Cellular network quality improvements for high speed train passengers by on-board amplify-and-forward relays

In this paper, we evaluate the impact of moving cells for various cellular network services and User Equipments (UEs). We conduct measurements and analyze parameters such as RSCP and RSRP, as well as application data rate. Coverage can be significantly improved for High Speed Train (HST) passengers, differently in context of space diversity. The measurements are conducted from December 2015 to April 2016 along railroad from Vienna to Salzburg. We show that there is performance improvement when employing two amplify-and-forward Moving Relay Nodes (MRNs) onboard the HST compared to direct transmission from macro sites. To tackle with high Vehicular Penetration Loss (VPL), unpredictable and unstable throughput, and worst case scenario onboard the HST, we investigate network performance based on descriptive statistics.

[1]  Yiqing Zhou,et al.  Broadband wireless communications on high speed trains , 2011, 2011 20th Annual Wireless and Optical Communications Conference (WOCC).

[2]  Xiaoyu Duan,et al.  Performance Evaluation and Analysis on Group Mobility of Mobile Relay for LTE Advanced System , 2012, 2012 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Fall).

[3]  Janne Kurjenniemi,et al.  Effect of measurement bandwidth to the accuracy of inter-frequency RSRP measurements in LTE , 2008, 2008 IEEE 19th International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications.

[4]  Matti Latva-aho,et al.  A Cooperative Moving Relay Node System Deployment in a High Speed Train , 2013, 2013 IEEE 77th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring).

[5]  Markus Rupp,et al.  Performance of Remote Unit Collaboration Schemes in High Speed Train Scenarios , 2015, 2015 IEEE 82nd Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC2015-Fall).

[6]  Christoph F. Mecklenbräuker,et al.  Performance measurements of multi-hop communications in vehicular ad hoc networks , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC).

[7]  Bo Ai,et al.  Channel Characteristics in High-Speed Railway: A Survey of Channel Propagation Properties , 2015, IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine.

[8]  Ismail Güvenç,et al.  On the deployment of moving networks in ultra-dense urban scenarios , 2014, 1st International Conference on 5G for Ubiquitous Connectivity.

[9]  Tommy Svensson,et al.  The Potential of Moving Relays - A Performance Analysis , 2012, 2012 IEEE 75th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring).

[10]  Luc Martens,et al.  Evaluation of Vehicle Penetration Loss at Wireless Communication Frequencies , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.