Network planning aspects of DS-CDMA systems with particular emphasis on soft handoff

Results are presented from an initial study into the application of soft handoff to wideband DS-CDMA systems. As a precursor, soft handoff is explained in terms of macroscopic diversity combining, leading to an examination of soft handoff on the system design with particular reference to the control signalling involved with its implementation. An outdoor propagation experiment was designed to specifically investigate the propagation aspects of soft handoff. The propagation equipment, environment selected and the results obtained from this study are then presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of the work presented and an outline of future work activities