OT REPORT 78-144 

RADIO PROPAGATION 

IN URBAN AREAS 

A. G. LONGLEY 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary 

April 1978 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page

ABSTRACT.....................................................................1 

1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................1 

2. SURVEY OF PREVIOUS WORK................................................2 

2.1. Results of Measurement Programs..................................3 

2.2. Some Height Gain and Polarization Effects.......................11 

2.3. Attenuation by Trees............................................14 

 2.4. Multipath Fading................................................17 

 2.5. Diversity Techniques............................................21 

3. PROPAGATION MODELS FOR URBAN AREAS....................................23 

3.1 Existing Propagation Models.....................................23 

3.2. A Computer Prediction Model.....................................30 

4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...............................................34 

5. REFERENCES............................................................36 

APPENDIX – 1977 Modification of the Longley-Rice 

 Computer Model ............................................43 

iii 
LIST OF FIGURES 

Figures Page

1. Prediction curve for basic median attenuation relative to 26 

free space in urban areas over quasi-smooth terrain, referred to hte= 200 m, hre = 3 m. From Okumura et al. (1968). 

2. Median value of environmental clutter effect as a function 27 

of angle of elevation. From Kinase (1969). 

3. Median value of clutter effect as a function of frequency. 

From Kinase (1969). 27 

A-1 Field strength (for 1 kW ERP) as a function of distance 

over a smooth homogeneous earth. Frequency 100 MHz, 

ε = 10, σ = 10 mS/m, h1 = 20 m, h2 = 0 to 20,000 m. 46 

A-2 Attenuation relative to free space as a function of distance over a smooth homogeneous earth. Frequency 100 MHz, 

ε = 15, σ = 5 mS/m, h1 = 5 m, h2 = 5 to 2000 m. 47 

A-3 Attenuation relative to free space as a function of distance over a smooth homogeneous earth. Frequency 300 MHz, 

ε = 15, σ = 5 mS/m, h1 = 5 m, h2 = 5 to 2000 m. 48 

A-4 Attenuation relative to free space as a function of distance over a smooth homogeneous earth. Frequency 1000 MHz, 

ε = 15, σ = 5 mS/m, h1 = 20 m, h2 = 5 to 2000 m. 49 

iv 
RADIO PROPAGATION IN URBAN AREAS 

Anita G. Longley* 

This report reviews much of the earlier work on radio propagation in urban areas, including a good deal of data from measurement programs, careful studies of multipath propagation, and techniques to reduce multipath fading. A number of investigators have 

also developed propagation models for use in urban areas. Most of 

these are largely empirical, and are presented as curves with various correction factors for antenna height, frequency and terrain 

irregularity. 

The present report describes a model, intended for use with a 

digital computer, which provides a rapid means for calculating both 

the median attenuation and the location variability expected in urban areas. The model has been tested against measured values and is 

applicable for a wide variety of conditions. 

Key words: Broadcast systems; irregular terrain; land-mobile systems; location variability; radio propagation; urban 

 communications. 

1. INTRODUCTION 

 For many years land-mobile and broadcast services were concerned mainly 

with the lower part of the VHF band, but higher frequencies are now allocated, 

so for both broadcast and mobile systems we must consider frequencies up to 

1000 MHz. 

 The random selection of receiver locations for these systems results in 

greater median propagation loss than would occur with selected sites, and also 

in greater path-to-path variability. Some irregularity in terrain causes an 

increase in field strength by breaking up the destructive phasing between 

direct and reflected radio waves that occurs over smooth terrain. However, 

as terrain irregularity increases, or as buildings and trees are added to the 

surface, the signal is reduced by shadowing, absorption, and scattering of the 

radio energy, and there is also an increased range of variation with location. 

*The author is with the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration, U. S. Department of 

Commerce, Boulder, Colorado 80303. 
These effects of terrain irregularity, and of surface clutter, increase with 

increasing frequency. With the present trend toward the use of higher frequencies these effects become more and more important. 

 In land-mobile systems the antenna height on the mobile unit is low,

usually not more than 3 m above ground. Between the base station and a 

mobile unit, and between the units themselves, an ever-changing and very 

large number of propagation paths are formed due to the motion from place to 

place. This multipath interference causes the signal to fade rapidly and 

deeply, and can be a serious problem in highly built-up urban areas where a 

large number of propagation paths may be formed.

In addition to the rapid, multipath type of fading, there is a variability in signal level from one location to another. This may be referred to 

as path-to-path or location variability. In urban areas the location variability is highly dependent on the type and density of surface features, as 

well as on terrain irregularity, and radio frequency. 

 The problems encountered in propagation in an urban environment contain 

too many unknown elements for complete theoretical modeling. For this reason 

data from measurements have been depended on in attempts to model radio propagation in urban conditions. Many such empirical models have been proposed 

as indicated in section 3.1. Of these several are presented in the form of 

curves of median field strength as a function of distance or range, with an 

allowance for path-to-path variability. 

 This report reviews much of the available data, considers techniques to 

overcome or control the rapid, multipath type of fading, and describes early 

and existing models for predicting median propagation loss and location variability. A model is described which takes into account the dependence of 

transmission loss on radio frequency, antenna heights, terrain irregularity, 

and distance, with an additional allowance for attenuation in urban areas 

as a function of surface obstacles and radio frequency. This model is developed for use with a digital computer and has been tested against available 

data. 

2. SURVEY OF PREVIOUS WORK 

 Many measurement programs have been carried out to ascertain the effects 

2
of shadowing by terrain and by natural and man-made objects. Such shadowing 

may cause great attenuation of the radio signal and wide variation from one 

receiver location to another. The results of a number of such programs are 

described. Some studies of antenna height gain, the effects of differences in 

polarization, and the attenuation caused by trees are also discussed. 

 A serious problem in urban propagation is the multipath interference, 

which causes the radio signal to fade rapidly and deeply, depths of 30 dB 

being quite common. Many investigators have studied multipath fading, describing and analyzing its characteristics, and small scale statistics, with 

a view to developing techniques to limit or control this fading. Several 

approaches have been tried, including the use of directional antennas to reduce the number of reflected signals received, but probably a more useful 

technique is some form of space diversity. Much of this work on multipath 

interference and its control is referenced and discussed below. 

2.1. Results of Measurement Programs 

 A great many measurement programs have been carried out to determine 

the effects of urban conditions on radio propagation. A number of these programs are discussed in this section, with significant numerical values listed 

in Table 1. 

 The effects of shadowing and multipath in an urban area were studied 

more than 40 years ago by Burrows et al. (1935). They measured the signal 

transmitted at a frequency of 34.6 MHz from the top of a high building, in 

the downtown area of Boston, to a mobile receiver. The received signal was 

quite variable, with an average value 12 dB less than that for a flat earth 

and a range of ±10 dB. They concluded that transmission under urban conditions may be considered in terms of transmission over level ground plus the 

wave interference patterns caused by reflections from the buildings, and an 

additional urban attenuation that is independent of path length. At about 

the same time measurements were made in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Muyskens and 

Kraus (1933). They obtained good coverage of Ann Arbor and environs with a 

signal at 58.8 MHz transmitted from a tower on the university campus. They 

obtained better results with vertical than with horizontal polarization. 

Jones (1933) reported observations at 44 and 61 MHz from the Empire State

3
Building in New York. He reported the absorption through and around buildings 

as about 50% per 500 ft at 44 MHz and per 200 ft at 61 MHz. He also discussed 

reflection phenomena and interference patterns. During the same period Holmes 

and Turner (1936) made field strength surveys in the Camden-Philadelphia area 

at 30 and 100 MHz. They noted that the shielding effect of the thickly builtup downtown area of Philadelphia was very apparent, especially at 100 MHz, and 

that local conditions sometimes completely mask the relationship between 

terrain elevation and field strength. 

 Other early measurements reported by Goldsmith et al. (1949) showed that 

channel 5 signals in the streets of New York City were far below theoretical 

values and showed great variability in level, even though the terrain is essentially flat. They concluded that these effects were caused by the shadows 

and multipath reflections from the many high buildings. Brown et al. (1948) 

reported on measurements made in New York City at frequencies of 67, 288, 510, 

and 910 MHz from a transmitter atop the Empire State Building. A receiving 

van moved along two radials, one west over very hilly country through suburban 

areas with large houses and trees, and the other southwest over level terrain 

toward Princeton, New Jersey. They noted that shadowing by hills or other 

obstructions has a steadily increasing effect as frequency increases, and 

in hilly or obstructed areas multipath effects become severe at 510 and 910 

MHz. On the smooth southwest radial outside of Manhattan there was little 

evidence of multipath, while along the other radial, especially in shadowed 

areas, signals arriving by many paths were numerous. As directional 

receiving antenna arrays were rotated, several positions were noted where 

strong signals were received, some as strong as the main signal. At the higher 

frequencies, multipath signals are profuse and the field may be badly distorted. In suburban areas over smooth terrain with many houses and trees, the 

median losses observed were 15 and 20 dB greater than calculated smooth earth 

values at 510 and 910 MHz, respectively. In these measurements, transmission 

from directional antennas at 510 and 910 MHz prevented multipath signals that 

would be caused by reflections from the buildings on Manhattan Island. Highgain directive receiving antennas failed to function properly in shadowed 

areas where the field is distorted. 

