Analysis of the Effect of Multiband Sector Antenna Tilting Changes on LTE Network… (Rahman Azis) Analysis of The Effect of Multiband Sector Antenna Tilting Changes on LTE Network Quality at Site XL Sungai Bundung Mempawah

ABSTRACT


INTRODUCTION
The development of telecommunications technology is growing rapidly towards the trend of network convergence technology.This has resulted in a variety of requests for services that are currently not only text or voice services, but have penetrated into data, video, and multimedia package services.Therefore, telecommunications operators in Indonesia must already provide good LTE signal coverage or coverage.If not, then the strong receive signal will fall and result in the quality of service provided to be not optimal such as slow data transfer speeds or difficulty making calls.[1] West Kalimantan is one of the regions that has limitations in equitable distribution of telecommunications networks with several existing providers.According to the head of the West Kalimantan communication and information agency (Diskominfo), West Kalimantan province still needs to accelerate the improvement of internet networks in the region to support the advancement and utilization of technology.There are 140 villages in West Kalimantan that still do not have internet access or commonly known as blank spots.Thus, the use of digital services in West Kalimantan, especially the 3T (Frontier, Remote and Disadvantaged) areas is still very limited and there needs to be preventive action from the government.
Based on existing facts, the lack of equity in service quality is caused by several factors that exist in the transmission of BTS antennas, making the signal quality decrease in RSRP and SINR values for LTE networks that have not been maximally given to mobile stations.One of the factors and causes of decreasing signal levels and signal quality in an area is tilting and overload in signal usage.As a result of the tilt of the antenna angle that is less than maximum and overload in use can cause a decrease in the quality of LTE signal services to mobile stations and make many customers or users experience problems with difficulty getting a good signal and network speed when downloading and uploading data and accessing an internet.One area that is still experiencing problems with lack of network speed and good signal service quality is the Bundung Laut River area, Mempawah Regency, precisely in the Tujuh Hundred Hamlet.
To optimize an LTE signal transmission in the Bundung Laut River area, precisely in the Seven Hundred Hamlet, measurements are needed by means of physical tuning of sectoral antennas and optimizing the level of LTE signal quality in the area.Measurements in Physical Tuning are carried out by adjusting the angle of the degree of the sectoral antenna (tilting) using a measuring instrument in the form of an angelmeter.After measuring and changing the angular tilt of the sectoral antenna, an optimization is carried out by means of a drive test to check the signal quality level on the Mobile station service with a route determined by the provider.The results of the optimization will later be analyzed based on the strong level of RSRP and SINR signals adjusted to the Key Peformance Indicator (KPI) parameters of the XL provider.So it will be known which routes experience good signal quality and poor signal quality in the area.[2]

METHODS AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS 2.1 Tilting Antenna
Antenna tilting is an antenna tilt setting that serves to determine the area that will receive signal coverage.To change the coverage area served by BTS can be done with tilting techniques, namely filtering / changing antennas carried out to adjust the coverage of the antenna.Tilting itself is divided into 3 types, namely mechanical tilting, electrical tilting and azimuth.[1], [2]

Sectoral Antenna
Sectoral antenna such as Omnidirectional Antennas have vertical polarization and are designed for use at base stations (BTS) where Access Points are located.In contrast to omnidirectional antennas that can provide service in a 360-degree range.Sectoral antennas usually have a gain between 10-19 dBi, and are excellent for servicing in areas within a range of 6-8 km.[3] In sectoral antennas, there are two ways of applying pointing, namely the application of antennas by downtilt and uptilt.In this study, tilting antenna applications were carried out downtilite.[1], [4] This application is done to gain objective area benefits in each sector and to reduce interference to an antenna.There are 3 ways to apply downtilt antennas to sectoral antennas, including:

Mechanical Downtilt
Mechanical Dowtilt is a change in the tilting antenna by changing the tilt angle located on the clamp antenna.The greater the degree of mechanical downtilt, the coverage on the main lobe decreases while on the side lobe will widen.[3], [15]

Electrical Downtilt
Electrical tilt is a change in the polarization form of an antenna that is adjusted electronically.Electrical tilt changes the signal phase characteristics of each antenna element.The greater the electrical value, the smaller the coverage provided.Not all types of antennas can change their electrical tilt value, some are fixed to 0 or 2 values.[3], [5], [14]

Azimuth
Azimuth is the direction of the antenna that is arranged horizontally by changing the position of the clamp (antenna clamp) connected to the foot of the tower.The antenna shift limit is usually 5 -100 degrees.Direction instructions so that the direction of the antenna is in accordance with the planning site using a tool in the form of a compass.The north direction is the reference point for determining the position of 0 degrees.[3], [14]

Calculating the Transmit Distance That an Antenna Can Travel
To calculate the transmit distance on the antenna, the following equation can be used: Beam

Network Performance Standards
Network performance standards or commonly referred to as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) used in this study are KPIs from XL providers.The standard targets of XL provider KPIs are shown in the following table.[1], [13] Table 1.Network Performance Standards

RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power)
Reference Signal Received Power isan LTE power signal received by the user in a certain frequency.The longer the distance between the site and the user, the smaller the RSRP received by the user.RS is a Reference Signal or RSRP at each coverage point.Users who are out of range will not get LTE service.The RSRP unit is dBm.A dBm unit is a unit of signal strength or transmit power.The dBm unit is the logarithmic value of the milliwatt unit that indicates the size of power.A small transmit power is a negative number.

