Fahimeh Aghaei

Fahimeh Aghaei, Mehdi Monemi, Mehdi Rasti et al.

Motivated by increasing wireless capacity demands and 6G advancements, the newly defined Frequency Range 3 (FR3, 7.125-24.25 GHz), also known as the upper mid-band, has emerged as a promising spectrum candidate. It offers a balance between the large bandwidth potential of millimeter-wave bands and the favorable propagation characteristics of sub-6 GHz bands. As a result, the upper mid-band presents a strong opportunity to enhance both coverage and capacity, particularly for 6G systems and Cellular Vehicle-to-Base Station (C-V2B) communications. Harnessing this potential, however, requires addressing key technical challenges through accurate and realistic channel modeling across diverse urban environments, including Suburban, Urban, and HighRise Urban scenarios. To this end, we employ a ray-tracing tool to characterize downlink propagation and enable detailed channel modeling for reliable C-V2B links. We evaluate data rate performance across FR1 (sub-6 GHz), FR3, and FR2 (mmWave) bands using antenna array configurations designed for different urban environments. The results show that, under equal aperture sizes, FR3 achieves higher data rates than FR2 for cell-edge User Equipment (UEs) in both interference-free and full-interference scenarios, indicating that the additional array gain at mmWave is insufficient to fully compensate for the severe experienced path loss. Integrating one-hand-grip pedestrian UEs model into ray tracer shows that transitioning from vehicular to pedestrian UEs results in negligible differences in coverage probability (about 1\%--3\%) across all frequencies, with the minimum differences observed in FR3, particularly at 8.2 GHz.

Fahimeh Aghaei, Mehdi Monemi, Mehdi Rasti et al.

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.