GridVisio Documentation

GridVisio is a professional coverage mapping and network planning tool built for Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs). It helps operators visualize their network, identify coverage gaps, manage subscribers, and collaborate with their team — all from a browser.

What GridVisio does

Who It's For

GridVisio is designed for:

• WISP operators — small to mid-size wireless internet providers managing fixed wireless infrastructure
• Network engineers — planning new tower deployments and sector coverage
• Operations managers — tracking subscriber coverage status and identifying growth areas
• Grant applicants — preparing BDC (Broadband Data Collection) and BEAD program filings
• Field technicians — looking up tower coordinates in Lambert or WGS84 format

GridVisio works for WISPs of any size and in any country. All geographic coordinate systems are supported. Regional tools (such as the Lambert coordinate converter for Belgian operators) are available alongside standard lat/lng workflows without limiting users in other regions.

Technical Overview

GridVisio is a web application accessible from any modern browser. No installation is required.

Account & Plans

Every GridVisio account starts with a 14-day free trial giving full Starter-level access with no credit card required. After the trial you choose a plan to continue.

Plan badge

Your current plan is always visible in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar as a coloured badge on your user widget: amber for Trial, gray for Free, blue for Starter, purple for Pro.

Projects

A project is the top-level container for a network deployment. Each project has its own towers, subscribers, shared maps, and team members.

Creating a project

1. 1
   Click "New Project"

   From the Projects list, click the New Project button in the top right.

2. 2
   Fill in project details

   Name (required), description, country, and region. These appear on the project dashboard.

3. 3
   Save and configure

   After saving you'll be taken to the project view where you can add towers, configure settings, and invite team members.

Project dashboard

The project view page shows live statistics for the project:

• Subscriber coverage % — percentage of served subscribers with a progress bar
• Subscriber breakdown — served / unserved / potential / unknown counts
• Infrastructure — tower and sector counts, sectors by status (active/planned/offline)
• Frequency bands — breakdown of sectors by frequency with usage bars

Project actions

From the project view header:

• Open on Map — opens the coverage map centred on this project
• New Tower — create a tower pre-assigned to this project
• New Subscriber — create a subscriber pre-assigned to this project
• Shared Maps — manage shareable read-only links
• Team — invite and manage collaborators
• Settings — configure project-specific defaults

Towers & Sectors

A tower represents a physical site where antennas are mounted. Each tower has one or more sectors, each defining a beam of coverage (direction, width, radius, frequency).

Tower fields

• Name — display name shown on the map
• Latitude / Longitude — position; click on the map picker to set
• Height (m) — antenna height above ground
• Notes — free-text site notes

Sector fields

• Name — e.g. "North 5GHz", "Omni"
• Azimuth (°) — direction the sector points (0=North, 90=East, 180=South, 270=West)
• Beamwidth (°) — horizontal angular width of the beam. Use 360 for omnidirectional
• Radius (km) — coverage distance. Determines the size of the coverage shape on the map
• Frequency band — selected from canonical frequency list (900MHz, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, etc.)
• Colour — fill colour of the coverage shape on the map
• Status — active / planned / offline

Editing sectors from the map

Click any tower marker on the map, then click Edit Tower. The edit modal shows all tower fields plus a collapsible sector repeater where you can add, edit, clone, and delete sectors. Changes are saved immediately on clicking Update.

Importing towers

See the Importing Data section for CSV/XLSX import format and field mapping.

Subscribers

A subscriber is a customer or installation point. Subscribers are plotted on the map and their coverage status is automatically calculated based on whether they fall within any sector's coverage area.

Coverage status

• Served — subscriber falls within at least one active sector's coverage area
• Unserved — subscriber has coordinates but is outside all coverage areas
• Potential — marked manually as a potential customer
• Unknown — no coordinates or coverage not yet calculated

Subscriber fields

• Name — customer name or site identifier
• Address — physical address (for reference, not geocoded automatically)
• Latitude / Longitude — position; click on the map picker to set
• Status — calculated automatically (served/unserved) or set manually (potential)

Importing Data

GridVisio supports bulk import of towers and subscribers via CSV or XLSX files. Import is available from the Towers and Subscribers list pages.

Tower import format

Accepted columns (CSV headers, case-insensitive):

• name, lat, lng — required
• radius_km — required per sector row; falls back to project default if empty
• beamwidth, frequency_band, color — fall back to project defaults if empty
• Multiple sectors per tower: repeat the tower row with the same name and different sector columns

Subscriber import format

• lat, lng — required for coverage calculation
• status — optional; defaults to "unknown" if not provided

Import log

After import, a scrollable log shows the result for each row: imported, skipped (with reason), or failed. The log can be downloaded as a text file.

