LTE in high capacity locations: A case study of Lerkendal Stadium Einar Flobak Master of Science in Communication Technology Submission date: January 2018 Supervisor: Yuming Jiang, IIK Co-supervisor: Bjarte Kvarme, Telenor Norge Norwegian University of Science and Technology Department of Information Security and Communication Technology Title: LTE in high capacity locations: A case study of Lerkendal Stadium Student: Einar Flobak Problem description: For large happenings like football matches and concerts Telenor Norge is normally adding extra capacity in the mobile network to secure a good customer experience. The demand for mobile data is expected to keep on growing, so how should Telenor build and invest in the mobile network to handle these high capacity events in the future? This thesis focus on the LTE network and the network installations by Telenor Norge at high capacity locations. The student will conduct research based on data provided by Telenor Norge in order to identify success factors in LTE network installations. With the LTE network installation at Lerkendal Stadium as a starting point, measurements and traffic data will be analyzed and compared towards the similar installation at Ullevål Stadium. By using historic data and forecasts for future traffic growth this thesis aim to provide feedback on how to build the LTE installations of tomorrow. Background information and history will be presented to gain a better understanding of the behaviour of the technology. Methods for measuring signal strength and noise as well traffic data analysis tools will be elaborated. Finally, a set of criteria will be established for evaluating the performance of a base station, in order to design the most efficient LTE network installation. Furthermore, determine the profitability of investing in multiple base stations versus using a single base station at a location. Responsible professor: Yuming Jiang, ITEM Supervisor: Bjarte Kvarme, Telenor Norge Abstract As the demand for mobile data is expected to keep on growing, the mobile network needs constant development. So, how should Telenor Norway build and invest in the mobile network in order to handle high capacity events in the future? As the frequency spectrum available for mobile data traffic is limited, we need to find the most efficient way of using it. By using new frequency efficient technologies and innovative solutions for the radio interface, the mobile network capacity can be increased. For high capacity locations as concert arenas, stadiums and such, the challenge is providing tightly gathered devices with sufficient capacity without causing interference. The LTE network installation at Lerkendal Stadium, Norway, is the starting point for this thesis. By comparing this to other high capacity locations with a LTE installation by Telenor Norway, this thesis identifies success factors in the LTE installations. Furthermore, by considering historic data and forecasts for future traffic growth provided by Telenor Norway, this thesis aims to provide feedback on how to build the LTE installations of tomorrow. Sammendrag Ettersom etterspørsel og krav til hastighet på mobildata stadig øker, må mobilnettverket utvikles raskt for å imøtekomme dette. Så, hvor- dan skal Telenor Norge bygge og investere i mobilnettverket for å takle fremtidens krav til kapasitet? Ettersom de tilgjengelige frekvensene for mobilnettverk er begrenset, må man finne den beste måten å utnytte dem på. Ved å benytte frekvenseffektiv teknologi i kombinasjon med innovative løsninger i radiogrensesnittet kan man øke kapasiteten i mobilnettverket. På steder med krav om høy kapasitet, slik som konsertarenaer og stadioner, er det viktigste å dele inn brukerne i sektorer uten å skape høy interferens. LTE-nettverksinstallasjonen på Lerkendal stadion, i Trondheim, bru- kes som utgangspunkt for denne oppgaven. Ved å sammenlikne denne med andre LTE-installasjoner av Telenor Norge på steder med høyt ka- pasitetsbehov, vil man i dette prosjektet finne suksessfaktorene som får et mobildatanettverkt til å operere effektivt. Videre, ved å ta i betraktning historisk trafikkdata og antatt vekst for framtiden, samlet fra installasjonene som inngår i denne oppgaven, kommer man frem til forslag til hvordan morgendagens mobilnettverk kan bygges. Preface This paper is the final product of the research conducted during the work on my Master’s Thesis in the subject TTM4905, carried out during the autumn of 2017. The Master’s Thesis is the final assignment of my five year degree to become a Master of Science in Communication Technology with specialization in Information Security. The project is the continuation of preparatory work carried out in the spring of 2017 and involves a case study of Lerkendal Stadium. The work has been conducted in collaboration with Telenor Norway and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). As an employee of Telenor since 2015 I would like to thank the Company for all opportunities and trust on my way to completing my master’s degree. Many people have been involved in revising the different chapters and have given invaluable suggestions on content, style and grammar. I would especially like to thank Bjarte Kvarme, supervisor at Telenor, Yuming Jiang responsible professor at NTNU and Muhammad Hussain network planner at Telenor. Einar Flobak Contents List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii List of Acronyms xvii 1 Introduction1 1.1 Introduction to Telenor ......................... 