NeTS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Coexistence of Heterogeneous Wireless Access Technologies in the 5 GHz Bands

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As billions of wireless devices (such as smartphones and tablets) are introduced into the market each year, wireless spectrum becomes a scarce resource. This project aims to address this important problem by developing novel technologies that enable efficient utilization of wireless spectrum. Due to the proliferation of Wi-Fi, the unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz wireless band has been saturated with wireless traffic. Hence, there has been a lot of interest from the Wi-Fi industry and the cellular stakeholders (such as Qualcomm) to use the 5 GHz wireless bands. In this project, the PIs will develop innovative technologies that will enable harmonious spectrum sharing among different wireless technologies in the 5 GHz bands. The example wireless technologies include Wi-Fi, Unlicensed LTE (LTE-U), and Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC). DSRC is a short-range to medium-range wireless communication technology designed for automotive use. The outcome of this project will allow much more efficient utilization of wireless spectrum, which means supporting more new wireless applications and services, faster speed and better quality. The proposed work is expected to have significant impacts on today's and future wireless technologies. The project findings are expected to include fundamental contributions that would provide insights into other wireless research. Through industry and government outreach activities, the project team will ensure that the project findings have maximum impacts on ongoing industry research/development efforts as well as on Government initiatives to open up more spectrum for spectrum sharing. The project outcomes will be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate courses currently offered at the three institutions. The proposed work provides excellent hands-on exercises, research, and educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the three collaborating institutions. Enabling harmonious spectrum sharing between heterogeneous wireless technologies is a challenging problem, but one that needs to be urgently addressed in order to quell the exploding demand for more spectrum by existing as well as burgeoning wireless applications. The importance of this problem is especially acute for the 5 GHz bands because these bands have emerged as the most coveted bands for launching new wireless applications and services. Access to spectrum in the 5 GHz bands has emerged as a major bone of contention between the LTE-U, Wi-Fi, and Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) stakeholders. More importantly, the 5 GHz bands have become a proving ground for demonstrating the viability of spectrum sharing between three heterogeneous technologies-viz., LTE-U, Wi-Fi (802.11ac/802.11ax), and DSRC. Recognizing the importance of this problem, the project team proposes to embark on an in-depth study that focuses on two particular coexistence scenarios: (1) coexistence between LTE-U and Wi-Fi and (2) coexistence between DSRC and Wi-Fi. The proposed work on the coexistence of Wi-Fi and LTE-U is expected to have tangible impacts on today's technologies as well as those of the future. The PIs will study avant-garde approaches that exploit the advanced functionalities envisioned in future technologies, such as 802.11ax, as well as backward-compatible techniques that can be applied to today's technologies (e.g., LTE-U, 802.11ac). The proposed work on DSRC-Wi-Fi coexistence will be one of the first systematic studies that investigate incumbent protection techniques designed for highly mobile incumbent users that are very sensitive to communication latency.