP). GPD and WNP are working together to finalise

this process within the next few weeks. The finalised antenna recommendations will be a shorter list and will be published in the next issue of this document.

Appendix C describes the procedures for the diversity antenna trial and method for data acquisition and post-processing. The GSM research group of GPD and various of other groups are currently working on this project.

Once the measurement tool has been developed, large scale measurements will be organised. The typical diversity gain with the Motorola BTS equipment can then be derived from the measured results and published in Appendix B.

Contents

1 Scope

2 Introduction

2.1 2.2 2.3

The needs Concept of diversity antenna systems Realisation of the diversity antenna systems

3 Spatial diversity antenna systems

3.1 3.2 3.3

Basic principles Configurations Specifications

4 Polarisation diversity antenna systems

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

Basic principles Types of dualpolarisation antennas Configurations Specifications

5 Summary

6 References

Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D

Provisional recommended dualpolarisation antennas and vendors Typical diversity gain Generic test procedures and analysis tool Generic specifications for dualpolarisation antennas

1 Scope

This document describes the principle, application and practical configuration of diversity antenna systems for GSM900/GSM1800/PCS1900 networks.

The aim of the document is to provide fundamental information regarding the diversity antenna system as a guideline to Motorola GSM system/field engineers in the process of selecting, implementing and testing the diversity antenna system.

This document is intended for internal use only purpose.

This document is intended for internal use only purpose.

2 Introduction

2.1

The needs

A diversity antenna system is an essential part of the front end RF distribution system at a cellular base site. The use of a diversity antenna system enhances the ability of a cellular network to combat the multipath fading and increases the signal strength or signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The ultimate aim is to enable the network to offer high transmission quality.

The distinct phenomenon in the mobile propagation environment is multipath fading. Overcoming the multipath fading to maintain an acceptable radio transmission quality is therefore one of the key elements that drive the architecture design of any mobile communication systems.

In a typical cellular radio environment, the communication between the cell site and mobile is not by a direct radio path but via many paths. This is because the direct path between the transmitter and the receiver is obstructed by buildings and other objects. The signal that arrives at the receiver is therefore largely by way of scattering, either by reflection from the flat sides of buildings or by diffraction around man made or natural obstructions.

When various incoming radiowaves arrive at the receiver antenna, they combine constructively or destructively, which leads to a rapid variation in signal strength as shown in Figure 1. The signal fluctuations are known as multipath fading. The fluctuation can very often be so large that the radio link suffers from either severe deterioration of transmission quality or loss of the communication.

Diversity techniques have been recognised as an effective means which enhances the immunity of the communication system to the multipath fading. GSM therefore extensively adopts diversity techniques that include

In the time domain - interleaving In the frequency domain - frequency hopping In the spatial domain - spatial diversity In the polarisation domain - polarisation diversity.

Figure 1 Illustration of the multipath fading

The fundamental principle of the previously mentioned techniques is to create various copies of signals that carry the same or consecutive pieces of information but arrive at the receiver through different transmission media (Figure 2) in terms of time, frequency, location and polarisation. Those diversified signals experience different fading and hence the probability that they all suffer from a deep fade are considerably reduced. Optimal use of the diversified incoming signals will then result in an improvement of the radio transmission quality.

2.2

Concept of diversity antenna systems

Of those techniques described earlier, spatial and polarisation diversity techniques are realised through antenna systems.

In general, a diversity antenna system provides a number of receiving branches or ports (typically 2 in the present network, this will be assumed in the rest of this document) from which the diversified signals are derived and fed to a receiver. The receiver then combines the incoming signals from the branches to produce a combined signal (Figure 3) with improved quality in terms of signal strength or signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). The use of the combined signal for demodulation will then lead to a lower transmission error rate.

Figure 2 Independent fading derived from different transmission media

The performance of a diversity antenna system primarily relies on the branch correlation and signal level difference between branches.

Correlation between two receiving branches

The branch correlation coefficient (r) represents the degree of similarity between the signals from two different receiving branches. The correlation coefficient ranges from 0 to 1.

r=1 means the signals from two different branches behave exactly the same. In this case, the signals are coherent.

r=0 means the signals from two different branches behave completely different. In this case, the signals are uncorrelated.

To achieve the best performance, a diversity antenna system is required to provide uncorrelated signals. In the scenario that the signals are uncorrelated, the two signals fluctuate differently as shown in figure 3. As a result, the probability that both signals simultaneously experience deep fades is considerably reduced. By appropriate combining the two uncorrelated signals, the receiver is able to derive a combined signal with increased signal strength or S/N and hence an improved Bit-Error-Rate (BER) performance.

