Outdoor to indoor mobile coverage is evaluated for differentfrequencies in two scenarios, a single building scenario and a cityenvironment. A new model for outdoor to indoor propagation issuggested, connecting existing, highly detailed indoor and outdoorray-tracing propagation models. The model is compared to previous,site specific as well as statistical, propagation models. Resultsconclude that the new model gives higher path gain for edge users inthe single building scenario, whereas results from the city scenarioare inconclusive. Furthermore, results from the single buildingscenario suggest that indoor coverage is possible at 5 GHz and belowfor most buildings, whereas for the city scenario indoor coverage at5 GHz will be possible only for buildings without metally coatedwindows. Achieving indoor coverage at 30 GHz is highly problematicfor all cases, and it is concluded that indoor base stations arenecessary if frequencies of 10 GHz and above are to be used infuture mobile networks. In addition, an indoor analysis is made to verify existing lossper meter indoor models. It is concluded that such models are oftenoptimistic, although their assumption of log-normal shadowing remainvalid, at least for closed offices. Furthermore, the assumption ofloss as a linear function of distance might be unfeasible for higherfrequencies, where a breakpoint in the linear model was observed ata distance of roughly 10 meters.

[pt] Recentemente, tem sido observado um crescimento explosivo na utilização de redes de acesso local sem fio (Wireless Local Area Networks - WLANs), utilizando equipamentos de nível de radiação restrito operando em bandas independentes de outorga de uso de rádio freqüência, tanto para uso corporativo como doméstico e para prover acesso pago em ambientes públicos como aeroportos, hotéis, centros de convenções, campi universitários e mesmo restaurantes e cafés. Se estas redes serão complementares ou competidoras das redes celulares de terceira e quarta gerações é ainda uma questão polêmica e aberta. Os objetivos deste trabalho são o desenvolvimento um modelo de propagação de sinais na faixa de freqüência de 2,4 GHz em ambientes fechados (indoor), para a previsão de cobertura de WLANs, e prover ao projetista de redes wireless uma metodologia um bom dimensionamento da rede. São apresentados os principais modelos semi-empíricos já existentes na literatura técnica e, a partir de medidas realizadas em diferentes ambientes, é proposto um ajuste de parâmetros de um modelo de propagação indoor bastante completo. As medidas realizadas incluem as perdas de penetração em paredes de diferentes materiais, o efeito de difração em quinas de paredes, efeito de movimentação de pessoas no ambiente, além do coeficiente de perda de propagação com a distância. Os modelos desenvolvidos foram implementados numa ferramenta de software para o planejamento de cobertura de redes wireless indoor que permite realizar o projeto a partir da planta baixa do ambiente disponibilizada em arquivos de imagem. / [en] Recently, an explosive growth in the use of Wireless Local Area Networks - WLANs, using restricted radiation levels and operating in license exempted frequency bands, has been observed, not only for corporative domestic use but also to provide paid internet access in public environments such as airports, hotels, convention centers, university campus and even restaurants and coffee shops. The question if these networks will be complementary or will compete with third and forth generation of cellular networks, is still a controversial and opened. The objectives of this work are the development a model for propagation in closed environments (indoor) at the 2,4 GHz frequency band for the coverage planning of WLANs and to provide the wireless network designer with a complete project methodology . The most important semi-empirical models available in the technical literature are presented and, based on measurements carried out in different environments, a fairly complete model with fitted parameters is proposed. The measurements include losses of penetration in walls of different materials, the effect of diffraction at wall edges, the effect of movement of people in the environment and the rate of loss with distance coefficient. The developed models have been implemented in a software tool for coverage planning of wireless indoor networks that allows the development of the project starting from blue prints of the environment available as digital image files.

The study presented in this thesis is focused on the investigation of wireless application in industrial environment. The objective of this work is to provide an insight on the development of the wireless machine to machine (M2M) application, and a systematic approach for improving the application reliability on radio link level by end users. As a specific case, ABB Robotics’ Remote Service concept is examined to check whether the selection of cellular technology as its wireless access method and the choice of standard radio link components are able to satisfy the application requirement under different circumstances. Several modifications of the radio link components and topologies, e.g. repeater system, combiner, etc, are proposed for the enhancement of radio link reliability. Theoretical evaluations of these options are based on detailed radio link calculation and MATLAB simulation using propagation model dedicated for industrial environment. Furthermore, on site test is carried out to validate the theoretical evaluations. The M2M market investigation is also included in the task, in order to select the most cost-effective components from different suppliers. While walking through the radio link optimization process of the specific case, necessary information and knowledge common to all wireless M2M application are explained. In the end, in addition to a guide line for installation and other supporting documents regarding to the Remote Service, some rules of thumb available for the radio link optimization in all kinds of industrial environments are generalized and presented in the form of a flowchart, which can be beneficial for those support engineers of the application provider, who are not necessarily experts in wireless technology.