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Large-scale channel characterization at 28 GHz on a university campus in the United Arab Emirates

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Abstract

Millimeter wave (mm-wave) communication is one of the key enabling technologies for meeting the requirements of the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems. It is, therefore, essential to have accurate information about the mm-wave radio channel characteristics for successful deployment of these systems. There are many recent mm-wave channel characterization measurements reported worldwide. However, no such measurements were reported in the Arabian Peninsula, where the environment along with the building design and architecture are different from other regions in the world. This paper tries to fill that gap and presents the results of an mm-wave measurement campaign conducted at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) campus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the period of November 2018 to January 2019. The results of the large-scale characterization (path loss and shadow fading) are presented for both indoor and outdoor environments at 28 GHz. Furthermore, the penetration loss and reflection coefficients for materials commonly used in the facades of building structures in the UAE are measured at the same frequency.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by two Faculty Research Grants (FRG16-R-25 and EFRG18-SCR-CEN-31) from the American University of Sharjah.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, PO Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE

    Mohammad Aborahama, Amer Zakaria, Mahmoud H. Ismail, Marawan El-Bardicy, Mohamed El-Tarhuni & Yamen Hatahet

  2. Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt

    Mahmoud H. Ismail

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  1. Mohammad Aborahama
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  2. Amer Zakaria
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  3. Mahmoud H. Ismail
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  4. Marawan El-Bardicy
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  5. Mohamed El-Tarhuni
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Correspondence to Mahmoud H. Ismail.

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Aborahama, M., Zakaria, A., Ismail, M.H. et al. Large-scale channel characterization at 28 GHz on a university campus in the United Arab Emirates. Telecommun Syst 74, 185–199 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11235-019-00649-6

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