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CDMA
Six Sector Cell Applications
Handbook
NBSS 7.0 Standard 01.01 September 1998
CDMA
Six Sector Cell Applications
Handbook
. NORTHERN TELECOM CONFIDENTIAL: The information contained in this document is the property of Northern
Telecom. Except as specifically authorized in writing by Northern Telecom, the holder of this document shall keep the information
contained herein confidential and shall protect same in whole or in part from disclosure and dissemination to third parties and use
same for evaluation, operation, and maintenance purposes only.
. DMS, DMS SuperNode, DMS-MTX, DMS-100, and MAP are trademarks of Northern Telecom.
iv
Publication history
September 1998
Standard 01.01
June 1998
Preliminary 01.00
May 1998
First Draft 01.00
Contents
Introduction 1-1
Overview of Nortel’s CDMA System 1-1
Funtionality of the BTS 1-3
Functionality of the BSC 1-3
Six Sector Application 1-3
The BTS for a Six Sector Site 1-4
Suitable Morphology Sites for Six Sector Deployment 1-5
Diminishing Returns 1-6
Deploying Second Carrier Over Six Sector 1-7
Antennas 2-1
Antenna Beamwidth 2-1
Antenna Gain 2-1
Reconfiguring a Three Sector to Six Sector 2-1
New Six Sector site 2-2
Diversity Options for Six Sector 2-2
Antenna Orientation 2-2
Six Sector cell in a cluster of Six Sector cells. 2-2
Six sector cell in a cluster of three sector cells 2-5
Transition from Three Sector to Six Sector 3-1
First Step 3-1
Six Sector with Space Diversity Antenna 3-1
Six Sector with Dual Polarized Antennas 3-4
Six Sector Capacity 4-1
Forward Link Capacity 4-1
Reverse Link Capacity 4-1
Three Sector Cell Calculation 4-2
Fully Embedded six sector cell Calculation 4-2
A six sector embedded in three sector cells 4-3
Impact on the neighbor cell forward link capacity 4-4
Datafill 4-4
Channel Element (CE) Usage 4-5
Reverse Link Budget 4-5
T1 Link Requirement 4-5
References: 4-6
viii
List of Figures
High level overview of Nortel’s CDMA System 1-1
High level overview of Nortel’s CDMA System functionality 1-2
Arranging two BTSs to make a Six Sector fort optimum performance 1-5
Deploying a Six Sector cell at a traffic Junction in downtown area with high-rises. 1-6
Six Sector cell orientation for optimum capacity/coverage Performance 2-3
Another type of antenna which results in poor coverage and capacity 2-4
Another type of antenna which results in poor coverage and capacity 2-5
A typical three sector cell 2-6
Deploying a Six Sector in a cluster of three sectors 2-7
Hexagonal platform for six sector antennas, using space diversity 3-3
Space diversity on three sector platform IS NOT RECOMMENDED 3-4
Phase 1 of the installation: the 2nd BTS is installed, but not connected to antennas 3-6
Installing the Six Sector Antennas on a Triangular (Three Sector) Platform 3-6
Phase 2 of the installation, the site is configured as a Six Sector site 3-7
Computing the Frequency Reuse Factor of a six sector in a cluster of three sectors 4-4
List of Tables
Frequency Reuse Factor for three sector cell cluster 4-2
Frequency Reuse Factor For six sector Cluster 4-2
Frequency Reuse Factors of Lettered Sectors in Figure 4-1 4-3
This document describes the guidelines for deploying Six Sector cells in a
CDMA application. It discusses and explains how to deploy a Six Sector cell
and the conditions and parameters that needs to be verified for a successful
deployment. To achieve optimum performance of a Six Sector Cell, users of
this document are advised to read through the document carefully.
This document shall not be used for deploying Six Sector Cells in other
technologies, such as AMPS, TDMA, GSM, and any other Cellular or PCS
technologies.
Document revisions
This manual is revised periodically to maintain consistency with system
hardware and software releases, operational enhancements, and to incorporate
customer suggestions.
