HTZ Communications

Private cellular networks combine low-power, wide-area connectivity for exclusive use by individual enterprises. They are deployed in the same way as public cellular networks and offer a higher degree of control and reliability due to their security and service levels. Private cellular networks operate in three modes; using licensed spectrum, shared spectrum or unlicensed bands.

Licensed spectrum users operate within a specific area using a dedicated chunk of spectrum. Third parties can license this spectrum and build their network, as required. Often public mobile networks operate in a different band at these locations. If public MNOs have no coverage in that area, they can leverage the private networks to improve coverage and capacity.

With shared-spectrum regulators provide access via sub-licensing arrangements. CBRS spectrum in the US is a good example. This system features a three-tiered sharing framework which includes unlicensed spectrum available under shared access terms. The 6GHz band is used for 5G and Wi-Fi in the US and other countries. Unlicensed spectrum is free to use but is still subject to rules set by the regulatory body.

Key features include:

• Automatic frequency assignment and optimisation engine
• Coverage, interference, capacity and reliability analysis
• Automated site planning, cell optimisation and mesh network clustering
• Robust propagation model for outdoor, indoor and outdoor to indoor networks
• Supports 3D raytracing, beamforming and massive MIMO
• 3D city models and urban information to model specific environments

HTZ communications supports the design and modelling of public safety networks including TETRA, PMR/DMR, P25 and PS- LTE. It manages coverage, capacity, site parameters, neighbour planning and optimisation.

HTZ Communications provides the highest level of reliability, availability and resilience for critical communication systems and allows operators to migrate smoothly to broadband connectivity and new technologies. Key features include:

• Coverage & capacity planning;
• Interference calculations;
• Automated handover, neighbour list planning and analysis;
• Monte Carlo simulations;
• Automatic site planning and optimisation;
• Automatic frequency planning;
• Traffic & mobility profile editor (for end devices).

View our TETRA network planning demo.

HTZ communications is the leading software to plan UAV/UAS networks. Often these networks require coordination for ground-to-air and air-to-air services, as well as complex scenarios of compatibility with other civilian and military communication services.

• Features Aeronautical propagation model ITU-R P. 528 ;
• Frequency planning and interference analysis along with the waypoints;
• Self-healing network planning using mesh techniques;
• Path-specific waypoint coverage and optimisation on the fly path to overcome connectivity issues;
• Radar detection avoidance planning by optimising the flying path and altitude optimisation;
• Calculates interference levels when terrestrial networks directly impact drones along the flight path;
• Instantaneous roll, pitch and course modelling; antenna orientation calculation and antenna discrimination along the flying path.

View our Tactical Mission planning demo.

HTZ Communications supports communications between sea to sea, sea to air and land to sea communication in the maritime sector.

In addition, HTZ Communications manages the complex scenarios for coverage, interference and intermodulation within the battleship/ship environment. This can be examined and simulated to ensure the radio systems in the same vessel are not negatively impacted in terms of performance or efficiency.

• Near-field scenarios within Battleship: HF/VHF/UHF, radar, satellite systems intermodulation analysis;
• Location optimisation of new radio systems against existing radios on board;
• 3D modelling of battleship/ship from AutoCAD, ESRI Shape and PDF drawing;
• Interference analysis between terrestrial radios and satellite earth stations to identify exclusion zones.

HTZ Communications offers flexible licensing options with deployment on standalone machines and in a network environment.

Download product brochure.

Air travel is predicted to grow over the coming decades. Airports use an abundance of wireless technologies to connect passengers, devices, safety-critical systems, and aircraft.

Operationally, airports use three types of communication systems: ground communications for controlling operations, ground to air communications for managing airspace and radars for monitoring en route operations.

Ground communications frequently rely on emerging technologies like LTE and 5G which feature increased data rates. But airports continue to use other radio technologies like VHF/UHF, Wi-Fi, telemetry, and TETRA. These networks must work seamlessly to ensure the airport operates safely and securely.

Equally, air traffic controllers need to ensure that ground-to-ground communications are compatible with their ground-to-air services and do not interfere with other service users. Ground to air communications use a variety of technologies including radar, UHF/VHF and HF. Common functions of ATC radars include en-route radar systems, air surveillance, surface movement and weather radars. ATDI supports leading ATC operators around the world.

