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Describe how your tool imports and exports data from various sources (e.g. antenna manufacturers, demographics, other user specified data to be represented as raster maps) Describe how your tool can conduct what-if scenarios.
Describe how your system will handle planning issues such as frequency planning.
What is CSD’s basic graphing and presentation suite.
Describe CSD’s regulatory support.
What resolution of maps does ComSiteDesign Support?
Describe all propagation models that CSD allows the user to easily employ.
Describe how your tool can analyze different fixed wireless technologies
Describe the terrain data you have incorporated into your planning tool.
Describe the various layers of data that can be shown or hidden.
Question:
Describe how your tool imports and exports data from various sources (e.g. antenna manufacturers, demographics, other user specified data to be represented as raster maps)
Answer:
ComSite may import data in ASCII, MS Excel and ESRI .shp ArcView format or through a DSN (data source name) ODBC connection. MS Excel is used to import traffic data associated by site ID. Antenna manufactures do not conform to a single format and are subject to change without notice. RCC maintains a database of over 3,000 antenna patterns in MS Access (.mdb) and ASCII formats all aligned to a single data structure. The antenna pattern files are update periodically and provide to end users to avoid dealing with multiple vendor formats. Field measurement data is imported into the tool is MS Excel format. Though ComSite generates its own maps, it is compatible with ESRI’s ArcView format. As an example application, if the marketing department or the site acquisition department issues target market areas to build-out, they may publish maps in ArcView .shp format, the Network Engineers would import the same maps into ComSite, perform their specific analyses and export the results directly into ArcView format that may be again utilized by the originating department. Data integrity is preserved, as the Network Planners cannot alter the .shp files produced by Marketing or Site Acquisition. Similarly the originating departments cannot alter the Engineering designs unless change-instructions are submitted to Engineering. 
Question:
Describe how your tool can conduct what-if scenarios.
Answer:
‘What-If’ scenarios can be easily simulated in ComSite. Sites, for example, are classified as “proposed”, “in-construction”, “leased”, “rejected” and “what-if”. These site status classes may be expanded or changed to suit your business processes. Sites may be activated and deactivated depending on site status to assess the differences in coverage, interference, and compute traffic redistribution between different scenarios.
Question:
Describe how your system will handle planning issues such as frequency planning.
Answer:
The ComSite AFP (Automatic Frequency Planner) accommodates exclusion ‘lock-out’ of frequencies. Sites in a zone may be locked-out or excluded by activating only those sites desired or conversely, deactivating sites in a given area or zone. Frequencies may also be ‘locked-in’ to avoid affecting frequency sensitive devices such as bi-directional amplifiers or frequency translating repeaters. Defining exclusion zones through a layer insert may be provided as an option defined using ArcView GIS .shp format.
Question:
What is CSD’s basic graphing and presentation suite.
Answer:
ComSite output reports and exported data area compatible with MS Word, MS Excel and MS MapPoint. Coverage raster files may be exported to MapInfo or ESRI ArcView. ComSite’s output analyses may be also saved as a standard Adobe Acrobat .pdf file. Results of one calculation are exported and overlaid on another using ArcView or MapInfo GIS.
Question:
Describe CSD’s regulatory support.
Answer:
ComSite includes the AM Tower and Airport database. The location of AM Towers and Airports can be viewed by simply clicking on a tool bar icon. ComSite’s summary reports automatically produce distance and bearing to AM Towers and Airports. If Your decides to use the licensed band for Broadband MMDS/ITFS, ComSite’s MMDS tool produces the required ‘Appendix D’ analyses. ComSite MMDS module is compatible with the FCC’s broadband incumbent database.
Question:
What resolution of maps does ComSiteDesign Support?
Answer:
ComSite may use terrain databases inclusive of buildings with better than 10-meter resolution as currently becoming available for the US. ComSite’s standard terrain database is 30 meters in NAD83 projection as required by the FAA and FCC. Vector data supported includes MTA’s, BTA’s, MSA’s, RSA’a, EA’s, MEA, WCS boundaries, States, Counties, Zip Codes, Streets, Hydrology, Railroads. Output maps may be produced at detail levels representing better than 100m by 100m areas.
Question:
Describe all propagation models that CSD allows the user to easily employ.
Answers:
The models readily available to an end-user are Okumura-Hata COST 231, Okumura-Hata-Davidson, Longley Rice, Lee, COST 231 Okumura-Hata, COST 231 Walfish-Ikegami, ITU Free Space, FCC Carey and Lucent Airloop. The diffraction models implemented include Okumura, Bullington, Epstein Peterson, Japanese Atlas and Giovanelli. The performance of each propagation model may be modified by changing clutter loss attenuation factors derived through a calibration process dependent on field collected measurement data. These models are appropriate for planning networks from 40 MHz to over 40 GHz. Effects due to atmospheric gases, atmospheric absorption, rain attenuation, etc. are considered as part of CSD’s point-to-point Microwave planning tool.
Question:
Describe how your tool can analyze different fixed wireless technologies
Answer:
ComSite Design (CSD) is a general purpose network planning tool and it is offered modularized to meet end-user requirements more effectively. The CSD PCS version targets the PCS/Cellular end-user providing for unique site placement planning, subscriber traffic considerations, measurement data integration and detailed frequency planning. CSD PCS is applicable for TDMA IS136, DCS1800, TETRA. CSD PTP is an add-on application to perform detailed fixed wireless systems analysis point-to-point Microwave, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and Point to Multipoint. Channel performance parameters particular to 16 QAM, 32 QAM, etc. can be easily considered with CSD by taking into account how the required SNR changes for a desired BER by each modulation type.
Question:
Describe the terrain data you have incorporated into your planning tool.
Answer:
RCC has generated high quality terrain data sets for use in CSD, in resolutions from 30 arc-seconds for a worldwide terrain database, to 3 arc-seconds (90 meters) and 1 arc-second (30 meter) for nation-wide terrain databases. RCC has also created high-resolution terrain data up to 3-meter accuracy for certain areas. The nation-wide 90-meter and 30-meter terrain data is currently available, in Geographic Coordinates based on the NAD-83 datum.
Question:
Describe the various layers of data that can be shown or hidden.
Answer:
RCC has deployed 3-arc-second and 1-arc-second urbanization (Land-Use-Land-Clutter) databases to complement the terrain databases as the basis for accurate propagation modeling. Clutter categories used include Residential, Mean Urban, Dense Urban, Dense Urban High, Block Buildings, Village, Industrial, Open in Urban, Mixed Suburban, Rural, Forest, Parks, Water, Open. Road layers for road categories from highways to streets can be individually be displayed or hidden. Geographic and administrative boundaries including Zip Codes, Counties, MTA, BTA, LATA, and States have individual display controls. CSD supports the addition of a building footprint layer with heights and the use of this layer in the COST-231 Walfish-Ikegami 3-D propagation prediction model. |