The improvement of the transmission quality decreases as the decorrelation between the two branches increases. For r=0, the diversity antenna becomes ineffective in combating the multipath fading.

(a)

(b)

Figure 3 Diversity combining An example of selection combining

The process by which a receiver combines the two inputs to produce a signal with good quality for demodulation is called diversity combining. The simplest combining technique is the selection combining which selects the best signal from the two receiving branches. The technique widely used in GSM is however the maximal ratio combining, which aims at maximising S/N.

In reality, however, it is not always practical to have a diversity antenna system which guarantees r=0. Extensive research in this field has revealed that a diversity antenna system can perform satisfactorily provided that r 0.7.

r 0.7 is therefore one of the fundamental criteria for the design of a diversity antenna system.

Signal level difference

The second key parameter for a good diversity antenna system is the mean signal level difference. The difference is a statistical parameter which indicates the balance of the signal strengths from the two receiving branches.

It has been found that a balance of the signal strengths between the two branches is essential for a diversity antenna system to operate to its maximum efficiency.

In a real system, the statistical balance can be verified by comparing the mean values of the two signals measured over a lengthy period, as in Figure (4). If the ratio between the median values is 0dB, the two receiving branches are statistically balanced. This is an ideal scenario for a diversity system to operate. The performance of the diversity system will deteriorate while the ratio increases or decreases from 0dB.

Figure 4 Illustration of the signal level difference

Table 1 [1] lists the diversity gain (G) achieved by the maximal ratio combining versus the signal level difference (D). The table shows that the signal level difference must be less than 4dB in order to achieve 3 dB diversity gain.

Since the diversity gain is normally assumed to be 3 dB in a link budget analysis, 4 dB should be considered, based on the table 1, as the maximum allowed difference in signal strengths.

D (dB) 0 1 2 3 4

G (dB) 4.7 4.2 3.8 3.4 3

Table 1 Diversity gain versus signal level difference Using the maximum ratio combining and assuming r =0.7

The signal level difference depends not only on the antenna system being used but also the environment of the propagation path over which the radio wave travels.

In polarisation diversity scenarios, the signal level difference is also described by Crosspolarisation Discrimination (XPD). XPD=0dB means that the two branches are equal or balanced.

In summary, the correlation coefficient and signal level difference are the key factors that determine the performance of a diversity antenna system.

2.3

Realisation of the diversity antenna systems

Diversity antenna systems in mobile communications are usually implemented on base sites though they can be implemented on mobile stations.

The most popular system at present is the spatial diversity antenna system. For the spatial diversity antenna system, two antennas are, as in figure (5), spatially separated. The antennas can be separated vertically or horizontally or a combination of both.

To achieve the satisfactory performance, the antennas should be far apart so that r 0.7.

Another type of diversity antenna system which has recently drawn enormous interests in cellular applications is the dual-polarisation (or cross-polarisation) antennas. Unlike the spatial diversity antenna system, the dual-polarisation antenna system utilises the polarisation of the electromagnetic wave to obtain diversified signals.

Figure 5 Sketch of a diversity antenna system

3 Spatial diversity antenna systems

3.1

Basic principles

The spatial diversity antenna system is constructed by physically separating two receiving base station antennas (see figure 6).

Once they are separated far enough, both antennas receive independent fading signals. As a result, the signals captured by the antennas are most likely uncorrelated. In general, the further apart are the antennas, the more likely that the signals are uncorrelated.

The types of the configuration used in GSM900/GSM1800/PCS1900 networks are:

horizontal separation vertical separation composite separation.

In considering which type of the configuration should be selected and how far the two antennas should be separated, the two criteria described in section 2.2 should be always used as a guideline.

Figure 6 Typical configurations of spatial diversity antenna systems

In addition, the physical limitation of the supporting structure should also be considered while selecting the spatial diversity antenna configuration. For example, if a wide framework

is not permitted on top of a mounting tower, vertical separation and composite separation are alternatives to be considered. Branch correlation The separation between antennas is primarily determined based on the correlation coefficient. It has been found that to achieve the required correlation coefficient (r 0.7) different configurations require different separations. Table 2 shows the typical separation required for r 0.7[2].

