Determination of GSM Signal Loss in Multi-Partitioned Buildings

Radio frequency radiations from GSM base transceiver stations (BTS) experience certain amount of loss. These losses can be attributed to two principal factors, the height of the building and the penetrating material of buildings which was revealed in the literature. In this work, measurements were carried out to determine the signal loss in multi-partitioned buildings in Port Harcourt city. The study was carried out using radio frequency (RF) signal tracker application software installed in a Samsung smart phone. The measurements were carried out on four different buildings made with different partitioning materials namely glass, wood, concrete and bricks on GSM networks (MTN, GLO, AIRTEL and ETISALAT). The results showed that the concrete material had the highest signal penetration loss with an average value of 4.29dB seconded by bricks, then glass and wood with an average signal loss of 3.47dB, 3.15dB and 2.06dB respectively. The path loss prediction for each of the buildings and materials considered was also studied and calculated using Log-normal model with concrete partition having the highest predicted path loss of 103.89(dB), followed by bricks with 83.90(dB), glass with 67.35(dB) and wood with 53.15(dB). Comparing the average signal loss over the building distances and the path loss, it was observed that there was a significant relationship.