W n I 1 L A L k

An Introduct|on to 802.11ac

S|gurd Sche|straete
!"#$%#&'( *$+#$,,"
CuanLenna CommunlcaLlons, lnc.
September 2011
Contents
Introduct|on ................................................................... 1
Cverv|ew of 802.11ac Ieatures ..................................... 3
Modu|at|on Lnhancements .................... 4
Increased Number of Streams ....................................... 7
MAC Improvements....................................................... 8
Conc|us|on...................................................................... 8
Append|x ........................................................................ 9
keferences.................................................................... 10
WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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Introduct|on
802.11ac ls Lhe name of a proposed amendmenL Lo Lhe lLLL 802.11 speclflcaLlon for Wlreless Local Area
neLworks (WLAns). lLLL Lask group 1Cac was sLarLed ln november 2008 Lo conslder Lechnlcal proposals
and Lo drafL a LexL proposal for Lhe amendmenL. 1hls work ls currenLly sLlll ln drafL sLage, wlLh flnal approval
LargeLed for uecember 2013. Cnce approved, lL wlll become an offlclal 802.11 amendmenL under Lhe name
802.11ac. Lven Lhough Lhe work has noL been offlclally approved yeL, we wlll refer Lo lL as 802.11ac ln Lhls
documenL.
1he maln goal of Lhe new 802.11ac amendmenL was Lo slgnlflcanLly lncrease Lhe LhroughpuL wlLhln Lhe
8aslc Servlce SeL (8SS). 1he offlclal LargeL raLes, as deflned aL Lhe sLarL of Lhe pro[ecL, are a maxlmum
MulLl-SLaLlon (MulLl-S1A) LhroughpuL of aL leasL 1 Cbps and a maxlmum slngle llnk LhroughpuL of aL leasL
300 Mbps. 1hese hlgher raLes are moLlvaLed by Lhe conLlnulng Lrend Lo LranslLlon devlces and appllcaLlons
from flxed llnks Lo wlreless llnks and by Lhe emergence of new appllcaLlons wlLh ever hlgher LhroughpuL
requlremenLs.
LxlsLlng 802.11 Lechnologles operaLe ln Lhe 2.4 CPz band (802.11b, 802.11g), Lhe 3 CPz band (802.11a),
or boLh (802.11n). 802.11ac operaLes sLrlcLly ln Lhe 3CPz band, buL supporLs backwards compaLlblllLy wlLh
oLher 802.11 Lechnologles operaLlng ln Lhe same band (mosL noLably 802.11n).
1o achleve lLs goals, 802.11ac relles on a number of lmprovemenLs ln boLh Lhe MAC and hyslcal Layer
(P?).
1he P? lmprovemenLs lnclude:
lncreased bandwldLh per channel
lncreased number of spaLlal sLreams
Plgher-order modulaLlon -- 236 CuadraLure AmpllLude ModulaLlon (CAM)
MulLl-user MulLlple lnpuL MulLlple CuLpuL (Mu-MlMC)
ln addlLlon Lo Lhese new P? feaLures, 802.11ac also supporLs a number of advanced dlglLal communlcaLlon
concepLs LhaL were flrsL lnLroduced ln 802.11n, such as space dlvlslon mulLlplexlng, Low-uenslLy arlLy
Check (LuC) codlng, shorLened guard lnLerval (shorL Cl), Space-1lme 8lock Codlng (S18C), and expllclL-
feedback LransmlL beamformlng (1x 8l).
1he Medla Access ConLrol (MAC) layer lncludes many of Lhe lmprovemenLs LhaL were flrsL lnLroduced wlLh
802.11n. Cne noLable enhancemenL ls Lhe larger maxlmum slze of aggregaLe MAC roLocol uaLa unlLs
(Muus). Also, Lhe 8equesL Lo Send/Clear Lo Send (81S/C1S) mechanlsm has been enhanced Lo allow more
efflclenL lmplemenLaLlon of dynamlc bandwldLh operaLlon.
1able 1 summarlzes some of Lhe advanced feaLures used ln 802.11n, 802.11ac, or boLh. We'll dlscuss Lhem
ln more deLall ln Lhe nexL secLlon.

WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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Whlle 802.11ac promlses blg lncreases ln P? raLes, lL ls lmporLanL Lo see Lhls performance lmprovemenL
ln conLexL. Speclflcally, one has Lo be aware of Lhe lmpacL LhaL lnLerference wlll have on Lhe acLual
LhroughpuL of wlder-bandwldLh sysLems. 1hls aspecL wlll be covered ln some lengLh laLer ln Lhls paper.

Cverv|ew of 802.11ac Ieatures
Introduct|on
802.11ac shares many feaLures wlLh 802.11n. Advanced codlng (LuC) ls used for lncreased codlng galn.
S18C Lechnology can be used for LransmlLLer dlverslLy. A number of oLher feaLures provlde varlous levels
of performance lmprovemenL, such as expllclL feedback 1x 8l, and shorL Cl. 1hese feaLures are essenLlally
ldenLlcal ln 802.11ac and 802.11n. 8elow we wlll dlscuss and evaluaLe feaLures LhaL Lruly dlsLlngulsh
802.11ac from 802.11n.
WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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Modu|at|on Lnhancements
Llke mosL recenL wlreless speclflcaLlon, 802.11ac uses CrLhogonal lrequency-ulvlslon MulLlplexlng (CluM)
Lo modulaLe blLs for Lransmlsslon over Lhe wlreless medlum. Whlle Lhe modulaLlon approach ls ldenLlcal
Lo LhaL used ln 802.11n, 802.11ac opLlonally allows Lhe use of 236 CAM ln addlLlon Lo Lhe mandaLory
CuadraLure hase ShlfL keylng (CSk), 8lnary Sk (8Sk), 16 CAM and 64 CAM modulaLlons. 236 CAM
lncreases Lhe number of blLs per sub-carrler from 6 Lo 8, resulLlng ln a 33 lncrease ln P? raLe under Lhe
rlghL condlLlons. lL should be noLed however LhaL 236 CAM can only be used ln hlgh slgnal-Lo-nolse raLlo
(Sn8) scenarlos (across Lhe used specLrum and deslred sLreams), l.e. for very favorable channel condlLlons.
1he supporL of 236 CAM wlll lncrease Lhe maxlmum P? raLe LhaL can be supporLed by Lhe sysLem, buL wlll
have no effecL ln Lyplcal scenarlos and wlll noL lead Lo any reach lncrease for Lhe servlce. Also, supporLlng
236 CAM requlres LransmlLLer and recelver Lo be deslgned such LhaL Lhe lnherenL Sn8 (LransmlL and recelve
Lrror vecLor MagnlLude, or LvM) of Lhe sysLem ls able Lo accommodaLe Lhe hlgher consLellaLlon.
1hls wlll make Lhe 8l deslgn of a sysLem LhaL supporLs 236 CAM more challenglng. unllke 802.11n, 802.11ac
does noL supporL Lhe use of unequal modulaLlon (uLCM). 1hls means LhaL all sLreams ln a mulLl-sLream
Lransmlsslon have Lo be modulaLed wlLh Lhe same consLellaLlon slze. uLCM, by conLrasL, enables Lhe sysLem
Lo modulaLe weaker sLreams wlLh lower modulaLlons, whlch allows for more flne-gralned opLlmlzaLlon of
Lhe daLa raLe Lo a parLlcular channel envlronmenL. 1hls may be lmporLanL for hlgher numbers of sLreams,
especlally ln comblnaLlon wlLh beamformlng.

