Mobile radio propagation measurements and tuning the path loss model in urban areas at GSM-900 band in Istanbul-Turkey

The propagation model fine-tuning is one of the most important issues in efficient network planning. In this study, propagation measurements were carried out at 900 MHz band in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bertoni-Walfisch model, which is best suited for propagation analysis involving buildings, is used as a reference model. Fine-tuning of the model is carried out using large number of measurement records to increase the accuracy of the prediction. Suitable propagation models for different terrains are proposed. This is achieved by varying the range dependence using the minimum mean square error (MMSE) method.