HTZ offers dedicated functions for the aviation sector including:

• The technology-neutral solution which can be used for almost every wireless technology;
• A full geographic dataset to model networks and interference within the airport environment;
• Automated coverage planning function to reduce network design and deployment processing times;
• Dedicated aeronautical propagation models;
• Frequency planning and interference analysis features prior to deployment;
• Traffic analysis and network capacity management;
• Automation of site planning, optimisation and frequency planning;
• Features surveillance functions including multi-lateration (TDOA);
• Model ATC radars (VOR, ILS, MLAT, RADAR);
• Manage the impact of wind turbine interference or 5G towers on aeronautical radars;
• ICAO building restriction compliance, limiting how buildings encroach on airspace;
• Point to Point / Point to Multipoint link analysis (DL and UL);
• Coordination for FM/VHF/UHF and other wireless technologies.

Check out our Blog on analysing the impact of flight paths on MW links in and around an airport.

As the use of drones or unmanned aircraft (UAV) grow, businesses and Governments are seeing significant demand and growth in areas like transport, military, logistics and commercial sectors.

Drones are controlled by a ground control system (GSC) which operates remotely or autonomously. Wireless connectivity lets pilots view the drone and its surroundings from a birds-eye perspective. Users can also leverage apps to pre-program specific GPS coordinates and create an automated flight path for the drone.

The data links use a radio-frequency (RF) transmission to transmit and receive information to and from the UAV. These transmissions share information like location, distance and location to target, distance to the pilot, payload information, airspeed, altitude and more. An autonomous drone can conduct a safe flight without the intervention of a pilot.

HTZ Communications offers dedicated features for drone management including:

Mission planning feature – one-stop solution to optimise a missile path where communications between the missile and Command Control can be jammed and detected by radar.

Jamming efficiency analysis – identifying areas where the jammer can be effective in attacking drones;

Drone-Controller localization – identifying areas where the controller can potentially share the flight path information;

Radar detection capability analysis – predicting the areas and elevations where the Radar can detect a drone;

Drone communication range analysis – import and analysis of flight paths for RF simulation;

Flightpath RF simulation analysis – importing flight path information and conducting propagation modelling and communication validation;

Reception analysis at different flight heights – pre-computing reception in a 3D environment for different elevations.

View our Counter drone demo.

Technology is an integral part of our lives, along with our growing dependency on it. The Internet of Things (IoT) covers everything connected to the internet. The overarching feature of IOT is the wireless data transfer and its application supports anything from smart home devices, eHealth applications to driverless trucks. With connectivity driving technology innovations, the design and roll-out of wireless networks have to be managed effectively.

HTZ supports every aspect of IOT radio network planning, including coverage and capacity planning and interference analysis. Other key functions include:

• Wireless network design including automated site planning and cell optimisation;
• Mesh network clustering;
• Accurate deterministic propagation models adapted for IoT standards including LPWAN, IEEE, 802.15.4 and 3GPP;
• Geo-location functions for network deployment using high-resolution datasets;
• Ability to model traffic against QoS and reliability targets;
• Feature-rich capabilities to support third-party hardware/equipment suppliers.

From a planning perspective, IoT networks differ from classic radiocommunication networks. To support this, HTZ offers interactive 3D city models and urban information for high-resolution network planning. It supports a variety of IoT application platforms and other cloud-based solutions. The software features accurate propagation models specific for IoT including LPWAN, IEEE 802.15.4, 3GPP.

HTZ features dedicated functions including:

• Automated site planning, cell optimisation and mesh network clustering;
• Traffic & mobility profile editor for end devices;
• Gateway/Hub/e-nodeB setting parameters, including, duty cycle, power, bandwidth and antenna;
• Traffic modelling – aggregated traffic with related QoS and reliability targets;

• IoT DL/UL balanced link budgets;
• Coverage, interference, capacity and reliability analysis;
• Geolocation analysis.

ATDI offers consultancy services to support network operators, integrators and public bodies capitalise on their IoT network.

Railway operators rely on different radio technologies to support rail operations, and count on a multi-technology radio planning tool to design and manage their communication networks. Most rail operators operate both analogue and digital technologies, including GSM-R, LTE-R, TETRA and PMR. These networks support services like centralised traffic control for rolling stock and GSM-R for high-speed rail communications.

A key network requirement is to provide adequate coverage and capacity. This can be achieved using propagation models to attain a high level of accuracy. Automatic tuning models can be used to calibrate drive-test data and improve the overall frequency plan.

HTZ Communications supports all radio technologies ranging from 1kHz to 350 GHz and has been used extensively by rail operators around the world, enabling them to manage their radio spectrum and networks efficiently. Its main functions include:

- Radio planning including frequency planning and network optimisation;

- Interference studies as well as traffic analysis and intermodulation;

- Cross-border coordination;

- Integration with equipment vendors for site surveys and measurement campaigns;

- Design and construction of radio sub-systems (ERTMS/GSM-R) and fibre-optic cable networks;

- Calculations of environmental analysis or human hazard including Natura 2000.

