Abstract
5G New Radio (NR) operating in the unlicensed spectrum is accelerating the Fourth Industrial Revolution by supporting Internet of Things (IoT) networks or Industrial IoT deployments. Specifically, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is looking to achieve spectrum integration through coexistence with multi-radio access technology (RAT) systems in the same unlicensed bands with both licensed-assisted and stand-alone access. The listen-before-talk (LBT) mechanism is mainly considered to enable an LTE operator to protect other incumbent unlicensed systems. In this article, we investigate the behaviors of multiple LTE operators along with the deployment of WiFi networks in the unlicensed spectrum from both short- and long-term points of view. In countries without mandatory LBT requirements, we show that an LTE operator is susceptible to collusion with another LTE operator, thus exploiting scarce spectrum resources by deceiving other wireless networks into thinking that channels are always busy; hence, mandatory usage of LTE with LBT is highly recommended at national level to achieve harmonious coexistence in the unlicensed spectrum. We discuss several possible coexistence scenarios to resolve the operator’s dilemmaas well as to improve unlicensed spectrum efficiency among multi-RAT systems, which is viable in the near future.
Highlights
We have examined how two long-term evolution (LTE) operators carry out strategic plans for the unlicensed spectrum under different assumptions of their payoffs
Since the spectrum is scarce and valuable, the unlicensed spectrum should be preserved as common resources so that any wireless networks can operate their own service
After Qualcomm proposed LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) to deliver LTE with small cells using the unlicensed 5-GHz spectrum, many companies in the wireless industry and 3GPP have continued to work towards the standardization of LTE-license assisted access (LTE-LAA)
Summary
Ever increasing traffic demand and ultra-low latency requirements have driven technological advancements in wireless communications, namely 5G New Radio (NR) [1]. The previous 4G network deployments with Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) have successfully offered great quality of service (QoS), high spectral efficiency, and long-range coverage [2,3], and a myriad of new business opportunities in different industries such as smart grid, healthcare, and Internet of Things (IoT) [4,5]. New spectrum usage paradigms have been considered to make more spectrum resources available to 5G-related services because spectrum scarcity is expected to be one of the fundamental bottlenecks in 5G NR [7]
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