5G wireless
Macro and small-cell
The 5G skill turns Nexma into a wireless network-design platform. It models macro and small-cell deployment, validates coverage and capacity against propagation models, and plans backhaul. Unlike the wired utilities, this domain is governed by radio physics — signal strength, line of sight, and spectrum rules drive every placement.
What this skill models
The ontology captures a radio access network with the entity types, link types, and constraints an RF planner expects.
- Entity types.
gNodeB(macro base station),SmallCell,CPE(customer premises equipment),BackhaulLink, andPowerSupply. Each carries typed properties — band, MIMO configuration, EIRP, antenna height. - Link types.
RFCoverageLink,BackhaulFiber, andMicrowaveHop. Backhaul links carry capacity and resilience class. - Key constraints. A minimum of minus 85 dBm signal strength at served locations; 3GPP spectrum allocation; line-of-sight requirements for microwave backhaul; and EIRP limits per band per region.
The ontology ships the reference libraries a planner needs: 3GPP Release 15-plus band plans, antenna pattern libraries, and propagation-model defaults (ITU-R P.452 and P.1812).
What Jax can do
Jax reasons about radio coverage because the Skill binds its capabilities to this ontology.
- Generate cell layouts. "Cover this polygon with C-band macro cells targeting minus 80 dBm RSRP at street level. Add small cells where the heatmap drops below minus 90." Jax derives subscriber density from population and land-use data if no demand layer is supplied.
- Orient sectors — proposes azimuths and tilts that maximize coverage per site.
- Plan backhaul — fiber-first, microwave fallback, with line-of-sight checks against terrain.
- Validate coverage (RSRP and SINR), capacity against forecast demand, and backhaul resilience.
- Check spectrum — flags configurations that exceed regional EIRP limits.
The propagation model and coverage solve run through the Nexma MathEngine, writing RSRP heatmaps back to the world model so coverage updates the moment Jax re-runs.
Tip: Fix the band and antenna height before optimizing sectors. Path loss scales with frequency and clearance, so settling the band first keeps the azimuth-and-tilt pass working against a stable propagation surface.
Constraints and standards
The skill enforces the rules a wireless design must satisfy to be deployable and compliant.
| Concern | Rule enforced | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Minus 85 dBm minimum at served sites | RF planning practice |
| Propagation | Path loss per terrain and clutter | ITU-R P.452 / P.1812 |
| Spectrum | Band plan and EIRP per region | 3GPP Release 15+ |
| EIRP limits | Within regional power caps | FCC Part 27 (US) |
| Backhaul | Line of sight for microwave hops | Microwave link budget |
Export targets include GeoJSON, KML, and vendor-format files from Project to Export.
Out of scope today: detailed RAN parameter optimization (PCI planning, neighbor lists), core-network function design (handled by NFV and cloud-native platforms), and ray-traced indoor coverage.
Where to go next
- FTTH — the wired counterpart that often carries 5G backhaul.
- Skills overview — the full catalog.
- The ontology — how coverage constraints are defined.
- Nexma MathEngine — the propagation and coverage solver.