Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless Networks: Potentials and Challenges
05 Feb 2014-Vol. 102, Iss: 3, pp 366-385
TL;DR: Measurements and capacity studies are surveyed to assess mmW technology with a focus on small cell deployments in urban environments and it is shown that mmW systems can offer more than an order of magnitude increase in capacity over current state-of-the-art 4G cellular networks at current cell densities.
Abstract: Millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz are a new frontier for cellular communication that offers the promise of orders of magnitude greater bandwidths combined with further gains via beamforming and spatial multiplexing from multielement antenna arrays. This paper surveys measurements and capacity studies to assess this technology with a focus on small cell deployments in urban environments. The conclusions are extremely encouraging; measurements in New York City at 28 and 73 GHz demonstrate that, even in an urban canyon environment, significant non-line-of-sight (NLOS) outdoor, street-level coverage is possible up to approximately 200 m from a potential low-power microcell or picocell base station. In addition, based on statistical channel models from these measurements, it is shown that mmW systems can offer more than an order of magnitude increase in capacity over current state-of-the-art 4G cellular networks at current cell densities. Cellular systems, however, will need to be significantly redesigned to fully achieve these gains. Specifically, the requirement of highly directional and adaptive transmissions, directional isolation between links, and significant possibilities of outage have strong implications on multiple access, channel structure, synchronization, and receiver design. To address these challenges, the paper discusses how various technologies including adaptive beamforming, multihop relaying, heterogeneous network architectures, and carrier aggregation can be leveraged in the mmW context.
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TL;DR: Thanks to the fast beam-switching capability, the proposed sounder can perform measurements that are directionally resolved both at the transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) as fast as 1.44 milliseconds compared to the minutes or even hours required for rotating horn antenna sounders.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a novel real-time MIMO channel sounder for 28 GHz. Until now, the common practice to investigate the directional characteristics of millimeter-wave channels has been using a rotating horn antenna. The sounder presented here is capable of performing horizontal and vertical beam steering with the help of phased arrays. Thanks to fast beam-switching capability, the proposed sounder can perform measurements that are directionally resolved both at the transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) as fast as 1.44 milliseconds compared to the minutes or even hours required for rotating horn antenna sounders. This does not only enable us to measure more points for better statistical inference but also allows to perform directional analysis in dynamic environments. Equally importantly, the short measurement time combined with the high phase stability of our setup limits the phase drift between TX and RX, enabling phase-coherent sounding of all beam pairs even when TX and RX are physically separated and have no cabled connection for synchronization. This ensures that the measurement data is suitable for high-resolution parameter extraction algorithms. Along with the system design and specifications, this paper also discusses the measurements performed for verification of the sounder. Furthermore, we present sample measurements from a channel sounding campaign performed on a residential street.
31 citations
Cites background from "Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..."
...that mm-wave systems will be an essential component of 5th generation cellular networks [1]....
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TL;DR: In this paper, an efficient three-dimensional ray tracing (ETRT) method has been proposed for indoor radio wave propagation at 28 GHz, which has better agreement with measurement data.
Abstract: Millimeter wave technology will be dominating the fifth-generation networks due to the clear advantage of higher frequency bands and hence wider spectrum. In this paper, the indoor radio wave propagation at 28 GHz is studied by developing an efficient three-dimensional ray tracing (ETRT) method. The simulation software based on the ETRT model has been verified by measurement data. The received signal strength indication and path loss have shown significant agreement between simulation and measurement. Compared with the conventional shooting bouncing ray tracing method, the proposed ETRT method has better agreement with measurement data.
31 citations
TL;DR: A hybrid beamforming taxonomy in terms of channel state information (CSI) availability, frequency bandwidth, architecture complexity, analog beamformer components, number of users, connectivity to RF chains, and the digital and analog beamforming design is presented.
Abstract: Increasing demand for higher data-rate wireless connectivity with lower latency is fueling the explorations of millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum and massive MIMO communications. Both technologies are recognized as the key enablers of 5G and beyond 5G (B5G) networks. Hybrid beamforming is one of the most promising energy and cost-effective approaches to realize mmWave massive MIMO communications with lower complexity and smaller training overhead. With the motivation of giving more insights and in-deep technical recommendations to B5G network designers regarding hybrid beamforming, we present a hybrid beamforming taxonomy in terms of channel state information (CSI) availability, frequency bandwidth, architecture complexity, analog beamformer components, number of users, connectivity to RF chains, and the digital and analog beamforming design. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive survey on the state-of-the-art use-cases for each classification followed by identification of the future challenges and open research issues.
30 citations
Cites background from "Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..."
...Semiconductors and RF integrated circuits developments for mmWave are growing [13], their costs and power consumption gradually declining, and the other propagation impediments are now considered easier to bypass over time with the continuous and focused effort [14]–[17]....
