50 years of teamwork. 50 years of innovation. 50 years of resilience. In 1966, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced his vision to create a program aimed at gathering facts about the natural resources of the Earth from Earth orbiting satellites. It was a bold proclamation. It was also an idea that worked and continues to work 50 years on.
Landsat at Work: A Path to Better Wireless Communication
National Land Cover Database (NLCD), based on Landsat, helps plan clear signals
National Land Cover Database (NLCD), based on Landsat, helps plan clear signals
By Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
April 29, 2025
Landsat’s mission isn’t communications, but its data is helping shape the networks we rely on every day.
Imagine the task of designing clear paths for a wireless communication system, large or small. It could be permanent with towers and antennas, or it could be temporary with a mobile command unit and handheld receivers.
Of course, you would take into account the elevation of the land to make sure a hill in between wouldn’t interrupt the radio frequency signal.
Then imagine going to the expense of setting up two towers and feeling stumped when your signal between them is weak anyway. As it turns out, that hill in between is actually lined with trees 150 feet tall—a height within the signal path.
Failing to account for obstacles like trees and buildings and other materials on the land—collectively called “clutter”—could be an expensive error to correct. It could even be hazardous if first responders are relying on the signals during a remote wildfire or a natural disaster that disrupts other forms of communication.
That’s just one of many reasons why the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), the longstanding and definitive U.S. land cover resource based on Landsat satellite data, is so valuable. Incorporating NLCD into the design and analysis of a wireless communication system provides clutter information for land cover types like fields, forests, cities and grasslands across the United States.
NLCD Is ‘A Good Answer’ for Customers
NLCD Is ‘A Good Answer’ for Customers
Jason Burkholder is president and CEO of SoftWright, which provides software worldwide to help customers decide where to place permanent or mobile transmitters to ensure clear communication. NLCD helps the Terrain Analysis Package (TAP) software and related mapping tool predict where land cover has the potential to weaken the signal, which is called clutter loss.
Softwright’s customers range from engineering and consulting firms to first responders, including local governments, the USDA Forest Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State Department. One of the first questions Burkholder hears from potential new customers is, “What kind of clutter data do you have available?”
He offers several land cover options but says NLCD is the most popular for the United States. “We've got a good answer for that, and it's definitely because the NLCD is available,” Burkholder said. “That’s where we go to get clutter losses. It’s certainly something that most users are interested in.”
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The map portion of this Softwright TAP Analysis screenshot indicates the National Land Cover Database land cover classifications along a radio frequency signal path along and north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the various colors representing land cover types (legend on the left). On the graphic below the map, the Y-axis (on the left) is showing the elevation of the signal path in meters. The X-axis (along the bottom) is showing distance in kilometers. The red line slanting across the top is the line of sight. The slanted blue line is the Fresnel Zone, which is a 3-dimensional elliptical area between a wireless transmitter and receiver. Obstructions within the Fresnel Zone would typically cause signal loss.
Landsat’s annual value was calculated to be $25.6 billion in 2023, with many of its uses not obvious—including communication software.
For Burkholder, that means he can provide high-quality data and real-world solutions for customers planning the ideal routes for their needs.
“If the whole world was bare ground, your radios would be amazing,” Burkholder said. “But it's not.”
That’s the whole reason for Landsat and NLCD: showing us what is on the ground and how it affects us in countless ways.
Note: Landsat data and NLCD data are both available from the U.S. Geological Survey at no cost to users.
Disclaimer: This web page contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other organizations. USGS is not responsible for the content of any off-site pages. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement or recommendation by the United States Government.
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Find this video and thousands more at https://usgs.gov/gallery.
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Find this video and thousands more at https://usgs.gov/gallery.
Related
Annual National Land Cover Database
Land cover is foundational information for land managers, scientists, and the general public. Many types of scientific studies have applied annual land cover information including projecting future land use, documenting forest fragmentation or conservation practices, modeling wildfire hazards, tracking water quality and quantity, and understanding change in wildlife habitat and ecosystem...
Landsat: Celebrating 50 Years (Extended Edition)
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50 years of teamwork. 50 years of innovation. 50 years of resilience. In 1966, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced his vision to create a program aimed at gathering facts about the natural resources of the Earth from Earth orbiting satellites. It was a bold proclamation. It was also an idea that worked and continues to work 50 years on.
Landsat in Action - Land Cover and Land Cover Change with Tom Loveland
Tom Loveland talks about using Landsat's data for land use and land cover change research.
Find this video and thousands more at https://usgs.gov/gallery.
Tom Loveland talks about using Landsat's data for land use and land cover change research.
Find this video and thousands more at https://usgs.gov/gallery.
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