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Guide to ITU-R radiowave propagation prediction methods

Method	Title	Application	Type	Output	Frequency	Distance	% time	% location	Terminal height	Input data
Rec. ITU-R P.368	Ground-wave propagation curves for frequencies between 10 kHz and 30 MHz	All services	Point-to-point	Field strength	10 kHz to 30 MHz	1 to 10 000 km	Not applicable	Not applicable	Ground-based	Frequency Ground conductivity
Rec. ITU-R P.452	Prediction procedure for the evaluation of interference between stations on the surface of the Earth at frequencies above about 0.1 GHz	Services employing stations on the surface of the Earth; interference	Point-to-point	Basic transmission loss	100 MHz to 50 GHz	Not specified but up to and beyond the radio horizon	0.001 to 50 Average year and worst month	Not applicable	No limits specified, within the surface layer of the atmosphere. (Not suitable for aeronautical applications)	Path profile data Frequency Percentage time Tx antenna height Rx antenna height Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Meteorological data Polarization
Rec. ITU-R P.528	Propagation curves for aeronautical mobile and radionavigation services using the VHF, UHF and SHF bands	Aeronautical mobile	Point-to-area	Basic transmission loss	100 MHz to 30 GHz	Not specified but up to and beyond the radio horizon For aeronautical applications 0 km great circle distance does not mean 0 km path length.	1 to 99	Not applicable	Terminal heights: 1.5 - 20 000 m	Distance Tx height Frequency Rx height Percentage time Polarization
Rec. ITU-R P.530	Propagation data and prediction methods required for the design of terrestrial line-of-sight systems	Line-of-sight fixed links	Point-to-point line-of-sight	Propagation loss Diversity improvement (clear air conditions) XPD⁽²⁾ Outage Error performance	Approximately 150 MHz to 100 GHz	Up to 200 km if line-of-sight	All percentages of time in clear‑air conditions; 1 to 0.001 in precipitation conditions⁽¹⁾ And worst month for attenuation	Not applicable	High enough to ensure specified path clearance	Distance Tx height Frequency Rx height Percentage time Path obstruction data Climate data Terrain information
Rec. ITU-R P.533	Method for the prediction of the performance of HF circuits	Broadcasting Fixed Mobile	Point-to-point	Basic MUF Sky wave field strength Available receiver power Signal-to-noise ratio LUF Circuit reliability	2 to 30 MHz	0 to 40 000 km	All percentages	Not applicable	Not applicable	Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Sunspot number Month Time(s) of day Frequencies Tx power Tx antenna type Rx antenna type
Rec. ITU-R P.534	Method for calculating sporadic-E field strength	Fixed Mobile Broadcasting	Point-to-point via sporadic E	Field strength	30 to 100 MHz	0 to 4 000 km	0.1 to 50	Not applicable	Not applicable	Distance Frequency
Rec. ITU-R P.617	Propagation prediction techniques and data required for the design of trans-horizon radio-relay systems	Trans-horizon fixed links	Point-to-point	Basic transmission loss	> 30 MHz	100 to 1 000 km	0.001 to 99.999	Not applicable	No limits specified within the surface layer of the atmosphere. (Not suitable for aeronautical applications)	Frequency Tx antenna gain Rx antenna gain Path geometry
Rec. ITU-R P.618	Propagation data and prediction methods required for the design of Earth-space telecommunication systems	Satellite	Point-to-point	Propagation loss Diversity gain and (for precipitation condition) XPD⁽²⁾	1 to 55 GHz	Any practical orbit height	0.001-5 for rain attenuation; 0.001-50 for total attenuation, 0.001-1 for XPD⁽²⁾ Also worst month for attenuation	Not applicable	No limit	Meteorological data Frequency Elevation angle Height of earth station Separation and angle between earth station sites (for diversity gain) Antenna diameter and efficiency (for scintillation) Polarization angle (for XPD⁽²⁾)
Rec. ITU-R P.619	Propagation Data Required for the Evaluation of Interference Between Stations in Space and those on the Surface of the Earth	Satellite	Point-to-point	Basic transmission loss for single-entry interference Clear-air basic transmission loss for multiple-entry interference	0.1 to 100 GHz	Any practical orbit height	0.001 to 50	Not applicable	No limit	Frequency Earth-station elevation angle Angular path separation Path length Gaseous attenuation Scintillation “gain” Maximum allowed attenuation of the wanted signal
