# Comparing Stochastic and Ray-tracing Datasets in Machine Learning for Wireless Applications

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12449 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12449/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Dec 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [LWM-Temporal: Sparse Spatio-Temporal Attention for Wireless Channel Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.10024/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Machine learning for wireless systems is commonly studied using standardized stochastic channel models (e.g., TDL/CDL/UMa) because of their legacy in wireless communication standardization and their ability to generate data at scale. However, some of their structural assumptions may diverge from real-world propagation. This paper asks when these models are sufficient and when ray-traced (RT) data - a proxy for the real world - provides tangible benefits. To answer these questions, we conduct an empirical study on two representative tasks: CSI compression and temporal channel prediction. Models are trained and evaluated using in-domain, cross-domain, and small-data fine-tuning protocols. Across settings, we observe that stochastic-only evaluation may over- or under-estimate performance relative to RT. These findings support a task-aware recipe where stochastic models can be leveraged for scalable pre-training and for tasks that do not rely on strong spatiotemporal coupling. When that coupling matters, pre-training and evaluation should be grounded in spatially consistent or geometrically similar RT scenarios. This study provides initial guidance to inform future discussions on benchmarking and standardization.