An alternative multiple access scheme for the uplink 3GPP/LTE based on OFDM/OQAM

Abstract

Nowadays, OFDM/OQAM is considered as an attractive alternative to conventional OFDM with cyclic prefix (CP) for transmission over doubly dispersive channels. By using well designed pulse shapes and removing the CP, OFDM/OQAM has the advantage of a higher spectral efficiency. In this paper, we propose to combine OFDM/OQAM with Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) to get an alternative to the well-known Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and to Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) techniques for the uplink (UL) transmission in the 3GPP/LTE context. For concision purpose, this proposed alternative is named OQAMA. The performances of the OQAMA technique are evaluated and compared with the OFDMA and SC-FDMA ones. The results demonstrate the efficiency of OQAMA over a Doppler spread channel within 3GPP/LTE standard.