5G Millimeter-wave Communication Channel and Technology Overview

This chapter devotes to addressing millimeter-wave (mmWave) channels and provides an overview on signal processing problems for mmWave communication in 5G. It presents two channel-modeling approaches to meet the requirements for a 5G mmWave channel model: an enhanced 3GPP/spatial channel model (SCM) model and a ray-propagation-based statistical model. The chapter discusses the mmWave channel characteristics as compared to low-frequency-band channels and describes the requirements on 5G mmWave channel modeling. It presents two mmWave channel models that meet the requirements of 5G, and discusses the key signal-processing techniques in mmWave communication. In designing the radio access air-interface for the 5G mmWave system, challenges related to directional transmission/reception - beam acquisition, beam tracking, mobility management and blockage management - need to be addressed. The chapter gives a summary and further discussion on the future work on modeling, estimation and other related signal-processing aspects of mmWave communication channels.