Propagation Models for Mobile Communications

Nabil Magdi Hassan, sec (8), B.N (19)

Electronics & Electrical Communications Department, Cairo University

Abstract - The need for wireless communication  Environmental Attenuation models

data has increased considerably in past decades.  Point-to-Point propagation models
Radio propagation is essential for emerging  Terrain models
technologies with appropriate design, deployment  City Models
and management strategies for any wireless
Models for outdoor attenuations
network. It is heavily site specific and can vary
 Near-earth propagation models
significantly depending on terrain, frequency of
 Foliage models
operation, velocity of mobile terminal, interface
sources and other dynamic factor. Accurate  Weissberger's modified exponential
decay model
characterization of radio channel through key
parameters and a mathematical model is  Early ITU Model
important for predicting signal coverage,  Updated ITU model
achievable data rates, specific performance  Terrain models
attributes of alternative signaling and reception  Egli Model
schemes.  Longley–Rice model
 ITU Terrain Model
1 INTRODUCTION  City models
 Young Model
Propagation models have traditionally focused on  Okumura Model
predicting the received signal strength at a given  Hata Model for Urban Areas
distance from the transmitter, as well as the  Hata Model for Suburban Areas
variability of the signal strength in a close spatial
 COST Hata model
proximity to a particular location. Propagation
models that predict the signal strength for an arbitrary  Area to Area Lee Model
transmitter-receive (T-R) separation distance are  Point to Point Lee Model
useful in estimating the radio coverage area of a Models for indoor attenuations
transmitter.  ITU Model for Indoor Attenuation
Conversely, propagation models that characterize  Log-distance path loss model
the rapid fluctuations of the received signal strength Models for environmental effects
over very short travel distances are called small-scale  Rain attenuation model
or fading models. Propagation models are useful for  ITU rain attenuation model
predicting signal attenuation or path loss. This path  ITU rain attenuation model for satellites
loss information may be used as a controlling factor  Crane global model
for system performance or coverage so as to achieve  Crane two-component model
perfect reception. [1]  Crane model for satellite paths
 DAH model
2. Propagation Models variations
3. Propagation Model study
As the Propagation model is
From the huge number of the propagation models
an empirical mathematical formulation for the
we will pick a few to take a deep look on them.
characterization of radio wave propagation as
a function of frequency, distance and other 3.1 Weissberger’s model
conditions. Different models have been developed to
meet the needs of realizing the propagation behavior Weissberger’s model is a radio wave propagation
in different conditions. Some of the types of models model that estimates the path loss due to the presence
for radio propagation include: [2] of one or more trees in a point-to-
 Models for indoor applications point telecommunication link. This model belongs to
the category Foliage or Vegetation models . [3]
 Models for outdoor applications +This model coverage is:
 Ground wave propagation models  Frequency: 230 MHz to 95 GHz
 Sky wave propagation models  Depth of Foliage: up to 400 m
+ This model is applicable to:
 This model is applicable to the cases of line of
sight propagation. Example is microwave
transmission.
 This model is only applicable when there is an
obstruction made by some foliage in the link. i.e.
In between the transmitter and receiver.
 This model is ideal for application in the
situation where the LOS path is blocked by
dense, dry and leafy trees.
+Weissberger’s model is formally expressed as:
3.2 Egli model
Egli Model is a terrain model for radio frequency
propagation. The model was derived from real-world
data on UHF and VHF television transmissions in
several large cities. It predicts the total path loss for
a point-to-point link. Typically used for outdoor line-
of-sight transmission, this model provides the path
loss as a single quantity.
+ This model coverage is: typically applied
to VHF and UHF spectrum transmissions.
+ This model is typically suitable for: cellular
communication scenarios where one antenna is fixed
and another is mobile. The model is applicable to
scenarios where the transmission has to go over an
irregular terrain. However, the model does not take
into account travel through some vegetative
obstruction, such as trees or shrubbery. [4]
+The Egli model is formally expressed as:
3.3 Okumura model for Urban Areas
Okumura model for Urban Areas is a Radio
propagation model that was built using the data
collected in the city of Tokyo, Japan. The model is
ideal for using in cities with many urban structures
but not many tall blocking structures. Hata Model
predicts the total path loss along a link of
terrestrial microwave or other type of cellular
communications.
+ This model coverage is: Frequency = 150 MHz to
1920 MHz
+ Mobile Station Antenna Height: between 1 m and
10 m
+ Base station Antenna Height: between 30 m and
200 m
+ Link distance: between 1 km and 100 km
+ This model is typically suitable to the radio
propagation within urban areas & for both point-to-
point and broadcast transmissions and it is based on
extensive empirical measurements taken. [5]
+ Hata Model for Urban Areas is formulated as:
3.4 ITU Indoor Propagation Model
A radio propagation model that estimates the path
loss inside a room or a closed area inside a building
delimited by walls of any form. Suitable for
appliances designed for indoor use, this model
approximates the total path loss an indoor link may
experience.
+ This model coverage is:
 Frequency: 900 MHz to 5.2 GHz
 Floors: 1 to 3
+ This model is applicable to only the indoor
environments. Typically, such appliances use the
lower microwave bands around 2.4 GHz. However,
the model applies to a much wider range. [6]
+The ITU indoor path loss model is formally
expressed as:
4. CONCLOSION
Propagation models are necessary for the mobile
network to be done. Each mobile network criteria has
a certain model to form through it. A lot of
considerations are being taken care of in the model.
More & more models will be done as they are
empirical forms.
Acknowledgment
We thank the anonymous references for their
comments that greatly improve the presentation of
this paper.
References
[1] PROPAGATION M ODEL FOR HIGHWAY IN
M OBILE COM M UNICATION SYSTEM , K.Ayyappan.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_propagation_model
[3] An initial critical summary of models for predicting the
attenuation of radio waves by trees, M ark A. Weissberger
[4] “Radio Propagation above 40 M C over Irregular
Terrain", Egli, John J.
[5] "On the use of the universal Okumura-Hata propagation
prediction model in rural areas" IEEE Explore.
[6] Propagation data and prediction methods for the
planning of indoor radio communication systems and the
radio local area networks in the frequency range 900 M Hz
to 100 GHz, ITU-R Recommendations, Geneva, 2001.