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Programme London Underground Commercial Telecommunications
Project Public Cellular Network Feasibility Study
Document Reference D-CEL1560
Version 1.8
Title Waterloo & City Cellular Network Trial Report
Signature Date
Prepared By: Robert Ivers
RF Consultant
Peer Review By: Anthony Hickey
Radio Engineering Lead
Approved By: John Lichnerowicz
Design Group Lead
Reviewed By: James Batchelor
London Underground Lead Engineer
Sponsor: Matthew Griffin
Head of Telecoms (Commercial Development)
Summary: This document provides an overview of the Public Cellular Network 4G/LTE trial
carried out on the London Underground Waterloo and City line. This testing involved the
Waterloo & Bank stations and the connecting tunnels. This testing was supported by Thales,
Huawei, Telefonica O2, Vodafone, TfL (LU) Engineering, Public Cellular Project team and
the TfL Emergency Services Network Project Team (including Fujitsu Services and
Installation Technology).
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Table of Contents
1. Document Control .......................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Document Control / Change History ........................................................................ 3
1.2. Document References ............................................................................................ 3
1.3. Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................. 3
2. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6
2.1. Background............................................................................................................. 6
2.2. Trial equipment ....................................................................................................... 7
2.3. MNO Engagement ................................................................................................ 11
2.4. MNO Integration works ......................................................................................... 11
2.5. Installation of Trial Infrastructure ........................................................................... 12
2.6. Objectives of Trial ................................................................................................. 13
2.7. Testing Methodology ............................................................................................. 13
3. Test Results ................................................................................................................. 14
3.1. Station Areas ........................................................................................................ 15
3.2. Tunnel Areas ........................................................................................................ 17
3.3. Full End to End Testing ......................................................................................... 20
4. Conclusions and Lessons Learnt ................................................................................. 22
5. Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 24
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1. Document Control
1.1. Document Control / Change History Versio
n
Checked by Date Comment Editor
0.A 06/11/17 First draft Robert Ivers
0.1 08/11/17 Initial Structure Proposed Robert Ivers
0.2 John Lichnerowicz 08/11/17 Initial internal review Robert Ivers
0.3 08/11/17 Updated Content Robert Ivers
0.4 Robert Ivers 09/11/17 Updated Content Anthony Hickey
0.5 Robert Ivers 10/11/17 Updated Content Fujitsu Team
1.0 Anthony Hickey 13/11/17 Internal Review Robert Ivers
1.1 John Lichnerowicz 13/11/17 Updated Content Robert Ivers
1.2 John Lichnerowicz 14/11/17 Formatted Robert Ivers
1.3 Robert Ivers 14/11/17 Updated Content Kenny Foster
1.4 John Lichnerowicz 16/11/17 Updated Formatting Robert Ivers
1.5 John Lichnerowicz 16/11/17 Updated Formatting Robert Ivers
1.6 Robert Ivers 19/11/17 Updated content and conclusions John Lichnerowicz
1.7 Robert Ivers 23/11/17 Updated Content John Lichnerowicz
1.2. Document References D-CEL1520 High-Level Design version 1.01
D-CEL1533 ESN Waterloo & City Trial Test Plan v1.0
D-CEL1557 O2 W&C Executive Report v2.0
D-CEL1558 Vodafone W&C Executive Report v1.5
D-CEL1559 W&C Trial Results - Existing CONNECT Leaky Feeder 800Mhz v2.0
1.3. Acronyms and Abbreviations
Term or
Acronym Definition
3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
4G Fourth Generation
ADAS Active Distributed Antenna System
ALU Airwave on London Underground
BBU Baseband Unit
BH Busy Hour
bps Bits per Second
BTS Base Transceiver Station
BW Bandwidth
CBC Cross-Band Coupler
CQI Channel Quality Indicator
CW Continuous Wave (i.e. constant power and amplitude)
DAS Distributed Antenna System
dB Decibel - logarithmic unit used to express the ratio of
two values of a physical quantity
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DL Downlink
DTF Distance to Fault
EM Electro-Magnetic
eNodeB Evolved Node B
EPC Evolved Packet Core
ESMCP Emergency Services Mobile Communications
Programme
ESN Emergency Services Network
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GPS Global Positioning System
HP High Power
km/h Kilometres per Hour
ICNIRP International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation
Protection
ICT Information and Communication Technology
