Mobile radio propagation in British cities at frequencies in the VHF and UHF bands

Abstract

Measurements of the received signal envelope magnitude have been made in three British cities at frequencies of 85.875, 167.2, and 441.025 MHz. In all cases unmodulated carrier waves were radiated from aerials atop tall buildings or prominent terrain features and detected using a vehicle-mounted receiver. These measurements have provided the basis for an analysis of the factors affecting the transmission loss in urban/suburban areas which, in turn, has enabled a propagation prediction model to be constructed. Close agreement between measured and predicted path losses has been found for the various terrain situations investigated. The statistical prediction errors produced by the proposed model for the three British cities analyzed are shown to be similar in magnitude to those obtained using an extrapolation of the Okumura method. Because the proposed model is much less complex and procedurally simpler, it is recommended for use, in the first instance, in British cities.