6G Connectivity in Dense Indoor Environments using Beamforming and Frequency Allocation over IEEE 802.11ad

Abstract

The upcoming 6G network is expected to support high data rate services combining the requirements of the 5G enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) use cases, typically called mobile broadband reliable low latency communication (MBR-LLC). In addition, a large proliferation of extended reality (XR) services, encompassing augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (AR/MR/VR), is expected. On the other hand, the IEEE 802.11ad standard uses millimeter wave (mmWave) communications to provide data rates up to 6.76 Gbps, and supports six channels. This paper investigates the use of IEEE 802.11ad for indoor environments with high density of users. To provide high data rates to each user and avoid collisions over a single channel, we propose the use of beamforming using massive antenna arrays, coupled with a frequency allocation scheme for IEEE 802.11ad. Simulation results show that the proposed approach leads to high rates with limited interference in an indoor environment.