Variability of the propagation coefficients due to rain for microwave links in southern Africa

We use the Mie scattering approach and the dielectric model of Liebe to determine the propagation coefficients and rain attenuation distribution for four locations in Botswana, southern Africa, using R 0.01 = 68.9 mm/h for Gaborone, R 0.01 = 137.06 mm/h for Selebi‐Phikwe, R 0.01 = 86.87 mm/h for Francistown, and R 0.01 = 64.4 mm/h for Kasane over the frequency range of 1–1000 GHz. The results show that the extinction coefficients depend more strongly on temperature at lower frequencies than at higher frequencies for lognormal distribution. The absorption coefficient is significant but decreases exponentially with rain temperature at lower microwave frequencies. The application of the proposed model with various distributions is corroborated using practical results for Durban in South Africa.