ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)

TECHNICAL REPORT
Rail Telecommunications (RT);
Next Generation Communication System;
Radio performance simulations and
evaluations in rail environment;
Part 1: Long Term Evolution (LTE)

2 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)

Reference
RTR/RT-0051
Keywords
FRMCS, LTE, radio, railways, simulation
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ETSI
3 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Contents
Intellectual Property Rights . 5
Foreword . 5
Modal verbs terminology . 5
Executive summary . 5
Introduction . 6
1 Scope . 7
2 References . 7
2.1 Normative references . 7
2.2 Informative references . 7
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations . 8
3.1 Terms . 8
3.2 Symbols . 8
3.3 Abbreviations . 8
4 Assumptions and parameters for simulations and evaluations . 10
4.1 Introduction . 10
4.2 Simulation tools . 10
4.3 Scenarios . 11
4.4 Bandwidth and transmit power . 12
4.4.1 Bandwidths . 12
4.4.1.1 900 MHz band . 12
4.4.1.2 1 900 MHz band . 12
4.4.2 Transmit powers . 13
4.4.2.1 900 MHz band . 13
4.4.2.2 1 900 MHz band . 13
4.5 Antenna diagrams . 14
4.5.1 Antenna diagrams at the base station . 14
4.5.1.1 For 900 MHz band . 14
4.5.1.2 For 1 900 MHz band . 14
4.5.2 Antenna diagrams at the UE . 14
4.6 Radio propagation aspects . 14
4.6.1 Radio propagation model . 14
4.6.2 Conclusion . 16
4.7 Frequency reuse scheme . 16
4.8 Summary . 16
4.9 Outcomes of the simulations . 18
5 Simulation results . 18
5.1 Results set 1 . 18
5.1.1 Description . 18
5.1.2 Specific assumptions and parameters . 20
5.1.2.0 Frequency reuse scheme . 20
5.1.2.1 FDD 900 MHz band . 20
5.1.2.2 TDD 1 900 MHz band. 22
5.1.3 Results . 22
5.1.3.1 Introduction . 22
5.1.3.2 Results for 900 MHz band . 23
5.1.3.2.1 Results at 1,4 MHz - First round . 23
5.1.3.2.2 Results at 1,4 MHz - Second round . 25
5.1.3.2.3 Results at 3 MHz . 27
5.1.3.2.4 Results at 5 MHz . 30
5.1.3.3 Results for 1 900 MHz band . 34
5.1.4 Notes and remarks . 40
5.1.4.1 Notes and remarks on first round of results (900 MHz band) . 40
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4 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
5.1.4.2 Notes and remarks on second round of results (900 MHz band) . 41
5.1.4.3 Notes and remarks for results in 1 900 MHz band . 43
5.2 Results set 2 (900 MHz band) . 43
5.2.1 Description . 43
5.2.1.1 Lab setup high level description . 43
5.2.1.2 Lab setup: 3GPP RF Channel Emulator . 44
5.2.1.3 Lab setup: FRMCS Traffic Generator and Analyser . 45
5.2.2 Specific assumptions and parameters . 45
5.2.3 Results . 45
5.2.4 Notes and remarks . 45
5.3 Results set 3 (900 MHz band) . 45
5.3.1 Description . 45
5.3.2 Specific assumptions and parameters . 46
5.3.2.1 Common assumptions . 46
5.3.2.2 Hilly channel model . 47
5.3.2.3 Rural channel model . 47
5.3.3 Results . 49
5.3.3.1 Hilly channel model . 49
5.3.3.2 Rural channel model . 49
5.3.4 Notes and remarks . 51
6 Results evaluation . 52
6.1 Analysis at 900 MHz . 52
6.1.1 General . 52
6.1.2 Overhead analysis . 52
6.1.2.1 General . 52
6.1.2.2 IP stack, PDCP and RLC overhead . 52
6.1.2.3 Physical layer overhead . 53
6.1.2.4 Link-level comparison . 53
6.1.3 Train speed impact . 54
6.1.4 Neighbouring cells interference impact . 56
6.1.5 HARQ impact estimation . 56
6.1.6 Results comparison and net throughputs at hand-over point . 58
6.2 Analysis at 1 900 MHz . 59
6.2.1 Overhead analysis . 59
6.2.2 Train speed impact . 59
6.2.3 MIMO impact . 60
6.2.4 Net throughput at cell edge . 60
7 Conclusion . 61
Annex A: Theoretical peak throughput for LTE . 63
Annex B: Throughput curves for simulation results set 1 . 64
B.1 First round of simulations (900 MHz) . 64
B.2 Second round of simulations (900 MHz) . 73
Annex C: Data Throughput Measurements for results set 3 . 121
Annex D: Antenna diagrams . 123
Annex E: Propagation models . 128
Annex F: Change history . 129
History . 130

