From 5G to 6G: Has the Time for Modern Random Access Come?

This short paper proposes the use of modern random access for IoT applications in 6G. A short overview of recent advances in uncoordinated medium access is provided, highlighting the gains that can be achieved by leveraging smart protocol design intertwined with advanced signal processing techniques at the receiver. The authors' vision on the benefits such schemes can yield for beyond-5G systems is presented, with the aim to trigger further discussion.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, presented at 6G Summit, Levi, Finland, 201

SINR profile for spectral efficiency optimization of SIC receivers in the many-user regime

© 2015 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.In dense wireless scenarios, and particularly under high traffic loads, the design of efficient random access protocols is necessary. Some candidate solutions are based on Direct- Sequence Spread Spectrum (DS-SS) combined with a Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) demodulator, but the perfor- mance of these techniques is highly related to the distribution of the users received power. In that context, this paper presents a theoretical analysis to calculate the optimum user SINR profile at the decoder maximizing the spectral efficiency in bps/Hz for a specific modulation and practical Forward Error Correction (FEC) code. This solution is achieved by means of Variational Calculus operating in the asymptotic large-user case. Although a constant SINR function has been typically assumed in the literature (the one maximizing capacity), the theoretical results evidence that the optimum SINR profile must be an increasing function of the users received power. Its performance is compared with that of the uniform profile for two representative scenarios with different channel codes in a slightly overloaded system. The numerical results show that the optimum solution regulates the network load preventing the aggregate throughput from collapsing when the system is overloaded. In scenarios with a large number of transmitters, this optimum solution can be implemented in an uncoordinated manner with the knowledge of a few public system parameters.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

On jamming detection methods for satellite Internet of Things networks

Despite the fast growth of machine-type communications via satellite, the vulnerability of such networks to intentional interference and malicious jamming attacks is a raising concern. Specifically, in this paper, we address a class of jamming attacks in which the adversary uses the underlying knowledge of the satellite physical and access protocol to increase the jamming impact. In particular, we focused on a type of camouflage jamming attack (using publicly known preamble) to deceive the receiver, which rapidly leads to poor performance. Compared to conventional constant jamming attacks, these jamming strategies are known to be more effective and potentially more harmful to the targeted communication network. We analyze methods to detect such jamming attacks and provide examples of jamming detection techniques for the satellite Internet of Things (IoT) networks. Results indicate the effective performance of the jamming detection techniques for a variety of representative system parameters. More specifically, we introduce a simple (counting) jamming detection method along with numerical results for realistic system parameters, which confirms system design vulnerability as well as how the jammer may improve her strategy

Random access on graphs: A survey and new results

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Time- and frequency-asynchronous aloha for ultra narrowband communications

A low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) is a family of wireless access technologies which consume low power and cover wide areas. They are designed to operate in both licensed and unlicensed frequency bands. Among different low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technolo-gies, long range (LoRa), Sigfox, and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) are leading in IoT deployment in large-scale. However, Sigfox and LoRa both have advantages in terms of battery lifetime, production cost and capacity whereas lower latency and better quality of service are of-fered by Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) operating licensed cellular frequency bands. The two main approaches for reaching wide coverage with low transmission power are (i) spread spectrum, used by LoRa, and (ii) ultra-narrow band (UNB) which is used by Sigfox. This thesis work focuses on the random-access schemes for UNB based IoT networks mainly. Due to issues related to receiver synchronization, two-dimensional time-frequency ran-dom access protocol is a particularly interesting choice for UNB transmission schemes. Howev-er, UNB possess also some major constraints regarding connectivity, throughput, noise cancel-lation and so. This thesis work investigates UNB-based LPWAN uplink scenarios. The throughput perfor-mance of Time Frequency Asynchronous ALOHA (TFAA) is evaluated using MATLAB simula-tions. The main parameters include the interference threshold which depends on the robust-ness of the modulation and coding scheme, propagation exponent, distance range of the IoT devices and system load. Normalized throughput and collision probability are evaluated through simulations for different combinations of these parameters. We demonstrate that, using repeti-tions of the data packets results in a higher normalized throughput. The repetition scheme is designed in such a way that another user's packets may collide only with one of the target packets repetitions. The power levels as well as distances of a user’s all repetitions are consid-ered same. By using repetitions, reducing the distance range, and increasing the interference threshold, the normalized throughput can be maximized

