Radio transmission at 1800 MHz into, and within, multistory buildings

Abstract

Investigations of propagation into, and within, buildings at 1800 MHz have been undertaken using buildings in the University of Liverpool precinct. Measurements of the mean signal level have been made in rooms and corridors of four different buildings and, where appropriate, these have been compared with measurements at street level outside. The composite Rayleigh-pluslog-normal distribution successfully modelled the measured cumulative distributions of all measurements. The average measured penetration loss at ground floor level was found to be 13 dB. The rate of change of penetration loss with height was −1.4 dB per floor. For floor levels higher than the sixth floor, it was found to be 0.4 dB per floor. The rate of change of the mean signal level for signals travelling within buildings was, on average, 8.3 dB per floor. The best coverage was obtained by locating the transmitter in a large room at the centre of the building. The path loss attenuation factor n that best modelled the within-building measurements was found to be 5.6.