ETSI
5 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Intellectual Property Rights
Essential patents
IPRs essential or potentially essential to normative deliverables may have been declared to ETSI. The information
pertaining to these essential IPRs, if any, is publicly available for ETSI members and non-members, and can be found
in ETSI SR 000 314: "Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Essential, or potentially Essential, IPRs notified to ETSI in
respect of ETSI standards", which is available from the ETSI Secretariat. Latest updates are available on the ETSI Web
server (https://ipr.etsi.org/).
Pursuant to the ETSI IPR Policy, no investigation, including IPR searches, has been carried out by ETSI. No guarantee
can be given as to the existence of other IPRs not referenced in ETSI SR 000 314 (or the updates on the ETSI Web
server) which are, or may be, or may become, essential to the present document.
Trademarks
The present document may include trademarks and/or tradenames which are asserted and/or registered by their owners.
ETSI claims no ownership of these except for any which are indicated as being the property of ETSI, and conveys no
right to use or reproduce any trademark and/or tradename. Mention of those trademarks in the present document does
not constitute an endorsement by ETSI of products, services or organizations associated with those trademarks.
Foreword
This Technical Report (TR) has been produced by ETSI Technical Committee Railway Telecommunications (RT).
The present document is part 1 of a multi-part deliverable covering radio performance simulations and evaluations in
rail environment, as identified below:
Part 1: "Long Term Evolution (LTE)";
Part 2: "New Radio (NR)".
Modal verbs terminology
In the present document "should", "should not", "may", "need not", "will", "will not", "can" and "cannot" are to be
interpreted as described in clause 3.2 of the ETSI Drafting Rules (Verbal forms for the expression of provisions).
"must" and "must not" are NOT allowed in ETSI deliverables except when used in direct citation.
Executive summary
In order to assess 3GPP LTE radio performance in a rail environment, three scenarios have been defined: Rural, Hilly
and Urban, representing various radio conditions typical to rail environment. Each scenario has been defined with its
radio parameters, load condition and train speeds.
UIC and E-UIC spectrum bands have been assumed, with bandwidth of 1,4 MHz, 3 MHz and 5 MHz, corresponding to
possible deployments with LTE and GSM-R co-existence and deployment with a standalone LTE.
Three different studies are described. One is based on simulation with a software chain tool using a Monte-Carlo
statistical approach, including multiple cells in a linear deployment along the track. The two others are based on
laboratory radio test bench, featuring hardware communication devices and wireless channel emulators, but not taking
into account multiple cells interferences.
The present document includes results from software chain tool study and from one of the two laboratory radio test
bench study.
The impact of using a TDD mode in other frequency bands will need to be added to the present document.
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6 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Introduction
3GPP LTE radio access is one candidate for the radio access technology to be used for the Future Rail Mobile
Communications System (FRMCS). In the present document, the term FRMCS refers -unless stated otherwise- to the
radio part of the communication system.
Radio performance evaluation of an LTE system could be done by simulation, through software and processing
resources only, or through a test bench incorporating pieces of equipment emulating parts of the chain, e.g. the RF. In
both cases, it is important to align the parameters and the assumptions made in the simulation and in the evaluation
chain to be able to reflect better a deployment in a rail environment, and to better compare and understand the
simulation and the evaluation results.
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7 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
1 Scope
The present document:
• Defines the simulation parameters relevant to rail environment relating to 3GPP LTE radio performance. This
includes in particular operating frequency bands, bandwidths, deployment scenario (inter-site distance), and
antenna characteristics, transmit powers and channel models, along with relevant metrics to be evaluated.
• Collects and analyse the simulation results of an LTE system in the rail environment operating in the 900 MHz
frequency band (UIC and E-UIC bands).
• Collects and analyse the simulation results of an LTE system in the rail environment operating in a 1 900 MHz
frequency band.
• Identifies limitations of an LTE system in the rail environment.
2 References
2.1 Normative references
Normative references are not applicable in the present document.
2.2 Informative references
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the
user with regard to a particular subject area.
[i.1] ETSI TS 145 005 (V14.4.0) (04-2018): "Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+)
