Characterization of FR3 Cellular Vehicle-to-Base Station Links in HighRise Urban Scenarios

TL;DR

This study analyzes FR3 spectrum for cellular vehicle-to-base station links in high-rise urban scenarios, demonstrating its advantages over mmWave in terms of SNR and SINR through ray-tracing channel modeling.

Contribution

It provides a detailed ray-tracing based channel model for FR3 in dense urban environments, highlighting its potential benefits for 6G C-V2B communications.

Findings

FR3 achieves higher SNR than mmWave in interference-free conditions.

FR3 yields higher SINR for cell-edge UEs under full interference.

Increased array gain at mmWave does not fully offset severe path loss.

Abstract

Driven by the escalating demand for wireless capacity and advancements in 6G research, the new Frequency Range 3 (FR3) referred to upper mid-band (7.125-24.25 GHz) has emerged as a highly compelling spectrum candidate. This range offers a trade-off exploiting the high bandwidth capabilities of millimeter wave frequencies and the superior propagation characteristics of sub-6 GHz bands. As such, the upper mid-band presents an opportunity to enhance both coverage and capacity particularly in the context of 6G and Cellular Vehicle-to-Base Station (C-V2B). Crucially, realizing this potential requires overcoming technical challenges through accurate and realistic channel modeling, especially in dense, high-rise urban environments. To address this, we employ a ray-tracing tool to analyze downlink propagation characteristics, enabling detailed channel modeling for reliable C-V2B communication. Our analysis evaluates the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) across sub-6 GHz, FR3, and mmWave bands using antenna array configurations designed for high-rise urban areas. Results show that, under equal aperture sizes across frequencies, FR3 achieves superior SNR compared to mmWave in interference-free conditions. Moreover, under the full-interference case, FR3 yields higher SINR for cell-edge User Equipment (UEs). This indicates that the increased array gain at mmWave cannot fully compensate for the severe path loss experienced by cell-edge UEs.