Chapter 3

Mobile Radio Propagation

Prepared by:
Asst. Professor Sanjivan Satyal
Concept of Free Space Propagation
 Channel:
 Wired Channel
 Wireless or Radio Channel

The free space is propagation model used to predict received signal

strength at a particular location when the Tx and Rx have a clear and
unobstructed Line of sight Path
Eg.: Satellite communication, Micro Wave Communication

Propagation is completed via TX antenna:

• To covert the electrical Modulated signal into electromagnetic field.
• To radiate the EM energy in desired directions.

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Concept of Free Space Propagation
 Lets us consider and isotropic radiating source P t
 The radiated power uniformly distributed over surface area 4Πd2
where d is the distance ( in meter) from the source.

Power density is given by Pd = Pt / 4Πd2

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)

- Product of the transmitted power,Pt and the power gain of the transmitting
antenna, Gt i.e. EIRP = Pt.Gt watts
Effective Aperture
-significance in receiving antenna
- Defined as ratio of the power available at antenna terminal to the power per
unit area of the appropriately polarized incident electromagnetic wave

2G
Ae  where is λ the wavelength of carrier and is given by
4 λ = c/f

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Relating Power to Electric Field

The power received at distance is given by

the power flux density times the effective
aperture of the receiver antenna

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 Basic Propagation Equation

Let us consider a transmitting antenna with an EIRP defined in equation. So

power density is defined as

Where d is the distance between

receiving and transmitting antenna
Now Receiving antenna power Pr is product of power density and antenna’s
effective area or aperture

Thus , Pr = Pd . Ae

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 Substituting value of

Pt = transmitted power radiated by an isotropic source

Gt = transmitting antenna gain
Gr = receiving antenna gain
d = distance between transmitting and receiving antennas
λ = Wavelength of the carrier signal
This equation is called the Friss Free-space equation

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Path loss for the free space model
• The free space propagation model is used to predict received
signal strength when the transmitter and receiver have a clear
line-of-sight path between them.
– satellite communication
– microwave line-of-sight radio link
• Friis free space equation
PtGtGr 2
Pr (d ) 
(4 )2 d 2 L
Pt : transmitted power d : T-R separation distance (m)
Pr (d ) : received power L : system loss
Gt : transmitter antenna gain  : wave length in meters
Gr : receiver antenna gain

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• The losses L ( L  1) are usually due to transmission line
attenuation, filter losses, and antenna losses in the
communication system. A value of L=1 indicates no loss in the
system hardware.
• Path loss for the free space model with antenna gains

Pt  GtGr 2 
PL(dB)  10 log  10 log  
2 2 
P (4 ) d 
• When antenna gains are rexcluded 
Pt  2 
PL(dB)  10 log  10 log  
2 2 
Pr  (4 ) d 
• The Friis free space model is only a valid predictor for values of
d which is in the far-field (Fraunhofer region) of the transmission
antenna.

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 Significance of Free Space Path Loss Model

-The minus sign associated with the first term in eqn signifies the
fact that this term represents a gain

-The second term , due to the collection of terms (4πd/λ)2, is called

the free Space loss, denoted by Lfreespace

-Increasing the distance d separating the receiving antenna from

the transmitting antenna causes the free – space loss to increase,
which, in turn, compels us to operate the radio communication link to
lower frequencies so as to maintain the path loss at a manageable
level.

-The Friss free space equation enables us to calculate the path loss
PL for specified values of power gains, Gt and Gr, the carrier
wavelength λ, and distance d.

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• The far-field region of a transmitting antenna is defined as the
region beyond the far-field distance
2D 2
df 

where D is the largest physical linear dimension of the antenna.
• To be in the far-filed region the following equations must be
satisfied
d f  D and d f  
• Furthermore the following equation does not hold for d=0.
PtGtGr 2
Pr (d ) 
(4 )2 d 2 L

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Where Pr (do) is in units of watts

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 The Propagation Attenuation
 In general, the propagation path loss increases with frequency of
transmission, fc as well as the distance between the cell sites and mobile, R.
 Adequate bandwidth is available at much higher frequencies (around 1GHz
and greater than a few GHz).
 However, at such frequencies, the radio signals suffer a greater signal
strength loss at shorter distance, and also suffer larger signal strength
losses while passing through obstacles such as walls.
 Hence, the propagation path loss and the received signal power are
reciprocal to each other, assuming all the other factors constant, we can say
that the received carrier signal power, Pr is inversely proportional to dn, i.e.,
n
Pr  d
 d=distance between transmitter and receiver
 n= path loss exponent, which varies between 2 and 6.

