Path-Loss Characteristics of Urban Wireless Channels

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Wireless channel data was collected in Cambridge, Massachusetts for diverse propagation environments over distances ranging from tens of meters to several kilometers using mobile 2.4-GHz transmitters and receivers. The 20-MHz bandwidth signals from eight individually movable van-top antennas were Nyquist sampled simultaneously with 12-bit accuracy. Although path-loss variance for any given link length within single residential/urban neighborhoods was large, single streets typically exhibited path-loss, L(dB)=-10 log10 (Pr/Pt) ¿ 10¿ log10 r + C, where P is the received or transmitted power, r the link-length, ¿ the street-dependent path-loss coefficient, and C the loss incurred at street intersections. Measurements yielded ¿ ¿ 1.5 + 3.2ß ± 0.27 for 2 < ¿ < 5; ß is the fraction of the street length having a building gap on either side. Experiments over links as short as 100 meters indicate a 10-dB advantage in estimating path loss for this model compared to optimal linear estimators based on link length alone. Measured air-to-ground links were well modeled by ¿ = 2 for the elevated LOS path, and by stochastic log-normal attenuation for the ground-level scattering environment. These models permit path-loss predictions based on readily accessible environmental parameters, and lead to efficient nodal placement strategies for full urban coverage.

This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit: