Abstract: A method and system of determining the cumulative clutter path loss between two points within a coverage area (30) of a telecommunications network. The coverage area of the network is divided into a geographical matrix of bins (31). For each bin in the matrix, a clutter value is assigned indicating the appropriate losses a signal experiences as it propagates through the bin. The clutter values of bins (31) in the matrix are added along a radial (21) connecting the two points to determine a cumulative clutter path loss between a transmitter and a receiver, such as a base station (20) and mobile handset (28).

Abstract: An enhanced clutter database and modeling tool are provided for use in determining the propagation characteristics and requisite transmitted signal strengths for physical regions having attenuating objects therein. The enhanced clutter database supports a plurality of different resolution levels and can therefore be used to adjust transmission requirements for both large and small coverage areas. A plurality of bins and sub-bins are defined and values provided for in the enhanced clutter database to further distinguish clutter types within portions of the coverage area. Adjustment of the transmission requirements can be manually initiated or automatically conducted using the enhanced clutter database. The enhanced clutter database is populated by fusing geographical data with more detailed supplemental physical environment data provided by one or more data collection services.

Abstract: A method of identifying various cell layers in an existing wireless cellular-type communication system to identify poor performance areas of the system. Various cell layers in an existing system are identified, each layer have an associated cell size. A composite of the various cell layers is visually displayed to reveal poor performance areas which can be utilized as a baseline for further investigation and analysis. The method includes the steps of determining average site-to-site distance between each site and its neighboring sites, and then determining an average cell radius for each site based on the average site-to-site distance. The most predominant cell radius is then identified and used as the anchor base line grid. Each site is then assigned a cell radius which is established by rounding the calculated average cell radius either up or down to a nearest grid size.