Consider a receiver near the fringe of the coverage area of one transmitter. In general this receiver
will pick up signals from several transmitters broadcasting the same programme. Although these
signals are synchronized at the transmitters, they will reach the receiver with different delays. They
cannot be distinguished from multi path signals, provided that the modulation is exactly the same. A
modulation system is suitable for SFN operation if it can operate in conditions where a large excess
delay is prevalent. If an SFN is based on existing transmitter separation distances, topographical
obstacles will not produce larger excess delay than the signals of the various transmitters in the
network. Signals from more–distant transmitters will exceed the maximum delay allowed for the
OFDM signal. They will contribute only partly to the wanted field –strength and the greater the
distance the greater will be the tendency for these signals to cause interference. However the
network–generated self–interference of an SFN can be kept sufficiently low by careful choice of the
system parameters and transmitter powers. If there are still some gaps in the coverage area of a
network, they can be filled by additional low –power stations having the same freq uency. In the case
of terrain shielding, the same technique can be used as in conventional network planning, i.e. those
regions can be covered by fill –in transmitters. If the necessary degree of isolation between the
receiving and transmitting antennas can be achieved, the fill–in transmitter may work as a simple
rebroadcast transmitter except that the transmitted frequency is the same as that received at the
input, rather than having to transpose to a different frequency. If large buildings in urban areas
provide the isolation, the “active reflector” technique may be of interest in such areas also