Services · Radio system design
Radio system design: site architecture, equipment, power supply, and equipment rooms, through to diagrams, specification, and bill of quantities.
From the radio coverage study to the design of the system: how many sites are needed, how they connect to the control room, which equipment they house and how that equipment is powered and grounded. We hand over the technical report, the diagrams, the layouts, the technical specification, and the bill of quantities.
The radio coverage study says where to place the sites, at what power to transmit, and with which antennas. What is left is the design of the system that makes them work, and this is where the most expensive mistakes are made: equipment rooms too tight for the rack, power sized on fewer devices than the system will actually carry, antennas planned on supports whose load capacity nobody has checked. They come to light once the work has started, when putting them right means stopping the site and redrawing the plans.
Teleproject designs every part of the system, from the architecture of the network to the individual wiring diagram: number of sites and links to the control room, radio equipment, equipment rooms and shelters, power supply, grounding system, supports and antennas. The systems we design are the same ones we then install and maintain, and that shows in the design: there is room to work on the equipment, the products chosen have spare parts available over time, and monitoring is planned from the start.
Three types of design.
What the design contains changes depending on whether the system is new, has to be upgraded or the documents are needed to put the work out to tender.
New system
We design the network from the architecture down to the individual site: radio equipment, equipment rooms, power supply, supports, cabling, and the link to the control room, through to the documents the contractor uses on site.
Upgrade of an existing system
We survey the system in service, we check what can still be used and we design the work: replacing the equipment, adding new sites, rebuilding the power supply or the grounding, moving from an analog network to a digital one.
Design for tender
We prepare the documents the client body puts out to tender: technical specification, bill of materials, and priced bill of quantities, written so that the bids of the contractors can be compared with each other.
What the design covers.
The systems we design and the choices we settle for each of them before work starts on site.
System architecture
- Division of the network into sites, with the role assigned to each one: base station, repeater, backbone site
- Links between the sites and the control room: optical fiber, microwave links, leased lines
- Backup paths and behavior of the network when a link is lost
- Points where redundancy is provided: power supply, RF chains, network equipment, and servers
- Services that have to share the same infrastructure: the network of the motorway operator, emergency communications, cellular telephony, FM, and DAB+
Radio equipment and RF chain
- Choice of the base station, repeater, and terminal models that meet the figures set by the radio coverage study
- Number of carriers per site and, in same-frequency simulcast networks, the equipment that synchronizes the sites
- Make-up of the RF chain: duplexers, combiners, cavity filters, couplers, and surge arresters
- Choice of the feeder cables and of the connectors, with the losses allowed on each run
- Compatibility with the equipment and the terminals the customer already has in service
Supports, antennas, and mechanical works
- Choice and position of the supports: poles, towers, brackets, and mounts on the existing structures
- Loads that antennas and feeder cables transmit to the support and to the structure it stands on, supplied to the engineer who performs the structural check
- Height, azimuth, and tilt of every antenna, shown on the mounting drawings
- Route of the feeder cables, fixings, cable entries, and entry into the equipment room
- Access routes for assembly and for maintenance, with the anchor points planned for the safety of the crews
Radiating cable and DAS in tunnels
- Route of the radiating cable along the bore: height, distance from the wall, and clamp spacing
- Position of the niches and of the cabinets housing line amplifiers, couplers, and terminating loads
- Power supply and grounding of the equipment installed in the tunnel
- Antennas where the radiating cable does not reach: portals, cross passages between the bores, and escape routes
- Signal injection points on the radiating cable and provision for continuity monitoring with TP-CCV2
Equipment rooms and shelters
- Layout of racks and equipment in the room, with the access space maintenance requires
- Heat dissipated by the equipment and sizing of the air conditioning
- Cable entries, trays, patch cabinets, and separate routes for power lines and signal lines
- Technical shelters and outdoor cabinets at sites with no usable room
- Environmental sensors and alarm contacts of the room, with the alerts sent to the control room
Power supply, backup, and grounding
- Calculation of the load of every site, sizing of the supply line and of the distribution boards
- UPS units and backup batteries sized on the autonomy the customer requires
- Provision for a generator set or for another backup supply, when the customer asks for it
- Grounding system of the site, bonding racks, equipment, supports, and cable trays
- Surge arresters on the RF, power, and data lines, and equipotential bonding of the room
Transport network and control room
- Optical fiber backbones and copper runs between the sites, the equipment rooms, and the control room
- Network equipment, PoE power, patch cabinets, and IP addressing plan
- Number of operator positions, channels assigned to each one, dispatch consoles, and voice recorder
- Location, power supply, and air conditioning of the central equipment serving the control room
- Delivery of the alarms of every site to the control room and to Track-TP
Documents, specification, and bill of quantities
- Technical report with the design choices, the input data, and the dimensioning criteria
- Block diagram of the network, electrical diagrams, RF diagrams, and layouts of every site
- Labeling scheme for equipment, cables, and connectors, referenced on every diagram
- Technical specification, bill of materials, and priced bill of quantities
- Documents supporting the permit applications and the frequency assignment request
How a design project is run.
