Precision multi-site planning made practical.
Modern wireless networks demand accurate visibility into how multiple sites and sectors work together—whether in dense urban deployments or wide area rural networks.
We recently introduced several major updates to the Aviat Design Tool aimed at making multi-site coverage calculations and planning faster and more intuitive. In this post, we’ll walk through how to use these new capabilities to calculate and visualize combined coverage across multiple sites and sectors simultaneously.
Getting Started: Efficient Site Data Management
The first step in any project is establishing your site locations. The Aviat Design Tool offers four flexible ways to bring your data into the interface:
- Manual Entry: Ideal for quick adjustments or adding individual sites.
- Click on Map: Simply click directly on the map to place sites visually perfect for rapid planning and exploratory design.
- KML Import: Seamlessly transfer existing sites from Google Earth into the design environment.
- CSV Import: For larger networks, a simple three‑column format (Site Name, Latitude, Longitude) lets you upload hundreds of sites in seconds, with the option to include additional site details to support more advanced planning.
Designing Multi-Sector Transmitter Groups
This update introduces enhanced transmitter grouping, including the ability to define Point to Multipoint (PMP) groups for more efficient multi site planning. PMP groups allow planners to organize and simulate deployments using RDL or Aprisa radios across multiple frequency bands. Within a PMP group, planners can apply consistent RF and equipment settings across sites and sectors:
- Flexible Azimuth & Sectoring: Quickly configure multi sector sites by defining multiple azimuths using simple, comma separated inputs.
- Group Level Antenna Tilt: Apply mechanical down tilt across the group to shape coverage and optimize the signal footprint.
- Equipment Aware Design: Select frequency bands and radio models, with automatic filtering of compatible antennas and cable options—ensuring each simulation reflects equipment specific constraints and produces deployable results.
Multi-site Coverage Calculation
Visualizing and Exporting Results
Once your parameters are set, you can choose to visualize coverage based on three critical metrics: Modulation, Capacity, or Radio Threshold. Visualizing modulation levels gives planners a clear RF‑level view of where signal quality supports higher‑throughput operation and where it degrades to lower‑order modulation. In areas where coverage from multiple sites overlaps, the tool automatically evaluates the best received signal—based on an accurate RF simulation—providing a clear picture of usable coverage across the network.
Sharing Your Design
Once the calculation is complete, you can export your entire project as a Google Earth (KML) file. This export includes:
- Base station and subscriber antenna heights.
- Precise sector orientations.
- Visual coverage boundaries.
Rapid Iteration
One of the most powerful features for engineers is the Duplicate function. If you want to compare how a calculation performs with different antennas, number of sectors, antenna heights or Tx. Powers. You can simply duplicate your coverage group. This allows for side-by-side “what-if” analysis in a fraction of the time.
Ready to Design?
The Aviat Design FREE Tool is designed to give you the accuracy of expensive subscription-based software with the accessibility of a cloud-based platform.
Don’t have an account yet? Just click Register and you’ll be ready to design your first network in no time!