Methods and apparatus for determining and/or using propagation loss between a transmitter and a receiver based on terrain and clutter data

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for determining propagation loss between a transmitter and a receiver using terrain and clutter data and/or the utilization of the determined propagation loss for managing spectrum usage. An exemplary method includes the steps of: determining a free space loss (FSL) for a propagation path extending from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, determining a clutter loss for a first portion of the propagation path, the first portion of the propagation path extending from the first endpoint to a horizon point which is located atop of clutter, determining a diffraction or tropo-scattering loss for a second portion of the propagation path extending from the horizon point to the second endpoint; generating a total loss for the propagation path based on the FSL, the clutter loss, and the diffraction or tropo-scattering loss; and making a spectrum usage decision based on the total loss.