 Kirke et al. (1951) conducted a mobile survey of field strength in the 

streets of London, with the transmitter at Wrotham, Kent. Transmission at 

4
90.8 MHz from an antenna 220 ft above ground was received on mobile units with 

20 ft antennas. They found that buildings of normal height in London reduced 

the average field strength by 10 to 12 dB, and also that the average for one 

street represented the average ±4 dB for the district. In a hilly and highly 

populated district the contours covered a range of some 34 dB. Local variations were much greater with vertical than with horizontal polarization, especially in the vicinity of trees. With vertically polarized radiation, the 

trees seemed to act as screening or absorbing agents rather than as 

reflectors, as the field strength tends to drop near trees. 

 In a series of mobile measurements in the Washington, D. C. and Baltimore 

areas, at frequencies of 71.75 and 94 MHz, Kirby and Capps (1956) compared the 

the path-to-path variability in various surroundings. They noted consistently 

more variability at the higher frequency, with 10 to 90% ranges of 7, 13, 14, 

and 15 dB in overwater, wooded, urban, and farm areas, respectively, for distances up to 50 mi. These ranges correspond to standard deviations of about 

3, 5.2, 5.6, and 6 dB. Glentzer (1956) performed tests at 450 MHz from four 

possible coverage stations in Chicago, Illinois. He observed the best coverage over a 30 mi radius from the top of the Field building, about 575 ft above 

ground. He also noted that coverage is affected by the shadows of tall buildings, trees, and hills. Head and Prestholdt (1960) on analyzing a large number of measurements at VHF and UHF found much more variability of field 

strength values in rugged than in smooth terrain, and a much wider range of 

values in the higher frequency band. From a study of the variation of field 

intensity over irregular terrain, within line of sight, Fine (1952) reported 

that, for a distance of 5 to 30 mi, the median measured field strength at 

400 to 600 MHz is 22 dB below that for a plane earth, with a standard deviation of about 12 dB. He also observed somewhat more variability at 910 MHz 

than at the lower frequencies. 

 Measurements were made by Aikens and Lacy (1950) at 150 and 450 MHz from 

a transmitter on top of the telephone building in New York City to mobile receivers. In Manhattan, city of skyscrapers, all measured values were 20 to 

40 dB below calculated smooth-earth values. The mean excess loss was about 

30 dB on cross-town streets but only about 15 dB on the north-south avenues. 

In suburban rolling country the excess loss was 5 to 40 dB, with a mean of 

23 dB. On city streets, the variation over a distance of 200 to 400 ft was 

5
roughly 20 to 25 dB, while in open country it was only about half as much. 

In Manhattan and the Bronx, Young (1952) compared mobile radio performance 

at 150, 450, 900, and 3700 MHz. He concluded that for mobile radio telephone 

both 450 and 900 MHz are somewhat preferable to 150 MHz. At frequencies above 

1000 MHz performance falls off because fluctuations in received signal level 

occur at an audible rate when the unit moves at normal speeds. For all frequencies the losses are about 30 and 20 dB greater than smooth-earth values 

for urban and suburban areas, respectively, with a 10 to 90% range of values 

of 25 dB in urban areas. 

 Studies by Epstein and Peterson (1953) and (1956) of transmission at 

850 MHz in an urban area show the effects of different transmitting antenna 

heights. The radio signal was broadcast from station WOR in Jersey City and 

received at points along radials to the west and southwest through a heavily 

congested area, and through open country. At each receiving site the maximum 

field between 10 and 30 ft above ground was recorded. In the congested area 

over quite smooth terrain, within 13 mi of the transmitter, the attenuation 

relative to free space was about 26 dB from a transmitting antenna height 

of 200 ft, and only 15 dB when the height was increased to 740 ft. Similarly, 

about 14 to 20 mi from the transmitter, in an area of open farm land with 

occasional woods and some buildings, the corresponding attenuations are 16 

and 0 dB, respectively. They conclude that useful estimates of propagation 

loss can be made by calculating the free-space loss, the terrain shadow 

loss using knife-edge diffraction theory, and an additional factor which 

depends on the elevation of the transmitting antenna above suburban and rural 

areas. This attenuation factor depends on the angle of approach at the receiving antenna. This is the angle between an incoming ray from the transmitter and a tangent to the earth at the receiver. Attenuation is greater 

for low angles of approach since the path through intervening obstacles is 

longer. Based on an analysis of data at 67 and 850 MHz they define a "clutter 

loss" as a function of frequency and the angle of arrival of the signal. 

(In this study the receiving antennas were 5 to 10 ft above housetops so the 

clutter loss does not include a dependence on the height of the receiving 

antenna.) For angles of arrival greater than 2° the clutter loss is quite 

small but for smaller angles it becomes appreciable, more than 20 dB estimated 

at 900 MHz.

6
 Bullington (1957) reported that in New York City the median field for 

random locations at street level is about 25 dB below the corresponding plane 

earth value at 150 and 450 MHz, with a 10 to 90% range of 20 dB. Similarly, 

Nylund (1968) reported on mobile tests at 152.6 MHz in New York City and 

suburban areas. In the suburbs, the base station antenna was 80 ft high while 

in the city transmission was from a 205 ft antenna which was partially blocked 

by nearby buildings. The losses in excess of calculated smooth-earth values 

averaged about 11 and 36 dB in the suburban and urban areas, respectively. 

The statistical distributions of the depth and width of fades in rural, suburban, and urban areas are similar. The average fading depth was about 10 dB 

with 10% of fades reaching a depth of 25 dB, and a maximum of 35 dB. 

 The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) carried out a large measurement program to determine the usefulness of a UHF broadcasting station in the 

canyon-like city of Manhattan. The plan for this program was reported by 

Skrivseth (1961), data from mobile measurements along radials were listed by 

Hutton (1963), and the results of the program were described by Waldo (1963). 

Transmission from the top of the Empire State Building on channels 2, 7, and 

31 (about 58, 178, and 576 MHz) was measured out to a range of 25 mi, with 

mobile surveys along radials to the limit of measurement. Tests were also 

made at nearly 4000 fixed locations, half of them in Manhattan within 5 mi 

of the transmitter. The average attenuation relative to free space on unobstructed roofs within a range of 15 mi was about 10 dB at all three frequencies. Comparison between reception at rooftop sites and with indoor antennas 

showed additional loss inside buildings in Manhattan of about 30 dB at the 

two lower frequencies, and 26 dB at the higher one. Outside of Manhattan 

the building penetration losses were about 5 dB less at all three frequencies. 

 Peterson (1963) discussed the results of the FCC measurement program with 

particular attention to the mobile surveys along radials. Along a radial over 

smooth terrain through a residential area, the average losses at all tested 

frequencies were 20 dB more than calculated smooth-earth values. A second 

radial over highly irregular terrain showed heavy shadowing by mountains 

but little "clutter" loss. He stated that the use of high-gain transmitting 

antennas has objectionable consequences in hilly terrain, and in a heavily 

built-up city area the receiving antennas are immersed in a sea of clutter,

7
with no possible use of antenna directivity or gain. 

 Measurements at 836 MHz in Phi1adelphia, reported by Black and Reudink 

(1972), were from a 500 ft base station antenna to a van moving at 15 mi per 

hr along streets in a small area in the central part of the city, and a larger 

area farther out. In the smaller area, variations of 20 dB or more were observed in the shadows of tall buildings, with a median path loss about 27 dB 

in excess of the calculated 1ine-of-sight loss. In the larger area, where the 

buildings are more uniform in size, the median attenuation was about 17 dB, 

with an interdeci1e range of 13 dB. Changes in signal level with distance 

from 2 to 5 mi show local mean values about 24 dB below free space, with a 

spread of some 30 dB. Near the transmitter, the variability is greater than 

it is farther away. Changes in local mean level depend on the terrain, the 

width of the street, sizes of buildings, and whether or not the transmitter 

is shadowed by tall buildings. They noted that the signal along radial 

streets is about 10 dB higher than on cross streets, even at a distance of 3 

mi from the transmitter. Measurements at 956 MHz from a base station 80 ft 

above ground in Washington, D. C., are reported by Deitz (1971). Signals 

received by a mobile unit fluctuate at a rapid rate, with fading amplitudes up 

to 40 dB. Along a narrow valley, Rock Creek Park, he observed about 5 dB more 

attenuation when the trees were in full leaf than during winter months. 

 Recently Barton and Wagner (1974), have reported mobile radio performance 

in urban, hilly terrain. They measured transmission loss at 455 and 862 MHz 

from a base station transmitter located on a bluff some 125 m high, in the 

central part of Pittsburgh. Measurements were made at Meadow Lands and at 

Harmarvi11e, at distances of 32 and 16 km, respectively, over terrain with 

deep valleys and thick tree cover, the terrain having a peak-to-peak variation 

of 156 m. The average measured power received at 862 MHz was -107 and -97.5 

dBm for the longer and shorter paths, respectively. This corresponds to an attenuation relative to free space of about 40 dB. Similar values were obtained 

at 455 MHz. They concluded that city-wide dispatch systems at 900 MHz will be 

practical not only in level areas but in hilly terrain as well. They also 

made measurements in long tunnels and under elevated roads which showed a 

remarkable improvement at 862 MHz over those at 450 MHz. They attributed 

this to more scattered signal illumination at tunnel entrances and multipath 

8
reflections along the tunnel walls at the higher frequency. 

