Paper Details

Name: Shyam Kumar Saphi
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 377-388
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18067943

Fifth-generation (5G) mobile systems increasingly exploit millimetre-wave (mm-wave) spectrum, especially in the 24–30 GHz and 37–43 GHz bands, to meet stringent capacity and latency requirements. Accurate electromagnetic propagation modelling at these frequencies is essential for the design of phased-array antennas, beamforming strategies and dense small-cell deployments. This study presents a comprehensive discussion of propagation characteristics at mm-wave frequencies, surveys standardised and measurement-based channel models, and develops a hybrid link-level modelling framework combining 3GPP TR 38.901–style large-scale fading with physics-based atmospheric and rain attenuation and realistic antenna array patterns. Using representative 28 GHz urban microcell (UMi) scenarios, we generate numerical results for path loss, additional attenuation due to oxygen absorption and rain, and the impact of beamforming gain on received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Data tables and illustrative plots show how link range and reliability depend on environment (LOS/NLOS), frequency, and antenna configuration. The results highlight that, while severe blockage and high basic path loss are inherent at mm-wave, directional beamforming with large arrays and careful link budgeting can deliver viable coverage for 5G access and backhaul, particularly in line-of-sight (LOS) and short-range non-LOS (NLOS) conditions. The proposed modelling framework is generic and can be used to benchmark antenna designs, evaluate deployment strategies, and extend towards emerging 5G-Advanced and early 6G systems.
Keywords: 5G, millimetre-wave, electromagnetic propagation, 28 GHz, 60 GHz, 3GPP TR 38.901, channel modelling, phased arrays, beamforming, rain attenuation.