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The Three Basic Propagation Mechanisms
• In a wireless signal propagation environment, apart from direct
waves, the receiver will get a number of reflected waves,
diffracted waves and scattered waves.

• The vectorical addition of these waves constitutes the resultant

wave which will vary in strength in real time.

• Basic propagation mechanisms

– Reflection
– Diffraction
– Scattering

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 The Three Basic Propagation Mechanisms
• Reflection occurs when a propagating electromagnetic wave impinges
upon an object which has very large dimensions when compared to
the wavelength, e.g., buildings, walls.

• Diffraction occurs when the radio path between the transmitter and
receiver is obstructed by a surface that has sharp edges.

• Scattering occurs when the medium through which the wave travels
consists of objects with dimensions that are small compared to the
wavelength. Eg. Water droplets,snow, rain drops.

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Ground Reflection (Two-Ray) Model
 This model found reasonably accurate when compared with
free space propagation
 2 ray model assumes both LOS and reflected signal for
modeling the path loss
Here,
ht = Height of Tx Antenna
hr = Height of Rx Antenna
ELOS = E- filed of Los signal
Eg= E-field of reference signal
d = distance between tx and rx

Assumptions
-ht,hr >> λ
-ht,hr << d

Parameters to be estimated : E-field for both ELOS and Eg.

Path difference ( ∆)
Phased difference (θ∆)
Time delay (Td)
General Equation for plane wave in free space is given by
Calculating Path Difference(∆)
Final Values of
the Parameters
It should be noted that when d becomes large, the difference
between the distance d’ and d’’ becomes very small and the
amplitude ELOS and Eg are virtually identical and differ only
in phase

If the received E-field is evaluated at some time ,

Let, t = d’’/c , then equation is given by
 Received Power at
distance d

Now Calculating the Path loss (PL) = Pt/Pr

 Path Loss for 2-ray Model is given by
 Numerical
 Compute the far field distance for an antenna with
maximum dimension of 1m and operating frequency of
900 MHz

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 Free space propagation is assumed, Gt=1 and Gr=2
 Find:-a) Power at receiver
b) Magnitude of E field at receiving antenna
c) The RMS voltage applied to Receiver input assuming that receiving
antenna has purely real impedance of 50 ohms and is matched to the
receiver.

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 Diffraction
 Occurs when the radio path between the transmitter and
receiver is obstructed by a surface that has sharp
irregularities (edges).

 Explains how radio signals can travel in urban and rural

environments without a line of sight path.

 Diffraction can be explained by Huygen’s principle: all

points on a wavefront can be considered as point
sources for the production of secondary wavelets.

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Knife Edge Diffraction Geometry

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 Fresnel zone
 Fresnel zones are used by propagation theory to calculate reflections and
diffraction loss between a transmitter and receiver. Fresnel zones are
numbered and are called ‘F1’, ‘F2’, ‘F3’ etc.( Though there are infinite
numbers, we considered only 3)

 A Fresnel zone is a cylindrical ellipse drawn between transmitter and

receiver. The size of the ellipse is determined by the frequency of operation
and the distance between the two sites.

The Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction

parameter is given by

2(d1  d 2 )
vh
d1d 2

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 Fresnel zone…
When a signal is reflected two things happen.
a. the phase of the signal reverses and the signal changes in phase by 180º.
b. Since the signal is being reflected and not going in a direct line, it travels
slightly further to the refection point and then on to the receiver.
Therefore, the signal is shifted further in phase, by the difference in path
length.

 When an antenna receives a main signal and a reflected signal, the 2

signals will combine and add together at the antenna. If they are 360º
shifted (in phase), there is no issue.

 However, if the signals are 180º apart (opposite phase), they will cancel
and the receiver will receive nothing.

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 Scattering
 Occurs when the medium has object that are smaller or
comparable to the wavelength (small objects, rough
surfaces and other irregularities on the channel).

 Follows same principles as diffraction.