 Extensive studies of land-mobile radio services in Japan have been reported by Okumura et al. (1968), and by Kinase (1969). Measurements at 200, 

453, 922, 1310, 1430, and 1920 MHz, were made in the heart of Tokyo and its 

environs. Okumura et al. show the effects of "environmental clutter" in 

urban, suburban, and open areas for various frequencies, antenna heights, 

distances, and terrain types. They define an open area as clear for 300 to 

400 m from the receiving antenna, a suburban area includes villages with scattered trees, and an urban area is a built-up city crowded with large buildings, two-story houses, and tall trees. (Until recently, the maximum building 

height in Japan has been 31 m.) Measured values of field strength in urban 

areas, over smooth terrain, are plotted versus path length for each frequency 

at several transmitting antenna heights with a 3 m receiving antenna. From 

these measurements they derived a set of curves of median attenuation relative 

to free space as a function of frequency for various distances in an urban 

area over practically smooth terrain. For a frequency range of 100 to 1000 

MHz, the attenuation is 6 to 10 dB less in suburban areas, while in open areas 

it is 23 to 29 dB less than in an urban area. They note that the variability 

of the signal increases with frequency, and that there is less loss on radial 

than on cross streets. 

 Kinase (1969), reporting on measurements at 670 MHz in Tokyo and suburban 

areas, stated that in the heavily built-up central area of Tokyo the attenuation relative to free space is about 15 dB greater than in any other area. 

He reported median values of attenuation of 40, 30, and 25 dB in central 

urban, urban, and suburban areas. He calculated the effects of terrain irregularity to obtain a basic or theoretical field strength, and defined a 

clutter factor C as the ratio of observed to calculated field strength. 

This factor increases progressively with lower antenna heights, and with 

lower elevation angles, and is independent of terrain type. He noted that in 

suburban areas with large trees, C is comparable to that in built-up areas. 

Kinase defined a single parameter Γ as the area occupied by buildings, vegetation, etc., expressed as a percentage of the total area, in a unit area 

of 2 km2

. The clutter factor is then expressed as a function of elevation 

angle and radio frequency for each value of Γ. For example, in central

9
Tokyo, Γ = 50%, and the median clutter factors for a frequency of 700 MHz are 

about 22 and 32 dB at elevation angles of 0.055 and 0.008 radians, respectively. This parameter Γ can be used to describe clutter independent of such 

classifications as rural, small city, urban, etc. 

 Mobile measurements in other large cities have been reported by several 

investigators. In a large Russian city such measurements are reported by 

Trifonov et al. (1964) at frequencies of 50, 150, and 300 MHz. They observed 

deep fading with minima every half wavelength in the center of the city, about 

every wavelength at open sites within the city, and practically no interference fading at open sites outside of the city. The distribution of samples 

taken every half wavelength along city streets was log-normal in multilevel 

streets in the center of the city and Rayleigh in suburban areas, with intermediate Nakagami-Rice (Rayleigh plus a constant) distributions. They also observed less fading on wide streets and along radials than in cross streets. 

Mobile measurements in Poland* at 158 and 306 MHz are reported from Warsaw, and from a town with a population of about 30,000. At 158 MHz in the 

heart of Warsaw attenuation due to urban clutter is 9 to 18 dB. At 306 MHz 

in suburban areas, 9 to 14km from the transmitter, the attenuation is 12 to 

21 dB, while in a small town it is about 10 dB. In another series of tests, 

signals received on a 30 m antenna in suburban and denser areas from a base 

station 1 to 6 km away, show clutter attenuations of approximately 5, 7, 10, 

and 13 dB at frequencies at 34, 46, 171, and 306 MHz, respectively. 

 Measurements on city streets in Italy* at 146 and 475 MHz from a mobile 

transmitter show that the additional loss in an urban environment depends on 

the density and heights of the buildings and on the vertical angle of arrival 

of the signal. These results are quite similar to those reported by Okumura 

from measurements in Japan, where the attenuation increases about 30 dB as the 

elevation angle is reduced from 4° to nearly zero. 

 Measurements in West Berlin at 12 GHz are reported by Sakowski (1971). 

Transmission was with vertical polarization from three transmitting antennas 

at heights of 200, 95, and 56 m above average ground. He did not obtain adequate reception on 10 m receiving antennas but with 25 m receiving antennas 

the attenuation relative to free space for distances of 10 to 25 km was zero 

for 200 m height, 2 to 14 dB for 95 m height, and 10 to 25 dB for the 56 m 

__________________ 

* Private communication

10
antenna height. 

 Some of the results of these measurement programs are listed in table 1. 

Values shown in the table were for the most part recorded over smooth terrain 

and represent the attenuation caused by built-up urban and suburban developments at several frequencies. Some of the effects of irregular terrain will 

be considered in the section on propagation models. 

 In heavily built-up city areas we have seen that the additional loss may 

range from zero to about 40 dB, depending on frequency, antenna height, angle 

of arrival of the signal, and the density and height of the buildings. At 

frequencies from 40 to 250 MHz there is no great difference in signal level 

between urban and rural areas as long as the receiving antenna is above local 

roof levels, but with the receiving antenna at 10 m the additional attenuation 

in urban areas is 6 to 16 dB depending on the character and height of the 

buildings. At higher frequencies, 450 to 1000 MHz, urban attenuation may be 

from about 6 to 28 dB depending on the density and heights of the buildings. 

2.2. Some Height Gain and Polarization Effects 

 In a land-mobile service, the receiving antenna is usually only about 3 m 

above ground, while for a broadcast service the height is about 10 m. The 

median height gain when the receiving antenna is raised from 3 to 10 m depends 

on the frequency. The CCIR (1974d) reported that in the range 40 to 100 MHz 

the height gain is 9 to 10 dB in both rural and urban areas. For frequencies 

of 150 to 250 MHz the height-gain is 10 to 11 dB in urban or hilly areas, and 

about 7 dB in flat terrain. At 450 to 1000 MHz the height gain is 14 dB in 

urban areas and 6 to 7 dB in the suburbs, while in irregular terrain it depends on terrain irregularity, going from 10 to 0 dB as ∆h increases from 

10 to 500 m. (The parameter, ∆h, is the difference in heights exceeded by 10% 

and 90% of the terrain in the range 10 km to 50 km from the transmitter.) At 

any specific location the actual height gain on raising the receiving antenna 

from 3 to 10 m may be quite different from these median values. As the receiving antenna is raised above surface obstacles a further height gain is to 

be expected. In an urban area, with receiving antennas above local roof levels no increase in transmission loss above that in rural areas is expected at 

frequencies below 100 MHz. In the 150 to 250 MHz band there may be an additional attenuation of 5 to 15 dB in urban areas depending on the density and

11
12
height of the buildings and the angle of arrival of the signal at the receiving antenna. In urban areas in England an additional 9 dB attenuation was observed in the range 450 to 1000 MHz. When the receiving antenna is lowered 

from 3 to 1.5 m the additional attenuation is approximately 3 dB. 

 In both urban and suburban situations, increasing the height of the 

transmitting antenna may have a marked effect. The increased field can be 

related to the increase in elevation angle, as noted by Kinase (1969) and 

Epstein and Peterson (1953). The amount of attenuation should depend on the 

angle of approach at the receiving antenna, and should be greater for low 

angles of approach because the path length through intervening obstacles is 

longer. Another effect of raising the transmitting antenna is that this may 

elevate it above nearby obstructions, such as tall buildings, which may practically block out a whole segment, as noted by Black and Reudink (1972). 

 The directive gain patterns, polarization, and other characteristics of 

antennas are often greatly affected by the proximity of buildings and vegetation. In shadow regions at VHF the effect of reflections on vertically polarized signals is often sufficient to seriously distort FM reception, while 

they have little effect on horizontally polarized signals. Bullington (1957) 

noted that at 100 MHz the average loss from nearby trees was 5 to 10 dB with 

vertical polarization and only 2 to 3 dB for horizontally polarized signals. 

Such polarization differences were not observed at frequencies from 300 to 

500 MHz. 

 Measurements in a hilly, wooded region near Detmold, Germany* at 97 MHz 

show the advantage of horizontal polarization in both field strength and quality of reception. The field strength was 5 dB higher and practically no 

reflections were observed with horizontal polarization. 

 Even at higher frequencies, Cunningham (1973) noted that small sector 

signal variations at 900 MHz are greater for vertical polarization than for 

either horizontal or circular polarization. The received signal typically 

exhibits a variation of t6 dB with vertical as compared with ±2 to 3 dB with 

horizontal or circular polarization. 

 When a transmitter is located at a clear site some discrimination against 

unwanted signals may be achieved by the use of orthogonal polarizations. In 

an urban setting, however, where multipath fading caused by scattering and 

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*Private communication 

13
reflection from buildings and trees is common, the resulting field is largely 

depolarized. Polarization discrimination exceeded at 90% of receiving sites 

is 20, 14, and 0 dB in flat, hilly, and mountainous terrain, respectively. 

with the transmitting antenna at a clear site the polarization discrimination 

at rooftop level in an urban area has a 90% value of about 9 dB (CCIR, 1974c). 

Some measurements at UHF indicate that there is slightly more depolarization 

for vertically than for horizontally polarized waves. 

2.3. Attenuation by Trees 

 Many measurements have been made of the effects of forests and of individual trees on radio propagation. Typical dense, and rather extensive woods 

are practically opaque to radio signals at UHF and higher frequencies. The 

signal in the presence of woods near the receiving antenna appears to be 

principally that diffracted over the trees, but with less dense woods the 

signal transmitted through may be greater than that diffracted over them. 

A small number of trees, or even a single tree, can cause considerable 

spatial variation in field strength at points within the shadow zone. When 

an antenna is placed in a grove of trees the signal is severely attenuated and 

the directive gain pattern, polarization, and other characteristics of the 

antenna may be strongly affected. Measurements made in jungles and rain 

forests by Herbstreit and Crichlow (1964) show that jungle attenuation of 

radio signals at VHF is very great, and that vertically polarized signals are 

attenuated about 15 dB more than horizontally polarized fields at a distance 

of one mile. Bergman and Vivian (1970) report measurements in jungles in 

the mountainous terrain of Panama. At about 50 MHz, for distances of 10 to 

40 km, the average jungle loss was about 18 to 20 dB below free space, with 

a standard deviation of about 12 dB. 

