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Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Abstract—The challenges of millimeter-wave (mmWave) radio that blocked period durations are expected to be hundreds of
propagation in dense crowded environments require dynamic re- milliseconds [6].
associations between the available access points (APs) to reduce One of the possible solutions to improve mmWave coverage
the chances of losing the line-of-sight (LoS) path. However,
the antenna beamsearching functionality in the mmWave sys- is to use beamforming [7]. However, beamforming efficiency
tems may introduce significant delays in the course of AP re- highly depends on the number of array elements and the
association. In this work, we analyze user performance in dense specifics of beamsearching algorithms, user equipment (UE)
urban mmWave deployments that are susceptible to blockage misdetection and discovery delays [8], propagation conditions
by the dynamically moving crowd. Our approach relies on the (indoor vs. outdoor), and likelihood of channel variations
ergodic capacity as the key parameter of interest. We conduct a
detailed evaluation with respect to the impact of various system (interference, direction of arrival, etc.) [9]. To improve beam-
parameters on the ergodic capacity, such as AP density and searching speed and efficiency, it is possible to utilize location
height, blocker density and speed, number of antenna array information [10] and other network assistance functions [11],
elements, array switching time, degree of multi-connectivity, and which can bring additional benefits to 5G heterogeneous
employed connectivity strategies. Particularly, we demonstrate networks (HetNets) [12], [13].
that dual connectivity delivers the desired performance out of
all possible degrees of multi-connectivity, and there is an optimal Despite the fact that beamforming improves mmWave cov-
density of mmWave APs that maximizes the capacity of cell-edge erage, it does not significantly increase performance in case
users. We also show that the use of low complexity “reactive” of human body blockage. To ensure user session continuity
multi-connectivity design, where the beamtracking is only per- in dense mmWave deployments, multi-connectivity techniques
formed when the currently active connection is lost, together have recently been proposed by 3GPP [14]. This approach
with the utilization of iterative beamsearching algorithms, does
not significantly deteriorate the ergodic capacity. relies on simultaneous active connections to multiple access
points (APs). Even though only one of these might be used at
a time, multi-connectivity may efficiently combat outages by
I. I NTRODUCTION enabling backup connections whenever needed [15]. However,
practical implementation of multi-connectivity schemes is ex-
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications technology is
pected to add considerable overheads on physical and medium
expected to provide the basis for fifth-generation (5G) mo-
access control layers at both the UE and the AP.
bile networks that enable extremely high data rates and low
To support a backup mmWave connection, the UE needs to
latencies at the air interface [1], [2]. While 3GPP’s standard-
(i) acquire a beacon signal from the AP by using omnidirec-
ization process on mmWave-ready New Radio (NR) is almost
tional antenna mode, (ii) perform AP association procedure
complete and vendors are performing test trials to showcase
(e.g., via a random-access scheme), and (iii) begin tracking
the capabilities of this emerging system design, researchers
the AP beam, such that fast switching is possible in case of
continue exploring the challenges related to enabling advanced
LoS blockage [16]. While the first two procedures need to be
networking options for 5G [3], [4].
performed only once, the latter has to be invoked repeatedly
In contrast to legacy microwave systems, where base station
to keep the backup link active. The time interval between the
re-associations are primarily caused by the mobility of a user
beamtracking updates depends on many parameters, including
and thus do not occur as often, the specifics of mmWave
user mobility and beamwidth, and can be configured to several
propagation may call for much more frequent cell changes.
microseconds [17]. This places an extreme computational
Indeed, even when the active user is static, the movements of
burden on the UE side, especially when the number of backup
other nearby objects, such as humans and vehicles, may cause
connections is higher than one [18].
line-of-sight (LoS) blockage. This, in turn, leads to a rapid
In this paper, we propose and analyze “reactive” mmWave
degradation in the received signal strength that could result in
multi-connectivity operation, where the beamtracking for
unwanted outages [5]. This problem is aggravated by the fact
backup APs is performed on-demand, only when the currently
Copyright (c) 2015 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. active connection is lost. This approach may lead to a much
However, permission to use this material for any other purposes must be more “lightweight” solution in terms of hardware and software
obtained from the IEEE by sending a request to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. implementation – potentially allowing to support more backup
M. Gerasimenko, D. Moltchanov, M. Gapeyenko, and S. Andreev
are with the Laboratory of Electronics and Communications Engineer- connections to further reduce outage times. At the same time,
ing, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland (e-mail: first- such reactive nature of the proposed approach may lead to
name.lastname@tut.fi), Y. Koucheryavy is with the Laboratory of Electronics outages when the beamsearching procedure is just initiated.
and Communications Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tam-
pere, Finland and National Research Institute Higher School of Economics, Concentrating on the UE that experiences an outage in its
Moscow, Russia (e-mail: evgeni.kucheryavy@tut.fi) blocked state and assuming dense mmWave AP deployment
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Transactions on Vehicular Technology
with a moving crowd, we analyze several mmWave connec- in [26] developed an analytical framework for characterizing
tivity options, including static and dynamic operation. throughput performance as a function of the AP density. It was
The main contributions of this work are: demonstrated that there is an optimal density of the APs that
• a mathematical framework for ergodic capacity analysis maximizes the system throughput for a given SINR threshold.
of cell-edge users in mmWave deployments with direc- Further, in [27], the authors proposed to employ partial zero
tional antenna arrays and multi-connectivity capabilities forcing at the UE side to cancel out the interference from
in dynamic blockage-prone environments; the APs. They also derived the probability of coverage with
• an investigation of the effects of system parameters on directional antennas at both the UE and the AP sides.
