[STANDARDS]

Michelle X. Gong Google Inc. Brian Hart Cisco Systems, Inc. Shiwen Mao Auburn University

Editor: Michelle X. Gong

ADVANCED WIRELESS
LAN TECHNOLOGIES:
IEEE 802.11AC AND BEYOND
In 2013, global mobile data traffic grew 81% and it is projected to support the higher data rates.
Some 802.11n features are simplified
increase 11-fold between 2013 and 2018. Further, it is predicted that for new 802.11ac devices [2]. Transmit
by 2018, over two-thirds of the world’s mobile traffic will be video beamforming in 802.11n had many options
and more than half of all traffic from wireless connected devices will making interoperability between different
manufacturers difficult. In 802.11ac
be offloaded to Wi-Fi networks and femto-cells [1]. Consequently, transmit beamforming is limited to the
wireless LANs need major upgrades to improve both throughput and explicit feedback mechanism (implicit
feedback is not supported). Furthermore,
efficiency. IEEE 802.11ac is an amendment to the 802.11 standard that the only type of feedback is compressed-V
was just ratified by IEEE 802.11. Promising up to gigabit data rates, feedback, i.e. no uncompressed-V feedback
nor Channel State Information (CSI)
many Wi-Fi products are being built based on this specification. In
feedback. Channel sounding for transmit
addition to technologies that improve throughput, IEEE 802.11ax beamforming is limited to Null Data Packet
is investigating and evaluating advanced wireless technologies that (NDP), i.e., no staggered sounding. In
addition, the modulation/coding schemes
enable more efficient utilization of the existing spectrum. (MCS) are limited to the same MCS on
each stream (no unequal modulation).
The following sections will go into
detail on 5 GHz channelization, static and
n this article, we introduce advanced 802.11AC dynamic channel bandwidth operation

I WLAN technologies that have been

standardized by IEEE 802.11ac or are
currently being evaluated by IEEE 802.11ax.
As an evolution to 802.11n, 802.11ac adds
80 MHz, 160 MHz and non-contiguous 160
MHz (80 + 80 MHz) channel bandwidths
with RTS/CTS and DL MU-MIMO.

5 GHz Channelization
Table 1 provides a summary of the basic [3]. Static and dynamic channel bandwidth Because partially overlapped channels
technology parameters for 802.11ac and operation with RTS/CTS are defined to introduce significant in-band interference,
802.11ax. support the wider channel bandwidths. extremely complex coexistence schemes
Illustration, (this page) dreamstime.com

We will also review 802.11ac and discuss Another major throughput would have to be defined to mitigate such
5 GHz channelization, including the static/ enhancement feature is multi-user interference. To avoid such an in-band
dynamic channel bandwidth operation with capability in the form of downlink multi- interference problem and to simplify
RTS/CTS, and downlink multi-user MIMO. user MIMO (DL MU-MIMO). protocol design, 802.11ac defines only
In Section 3, we provide an overview of the Furthermore, 802.11ac increases the non-overlapping channels. As illustrated in
likely direction of 802.11ax and describe modulation constellation size from 64 Figure 1, 80 MHz channels are comprised
Simultaneous Transmit/Receive (STR), QAM to 256 QAM. The number of spatial of adjacent 40 MHz channels, with no
downlink and uplink OFDMA, uplink MU streams is increased to 8 to better support partially overlapped 80 MHz channels.
MIMO, and dynamic CCA, which are being DL MU-MIMO. The packet aggregation As well, 160 MHz channels are comprised
discussed in 802.11ax. size limits are also increased to better of adjacent 80 MHz channels, with no

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TAB LE 1: Basic Technology Parameters for 802.11ac and 802.11ax