 Large measurement programs have been carried out in tropical jungles, 

and the vegetation has been modeled as an imperfect dielectric slab. This 

so-called "slab model" represents the inhomogeneous, anisotropic, real jungle 

as an homogeneous, isotropic, lossy dielectric. (See reports by Pounds and 

La Grone, 1963; Hagn and Barker, 1970; Sturgill et al., 1967; Tamir, 1967; 

and others.) However, Vincent (1969) noted that scattering of VHF radio 

waves by trees is a significant factor, especially scattering by the tree 

14
trunks. He also measured values of the relative dielectric constant, ε, and 

conductivity, σ, for various frequencies. As the frequency is increased from 

7 to 100 MHz ε decreases from 15 to 10 and σ increases from 3 to 20 mS/m. As 

frequency is further increased, above 100 MHz, the trees tend to act more and 

more as individual scatterers, multipath effects become increasingly significant, and there is much more radiowave attenuation than would be predicted 

by a "slab model". At VHF and UHF large attenuations are observed between 

antennas separated by a few hundred meters of trees. This attenuation is 

strongly frequency dependent, and is rather insensitive to tree density. 

 In urban areas we are concerned with the absorption, reflection, and 

scattering of radio energy by trees and other vegetation, and their effects 

on multipath near the receiving antenna. 

 Trevor (1940) measured attenuation through a patch of woods 500 ft thick 

at 500 and 250 MHz in summer and in winter. He observed strong standing wave 

patterns, with 3 to 4 dB more loss with vertical than with horizontal polarization. At 500 MHz the attenuations were 19 and 15 dB in the summer and 

winter, respectively, with vertical polarization. At 250 MHz the corresponding winter loss was 14 dB. The loss over 5 to 6 ft scrub pines was about 

8 dB more than over a smooth earth. Sofaer and Bell (1966) also reported a 

foliage loss of about 4 dB at frequencies of 200 and 750 MHz in dense woods, 

with somewhat less loss through a single line of trees. Recently, Reudink 

and Wazowicz (1973) reported foliage attenuations of 10 and 20 dB behind a 

tree-covered obstacle at 836 MHz and 11.2 GHz, respectively. 

 La Grone and Chapman (1961) reported the effect of a single large oak 

tree on propagation at 2880 MHz. At distances of 300 and 900 ft from the 

tree the measured attenuations were 28 and 25 dB, respectively. These results 

agree with those of McPetrie and Ford (1946) which show a loss of 24 dB at 

a distance of 7 m behind the trunk of a large tree, at a frequency of 

3260 MHz. They note that, at this frequency, trees in full leaf are practically as opaque everywhere as the tree trunk itself. Megaw (1948) reported 

measurements at 3260 MHz over a 37 mi line-of-sight path, where a row of trees 

and houses near the receiver caused 25 dB attenuation below free space. 

Saxton and Lane (1955) summarized the results of several sets of measurements in terms of rate of attenuation in dB per m of trees as a function 

15
of frequency. For trees in full leaf the attenuation rates range from about 

0.05 to 0.5 dB/m as frequency is increased from 100 to 3000 MHz. The authors 

warn that this serves only as a guide to the order of magnitude, and that the 

rate of attenuation depends on many factors, such as the density of the woods. 

It should also be noted that these rates apply to situations where both antennas are in the woods. 

 Head (1960) considered the effects of thickets of trees between the path 

terminals, but with the receiver in the clear. Measurements at 485 MHz show 

that the signal is much attenuated near the woods, and that considerable 

clearing distance is required for recovery. He defined a clearing depth as the 

distance from the woods to the receiver. The signal then increases in proportion to the logarithm of the clearing depth, expressed in miles. At clearing depths of 0.01 and 1 mi the corresponding attenuations are 35 and 12 dB. 

 A paper by P. L. Rice (1971) summarizes much of the previous work on the 

effects of vegetation. He notes that wetting the foliage increases its conductivity sharply, which tends to produce a depolarization of the overall 

field; and that the motion of trees causes depolarization fading of several 

decibels amplitude even with quite moderate winds. 

In a recent paper La Grone (1977) reports measurements over a grove of 

trees at frequencies of 82, 210, 633, 1280, and 2950 MHz. The transmitter 

antenna elevations were 424, 148, 170, 225, and 225 m for each frequency, respectively, with path lengths of about 40 to 67 km. The grove of trees was 

about 9 m tall. The receiver was placed successively 4.5, 19.8, 35.1, 65.6, 

and 111.3 m behind the trees and the receiving antennas lowered from 18.3 to 

1.5 m. The measured data show a better fit to propagation over an ideal 

knife-edge than that over a smooth spherical earth. At short receiver distances a significant amount of the signal energy propagates through the trees 

so that their effective height is less than their true height. This agrees 

with observations by Longley and Hufford (1975) of propagation to low antennas 

placed near, or within, heavy pine forests. They allowed for some transmission through the trees above the critical angle of internal reflection. 

Assuming an effective dielectric constant ε for the woods, the critical angle 

θc, defined as 2

1

sin −θ ≡ ε c , 

16
was about 110 mr or 6°. This was then taken as the maximum allowable elevation angle at the receiver. The predicted values agreed well with measurements. 

2.4. Multipath Fading 

 In a mobile radio environment the signal fades rapidly and deeply as a 

result of shadowing, multipath reflections, and scattering caused by terrain, 

buildings and trees. Fading depths of 30 dB are quite common. The fading 

rate is proportional to the radio frequency and the speed at which the vehicle 

travels. Increasing terrain irregularity and clutter cause increasing scatter 

and divergence or defocusing of the radio waves. Convergence or focusing and 

specular reflection also playa part in multipath phenomena. 

 Many studies have been made of the interference caused by multipath. 

Brooks (1965) analyzed the multipath interference to FM transmission of television between vehicles moving over a flat earth. Young and Lacy (1950), using short pulses at 450 MHz studied the echoes resulting from transmission 

from a land station to a moving car in lower Manhattan. Their results show 

delays ranging from -3 to +12 μs, with the greatest number from 1 to 3 μs. 

In the interval 2 to 3 μs delay there is a 45% chance of a path within 12 dB 

of the main one, and an 18% chance of one within 6 dB. Such echoes may seriously limit the performance of wide-band radio systems. 

 Engel (1969) described the effects of multipath transmission on the 

propagation delay of a signal. Measurements of differences in propagation 

delay are used in automatic location of mobile units. If the signal is a 

pulse the receiver can detect the leading edge of the pulse and multipath 

does not impair the measurement. Engel described a procedure to determine 

the distribution of errors in measured values of propagation delay. Similarly, Figel et al. (1969) describe a method of vehicle location based on 

measurement of signal attenuation from a mobile transmitter. They developed 

an automatic sampler and totalizer for this purpose. 

 In measurements at 836 MHz in New Providence, N. J., Lee (1966) and 

Stidham (1966) observed a marked reduction in fading rate using a directional 

antenna on the mobile unit. Increasing the antenna directivity further reduced the fading rate, at a distance of about 2 mi with an average attenuation 

of about 33 dB below free space. Antenna orientation had little effect 

17
on the average signal level, but minimum fading occurred along and at right 

angles to the direction of motion and in the direction of the base station. 

 Many studies have been made of the characteristics of multipath. Some 

of these deal with the statistics of time-domain representations of 

multipath propagation in a mobile radio environment. For some applications 

such descriptions are convenient, but in other cases frequency-domain descriptions such as frequency correlation functions and correlation bandwidths are 

more useful. In the time domain we consider Doppler shifts, time delays, and 

crossing rates. Reudink (1972) noted that fading rate is proportional to vehicle speed and frequency with minima occurring at about half wavelength spacing. The rate of fading and crossing rate are the same for urban and suburban 

streets, and for those parallel to and perpendicular to the transmitter in New 

York City. In a later report, Reudink (1974) describes the amplitude variation of the signal envelope as Rayleigh distributed when measured over distances of a few 10's of wavelengths, with statistically independent phases 

from zero to 2π. The vehicle motion introduces a Doppler shift in every wave 

and the received frequency differs from that transmitted by an amount 

n n w = kv cosα , 

where k=2π/λ, λ is the radio wavelength, v is the velocity of the mobile unit 

and αn is the angle between the incoming wave and the direction of motion. 

The Doppler shift is bounded by ± kv which is much less than the carrier frequency. For example, at 1000 MHz, with a vehicle traveling 96 km/hr the Doppler shift wn is 560 Hz. At much higher frequencies the Doppler shifts may 

lie well within the audio band. Signals arriving by various paths may be 

shifted by different amounts producing a beat between them. 

