HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180400 Verizon Wireless Neumann Bldg Sitel Justification and Site Selection Analysis verizon1
CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/A
VERIZON WIRELESS
OKLAHOMA TRACK SITE
The Grove Apartment Building
233 Lake Avenue
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
RF JUSTIFICATION AND SITE SELECTION ANALYSIS
JANUARY 21 , 2020
RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
RF JUSTIFICATION AND SITE SELECTION ANALYSIS
CELLCO PARTNERSHIP d/b/a Verizon Wireless ("Verizon Wireless") submits this RF
analysis in association with its proposed "Oklahoma Track" wireless communications facility. As
proposed, Verizon Wireless plans to install and operate a new wireless telecommunications
facility on The Grove Luxury Apartments building rooftop, including associated antennas,
elevated equipment platform and related appurtenances, in the City of Saratoga Springs,
Saratoga County, New York.
1. QUALIFICATIONS
This report was prepared by Verizon Wireless' in-house RF Engineering Department,
which consists of experienced and properly credentialed radio frequency engineers. The RF
Engineering Department designs Verizon Wireless' nationwide network to provide adequate and
effective wireless communications services in compliance with all FCC requirements, including
Verizon Wireless' licensure requirements. The RF Design Engineers use proprietary software
and tools in addition to industry-standard RF propagation modeling and network performance
simulation programs to identify network coverage, performance and capacity deficiencies, and
develop and implement solutions based on these analyses with the goal of maximize network
performance and efficiency.
2. WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
The FCC licenses a specific amount of RF spectrum to each wireless carrier and
stipulates that each carrier efficiently use that spectrum to provide adequate wireless
communication to emergency services, businesses and individuals in the licensed areas.
Wireless carriers achieve this mandate by continuously reusing the allocated radio frequencies
throughout their licensed service area. This is accomplished by building small radio base
stations, or cell sites, in a particular pattern (also known as a grid). The application of the grid
concept affords a wireless carrier the ability to effectively and efficiently plan the reuse of radio
frequencies. Indeed, it is the only way a cellular system can adequately function. Following
proper planning techniques (as originally defined by Bell Labs and further refined by the
wireless industry), the same radio frequency is reused at reasonably close intervals throughout
the licensed area, without causing harmful interference (noisy or dropped calls or the inability to
originate a call are typical manifestations of harmful interference), but only if placed properly.
There is extremely limited flexibility as to where a cell site can be located, and limited flexibility
as to the proper height.
When designing a wireless network, an RF Design Engineer starts with a theoretical grid
pattern and applies it to the licensed area. Each licensed area has many variables that can
affect the design and must be considered. These variables include terrain features, use of
existing structures, traffic distribution, and many others. In order to provide effective coverage
while maintaining an appropriate frequency reuse plan, the RF Design Engineer must perform a
balancing test of all applicable technological variables. The primary variables that the engineer
must balance/take into consideration are location, and the overall height of the cell sites. Sites
located to close to one another will result in unacceptable network interference. If the sites are
too far apart, service will significantly degrade in the area where the signal does not reach
ultimately resulting in the potential for dropped calls or ineffective connection attempts. If a cell
site is too high, it will have increased coverage but will cause interference throughout the rest of
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
the wireless network, thereby significantly affecting network efficiency. If a cell site is too low, it
will not provide effective coverage to the target area.
Therefore, a properly designed wireless network begins with strategically located cell
sites. A common denominator for each cell site involves a tall structure, typically a building,
tower, water tank or other structure on which antennas are mounted. Typically, radio-
transmitting equipment (base station) is located at the base of the structure. Radio signals leave
the base station and travel through transmission lines to the antennas or to fiber optic cable to
the remote radio head (RRH) at the top of structure and then to the antennas. Radio signals are
broadcast through the antennas and travel to the customer's wireless device, thereby
establishing a connection between the wireless network and the end user of the wireless device.
When a wireless device transmits back to the cell site, the signal is received by the antennas,
travels down the transmission line and into the base station. The base station converts the
signal into digital data and combines it with all the other wireless calls and digital traffic at that
cell site. This data is then sent over fiber optic digital lines to the main switching computer. The
main switching computer or Mobile Switching Center (MSC) is interconnected to the national
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Internet service providers where calls are
routed to other wireless or land-line phones, or Internet locations.