Increased bandw|dth
1he mosL noLable feaLure of 802.11ac ls Lhe exLended bandwldLh of Lhe wlreless channels. 802.11ac
mandaLes supporL of 20, 40 and 80 MPz channels (versus 20 and 40 MPz ln 802.11n). CpLlonally, Lhe use
of conLlguous 160 MPz channels or non-conLlguous 80+80 MPz channels ls also allowed. 1he doubllng
of Lhe channel bandwldLh (from 40 Lo 80 MPz) ls a very efflclenL way Lo lncrease performance ln a cosL-
efflclenL way. AlLernaLlvely, an 80 MPz sysLem can use a lower number of anLennas Lo provlde Lhe same
performance as a 40 MPz sysLem. Powever, Lhls approach should be welghed agalnsL oLher specLrally
efflclenL Lechnlques LhaL provlde performance lncrease. ln addlLlon, ln mosL reallsLlc scenarlos Lhe
performance ls noL only a funcLlon of Lhe P? raLe, buL wlll also be affecLed by lnLerference from oLher
neLworks ln close proxlmlLy. ulfferenL bandwldLh levels wlll be affecLed dlfferenLly ln an lnLerference
scenarlo. Also, reduclng Lhe number of anLennas ellmlnaLes dlverslLy and reduces Lhe robusLness of Lhe
Lransmlsslon. 1hese aspecLs wlll be dlscussed furLher below.

Cost of |ncreased-bandw|dth so|ut|on
8y doubllng Lhe bandwldLh (from 40 Lo 80 MPz), each spaLlal sLream can roughly supporL Lwlce Lhe number
of blLs per symbol. As such, an 80 MPz slngle-sLream Lransmlsslon can provlde Lhe same performance as a
Lwo-sLream 40 MPz Lransmlsslon. 1o supporL Lwo sLreams, boLh LransmlLLer and recelver should have aL
leasL Lwo anLennas, whlle Lhe slngle sLream Lransmlsslon can be senL (or recelved) wlLh a slngle anLenna.
1hls means LhaL an 80 MPz sysLems deslgned wlLh only a slngle 8l and baseband LransmlL/recelve chaln
requlres less hardware for Lhe same performance Lhan a 40 MPz sysLem deslgned wlLh Lwo 8l and base-
band LransmlL/recelve chalns. lL ls Lrue LhaL Lhe 80 MPz 8l and baseband deslgn wlll be more demandlng
Lhan Lhe 40 MPz deslgn, buL lL ls llkely LhaL some cosL advanLage remalns for Lhe wlder-bandwldLh sysLem.
Powever, slngle-anLenna sysLems wlll noL provlde Lhe rellablllLy LhaL ls requlred for cerLaln CuallLy of Servlce
(CoS) scenarlos. Lven 80 MPz sysLems wlll need mulLlple chalns Lo rellably LransporL vldeo. Any remalnlng
cosL advanLage ls expecLed Lo become marglnal over Llme as slllcon cosLs decrease.
WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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ower consumpt|on of |ncreased-bandw|dth so|ut|on
When enhanced bandwldLh ls used Lo dellver Lhe same daLa raLe wlLh fewer 8l chalns, Lhe power
consumpLlon of Lhe devlce wlll be lower by vlrLue of Lhe lower number of 8l componenLs. 1hls glves
an advanLage Lo Lhe 80 MPz sysLem over a 40 MPz sysLem wlLh Lwo sLreams from Lhls perspecLlve.
Powever, one has Lo conslder Lhe facL LhaL a slngle anLenna wlll noL sufflce for cerLaln servlces.

kequ|red antenna d|vers|ty
lncreaslng Lhe bandwldLh enhances Lhe performance of a slngle sLream. lf Lhe LargeL ls Lo lmprove Lhe
P? raLe or Lhe maxlmum LhroughpuL of a sysLem regardless of CoS conslderaLlons, Lhls may be all LhaL ls
needed. Cne has Lo recognlze, however, LhaL Lransmlsslon of hlgh-quallLy conLenL such as vldeo has more
requlremenLs Lhan [usL lncreaslng Lhe maxlmum ldeal P? raLe. 1o ensure sLable dellvery of vldeo, Lhe
number of anLennas should be hlgher Lhan Lhe number of spaLlal sLreams. ulverslLy ls a crlLlcal parL of sLable
daLa dellvery wlLh CoS (see e.g. [1]). 1herefore, even 80 MPz sysLems wlll have Lo be bullL uslng mulLlple
anLennas lf Lhey are golng Lo be used ln appllcaLlons LhaL requlre sLable and rellable Lransmlsslon of daLa
(such as vldeo). 1hls narrows Lhe cosL and power advanLage beLween a (slngle-sLream) 80 MPz bandwldLh
sysLem and a (Lwo-sLream) 40 MPz sysLem.

