Eye in the sky SPOT maps a wireless plan >BY JASON MEYERS, Wireless Networks Editor

SPOT Image is attempting to redefine what wireless network planners and operators refer to as a high-level network view.

SPOT is the U.S. arm of an international consortium that operates a satellite system designed for remote sensing operations. The consortium's satellites produce digital maps by measuring the electromagnetic energy reflected from the Earth's surface to determine the physical makeup of surface features.

Applications for that information include government surveillance, which was formerly one of SPOT's most lucrative niches. But when the warming of the Cold War turned that market sour, the company's eyes in the sky shifted toward wireless.

The company is hopeful that its highly detailed images will prove to be invalu-able to wireless operators plotting network buildouts. And because the wireless sector's cutthroat environment makes speed to market so crucial, SPOT is striving to deliver those details quickly and accurately.

"People will do RF planning on their computers and then go to a site and find out it's not the same," said Mike Owens, telecom marketing manager for SPOT. SPOT's images serve as concise alternatives to paper maps-and in some cases they are the only alternative, Owens said.

"In many countries you can't get a map of the city where you're building networks, and some older maps are missing roads and bridges," he said. "We create a virtual world.

The images, called HotSPOTs, identify several major land characteristics critical for network planning, including roadways, terrain elevation and land use. The latter, known as morphology, or clutter, further distinguishes SPOT's databases from other mapping methods (see figure).

"On a topographic map you can't see subtle terrain features," said Usman Goni, principal engineer at LCC International, which designs systems for wireless network operators. Goni used SPOT's database to help speed planning for a network in Korea.

"You feel as if you have a direct view of the terrain, which you can't get on paper," Goni said.

SPOT's databases are available for more than 400 cities worldwide. The company currently counts wireless operators and equipment providers in 40 countries as customers.