Investigating the Best Radio Propagation Model for 4G - WiMAX Networks Deployment in 2530MHz Band in Sub- Saharan Africa

摘要

One of the salient factors to look at during wireless network planning isdeveloping a modified path loss prediction models to suit a new environmentother than the one it was originally designed for. This helps to give accuratepredictive outcomes. This paper seeks to demonstrate the effects of applyingcorrection factors on radio propagation model used in planning for 4G-WiMAXnetwork through a comparative analysis between estimated and field datacollected on received power for a 4G-WiMAX site. Four existing models wereconsidered for this research; COST 231 Hata, Extended COST 231 Hata, SUI(Stanford University Interim) and Ericsson models. In order to optimize andvalidate the effectiveness of the proposed models, the mean square error (MSE)and correlation co-efficient were calculated for each model between thepredicted and the measured received power for the selected area before andafter applying an appropriate correction factor. Based on this, the ExtendedCOST-231 Hata prediction model proved to correlate well with the measuredvalues since it showed least Mean Square Error (MSE) but with highestcorrelation co-efficient. Through comparative analysis of the corrected models,the Extended COST-231 Hata model could be applied for effective planning of theradio systems in Ghana and the subregion at large.