Impact of the Base Station Antenna Beamwidth on Capacity in WCDMA Cellular Networks

In this paper the impact of the base station antenna horizontal beamwidth on radio network capacity in WCDMA cellular networks in the downlink direction is studied. Influence of coverage overlapping and radio propagation environment together with antenna beamwidth are also studied. A radio network planning tool is used to simulate WCDMA macro cellular network performance in urban and suburban area in Tampere, Finland. By utilizing digital morphology and topography information in the simulations reliable and practical results were expected. The simulation results show that the effect of the base station antenna horizontal beamwidth on capacity is almost unremarkable in three-sectorised sites between 65° and 90° antennas. Meanwhile the capacity enhancement between 33° and 65°/90° beamwidths in six-sectorised sites is significant. Altogether, the results of this study yield for exact planning guidelines of the base station antenna configuration for different capacity needs.