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Cell Radius Estimate Calculator

Work out cell radius estimate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Cell Radius Estimate Calculator

Cell radius follows from the link budget against a path loss model whose exponent captures the environment: about 2.8 in open rural terrain rising to over 4 in dense urban clutter. A hexagonal cell of radius r covers 2.598 r squared. Higher frequencies suffer greater reference loss, which is why 700 MHz cells cover far more area than 3.5 GHz cells at the same power.

Formula

Cell radius

budget = EIRP - receiver sensitivity; reference loss at 1 km = 32.45 + 20log10(f_MHz); radius = 10^((budget - reference) / (10n)); hex area = 2.598 r^2

Worked example

With the default values below, Cell Radius Estimate Calculator returns Cell radius of 43.982. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Base station EIRPaccepts 0–80 dBm
60 dBm
Carrier frequencyaccepts 400–40,000 MHz
1,800 MHz
Handset sensitivityaccepts -130–-60 dBm
-100 dBm
Environmentone of Dense urban, Urban, Suburban, Rural open
Urban

Results

Cell radius
43.982 km
Hexagonal cell area
5,025.675 km2
Link budget
160.0 dB
Path loss exponent used
3.80

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Cell radius
  3. 3Cell radius= 43.982 km
  4. 4Hexagonal cell area= 5,025.675 km2
  5. 5Link budget= 160.0 dB
  6. 6Path loss exponent used= 3.80

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are high-band cells so small?

Path loss rises with frequency and penetration through buildings and foliage is much worse, so a 3.5 GHz cell may be a fraction of the radius of a 700 MHz cell.

Is coverage or capacity the usual constraint?

In cities, capacity. Cells are placed far closer than coverage requires so the available spectrum is reused more often.

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