Coverage Map

The coverage map is the primary workspace in GridVisio. It shows all towers, coverage sectors, subscribers, temp pins, links, drive test data, and analysis overlays for the selected project.

Project selector

The project selector in the Layers & Filters panel (bottom-left) switches between your projects. The map reloads all data for the selected project.

Map type

Switch between Map, Satellite, Hybrid (satellite + labels), and Terrain using the map type control in the top-right of the map. Your chosen map type is remembered across sessions.

Stats bar

The bottom-left stats bar shows live counts for the currently loaded data: towers, subscribers with served/unserved breakdown, and coverage percentage. These numbers reflect the viewport filter if it is active.

Viewport filter & Refresh Map

Layers & Filters

The Layers & Filters panel (toggle with the filter icon bottom-left) controls what is visible on the map and how data is filtered.

Layer toggles

• Towers — show/hide tower markers and labels
• Coverage — show/hide sector coverage shapes
• Subscribers — show/hide subscriber markers
• Temp Pins — show/hide hypothetical tower pins and planning pins
• Drive Tests — show/hide drive test signal strength overlays
• White Areas — show/hide unserved subscriber cluster polygons
• Coverage Overlap — show/hide sector overlap indicators

Subscriber status filter

Filter subscriber markers by status: served (green), unserved (red), potential (amber), unknown (gray). Multiple statuses can be selected simultaneously.

Tower status filter

Filter towers by sector status: active, planned, offline.

Frequency filter

Show only towers that have at least one sector on a specific frequency band. Chips appear for each frequency band present in the project. Multiple frequencies can be selected.

Subscriber clustering

When a project has many subscribers, they are automatically clustered into group bubbles at lower zoom levels. The clustering threshold (below which individual markers are shown) is configurable in Project Settings.

Viewport filter

When enabled, only towers and subscribers within the current map viewport are loaded. A Refresh button appears when you pan the map — click it to reload data for the new viewport. This improves performance on large projects.

Map Tools

The bottom toolbar contains tools for adding elements and exporting the map.

Adding elements (+ menu)

• Add Tower — click the map to place a new tower at that position. A default sector is created automatically.
• Add Subscriber — click the map to place a new subscriber.
• Add Pin — place a temporary planning pin (hypothetical tower or general marker).
• LoS Link Check — enter link drawing mode to connect two points. Computes distance, bearing, terrain profile with Fresnel zone, LoS status, and free-space path loss. See LoS Link Check for details.

Export menu (▾)

• Export PNG — exports the current map view as a high-resolution PNG image
• PDF Report — generates a formatted PDF report with map image and project statistics
• XLSX Export — exports tower and subscriber data as a structured Excel spreadsheet
• Export KMZ — exports towers, coverage sectors, and subscribers as a KMZ file for Google Earth or GIS tools. Respects the active viewport filter.
• BDC Export — exports subscriber coverage data in Broadband Data Collection format
• BEAD Export — exports in BEAD program format
• Share Map — creates a shareable read-only link to the current map view

Temp Pins & Links

Temporary pins

Temp pins are planning markers that exist on the map without being permanent towers. Two types:

• Hypothetical tower — shows a coverage radius to model a planned deployment. Has azimuth, beamwidth, radius, and frequency fields. Coverage is rendered on the map in real time.
• Planning pin — a general-purpose marker for annotations, potential sites, or reference points.

Pins can be dragged to new positions on the map. The new position is saved automatically. Pins can be promoted to real towers from their info panel.

Links

Links connect two points on the map for distance measurement, bearing calculation, and line-of-sight analysis. The full LoS Link Check feature — including Fresnel zone, terrain profile, and PDF export — is documented in the next section.

LoS Link Check

The LoS Link Check tool measures the line-of-sight path between two map points, renders a terrain cross-section with Fresnel zone overlay, and determines whether the link is clear or obstructed. It is the primary tool for validating antenna placement before deployment.

How to use

1. Click LoS Link Check in the map + menu to enter link drawing mode.
2. Click point A on the map (e.g. your tower), then click point B (e.g. a subscriber location).
3. The link popover opens automatically with the full analysis.
4. Adjust frequency, antenna heights, or elevation source — the profile updates immediately.

Inputs

• Freq (GHz) — link frequency used to calculate Fresnel zone radius and free-space path loss. Default: 5.8 GHz.
• Ant. height A / B (m) — antenna height above ground at each endpoint. Default: 30 m.
• Elevation data — choose between:
  • SRTM (Standard) — Open-Elevation API, global coverage, ~30 m resolution. Default.
  • Copernicus GLO-30 — Copernicus DEM via OpenTopoData, 30 m resolution, more accurate in mountainous terrain.