(GSM); GSM/EDGE Radio transmission and reception (3GPP TS 45.005 version 14.4.0
Release 14)".
[i.2] ETSI TS 136 104 (V14.7.0) (04-2018): "LTE; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-
UTRA); Base Station (BS) radio transmission and reception (3GPP TS 36.104 version 14.7.0
Release 14)".
[i.3] ETSI TS 136 101 (V14.7.0) (04-2018): "LTE; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-
UTRA); User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception (3GPP TS 36.101 version 14.7.0
Release 14)".
[i.4] Recommendation ITU-R M.2135-1 (12-2009): "Guidelines for evaluation of radio interface
technologies for IMT advanced".
[i.5] IST-4-027756 Winner II D1.1.2 V1.2 Winner II Part I: "Channel Models", European Commission,
Deliverable IST-WINNER D.
[i.6] Ikuno, J. Colom, Martin Wrulich, and Markus Rupp.: "Performance and modelling of LTE H-
ARQ." Proc. International ITG Workshop on Smart Antennas (WSA 2009), Berlin, Germany,
2009.
[i.7] ETSI TS 136 211 (V14.6.0) (04-2018): "LTE; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
(E-UTRA); Physical channels and modulation (3GPP TS 36.211 version 14.6.0 Release 14)".
ETSI
8 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
[i.8] Recommendation ITU-R M.1225 (1997): "Guidelines for evaluation of radio transmission
technologies for IMT-2000".
[i.9] European Integrated Railway Radio Enhanced Network System Requirements Specification, UIC
CODE 951, GSM-R Operators Group, December 2015.
[i.10] ETSI TR 145 050 (V15.0.0) (07-2018): "Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+)
(GSM); GSM/EDGE Background for Radio Frequency (RF) requirements (3GPP TR 45.050
version 15.0.0 Release 15)".
[i.11] Kapsch CarrierCom: "Power limitations in the extension part of the ER-GSM band", Contribution
to CEPT FM56(17)047, December 2017.
NOTE: Available at https://cept.org/Documents/fm-56/39947/fm56-17-047_power-limitations-in-the-extension-
part-of-the-er-gsm-band.
[i.12] Loïc Brunel, Hervé Bonneville, Akl Charaf and Émilie Masson: "System-Level Evaluation of
th
Next-Generation Radio Communication System for Train Operation Services", Proceedings of 7
Transport Research Arena TRA 2018, April 16-19, 2018.
[i.13] ECC PT1(19)131: "FRMCS deployment parameters to be used in SE7 studies".
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations
3.1 Terms
Void.
3.2 Symbols
For the purposes of the present document, the following symbols apply:
λ wavelength
3.3 Abbreviations
For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:
ACS Adjacent Channel Selectivity
AMC Adaptive Modulation and Coding
AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise
BS Base Station
BTS Base Transceiver Station
BW BandWidth
CDF Cumulative Distribution Function
CDL Clustered Delay Line
CoMP Coordinated Multi Point
COST Cooperation of Scientific and Technical
CP Cyclic Prefix
DL Down Link
ECC European electronic Communications Committee
EIRENE European Integrated Railway radio Enhanced Network
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power
eNB evolved Node B
ETU Extended Typical Urban model
E-UTRA Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
FDD Frequency Division Duplex
FEC Forward Error Correction
FRMCS Future Rail Mobile Communications System
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9 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
FSTD Frequency Switched Transmit Diversity
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
GSM-R Global System for Mobile communication for Railway application
HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat-Request
HO Hand Over
HST High Speed Train
ICIC Inter-Cell Interference Coordination
IMT International Mobile Telecommunications
IP Internet Protocol
ISD Inter Site Distance
ISI Inter-Symbol Interference
ITU-R International Telecommunication Union - Radio communication sector
LOS Line Of Sight
LTE Long Term Evolution
MAC Media Access Control
MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme
MIMO Multiple Input, Multiple Output
MISO Multiple Input, Single Output
MOS Mean Opinion Score
MRS Mobile Relay Station
NLOS Non Line Of Sight
NR New Radio
OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel
PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDP Power Delay Profile
PER Packet Error Rate
PHY PHYsical layer
PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel
QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QCI QoS Class Identifier
RB Resource Block
REC Railways Emergency Call
RF Radio Frequency
RLC Radio Link Control
RT Rail Telecommunications
SFBC Space-Frequency Block Coding
SGW Serving Gateway
SIMO Single Input, Multiple Output
SINR Signal to Interference-plus-Noise Ratio
SISO Single Input, Single Output
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SRS System Requirement Specification
SSF Special Sub-Frame
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TDD Time Duplex Division
TRX Transmitter/Rreceiver
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UE User Equipment
UIC Union Internationale des Chemins de fer
UL Up Link
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
USB Universal Serial Bus
