Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is one of the promising radio access techniques for performance enhancement in next-generation cellular communications. Compared to orthogonal frequency division multiple access, which is a well-known high-capacity orthogonal multiple access technique, NOMA offers a set of desirable benefits, including greater spectrum efficiency. There are different types of NOMA techniques, including power-domain and code-domain. This paper primarily focuses on power-domain NOMA that utilizes superposition coding at the transmitter and successive interference cancellation at the receiver. Various researchers have demonstrated that NOMA can be used effectively to meet both network-level and user-experienced data rate requirements of fifth-generation (5G) technologies. From that perspective, this paper comprehensively surveys the recent progress of NOMA in 5G systems, reviewing the state-of-the-art capacity analysis, power allocation strategies, user fairness, and user-pairing schemes in NOMA. In addition, this paper discusses how NOMA performs when it is integrated with various proven wireless communications techniques, such as cooperative communications, multiple-input multiple-output, beamforming, space-time coding, and network coding among others. Furthermore, this paper discusses several important issues on NOMA implementation and provides some avenues for future research.

Power-Domain Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) in 5G Systems: Potentials and Challenges

For more than three decades, stochastic geometry has been used to model large-scale ad hoc wireless networks, and it has succeeded to develop tractable models to characterize and better understand the performance of these networks. Recently, stochastic geometry models have been shown to provide tractable yet accurate performance bounds for multi-tier and cognitive cellular wireless networks. Given the need for interference characterization in multi-tier cellular networks, stochastic geometry models provide high potential to simplify their modeling and provide insights into their design. Hence, a new research area dealing with the modeling and analysis of multi-tier and cognitive cellular wireless networks is increasingly attracting the attention of the research community. In this article, we present a comprehensive survey on the literature related to stochastic geometry models for single-tier as well as multi-tier and cognitive cellular wireless networks. A taxonomy based on the target network model, the point process used, and the performance evaluation technique is also presented. To conclude, we discuss the open research challenges and future research directions.

https://www3.nd.edu/~mhaenggi/pubs/tut13.pdf

Stochastic Geometry for Modeling, Analysis, and Design of Multi-Tier and Cognitive Cellular Wireless Networks: A Survey

Driven by the rapid escalation of the wireless capacity requirements imposed by advanced multimedia applications (e.g., ultrahigh-definition video, virtual reality, etc.), as well as the dramatically increasing demand for user access required for the Internet of Things (IoT), the fifth-generation (5G) networks face challenges in terms of supporting large-scale heterogeneous data traffic. Nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA), which has been recently proposed for the third-generation partnership projects long-term evolution advanced (3GPP-LTE-A), constitutes a promising technology of addressing the aforementioned challenges in 5G networks by accommodating several users within the same orthogonal resource block. By doing so, significant bandwidth efficiency enhancement can be attained over conventional orthogonal multiple-access (OMA) techniques. This motivated numerous researchers to dedicate substantial research contributions to this field. In this context, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in power-domain multiplexing-aided NOMA, with a focus on the theoretical NOMA principles, multiple-antenna-aided NOMA design, on the interplay between NOMA and cooperative transmission, on the resource control of NOMA, on the coexistence of NOMA with other emerging potential 5G techniques and on the comparison with other NOMA variants. We highlight the main advantages of power-domain multiplexing NOMA compared to other existing NOMA techniques. We summarize the challenges of existing research contributions of NOMA and provide potential solutions. Finally, we offer some design guidelines for NOMA systems and identify promising research opportunities for the future.

/pdf/nonorthogonal-multiple-access-for-5g-and-beyond-4vzewzi5qj.pdf

Nonorthogonal Multiple Access for 5G and Beyond

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is one of the promising radio access techniques for performance enhancement in next-generation cellular communications. Compared to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which is a well-known high-capacity orthogonal multiple access (OMA) technique, NOMA offers a set of desirable benefits, including greater spectrum efficiency. There are different types of NOMA techniques, including power-domain and code-domain. This paper primarily focuses on power-domain NOMA that utilizes superposition coding (SC) at the transmitter and successive interference cancellation (SIC) at the receiver. Various researchers have demonstrated that NOMA can be used effectively to meet both network-level and user-experienced data rate requirements of fifth-generation (5G) technologies. From that perspective, this paper comprehensively surveys the recent progress of NOMA in 5G systems, reviewing the state-of-the-art capacity analysis, power allocation strategies, user fairness, and user-pairing schemes in NOMA. In addition, this paper discusses how NOMA performs when it is integrated with various proven wireless communications techniques, such as cooperative communications, multiple input multiple output (MIMO), beamforming, space time coding, and network coding, among others. Furthermore, this paper discusses several important issues on NOMA implementation and provides some avenues for future research.