End-to-end communications in low-rate wireless networks: Problems and solutions in satellite scenarios

Satellite communication links are susceptible to present numerous discontinuities in the transmission. Specific solutions are necessary to be developed to cope this problem. In this sense Delay and Disruptive Tolerant Networks are envisaged as solutions trying to optimize in some sense the communication link. In this TFG the problem of disruptive networks will be studied and possible solutions will be analyzed having in mind satellites scenarios. The work will require the definition of a scenario and the implementation of some state-of-the art solutions in a simulator.Since the Sputnik 1 was first launched in 1957, satellites have taken over the world with their multiple applications in our day-to-day life, specially in the telecommunications field, from television broadcast to mobile communications. One of the main issues they present, is that a single satellite can't provide an end-to-end communication between two spots widely separated. This issue implies that a continuous network between these two spots can never be implemented, and that's why so many public and private companies have been working for a long time in clusters of satellites to provide global coverage of the earth. In the last decade, the M2M (machine-to-machine) communications have become one of the most advanced fields in the engineering world, as they are changing it in order to create a more sophisticated and automatized future. These type of low-rate wireless communications can be supported in a satellite network but they sometimes require a low latency in its channel. In this project, several satellite network scenarios are simulated in order to study the different delays in them and to find the way to optimize the latency in the M2M communication between two fixed spots in the globe, while creating a continuous network made out of GEO and LEO satellites. The project is focused on the idea of finding the best satellite architecture to obtain a fluid communication without any relevant delay along the way, as well as discussing the trade-off between the delay of the signal and the energy consumption of the satellite, specially in the nanosatellite case.Desde que el Sputnik 1 fue lanzado por primera vez en 1957, los satélites han tomado el mundo con sus múltiples aplicaciones en nuestro, especialmente en el campo de las telecomunicaciones, desde la emisión de televisión a las comunicaciones móviles. Uno de los principales problemas que presentan, es que un solo satélite no puede proporcionar una comunicación de extremo a extremo entre dos puntos muy distantes entre sí. Este problema implica que una red contínua entre estos dos puntos no se puede implementar, y es por eso por lo que muchas empresas públicas y privadas han estado trabajando durante mucho tiempo en grupos de satélites para proporcionar una cobertura global de la Tierra. En la última década, las comunicaciones M2M (machine-to-machine) se han convertido en uno de los campos más avanzados en el mundo de la ingeniería, y lo están cambiando con el fin de crear un futuro más sofisticado y automatizado. Este tipo de comunicaciones sin hilos de bajo ritmo de bit puede ser apoyado en una red de satélites, pero que a veces requiere una latencia baja en su canal. En este proyecto, varios escenarios de redes de satélite son simulados con el fin de estudiar los diferentes retardos en todos ellos y en encontrar la manera de optimizar la latencia en la comunicación M2M entre dos puntos fijos en el mundo, usando la creación de una red continua hecha de satélites GEO y LEO. El proyecto se centra en la idea de encontrar la mejor arquitectura de satélites para obtener una comunicación fluida y sin ningún retraso relevante en el camino, así como en discutir el equilibrio entre el retardo de la señal y el consumo de energía del satélite, especialmente en el caso de nanosatélites.Des de que l'Sputnik 1 es llançava per primer cop el 1957, els satèl·lits han dominat el món amb les seves múltiples aplicacions en la nostra vida quotidiana, especialment en el camp de les telecomunicacions, des de difusió de televisió a les comunicacions mòbils. Una de les principals qüestions que presenten, és que un únic satèl·lit no pot proporcionar una comunicació extrem a extrem entre dos punts molt distants. Això implica que mai no es pugui implementar una xarxa contínua entre aquests dos punts, i és per això que moltes empreses públiques i privades han estat treballant durant molt temps en agrupacions de satèl·lits per donar cobertura global de la terra. En la darrera dècada, les comunicacions de M2M (machine-to-machine) han esdevingut un dels camps més avançats del món de l'enginyeria, ja que estan canviant-lo per tal de crear un més sofisticat i automatitzat futur. Aquests tipus de comunicacions sense fils de baix ritme de bit poden ser recolzades en una xarxa de satèl·lits però de vegades requereixen una latència baixa al seu canal. En aquest projecte, diversos escenaris de xarxes de satèl·lits són simulats per tal d'estudiar els diferents retards en tots ells i en trobar la manera d'optimitzar la latència en la comunicació M2M entre dos punts fixos en el món, utilitzant la creació d'una xarxa contínua de satèl·lits GEO i LEO. El projecte es centra en la idea de trobar la millor arquitectura de satèl·lits per obtenir una comunicació fluida sense demora pertinent en el camí, així com en discutir la solució de compromís que existeix entre el retard del senyal i el consum energètic del satèl·lit, especialment en el cas dels nanosatèl·lits

