Enabling device-to-device communications in millimeter-wave 5G cellular networks

TLDR

Millimeter‑wave communication offers multi‑gigabit‑per‑second data rates for 5G, and enabling device‑to‑device links over directional mmWave is critical to exploit this bandwidth and boost network capacity. The article examines mmWave propagation characteristics and their impact on 5G, proposing a mmWave+4G architecture with a TDMA‑based MAC, an effective resource‑sharing scheme for concurrent non‑interfering D2D links, and neighbor‑discovery strategies for frequent handoffs. The authors present a mmWave+4G system with a TDMA MAC, a resource‑sharing scheme that allows concurrent non‑interfering D2D links, and neighbor‑discovery methods to support frequent handoffs in 5G networks.

Abstract

Millimeter-wave communication is a promising technology for future 5G cellular networks to provide very high data rate (multi-gigabits-persecond) for mobile devices. Enabling D2D communications over directional mmWave networks is of critical importance to efficiently use the large bandwidth to increase network capacity. In this article, the propagation features of mmWave communication and the associated impacts on 5G cellular networks are discussed. We introduce an mmWave+4G system architecture with TDMA-based MAC structure as a candidate for 5G cellular networks. We propose an effective resource sharing scheme by allowing non-interfering D2D links to operate concurrently. We also discuss neighbor discovery for frequent handoffs in 5G cellular networks.