Future generation cellular networks are expected to provide ubiquitous broadband access to a continuously growing number of mobile users. In this context, LTE systems represent an important milestone towards the so called 4G cellular networks. A key feature of LTE is the adoption of advanced Radio Resource Management procedures in order to increase the system performance up to the Shannon limit. Packet scheduling mechanisms, in particular, play a fundamental role, because they are responsible for choosing, with fine time and frequency resolutions, how to distribute radio resources among different stations, taking into account channel condition and QoS requirements. This goal should be accomplished by providing, at the same time, an optimal trade-off between spectral efficiency and fairness. In this context, this paper provides an overview on the key issues that arise in the design of a resource allocation algorithm for LTE networks. It is intended for a wide range of readers as it covers the topic from basics to advanced aspects. The downlink channel under frequency division duplex configuration is considered as object of our study, but most of the considerations are valid for other configurations as well. Moreover, a survey on the most recent techniques is reported, including a classification of the different approaches presented in literature. Performance comparisons of the most well-known schemes, with particular focus on QoS provisioning capabilities, are also provided for complementing the described concepts. Thus, this survey would be useful for readers interested in learning the basic concepts before going into the details of a particular scheduling strategy, as well as for researchers aiming at deepening more specific aspects.

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Downlink Packet Scheduling in LTE Cellular Networks: Key Design Issues and a Survey

The fifth-generation mobile initiative, 5G, is a tremendous and collective effort to specify, standardize, design, manufacture, and deploy the next cellular network generation. 5G networks will support demanding services such as enhanced Mobile Broadband, Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications and massive Machine-Type Communications, which will require data rates of tens of Gbps, latencies of few milliseconds and connection densities of millions of devices per square kilometer. This survey presents the most significant use cases expected for 5G including their corresponding scenarios and traffic models. First, the paper analyzes the characteristics and requirements for 5G communications, considering aspects such as traffic volume, network deployments, and main performance targets. Secondly, emphasizing the definition of performance evaluation criteria for 5G technologies, the paper reviews related proposals from principal standards development organizations and industry alliances. Finally, well-defined and significant 5G use cases are provided. As a result, these guidelines will help and ease the performance evaluation of current and future 5G innovations, as well as the dimensioning of 5G future deployments.

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A Survey on 5G Usage Scenarios and Traffic Models

In heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs), it is desirable to offload mobile users to small cells, which are typically significantly less congested than the macrocells. To achieve sufficient load balancing, the offloaded users often have much lower SINR than they would on the macrocell. This SINR degradation can be partially alleviated through interference avoidance, for example time or frequency resource partitioning, whereby the macrocell turns off in some fraction of such resources. Naturally, the optimal offloading strategy is tightly coupled with resource partitioning; the optimal amount of which in turn depends on how many users have been offloaded. In this paper, we propose a general and tractable framework for modeling and analyzing joint resource partitioning and offloading in a two-tier cellular network. With it, we are able to derive the downlink rate distribution over the entire network, and an optimal strategy for joint resource partitioning and offloading. We show that load balancing, by itself, is insufficient, and resource partitioning is required in conjunction with offloading to improve the rate of cell edge users in co-channel heterogeneous networks.

Joint Resource Partitioning and Offloading in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

Facilitating Cooperation for Wireless Systems Cooperative Communications: Hardware, Channel & PHY focuses on issues pertaining to the PHY layer of wireless communication networks, offering a rigorous taxonomy of this dispersed field, along with a range of application scenarios for cooperative and distributed schemes, demonstrating how these techniques can be employed. The authors discuss hardware, complexity and power consumption issues, which are vital for understanding what can be realized at the PHY layer, showing how wireless channel models differ from more traditional models, and highlighting the reliance of PHY algorithm performance on the underlying channel models. Numerous transparent and regenerative relaying protocols are described in detail for a variety of transparent and regenerative cooperative schemes. Key Features: Introduces background, concepts, applications, milestones and thorough taxonomy Identifies the potential in this emerging technology applied to e.g. LTE/WiMAX, WSN Discusses latest wireless channel models for transparent and regenerative protocols Addresses the fundamentals as well as latest emerging PHY protocols Introduces transparent distributed STBC, STTC, multiplexing and beamforming protocols Quantifies regenerative distributed space-time, channel and network coding protocols Explores system optimization, such as distributed power allocation and relay selection Introduces and compares analog and digital hardware architectures Quantifies complexity, memory and power consumption of 3G UMTS & 4G LTE/WiMAX relay Highlights future research challenges within the cooperative communications field This book is an invaluable guide for professionals and researchers in communications fields. It will also be of interest to graduates of communications and electronic engineering courses. It forms part of an entire series dedicated to cooperative wireless systems.

