Analysis of propagation models at 2.1 GHz for simulation of a live 3G cellular network

Propagation models play a vital role in the characterization, development, and design of wireless mobile communications networks. Propagation path-loss models may give varying results if they are utilized in a different environment than the one they were formulated for. This paper studies path loss and propagation models using deployed 3G network operating at a frequency of 2.125 GHz. The study is conducted in Amman, Jordan, which provides a unique and different construction material. Measurements are collected of received signal using two cell sites. The collected measurements are then compared to different propagation models including: Log-distance, COST-231-Hata, COST-231-Walfisch-Ikegami, and Ericsson. An appropriate tuned propagation model in ASSET3G was used to predict signal coverage of a deployed base station for comparison and verification.