Evaluation of the Propagation Model Recommendation ITU-R P.1546 for Mobile Services in Rural Australia

In this paper, the validity of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546 in a short-range terrestrial environment is analyzed. Its three versions (P.1546, P.1546-1, and P.1546-2) are compared against simple models and evaluated using measurement results that were obtained by utilizing the pilot signal of a commercial code-division multiple-access mobile telephone network. Measurement results show that P.1546-2, on average, underestimates the field strength by more than 10 dB for typical Australian rural areas. However, it improves the error standard deviation compared to previous versions. The causes of these effects and the suggestions for further development of the Recommendation are discussed and evaluated.