Near-Field Extension for the 3GPP Geometry Based Stochastic Channel Model

Most of the channel models used for the evaluation of wireless systems, including the 3GPP model, assume operations in the far-field region, where propagation can be modeled using the plane wave theory. However, trends in the evolution of wireless systems foresee an increase in the size of the antenna arrays and a prominent role of high frequency bands, thus providing motivation for an accurate modeling of wave propagation also in the near-field region. In this paper, we propose an extension of the geometry based stochastic channel model developed by 3GPP to support the modelling of wireless channels in the near-field region by using a spherical wavefront model.