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

目前的无线数据通信依赖于两种相互竞争的技术：用于当今蜂窝网络的长期演进(LTE)和用于家庭互联网路由器的Wi-Fi。LTE蜂窝系统的特点是专用受控频谱接入，从而提供诸如数据吞吐量和无处不在的连接等服务质量保证；然而，这些对用户来说是溢价的。另一方面，Wi-Fi依赖于免费无线电频谱的随机访问，但没有服务质量保证。因此，虽然普遍部署Wi-Fi将实现经济高效的通信，但它可能会对现有的LTE基础设施造成相当大的干扰，导致性能下降。从互补的角度来看，LTE服务蜂窝运营商已经逐渐意识到在未经许可的频段中可以获得充足的频谱。将使用这些频段的LTE变体是许可证辅助接入(LAA)；LAA在未经许可的频段中使用下行链路传输，而在许可频段中使用上行链路传输。因此，LTE和Wi-Fi将在同一频段内共存。当前项目的目标是从Wi-Fi方面关注共存。特别是，这个项目将检查不同制造商的不同Wi-Fi产品实施。这将使Wi-Fi网络的优化部署和管理成为可能。这项研究将深入了解真正的Wi-Fi产品如何偏离802.11标准中描述的理论要求。展望未来，我们的研究计划将有助于为即将到来的Wi-Fi和LAA共存建立建议。为了实现这一目标，我们将依靠可用于实现Wi-Fi标准的实时灵活的无线硬件。这种硬件由通用软件定义的无线电外围设备(USRP)提供，它可以通过软件套件进行配置，使开发人员/研究人员能够控制控制性能和干扰的关键参数。

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.