Statistical analysis of smartphone MDT signaling power measurements for Radio Maritime LTE propagation study

A recent 3GPP standard feature called Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) enables huge collection of anonymous User Equipment (UE) radio measurements combined with GPS coordinates. This amount of georeferenced data empowers relevant radio coverage and quality analysis in live 4G LTE cellular Networks. In this article a new Radio Maritime propagation analysis is presented, leveraging Reference Signal Received Power smartphones measures produced during one of most crowded regattas in the world, held in Trieste gulf the 13th of October 2019. The opportunity offered by current use of smartphones everywhere, even in boats, and the possibility offered by RSRP data analysis perspective shows how analytics and modelling, applied to massive anonymous MDT radio data, can bring new type of knowledge and innovative ways to monitor sea events. In this work the MDT measurement of actual Received Power is compared with the free-space theoretical one. MDT data catch on the sea area are mainly considered in this study. Discussion about multipath effects on Received Power levels are reported too. The proposed methodology is also useful to predict and to reduce intra-system and inter-system interference issues.