802.11ac 802.11ax
Main Frequency Bands 5 GHz 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Channel Bandwidth (MHz) 20, 40, 80, 160, 80+80 Unlikely to change from 802.11ac
Number of spatial streams 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Unlikely to change from 802.11ac
Modulation BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM Unlikely to change from 802.11ac
Maximum PHY Data rate 6933 Mbps (8SS, 160MHz, 256QAM, Unlikely to change from 802.11ac
short guard interval)
Advanced technologies Downlink MU MIMO, Dynamic/static STR, Downlink and Uplink OFDMA,
channel bandwidth operation with RTS/CTS Uplink MU MIMO, Dynamic CCA

partially overlapped 160 MHz channels. transmission appropriately. The basic channels for PIFS. In this example, since
Also, channel 144 has been added, requirement for an OFDM-based device the secondary 40MHz channel is not free,
which was not included in 802.11n. With is to receive a valid 20 MHz 802.11 signal the STA sends a CTS response with the
this addition, there is a maximum of six 80 at a level of at least -82 dBm. It must also bandwidth of the clear channels, i.e. 40
MHz channels possible, where regulatory detect any other signal at a level of -62 dBm MHz comprised of channels 36 and 40 in
bodies permit. There are only two 160 MHz or higher, termed Energy Detect (ED). this example. Then AP sends data to the
channels, which is the primary reason for When 802.11n added the 40 MHz channel, STA only on the clear channels and the STA
the inclusion of non-contiguous 160 MHz comprised of a primary 20 MHz channel replies with Block Ack (BA) frames that are
operation. Non-contiguous 160 MHz (80 + and a secondary 20 MHz channel, only ED duplicated over the clear channels.
80 MHz) channels are comprised of any two was required on the secondary channel due However, if the interference in
valid, non-adjacent 80 MHz channels. With to the added complexity of detecting a valid this example is frequent, another new
non-contiguous operation many 80 + 80 802.11 signal on the secondary channel. mechanism may be employed. In such a
MHz combinations are possible. This meant that other systems occupying case, the STA can send an Operating Mode
the secondary channel of another 40 Notification frame to the AP to tell the AP
Dynamic and Static Channel MHz BSS would be disadvantaged by 20 that the STA is changing the bandwidth on
Bandwidth Operation with RTS/CTS dB. In 802.11ac, valid signal detect on which it operates. For example, the STA
With the numerous 20 and 40 MHz the secondary channels was added at a can change its operating bandwidth from
channels in the 5 GHz band in 802.11n, level of -72 dBm or -69 dBm according to 80 MHz to 40 MHz with the constraint
overlapping channels between BSS’s are bandwidth, to improve CCA performance that the client still needs to use the same
largely avoided if each AP surveys the on the secondary channels. In addition, it is primary channel as the AP. Subsequently
available channels and selects an unused or required that a device detect a valid packet the AP will only send data frames to the
little-used channel. In the worst case if an on the secondary channels not just based STA at this reduced bandwidth.
overlap between neighbors using 40 MHz on the preamble of a packet, but also in the
is unavoidable, the primary 20 MHz sub- middle of the packet. Downlink Multi-User MIMO
channels are chosen to match to maximize The basic Request-to-Send (RTS) and In 802.11n, one device transmits multiple
coexistence capability. With much Clear-to-Send (CTS) mechanism of 802.11 data streams to another device using
wider channels in 802.11ac, it becomes is modified to improve dynamic channel spatial division multiplexing (SDM). In
much harder to avoid overlap between bandwidth operation, where bandwidth 802.11ac, utilizing DL MU-MIMO, an AP
neighboring BSS’s. In addition it becomes signaling is added to the RTS and CTS simultaneously transmits data streams
harder to choose a primary channel frames [5]. As illustrated in Figure 2, the to multiple client devices. For example,
common to all overlapping networks. To Access Point (AP) sends an RTS with the consider an AP with 6 antennas, a
address this problem, 802.11ac improves bandwidth of the intended transmission, handheld client device with one antenna
co-channel operation with extended which is 80 MHz comprised of channels (STA1), a laptop client device with two
dynamic channel bandwidth operation, 36, 40 44, and 48 in this example. The RTS antennas (STA2), and a TV set top box
and an enhanced RTS/CTS mechanism. frame is duplicated over all four channels. client device with two antennas (STA3).
In 802.11, the CCA mechanism is Before the STA replies with a CTS frame, An AP can simultaneously transmit one
employed to detect other signals and defer it senses the medium on all secondary data stream to STA1, two data streams to

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5170 5330 5490 5710 5735 5835

STA2, and two data streams to STA3. This is MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz
illustrated in Figure 3.

