Viewshed analysis of cell tower coverage and new tower siting

• Question. How much of Los Angeles County can existing cell towers reach, and how much would new towers add?

• Data. Cell tower locations; elevation model for Los Angeles County.

• Methods

  • Modeled tower coverage with viewshed analysis using tower height and coverage radius parameters.

  • Compared a baseline with three alternative scenarios, including three proposed new tower sites.

  • Documented a data limitation transparently: the raster included offshore islands and water, so land-only coverage figures are reported as upper-bound estimates.

• Findings. Baseline coverage was about 41% of the study area. The strongest scenario raised it to about 46%.

• Tools. ArcGIS Pro (Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst)

• Images. Coverage map; scenario comparison