Evaluation of the Telia Scattered Field Measurement Method for Estimation of In-network Performance of Mobile Terminal Antennas

In this paper we present and evaluate a method for estimation of in-network performance of mobile terminal antennas developed by the Swedish telecom operator Telia. The Telia Scattered Field Measurement (TSFM) Method is intended to give a better estimate of the performance of the mobile terminal antenna as in an in-network fading scenario. The parameter measured from the TSFM method is referred to as the Scattered Field Measurement Gain, SFMG, i.e. the Mean Effective Gain, MEG, measured relative to a half wave dipole antenna. MEG includes the radiation pattern of the mobile terminal antenna as well as an estimate of polarization and directional losses that occur due to the propagation environment. In this study it is found that the TSFM method provides a good measure of the in-network performance of the mobile terminal antenna. Furthermore, it is shown that the SFMG measured with this method is found to be well correlated with the Total Radiated Power Gain, TRPG, or radiation efficiency. This suggests that the Total Radiated Power, TRP, may be a good measure of the in-network performance of mobile terminal antennas if measured with proper adjustment to the antenna and propagation channel mismatch.