Separation

d/l 10

Horizontal Separation 900 MHz 1800 MHz 3.3 m 1.7 m

d/l 17

Vertical Separation* 900 MHz 1800 MHz 5.7 m 2.8 m

* Assuming the mobile is 80 off antenna boresight. Table 2 The separation indicated in Table 2 shows that low values of correlation are more easily obtained with horizontal rather than vertical separation. That is why most of the diversity antenna systems in GSM networks use horizontal separation. In a real mobile environment, the required separation changes with environment, antenna height, angular position and distance of the mobiles relative to the base site. The figures shown in Table 2 have however been widely accepted as a guideline for the minimum required separation. If more space is available, larger separation is always recommended. In order to make a more accurate estimate on the minimum required separation, it is recommended to conduct a measurement. Motorola BTS transceiver unit provides the raw signal strengths from two diversity antennas. This information can be easily accessed from an operational transceiver unit using a laptop PC. The detailed procedure is described in Appendix C. Signal level difference It has been found that obtaining balanced diversity signals is as important as securing a low value of correlation. A system using horizontally separated diversity antennas has a symmetrical configuration and is therefore able to provide balanced signal strengths. A system using vertically separated antennas needs large separation to meet the required correlation. The consequence is that the two antennas have different antenna height gains, which may result in imbalance between the two signal strengths. Angular dependence Angular dependence reflects the dependence of the performance of a diversity antenna system on the angular position of a mobile relative to the boresight of the antenna. It is well recognised that the horizontally separated antenna system has high dependence on the mobiles angular position. The reason is that, as shown in figure 7, the effective separation reduces as the mobile moves away from the antenna boresight. As the mobile is 90 off the antenna boresight, the effective separation becomes zero. In such a case, the signals from two antennas are very likely coherent which will then lead to a deterioration of the diversity performance. Fortunately, most of the GSM cell sites are 3 sectored cell sites. The maximum angular offset is therefore approximately 60 . Theoretical simulation shows that the performance of a horizontally separated antenna system experiences noticeable deterioration only when the angular offset exceeds 70[2] .

Figure 7 Illustration of angular dependency

Summary of pros and cons of the three configurations Horizontal separation

Horizontal separation Widely used. For Easier to achieve low values of correlation and balance between the signals. Against High angular dependence. The impact is however marginal for sectorised applications. Require sizeable headframe on the supporting structure. Vertical separation Not often used. For Slim supporting structure. Angular independence.

Against Require large separation for low values of correlation. May cause imbalance between the two diversity branches. Composite separation Recommended, for the time being, for those areas where full horizontal separation is not possible. For Less sizeable headframe on the supporting structure. Against Correlation requires further investigation. Imbalanced diversity branches subject to the vertical separation.

3.2

Configurations

3 antenna configuration

An operational spatial diversity antenna system is often configured by using three antennas as in Figure 8. Among those antennas, two are used to receive and one to transmit.

To achieve maximum separation between the two diversity receiving antennas with a given size of the mounting structure, the transmitting antenna is mounted in the middle whereas the two receiving (Rx) antennas are on both sides of the transmitting (Tx) antenna.

One of the major concerns of co-locating the Rx and Tx antennas is the isolation between Tx and Rx antennas. Motorolas transceiver requires a minimum 30 dB isolation between Tx and Rx ports at the antenna connectors. The consequences without adequate isolation are:

Massive Tx power may block the Rx or desensitise the receiver; Tx power may generate intermodulation products in the receiver chain.

The use of 3 antenna configuration naturally provides sufficient isolation because both Tx and Rx antennas are spatially separated.

The other attractive feature of this type of configuration is that no duplexer is required which reduces the potential risk of generating intermodulation products.

Figure 8 3 antenna configuration

2 antenna with a duplexer configuration

In many environments, there is a limitation on the number of antennas which can be installed. In such a case, use of 2 antenna configuration becomes an attractive option.

In the 2 antenna configuration as sketched in Figure 9, one antenna is used to receive and the other antenna to transmit as well as receive which is enabled by the use of a duplexer.

Figure 9 2 antenna with duplexer

Although one of the antennas is simultaneously used for Tx and Rx, the Tx and Rx chains are sufficiently isolated by the duplexer which is essentially a band pass filter.

Compared with the 3 antenna configuration, the 2 antenna configuration has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

Fewer antennas required - cost saving and less environmental impact. Require only two cables instead of three. Trade one antenna with one duplexer. Whether this is a cost saving depends on the type of antenna being used. In general, the cost of one antenna is more or less similar to the cost of one duplexer. Disadvantages

The use of a duplexer increases the risk of generating intermodulation products.

3.3

Specifications

The specifications that should be considered fall into two categories: antennas and antenna systems.

Antennas

The specification for the required antenna depends on the RF planning requirements. The typical parameters are:

Frequency range VSWR Gain Azimuth beamwidth Front-to-back ratio Elevation beamwidth Intermodulation products Power ratings Size and weight Windload

Antenna systems

The key parameters which must be considered while designing a diversity antenna system are:

Isolation between Tx and Rx port Correlation between two Rx ports The signal level difference between two Rx ports

The isolation figure can be obtained from the selected antenna vendor. GPD will collect a list of typical isolation figures from the GPD preferred antenna vendors.

