Solution
Indoor measurements and DAS acceptance testing
Position each measurement on the floor plan and verify the acceptance criteria: level, quality, dominance, uplink.
Challenges
Technical challenges
Most mobile traffic is carried inside buildings. A DAS or small cell is accepted against precise criteria: level and quality per zone, dominance of the indoor cell over the surrounding macro cells, controlled leakage to the outside, a healthy uplink. Without GPS, each measurement must be positioned on the floor plan.
Challenge 01
Positioning without GPS
Position is entered on the floor plan, waypoint by waypoint: accuracy depends on preparation and on a steady walking pace.
Challenge 02
Dominance at the façade
On high floors, neighboring macro cells enter through façades in line of sight: the indoor cell must dominate by several decibels to keep a usable SINR.
Challenge 03
Uplink
A shared DAS can generate passive intermodulation (PIM): the device compensates by raising its transmit power and uplink throughput collapses, while downlink coverage appears good.
Results
Benefits for RF engineering teams
- 01Acceptance criteria verified against measurements
- 02Critical areas located on the floor plan
- 03Documented acceptance, comparable from one visit to the next