ITT Invitation to Tender
LAN Local Area Network
Leaky Feeder
A coaxial cable run along tunnels which emits and
receives radio waves, functioning as an extended
antenna. The cable is "leaky" in that it has gaps or slots
in its outer conductor to allow the radio signal to leak into
or out of the cable along its entire length (definition
courtesy Wikipedia)
LFEPA London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
LP Low Power
LTE Long Term Evolution Radio Technology
LU London Underground
NH4E Neutral Host for ESN
m Metre
Mbps Megabits Per Second
MHz Mega-Hertz
MIMO Multiple Input, Multiple Output
MM Multi-Mode
MNO Mobile Network Operator
PDSCH Packet Downlink Shared Channel
PFI Private Finance Initiative
PIM Passive Intermodulation
PTP Precision Time Protocol
PUSCH Packet Uplink Shared Channel
PCN Public Cellular Network
RF Radio Frequency
RSRP Reference Signal Received Power
RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality
RRU Remote Radio Unit
S1 Interface between eNodeB and EPC (MME & S_GW)
SISO Single Input, Single Output
SM Single-Mode
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
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SyncE Synchronous Ethernet
TETRA Terrestrial Trunked Radio used by London Underground
and Airwave
TfL Transport for London
UE User Equipment
UL Uplink
UK United Kingdom
UTP Unshielded Twisted Pairs
VoLTE Voice over LTE
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
WAT Waterloo
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2. Introduction
The Mayor’s Transport Strategy states that ‘The Mayor, through TfL and the boroughs, and
working with other transport operators, will improve customer service across the transport
system with a focus on…making the most of new technology and innovations in customer
service, including provision of mobile phone access underground.’
Improved connectivity in London will have far reaching implications. As well as delivering a
new revenue stream to support the transport service, we can improve the lives of Londoners,
create digital inclusion, change the way transport is used and delivered, support wider
revenue generation and provide countless new opportunities for the technology sector. To
meet the Mayor’s vision for London connectivity, cellular coverage was trialled on the
Waterloo and City line, during summer 2017.
This document describes the testing of 4G/LTE services on the Waterloo and City Line at the
800MHz, 1800MHz & 2100MHz Bands in tunnels, and 1800MHz, 2100MHz & 2600MHz
Bands in the two stations at Waterloo and Bank. Testing was performed in conjunction with
Telefonica O2 and Vodafone, as part of the Waterloo and City Line PCN Project trial.
Tunnels were tested using Huawei High Power Remote Radio Units on CommScope Leaky
Feeder in one half of the tunnel and RFS Leaky Feeder in the other half. Both SISO and
MIMO modes were tested and the cables were newly installed for the trial.
The existing RFS Leaky Feeder, installed in the 2000s for the Operational Radio
Infrastructure, was also tested but at 800MHz only which is close to the upper design
frequency limit for this cable.
Station areas were covered using Huawei’s Lampsite 2.0 solution augmented by Huawei
BTS3911b eNodeB Small Cells in the long connecting corridor at Waterloo.
2.1. Background The objectives for the trial are discussed later in the report. The impetus for the trial was the
need to confirm the results of various design calculations and modelling tools used to predict
the RF performance in the London Underground environment for the Home Office
replacement of the Emergency Services Airwave Network; TfL believing it prudent to obtain
real performance measurements in actual tunnels and stations at all frequencies used by the
MNOs currently.
By resurrecting an earlier test plan proposed by the project team but not actioned, it proved
possible to carry out the trial covering all MNO frequency bands in a short timescale and to
realise objectives other than purely RF performance.
For example, numerous PIM tests were undertaken to confirm, as far as possible, that there
would be no interference with the normal operation of the Tube System by any frequency
band used by any of the MNOs.
All four MNOs were enthusiastic and supportive of the objectives of the trial and Vodafone
and Telefonica O2 actively participated in the trial. It was agreed with the MNOs that TfL
would publish the results of the trial.
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2.2. Trial equipment It was known at this point that the trial architecture was not suitable for creating an ESN
design capable of being enhanced, at a later date, to provide a full PCN service. The primary
intention of the trial was to test Radio Frequency performance in the London Underground
environment and not to select a vendor for deployment as this is the subject of a separate
project and procurement.
The Huawei equipment used also proved capable of meeting LU’s fire materials and EMC
standards.
The Waterloo and City line was selected for the trial as being typical of the construction of
the Tube System. Indeed, the remains of one of the Greathead tunnelling shields from the
original construction works can be seen built into one of the connecting tunnels used by
passengers.
