Examination of existent propagation models over large inhomogeneous terrain profiles using fast integral equation solution

The accuracy of most widely used empirical models are investigated using the spectrally accelerated forward-backward (FBSA) method as a benchmark solution. First, FBSA results are obtained for propagation over large scale terrain profiles and compared with measurements to assess the accuracy of FBSA. Then, accuracy of some International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) propagation models are investigated. It has been observed that, for rural areas, the prediction of the most recent ITU recommended propagation model (Rec. 1546) deviates much more than older models do.