High Spectral Efficient and Flexible Next Generation Mobile Communications

Journal article, 2008

In this article we identify and describe the requirements and challenges of next generation mobile communications systems. The so-called fourth generation (4G) aims at throughput rates of more than 100 MBit/s outdoors with high mobility and 1GBit/s indoors. This requires new advanced techniques in the air interface of such a system. We outline new possible techniques and introduce a future basic physical layer concept. The adaptivity to the channel of all the modules in such a possible concept is highlighted. Since the needed large bandwidth for high data rates is a very valuable resource, future communications systems need a high spectrum flexibility. Furthermore, 4G systems will face severe inter-cell interference scenarios that have to be tackled. Both challenges, i.e., spectrum flexibility and inter-cell interference, are discussed in more detail.