Precipitation modelling for performance evaluation of ad-hoc microwave 5G mesh networks

The short range microwave mesh network concept will play a significant role in 5th generation communication systems. However, precipitation is crucial in this frequency range as it causes additional attenuation. In this paper a simulated Exponential Cell rain model is applied for the generation of synthetic rain cells that cross the area according to a two dimensional non-symmetrical random walk (applying a discrete time and discrete state homogenous Markov model). The rain cell occurrence probability and the translational velocity are derived from measured rain rate statistics. Our goal is to investigate how the ratio of the disconnected nodes in the microwave mesh network varies according to rain intensities in a scenario when rerouting is applied as a technique to improve network resilience. Outcomes of this work on the performance of 5G mesh networks strengthen our previous conclusions that are based on a transformation of rain attenuation on long range links.