High Performance Signal Processing-Based Collision Resolution for Random Access Schemes

Els darrers anys han experimentat un augment de la demanda de serveis interactius per satèl·lit per al gran consum, cobrint serveis fixes i mòbils, tal i com accés de banda ampla, comunicacions màquina-màquina (M2M), supervisió, control i adquisició de dades (SCADA), transaccions i aplicacions de seguretat crítiques. Aquestes xarxes de comunicacions es caracteritzen per tenir una gran població d’usuaris compartint l’amplada de banda amb unes condicions de tràfic molt dinàmiques. Concretament, en el canal de retorn (de l’usuari a la xarxa) de xarxes d’accés de banda ampla, els usuaris residencials generen grans ràfegues de tràfic amb períodes d’inactivitat freqüents. Una situació similar succeeix en xarxes de comunicacions mòbils per satèl·lit, on una gran població de terminals generen transmissions infreqüents de senyalització, serveis basats en la localització or altres aplicacions de missatgeria. Aquests serveis requereixen el desenvolupament de protocols d’accés múltiple eficients que puguin operar en les condicions descrites anteriorment. Els protocols d´accés aleatori són bons candidats per servir tràfic poc predictiu, amb transmissions infreqüents així com sensibles amb el retard. A més, els protocols d´accés aleatori suporten un gran nombre de terminals compartint el canal de comunicacions i requereixen poca complexitat en el terminals. El protocols d´accés aleatori han estat àmpliament estudiats i desplegats en xarxes terrestres, però les seves prestacions són pobres en el entorn satèl·lital, que està caracteritzat per retards de propagació molt grans. Avui en dia, el seu ús en les xarxes de comunicacions per satèl·lit està principalment limitat a la senyalització d’inici de sessió, transmissió de paquets de control i en alguns casos a la transmissió de petits volums de dades amb unes eficiència d’utilització del canal molt baixa. Aquesta tesi proposa tres noves tècniques d’accés aleatori, bens adaptades per proveir els serveis esmentats anteriorment en un entorn satèl·lital, amb altes prestacions i una complexitat en el terminal d’usuari reduïda. Les noves tècniques d’accés aleatori són Contention Resolution Diversity Slotted Aloha (CRDSA), Asynchronous Contention Resolution Diversity Aloha (ACRDA) i Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E-SSA), adaptades per un tipus d’accés ranurat, asíncron i d’espectre eixamplat respectivament. Les tres tècniques utilitzen una codificació de canal (FEC) robusta, capaç d’operar en front de interferències elevades, que són típiques en l’accés aleatori, i d’un mecanisme de cancel·lació successiva d’interferència que s’implementa en el receptor sobre els paquets descodificats satisfactòriament. Els nous protocols obtenen un throughput normalitzat superior a 1 bit/s/Hz amb una tassa de pèrdua de paquets inferior a 10-3, el qual representa un factor de millora de 1000 respecte a protocols d’accés aleatori tradicionals com l’ALOHA ranurat. Les prestacions de les noves tècniques d’accés aleatori has estat analitzades per mitjà de simulacions, així com amb nou models analítics desenvolupats en aquesta tesi capaços de caracteritzar el tràfic, la distribució estadística de la potència dels paquets, les prestacions de la codificació de canal (FEC) i el procés de cancel·lació d’interferència successiva.Los últimos años han experimentado un crecimiento de la demanda de servicios interactivos por satélite para el gran consumo, cubriendo servicios fijos i móviles, como el acceso de banda ancha, comunicaciones máquina a máquina (M2M), supervisión, control y adquisición de datos (SCADA), transacciones i aplicaciones criticas de seguridad. Estas redes de comunicaciones se caracterizan por tener una gran población de usuarios compartiendo el ancho de banda en unas condiciones de tráfico muy dinámicas. Concretamente, en el canal de retorno (del usuario a la red) de redes de acceso de banda ancha, los usuarios residenciales generan grandes ráfagas de tráfico con periodos frecuentes de inactividad. Una situación similar ocurre en las redes de comunicaciones móviles por satélite, donde una gran población de terminales generan transmisiones infrecuentes de señalización, servicios basados en la localización u otras aplicaciones me mensajería. Estos servicios requieren el desarrollo de protocolos de acceso múltiple eficientes capaces de operar en las condiciones descritas anteriormente. Los protocolos de acceso aleatorio son buenos candidatos para servir el tráfico poco predictivo, con transmisiones infrecuentes así como sensibles al retardo. Además, los protocolos de acceso soportan un gran número de terminales compartiendo el canal de comunicaciones y requieren poca complejidad en los terminales. Los protocolos de acceso aleatorio han