Link Budget Analysis for HSR Communication in Low Frequency Spectrum

High-speed rail (HSR) increases undoubtedly the economic productivity as it can promote a sustainable economic development. In order to improve the broadband services and train operational safety, a set of calculations about the feasibility and performance summary on HSR communication link must be provided. This study proposes a designed power link budget to be utilized in 900 Mhz as the frequency spectrum of GSM-R (The Global System for Communication for Railway). The nonstationary and diverse mechanism of HSR make the prediction of path loss as the most prominent factor in HSR channel modeling very difficult to conduct. An optimal link budget must comprise a total calculation of all parameters in which the factor of path loss must be included during the signal propagating between the base station and HSR. In this study, the prediction of path loss values is achieved from the utilization of optimization technique which differ from other existing path loss prediction. With some additional parameters in the link budget, the Received Signal Level (RSL) has shown an acceptable result in the HSR's side. Therefore, HSR network designers can utilize the link budget for the deployment of base stations, frequency set up and coverage area planning.