1 Stationary Propagation Characteristics for 5 GHz Wireless LAN Applications

Abstract—Empirical propagation characteristics of typical wireless LAN channels in the 5 GHz to 6 GHz spectrum are presented in this paper. A network analyzer was used to measure the stationary channel frequency response and an inverse Fourier transform was used to obtain the channel impulse response. Measurements were taken in four residential settings and one office/cubicle setting. Path loss and delay spread results are presented according to the measurement environment: residential, office, indoor-indoor, indoor-outdoor, and the number of walls penetrated. This categorization of measurement data lends itself to several new conclusions: non-line-of sight (NLOS) path loss exponents are similar to line-of-sight (LOS) exponents with an additional wall attenuation factor, delay spread increases with each wall penetrated, delay spread increases when the receiver is placed outdoors, delay spread is greater in a cubicle environment than a residential environment, and the IEEE 802.11 delay spread model shows close agreement with the measured data. Given these findings, a new simplified channel model is proposed for simulating the static propagation behavior in this band and these environments. Index Terms—Channel model, path loss, delay spread, wireless LAN. I