LTE - Wi-Fi coexistence in 5 GHz band

The proliferation of smart phones combined with increasing mobile data demand, cellular network operators around the world are considering various ways to augment network capacity. To meet the projected 1000x increase capacity by 2020 [3], a holistic approach is needed. The proposed solutions include hyper-dense small cell deployment, intelligent utilization of existing spectrum and offloading to other networks like Wi-Fi. Extending the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) to unlicensed spectrum is a new approach being considered by the global standards body 3GPP, as part of LTE Release-13. The feasibility of LTE operation in 5 GHz band, also known as Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), is being studied. The main challenge is to ensure LTE do not affect the performance of existing technologies/systems in this band such as Wi-Fi, Radar etc. In this paper, we provide simulation study on LTE - Wi-Fi coexistence in the unlicensed spectrum.