Rain attenuation characterization for 5G network in Peninsular Malaysia

In recent years, the growth of mobile handset technology use has caused network congestion due to the increasing demand for multimedia services. While communication systems are moving towards a 5G network in response, the frequencies of the 5G network, which are 26 GHz and 28 GHz, as suggested by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, are susceptible to signal loss due to atmospheric conditions, especially in heavy rain regions, such as Malaysia. Regarding service quality, yearly and monthly rain attenuation in Malaysia must be considered by network designers to ensure constant availability of the 5G link. To this aim, rain attenuation for the 5G network in Peninsular Malaysia is investigated. Rainfall data from the Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) is collected using a tipping bucket rain gauge, while rainfall data from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (UTM-KL) is collected using an RD-69 disdrometer. Both data sets serve as important inputs for the Synthetic Storm Technique and ITU-R prediction models for rain attenuation in Malaysia. Monthly rain attenuation statistics are also derived from the conversion of one-hour to one-minute rainfall rate statistics using the ITU-R P.8377 method. The validation result proves that both prediction models are comparable and can be used for the prediction of rain attenuation for 5G communication systems in this heavy rainfall area. Detailed analysis of the results also suggests that a 0.2 km path length for the microwave link will experience very low attenuation which is less than 15 dB and hence require a smaller fade margin value. Additionally, seasonal monsoon analysis reveals that the inter-monsoon and northeast monsoon seasons record the highest rain attenuation at UTHM and UTM-KL, respectively. The rain attenuation contour map for Peninsular Malaysia at 0.01 % time of exceedance is developed from the 75 rain gauge network stations provided by the Malaysia Meteorological Department. The optimum rain fade margins of 13 dB for 26 GHz and 15 dB for 28 GHz are proposed for a 5G communication system in Peninsular Malaysia at a path length of 0.2 km with horizontal polarization