The Impact of Multi-Connectivity and Handover Constraints on Millimeter Wave and Terahertz Cellular Networks

Wireless communication over terahertz (THz) frequency bands is envisioned as the key enabler of many applications and services offered in 6G networks. The abundantly available bandwidth in THz frequencies can satisfy the ultra-high user throughput requirements and accommodate a massive number of con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE journal on selected areas in communications 2021-06, Vol.39 (6), p.1833-1853
Main Authors: Ozkoc, Mustafa F., Koutsaftis, Athanasios, Kumar, Rajeev, Liu, Pei, Panwar, Shivendra S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
5G mobile communication
blockages
Cellular communication
Cellular networks
Computer architecture
Connectivity
Handover
low latency
millimeter wave
Millimeter waves
mmWave
multi-connectivity
Network latency
Network reliability
Protocols
Quality of service
Reliability
Reliability analysis
terahertz
Terahertz frequencies
Throughput
THz
URLLC
Wireless communications
Wireless networks
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Summary:Wireless communication over terahertz (THz) frequency bands is envisioned as the key enabler of many applications and services offered in 6G networks. The abundantly available bandwidth in THz frequencies can satisfy the ultra-high user throughput requirements and accommodate a massive number of connected devices. However, poor propagation characteristics, shadowing, and blockages may result in sudden outages and necessitate frequent handovers. Therefore, an inefficient handover procedure will impose severe challenges in meeting the ultra-high reliability and low latency requirements of emerging applications. In blockage driven mmWave and THz networks, a higher multi-connectivity degree and efficient handover procedures are needed to reduce the data plane interruptions and to achieve high reliability. We present an analytical model to study the impact of handover procedures and multi-connectivity degree on the latency and reliability of blockage driven wireless networks. From the network protocol design perspective, our study offers a quick and accurate way to envisage how network architecture and protocols should evolve in terms of multi-connectivity degrees and handover procedural efficiency. Our results suggest that, for THz systems, coverage range should be increased even if it comes at the cost of increased initial access and base station discovery times.
ISSN:0733-8716
1558-0008
DOI:10.1109/JSAC.2021.3071852