- Design and construction of fibre-optic cable network

- Design and construction of transmission systems

- Site surveys

- Measurement campaigns

ATDI supports a comprehensive library of cartographic data for use with radio network designs.

Check out our Rail Telecom solutions.

Radio spectrum is the lifeblood of the radiocommunications industry. It’s the allotted frequencies or spectrum which supports all wireless communications. Spectrum regulation, also known as spectrum management, is the regulation of those frequencies to promote its efficient use and to maximise the net social benefit. Radio spectrum typically refers to the range of frequencies from 3 kHz to 300 GHz.

ATDI has been at the forefront of developing automated spectrum management solutions for national and regional spectrum regulators for over three decades.

Their solutions allow regulators to:

• Regulate the use of RF spectrum
• Minimize interference
• Automate frequency allocations and frequency sharing
• Support emerging technologies
• Coordinate the use of wireless spectrum with neighbours and other administrations
• Manage back-office functions for admin, licensing and billing
• Facilitate data exchange with end-users
• Interface with monitoring solutions
• Support spectrum re-farming and auctions

Key features include:

• Management of EMC – electromagnetic capabilities and EMF - Health safety
• Management of co-existence studies
• Advanced reporting capabilities
• White space device allocations
• Dynamic spectrum allocations
• Technology evaluations and business modelling
• Identify candidate sites
• Automatic network planning and optimisation
• Support spectrum monitoring
• Enabling network proving
• Engineering data sharing
• International, bi-lateral and regional coordination
• Integrating various data sources including GIS (multi-maps, multi-resolutions, WMS, WMTS)
• Managing all wireless technologies from 8kHz to 1THz
• Implementing ITU notices

Read more about Automated Spectrum management.

The mining industry is rapidly modernising with smart mining operations projected to increase threefold by 2025. Automation plays a key function in this transformation and has the potential to increase productivity and improve safety and working conditions. For example, transportation in mines is a repetitive task that is well suited to autonomous vehicles which operate around the clock. Private cellular networks connect those vehicles to coordinate paths and exchange mission-critical information.

Due to the constantly changing environment in the mine, the transmitters and receivers move which can cause reflections, scattering and other diffraction phenomena. Modelling the impact of these changes on network coverage needs to be managed regularly, otherwise, operators run the risk of communication failures.

ATDI works with many of the world’s largest mine operators providing network planning and modelling expertise in the form of software solutions, consultancy services and custom training. These solutions reduce the risk associated with the changing terrain and allow operators to automate their coverage plans frequently. ATDI’s flagship radio planning software, HTZ Communications features key functions that are well suited to managing the issues facing open-mine operators.

Prospective planning: Understanding the impact of terrain changes is essential to network planning. HTZ Communications features a prospective planning function to allow operators to model these challenges over time. These plans can include the best location for fixed transmitters and coverage achieved. Operators can manage their activities more efficiently and remove the risk of communication failures. Identifying communication not-spots allows operators to use gap fillers or trailers to fill areas without coverage.

Automation: Mine operators use scanners or sensors to monitor terrain changes within the mine. Using HTZ Communications, operators can import the updated maps into the software which triggers their conversion into ATDI’s format. Once imported, the software automatically calculates coverage and produces a composite coverage based on the terrain changes. Functions like identifying the best servers, composite coverage and coverage overlapping are also supported.

In addition, SINR throughputs for LTE and 5G networks can also be automated. The results from these calculations are exported in KMZ and TIF/TFW files and are published via a display engine in the Operation Centre. By automating workflows, users can make time and resource efficiencies and reduce the risk of errors in repetitive manual processes.

Accuracy: ATDI’s propagation engine defies laws of physics. The tool has proven to deliver highly accurate predictions, outperforming other planning tools that have evolved from the classic mobile telco needs in urban and suburban environments. ATDI’s propagation engine is well suited to open-cut mines and deep pits. The latest measurements in open-cut mines show a correlation exceeding 95% with less than 1.5 dB margin of error.

Learn more about how LTE networks are transforming automation mines.

Offshore gas and oil operators use mobile technologies like LTE for monitoring components on rigs and communications with the shore. Establishing and maintaining communication links in the face of extreme weather conditions can be a challenge. Commonly, satellite or fibre optic links are used, but more often mobile technologies are replacing rig to shore communication links.

In an environment where safety is critical, any restrictions with bandwidth, or delays often characteristic of satellite services, are not viable. LTE enable rigs, shore bases and support vessels to share information in real-time. Similarly, demands for data on the platforms is growing, with the need for indoor coverage like WiFi and a robust network to manage monitoring and telemetry systems.