When changes are required, the number and scope of changes dictate whether
individual change pages are issued or a new manual is released. When
individual change pages are issued, change bars appear in the right-hand
margin to mark the revised text. An accompanying Page Change Notice
contains instructions regarding proper placement of the change pages. The
change pages or complete re-release includes an updated Revision History
page that summarizes the changes.
Graphics
Graphics contained in this manual are preliminary. They are provided as an
aid in developing concepts discussed. Future versions of this document will
provide updated graphics drawn to scale.
Introduction
1
• Data routing
— routes signaling and control message packets
– Messages are routed internally, to/from the LPP/FLIS of the MTX
and the BTS
• System interface i.e. the voice PCM/IS-95A interface
• Mobility management
— intra-system handoff (soft), power control and service
Six Sector Application
Six Sector is a solution to provide service in areas where there is a higher than
average demand for service. The original Three Sector site is configured to a
Six Sector site by adding another BTS and reconfiguring the antenna
arrangement.
Six Sectorcell deployment is a good solution for small hot spots. Hot spots are
small areas, where the capacity demand is higher than average. Second
Carrier Overlay is a good solution for large areas within which the demand
for service is higher than the network can provide. For this reason, if service
demand is high in a small area, Six Sector can be a good option. This
statement should be taken with consideration that there are cases where
deploying a single Six Sector cell may not be advantagous.
An argument can be made that by interleaving the sectors of the two BTSs,
some redundancy is provided. That is, if one BTS goes down, then the second
BTS provides coverage, and everything is not lost. This is partially true, since
the antennas of the Six Sector are narrow beam (about 33 degrees), resulting
in having coverage holes, if one BTS of the interleaved Six Sector goes down.
However, the BTSs are robust enough compared to degradation on capacity
(if interleaved), that the benefit of having partial coverage does not
overwhelm the benefits of having better performance.Therefore, it is
imperative that the BTSs are arranged as shown in Figure 1-3, if we want to
achieve the best performance.
Figure 1-3
Arranging two BTSs to make a Six Sector fort optimum performance
BTS #1
β1 γ1
α1 α2
γ2 β2
BTS #2
Figure 1-4
Deploying a Six Sector cell at a traffic Junction in downtown area with high-rises.
Sector #1
Sector #2
Sector #4
Sector #3
Diminishing Returns
There are two options available to service providers if there is a capacity
problem. One solution includes re-configuring an existing three sector cell to
a six sector cell. The second option is to deploy a second carrier overlay on
the top of the first carrier. This advances the question of when to deploy a Six
Sector and when to deploy a second carrier overlay.
If hot spots are isolated, a three sector site can be reconfigured to a six sector
site using dual polarized antennas. As demand for service grows and
neighbour cells reach maximum capacity, the six sector cell and its neighbour
cells can be configured as a second carrier overlay.
Note: The six sector site can be configured as two three sector sites (first
and second carrier) or two six sector sites overlayed on the top of each
other (which requires two extra BTSs), provided that the six sector cell is
not a border cell in second carrier deployment.
The primary disadvantage of six sector over second carrier is that the six
sector capacity improves by about 1.7-1.8 times, while the second carrier
improves by two times that of the first carrier. This is provided that the second
carrier is not a border cell. In border cell, the second carrier will lose part of
its capacity advantage, which is dependent on the size of the cell, and the
RTD distance from the border cell. Please note that the second carrier
advantage (2 times capacity improvement Vs. 1.7 times for Six Sector) comes
at a cost, which is, the use of 2.5 MHz in two carriers Vs. 1.25 MHz in a six
sector. Another disadvantage of a six sector over second carrier is that the six
sector degrades the capacity of its first tier neighbour sectors in the range of 5
to 10%.
Six sector does have certain advantages over the second carrier. The first is
that the second carrier has hardhandoff at the border cells, which is unreliable
in comparison with the soft handoff in six sector deployment. Another
advantage is that the second carrier does not make full use of its capacity at
the border cell caused by the shrinkage of the usable area due to hardhandoff
limitations.