erformance |n |nterference env|ronment
1he use of Lhe 3 CPz band has slgnlflcanLly lncreased Lhe amounL of bandwldLh avallable for wlreless
Lransmlsslon. Powever, even Lhls band ls ulLlmaLely a llmlLed resource, and ever-lncreaslng compeLlLlon
for bandwldLh share wlll be a reallLy for any 802.11 sysLem operaLlng ln Lhls band.
802.11ac speclfles LhaL 80 MPz channels conslsL of Lwo ad[acenL 40 MPz channels, wlLhouL any overlap
beLween Lhe 80 MPz channels. 1hls resulLs ln channel allocaLlons as lllusLraLed ln llgure 1 and llgure 2
for Lhe u.S. and Lurope, respecLlvely. 1he number of 80 MPz channels for Lhe u.S. ls 3, whlle ln Lurope
and !apan Lhe number ls 4.

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WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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lor 20 and 40 MPz sysLems, one of Lhe prlmary mechanlsms for lnLerference mlLlgaLlon ls a [udlclous
channel selecLlon algorlLhm. 1hls allows nelghborlng neLworks Lo essenLlally avold each oLher by uslng
dlfferenL channels when Lhey are wlLhln each oLher's range. Channels can be reused by neLworks LhaL
are sufflclenLly far removed.
WlLh only four or flve avallable 80 MPz channels, lL becomes much harder for an 80 MPz sysLem Lo avold
lnLerference from nelghborlng neLworks (whlch could be elLher 80 MPz neLworks or 20/40 MPz neLworks).
Cverlapplng 8ase SLaLlon SubsysLem ((C8SS) problems wlll be more prevalenL for 80 MPz sysLems. 1hls
means LhaL nelghborlng 80 MPz neLworks wlll have Lo share Lhe same channel wlLh a nelghborlng 8SS,
wlLh each geLLlng access only parL of Lhe Llme. ln addlLlon, an 80 MPz sysLem ls dlsadvanLaged by Lhe facL
LhaL all four 20 MPz (or Lwo 40 MPz) channels wlLh whlch lL overlaps have Lo be clear before Lhe 80 MPz
Lransmlsslon ls allowed Lo sLarL. Lven a 20 or 40 MPz Lransmlsslon ln parL of Lhe 80 MPz channel wlll
preempL Lhe compleLe 80 MPz channel from sendlng. 1hls reduces Lhe probablllLy LhaL an 80 MPz sysLem
wlll galn access Lo Lhe channel ln a dense envlronmenL. lL should be noLed LhaL 802.11 ac provldes a
mechanlsm for 80 MPz Lo fall back Lo lower bandwldLh modes, buL only under some condlLlons (for
lnsLance, 40 MPz Lransmlsslon on Lhe secondary channel, only, ls noL allowed). Also, Lhls mechanlsm ls
opLlonal and need noL be lmplemenLed Lo be 802.11ac-compllanL.
llgure 3 lllusLraLes a posslble dlfference ln lnLerference scenarlos beLween an 80 MPz sysLem and a 40 MPz
sysLem. llgure 3(a) shows an 80 MPz sysLem occupylng four 20 MPz channels, whlle one of Lhe 20 MPz
channels ls also used by a legacy 20 MPz sysLem. ln Lhls scenarlo, Lhe 80 MPz sysLem has no way Lo avold
Lhe occupled channel and has Lo share access Lo Lhe medlum wlLh Lhe 20 MPz sysLem. lf access ls equally
shared beLween Lhe Lwo sysLems, Lhe capaclLy of Lhe 80 MPz sysLem ls cuL ln half. noLe LhaL Lhe 80 MPz
sysLem cannoL fall back Lo 40 MPz Lransmlsslon ln Lhls case, slnce Lhe overlap happens ln Lhe prlmary 40
MPz channel. ln comparlson, llgure 3(b) shows how a 40 MPz sysLem can avold Lhe occupled 20 MPz
channel by channel selecLlon. ln Lhls scenarlo, Lhe 40 MPz sysLem has full unshared access Lo Lhe medlum.
A slngle-sLream 40 MPz sysLem would have Lhe same capaclLy as Lhe slngle-sLream 80 MPz sysLem shown
ln scenarlo 3(a). lf Lhe same 40 MPz sysLem were Lo supporL Lwo sLreams, however, lLs capaclLy would be
double LhaL of Lhe slngle-sLream 80 MPz sysLem shown ln scenarlo 3(a).






