On the performance of densified single frequency networks for DVB-H

The broadcasting of TV programs to the mobile phone can be enabled by the newly developed technology called DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld). Because of the scarcity and cost of frequency resources, frequency reuse needs to be considered when rolling out DVB-H networks. By simulcasting the same content from several transmitters, a single frequency network (SFN) can provide a good coverage and good frequency efficiency. In this paper, the performance of densified SFN networks is analysed in terms of the coverage probability under different coverage requirements with and without frequency reuse. A dichotomy searching approach is used to determine the optimal cell radius for a cell in densified SFNs for a given network topology. Based on the optimal cell radius map and SFN gain map generated from the simulation results, guidelines on how to avoid the potential pitfalls in configuring the parameters of a densified SFN network and the optimisation of these parameters in terms of minimising the cost of the network are proposed for a range of predefined network parameters.