Propagation measurements and channel models in Indoor Environment at 6.75 GHz FR1(C) and 16.95 GHz FR3 Upper-mid band Spectrum for 5G and 6G

New spectrum allocations in the 4--8 GHz FR1(C) and 7--24 GHz FR3 mid-band frequency spectrum are being considered for 5G/6G cellular deployments. This paper presents results from the world's first comprehensive indoor hotspot (InH) propagation measurement campaign at 6.75 GHz and 16.95 GHz in the NYU WIRELESS Research Center using a 1 GHz wideband channel sounder system over distances from 11 to 97 m in line-of-sight (LOS) and non-LOS (NLOS). Analysis of directional and omnidirectional path loss (PL) using the close-in free space 1 m reference distance model shows a familiar waveguiding effect in LOS with an omnidirectional path loss exponent (PLE) of 1.40 at 6.75 GHz and 1.32 at 16.95 GHz. Compared to mmWave frequencies, the directional NLOS PLEs are lower at FR3 and FR1(C), while omnidirectional NLOS PLEs are similar, suggesting better propagation distances at lower frequencies for links with omnidirectional antennas at both ends of the links, but also, importantly, showing that higher gain antennas will offer better coverage at higher frequencies when antenna apertures are kept same over all frequencies. Comparison of the omnidirectional and directional RMS delay spread (DS) at FR1(C) and FR3 with mmWave frequencies indicates a clear decrease with increasing frequency. The mean spatial lobe and omnidirectional RMS angular spread (AS) is found to be wider at 6.75 GHz compared to 16.95 GHz indicating more multipath components are found in the azimuthal spatial domain at lower frequencies.

Wideband Penetration Loss through Building Materials and Partitions at 6.75 GHz in FR1(C) and 16.95 GHz in the FR3 Upper Mid-band spectrum

The 4--8 GHz FR1(C) and 7--24 GHz upper mid-band FR3 spectrum are promising new 6G spectrum allocations being considered by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and major governments around the world. There is an urgent need to understand the propagation behavior and radio coverage, outage, and material penetration for the global mobile wireless industry in both indoor and outdoor environments in these emerging frequency bands. This work presents measurements and models that describe the penetration loss in co-polarized and cross-polarized antenna configurations, exhibited by common materials found inside buildings and on building perimeters, including concrete, low-emissivity glass, wood, doors, drywall, and whiteboard at 6.75 GHz and 16.95 GHz. Measurement results show consistent lower penetration loss at 6.75 GHz compared to 16.95 GHz for all ten materials measured for co and cross-polarized antennas at incidence. For instance, the low-emissivity glass wall presents 33.7 dB loss at 6.75 GHz, while presenting 42.3 dB loss at 16.95 GHz. Penetration loss at these frequencies is contrasted with measurements at sub-6 GHz, mmWave and sub-THz frequencies along with 3GPP material penetration loss models. The results provide critical knowledge for future 5G and 6G cellular system deployments as well as refinements for the 3GPP material penetration models.