Abstract

In microcellular communications, the transmitting antennas can be installed at low heights above the ground. However, even for low elevation towers, installation cost is still high. One of the possible ways for the deployment of base station antennas is to install them near the ground in order to do away with the tower. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest installation of the radiating antennas near the ground and tilting their orientation toward the sky - a totally nonintuitive solution. It will be shown that such deployments have the potential of reducing slow fading and can further enhance the signal strength close to the radiating antenna. This paper provides measured data for the received fields to validate the theoretical conjecture of such a deployment in various environments. The measured results are presented for 245, 800, 1000, and 2400 MHz. It is illustrated that such an unorthodox deployment can result in a low cost for the installation of base station antenna as the towers are not necessary. This can be useful in restoring communications in emergency situations where minimum infrastructure exists.