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Next Generation Wi-Fi IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Meeting
Hemanth Sampath
August 27, 2013
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QC Research Center (QRC) has been spearheading WLAN
technology innovations for the past several years.
− Design, Standardization, Prototypes, Product development support.
− Human Resources - Systems, Hardware, Software, Test Engineering
− Complete development labs
QRC works closely with Qualcomm Atheros on WLAN product
development and commercialization of technologies.
QC Research Center & WLAN
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Outline
Introduction
- WLAN Trends
- QC Technology roadmap
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802.11ac technology
- Features and value
proposition
2
Emerging Technologies Beyond 11ac
- 802.11ah for range extension &
the ‘Internet of Things’
- 802.11ai for Fast Initial Link Setup
- 802.11 High Efficiency WLAN
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Market Trends:
100% WLAN attach-rate for smart phones
Move towards BT-like attach rates for overall market
Rapid growth of tablet category
Carriers embracing WiFi for cellular offload
Wi-Fi Direct opening up new Use Cases (e.g. Display, Docking, etc.)
High-Mid Tier Markets transitioning to 802.11ac
Regulatory Trends:
Increased spectrum availability in 5GHz (600MHz + in US)
More bands becoming available for WiFi (e.g. 900MHz, 60GHz)
WLAN Market & Regulatory Trends
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QC Technology roadmap: A strong Wi-Fi evolution path
2.4 GHz/
5 GHz
60 GHz
Wireless docking, in-room
wireless display, audio,
and more
Higher capacity, higher data
rates for mobile, computing,
and CE devices
802.11ad
Multi-Gigabit Short Range
802.11 ah
Sensor, Control
Multi-year year battery life.
Home/building automation,
sensors and more
Sub GHz (bands varies globally)
802.11ac
Breaking the Gbps Barrier 802.11 g 802.11 n
2012 2013 2014 and beyond
1First to deliver a tri-band (dual-band 11n plus WiGig 60 GHz) solution in the form of a module for computers
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802.11ac Key Technology Features and Value Proposition
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11ac Value Proposition
Video-grade Performance Across Increasingly Crowded, Busy Networks
Increased rate-over-range
at close-and mid-range
with standardized mechanisms.
Extend battery life by lowering
joules-per-bit
Richer content faster with improved
bandwidth and spectral efficiency
Reduction of latency with
interference-free 5GHz
Driving “practical” Gigabit wireless performance
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Key Technical Elements of 802.11ac
- Improved secondary channel CCA
- RTS/CTS with BW Indication
- Provides 6.9Gbps with 160 MHz
- 24+ channels in US
- Significant reduction of interference
- Increases data rate per antenna
- Lowers power consumption
- Increases network capacity for limited-
antenna devices
- Enables concurrent operation
- More efficient use of spectrum
- Some increase in ROR for 1-antenna devices
served by multiple-antenna APs
Up to 8
streams
Mandatory
5GHz
Wider BW:
80 or 160 MHz
256 QAM
Multi-user
MIMO
Standardized Transmit
Beamforming
Dynamic Bandwidth
Management
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Data Rate Per Stream
11b
11 Mbps
2.4GHz
11a
54 Mbps
5GHz
11g
54 Mbps
2.4GHz
11n
150 Mbps per SS
2.4/5GHz
Up to 4 streams
600 Mbps Max
11ac
433 Mbps per SS
5GHz
80 MHz
256 QAM
Up to 8 streams
3.45Gbps
(Max)
11ac
867 Mbps per SS
5GHz
160 MHz
256 QAM
Up to 8 streams
6.9Gbps
(Max)
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3x PHY rate improvement over 11n per stream
− Mandatory 20/40/80 MHz and optional 160 MHz BW
− 256 QAM boosts PHY rate by 33% over 11n
Increased data rate without increasing antennas
11ac 80 MHz 1x1 (433 Mbps) comparable to 11n 40MHz 3x3 (450 Mbps)
# Spatial Streams 802.11n (5GHz, 40MHz BW, SGI) 802.11 ac (5GHz, 80MHz BW, SGI)
1 150 Mbps 433 Mbps
2 300 Mbps 867 Mbps
3 450 Mbps
Gigabit Wireless 4 600 Mbps
~ 11n 3 antennas
11ac 1 antenna
Wider Bandwidth and 256-QAM
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Short-range: Much higher throughput/capacity for in-room & P2P
Mid-range: Higher capacity across most points in the home/office for networked media
Increased Rate over Range
11ac extends the range of the 11n top throughput by a factor of 2x
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00
3x3, 11ac 80MHz
3x3, 11n 40MHz
TC
P T
hro
ug
hp
ut
(Mb
ps
)
Range (m)
Aggressive-Loss Home Model
