Cellular Signal Strength Loss through Concrete Walls

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Modernization led to the advancement of technologies to aid man's everyday

endeavors, especially the necessity of wireless communication. Through the years, cellular
phones and/or hand-held devices are being developed. A cellular phone (also called cell
phone) uses radio waves to communicate. Radio waves transport digitized voice or data in
the form of oscillating electric and magnetic fields, called the electromagnetic field (EMF).
The rate of oscillation is called frequency. Radio waves carry the information and travel in
air at the speed of light.

Nowadays, almost everyone owns a cellular phone. With the wealth of mobile
possibilities literally just in the fingertips, it’s hard not to expect strong cell reception all
the time, whether at home, in the car, or in the office. Yet, there are several instances that
an occasional dropped phone call or lost signal is experienced. While this can be sometimes
really frustrating, it’s not always the cell phone carrier’s fault. Often, there’s just something
between the cell tower and the cell phone. Cell towers emits cellular signals. Although
there are countless towers in most developed areas of the country, there are several reasons
that their signals may not be reaching the device.

One of the reasons that results in poor reception of cellular devices are man-made
obstructions. Structures such as buildings pose difficult problems for wireless
communications. Thus, communications via cellular phones or any hand-held devices to,
from, and within structures can degrade depending on a variety of factors. Concrete is one
of the most typically used building material in almost any type of structure where
oftentimes, an apparent loss in cellular signal strength is experienced through these
concrete walls.
1.2 Statement of the Problem

Oftentimes, it is noticeable that there is an evident loss or changes in signal strength

whenever a cellular phone carrier enters a building or a structure. For example, when
making a phone call upon entering, there is a sudden interruption during the call that
commonly later on results into a dropped call. Due to this, structures have somewhat posed
problems for wireless communications. And since most structures, especially building
structures are commonly built with concrete walls, these concrete walls may have an effect
on the signal strength of cellular phones.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This study aims to determine the effect of concrete walls to the signal strength of
cellular phones. This study also aims to calculate the difference in cellular signal strength
of the inside and outside of concrete walls. This study also aims to compare the calculated
difference in cellular signal strength of two concrete walls with different wall thickness.

1.4 Significance of the Study

This study will be significant in the following individuals:

Readers. This study will provide information on the sudden loss or degradation of
cellular signal strength inside a closed structure.

Engineers. This study will aid future designs for modern building structures to
minimize wireless communication problems.

Future Researchers. This study will become the baseline for more studies on cellular
signal strength loss through other building materials used in any structures.

1.5 Scope and Delimitations

 This study will focus only on the gathering of data of the cellular signal strength
outside and inside of the concrete walls sample made. There will only be two samples of
concrete walls, the same mixture but of different wall thickness. This study will be
conducted in an open area without any other man-made obstructions and regardless of its
distance from a cell tower. The radio frequency