 Cox (1972a,b) described small-scale statistics of time delays and Doppler 

shifts associated with multipath propagation in a vehicle traveling along 

suburban streets. He notes that while the distribution of signal amplitudes 

at fixed delays is usually Rayleigh this is not always the case. For Doppler 

shifts associated with scattered fields arriving from different angles, multipath characteristics can be obtained by measuring the complex bandpass impulse 

response as a function of distance along the direction of travel. These measurements yield delay Doppler power profiles (scattering functions), average 

18
power delay profiles (power impulse responses), and correlation of transfer 

function fluctuations as a function of frequency separation. These parameters 

set bounds on system performance parameters such as FM-distortion, adjacent 

channel interference levels, error rates in digital systems, the effectiveness 

of some diversity systems and the accuracy of vehicle locating systems. His 

measurements in Middletown, New Jersey, at 910 MHz showed excess power delays 

of 6 or 7 μs and delay spread of about 2 μs. In suburban residential and 

commercial areas in relatively flat terrain the delay spread is usually less 

than 0.25 μs. Cox (1973) reported that measurements in New York City at the 

same frequency showed excess time delays of 9 to 10 μs with delay spreads of 2 

μs. He describes an urban mobile radio channel as a Gaussian quasi-wide-sense 

stationary uncorrelated scattering channel within a 10 MHz bandwidth and for 

intervals along the street of up to 30 m. Usually for intervals of more than 

50 to 100 m along a street the multipath scattering process becomes grossly 

non-stationary. 

 Bello (1963) has shown that since time and frequency-domain descriptions 

are related through Fourier transforms, frequency-domain descriptions can be 

obtained directly from time-domain measurements. He suggests that timevarying linear channels may be characterized in a symmetrical manner by 

arranging system functions in time and frequency pairs. For example, he 

considers a wide-sense stationary channel in terms of channel correlation 

functions. Jakes and Reudink (1967), considering the envelope of the received 

signal as a bandlimited time-varying function, obtained power spectra by 

taking the Fourier Transform of the autocorrelation function. The spectrum 

cutoff occurs at the expected value of 2v/λ Hz. Below this frequency the 

energy is approximately uniformly distributed. 

 Bello (1971) relates multipath and frequency-selective fading caused by 

scatter phenomena to the statistical spatial characteristics of the refractive 

index. When multipath causes distortion he suggests that the scatter portion 

of the channel be modeled as a continuum of uncorrelated scatterers. 

 Schmid (1970) described a model to predict the probability distribution 

of direct path and multipath received signal power. He calculated the probability of occurrence of distinct multipath propagation of pulse signals over 

irregular terrain, and with an irregular distribution of obstacles such as 

buildings. Pulse communication systems are generally tolerant of multipath 

19
propagation that produces a reflected pulse whose delay is small compared to 

the pulse width. If delays are sufficient to pose a potential problem, their 

amplitudes will generally have to fall within a certain range of the amplitude 

of the direct path signal before system degradation results. 

 Turin et al. (1972) performed measurements in the San Francisco Bay area 

with the simultaneous transmission of 100 ns pulses at 488, 1280, and 2920 MHz 

received at a mobile van. They state that most data are by CW techniques and 

show fading distributions useful for narrow band systems but are of little use 

for analysis and design of wide-band systems, which use as much as 10 MHz 

bandwidth for some radiolocation systems. They consider that the propagation 

medium acts as a linear filter and consider the impulse response to this filter. The procedure requires absolute timing for radio-location techniques, 

and they used stable, synchronized, and calibrated atomic clocks at both 

transmitting and receiving terminals to obtain the statistics of excess 

delays. The model assumes that the carrier phases of the various paths are 

mutually independent and uniformly distributed over the range zero to 2π. The 

statistics of path delays and strengths are then needed to describe the propagation medium. They assume that path strengths over local areas have a 

Rayleigh or Rice distribution, while over larger areas they are log-normal, 

and that path delays form a Poisson sequence. 

 Ossanna (1964) described a model for mobile radio fading based on the 

geometry of reflections from randomly placed vertical plane reflectors. He 

noted that the detailed shape and especially the sharp cutoff frequency of 

spectra depend critically on the angle between the direction of vehicle motion 

and the direction to the fixed station. As the angle increases from 0° to 

90° the cutoff frequency falls from about 37 to 20 Hz. Clarke (1968) developed a scatter model in contrast to Ossanna's reflection model. This scatter 

model assumes that the incident field is composed of randomly phased azimuthal 

plane waves of arbitrary azimuthal angles. Amplitude and phase distributions, 

spatial correlations, amplitude spectra, and frequency correlations of the 

received signal are deduced. In urban areas the amplitude for a short run is 

Rayleigh distributed which implies that there is no significant direct component and the fields are entirely scattered. In towns and woodlands the distribution may be Rice or non-zero-mean Gaussian. 

20
indicating a significant direct component wave. The spatial correlation of 

the field components is derived from the probability density function p(α) 

where α is the angle between an input component wave and the vehicle. The 

spectrum is derived from p(α) and g(α), the azimuthal gain of the antenna, 

and the coherence of two radio frequencies is derived from p(∆t) the probability of time delays. The model then describes mobile radio fields in terms 

of p(α,∆t). 

 A knowledge of the fine structure of the radio field can be useful in 

determining ways to offset destructive fading. For instance, Gilbert (1965) 

derived statistical properties from mathematical models of multipath fading, 

which include energy density distribution functions. He points out the advantages of receivinq from a vertically polarized transmitting antenna on 

three antennas, a vertical dipole and a pair of loop antennas whose axes are 

perpendicular to each other and to the dipole. These receive the three field 

components Ez, Hx, and Hy, which are added to obtain the total energy density. 

Lee (1967) noted that using an energy density antenna the signal fades only 

about half as often as the electric field and the fades do not last as long. 

(The antenna receives the three field components simultaneously, and summing 

the squares of these signals gives an output proportional to the energy density.) Several other ways to reduce fading effects are discussed below. 

2.5. Diversity Techniques 

 The depth of fading can be reduced by spatial diversity and predetection 

combining. Rustako (1967) noted that multipath fading is greatly reduced 

using a predetection combining receiver in four branches. Tests were made at 

836 MHz in a mobile van moving at 15 mi per hr in New Providence, using a 

single channel and two, three, and four-channel diversity. The receiving 

antennas were one-fourth wavelength vertical whips with antenna spacings of 

1/4, 3/4, and 5/4 λ. In all tests there was increasing improvement with increasing diversity. With four-channel diversity the fading was reduced from 30 

dB to 10 dB fades for 0.1% of the distribution. Rustako et al. (1973) 

compared two types of predetection switching space diversity systems at 840 

MHz with vehicle speeds at 80 mi per hr. The first type was conventional receiving antenna switching with a single transmitting antenna. The second type 

21
was a feedback diversity system with a single receiving antenna and two transmitting antennas which were switched by remote control from the receiver. 

The differences in performance were due primarily to the time delay inherent 

in the remote antenna switching. Parsons et al. (1973) suggest the use of a 

single receiver diversity system, with a predetection combiner incorporated 

into the receiver design, using a 3-element self-phasing antenna array. A 

later paper, Parsons et al. (1976), discusses the nature of the electromagnetic field in urban environments and surveys a number of diversity techniques 

as applied to mobile systems. The authors conclude that diversity at the 

mobile receiver appears to be preferable to diversity at the base station. 

 Bitler et al. (1973) describe a system to provide two-way diversity with 

diversity combining done at the base station. The mobile transceiver is very 

simple, while at the base station we have a multiple branch diversity receiver 

and diversity transmitter. Jakes (1971) noted that relatively modest use of 

diversity can afford savings in transmitter power of 10 to 20 dB. Such savings may be achieved using receiver diversity with either selective or maximum 

ratio combining of two to four branches, with selection giving somewhat better 

performance. The advantages of transmitter diversity are for larger 

bandwidths and generally are not as great as for receiver diversity. 

 Lee (1973) studied the correlation between signals received on two base 

station antennas to determine the spacing required for diversity. He noted 

that propagation in the direction of a line connecting the two antennas is the 

critical case, and requires a large separation of about 70 λ. When the 

incoming wave is as much as 150 away from the in-line axis the required spacing drops to 30 λ. Local scatterers near the base station tend to decrease 

the correlation between signals at the two antennas, and when the correlation 

is less than 0.7 most of the advantages of dual diversity are obtained. In a 

built-up urban area, where the base station is surrounded by tall buildings, 

the correlation is expected to be low. 

 Arredondo and Smith (1977) discussed diversity and vehicle speed as they 

affect fade durations on voice transmission, and bit-error probability for 

data systems. 

 Different base stations in a mobile radio system transmit different 

signals simultaneously, at the same frequency, to mobile vehicles in their 

22
respective areas or "cells". As a vehicle moves, both desired and interfering 

signals show local deep fading so that at times the undesired signal may be 

the stronger. Schiff (1972) described the use of additional antennas to 

provide independently fading signals. He considered three different switch 

diversity techniques to avoid interference. 

3. PROPAGATION MODELS FOR URBAN AREAS 

 Many investigators have tried to develop ways to predict median values of 

propagation loss in built-up areas, where buildings and trees may cause severe 

attenuation of the radio signals. Others have been concerned with describing 

path-to-path variability and multipath fading in statistical terms. 

3.1. Existing Propagation Models 

 When we consider the median path loss in urban areas, we find that many 

investigators calculate first the propagation loss to be expected if the 

buildings and other surface features were not present. The additional observed loss is then assumed to be caused by the urban, or suburban, development. Over rather smooth terrain, such as we find in Manhattan, theoretical 

plane earth values have first been calculated. The differences between 

these and the measured values have then been variously referred to as the 

shadow loss, excess loss, urban factor, clutter factor, etc. In a similar 

manner some investigators have compared measured losses with calculated free 

space values. 

 An early model by Bullington (1947) describes a simplified method for 

calculating propagation over a smooth spherical earth, with empirical allowances for the effects of hills and buildings. In a later report, Bullington 

(1950) described a "shadow loss" as a function of frequency and terrain irregularity, which is added to theoretical "plane earth" values. This shadow loss 

increases from 0 to 35 dB as a parameter H / λ increases from 0 to 26. Here λ

is the wavelength, and H is the difference in elevation between the lowest 

point on a path and the elevation required to provide line-of-sight conditions. 

