CDMA2000 1xRTT coverage area

[foulkrj]

Why is a CDMA2000 1xRTT antenna able to work even though it is placed closer to the ground thn any other carriers on a pole? MetroPCS wants to put a antenna in my area low on a pole and I wonder if they are going to need antennas on every street corner?

[Will.Spencer]

That depends less upon the type of signal being carried and more upon the design of the antenna being used.

What sort of antenna is being used? Is it omnidirectional, parabolic, yagi, patch?

[foulkrj]

The drawings don't give the antenna type. I'm a zoning board member. They are asking for a variance and gave us site plans but no specs. Is there anything fundamentally different about the CDMA2000 technology that would give them better coverage in a hilly, forested area than the others on the pole, Sprint, Verizon etc. ?

[Will.Spencer]

Different frequencies of RF radiation do propagate differently. Some "bounce" better, others go through obstacles better.

PCS is 1943-1990 Mhz. This is a higher frequency allocation (relatively speaking) than most of the competing technologies.

Higher frequencies tend to travel shorter distances, which will require more antennas of any given type.

More antennas, of course, will almost guarantee better coverage in hilly and forested areas.

In addition, the higher frequency (i.e. smaller wavelength) signals may "bounce" better off obstacles than the alternate lower-frequency signals.

To quote a book review, Propagation modeling is, at best, a bit of a black art - part physics, part phenomenology, part numerical analysis. There really are no easy and reliably accurate answers in the field of propagation.

CDMA-2000/1xRTT is a data specification, and is not directly relevant. Are they proposing CDMA-2000/1xRTT over a CDMA network or a PCS network? i.e. 800 Mhz or 1,900 Mhz?

[foulkrj]

I don't have the answer to your last question. You've been a great help.