As this technology enables mobile calling, once a wireless call is originated and the
customer travels away from the cell site of origination, the system tracks the changes and
begins a process of determining if there is a better serving cell site (a "dominant server"). Upon
determination of a stronger serving site, the system automatically switches the wireless
customer over to the new cell site. This process is known as a handover and allows for
seamless coverage within a wireless carrier's service area. By design, this process is supposed
to happen so quickly, the wireless customer does not perceive it. If the network is designed
properly, there is no interruption of service and connection quality remains adequate. Proper,
effective RF design requires the location (and height) of cell sites in fairly rigid parameters to
ensure that the above-described process works in an adequate manner.
3. PERFORMANCE METRICS
(a) Coverage
The critical issue for Verizon Wireless is the provision of "adequate and substantial"
Radio Frequency (RF) service to serve its wireless customers. The wireless industry is
governed by the Rules of the FCC. The FCC mandates in CFR 47, Parts §22.940 and §24.16
that each carrier must provide "substantial service" in its licensed service area, or risk having
their license revoked. The FCC defines "substantial service" as service which is sound,
favorable, and substantially above a level of mediocre service. Similarly, New York State law,
recognizing the importance of deploying the infrastructure for wireless communications, has
deemed cellular transmitting facilities to be public utilities for purposes of zoning. As such, the
facilities must be permitted in order to provide "safe and effective" service.
A metric called Reference Signal Received Power ("RSRP") is used to specify the
coverage capabilities of wireless networks. This standard best represents the Long-Term
Evolution ("LTE") data technology (also known as 4G) being utilized as well as the Voice-Over
LTE ("VoLTE") technology, which is being deployed on 4G to augment and ultimately replace
Verizon Wireless' legacy Third Generation (3G) voice services and capacity. RSRP is the
average received power measured across an LTE broadband channel.
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Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
RSRP is measured in units of "decibels" referenced against 1 milliwatt, or dBm. The
decibel is a logarithmic unit that allows ratios to be added or subtracted. The definition formula
for decibels referenced against 1 milliwatt is dBm = 10 log(P / 1mW) with P measured in
milliwatts. So 10 mW would be 10dBm, 100 mW would be 20dBm, etc.
The service boundary of a 4G site is defined using a RSRP equating to an acceptable
receiver signal threshold. This value is derived from industry standards, 4G receive signal levels
and quality and acceptable signal to noise ratios, along with statistically quantifiable variations in
terrain. This threshold must also take into account additional losses associated with location of
the mobile user.
Verizon Wireless must provide adequate service to all of its users. In order to account for
users within buildings, additional margin must be added to RSRP so that adequate coverage
exists inside. Industry and Verizon Wireless engineering standards include an additional 10dB
of margin to RSRP to be used for light suburban areas, with increasing values for higher density
land usage. This additional margin is also required for in-vehicle service specifically to account
for increased attenuation associated with the use of hands-free headsets, where the phone is
typically placed on the seat or in the center console.
An industry standard RF computer-aided engineering tool is used in the design of
wireless networks. This tool is used to generate a plot of RSRP that shows underlying
geographic data (highways, arterial roads, etc.). The propagation map is drawn showing the
region where the RSRP equates to the minimally acceptable received signal level for adequate
service, as measured at the device's receiver. The propagation map depicts the RSRP of the
surrounding environment including the attenuation of in-building and in-vehicle use of service
and visually demonstrates existing coverage patterns. Plots can also be generated to
demonstrate proposed coverage patterns.
With the preceding in mind, Verizon Wireless' network standard for reliable 4G LTE
wireless service for dense residential and light urban settings is -95 dBm RSRP. Network
reliability and accessibility decreases dramatically for mobile devices operating in or traveling
into RF environments outside (or weaker than) the -95 dBm RSRP coverage boundary
(represented as white space in the provided coverage plots). The -95 dBm RSRP threshold is
used in areas where additional signal strength is needed to penetrate into homes and buildings
(e.g., city centers, dense residential, commercial and industrial type environs). Given the
proposed facility's proximity do downtown Saratoga Springs, and need for Verizon Wireless
coverage to penetrate inside the various homes and buildings across the eastern portion the
downtown area and specifically the dense suburban area along NY State Route 29 (NY-29 /
Lake Avenue), the -95 dBm RSRP signal strength standard was applied for the proposed
Oklahoma Track facility.