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10 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
4 Assumptions and parameters for simulations and
evaluations
4.1 Introduction
In the scope of the present document, the following points are addressed:
• Simulations take into account railway specifics.
• Simulations are flexible in order to simulate different system configurations, parameter settings and scenarios.
• Consideration of different carrier band-widths (at least 1,4 MHz, 3 MHz and 5 MHz for 900 MHz band,
10 MHz for 1 900 MHz band).
• Consideration of TDD (for 1 900 MHz band) and FDD (for 900 MHz band) duplex modes.
• Consideration of different subscriber and train densities and distributions.
• Consideration of FRMCS system parameters (e.g. Cyclic Prefix).
• Different power classes of FRMCS equipment.
• Different antenna radiation patterns and tilts.
• SISO, SIMO, MISO und MIMO.
• Different installation heights of antennas.
• Different distances and densities of fixed transmitter equipment (eNB).
• Different specified and appropriate coding and modulation schemes.
• Different 3GPP Releases (e.g. LTE: ≥ 13) to take into account new features, e.g. performance improvements
for high speed.
4.2 Simulation tools
Software simulations are made at radio level, i.e. above the physical layer as depicted in Figure 1. Overhead like pilots
and cyclic prefixes are taken in to account, but not the overhead that are added by layers above PHY, in particular
PDCP and IP headers.
Other simulations, e.g. hardware simulations and laboratory tests, could have a reference point at application level.
ETSI
11 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
UE
Hardware simulation and laboratory test
reference point
Application Application
Upper Core Network
BS
layers
PDCP PDCP
RLC RLC
MAC MAC
Software simulation
reference point
PHY PHY
RF RF
Figure 1: Reference point for the software simulations
4.3 Scenarios
The objective is to define the minimum number of scenarios which cover the majority of the radio environment.
Three scenarios have been retained: Urban, Rural, and Hilly. Urban is relative to areas where train density is high, but
move at moderate speed. Rural scenario typically intends to model high speed lines. Hilly scenario intends to handle
more complex situations from radio propagation point of view, with in particular extensive multi-path propagation.
Tunnels are complex scenarios, since they depend widely on tunnel shape and tunnel/train relative geometry. They are
not considered in the present document as they would require a more long and thorough work.
Only train-ground communications are considered in the present document. Handset or shunting area scenarios are for
further study.
Whether it is possible to have several antennas on trains roof tops and what could be their characteristic needs further
discussions.
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12 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
4.4 Bandwidth and transmit power
4.4.1 Bandwidths
4.4.1.1 900 MHz band
The band is operated in FDD. Three scenarios are considered on bandwidths of 1,4 MHz, 3 MHz and 5 MHz in the UIC
and E-UIC bands, as depicted in Figure 2:
1) Scenario 1 considers GSM-R in UIC band as per today, with the addition of a 1,4 MHz LTE carrier in the
upper part of E-UIC band. This scenario corresponds to a migration phase, with co-existence of both GSM-R
and LTE systems.
2) Scenario 2 is an extension of scenario 1 with an LTE carrier extended to 3 MHz in the E-UIC band.
3) Scenario 3 assumes a deployment with no GSM-Rand one LTE 5 MHz carrier in UIC band, overlapping the
E-UIC band.
E-UIC band UIC band
DL
918 919.4 920.9 921 925
(MHz)
Scenario 1: Co-existence with GSM-R
LTE 1.4 MHz GSM-R
UL
873 874.4 875.9 876 880
(MHz)
DL
918 921 925
(MHz)
Scenario 2: Co-existence with GSM-R
LTE 3 MHz
GSM-R
and extented LTE carrier
UL
873 876 880
(MHz)
DL
918 920 925
(MHz)
LTE 5 MHz Scenario 3: Overlapping LTE carrier
UL
873 875 880
(MHz)
Figure 2: Carriers and bandwidths in the deployment scenarios considered
4.4.1.2 1 900 MHz band
The band is operated in TDD, with 10 MHz channel bandwidth within 1 900 MHz - 1 910 MHz frequency range.
In LTE Release 8, seven TDD configurations are specified (Table 1). Two of them are selected for the study:
• Configuration 1: providing 4 uplink subframes, 4 downlink subframes and two special subframes. This
configuration is designated as 50 %/50 % (UL, DL).
• Configuration 0: providing 6 uplink subframes, 2 downlink subframes and two special subframes. This
configuration is designated as 75 %/25 % (UL, DL).
The above percentage are just an indication while actual percentages of UL, DL depend on the special subframe
configuration and the associated overhead (see clause 6.2.2).
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13 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Table 1: UL/DL frame configuration in LTE Rel.8 [i.7]
Subframe number Number of subframes / frame
Downlink to uplink
3GPP
Configurati
relea switch point
on
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DL U SS
se periodicity (ms)
L F
8 5 D S U U U D S U U U 2 6 2
1 8 5 D S U U D D S U U D 4 4 2

