Performance of Un-coded MC-CDMA-based Broadband Power Line Communications

Abstract

Physical and noise characteristics of power line network have made it a challenging task to design Broadband Power Line Communication (BPLC) systems using single carrier systems. Multicarrier schemes such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) have been widely used to design the systems. However, recently Multicarrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) which combines the best features of OFDM and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) has been gaining popularity. In this work, a typical low-voltage power-line network found in Kariakoo Area, Dar es Salaam has been considered. Performance of such a lowvoltage channel using Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access with Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation has been assessed for suitability to communication. The simulation of the power-line network was based on data collected from a Map of Kariakoo power-line network. Document Analysis techniques were used to identify branches, cable types, and segment lengths from the map. In the simulated network, the positions of transmitter and receivers were varied to identify possible degraded performance scenarios. It was observed that the maximum Delay Spread for such networks is 3μs, making the number of sub-channels and Cyclic Prefix required to build a 100MegaHertz system, 4096 and 512 respectively. The use of MC-CDMA in broadband power-line communication results in improved performance by 12 to 43 Decibels compared to the use of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access.