If six sector has limitations with deployment in Dense Urban areas, second
carriers cannot be deployed with its border cell passing through dense urban
areas. These points are raised to show that there is no rule to stress where to
deploy a six sector and where to deploy a second carrier. Field engineers are
responsible for determining impacts and future growth in consultation with
the service provider and the decision to deploy a six sector or a second carrier.
The antennas of the six sector underlay can be shared with the antennas of the
second carrier overly (which is also a Six Sector)as in a normal Three Sector
overlay, where the antennas are shared.
Antennas
2
Antenna Beamwidth
The choice of antennas for six sector is depends upon whether achieving
maximum capacity or good coverage is the goal. To increase capacity,
narrower beamwidth antennas are used. The recommended antenna
beamwidth is 33 degrees for this type of deployment. Both space diversity or
polarization diversity can be used. However, polarization diversity may cause
some degradation in the forward link; especially if deployed in rural areas or
some suburban areas where there is inadequate cluttering. Cluttering causes
cross polarization, resulting in the mobile to receiving the signal in either
plane. In rural application it is not recommended to use polarization diversity.
Narrow beam antennas, such as 33 degrees, may cause holes within the
coverage area if the antenna orientation is not performed properly. If the
intention is to achieve good coverage by sacrificing improvement in capacity,
then wider beam antennas such as 45 degree antenna can be deployed. This
choice must be made in consultation with the service provider, and they
should be made aware of the impact on the capacity of the Six Sector cell.
Using a 45 degree antenna may result in 10% drop in the capacity of the Six
Sector cell vs. its capacity with 33 degree antenna. Please note that with using
proper cell orientation (see Figure 2-1), it is possible to reduce the risk of
creating holes within the coverage area using 33 degree antennas.
Antenna Gain
The choice of antenna gain depends upon whether the site is being re-
configured from a three sector to six sector, or the site was configured
originally as a six sector.
Space diversity has a small diversity gain advantage (around 0.2 to 0.5 dB)
compared to dual polarization diversity. This gap may be larger in rural areas
where there is less cluttering (resulting in less cross polarization between the
polarized antennas). In rural areas or some suburban areas (very flat with
scattered low rise houses) where there is less cluttering on the forward link,
dual polarization may be degraded further than space diversity by the lack of
cluttering.
Antenna Orientation
Six Sector cell in a cluster of Six Sector cells.
To achieve best performance (capacity and coverage) the antenna of a six
sector cell must be oriented in so that the sectors do not face each other.
Figure 2-1 shows the orientation which achieves the best performance
regarding both capacity and coverage. This type of orientation is useful when
narrow beam antennas are used since every antenna is beaming in a direction
without facing directly other antennas. A patent has been filed for this type of
Six Sector antenna orientation.
Antenna Beam
for Each Sector
Figure 2-2
Another type of antenna which results in poor coverage and capacity
Figure 2-3
Another type of antenna which results in poor coverage and capacity
A solution is to rotate (in horizontal plane) the six sector antennas by 30o
(clockwise or counterclockwise) as shown in Figure 2-5, option B to cover
the holes. However, three sectors of the six sector cell will directly face
neighbour sectors, increasing the interference between them and those sectors
that they are facing. An option is to downtilt these antennas so that the
coverage area of these sectors shrinks, reducing interference into
neighbouring sectors.
The diagrams shown here, depict a very uniform and perfect cell layout. In
reality cells are not layed out perfectly, and their antenna orientation is not so
well defined. Field engineers must consider the antenna angles and
orientation of surrounding three sector cells with those of the six sector cell.
The antennae of the six sector cell must be oriented so that no coverage holes
are created between the six sector cell and its neighbour. This helps in using
narrower beam antennas to improve capacity. If by rotating the antennas,
some of the six sector antennas directly face neighbouring three sector
antennas, then those six sector antennae should be downtilted (only those that
are directly facing the neighbour Three Sector cells).
