TOPOGRAPHY BASED DESIGN OF THE T-DAB SFN FOR A MOUNTAINOUS AREA

A method for designing a Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting Single Frequency Network (T-DAB SFN) for a mountainous region is proposed. C omputer database and the digital terrain elevation data are used in de signing the network. Two fundamental approaches are compared; first, u tilization of the existing transmitter sites is maximized by applying the initial cost constraint; then, the coverage percent of the service is forced to approach to 100% by applying the coverage efficiency con straint. Finally, a T-DAB SFN hybrid design procedure optimizing both constraints is proposed. The three design approaches are illustrated o n the coverage of the mountainous Istanbul-Ankara highway. are compare d using a reference up table. The hybrid approach is shown to optimize the initial cost and the coverage efficiency, and can be applied to s imilar networking problems.