An efficient propagation model for automatic planning of indoor wireless networks

Careful planning and optimization of wireless networks for indoor operation require site-specific propagation predictions for several possible antenna-configurations in reasonable running time. In this paper, we propose treating each room as a single entity, where estimations of the mean received power, as well as the minimum and maximum values of the mean are sought. It is shown that these metrics can be well estimated by calculating the transmitted field at the corners of each room, including losses due to wall penetration and excluding all other propagation mechanisms, such as reflections or diffractions. The proposed model is verified by measurements, carried out in a typical building. Furthermore, statistical margins, sizing the variations of the instantaneous received power around its mean are given. The model returned estimations in 8s for 97 candidate antenna sites in a complex 180 m × 180 m indoor facility.