Figure 2-4
A typical three sector cell
Antenna Beam
for Each Sector
Figure 2-5
Deploying a Six Sector in a cluster of three sectors
poor coverage
Area
A Antenna Beam
for Each Sector
B
Sectors facing each
other, increasing
interference to each
other.
Antenna Beam
for Each Sector
Sector
Certain procedures must be followed to successfully deploy a six sector cell
in a cluster of three sector cells. These steps are required to ensure that there
is minimum service interruption where the six sector is being deployed. If the
antennas are roof-mounted where no special platform is needed, field
engineers can choose either the space diversity or dual polarization option,
since deployment of both types of antennas is much easier than a mast-
mounted condition. The roof mount condition is simple and variable (in terms
of the position of the antenna w.r.t., the roof, and where they are deployed).
For this reason the transition for the “roof mount condition” is not covered
here. The following sub-sections discuss the transition from a three sector to a
six sector for mast-mount antennas.
First Step
The first step is to find out whether the six sector with the recommended
antenna provides proper coverage. To achieve this some analysis can be done
using PLANET. If PLANET is used, orient the antenna w.r.t. to the neighbour
cells. The analysis should indicate if there are coverage holes. For a good
comparison, run an analysis for the cell when it was configured as a three
sector cell to see if there is degradation or improvement in coverage if the cell
is configured as a six sector. While PLANET is used for analysis, ensure that
capacity is not sacrificed for coverage.
The minimum distance between the antennas (main vs. diversity) of the same
sector should follow the following equation: d> h/11, where d is the antenna
separation and h is the antenna height. Also note that the antennas of the
adjacent sector at the vertex should be mounted in such a way that the best
isolation is achieved between the two antennas. Sometimes, antennas have
high peak sidelobes which may fall into the neighbour sector antenna. This
may reduce the margin of antenna isolation. Some tuning of the position
where the antennas are mounted may be needed with respect to the neighbour
sector to ensure that there is enough isolation between the two antennas.
As shown in Figure 3-1, in order to meet the minimum requirement for space
diversity antenna separation, the edge of the hexagonal platform will be the
same length as that of the triangular platform. Mounting such a huge platform
may cause some problems, especially in meeting the wind and load
requirements of the mast. It is recommended that before installing such a
platform that the issues of wind, weight, and other mechanical metrics are
investigated and approved to reduce the delay in installing the BTS and cost
to the service provider.
Use of the three sector platform to mount space diversity antennas is NOT
recommended (see Figure 3-2 for details). The reason for this is that by
installing the six sector antenna on three sector platform, the spacing between
the main antenna and the diversity is significantly reduced. Furthermore,
antennas mounted in the central part of the platform need to be extended
significantly outward so that they see the cell edge, further complicating the
wind and other mechanical issues.
Steps to be taken:
1. Before installation, ensure that the direction of the six sector antennas
with respect to its neighbour are worked out to achieve best capacity/
coverage performance.
2. Install the 2nd BTS in the cell-site which will be configured as a six
sector.
3. Wilt and disconnect the three sector from its antennas.
4. Mount the six sector platform (the three sector platform may require
dismantling).
5. Install the antennas of the six sector.
6. Update the neighbour list to include the PN number of the second BTS.
7. Connect the RFFEs of both BTSs to six sector antennas.
8. Blossom both BTSs and verify by drive testing that:
• both BTSs are operational.
• coverage is provided by both BTSs (six sector).
• handoff occurs between the six sector cell and its neighbour.
• there are no excess access failures near the antenna mast of the six sector
cell.
Note: The above steps will result in severe service interruption while the
three sector antennas and their platform are dismantled and the six sector
antennas (with their new platform) are mounted.
Figure 3-1
Hexagonal platform for six sector antennas, using space diversity
Figure 3-2
Space diversity on three sector platform IS NOT RECOMMENDED
six sector
Antennas
e
ac
Sp f
na e o
ten ag
An rink
Sh
three sector
Antennas
three sector
Platform
Not Recommended
1. Install the 2nd BTS (in the cell-site which will be configured as a six
sector). Do not connect the second BTS to any antenna, see Figure 3-3.