The Waterloo and City Line was opened in 1898 to transport people from Waterloo directly
into the City’s financial district without the disruption that would have ensued and the high
cost of procuring a route had the company attempted to extend the railway above ground
from Waterloo. It was the second underground railway to be built in London and was
transferred to London Underground almost a century after it opened.
The line comprises just Waterloo and Bank stations linked by 2.1 km of dual bore tunnel.
Extended engineering hours at weekends allow testing to take place over fewer nights than
would be the case with other tube lines.
The trial network architecture deployed on the Waterloo and City Line is illustrated in the
three diagrams following this page.
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All equipment was tested to ensure that it complied with London Underground’s stringent
Category 1 standards for Electro-Magnetic Compatibility and fire materials compliance. The
trial was closely monitored to ensure that there was no risk of interference with the correct
operation of the railway. PIM studies were undertaken for all radio, Wi-Fi and Signalling
Systems in use on London Underground. The evidence collected during the trial will be used
to support the case to TfL (LU) Heads of Discipline that 4G / LTE can be deployed within
London Underground subject to any further testing required to check compatibility with
operational equipment unique to a particular Underground Line..
2.3. MNO Engagement The Commercial Development team met with all four UK MNOs to discuss the PCN project
and proposed trial. All MNOs were offered the opportunity to take part in the trial stage. All
MNOs expressed interest in the trial and its results.
It was agreed that the 800MHz, 2100MHz & 2600MHz spectrum would be used when testing
with Vodafone, and to use the 800MHz and 1800MHz spectrum when testing with Telefonica
O2. The Vodafone 800MHz spectrum was also used for the testing of the existing Leaky
Feeder installed some years ago.
The BTS3911b eNodeB small cell testing used the Telefonica O2 1800MHz spectrum.
2.4. MNO Integration works Vodafone has an existing working relationship with Huawei and decided to use its standard
Macro cell design and rollout procedure. This eliminated the need to use the Huawei U2000
management system installed for the trial. It was agreed for the trial that Vodafone would
configure the Trial equipment with no hands-on assistance from the Test Team as
connection was to Vodafone’s live core network.
A BT backhaul circuit was installed at Waterloo, and Vodafone provided a Cisco ASR901
router to connect to the trial network from their live EPC. Timing for the BBUs RRUs and
Lampsite was delivered via the BT circuit using SyncE.
The BTS3911b small cells were not included in the Vodafone trial because they were
deployed over the station’s Ethernet LAN and it was not possible to extend SyncE timing
over the network switches incorporated in the station LAN element of the backhaul network.
(Lampsite and the RRUs use CPRI in the fronthaul which transports the required timing from
the BBUs).
Telefonica O2 elected to use the TfL trial equipment in its entirety. A BT backhaul circuit
was installed at Waterloo to connect between a Fujitsu Cisco ASR901 router on the trial
network, including the U2000, and Telefonica O2’s test EPC. Telefonica O2 provided the
configuration (VLAN’s and routing information) to Fujitsu to configure connectivity between
the trial network the EPC in their test bed. A Huawei IP Clock Server, synchronised with
GPS, was used to provide PTP timing for the BBUs, Lampsite and Small Cells. The use of
PTP enabled Small Cells to be included in the trial as it was possible to carry this timing
protocol, across the TfL LAN routers and switches, something which was not possible with
SyncE.
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2.5. Installation of Trial Infrastructure The U2000 management system was installed at Albany House. Apart from the data circuit
provisions by the telecommunication providers, all other active and passive equipment
installation was undertaken by the PCN project team. It was necessary to have staff
experienced with and licensed to work in the LU environment.
For the Leaky Feeder provision, a new bespoke cable management system was installed in
the eastbound Waterloo & City line tunnel, where a total of 2,936 new brackets were
required. Extensive gauge clearance survey works preceded the installation with constant
rechecking throughout the works until completion. This gauging ensured cables were
installed in the optimum position without infringing on the train’s kinetic envelope, further
ensuring that the new installation did not affect the trains service or any other services
running through the tunnels.
The installation of the Leaky Feeder cables proved challenging as the overall diameter of the
cable exceeds 50mm and the cable is rather inflexible as a result.
The method chosen to deliver the cable to site was on 3m diameter drums positioned on
cable trailers just outside the station entrances. Traffic management measures were
implemented to protect pedestrians and motorists from the works. The cables were
deployed through the station by hand to the eastbound track on the Waterloo & City Line.