 Causes the transmitter energy to be radiated in many

directions.

 e.g. foliage, street signs, lamp posts

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 Radio Propagation Models
 Need models to characterize the signal strength received
at the receiver after undergoing reflections, diffraction
and scattering
 Small-scale propagation models
 Large-scale propagation models

 Radio propagation models can be derived by

 Using empirical methods: Collect measurement, fit curves.
 Using analytical methods: Model the propagation mechanisms
mathematically and derive equations for path loss.

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 Fading (1)
 Fading: rapid fluctuations of received signal strength over short
time intervals and/or travel distances. Caused by interference
from multiple copies of Tx signal arriving at Rx at slightly
different times.

 Three most important effects:

1. Rapid changes in signal strengths over small travel distances
or short time periods.
2. Changes in the frequency of signals.
3. Multiple signals arriving a different times (time dispersion).
When added together at the antenna, signals are spread out in
time. This can cause a smearing of the signal and interference
between bits that are received.

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 Fading (2)
 Even stationary Tx/Rx wireless links can experience
fading due to the motion of objects (cars, people, trees,
etc.) in surrounding environment off which come the
reflections.

 Multipath signals have randomly distributed

amplitudes, phases, & direction of arrival.
 vector summation of (A ∠θ) at Rx of multipath leads
to constructive/destructive interference as mobile Rx
moves in space with respect to time.

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 Fading (3)
 Fading occurs around received signal strength predicted
from large-scale path loss models

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 Introduction to Radio Wave Propagation
 Large-scale fading is the result of signal attenuation due to
signal propagation over large distances and diffraction
around large objects in the propagation path.
 It is due to the following reasons
 Attenuation in free space: power degrades with 1/d2.
 Shadows: Signals are blocked by obstructing structures.
 
Small-scale (fading) models characterize the rapid fluctuations
of the received signal strength over very short travel distance or
short time duration.
 Small-scale fading: rapidly fluctuation
– sum of many contributions from different directions with
different phases
– Random frequency modulation due to varying Doppler shifts
on different multipath signals.

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Small-scale Multipath Propagation
 As the mobile moves over small distances, the instantaneous
received signal will fluctuate rapidly giving rise to small-scale
fading.
 The reason is that the signal is the sum of many contributors coming
from different directions.
 Since the phases of these signals are random, the sum behaves like a
“noise” (Rayleigh or Rician fading)

 In small scale fading, the received signal power may change as

much as 3 or 4 orders of magnitude (30dB or 40 dB), when the
receiver is only moved a fraction of the wavelength.

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Small-scale Multipath Propagation
 Multipath in the radio channel produces small scale fading
effects
 Important Effects
 Rapid changes in signal strength over a small travel distance

or time interval
 Random frequency modulation due to varying Doppler's

shifts on different multipath signals.

 Time Dispersion (echoes) caused by multipath propagation

delays.
-Small Scale Fading occurs specially in heavily populated
urban areas

The shift in received signal frequency due to motion is called the Doppler’s shift and is direclty
proportional to velocity and direction of motion of the mobile with respect to the direction of arrival 40
of the received multipath wave
Factors influencing Small-scale fading(1)
 Multipath propagation: The random phase and amplitudes of the different
multipath components cause fluctuations in signal strength there by
inducing small scale Fading. Multipath propagation often lengthens the
time required for the baseband portion of the signal to reach the receiver
which can cause signal smearing (blur) due to inter-symbol interference.
 Speed of the mobile: relative motion between base station & mobile
causes random frequency modulation due to Doppler shift (fd). Different
multipath components may have different frequency shifts.
 Speed of surrounding objects: if the surrounding objects move at a greater
rate than the mobile, then this effect dominates the small-scale fading.
 The transmission bandwidth of the signal: if TX signal’s bandwidth 
bandwidth of the multipath channel  received signal will be distorted.
But the received signal will not fade much over a local area(The small
scale fading is not significant). However TX signal’s bandwidth <
bandwidth of the multipath channel, the amplitude of signal will change
rapidly but the signal will not be distorted in time.

