Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of an SFN by comparing gain and interference caused by SFN operation

DVB-H networks allow high data rate broadcast services for hand-held terminals. A comparison of the SFN gain based on the electric-field strength and the carrier-to-interference-plus-noise ratio CINR will be presented in this paper. The measurement procedure will be presented and the obtained gains for the electric-field strength and CINR will be compared. Possible interference caused by the use of multiple transmitters in the SFN will be investigated and the results will allow to determine whether an SFN causes a net gain because of the SFN operation or a net loss because of SFN interference, deteriorating the performance. This SFN gain can be used for coverage planning of future networks.