scope:

Introduction

One of the essential requirements for the provision of reliable methods for prediction of radio propagation effects is the establishment of suitable computer data banks. Such data banks must:

- contain all data available that are of an adequate standard,

- be widely accepted as the source material on which to conduct testing,

- be readily available.

It is a principle of the data banks that they shall contain only such data as may be used for:

- testing prediction methods recommended by Radiocommunication Study Group 3 (and may of course be used to test other methods); and

- for the creation and updating of radiometeorological maps relevant to the prediction of radio propagation effects.

In special cases in studies on tropospheric propagation, where no prediction method has been adopted by Radiocommunication Study Group 3, tabular data remain in the annex of the relevant Recommendation to give guidance to the reader from the best measured data currently available.

The current data banks relate to:

- evaluation of prediction methods for terrestrial line-of-sight propagation;

- evaluation of prediction methods for Earth-space propagation;

- evaluation of prediction methods for interference or reliability over trans-horizon paths;

- radiometeorological data;

- evaluation of prediction methods for terrestrial land mobile services;

- evaluation of prediction methods for terrestrial broadcasting services;

- evaluation of prediction methods for mobile-satellite services;

- vegetation and building data.

Administrations are urged to submit their data to Radiocommunication Study Group 3 and/or the relevant Working Party (WP) in accordance with the requirements given in this annex. Section 2 outlines the more administrative aspects related to the data banks, and the procedure for input of the new data for inclusion in the data banks. Section 3 gives the criteria with which the data submitted must comply to being accepted. Section 4 lists the testing criteria used. Section 5 lists all the tables of the data banks.

Blank pro forma for the data, showing in detail the nature and format of data required/available, are freely available from that part of the ITU-R website concerning Radiocommunication Study Group 3. Moreover, the total data banks are available in spreadsheet form from the same website. Paper and diskette copies of the format sheets, and diskette copies of the total data bank, can be made available, on request, from the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR).

Table III-1a is currently available as a separate database. The Table currently includes approximately 100 000 measurements recorded over 1 326 paths. They were obtained from measurements lasting from 10 min to 1 h. The database is also available from the Radiocommunication Study Group 3 website.