A Performance Evaluation of Millimeter-Wave Cellular Networks with User Mobility

Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) communications may be the key technology for the realization of 5G networks. MmWave communications have significantly different propagation characteristics than microwave (μWave) frequencies. The recent studies have determined the performance of cellular mmWave networks using stochastic geometry technique assuming a stationary user. The stationary user model does not capture correlation in the blocking of the links as the user moves on. In this work, we have determined the performance seen by a mobile user traveling over a path at constant and varying speeds. We have obtained the cumulative information received by the user as a function of its path length for different blocking intensities and cell sizes. The results show that while the received information rate does not vary significantly with mobility, the average path length that the mobile user is associated with a base station without interruption drops down sharply with increasing blocking intensity. This will cause in high handover rate, which will result in high overhead. This work demonstrates the significance of the user mobility on the performance of cellular mmWave networks.