Two parallel cables were installed per shift in 550m lengths, each dressed into the previously
installed route in a MIMO configuration. CommScope Leaky Feeder was run in one half of
the tunnel and RFS Leaky Feeder in the other half.
The Installation had to be completed within engineering hours; between the last train passing
through to the depot and both stations closing at night and ensuring the station and track
were clear before the station re-opened to the public on the following morning. The timing of
the installation process was crucial as it is not possible to partly install a cable and leave it
lying around in the tunnel until the next engineering shift.
Hand-pulling the Leaky Feeder through the station proved to be a fast, safe and an effective
way of installing an entire 550m length of Leaky Feeder cable in a single shift without
requiring the support of an Engineer’s Train.
Selecting locations for the installation of the High Power Leaky Feeder amplifiers (RRUs)
was similarly challenging, constrained as the team was by space availability and a maximum
distance of 40 metres from amplifier to Leaky Feeder to avoid affecting performance and
Link Budget calculations.
Under the previous 2012 Public Wi-Fi project, two CAT5e UTP cables were installed for
each Access Point deployed on stations in accordance with structured cabling good practice.
This second spare UTP cable was pressed into service for Waterloo and Bank stations to
connect to the Lampsite low power radio heads and BTS3911b Small Cells thus reducing
the cost of the trial.
There was however no way of avoiding the need to install single mode fibre optic cable and
power to the Leaky Feeder amplifiers (RRUs).
Some of the cable management system and mounting frames for the RRUs were
manufactured off site. This allowed for a more efficient use of the limited time on site.
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2.6. Objectives of Trial The following objectives were key reasons behind performing the trial.
To demonstrate that the MNO spectrum when used in the LU environment would not interfere with any existing services in the stations or tunnel areas.
To obtain real world results for 4G / LTE performance in the London Underground environment. To confirm prediction models and link budgets are accurate for both station and tunnel areas.
To compare and test the differently polarised, newly installed Leaky Feeder solutions from CommScope and RFS.
To test the existing Operational Radio Services Leaky Feeder’s ability to support 4G/LTE at 800MHz and compare performance against the newly installed Leaky Feeder cable types.
To demonstrate successful handover between the station Lampsite and the tunnel Leaky Feeders by testers equipped with handsets (UEs) walking through one station starting at the ticket concourse down to platform level then transferring to a motorised track trolley for the journey to the second station for the walk up to the ticket concourse.
To establish the installation and commissioning procedures and processes required to interface with the MNOs, TfL (LU) Engineering, Operations and the Project Team.
To demonstrate that Small Cells with dedicated S1s (i.e. eNodeB) can be used as an alternative where space or location inhibits the use of a DAS solution.
To demonstrate if the Rhode & Schwarz ZVH8 cable tester can be used as an effective method for assuring Leaky Feeder installations including location of faults.
2.7. Testing Methodology Data was collected using Anite Walker Air software and six Samsung S7 UEs. The UEs
were housed in a backpack and controlled by a master unit tablet. The UEs used MNO
provided SIMs which could connect to the MNOs EPC (Evolved Packet Core). Testing was
performed with either the UEs locked to specified Bands, or with the UEs open, i.e. not
locked to a Band. This test equipment measured and recorded several important mobile
characteristics. These include RSRP and PDSCH throughput – the results of which are
included within this report. Tunnel testing was performed using a track trolley travelling at a
constant speed, this ensured mid-tunnel locations could be calculated with certainty.
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3. Test Results
Over a period of three weeks testing was conducted using Vodafone and then Telefonica O2
spectrum in the station and tunnels areas associated with the Waterloo & City line. At all
stages of testing when a new frequency was introduced to either the stations or tunnel
areas, both the Thales and LFEPA systems were monitored for any negative impact. At no
point during testing was an issue on the existing systems detected.
Testing was broken into three streams, station system testing, tunnel system testing and full
solution end-to-end testing. Additional testing which will assist with design work going
forward was also performed such as MIMO and SISO benchmarking for the tunnels and
2600MHz testing in the stations.
The results presented here are for the MIMO configuration of the new CommScope and RFS
cables and SISO for the existing Operational Radio Services cable.
Tests were either in idle mode or active mode. For active mode we performed downlink and
uplink FTP sessions. The FTP server used was an Amazon Web Server running an Ubuntu
operating system using Filezilla FTP Server software, located in the London eu-west-2a data
centre. VoLTE calls were performed at all stages of testing. The UEs used for all VoLTE
calls were provided by the MNOs and were not equipped with software which would have
enabled VoLTE call statistics to be presented to supplement the FTP testing and in fact
these call statistics were not required by the test plan.