Cooperative Communications: Hardware, Channel and PHY

To satisfy the ever increasing demand for higher throughput and data rates, wireless communication systems need to operate in wider bandwidths 3GPP LTE-Advanced with carrier aggregation enables operators to maximally and optimally utilize their available spectrum resources for increased data rates and user experience while reducing their incurred OPEX and CAPEX This article provides a tutorial overview of 3GPP LTE-Advanced with carrier aggregation as specified in Rel-10 including deployment scenarios of interest, main design features, PHY/MAC procedures, and potential enhancements for future standard releases

Overview of 3GPP LTE-advanced carrier aggregation for 4G wireless communications

Carrier aggregation is one of the key features for LTE-Advanced. By means of CA, users gain access to a total bandwidth of up to 100 MHz in order to meet the IMT-Advanced requirements. The system bandwidth may be contiguous, or composed of several non-contiguous bandwidth chunks that are aggregated. This article presents a summary of the supported CA scenarios as well as an overview of the CA functionality for LTE-Advanced with special emphasis on the basic concept, control mechanisms, and performance aspects. The discussion includes definitions of the new terms primary cell (PCell) and secondary cell (SCell), mechanisms for activation and deactivation of CCs, and the new cross-CC scheduling functionality for improved control channel optimizations. We also demonstrate how CA can be used as an enabler for simple yet effective frequency domain interference management schemes. In particular, interference management is anticipated to provide significant gains in heterogeneous networks, envisioning intrinsically uncoordinated deployments of home base stations.

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Carrier aggregation for LTE-advanced: functionality and performance aspects

-In this paper we focus on resource allocation for next generation wireless communication systems with aggregation of multiple Component Carriers (CCs), i.e., how to assign the CCs to each user, and how to multiplex multiple users in each CC. We first investigate two carrier load balancing methods for allocating the CCs to the users- Round Robin (RR) and Mobile Hashing (MH) balancing by means of a simple theoretical formulation, as well as system level simulations. At Layer-2 we propose a simple cross-CC packet scheduling algorithm that improves the coverage performance and the resource allocation fairness among users, as compared to independent scheduling per CC. The Long Term Evolution (LTE)-Advanced is selected for the case study of a multi-carrier system. In such a system, RR provides better performance than MH balancing, and the proposed simple scheduling algorithm is shown to be effective in providing up to 90% coverage gain with no loss of the overall cell throughput, as compared to independent scheduling per CC.

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Carrier load balancing and packet scheduling for multi-carrier systems

The performance of enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) for Long Term Evolution (LTE)- Advanced with co-channel deployment of both macro and pico is analyzed. The use of pico-cell Range Extension (RE) and time domain eICIC (TDM muting) is combined. The performance is evaluated in the downlink by means of extensive system level simulations that follow the 3GPP guidelines. The overall network performance is analyzed for different number of pico-eNBs, transmit power levels, User Equipment (UE) distributions, and packet schedulers. Recommended settings of the RE offset and TDM muting ratio in different scenarios are identified. The presented performance results and findings can serve as input to guidelines for co-channel deployment of macro and pico-eNBs with eICIC.

Performance Analysis of Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination in LTE-Advanced Heterogeneous Networks

Different technical solutions and innovations are enabling the move from macro-only scenarios towards heterogeneous networks with a mixture of different base station types. In this article we focus on multi-layer LTE-Advanced networks, and especially address aspects related to interference management. The network controlled time-domain enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) concept is outlined by explaining the benefits and characteristics of this solution. The benefits of using advanced terminal device receiver architectures with interference suppression capabilities are motivated. Extensive system level performance results are presented with bursty traffic to demonstrate the eICIC concepts ability to dynamically adapt according to the traffic conditions.

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Enhanced inter-cell interference coordination in co-channel multi-layer LTE-advanced networks

Different technical solutions are enabling the move from macro-only scenarios towards heterogeneous networks with a mixture of different base station types. In this paper we focus on multi-layer LTE-Advanced networks, and especially address aspects related to co-channel interference management. The network controlled time-domain enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) concept is outlined by explaining the benefits and characteristics of this solution. Extensive system level performance results are presented with bursty and non-bursty traffic to demonstrate the eICIC concepts ability to dynamically adapt according to the traffic conditions.

Yuanye Wang

Papers

Carrier aggregation for LTE-advanced: functionality and performance aspects

Carrier load balancing and packet scheduling for multi-carrier systems

Performance Analysis of Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination in LTE-Advanced Heterogeneous Networks

Enhanced inter-cell interference coordination in co-channel multi-layer LTE-advanced networks

eICIC Functionality and Performance for LTE HetNet Co-Channel Deployments