ergodic capacity, including mmWave AP density and Most of the papers studying multi-connectivity focus on a
height, density and speed of blockers, number of antenna joint operation of the mmWave RAT and conventional cellu-
array elements, array switching time, degree of multi- lar network by concentrating on higher-layer integration and
connectivity, and connectivity strategies; overall multi-RAT architecture design [28]. While it becomes
• a numerical analysis of reactive multi-connectivity oper- clear that offloaded control signaling to the below-6GHz
ation with exhaustive and iterative beamsearching algo- networks provides more flexibility in terms of user mobility
rithms, where beamsearching is performed only when the and connection reliability [29], there are only a few studies
currently active connection is lost; that address the aspects of simultaneous/alternate multi-AP
• a numerical illustration of the fact that dual connectiv- mmWave user connectivity strategies. Employing computer
ity delivers the desired performance out of all possible simulations, the authors in [30] demonstrated that in presence
degrees of multi-connectivity, and there is an optimal of static blockage by buildings the use of multi-connectivity
density of mmWave APs that maximizes the capacity of may drastically improve performance of mmWave systems in
cell-edge users. terms of session reliability.
In [31], the authors assessed the performance of mmWave
The rest of this text is organized as follows. Related work
systems by using several hard handover algorithms, includ-
is covered in Section II. We introduce our system model
ing rate-based, load-based, traditional SNR-based, and novel
and the considered multi-connectivity schemes in Section III.
Markov Decision Process (MDP)-based solutions. However,
The theoretical framework for ergodic capacity evaluation is
the emphasis of that work is mainly on system-level perfor-
developed in Section IV. Numerical analysis is provided in
mance indicators. Another interesting example of mmWave
Section V. Conclusions are drawn in the last section.
handover is presented in [32], where the authors proposed to
use RGB-D cameras to improve performance by predicting
II. R ELATED W ORK possible human body blockage. On the other hand, the ana-
The initial research works on mmWave communications lytical model presented by the authors is limited to the “two
concentrated on developing theoretical tools to capture the APs” scenario and does not allow to capture the effects of
intricate specifics of such systems, such as highly direc- dense deployments as well as varying blocker/AP densities on
tional transmission, path blockage, and atmospheric absorp- the system scale.
tion. Applying the Campbell theorem for functionals over Finally, the authors in [14] considered the performance of
point processes, the moments of aggregate interference in THz dynamic multi-connectivity in urban deployment by using a
and mmWave systems in presence of molecular absorption, mixture of ray-tracing computer simulations, queuing theory,
human-body blockage, and directional transmit and receive and stochastic geometry. However, the modeling framework
antennas have been derived in [19]. Using the Taylor expansion proposed therein cannot be extended to the case of arbi-
approximation, the authors then extended their analysis to the trary degree of multi-connectivity. Despite several attempts
moments of signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) in [20]. to incorporate the peculiarities of mmWave communications
Deriving distributions of aggregate interference and SIR into analytically tractable frameworks, to the best of our
is a more challenging task. Several research groups have knowledge, this is the first work that analytically embraces
recently adopted a microwave propagation model in the form the main features of mmWave technology, such as directional
of PR (x) = Ax−γ for the performance analysis of mmWave antennas and dynamic human body blockage, to evaluate its
communications technology, see, e.g., [21], [22]. Particularly, system-level performance with multi-connectivity operation.
the authors in [21] obtained the probability density function
(PDF) of SIR for mmWave systems operating at 28 GHz. III. S YSTEM M ODEL
The PDFs of interference and SIR in the absence of blockage In this section, we introduce our system model. We begin
have been reported in [23]. The SIR distribution is further by describing the target deployment, mobility, and blockage
contributed by [24], where the authors introduced a simple models. Then, propagation, antenna, and beamforming compo-
model of atmospheric absorption that assumes a constant nents are detailed. Finally, connectivity strategies and metrics
attenuation coefficient as well as disregards the effect of of interest are specified. The notations used in the remainder
blockage. of this paper are summarized in Table I.
Later on, by relying on the developed theoretical methods,
mmWave research focused on revealing practical insights into A. Deployment Model
system-level performance. Assessing the hypothesis of noise- We assume that locations of mmWave APs follow a Poisson
limited operation in 5G mmWave systems [25], the authors point process (PPP) in ℜ2 with a certain intensity of λA , see
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x Y
UE AP mA,H
dz
mA,V=0
~y2* B mA,H=0
y blockers
RB hA dy
AP2 X
Fig. 1(a). This assumption is in-line with the recent studies an open-space scenario, where there are no massive obstacles.
of dense AP deployments [33], [34]. The height of APs is However, we account for blockage of the LoS signal path by
assumed to be fixed and set to hA , see Fig. 1(b). human bodies. Following [36], the mmWave path loss in dB
In our study, we concentrate on the performance of a tagged is given by
user that is assumed to be stationary. The height of the UE
is constant, hU . We further assume that the moving crowd in L(x) = 20 log10 (4π/λ) + 21 log10 (x) + 4.9, (2)
the area of interest acts as potential blockers to the tagged where λ is the wavelength and x is the three-dimensional
user. The spatial intensity of blockers is constant, λB , as they distance between the UE and the AP.
