As we enter the third decade of the century, it is a given that we now live in a Gigabit World. Delivering those gigabits wirelessly is now all the rage, and as with all “new” technologies there are wild misconceptions about what it can and can’t do. Nowhere is this more evident than on the topic of mmWaves (38 – 90GHz) and the impact of weather on range and performance.
It is a matter of basic physics that the higher the frequency the shorter the range. While mmWave has the most spectrum and is best suited for delivering gigabits, it is by definition going to cover shorter distances when compared to, for example, sub 6GHz bands. This is well understood and accepted. What is less understood are the methods and techniques available to extend mmWave links and the limited impact weather has on these systems.
As a rule of thumb, RF planning does not consider weather impact be it from rain, snow, fog etc. to have a significant impact for frequencies under 7GHz. The mythology for mmWave comes in when people start talking about the impact of weather on these networks. Let’s examine what this really is and how it affects planning and deploying your gigabit mmWave network.
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