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Factors influencing Small-scale fading(2)

Transmitted signal bandwidth (Bs)

 The mobile radio channel (MRC) is modeled as filter with
specific bandwidth (BW)
 The relationship between the signal BW & the MRC BW will
affect fading rates and distortion, and so will determine:
a) if small-scale fading is significant
b) if time distortion of signal leads to inter-symbol interference
(ISI)
 An MRC can cause distortion/ISI or small-scale fading, typically
one or the other.

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 Doppler Shift(1)
 motion causes frequency modulation due to Doppler shift (fd)
 Receiver moving toward the source(Receiving frequency is higher) or
Receiver moving away from the source( Receiving frequency is lower).
This resulting effect is the Doppler Shift
Consider a mobile moving at a constant velocity
v, along a path segment having length d between
points X and Y, while it receives signals from a
remote source S, as illustrated in figure

The difference in path lengths travelled by the

wave from source S to the mobile at points X and
Y is Δl = d cos θ = vΔt cos θ where Δt is the time
required for the mobile to travel from X to Y,
and θ is assumed to be the same at point X and Y
since the source is assumed to be very far way

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 Doppler Shift(2)

Phase change due to

Difference in
path length

Apparent change
in frequency, or
Doppler shift.

v : velocity (m/s)
λ : wavelength (m)
θ : angle between mobile direction
and arrival direction of RF energy
+ shift → mobile moving toward S
− shift → mobile moving away from S

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Time Dispersion and Frequency Dispersion

 Time Dispersion : When the received signal has a longer duration than that
of the transmitted signal, due to different delays of the signal paths. i.e.
delay spread into the received signal.

 Frequency Dispersion: When the received signal has a larger bandwidth

than that of transmitted signal, due to the different Doppler shifts
introduced by the multipath components. i.e. Doppler Spread into the
received signal.

 Both Time dispersion and Frequency dispersion introduce distortion into the received
signal.

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 Delay Spread
 Delay spread effect is mainly due to small-scale fading.
Because multiple reflections of the transmitted signal may
arrive at the receiver at the different time and all get added
constructively or destructively. This can cause a smearing
of the signal and interference between bits that are
received

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 Power Delay Profile
 Random and complicated radio-propagation channels can be characterized
using the impulse response approach.
I f the input signal is a unit impulse δ (t) , the output
will be the channel impulse response, which can be written as

where are the attenuation, delay in time of arrival, and

phase, corresponding to path
n respectively

 Multipath propagation causes severe dispersion of the transmitted signal

and the expected degree of dispersion is determined through the
measurement of the power-delay profile of the channel.

 The power-delay profile provides an indication of the dispersion or

distribution of transmitted power over various paths in a multipath model
for propagation
 The delay profile is the expected power variation per unit of time
received with a certain excess delay.
 It is obtained by averaging a large set of impulse responses.
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 The parameters which characterize the delay spread can
be classified as
First-Arrival delay,
Mean access delay,
RMS delay spread, and
Excess delay spread.

First-Arrival Delay ( 𝜏A )
•This is a time delay corresponding to the arrival of the first
transmitted signal at the receiver. It is usually measured at the
receiver.
•This delay is set by the minimum possible propagation path delay
from the transmitter to the receiver.
• It serves as a reference, and all delay measurements are made
relative to it. Any measured delay longer than this reference delay is
called an excess delay.

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 Performance parameters
 The time dispersion of the channel is called multipath
delay spread which is one of the important parameter.
 A common measure of multipath delay spread is root mean
square (RMS delay spread TRMS)
The RMS delay spread Trms , is the standard deviations
(or root mean square)value of the delay of reflections,
weighted proportional to the energy in the reflected waves
 Maximum Excess delay (Tm) : There is some delay
between the time when the antenna receives the first copy
of the signal on the shortest path and when it receives the
last copy of the same signal on the longest path.
The maximum delay time spread Tm is the total time
interval, during which reflections with significant energy
arrive.

In practice, we use RMS delay

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spread is use more over Tm .
Coherence Time and Coherence Bandwidth

Coherence time : It is the measure of expected time

duration over which channel appears highly
correlative. i.e. the coherence time is a measure of the
length of time for which channel can be assumed to be
nearly constant.

Coherence bandwidth: It is a measure of the

approximate bandwidth within which the channel can
be assumed to be nearly constant.

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Coherence Bandwidth (1)
 Range of frequencies over which the channel can be
considered flat (i.e. channel passes all spectral components
with equal gain and linear phase).