estado ampliamente estudiados i desplegados en las redes terrestres, pero sus prestaciones son pobres en el entorno satelital, que se caracteriza por retardos de comunicaciones muy elevados. Hoy en día, su uso en la redes de comunicaciones por satélite está principalmente limitado a la señalización de inicio de sesión, transmisión de pequeños volumenes de datos con eficiencia de utilización del canal muy baja. Esta tesis propone tres nuevas técnicas de acceso aleatorio bien adaptadas para proveer los servicios mencionados anteriormente en un entorno de comunicaciones por satélite, con altas prestaciones y una complejidad en el terminal de usuario reducida. Las nuevas técnicas de acceso aleatorio son Contention Resolution Diversity Slotted Aloha (CRDSA), Asynchronous Contention Resolution Diversity Aloha (ACRDA) y Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E-SSA), adaptadas para un tipo de acceso ranurado, asíncrono y de espectro ensanchado respectivamente. Las tres técnicas utilizan una codificación de canal (FEC) robusta, capaz de operar en condiciones de interferencia elevadas, que son típicas en el acceso aleatorio, y de un mecanismo de cancelación sucesiva de interferencias que se implementa en el receptor sobre los paquetes que han sido decodificados satisfactoriamente. Los nuevos protocolos obtienen un throughput normalizado superior a 1 bit/s/Hz con una tasa de pérdida de paquetes inferior a 10-3, lo cual representa un factor de mejora de 1000 respecto a los protocolos de acceso aleatorio tradicionales como el ALOHA ranurado. Las prestaciones de las nuevas técnicas de acceso aleatorio han sido analizadas con simulaciones así como con nuevos modelos analíticos desarrollados en esta tesis, capaces de caracterizar el tráfico, la distribución estadística de la potencia de los paquetes, las prestaciones de la codificación de canal (FEC) y el proceso de cancelación sucesiva de interferencias.Over the past years there has been a fast growing demand for low-cost interactive satellite terminals supporting both fixed and mobile services, such as consumer broadband access, machine-to-machine communications (M2M), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), transaction and safety of life applications. These networks, are generally characterized by a large population of terminals sharing the available resources under very dynamic traffic conditions. In particular, in the return link (user to network) of commercial satellite broadband access networks, residential users are likely to generate a large amount of low duty cycle bursty traffic with extended inactivity periods. A similar situation occurs in satellite mobile networks whereby a large number of terminals typically generate infrequent packets for signaling transmission as well for position reporting or other messaging applications. These services call for the development of efficient multiple access protocols able to cope with the above operating conditions. Random Access (RA) techniques are by nature, good candidates for the less predictive, low duty cycle as well as time sensitive return link traffic. Besides, RA techniques are capable of supporting large population of terminals sharing the same capacity and require low terminal complexity. RA schemes have been widely studied and deployed in terrestrial networks, but do not perform well in the satellite environment, which is characterized by very long propagation delays. Today, their use in satellite networks is mainly limited to initial network login, the transmission of control packets, and in some cases, for the transmission of very small volumes of data with very low channel utilization. This thesis proposes three novel RA schemes well suited for the provision of the above-mentioned services over a satellite environment with high performance and low terminal complexity. The new RA schemes are Contention Resolution Diversity Slotted Aloha (CRDSA), Asynchronous Contention Resolution Diversity Aloha (ACRDA) and Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E-SSA), suited for slotted, unslotted and spread spectrum-based systems respectively. They all use strong Forward Error Correction (FEC) codes, able to cope with heavy co-channel interference typically present in RA, and successive interference cancellation implemented over the successfully decoded packets. The new schemes achieve a normalized throughput above 1 bit/s/Hz for a packet loss ratio below 10-3, which represents a 1000-fold increase compared to Slotted ALOHA. The performance of the proposed RA schemes has been analyzed by means of detailed simulations as well as novel analytical frameworks that characterize traffic and packets power statistical distributions, the performance of the FEC coding as well as the iterative interference cancellation processing at the receiver