HTZ Communications offers dedicated features to manage offshore communications, including:

• Modelling features – to model the radio systems, backhaul and microwave point-to-point links;
• Automated coverage planning – to understand where to place base stations for the optimal coverage and to identify areas without coverage on the rig;
• Automated frequency assignment – to limit interference and achieve robust communications;
• DL and UL throughputs maps – to check where the traffic data is large enough and where more sites would be required;
• Modelling capability – to model the best antenna heights above sea level;
• Design support – for the rollout of broadband access networks to support offshore platforms, support vessels and fixed assets.

While the growth of onshore windfarms may have slowed, offshore developments are rising – and each one has the potential to interfere with radar systems used by air traffic controllers. National civil aviation authorities are responsible for the safe transit of aircraft through their airspace and require all wind farm developers to determine whether their turbines’ will impact radio communications before they are built.

Wind farm developers need to manage the impact of turbines on civil and military aviation infrastructure. This includes evaluating the impact on radars and surrounding telecommunication services. With accurate planning and modelling, the impact on air traffic control systems in the proximity of a wind farm can be mitigated.

HTZ Communications offers dedicated features for windfarm mitigation studies including:

• Windfarm mitigation analysis – identifying whether a development is detected and adversely affects aeronautical traffic radars;
• Windfarm interference maps (C/I) – identifying any obstructions caused by the wind turbine and its impact on the communication networks’ coverage;
• Clearance analysis – identifying the potential interaction between weather radars and wind turbines to understand the impact of windfarm masks, reflections from buildings, turbines/blades on the weather radars;
• MW links assessment – pre-planning application support to analyse the impact of a wind turbine on MW links;
• Identifies three interference criteria - including near-field zone, diffraction and signal reflection.

Integral to spectrum management is the ability to monitor spectrum use to ensure frequencies don’t interfere with each other. Radio spectrum licenses are allocated by band or technology with spectrum monitoring tools scanning the bands to ensure users have access to the spectrum without interruption or undue interference.

For spectrum regulators, a monitoring system needs to gather both spectrum management and spectrum monitoring data. The monitoring system needs to create reports about license conditions and relevant monitoring data. These reports allow the regulator to monitor spectrum use and trends, in real-time. Regulators use this information to manage complaints and ensure compliance.

For other wireless network operators, measurement campaigns use a spectrum analyzer. The spectrum analyzer captures measurements from the network in real-time and allows network operators to validate network performance indicators (KPIs).

HTZ is compatible with leading equipment suppliers and is used to:

• Verifying the network design meets the network specification for coverage and interference;
• Identify interference including location and the source of the interference;
• Monitoring frequency use, band scanning and channel occupancy;
• Identifying unauthorised emissions.

The HTZ user interfaces easily import large amounts of data for processing.

Visit our case study on how test drives are improving mobile not-spots in North Yorkshire.

The days of a man with a torch peering into your understairs cupboard to read your electricity meter have gone the same way as faxes and video cassettes. With utility networks moving towards smart metering, consumers are benefitting from cost efficiencies and accurate billing. Mitigating interference in smart networks is a challenge, particularly as broadcasting frequencies become more crowded. And achieving maximum coverage at the lowest possible cost is essential in today’s financial climate.

ATDI has been supporting utility companies and their communications infrastructure for their transmission networks for the past three decades. The main technologies used by utilities include:

Microwave – used widely to support operational needs such as monitoring grid infrastructure;

Private LTE (P-LTE) – providing high bandwidth broadband traffic to support operations;

Telemetry and SCADA systems – these automated communication networks gather data from multiple sources and are used to monitor security, quality and performance.

Mesh networks and Point to multipoint (P2MP) - for smart meter readings, supporting operational needs and enabling power distribution automation for the smart network;

Fixed links - for supporting utility network services (VHF, UHF and MW);

Public-mobile radio - to provide voice communications for remote workers and robust, mission-critical applications.

HTZ Communications offers dedicated features to utility companies including:

• Spectrum regulation, band planning and coordination– allowing operators to manage their radio spectrum effectively and efficiently;
• Frequency allocation- for telemetry networks and other technologies;
• Automatic coverage planning- for individual sites and compositive sites;
• Automatic microwave path calculations – time-saving features;
• Network planning and optimisation– whatever the network technology, HTZ can design, model and optimise radio spectrum to provide resilient and robust networks;
• Windfarm coordination - to manage the impact on microwave and telemetry links’
• Automated Mesh network and clustering – select the best locations with the minimum number of Gateways required to cover end devices, individually or merged by clusters.