Performance evaluation of LTE and UMTS cellular networks in Iraq with multiple terrains

Abstract

Cellular network planning is an essential stage that precedes implementation phase. The planning performance is widely dependent on the terrestrial features of the environment where a network is planned to be implemented in. This work involves the cellular planning of three networks applied in two cities, namely Baghdad and Shaqlawa, with different terrains. Two networks are planned in a flat terrain (Baghdad city) using universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) and long term evolution (LTE) technologies and one network is designed in a hilly terrain (Shaqlawa city) utilizing UMTS technology. In this study, several calculation themes are applied to evaluate the performance of the proposed planning such as coverage, power level, carrier to interference ratio, best server and elevation calculations. Also, some clients and points are positioned across networks to measure power levels, interference and coverage at different locations more precisely. The measurements show that the UMTS networks cover an area of 63.62 km2 compared with 81 km2 coverage area in the LTE network with different quality of service graduating from quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM16) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) to voice services. In addition, comparisons between the networks are discussed and enhancement suggestions are presented in this paper.