The correlation and signal level difference between two Rx ports can be measured through drive tests. The test procedure is described in Appendix C. GPD is hoping to provide more information regarding this issue, which requires assistance from the in-country engineering teams in organising measurements.

4 Polarisation diversity antenna systems

4.1

Basic principles

Operation theory

It has been found that a single (say vertical) polarised electromagnetic wave is, as illustrated in Figure 10, converted to a wave with two orthogonal polarised fields while it is propagating through scattering environment. It has also been found that the two fields exhibit some extent of decorrelation. This implies that the dualpolarisation antenna has the potential to match the same diversity performance as the spatial diversity antenna. It is these findings that motivate the use of dualpolarisation antennas in cellular applications.

Figure 10 Conversion of single polarisation into dualpolarisation

As shown in figure 11, a dual-polarisation antenna consists of two sets of radiating elements which radiate or, in reciprocal, receive two orthogonal polarised fields. The antenna has two input connectors which separately connects to each set of the elements. The antenna has therefore the ability to simultaneously transmit and receive two orthogonally polarised fields.

Figure 11 Sketch of typical dual-polarisation antennas

For transmitting, one carrier or one set of combined carriers connects to one of the ports and is radiated with one polarisation. Another carrier or another set of combined carriers can simultaneously connect to the remaining port and is radiated with the orthogonal polarisation. This process is called air combining.

Likewise, for receiving, two in-coming fields with two orthogonal polarisations are captured by the respective co-polarised elements. The signals carried by the two fields are then fed into the receiver for diversity processing.

The successful application of the dualpolarisation antenna relies on the correlation and the signal level difference between the two receiving branches. These characteristics have been found to be environmentally dependent.

For example, in a dense urban environment, there are many scatters over the propagation path. It is highly probable that some of the energy from one polarisation is converted to an orthogonal polarisation due to the scattering and diffraction. As a result, a pure single polarised wave radiated by a mobile station arrives at the BTS with some energy on both polarisations. And more importantly, the in-coming wave has the following features:

The two orthogonal polarised fields are likely to be uncorrelated (r=0); The field strengths are likely to be balanced (XPD = 0dB).

The above meets perfectly with the optimal operational condition for a diversity antenna system.

Contrary to the dense urban environment, there is significantly less number of scatters in a rural flat environment. It is therefore less probable that some of the energy from one polarisation is converted into the orthogonal polarisation. The consequence is that the wave arriving at the base station antenna has one strong dominant polarised field (same orientation as the mobile). The polarisation nature in this environment is therefore:

The field strengths on the two orthogonal polarisations are largely unbalanced (XPD 0dB).

If the propagation environment exhibits the above characteristic, the polarisation diversity antenna system will not operate to its maximum efficiency and hence a lower diversity gain.

It is generally recommended to apply the dualpolarisation antenna in urban and sub-urban environments. It is however difficult to define a clear cut criteria which separates the categories of the environment. Drive testing is the only effective means to decide which environment is more suitable for the application of the dualpolarisation antenna. More information will be available as the scale of the deployment of dualpolarisation antennas increases.

Benefits

The most attractive benefit of using the dualpolarisation antenna is the reduction of the number of antennas required per base site. The associated benefits are then:

Reduced size of the headframe of the supporting structure Reduced windload and weight Reduced difficulty in site acquisition and installation Cost saving Requiring slim tower Requiring less installation time Cost of one dualpolarisation antenna is generally lower than that of two single polarised antennas

4.2

Types of dualpolarisation antennas

Generally there are two types (see figure 11) of dualpolarisation antenna available on the market. One is horizontal and vertical polarised (H/V) antennas and the other +45/-45 (slant 45) polarised antennas.

The pros and cons of those antennas are summarised as follows.

H/V

FOR:

1. As most of mobiles are held at slant 45 during the call, H/V is more likely, in a line-of-sight environment, to produce balanced signal strengths on the two branches, which is required to achieve the optimal diversity performance. 2. Correlation between two branches is less dependent on the mobile angular position. The diversity performance is therefore less dependent on the mobile locations.

AGAINST:

1. The identical radiation characteristics (3dB beamwidth and gain etc) on both branches is not easily achieved. This is essential if the air combining technique is used. In order to apply the air combining technique, it is required that both polarised radiating elements produce the same coverage footprints so that the handover can be executed satisfactorily.

