ON DVB-H RADIO FREQUENCY PLANNING: : ADJUSTMENT OF A PROPAGATION MODEL THROUGH MEASUREMENT CAMPAIGN RESULTS

Abstract: The present Master Thesis analyzes the DVB-H radio Frequency Network Planning problematic, studying the influence of a propagation model used in the calculation of network coverage. In this way, the aim of this work is the design of a procedure and algorithm to adjust a propagation model considering measurement campaigns performed in different environments (dense-urban, urban, sub-urban and rural). The methodology relies on the adjustment of the Xia-Bertoni propagation model parameters using the Least Mean Square (LMS) method, considering the collected measurements and the simulation model parameters obtained from a Geographic Information System (GIS). Coverage simulations and measurement results are compared using a 3-Dimensional city model (terrain and buildings) for different terrain topologies (flat, hills and canyons) and environments. The resulting adjusted model has been tested and compared with other common models (COST231 and Okumura-Hata) using specific metrics, thus proving its validity for different frequencies, environments and terrain topologies. In order to validate the procedure and designed algorithm, this Master Thesis gathers real data from measurement campaigns carried out in different cities: Gävle (Sweden), Bucaramanga (Colombia), Valencia (Spain) and Munich (Germany). Besides, this work provides an insight on best practices to perform measurement campaigns. The outcome of this work is a useful tool in radio network planning for DVB-H systems, which ensures reliable results in all environments and terrain topologies.