Tower Coverage
Estimate cell tower coverage radius from antenna height, power and terrain factors.
About Tower Coverage
Radio line-of-sight range is fundamentally limited by Earth curvature. The radio horizon distance from height h is d = sqrt(2*R*h), where R is Earth's effective radius (inflated by k-factor, typically 4/3 to model atmospheric refraction). Total coverage radius sums both the tower's and receiver's horizon contributions.
Formulas
Radio horizon distance
horizon_km = sqrt(2 * effective_earth_radius_km * height_km)
- R_eff
- Earth radius times k-factor (6371 * 1.33 km)
- h
- Antenna height in km
Total coverage radius
total_radius = tower_horizon + receiver_horizon
Worked example
With the default values below, Tower Coverage returns Line-of-Sight Coverage Radius of 27.59. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Tower/Antenna Heightminimum 0.1 m
- 30 m
- Receiver Heightminimum 0 m
- 1.5 m
- Earth Curvature (k-factor) Adjustmentminimum 1
- 1.33
Results
- Line-of-Sight Coverage Radius
- 27.59 km
- Line-of-Sight Coverage Radius
- 17.14 mi
- Approx. Coverage Area
- 2,391.4 km²
- Horizon Distance from Tower
- 22.55 km
- Horizon Distance from Receiver
- 5.04 km
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Radio horizon distance
- 3Total coverage radius
- 4Line-of-Sight Coverage Radius= 27.59 km
- 5Line-of-Sight Coverage Radius= 17.14 mi
- 6Approx. Coverage Area= 2,391.4 km²
- 7Horizon Distance from Tower= 22.55 km
- 8Horizon Distance from Receiver= 5.04 km
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 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 does the k-factor matter for coverage estimates?
Standard atmospheric refraction bends radio waves toward Earth's surface, extending coverage beyond pure geometric line-of-sight. The 4/3 Earth model (k=1.33) approximates this effect.
Does this account for terrain obstructions?
No — this models theoretical radio horizon over smooth Earth. Real-world coverage is reduced by hills, buildings, and foliage in the propagation path.