Implementation of uplink network‐coded modulation for two‐hop networks

Abstract

AbstractWith the fast growing number of wireless devices and demand of user data, the backhaul load becomes a bottleneck in wireless networks. Physical‐layer network coding (PNC) allows access points to relay‐compressed, network‐coded user data, therefore reducing the backhaul traffic. In this paper, an implementation of uplink network‐coded modulation (NetCoM) with PNC is presented. A five‐node prototype NetCoM system is established using Universal Software Radio Peripherals, and a practical PNC scheme designed for binary systems is utilized. An orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing waveform implementation and the practical challenges (eg, device synchronization and clock drift) of applying orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing to NetCoM are discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first PNC implementation in an uplink scenario in radio access networks, and our prototype provides an industrially applicable implementation of the proposed NetCoM with PNC approach.