In this paper, we consider a finite network of unmanned aerial vehicles serving a given region. Modeling this network as a uniform binomial point process, we derive the downlink coverage probability of a reference receiver located at an arbitrary position on the ground assuming Nakagami- $m$ fading for all wireless links. The reference receiver is assumed to connect to its closest transmitting node as is usually the case in cellular systems. After deriving the distribution of distances from the reference receiver to the serving and interfering nodes, we derive an exact expression for downlink coverage probability in terms of the derivative of Laplace transform of interference power distribution. In the downlink of this system, it is not unusual to encounter scenarios in which the line-of-sight component is significantly stronger than the reflected multipath components. To emulate such scenarios, we also derive the coverage probability in the absence of fading from the results of Nakagami- $m$ fading by taking the limit $m \to \infty$ . Using asymptotic expansion of incomplete gamma function, we concretely show that this limit reduces to a redundant condition. Consequently, we derive an accurate coverage probability approximation for this case using dominant interferer-based approach in which the effect of dominant interferer is exactly captured and the residual interference from other interferers is carefully approximated. We then derive the bounds of the approximate coverage probability using Berry-Esseen theorem. Our analyses reveal several useful trends in coverage probability as a function of height of the transmitting nodes and the location of reference receiver on the ground.

Downlink Coverage Analysis for a Finite 3-D Wireless Network of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

We design and implement a software-radio system for Superposition Coding (SC), a multiuser transmission scheme that deliberately introduces interference among user signals at the transmitter, using a library of off-the-shelf point-to-point channel codes. We experimentally determine the set of rate-pairs achieved by this transmission scheme under a packet-error constraint. Our results suggest that SC can provide substantial gains in spectral efficiencies over those achieved by orthogonal schemes such as Time Division Multiplexing. Our findings also question the practical utility of the Gaussian approximation for the inter-user interference in Superposition-Coded systems.

/pdf/superposition-coding-strategies-design-and-experimental-5a5hiadvqd.pdf

Superposition Coding Strategies: Design and Experimental Evaluation

In mobile networks, distance variations caused by node mobility generate fluctuations in the channel gains. Such fluctuations can be treated as another type of fading besides multipath effects. In this paper, the interference statistics in mobile random networks are characterized by incorporating the distance variations of mobile nodes to the channel gain fluctuations. The mean interference is calculated at the origin and at the border of a finite mobile network. The network performance is evaluated in terms of the outage probability. Compared to a static network, the interference in a single snapshot does not change under uniform mobility models. However, random waypoint mobility increases (decreases) the interference at the origin (at the border). Furthermore, due to the correlation of the node locations, the interference and outage are temporally and spatially correlated. We quantify the temporal correlation of the interference and outage in mobile Poisson networks in terms of the correlation coefficient and conditional outage probability, respectively. The results show that it is essential that routing, MAC, and retransmission schemes need to be smart (i.e., correlation-aware) to avoid bursts of transmission failures.

/pdf/interference-and-outage-in-mobile-random-networks-29zl5texxb.pdf

Interference and Outage in Mobile Random Networks: Expectation, Distribution, and Correlation

For communication between two neighboring nodes in wireless networks, the local delay is defined as the time it takes a node to successfully transmit a packet. Previous research focuses on the local delay in static or infinitely mobile Poisson networks with ALOHA. In this paper, we extend the local delay results to Poisson networks with finite mobility. The results obtained show that mobility helps reduce the local delay. Bounds of the local delay in mobile Poisson networks are derived for different mobility and transmission models. The phase transition that marks the jump of the local delay from finite to infinite is also characterized.

https://www3.nd.edu/~mhaenggi/pubs/twc13.pdf

The Local Delay in Mobile Poisson Networks

In wireless networks, distance variations caused by node mobility generate fluctuations of the channel gains. Such fluctuations can be treated as another type of fading besides multi-path effects. In this paper, we characterize the interference statistics in mobile random networks by mapping the distance variations of mobile nodes to the channel gain fluctuations. Network performance is evaluated in terms of the outage probability. A nearest-interferer approximation is employed. This approximation provides a tight lower bound on the outage probability. Comparing to a static network, we show that the interference distribution does not change under high mobility and random walk models, but random waypoint mobility increases interference.

/pdf/mobility-and-fading-two-sides-of-the-same-coin-14e1gh2do9.pdf

Mobility and Fading: Two Sides of the Same Coin

In wireless networks, interference that is generated by undesired transmitters dominantly limits network performance. The correlation of node locations (in mobile or static networks) makes the interference temporally correlated. In this paper, we quantify the temporal correlation of the interference in mobile Poisson networks. More specifically, we obtain closed-form expressions for the interference correlation coefficient $\rho$ in Poisson line networks under various mobility models. When the mean speed of nodes $\bar{v}$ increases, we show that $\rho$ is asymptotically proportional to $\bar{v}^{-1}$. Moreover, multi-path fading and random MAC schemes reduce the temporal correlation of the interference. These results are extended to higher-dimensional networks.

https://www3.nd.edu/~mhaenggi/pubs/icc11b.pdf

Zhenhua Gong

Papers

Superposition Coding Strategies: Design and Experimental Evaluation

Interference and Outage in Mobile Random Networks: Expectation, Distribution, and Correlation

The Local Delay in Mobile Poisson Networks

Mobility and Fading: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Temporal Correlation of the Interference in Mobile Random Networks