Determination of GSM Signal Penetration Loss in some Selected Buildings in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The qualities of indoor signal reception are governed by the mechanism of reflection, refraction, diffraction and scattering of signal propagation through buildings which are dependent on the material of the building structure. These indoor outages can be traced to building penetration loss. Penetration loss depends on the type of building material used. This research work is a determination of signal penetration loss in some selected buildings in Rivers state, Nigeria. Global system for mobile communication (GSM) signals of MTN, GLOBACOM, AIRTELand ETISALAT networks were measured using Radio Frequency Signal Tracker in five different buildings (mud house with thatched roof, mud house/rusted corrugated iron sheet roof, sandcrete building/rusted corrugated iron sheet roof, sandcrete building/unrusted corrugated iron sheet roof and building with alucoboard wall cladding) in Port Harcourt metropolis in Nigeria. The results showed that buildings with alucoboard wall cladding has the highest GSM signal penetration loss while the sandcrete building/unrushed corrugated iron sheet roof has the lowest GSM penetration signal loss.