KQI Performance Evaluation of 3GPP LBT Priorities for Indoor Unlicensed Coexistence Scenarios

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of user devices with access to mobile broadband has been a challenge from both the operation and deployment points of view. With the incorporation of new services with high demand for bandwidth such as video in 4K, it has been deemed necessary to expand the existing capacity by including new bands, among which the unlicensed 5-GHz band is a very promising candidate. The operation of future 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) mobile network standards deployments in this band implies the coexistence with other technologies such as WiFi, which is widespread. In this context, the provision of Quality of Service (QoS) or Quality of Experience (QoE) becomes an essential asset and is a challenge that has yet to be overcome. In this sense, 3GPP has proposed a traffic prioritization method based on the Listen Before Talk access parameters, defining a series of priorities. However, it does not specify how to make use of them, and even less so in potentially conflicting situations. This paper assesses the end-to-end performance of downlink unlicensed channel priorities in dense scenarios via implementing a novel simulation setup in terms of both multi-service performance and coexistence.