 It is a definition that depends on RMS Delay Spread.

 Two sinusoids with frequency separation greater than

Bandwidth Coherence (Bc )are affected quite differently by the
channel.

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Coherence Bandwidth (2)
Frequency correlation between two sinusoids: 0 <= Cr1, r2 <= 1.

If we define Coherence Bandwidth (BC) as the range of frequencies over which

the frequency correlation is above 0.9, then

1
BC   is rms delay spread.
50 

If we define Coherence Bandwidth as the range of frequencies over which

the frequency correlation is above 0.5, then

1 This is called 50%

BC 
5  coherence bandwidth.

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Coherence Bandwidth (3)
 Example:
 For a multipath channel,   is given as 1.37ms.
1
 The 50% coherence bandwidth is given as: = 146kHz.
5 

 This means that, for a good transmission from a transmitter to a

receiver, the range of transmission frequency (channel
bandwidth) should not exceed 146kHz, so that all frequencies in
this band experience the same channel characteristics.
 Equalizers are needed in order to use transmission frequencies
that are separated larger than this value.
 This coherence bandwidth is enough for an AMPS channel
(30kHz band needed for a channel), but is not enough for a GSM
channel (200kHz needed per channel).

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Equalizers: Its purpose is to reduce inter symbol interference to allow
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recovery of the transmit symbols
Doppler Spread & Coherence Time

 Delay spread and Coherence bandwidth describe the time

dispersive nature of the channel in a local area.
 They don’t offer information about the time varying
nature of the channel caused by relative motion of
transmitter and receiver.
 Doppler Spread and Coherence time are parameters which
describe the time varying nature of the channel in a small-scale
region.

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Doppler Spread
 Measure of spectral broadening caused by the time rate of
change of the mobile radio channel.

 Doppler spread, BD, is defined as the maximum Doppler shift:

fm = v/

 Characterizes frequency-dispersiveness of the channel, or the

spreading of transmitted frequency due to different Doppler
shifts.

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Coherence Time (1)
Coherence time is the time duration over which the channel impulse response
is essentially time-invariant.

If the symbol period of the baseband signal (reciprocal of the baseband signal
bandwidth) is greater the coherence time, than the signal will distort, since
channel will change during the transmission of the signal .

TS

TC
Coherence time (TC) and Doppler spread are inversely proportional to one
another and is defined as:
TC  1
fm

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Coherence Time (2)

Coherence time is also defined as:

0.423
TC  9
16f m2

fm

Coherence time definition implies that two signals arriving with a time
separation greater than TC are affected differently by the channel.

Large coherence time implies that the channel changes slowly.

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Types of Small-scale Fading

i.e., BS<<BC  σ<<TS i.e., BS>BC  σ>>TS

3. Spectral characteristics of 3. Spectral characteristics of
the transmitted signal is the transmitted signal is not
preserved. preserved.

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Frequency Flat Fading

Occurs when symbol period of the transmitted signal is

much larger than the Delay Spread of the channel
Bandwidth of the applied signal is narrow.

May cause deep fades.

Increase the transmit power to combat this situation.

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Types of Small-scale Fading

i.e., TC<TS i.e., TC>>TS

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 Fast Fading
 Occurs due to Doppler Spread
 Rate of change of the channel characteristics is larger than
the rate of change of the transmitted signal
 The channel changes during a symbol period.
 The channel changes because of relative motion between the
receiver and the baseband signal.
 Coherence time (TC) of the channel is smaller than the symbol
period (TS) of the transmitter signal

Occurs when: BS: Bandwidth of the signal

BS < BD BD: Doppler Spread
and TS: Symbol Period
TS > TC TC: Coherence Bandwidth

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 Slow Fading
 Due to Doppler Spread
 Rate of change of the channel characteristics is much
smaller than the rate of change of the transmitted
signal.

Occurs when: BS: Bandwidth of the signal

BS >> BD BD: Doppler Spread
and TS: Symbol Period
TS << TC TC: Coherence Bandwidth

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 Fast Fading/Slow Fading

 Velocity of the mobile (or the velocity of objects in the

channel) and the baseband signaling determines whether a
signal undergoes fast fading or slow fading.

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 Fading Distributions
 Describes how the received signal amplitude
changes with time.
 Remember that the received signal is combination of multiple
signals arriving from different directions, phases and
amplitudes.

 Its is a statistical characterization of the variation of

the envelop of the received signal over time.
 Two most common distributions
 Rayleigh Fading
 Ricean Fading

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 Rayleigh Fading

 If all the multipath components have

approximately the same amplitude (that is,
when MS is far from BS), the envelope of the
received signal is Rayleigh distributed.
 No dominant signal component (such as the
LOS component)

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 Rayleigh distribution (1)

Rayleigh distribution has the probability density function (PDF) given by:

  r2 
 
 2 2 
r
 e
p ( r )   2

(0  r   )

0 ( r  0)
 is the rms value of the received voltage signal before envelope detection

2 is the time average power of the received signal before envelope detection.

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Rayleigh distribution (3)
0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 
1 2
2 3
3 4
4 5
5

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 Ricean Fading

 When there is a stationary (non-fading) LOS

signal present, then the envelope distribution
is Ricean.

 The Ricean distribution degenerates to

Rayleigh when the dominant component
fades away.

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 Ricean Distribution (1)
 The Ricean distribution is given by

  r 2  A2 
 
  Ar 
r 2 
 e 2 
I 0  2  for ( A  0, r  0)
p ( r )   2
 
 for (r  0)
 0,
 Where A denotes the peak amplitude of the
dominant signal, and
 I0(.) denotes the zeroth order Bessel function
of the first kind.

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 The Ricean distribution is often described in
terms of a parameter K(Ricean k-factor)
 K=A2/(2σ2)
 A2 
 In terms of dB, K (dB)  10 log  2 2 dB
 
 For K>>1, the Ricean Distribution tends to
the Gaussian Distribution about the mean.

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 Wireless Communication
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Large-scale Propagation Models (1)
 As the mobile moves away from the transmitter over
large distances, the local average received signal will
gradually decrease.
 This is called large-scale path loss.
 Typically the local average received power is computed
by averaging signal measurements over a measurement
track of 5 to 40  .( this means 1m-10m track)
 The models that predict the mean signal strength for an
arbitrary-receiver transmitter (T-R) separation distance
are called large-scale propagation models.

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Large-scale Propagation Models (2)
 Large T-R separation distances (several hundreds of
thousands of meters)
 Main propagation mechanism: reflections
 Attenuation of signal strength due to power loss along
distance traveled: shadowing
 Small fluctuations around a slowly varying mean
 Useful in estimating the radio coverage of a transmitter.

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Shadowing is the effect that the received signal power fluctuates due to objects obstructing
the propagation path between transmitter and receiver. 80
 Need for Propagation Models
 Determining the coverage area of a transmitter
 Determine the transmitter power requirement
 Determine the battery lifetime

 Finding modulation and coding schemes to improve the

channel quality

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Practical Link Budget Design Using Path
Loss Models
 Log distance path loss model
 Both Theoretical and Measurement based models show that the
received signal power decreases logarithmically with distance.
 Both for indoor and outdoor channels
 The average large scale path loss for an arbitrary T-R separation
is expressed as a function of distance by using a path loss
exponent n.
 n characterized the propagation environment
 For free space, it is 2.
 When obstructions are present it has a larger value.

The link budget is a summary of the transmitted power long with all
the gains and losses in the system and this enables the strength of
the received signal to be calculated.
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 Log-distance path loss model
n
d 
PL(d )    d  d0
Average large-scale path loss at  d0 
a distance d (denoted in dB)
d 
PL (dB)  PL(d 0 )  10n log  
 d0 
where
is the total path loss measured in Decibel (dB)
is the length of the path
is the reference distance, usually 1 km (or 1 mile) for large cell
and 1 m to 10 m for microcell

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Large-scale Path Loss Exponent for Different Environments

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 Log-normal Shadowing (1)
 The path loss equation for Log-distance model does not
consider the fact that surrounding environment may be
vastly different at two locations having the same T-R
separation.
 This leads to measurements that are different than the
predicted average values obtained using the equations
shown.
 Measurements show that for any value d, the path loss
PL(d) in dBm at a location is random and distributed log-
normally.

