Method of and System for Optimizing an Empirical Propagation Prediction Model in a Mobile Communications Network

1. A method of optimizing a propagation prediction model having adjustable parameters in a mobile communications network, the method comprising: subdividing by a processor a service area where mobile radios operate into a plurality of map tiles; predicting by a processor a tile reliability from the model for each map tile; averaging by a processor the predicted tile reliability from all the map tiles to obtain a predicted average service area reliability; measuring by a processor a service area reliability for all the map tiles to obtain a measured service area reliability; comparing by a processor the measured service area reliability with the predicted average service area reliability; adjusting by a processor the parameters of the model when the measured service area reliability differs from the predicted average service area reliability by a predetermined amount; and subdividing by the processor a land mass into a plurality of substantially uniform geomorphic regions, associating the service area with at least one of the regions, and using the adjusted parameters for the service area as the basis for other service areas in the at least one region.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subdividing is performed by configuring the map tiles as individual areas arranged in rows and columns within the service area.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predicting is performed by retrieving data from databases.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the averaging is performed by adding the predicted map tile reliabilities from all the map tiles to form a sum, and then by dividing the sum by the total number of the map tiles.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring is performed by determining whether or not a communications signal exceeding a threshold is received in each map tile.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring is performed by testing whether a communications criterion has been satisfied in each map tile, by counting how many map tiles have satisfied the criterion to obtain a total, and by dividing the total by the total number of the map tiles.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring is performed by one of a subjective test and an objective test.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimizing is iteratively performed by repeating the predicting, averaging, measuring, comparing and adjusting steps.

9. The method of claim 1 , and retrieving land cover data for patches in each region, associating each patch with a terrain category, and adjusting the parameters for each category.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjusting is performed by adjusting an offset sampling parameter of the model.

11. A system for optimizing a propagation prediction model having adjustable parameters in a mobile communications network, the system comprising: a processor; a memory comprising instructions configured to enable the processor to subdivide a service area where mobile radios operate into a plurality of map tiles, predict a tile reliability from the model for each map tile, average the predicted tile reliability from all the map tiles to obtain a predicted average service area reliability, measure a service area reliability for all the map tiles to obtain a measured service area reliability, compare the measured service area reliability with the predicted average service area reliability, and adjust the parameters of the model when the measured service area reliability differs from the predicted average service area reliability by a predetermined amount; and wherein the instructions are further configured to enable the processor to subdivide a land mass into a plurality of substantially uniform geomorphic regions, associate the service area with at least one of the regions, and use the adjusted parameters for the service area as the basis for other service areas in the at least on region.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions are iteratively performed.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions are further configured to retrieve land cover data for patches in each region, associate each patch with a terrain category, and adjust the parameters for each terrain category.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for optimizing a propagation prediction model having adjustable parameters in a mobile communications network, the medium comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to: subdivide a service area where mobile radios operate into a plurality of map tiles, predict a tile reliability from the model for each map tile, average the predicted tile reliability from all the map tiles to obtain a predicted average service area reliability, measure a service area reliability for all the map tiles to obtain a measured service area reliability, compare the measured service area reliability with the predicted average service area reliability, adjust the parameters of the model when the measured service area reliability differs from the predicted average service area reliability by a predetermined amount; and wherein the instructions further cause the computer to subdivide a land mass into a plurality of substantially uniform geomorphic regions, associate the service area with at least one of the regions, and use the adjusted parameters for the service area as the basis for other service areas in the at least one region.

15. The medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions are iteratively performed by the computer.

16. The medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions further cause the computer to retrieve land cover data for patches in each region, associate each patch with a terrain category, and adjust the parameters for each terrain category.