Telecoms and network planning
The propagation model is only as good as its map of the ground.
Radio waves obey terrain. Your model should too.Terrain and clutter model generation for radio propagation
Accurate DTMs and clutter classification layers are the foundation of any credible propagation study. This page explains how SAR interferometry and stereo optical imagery produce them, and where each method breaks down.
TanDEM-X bistatic SARPleiades Neo stereo opticalSRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)
At 28 GHz, a two-metre height error moves your small cell indoors.Building-height extraction for millimetre-wave network planning
Very-high-resolution stereo imagery and airborne lidar can extract per-building heights to roughly 1.5 m RMSE, precise enough to model first-Fresnel-zone clearance for 26/28 GHz 5G small cells. This page explains the photogrammetric pipeline, what it delivers, and where it fails.
WorldView-3 (Maxar)WorldView Legion (Maxar)SPOT 7 (Airbus)
Trees grow slowly. Fade events arrive without warning.Vegetation encroachment detection on microwave line-of-sight links
Canopy growth into a microwave link's Fresnel zone is one of the quieter causes of unexplained signal fade. Multi-temporal optical and SAR imagery can track it before it becomes a network problem.
Sentinel-2 MSITanDEM-X change DEMPlanet SuperDove
Mobilisation costs money. Satellite data can tell you not to bother.Tower-site access route mapping in remote terrain
Satellite-derived slope, land-cover and seasonal-wetness data can screen candidate tower-site access routes before a single vehicle is dispatched, cutting wasted mobilisation in mountainous or forested terrain. Outputs are least-cost path rasters, not turn-by-turn navigation, and ground truth always has the final word.
ALOS World 3D 30 m (AW3D30)Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band, 5.405 GHz)Sentinel-2 MSI
Census data lies still. Rooftops and light move with people.Population-distribution demand mapping for network dimensioning
High-resolution population grids derived from building footprints, built-up-area classification and nighttime-light intensity let operators dimension macro-cells and build spectrum-licence business cases from evidence rather than extrapolated census figures.
VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB)Sentinel-2 MSILandsat 8/9 OLI
Terrain does not lie. Topo maps often do.Backhaul route corridor planning across uncharted terrain
Satellite elevation models and land-cover data let engineers identify viable microwave and fibre-trench corridors before a single survey crew is deployed. This page explains the sensors, methods, honest accuracy limits and atmospheric supplements required.
TanDEM-X 12 m DEMSentinel-1 SAR (C-band, 5.4 GHz)ALOS PALSAR-2 (L-band, 1.27 GHz)
Towers fall in minutes. Coherence maps arrive in hours.Disaster damage triage for telecoms network assets
After an earthquake, cyclone or flood, operators need to know which towers are down, which roads are blocked, and which sites can be restored first. SAR coherence change detection and very-high-resolution optical imagery answer those questions before a single field crew leaves the depot.
Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band, ESA)ICEYE SAR constellation (X-band)Capella Space SAR (X-band)
Operators declare coverage. Satellites can check the terrain.Coverage-gap analysis for universal service fund programmes
Satellite-derived elevation and land-cover data let regulators run independent propagation models to validate or challenge operator coverage claims in USF and rural-broadband subsidy processes, without relying solely on operator-submitted signal maps.
SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)TanDEM-XSentinel-2 MSI
Signals bounce off geometry you have not yet measured.Urban canyon geometry characterisation for multipath modelling
Street-canyon aspect ratios and facade orientations are the primary geometric inputs to urban ray-tracing propagation models. Very-high-resolution stereo satellites can supply most of that geometry, but not all of it.
WorldView-3 (Maxar)Pleiades Neo (Airbus)WorldView Legion (Maxar, in deployment)
Trees attenuate signals. Knowing exactly how tall they are changes the budget.Forest canopy height mapping for rural propagation loss estimation
Spaceborne lidar from GEDI retrieves canopy height at 25 m footprints; combined with Sentinel-1 SAR gap-filling, those heights feed ITU-R P.833 vegetation loss models to produce credible propagation budgets for VHF, UHF and low-band LTE in forested rural terrain.
GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, ISS-mounted lidar)Sentinel-1 C-band SAR (ESA)Sentinel-2 MSI (ESA)
Ground that looks solid in summer can be moving in millimetres.Permafrost and ground-stability assessment for tower foundation siting
InSAR-derived displacement time series reveal subsidence, frost heave and slow landslide creep at candidate tower sites before a foundation is poured. Satellite radar detects surface motion; it does not replace the geotechnical bore.
Sentinel-1 (C-band SAR, ESA)ALOS PALSAR-2 (L-band SAR, JAXA)TanDEM-X (X-band SAR, DLR/Airbus)
Terrain models see hills. They miss the lake that fades your link.Inland water body mapping for microwave over-water propagation planning
Calm inland water surfaces create specular two-ray multipath fading that standard terrain-only propagation models miss entirely. Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 NDWI map seasonal water extent along backhaul corridors so engineers can quantify the real fade margin risk.
Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band, ESA)Sentinel-2 MSI (ESA)Landsat 8/9 OLI (USGS/NASA)
The shadow a water tank casts can kill a site's business case.Rooftop obstruction mapping for solar-powered small-cell siting
Very-high-resolution stereo imagery and normalised surface models reveal which rooftop obstructions will shade a solar array enough to make a small-cell site unviable, before a single engineer boots up.
WorldView-3 (Maxar)Pleiades Neo (Airbus)Planet SkySat
The cable is buried. The shoreline is not standing still.Coastal hazard mapping for submarine cable landing station risk assessment
Satellite-derived elevation models, shoreline time series and surge inundation layers quantify erosion, flooding and sediment-mobility risk at submarine cable landing stations. Optical sensors and lidar altimetry each contribute something the other cannot.
Sentinel-2 MSILandsat 8/9 OLITanDEM-X
The air bends microwave signals. The question is where, and how often.Atmospheric ducting corridor identification for interference planning
Tropospheric ducting carries interference hundreds of kilometres beyond any licensed service area. Satellite-derived SST and ERA5 boundary-layer humidity data build the statistical likelihood maps that interference planners actually need.
MODIS (Terra/Aqua)Sentinel-3 SLSTRERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF)
Census boundaries freeze in time. Informal settlements do not.Informal settlement mapping for network densification prioritisation
Standard census data can lag informal urban growth by a decade or more. Multi-temporal VHR optical and SAR imagery reveals building-footprint density at sub-metre precision, giving network planners a current proxy for subscriber demand where official maps go blank.
Planet SuperDoveMaxar WorldView-3Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band)
The ground shifts slowly. Towers that ignore it shift faster.Active fault and seismic hazard mapping for tower foundation siting
InSAR time-series and high-resolution optical stereo can locate active fault traces and measure interseismic creep before a tower foundation is poured, steering civil works away from rupture risk. Neither method is infallible: vegetated terrain breaks InSAR coherence, and blind faults leave no surface signature at all.
Sentinel-1 A/B (ESA, C-band SAR)ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (JAXA, L-band SAR)Pleiades Neo (Airbus, optical)
Water finds the lowest point. So does network failure.Floodplain inundation risk mapping for ground-based telecoms infrastructure
SAR-derived inundation history and LiDAR terrain models combine to score exchange buildings, base stations and cable ducts against return-period flood depths, with honest uncertainty where vertical accuracy is the binding constraint.
Sentinel-1 (ESA)TanDEM-X WorldDEM (DLR/Airbus)ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (JAXA)
A tower looks stable. Its phase history disagrees.Tower structural deformation monitoring using persistent-scatterer InSAR
Persistent-scatterer InSAR tracks millimetre-scale displacement of steel lattice towers across multi-year SAR archives, flagging subsidence or tilt before it becomes a structural or regulatory problem.
Sentinel-1 (ESA)COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (ASI)TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X (DLR/Airbus)
The road looks passable on the map. The radar disagrees.Road surface condition assessment for maintenance crew access planning
Very-high-resolution optical imagery and SAR coherence change detection combine to flag unpaved access roads degraded by erosion, debris or inundation, so telecoms operators know which tower sites face crew-access delays before dispatching a vehicle.