move according to a certain mobility model. In this work, Therefore, the coefficients A and γ are
we consider the random direction model (RDM) [35] as the
one capturing the essentials of random movement and still A = 10−2 log10 (π/λ0 )+0.49 , γ = 2.1. (3)
preserving analytical tractability. According to RDM, a blocker
first randomly chooses its movement direction uniformly in C. Beamforming and Antenna Models
(0, 2π) and then travels in this direction for an exponentially
distributed interval of time with the parameter νB = 1/E[τB ], To complete the parametrization of the propagation model,
where τB is the mean duration of the movement. The moving one requires antenna gains GT and GR . In this paper, we
speed is assumed to be constant, vB . By selecting values of assume linear antenna arrays at both the transmit and receive
(νB , vB ), one can represent crowds with different densities. sides. Following [37], the antenna factor is defined as
To capture the LoS blockage dynamics, we impose that the sin(N[π cos(θ) + β]/2)
radius of human blockers is constant and equals to rB . The AF(θ, β) = , (4)
sin([π cos(θ) + β]/2)
height of blockers is different from that of the UE and is set
to hB , hB > hU . Whenever such blockers cross the direct path where N is the total number of elements in an array, β specifies
between the tagged user and its serving AP, the LoS mmWave the direction of the array, and θ is the azimuth angle. In
path is assumed to be blocked. what follows, we assume β = 0 and the distance between the
neighboring elements to be λ/2, where λ is the wavelength.
We model the radiation pattern of an antenna array by
B. Propagation Model
using the cone model [38]. The directivity of the mmWave
For any density of mmWave APs, λA , we concentrate on AP’s transmit antenna is represented as a conical zone with
the cell-edge UE that is located farther away than a certain the angle of αT , as shown in Fig. 2. This model is an
distance of RB from the nearest AP, where the blockage leads abstraction assuming no side lobes and constant power at a
to outage, since the signal strength of multipath components
is below the required level. Hence, the terms of blockage
and outage are used interchangeably in what follows. The
distance RB may be obtained by using the propagation model
introduced below and interference is evaluated in Section IV.
The received signal power at the UE can be written as
PR (x) = PT GT GR Ax−γ , (1)
where PT is the transmit power, GT and GR are the antenna
gains at the transmit and receive sides, respectively, which
depend on the antenna array, x is the distance between the UE
and the AP, A and γ are the propagation coefficients.
In this paper, we do not consider the non-LoS (NLoS) state
(blockage by large objects, such as buildings) by assuming Fig. 2. Cone antenna radiation pattern model.
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TABLE I TABLE II
N OTATION USED IN THIS PAPER . A NTENNA HPBW AND ITS APPROXIMATION
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values of NA = 64 and NU = 4, TS is 4ms and 0.41ms for connectivity strategies by utilizing the ergodic capacity as our
exhaustive and iterative search, respectively. metric of interest. We begin by describing the framework and
In addition to exhaustive and iterative techniques, there is a then proceed with specifying the sub-models.
number of hierarchical algorithms [40]. In hierarchical search,
the antenna array codebooks specify not only different beam A. Framework at a Glance
directivity options but also several beamwidth configurations. Our proposed framework comprises three logical steps: (i)
When sweeping procedure starts, the array is initially locked to modeling the blockage dynamics by a randomly moving crowd
the configuration with the widest beamwidth. When the widest for the UE of interest, (ii) specifying the capacity model with
beam configuration is found, the array is switched to the lower i-th nearest AP, and (iii) extending the said models with the
“layer” by performing an iterative search in the direction of multi-connectivity operation and deriving the ergodic capacity.
the established solution. The complexity of hierarchical search First, the following subsection specifies the dynamics of the
depends on the number of beamwidth “layers”, having the LoS blockage process between the mmWave APs and the UE.
minimum complexity of O(log2 (N)) for log2 (N) layers. We determine the ergodic probabilities, pi , i = 1, 2, . . . , when
the LoS path to the i-th nearest mmWave AP in the spatial
E. Connectivity Strategies and Metrics process of APs is blocked. These probabilities are further used
We assume that whenever the UE utilizes an active connec- to characterize the best available AP at a random instant of
tion to a certain mmWave AP, it maintains backup connections time. We also show that for the realistic densities of APs, the
to a number of other APs in the area, thus alleviating the LoS paths to the first several APs can be considered indepen-
need for channel access procedures. We consider the following dent. Further, we characterize the dynamics of the mmWave
connectivity schemes: AP associations and arrive at the process that captures the
• Static, nearest AP. In this scheme, the UE is associated
time intervals of having the LoS path blocked or unblocked
with its nearest AP. Note that due to the convexity of with i-th nearest mmWave AP. These results are employed to
the propagation model, this scheme provides the best determine the UE throughput received from the mmWave APs.
possible conditions in the non-blocked state. In practice, The use of larger numbers of antenna elements at both
this scheme is implemented by associating with the AP the mmWave AP and the UE increases the beamsearching
having the best average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). time, thus decreasing the available association time with the
• Static, LoS. In this scheme, upon its session initiation, the
mmWave AP when the multi-connectivity operation is en-
UE selects an AP with the best current SNR. Note that abled. On the other hand, this induces better antenna directivity
due to random distances to the APs as well as random and hence may improve the received signal strength – by
blockage states w.r.t. these APs, the selected AP may not increasing capacity during the association time. To charac-
be the closest one providing the best possible conditions terize the channel capacity when associated with i-th AP, at
in the non-blocked state. In practice, this scheme is the second step, we develop interference, SINR, and capacity
implemented by associating with the AP having the best models that describe these metrics.