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Technical Benefits:
Increased spectral efficiency
Exceed 11n-level network capacity with
fewer client side antennas
Unification of TxBF approach
End User Benefits:
Run more traffic over the network
Higher throughputs at a given range
Reduced power consumption and
complexity for clients
Stream 4
Stream 3
Stream 2
Stream 1
Stream 2
Stream 1
11n Single User MIMO
11ac Multi-user MIMO
Multi-User MIMO: Simultaneous Support for More Clients
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Extremely low cost configuration
− 4 antenna AP, 4 single-antenna clients
Even with 40MHz BW, 4x1x4 MU-MIMO approaches 4x4 11n
− Above 3x3 11n performance
Performance Improvement with MU-MIMO
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
65 75 85 95 105 115 125
PH
Y D
ata
Ra
te (
Mb
ps
)
Signal Loss Allowed (dB)
4x4 11n
2x2 11n
4x1-40 MU-MIMO
4x1-80 MU-MIMO
Linear (4x4 11n)
Linear (2x2 11n)
Linear (4x1-40 MU-MIMO)
Linear (4x1-80 MU-MIMO)
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11ac results in lower joules-per-bit operation
Moves more data at up to 6x reduction in power consumption for Wi-Fi
Applications include video streaming, Wi-Fi Display synching, media shifting, and more
Improved Power Efficiency
Streaming Wi-Fi Display
TX and RX for 20MHz, 40MHz and 80MHz
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~4x lower energy consumed using 11ac-80MHz compared to 11n-20MHz
~2.3x lower energy consumed using 11ac-80MHz compared to 11n-40MHz
Improved Power Efficiency
Based on Wi-Fi+CPU Power Consumption Measurements
0.84 sec
270
Mbps
Time
Sp
ee
d (
Mb
ps
)
1.6 sec 0.30 sec
File Transfer Throughput
95 Mbps
50 Mbps
11ac 80MHz
11n 40MHz
11n 20MHz
Time
En
erg
y U
se
1X
Energy Use
2.3X
4X
11ac 80MHz
11n 40MHz
11n 20MHz
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802.11ah
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Taskgroup 802.11ah is chartered to define an OFDM PHY operating in
the license-exempt bands below 1 GHz, and enhancements to the
802.11 MAC to support this PHY
− Transmission range up to 1 km
− Data rates > 100 kbit/s
Taskgroup is projected to have a Draft 1.0 version of the standard
available in 2H-2013 and a Draft 2.0 version 1H-2014
− Standard completion projected for Year End 2015
Categories of Use Cases:
− Internet of Things (IoT)
− Extended Range Wi-Fi (e.g. for cellular offload)
IEEE802.11ah Overview
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802.11ac 5 GHz
802.11g 2.4 GHz
802.11n 2.4 & 5 GHz
802.11ah (sub 1 GHz)
Wi-Fi ecosystem
WFA certified interoperability and Wi-Fi user experience
Improved Range
10 dB link budget advantage over 2.4 GHz technologies
Low Power
Supports multi-year battery life sensor operation
Rich Data Rates
150Kbit/s ~ 78 Mbits/s per spatial stream (sensor, audio, security camera, internet)
Scalable
Support thousands of nodes
IP connectivity
Same as Wi-Fi
Outdoor Coverage
Support for larger delay and doppler spreads, support for relays
802.11ah Value Proposition – 3rd Band Wi-Fi
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Harmonized 11ah Spectrum in Key Geographies
902 928 MHz
917 923.5
929.7
779 787 863 868.6
8 MHz 5.6 MHz 26 MHz
6.5 MHz
China
(max erp <= 10 mW)
EU
US (max erp <=1 W)
Korea
Japan
(Max BW = 1MHz)
915.9 928 MHz
13.8 MHz
China
(max erp <= 5 mW)
24 MHz
755
Region Tx power regulations
US Max e.r.p. <= 1 W
EU max erp <=14 dBm
PSD <= -4.5 dBm/100KHz (863~868.6MHz)
PSD <= 6.2 dBm/100KHz (865~868MHz)
Korea 3 mW or 10 mW (920.6~923.5MHz and six 200 KHz
channels below 920.6 MHz)
China Max e.r.p. <= 5 mW (755 – 779 MHz)
Max e.r.p. <= 10 mW (779 – 787 MHz)
Japan 1mW , 20 mW or 250 mW (915.9~929.7MHz)
Max BW <= 1 MHz (Add duty cycle limit)
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Whole home coverage with Single AP & battery operated sensors with no power amplifier − Mandatory 1 and 2 MHz BW
− 150 Kbps minimum data rate
Low power MAC protocols − Small Frame formats
− Sensor traffic priority
− Efficient Beaconless mode for
sensor wakeup
− Scheduled transmissions
Scalable to 1000s of nodes − Efficient paging
− Scheduled transmissions
11ah Technical Enhancements for IoT
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Rich Data Sets Enable Both IOT and Extended Range WiFi Applications
16 MHz
8 MHz
4 MHz
2 MHz
1 MHz
20 MHz
Minimum 11n/ac bandwidth
11ah Bandwidth Modes
Higher Data Rates
150Kbps* – 4Mbps
650Kbps – 7.8Mbps
1.35Mbps – 18Mbps
2.9Mbps – 39Mbps
5.8Mbps – 78Mbps
Mandatory &
Globally
Interoperable
modes optimized
for sensor
networking
Optional higher
data rate modes
for extended range
WiFi
6.5Mbps – 78Mbps
