Simulation of 700 MHz Spectrum Deployment in Indonesia's Urban Area for 5G New Radio Network

Indonesia is currently constructing the infrastructure and policies necessary for the 5G New Radio (NR) network implementation. Spectrum availability is a necessary condition for the deployment of wireless-based services. Increased allocation of the radio frequency spectrum is one of the techniques to boost network capacity. The most intriguing aspect of Indonesia's low-frequency spectrum situation is that the 700 MHz channel is now reserved for analog television. After the Analog Switch-Off (ASO), there will be a digital dividend in the 700 MHz band, of which 700 MHz can be used for the 5G NR spectrum. Hence, it is necessary to determine the optimal number of gNodeB to support 5G using the 700 MHz frequency. This study aims to determine the required number of gNodeB needed based on coverage planning for implementing 5G NR technology in an urban area in Indonesia, that is, Bandung city, using the 700 MHz frequency band and 30 MHz of bandwidth. In the uplink scenario, the demanded gNodeB is 27, while the downlink is 9. Additionally, a simulation method is done with a network simulator, Forsk Atoll. The simulation results show that the average value of SS-RSRP was −94.15 dB, while the average value of SS-SINR was 13.32 dB, both indicating good performance.