Introduction
The 5G band allocated in the 26 GHz spectrum referred to as 3GPP band n258 has generated a lot of anxiety and concern in the meteorological data forecasting community including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Unlike traditional spectrum coexistence issues, the above issue stems from 5G transmissions impacting the observations of passive sensors on weather satellites used to detect the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, which in turn affects weather forecasting and predictions. The controversy and speculation generated in this unique “spectrum coexistence problem” is exacerbated by the diversity of the expertise between core 5G telecommunications and atmospheric sciences and weather prediction. This project will bring an interdisciplinary team with expertise in PHY/MAC layer approaches for spectrum coexistence, mmWave antenna design including metamaterials, atmospheric research and data assimilation algorithms for weather prediction. The research will characterize the impact of 5G transmissions on weather data measurements and prediction, and then design cross layer mitigation strategies needed to enable coexistence between 5G services and weather prediction, as well as improved weather prediction algorithms. The major goals of the project are:
- Goal 1: To design improved models for characterizing the 5G impact on radiance using both simulation and analysis based approaches taking into account transmit power levels, specific sub-band occupancy, transmit modulation schemes, nonlinearity of power amplifiers, and absorption and transmission through layers of clouds and atmosphere
- Goal 2: To map the spatial density of 5G transmitters, and the elevation and directionality of transmissions to geospatial sensitivity to leakage
- Goal 3: To devise novel cross-layer approaches for mitigating the 5G impact on 23.8 GHz using antennas/circuit (filtenna) design and direct modulation based beam steering that is integrated with cooperative MAC and networking strategies along with power control
- Goal 4: To develop improved weather prediction algorithms that are designed to be robust to 5G leakage
- Goal 5: To experiment on the PAWR COSMOS testbed to study adjacent channel leakage from 5G transmissions
