Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Wireless communication networks have traditionally focused on the high-mobility communication paradigm in which the wireless users occasionally travel at relatively high speeds. However, lately, it has been observed that 80% of today's data is consumed indoors, e.g., at home, work or retail and recreational facilities. Other applications of indoor wireless communications may include video conferencing and data sharing among various users. Indoor communications comes with its own host of challenges and promises. These challenges are currently being considered by major players in the wireless arena, including our Ottawa-based industrial partner, Ericsson Canada. Our goal in this proposal is to elaborate on key indoor wireless communication challenges, to contribute towards resolving them and to explore the opportunities that they offer. The emerging fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) standard for wireless networks necessitates seamless transition between indoor and outdoor paradigms in spite of the fundamental differences that underlie their operation. The successful completion of the proposed research plan is expected to enhance the capability and coverage of indoor wireless networks to serve more wireless users with high data rate demands. From an academic perspective, the proposed topics will serve to train members of the research team to use analytical and simulation tools to draw insight into signalling and networking mechanisms, and to augment the body of knowledge available for efficient utilization of the frequency spectrum in the presence of the constraints and challenges imposed by the indoor communication environment. The members of the research team will thus acquire in-depth understanding of practical difficulties encountered in the telecommunications industry. From economical and industrial perspectives, the outcome of this plan is expected to empower Ericsson Canada with new methodologies and insights into powerful indoor communication techniques, leading it to make effective contributions to the ongoing activities of standardizing indoor communication for future wireless communication networks.*