Measurement-Based Coexistence Studies of LAA & Wi-Fi Deployments in Chicago

Abstract

LTE-Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) networks are beginning to be deployed widely in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. in the unlicensed 5 GHz bands, which have existing dense deployments of Wi-Fi as well. Various aspects of the coexistence scenarios such deployments give rise to have been considered in a vast body of academic and industry research. However, there is very little data and research on how these coexisting networks will behave in practice. The question of “fair coexistence” between Wi-Fi and LAA has moved from a theoretical question to reality. The recent roll-out of LAA deployments provides an opportunity to collect data on the operation of these networks as well as studying coexistence issues on the ground. In this article we describe the first results of a measurement campaign conducted over many months, using custom apps as well as off-the-shelf tools, in several areas of Chicago where the major carriers have been expanding LAA deployments. The measurements reveal that coexistence between LAA and Wi-Fi in dense urban environments where both systems aggregate multiple channels continues to be a challenging problem that requires further research.