1,009 research outputs found
Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks: A MAC Layer Perspective
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band is seen as a key enabler of
multi-gigabit wireless access in future cellular networks. In order to overcome
the propagation challenges, mmWave systems use a large number of antenna
elements both at the base station and at the user equipment, which lead to high
directivity gains, fully-directional communications, and possible noise-limited
operations. The fundamental differences between mmWave networks and traditional
ones challenge the classical design constraints, objectives, and available
degrees of freedom. This paper addresses the implications that highly
directional communication has on the design of an efficient medium access
control (MAC) layer. The paper discusses key MAC layer issues, such as
synchronization, random access, handover, channelization, interference
management, scheduling, and association. The paper provides an integrated view
on MAC layer issues for cellular networks, identifies new challenges and
tradeoffs, and provides novel insights and solution approaches.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, to appear in IEEE Transactions on
Communication
An Efficient Uplink Multi-Connectivity Scheme for 5G mmWave Control Plane Applications
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies offer the potential of orders of
magnitude increases in capacity for next-generation cellular systems. However,
links in mmWave networks are susceptible to blockage and may suffer from rapid
variations in quality. Connectivity to multiple cells - at mmWave and/or
traditional frequencies - is considered essential for robust communication. One
of the challenges in supporting multi-connectivity in mmWaves is the
requirement for the network to track the direction of each link in addition to
its power and timing. To address this challenge, we implement a novel uplink
measurement system that, with the joint help of a local coordinator operating
in the legacy band, guarantees continuous monitoring of the channel propagation
conditions and allows for the design of efficient control plane applications,
including handover, beam tracking and initial access. We show that an
uplink-based multi-connectivity approach enables less consuming, better
performing, faster and more stable cell selection and scheduling decisions with
respect to a traditional downlink-based standalone scheme. Moreover, we argue
that the presented framework guarantees (i) efficient tracking of the user in
the presence of the channel dynamics expected at mmWaves, and (ii) fast
reaction to situations in which the primary propagation path is blocked or not
available.Comment: Submitted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Wireless
Communications (TWC
Understanding Noise and Interference Regimes in 5G Millimeter-Wave Cellular Networks
With the severe spectrum shortage in conventional cellular bands,
millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies have been attracting growing attention for
next-generation micro- and picocellular wireless networks. A fundamental and
open question is whether mmWave cellular networks are likely to be noise- or
interference-limited. Identifying in which regime a network is operating is
critical for the design of MAC and physical-layer procedures and to provide
insights on how transmissions across cells should be coordinated to cope with
interference. This work uses the latest measurement-based statistical channel
models to accurately assess the Interference-to-Noise Ratio (INR) in a wide
range of deployment scenarios. In addition to cell density, we also study
antenna array size and antenna patterns, whose effects are critical in the
mmWave regime. The channel models also account for blockage, line-of-sight and
non-line-of-sight regimes as well as local scattering, that significantly
affect the level of spatial isolation
Spectral Efficiency of MIMO Millimeter-Wave Links with Single-Carrier Modulation for 5G Networks
Future wireless networks will extensively rely upon bandwidths centered on
carrier frequencies larger than 10GHz. Indeed, recent research has shown that,
despite the large path-loss, millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies can be
successfully exploited to transmit very large data-rates over short distances
to slowly moving users. Due to hardware complexity and cost constraints,
single-carrier modulation schemes, as opposed to the popular multi-carrier
schemes, are being considered for use at mmWave frequencies. This paper
presents preliminary studies on the achievable spectral efficiency on a
wireless MIMO link operating at mmWave in a typical 5G scenario. Two different
single-carrier modem schemes are considered, i.e. a traditional modulation
scheme with linear equalization at the receiver, and a single-carrier
modulation with cyclic prefix, frequency-domain equalization and FFT-based
processing at the receiver. Our results show that the former achieves a larger
spectral efficiency than the latter. Results also confirm that the spectral
efficiency increases with the dimension of the antenna array, as well as that
performance gets severely degraded when the link length exceeds 100 meters and
the transmit power falls below 0dBW. Nonetheless, mmWave appear to be very
suited for providing very large data-rates over short distances.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Proc. 20th International ITG
Workshop on Smart Antennas (WSA2016
A Millimeter Wave MIMO Testbed for 5G Communications
This paper presents a 2 x 2 millimeter wave (mm-wave)
multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) testbed that operates at around 30 GHz.
The link assessment of the system operating at 26.25 GHz was carried out on a
test bench, with a short communication distance between the transmitting and
receiving antennas. A user-programmable, reconfigurable and real-time signal
processing field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)-based software defined radio
(SDR) system was employed as part of the testbed to validate the system-level
performance for a downlink time division long-term evolution (TD-LTE) duplex
scheme. Constellation diagram for quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) digital
modulation were acquired while the testbed was operating at 30 GHz. The testbed
could be employed for the development of signal test, communication algorithm
and measurement metrology for 5G communications.Comment: 89th ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference (ARFTG 2017
Toward End-to-End, Full-Stack 6G Terahertz Networks
Recent evolutions in semiconductors have brought the terahertz band in the
spotlight as an enabler for terabit-per-second communications in 6G networks.
Most of the research so far, however, has focused on understanding the physics
of terahertz devices, circuitry and propagation, and on studying physical layer
solutions. However, integrating this technology in complex mobile networks
requires a proper design of the full communication stack, to address link- and
system-level challenges related to network setup, management, coordination,
energy efficiency, and end-to-end connectivity. This paper provides an overview
of the issues that need to be overcome to introduce the terahertz spectrum in
mobile networks, from a MAC, network and transport layer perspective, with
considerations on the performance of end-to-end data flows on terahertz
connections.Comment: Published on IEEE Communications Magazine, THz Communications: A
Catalyst for the Wireless Future, 7 pages, 6 figure
Hybrid Spectrum Sharing in mmWave Cellular Networks
While spectrum at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies is less scarce than at
traditional frequencies below 6 GHz, still it is not unlimited, in particular
if we consider the requirements from other services using the same band and the
need to license mmWave bands to multiple mobile operators. Therefore, an
efficient spectrum access scheme is critical to harvest the maximum benefit
from emerging mmWave technologies. In this paper, we introduce a new hybrid
spectrum access scheme for mmWave networks, where data is aggregated through
two mmWave carriers with different characteristics. In particular, we consider
the case of a hybrid spectrum scheme between a mmWave band with exclusive
access and a mmWave band where spectrum is pooled between multiple operators.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study proposing hybrid spectrum
access for mmWave networks and providing a quantitative assessment of its
benefits. Our results show that this approach provides major advantages with
respect to traditional fully licensed or fully unlicensed spectrum access
schemes, though further work is needed to achieve a more complete understanding
of both technical and non technical implications
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