Slant 45

FOR:

1. Radiation characteristics (3dB beamwidth and gain etc) of both polarised elements are almost identical. This is an ideal feature if both polarised radiating elements are required to transmit.

AGAINST:

1. Unbalanced signal strengths may be observed while the mobile is hold slant 45. The reason for that is one polarisation branch which has the same orientation as the mobile is likely, in a line-of-sight environment, to have stronger signal than the orthogonal branch. 2. The correlation coefficient is angular dependent. Figure 12 shows that the orthogonality of the two polarised antenna elements reduces as the angle between the antenna boresight and the mobile bearing increases. As a result, the correlation increases as the mobile moves away from the antenna boresight.

Although the above arguments make the H/V more appealing, there is no strong evidence from the field trial results so far to suggest which type is superior[3]. GPD at present does not have any preference regarding this issue.

Figure 12 Illustration of angular dependence of orthogonality

4.3

Configurations

One-antenna system

Figure (13) shows the configuration for a single dualpolarisation antenna application. Like the spatial diversity antenna system, a duplexer is required for the port used for both transmitting and receiving.

A duplexer or an external filter is required for the port used for the receiving only purpose if the isolation between two antenna ports is lower than 30 dB. It is apparent that the cost incurred due to the extra filter can be saved if the antenna has sufficient isolation between the two ports.

Two-antenna system

To avoid the use of the duplexer, the transmitting and receiving antennas have to be separated. In this case, the 2 antenna system as shown in figure 14 can be used. The receiving antenna is a dualpolarisation antenna which performs diversity operation. The transmitting antenna is a conventional vertical polarised antenna. This configuration also has good isolation performance, so it does not require an extra external filter.

It is however essential that both Tx and Rx antennas have the same electrical performances, such as the gain, 3dB beamwidths in azimuth and elevation planes and electrical downtilt.

In figure 14, the transmitting antenna is mounted below the receiving antenna. The reasons for this are:

1. This arrangement does not require a sizeable headframe; 2. Most of the antennas have either electrical or mechanical downtilted beams. So mounting the Tx antenna below the Rx dualpolarisation antenna minimises the extent of the Rx antenna being illuminated by the Tx antenna and hence improved isolation between Tx and Rx antennas.

Air combining with 1 dualpolarisation antenna

Air combining is an economical combining technique for the dualpolarisation applications.

As shown in Figure 15, the air combining configuration requires one dualpolarisation antenna and two duplexers. This enables both sets of antenna elements to transmit and receive simultaneously.

In addition to Tx/Rx operation, the duplexers also serve as isolators which increase the isolation between the two ports.

The use of air combining together with the dualpolarisation antennas has the following advantages:

Reduces the combining loss. Ideal for synthesiser hopping as it minimises the loss caused by the hybrid combining over a large number of carriers.

Enhances the isolation. Use of the 2nd duplexer is no longer an extra cost compared with the 1 antenna configuration described earlier.

The use of duplexers has a potential risk of generating intermodulation products. It is therefore essential to select low intermods duplexers for this configuration.

Figure 13 Sketch of the one-antenna system

Figure 14 Sketch of the two-antenna system

Figure 15 Sketch of the air combining system

4.4

Specifications

The specifications for the dualpolarisation antenna can be divided up into two categories: generic antenna specifications and polarisation related specifications.

Generic antenna specifications

The specifications required here are the same as those required by conventional vertical polarised antennas deployed in the existing networks.

The typical parameters are:

Frequency range VSWR Gain Azimuth beamwidth Front-to-back ratio Elevation beamwidth Intermodulation products Power ratings Size and weight Windload

The determination of the above parameters are based on the type of cellular application under consideration and corresponding RF planning requirements.

Polarisation related specifications

There are a number of parameters which are particularly related to the dualpolarisation antennas.

1. Tracking of the radiation patterns radiated through two polarisations

Tracking is a measure of the relative amplitudes of the two patterns, which shows the extent of the similarity between the two patterns radiated through the two polarisations.

Good tracking implies equality of the gain, beam shape and direction of beam maximum.

Poor tracking of the two outputs will result in a number of undesired features:

Unbalanced signal strengths between two branches, which leads to the reduced diversity

performance Different coverage footprints, which leads to degraded handover performance.

The tracking is generally required to be less than 1 dB over a 120 sector.

2. Antenna cross-polar discrimination (AXPD)

The achievement of polarisation diversity relies on the two polarisation of the antenna remaining orthogonal over the solid angle served by the antenna. For coverage of a 120 sector this implies the control of orthogonality over an angle of 60 from the antenna boresight.

