LTE/Wi-Fi Coordination in Unlicensed Bands: An SD-RAN Approach

In this article, we experimentally measure the throughput performance of a Wi-Fi, 802.11n, network when it is affected by LTE downlink transmissions. Our practical approach is based on a modular experimental test-bed. We initially compare our measurement results with the case without LTE interference; and further discuss that even the 3GPP features cannot guarantee coexistence in all cases and this might hamper the practicality of mobile technology in the unlicensed radio spectrum. For this reason, we enhance our test-bed introducing the Software-Defined Radio Access Network (SD-RAN) controller 5G-EmPOWER. Thus borrowing from the higher agility of software-defined networking. By using the SD-RAN control to adaptively tune LTE-eNB downlink transmission parameters, we experimentally prove the validity of this approach to improve Wi-Fi network throughput, as well as we shed light onto the new potentials that the SD-RAN controller can lead to automate network optimization.