Comparison of multiple-diffraction models for digital broadcasting coverage prediction

This paper investigates and compares the efficiency and accuracy of existing multiple diffraction prediction techniques in real outdoor environments. Extensive comparisons are presented, including more than 20 000 path profiles. It is believed that this study will enable broadcasters to design and maintain broadcast networks with an accuracy commensurate with the highly demanding requirements for new and more efficient digital services. The comparisons involve the most well-known deterministic approaches (Deygout (1966), Causebrook (1971), Giovaneli (1984), Vogler (1982)) whose key feature is either the high accuracy of their predictions or their low computation times. However, a new slope-UTD based deterministic approach, developed recently by the authors, is found to provide the best compromise between computation speed and prediction accuracy.