Prediction of radiowave propagation for wireless cellular networks in Jordan

Measurements for GSM cellular phone networks (the 1800 MHz as well as the 900 MHz bands) in different areas of Irbid city, Jordan, were carried out, for over a year and under varying weather conditions, by the authors. To find a radiofrequency propagation model that can correctly predict the propagation in this environment, various path loss models are compared with the measurements. These models include: Lee, COST-231 Hata, COST-231 WI, and Egli models. The results show that the COST-231 Hata model is the most accurate model whereas Lee model is the least accurate model for Irbid city. To enhance the accuracy of the least accurate model for this area, i.e., Lee model, this paper suggests a path loss model based on optimizing Lee model using the swarm intelligence optimization (PSO) technique. It is worth noting that optimization of Lee model for Irbid measurements using the least squares method produced the same results as the PSO optimization; therefore, only the PSO results will be presented here. The accuracy of the optimized Lee model is verified by comparison with measurements in other locations in Irbid. Furthermore, measurements made in Amman city in Jordan confirm the usefulness and validity of the measurements and predictions of Irbid city. The root mean square error (RMSE) between the measured and predicted values for the proposed model is significantly improved by up to 37 dB compared with Lee model.