instantaneous SNR. At the last step, we combine our blockage and capacity
• Dynamic, finite N. In this scheme, the UE changes its
models as well as supplement them with the multi-connectivity
association point whenever it enters the blockage state strategies to obtain the ergodic capacity made available to
with the current AP. At both session initiation and re- the UE. The said capacity is expressed as a function of the
association time instants, the closest non-blocked AP out densities of spatial blockers and mmWave APs, the mobility
of the nearest N is chosen. parameters of blockers, the number of antenna elements used
• Dynamic, N = ∞. In this scheme, the UE also changes its
for beamsearching, and the type of connectivity strategy in
association point choosing the nearest non-blocked AP use, thus facilitating further numerical assessment.
whenever it enters the blockage state with the current
B. Blockage Process Dynamics
AP. However, the number of APs that it may associate
with is unlimited. Consider the process of LoS blockage by moving hu-
man bodies around the stationary UE located at the two-
For the considered system model, we are interested in the
dimensional distance x from the mmWave AP, see Fig. 3.
downlink performance, that is, from the AP to the UE. Our
There always is some area, where the presence of at least
parameter of interest is the ergodic capacity defined as
a single blocker causes the blockage of the LoS path between
1 t
Z
C = lim cB log[1 + S(t)], (9) the AP and the user. We refer to this area as to LoS blockage
t→∞ t 0 zone. For the realistic distances between the UE and the AP,
where B is the bandwidth requested by the user from the APs the area of the LoS blockage zone can be approximated by a
that it is associated with, S(t) is the signal-to-interference-plus- rectangle. The sides of this zone are 2rB and
noise ratio (SINR) at the UE, and c is a constant that accounts hB − hU
for any modulation and coding scheme (MCS) imperfections. d(x) = x + rB . (11)
hA − hU
IV. P ERFORMANCE E VALUATION F RAMEWORK The area of the LoS blockage zone is thus
In this section, we develop a mathematical framework hB − hU
SB (x) = 2rB d(x) = 2rB x + rB . (12)
for the performance evaluation of the introduced mmWave hA − hU
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2λ r (h − h )Γ i + 1 F i + 1 ; 3 ; (hU rB λB −hB rB λB )2
1 (hU rB λB − hB rB λB )2
1 B B U B 2 1 1 2 2 (hA −hU )2 πλA
pL,i = Γ(i) 1 F1 i; ; + √ √ . (10)
(i − 1)! 2 (hA − hU )2 πλA π λA (hA − hU )(i − 1)!
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Further, consider the blocked interval. Let T be the RV that is the same as that of the busy period in M/GI/∞ system [6],
denotes the residence time in the LoS blockage zone for a Z t
single blocker and let fT (t; x) be its pdf. We determine the pdf FB (t; x) = 1 − (1 − FB (t − z; x))|de−ζ(x)FT (z;x) |−
0
of the distance traveled by a blocker within the LoS blockage Z t
zone, fD (l; x), and then scale it with the constant velocity of − [1 − FT (t; x)] [1 − FB (t − z; x)]e−ζ(x)FT (z;x) ζdz+
vB . Using the notion of geometric probability arguments, the 0
pdf fD (l; x) is delivered by + [1 − FT (t; x)] . (30)
fL (l; x) fL (l; x)
q
fD (l; x) = 1 −1 + 2 −1 , 0 < t ≤ d 2 (x) + 4rB2 , (24) Observe that the LoS blockage processes at various APs
w1 w2 are approximately independent of each other, as dependence
appears only due to an overlap of the LoS blockage zones
where the pdfs fL1 (t; x) and fL2 (t; x) are produced by across different APs. For the realistic mmWave deployments,
these areas are relatively small as compared to the LoS
0, l ≤ 0,
blockage zones themselves.
πl/4d(x)rB , 0 < l ≤ l1 , The pdfs of blocked and non-blocked intervals, fL (t; x) and
fD1 (l; x) = −1 m1
fB (t; x), are conditioned on the distance between the UE and
l sin l /2d(x)rB , l1 < l ≤ l2 ,
the AP. Deconditioning with the help of (14), we establish the
2r
d(x)
−1 B −l cos−1
l sin pdfs of blocked and non-blocked intervals when associated
l l
2d(x)rB , l2 < l ≤ l3 ,
with the i-th nearest mmWave AP in the form
0,
l ≤ 2rB , Z∞ Z∞
fD2 (l; x) =
d(x)
(25) fL,i (t) = fA (t; x) fi (x)dx, fB,i (t) = fB (t; x) fi (x)dx, (31)
d 22l(x) √ 2 2 − 1 , 2rB < l ≤ l3 ,
0 0
l −4rB
which can be calculated numerically.
with the limits of
C. Capacity Received from a Single AP
l1 = min[2rB , d(x)],
The UE capacity when associated with i-th AP is
l2 = max[2rB , d(x)], (26)
q E[Ri ] = cB log (1 + PR,i /[N0 + I]) , (32)
l3 = d 2 (x) + 4rB2 ,
where PR,i is the received signal power from the i-th nearest
AP, N0 is the Johnson-Nyquist noise at the receiver, I is
while the weights w1 and w2 denote (i) the probability for a the aggregate interference, and c is the constant coefficient
blocker to start from the side of length d(x) and end at the that accounts for any MCS imperfections. Due to the random
side of length 2rB (or vice versa), and (ii) the probability for distances involved, PR,i and I are also RVs.
a blocker to start from the side of length d(x) and end on the The received power and the power of interference are thus
other side of length d(x). These probabilities are calculated as ∞
−γ −γ
PR,i = PT GT GR AXi , I = PT GT GR A ∑ X j , (33)
d 2 (x) + 6d(x)rB j=0
w1 = ,
d 2 (x) + 2d(x)rB + 8rB2 where γ is the path loss exponent, Xi is the distance to the
8rB2 currently serving AP, and X j are the distances to the interfering
w2 = 2 . (27)
d (x) + 6d(x)rB + 8rB2 APs. It is important to note that in our considered scenario I is
independent of the actual connectivity scheme. Hence, in this
The pdf of the residence time in the LoS blockage zone section, we characterize the interference part of the capacity
can now be obtained by the linear transformation L/vB , where function.
