Impact of Some Atmospheric Parameters on GSM Signals

Abstract

xlevel of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) signals is affected by the dynamics of the troposphere through which it propagates. Adequate knowledge of the prevailing atmospheric propagation conditions in an environment is essential for optimal terrestrial network planning. To investigate the effect of variation in atmospheric parameters on GSM signals, measurements were carried out in a location at a fixed distance from a selected base transceiver station (BTS). Nineteen months (June 2014 – December 2015) atmospheric data of temperature, pressure, relative humidity and dew point were acquired from the NECOP weather station at the Bosso Campus of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. Concurrently, the RxLevel of MTN Network was measured at 300 m from a BTS using a spectrum analyzer (SPECTRAN HF 6065) connected to a laptop loaded with Aarisona data logging software. Results of this study show that surface atmospheric temperature has positive correlation values ranging from 0.57 to 0.88 with RxLevel of GSM signals while relative humidity has negative correlation values ranging from -0.57 to -0.89 with the signal level. Atmospheric pressure showed no consistent relationship with GSM RxLevel variation, while dew point showed strong positive correlation of 63% with GSM RxLevel variation.