However, it is worth noting that the first VoLTE call from a London Underground Tunnel was
made in the Westbound tunnel of the Waterloo & City line via a Vodafone signal and the
existing Leaky Feeder used by the Operational Radio Services.
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3.1. Station Areas Below we show the idle mode RSRP signal strength coverage levels collected at the Bank Ticket area. Initial planning and selection of
locations for Lampsite was performed using iBwave. The plots below are from iBwave and Anite software. Anite shows pin point results which
were collected during a walk test, whilst iBwave is a full floor plot, both plots are of the same floor plan. When we compare iBwave plots with
the collected data we observe a good correlation. Based on these results we would not need to alter the Lampsite locations.
Collected Data:
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Predicted Data:
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3.2. Tunnel Areas Below we show a graph of the idle mode RSRP signal strength collected from travelling the entire length of the tunnel in a motorised track
trolley at 12kph. The results below are the raw measurements collected during a trolley trip in the tunnel, further processed results are also
shown on following graphs. When we compare the actual data with our link budgets we see a good correlation.
BANK
RRU
WAT RRU RFS Leaky Feeder CommScope Leaky Feeder
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The data collected from testing confirmed the manufactures technical specifications. Below we show the post processed data of both solutions
at 800MHz. This analysis was performed at all frequencies and when compared with the link budget calculations a good correlation was
observed. Based on these results both solutions would give contiguous coverage above the design target in the Waterloo & City tunnels.
However, at 800MHz which is of most interest to TfL, we predict the CommScope cable would show an advantage in longer tunnel sections.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
-140
-135
-130
-125
-120
-115
-110
-105
-100
-95
-90
-85
-80
-75
-70
-65
-60
-55
-50
-45
-40
13161 13261 13361 13461 13561 13661
Distance from Bank headwall [m]
RSR
P [d
Bm
]
Time after midnight [s]
RSRP Collection Under 1-5/ 8" RFS(left - Bank) and Commscope (right - WAT) 800 MHz/ EARFCN
6400
RSRP_800_PCI_497_RFS
RSRP_800_PCI_495_Comm
PCI_497_RFS_800_AVG
PCI_495_Comm_800_AVG
PCI_497_RFS_95%
PCI_495_Comm_95%
Min RSRP O/D 800
Min RSRP I/D 800
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Testing of the existing CONNECT RFS leaky feeder at 800MHz indicated that for tunnels of less than 1.5km reuse of the cable could be a
potential option. The graph below shows the processed results.
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3.3. Full End to End Testing To demonstrate the mobility of the entire solution, a full end-to-end test was performed. Travelling from the macro layer to the Waterloo
Lampsite then via the tunnel to the Bank Lampsite and out onto the macro layer. The graph below shows the downlink FTP session for the test.
Note that two UEs were used for this testing. The session is successfully retained throughout the entire end-to-end test. However, some dips in
the throughput are observed at the handover areas. This is due to using default parameter settings which had no optimisation work done to
tune the settings, which is required when introducing new cells into an existing network. With some minor tweaking of parameters and more
traffic between the handover layers which helps build the ANR (Automatic Neighbour Relations) we would see an improvement in the
performance at these handover areas.
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WAT Station Tunnel section BANK Station
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4. Conclusions and Lessons Learnt All Test objectives were met:
It was confirmed via PIM calculations and on-site monitoring during testing in engineering hours, that there was no interference from the trial equipment with any existing services in the Waterloo & City Line stations or tunnel areas on any of the MNO frequencies tested.
The real-world results for 4G / LTE performance in the London Underground environment showed a good correlation with the Project Team’s calculations; its High-Level Design calculations are neither unduly optimistic nor pessimistic. In particular Link Budgets were confirmed as being accurate for both station and tunnel areas.
When tested the differently polarised, newly installed Leaky Feeder solutions from CommScope and RFS each showed a good match to their published specifications suggesting that each cable was optimised for different frequency bands. The RFS solution appeared to perform better than CommScope at 1800MHz, for example, with CommScope appearing to have the edge in the 800MHz frequency band that TfL is particularly interested in for tunnels.
The existing Operational Radio Services Leaky Feeder’s ability to support 4G/LTE at 800MHz SISO was confirmed at tunnel lengths up to 1.5 km.