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1here are many dlfferenL lnLerference scenarlos, and Lhe above example only alms Lo lllusLraLe Lhe
lmporLance of fully undersLandlng lnLerference dynamlcs and lmpllcaLlons when lL comes Lo assesslng
Lhe Lrue capaclLy of a sysLem. lL ls also lmporLanL Lo reallze LhaL one ls unllkely Lo encounLer greenfleld"
scenarlos wlLhouL legacy or oLher 802.11ac sysLems, where no pre-exlsLlng lnLerference-relaLed consLralnLs
exlsL. lnLerference wlll vlrLually always be an lssue, Lo one degree or anoLher.
ln Lhe appendlx, we lnclude slmulaLlon resulLs LhaL compare 80 MPz and 40 MPz performance ln a speclflc
slmulaLlon scenarlo. 1hls furLher emphaslzes Lhe facL LhaL performance ls, Lo a large exLenL, dependenL on
Lhe lnLerference envlronmenL. 1he lnLerference lssue ls very lmporLanL Lo servlce provlders, where lL ls
essenLlal LhaL Lhe wlreless lnfrasLrucLure be fuLure-proofed.
1o be compeLlLlve ln an lnLerference envlronmenL, lL ls lmporLanL for an 80 MPz sysLem Lo have a fallback
mode Lo lower bandwldLh levels LhaL provlde slmllar performance. 1hls means Lhe equlpmenL has Lo
supporL a sufflclenL number of anLennas Lo fully and effecLlvely explolL Lhe beneflLs of channel dlverslLy.

Increased Number of Streams
802.11ac allows supporL for up Lo 8 spaLlal sLreams - up from a maxlmum of 4 sLreams ln 802.11n.
SupporL for more Lhan one spaLlal sLream ls opLlonal, however. lL ls noL clear wheLher a real-world,
slngle-user MlMC channel can reallsLlcally supporL LhaL many sLreams. 1he lncreased number of sLreams
may be mosL useful ln comblnaLlon wlLh Mu-MlMC.

