Future wireless networks are expected to be dense and employ a higher frequency spectrum such as millimeter wave (mmwave) to support higher data rates. In a dense urban environment, the presence of obstructions causes the transmissions between the user equipment and base stations to transit from line-of-sight (LOS) to non-LOS (NLOS). This transit hence emphasizes the significance of NLOS links for reliable mmwave communication. The work presented in this paper investigates the downlink performance of a mmwave cellular system by modeling the NLOS channel using stretched exponential path loss model (SEPLM) and employing a 3GPP distance-dependent LOS probability function. This path loss model has the inherent ability to define short ranges as well as obstructions in the environment as a function of its parameter resulting in a more realistic performance analysis. The path loss model is first validated for NLOS link using a data set from an open-source mmwave channel simulator. Then, a mathematical model incorporating LOS and NLOS transmissions is developed to study the impact of path loss on signal-to-interference-plus-noise (SINR) coverage probability and area spectral efficiency (ASE). The proposed framework can provide coverage performance indication over various blockage environments. Our results demonstrate that SINR coverage probability decreases exponentially with increasing base station density. Moreover, ASE initially increases with increasing BS density and is maximized for a particular density value, after which it converges to zero for higher densities. The results are also benchmarked with the existing path loss model of mmwave cellular system with different exponents for LOS and NLOS paths. It was observed that as the base station density increases, the SINR degrades more rapidly when using SEPLM as compared to the existing mmwave path loss model.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.