License-exempt LTE deployment in heterogeneous network

Abstract

Mobile broadband data usage in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks is growing exponentially and capacity constraint is becoming an issue. Heterogeneous network, WiFi offload, and acquisition of additional radio spectrum can be used to address this capacity constraint. Licensed spectrum, however, is limited and can be costly to obtain. This paper investigates deploying LTE on a license-exempt band as part of the pico-cell underlay. Coexistence mechanism and other modifications to LTE are discussed. Performance analysis shows that LTE can deliver significant capacity even while sharing the spectrum with WiFi systems.