Rec. ITU-R P.620	Propagation data required for the evaluation of coordination distances in the frequency range 100 MHz to 105 GHz	Earth station frequency coordination	Coordination distance	Distance of which the required propagation loss is achieved	100 MHz to 105 GHz	Up to 1 200 km	0.001 to 50	Not applicable	No limits specified within the surface layer of the atmosphere. (Not suitable for aeronautical applications)	Minimum basic transmission loss Frequency Percentage of time Earth-station elevation angle
Rec. ITU-R P.678	Characterization of the variability of propagation phenomena and estimation of the risk associated with propagation margin	Rain rate models Satellite	Point-to-point	Variability of propagation phenomena	12 to 50 GHz	Any practical orbit height	0.01-2 for rainfall rate and rain attenuation along slant paths	Not applicable	No limit	Probability of exceedance
Rec. ITU-R P.679	Propagation data required for the design of broadcasting-satellite systems	Broadcast satellite	Point-to-area	Excess basic transmission loss Effect of local environment	0.5 to 5.1 GHz	Any practical orbit height	Not applicable	No limits specified	No limits specified	Frequency Elevation angle Features of local environment
Rec. ITU-R P.680	Propagation data required for the design of Earth-space maritime mobile telecommunication systems	Maritime mobile satellite	Point-to-point	Sea-surface fading Fade duration Interference (adjacent satellite)	0.8-8 GHz	Any practical orbit height	To 0.001% via Rice-Nakagami distribution Limit of 0.01% for interference⁽¹⁾	Not applicable	No limit	Frequency Elevation angle Maximum antenna boresight gain
Rec. ITU-R P.681	Propagation data required for the design of Earth-space land mobile telecommunication systems	Land mobile satellite	Point-to-point	Path fading Fade duration Non-fade duration	0.8 to 20 GHz	Any practical orbit height	Not applicable Percentage of distance travelled 1 to 80%⁽¹⁾	Not applicable	No limit	Frequency Elevation angle Percentage of distance travelled Approximate level of optical shadowing
Rec. ITU-R P.682	Propagation data required for the design of Earth-space aeronautical mobile telecommunication systems	Aeronautical mobile satellite	Point-to-point	Sea surface fading Multipath from ground and aircraft during landing	1 to 2 GHz (sea-surface fading) 1 to 3 GHz (multipath from ground)	Any practical orbit height	To 0.001% via Rice-Nakagami distribution⁽¹⁾	Not applicable	No limit for sea-surface fading Up to 1 km for ground reflection during landing	Frequency Elevation angle Polarization Maximum antenna boresight gain Antenna height
Rec. ITU-R P.684	Prediction of field strength at frequencies below about 150 kHz	Fixed Mobile	Point-to-point Point-to-area	Sky wave field strength	30 to 150 kHz	0 to 16 000 km	50	Not applicable	Not applicable	Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Distance Tx power Frequency Ground constants Season Sunspot number Hour of day
Rec. ITU-R P.843	Communication by meteor-burst propagation	Fixed Mobile Broadcasting	Point-to-point via meteor burst	Received power Burst rate	30 to 100 MHz	100 to 1 000 km	0 to 5	Not applicable	Not applicable	Frequency Distance Tx power Antenna gains
Rec. ITU-R P.1147	Prediction of sky-wave field strength at frequencies between about 150 and 1 700 kHz	Broadcasting	Point-to-area	Sky-wave field strength	0.15 to 1.7 MHz	50 to 12 000 km	1, 10, 50	Not applicable	Not applicable	Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Distance Sunspot number Tx power Frequency
Rec. ITU-R P.1238	Propagation data and prediction methods for the planning of indoor radiocommunication systems and radio local area networks in the frequency range 300 MHz to 100 GHz	Mobile RLAN	In building propagation methods	Basic transmission loss Delay spread	300 MHz to 450 GHz	Within buildings	Not applicable	Not applicable	Base: about 2-3 m Mobile: about 0.5-3 m	Frequency Distance Floor and wall factors
Rec. ITU-R P.1410	Propagation data and prediction methods required for the design of terrestrial broadband radio access systems operating in a frequency range from 3 to 60 GHz	Broadband radio access	Point-to-area	Coverage Temporal coverage reduction due to rain	3 to 60 GHz	0-5 km	0.001 to 1 (for calculating reduction in coverage due to rain)	Up to 100	No limit; 0-300 m (typical)	Frequency Cell size Terminal heights Building height statistical parameters
