Effects of rain attenuation on wireless transmission of frame relay traffic

The link availability of outdoor radio systems is often affected by atmospheric conditions such as rain and snow. The effects of rainfall on wireless transmission are particularly noticeable at data rate in the magnitude of megabits per second. As the rate of rainfall increases, more disruption is caused to the outdoor link. This paper presents a statistical analysis and discusses modeling of the effects of rain attenuation on wideband radio channels used by local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) systems. Our results provide an insight into the effects of rainfall on coverage area. The possible implications for optimum data throughput are outlined.