MU-MIMC
Mu-MlMC was added Lo 802.11ac Lo address Lhe mulLl-S1A LhroughpuL requlremenL. ln Mu-MlMC,
Lhe Access olnL (A) - or posslbly anoLher S1A - LransmlLs lndependenL daLa sLreams Lo several S1As
aL Lhe same Llme. 1hrough preprocesslng of Lhe daLa sLreams aL Lhe LransmlLLer (slmllar Lo whaL happens
ln beamformlng), Lhe lnLerference from sLreams LhaL are noL lnLended for a parLlcular S1A ls ellmlnaLed
aL Lhe recelver of each S1A. 1herefore, ln Lheory, each S1A recelves lLs daLa free of lnLerference from Lhe
Lransmlsslons LhaL are slmulLaneously dlrecLed Lowards oLher S1As. ln Mu-MlMC, Lhe spaLlal degrees
of freedom are used Lo creaLe lndependenL Lransmlsslons Lo dlfferenL S1As, whlle ln slngle-user MlMC,
Lhese spaLlal degrees of freedom are used Lo lncrease Lhe LhroughpuL from A Lo S1A.
1he complexlLy of Mu-MlMC falls mosLly on Lhe A (or LransmlLLlng S1A), where Lhe preprocesslng happens.
1he recelvlng S1As only need Lhe capablllLy Lo reporL channel lnformaLlon Lo Lhe A so lL can calculaLe Lhe
preprocesslng maLrlces. 1he requlred channel lnformaLlon from Lhe recelvlng S1A ls very slmllar Lo whaL ls
requlred for expllclL feedback beamformlng. As such, Lhe complexlLy for Lhe S1A ls no more Lhan Lhe
complexlLy already lnvolved ln supporLlng expllclL feedback beamformlng as a recelver.
Cne drawback of Mu-MlMC ls LhaL Lhe amounL of Llme LhaL Lhe medlum ls occupled ls deLermlned by Lhe
slowesL llnk among all A-S1A palrs (or, more generally, Lhe llnk LhaL requlres Lhe mosL Llme Lo flnallze lLs
Lransmlsslon). no new daLa can be senL Lo any of Lhe S1As unLll all Lransmlsslons Lo S1As ln Lhe Mu-group
have ended. lf Lhere ls Loo much dlfference ln elLher Lhe amounL of daLa or LhroughpuL golng Lo varlous
S1As, Lhls may lead Lo lnefflclenL use of Lhe wlreless medlum.
AL Lhls polnL, Mu-MlMC ls a well-sLudled concepL, buL pracLlcal conslderaLlons wlll llkely defer lmplemenL-
aLlon of Lhls feaLure Lo laLer generaLlons of 802.11ac producLs. AddlLlonal work may be needed Lo guaranLee
Lhe efflclenL use of Mu-MlMC.

WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


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MAC Improvements
Increased Aggregated MDU (A-MDU) s|ze
1he maxlmum slze of an A-Muu can opLlonally be lncreased Lo a maxlmum of 1,048,373 ocLeLs
(compared Lo a maxlmum of 63,333 ocLeLs ln 802.11n).

k1S]C1S operat|on for w|der bandw|dth
8ecause of Lhe wlder bandwldLh used ln 802.11ac and Lhe llmlLed number of 80 MPz channels, hldden
nodes on Lhe secondary channels are an lmporLanL problem Lo address. 1he 81S/C1S mechanlsm has been
updaLed Lo beLLer deLecL wheLher any of Lhe non-prlmary channels are occupled by a dlfferenL Lransmlsslon.
1o Lhls end, boLh 81S and C1S (opLlonally) supporL a dynamlc bandwldLh" mode. ln Lhls mode, C1S may be
senL only on Lhe prlmary channels LhaL are avallable ln case parL of Lhe bandwldLh ls occupled. 1he S1A LhaL
senL Lhe 81S can Lhan fall back Lo a lower bandwldLh mode. 1hls helps Lo mlLlgaLe Lhe effecL of a hldden
node. noLe however LhaL Lhe flnal Lransmlsslon bandwldLh always has Lo lnclude Lhe prlmary channel.

Cther
8educed lnLer-lrame Spaclng (8llS) ls a deprecaLed feaLure of Lhe 802.11n speclflcaLlon whose purpose
was Lo lncrease MAC efflclency by reduclng Lhe gap beLween successlve Lransmlsslons. 8llS can be applled
beLween Lransmlsslons wlLhln Lhe same bursL. 1hls mechanlsm was removed from 802.11ac, excepL for
whaL ls needed Lo malnLaln backward compaLlblllLy wlLh 802.11n. lL was felL LhaL aggregaLlon provlded a
more efflclenL way Lo lncrease MAC efflclency, and LhaL Lhe complexlLy of 8llS lmplemenLaLlon dld noL
ouLwelgh lLs galns as a sLand-alone mechanlsm.

