Site specific propagation prediction models for PCS design and installation

The authors present novel site-specific propagation prediction methods for emerging personal communication system (PCS) services which will offer high capacity in urban settings. The propagation prediction models, composed of 3-D diffraction and ray tracing, are being implemented as software tools on SUN computer workstations. A geographical information system software package is being used to interface building and terrain data with the propagation prediction programs. Early work at Virginia Tech's Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group shows that the predicted signal strengths are within a few decibels of average measured signal strengths for some test cases. >