Point to Point Link Planner

ITU anchored RF link planning workstation for point to point and point to multipoint design, with terrain accurate path profiles, full ITU model coverage, and audit grade provenance for every number.

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Project tree on the left, Mapbox workspace in the centre, site and link tools on the right.

Nearby ACMA registered sites returned within the configured search radius.

Custom site registration request lodged through the noIM3 engine.

Site detail panel showing ACMA metadata and registered services at the site.

Terrain, earth bulge, Fresnel envelope, and obstacle clearance overlaid on the path.

Point to multipoint sector showing per subscriber clearance, budget, and sector capacity.

Tabbed link breakdown with each contribution traced to its ITU recommendation.

Candidate channels ranked against the RRL with exclusion zones applied.

One click export for ACMA submission, customer engineering packs, and field installation.

Overview

A microwave point to point link looks deceptively simple on paper. Two sites, a clear line of sight, a frequency, an antenna at each end. In practice, getting from a site survey to a link that actually meets its availability target involves terrain modelling, Fresnel zone clearance, atmospheric absorption, rain attenuation, multipath fading, diversity gain, antenna pattern matching, regulatory channel selection, and a coordination check against incumbents. Skip any one of these and the link either fails to perform on the day, or fails coordination during licensing.

The noIM₃ Point to Point Link Planner is a full ITU anchored RF planning workstation that runs entirely in your browser. It implements ITU-R P.526-16 for diffraction, P.530-19 for line of sight propagation including rain and wet snow, multipath, cross polar discrimination and diversity, P.837-8 for rain rate with annual and monthly statistics, P.676-13 for atmospheric gas absorption, P.838-3 for rain attenuation coefficients, P.839-4 for rain height, P.840-9 for cloud and fog attenuation, and P.2108-1 for clutter loss. Every number on screen is tied back to the input that produced it, so a link budget is not a black box but an auditable engineering artefact.

Path profiles are sampled from the Mapbox global Terrain RGB DEM with configurable sampling density and earth curvature treatment, then evaluated against Fresnel zone clearance and ITU diffraction loss. Antenna patterns are modelled with full elevation and azimuth response so that mechanical tilt, twist, and sway are accounted for in the budget. Rain and gas attenuation are conditioned on the local climate using the ITU rain rate maps and BOM data where Australian sites are involved. The result is a link plan that is defensible to a regulator, a customer, or your future self when the network is in service and a fade event needs investigation.

The same workstation plans point to multipoint access as well as point to point backhaul. You draw a sector from a base station over its subscribers, and every base to subscriber leg becomes a real link analysed through the identical engine, so per subscriber clearance, receive level, fade margin, availability, and modulation come from the actual terrain rather than a nominal range circle. Each sector carries its own editable radio configuration of frequency, channel width, polarisation, transmit power, and antenna gain, and changing any of them re-runs the affected legs. The sector is then sized for aggregate downlink throughput using an airtime fair model anchored to each subscriber real net rate, and a co-channel carrier to interference figure is reported for subscribers served by co-located sectors that share a channel, so you can stagger frequencies for clean reuse.

Capabilities

ITU anchored propagation engine

P.526-16 for diffraction, P.530-19 for line of sight including rain and wet snow, multipath, cross polar discrimination, selective fading and diversity, P.676-13 for atmospheric gases, P.838-3 for rain attenuation, P.839-4 for rain height, P.840-9 for cloud and fog, P.2108-1 for clutter. Multipath, rain and cross polar discrimination follow ITU-R P.530-19 (September 2025) using the P.530-19 LogK and dN75 digital products, and the rain rate is read from the ITU-R P.837-8 (September 2025) R0.01 digital map with annual and monthly statistics from its Annex 1 method. Every report lists the edition and dataset behind each figure and the ITU-R validation examples each module reproduces.

Terrain accurate path profile

Mapbox global Terrain RGB DEM sampling with configurable density. Earth curvature, k factor, and refractivity are treated explicitly. Fresnel zone clearance is computed at every sample point, and antenna heights are checked and raised against the ITU-R P.530-19 §2.2.2.1 criteria: 1.0 F1 at the median k and 0.0, 0.3 or 0.6 F1 at the k_e of Eq. 4, the larger governing, with the minimum height each end needs reported.

