On the Performance of One Stage Massive Random Access Protocols in 5G Systems

The next generation of cellular system is expected to experience a proliferation in the number of emerging use cases alongside supporting high speed mobile broadband services. Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) catering to a large number of low-data rate, low-cost devices is such an emerging use case. Smart utility meters, automated sensors in farms, and vehicle tracking nodes for logistics monitoring are all examples of emerging mMTC devices. Ensuring efficient mechanisms to access the wireless channel for such a massive number of densely deployed devices is a key challenge posed by mMTC applications. A framework for the comparative analysis of the one-stage massive access protocol with respect to important performance metrics for mMTC services is proposed in this paper. The proposed framework allows us to determine the scenarios where the relative simple one-stage protocol can sufficiently meet the desired performance requirements.