A
radio propagation model, also known as the
Radio Wave Propagation Model or the
Radio Frequency Propagation Model, is an
empirical mathematical formulation for the characterization of radio wave propagation as a
function of
frequency,
distance and other conditions. A single model is usually developed to predict the behavior of propagation for all similar links under similar constraints. Created with the goal of formalizing the way radio waves are propagated from one place to another, such models typically predict the
path loss along a link or the effective coverage area of a
transmitter.