2 8 5 D S U D D D S U D D 6 2 2

3 8 10 D S U U U D D D D D 6 3 1

4 8 10 D S U U D D D D D D 7 2 1

5 8 10 D S U D D D D D D D 8 1 1

6 8 5 D S U U U D S U U D 3 5 2

Dynamic TDD extensions introduced in later LTE releases are not considered.
However, the commercial availability of LTE chipsets with support of configuration 0 could be limited, due for
example of lack of conformance testing.
4.4.2 Transmit powers
4.4.2.1 900 MHz band
Transmit power in the E-UIC band is subject to limitations in case of FRMCS system deployment uncoordinated with
commercial systems operating in neighbouring bands.
The method to compute the maximum transmit power derives the impact from the adjacent channel selectivity related
specifications (wideband blocking and narrow band blocking), takes into account applicable effects (0,8 dB
desensitization, slope of the filtering, etc.) as well as corrections resulting from spurious emissions from base station
transmission and from UE. Power limitations and ACS (Adjacent Channel Selectivity) have been found as not relevant
for the present document.
Summary of the acceptable maximum transmit power of a FRMCS system in case of uncoordinated deployment is
shown in Table 2.
Table 2: FRMCS acceptable transmitted power at eNB connector taking into account
impact of BS Tx spurious emissions and Noise Rise from UE
FRMCS 1,4 MHz channel centre frequency (MHz) 918,7 920,3
Multi- Multi-
Standard under consideration in adjacent bands UMTS LTE UMTS LTE
Standard Standard
FRMCS acceptable Tx power (dBm) 24,2 22,2 22,2 48,8 45,8 48,8

In coordinated scenario, the maximum transmit power at 918,7 MHz can be the same than at 920,3 MHz.
More detailed information can be found in [i.11].
4.4.2.2 1 900 MHz band
Conversely to 900 MHz band, where the transmit power limitation is defined at the base station antenna connector,
transmit power limitation in the 1 900 MHz band is defined through base station EIRP.
BTS EIRP 1 900 MHz: 40 dBm and 63 dBm (incl. feeder losses and antenna gain).
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14 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
4.5 Antenna diagrams
4.5.1 Antenna diagrams at the base station
4.5.1.1 For 900 MHz band
Different types of antennas are deployed depending on the area. For the study, two different antennas are selected: One
with a horizontal beam angle of 65°, devoted to Non Line Of Sight (NLOS) situations - typically hilly terrains and
urban areas, and one more directive, with a horizontal beam angle of 30°, more suited to Line Of Sight (LOS) situations
- typically rural areas.
Antenna characteristics are summarized in Table 3 and an extended description is provided in annex D.
Table 3: Summary of base station antenna patterns
Horizontal Pattern Vertical Pattern Gain Polarization Usage
65° 7° 18 dB ±45° NLOS
30° 8,5° 20,5 dB ±45° LOS/NLOS