Rec. ITU-R P.1411	Propagation data and prediction methods for the planning of short-range outdoor radiocommunication systems and radio local area networks in the frequency range 300 MHz to 100 GHz	Mobile	Short-path propagation methods	Basic transmission loss Delay spread	300 MHz to 100 GHz	< 1 km	Not applicable	Not applicable	Base: about 4-50 m Mobile: about 0.5 3 m	Frequency Distance Street dimensions Structure heights
Rec. ITU-R P.1546	Method for point-to-area predictions for terrestrial services in the frequency range 30 MHz to 4 000 MHz	Terrestrial services	Point-to-area	Field strength	30 to 4 000 MHz	1 to 1 000 km	1 to 50	1 to 99	Tx/base: effective height from less than 0 m to 3 000 m Rx/mobile: ³ 1m	Terrain height and ground cover (optional) Path classification Distance Tx antenna height Frequency Percentage time Rx antenna height Terrain clearance angle Percentage locations Refractivity gradient
Rec. ITU-R P.1622	Prediction methods required for the design of Earth-space systems operating between 20 THz and 375 THz	Satellite optical links	Point-to-point	Absorption loss Scattering loss Background noise Amplitude scintillation Angle of arrival Beam wander Beam spreading	20 to 375 THz	Far-field Earth-to-space optical links	Not applicable	Not applicable	No limit	Wavelength Terminal height Elevation angle Turbulence structure parameter
Rec. ITU-R P.1623	Prediction method of fade dynamics on Earth-space paths	Satellite	Point-to-point	Fade duration, fade slope	10 to 50 GHz	Any practical orbit height	Not applicable	Not applicable	No limit	Frequency Elevation angle Attenuation threshold Filter bandwidth
Rec. ITU-R P.1812	A path-specific propagation prediction method for point-to-area terrestrial services in the frequency range 30 MHz to 6 000 MHz	Terrestrial services	Point-to-area	Field strength	30 MHz to 6 000 MHz	Not specified but up to and beyond the radio horizon	1 to 50	1 to 99	No limits specified, within the surface layer of the atmosphere. (Not suitable for aeronautical applications)	Path profile data Frequency Percentage time Tx antenna height Rx antenna height Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Meteorological data Polarization
Rec. ITU-R P.1814	Prediction methods required for the design of terrestrial free-space optical links	Terrestrial optical links	Point-to-point	Absorption loss Scattering loss Background noise Amplitude scintillation Beam spreading	20 to 375 THz	No limit	Not applicable	Not applicable	No limit	Wavelength Visibility (in fog) Path length Turbulence structure parameter
Rec. ITU-R P.1853	Tropospheric attenuation time series synthesis	Terrestrial satellite	Point-to-point	Rain attenuation for terrestrial paths Total attenuation and tropospheric scintillation for Earth-space paths	4 to 40 GHz for terrestrial paths 4 to 55 GHz for Earth-space paths	Between 2 and 60 km for terrestrial paths GEO satellite	Not applicable	Not applicable	No limit	Meteorological data Frequency Elevation angle Height of earth station Separation and angle between earth station sites (for diversity gain) Antenna diameter and efficiency (for scintillation)
Rec. ITU-R P.2001	A general purpose wide-range terrestrial propagation model in the frequency range 30 MHz to 50 GHz	Terrestrial services	Point-to-point	Basic transmission loss	30 MHz to 50 GHz	3 to 1 000 km	0.001 to 99.999	Not applicable	< 8000 m above m.s.l. but near the ground, within the troposphere	Path profile data Frequency Percentage time Tx antenna height, gain and azimuthal direction Rx antenna height, gain and azimuthal direction Latitude and longitude of Tx Latitude and longitude of Rx Polarization
Rec. ITU-R P.2041	Prediction of path attenuation on links between an airborne platform and Space and between an airborne platform and the surface of the Earth	Airborne	Point-to-point	Total attenuation	1 to 55 GHz	Any height	0.001 to 50	Not applicable	Between the surface of the Earth and space	Meteorological data Frequency Elevation angle Availability Height of airborne platform Antenna diameter and efficiency (for scintillation)
⁽¹⁾ Time percentage of outage; for service availability, subtract value from 100. ⁽²⁾ XPD: Cross-polarization discrimination.