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TL;DR: A mathematical framework to model a multi-operator mmWave cellular network with co-located base-stations (BSs) is proposed, which characterize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio distribution for an arbitrary network and derive its coverage probability.
Abstract: Competing cellular operators aggressively share infrastructure in many major US markets If operators were also to share spectrum in next-generation millimeter-wave (mmWave) networks, intra-network interference will become correlated with inter-network interference We propose a mathematical framework to model a multi-operator mmWave cellular network with co-located base-stations (BSs) We then characterize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio distribution for an arbitrary network and derive its coverage probability To understand how varying the spatial correlation between different networks affects coverage probability, we derive special results for the two-operator scenario, where we construct the operators’ individual networks from a single network via probabilistic coupling For external validation, we devise a method to quantify and estimate spatial correlation from actual BS deployments We compare our two-operator model against an actual macro-cell-dominated network and an actual network primarily comprising distributed-antenna-system (DAS) nodes Using the actual deployment data to set the parameters of our model, we observe that coverage probabilities for the model and actual deployments not only compare very well to each other, but also match nearly perfectly for the case of the DAS-node-dominated deployment Another interesting observation is that a network that shares spectrum and infrastructure has a lower rate coverage probability at low rate thresholds than a network of the same number of BSs that shares neither spectrum nor infrastructure, suggesting that the latter is more suitable for low-rate applications
30 citations
TL;DR: This paper proposes a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication underlaying heterogeneous network (HetNet) with mmWave-NOMA transmission, where small cell users and machine type communication devices share the same resource block (RB) to increase the network capacity.
Abstract: Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication are two important technologies considered for the fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks. In this paper, we propose a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication underlaying heterogeneous network (HetNet) with mmWave-NOMA transmission, where small cell users (SCUs) and machine type communication (MTC) devices share the same resource block (RB) to increase the network capacity. We formulate an optimization problem to select efficient users and allocate transmission powers to SCUs and MTC devices. The object of optimization is to maximize the energy efficiency (EE) subject to the minimum spectral efficiency (SE) requirements and maximum transmission powers. We present a low computational complexity sub-optimum solution based on the non-cooperative game. An iterative algorithm with fast convergence speed and a reduced complexity search-based algorithm are respectively presented to solve the power control and user selection problems. The comparison between the proposed solution and optimum solution for different number of transmit antennas indicate that there is a small gap between SEs and EEs of the proposed and optimum solutions. Further, the results of user selection scheme demonstrate that the location of strong user affects the performance. We also derive analytical expressions for the outage probability which confirm Monte Carlo simulations.
30 citations
References
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Book•
15 Jan 1996
TL;DR: WireWireless Communications: Principles and Practice, Second Edition is the definitive modern text for wireless communications technology and system design as discussed by the authors, which covers the fundamental issues impacting all wireless networks and reviews virtually every important new wireless standard and technological development, offering especially comprehensive coverage of the 3G systems and wireless local area networks (WLANs).
Abstract: From the Publisher:
The indispensable guide to wireless communicationsnow fully revised and updated!
Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice, Second Edition is the definitive modern text for wireless communications technology and system design. Building on his classic first edition, Theodore S. Rappaport covers the fundamental issues impacting all wireless networks and reviews virtually every important new wireless standard and technological development, offering especially comprehensive coverage of the 3G systems and wireless local area networks (WLANs) that will transform communications in the coming years. Rappaport illustrates each key concept with practical examples, thoroughly explained and solved step by step.
Coverage includes:
An overview of key wireless technologies: voice, data, cordless, paging, fixed and mobile broadband wireless systems, and beyond
Wireless system design fundamentals: channel assignment, handoffs, trunking efficiency, interference, frequency reuse, capacity planning, large-scale fading, and more
Path loss, small-scale fading, multipath, reflection, diffraction, scattering, shadowing, spatial-temporal channel modeling, and microcell/indoor propagation
Modulation, equalization, diversity, channel coding, and speech coding
New wireless LAN technologies: IEEE 802.11a/b, HIPERLAN, BRAN, and other alternatives
New 3G air interface standards, including W-CDMA, cdma2000, GPRS, UMTS, and EDGE
Bluetooth wearable computers, fixed wireless and Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS), and other advanced technologies
Updated glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, and a thorolist of references
Dozens of new examples and end-of-chapter problems
Whether you're a communications/network professional, manager, researcher, or student, Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice, Second Edition gives you an in-depth understanding of the state of the art in wireless technologytoday's and tomorrow's.
17,102 citations
"Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..." refers background in this paper
...Also, the human body and many outdoor materials being very reflective, allow them to be important scatterers for mmW propagation [28], [30]....
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...However, these measurements were performed in an outdoor campus setting with much lower building density and greater opportunities for LOS connectivity than would be found in a typical urban deployment....
