Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The evolving fifth generation (5G) cellular wireless networks are envisioned to overcome the fundamental challenges of existing cellular networks including the fourth generation (4G) cellular networks which are currently being deployed worldwide. The 5G technologies are expected to serve 1000 times higher mobile data volume per unit area, 10-100 times higher number of connecting devices and user data rate, 10 times longer battery life and 5 times reduced latency. 5G wireless networks are expected to be a mixture of network tiers of different sizes, transmit powers, backhaul connections, and different radio access technologies (RATs) that are accessed by an unprecedented numbers of smart and heterogeneous wireless devices. This architectural enhancement along with the advanced physical communications technology such as high-order spatial multiplexing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications will provide higher aggregate capacity for more simultaneous users or higher level of spectral efficiency, when compared to the 4G networks. Radio resource and interference management will be a key research challenge in multi-tier and heterogeneous 5G cellular networks. The traditional methods for radio resource and interference management (e.g., channel allocation, power control, cell association or load balancing) in single-tier networks (even some of those developed for two-tier networks) may not be efficient in this environment and a new look into the radio resource management (RRM) problem will be required. In this context, with support from TELUS, our industrial partner for this project, we will develop and study spectrum and energy efficient RRM methods for 5G networks. Specifically, the project will focus on developing (i) cell association and power control methods for efficient interference management, (ii) cross-tier cooperation for spectrum and energy-efficient multipoint transmission, (iii) energy efficient methods for base station sleeping and cell zooming, and (iv) methods for adaptive energy harvesting in multi-tier 5G networks. These will be key enablers for 5G cellular systems, and therefore, will have significant impact on shaping up the broadband wireless industry in the future.