Empirical Indoor Path Loss Models at 3.5GHz for 5G Communications Network Planning

Abstract

In this paper, we present results of a measurement campaign at 3.5 GHz for 5G communications. Large-scale fading measurements have been carried out in an office building using a spectrum analyser and omnidirectional antennas in line-of-sight (LoS) and non line-of-sight (NLoS) co-polar scenarios. For the NLoS and LoS points, a linear track as well as spot locations were used to measure the receive power, with NLoS points resulting from obstructions. The transmitter–receiver (Tx-Rx) separation distance adopted in the measurement campaign ranged from 2 m to 20 m, with measurements averaged over 10 wavelengths at each location. From the measurement data, empirical path loss models were obtained to fit the measurement data. For the LoS points investigated, the path loss exponent varied between 1.32 and 1.95, while a path loss exponent of 1.78 was obtained for NLoS scenarios. The model comparison carried out showed that the ITU-R model overestimates the path loss in LoS scenarios, while the FSPL underestimates the path loss.