Comparison of urban propagation models with CW-measurements

The European research committee COST 231 has developed a propagation model for the estimation of urban transmission loss in cellular mobile radio. This model considers the diffraction loss due to equidistantly spaced buildings along the direct radio path and the diffraction and scatter losses from the rooftop down to the mobile. CW measurements in the 900- and 1800-MHz bands were performed in the cities of Mannheim and Darmstadt, Germany. Mannheim can be characterized as a homogeneously structured urban area with a rectangular street grid. The land cover in Darmstadt, on the other hand, is characterized by an inhomogeneous structure. The influences of base station antenna height, radio frequency, and street orientation are analyzed in detail. The quality of path-loss estimation and the shortcomings of the COST-231 model are discussed