Pleiades Neo (Airbus)WorldView-3 (Maxar)Sentinel-1 (ESA)
Ground moves slowly, then all at once. Know which corridors.Landslide susceptibility mapping for buried fibre route risk assessment
Combining InSAR displacement history, high-resolution terrain, lithology proxies and rainfall climatology, slope-unit susceptibility scoring identifies buried fibre corridors at chronic risk of ground movement before a cable is ever trenched.
TanDEM-X WorldDEM (DLR/Airbus)Sentinel-1 C-band SAR (ESA)GPM IMERG (NASA/JAXA)
Turbines move. Licensed microwave links cannot.Wind turbine location mapping for microwave link interference assessment
Wind turbines scatter microwave energy unpredictably, threatening licensed backhaul links. SAR amplitude imagery and optical stereo extract hub coordinates and tower heights precisely enough to feed Fresnel-zone and interference models before a link is commissioned.
Sentinel-1 (ESA, C-band SAR)TerraSAR-X (DLR/Airbus, X-band SAR)Pleiades Neo (Airbus, optical)
Power lines broadcast interference. Satellites can show you exactly where.High-voltage transmission line corridor mapping for electromagnetic interference planning
Overhead high-voltage corridors generate corona-discharge noise and Fresnel-zone hazards that degrade nearby base-station and microwave-link performance. SAR polarimetry and optical line-detection algorithms map pylon locations and conductor geometry from orbit, giving network planners a documented spatial record before site selection or frequency coordination.
TanDEM-X (DLR/Airbus, X-band SAR)ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (JAXA, L-band SAR)Sentinel-1 (ESA, C-band SAR)
Snow does not announce itself. Structural failure does.Snow accumulation and load risk mapping for rooftop antenna installations
Passive microwave and optical satellite data can estimate seasonal snow water equivalent and flag rooftop antenna mounts at structural risk before a loading event occurs. Accuracy degrades in wet-snow conditions and above roughly 150 mm SWE.
AMSR2 (JAXA/GCOM-W)Sentinel-2 (ESA)MODIS Terra/Aqua (NASA)
The ground above a worked-out mine moves. Your duct joints may not survive it.Mining subsidence monitoring for underground cable duct integrity assessment
Persistent-scatterer and small-baseline InSAR from Sentinel-1 and COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation can detect millimetre-scale differential settlement along cable duct routes above legacy mine workings, giving network operators early warning of conduit joint failure risk before a service outage forces the diagnosis.
Sentinel-1 (ESA, C-band, 5.6 cm wavelength)COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (ASI, X-band, 3.1 cm wavelength)TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X (DLR/Airbus, X-band)
The cabinet spec says 45 °C. The roof says otherwise.Urban heat island intensity mapping for outdoor telecoms equipment thermal management
Landsat 8/9 TIRS and ECOSTRESS resolve land surface temperature at 30–70 m, identifying urban micro-zones where persistent heat stress pushes outdoor telecoms equipment beyond rated thermal envelopes. LST is not air temperature; engineering use requires an aerodynamic resistance correction.
Landsat 8/9 TIRSECOSTRESS (NASA/JPL, aboard ISS)Sentinel-3 SLSTR (ESA)
The shoreline moves. The cable burial depth does not.Coastal erosion rate mapping for terrestrial cable route vulnerability assessment
Multi-decadal satellite waterline extraction and very-high-resolution photogrammetry quantify how fast a coast is retreating, identifying terrestrial cable sections at risk of exposure or severance before a fault occurs.
Landsat 8/9 (USGS/NASA)Sentinel-2 (ESA)Pleiades Neo (Airbus)
Dust does not care about your IP rating if you chose the wrong site.Dust storm frequency and aerosol load mapping for outdoor equipment ingress protection siting
Satellite aerosol time-series from MODIS, VIIRS and Sentinel-5P TROPOMI quantify the seasonal frequency and intensity of mineral dust events at candidate telecoms sites, giving engineers the evidence base to specify IP ratings, filter grades and maintenance intervals before installation.
