Modelling and measurements of millimetre wavelength propagation in urban environments

A statistical model based on a coarse representation of urban wireless channel topographies and the prediction of electromagnetic (EM) propagation in fixed wireless links operating at millimetre wavelengths is presented, with potential applications to the characterisation, design and deployment of point-to-point and point-to-multi-point fixed wireless networks. A specific goal of the study is the parameterisation of the main physical attributes of the propagation mechanisms, which at millimetre waves predominantly incorporate scatter from building and ground surfaces, both non-uniformly illuminated by a directive transmitting antenna. The line-of-sight (LOS) received signal is presented in terms of universal probabilistic distribution functions (PDFs) and quantified in terms of their first- and second-order moments. Experimental results validate the physical optics (PO)-based approximation of the building and ground scatter and the resulting stochastic representation of the propagation channel.