Conc|us|on
802.11ac has Lhe poLenLlal Lo provlde Lhe nexL generaLlon ln hlgh-LhroughpuL wlreless sysLems. 1o fully
reallze Lhls poLenLlal, 802.11ac sysLems wlll have Lo go beyond a mlnlmal lmplemenLaLlon LhaL slmply
explolLs Lhe wlder bandwldLh channels avallable Lo Lhls Lechnology. Any new sysLem wlll be measured
agalnsL currenLly avallable 802.11n sysLems LhaL already lmplemenL MlMC processlng wlLh space-dlvlslon
mulLlplexlng, LuC, S18C, beamformlng, mulLlple sLreams and a varleLy of oLher P?, MAC and coexlsLence
enhancemenLs. llrsL-generaLlon 802.11ac sysLems musL be evaluaLed ln llghL of Lhls comparlson. As a
mlnlmum, such sysLems would have Lo maLch Lhe feaLure seL LhaL ls already provlded by currenL-generaLlon
802.11n. referably, any nexL-generaLlon sysLem would lnclude some Lruly nexL-generaLlon feaLures (such
as Mu-MlMC) ln addlLlon Lo Lhe channel bandwldLh lncreases LhaL are readlly avallable ln Lhls new Lech-
nology. 1he bandwldLh lncrease of 11ac ls currenLly a concern ln slLuaLlons wlLh llmlLed bandwldLh
resources. lrequency ls a scarce resource LhaL needs Lo be used as efflclenLly as posslble. LxplolLlng channel
dlverslLy by uslng a hlgher number of spaLlal sLreams allows more efflclenL specLrum use Lhan slmply
doubllng Lhe bandwldLh of Lhe Lransmlsslon. Channel and anLenna dlverslLy, Lherefore, remaln lmporLanL
requlremenLs, even for sysLems LhaL are capable of wlder bandwldLh. lL ls belleved LhaL a 4x4 sysLem wlLh
a maxlmum number of spaLlal sLreams and Mu-MlMC wlll be requlred, aL a mlnlmum, ln order for 11ac Lo
fully reallze lLs poLenLlal. Such a sysLem would provlde hlgher bandwldLh ln sparsely populaLed neLworks,
whlle provldlng CoS, good performance and coexlsLence ln denser neLwork envlronmenLs.
WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


9
Append|x: 80 Mnz vs. 40 Mnz erformance
1here are many posslble lnLerference scenarlos LhaL can be consldered when evaluaLlng Lhe relaLlve
performance of 80 and 40 MPz sysLems (or oLher bandwldLh scenarlos). We'll conslder one meLhod LhaL
has been applled ln a number of lLLL 802.11 conLrlbuLlons Lo Lhe 1Cac 1ask Croup [4]-[7].
1he meLhod LhaL follows evaluaLes Lhe effecLlve bandwldLh of a sysLem LhaL operaLes ln an envlronmenL
characLerlzed by a cerLaln number of busy 20 MPz channels. 1he effecLlve bandwldLh ls a measure LhaL ls
ulLlmaLely proporLlonal Lo Lhe LhroughpuL. Lach busy channel ls characLerlzed by a load beLween 0 and
100, whlch represenLs Lhe llkellhood LhaL Lhe 20 MPz channel ls occupled aL any glven Llme.
lor a glven number nb of busy channels ouL of a LoLal of nL channels, we conslder all posslble ways LhaL
Lhe nb busy channels can be allocaLed wlLhln Lhe avallable nL channels. lor each allocaLlon of busy
channels, we flnd Lhe besL channel allocaLlon for an 80 MPz or 40 MPz sysLem. 1he besL channel allocaLlon
for Lhe 80 MPz or 40 MPz sysLem ls Lhe one LhaL provldes Lhe lowesL probablllLy LhaL Lhe 80 or 40 MPz
sysLem wlll have Lo defer lLs Lransmlsslon because of lnLerference from Lhe busy channels.
1he slmulaLlon approach ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 4.





