In order to tackle rapidly increasing traffic, dramatic performance enhancements in radio access technologies (RATs) are required for fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system. In 5G, small/semi-macro cells using Massive MIMO (M-MIMO) with much wider bandwidth in higher frequency bands are overlaid on macro cell with existing frequency band. Moreover, high density deployment of small/semi-macro cell is expected to improve areal capacity. However, in low SHF band (below 6GHz), antenna array size of M-MIMO is large so that it cannot be installed on some environments. Therefore, to improve system throughput on various use cases in 5G, we have proposed distributed Massive MIMO (DM-MIMO). DM-MIMO coordinates lots of distributed transmission points (TPs) that are located in ultra-high density (UHD). Furthermore, DM-MIMO uses various numbers of antenna elements for each TP. In addition, DM-MIMO with UHD-TPs can create user-centric virtual cells corresponding to user mobility, and design of flexible antenna deployment for DM-MIMO is applicable to various use cases. Then, some key parameters such as the number of the distributed TPs, the number of antenna elements for each TP, and proper distance between TPs, should be determined. This paper presents such parameters for 5G DM-MIMO with flexible antenna deployment under fixed total transmission power and constant total number of antenna elements. Computer simulations show that DM-MIMO can achieve more than 1.9 times higher system throughput than an M-MIMO system using 128 antenna elements.

This paper proposes a dynamic spectrum controlled (DSTC) channel allocation algorithm to increase the total throughput of satellite communication (SATCOM) systems. To effectively use satellite resources such as the satellite's maximum transponder bandwidth and maximum transmission power and to handle the propagation gain variation at all earth stations, the DSTC algorithm uses two new transmission techniques: spectrum compression and spectrum division. The algorithm controls various transmission parameters, such as the spectrum compression ratio, number of spectrum divisions, combination of modulation method and FEC coding rate (MODCOD), transmission power, and spectrum bandwidth to ensure a constant transmission bit rate under variable propagation conditions. Simulation results show that the DSTC algorithm achieves up to 1.6 times higher throughput than a simple MODCOD-based algorithm.

Massive multiple input and multiple output (Massive MIMO) is a key technique to achieve high system capacity and user data rate for the fifth generation (5G) radio access network (RAN). To implement Massive MIMO in 5G, how much Massive MIMO meets our expectation with various user equipment (UEs) in different environments should be carefully addressed. We focused on using Massive MIMO in the low super-high-frequency (SHF) band, which is expected to be used for 5G commercial bands relatively soon. We previously developed a prototype low-SHF-band centralized-RAN Massive MIMO system that has a flexible active antenna system (AAS)-unit configuration and facilitates advanced radio coordination features, such as coordinated beamforming (CB) coordinated multi-point (CoMP). In this study, we conduct field trials to evaluate downlink (DL) multi-user (MU)-MIMO performance by using our prototype system in outdoor and indoor environments. The results indicate that about 96% of the maximum total DL system throughput can be achieved with 1 AAS unit outdoors and 2 AAS units indoors. We also investigate channel capacity based on the real propagation channel estimation data measured by the prototype system. Compared with without-CB mode, the channel capacity of with-CB mode increases by a maximum of 80% and 104%, respectively, when the location of UEs are randomly selected in the outdoor and indoor environments. Furthermore, the results from the field trial of with-CB mode with eight UEs indicate that the total DL system throughput and user data rate can be significantly improved.

As the demand for higher transmission rates and spectral efficiency is steadily increasing, the research and development of novel mobile communication systems has gained momentum. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive survey of research and development activities on fifth generation mobile communication systems in Japan. We try to survey a vast area of wireless communication systems and the developments that led to future 5G systems.

