Overview

Isochrones provide telecom site mappers visibility into how far subscribers can travel from a given tower or hub within a certain time, which is a useful proxy in planning for effective telecom coverage. In Population Explorer (PopEx), isochrones use the Mapbox Isochrone API to model drive-time or walking access zones. You can then analyze population, density, and income within those areas to balance coverage or plan backhaul links. Isochrones are also a useful analytic tool to assess retail buyer concentration or service area coverage for healthcare clinics, both of which rely on customers traveling to specific sites.

Unlike circular buffers, isochrones follow the actual road network and terrain, giving a more realistic estimate of service area reach. This is particularly valuable for rural networks or areas with complex geography where equal-distance buffers don’t reflect real accessibility.

Why This Matters

Telecom network expansion depends on understanding not just distance but accessibility. Using isochrones allows operators to model tower reach based on travel time, plan field routes, and assess how population coverage changes with network density.

Step-by-Step: Drawing Isochrones in PopEx

1. From the left drawer, create or select a working folder. Then go to New → Create Item → Isochrone.

2. Click on the map to select a tower or service point, or manually enter its latitude and longitude.

3. In the isochrone setup menu, select the Transport Mode (Driving, Driving + Traffic, Cycling, or Walking) and specify the Travel Time (≤ 60 minutes).

4. Click Add. PopEx uses the Mapbox Isochrone API to generate a travel-time polygon representing the reachable service area.

5. Once created, the isochrone polygon appears in the left drawer. Open its summary panel to view Population Total, Density, and Income metrics.

6. To compare multiple towers, repeat steps 1–5.

7. Export your results via Export → Excel or Export → KML for reporting or coverage visualization.

Advanced Options

For custom configurations, open Layers → Settings to adjust data year (LandScan 2023 or WorldPop 2024+). Larger travel-time thresholds increase polygon size and processing time.

Best Practices

• Use Driving + Traffic mode for realistic urban coverage assessments.

• Keep travel-time thresholds consistent across towers to ensure fair comparisons.

• Combine isochrones with tower buffers to model both signal and travel-time reach.

• Integrate outputs with your analytics stack via the PopEx API for automation.

Example Applications

Verification

Compare isochrone-based population counts with buffer-based results to understand how accessibility affects service potential. When polygons overlap, use Non-overlapping Children to maintain clean totals. For very large areas or cross-border coverage, verify that the underlying road data supports the distance requested.

Next Steps

• Balancing Service Areas with Population

• How to Measure Population within Cell Coverage

Need More Help?

If you run into issues, please contact us.