LTE signal propagation in a maritime environment: Validation of a hybrid MoM-ray tracing prediction method

The present work shows how we were able to deploy a hybrid Method of Moments (MoM) - Ray Tracing electromagnetic approach to predict the measured power over a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio link over the sea during two different measurement campaigns. Empirical models and pure ray-tracing code by themselves were not able to accurately reproduce the measured features, which were found to be caused by the receiving antenna interactions with the ship metallic structure. The correct result was obtained through a hybrid approach which combines the far field of the antenna and its surroundings. This approach could prove beneficial in critical applications where a precise estimation of received power and coverage range is desirable.