1.6 Conceptual Framework

1.7 Definition of Terms

Concrete wall – a wall composed only of Class A concrete mixture, without any steel
reinforcement
Cellular phone – a mobile or any hand-held device that uses radio waves to communicate
Radio wave – a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic
spectrum longer than infrared light; has frequencies as high as 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz
Radio frequency – is any of the electromagnetic wave frequencies that lie in the range
extending from around 20 kHz to 300 GHz, roughly the frequencies used in radio
communication
GSM – a cellular network, which means that cell phones connect to it by searching for cells
in the immediate vicinity (Global System for Mobile Communications)
Man-made obstructions – brick, concrete, and steel materials in bridges, buildings, and
other man-made objects are notorious cell signal obstructers
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Construction materials used in the home or office may affect your cell signal. Cell
signals do not have strong penetration through metal, aluminum and concrete. Some high-
security buildings are constructed with a wire mesh known as a "Faraday cage." This is a
metallic enclosure made from fine-mesh copper screening. It creates a conductive shell that
prevents the entry or escape of any electromagnetic field. Faraday cages are used in
electronic labs to prevent electromagnetics from interfering with electronic testing. They
are also used as a security precaution to prevent hackers from remotely viewing classified
or proprietary on-screen computer data. A building with this copper wire mesh encasement
prohibits cell phones from sending or receiving any signals.
(https://www.techwalla.com/articles/materials-that-affect-cell-signals)
Buildings and other structures pose difficult problems for wireless (radio)
communications. Whether communication is via hand-held radio or personal cellular
phone, communications to, from, and within structures can degrade depending on a variety
of factors. These factors include multipath effects, reflection from coated exterior glass,
non-line-of-sight path loss, and signal absorption in the building construction materials,
among others. The communications problems may be compounded by lack of a repeater to
amplify and retransmit the signal or by poor placement of the repeater. Radio Frequency
propagation in structures can be so poor that there may be areas where the signal is virtually
nonexistent, rendering radio communication impossible.
Propagation into (and inside) buildings are reported have a more complex multipath
structure than that of the terrestrial mobile radio channel. Propagation of RF waves inside
buildings are characterized by rapid fluctuations over very short travel distances (a few
wavelengths) or short time duration (on the order of seconds). This is mainly due to the
building structure, layout of rooms, type of construction materials and the furniture. Thus
the signal loss inside a factory building is quite different from the loss inside an office
building due to the differences in the structure and the materials used. When a GSM signal
passes through a medium not transparent to electromagnetic wave it experiences a loss
known as penetration loss. The most important is building penetration, as this affects the
signal strength received inside a building due to an external transmitter (outdoor-to-indoor
reception) Penetration loss contributes to the overall loss of a communication link
[Rappaport, 2003].

In areas where signal reception would normally be strong, other factors can have
an effect on reception or may cause complete failure (see RF interference). From inside a
building with thick walls or of mostly metal construction (or with dense rebar in concrete),
signal attenuation may prevent a mobile phone from being used. Underground areas, such
as tunnels and subway stations, will lack reception unless they are wired for cell signals.
There may also be gaps where the service contours of the individual base stations (Cell
towers) of the mobile provider (and/or its roaming partners) do not completely overlap.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_signal)

Obstructions to a good signal

Cellular signals emanate from cell towers. Although there are countless towers in most
developed areas of the country, there are several reasons that their signals may not be
reaching your device.

Distance: If you’re in a remote region with few cell towers, you may just be too far away
for a strong signal to reach you.
Terrain: Mountains, hills, and bluffs can all stand in the way of the tower and your device,
absorbing the signals before they reach you.

Vehicles: The metal and glass materials of a vehicle provide protection for passengers, but
also can prevent cell signals from getting in.

Vegetation: Thick forests, tall trees, and other vegetation can form natural barriers to cell
signal waves.

Atmospheric conditions: Turbulent storms, thick fog, and other weather conditions can
easily disrupt cell signals.

Man-made obstructions: Brick, concrete, and steel materials in bridges, buildings, and
other man-made objects are notorious cell signal obstructers.

All these things can obstruct a cell signal and prevent it from reaching your phone or
device, resulting in poor reception. Man-made building materials are especially good at
blocking out signals.

How building materials block signals

Almost any large object built by humans can interfere with cell phone connectivity. Since
humans spend a good deal of time inside, we depend on strong reception indoors. Yet,
radio frequency (RF) signals cannot filter through materials like metal or concrete. Instead,
large buildings or even the walls of your office can deflect or distort signal waves. That’s
why driving into a parking garage will almost always disrupt your cell reception—because
suddenly the signal has to deal with numerous thick concrete walls.

Concrete
Concrete is a complex material made of: (1) aggregate particles with particle sizes
ranging from tens to micron tens of millimeter and particle shape ranging from rounded to
angular and from spherical to elongated or flaky; (2) cementitious materials comprising of
cement, fly ash/ggbs and silica fumes with particle sizes ranging from sib-micron to tens
of microns and with the large differences in chemical contents; (3) chemical admixtures
comprising of retarders, superplasticizers, viscosity modifying agents and perhaps also
water repellents; (4) polymer latex or bituminous emulsions; (5) various kinds of fibers
such as steel, glass and polymer fibers; and (6) water, but actual free water content (the
water that is available to fill the voids between solid particles and react with the
cementitious materials) is difficult to control because the chemical admixtures and
latex/emulsion added contain amount of water and some of the water would absorb into
the aggregate particles and are therefore not free.

