Universal filtered multicarrier systems: Testbed deployment of a 5G waveform candidate

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique, with a broad usage in recent communication technologies, provides a good performance that is mostly appropriate for target quality of service levels. Yet, it will not be effective for future requirements due to its synchronization and spectral efficiency related communication system drawbacks. To address these issues, universal filtered multi-carrier (UFMC) technique has been proposed. Specifically, UFMC's less strict synchronization requirements and its increased spectral efficiency compared to the OFDM render it very desirable for 5G. In this study, UFMC is implemented by using software defined radios in real-time for the first time in the literature. With an effective synchronization solution, UFMC's design issues are tackled and a proper design model that is feasible for 5G requirements is demonstrated. Two methods are proposed for improvement of channel estimation and pilot usage for synchronization process. Moreover, as shown with real-time experiments, by carefully adjusting UFMC parameters, UFMC outperforms OFDM that is implemented in same configuration.