Fifth-generation mobile communication systems (5G) must offer significantly higher system capacity than 4G in order to accommodate the rapidly increasing mobile data traffic. Cell densification has been considered an effective way to increase system capacity. Unfortunately, each user equipment (UE) will be in line-of-sight to many more transmission points (TPs) and the resulting inter-cell interference will degrade system capacity. We propose large-scale coordinated multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (LSC-MU-MIMO), which combines MU-MIMO with joint transmission from all the TPs connected to a centralized baseband unit. We previously investigated the downlink performance of LSC-MU-MIMO by computer simulation and found that it can significantly reduce inter-TP interference and improve the system capacity of high-density small cells. In this paper, we investigate the throughput of LSC-MU-MIMO through an indoor trial where the number of coordinated TPs is up to sixteen by using an experimental system that can execute real-time channel estimation based on TDD reciprocity and real-time data transmission. To clarify the improvement in the system capacity of LSC-MU-MIMO, we compared the throughput measured in the same experimental area with and without coordinated transmission in 4-TP, 8-TP, and 16-TP configurations. The results show that with coordinated transmission the system capacity is almost directly proportional to the number of TPs.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing technology is being investigated for high-capacity point-to-point (PtP) wireless transmission toward beyond 5G systems. OAM multiplexing is a spatial multiplexing technique that utilizes the twisting of electromagnetic waves. Its advantage is that it reduces the computational complexity of the signal processing on spatial multiplexing. Meanwhile point-to-multi point (PtMP) wireless transmission, such as integrated access and backhaul (IAB) will be expected to simultaneously accommodates a high-capacity prioritized backhaul-link and access-links. In this paper, we study the extension of OAM multiplexing transmission from PtP to PtMP to meet the above requirements. We propose a backhaul prioritized resource control algorithm that maximizes the received signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) of the access-links while maintaining the backhaul-link. The proposed algorithm features adaptive mode selection that takes into account the difference in the received power of each OAM mode depending on the user equipment position and the guaranteed power allocation of the backhaul capacity. We then evaluate the performance of the proposed method through computer simulation. The results show that throughput of the access-links improved compared with the conventional multi-beam multi-user multi-input multi-output (MIMO) techniques while maintaining the throughput of the backhaul-link above the required value with minimal feedback information.

In order to cope with recent growth of mobile data traffic and emerging various services, world-wide system trials for the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system that dramatically extends capability of the fourth-generation mobile communication system are being performed to launch its commercial service in 2020. In addition, research and development of new radio access technologies for 5G evolution and beyond 5G systems are beginning to be made all over the world. This paper introduces our recent activities on 5G transmission experiments that aim to validate Massive MIMO technologies using higher frequency bands such as SHF/EHF bands, that is, 5G experimental trials. Recent results of 5G system trials to create new services and applications in 5G era in cooperation with partners in vertical industries are also introduced.

Towards furthering the industrial revolution, the concept of a new cellular network began to be drawn up around 2010 as the fifth generation (5G) mobile wireless communication system. One of the main differences between the fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G new radio (NR) is the frequency bands utilized. 5G NR assumes higher frequency bands. Effective utilization of the higher frequency bands needs to resolve the technical issue of the larger path-loss. Massive multiple-input multiple-output (Massive MIMO) beamforming (BF) technology contributes to overcome this problem, hence further study of Massive MIMO BF for each frequency band is necessary toward high-performance and easy implementation. In this paper, then, we propose a Massive MIMO method with fully-digital BF based on two-tap precoding for low super high frequency (SHF) band downlink (DL) transmissions (called as Digital FBCP). Additionally, three intersite coordination algorithms for Digital FBCP are presented for multi-site environments and one of the three algorithms is enhanced. It is shown that Digital FBCP achieves better throughput performance than a conventional algorithm with one-tap precoding. Considering performance of intersite coordination as well, it is concluded that Digital FBCP can achieve around 5 Gbps in various practical environments.

Field trials of the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system using 28GHz band at which almost 1GHz bandwidth will be available have been performed all over the world. To realize large coverage with such a high frequency band, beamforming by Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) is necessary to compensate the large path loss. Furthermore, beam tracking which adaptively changes beam direction according to user location, is an important function to support user mobility. In previous works, field trials in subway environment at 25GHz band was carried out, but only fixed beam were employed. On the other hand, the field trials result of 28 GHz-band 5G transmission employing beam tracking in the road environment has been reported. Therefore, we conducted 5G field trials in the actual railway environment using 28GHz band experimental equipment employing beam tracking. This paper reveals the downlink performance achieved by using railway cars traveling at 90km/h. In addition, we show how mobile stations position in the railway car affects the performance of 5G transmission.

This paper proposes a new channel allocation algorithm for satellite communication systems. The algorithm is based on a spectrum division transmission technique as well as a spectrum compression transmission technique that we have developed in separate pieces of work. Using these techniques, the algorithm optimizes the spectrum bandwidth and a MODCOD (modulation and FEC error coding rate) scheme to balance the usable amount of satellite transponder bandwidth and satellite transmission power. Moreover, it determines the center frequency and bandwidth of each divided subspectra depending on the unused bandwidth of the satellite transponder bandwidth. As a result, the proposed algorithm enables flexible and effective usage of satellite resources (bandwidth and power) in channel allocations and thus enhances satellite communication (SATCOM) system capacity.

This paper proposes a novel blind adaptive array scheme with subcarrier transmission power assignment (STPA) for spectrum superposing in cognitive radio networks. The Eigenvector Beamspace Adaptive Array (EBAA) is known to be one of the blind adaptive array algorithms that can suppress inter-system interference without any channel state information (CSI). However, EBAA has difficulty in suppressing interference signals whose Signal to Interference power Ratio (SIR) values at the receiver are around 0dB. With the proposed scheme, the ST intentionally provides a level difference between subcarriers. At the receiver side, the 1st eigenvector of EBAA is applied to the received signals of the subcarrier assigned higher power and the 2nd eigenvector is applied to those assigned lower power. In order to improve interference suppression performance, we incorporate Beamspace Constant Modulus Algorithm (BSCMA) into EBAA (E-BSCMA). Additionally, STPA is effective in reducing the interference experienced by the primary system. Computer simulation results show that the proposed scheme can suppress interference signals received with SIR values of around 0dB while improving operational SIR for the primary system. It can enhance the co-existing region of 2 systems that share a spectrum.

The beamforming (BF) provided by Massive MIMO is a promising technique for the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system. In low SHF bands such as 3-6GHz, fully digital Massive MIMO can be a feasible option. Previous works proposed eigenvector zero-forcing (E-ZF) as a digital precoding algorithm to lower the complexity of block diagonalization (BD). On the other hand, another previous work aiming to reduce complexity of BD due to the number of antenna elements proposed digital fixed BF and channel-state-information based precoding (Digital FBCP) with BD whose parameter is the number of beams. Moreover, in order to lower the complexity of the Digital FBCP with BD while retaining the transmission performance, this paper proposes Digital FBCP with E-ZF as a lower complexity digital BF algorithm. The pros and cons of these digital BF algorithms in terms of transmission performance and computational complexity are clarified to select the most appropriate algorithm for the fully digital Massive MIMO. Furthermore, E-ZF can be implemented to 4.5GHz-band fully digital Massive MIMO equipment only when the number of antenna elements is less than or equal to 64, and thus 5G experimental trial employing E-ZF was carried out in Tokyo, Japan where early 5G commercial services will launch. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first outdoor experiment on 4.5GHz-ban Massive MIMO in a dense urban area. An outdoor experiment in a rural area was also carried out. This paper shows both a coverage performance under the single user condition and system throughput performance under a densely deployed four-user condition in the outdoor experimental trials employing the E-ZF algorithm. We reveal that, in the MU-MIMO experiment, the measured system throughput is almost 80% of the maximum system throughput even if users are closely located in the dense urban area thanks to the E-ZF algorithm.