The Project Team demonstrated successful handover between the station Lampsite DAS and the tunnel Leaky Feeders by testers equipped with handsets (UEs) walking through one station starting at the ticket concourse down to platform level then transferring to a motorised track trolley for the journey to the second station for the walk up to the ticket concourse. At no time was the FTP session dropped and in fact the data rate never dropped below 1Mbps in the tunnel. Further optimisation work would have reduced the dips at the handover points.
The Project Team demonstrated that handover between Lampsite and the BTS3911b eNodeB small cells was seamless and that a combination of DAS and eNodeB devices is a practical possibility. This testing also showed that the very high precision timing required for such nodes could be provided across an Ethernet LAN incorporating both Cisco routers and Brocade Ethernet switches using PTP (IEEE 1588v2) synchronised from a time server connected to GPS via an antenna on top of Waterloo Station.
During installation of various Leaky Feeder co-axial jumper cables a length of cable became unserviceable. The Rhode & Schwarz ZVH8 cable tester identified the distance from the point of insertion to the cable fault allowing the defective jumper cable to be replaced in a short timescale. The tester also isolated a faulty connector on another occasion demonstrating its effectiveness. It was suspected that this connector failure was caused by the number of times it was disconnected at the end of a test session and re-connected at the start Equipment was uninstalled and reinstalled during the testing. During a real deployment this would not be a problem as the connectors would be installed and then only undone to deal with a fault.
The Installation Team had previously evaluated options for installing the bulky radiating cable in tunnels. The necessity, for the Waterloo and City Line, of settling on 550 metre drums of cable at the station entrance which were hand pulled into the tunnels and laid into previously installed mounting brackets was brought about by the lack of access into this part of London Underground where rolling stock has to be
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craned into the line via a mobile crane. However, this method of installation proved to be safe, fast and eliminates the need for resources such as Engineers’ Trains and so is recommended Leaky Feeder installation.
The Design Team were able to establish safe handling procedures for the radio equipment which were adhered to by the installation teams which gained valuable insight in handling this type of RF equipment and connectors. ICNIRP targets were confirmed by measurements – EM field exposure is well within legal limits (less than 5%) while still delivering the required user experience.
MIMO vs SISO throughput differences were benchmarked and showed MIMO to bring more than a 90% boost in in downlink throughput for both the CommScope and
RFS solutions.
Optimum parameter setting in terms of hand-over delays and layer priority were extracted from sampling the tunnel environment and will be incorporated into the High-Level Design
The Project Team carried over many of the procedures and processes for installation
and commissioning from previous experience in deploying Wi-Fi to all LU sub-surface
stations and these generally worked well. In addition the Project Team concluded:
Much assistance was received from the Operational Radio Services team and contractors. Although such help is not unusual, being able to tap into this depth of experience will serve the project well during full deployment. Equally the Heads of Discipline within TfL (LU) Engineering provided much valuable guidance and direction in the run up to the trial, particularly those responsible for ICT, EMC and Fire Materials Compliance.
The London Underground trial environment was a new experience for the MNOs and minor but time-consuming issues relating to parameter settings and SIM provisioning were experienced. The Project Team’s test plan should, in retrospect, have included more time for commissioning with a further window allowing for further parameter optimisation.
The provision of external data links proved to have the longest lead-time of any activity on the plan. Also, there were issues with people turning up at site without the correct credentials to access the operational railway – albeit where this did happen we were able to manage the work to avoid it impacting the programme.
Continuity of membership of working groups is required to avoid delays. One of our suppliers was forced to change technical personnel during the project which created delays to the beginning of the trial.
Constraints on space were felt. Happily, both the Lampsite and BTS3911b devices were of a small size comparable to the existing Wi-Fi Aps. It was more difficult to find room to install the High Power tunnel Leaky Feeder RF amplifiers and associated AC to DC convertor.
.
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5. Acknowledgements Getting to the point where testing was possible required a lot of cooperation and goodwill
from various TfL disciplines along with the concerted effort of our equipment suppliers, the
project deployment team and our service providers. The author of this report would like to
thank the following (in alphabetical order):
EE
ESN Project Team
Huawei
Telefonica O2
Thales
Three Mobile
TfL (LU) Engineering
TfL Commercial Development
TfL Technology & Data
Vodafone
The Project Team would like particularly to thank Michael Bowling who undertook much out
of hours testing whilst the trial network was energised.