Hybrid Millimeter-Wave Systems: A Novel Paradigm for HetNets

TL;DR

This paper proposes a hybrid millimeter-wave HetNet paradigm utilizing 60 GHz and 70-80 GHz bands to improve bandwidth efficiency and reduce interference, supported by simulations and transceiver design proposals.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hybrid millimeter-wave HetNet framework leveraging high-frequency bands to enhance wireless network performance and outlines practical implementation challenges.

Findings

Hybrid HetNets outperform traditional networks in simulations.

Proposed transceiver structures enable seamless band hand-offs.

Hybrid HetNets effectively mitigate interference in dense networks.

Abstract

Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) are known to enhance the bandwidth efficiency and throughput of wireless networks by more effectively utilizing the network resources. However, the higher density of users and access points in HetNets introduces significant inter-user interference that needs to be mitigated through complex and sophisticated interference cancellation schemes. Moreover, due to significant channel attenuation and presence of hardware impairments, e.g., phase noise and amplifier nonlinearities, the vast bandwidth in the millimeter-wave band has not been fully utilized to date. In order to enable the development of multi-Gigabit per second wireless networks, we introduce a novel millimeter-wave HetNet paradigm, termed hybrid HetNet, which exploits the vast bandwidth and propagation characteristics in the 60 GHz and 70-80 GHz bands to reduce the impact of interference in HetNets. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance advantage of hybrid HetNets with respect to traditional networks. Next, two specific transceiver structures that enable hand-offs from the 60 GHz band, i.e., the V-band to the 70-80 GHz band, i.e., the E-band, and vice versa are proposed. Finally, the practical and regulatory challenges for establishing a hybrid HetNet are outlined.