Exploiting Advanced Receiver Technology to Improve Tetra

Network Testing

David Kenyon, Technical Director, Multiple Access Communications Ltd

Coverage area and signal quality are important parameters for all mobile radio networks. But,
when the network in question has security or public safety implications, such as Tetra or
GSM-R networks, then reliable coverage is of paramount importance. A high quality network
must have a very high probability of providing good signal strength and a good carrier-to-
interference (CIR) ratio at all locations where a mobile may be used. However, ensuring that
this happens is much easier said than done. No matter how good the initial network design, it
is never perfect and so it is necessary to carry out drive testing to verify network coverage. In
this article we explain what constitutes good signal strength measurement and consider what
this implies for drive test measurement equipment. We then show how, using a simple
technique, the same equipment may be used to identify areas of poor CIR.

Making good measurements

Signal strength measurements made in a moving vehicle will exhibit rapid fluctuations,
known as fast fading, as the receiver moves. A good measurement is one in which the effects
of fast fading have been removed to yield the local mean signal strength. To extract the local
mean signal strength, averaging must be applied to the measurements and it has been shown1
that averaging at least 36 independent samples taken over an interval of 20 to 40 wavelengths
is sufficient. Lee recommends that a 20 wavelength interval is used at frequencies below
850 MHz. Thus, to make good measurements in a system operating below 850 MHz (eg,
Tetra) the drive test receiver must be capable of capturing 36 or more samples in the time it
takes the drive test vehicle to travel 20 wavelengths (=15 m at 400 MHz). We subsequently
refer to this as the Lee Criterion. Consequently, the required sampling rate will be dependent
on the maximum speed of the drive test vehicle. Table 1 shows the necessary sampling rate at
both 400 MHz and 900 MHz for speeds up to 200 kph, where the upper speed limit has been
chosen for the case when the drive test vehicle is a train.

Speed Speed Sampling rate at Sampling rate

(kph) (m/s) 400 MHz at 900 MHz
(20 λ interval) (40 λ interval)
60 16.67 40 45
80 22.22 53 60
90 25.00 60 68
100 27.78 67 75
120 33.33 80 90
150 41.67 100 113
200 55.56 133 150
Table 1 Signal strength sampling rates to meet the Lee Criterion.

1
W.C. Y. Lee, Mobile Cellular Telecommunications Systems, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1989, p. 13-14.
For example, to drive test a Tetra network at speeds of up to 90 kph, a sampling rate of 60
samples per second is required for each carrier to be measured. So, if there are ten carriers of
interest the scanning receiver must be able to scan at a rate of 600 carriers per second. If the
scanning receiver is not capable of this, then the only alternatives are to repeat the drive test,
measuring a sub-set of the channels on each run, or to change the scan list during the survey.
Both of these techniques are cumbersome and prone to error. What is more, by selecting a set
of carriers to be measured prior to the survey the survey results will not reveal problems
related to base stations transmitting on the wrong frequency or the presence of signals that
should not be there. An idealistic scenario would be to have a scanning receiver that is able to
scan all of an operator's carriers fast enough to meet the Lee Criterion. For a Tetra operator
with 5 MHz of spectrum this implies a scanning rate greater than 10,000 carriers per second.
This specification would be impossible for a conventional scanning receiver; however, recent
developments in wideband digital receiver technology have made this an achievable
specification (see the datasheet on the CatchAll Receiver from Multiple Access
Communications Ltd).

Drive test equipment often relies on test mobiles. These have many advantages, because the
test mobile can generate much more information about the network than just signal strength.
However, this additional information is obtained at the expense of signal strength
measurement quality, which will not meet the Lee Criterion on a single carrier let alone ten or
more. To get the best of both worlds, many operators use both a test mobile and a scanning
receiver whilst drive testing.