MODIS Terra and Aqua (NASA)VIIRS (NASA/NOAA, Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20)Sentinel-5P TROPOMI (ESA)
Radiance rises before the cell towers do. Usually.Nighttime light intensity mapping for economic activity and data-demand forecasting
VIIRS Day/Night Band radiance time-series proxy economic activity and electrification at sub-kilometre resolution, giving network planners a leading indicator of data demand where census data is thin or stale. The signal is real but confounded; interpreting it correctly is most of the work.
VIIRS Day/Night Band (Suomi-NPP / NOAA-20 / NOAA-21)DMSP-OLS archive (NOAA)Landsat 8/9 OLI panchromatic band
Rain gauges lie about the worst hour. Satellites do not.Rainfall rate climatology mapping for millimetre-wave propagation loss estimation
Deriving the 0.01% exceedance rainfall rates that ITU-R P.837 demands is impossible from sparse gauge networks alone. GPM IMERG's 0.1°, 30-minute global precipitation record makes it tractable, with caveats.
GPM IMERG (NASA/JAXA)TRMM archive (NASA/JAXA)Meteosat SEVIRI (EUMETSAT)
Ice loads are invisible until a tower fails. Physics disagrees.Ice accretion frequency mapping for antenna and tower structural risk assessment
Combining ERA5 reanalysis meteorology with MODIS cloud liquid water path lets network engineers quantify glaze, rime and wet-snow accretion frequency at tower locations before a structural or radiation-pattern failure forces the question.
MODIS Terra / Aqua (NASA)AMSR2 on JAXA GCOM-WERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF)
Fire does not follow property boundaries. Your route assessment should not either.Wildfire risk and burn severity mapping for aerial fibre and power line routes
Aerial fibre and OPGW routes cross fire-prone terrain that standard engineering surveys ignore. Combining Sentinel-2 burn severity indices, VIIRS active fire detections and fuel-load time-series turns route corridors into scored risk profiles before, during and after a fire event.
Sentinel-2 MSI (ESA)VIIRS (Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, NASA/NOAA)Sentinel-1 SAR C-band (ESA)
Backfill looks solid. Wet winters say otherwise.Soil moisture mapping for cable trench reinstatement and settlement monitoring
Sentinel-1 C-band radar and NASA SMAP L-band radiometry track soil moisture dynamics along cable trenches, exposing differential settlement risk before conduit joints fail. Surface-layer retrieval is well-established; estimating moisture at burial depth requires modelling and carries real uncertainty.
Sentinel-1 (ESA, C-band SAR, 5.405 GHz)SMAP (NASA, L-band radiometer, 1.41 GHz)ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (JAXA, L-band SAR, 1.27 GHz)
The mast looks clear on a map. Physics and ICAO disagree.Airport obstacle limitation surface mapping for antenna height clearance compliance
Antenna masts near airports must stay below ICAO Annex 14 obstacle limitation surfaces. Satellite-derived DSMs from TanDEM-X and Pleiades Neo let planners verify height clearance across every surface type before a single foundation is poured.
TanDEM-X WorldDEM (DLR / Airbus)Pleiades Neo (Airbus)WorldView Legion (Maxar)
Shelters appear in days. Networks take months. Close that gap.Refugee and displaced-person settlement mapping for emergency connectivity demand assessment
Rapid informal settlement growth can outpace any connectivity plan. Very-high-resolution optical change detection and SAR coherence loss let planners count shelters, estimate spatial extent, and size emergency network deployments before the first mast goes in.
Planet SuperDoveMaxar WorldView LegionSentinel-1 (ESA)
The river rises. Your clearance calculation was done at low water.River crossing span geometry mapping for aerial fibre clearance
Aerial cables crossing rivers need verified clearance above flood-stage water surfaces, not just bankfull averages. Stereo radar, laser altimetry and multi-temporal SAR combine to give span length, bank geometry and seasonal high-water elevation from orbit.