In discussing the effects of buildings and trees he noted that in the range 

40 to 450 MHz in Manhattan the median loss at street level is 25 dB greater 

than the plane earth value, with a 50 to 90% range of 10 dB. For trees and 

23
other objects he found the shadow loss to be small, but it increases with increasing frequency. 

 Egli (1957) used available data to develop empirical formulas, which he 

presented in the form of nomograms and correction curves. The basic model is 

the theoretical plane earth field to which he added a "terrain factor" that 

depends on frequency but not distance, and an estimate of location variability 

that is frequency dependent. 

 Sets of propagation curves have been developed by the International Radio 

Consultative Committee (CCIR) and by the US Federal Communication Commission 

(FCC). The CCIR (1974a) Curves for broadcasting services are presented in Recommendation 370-2. These show field strength as a function of distance for 

various frequency ranges, with correction factors for terrain irregularity, 

and estimates of location variability. The FCC curves, reported by Carey 

(1964), were derived from certain of the CCIR curves, with adjustments for 

antenna heights. These curves of field strength versus distance were adjusted 

downward by 9 dB to allow for the low receiving antenna heights. The curves 

for various transmitting antenna heights assumed a linear height gain within 

line of sight and are blended into the transhorizon values. Damelin and 

Daniels (1965) reported some modification in the FCC curves. 

 Burroughs (1966) compared measurements in urban areas with those in 

jungles. He concluded that the additional attenuation observed in both cities 

and jungles is frequency sensitive, but its average value is independent of 

both antenna height and path length. When the terrain is irregular additional 

problems are encountered as some allowance must be made for terrain effects. 

Epstein and Peterson (1953) suggest that useful predictions of propagation 

can be made using the calculated free-space field reduced by knife-edge 

shadow loss in hilly areas, and certain "experience factors" which are functions of transmitting antenna heights in congested suburban and rural areas. 

Later the same authors, Epstein and Peterson (1956), noted that received 

field strength is a function of surface clutter around the receiving site, 

unless the receiving antenna is above the clutter. They therefore defined 

a "clutter loss" as a function of angle of arrival of the radiation at the 

receiving site, and the frequency, assuming a linear frequency dependence. 

Based on the analysis of data at 67 and 850 MHz they define this clutter 

24
loss for antennas 5 to 10 ft above housetop levels. La Grone and Chapman 

(1961) also noted that the elevation angle toward the transmitter has a 

marked effect on the attenuation caused by a solid grove of pine trees. Reudink and Wazowicz (1973) calculated knife-edge diffraction to predict the loss 

over a tree-covered hill. The measured loss was about 10 and 20 dB greater 

at 836 MHz and 11.2 GHz, respectively. They suggest predicting coverage from 

a base station using knife-edge diffraction plus a factor for foliage. Deygout (1966) suggested calculations of multiple knife-edge diffraction to estimate the effects of a series of hills or ridges. 

 Gilbert (1975) describes a simple model for line-of-sight paths over random terrain. He considers all terrain irregularities as composed of conical 

hills, all the same height, distributed randomly over a spherical earth. He 

then assumed that a base station is located at the peak of a hill and calculated horizon distances, coverage area, and the probability that a random 

point at ground level is within line of sight of a peak at a specified distance. Neham (1974) compared several propagation models and finally chose 

a coverage prediction model based on the plane earth formulation described 

by Egli (1957) but his modification allows for irregular terrain in terms of 

a factor for location variability. 

 A somewhat different approach is taken by a group of Japanese investigators. Okumura et al. (1968) used an extended series. of measurements in Tokyo 

and its environs to develop a series of curves of median attenuation relative 

to free space as a function of frequency at various distances. These curves, 

shown in figure 1, are for an urban area in almost smooth terrain with antenna 

heights hte = 200 and hre = 3 m. This basic prediction can then be modified by 

a series of correction factors to obtain a prediction for the required situation. Correction factors relating to suburban and open areas, different antenna heights, vertical angle of arrival of the signal, orientation of the 

street, and terrain irregularity, are given. 

 Kinase (1969) introduced a parameter Γ to represent the effects of environmental clutter in the vicinity of a receiving site. He calculates a reference value using theoretical values for a smooth spherical earth, single and 

multiple mountain ridges, cliffs, and rounded and rectangular objects. This 

calculated theoretical value is then compared with the observed field to 

25
obtain a clutter factor C which is independent of terrain, and describes the 

additional attenuation caused by buildings and trees. The clutter factor is 

sensitive to differences in urban structure, in frequency, and in angle of 

elevation. The parameter Γ expresses the area occupied by buildings, vegetation, etc. as a percentage of the total area in a unit of 2 sq km. Figure 2 

shows median values of C as a function of elevation angle for frequencies of 

150 and 750 MHz and values of Γ from 1 to 50%. Figure 3 shows median values 

of C as a function of frequency at a constant elevation angle of 0.005 rad for 

values of Γ from 1 to 50%. 

 While Kinase (1969) observed that lowering the receiving antenna from 

26
27
10 m to 4 m had little effect on location variability in rural and suburban 

areas, one would expect greater variability at street level than on rooftops 

in an urban area. 

 A study by Dymovich (1959), which reviewed the results of early measurement programs and prediction models, suggested that field strength in towns be 

predicted as a function of the radiated power, the product of the antenna 

heights, and the reciprocal path length, with two coefficients to be determined by data. He noted that measured values of field strength are lognormally distributed, and that measurements in Leningrad at 45 MHz, with 

receiving antenna heights of 5.2 and 8.2 m show the same location distribution, with a 10 to 90% range of 6 dB. 

 Palmer (1976) reviewed much of the work on propagation in land mobile 

systems in the 470 to 890 MHz frequency range. He considered a number of 

propagation models that are currently in use. These have all been developed 

to fit measured data, and are expressed as functions of frequency, antenna 

heights, and distance, with allowances for path-to-path variability. Neham 

(1974) in a similar comparison of existing models noted that the various 

models give similar results in predicting coverage ranges for 90% of the 

receiver locations. For this 90% comparison he used location variability 

factors of 11, 14, and 17 dB in the frequency bands 25 to 50 MHz, 150 to 170 

MHz and 450 to 470 MHz, respectively. 

 Allsebrook and Parsons (1977) report the results of measurements in 

three British cities, Birmingham, Bath, and Bradford. The median attenuation 

relative to plane earth values was 16, 18, and 35 dB at frequencies of 86, 

167, and 441 MHz respectively. This urban attenuation was not dependent on 

distance for a range of 1 to 10 mi, but was strongly frequency dependent. 

They suggest a model for predicting propagation loss to mobile receivers as 

the sum of plane earth loss plus diffraction loss over obstacles plus a correction factor for UHF. For a hilly city, such as Bradford, they use an 

additional term to allow for the effects of hills. 

 In a recent paper Bullington (1977) presented a series of nomograms for 

the ready calculation of free space, plane earth, and diffraction losses. 

He commented that buildings are more transparent to radio waves than the earth 

is, so they should not cause as much attenuation as hills. On the other hand 

28
the artificial canyons caused by buildings in cities are much narrower than 

naturally occurring ones, which would increase the attenuation. At higher 

frequencies, about 1000 MHz, if trees block one's vision they are equivalent 

to solid obstacles. 

 Durkin (1977) reports a prediction model used for frequency assignment 

procedures for the land-mobile services in the United Kingdom. This model 

combines values from the CCIR (1974a) curves within line-of-sight with values 

calculated using the Longley and Rice (1968) model for transhorizon paths. 

The latter is used, with digitized terrain elevations, to calculate the attenuation to a large number of points along 72 equally spaced radials from the 

transmitter. Field strength contours are then drawn to show the predicted 

service area. He gives a comparison with measurements made at 85 MHz along 

one of these contours from a transmitter base in Barkway, Hertfordshire. 

 The various models described above have been used to estimate median 

attenuation in urban areas. There is also considerable variation from pathto-path about this median value. Estimates of path-to-path or location variability are based on the results of measurements, which show that the variability is log-normally distributed with a standard deviation that ranges from 

about 5 to 20 dB depending on the radio frequency, type of terrain, and whether the lower terminal is in open or cluttered surroundings. 

 Saxton and Harden (1954) reported measurements at 593.6 MHz which showed 

10 to 90% ranges of 19 to 34 dB. Location variations over short distances 

showed smaller ranges of 2 to 4 dB at open sites, 8 to 10 dB with isolated 

trees and buildings, and 15 to 20 dB in a built-up area with trees and large 

buildings. 

 Report number 228, CCIR (1974b) describes a variation factor, V (50 to 

90% of locations) for towns in the United Kingdom. In 121 towns at frequencies from 700 to 1000 MHz the median location variability V was 9.8 dB, while 

in 40 towns at 250 MHz the observed median V was 7.7 dB. These correspond to 

standard deviations of approximately 7.8 and 6.2 dB for the higher and lower 

frequency bands, respectively. 

 Okumura et al. (1968) observed a gradual increase in location variability 

with increasing frequency, the standard deviation increasing from 5 to 8 dB, 

and from 6.5 to 10 dB as frequency increased from 100 to 3000 MHz in the 

29
smooth urban area of Tokyo, and in the hilly suburbs, respectively. However, 

in highly built-up urban areas the variability may be much greater. Waldo 

(1963) reported standard deviations of 16, 17, and 18 dB at frequencies of 57, 

177, and 576 MHz at rooftop receiving antennas in Manhattan. 