Nanosatellite Store-and-Forward Communication Systems for Remote Data Collection Applications

Due to compact design, cost-effectiveness and shorter development time, a nanosatellite constellation is seen as a viable space-based data-relay asset to collect data from remote places that are rather impractical to be linked by terrestrial means. While nanosatellites have these advantages, they have more inherent technical limitations because of limited space for subsystems and payloads. Nanosatellite S&F communication systems are notably challenging in this respect due to requirements on antennas, transceivers, and signal processing. Although nanosatellites can be scaled up for better resources and capabilities, smaller platforms (i.e., ≤6U CubeSat) tend to be used for cost-effectiveness and lower risk. This thesis dealt with the problem of designing a nanosatellite S&F communication system for delay-tolerant remote data collection applications considering: (a) technical constraints in hardware, processing capabilities, energy budget and space in both the nanosatellite and ground sensor terminal (GST) sides; (b) physical communication layer characteristics and constraints such as limited available bandwidth, LEO channel Doppler, attenuation and fading/shadowing effects, low transmit power and data rate, and multi-user interference among asynchronously transmitting terminals. We designed, developed, and operated an amateur radio payload with S&F communication and APRS-DP capabilities, and performed a post-launch communication failure investigation. We also investigated suitability of E-SSA protocol for IoT/M2M terminals to nanosatellite communication by analyzing performance and energy efficiency metrics. The thesis comprises nine chapters. Chapter 1 describes the research background, problem, objectives, state of research, potential contributions of this thesis, and a gist of methodology detailed in later chapters. Chapter 2 and 3 provide an extensive literature review. Chapter 2 reviews the previous research works on using nanosatellites for S&F communication for remote data collection, and the previous nanosatellite S&F missions. Such research works and nanosatellite missions were undertaken primarily in the context of non-commercial/civil applications. Then, Chapter 2 surveys the recent commercial nanosatellite IoT/M2M players and examines their proposed systems in terms of satellite platform, constellation design, communication technology, targeted applications, requirements, and performance. Chapter 3 presents a literature review on communication system architecture, physical layer and random-access schemes, protocols, and technologies relevant to satellite IoT/M2M systems. In the context of IoT/M2M applications, the constraints in energy budget, transmit power and available bandwidth limit the system’s capacity in terms of amount of data that can be received and number of GSTs that can be supported. In both nanosatellite and GST sides, there are stringent limitations in hardware complexity, processing capabilities and energy budget. Addressing these challenges requires a simple, spectrally and energy efficient asynchronous random-access communication protocol. This research investigated using the enhanced spread spectrum Aloha (E-SSA) protocol for satellite IoT/M2M uplink (terminal to satellite) communication and analyzed its performance and suitability for the said application. Chapter 4 discusses the BIRDS-2 CubeSat S&F remote data collection system, payload design, development, tests, and integration with the BIRDS-2 CubeSats. Chapter 5 discusses the investigation on communication design issues of BIRDS-2 CubeSat S&F payload, tackling both the methodology and findings of investigation. It is noted that there are only a few satellites that have carried an APRS-DP payload but even some of these failed due to communication, power, or software issues. In BIRDS-2 Project, considering tight constraints in a 1U CubeSat equipped with other subsystems and payloads, we developed a S&F/APRS-DP payload and integrated it with each of the three 1U CubeSats of participating countries. After launching the CubeSats from the ISS, several amateur operators confirmed reception downlink beacon messages, but full