(b) Capacity
Significant deficiencies in service can occur in Verizon Wireless' telecommunication
network in and around the existing sites. These deficiencies can be a result of capacity
demands that are taxing the surrounding sites in the Verizon Wireless network. The FCC
mandates in CFR 47 Part §22.940 that when a Commercial Mobile Radio Service ("CMRS")
licensee (i.e. "wireless carrier") is up for renewal, the carrier must demonstrate its proposal for
expanding system capacity in a coordinated manner in order to meet anticipated increasing
demand for both local and roamer service, or be at risk of license revocation.
Verizon Wireless regularly monitors customer traffic on each site in its network and
identifies which sites are reaching 4G capacity limits or are projected to reach these limits over
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
a rolling four-year window. Capacity is defined as the amount of customer data traffic (voice and
data) a given site can process before significant performance degradation occurs. Performance
issues include an inability to access the network (make a call), calls being abruptly dropped
from the network (dropped calls), or poor call or data throughput performance while connected
to the network (delayed upload or download speeds). Data volume, or throughput, is the main
factor used to determine the existing 4G capacity for a given site and to project when that site is
expected to run out of capacity (i.e., reach a point where it can no longer process the volume of
data requested by local wireless devices). Capacity relief solutions, typically development of
additional sites capable of"offloading" the "loaded" sites, are then required to solve the problem.
Forward Data Volume ("FDV"), a measure of usage (data throughput) on a particular site
over a given period of time, is the performance metric used to evaluate the capacity of an
existing facility. The "forward link" is used since there is generally more data being downloaded'
(or transmitted) from a given site to the mobile devices within its coverage area, than uploaded.
Therefore, it is the "forward link", not the "reverse link" that is used to determine the capacity
limitations. Spikes resulting from anomalies such as seasonal events (tourist spikes, major
outdoor concert venues or sporting events, etc.), college breaks, Holiday related events or
celebrations, and major accidents or emergencies are accounted for as they can inflate the
capacity demand and result in a premature capacity offload prediction. Trending actual and
recorded throughput data over time for a site and comparing it to the theoretical maximum
throughput capabilities for that site determines when that site will require capacity relief.
The above are some of the concepts and parameters used when determining adequacy
of the existing network.
4. PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS
When the Verizon Wireless Radio Frequency Engineer identifies coverage gaps in the
system or sites that have or will reach data capacity exhaustion, they issue a "search area." A
search area is a geographical area located within the inadequately serviced area, and it is
designed such that if a wireless telecommunications facility is located within the search area,
and at an appropriate height, it will likely provide the required coverage. For the most part,
locations outside of the search area will fail to provide adequate service to the cell. Due to
technological constraints, there is limited flexibility as to where a new facility can be located, and
still function properly. The goal of the search area is to define the permissible location for
placement of a cell site that will provide adequate service in the subject cell, and also work
properly as part of the overall network.
5. VERIZON WIRELESS SERVICE AND PROPOSED SOLUTION IN
THE OKLAHOMA TRACK CELL
(a) Character of the Area
The Oklahoma Track Cell is essentially the dense residential area east of downtown
generally between NY State Route 50 to the north, Adirondack Northway 1-87 to the east, the
Saratoga Race Course and Oklahoma Track area to the south, and East Ave to the west. This
portion of the City is generally flat terrain-wise and mainly consists of dense residential
1 By comparison the reverse link, or information transmitted from mobile devices to an associated wireless facility,
generally carries in the order of 1/10th of the data volume as the forward or downlink path.
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
neighborhoods interspersed within patches of dense tree cover. This area also contains main
travel routes NY-29 and East Avenue, many local and neighborhood roads (Caroline St,
Excelsior Spring Ave, Granger Ave, Schuyler Dr., and Elizabeth Ln to name a few), residences
of The Grove luxury apartments, East Side Recreational Park, and many of the businesses,
parking and stable areas at and surrounding the Saratoga Race Course Oklahoma Training
Track. The 2 story tall Grove Apartment building (3 stories counting the existing elevator rooftop
penthouses) is located near the center of the targeted network coverage and capacity
improvement area and offers sufficient height to maintain relatively unobstructed RF coverage
to the many residences and traveling public across this underserved portion of the City of
Saratoga Springs.