Good orthogonality generally ensures a low correlation between two receiving branches, which is one of the key factors required for the optimal diversity performance.

The orthogonality of dual-polarisation is specified by a parameter known as the antenna cross-polar discrimination (AXPD).

AXPD is the ratio of the outputs from the co- and cross-polar ports (as a function of bearing angle) when the antenna is illuminated by a plane wave polarised in the copolar plane.

For example, when a vertically polarised plane wave illuminates a H/V antenna, good orthogonality implies that none or a very small portion of signal will appear at the H-port. In such a case, a large positive value (typically +20dB) of AXPD is observed. Poor orthogonality implies that a very strong portion of signal will appear at the H-port, which will push AXPD to 0dB or perhaps even into negative.

AXPD is generally required to be higher than +15dB.

3. Isolation

The isolation between two ports is another important parameter for the dualpolarisation application.

30 dB isolation has been used to design the Motorolas base station transceiver (cable loss has been taken into account). This is therefore the minimum requirement for the Motorolas BTS equipment to operate to its maximum efficiency. If a dualpolarisation antenna does not provide a 30 dB isolation, external band pass filters (for receiving band at the receiving ports) or duplexers are required, which apparently adds extra costs in the diversity antenna system.

5 Summary

The diversity antenna system plays a crucial part in a cellular network to combat multipath fading and hence improved call quality.

The effectiveness of the diversity antenna systems depends not only on the antenna itself but also the type of environment in which the mobile and base station operate. These two factors must be taken into account while designing a diversity antenna system.

A number of configurations for both spatial and polarisation diversity system have been discussed. Each one has its own merits. The selection of a configuration should be considered based on the application, mobile environment and physical mounting restriction.

The dualpolarisation antenna system has the potential to achieve the same diversity performance as the spatial diversity antenna system. More importantly, the use of dualpolarisation reduces the number of antennas required. The benefits are therefore 1) more environmental friendly; 2) cost saving for mounting structure and 3) cost saving for installation and maintenance.

The use of dualpolarisation antenna is an ideal application for the synthesiser hopping. This is

because it enables the synthesiser hopping to hop over a large number of frequencies through air combining without introducing combining loss and more antennas.

It is recommended that polarisation diversity antenna systems are deployed in urban and suburban environments, in which the reduction in number of antennas is most desired.

6 References

[1] J Gibson Mobile Communications Handbook [2] D Parsons The Mobile Propagation Channel, Pentech Press, 1992, pp 142-145 [3] J Xiang NetCom Trial Report, GPD Internal Report, December 1996

Appendix A Provisional recommended dualpolarisation antennas and vendors

Most of the Motorola account teams have gained sufficient experience of selecting single (or plain) polarised antennas. The dualpolarisation antennas are however relatively new to us. This appendix therefore only recommends the dualpolarisation antennas and corresponding vendors.

The needs

Use of Motorola preferred antenna vendors as well as all other preferred ancillary vendors has been recognised to be an important discipline which would enhance Motorolas capability of offering a cost effective total system solution to our customers. Below are the primary benefits of using the Motorola preferred antenna vendors.

Best in class antennas

The antennas selected are the best in class antennas in terms of performance. The results derived from the Global Survey on RF Delivering Systems (organised by GPD in April 1997) have been used as a reference in the process of vendor selection.

The preferred antennas will therefore effectively interface with Motorola GPDs cell site configurations and wide range of capacity solutions. This enables Motorolas GSM BSS equipment to operate to its maximum efficiency.

Competitive price

By offering world-wide cellular antenna market to the preferred vendors, Motorola can, in return, secure a competitive pricing from the vendors. This objective can however only be achieved if all the regional account teams place order through the Motorola Wireless Network Products Group to the preferred vendors.

Special antennas

Every so often, Motorola customers require non-standard antennas for special cellular applications. By working in partnership, Motorola will be able to influence the vendors to rapidly develop the non-standard antenna tailored to Motorola customers special need.

Cycle time reduction

The use of the preferred antenna vendors will considerably reduce the time and effort that the regional account teams would have spent on sourcing appropriate antennas. In addition, purchasing antennas through Motorola WNP will increase the procurement efficiency and hence total cycle time reduction.

Recommending the Motorola preferred antennas to our customers and highlighting the superior performance of those antennas will enhance Motorolas competitive advantages in both commercial and technical perspectives.

Criteria

The preferred vendors were selected based on the following criteria:

Product range and leadership products

Motorola GSM900/GSM1800/PCS networks are deployed world-wide. Different networks have different requirement on antennas. The preferred vendors must therefore have broad range of dualpolarisation antenna products in their present product portfolio.