II GUkL 4 - E((01/"'/#2$ 23 /<, 2&/#F'( (2%'/#2$ 23 '$ 45 @AB 1G1/,F #$ '$ ,$H#"2$F,$/ D#/< 3#H, I01G %<'$$,(1

llgure 4 shows an envlronmenL wlLh flve busy 20 MPz channels, whlch are shaded ln Lhe dlagram Lo l
denLlfy Lhem. WlLhln such an envlronmenL, an 80 MPz channel can be asslgned Lo four dlfferenL locaLlons.
Cnly one of Lhese locaLlons (shown as un-shaded) ls free of lnLerference for Lhls speclflc cholce of flve
busy channels. ln Lhls locaLlon, Lhe 80 MPz sysLem has Lhe besL probablllLy (ln Lhls case, 100) of galnlng
access Lo Lhe medlum. llgure 4 shows [usL one posslble allocaLlon of flve busy channels. ln Lhe slmulaLlon,
Lhe process ls repeaLed for many dlfferenL allocaLlons, and Lhe locaLlon of Lhe 80 MPz sysLem LhaL glves
lL Lhe opLlmal probablllLy of galnlng channel access ls found for each of Lhem. 1he probablllLy ls averaged
over all posslble envlronmenLs wlLh Lhe same number of busy channels. 1he effecLlve bandwldLh ls Lhe
naLlve" bandwldLh of Lhe sysLem (e.g. 80 MPz) mulLlplled by Lhe probablllLy LhaL Lhe sysLem has access
Lo Lhe medlum.

WPl1L AL8 - An lnLroducLlon Lo 802.11ac


10
llgure 3 shows an example LhaL lllusLraLes Lhe performance of an 80 MPz and a 40 MPz sysLem, as
calculaLed uslng Lhls meLhodology. 1he horlzonLal axls shows Lhe envlronmenL, as characLerlzed by
Lhe number of busy (20 MPz) channels. 1he verLlcal axls shows Lhe effecLlve bandwldLh (whlch ls a
measure LhaL ls proporLlonal Lo Lhe LhroughpuL of Lhe sysLem).















II GUkL S - !,"32"F'$%, %2F&'"#12$ 23 45@AB '$9 >5@AB 1G1/,F

ln an envlronmenL wlLh no or low lnLerference, Lhe 80 MPz sysLem wlll achleve abouL double Lhe
performance of a 40 MPz sysLems (assumlng Lhe same number of sLreams for boLh). noL surprlslngly,
Lhe 80 MPz sysLems beglns Lo exhlblL Lhe lmpacL of lnLerference sooner (l.e. for a lower number of busy
channels) Lhan a 40 MPz sysLem would. 1he performance of Lhe 80 MPz sysLem degrades rapldly as
Lhe number of busy 20MPz channels lncreases. lor Lhe resulLs shown ln llgure 3, Lhe LhroughpuL of Lhe
80 MPz sysLems drops below Lhe LhroughpuL of Lhe 40 MPz channel when Lhe number of busy channels
exceeds seven. ln a hlgh-lnLerference envlronmenL, Lhe 40 MPz sysLem performs slgnlflcanLly beLLer
Lhan Lhe 80 MPz sysLem.

keferences
[1] ueslgnlng rellable Wl-ll for Pu dellvery LhroughouL Lhe home, CuanLenna whlLe paper
[2] Parmonlzed Luropean SLandard L1Sl Ln 301 893, 8roadband 8adlo Access neLworks, 3 CPz hlgh performance 8LAn
[3] MlC LqulpmenL Crdlnance for 8egulaLlng 8adlo LqulpmenL
[4] . ChrlsLln eL al, non conLlguous 40+40 MPz mode for Lurope, !apan and global, lLLL 802.11-10/127
[3] L. Carlou, !. 8enko, Calns provlded by mulLlchannel Lransmlsslons, lLLL 802.11-10/0130
[6] L. Carlou, . ChrlsLln, 80MPz and 160MPz channel access modes, lLLL 802.44-10/0383
[7] L. Carlou eL al, LvaluaLlon of saLuraLlon of Lhe 3 CPz band, lLLL 802.11-10/0846

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