Characterising the radio propagation channel

Summary form only given. Optimising the designs of new cellular radio products requires a detailed understanding of the radio propagation characteristics of the transmission paths between mobiles or fixed subscriber terminals and base stations. The performance of a radio network in terms of coverage or capacity critically depends on factors such as path loss, multipath delay and angle spread and fading statistics. Detailed characterisation of these factors is very important in order to derive appropriate models of the propagation which can be used for more accurate prediction of radio link performance for product development and to determine the most effective deployment strategies for the RF network. This paper describes the upgrades made to the aperture analyser measurement facility (consisting of a base station receiver and a mobile transmitter which can be operated in a wideband channel sounding mode) and provides details of trials conducted in central London aimed at investigating the propagation phenomena for macrocellular and micro-cellular deployments in the 2 GHz band.