Some preferred vendors do not fully meet this criterion at present. However they have developed antenna with superior performance and demonstrated the ability of rapid expanding their product portfolio in the next six to twelve months.

Leadership products with innovations have always been one of the key criteria while selecting preferred vendors. This ensures that Motorola base station equipment is always interfaced with the best-in-class antennas.

Engineering skills and design capability

Having good engineering skills and advanced R&D facilities are the essential requirement. This shows that the vendor has the ability to be responsive to Motorolas special needs.

Quality standard

The preferred vendors have all demonstrated a high standard of quality control systems. Witness tests on selected types of antenna have been organised by GPD to confirm the key technical parameters declared by the vendors.

Production capacity

It is essential that the preferred vendors must have sufficient production capacity in order to match Motorolas demand. The preferred vendors have all been used by major operators world-wide and experienced production in large volume.

The categories

The selected antennas are divided up into three categories: standard antennas, high performance antennas and special antennas.

Standard antennas

Standard antennas do not have any beamshaping in the elevation plane. Those antennas are designed to produce maximum antenna gain and hence EIRP (effective isotropic radiating power). The standard antenna is therefore most suitable for the range or noise limited applications.

High performance antennas

High performance antennas provide a shaped beam in the elevation plane, which suppress the sidelobes above the horizon to reduce interference and fills the nulls below the horizon to improve coverage. The shaped beam is achieved by the sophisticated antenna synthesis techniques and state-of-art design of the antenna distribution network.

The high performance antenna is highly recommended in capacity or interference limited applications.

High performance antennas are not necessarily more expensive than the standard

antennas. The penalty that one has to pay for using the high performance antenna is the gain reduction. For the same antenna size, the gain of the high performance antenna is approximately 0.5 - 1 dB lower than that of the standard antenna.

Special antennas

A few special antennas are recommended, which are produced by DelTec. The electrical downtilt of the DelTec antenna can be remotely adjusted. This can be done by using either a hand held control unit at a base site or a PC in an office through a telephone line. The other unique feature is that one of the models has 45 azimuth beamwidth, which is the ideal beamwidth for the six sectored cell sites that Motorola is recommending to enhance network coverage or capacity.

List of preferred antennas

Model MTPA925-D8B-Rxy-z MTPA925-D8-Rxy-z 739 624 739 630 739 636 7218.02 7218.03 GSMD065-25-4 GSMD065-25-4S APX906516-T0 APX906516-T6 APX906515-T0 7255.02 739 160 739 634 738 819 739 622 739 632 APX906513-T0 7217.02 APX906512-T0 7216.02 738 619 739 650 739 662 APX909014-T0 APX909014-T0 GSMD085-25-4 GSMD085-25-4S APX909011-T0 Model 739 927 APX186517-T2 SPA1800/65/19/2/DS PCND065-19-5AS PCND065-19-2AS PCND065-13-5AS PCND065-13-2AS 739 494 739 495 739 496 PCND065-10-5AS PCND065-10-2AS 739 490 739 491 APX188016-T2 739 710

Frequency (MHz) 870 - 960 870 - 960 806 - 960 870 - 960 806 - 960 880 - 960 880 - 960 870 - 960 870 - 960 872 - 960 872 - 960 872 - 960 880 - 960 824 - 960 806 - 960 824 - 960 806 - 960 806 - 960 872 - 960 880 - 960 872 - 960 880 - 960 806 - 960 806 - 960 806 - 960 872 - 960 872 - 960 870 - 960 870 - 960 872 - 960

Supplier DELTEC DELTEC Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein Allgon Allgon CSA CSA Celwave Celwave Celwave Allgon Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein Celwave Allgon Celwave Allgon Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein Celwave Celwave CSA CSA Celwave

Polarisation H/V H/V Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 H/V Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 H/V Slant 45 Slant 45 Polarisation Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45

Minimum Gain (dBi) 19 18 18 18 18 17.7 17.2 16.5 16.8 16.6 16.5 15.6 16.5 17 17 15.5 15.5 15 14.7 15.1 13.5 12.3 9 17 17 15.7 15.4 16 16 13

Azimuth Beamwidth () 45 63 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 90 90 90 90 85 85 90 Azimuth

Electrical Tilt () Adjustable Adjustable 0 0 6 0 6 4 4 0 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 4 4 0 Electrical Tilt () 2 2 2 5 2 5 2 0 2 6 5 2 0 6 2 2