* Single spatial stream rates shown. 150Kbps achieved via a new repetition modulation and coding scheme (MCS10)
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Fast Initial Link Setup (802.11ai)
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Taskgroup 802.11ai is chartered
to define techniques for:
− a secure initial link set-up in less
than 100ms
− associating least 100 STAs entering
an ESS within 1 second
Taskgroup is projected to
complete
− Draft 1.0 version in 2H-2013
− Draft 2.0 version in ~2014
− Final spec in 2015
802.11ai Overview
- Shorter initial link setup time
- Improved AP-to-AP handoff in dense networks
- Reduced probe storms
11ai enhances Network Connection Experience
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Shorter Link Set up time
− Authentication, 4-way handshake, Association & IP address assignment
completed in 2 roundtrip signaling messages
− Shorter & faster beacons (FILS discovery frame)
Improved AP-to-AP handoff in dense networks
− Neighbor AP advertisement and Subnet identifier tokens in Beacons & Probe-
Responses
Reduced Probe Storms
− Broadcast Probe Response
− Selective Probe response based on probe-request content
− Shorter Probe Response containing only the changed parameters since last
association
802.11ai Key Technical Elements
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High Efficiency WLAN (HEW)
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IEEE Study Group created in March 2013 to improve performance in
dense multi-BSS networks
− 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands
− Indoor and outdoor scenarios
− Significant interference
− Address requirements on ‘Carrier Wi-Fi’
IEEE Task Group launch likely in 2014.
− Technology components under
development, but will likely include:
o Improving average and tail throughputs
o Improving MAC efficiency and reducing collisions/contentions
o Improving outdoor coverage and robustness
802.11 High Efficiency WLAN (HEW)
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HEW and Carrier Wi-Fi
The meaning of ‘Carrier Wi-Fi’ differs by industry body:
Venue Meaning of ‘Carrier Wi-Fi’
3GPP Interworking between Cellular and Wi-Fi
IEEE802.11
HEW
MAC and PHY enhancements to improve performance in dense
deployments, and outdoor usage
WFA Hotspot 2.0 / Passpoint and future enhancements
WBA (Wireless
Broadband
Alliance)
Improving end-user experience of Hotspot operator Wi-Fi similar to
a cellular operator experience (e.g. end-to end network
management)
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All data and information contained in or disclosed by this document is confidential and proprietary information of Qualcomm A theros, Inc. and all rights therein are expressly reserved.
By accepting this material the recipient agrees that this material and the information contained therein is to be held in con fidence and in trust and will not be used, copied, reproduced in whole or in part,
nor its contents revealed in any manner to others without the express written permission of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.
© 2013 Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. Qualcomm is a registered trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Atheros is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. All other registered and unregistered
trademarks are the property of QUALCOMM Incorporated, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., or their respective owners and used with permis sion. Registered marks owned by QUALCOMM Incorporated and
Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. are registered in the United States and may be registered in other countries.
Qualcomm VIVE, Qualcomm StreamBoost, Qualcomm Hy-Fi, Qualcomm IZat, Qualcomm Ethos, Qualcomm Skifta, are products of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.
Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., 1700 Technology Drive, San Jose, CA 95110
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Backup
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Significant Worldwide Spectrum available in the 5GHz Band for 802.11 a/n/ac
5170
MHz
5330
MHz
5490
MHz
5730
MHz
5735
MHz
5835
MHz
144
140
136
132
128
124
120
116
112
108
104
100
165
161
157
153
149
64
60
56
52
48
44
40
36
IEEE channel #
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
US
Europe
&
Japan
India
China
96
92
88
84
80
76
72
68
181
177
173
169
New band
(pending)
DSRC
(pending)
5915
MHz
UNII-1 UNII-Worldwide (DFS)
740 MHz potential spectrum
UNII-3
New channels in red are expected to become available pending FCC approval.
UNII-2
(DFS)
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