Development of a modified propagation model of a wireless mobile communication system in a 4G network

Pathloss is a key element that causes signal deterioration in the channel as the signal power reduces inversely with propagation distance, this deterioration experienced by the channel is majorly as a result of reflection, absorption, and scattering of the signal. This study however takes into consideration the radio path loss for precise base station (BS), frequency, and power adjustment prediction evaluated over a frequency of 2.3 GHz. With a distance range between 0.1 and 1.5 km for collection of data on the measured received signal strength (MRSS), five empirical models and a modified model were used to validate the measured data to determine their suitability for pathloss prediction at Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo state, Nigeria. The results shows that the root mean square error (RMSE) for the Okumura-Hata, COST 231-Hata, Ericsson model, Lee, Stanford University Interim (SUI), ECC-33, and modified models are 14.33, 9.73, 25.79, 48.4, 33.76, and 8.31 dB respectively. Additionally, the Ericsson model provided 0.498 dB, the COST 231-Hata recorded 0.733 dB, and the modified model provided 0.453 dB for mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Therefore, the improved model produces the best results, consequently, be deployed to approximately predict path loss for mobile radio coverage in Owerri, Nigeria.