2. Modify the datafill so that new datafill includes the PNs of the new sectors
of the second BTS.
3. Connect the 2nd BTS to a dummy load and verify that it is functional in
all its three sectors.
Phase 2: Configuring the site as a six sector BTS:
1. Before installation ensure that the direction of the six sector antennas with
respect to its neighbour are worked out to achieve the best capacity/
coverage performance.
2. If the results of Phase 1 are positive and satisfactory, in a maintenance
window wilt the first BTS and disconnect it’s RFFE cable from the three
sector antennas (all three sectors and both diversity and main antenna).
3. Update the neighbour list to include the PN number of the second BTS.
4. Next install the narrow-beam dual polarized six sector antennas, as shown
in Figure 3-4.
5. Connect all sectors of the two BTSs (the six sector) to the six sector
antennas as shown in Figure 3-5.
6. Blossom the two BTSs.
7. Ensure that the two BTSs are functional and verify by drive testing that:
• both BTSs are operational.
• coverage is provided by Both BTSs (six sector).
• handoff takes place between the six sector cell and its neighbour.
• that there are no EXCESS access failure near the antenna mast of the six
sector cell.
8. The antennas of the three sector (the old antennas) can be removed or be
left on the antenna mast. This action should be taken in consultation with
the customer. If the decision is to leave the three sector antennas on the
mast, then the mechanical issues of the extra load on the mast should be
reviewed.
Figure 3-3
Phase 1 of the installation: the 2nd BTS is installed, but not connected to antennas
three sector
Antennas
Dummy
Load
BTS #1 BTS #2
Only BTS #1 is connected to the antennas.BTS#2 is installed,
but it IS NOT CONNECTED to the antennas.
Figure 3-4
Installing the Six Sector Antennas on a Triangular (Three Sector) Platform
Sector #1 Sector #2
Brackets
Sector #6 Sector #3
three sector
Antennas six sector
Antennas
Sector #5 Sector #4
Figure 3-5
Phase 2 of the installation, the site is configured as a Six Sector site
BTS #1 BTS #2
Both BTS #1 and BTS #2 are connected to the six sector antennas.
three sector antennas are either removed or left disconnected.
W/R is the processing gain, Eb is the energy per bit, No is the noise power
spectral density, v is the voice activity factor, G is the sectorization gain, and
F is the frequency reuse factor. From the equation, it is obvious that the
reverse link capacity has a linear relation with the frequency reuse factor.
Analysis shows that the re-configuration of a three sector cell to a six sector
cell results in a decrease in Frequency Reuse factor F. In the following section
the frequency reuse factor of a three sector cell, as well as that of a six sector
cell (in a cluster of six sector cells as well as in a cluster of three sector cells)
are tabled. In these calculations G is assumed to be equal to 3 (and not 2.55 as
quoted in some other CDMA literature, which inherently has the reduction in
F factor). Furthermore, the frequency reuse factors are calculated based on the
Hata model, which works out to a path loss exponent of about 3.5.
70o 0.53
80o 0.51
90o 0.49
100o 0.47
110o 0.45
120o 0.43
The results indicate that in order to have the best reverse link capacity
number, it is important to use narrower beam width antennas. This point
should be taken with caution, and that in planning the cells and their antenna
orientation, the designer should attempt to orient the antennas in such a way
that the antennas of the neighbor cells do not face each other. This way,
narrower beam antennas has a better chance in providing better coverage.
Otherwise, we may face having some holes within our coverage area, forcing
us to use wider beam antennas, which will result in lower reverse link
capacity numbers.
40o 0.49
50o 0.44
60o 0.40
Six sector cells require narrower beam width antennas than that of the three
sector cells. For this reason the analysis for six sector is restricted to beam
width from 30o to 60o range. Like for three sector cell, the results indicate that
under similar conditions, the 30o antenna would provide about 5% more
reverse link capacity than the 40o antenna.
