Analysis of 60-GHz In-street Backhaul Channel Measurements and LiDAR Ray-based Simulations

The large gains provided by millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies in terms of available bandwidth have made them a popular choice to be included in different standards like the 5G-NR and IEEE 802.11ay. Although mmWave frequencies offer an opportunity for large capacities, they face many challenges related to the propagation channel such as strong blockage or attenuation losses. In this paper, 60 GHz in-street backhaul propagation channel is measured and evaluated along with ray-based simulations in two different scenarios; urban canyoning and residential. The channel sounder allows for bi-directional path-loss measurements with highly-directive beamforming at both sides. And the simulator takes benefit from highly accurate LiDAR point cloud data in order to identify the obstacles and compute losses along the direct and indirect paths. Both the measurements and simulations show strong channel sparsity when antennas are located at 3 meters above the ground, caused by the many in-street obstacles.