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 Log-normal Shadowing (2)
 The log-normal distribution describes the random
shadowing effects due to cluttering on the propagation
path, a factor is added as follows:
PL(d )( dB)  PL(d )  X 
d 
PL(d ) (dB)  PL(d 0 )  10n log    X 
 d0 
 X  is a zero mean Gaussian (normal) distributed
random variable (in dB) with standard deviation σ (also
in dB) P (d )( dBm )  P (dBm )  PL(d )( dB)
r t

 d  
 
Pr (d )( dBm )  Pr (dBm )   PL(d 0 )( dB)  10n log    X  (dB)
  d0  
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Outline

• Outdoor Propagation Models

• Okumura Model
• Hata Model
• Longley Rice Model (self study)
• Walfisch and Bertoni (self study)
• Wideband PCS Microcell Model (self study)

• Indoor Propagation Model

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 Outdoor Propagation Models
• Outdoor radio transmission takes place over irregular terrain.
• The terrain profile must be taken into consideration for estimating
path loss.
• Trees, buildings, hills etc. must be taken into consideration.

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 Okumura Model (1)
 In early days, the models were based on empirical
studies

 Okumura did comprehensive measurements in 1968 and

came up with a model.

 Discovered that a good model for path loss was a simple

power law where the exponent n is a function of the
frequency, antenna heights, etc.

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 Okumura Model (2)
 One of the most widely used models for signal
prediction in the Urban Areas.
 Applicable to
 Frequencies: 150MHz to 1920 MHz

 Can be extrapolated up-to 3GHz

 Distances: 1 km to 100 km.

 Base station antenna heights: 30m to 100m

 Okumura developed a set of curves giving the medium

attenuation relative to free space in an urban area over
quasi-smooth terrain.

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L50(dB)= LF + Amu(f,d) – G(hte) – G(hre) – GAREA
Where,
L50 = 50% value of propagation path loss (median)
LF = free space propagation loss
Amu(f,d) = median attenuation relative to free space
G(hte) = base station antenna height gain factor
G(hre) = mobile antenna height gain factor
GAREA = gain due to type of environment

hte
G(hte) = 20 log
200 30m < hte < 1000m
hre
G(hre) = 10 log
3 hre  3m
hre
G(hre) = 20 log
3 3m < hre <10m
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 Okumura Model Curves

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Okumura developed a set of curves giving the median attenuation relative to
free space (Amu), in an urban area over a quasi-smooth terrain with a base
station effective antenna height (hte) of 200 m and a mobile antenna height
(hre) of 3 m.

These curves were developed from extensive measurements using vertical

omni-directional antennas at both the base and mobile, and are plotted as a
function of frequency.

Okumura's model is wholly based on measured data and does not provide any
analytical explanation. For many situations, extrapolations of the derived
curves can be made to obtain values outside the measurement range, although
the validity of such extrapolations depends on the circumstances and the
smoothness of the curve in question

Okumura's model is considered to be among the simplest and best in terms of

accuracy in path loss prediction for mature cellular and land mobile radio
systems in cluttered environments

The major disadvantage with the model is its slow response to rapid changes
in terrain, therefore the model is fairly good in urban Wireless
and suburban areas, but
Communication
not as good in rural areas.
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 Hata Model (1)
 The Hata model is the empirical formulation of the
graphical path loss data provided by Okumura and is
valid from 150 MHz to 1.5 MHz.
 The median path loss in urban areas is given by
L50 (urban)(dB) = 69.55 + 26.16log10 fc (MHz)– 13.82 log10 hte –
(hre(m)) + (44.9-6.55loghte(m))log10 d(km)

Parameter Comment
L50 50th % value (median) propagation path loss (urban)
fc frequency from 150MHz-1.5GHz
hte, hre Base Station (30 to 200 m)and Mobile antenna (1 to 10m)height
 (hre) correction factor for hre , affected by coverage area
d Tx-Rx separation in km
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 Hata Model (2)
Mobile Antenna Height Correction Factor for Hata Model

 (hre) Comment
(1.1log10 fc - 0.7)hre – (1.56log10 fc - 0.8)dB Small to Medium City
8.29(log10 1.54hre)2 – 1.1 dB Large City (fc  300MHz)
3.2(log10 11.75hre)2 – 4.97 dB Large City (fc > 300MHz)
Hata Model for Rural and Suburban Regions
• represent reductions in fixed losses for less demanding environments

