Coverage optimization and power reduction in SFN using a hybrid PSO algorithm

Digital terrestrial television systems (DVB-T) using single frequency networks (SFN) based on OFDM modulation schemes have been deployed during the last years. Such SFN topology make it possible to increase the number and quality of services offered due to their more efficient use of the spectrum compared to multiple frequency networks (MFN). Moreover, SFN can cut down on the number of transmitters along with their powers because of the internal gain of the network, saving overall deployment and maintenance costs, and even achieving coverage improvements or a decrease of the outage probability over larger geographical areas through the reuse of frequencies. In this work, an approach to analyze and improve the coverage of a SFN over the most populated regions with the least possible economic investment is proposed, considering several strategies to synchronize and combine the signals at the receiver side and using a hybrid algorithm, mixing up the real and binary versions of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO), to optimize the static delays, gains and orientations for each SFN transmitter and decide whether each sector antenna must be active or not.