vB is the speed of blockers. Recall that the density of linear Observe that the capacity can be represented as a function
transformation Y = a + bX is given by [44] of two RVs: the received signal power, P, and the aggregate in-
dx
y−a 1
terference, I. To produce the mean capacity, we employ Taylor
−1
fY (y) = fX [g (y)] = fX
, (28) expansion of the capacity function. The second-order Taylor
dy b |b|
expansion of bivariate function f (x, y) around ~θ = (θx , θ0 ) is
thus implying that the pdf of T = L/vB is f (x, y) = f (~θ) + fx0 (~θ)(x − θx ) + fy0 (~θ)(x − θy )+
fT (t; x) = fD (vt; x)v. (29) 1 00 ~ 00 ~
+ f (θ)(x − θx )2 + fxy (θ)(x − θx )(y − θy )+
2 xx
Let FB (t; x) be the cumulative distribution function (CDF) 1 00 ~
+ fyy (θ)(y − θy )2 + O(n2 ). (34)
of the blocked interval. The distribution of the blocked interval 2
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Considering the expansion around ~µ = (µP , µI ), we have D. Ergodic Capacity for Connectivity Schemes
00 (~µ)σ2 + 2 f 00 K
fxx + 00 (~µ)σ2
fyy Dynamics of the mean received power captures the type
P xy P,I I
E[ f (~µ)] ≈ f (~µ) + , (35) of connectivity scheme and thus helps characterize its perfor-
2
mance. Below, we calculate the mean received energy and
where KP,I is the covariance between P and I, while σ2P and
estimate the ergodic capacity for the considered mmWave
σ2I are the variances of P and I, respectively.
Writing down the capacity function as connectivity strategies. Time diagrams of the introduced con-
nectivity strategies are detailed in Fig. 4.
R = f (x, y) = cB log (1 + x/[N0 (B) + y]) , (36) 1) Static, nearest AP: In this scheme, the UE is associated
we calculate the required derivatives in the form with its nearest AP and does not change the association point
00 in case of outage. Using (14) with i = 1, the mean energy of
f (x, y) = − ln 2(N Bc 2, the received signal can be written as
xx 0 +x+y)
00 (x, y) = −
fxy Bc
,
Z ∞
(37) 2
ln 2(N0 +x+y)2 E[PR,1 ] = PT GT GR A 2πλA xe−πλA x x−γ dx =
f 00 (x, y) = Bcx(2N0 +x+2y) .
RB
yy ln 2(N +y)2 (N +x+y)2
0 0
−γ γ
γ 2γ γ γ
Analyzing (35), we establish that in order to compute the = πRB π 2 −1 Γ 1 − λA RB − λA R2B 2 +
2
mean capacity one requires (i) the first two moments of −γ 2
interference, (ii) the first moment of received signal energy, + πλA RB RB E γ πλA rB2 PT GT GR A, (41)
2
and (iii) the covariance between them. As one may observe,
where Ey (x) is an exponential integral function.
there is no dependence between the interference energy and
Let A1 be the RV that denotes active session time when
the received energy, which implies that KP,I = 0 and leads to
the UE does not experience outage conditions. Observe that
an approximation for R as in (23).
the UE has no service not only during its blockage time but
To determine the moments of I, we identify a circular zone
also during the time TS when it performs beamsearching as
around the UE of interest with the radius of RI , such that
the link changes its state from blocked to non-blocked. The
the mmWave APs located outside of it do not significantly
beamsearching time may or may not be longer than the time in
contribute to the aggregate interference at the UE, i.e., their
non-blocked state, which implies that the active session time
contribution remains under the noise floor of N0 (B). The
A1 does not coincide with the non-blocked time L1 . Denoting
number of interferers located within the circle of radius RI
by w1 the probability that L1 is greater than TS , we have
follows a Poisson distribution with the mean of λB πR2I . Hence, Z ∞
the raw moments of interference can be obtained by using the w1 = Pr{L1 > TS } = fL1 −TS (x)dx, (42)
Campbell theorem for isotropic point processes as follows 0
Z RI where fL1 −TS (x) is the distribution of the difference L1 − TS .
E[I n ] = (PT GT GR Ax−γ )n pL (x)pC (x)2λA πxdx, (38) Note that the linear transformation L1 − TS results in a dis-
RB
placement of the density fL1 (x) over the OX axis. As one
where pL (x) is the non-blockage probability, pC (x) is the
may notice, with the complementary probability of 1 − w1 , the
probability that the transmit and receive antennas are directed
UE receives no service during a non-blocked period. With the
such that the interferer contributes to the aggregate interference
probability of w1 , the conditional distribution for the duration
at the UE, and Ax−γ is its contribution.
of an active period when the UE receives service is
The probability pL (x) is provided in (13). Consider now
pC (x). Due to the properties of the Poisson process and fL−TS (x) 1
fA1 (x) = R∞ = fL−TS (x), x > 0. (43)
noticing that RB << RI , the interfering APs are distributed 1− f
0 L−TS (x)dx 1 − w1
near-uniformly within the circle of radius RI . Therefore, the The capacity during active time is found by substituting (41)
distances to them follow the same distribution. Taking this fact and (40) into (23). Applying the mean conditional active time
into account and recalling that the length of an arc with the E[A1 ], the conditional fraction of time that the mmWave link
angle of α for the circle of radius x is given by xα, as well remains active is
as assuming the independence of antenna orientations at the
E[A1 ]
APs and the UE, we arrive at pA,1 = , (44)
E[L1 ] + E[B1 ]
pC (x) = (αT x/2πx)(αR x/2πx) = (αT αR /4π2 ), (39)
which leads to ergodic capacity in the form of
which implies that pC (x) is independent of x.
