HomeMy WebLinkAboutEx 6 Propogation MapsNetwork Engineering Verizon Wireless
3255 160th Ave. SE
3rd floor
Bellevue, WA 98008
Mats Mats Bay RF Documentation
Overview:
Verizon Wireless strives to provide excellent wireless service for our customers with a network of cell sites
that allows our customers to reliably place and receive mobile phone calls. In this particular case, Verizon
Wireless trying to provide and enhance coverage in the areas in city of Port Ludlow, in Jefferson County,
within an area roughly located between Swansonville Rd., Jefferson Ave., Pioneer Dr., and Talbot Way.
Development of the proposed site entails placing nine antennas on an existing tower in the area. Providing
coverage to our residential customers, along with continued growth in our customer base and call traffic in
this area has dictated the need for the proposed site.
Coverage:
In order to provide excellent service, which Verizon Wireless defines as –75 dBm, the antenna height and
site location need to provide a line of sight to the roads, offices, and homes where our customers work and
reside. A total of nine antennas are being proposed to be installed on the tower with the antenna tip height
of 150’ in order to provide the necessary radio frequencies supporting all of Verizon Wireless voice and
data services.
One key feature of the new cell site will be providing strong in-building coverage to the surrounding business
and residential areas. Strong in-building coverage is often the most difficult goal to attain because of the
degradation of the Radio Frequency (RF) signal through the building itself. A RF signal will quickly drop
off when it must travel through solid obstacles such as tree foliage or buildings. For this reason an antenna
height that is greater than the existing tree and building clutter is required to provide a better, less obstructed
view of the intended coverage area. Early cellular designs placed cell sites with tall towers on top of hills.
This provided cellular companies the ability to cover the most area possible with very few cell sites. As
cellular subscriber numbers have increased this has meant that these high cell sites have been forced to
provide service to a large number of subscribers in a large area. Cellular design has evolved so that
multiple, shorter cell sites, located near high traffic, high population areas are now favored. This allows for
a single cell site to provide service for more subscribers in a smaller area. This ultimately results in fewer
dropped calls and access failures for the user because the serving cell site is located closer providing a
stronger RF signal.
Because of surrounding vegetation and the rolling terrain features of the proposed coverage area, a taller
height would be preferable, as an obstruction before antennas degrades or block signal levels to our
customers.
There is a chance that our customers will not have a line of sight to antennas at the proposed location due
to obstacles. Verizon Wireless is proposing to install Remote Radio Units (RRU’s) at the antennas in order
to amplify signal levels to improve the quality service for our customers due to degradation of signals due
to obstacles between customers and antennas on the tower. Verizon Wireless has a frequency license in
700 MHz, 850MHz, PCS, AWS and C bands. In order to provide excellent service, Verizon Wireless would
need to install a separate antenna for each frequency band in three directions that would require a total of
15 antennas. However, Verizon has proposed to install nine antennas on an existing tower in the area in
order to minimize the visual impact of the site.
Exhibit B
Exhibit 6
ZON2025-00011
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Propagation Maps:
There are several methods for determining where coverage gaps exist within a given network of wireless
sites. One of these is through the use of propagation maps. The propagation map is a computer simulation
of the strength of Verizon Wireless signals at a given height and location in the context of the network.
Propagation maps are one tool for determining whether a proposed site will meet the coverage objective
and what antenna height is needed to provide robust service for Verizon Wireless customers. The radio
propagation tool is designed to take factors such as terrain and tree coverage into account, and is calibrated
with drive test data so that it depicts a reliable estimate of coverage that would be provided by a proposed
site.
The below propagation maps show three levels of service, designated as the following colors:
Green = -75 dBm, a level of service adequate for providing reliable coverage inside a building
Yellow= -85 dBm, a level of service adequate for providing reliable coverage outdoors or
inside a car
Blue= > -95 dBm, unreliable signal strength, not capable of reliably making and holding a
call
No color- areas without Verizon Wireless service
Exhibit 1A is a propagation map that shows the existing level of coverage in the proposed service area in the context of surrounding Verizon
Wireless sites.
Exhibit 1B shows the level of service that would be provided with the proposed site.
