Analysis of electric field strength for planning indoor 5.8 GHz wireless networks

Understanding radio channel path characteristics is a very important factor for ensuring quality of service and high data rates for indoor wireless communication systems. Obstacles such as human occupants, doors, walls, windows, etc. all have a significant impact on received signals strengths and will contribute to fading, multipath and shadowing effects. This paper studies the effects of changes within a building, such as opening and closing doors, and the movement and number of human occupants, on indoor signal propagation at 5.8 GHz. The effects of different obstacles inside the rooms are compared and highlight which has the most significant effect on the received electric field strength.