The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) recently started standardizing the "Licensed-Assisted Access using LTE" for small cells, referred to as Dual Band Femtocell (DBF) in this paper, which uses LTE air interface in both licensed and unlicensed bands based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation feature. Alternatively, the Small Cell Forum introduced the Integrated Femto-WiFi (IFW) small cell which simultaneously accesses both the licensed band (via cellular interface) and the unlicensed band (via WiFi interface). In this paper, a practical algorithm for IFW and DBF to automatically balance their traffic in licensed and unlicensed bands, based on the realtime channel, interference and traffic conditions of both bands is described. The algorithm considers the fact that some "smart" devices (sDevices) have both cellular and WiFi radios while some WiFi-only devices (wDevices) may only have WiFi radio. In addition, the algorithm considers a realistic scenario where a single small cell user may simultaneously use multiple sDevices and wDevices via either the IFW, or the DBF in conjunction with a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The goal is to maximize the total user satisfaction/utility of the small cell user, while keeping the interference from small cell to macrocell below predefined thresholds. The algorithm can be implemented at the Radio Link Control (RLC) or the network layer of the IFW and DBF small cell base stations. Results demonstrate that the proposed traffic-balancing algorithm applied to either IFW or DBF significantly increases sum utility of all macrocell and small cell users, compared with the current practices. Finally, various implementation issues of IFW and DBF are addressed.
Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA) enabled LTE operators to access unlicensed spectrum while adhering to Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) requirements. LAA is based on enhancements over 4G LTE technology. Differently, 5G New Radio (NR) technology is being designed from the start to support operation in unlicensed bands through a technology referred to as NRbased access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). A large amount of unlicensed spectrum has been allocated in millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands, making it an attractive candidate for NR-U. However, the propagation characteristics in mmWave often require beam-based transmissions. Beam-based transmissions enhance spatial reuse, but also complicate interference management due to the dynamic nature of the directional antennas. Therefore, some major design principles need to be revisited in NR-U to address coexistence. This paper elaborates on the design challenges, opportunities, and solutions for NR-U by taking into account beam-based transmissions and the worldwide regulatory requirements. In particular, different problems and the potential solutions related to channel access procedures, frame structure, initial access procedures, HARQ procedures, and scheduling schemes are discussed.
For a fair coexistence of multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) in unlicensed millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands, where directional transmissions/receptions are needed, two techniques are being considered for channel access: omnidirectional Listen-Before-Talk (omniLBT) and directional LBT (dirLBT). Under directional transmissions and receptions, om-niLBT is overprotective and depresses spatial reuse, while dirLBT enables spatial reuse but may create hidden node problems. In this regard, this paper proposes a paired LBT (pairLBT) solution, which aims at taking the best of omniLBT and dirLBT. The key idea is to perform directional LBT in paired-directions: the direction of the receiver and the opposite direction(s), so that spatial reuse is permitted while hidden nodes are avoided, hence stimulating a fair multi-RAT coexistence. We derive analytic expressions to properly configure the beamwidth and the energy detection threshold of LBT in the opposite direction(s) in a way such that the impact of hidden node problems is minimized.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.