Using RF Repeaters to Improve WCDMA Speech Coverage and Capacity Inside Buildings

The role of indoor coverage will be very important in WCDMA networks, both due to customer expectations and the introduction of high speed packet services. General outdoor-to- indoor coverage will be the most common solution, but macro cells may not always be able to deliver adequate indoor coverage and capacity, suggesting the need for dedicated indoor solutions, such as RF repeaters. RF repeaters are typically deployed to extend the coverage of existing (macro) cells. They are characterized by low cost, ease of installation and low power consumption. The simulation results presented in this paper clearly show how the repeater deployment provides full speech coverage throughout the building, and furthermore, how the donor cell uplink is negatively affected by the repeater deployment. However, the results also indicate that in a cell where the capacity is downlink-limited, a carefully planned repeater deployment can result in higher capacity.