A random access and multiuser detection approach for massive access of low-complexity machine communications in cellular networks

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication has recently attracted significant interest, and is expected to play a major role in future wireless communication. Various M2M applications are being considered for integration to modern cellular networks including tracking, metering and eHealth, thus benefiting from the wide coverage and lower deployment costs. However, there exist applications supported by low end machine and sensor terminals constrained by limited battery, transmit power, complexity and cost, which suffer from the bulky signal processing and control overheads of existing systems making way for investigating new MAC and PHY approaches. In this paper we present a simple and efficient cross layer design for operation at low transmit powers and bandwidth, accommodating applications with sporadic, low volume transmissions and relatively relaxed QoS requirements. A wide range of monitoring and sensing applications fall in this category and will be a corner stone for realizing future Smart Cities. Using simulations, we identify the bounds on maximum supported machine terminals in a cell with above application characteristics, and also investigate the transmission latency and energy efficiency of the machine terminals.