Delay spread measurements for the digital cellular channel in Toronto

This paper describes a set of measurements performed in five existing cells in the Toronto area, in order to assess the impact of multipath propagation on the performance of the CTIA IS-54 digital standard. A sweeping correlator apparatus with a 0.1 mu s resolution and 910 MHz carrier frequency was used. Generally, the measurements exhibit multipath propagation with considerably smaller excess delays than some reported recently but are consistent with earlier results obtained in the U.S. and Europe. In view of the results, it appears that the long delay (high selectivity) problem has been somewhat over-emphasized in the past, at least for areas like Toronto. Problems associated with short delays (flat fading), on the contrary, appear to have been underestimated, although these would be typical in any dense urban environment.