Terrain profile & Fresnel zone

• Dashed line — straight line-of-sight from antenna A to antenna B at their effective ASL heights
• Shaded zone (green = clear, amber = tight) — first Fresnel zone boundary. For reliable links, 60% of the first Fresnel zone must be clear at every point along the path.
• Red terrain fill — terrain segments where terrain penetrates the 60% Fresnel zone clearance
• Red dot — worst obstruction point along the path
• Blue dot (A) / Red dot (B) — antenna positions at effective above-sea-level height

LoS status & metrics

• ✓ LoS Clear — the 60% Fresnel zone is unobstructed at all points
• ⚠ Obstructed at X km — terrain enters the Fresnel zone; worst point distance shown
• Free-space path loss (dB) — theoretical FSPL for the given distance and frequency

Export

• Export PNG — downloads the terrain + Fresnel profile as a PNG image
• Export PDF — single-page PDF with link name, endpoint coordinates, antenna heights, bearing, frequency, terrain profile, LoS status, and FSPL. Available on all plans.

Drive Tests

Drive test data shows signal strength measurements collected while driving through a coverage area. It is overlaid on the map as coloured dots or a heatmap.

Import format

Drive test files are imported as CSV with columns:

Signal strength is displayed on a colour scale from red (weak, e.g. −90 dBm) to green (strong, e.g. −60 dBm).

Coordinate Converter

The coordinate converter is a map tool for converting between WGS84 decimal coordinates (latitude/longitude) and Belgian Lambert projected coordinates (X/Y easting/northing). Available to all plans.

How to use

1. 1
   Open the converter

   Click the target icon (🎯) in the bottom toolbar. The converter popover opens.

2. 2
   Activate click mode

   Click the button again to activate crosshair mode (button turns purple). Click anywhere on the map to populate the coordinates automatically.

3. 3
   Enter or edit coordinates

   Type in any field — lat/lng or Lambert X/Y. All other fields update automatically. The DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds) display updates in real time below the lat/lng fields.

4. 4
   Choose Lambert system

   Select Lambert 72 (EPSG:31370), Lambert 2008 (EPSG:3812), or Lambert 2005 (EPSG:3447) from the dropdown. Your choice is remembered for the session.

5. 5
   Copy or navigate

   Click 📋 Copy next to WGS84 to copy "lat, lng" to clipboard. Click 📋 Copy next to Lambert to copy "X, Y". Click 🎯 Go here to pan the map to the coordinates. Click 📍 Add pin to create a temp pin at that location.

Supported systems

• Lambert 72 (EPSG:31370) — legacy Belgian standard, widely used in existing infrastructure documentation, Ericsson/Nokia site databases, and topographic maps
• Lambert 2008 (EPSG:3812) — modern replacement for Lambert 72, used in new Belgian government datasets
• Lambert 2005 (EPSG:3447) — intermediate system, superseded by Lambert 2008

White Area Detection

White area detection identifies geographic clusters of unserved or unknown subscribers — areas where coverage is absent despite apparent demand. Results are shown as shaded polygons on the map.

Configuration (Project Settings)

• Cluster radius (ε km) — maximum distance between two subscribers to be considered neighbours. Default: 2.0 km
• Minimum subscribers — minimum cluster size to form a white area. Default: 3
• Hull buffer (km) — outward padding on polygon edges. Default: 0.3 km

These parameters can be tuned in Project Settings → White Area Detection.

Viewport filtering

White area detection respects the viewport filter. When the filter is active, only subscribers within the current map bounds are analysed.

Coverage Overlap Detection

Coverage overlap detection identifies sectors from different towers whose coverage areas intersect — indicating potential RF interference or redundant coverage.

How overlaps are calculated

For each pair of active sectors in the project, the system computes the geometric intersection of their coverage shapes (arc segments). Pairs are excluded from overlap reporting if:

• Both sectors are on the same tower (co-located sectors naturally overlap by design)
• The sectors operate on different frequency bands (no RF interference cross-band)

Each reported overlap shows the two sector names, their towers, frequency bands, and an approximate overlap area indicator.

Subscriber Statistics

Subscriber statistics are visible in multiple places:

• Map stats bar (bottom-left) — live counts for the currently loaded data
• Project view dashboard — served/unserved/potential/unknown with coverage percentage
• Subscriber list — filterable by status, searchable by name and address

Team Management

Projects can be shared with other GridVisio users as collaborators. Each collaborator has a role that determines their level of access.

Roles

• Owner — full access, can invite and remove team members, can delete the project
• Editor — can add/edit/delete towers, subscribers, pins, and links. Can configure project settings
• Viewer — read-only access to the project and map. Cannot make any changes

Inviting a collaborator

1. 1
   Go to Team page

   From the project view, click the Team button in the header.

