Unveiling Capacity Gains in Ultradense Networks

Abstract

Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) communications and nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are two important techniques to achieve high data rates in fifth-generation (5G) ultradense networks (UDNs). Due to interference that is intentionally added during the superpositioned transmissions with NOMA, an additional power budget is required to maintain the target block error rate (BLER). This necessitates the consideration of new approaches to ensure the power efficiency of NOMA systems. In this article, we show that this additional required power can be implemented using the directional transmission capabilities offered by mm-wave antenna arrays. Through the use of our small cells cluster simulations, we investigate the performance of NOMA in mm-wave frequency bands with consideration to the total system capacity, hybrid resource allocation, pairing probability, and power requirements. We demonstrate that a 30° beamwdith, as opposed to a typical 120? beamwidth, can result in a 20% system-capacity gain without requiring any extra transmission power. Our results indicate novel tradeoffs between system capacity, pairing probability, and transmission power in mm-wave NOMA networks owing to the effect of beamwidth variations. We conclude by summarizing the future challenges of NOMA in mm-wave bands.