(b) RF Coverage Issues
Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network is lacking reliable 4G LTE coverage inside many of
the homes, businesses and vehicles traveling the main and neighborhood roads in the dense
residential areas east of Saratoga Springs City Center. Although outdoor coverage is generally
acceptable, the existing level of 4G coverage does not effectively penetrate into the various
businesses, apartments and homes across the targeted network improvement area, and
therefore does not adequately serve Verizon Wireless customers using their 4G mobile devices
in the area. The area targeted for coverage, capacity, and overall network performance
improvement is illustrated in the map at Exhibit 1 and is generally represented by the Tan
region (area circled in Red) that extends for several blocks north and south of the 1.1± mile
section of Lake Avenue between Nelson Ave and Henning Rd. As shown in the proposed new
coverage map at Exhibit 2 (where coverage from the Oklahoma Track site is displayed as the
Green layer), the proposed site will remedy the existing coverage gap and provide Verizon
Wireless with adequate coverage and capacity both inside and outside the homes and roads
across the targeted improvement area.
Existing 4G wireless telecommunication coverage near the proposed Oklahoma Track
facility and surrounding area originates from Verizon Wireless' active wireless
telecommunications facilities called "Loughberry Lake" (located 1.4± miles northeast on the
115± ft. tall stealth "monopine" behind the Synagogue at 84 Weibel Ave), "Saratoga Gaming
and Raceway" (located 1.4± miles south on the 107± ft. tall stealth lookout tower behind the
Saratoga Casino Hotel), "Saratoga II" (located 1.2± miles west on the rooftop at 10 Railroad
Place), and "Skidmore Campus" (located 1.4± mi. northwest on the Jonsson Tower building at
Skidmore College). Note that Verizon Wireless also has several small cell facilities and an
Outdoor Distributed Antenna System (ODAS) along Union Ave near the Saratoga Race Course,
but these facilities are low-powered radio units on utility poles and residential apartment
buildings that cover small geographic areas generally within 1000 ft. of each facility. All other
Verizon Wireless traditional macro facilities are either too far away and/or are completely or
partially blocked by surrounding local terrain and vegetative features to provide reliable wireless
telecommunication service to the targeted coverage improvement area across the Lake Ave /
Oklahoma Track portion of the City.
(c) RF Capacity Issues
In addition to the coverage improvements described in the previous section, the
proposed Oklahoma Track facility will also offer sufficient capacity to handle the projected and
foreseeable 4G voice and data traffic growth near and surrounding the Oklahoma Track and
residential areas along Lake Ave. Once complete, the majority of this localized 4G customer
network traffic will be routed thru the new Oklahoma Track facility, thus effectively "offloading" it
from the surrounding capacity-limited Verizon Wireless sites Loughberry Lake, Saratoga
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
Gaming & Raceway, Saratoga II and Skidmore Campus. By freeing up network resources on
these surrounding facilities, they will be able to more effectively and efficiently serve customers
in other portions of the City (e.g., along Broadway in the city center, Skidmore College campus,
bustling hotel, restaurant, shopping areas at and surrounding 1-87 Exit 15, etc.). Ultimately, the
proposed Oklahoma Track facility will nearly triple the amount of network capacity across the
targeted dense residential neighborhoods along and surrounding Lake Ave east of downtown
Saratoga Springs and offer reliable 4G network performance to the businesses, residents, and
traveling public in the area.
(d) Solution
Based on the network deficiencies in the Oklahoma Track / Lake Avenue area described
above, a search area was developed to define specific geographical locations from which a new
wireless telecommunications facility, when also designed at an appropriate height, is most likely
to provide the required coverage and capacity needs. The Oklahoma Track search ring is
provided in the aerial map at Figure 1 below, where the Yellow circle illustrates the search ring
location, and the larger Red circle is the approximate area in need of coverage and network
capacity improvements.