Full link budget with provenance

Every input that drives a budget value is annotated with its source. Hover any number on the budget and you see exactly which model, which input, and which standard produced it. The result is an audit grade engineering record rather than a black box.

Rain, gas, cloud, and multipath

Rain and wet snow per P.530-19 §2.4.2 (rain height from the P.839-4 map, probability of rain from P.837-8 Annex 1) with a measured rain rate or the P.837-8 R0.01 digital map, and monthly rainfall-rate statistics per P.837-8 Annex 1. Atmospheric gas absorption per P.676-13 line by line. Cloud and fog per P.840-9. Multipath fading per P.530-19 §2.3, and worst month statistics per P.841-7.

Adaptive modulation and diversity

Adaptive modulation availability is computed from the receiver SNR threshold curve and the path fade distribution, not assumed at a single operating point, so each modulation mode carries its own availability and time in mode. Space and frequency diversity apply the ITU-R P.530-19 §6.2.5 non-selective improvement to the multipath outage of every mode when enabled on the link.

Antenna pattern modelling

Full azimuth and elevation antenna patterns are applied at each end. Cross polarisation discrimination, mechanical alignment tolerance, and tower sway are treated as inputs to the budget rather than rules of thumb.

Frequency assignment and coordination

Channel plan generation, G.82x channel allocation rules, ACMA RRL coordination candidate generation, corridor snap, and exclusion zone enforcement built into the planning surface so a candidate plan is also a coordinated plan.

Point to multipoint sectors with real per subscriber budgets

Draw a sector from a base station over its subscribers, and every base to subscriber leg is analysed through the same engine as a point to point link. Per subscriber range, receive level, fade margin, predicted availability, and usable modulation come from the actual terrain profile, and any leg that cannot close at maximum mast height is reported rather than quietly assumed to work.

Sector capacity and co-channel reuse

Each sector carries an editable radio configuration of frequency, channel width, polarisation, transmit power, and antenna gain that re-runs the affected legs when changed. The sector is sized for aggregate downlink throughput using an airtime fair planning estimate anchored to each subscriber real net rate, and a co-channel carrier to interference figure based on the ITU R F.1336 sector pattern is reported for subscribers served by co-located sectors on the same channel, so frequencies can be staggered for clean reuse.

Tabular engineering and sensitivity dashboards

A dense tabular view exposes every parameter for fast bulk editing. Sensitivity dashboards show how the link budget responds to changes in antenna size, transmit power, frequency, rain rate, and path length so margin choices are informed rather than guessed.

Reports, KML, and installer drawings

One click export of long form engineering reports, installer drawings, site network KML, and signed PDFs. Output is structured for ACMA licence applications, customer engineering submissions, and field installation packs.

Project tree and collaboration

Multi link projects are organised in a tree so a network of dozens of hops is navigable rather than a flat list. Project state is persistable, and ITU vector regression diffs surface model behaviour changes between releases.

Standards & methodology

ITU-R P.526-16. Propagation by diffraction
ITU-R P.530-19. Propagation data and methods for terrestrial line of sight systems
ITU-R P.676-13. Attenuation by atmospheric gases
ITU-R P.838-3. Specific attenuation model for rain
ITU-R P.839-4. Rain height model for prediction methods
ITU-R P.841-7. Conversion of annual statistics to worst month statistics
ITU-R P.840-9. Attenuation due to clouds and fog
ITU-R P.2108-1. Prediction of clutter loss
ITU-R P.837-8. Characteristics of precipitation for propagation modelling
ITU-R P.1510-1. Mean surface temperature
ITU G.82x. Microwave channel arrangements
ACMA RRL coordination data integration for Australian licensing workflows

When to use this tool

Designing a new microwave or millimetre wave point to point link from a site survey
Validating an existing link against ITU P.530 with current rain rate and atmospheric data
Producing engineering documentation for an ACMA microwave licence application
Coordinating a candidate channel against existing RRL incumbents along the path
Generating installer drawings and site network KML for a multi link rollout
Comparing antenna size, frequency, channel width, and diversity options against availability targets
Diagnosing a working link that is missing its availability target during rain events
Producing customer ready engineering reports for a backhaul or transport network
Planning resilient backhaul for cellular, mining, utility, and broadcast operators
Validating vendor proposed link designs before purchase or rollout
Supporting fixed wireless access network expansion with traceable engineering output
Planning a point to multipoint sector and checking which subscribers actually close against the terrain before deployment
Sizing a point to multipoint sector for downlink capacity and staggering frequencies across sectors for clean co-channel reuse
Producing audit grade link budgets for regulatory or compliance review

Frequently asked questions

Which ITU recommendations does the planner implement?