100
104
108

120
124
128
132
136
140

149
153
157
161
165
112
116

144
IEEE channel #

36
40
44
48
52
56
60
64
The primary advantage of DL MU-
20 MHz
MIMO is that client devices with limited
40 MHz
capability (few or one antenna) do not
80 MHz
degrade the network capacity by occupying
160 MHz
too much time on air due to their lower
data rates. With DL MU-MIMO, network FIGURE 1. 802.11ac Channelization.
capacity is based on the aggregate of the
clients of the simultaneous transmission.
However, this benefit comes with increased
cost and complexity.
From a PHY perspective, the AP should
have more antennas than the total number of
spatial streams for diversity gain. In addition,
the AP requires channel state information
from each of the clients participating in
the DL MU-MIMO transmission in order
to form the antenna weights [7]. With DL
MU-MIMO, the antenna weights are much
more sensitive to changes in the channel.
In the case of transmit beamforming, if
the antenna weights are stale, the system
performance degrades to the case without FIGURE 2. MAC protection for dynamic bandwidth operation.
transmit beamforming. However with DL
MU-MIMO, if the antenna weights do not
accurately match the channel, the streams to
one client introduce interference to the other
clients, potentially leading to negative (in
dB) signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios.
Therefore channel state information must
be higher resolution and more frequently 802.11AX
updated. To constrain the dimensions of the The emphasis in 802.11ax, named High
system to a manageable size, 802.11ac defines Efficiency WLAN, is to improve real world
that the maximum number of users in a performance as experienced by end users.
transmission be four, the maximum number Although 802.11ax is in its early days (its
of spatial streams per user be four and the formation was approved in March 2014)
maximum total number of spatial streams and its ultimate feature set will be the FIGURE 3. Example of Downlink
(summed over the users) be eight. subject of much technical investigation Multi-User MIMO.
As designed, a MU packet has the same and debate, at present it is expected
preamble structure as a single user packet. that 802.11ax will achieve its goals by
However, beginning with the VHT-STF, considering a mix of the following:
the remaining fields in the preamble are Bandwidths wider than 160 MHz, more
directionally transmitted to recipient clients, t Improving the status quo than 8 spatial streams and modulations
simultaneously in time and frequency. The – Porting valuable 802.11ac features higher than 256QAM are not expected to
parameter information conveyed in VHT- from 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz (such as DL MU be part of 802.11ax (or at least not a leading
SIG-B and the SERVICE field is specific for MIMO, explicit feedback for transmit part) due to the following reasons:
each client. In addition, MAC padding is beamforming, and 256QAM)
required to fill the MAC frames to the last – Improved troubleshooting tools t It is challenging to find more than one
byte to make them equal in time for each non-overlapping 160 MHz channel (let
client. The PHY fills in the last few bits for t Standardizing advanced technologies alone a contiguous 320 or noncontiguous
each client to ensure that each has the same – Simultaneous transmit/receive (also 160+160 MHz channel),
number of OFDM symbols. For detailed known as Full Duplex)
discussion of DL MU MIMO protocol – Downlink and/or Uplink OFDMA t Two years into the 802.11ac roll-out, few
design and performance improvement, – Uplink MU-MIMO 802.11ac devices implement more than 4
please refer to [6]. – Dynamic CCA spatial streams, and

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t The 25% speed increase of 1024QAM does

not justify the increased analog complexity
or power consumption, especially noting Tx Rx
that only a very short range is achievable. - 50dBm
15dBm
In the following subsections we describe -75dBm -75dBm
the advanced technologies under consider- Rx
ation for 802.11ax in greater detail. During Tx
-50dBm
the on-going evaluation process, lower 15dBm
performing or more complicated techniques
will be identified and may not be included FIGURE 4. Examples of STR Paired Operation.
in the final 802.11ax amendment.