Page 5 of 7
Exhibit 1C shows the level of service that would be provided with the proposed site only
Capacity:
An additional function of some wireless sites is to provide additional capacity in an area. The capacity of
wireless networks is limited by the number of available antennas and the radios associated with those
antennas. When a mobile user attempts to make a call on a wireless network where capacity is limited by
these factors, the resulting busy signal can be very frustrating. To remedy capacity issues, additional
antenna sites are added to an area to provide additional calling capacity for Verizon Wireless customers.
Antenna Diversity:
Antenna diversity, also known as space diversity, is one method of enhancing wireless signal to improve
the quality and reliability of a wireless link. Often, in cluttered environments such as the environment
surrounding the subject site, there is not a clear line of sight between the antennas and customers’
handsets. In these cases, the signal may be reflected along multiple paths before it finally reaches the
receiver. These deflections can result in phase shifts, time delays, attenuations, and signal distortion that
the customer may experience as an echo or warbling in the signal, or the signal dropping altogether.
Antenna diversity is especially effective at remedying these types of issues because multiple antennas
provide several “observations” of the same signal. Each antenna will experience a different interference
environment. So, for example, if one antenna is experiencing a deep fade, it is likely that another antenna
in the same sector will have sufficient signal. Providing signal diversity then, is absolutely necessary for
providing robust signal at the proposed location.
The flush mounting of antennas on an antenna support facility is sometimes viable. But in some cases –
as in this case - it is simply not an option. Flush mounting of antennas at this proposed facility would not
provide the required spatial diversity gain with antennas mounted at the same rad center. Flush mounting
of antennas would require use of a lower rad center for some frequency bands reducing the effective
operation of the site. We would not be able to cover some Verizon customers or provide lower quality of
service to Verizon customers than other carriers since other carriers may have higher rad center of
antennas and they can use spatial diversity gain if their antennas are mounted on the same rad centers for
all frequency bands. In this sense, the flush mount antenna may cause a competitive disadvantage.
Interference Certification
Verizon Wireless comply all FCC regulation that Verizon Wireless’ antennas usage will not interfere with
other adjacent or neighboring transmission or reception functions of other communications facilities, as
Verizon Wireless will only use frequencies that Verizon Wireless has a license from FCC.
The table below Verizon Wireless frequency licenses per FCC call signs.
Wireless E- 911
Approximately 230,000 Wireless 911 calls are made every day nationwide, and this number continues to
increase. (source: CTIA, the Wireless Association) Wireless E-911 service depends on reliable signal
strength and a fairly dense network of antenna sites in order to function effectively. Because of our federally-
mandated obligation to provide wireless E-911 service, ssignal reliability is paramount. Using multiple
antennas with spatial diversity is an effective way to decrease the number of drop-outs and lost connections
to ensure that coverage in this area is robust and reliable.
service Call Signs Tx (MHz) Rx (MHz)
LTE 700 FDD WQJQ694 746-757 776–787
LTE 850 FDD KNKN359 880-890, 891.5-894
835-845,
846.5-849
LTE AWS FDD
WQVP237, WQGD740, WQGB232
2170-2180, 2110 –
2120, 2120 - 2130
1770-1780,
1710-1720,
1720-1730
NR PCS FDD WQZG682 1950-1960 1870-1880
NR C-Band TDD WRNE696 3700.000-3720.000 3700.000-
3720.000
Page 7 of 7
NR C-Band TDD WRNE697 3720.000-3740.000 3720.000-
3740.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE698 3740.000-3760.000 3740.000-
3760.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE699 3760.000-3780.000 3760.000-
3780.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE700 3780.000-3800.000 3780.000-
3800.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE701 3800.000-3820.000 3800.000-
3820.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE702 3820.000-3840.000 3820.000-
3840.000
NR C-Band TDD WRNE703 3840.000-3860.000 3840.000-
3860.000
Summary:
In summary, the proposed site with antenna tip height of 150’ would help Verizon to fill the coverage gap
and add capacity in the neighborhood. In addition, Verizon has proposed to install a total of (9) antennas
on an existing tower in the area in order to minimize the visual impact of the site.
Sincerely,
Andrew Kim
Andrew Kim
Verizon Wireless
Pacific Northwest
Network Department – Radio Frequency