Non-Line-Of-Sight Path Loss

One of the largest causes of s ignal degradation is non-line-of-site (NLOS) path

loss. It is common for communications in structures that no direct path exists from the
transmitting radio to the receiving radio. Signals radiating from the transmitting antenna
reach the receiving radio only by hitting obstacles and reflecting. In a simple structure such
as a residential building, it may only take one or two reflections to reach the receiving
radio. In a more complex building, the reflections can number orders of magnitude higher.
The result of the reflections is an increase in distance that the signal travels between
transmitter and receiver. In outdoors situations, the path losses are inversely proportional
to the distance traveled raised to the fourth. Indoor path loss is higher.If the path traveled
is doubled by reflections, the loss will be at least 16 times greater than if the direct path
had existed. The NLOS path distance could easily be much more than twice the direct path
in a high rise. (TriData Corporation, September 2003)

Path Loss or attenuation of RF signals occurs naturally with distance. Obstacles

between the transmitter and receiver also attenuate signals. The amount of attenuation
varies with the frequency of the RF signal and the obstructing materials type and density.
Generally speaking, the lower the frequency of transmission the better the signal will travel
through the air and through objects. If two radio systems had identical transmit power and
receive sensitivity, but one system was at 900 MHz and the other at 2.4 GHz, then the 900
MHz radio would perform better because it has less path loss than a 2.4 GHz system. These
parameters can be used to estimate the distance a system can communicate.

How is signal strength actually measured?

 The signal your phone receives from a cell tower is measured in decibel-milliwatts
(dBm), a unit of electrical power in decibels (dB), referenced to 1 milliwatt (mW). There
are three things you need to know to understand how decibel-milliwatts work:

One milliwatt of power is equal to 0 dBm. Since cellular signal operates on less power
than that (as low as 0.0000000001 mW, sometimes less), dBm signal strength is measured
in negative numbers. The closer you get to 0 dBm, the stronger the signal; so, −70 dBm is
stronger than −90 dBm.

The milliwatt scale is logarithmic , meaning that a change in dBm yields an

exponential change in mW. For example, −70 dBm (0.0000001 mW) is ten times more
powerful than −80 dBm (0.00000001 mW), one hundred times more powerful than −90
dBm (0.000000001 mW), and one thousand times more powerful than −100 dBm
(0.0000000001 mW).

Any change in dBm (gain or loss ) is noted in ±dB. So if you start with −90 dBm of
cellular signal, and you install a cell phone signal booster system that gives you +30 dB of
gain, you’ll end up with −60 dBm of signal.

So, what is considered strong or weak cell signal?

Power level (dBm) Signal strength

Greater than −60 Excellent (you’re very close to a cell tower)

−60 to −75 Very good (usually this is the best it gets)

−76 to −90 Good (you’re in an area with decent coverage)

−91 to −100 Fair (coverage is spotty, and may be slow)

−100 to −110 Poor (very weak; you may be having connectivity problems)

Less than −110 dBm No signal (you’re probably unable to make or complete a
call)

(https://powerfulsignal.com/cell-signal-strength/)
Calculation of Penetration Loss
For a given building, the average building penetration loss may be computed using
equation (1) [Caluyo and Dela Cruz, 2011]
ABL (dBm) = Mean Sout (dBm) – Mean Sin (dBm) (1)
Where ABL is the Average Penetration Loss in dBm, Mean Sout is Mean signal level
outside the building in dBm and Mean Sin is Mean signal level inside the building in dBm

Frequency Bands
Frequency bands are assigned to telecommunication companies to offer 2G, 3G, and 4G
services in the country. Originally, the frequency bands used in the Philippines were:
1) GSM: 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, 2) UMTS: 2100 MHz and 850 MHz. As our cellular
technology upgrades, frequency bands have been reused to accommodate
newer technologies (e.g. 4G).

