Coexistence for LTE-Advanced and FSS Services in the 3.5GHz Band in Colombia

Abstract

The 3.5GHz band is an optimal candidate for 5G networks due to its propagation characteristics and massive bandwidth. However, services like the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) are using this band in several countries. Therefore, this paper presents a coexistence study of the Long Term Evolution - Advanced (LTE-A) and FSS services in the 3500-3700 MHz in Colombia. Simulations were done in realistic scenarios in the city of Bogota, Colombia. Preliminary results show that critical scenarios are the ones from the LTE eNodeB (eNB) and Users Equipment (UE) nodes to the FSS earth stations. The study includes the analysis of Guard Bands (GB) and arrival angles into the Protection Distances (PD). Results show that the PD is highly dependent on the angle of the interfering signal and the GB used. The PD for a cochannel interference in a suburban scenario is higher than 250km, in the worst-case scenario, and could be reduced down to 17.5 km if a 25 MHz GB is included and the angular difference of the interfering LTE-A signal is 42⁰. Moreover, our results show that the PD needed for interference from UE are 100 times less compared to the eNB ones.