Prerequisites:
None.
Equipment:
- Laptop or computer w/ WiFi capability or internet
- Microphone and camera (for Live Online sessions only)
- Internet browser
- PDF viewer
- Microsoft Word and Excel viewer
Description:
This entry-level course introduces investigators, analysts, and attorneys to Radio Frequency Propagation Surveys (RFPS) — the process of measuring and mapping the cellular radio environment (2G through 5G and Wi-Fi) in a given area to memorialize and forensically examine how a network actually serves a location. Aligned with SWGDE best practices, the course explains what an RFPS is and how it differs from historical cell site analysis, the types of survey equipment available (SDR, SIM-based, and mobile-device applications) and their trade-offs, and the core survey methodologies — route/scenario, location, cell mapping, surveys at height, area, proactive, and records-verification surveys. Attendees also get a plain-language introduction to the data these surveys produce (signal measurements like RSRP and RSRQ), along with the attenuation, calibration, and timeliness factors that shape results, and the documentation practices that keep findings defensible.
You’ll leave understanding what an RFPS can and can’t establish, which survey approach fits a given investigative question, and how to recognize a sound, well-documented survey — a solid foundation before advancing to hands-on survey work.
