Propagation Modeling and Coverage Estimation of UHF Broadcast Services in the 600 MHz Band in Brazil

This paper presents a comprehensive geographic coverage analysis of Brazilian broadcasting services operating in the 600 MHz band, currently allocated to digital television and considered for future applications such as TV 3.0. A custom simulation framework implementing the ITU-R P.1812 propagation model was developed to estimate field strength using real-world operational data from 5,198 broadcasting stations, sourced from Anatel's Mosaico platform. The methodology integrates digital elevation models, land cover classification, and radioclimatic zoning to compute coverage metrics at both municipal and urban sector levels. Results indicate that services in the 600 MHz band currently cover approximately 3.46 million km², representing 40.6% of the Brazilian territory, with full coverage observed in 78.8% of urban sectors within the served regions. Significant regional disparities were identified, with coverage exceeding 90% in the South and falling below 15% in the North. The covered area distribution follows a lognormal pattern, and a power-law relationship between coverage area and effective radiated power (ERP) was observed. These findings provide valuable insights for spectrum planning and public policy formulation regarding the evolution of broadcasting services and the potential reallocation of the 600 MHz band.