A method and apparatus for allocating subcarriers in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system is described. In one embodiment, the method comprises allocating at least one diversity cluster of subcarriers to a first subscriber and allocating at least one coherence cluster to a second subscriber.

Ofdma with adaptive subcarrier-cluster configuration and selective loading

A method and apparatus for subcarrier selection for systems is described. In one embodiment, a method for subcarrier for a system employing orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) comprises partitioning subcarriers (101) into groups of at least one cluster of subcarriers (102), receiving an indication of a selection by the subscriber of one or more groups (103) in the groups, and allocating at least one cluster in the one or more groups of clusters selected by the subcarrier for use in communication with the subscriber (104, 105).

Multi-carrier communications with group-based subcarrier allocation

A method and apparatus for wireless communication are described. In one embodiment, a method for communicating with a subscriber comprises transmitting orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) signals to the subscriber, and receiving direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals from the subscriber.

Communication system using OFDM for one direction and DSSS for another direction

Multi-carrier communications with adaptive cluster configuration and switching

An apparatus and process for allocating carriers in a multi-carrier system is described. In one embodiment, the process comprises determining a location (E, D, C, B, A; fig. 6) of a subscriber (520) with respect to a base station (510), selecting carriers from a band of carriers to allocate to the subscriber (520) according to the location of the subscriber with respect to the base station (510), and allocating selected carriers to the subscriber (520).

Method and apparatus for adaptive carrier allocation and power control in multi-carrier communication systems

The personal communication systems envisaged for next years will have to accommodate a wide range of services with different quality requirements (on delays, bit error rates, etc.), and will often be characterized by a high burstiness (i.e., with relatively short traffic bursts, alternating with comparatively long silence periods). Therefore, an extension of packet communications to the cellular scenario is appealing for its inherent flexibility. The packet reservation multiple access (PRMA) protocol is considered. On the other hand, the current trend in reducing cell sizes poses major planning problems, which cannot be properly coped with by the usual fixed channel allocation methods; therefore, adaptive allocation schemes, which are able to avoid any frequency planning, are currently studied. A review of adaptive channel allocation strategies in view of application to packet switching is carried out. Then, a self-adaptive assignment method (channel segregation) originally developed for circuit switched systems is selected and conveniently adapted for PRMA operations. Simulations show good performance, provided that values of some system variables are correctly chosen.

PRMA performance in cellular environments with self-adaptive channel allocation strategies

The ever increasing demand for multimedia wireless communication systems is a key feature of more advanced markets. The buzzword of personal communications, meant to provide "access to anyone, anywhere, at anytime" to the wanted service, implies that spectrum demands are dramatically increasing in most developed markets. To cope with these needs, and in order to exploit the released spectrum resulting from the Digital Switchover, the last World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) allocated on a co-primary basis the upper part of the UHF band to mobile services as from 2015. This will cause potentially harmful mutual interference between TV and mobile radio services, that needs to be carefully analyzed. In this paper we present a study of the co-channel interference problem, proposing a methodology to take into account the mutual interference between a LTE mobile network and a DVB-T system and highlighting the different behaviour of the two radio links.

Coexistence and Mutual Interference between Mobile and Broadcasting Systems

The evolution of the new M2M/IoT paradigm suggests new applications in several fields. However, the unique characteristics of M2M communications pose different challenges in terms of connectivity and capacity with respect to the conventional telecommunications networks. In particular, the harmful locations where IoT devices could be deployed and the massive number of the devices to be connected require a different approach with respect the traditional wireless communication. In this paper, we analyzed two different technologies expressly devoted the M2M communication: the Long Term Evolution (LTE) based solution, NB-IoT (Narrow Band — Internet of Things), and the LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) based solution, LoRa (Low Range). The analysis has been provided taking into account different propagation scenarios and geographical information of the real MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) sites operating in the territory under test. The aim of this work is to check wireless access method of both cellular and proprietary technologies for the novel IoT Smart Grid applications requirements.

NB-IoT and LoRA connectivity analysis for M2M/IoT smart grids applications

This paper presents the world's first technical and regulatory pilot on Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in the 3GPP Band 40, i.e. 2.3–2.4 GHz band, enacted in Italy to delve deeper on the role that spectrum sharing has for efficient use of spectrum. The Italian Administration, in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and the support of a consortium of industrial partners, has been the first in the world to promote and organize a LSA pilot on a large scale to verify both the technical feasibility and regulatory compliance of this technique applied to a real, live LTE network. The paper firstly introduces the pilot architecture and configuration and describes the sharing framework in the Italian scenario, then key measurements results are presented. The pilot implements a distributed control architecture in compliance with CEPT and ETSI provisions. Measurement results show the sharing based on LSA is feasible to provide mobile broadband services in the 2300–2400 MHz band without detriment to incumbent services.

Sharing under licensed shared access in a live LTE network in the 2.3–2.4 GHz band end-to-end architecture and compliance results

During the past years, the number of antenna installations has considerably increased mainly as a consequence of the great diffusion of cellular systems. While the emissions of mobile terminals principally concern cellular system users, the exposure due to base stations (BSs) is permanent and spread over the entire territory. In this paper, a flexible approach for the evaluation of exposure levels generated by cellular systems BSs is proposed. Both a conceptual method for the evaluation of the overall exposure level and a site specific method for the computation of the field in the surroundings of BS antennas are proposed. This last method is based on a combination of three different propagation models which enable an accurate evaluation of the field both close to the antenna and farther off. The validity of the approach is checked by comparison with measurements in single-antenna and multiantenna cases.

Claudia Carciofi

Papers

PRMA performance in cellular environments with self-adaptive channel allocation strategies

Coexistence and Mutual Interference between Mobile and Broadcasting Systems

NB-IoT and LoRA connectivity analysis for M2M/IoT smart grids applications

Sharing under licensed shared access in a live LTE network in the 2.3–2.4 GHz band end-to-end architecture and compliance results

Evaluation of exposure levels generated by cellular systems: methodology and results