Impact of Frequency Bands on 4G LTE Coverage Planning: A Comparative Study in Padang City

Abstract

The rapid growth of mobile data services has intensified demand for reliable 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage in urban areas with heterogeneous terrain. This study investigates the coverage performance of 4G LTE networks across four frequency bands—900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz deployed in four sub-districts of Padang City, West Sumatra, Indonesia: Padang Utara, Padang Timur, Padang Barat, and Padang Selatan, totaling 33.26 km². Coverage characteristics are evaluated through link budget analysis, Maximum Allowable Path Loss (MAPL) computation, and Atoll-based radio propagation simulation. The Okumura-Hata model is applied for 900 MHz, while the COST-231 Hata model is used for 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz. Key performance indicators include Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) as the primary coverage metric, Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) as a quality indicator, and throughput as a supporting metric. Results show that 900 MHz achieves the widest coverage with a mean RSRP of −59.96 dBm (95.9% Excellent) using only 4 sites, while 2100 MHz yields the weakest mean RSRP of −87.51 dBm despite 21 sites. The 2300 MHz band—though highest in frequency—outperforms 2100 MHz in both RSRP and SINR due to its denser 33-site deployment. These findings confirm the fundamental trade-off between operating frequency, path loss, cell radius, and required site density in urban LTE deployment, and provide practical guidance for multi-band network planning in complex urban environments.