RMS Delay Spread vs. Coherence Bandwidth from 5G Indoor Radio Channel Measurements at 3.5 GHz Band

Abstract

Our society has become fully submersed in fourth generation (4G) technologies, setting constant connectivity as the norm. Together with self-driving cars, augmented reality, and upcoming technologies, the new generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is pushing the development of fifth generation (5G) communication systems. In 5G architecture, increased capacity, improved data rate, and decreased latency are the objectives. In this paper, a measurement campaign is proposed; we focused on studying the propagation properties of microwaves at a center frequency of 3.5 GHz, commonly used in 5G cellular networks. Wideband measurement data were gathered at various indoor environments with different dimensions and characteristics. A ray-tracing analysis showed that the power spectrum is dominated by the line of sight component together with reflections on two sidewalls, indicating the practical applicability of our results. Two wideband parameters, root mean square delay spread and coherence bandwidth, were estimated for the considered scenarios, and we found that they are highly dependent on the physical dimension of the environment rather than on furniture present in the room. The relationship between both parameters was also investigated to provide support to network planners when obtaining the bandwidth from the delay spread, easily computed by a ray-tracing tool.