Extending the ns-3 spatial channel model for vehicular scenarios

The next generation of wireless systems will enable vehicles to communicate among themselves and with the surrounding environment, thus providing the possibility to build cooperative and intelligent transportation systems. To design communication technologies that can cope with the requirements envisioned for future vehicular services, we need specific simulation tools to evaluate the system performance from an end-to-end perspective. Being one of the best known open-source network simulators, ns-3 represents the perfect candidate to perform this task. In this work, we describe the extension of the ns-3 Spatial Channel Model to enable the modeling of wireless channels in vehicular environments. Such extension is compliant with the 3GPP TR 37.885 specification and has been designed to be flexible and modular, thus improving the support for the simulation of next generation wireless systems.