The stages we follow, from collecting the input data to handing over the documents and supporting the work on site.
- Step 01
Input data and site survey
We gather the radio coverage study, the requirements of the customer, the documentation of the systems already installed, and the constraints set by the infrastructure operator; then we visit the sites to record space, power available, access, and structures that can be used.
- Step 02
Architecture and equipment selection
We establish how many sites make up the network, how they connect to the control room and which points to make redundant, then we choose and size radio equipment, antennas, RF lines, and network equipment.
- Step 03
Design of the site installations
We design equipment rooms and shelters, power supply and backup, grounding and lightning protection, supports and antenna mounting, cable routes and the wiring of every device.
- Step 04
Documents, specification, and bill of quantities
We hand over the technical report, the diagrams, the layouts, the mounting drawings, the technical specification, the bill of materials, and the priced bill of quantities, in the format required by the customer or by the tender documents.
- Step 05
Support during the works
We answer the queries of the contractor, we review the materials proposed as substitutes, we take part in the checks on site and we update the documents to match the system as actually built.
What you receive.
The documents that stay with the customer, usable in a tender, on site, and while the system is in service.
- Design report
The design choices and the dimensioning criteria of every system, with the input data stated and the calculations attached.
- Electrical diagrams, RF diagrams, and layouts
The block diagram of the network, the diagrams of every site, and the layouts of the equipment rooms, with the position of each device and the route of every cable.
- Installation drawings for antennas and supports
The mounting drawing of every antenna, with height, azimuth, tilt, type of bracket, and loads transmitted to the support.
- Technical specification
The performance required of every device and of every operation, with the acceptance criteria to be verified at acceptance testing.
- Bill of materials and bill of quantities
The list of equipment, antennas, cables, accessories, and works, with the quantities planned for every site, and the priced bill of quantities of the operations.
- Documents for the permit applications
The technical documents required for the authorizations and for the frequency assignment application, prepared together with the rest of the design.
Which sectors use this service.
The sectors that turn to this service most often.
Highways and tunnels
We design, install, and maintain the radio coverage and monitoring systems for Autostrade per l’Italia, SITMB, SAV, RAV, Asti-Cuneo, and many other concessionaires. Over more than twenty years we have equipped more than 500 km of routes and over 100 tunnels.
Railways and metros
We design, install, and maintain radio coverage systems for railway and metro tunnels: multiband DAS systems, radiating-cable continuity monitoring, and microwave links to connect remote sites, backed by more than twenty years of experience in mission-critical communications.
Public safety
We design, build, and maintain mission-critical radio networks and control rooms for law enforcement, emergency medical services, and Protezione Civile: TETRA, DMR, and P25 networks, powered by the Respondr dispatch platform and over twenty years of experience in communications where failure is not an option.
Frequently asked questions.
The questions we hear most often about this service.
Do you need a design to add a single site to a network already in service?
Yes, because a new site is not an isolated element: the link to the control room, the power supply, the grounding, the support the antennas go on, and the channels to be used all have to be decided. The effect on the network already in service then has to be checked: frequency reuse, the overlap areas with the neighboring sites and, in same-frequency simulcast networks, synchronization with the other sites. The work always starts from a survey of the existing installation, because the documentation available does not always match what has been built over the years.
Who performs the structural check on the pole or the tower that carries the antennas?
The structural check on the support is the responsibility of a qualified structural engineer, who signs it under their own responsibility. Our job is to supply the data of the radio design: weight and wind-exposed area of every antenna, mounting height, loads transmitted by the feeder cables, and position of the fixings on the support. If the customer has not already appointed an engineer, we coordinate that work, so the check arrives before the support is ordered and not once assembly has begun.
What happens if a site included in the design turns out not to be usable?
A site can fall through after the design has been delivered: the owner of the land does not grant access, the equipment room does not have enough space or power, the existing support cannot carry the antennas planned. In those cases we find an alternative site and check its coverage in simulation, we recalculate the link budget and, if the overlaps with the neighboring sites change, we revise the frequency plan. We then update the documents affected, diagrams, layouts, antenna mounting drawings, and bill of materials, so the contractor always works on the latest version.
Does the priced bill of quantities say how much the work will cost?
The priced bill of quantities estimates the value of the work: it applies the unit prices of the operations and of the materials to the quantities set out in the design. It is a design estimate, not a quotation: the actual figure is set by the bids of the contractors, which vary with the site conditions and with the prices of materials and labor. It gives the client body a basis for allocating funds and for comparing the bids on common ground, because every bid refers to the same quantities and the same operations.
Request a quote for radio system design.
One of our Project Managers analyzes your specific project requirements and prepares a dedicated technical and commercial proposal.