Maximum Receiver Harvesting Area of Backscatter Signals from Ambient Low-Frequency Mobile Networks

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the maximum achievable range for ambient backscattering communications (AmBC) by utilizing one of the lowest available frequency bands for mobile networks. Long term evolution (LTE) networks operating at 700 MHz (LTE-700, also referred to as LTE band 28) use the frequency division duplexing (FDD) technique for communications and are utilised as the ambient signals to perform the simulations. The simulations are carried out in urban macro-cellular and suburban highway environments. For the simulations, the sensors are placed in the line-of-sight (LOS) path of the LTE-700 transmitter and receiver antenna as this ensures the maximum applicability of the AmBC technology. Two propagation models, the ray tracing approach and the radar equation are leveraged to determine the maximum range of communication when the signal is reflected by the sensor. It is observed from the analysis that distances of a few hundred meters are achievable utilising both propagation models. The size of the sensor has a pivotal role in determining the maximum range of communication while utilising the radar equation. Therefore, a thorough analysis is performed using real-world sensor sizes deployed for the internet of things (IoT) wireless communication.