 Reudink and Wazowicz (1973) observed that location variability in Holmdel, New Jersey, increased with increasing distance from a base station to 

standard deviations of 15, and 18 to 20 dB at 836, and 11,200 MHz, respectively, at a distance of 12,000 to 18,000 ft. Neham (1974) suggests that in 

an urban area location variability factors of 11, 14, and 17 dB be used for 

frequency ranges of 25 to 50, 150 to 170, and 450 to 470 MHz to estimate 90% 

values. These would correspond to standard deviations of about 9, 11 and 14 

dB for these three frequency ranges. The CCIR (1974c) recommends that 

location variability at frequencies from 450 to 1000 MHz should include an 

allowance for terrain irregularity. They show standard deviations of 10, 15, 

and 18 dB for rolling, hilly and mountainous terrain, respectively, in this 

frequency range. 

 Several investigators have shown that location variability increases with 

increasing frequency. This relationship has been expressed mathematically in 

terms that agree fairly well in the lower VHF range but give estimates of 

standard deviation that differ by more than 10 dB at 1000 MHz. A recent 

report, Longley (1976), summarizes much of the earlier work, and describes 

location variability as a function of the parameter ∆h/λ, where λ is the 

radio wavelength and ∆h is a measure of terrain irregularity. This relationship was developed from data that were obtained largely in non-urban areas. 

3.2. A Computer Prediction Model 

 Some of the parameters that have been shown to be important in urban 

propagation are: the radio frequency, the heights of buildings and trees 

relative to the height of the receiving antenna, the distance from the 

receiving antenna to the nearest obstacles, the uniformity and density of 

surface structures, and the possible absorption of radio energy by such 

obstacles. 

 Since the distribution and shape of clutter surroundings is quite irregular we must consider the problems on a statistical basis. The transmitting 

30
antennas for broadcast services, and the base station antennas for mobile systems, are usually well elevated above the buildings and trees, so we may consider the dominant factors influencing propagation to homes and mobile units 

to be (a) terrain irregularities along the transmission path, and (b) the urban or environmental clutter near the receiving site. If, however, the transmitting antenna is not elevated well above surrounding buildings, some attenuation results from interference to the direct transmission path, and nearby 

buildings could block out whole areas from adequate service. 

 A propagation model for computerized predictions of transmission loss 

over irregular terrain, developed by Longley and Rice (1968), is applicable to 

broadcast and mobile services. This model is based on propagation theory, and 

has been compared with measurements for a wide range of frequencies, antenna 

heights, terrain types and distances. Several small modifications have been 

made since the development of the original prediction model. Some of these 

have simplified certain computations, or increased the efficiency of computer 

programming. But, recently, changes have been made in the original formulation of the model in the line-of-sight region. These changes are described in 

the appendix to this report. They provide better agreement with both theoretical and measured values, especially at UHF with one antenna elevated, than 

was obtained with the original method. The propagation model calculates 

transmission loss, with allowances for radio frequency, terrain irregularity, 

path length, and antenna elevations. 

 Most of the data previously considered were from open areas, towns and 

small cities. To this model we can now add an allowance for the additional 

attenuation due to urban clutter near the receiving antenna. This allowance 

is a function of radio frequency, distance from the transmitter, and probably 

the density of urban clutter. To estimate this allowance, a comparison is 

made with curves through measured values. 

 Some of the most widely used prediction curves that were drawn through 

measured values are those of the International Radio Consultative Committee 

(CCIR), the U. S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC), and those derived 

by Okumura et al. (1968) and shown in figure 1. These are all empirical curves, 

based on measurements, and are to a considerable extent interrelated. The 

curves shown in CCIR Report number 567 (1974d), and intended for the land-mobile 

services at 150 MHz, are obtained from the curves in CCIR Recommendation 370 

31
by adjusting the receiving antenna height from 10 m down to 3 m, an increase 

in attenuation of about 10 dB. The CCIR 150 MHz curve, with h1 = 200 m and 

h2 = 3 m, for rural conditions, shows about 3 dB less attenuation than the 

corresponding Okumura curve, for urban conditions. The CCIR curves at 

frequencies of 450 and 900 MHz for an urban area are taken directly from the 

basic Okumura curves, with 3 dB additional attenuation for a receiving antenna 

height of 1.5 m instead of 3 m. The FCC curves, in turn, were derived in part 

from the CCIR curves shown in Recommendation No 370 (1974a) assuming a linear 

height gain within line of sight and blending into the transhorizon region. 

 Because these prediction curves have been widely accepted, and are interrelated as shown, we compared values of attenuation relative to free space 

calculated for non-urban areas using the modified Longley-Rice computer model, 

with those read from Okumura's curves, figure 1, for an urban area. For both 

models we assumed rather smooth terrain with effective antenna heights of 

200 m and 3 m. Values were obtained for frequencies from 100 to 3000 MHz, 

and for distances up to 100 km. As expected, the Okumura urban curves show 

greater attenuation. The differences between the two models may be considered 

as representing the additional power loss in an urban area, and referred to 

as an "urban factor". The values listed in Table 2 show this factor for each 

frequency and distance. The urban factor, UF, increases smoothly with increasing frequency, and decreases with increasing distance from the transmitter. With frequency in MHz and distance in km this relationship can be expressed quantitatively as 

UF=16.5+15 log(f/100)–0.12d dB, (1) 

with an error of less than 1 dB at all frequencies, to a distance of 70 km. 

At frequencies greater than 500 MHz, and distances greater than 70 km this 

relationship tends to over-estimate the loss, because the attenuation decreases somewhat more rapidly with distance in this range. 

 Comparisons were also made between the two models at frequencies of 

150 and 450 MHz with transmitter effective heights of 30, 50, 100, 200, 600, 

and 1000 m. The differences between Okumura and Longley-Rice predictions show 

little change with height as the height is increased from 30 to 600 m. 

 This computer prediction model, with the urban factor added, should adequately predict the median attenuation for moderately large cities in rather 

32
smooth terrain. The median attenuation is calculated as a function of distance for a desired frequency, antenna heights, and degree of terrain irregularity in both urban and non-urban areas. 

 There is also a place-to-place or location variability to be considered. 

As described in an earlier report, Longley (1976), the standard deviation, 

σL, of this location variability is a function of frequency and terrain irregularity. For data from non-urban areas, with randomly located receiving 

antennas, this relationship is expressed as 

σL=6+0.55(∆h/λ)1/2-0.004(∆h/λ) dB, (2) 

where ∆h is the terrain irregularity parameter and λ is the radio wavelength. 

In smooth to slightly hilly terrain the frequency dependence is 

σL ≅ 5 log f-1 dB (3) 

for frequencies ≥ 10 MHz. This is more variability than that observed by 

Okumura in Japan but agrees with the relationship shown by Egli (1957). 

 To determine the service area of a transmitting station, a simple area 

prediction of transmission loss as a function of distance may be used as 

described above. However, if the terrain in an area is not homogeneous, the 

computer model may be used to compute attenuation from point-to-point along 

33
a large number of radials from the transmitter. When digitized terrain elevations are available the profile along each radial is computed and the attenuation to a large number of points along each radial is calculated. With 

this information field strength contours can then be drawn to show in detail 

the predicted service area. Durkin (1977) describes using the Longley-Rice 

(1968) model for this purpose in automated frequency assignment procedures for 

the land mobile radio services in the United Kingdom. 

4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

 This paper has reviewed much of the earlier work on urban propagation 

including the results of measurements by many investigators, and a number of 

models developed for predicting transmission loss in urban conditions. Some 

of the more important propagation parameters have been identified. A computerized model is described in section 3.2 for predicting median attenuation as 

a function of distance and for determining the service area of a transmitting 

station, in an urban area. Equations are also given for calculating the location variability as a function of frequency and terrain irregularity, or for 

rather smooth terrain as a function of frequency alone. This computer model 

provides a ready means for determining the service area of a transmitter for 

broadcast and mobile services. However, a number of questions remain, and 

further analysis and development are desirable. 

 For example, most of the urban data are from areas where the terrain 

itself is rather smooth. What happens in a city where the terrain is hilly? 

Would this modify the "urban factor"? A limited amount of data indicates 

that this may indeed be the case. Measurements made in Pittsburgh by Barton 

and Wagner (1974) were compared with the Longley-Rice (1968) area prediction. 

The measurements at 455 and 862 MHz were made over 2 paths at distances of 

16 and 32 km. For the shorter path the terrain parameter ∆h=185 m and for 

the longer one ∆h=116 m. This represents quite hilly terrain. For these 

paths the computed attenuation agreed well with the measured values with no 

addition of an urban factor. This would suggest that the urban factor is 

also a function of terrain irregularity and decreases as the terrain becomes 

more irregular. Further study, including point-to-point predictions along the 

two profiles, would help to clarify this question. 

34
 It would be of considerable interest to pursue the question of the 

effects of elevation angle at the receiving antenna. This would require a 

knowledge of the heights of buildings and trees relative to the height of 

the receiving antenna, and the distance to the nearest obstacles. When the 

angle is low the ray path through the surface clutter is long, causing considerable attenuation, but as the elevation angle is increased the attenuation 

decreases rather sharply as the path of the radio ray rises above the clutter. 

This suggests a possible critical angle above which the radio energy is diffracted over and around the surface obstacles. 

 We have tended to emphasize the effects of buildings and trees near the 

lower, or mobile, antenna. With very high transmitting antennas this is 

probably the most important effect, but with antennas only 50 to 80 m high 

the proximity of very tall buildings has a marked effect. Recent measurements 

show field strength values some 15 dB lower from a transmitter in an urban 

area than from one in a suburban or residential area to receivers in similar 

surroundings (Kozono and Watanabe, 1977). 

