Comparison of Propagation Models for Small Urban Cells in GSM

The purpose of this work is to compare propagation models for small urban cells in GSM 900 and 1 800, with the aim of testing their behaviour. With this objective in mind, a measurement campaign in co-operation with the Portuguese GSM operator Telecel was carried out in two distinct areas of Lisbon: Arco Cego, characterised by narrow streets with low buildings, and Avenidas Novas, with large streets and high buildings. The study focuses on Bertoni’s and Ikegami’s models, and in order to account for the influence of the crossroads in the received power, Gonçalves’ model is used as well. Besides the errors concerning the field measurements, the worst results, when comparing theoretical with experimental data, occur for street angles smaller than 20o, streets fairly illuminated by the Base Stations and/or streets with irregular propagation scenarios along their length. The average difference between the measured values of the two bands is 7.8 and 9.3 dB, depending on the area.