Ubiquitous Computing and Communication Journal Volume 3 Number 4 Page 61 www.ubicc.org PROPAGATION MODEL FOR HIGHWAY IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM K.Ayyappan Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering and Technology, Pondicherry, India. *P. Dananjayan Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Pondicherry Engineering College Pondicherry - 605014, India. * pdananjayan@hotmail.com *corresponding author ABSTRACT Radio propagation is essential for emerging technologies with appropriate design, deployment and management strategies for any wireless network. It is heavily site specific and can vary significantly depending on terrain, frequency of operation, velocity of mobile terminal, interface sources and other dynamic factor. Accurate characterization of radio channel through key parameters and a mathematical model is important for predicting signal coverage, achievable data rates, specific performance attributes of alternative signaling and reception schemes. Path loss models for macro cells such as Hata Okumura, COST 231 and ECC 33 models are analyzed and compared their parameters. The received signal strength was calculated with respect to distance and model that can be adopted to minimize the number of handoffs and avoid ping pong effect are determined. This paper proposes a propagation model for highway environment between Pondicherry - Villupuram which is 40 kilometers spaced out .Comparative study with real time measurement obtained from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) a GSM based wireless network for Pondicherry, India has been implemented. Keywords: Handoff, Path loss, Received signal strength, ping pong, cellular mobile. 1 INTRODUCTION Propagation models have traditionally focused on predicting the received signal strength at a given distance from the transmitter, as well as the variability of the signal strength in a close spatial proximity to a particular location. Propagation models that predict the signal strength for an arbitrary transmitter- receiver (T-R) separation distance are useful in estimating the radio coverage area of a transmitter. Conversely, propagation models that characterize the rapid fluctuations of the received signal strength over very short travel distances are called small-scale or fading models. Propagation models are useful for predicting signal attenuation or path loss. This path loss information may be used as a controlling factor for system performance or coverage so as to achieve perfect reception [1]. The common approaches to propagation modeling include physical models and empirical models. In this paper, only empirical models are considered. Empirical models use measurement data to model a path loss equation. To conceive these models, a correlation was found between the received signal strength and other parameters such as antenna heights, terrain profiles, etc through the use of extensive measurement and statistical analysis. Radio transmission in a mobile communication system often takes place over irregular terrain. The terrain profile of a particular area needs to be taken into account for estimating the path loss. The terrain profile may vary from a simple curved earth profile to a highly curved mountainous profile. A number of propagation models are available to predict path loss over irregular terrain. While all these models aim to predict signal strength at a particular receiving point or in a specific location are called sector, the methods vary widely in their approach, complexity and accuracy. Most of these models are based on a systematic interpretation of measurement data obtained in the service area. In cellular mobile communication systems, handoff takes place due to movement of mobile unit and unfavorable conditions inside an individual cell or between a numbers of 1