UNII-MAC protocol: Design and evaluation for 5G ultra-dense small cell networks operating in 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum

Rida El Chall (1) , Benoit Miscopein (1) , Dimitri Kténas (1)

1 CEA-LETI - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information

Ultra-densification and efficient spectrum utilization are key features for the next 5G wireless networks to address the well-known challenges of high capacity demands and mobile data traffic explosion. In this article, a physical layer and a medium access control (MAC) sublayer are presented for small cells to operate in the 5 GHz unlicensed national information infrastructure (UNII) band. The physical layer is based on filter bank multi-carrier modulation able to achieve better spectral efficiency and access flexibility. The MAC protocol is based on beacon-enabled superframe consisting of scheduled and contention access schemes. The proposed UNII-MAC design relies on a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure in order to comply with ETSI regulations and to fairly coexist with neighboring systems sharing the same band. The performance of the UNII-MAC is then evaluated in dense indoor/outdoor deployment scenarios under various parameters and traffic patterns. Moreover, the coexistence between UNII-MAC and WiFi systems is reported. Based on the obtained results, we provide recommendations for 5G small cell deployment in dense environments.

Mots clés: scheduled access; LBT; contention access; 5G; dense small cell networks; 5 GHz UNII band; FBMC; multiple access MAC design; CSMA/CA

Domaines: Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Rida El Chall, Benoit Miscopein, Dimitri Kténas. UNII-MAC protocol: Design and evaluation for 5G ultra-dense small cell networks operating in 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum. Computer Communications, 2018, 126, pp.11-27. ⟨10.1016/j.comcom.2018.04.005⟩. ⟨cea-01871423v2⟩