Simultaneous Transmit/Receive
Simultaneous transmit/receive (STR) is an
innovation whereby a device can transmit STA1 STA2
and receive on the same channel at the same
Tx -75dBm Rx
time, potentially doubling throughput. Rx 15dBm -50dBm Tx
The device achieves this by cancelling -50dBm 15dBm
leakage of its transmit signal through its
receive path, so as to ensure an adequate STA2’s OTA
signal/self-interference ratio (SIR). The interference
ideal requirements for self-cancellation are
challenging, since a device typical transmits
at 10 to 25 dBm, but the thermal noise floor FIGURE 5. Examples of STR Unpaired Operation.
over 20 MHz is -101 dBm. In the noise-
limited case, this indicates that at least 126
dBm of cancellation is preferred, but many
cases of practical interest are interference to 5 or 10 dB, so there are many topologies 10 Mb of data. Very few networking stacks
not noise limited: such as two devices in in unpaired operation where the throughput can supply this load and the net effect
moderate proximity transmitting at 15 dBm of the link to STA1 is poor. is shorter TX-OPs and so reduced real-
and receiving each other at an RSSI of -50 The required cancellation is achieved via world efficiency. In these cases, it makes
dBm (see Figure 4). Then, if self-interference a mix of antenna separation (one antenna more sense for an AP to aggregate traffic
can be reduced to -75 dBm, the SIR is 25 dB for transmit, a different antenna for receive), for multiple clients and send it to them
and only 90 dB of cancellation is required. analog cancellation and digital cancellation. in parallel. Parallelization can be in time
STR can operate either paired or Self-cancellations up to 110 dB are reported (but different clients prefer different MCSs,
unpaired (various names are in use). [4]. There remain several challenges and which complicates the PHY design) or in
With paired operation, two STAs are research topics: space (as per DL MU-MIMO, as long as
each transmitting to and receiving from t Self-cancellation for MIMO devices there is recent channel state information)
one another. To achieve a doubling of t Self-cancellation in the presence of nearby or in frequency (i.e. OFDMA). DL
throughput, the offered traffic should be reflectors, with device or reflector mobility OFDMA is one of the simplest solutions
symmetric (although there is a useful t PHY preamble design to support STR and to this problem, since different MCSs can
throughput improvement even if only backwards compatibility be used for different clients, and there is
acknowledgements are sent on one link t MAC design for paired and unpaired no prerequisite for recent channel state
within the pair). A greater concern is that operation. For example, in unpaired information. Here, the AP indicates to
both devices must support a high degree of operation, how does is a single device different clients which channel to expect
self-cancellation: i.e. the complexity cannot optimally selected to be the third device? their data on - on a per-packet basis or in
be concentrated at APs. t Performance comparison with DL and UL a more long-lived scheme - then transmits
With unpaired operation, as illustrated MU-MIMO downlink packets with different headers
in Figure 5, an AP transmits to STA1, while (SIG fields) on each different 20 MHz
at the same time STA2 transmits to the Downlink and Uplink OFDMA sub-channel. Each user’s sub-channel is
AP. Here only the AP needs a high degree 802.11 is optimized for bursty data, where naturally constructed from bonded 20
of self-cancellation, since STA1 is receive- it makes sense to give the whole channel to MHz sub-channels to minimize backwards
only and STA2 is transmit only. However, one device, up to some maximum TXOP compatibility issues [8].
while STA1 is receiving from the AP, STA1 duration, to transmit its buffered data. Uplink OFDMA solves the same
may also receive interference from STA2’s However, a 3 ms TXOP, using 160 MHz, problem, and also improves client range at
transmissions, oftentimes degrading the SIR 256QAM, and 4 spatial streams, carries the same time, since each client’s energy