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...Despite the potential of mmW cellular systems, there are a number of key challenges to realizing the vision of cellular networks in these bands: • Range and directional communication: Friis’ transmis- sion law [54] states that the free space omnidirectional path loss grows with the square of the…...
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TL;DR: The motivation for new mm-wave cellular systems, methodology, and hardware for measurements are presented and a variety of measurement results are offered that show 28 and 38 GHz frequencies can be used when employing steerable directional antennas at base stations and mobile devices.
Abstract: The global bandwidth shortage facing wireless carriers has motivated the exploration of the underutilized millimeter wave (mm-wave) frequency spectrum for future broadband cellular communication networks. There is, however, little knowledge about cellular mm-wave propagation in densely populated indoor and outdoor environments. Obtaining this information is vital for the design and operation of future fifth generation cellular networks that use the mm-wave spectrum. In this paper, we present the motivation for new mm-wave cellular systems, methodology, and hardware for measurements and offer a variety of measurement results that show 28 and 38 GHz frequencies can be used when employing steerable directional antennas at base stations and mobile devices.
6,708 citations
"Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..." refers background or methods in this paper
...In both 28- and 73-GHz measurements, each point was classified as either being in a NLOS or LOS situation, based on a manual classification made at the time of the measurements; see [26] and [28]–[33]....
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...• Empirical NYC: These curves are based on the omnidirectional path loss predicted by our linear model (1) for the mmW channel with the parameters from Table 1, as derived from the directional measurements in [26]....
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...Details of the measurements can be found in [26], [28]– [33], [81]....
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...This tremendous potential has led to considerable recent interest in mmW cellular both in industry [7]–[9], [18], [19] and academia [20]–[26], with a growing belief that mmW bands will play a significant role in beyond 4G and 5G cellular systems [27]....
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...In particular, we survey our own measurements [26], [28]–[33] made in New York City (NYC) in both 28- and 73-GHz bands and the statistical models for the channels developed in [34]....
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TL;DR: The gains in multiuser systems are even more impressive, because such systems offer the possibility to transmit simultaneously to several users and the flexibility to select what users to schedule for reception at any given point in time.
Abstract: Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is maturing and is being incorporated into emerging wireless broadband standards like long-term evolution (LTE) [1]. For example, the LTE standard allows for up to eight antenna ports at the base station. Basically, the more antennas the transmitter/receiver is equipped with, and the more degrees of freedom that the propagation channel can provide, the better the performance in terms of data rate or link reliability. More precisely, on a quasi static channel where a code word spans across only one time and frequency coherence interval, the reliability of a point-to-point MIMO link scales according to Prob(link outage) ` SNR-ntnr where nt and nr are the numbers of transmit and receive antennas, respectively, and signal-to-noise ratio is denoted by SNR. On a channel that varies rapidly as a function of time and frequency, and where circumstances permit coding across many channel coherence intervals, the achievable rate scales as min(nt, nr) log(1 + SNR). The gains in multiuser systems are even more impressive, because such systems offer the possibility to transmit simultaneously to several users and the flexibility to select what users to schedule for reception at any given point in time [2].
5,158 citations
"Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..." refers background in this paper
...These multiple antenna systems can be used to form very high gain, electrically steerable arrays, fabricated at the base station (BS), in the skin of a cellphone, or even within a chip [6], [10]–[17]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe five technologies that could lead to both architectural and component disruptive design changes: device-centric architectures, millimeter wave, massive MIMO, smarter devices, and native support for machine-to-machine communications.
Abstract: New research directions will lead to fundamental changes in the design of future fifth generation (5G) cellular networks. This article describes five technologies that could lead to both architectural and component disruptive design changes: device-centric architectures, millimeter wave, massive MIMO, smarter devices, and native support for machine-to-machine communications. The key ideas for each technology are described, along with their potential impact on 5G and the research challenges that remain.
3,711 citations
TL;DR: The technical and business arguments for femtocells are overview and the state of the art on each front is described and the technical challenges facing femtocell networks are described and some preliminary ideas for how to overcome them are given.
Abstract: The surest way to increase the system capacity of a wireless link is by getting the transmitter and receiver closer to each other, which creates the dual benefits of higher-quality links and more spatial reuse. In a network with nomadic users, this inevitably involves deploying more infrastructure, typically in the form of microcells, hot spots, distributed antennas, or relays. A less expensive alternative is the recent concept of femtocells - also called home base stations - which are data access points installed by home users to get better indoor voice and data coverage. In this article we overview the technical and business arguments for femtocells and describe the state of the art on each front. We also describe the technical challenges facing femtocell networks and give some preliminary ideas for how to overcome them.
3,298 citations
"Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless N..." refers background in this paper
...Heterogeneous networks, or HetNets, have been one of the most active research areas in cellular standards bodies in the last five years [45], [48], [67], [68], with the main focus being intercell interference coordination and load balancing....
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