Modeling and performance analysis of unlicensed bands MAC strategy in multi-channel LTE-A networks with M2M/H2H coexistence

With the growing use of the machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and the unlicensed band by advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) networks, known as LTE unlicensed (LTE-U), demand for resource access strategy is rapidly increasing and has recently been attracting considerable attention of mobile operators. The requirement set by 3rd generation partnership project in the release 11 about LTE standards will allow LTE-U and other unlicensed band access technology to peacefully coexist and operate in the same unlicensed band. LTE-U supports not only the human-to-human (H2H) communication but also the M2M communication. In this paper, a new MAC protocol for LTE-U that allow friendly co-existence of H2H with M2M communications working in unlicensed bands is presented. The proposed MAC mechanisms is designed to ensure an efficient and fair channel access as well as enabling better H2H/M2M coexistence. The throughput performance of both H2H and M2M systems is evaluated analytically and by simulation. The impact of H2H/M2M transmissions periods and spectrum sensing time on the throughput performance of H2H and M2M systems are also studied.