# On the Effective Capacity of MTC Networks in the Finite Blocklength Regime

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the effective capacity of delay-constrained machine type communication networks in the finite blocklength regime, deriving a mathematical approximation and proposing methods to optimize capacity under interference and delay constraints.

## Contribution

It provides a closed-form approximation for effective capacity in Rayleigh fading channels and introduces three methods for capacity restoration in interference scenarios.

## Key findings

- SINR variations have less impact on EC for strict delay constraints
- Power control is effective for capacity restoration in delay-sensitive networks
- Shorter packets require higher costs for capacity compensation

## Abstract

This paper analyzes the effective capacity (EC) of delay constrained machine type communication (MTC) networks operating in the finite blocklength (FB) regime. First, we derive a closed-form mathematical approximation for the EC in Rayleigh block fading channels. We characterize the optimum error probability to maximize the concave EC function and study the effect of SINR variations for different delay constraints. Our analysis reveals that SINR variations have less impact on EC for strict delay constrained networks. We present an exemplary scenario for massive MTC access to analyze the interference effect proposing three methods to restore the EC for a certain node which are power control, graceful degradation of delay constraint and joint compensation. Joint compensation combines both power control and graceful degradation of delay constraint, where we perform maximization of an objective function whose parameters are determined according to delay and SINR priorities. Our results show that networks with stringent delay constraints favor power controlled compensation and compensation is generally performed at higher costs for shorter packets.