4.5.1.2 For 1 900 MHz band
Table 4
Horizontal Pattern Vertical Pattern Gain Polarization Usage
65° 11° 15,8 dB ±45° LOS/NLOS
In document ECC PT1(19)131 "FRMCS deployment parameters to be used in SE7 studies" [i.13], common
assumptions for FRMCS have been provided such as BS antenna gain (18 dB peak gain) as well as half-power beam
width in azimuth (65°) and elevation (8,5°) planes. Compared to 1 900 MHz antenna parameters used in this study, peak
gain is not the same (15,8 dBi vs 18 dBi). However, this has no impact on cell edge link budget since EIRP output
power includes by definition the peak antenna gain. The slight difference of the elevation half-power beam width (11°
vs 8,5°) has a minor impact on the spatial distribution of signal power and can be neglected.
4.5.2 Antenna diagrams at the UE
The on-board antenna is considered as being omnidirectional with vertical polarization in case of one mounted antenna,
and with vertical polarization and a separation > 10 λ in case of two mounted antennas.
It is assumed that the UE antenna gain at low angles of elevation compensates the feeder loss.
4.6 Radio propagation aspects
4.6.1 Radio propagation model
It is beneficial that simulations be based on railway specific time-variant channel impulse responses of the radio
channel in order to take into account multi-path radio propagation and Doppler-effects.
Four families of standards have been considered:
1) Okumura-Hata, Cost 207-GSM, COST 231 models and GSM specified models (see ETSI TR 145 050 [i.10]).
2) ITU-R 1997 for IMT 2000 (see Recommendation ITU-R M.1225 [i.8]) and LTE specified scenarios (see ETSI
TS 136 104 [i.2] and ETSI TS 136 101 [i.3]).
3) ITU-R for IMT advanced (see Recommendation ITU-R M.2135-1 [i.4]).
4) Winner II (see [i.5]).
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15 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Recent propagation models and multipath profiles have been aimed at being used for wireless systems with a small or
medium range. This is coherent since 3G and 4G standards have been developed for capacity rather than for coverage.
Early defined models such as COST 207 or 231 were derived at a time when coverage was the main priority rather than
high speed operation which is of particular significance within the scope of the present document.
Most relevant parameters in rail environment are then:
• Frequency range.
• Delays in Cluster Delay Line models.
• Geometry, most of models are considering 1,5 m for handheld User Equipment.
• Inter Site Distances (ISD).
• LOS scenarios are using Ricean factor with high domination of the direct path.
Characteristics of models are summarized in the following Table 5, discrepancies are in bold.
Table 5: Summary of model characteristics
Railway Okumura-Hata, ITU-R ITU-R IMT Winner II
current COST 207- IMT 2000 advanced
GSM COST 231
Propagation Frequency Band 8 150 to 2 000 MHz Rural: 450 MHz Rural: 2 GHz to
aspects range (900 MHz) 1 500 MHz to 6 GHz 6 GHz
Max = 1 732 m
Inter Site Up to 12 km Range up to 20 km for Rural MRS 1 to 2 km
Distance 100 km (RMa) 20 km for Rural
(see note 1) (see note 1)
Path LOS, Ricean Ricean Factor ETU has no LOS, LOS,
= 0 dB air direct path, HST Ricean factor Ricean factor
clearance < 3 dB
has only direct = 6 dB = 6 dB
path
Delayed paths Up to 20 µs HTx: up to Max delay Max delay Max delay
20 µs = 5 µs = 0,22 µs (not < 0,5 µs (not in
in line with line with 20 km
20 km ISD) ISD)
Train speed 360 km/h, Max = Max = 350 km/h Max = 350 km/h Max = 350 km/h
projection to 250 km/h in with double
R 1, no double
500 km/h Doppler
Doppler
Geometry Base Station 10 to 45 m 30 to 200 m Δhb = 0 to Up to 35 m 20 to 70 m
Antenna
50 m, i.e. up to
Height 46 m for 4 m
train antenna
height
(see note 2)
Train Antenna 4 m to 4,5 m 1 to 10 m 1,5 m 1,5 m/2,5 m

Height
NOTE 1: Delays are shorter than what can be expected with such ISD.
NOTE 2: Δhb is the height difference between base station and train antennas.