Measuring CIR
Cellular networks employ frequency re-use to achieve good spectral efficiency, with the best
efficiency obtained when frequencies are re-used as closely as possible. However, due to the
variable nature of radio propagation, tight re-use leads to areas in which there is too much
interference. Identifying areas in which the CIR is below an allowable threshold is a major
aspect of network optimisation. Unfortunately, measuring CIR directly is inherently difficult
because it requires the measurement of two signals on the same frequency when one signal
may be ten-times stronger than the other. One way of separating the signals is to make use of
directional antennas, to reduce the level of each signal in turn, thus increasing the CIR as seen
by the measurement receiver. However, this is a slow and cumbersome task that cannot be
performed whilst moving. Automated equipment using adaptive antenna techniques can also
be used but, whilst these overcome the limitations of directional antennas, such equipment is
prohibitively expensive.

A simple method, which can be used in all but the smallest networks, is to make use of the
fact that typically BS sites transmit more than one carrier, and in some cases the other carriers
on the co-channel site are different. This is best explained by an example. Figure 1 shows two
cells, A and B, sharing a common frequency f2, but each transmitting a second frequency, f1
in Cell A and f3 in Cell B. Cells A and B are assumed to be located such that, at the boundary
of Cell A, the signal strength of frequency f2 from Cell B is close to that from Cell A, thus
causing high levels of CIR. Signal strength measurements on frequency f2 within Cell A will
be unable to detect the interference from Cell B because it cannot be distinguished from the
signal transmitted by Cell A. However, by making measurements on frequencies f1 and f3,
and assuming that all signals in a cell are transmitted with equal power, the relative levels of
frequencies f1 and f3 will be a reliable estimate of the CIR on frequency f2.
 Cell A

f1

f2

f2
f3

Cell B

Figure 1 Two cells having a common frequency, f2, causing co-channel

interference at the boundary of Cell A.

A practical example of this approach is shown in Figure 2. The graph shows data captured by
a CatchAll receiver for two co-channel cells, that are using a common frequency, f2. For
most of this drive test Cell A (ie, that transmitting frequencies f1 and f2) was the strongest
server. However, at 1, 6 and 10 minutes instances can be clearly seen when the signal
strength on f3 is close to or exceeds that of f1. For troubleshooting spot locations where CIR
problems are suspected, a graph such as that shown in Figure 2 can be produced in real time.
However, such an approach is clearly not appropriate for analysing a whole network or
region. Fortunately, provided the drive test data contain measurements on all carriers in use in
the test area and a frequency plan is available, an automated software tool can be used to
generate a list of problem areas. This list can then be examined manually or imported into a
geographical information system to provide a map-based output.

The only drawback of this simple CIR measurement method is the need for two or more
carriers to be broadcast from each site. More sophisticated techniques for measuring CIR can
be used, for example based on measurements of signal quality, such as error-vector
magnitude. These techniques are not limited to multi-carrier sites. However, they are not
without problems, being highly susceptible to the effects of fast fading and limited in the
range over which they accurately report CIR. When the simple method can be applied, it will
be the most reliable.
 -50
f1
f2
f3
-60

-70
Signal Strength (dBm)

-80

-90

-100

-110
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time (Minutes)

Figure 2 Measured signal strength, showing instances of poor CIR.

Summary
Drive testing is a time-consuming and costly exercise, thus it is important to ensure that the
data collected contain all the necessary information, are accurate and of good quality; having
to re-drive a route because the equipment was not monitoring a channel of interest is a costly
mistake. With the advent of wideband receiver technology, it is now possible for cellular and
PMR operators to deploy drive test equipment that will provide good measurements on all
their carriers, without the need to decide in advance which carriers to measure. In addition,
for all but the simplest networks, the same data can be analysed automatically to reveal CIR
problems. All that remains is the small problem of driving the whole network.

David Kenyon
Multiple Access Communications Ltd
Delta House, Chilworth Science Park, Southampton, Hants, SO16 7NS
Email : david.kenyon@macltd.com
Tel : +44 (023) 8076 7808