2. 2
   Enter email and role

   Type the invitee's email address and select their role (Editor or Viewer).

3. 3
   Send invitation

   The invitee receives an email with an accept link. Until they accept, their status shows as "Pending".

Shared Maps

Shared maps are read-only, publicly accessible links to a project's map view. No GridVisio account is required to view a shared map.

Creating a shared link

• Label — optional name for the link (e.g. "For client review")
• Expiry — never, 7 days, 30 days, or 90 days
• Content — choose what to show: towers, coverage, subscribers
• Viewport — when sharing from the map, optionally lock the shared view to the current viewport bounds

Managing links

From the Shared Maps page you can activate/deactivate links (without deleting them), see access counts and last viewed date, and delete links permanently.

Export Options

GridVisio supports multiple export formats for different use cases.

BDC & BEAD Export

GridVisio supports export in the formats required for US government broadband funding programs.

BDC (Broadband Data Collection)

The FCC's Broadband Data Collection program requires ISPs to submit coverage data in a specific format. GridVisio's BDC export generates a file conforming to the BDC specification, including coverage polygons and technology codes derived from your sector frequency bands.

BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment)

The BEAD program requires ISPs to identify unserved and underserved locations for federal grant applications. GridVisio's BEAD export uses the white area detection results and subscriber data to generate the required location fabric format.

Coverage Widget

The Coverage Widget lets potential customers check whether their address is within your service area — directly from your website, with no GridVisio account required.

Enabling the widget

1. Open the project you want to embed.
2. Click Coverage Widget in the project header action bar.
3. Click Enable Coverage Widget.
4. Copy the generated <iframe> embed code and paste it into your website.

What visitors see

• Address search — type an address; the map moves to that location (geocoded via OpenStreetMap Nominatim)
• Lat / Lng fields — enter coordinates directly for rural addresses that may not geocode reliably
• Interactive map with draggable pin — click the map or drag the pin; lat/lng fields update automatically
• GPS button — uses the device's GPS (accurate on mobile; approximate on desktop)
• Check button — shows ✓ Covered or ✗ Not covered, with the serving tower name when covered

Token management

• Regenerate token — issues a new URL and invalidates the old embed code. Update your website after regenerating.
• Disable widget — deactivates immediately; visitors see a "temporarily unavailable" message.

Project Settings

Project settings configure per-project defaults and algorithm parameters. Settings apply to all users working on the project.

Subscriber clustering

• Clustering threshold — subscriber count below which individual markers are shown instead of clusters. Default: 150. Lower = more clusters at higher subscriber counts.

White area detection

• Cluster radius (km) — DBSCAN epsilon parameter. Default: 2.0 km
• Minimum subscribers — DBSCAN min_points parameter. Default: 3
• Hull buffer (km) — convex hull outward padding. Default: 0.3 km

Sector defaults

These values pre-fill the sector form when adding a new tower, and serve as fallbacks when importing towers with missing sector fields.

• Default sector colour
• Default frequency band
• Default radius (km)
• Default beamwidth (°)

Tower marker

• Marker fill colour — colour of the tower dot on the map and its label background
• Marker border colour — stroke colour around the tower dot

Account Settings

Account settings manage your personal profile and subscription.

Account page

• Update your name and email address
• Change your password
• Delete your account

Billing page

• View current plan and trial status
• See usage vs limits for projects, towers, subscribers, and saved links
• Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your subscription
• Switch between monthly and annual billing
• Switch between USD and EUR currency
• Access the Stripe customer portal to manage payment methods and invoices

Feature Requests

Suggest new features and vote on proposals from other users. The roadmap is shaped by the community.

Submitting a request

Any registered user can submit a feature request with a title and description. Requests are reviewed by the GridVisio team before being published for voting.

Voting

Once approved, feature requests are open for voting. Vote weights depend on your plan:

• Free / Trial: 1 vote weight
• Starter: 2 vote weight
• Pro: 3 vote weight

Each user can vote once per feature request. Implemented features are marked accordingly.

Bug Reports

Report issues or unexpected behaviour directly from within the app.

Submitting a report

• Title — brief description of the issue
• Severity — Low / Medium / High / Critical
• Description — what happened and what you expected
• Steps to reproduce — optional numbered steps
• Screenshots — up to 2 screenshots (max 500 KB each)

You can track the status of your submitted reports from the same page. Statuses: Open → Acknowledged → In Progress → Fixed → Closed.

Plans & Limits

GridVisio is available on four plan tiers. All new accounts start with a 14-day free trial (Starter-level access, no credit card required).