P.526-16 for diffraction, P.530-19 for terrestrial line of sight including multipath, rain and wet snow, cross polar discrimination and diversity, P.676-13 for atmospheric gas absorption (line by line), P.838-3 for rain attenuation coefficients, P.839-4 for rain height, P.840-9 for cloud and fog, P.841-7 for worst month conversion, P.2108-1 for clutter loss, and P.837-8 for rain rate with its Annex 1 monthly statistics. P.530 and P.837 are the September 2025 editions with their digital products. The report carries a methods appendix naming the edition and dataset behind every figure and a validation appendix listing the ITU-R Study Group 3 validation examples each module reproduces.

Where does terrain data come from?

Path profiles are sampled from the Mapbox global Terrain RGB DEM. Sampling density is configurable so you can trade detail against compute time, and earth curvature with a configurable k factor is applied explicitly. Fresnel zone clearance is computed at every sample point.

What does provenance mean on the output?

Every number on the link budget is annotated with the input and the model that produced it. Hover any value and you see the standard, the model revision, and the input parameters that drove it. The point is to make the budget an auditable engineering artefact rather than a black box, especially for regulatory or compliance review.

Does the planner cover ACMA coordination?

Yes. ACMA RRL data is integrated for coordination candidate generation along corridors, with corridor snap, exclusion zones, and G.82x channel allocation built into the planning surface. The coordinated plan and the engineered plan are the same artefact, not two separate workflows.

How is rain attenuation handled?

Precipitation attenuation follows ITU-R P.530-19 §2.4.2, the combined rain and wet snow method, using P.838-3 coefficients, the P.839-4 mean rain height and the P.837-8 Annex 1 probability of rain at the path midpoint; where the melting layer cannot reach the path it reduces to the §2.4.1 rain-only law and the report says which case applied. You can input a measured rain rate or take R0.01 from the P.837-8 digital map, and the Atmospherics tab gives the P.837-8 Annex 1 monthly and annual rainfall-rate statistics. Output includes the predicted outage and the contribution of precipitation to annual and worst month unavailability.

Can I model adaptive modulation?

Yes. Adaptive modulation availability is computed across the modulation order set using the receiver SNR threshold curve and the path fade distribution. Output is a per modulation availability table rather than a single point assumption, which matches how modern microwave radios actually behave in service.

What about diversity?

Space diversity (vertical antenna spacing and gain mismatch) and frequency diversity (channel separation), alone or together with two or four receivers, are modelled with the ITU-R P.530-19 §6.2.5 non-selective improvement factor, which divides the clear-air multipath outage at every fade margin. Rain outage is not improved by diversity and is left unchanged. Co-channel dual-polar operation (2+0 CCDP, with or without an XPIC) doubles capacity and adds the P.530-19 §4.1 and §4.2.2 cross-polar outage per §7. The selective (dispersive) part of §6.2.5 and angle diversity are not applied, and the report states which scheme ran and whether the path sits inside the Recommendation fit ranges.

Does it plan point to multipoint as well as point to point?

Yes. You draw a sector from a base station over its subscribers, and every base to subscriber leg is analysed through the same engine as a point to point link, so per subscriber clearance, receive level, fade margin, availability, and modulation come from the real terrain. Each sector has an editable radio configuration of frequency, channel width, polarisation, transmit power, and antenna gain that re-runs the affected legs when changed. The sector is sized for aggregate downlink throughput with an airtime fair estimate anchored to each subscriber net rate, and a co-channel carrier to interference figure is reported for subscribers served by co-located sectors on the same channel so frequencies can be staggered for reuse.

What outputs are available for licensing and field work?

Long form engineering reports as PDF, installer drawings, site network KML, signed exports for compliance review, and a regression diff against ITU vector test cases. Output is structured for ACMA licence applications, customer engineering submissions, and field installation packs.