Abstract: A method utilizing statistical interpolation techniques to analyze and simulate the spatial variability and continuity of radio frequency data collected from a wireless cellular system. The method is used for cellular system planning and management. After installation and setup of cellular base stations, further analysis and refinement of RF data is implemented to determine signal coverage of the tower, location of RF holes in system, reuse of frequencies, and overlapping RF signals between two or more towers causing interference. The method analyzes raw RF power data that is collected by drive testing a sample of roads in a cellular system. A geostatistical model of the RF propagation at a cellular system is determined through kriging. The RF path loss trend estimation is extracted from each the raw data and modeled to describe data variability across the entire cellular system ares. An estimated path loss signal map is then prepared for any area of interest within a cellular system.

Abstract: A data collection and evaluation method for determination of wireless signal propagation from an incomplete set of measured data. The present invention decodes digital identification information on the channel used to associate the measurement with a wireless antenna and/or sector. The decoding process is limited by interference and low signal levels, therefore, the resulting data will have locations or entire areas where digital identification codes cannot be determined and the signal origination antenna cannot be identified. The present invention introduces geostatistical data interpretation techniques to determine the signal level values at the missing measurement locations. The present invention can obtain a more complete set of data for all sectors in the data collection area, allowing for more accurate performance evaluation and greater planning information. The present invention teaches the application of variogram modeling and kriging for wireless signal propagation modeling.