GSM Frequency Bands in the Philippines

Frequency ranges are the cellular frequencies designated by the ITU (International
Telecommunication Union) for the operation of GSM mobile phones. In other words, these
are signal strength in classification of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G in the future, here in the
Philippines, we are now using the 4G technology or LTE (long-term evolution) provided
by our Internet Service Provider or ISP (Globe, SUN, and Smart), and the LTE maximum
down-link peak rates of 300 Mbit/s, and up-link peak rates of 75 Mbit/s.

Philippine GSM Service Providers

Globe Telecom
GSM Frequency Band - 900 MHz/1800 MHz (Dual Band)
3G Frequency Band- WCDMA (UMTS) - 850Mhz/2100 MHz
UMTS/3G 1900(uplink)/2100(downlink) (Dual Band)
4G (live LTE, WiMAX, HSPA+, test, license) - 4G Globe HSPA+ WiMAX
1800Mhz (Launch Date: September 2012)
Smart Communications
GSM Frequency Band - 850Mhz/900 MHz/1800 MHz (Tri-Band)
3G Frequency Band-WCDMA (UMTS) 2100 MHz
UMTS/3G 1900(uplink)/2100(downlink) (Dual Band)
4G (live LTE, WiMAX, HSPA+, test, license) - LTE HSPA+ WiMAX
850/1800/2100Mhz (Launch Date: August 2012)

Sun Cellular
GSM Frequency Band - 1800 MHz (Single Band)
3G Frequency Band- WCDMA (UMTS) 850Mhz/1900Mhz/2100 MHz
UMTS/3G 1900(uplink)/2100(downlink) (Dual Band)
4G (live LTE, WiMAX, HSPA+, test, license) Testing (Plans To Use The LTE
frequency of Smart Communication)
(http://www.mobile31.net/2013/06/Philippines-GSM-Frequency-Band.html)

2G, first introduced in 1992, is the second-generation of cellular telephone technology and
the first to use digital encryption of conversations. 2G networks were the first to offer data
services and SMS text messaging, but their data transfer rates are lower than those of their
successors.
3G networks succeed 2G ones, offering faster data transfer rates and are the first to enable
video calls. This makes them especially suitable for use in modern smartphones, which
require constant high-speed internet connection for many of their applications.
4G is the fourth generation of mobile phone communications standards. It is a successor
of the 3G and provides ultra-broadband internet access for mobile devices. The high data
transfer rates make 4G networks suitable for use in USB wireless modems for laptops and
even home internet access. (https://www.gsmarena.com/network-
bands.php3?sCountry=PHILIPPINES)
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

3.2 Research Locale

3.3 Materials Used

3.3.1 Concrete cube sample

3.3.1.1 Formworks

Plywood

Timber

Nails

Regular Saw

Hammer
 Steel tape

3.3.1.2 Concrete

3.3.1.3 Sand

3.3.1.4 Gravel

3.3.1.5 Shovel

3.3.3 Cellular Devices

3.3.3.1 Samsung Galaxy Duos Version 4.4.2

3.4 Research Procedure

1. Prepare the materials needed to make a timber formworks for two concrete cube samples.
In making the samples, let Concrete Sample 1 be the one with a wall thickness of 100 mm
and Concrete Sample 2 with a wall thickness of 150 mm. Refer to the Illustration below.

2. The concrete mixture to be used for each sample should be Class A (1:2:4) mixture,
cement-sand-gravel ratio.

3. Prepare the two samples.

4. On the other hand, prepare two android phones and Globe LTE SIM for each cellular
phone. Also, install the Mobizen Screen Recorder for SAMSUNG Version 3.4.4.18
application in each android phone.

5. Upon conducting the experiment, place one android phone inside the Concrete Sample
1. Use another Android Phone to monitor the cellular signal in free space. Do not forget to
set each phone on screen record using the Mobizen Screen Recorder for SAMSUNG
Version 3.4.4.18 application. To record the changes in cellular signal strength, make sure
to go to phone's Settings, click About Device, and then click Status before placing it inside
the Concrete Sample 1.
6. After an hour, retrieve the android phone placed in the Concrete Sample 1 and jot down
the changes in the phone signal in the recorded file. Same with the android phone placed
in free space, jot down the recorded signal strength.

7. Follow the same procedure for Concrete Sample 2.

3.5 Research Instruments