Measurement-Based Channel Characterization and Modeling for 5G-Railways at 2.16 GHz

Current Global System for Mobile Communications for Railway (GSM-R) is increasingly unable to meet the burgeoning demand for diversified private network communication services, such as multimedia dispatching communication and intelligent operation. Relying on mature 5G technology, 5G for Railways (5G-R) is considered to be a promising solution for realizing intelligent railways. The investigation of channel characteristics is fundamental for the design of 5G-R. However, existing research lacks comprehensive studies on channel characteristics specific to typical scenarios and unique frequency bands of 5G-R. In this paper, we carry out sufficient measurements on a dedicated 5G-R loop railway test line. Based on measurement data, we perform a comprehensive extraction and analysis of typical channel parameters, including path loss, shadow fading, small-scale fading, power delay profile, delay spread, Rice K-factor, angle of arrival estimation, and angle spread. The results will significantly contribute to design, deployment and network optimization of 5G-R.