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Figure 1. Oklahoma Track Search Ring Aerial Map Overlay with Intended Coverage Area.
Note that for this particular project, the search ring is targeting the relatively small area
including The Grove Apartments, St. Clements Church property and East Side Recreation Park.
The Grove Apartments building is the tallest commercial structure in the immediate area, offers
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
sufficient height to "see" over the adjacent St. Clements Church rooftop, and given its desirable
location close to the center of the targeted network performance improvement area is able to
provide the desired coverage and capacity improvements despite the relatively low antenna
height. Importantly, from a capacity perspective, the proposed facility's central location ensures
customer usage generated from across the area (circled in Red in map at Figure 1 above) will
be relatively equally distributed among the site's 4-sectors. Lastly, the placement of the
proposed site enables Verizon Wireless to satisfy coverage, capacity and other network
performance related objectives across the target area from a single wireless facility on an
existing structure.
As a final note on the search ring, Verizon Wireless representatives also evaluated the
possibility of replacing one of the light poles at East End Recreation Park with a 15 ft. taller pole
of sufficient structural capacity to hold wireless antennas and associated equipment, and re-
install the light array below at its existing height. However Verizon Wireless was not able to
work out a lease agreement with the property owner (City of Saratoga Springs School District),
so the light pole replacement was removed from consideration. Regardless, from an aesthetics
perspective, the proposed installation on The Grove apartment building is only visible from
within The Grove complex and the St. Clements Church property, but since set back from Lake
Avenue and behind a row of tall pine trees, is not readily visible from travelers along Lake Ave
or to the rest of the community. Conversely, although the light pole replacement would blend
somewhat naturally with the other surrounding poles and lighting structures in the park, the
open nature of the property would make the wireless facility visible to travelers along Lake Ave,
at the park, and several of the park's neighboring residences. For these reasons, Verizon
Wireless decided to move forward with the proposed wireless facility installation on The Grove
building rooftop.
6. ZONING CONSIDERATIONS AND CANDIDATE/ALTERNATIVES
ANALYSIS
As with all new Verizon Wireless site development projects, Verizon Wireless completed
a thorough analysis of the targeted network performance improvement area before arriving at its
decision to place a communications facility on The Grove apartments building. As part of the
site selection process, efforts are made to identify potential locations that would be both
technically appropriate and sensible from a zoning and land use perspective.
From a zoning perspective, Verizon Wireless routinely seeks to install its antennas and
equipment on existing communications towers or other tall structures ("collocation") whenever
feasible. In addition to a potentially streamlined zoning application process, wireless providers
prefer collocation because it is generally a less expensive and timelier option, particularly
compared to the time and cost involved in land acquisition, zoning, and installation of a new
tower facility.
For the proposed Oklahoma Track wireless facility, Verizon Wireless is proposing to
collocate on an existing structure (The Grove building), so other than the light pole replacement
option described previously, no other candidates were seriously considered.
7. CONCLUSION
Verizon Wireless is proposing to collocate a wireless facility on The Grove apartments
building with an antenna centerline height 47± ft. AGL. This proposed installation will enable
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RF Justification
Oklahoma Track Site
Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2020
Verizon Wireless to alleviate a significant portion of network usage from existing wireless
facilities in and around the Saratoga Springs by providing an adequate and safe level of in-
building and mobile 4G service across the dense residential neighborhoods east of downtown.
By freeing up network resources from surrounding facilities that are currently used to serve
customers in the Oklahoma Track / Lake Avenue area, the neighboring sites will be able to
more effectively and efficiently serve customers in other portions of the City. Verizon Wireless
also believes that the proposed site is at an appropriate location that is naturally screened and
masked to the fullest extent possible so that local area aesthetics are maintained.
In summary, a new communications facility at the proposed location and height will
substantially satisfy all of the required coverage and capacity objectives set forth for the
Oklahoma Track cell. Upon completion, Verizon Wireless' communications facility will enhance
the public welfare by providing local residents, workforce, tourists, government, businesses and
individuals with a modern, more efficient system of communications for police, fire and other
emergency or non-emergency use.
Prepared by:
f4eke aJackie Bartolotta Rick Andras
Tectonic Radio Frequency (RF) Design Engineer
Consultant to Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless
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