E[R1 ]E[A1 ]
Substituting pC (x) and pB (x) into (38), we express C = w1 pA,1 E[R1 ] = w1
(45) .
Z RI h −h
E[L1 ] + E[B1 ]
α α
T R−2xλB rB hB −hU
E[I n ] = (PT GT GR Ax−γ )n e 2λA πxdx =
A U 2) Static, LoS AP: Consider now the case where the UE
RB 4π2
chooses its nearest AP such that it is currently in non-outage
(PT GT GR A)n αT αR λA h 2−nγ 2(hB − hU )R2B λB
= RB Γ nγ − 1, − conditions. The probability that the AP i is thus selected is
2π hA − hU
i−1
2−nγ 2(hB − hU )RB RI λB i q = p ∏ (1 − pL, j ), (46)
− RI Γ nγ − 1, , (40) i L,i
hA − hU j=1
where Γ(a, x) is incomplete Gamma function. where pL,i is non-blockage probability for AP i in (10).
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u2i uij
u1i
...
... ...
... ...
u12 u23 ui-1i uii+1
t, s
1 2 ... i ...
u21 u32 uii-1 ui+1i
...
(a) Static nearest AP strategy ui1 ui2 uji
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TABLE IV
that the UE was associated with is the AP i – becomes D EFAULT PARAMETERS FOR NUMERICAL ASSESSMENT.
N−1
FT2 (x; i) = 1 − [1 − FBi (x)] [1 − FB?j (x)], (56) Parameter Value
∏
j=1,i6=i Operating frequency 73 GHz
Height of AP, hA 4m
where Bi and B?i are the RVs denoting blockage and residual Height of blockers, hB 1.7 m
blockage periods, respectively, while FBi (x) and FB?j (x) are the Height of UE, hU 1.5 m
Blocker radius, rB 0.4 m
corresponding CDFs. These are computed as in [44]
SNR blockage threshold, SB 3 dB
FBi (x + t) − FB,i (t) Outage radius, RB 97 m
Z ∞
FB?j (t) = dt. (57) Interference threshold, SI -174 dBm
0 t[1 − FB,i (t)] Transmit power, PT 0.2 W
The probability that AP i is the last one that the UE was Path loss exponent, γ 2.1
AP array, HA,H × HA,V 64 × 4
associated with before T2 started, ai , i = 1, 2, . . . , N, is UE array, HU,H × HU,V 4×4
N Bandwidth, B 0.59 GHz
ai = (1 − pL, j ), i = 1, 2, . . . , N, (58) AP/UE attenuation coefficients, AA , AU 1
∏ Intensity of APs, λA 0.0001 units/m2
j=1, j6=i
Intensity of blockers, λB 0.5 units/m2
which leads to the CDF of T2 , FT2 (x) = ai FT2 (x; i). Speed of blockers, vB 1 m/s
Consider the period of time when the AP in non-blocked Array switching time, δ 2 µs
conditions is always available, T1 . Similarly to the dynamic
connectivity case with N = ∞, the choice of AP to switch to Recall that the mean number of times that the chain visits
depends on the current AP that changes its state from non- a transient state is determined by the elements of fundamental
blocked to blocked. We model the switching process during matrix D = (I −U)−1 , while the mean number of steps before
T1 by utilizing an absorbing Markov chain demonstrated in absorption is D~e [45]. Hence, the mean capacity during T1 is
Fig. 6, where the state number i represents i-th nearest AP. N
1 E[R j ]E[A j ]
In contrast to the dynamic case with N = ∞, upon leaving E[CT1 ] = ∑ D~e bi di j w j . (62)
j=1 E[L j ]
each state the chain may absorb by indicating the start of
T2 . To complete parametrization of the absorbing chain, one Accounting for T2 , the ergodic capacity constitutes
requires (i) matrix U that contains transition probabilities N
between the transient states {1, 2, . . . , N}, (ii) vector ~u that E[T1 ] 1 E[R j ]E[A j ]
C= ∑ D~e bi di j w j . (63)
defines absorbing probabilities from each state, and (iii) vector E[T1 ] + E[T2 ] j=1 E[L j ]
~b that specifies the initial state after the end of T2 . The elements
of U are delivered by V. N UMERICAL A NALYSIS
i−1 In this section, we first conduct the accuracy assessment of
ui j = pL, j ∏ (1 − pL,k ), ∀i, j = 1, 2, . . . , N, i 6= j, (59) the basic metrics within the developed model, which includes
k=1
interference, SINR, and received power. Then, we proceed
which implies that the elements of ~u are with a numerical analysis of introduced connectivity schemes
N and discuss the effects of system parameters in more detail.
ui = 1 − ∑ ui j , i = 1, 2, . . . , N. (60) As there is a wide range of system parameters that affect
j=1, j6=i the ergodic capacity, we primarily report on the behavior of
aggregate interference, then analyze the connectivity schemes
Producing an exact expression for the elements of ~b is
for the exhaustive search mechanism, characterize the impact
cumbersome, since the AP that initiates the following T1
of beamsearching mechanisms, and finally assess performance
depends on the last AP of the previous T1 . Disregarding this
with different degrees of multi-connectivity. The default sys-
dependency, we establish that bi has to be proportional to the
tem parameters are summarized in Table V.
mean duration of the blockage period, i.e.,
E[Bi ]
bi = N
,i = 1, 2, . . . , N. (61)
∑ j=1 E[B j ]
u1N u2N
... ...