1 1.2 History of Lerkendal Stadium...................... 2 1.3 Scope ................................... 3 1.4 Ambitions and Goals........................... 3 1.5 Related Work............................... 3 1.5.1 QoS performance of LTE networks with network coding... 3 2 Theory5 2.1 LTE Architecture............................. 5 2.1.1 The Evolution Towards 4G................... 5 2.1.2 Components in the Evolved Packet System.......... 6 2.2 LTE Access Network........................... 8 2.2.1 Evolved Node B ......................... 8 2.2.2 Channel Capacity ........................ 9 2.2.3 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access........ 9 2.2.4 LTE Physical Layer ....................... 11 2.2.5 Antenna.............................. 11 2.2.6 Multi-Antenna Techniques.................... 12 2.2.7 Carrier Aggregation ....................... 12 2.2.8 Modulation Techniques ..................... 12 2.3 LTE Quality of Service.......................... 13 2.3.1 Channel Quality Indicator.................... 13 2.3.2 Distribution and Use of Frequency Bands........... 14 2.4 Radio Planning.............................. 15 2.4.1 Antenna Selection ........................ 15 vii 2.4.2 Antenna Placement ....................... 16 2.4.3 Total Capacity.......................... 16 2.4.4 Link Budget ........................... 17 2.4.5 Interference and Overlap..................... 18 2.4.6 Outer Interference ........................ 18 3 Method 19 3.1 Methodology ............................... 19 3.2 Traffic Data Gathering and Analysis.................. 19 3.3 Selection of High Capacity Locations.................. 20 3.4 Uncertainties ............................... 20 4 High Capacity Locations 21 4.1 Overview ................................. 21 4.1.1 LTE Installations......................... 21 4.1.2 Antennas ............................. 22 4.1.3 Frequency Spectrum....................... 22 4.2 Lerkendal Stadium............................ 23 4.3 Ullevål Stadium.............................. 25 4.4 Vålerenga Stadium............................ 26 4.5 Brann Stadium.............................. 27 4.6 Oslo Spektrum .............................. 28 5 Measurements 29 5.1 Lerkendal Stadium 01.10.17....................... 29 5.2 Brann Stadium 29.09.17......................... 32 5.3 Vålerenga Stadium 24.09.17....................... 35 5.4 Ullevål Stadium 03.12.17......................... 37 5.5 Oslo Spektrum 04.10.17 ......................... 40 6 Findings 45 6.1 Current Installations........................... 45 6.1.1 Lerkendal Stadium and Ullevål Stadium............ 45 6.1.2 CQI Measurements........................ 47 6.1.3 Load Balancing.......................... 48 6.1.4 Evaluation of Base Stations................... 49 6.2 Future Installations............................ 50 6.2.1 Today............................... 50 6.2.2 Forecasting Future Demand................... 51 6.2.3 Future LTE Installations .................... 52 6.2.4 UMTS to LTE .......................... 55 7 Conclusion 57 7.1 Success Factors.............................. 57 7.2 Recommendations ............................ 58 References 61 Appendices A Kathrein 80010621 V01 63 B Kathrein 80010681 67 C Commscope CNLPX3055F 71 List of Figures 1.1 Old Telenor logo............................... 1 1.2 Current Telenor logo............................. 2 1.3 Aerial view of Lerkendal Stadium...................... 2 2.1 Technologies and domains.......................... 6 2.2 LTE High Level Architecture........................ 6 2.3 The Evolved Packet System......................... 7 2.4 Multiple Access methods [Siv]........................ 10 2.5 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access [Siv] .......... 10 2.6 QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM ........................ 13 2.7 Shannon theoretical channel capacity vs. LTE [Øs11]........... 13 2.8 Iterations of Active Antenna Systems [Øs11]................ 16 4.1 Antenna placement at Lerkendal Stadium [Moh15]............ 23 4.2 Antenna mounting angle at Lerkendal Stadium [Moh15]......... 24 4.3 Coverage area of antennas at Lerkendal Stadium............