In a highly built-up area, such as parts of Manhattan, a general propagation model, such as that described in section 3.2 of this report, cannot allow for the differences observed along radial and cross streets, and for areas 

that are screened by very tall buildings. Such problems would require special 

treatment including consideration of the specific situations involved. 

35
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_____________

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38
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39
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40
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41
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42
APPENDIX 

1977 MODIFICATION OF THE LONGLEY-RICE COMPUTER MODEL

 The Longley-Rice model was originally developed for use with rather low 

antennas in irregular terrain, and was tested against data from measurements 

made with low antennas at frequencies from 20 to 100 MHz. Very few of these 

original test paths had terminals within radio line-of-sight. Later tests 

against data obtained with higher antennas and at higher frequencies showed 

rather poor agreement with the line-of-sight area predictions. 

 The present study was undertaken to improve the formulation in the area 

prediction model for possible line-of-sight paths. As a first step computations made using the original propagation model for smooth earth conditions 

were compared with values obtained from smooth earth theory. Then comparisons 

were made between calculated values and data obtained from measurements over 

irregular terrain. These studies indicate the need for several changes in the 

line-of-sight model for area predictions. 

 In considering propagation over a smooth earth, the model makes no attempt to predict the "lobing" that occurs with high antennas at UHF as a result of alternate enhancement and cancellation of the direct ray by one reflected from the surface of the ground. This "lobing" is illustrated in figure A-1, which shows field strength as a function of distance over a smooth 

homogeneous earth at a frequency of 100 MHz, for several antenna heights. The 

horizon distance is marked by a dot on each curve, while the dashed line represents the free space field. Our "area" prediction model calculates attenuation relative to free space for distances beyond that at which the field is 

last equal to the free space field. For shorter distances we assume that the 

field is equal to the free space field, disregarding both the enhancement and 

cancellation that may occur. We made this decision because the model is 

intended for use over irregular terrain, where changes in the surface features 

break up the regular reflection pattern that occurs over smooth terrain. 

 In the propagation model, two distances, d0, d1, smaller than the smoothearth horizon distance, dLS, are chosen, and the attenuation relative to free 

space is calculated for each of these three distances. A smooth curve is then 

fitted through these three points to provide an estimate of attenuation as a 

43
function of distance within line of sight. As both frequency and antenna 

heights are increased the line-of-sight attenuation tends to become simply an 

extrapolation of the line which represents diffraction attenuation as a function of distance. The prediction model includes a weighting factor, w0, that 

chooses smoothly between the calculated line-of-sight and extrapolated 

diffraction values of attenuation at d0 and d1. 

 Comparison of theoretical smooth-earth values with those calculated using 

the Longley-Rice model showed very good agreement at all tested frequencies 

with low antenna heights, but poor estimates for higher antennas even at a 

frequency of 100 MHz. Comparisons with data from measurements over irregular 

terrain showed that the original propagation model tended to overestimate attenuation for paths whose terminals were within radio line-of-sight. 

 To overcome these observed deficiencies in the original Longley-Rice, 

model the following changes in formulation were made: 

 (1) Change equation (3.16) page 3-6 as follows: 

 For Aed ≥ 0, define 

 d0 = 4 x 10-5 he1 he2 f km, or 0.5 dL, whichever is smaller. 

 d1 = d0 + 0.25 (dL-d0) 

 For Aed < 0, define 

 d1 = -Aed/md or 0.25 dL, whichever is larger. 

 d0 = 4 x 10-5 he1 he2 f or d1, whichever is smaller. 

 If k2 = 0, define k1 = (ALS – A1)/(dLS – d1). 

 (2) Change equation (3.18) page 3-7 as follows: 

 In (3.18a) delete “or Aod, whichever is smaller”. 

 In (3.18b) delete “or A1d, whichever is smaller”. 

 Replace (3.18c) with 

 w0 = [1 + (f ∆h 10-4)/0.1 dLS]-1 for dLS ≥ 10 km 

 If dLS < 10 km, set dLS = 10 km. 

44
 Some comparisons of calculated theoretical smooth-earth values of attenuation relative to free-space loss with those calculated by the original Longley-Rice model, and as modified above, are shown in figures A-2, A-3, and A-4. 

These three figures show attenuation below free space as a function of distance over a smooth earth. In all three figures one antenna is at a fixed 

elevation, with the other at the elevations shown which range from 5 to 2000 

m. The solid dots are at the horizon distance on each curve. The solid lines 

were drawn using the proposed modifications, and the dashed lines were calculated using the original Longley-Rice 1968 Model. The open circles are calculated points based on smooth earth theory, which are connected by smooth 

curves. These figures clearly show good agreement of the model with 

theoretical values with low antennas, and the improvement using the modified 

prediction with higher antennas. 

45
46

dBu 

100 

1\ f0-. 

S 1'\/ --

90 

80 

70 

\ \ r\\ )< 1,\ 

o 

\\ \ 1\ \ \ '\ 

\ \ \ 1\ \ 

\ .\ \ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ 

, \ o(lO 

\ 1\\ 1\ \ \ 

1\\ 1\ \ \ \ 

40 

30 

20 

10 

- 10 

- 20 

o 200 

"'" ----t:::- Free Space ---- ---- --- - "" "" \ i\ '\ 

\ 1\ 

i\ \ \ 

200c \ ,<XX> 1\" 

\,. ,\ \ \ 

\ \ 

400 

---

- -

--- - -

2O<XX>m 

1\ 

BOO 

Figure A-l. Field strength (for 1 kW ERP ), as a function of distance over a smooth homogeneou

Frequenc y 100 MHz , £ .. la , (} = 10 mS/m , hl " 20 m, hZ " 0 to 20,000 m. 
47

I \\ Modified L- R Model 

--- L- R '6& Moc.el 

"."-\-----'1,-+--------' 

" ., 

, .• 

'0 • 

o 20 40 60 eo 100 120 140 160 

Distance in km 

fi<Jure A- 2 . Attenuation relative to free space as a function of di stance over a smooth 

earth. Frequency 100 MHz, t -15 , (1- 5 mS/m, hl = 5 I'l , h2 = 5 to 2000 m 
48

I Modifie

L-R '68 

--0 Smooth 

50 f------+---.:'-t-----.Jip, 

o 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 

Di stance in km 

Figure 1\-3. Attenuation relative to free space as a function of distance over a smodth 

earth . Frequency 300 MHz, [. = 15, cr = 5 mS/m , hI'" 5 m, h2 = 5 to 2000 rn. 
49

__ 

• '0 

C 

.-

< 

__ __ 

Modified L- R Hodel L-R '6B Hodel 

,,

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 

Distance i n km 

Figu re Attenuation relative to free space as a function of distance over a sm

earth . Frequency 1000 MHZ, c " 15, 0" 5 mS/m . hI = 20 m, h 2 " 5 to 2000 m
50

.. 0 .... OT·29 U.S. OEP ..... T .. I!NT O~ CO .... ERCE 

' .... 711 o~",eo: 0 .. To: .. o:eO .... UNle .. TIONI 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC OATA SH EET 

I'· PUBLICATION OR REPORT N012. Go.', AccuuOll No. ,. ikclp,u,·. Acc""011 No. 

OTR 78 - 144 

•• TITLE ANO SUBTITLE ,. Public.,;on Da,c 

IWlIO PROPAGATION IN URSAN AREAS n 'Q" 

•• Perf",.,., Or ••• iu.i"" Code 

910. 01 

1. AUTHOA.(S) •• P'o;cc./T .. k/ .... k U." No. 

Anita G. Lon ,. 9108208 

8. PERFORNING ORGANIZATION NANE AND ADDRESS 

U. s. Department of Commerce 

National Telecommunications and Information Mmin . 10. CO"".cr/G ... , No . 

Institue for Telecommunication Sciences 

Boulder Colorado 80303 

11. SpOll .... i •• Or ... iu,,;011 No •• sad Addtc .. 12. T,pc of Repo" ud Pellod C .... ered 

S~e 

U. 

14. SUPPLENENTARY NOTES 

15. ABSTRACT (A 200-_1'<10. I ••• (.Cl .... ' .umm.". 01 mOIl .,,,,iI/un. /n(onnoticn. If documenl includ •••• ign/fic"" 

1>11>//01"""'" Of hlltoru ... u .... .,.. mention it " .... ) 

This report reviews much of the earlier work on radio propagation in urban 

areas, including a good deal of data from measurement programs, careful studies of 

mUltipath propagation, and techniques to reduce multipath fading. A number of investigators have also developed propagation models for use in urban areas. Most of 

these are largely empirical, and are presented ., curves with various c·orrection 

factors for antenna height, frequency and terrain irregularity. 

Th. pr •• ent rcport dc~cribc~ a model , i,ntendad for u,. with a digital corn;;"uter, 

which provides a rapid means for calculating both the median attenuation and the location variability expected in urban areas. The model has been tested against measured values and " applicable for a wide variety of conditions. 

16. ICc, Wotd. (A'~I>. /u' order. """.,<><1",. •• m/colon.) 

Broadcast systems; irregular terrain; land-mobile systems; location variability; 

radio propagation; urban communications. 

". AVAILABILITY STATEWENT 18. Sec""", Clo .. (»Ii. tepo<1) '". N~.be, of PI,CO 

Unclassified 55 

XiI UNLlNITED. 

19. Sec""i,y Cia .. (»Ii. p"~) ". PIIC~: 

0 FOR OfFICIAL DISTRIBUTION. 

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