Characterization of mmWave link for outdoor communications in 5G networks

A number of issues are being addressed in prospective millimetre wave (mmWave) technology for the design of 5G cellular networks. High atmospheric attenuation in the proposed 60GHz band for 5G system put a limit in the communication range and cell size. The channel characteristics may vary for many different indoor and outdoor scenarios, resulting in differing performance. In this paper, an attempt is made to investigate and characterize the mmWave communication link in a specific scenario of urban area on road surrounded by multistorey buildings. Average received signal level in this scenario is normally the primary metric considered. A ray tracing channel model is used owing to the deterministic nature of the link. This is due to the choice of directional antennas in mmWave communication. A significant fluctuation in the received signal is observed for varied carrier frequencies at different antenna separation.