Reinforcement learning for licensed-assisted access of LTE in the unlicensed spectrum

In order to coexist with the WiFi systems in the unlicensed spectrum, Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks can utilize periodically configured transmission gaps. In this paper, considering a time division duplex (TDD)-LTE system, we propose a Q-Learning based dynamic duty cycle selection technique for configuring LTE transmission gaps, so that a satisfactory throughput is maintained both for LTE and WiFi systems. By explicitly taking the impact of IEEE 802.11n beacon transmission mechanism into account, we evaluate the coexistence performance of WiFi and LTE using the proposed technique. Simulation results show that the proposed approach can enhance the overall capacity performance by 19% and WiFi capacity performance by 77%, hence enabling effective coexistence of LTE and WiFi systems in the unlicensed band.

[1]  Nadisanka Rupasinghe,et al.  Licensed-assisted access for WiFi-LTE coexistence in the unlicensed spectrum , 2014, 2014 IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps).

[2]  Eldad Perahia,et al.  Next Generation Wireless LANs: Throughput, Robustness, and Reliability in 802.11n , 2008 .

[3]  Mikko A. Uusitalo,et al.  System performance of LTE and IEEE 802.11 coexisting on a shared frequency band , 2013, 2013 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC).

[4]  3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (e-utra); Further Advancements for E-utra Physical Layer Aspects (release 9) , 2022 .

[5]  Sayantan Choudhury,et al.  LTE UL Power Control for the Improvement of LTE/Wi-Fi Coexistence , 2013, 2013 IEEE 78th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Fall).

[6]  Erdem Bala,et al.  Mechanisms for LTE coexistence in TV white space , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks.

[7]  Sayantan Choudhury,et al.  Enabling LTE/WiFi coexistence by LTE blank subframe allocation , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC).

[8]  Meryem Simsek,et al.  Improved decentralized Q-learning algorithm for interference reduction in LTE-femtocells , 2011, 2011 Wireless Advanced.

[9]  Sayantan Choudhury,et al.  Performance Evaluation of LTE and Wi-Fi Coexistence in Unlicensed Bands , 2013, 2013 IEEE 77th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring).

[10]  Amitava Ghosh,et al.  License-exempt LTE deployment in heterogeneous network , 2012, 2012 International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems (ISWCS).