Capacity analysis for unlicensed wireless communications

Most capacity analyses of frequency reuse wireless communication systems assume either fixed channel sets assigned to specific base stations (the traditional cellular model), or some type of dynamic channel assignment (DCA) in a centrally controlled, coordinated system. Such models accurately describe “licensed” systems such as cellular, in which a single system or service provider has exclusive control over a block of spectrum. However, they are inadequate for analysis of systems operating in the “unlicensed” environment, in which multiple systems may share spectrum without any centralized coordination. The model developed is designed for analyzing capacity in such a situation. Cochannel and adjacent-channel interference sources are assumed to be randomly-distributed over area, and possibly on multiple floors for in-building operation. The model is extremely flexible and can be easily adapted to a wide variety of conditions and system configurations. It is intended as an analytical tool, rather than a detailed system simulation, and can be used for fast front-end analysis of system capacity and air interface design tradeoffs. Several example calculations are given and shown to agree well with results of other published studies that use different models