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...THE AP MUST CONTEND WITH DIFFERENT CCA thresholds may be raised to increase
the number of active links, albeit at a lower
START TIMES, OSCILLATOR OFFSETS S/I, with overall benefits to the throughput
in aggregate and potentially of worst-off
AND RSSI IMBALANCES, AND A SIMILAR devices too [10]. Higher CCA thresholds
can achieve these goals under specific
MAC DESIGN CHALLENGE ARISES: HOW circumstances, but even in the apartment
building problem the design of a safe/robust
TO EFFICIENTLY SCHEDULE CLIENTS TO dynamic CCA algorithm is confounded

MAXIMIZE SPECTRUM UTILIZATION.

by the likelihood of longer links (e.g. from
apartment to garage/pool, or a sparse
deployment of APs across an apartment
complex for administration/maintenance
is concentrated over a narrower noise Dynamic CCA purposes).
bandwidth. Uplink OFDMA moderately CCA is a major component of 802.11’s In this article, we gave a brief overview
complicates the baseband design, distributed politeness protocol. As we of 802.11ac and advanced technologies
particularly of the AP, since different clients described in Section 2.2, different but that helped 802.11ac to achieve its Gigabit
are received at slightly different times, fixed CCA thresholds are applied, so as to throughput. Wi-Fi products based on
with different oscillator-induced carrier minimize collisions and to minimize the 802.11ac are already in the market to
frequency and baseband clock offsets, and at need for RTS/CTS even for longer range address use cases that demand higher
different power levels. These are all solvable: links. However, there are circumstances throughput. We also talked about 802.11ax,
t OFDM/OFDMA are robust to different where these CCA thresholds are overly an upcoming standard amendment, and the
start times, up to a large fraction of the conservative, such as an apartment building advanced technologies being considered to
cyclic prefix duration, where the transmitters and intended address coverage, coexistence, and efficiency
t Oscillator offsets can be mitigated by receivers are in close proximity, but non- issues in real deployments. Q
requiring clients to track their offset with intended receivers are well separated via Shiwen Mao’s work is supported in part by
respect to their AP and transmit at that offset, extra distance and walls/floors. Here, there the US National Science Foundation (NSF)
t OFDMA is relatively robust to received is no need to defer a transmission if it would under Grants CNS-0953513, CNS-1320664,
power imbalance, and power control and/ not have impeded existing communications CNS-1247955, and DUE-1044021, and
or client grouping can be applied to lessen (i.e. the exposed node problem). through the NSF Broadband Wireless Access
any impact One optimization under consideration and Applications Center (BWAC) Site at
The MAC design challenge is how to at 802.11ax is dynamic CCA, where the Auburn University.
efficiently schedule clients so that they can
transmit at the same time for much the
same duration, thus maximizing spectrum REFERENCES
utilization. Challenges for deploying OFDMA
[1] Cisco Inc. Cisco visual networking index: M. S. A CSMA/CA MAC protocol for multi-user
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2011-2016. Technical report. [online] Available: 2010, pages 1–6, Miami, FL, Dec. 2010.
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Uplink MU MIMO is the uplink counterpart [2] E. Perahia and R. Stacey. Next Generation An Introduction to the Multi-User MIMO
Wireless LANs: Throughput, Robustness, and Downlink. In IEEE Communications Magazine,
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but its implementation characteristics are Press, Cambridge, UK, 2008. [8] B. Hart. DL-OFDMA for mixed clients.
closer to UL OFDMA. Recent channel state [3] IEEE 802.11ac. Standard for Information Technical report. [online] Available: https://
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to efficiently schedule clients to maximize Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 4: Delhi, India, Oct. 2010.
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