Advanced cartographic geodata for wireless network planning
With advanced 4G networks expanding and 5G right around the corner, network planners have a big job: build and optimize denser networks that improve coverage and bandwidth, reduce latency and minimize expenses. But how?
If you work with Forsk Atoll, InfoVista Planet, EDX SignalPro or similar RF propagation modeling tools, or if you do line-of-sight work for microwave backhaul planning, you’ve probably already encountered the exploding costs and protracted timelines related to model iteration—and the accompanying reliance on drive-testing and other validation methods. And while the expansion of top-quality models outside of traditional urban environments can mitigate these factors, using top-quality geodata over wide areas creates economic and scheduling concerns.
While this may seem like an unmanageable situation, there are solutions available. Ryan Hamilton of DigitalGlobe recently hosted an insightful webinar on how wireless network planners can successfully navigate the current environment. The webinar proposed that as the networks of the future are planned, new approaches are required to replace the traditional iterative modeling approaches of the past. The industry’s thought leaders and modeling software vendors are hard at work (right alongside DigitalGlobe) designing improved tools that allow modern geodata to be more fully exploited over wide areas.
The webinar also discussed solutions that DigitalGlobe offers right now to help address your problems today. Their Vricon geodata packages are readily consumable in existing workflows, but are of significantly higher resolution and quality than wide-area geodata typically used today. These solutions include:
- Terrain data (DTMs)
- Clutter height data
- Clutter classification (land use)
- Ortho image
- Vectors
These geodata-driven solutions are readily available, affordably and at scale over wide areas, for the workflows you employ today—even as robust tools evolve for tomorrow.
To view a replay of the webinar and learn how DigitalGlobe can help your wireless network planning today and tomorrow, click here