... ...
Fig. 6. Markov chain model of AP switching process with finite N. Fig. 7. Mean SINR, SIR, received power, and interference.
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Fig. 8. Mean interference as function of blocker and AP intensities, λA , λB , and number of AP array elements, NA .
Before using the developed analytical framework to illus- that the former increase proportionally to NA , see Table III,
trate the key numerical results, we first verify its accuracy while the latter decrease inversely proportional to NA , and are
by comparing the basic metrics against those obtained with approximated by 102/NA . These two terms in the expression
computer simulations. To this aim, Fig. 7 illustrates the mean for the mean interference in (40) compensate each other, thus
values of SINR, SIR, receiver signal power, and interference leading to constant interference for any value of NA .
represented as functions of the mmWave AP intensity for
the proposed mathematical model (lines) and system-level B. Mean Conditional Capacity
simulations (symbols). As one may observe, the developed
The mean capacity with i-th nearest AP – conditioned on
interference modeling slightly overestimates the actual values
the event that these APs remain in non-blocked conditions –
of the mean interference, while the received signal power is
is shown in Fig. 9 for various values of the AP antenna arrays.
approximated very tightly. As a result, both the mean SIR and
Studying Fig. 9(a), one may notice that the effect of λA is not
SINR values are slightly overestimated as well. However, we
straightforward. Increasing the AP density from 10−6 to 10−5
notice that the actual difference is insignificant, thus implying
and then to 10−4 naturally improves the mean capacity with
that the basic metrics of interest are captured by the proposed
i-th nearest AP. However, the highest capacity is provided in
modeling well enough. These observations allow us to reliably
case of λA = 10−4 , which corresponds to the mean inter-AP
utilize the developed analytical framework in what follows.
distance of approximately 50 m. Increasing the density of APs
further to 10−3 leads to a reduced capacity that is provided by
A. Aggregate Interference i-th nearest AP. The explanation is that higher values of λA not
In our considered system, the aggregate interference is only yield shorter distances to the APs but also mean closer
independent of the connectivity scheme and the beamsearching interfering APs. Note that for a sufficiently high AP density
mechanism. However, since it directly affects the ergodic of 0.001, which corresponds to the mean inter-AP distance of
capacity, it is crucial to understand its behavior. just 15 m, there is only a slight difference between the capacity
First, Fig. 8 illustrates the mean interference as a function levels offered by the first several APs. This is because the mean
of the blocker density, λB , AP density, λA , and the number distances to these APs vary insignificantly due to conditioning
of array elements at the AP, NA , which are responsible for on the fact that the UE is located outside of RB .
the horizontal directivity. Analyzing the results presented in It can also be noted that higher values of blocker intensity
Fig. 8(a), we observe that the mean interference increases as lead to more capacity as illustrated in Fig. 9(b) (assuming
the density of APs becomes higher. Note that λA = 10−5 corre- that active AP i is not blocked). This is a direct implication of
sponds to the mean inter-AP distance of approximately 150 m, the blockage phenomenon, where smaller values of blocker
while λA = 10−3 relates to the distance of only 15 m. However, density lead to higher interference, see Fig. 8(b). Further,
even for the latter, the mean interference remains low and Fig. 9(c) suggests that a higher number of antenna elements at
reaches −75 dBm for the worst case of λB = 0.0, λA = 0.001. the AP increases the available capacity. Recall that the effect of
The effect of blockage is further illustrated in Fig. 8(b). As NA on the mean interference is negligible. Hence, the growth
one may notice, the mean interference is a linearly decreasing is mainly due to increasing gains at the APs.
function of λB for any λA . The reason is that higher values of Analyzing the data presented in Fig. 8(c), one can notice that
λB decrease the probability for an interferer to contribute to increasing the number of antenna elements from 8 to 64 (thus,
the harmful energy at the UE. improving AP antenna gain from 8.57 to 17.59 dB) results
The dependence of the mean interference on the number in capacity growth of around 3 bit/s/Hz for all i-th nearest
of antenna elements at the AP, NA , is further demonstrated in APs. Hence, on the one hand we may expect an increase in
Fig. 8(c). Importantly, the mean interference remains approx- ergodic capacity as illustrated in Fig. 9(c). For small values of
imately constant for any value of NA . This is because higher the number of antenna elements (up to approximately 30), we
gains at the AP are compensated by smaller probabilities indeed observe this; however, enabling more antennas results
that the AP contributes to interference at the UE. Recall in a gradual decrease of ergodic capacity. This is explained
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Fig. 9. Mean capacity when associated with AP i as function of blocker and AP densities, λA , λB , and number of AP array elements, NA .
