Fading Channel Models for mm-Wave Communications

A realistic performance assessment of any wireless communication system requires the use of a fading channel model that reflects its main characteristics. The traditional Rayleigh and Nakagami-m models have been (and still are) the basis of most theoretical research on wireless technologies today, even for emerging technologies, such as millimeter-wave communications (mm-Wave). In this article, we show that the fluctuating multiple-ray (FMR) and κ-μ shadowed models had a better fit (i.e., lowest mean square error statistical test) to field measurements in outdoor environments at 28 GHz than the conventional channel models. Therefore, these generalized models are feasible alternatives that can be used as a benchmark when evaluating communication performance in mm-Wave scenarios.