mmWave mobile broadband (MMB): Unleashing the 3–300GHz spectrum

Abstract

Almost all cellular mobile communications including first generation analog systems, second generation digital systems, third generation WCDMA, and fourth generation OFDMA systems use Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band of radio spectrum with frequencies in the range of 300MHz-3GHz. This band of spectrum is becoming increasingly crowded due to spectacular growth in mobile data and other related services. The portion of the RF spectrum above 3GHz has largely been uxexploited for commercial mobile applications. In this paper, we reason why wireless community should start looking at 3–300GHz spectrum for mobile broadband applications. We discuss propagation and device technology challenges associated with this band as well as its unique advantages such as spectrum availability and small component sizes for mobile applications.