PABLO ANGUEIRA, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Engineering of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. He has been involved in radio communications research and teaching activities for more than fifteen years. He is author of several contributions to the ITU-R WP3 and WP6 groups as well as many journal and international conference papers. He is Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting journal.JUAN ANTONIO ROMO, PhD, is an Associate Professor teaching fixed, mobile, and satellite radio systems in the Department of Communication Engineering of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. He has twenty-five years' experience in diverse areas of radio communications, in both manufacturing and network operations.

• PREFACE xix ACRONYMS xxiii1 INTRODUCTION TO MICROWAVE LOS LINK SYSTEMS 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Historic Evolution of Radio Links 31.3 Point-to-Point Fixed Communication Technologies 51.4 Field of Application and Use Cases 131.5 Basic Structure of a Fixed Service Microwave Link 181.6 Spectrum Management Aspects 211.7 First Approach to the Design of a Microwave LOS Link 261.8 Link Budget Basics 281.9 Noise 361.10 Interferences 392 LOSS AND FADING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPOSPHERE PROPAGATION PHENOMENA 422.1 Introduction 422.2 Influence of Refraction on Propagation in the Troposphere 432.3 Terrain Diffraction Losses: Fresnel Zones 592.4 Vegetation Attenuation 602.5 Atmospheric Gas and Vapor Absorption 612.6 Hydrometeors 622.7 Reflection 652.8 Distortion due to Propagation Effects 673 FREQUENCY PLAN FOR A FIXED SERVICE MICROWAVE LINK 723.1 Frequency Planning Overview 723.2 Bandwidth and Capacity of a Microwave LOS Link 743.3 ITU-R Frequency Plans 793.4 Assignment of Radio-frequency Channels 933.5 Comments on the Frequency Band Choice 974 EQUIPMENT AND SUBSYSTEM TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS: A RADIO LINK DESIGNER APPROACH 1004.1 Introduction 1004.2 Basic Block Diagrams 1024.3 Transport Technologies 1074.4 Baseband Unit 1144.5 Modulation and Demodulation 1234.6 Transceiver Unit 1394.7 Antenna Coupling Elements 1424.8 Antennas 1474.9 Redundancy Arrangements 1664.10 System Monitoring and Management  1715 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA FOR FIXED SERVICE MICROWAVE LINKS 1745.1 Introduction 1745.2 Error Performance Objectives and Criteria Based on Recommendation ITU-T G.821 1765.3 Error Performance Objectives and Criteria Based on Recommendations ITU-T G.826 and ITU-T G.828 1795.4 Availability Criteria 1885.5 Availability Objectives for Microwave LOS Links Designed Before 2005 1905.6 Availability Objectives for Microwave LOS Links Designed After 2005 1925.7 ITU Error Performance and Availability Usage Guidelines 1945.8 Degradation due to Interferences 1956 LINK PATH ENGINEERING 2076.1 General Considerations on Link Path Engineering  2076.2 Site Selection Criteria 2096.3 Digital Terrain Databases 2116.4 Profile Extraction, Clearance, and Obstructions 2126.5 Optimum Choice of Antenna Heights 2167 PROPAGATION CALCULATION METHODS ACCORDING TO ITU-R P SERIES RECOMMENDATIONS 2277.1 General Considerations on Propagation Calculation Methods 2277.2 Fading Definition 2287.3 Reflection on Earth’s Surface 2307.4 Attenuation Due to Atmospheric Gases 2367.5 Diffraction Fading 2377.6 Multipath Flat Fading 2457.7 Distortion Due to Multipath Propagation Effects Under Clear Sky 2507.8 Attenuation due to Hydrometeors 2557.9 Reduction of Cross-Polar Discrimination (XPD) 2627.10 ITU-R Databases for Tropospheric Propagation Studies 2658 LINK ENGINEERING ACCORDING TO AVAILABILITY AND ERROR PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 2718.1 Introduction 2718.2 Design According to Availability and Error Performance 2728.3 Microwave LOS Link Design According to Availability Criteria 2818.4 Microwave LOS Link Design According to Error Performance Objectives 2858.5 Design in Problematic Propagation Environments 2948.6 Quality and Availability Calculation Guidelines in Real Links 3048.7 Interferences 3068.8 Link Engineering Summary Procedure 3199 LINK OPERATION AND MONITORING 3219.1 Introduction 3219.2 Reference Performance Objectives (RPO) 3229.3 Bringing into Service (BIS) 3259.4 Maintenance 328Bibliography 333APPENDIX 335INDEX 378

“This practical book provides design and implementation guidelines for LOS (Line of Sight) Microwave Radio Links, which are a technological necessity in the telecommunications industry, offering readers ample case studies and ways to apply and adhere to industry standards.”  (ITbriefing.net, 11 September 2012)