Microwave Radio for Next Generation Networks Training Course

About the Training Course

Microwave radio is a key technology required for backhauling next generation networks such as LTE and WiMax yet system design methods are often outdated, with the design rules adapted from the old analogue systems, without understanding the impact on deployment costs or performance degradation. This course will bring you up to date on the latest standards and design methodologies using real-world examples, in real networks, by someone who understands both the management and engineering constraints.

All delegates will receive a free copy of Trevor Manning's book "Microwave Radio Transmission Design Guide" (Artech House)

Who is this training course for?

• Anyone involved in Wireless networks in Cellular operators, utilities or service companies
• Transmission Link designers
• Planning engineers
• Installation and Commissioning engineers
• Maintenance personnel
• Radio department Managers

Training Course Content

Day 1

• Introduction to Microwave
• History of wireless telecoms and wireless standards
• Fundamentals of microwave
• The electromagnetic and RF spectrum
• RF transmission safety issues
• Transmission Options (cable, fibre, satellite, wireless (PP, PMP, unlicenced))
• Benefits of microwave especially for cellular backhaul
• Link Planning
• Link design considerations from UHF to mm Wave
• Path planning and path profiles
• Active and Passive repeaters
• Issues around site acquisition and site planning
• Frequency bands and their effect on link plans
• Establishing line of sight in practise
• Site and path surveys
• Microwave propagation and fading effects
• The affect of the atmosphere on radio transmission
• Huygens principle and Fresnel Zones
• Diffraction loss and clearance over obstacles
• Research data on refraction effects in a network and its impact on radio system design
• Radio refractivity and refractive index gradient
• Understanding what k-factor really means
• Understanding the effects of reflection and how to minimise their impact
• Fading Effects
• Diffraction fading and setting antenna heights using new rules
• Multipath fading
• Flat and selective fading and their countermeasures
• Blackout fading and ducting
• Handling reflections especially over water
• Rain fading

Day 2

• Antennas
• Microwave Antennas and what a high performance antenna really is
• Antenna characteristics and types
• Defining the near field and its effect on antenna gain
• Practical advice for planning, installing and maintaining antennas
• Cabling and waveguides
• Grounding rules for protecting against lightning
• Frequency and Channel planning
• Causes of interference
• Spectrum allocation and channel plans
• Standards bodies and frequency regulation
• Understanding nodal and overshoot interference
• High-low site planning
• How to improve your network performance through understanding frequency planning issues
• Equipment Characteristics
• Transmitter and receiver characteristics
• System components of a radio transceiver
• Digital Modulation schemes and bandwidth efficiency
• Multiplexing standards including PDH, SDH and synchronisation issues
• How voice is carried on a digital radio link
• Important Ethernet considerations in a modern radio
• Radio characteristics to handle the backhaul bandwidth crunch
• Key radio features (adaptive modulation and equalisation, FEC, XPIC, ATPC)
• Protection schemes such as hot standby, frequency and space diversity
• Link Design and reliability Standards
• The latest reliability standards and radio system design implications
• Understanding the difference between availability and performance
• The impact of the standards on different frequency bands and link lengths
• Path, equipment and network reliability issues

Day 3

• Tutorial Workshop
• Link Design addressing multipath and rain fading
• Back to back antenna case study
• Co channel and adjacent channel interference calculations
• How to design an entire route on 1 frequency pair
• Path clearance problems including handling trees and wind turbines
• Applying new design rules to dramatically impact tower height requirements
• Maintenance issues and how to diagnose quality problems
• Design differences between long haul and short haul applications
• Designing the radio system to achieve the required network availability (eg 99.999%?)

About the Lecturer

Trevor Manning
Trevor Manning has had the rare opportunity to see all the facets of designing and operating a microwave radio network. Having worked as both an operator and supplier (radio manufacturer) and having been personally involved in a major radio network expansion project, which he was then responsible for maintaining, he understands the technical and commercial challenges to designing, building and operating the network.
His experience includes the original business case justifications, the site selection and acquisition challenges, system design aspects, installation and commissioning, integration and synchronisation challenges, quality monitoring and finally maintenance and trouble shooting. Using the insights from his more recent career in senior management, he approaches the engineering issues from the perspective of minimising CAPEX and OPEX while maximising system performance.

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