The results indicate a drop in the Frequency Reuse Factor of the three sector
cell, while the central six sector cell shows an increase. Please note that the
Frequency Reuse Factor of those three sector Cells facing the six sector cell
decreases. The reason for this decrease and increase is that each Sector of the
six sector cell is now facing half of a Sector of the three sector cell (hence less
interference seen by the six sector, and better Frequency Reuse Factor), while
just the opposite happens, where each Sector of a three sector cell faces 2
sectors of a six sector cell (more interference seen by the three sector, and
worse Frequency Reuse Factor).
Figure 4-1
Computing the Frequency Reuse Factor of a six sector in a cluster of three sectors
a c
Antenna Beam
Freq Reuse factors of these
Sectors of a three sector for Each Sector
cell is computed.
Datafill
The deployment of a six sector should be treated like adding a new cell site,
as far as the datafill is concerned. For this reason the six sector deployment
T1 Link Requirement
At present a six sector is made by putting two three sectors back to back. By
re-configuring a three sector to a six sector, there is a greater load on the T1
link, and for this reason, 2 T1s are required (1 for each BTS). It is not
recommended to daisy chain the two BTSs to one T1 link.
The following inputs and calculations were used to determine if one (daisy
chained BTSs) or two T1s should be deployed to support a six-sector
configuration. Since this configuration is typically deployed in high traffic
regions, the inputs reflect heavy loading almost to the point of blocking due to
a lack of power on the RF air link on two sectors of the six sector cell.
Inputs:
Note: When determining the users/sector, 5.2 is used as the average value
on all 6 sectors. However, for traffic loading that approaches a blocking
point (from a lack of RF power), at most two sectors may peak to a value
of 11 while the other four remain near the average.
Calculations:
Note: One T1 could be deployed if the expectation is that the six sector
site will not provide service to higher than average number of users, or if
the CE usage is improved. Please also note that there is no DISCO port
advantage since two ports must be assigned no matter if one or two T1s
are used.
References:
1. “six sector Analysis”, issue 0.1, 25 February 1998, by Ashvin Chheda.
2. “Diminishing Return of six sector and Second Carrier”, by Farhad
Bassirat, 10 September 1997.
3. Mobile Communications Engineering, by W.C.Y. Lee, McGraw-Hill
Book co.
4. “Communication System Having Optimum Resource Arrangement in a
Multi-Sectored Environment and Method Therefor”, by Ashvin Chheda
and Farhad Bassirat, Attorney Docket No. RR-2063, 28 May 1997.
5. “Enhanced Cellular Layout for CDMA Networks Having six sectored
Cells”, by Ashvin Chheda and Farhad Bassirat, Attorney Docket No. RR-
2057, 20 May 1997.
6. PLANET is a simulation Tools by MSI International.
7. NTP 411-2133-121; Inter-system/Inter-BSC Soft Handoff (ISSHO)
Handbook
8. NTP 411-2133-122; Second Carrier Overlay Handbook
CDMA
Six Sector Cell
Applications
Handbook
Nortel,
Department 3431
4300 Emperor
Morrisville, NC 27560
Phone: 1-800-684-2273
Fax: (919) 905-5854 attn: Wireless documentation
Copyright 1998 Northern Telecom
NORTHERN TELECOM CONFIDENTIAL: The
information contained in this document is the property of
Northern Telecom. Except as specifically authorized in writing
by Northern Telecom, the holder of this document shall keep the
information contained herein confidential and shall protect same
in whole or in part from disclosure and dissemination to third
parties and use same for evaluation, operation, and
maintenance purposes only.
Information is subject to change without notice.
DMS, DMS SuperNode, DMS-MTX, DMS-100, and MAP are
trademarks of Northern Telecom.
411-2133-123
NBSS 7.0
Standard 01.01
September 1998
Printed in the United States of America