TanDEM-X (bistatic X-band SAR)ICESat-2 (ATL03/ATL13 photon-counting lidar)Planet SuperDove (PlanetScope)
Clear skies are not the same as quiet air.Tropospheric scintillation climatology for earth station site selection
Ka- and Q-band links fail in clear air because refractive-index turbulence scintillates the signal. ERA5 reanalysis and GNSS precipitable-water data let you rank candidate earth station sites by long-term scintillation severity before a single antenna is bolted down.
ERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF)GNSS precipitable water vapour (GNSS-PWV) networksMODIS MOD05 total precipitable water
The ground reflects. The link degrades. Neither event is random.Salt flat and dry lake bed reflectivity mapping for specular microwave interference
Salt pans and dry playas create specular microwave reflection paths that cause destructive interference on terrestrial links. Sentinel-2 SWIR, Landsat surface-reflectance archives, and TanDEM-X roughness data let engineers map these surfaces, track their seasonal extent, and quantify specular risk before a link goes live.
Sentinel-2 MSILandsat 8/9 OLITanDEM-X
Peat moves. Buried fibre does not forgive it.Peatland subsidence monitoring for buried cable route integrity
Organic peat soils can subside several centimetres per year under drainage and drying, imposing differential settlement on buried ducts and direct-buried fibre. InSAR time-series methods applied to Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 data can detect and map these movements along cable corridors, within the coherence limits that wet peat imposes.
Sentinel-1 A/B (C-band SAR, 5.6 cm wavelength)ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (L-band SAR, 23.6 cm wavelength)RADARSAT Constellation Mission (C-band SAR)
Cranes appear six months before subscribers do.Construction activity mapping for near-term network demand forecasting
New developments create predictable demand spikes that operators can anticipate if construction is detected early. Satellite change detection on high-resolution optical and SAR imagery gives network planners a lead time that planning-permission registers rarely provide.
Planet SkySatMaxar WorldView-3Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band, coherence)
Your neighbour's signal crosses the border. Does yours?Cross-border coverage gap mapping for national sovereignty and security planning
Satellite-derived terrain and clutter data let regulators simulate mobile coverage on both sides of a land border, exposing zones of foreign signal dominance and domestic coverage absence before they become security or compliance problems.
TanDEM-XCopernicus DEM GLO-30GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation)
The pit edge moves. The cable record does not.Open-cast mine expansion monitoring for cable route conflict detection
Open-cast mines expand their boundaries continuously, often encroaching on buried cables or microwave corridors surveyed years earlier. Multi-temporal optical change detection and InSAR subsidence mapping can project conflict zones before earthworks arrive.
Sentinel-2 MSIPlanet PlanetScopeSentinel-1 C-band InSAR
The cleared strip is safe. The trees just outside it are not.Individual tree fall risk assessment along aerial cable corridors
Tall trees adjacent to pole routes, not within them, cause most aerial cable outages in forested terrain. Combining GEDI canopy-height lidar, Sentinel-1 SAR seasonality and wind-exposure modelling from the Copernicus DEM ranks corridor segments by fall-risk probability without a single ground survey.
GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation)Sentinel-1 SAR (C-band, 5.4 GHz)Sentinel-2 MSI
Canal banks go everywhere fibre needs to go. Few planners notice.Irrigation canal network mapping as rural fibre routing corridors
Irrigation canal banks are graded, maintained access routes that already connect rural population centres across South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Satellite imagery and SAR extract their geometry, bank width and seasonal flood risk to support least-cost fibre route planning.
Maxar WorldView-3TanDEM-XSentinel-1 SAR (C-band, 5.405 GHz)
The building went up after the model was run.Urban densification change detection for small-cell site re-assessment
New construction invalidates small-cell propagation models before a single antenna is installed. Stereo optical change detection between baseline and current epochs identifies new obstructions at building level, feeding updated clutter layers directly into 5G re-runs.
Pleiades NeoMaxar WorldView LegionSentinel-2 MSI