Device-to-device (D2D) communication is being heralded as an important part
of the solution to the capacity problem in future networks, and is expected to
be natively supported in 5G. Given the high network complexity and required
signalling overhead associated with achieving synchronization in D2D networks,
it is necessary to study asynchronous D2D communications. In this paper, we
consider a scenario whereby asynchronous D2D communication underlays an OFDMA
macro-cell in the uplink. Motivated by the superior performance of new
waveforms with increased spectral localization in the presence of frequency and
time misalignments, we compare the system-level performance of a set-up for
when D2D pairs use either OFDM or FBMC/OQAM. We first demonstrate that
inter-D2D interference, resulting from misaligned communications, plays a
significant role in clustered D2D topologies. We then demonstrate that the
resource allocation procedure can be simplified when D2D pairs use FBMC/OQAM,
since the high spectral localization of FBMC/OQAM results in negligible
inter-D2D interference. Specifically, we identify that FBMC/OQAM is best suited
to scenarios consisting of small, densely populated D2D clusters located near
the encompassing cell's edge.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, Accepted at IEEE Globecom 2016 Workshop