Potentials for Application of Millimeter Wave Communications in Cellular Networks

Future 5G cellular networks will need to deliver significantly increased system capacity and user data rates. This expected growth along with today’s shortage of spectrum raises the need for new frequency allocations. Millimeter wave spectrum is emerging as a suitable candidate with a vast amount of available bandwidth (around 60 GHz). Extending cellular networks communications on millimeter wave frequencies requires extensive measurement campaigns and analysis of signals propagation characteristics. This paper gives an overview of recent measurement studies and results used for modeling millimeter wave channel behavior in different propagation environments. Also , the paper provides a preliminary simulation analysis of a hybrid LTE-millimeter wave heterogeneous network, which suggests that Gbps user data rates are achievable with sufficient beamforming gains. However, the millimeter wave cellular extensions will require architectural changes to address the technical issues spanning from the transceivers design to the operational procedures in both access and backhaul network parts.