In the realm of energy and connectivity, a team of researchers from InterDigital Inc., including Joshua Roy Palathinkal, Muhammad Iqbal Rochman, Vanlin Sathya, Mehmet Yavuz, and Monisha Ghosh, have conducted a study that could significantly impact indoor high-capacity connectivity solutions, which are increasingly important for energy sector applications such as smart grids, remote monitoring, and IoT devices.
The study, published in the IEEE Access journal, compares the performance of neutral-host (NH) networks, which share spectrum and infrastructure, against traditional mobile network operator (MNO) deployments and Wi-Fi. The research highlights several key findings that could influence the energy industry’s approach to indoor connectivity.
Firstly, the researchers found that indoor connectivity is often hampered by significant building penetration loss, which is up to 15.5 dB in low-band frequencies (<1 GHz) and 17.9 dB in mid-band frequencies (1-7 GHz). This results in a substantial deficit in the received signal strength indicator (RSRP) for MNO mid-bands compared to low-bands. For energy sector applications requiring reliable indoor connectivity, such as smart meters and building automation systems, this penetration loss could pose challenges. The study demonstrates that NH networks can provide a 30 dB higher median indoor RSRP compared to MNO deployments. This means that NH networks can offer more robust and reliable indoor connectivity, which is crucial for energy sector applications that require consistent and stable connections. Moreover, the downlink throughput of NH networks matches the performance of MNO outdoor deployments, while their uplink performance exceeds MNO levels both indoors and outdoors. One of the significant advantages of NH networks highlighted in the study is their superior uplink efficiency. NH networks utilize 64-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for 56% of transmissions, compared to less than 6% for MNOs. This results in a reduction of median user equipment (UE) transmit power by 5 dB. For energy sector applications that rely on uplink transmissions, such as remote monitoring and control systems, this improved efficiency can lead to more reliable and energy-efficient operations. The study also reveals that MNOs often rely on low-band spectrum for indoor uplink transmissions, while NH deployments maintain high-performance mid-band connectivity. This is particularly relevant for the energy sector, as mid-band frequencies offer a good balance between coverage and capacity, making them suitable for a wide range of applications. However, the research also notes that while NH networks outperform MNOs in end-to-end throughput, they trail behind Wi-Fi in uplink throughput and latency due to packet routing overhead to the MNO core. This is an important consideration for energy sector applications that require low-latency communications, such as real-time monitoring and control systems. In conclusion, the study by Palathinkal and colleagues provides valuable insights into the performance of NH networks compared to traditional MNO deployments and Wi-Fi. For the energy sector, the findings highlight the potential benefits of NH networks in providing reliable and efficient indoor connectivity, which is crucial for a wide range of applications. As the energy industry continues to embrace digital transformation, the insights from this research can inform strategic decisions about indoor connectivity solutions. This article is based on research available at arXiv.