A throughput comparison model for WLAN technologies, 802.11n and HeNB in LTE and the future 5G networks

Abstract

The fifth generation (5G) wireless communication technologies are expected to attain 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 five times reduced latency. In order to attain the targets above, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connects to the Internet by the backhaul with ultra-wide bandwidth is the key technology to enlarging the Frequency Reuse Factor (FRF). Home eNodeB (HeNB), known as Femtocell Access Point (FAP) and 802.11n, 802.11ac belonging to WLAN are promising technologies to attain the targets above when the connection is performed indoors. The comparison and analysis between these two technologies based on PHY data rate, MAC layer throughput and power consumption are essential for users to make the right choice for UEs. The contributions of this article mainly fall on establishing throughput estimation for HeNB and 802.11n not much addressed in other works. The model developed in this article can also be used to estimate the performance of HeNB for LTE-Advanced and the 802.11ac and 802.11ad with Single User MIMO (SU-MIMO) technology.