L50 (dB) Comment

L50 (urban) - 2[log10 (fc/28)]2 – 5.4 Suburban Area
L50 (urban) - 4.78(log10 fc)2 - 18.33log10 fc - 40.98 Open rural Area

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Longley Rice Model (3)
 The Longley Rice model is normally available as a computer program that
takes as input:
 Transmission frequency
 Path length
 Polarization
 Antenna Heights
 Surface reflectivity
 Ground conductivity and dielectric constant
 Climatic factors
 The main drawback of the Longley-Rice propagation model is that it does
not consider the effect of multipath, buildings, foliage, and other
environmental factors.

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 Indoor Propagation Models (1)
 Indoor channels are different from traditional mobile
radio channels in two different ways:
 The distances covered are much smaller

 The variability of the environment is much greater for

a much smaller range of Tx and Rx separation
distances.
 The propagation inside a building is influenced by:
 Layout of the building

 Construction materials

 Building type: office area, residential home, factory

etc.
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 Indoor propagation is dominated by the same mechanisms as outdoor:
reflection, scattering, diffraction.
 However, conditions are much more variable
 Doors/windows open or not
 The mounting place of antenna: desk, ceiling, etc.
 The level of floors
 Indoor channels are classified as
 Line of sight (LOS)
 Obstructed (OBS) with varying degrees of cluster

 Temporal fading for fixed and moving terminals

 Portable receivers experience in general:
 Rayleigh fading for OBS propagation paths.
 Ricean fading for LOS paths.

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 Multipath Delay Spread
 Buildings with fewer metals and hard partitions
typically have small rms delay spreads: 30 to 60 ns.
 Can support data rates excess of several Mbps
without equalization

 Larger buildings with great amount of metal and open

aisles may have rms delay spreads as large as
300ns.
 Can not support data rates more than a few
hundred Kbps without equalization.

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 Indoor Propagation Models
 Path Loss: The following formula that we have seen
earlier also describes the indoor path loss:
d 
PL(d ) (dB)  PL(d 0 )  10n log    X 
 d0 
 n and σ depends on the type of the building
 Smaller value of σ indicates better accuracy of the path
loss model.

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Indoor Propagation Models …
 In building path loss factors
 Partition losses (same floor)

 Partition losses between floors

 Signal Penetration into Buildings

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 Partition Losses (Same Floor)
 Two kinds:
 Hard partitions: Walls of the rooms

 Soft partitions: Moveable partitions that do not span

to the ceiling

 Path loss depends on the type of the partitions

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Partition Losses (Same Floor)
Material Type Loss (dB) Frequency

All metal partition 26 dB 815 MHz

Concrete block wall 13 dB 1300 MHz

Empty Cardboard boxes 3-6 dB 1300 MHz

Dry Plywood (0.75 1 dB 9.6 GHz

inches)

Dry Plywood (0.7 4 dB 28.2 GHz

inches)

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 Partition Losses between Floors (1)
 Depend on:
 External dimensions and materials of the building.

 Type of construction used to create floors

 External surroundings

 Number of windows

 Presence of tinting on windows

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Partition Losses between Floors (2)

No.of Floors FAF (dB)

Through 1 Floor 12.9
Through 2 Floors 18.7
Through 3 Floors 24.2
Through 4 Floors 27.0

Average Floor Attenuation Factor (FAF) in dB between floors of a

building measured at 915 MHz.

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Ericsson Multiple breakpoint Model
measurements in multi-floor office building
• uses uniform distribution to generate path loss values between
minimum & maximum range, relative to distance.
• 4 breakpoints consider upper and lower bound on path loss
• assumes 30dB attenuation at d0 = 1m
- accurate for f = 900MHz & unity gain antenna
• provides deterministic limit on range of path loss at given distance

The attenuation slopes change from 20

dB/decade to the first breakpoint to an
attenuation of D-12 for the final section of
the model.

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Attenuation Factor Model (1)
 Obtained by measurement in a multiple floor office
building.
d 
PL(d ) (dB)  PL(d 0 ) (dB)  10nSF log    FAF (dB)   PAF (dB)
 d0 

Path loss exponent of the

same floor.
Floor Attenuation Factor

Partition Attenuation Factor

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110