SINR (Signal to Interference Noise Ratio)
Signal to Interference Noise Ratio is the ratio between the main signal emitted with interference and noise that arises (mixed with the main signal).The unit of SINR is dB.The dB unit is a unit that describes a ratio between two quantities on a logatirra scale.A logarithmic unit is used to describe a ratio.The ratio can be power, voltage, current, and sound intensity.In the calculation of dB, the gain / gain of a signal is marked with a positive sign (+) and the weakening / loss is marked with a negative (-). [5], [7], [9]

Drive test
Drive test is a communication system measurement process to collect data or information in real time in the field about the quality of the BTS signal, from the direction of the transmitter / BTS to the mobile phone (MS) or vice versa using a mobile phone that already has special features for this measurement.The drive test process is usually carried out in a mobile manner (mobile) using a car.Or in other words, it can be said that the drive test is a process of measuring the condition of a telecommunications operator network so that the results can be known the quality of the network.[8], [11], [12]

Research Methodology
The research method carried out to optimize antenna beams to service users is the Tilting method.To realize this method, measurements are made before and after tilting.In addition to the tilting method, the research method used is literature study and field observation, namely the field study method which begins with a literature study to obtain supporting theories and acts as a reference in finding theoretical approaches sourced from handbooks, and browsing the internet, then researchers go directly to the field to obtain data for analysis.
Field data collection is carried out by surveying the location of BTS to obtain data base sites, sectoral antenna types used to practice changes in sectoral antenna physical tunning according to XL tilt provider parameters, namely Azimuth tilt changes on BTS LTE_SUNGAI BUNDUNG_SITE ID 411569E then testing signal strength through a drive test assisted using Phu Smart software with the triple mode idle method and then analyzed using software Genex Assistant 6.4 to get network quality or signal strength levels in the area, by referring to the standardization of signal strength levels for 4G (LTE) networks, namely RSRP and SINR.

Research Procedure
In this study, the first thing to do is to prepare the necessary equipment at the time of tilting the antenna: 1. Angelmeters are used to measure the value of the tilt angle on sectoral antennas.
2. The wrench of its use is to open and tighten bolts on sectoral antennas.
3. The Roll Meter is used to find out the azimuth point of the sectoral antenna that you want to point at the user.4. Sunnto's compass is used to find out the azimuth point of the sectoral antenna that you want to point at the user 5. Sony K800 camera is used to document views on the antenna sector before and after tilting 6. Etrex 10 A tool that functions to find out the coordinates of the site you want to observe.
The second thing that must be done is to prepare the necessary materials at the time of optimization by means of a drivetest: 1. Mobile or commonly called UE (User Equipment) with the Huawei brand that has the PHU Smart application installed and is used for drive test tools.2. Gnet Track Application that serves to determine the serving identity on the sector antenna.3. Asus Gforce Laptop Serves to process drivetest result data using Genex Assistant 6.4 software 4. Speedtest An application that serves to test the speed and performance of internet connections, both cellular and WiFi.
5. Atoll 3.4 Software that simulates changes in physical tuning on sectoral antennas.

Data Retrieval
The test steps to be performed on data retrieval can be described as follows:

Performing Mechanical Tiliting Changes
1. See the degree of tilt of the antenna using a suunto tool 2. Loosen the vector bolt on the antenna 3. Loosen the antenna retaining iron 4. Change antenna tilt 5. Look at the degree of inclination of the antenna, adjust it to the desired degree 6. Tighten the antenna retaining iron 7. Tighten antenna vector bolts

Making Electrical Tilting Changes
1.The support bolts of the element rods are loosened, the supports are held so that they do not fall.2. Lower the stem of the element according to the desired degree of inclination.