two-way communication failed due to uplink communication failure. Thus, this research not only studied the design and development of a S&F/APRS-DP payload suitable for a CubeSat platform, but also systematically investigated the causes of communication failure by on-orbit observation results and ground-based tests. We found that uplink failure was caused by two design problems that were overlooked during development, namely, the poor antenna performance and increased payload receiver noise floor due to satellite-radiated EMI coupled to the antenna. Chapter 6 first describes the enhanced spread spectrum Aloha (E-SSA) based nanosatellite IoT/M2M communication model implemented in Matlab and derives the mathematical definitions of packet loss rate (PLR), throughput (THR) and energy efficiency (EE) metrics. Then, it tackles the formulated baseband signal processing algorithm for E-SSA, including packet detection, channel estimation, demodulation and decoding. Chapter 7 presents the simulation results and discussion for Chapter 6. Chapter 8 tackles the S&F nanosatellite constellation design for global coverage and presents the results and findings. Chapter 9 describes the laboratory setups for validating the E-SSA protocol and then presents the findings. Finally, Chapter 9 also gives the summary, conclusions, and recommendations. Simulation results showed that for E-SSA protocol with the formulated algorithm, THR, PLR and EE metrics are more sensitive to MAC load G, received power variation σLN and Eb/N0, due to imperfect detection and channel estimation. With loose power control (σLN=3dB), at Eb/N0=14 dB, the system can be operated up to a maximum load of 1.3 bps/Hz, achieving a maximum THR of 1.25 bps/Hz with PLR<0.03. Without power control (σLN=6dB,9dB), at Eb/N0=14 dB, maximum load is also 1.3 bps/Hz, but achievable THR is lower than ~1 bps/Hz and PLR values can be as high as ~0.23. Worse PLR results are attributed to misdetection of lower power packets and demodulation/decoding errors. Both are caused by the combined effects of MUI, channel estimation errors, imperfect interference cancellation residue power, and noise. The PLR and THR can be improved by operating with higher Eb/N0 at the expense of lower energy efficiency. Then, laboratory validation experiments using a SDR-based platform confirmed that with G=0.1, Eb/N0=14dB, σLN=6dB, the formulated algorithm for E-SSA protocol can still work even with inaccurate oscillator (±2 ppm) at GSTs, obtaining experimental PLR result of 0.0650 compared to simulation result of 0.0352. However, this requires lowering the detection thresholds and takes significantly longer processing time. For the S&F nanosatellite constellation design, it was found that to achieve the target percent coverage time (PCT) of more than 95% across all latitudes, a 9x10 Hybrid constellation or a 10x10 Walker Delta constellation would be required.九州工業大学博士学位論文 学位記番号：工博甲第506号 学位授与年月日：令和2年9月25日1: Introduction|2: Nanosatellite S&F Research, Missions and Applications|3: Satellite S&F Communication Systems and Protocols|4: BIRDS-2 CubeSat S&F Data Collection System, Payload Design and Development|5: Investigation on Communication Design Issues of BIRDS-2 CubeSat APRS-DP/S&F Payload, Results and Discussion|6: E-SSA-based Nanosatellite IoT/M2M Communication System Model and Signal Processing Algorithm|7: Simulation Results and Discussion for E-SSA-based Nanosatellite IoT/M2M Communication System|8: Nanosatellite Constellation for Global Coverage|9: Experimental Laboratory Validation for E-SSA Protocol, Research Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations九州工業大学令和2年

Modern Random Access for Satellite Communications

The present PhD dissertation focuses on modern random access (RA) techniques. In the first part an slot- and frame-asynchronous RA scheme adopting replicas, successive interference cancellation and combining techniques is presented and its performance analysed. The comparison of both slot-synchronous and asynchronous RA at higher layer, follows. Next, the optimization procedure, for slot-synchronous RA with irregular repetitions, is extended to the Rayleigh block fading channel. Finally, random access with multiple receivers is considered.Comment: PhD Thesis, 196 page