Contoured beam reflector antenna for wireless applications

Wireless coverage in urban, suburban, and light industrial areas is a challenging problem for cellular network planners. This is mainly due to scattering from buildings and structures but also because area specific demographic features such as parks, streets, and sports arenas require specialized coverage. A contoured beam reflector antenna is a simple and effective solution for this problem, providing excellent control in both planes of the radiation pattern and a very sharp taper at the edge of coverage. The problem of wireless coverage planning using existing base-station antenna types is discussed, and a potential solution for these problems using contoured beam reflector antennas is demonstrated by examples. The implementation of this solution is made possible by using an inexpensive manufacturing technique involving a reconfigurable mould and a foam extrusion process.