Ray Tracing Tools Intercomparison for the Study of 5G Signal Propagation in Urban Scenarios

5G New Radio (NR) systems gave rise to new scenarios of propagation for electromagnetic fields. Ray tracing technique is very promising for the prediction of electric field levels generated by 5G antennas. The existing ray tracing tools, however, need to be recalibrated to simulate accurately 5G scenarios. The aim of this work was to extend the validation of two proprietary tools EXACT and ARMONICA, both based on ray tracing technique, on 5G urban scenarios. To do this, an intercomparison between software results have been carried out on the same simulation scenario at 3.7GHz. The comparison takes place on the electric field levels obtained in selected points of the scenario. Simulations show a good agreement between the results. This work is particularly useful for future validation of the tools considering 26GHz scenarios, considering on-site measurement too.