Spatial Consistency of Multipath Components in a Typical Urban Scenario

Channel models should be accurate in reflecting a realistic behavior between transmitter and receiver. To be able to capture smooth variations of channels, i.e., when a user moves, or when multiple users are close to each other in a confined area, channels should include spatial correlation. There are various applications that make use of these smooth channel variations including beam tracking strategies and beam forming strategies based on angular information. In this paper we show a spatially consistent geometry-based channel model and compare it to a deterministic ray-tracing model. Characteristics of strongest multipath components in terms of delay and angles of arrival in azimuth and elevation over consecutive spatial locations in an urban environment, are evaluated. Our model for spatial consistency reveals a realistic behaviour and statistically is capable to mimic the appearance of new scatterers and disappearance of old ones, thus matching the outcome of ray-tracing modeling.