Length Comments (m) 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.49 2.49 2.46 2.46 2.2 2 1.9 1.9 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 0.65 0.26 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.48 2.48 1.3 Availability Sept. 97 Availability Sept. 97 High performance High performance Availability Oct. 97 Availability Sept. 97 Availability Sept. 97 High performance High performance Availability Oct. 97 Special antennas Special antennas

Frequency (MHz) 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880

Supplier Kathrein Celwave Huber&Suhner CSA CSA CSA CSA Kathrein Kathrein Kathrein CSA CSA Kathrein Kathrein Celwave Kathrein

Minimum Gain (dBi) 19.5 18.2 18.5 18.3 18.3 17.2 17.2 18 18 18 16.1 16.1 15.5 15.5 17 17.5

Beamwidth () 33 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 80 90

Length (m) 1 2 1.6 1.9 1.9 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1 1 0.7 0.7 2 1.9

Comments Availability Sept 97 High performance High performance

Availability Sept 97 Availability Sept 97 Availability Sept 97

PCND085-19-5AS PCND085-19-2AS SPA1800/85/17/6/DS PCND085-13-5AS PCND085-19-2AS 739 707 PCND085-10-5AS PCND085-10-2AS 739 698

1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880 1710 - 1880

CSA CSA Huber&Suhner CSA CSA Kathrein CSA CSA Kathrein

Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45

17.1 17.1 17 16 16 16.5 14.9 14.9 14

85 85 85 85 85 90 85 85 90

5 2 6 5 2 2 5 2 0

1.9 1.9 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.3 1 1 0.7

High performance High performance

Availability Sept 97 Availability Sept 97

Model XN-6810 XS-6810 XS-686 XS-8510 XS-856

Frequency SupplierPolarisation (MHz) 1850 1990 1850 1990 1850 1990 1850 1990 1850 1990 ADC ADC ADC ADC ADC Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45 Slant 45

Minimum Azimuth Gain (dBi) 15 15 17.5 14 16.5 Beamwidth () 68 68 68 85 85

Electrical Length Tilt () 0 or 2 1 or 2 2 or 2 3 or 2 4 or 2 (m) 1 1 1.7 1 1.7

Comments

For further information, please contact:

1. ADC Celwave

2. Allgon 4. CSA

3.

Mr. Jaz Paulson Clavel Tel: +44 (0)1242518500 (0)134236202 Fax: +44(0)1242510191 +33(0)130760438

Miss Camilla Sundvall Mr. Bill Derbyshire Tel: +46 (0)854082346 Tel: +44(0)1634715544 Fax: +46(0)854082485 Fax: +44(0)1634715742

Mr. Pierre Tel: +33 Fax:

5. Huber & Suhner

6. Kathrein

Mr. Hanspeter Gerber Tel: +41(0)713534231 Fax: +41(0)794004773

Mark Bingham Tel: +49(0)8031184761 Fax: +49(0)8031184820

Appendix B Typical diversity gain

Appendix C Generic test procedure for dualpolarisation antennas

Appendix D Generic specifications for dualpolarisation antennas

Electrical performance

Frequency:

870 - 960 MHz 1710 - 1880 MHz 1850 - 1990 MHz

GSM90 GSM1800 PCS1900

VSWR:

1.4:1 Max

Gain on both polarisation ports:

Based on RF planning requirement

Gain variation on both polarisation ports:

< 1dB over entire frequency band

Azimuth patterns on both polarisation ports

beamwidth: Front-to-back ratio:

Based on RF planning requirement > 25 dB, preferable > 30dB

Elevation pattern on both polarisation ports

Elevation beamwidth: Electrical beamtilt:

Based on RF planning requirement Based on RF planning requirement (adjustable and remote controllable electrical beamtilt mechanism is now available)

Upper sidelobe suppression: Null fill below horizon:

Based on RF planning requirement Based on RF planning requirement

Mechanical tilt:

Typical 10

Input power:

Based on RF planning requirement

Intermodulation products:

<-153dBc for 2 x 20W carriers

Polarisation related

Polarisation:

45 polarised OR H/V polarised

Isolation:

> 25dB, preferable

EITHER

> 30dB over the entire band

OR

> 30dB over Tx band

(Tx band for GSM900: 925 MHz - 960 MHz Tx band for GSM1800:1805 MHz - 1880 MHz Tx band for PCS: 1930 MHz - 1990 MHz)

Tracking in azimuth plane: (Equality of azimuth patterns between two polarisation ports)

<0.5 dB <1 dB

on boresight over 120 sector

Crosspolar discrimination:

< - 15dB

on boresight

Mechanical performance

Weight: Based on the requirement of the mounting structure

Windload: requirement of the mounting structure

Based on the

Size: requirement of the mounting structure

Based on the