Fig. 10. Ergodic capacity for various connectivity schemes as function of blocker and AP intensities, λA , λB , and number of AP array elements, NA .
by the fact that by increasing the number of antenna elements Analyzing the dependence on λA further, we see that for a
we also grow the beamsearching space. Having the array given set of system parameters there is an optimal inter-site
switching time fixed at δ = 2ms in Fig. 9(c), the UE and distance (ISD) between the APs that maximizes the ergodic
APs have to spend more time for the above, and improved capacity for both static and dynamic connectivity strategies.
capacity no longer compensates for this. The effect is further The reason is that an increase in λA yields smaller distances
exemplified in the next subsection, where we compare the to i-th AP and thus improves capacity that it delivers to the UE.
operation of the two considered beamsearching schemes. However, at the same time, interference grows. An inflection
point for the considered system parameters (see Table V) is
C. Exhaustive Beamsearching ≈ 8 · 104 , which corresponds to approximately 130 m. Note
that the AP density maximizing the capacity coincides for both
After revealing the fundamental trade-offs that involve the
static and dynamic connectivity strategies.
intermediate metrics related to our parameter of interest,
we now proceed with assessing the response of the ergodic It is curious to observe that the effect of blocker intensity
capacity w.r.t. the system settings. We begin by considering on the ergodic capacity is complex as well, see Fig. 10(b).
the exhaustive search solution and compare the performance Recall that an increase in the density of blockers, λB , affects
of two static schemes with that of a dynamic solution having interference positively, see Fig. 8(b). However, at the same
an unlimited number of APs. time, we observe an increased time spent in blocked state
To this aim, Fig. 10 demonstrates the ergodic capacity for for the static schemes and growing frequency of transitions
two static schemes and the dynamic alternative with N = ∞ as between the APs for the dynamic schemes. These latter
a function of blocker and AP densities, λA and λB , as well as effects negatively impact the ergodic capacity. As we notice in
the number of AP array elements, NA . As expected, dynamic Fig. 10(b), the capacity first improves for all the connectivity
approach significantly outperforms its static counterparts for strategies and then begins to degrade. In the first regime, the
all values of system parameters. Further, the performance of positive effect of decreased interference dominates the negative
two considered static schemes is similar. This is explained factors of increased blockage times and AP switching.
by the following two facts: (i) for any value of blocker Finally, the response of the considered parameter to the
density, non-blockage probability decreases exponentially with number of antenna elements that determine directivity at the
the AP index, which implies that the probability of choosing APs only marginally affects the ergodic capacity across the
the nearest AP is high for static LoS strategy; and (ii) the entire practical range of NA , 10 − 64. Nevertheless, for any
mean conditional capacity provided by the APs does not vary set of input values, there is an optimal antenna directivity
considerably for several nearest APs, see Fig. 9. angle at the AP that maximizes the ergodic capacity. For the
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Fig. 11. Ergodic capacity for various beamsearching schemes as function of blocker and AP intensities, λA , λB , and number of AP array elements, NA .
default parameters in Table V, the optimal number of antenna as a function of AP density, λA . A static scheme is also illus-
elements for a dynamic connectivity scheme is 32, which trated here for the sake of comparison. As one may observe, all
corresponds to the AP antenna directivity of αT = 3.18◦ . dynamic profiles demonstrate a similar performance for lower
values of λA (up to approximately λA = 8 · 10−4 ). Then, not
D. Beamsearching Mechanisms only ergodic capacity starts to decrease for all the schemes, but
also dual-connectivity mode begins to outperform the dynamic
We now proceed with quantifying the effects of beamsearch-
connectivity case with N = 3. The dynamic scheme with N = ∞
ing mechanisms. To this end, Fig. 11 demonstrates the ergodic
indicates the worst behavior out of all the considered dynamic
capacity for the dynamic connectivity scheme with N = ∞ and
schemes.
different beamsearching algorithms as a function of blocker
and AP densities, λA and λB , as well as the number of AP The discussed results may appear counter-intuitive, since
array elements, NA . As expected, enabling a more sophisticated maintaining more backup links should theoretically result
beamsearching scheme leads to an increase in ergodic capacity. in increased performance under dynamic blockage. This is
However, the quantitative effect depends on the environmental indeed the case if beamsearching delays for backup links
characteristics. Particularly, the difference is not drastic for are disregarded (see e.g., [46]). However, as today’s array
very dense deployments, i.e., λA > 10−4 , which corresponds switching time remains on the order of several microseconds,
to approximately 50 m ISD. it is not negligible. During this time, the UE receives no
For sparse deployments, the gain of applying advanced service, which lowers the mean ergodic capacity. Comparing
beamsearching is dramatic and reaches 4.5 bits/s/Hz. Further- the capacity achieved with ideal switching time [46] against
more, the gap between algorithms becomes larger as the the results of our study, we observe that for all N > 1 the UE
density of blockers, λB , increases – as follows from Fig. 11(b). fails to achieve the theoretical upper bound on capacity.
This is because the probability that non-blocked period is A further growth of N yields a degradation in the achievable
longer than beamsearching period grows slower than linear mean ergodic capacity. The reason is that for the considered
with λB for iterative beamsearching. Hence, as one may con- system parameters the case of N = 2 suggests that the fraction
clude, the ergodic capacity for the exhaustive search algorithm of time when no non-blocked link is available remains very
decreases much sooner as compared to its iterative alternative. small. Hence, although an increase in N keeps reducing
Analyzing data in Fig. 11(c), we finally note that the this value, the fraction of time that the UE dedicates for
use of iterative beamsearching improves performance over beamsearching with N > 2 becomes larger than the fraction
the entire range of realistic antenna directivity values (up of time when a non-blocked link is available for N = 2.
to approximately 1.59 beamwidth degree that corresponds to
NA = 64). This is in contrast to the exhaustive search scheme,
which is characterized by slower growing ergodic capacity.
Therefore, as expected, a larger number of antenna elements
leads to an increase in ergodic capacity for both algorithms.
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0018-9545 (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TVT.2019.2896565, IEEE
Transactions on Vehicular Technology
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0018-9545 (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.