Table 6: Main characteristics of Railway context
Indeed, propagation Frequency range Band 8 (900 MHz)
and geometry
Inter Site Distance Up to 12 km
parameters that are
Path clearance LOS, Ricean < 3 dB
deemed particularly
Delayed paths Up to 20 µs
relevant for Railways
are summarized
Train speed 360 km/h, projection 500 km/h
belowin Table 6.
Propagation aspects
Base Station Antenna Height 10 m to 45 m
Geometry
Train Antenna Height 4 m to 4,5 m

ETSI
16 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
The Ricean factor taken here corresponds to worst case scenario. In actual deployments, higher values could be
encountered, leading to more favourable channel conditions.
4.6.2 Conclusion
Okumura-Hata models and COST 207-GSM COST 231 family (see ETSI TR 145 050 [i.10]) are taken as the basis.
4.7 Frequency reuse scheme
In LTE radio, the frequency band is split in Resource Blocks (RBs) which can be allocated individually to UEs by the
base station scheduler for each frame. All LTE cells may operate on the same frequency band; however, to mitigate
interference from neighbouring LTE cells, one technique is to coordinate RB allocations among cells. One possible
coordination scheme is fractional frequency reuse, which consists for example in allocating different RBs among two
neighbouring cells to cell edge UEs, while still allocating all the RBs (at a reduced power) for cell centre UEs (see
Figure 3). This can be seen as a frequency reuse factor 1 for cell centre UEs, and a frequency reuse factor > 1 (equal
to 2 in Figure 3 example) for cell edge UEs. Hence, not all RBs are allocated to cell edge UEs, but this is compensated
by a better SINR for those blocks.

Figure 3: Example of fractional frequency reuse for rail deployment
Results should indicate which kind of Fractional Frequency Reuse techniques is used.
4.8 Summary
Table 7 sums up all the parameters.
Table 7: Summary of evaluation parameters
Environment/scenario Rural/Urban
Railway shape and LOS/NLOS propagation Rural:
Straight: LOS
Curves: NLOS
(2 separate sets of results)
Hilly:
NLOS only
Urban:
NLOS only
Carrier Frequency (DL/UL) (MHz) 875,2/920,2 (for 1,4 MHz bandwidth)
874,5/919,5 (for 3 MHz bandwidth)
877,5/922,5 (for 5 MHz bandwidth)
1 905 (TDD)
Bandwidth (MHz) 900 MHz
1,4 (mandatory)
3 (optional)
5 (optional)
1 900 MHz
10 MHz
ETSI
17 ETSI TR 103 554-1 V1.3.1 (2020-10)
Environment/scenario Rural/Urban
Inter-site distance (ISD) (km) Rural: (900 MHz) 8
Rural (1 900 MHz): 8, 6 and 4
Urban (900 MHz and 1 900 MHz): 2 and 4
BS antenna height (m) 900 MHz
18 (urban) - 30 or 40 (rural)
1 900 MHz
20 (urban) - 35 (rural)
Train antenna height (m) 4,5 or 4
Tower to track distance (m) 15
Neighbour cells load Rural: 4 trains (2 in each direction)
High speed: 2 trains (1 in each direction)
Urban:
• 6 trains (3 in each direction)
• 4 trains (2 in each direction)
See note 1
Train speeds (km/h) Urban: 80
Rural: 350
Hilly: 160
DL max power (dBm) In UIC-band:
46 before feeder (output of the BTS)
3 dB feeder loss
In E-UIC band (see clause 4.4.2)
46 (output of the BTS)
3 dB feeder loss
In 1 900 MHz band
40 EIRP
63 EIRP
UL max Power (dBm) 23
See note 2
UL Power Control For instance: Open loop full compensation to be mentioned along with the
results
Channel Estimation For instance: Real channel estimation Time interpolation - to be mentioned
along with
...