Stochastic Evaluation of the Behaviour of 5 GHz Radio LAN Devices and the Impact on Future Radio Communication Regulations

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Current wireless communications of data rely on two competing technologies: Long-Term-Evolution (LTE),which is used in today's cellular networks, and Wi-Fi which is used in home Internet routers. LTE cellularsystems are characterized by dedicated controlled spectrum access leading to Quality-of-Service~(QoS)guarantees such as data throughput and ubiquitous connectivity; these are, however, at a premium fee to theuser. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, relies on random access of freely-available radio spectrum, but with no QoSguarantees. Hence, while Wi-Fi deployment at large will enable cost-effective communication, it willpotentially result in considerable interference with existing LTE infrastructure, leading to compromisedperformance. From a complementary perspective, LTE service cellular providers have been progressivelycognizant of the ample spectrum available in the unlicensed bands. An LTE variant that will use such bands isthe license-assisted access (LAA); LAA uses downlink transmissions in the unlicensed band and uplinktransmissions in the licensed ones. Hence, LTE and Wi-Fi will co-exist within the same frequency bands.The objective of the current project is to focus on co-existence from the Wi-Fi side. In particular, this projectwill examine different Wi-Fi product implementations by various manufacturers. This will enable optimizingdeployment and management of Wi-Fi networks. This research will generate insight into how real Wi-Fiproducts deviate from theoretical requirements described in the 802.11 standard. In foresight, our research planwill contribute to establishing recommendations for forthcoming Wi-Fi and LAA co-existence. To achieve thisgoal, we will rely on real-time flexible wireless hardware that can be used to realize the Wi-Fi standard. Such ahardware is provided by Universal Software-Defined Radio Peripherals (USRPs), which can be configured viasoftware suites that enable the developer/researcher to control the key parameters that govern performanceand interference.