Mm-Wave Connectivity in Industrial Environments: A Measurement Study at 28 and 60 GHz

The spectrum-rich millimeter-wave (mm-wave) bands and exploiting multi-antenna technologies are envisioned as a key enabler for future high speed communication networks. 5G-NR in automation and industry requires supporting not only eMBB but also URLLC applications to meet the demands in production processes. Providing high-rate mm-wave coverage in real-world industrial environments is challenging and necessitates detailed and site-specific characterization of the directional link opportunities and beam management requirements for network planning of mm-wave factory deployments. In this paper, we present the results of our large-scale mm-wave measurement study using phased antenna arrays in a machine production hall. We systematically collect received signal strength data over fine-grained 3D TX/RX orientations for 31 spatially-dense RX positions in three typical factory scenarios in the 28 GHz and 60 GHz bands. We study the impact of transmitter placement and operating frequency band on the achievable data rate and the beam management effort considering the data rate demands of next-generation industrial networks. Our results show that the 28 GHz band provides sufficient connectivity to deliver data rates of up to 1 Gbps without the need for sophisticated beam management, which is in strong contrast to outdoor mobile mm-wave applications where active beam tracking is crucial to provide seamless connectivity.