Improved Propagation Models for LTE Path Loss Prediction in Urban & Suburban Ghana

To maximize the benefits of LTE cellular networks, careful and proper planning is needed. This requires the use of accurate propagation models to quantify the path loss required for base station deployment. Deployed LTE networks in Ghana can barely meet the desired 100Mbps throughput leading to customer dissatisfaction. Network operators rely on transmission planning tools designed for generalized environments that come with already embedded propagation models suited to other environments. A challenge therefore to Ghanaian transmission Network planners will be choosing an accurate and precise propagation model that best suits the Ghanaian environment. Given this, extensive LTE path loss measurements at 800MHz and 2600MHz were taken in selected urban and suburban environments in Ghana and compared with 6 commonly used propagation models. Improved versions of the Ericson, SUI, and ECC-33 developed in this study predict more precisely the path loss in Ghanaian environments compared with commonly used propagation models