Mobile radio propagation in Rio de Janeiro city at frequencies for trunked and cellular systems

The most important problem to be solved when planning a mobile radio communication system is certainly the prediction of propagation path loss. To guarantee a desired performance it is necessary to estimate the received signal level with a reasonable accuracy. Taking into account the great number of variables involved, the evaluation of the path loss is not an easy task. The existing formulas and curves were derived from propagation measurements performed in a few cities after a number of statistical considerations. In spite of the various models already published in the open literature, it is quite difficult to choose the best one to be employed in a specific case. Whenever possible, the decision must be supported by a propagation test. An extensive programme of propagation measurements is being developed in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi, Brazil. Located on the border of the Atlantic Ocean, Rio de Janeiro city is surrounded by hills, most of them over 500 m high. This hilly profile and the high density of buildings in the urban area are the most important obstacles to having only one propagation prediction model covering the whole city. The main objective of this paper is to describe the propagation measurements together with a comparative analysis between experimental data and theoretical predictions.