Implementation and performance evaluation of an FBMC-based PMR system for broadband PPDR applications

In this paper, an experimental performance evaluation is carried out within a Professional Mobile Radio / Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PMR/PPDR) communication scenario that features two related key enablers for the evolution towards broadband transmission in those systems: (i) the use of post-OFDM modulations (ii) an efficient use of the spectrum via spectrum sharing among the legacy narrowband tranmissions and the newly proposed broadband transmission. The real-time experimental laboratory setup was assembled to operate in conditions as realistic as possible by combining hardware prototypes for the broadband transmitters, commercial PMR terminals and a radio channel emulator (providing mobile channels conditions based on the Extended Pedestrian A specifications). The experimental results show that co-existence in a shared spectrum scenario is possible and that the performance degradation is kept at a low level, as long as the broadband transmission is making use of spectrally agile post-OFDM modulations such as filterbank multicarrier (FBMC).