The Automatic Site Prioritization (ASP) in Xirio is a calculation that allows to select, within a multi-transmitter coverage study, which transmitters are the most relevant according to user-defined criteria. The algorithm analyzes the coverage provided by each transmitter and, iteratively, discards the areas already covered to evaluate only those areas that remain without service. This generates a ranking of transmitters ordered by priority.

To use this feature, you must have previously calculated the signal level result in the multi-transmitter coverage study and have the appropriate user permissions.

Clicking on the "Calculate automatic site prioritization" option in the multi-transmitter coverage action panel will open the corresponding configuration window where the calculation parameters are defined.

GENERAL OPERATION OF THE ALGORITHM

The steps followed by the ASP for prioritizing transmitters are as follows:

1.The target coverage and the coverage of each transmitter on the selected cartography are analyzed.

2.The transmitters are scored using the criteria defined in the configuration, and the one with the highest score is chosen as the prioritized transmitter.

3.The chosen transmitter is extracted from the process, and the coverage provided by that transmitter is removed from the target coverage.

This process is repeated with the rest of the transmitters over the areas that are not yet covered until a final list of transmitters ordered by priority is obtained.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

The ASP calculation must be configured using different options: cartography layers, magnitudes, weights, etc. Each of these is detailed below.

Cartography selection

The calculation can be based on cartography layers of administrative type (population, surface areas, roads, or points), taking into account that:

•Layers of mask type cannot be used in this calculation.

•If a layer contains several magnitudes (e.g., population and surface), each magnitude is configured independently.

Available magnitudes

Depending on the selected cartography, there will be different magnitudes that can be considered for prioritization:

•Administrative layer: population (inhabitants) and surface area (km2).

•Roads layer: distance (km).

•Points layer: units (number of points) and population (inhabitants).

Weight

Each magnitude can be weighted or normalized with a weight value:

•Value equal to 0: the magnitude will not be taken into account.

•Value greater than 0: the score obtained for each transmitter is weighted by the assigned value.

This allows combining different magnitudes and giving more importance to some over others.

Example: In an administrative layer with 2 magnitudes, population and surface area, assigning a weight of 2 to population and 1 to surface area will prioritize coverage of inhabitants over km2.

Automatic Minimum/Maximum

These parameters define the coverage range required for a transmitter to receive a score:

•Minimum: coverage that a transmitter must cover to score; if there is less coverage than this value, the transmitter will receive a score of 0.

•Maximum: coverage from which the maximum score is assigned, which will be equal to the weight of the magnitude.

Checking the corresponding box in the "Automatic Min/Max" column allows Xirio to automatically define the minimum and maximum values based on the transmitters analyzed. This way, there will be at least one transmitter that receives the maximum score, which will be the one that offers the highest coverage of the magnitude being evaluated. The rest of the transmitters will obtain their score based on the maximum.

Example: Suppose that an automatic calculation is configured for a metric that has a weight of 2. In a situation with 2 transmitters, one covering 10 inhabitants and the other covering 5 different inhabitants, the score calculation would be:

•2 points for the transmitter covering 10 inhabitants.

•1 point for the other transmitter, as it covers half as many inhabitants as the first.

Saturation

Allows penalizing transmitters that exceed a certain coverage level (e.g., excess users):

•By default, it is infinite (no penalty applies).

•If a threshold is set, transmitters that exceed it receive a reduced score.

Reception threshold

Defines the minimum signal level for a magnitude to be considered covered. Typical units are used: dBm (mobile services) or dBu (broadcast services).

Additional factors

There are other parameters in the table that allow you to customize or adapt the scores obtained for each transmitter:

•Multiplicative: multiplies the score obtained by the value specified in the weight field.

•Additive: adds the value specified in the weight field to the score.

It is also possible to prioritize transmitters individually for specific transmitters:

•Manual priority: multiplies the score for that transmitter (e.g., sites with fiber optics available).

•Always prioritize: forces the activation of that transmitter, regardless of its score (e.g., sites already built).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

Below, you can see different calculation scenarios that show how the result varies depending on the parameters configured:

•Example 1: Basic calculation with three transmitters without saturation

•Example 2: Application of saturation threshold, penalizing excessive coverage

•Example 3: Combination of several layers with different weights

•Example 4: Manual prioritization of transmitters

Each example is illustrated with maps, tables, and results so that the user can understand the logic of the algorithm.

RESULTS

After completing the calculation, the following results tables will be generated:

•Transmitter prioritization. Report that indicates the order of priority of the transmitters, with the first being the one that most covers the magnitudes considered for prioritization according to their weight. If grouping by station was selected in the calculation settings, the transmitters will be grouped in consecutive rows when they are from the same site.

•Prioritized coverage contribution. Report where the same transmitter will be repeated as many times as entities (toponyms) reached by its coverage. The values in this report refer to coverage provided by each transmitter that was not already covered by other transmitters with higher priority.