A computer algorithm for prediction of service area in a mobile radio communication system

A computer algorithm for predicting the service area of a specified percentage of locations that are required to be covered is developed. An empirical formula for performance margin (PM) as a function of frequency (f) and probability of communication (P_x) is derived. This is presented in the form PM=( A+BP_x+Clog P_x) (log f), where A, B, and C are constants depending on frequency and probability of communication. The algorithm enables the determination of the correction factor that must be applied to the range when location probability other than 50% is required. The algorithm can be extended to determine the cochannel interference radius for planning a mobile communication network