Performing Drivetest Preparation Stages
This drive test data collection was carried out on January 11, 2023 at the Bundung Laut River BTS, Sungai Kunyit District, Mempawah Regency, Seven Hundred Hamlet.There are two ways to retrieve drive test data, namely mobility and static.Mobility is a drive test process that is carried out by moving along each drive test route according to the direction of the antenna signal beam using a vehicle to measure signal coverage and parameter values.While static is a drive test process that is carried out silently in a place or location point that has the best parameter value to get the best drive test results.Here are the drive test work steps carried out using PHU Smart.
1. Open the PHU Smart application then log in using an account that already has PHU Smart login access.2. After logging in, the task menu page will appear.Then select the task to be done.3. Then a map display will appear for drive test mobility.4.After that, select the Lock menu to set the Radio Access Technology (RAT) mode to 4G Only.Then select the band and enter the EARFCN according to the band which is 1800 MHz or the band 900 MHz. 5.Return to the mobility map and select the Driver Test Assisstant (DTA) menu or testplan needed to record the desired measurement data.The testplan is idle with lock band mode &; unlock band mode, and FTP Download with lock band mode.6.After selecting the testplan, press the start button and select ok.Then the drive test mobility process will be recorded by PHU Smart.During the recording process, it will be visible on the map the points that will appear following the route being passed.In addition, the application can display a graph of download throughput when the FTPDL testplan is running.7. Press stop to end the measurement process and the PHU Smart application will automatically deviate all recorded data into a Log File.8.After finishing doing mobility.Specify the location point with the RSRP parameter value, and the SINR is best for all three PCI sectors 144, 145 &; 146.Select ping testplan to retrieve static data.Use a third-party application called Speedtest to test Throughput and ping.

9.
Open Genex Assisstant, select Logfile Manager then enter the previously extracted log file.Click OK.

Recording of Results
In the record of the results of this study, changes in the value of the antenna angle persek torbefore and after tilting were obtained and knowing the results of data taken during the drive test which were processed and analyzed in order to improve the quality of the 4G signal at the site.This is because the population is so dense in the area that it causes overload in the use of signals andcauses the potential for badspots in the Bundung River area of the sea, precisely in Dusun.700.The results of the drive test will be analyzed based on the results of the SINR and RSRP parameters.From the results of the analysis will know the area on the site experiencing good or bad signals.If the signal is bad and badspot in the area, tilting planning and optimization must be carried out to improve the quality of the 4G LTE signal and network speed in the area.If the signal results are good, there is no need for tilting planning.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Gothrough various stages ranging from data retrieval with the drive test method, analyzing drive test results, formulating optimization by reorienting the antenna, formulating optimization.Obtained the results of changes in antenna tilting as below.

Analysis of 4G LTE Signal Quality Tilting Results
The following shows the table of Physical Tunning of Sectoral Antennas before and after changes to the Bundung Laut River BTS:   Furthermore, to find out the results of changes after physical tuning, an average accumulated comparison of the overall results of RSRP and SINR signal strength levels in each L900 MHz band and L1800 MHz band with the number of sample points in each parameter is obtained as shown in the table below.

CONCLUSION
Physical Tunning Sectoral Antenna BTS Bundung Laut River in sector 1 changes are made by mechanical downtilt, which changes the polarization of the antenna to uptilt, from these changes the antenna beam can cover the badspot area, on the antenna sector 1 leads to forests and hills which makes the results of the antenna beam not lead to the user.After the physical tuning change in sector 1 azimuth which was changed led to the residential area as desired.For sector 2 antenna, it shows changes after physical tuning, the direction of the mechanical downtilt angle is changed because in the previous antenna beam the direction of the beam was still incorrect, which made some areas still experience badspots.After physical tuning changes, several locations have reduced badspots, so that users who use XL providers can experience a better and optimal increase in network services than before.Then on the sector 3 antenna, physical tuning changes are made using the electrical tilt method, which changes the phase characteristics of the signal on an antenna, the greater the electrical value, the smaller the coverage produced by the antenna.In this case the electrical tilt is changed resulting in the area covered slightly smaller, so that the network services provided are more focused and cause the results of access speed on a service used by the user will be much better.
Drive Test BTS Bundung Laut River On the 900 MHz Band known that there was an increase in the RSRP value in accordance with the KPI that must be achieved, that the average RSRP value after the physical tuning change has increased by 3.05% so that the results can be said to be very good.And there was an increase in the value of SINR in accordance with the KPI that must be achieved, that the average SINR value after the physical tuning change has increased by 5.73% so that the results can be said to be very good.And On the 1800 MHz band known that there was an increase in the RSRP value in the RSRP parameter -105 to 0 dBm, that there was an increase of 9.23% in the RSRP value in the RSRP parameter of -85 to 0 dBm, so that the network quality in the Bundung Laut River BTS site area became better after physical tuning changes were made with an increase of 0.75%.And there was an increase in the SINR value in the SINR parameters 3 to 30, that there was an increase of 1.61% in the SINR value in the SINR parameter 10 to 30, so that after physical tuning changes were made with an increase of 1.02%.

Figure 1
Figure 1 Research Flow of Chart

Table 2 .
Comparison of antenna data sektor 1

Table 3 .
Comparison of antenna data sektor 2

Table 4 .
Comparison of sector antenna data 3

Table 5 .
RSRP L900 value drive test after optimization results

Table 6 .
Value of SINR L900 drive test result after optimization

Table 7 .
RSRP L1800 value drive test after optimization results

Table 8 .
Value of SINR L1800 drive test result after optimization