Uplink Sounding Reference Signal Coordination to Combat Pilot Contamination in 5G Massive MIMO

To guarantee the success of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), one of the main challenges to solve is the efficient management of pilot contamination. Allocation of fully orthogonal pilot sequences across the network would provide a solution to the problem, but the associated overhead would make this approach infeasible in practical systems. Ongoing fifth-generation (5G) standardisation activities are debating the amount of resources to be dedicated to the transmission of pilot sequences, focussing on uplink sounding reference signals (UL SRSs) design. In this paper, we extensively evaluate the performance of various UL SRS allocation strategies in practical deployments, shedding light on their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, we introduce a novel UL SRS fractional reuse (FR) scheme, denoted neighbour-aware FR (FR-NA). The proposed FR-NA generalizes the fixed reuse paradigm, and entails a tradeoff between i) aggressively sharing some UL SRS resources, and ii) protecting other UL SRS resources with the aim of relieving neighbouring BSs from pilot contamination. Said features result in a cell throughput improvement over both fixed reuse and state-of-the-art FR based on a cell-centric perspective

Millimetre wave frequency band as a candidate spectrum for 5G network architecture : a survey

In order to meet the huge growth in global mobile data traffic in 2020 and beyond, the development of the 5th Generation (5G) system is required as the current 4G system is expected to fall short of the provision needed for such growth. 5G is anticipated to use a higher carrier frequency in the millimetre wave (mm-wave) band, within the 20 to 90 GHz, due to the availability of a vast amount of unexploited bandwidth. It is a revolutionary step to use these bands because of their different propagation characteristics, severe atmospheric attenuation, and hardware constraints. In this paper, we carry out a survey of 5G research contributions and proposed design architectures based on mm-wave communications. We present and discuss the use of mm-wave as indoor and outdoor mobile access, as a wireless backhaul solution, and as a key enabler for higher order sectorisation. Wireless standards such as IEE802.11ad, which are operating in mm-wave band have been presented. These standards have been designed for short range, ultra high data throughput systems in the 60 GHz band. Furthermore, this survey provides new insights regarding relevant and open issues in adopting mm-wave for 5G networks. This includes increased handoff rate and interference in Ultra-Dense Network (UDN), waveform consideration with higher spectral efficiency, and supporting spatial multiplexing in mm-wave line of sight. This survey also introduces a distributed base station architecture in mm-wave as an approach to address increased handoff rate in UDN, and to provide an alternative way for network densification in a time and cost effective manner

Enabling Ultra Reliable Wireless Communications for Factory Automation with Distributed MIMO

Factory automation is one of the most challenging use cases for 5G-and-beyond mobile networks due to strict latency, availability and reliability constraints. In this work, an indoor factory scenario is considered, and distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) schemes are investigated in order to enable reliable communication to the actuators (ACs) active in the factory. Different levels of coordination among the access points serving the ACs and several beamforming schemes are considered and analyzed. To enforce system reliability, a max-min power allocation (MPA) algorithm is proposed, aimed at improving the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of the ACs with the worst channel conditions. Extensive system simulations are performed in a realistic scenario, which includes a new path-loss model based on recent measurements in factory scenarios, and, also, the presence of non-Gaussian impulsive noise. Numerical results show that distributed MIMO schemes with zero-forcing (ZF) beamforming and MPA have the potential of providing SINR gains in the order of tens of dB with respect to a centralized MIMO deployment, as well as that the impulsive noise can strongly degrade the system performance and thus requires specific detection and mitigation techniques.Comment: Accepted at the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC-Fall), Honolulu (HI), Sep. 201

Multi-Antenna Techniques for Next Generation Cellular Communications

Future cellular communications are expected to offer substantial improvements for the pre- existing mobile services with higher data rates and lower latency as well as pioneer new types of applications that must comply with strict demands from a wider range of user types. All of these tasks require utmost efficiency in the use of spectral resources. Deploying multiple antennas introduces an additional signal dimension to wireless data transmissions, which provides a significant alternative solution against the plateauing capacity issue of the limited available spectrum. Multi-antenna techniques and the associated key enabling technologies possess unquestionable potential to play a key role in the evolution of next generation cellular systems. Spectral efficiency can be improved on downlink by concurrently serving multiple users with high-rate data connections on shared resources. In this thesis optimized multi-user multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmissions are investigated on downlink from both filter design and resource allocation/assignment points of view. Regarding filter design, a joint baseband processing method is proposed specifically for high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, where the necessary signaling overhead can be compensated for. Regarding resource scheduling, greedy- and genetic-based algorithms are proposed that demand lower complexity with large number of resource blocks relative to prior implementations. Channel estimation techniques are investigated for massive MIMO technology. In case of channel reciprocity, this thesis proposes an overhead reduction scheme for the signaling of user channel state information (CSI) feedback during a relative antenna calibration. In addition, a multi-cell coordination method is proposed for subspace-based blind estimators on uplink, which can be implicitly translated to downlink CSI in the presence of ideal reciprocity. Regarding non-reciprocal channels, a novel estimation technique is proposed based on reconstructing full downlink CSI from a select number of dominant propagation paths. The proposed method offers drastic compressions in user feedback reports and requires much simpler downlink training processes. Full-duplex technology can provide up to twice the spectral efficiency of conventional resource divisions. This thesis considers a full-duplex two-hop link with a MIMO relay and investigates mitigation techniques against the inherent loop-interference. Spatial-domain suppression schemes are developed for the optimization of full-duplex MIMO relaying in a coverage extension scenario on downlink. The proposed methods are demonstrated to generate data rates that closely approximate their global bounds

A survey on hybrid beamforming techniques in 5G : architecture and system model perspectives

The increasing wireless data traffic demands have driven the need to explore suitable spectrum regions for meeting the projected requirements. In the light of this, millimeter wave (mmWave) communication has received considerable attention from the research community. Typically, in fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, mmWave massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications is realized by the hybrid transceivers which combine high dimensional analog phase shifters and power amplifiers with lower-dimensional digital signal processing units. This hybrid beamforming design reduces the cost and power consumption which is aligned with an energy-efficient design vision of 5G. In this paper, we track the progress in hybrid beamforming for massive MIMO communications in the context of system models of the hybrid transceivers' structures, the digital and analog beamforming matrices with the possible antenna configuration scenarios and the hybrid beamforming in heterogeneous wireless networks. We extend the scope of the discussion by including resource management issues in hybrid beamforming. We explore the suitability of hybrid beamforming methods, both, existing and proposed till first quarter of 2017, and identify the exciting future challenges in this domain

D 3. 3 Final performance results and consolidated view on the most promising multi -node/multi -antenna transmission technologies

This document provides the most recent updates on the technical contributions and research challenges focused in WP3. Each Technology Component (TeC) has been evaluated under possible uniform assessment framework of WP3 which is based on the simulation guidelines of WP6. The performance assessment is supported by the simulation results which are in their mature and stable state. An update on the Most Promising Technology Approaches (MPTAs) and their associated TeCs is the main focus of this document. Based on the input of all the TeCs in WP3, a consolidated view of WP3 on the role of multinode/multi-antenna transmission technologies in 5G systems has also been provided. This consolidated view is further supported in this document by the presentation of the impact of MPTAs on METIS scenarios and the addressed METIS goals.Aziz, D.; Baracca, P.; De Carvalho, E.; Fantini, R.; Rajatheva, N.; Popovski, P.; Sørensen, JH.... (2015). D 3. 3 Final performance results and consolidated view on the most promising multi -node/multi -antenna transmission technologies. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/7675