Wideband indoor propagation channel direction of arrival measurements

The wish to develop in the future the Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) with an indoor radio coverage makes it necessary to characterise this propagation environment. For this purpose, a channel sounder matched to this environment has been developed by the CNET (France Telecom) laboratories. This experimental equipment measures the complex impulse responses of the propagation channel in the UHF band. Based on a wideband ray model and making use of a circular antenna array, a DOA method is proposed. This wideband technique allows one to distinguish the radio paths by their propagation delay, amplitude and angle of arrival at the receiver. The numerical data produce by the channel sounder have been used to analyse the direction of arrival (DOA) of the radiowaves at the receiver. The results obtained with real data are presented. These data are a part of a wideband indoor campaign with an outdoor base station and a mobile receiver used in buildings.