Radio network design issues with smart antenna base stations

Many organisations are investigating the incorporation of novel techniques within future 3G network components, in order to meet the goals of UMTS. One such technique is the use of "adaptive" or "smart" antennas at base sites. The benign influence of adaptive antennas on uplink and downlink spatio-temporal responses offers potential for interference reduction and capacity multiplication. The paradigms for planning 2G systems are now very well understood, these being linked to a mapping between predicted signal strength and an achieved bit-error rate (BER) for a small subset of services carried by a single bearer. With the advent of 3G, however, multiple scenario-matched bearers are proposed, in addition to the much wider required-BER dynamic range as a consequence of the broad palette of supported services. This paper reports progress in identifying the requirements for next-generation planning tools, which enable engineers to incorporate smart and normal antennas into networks designed to operate and succeed across the range of multi-service, multi-bearer environments.