SHINE (Strategies for High-frequency INdoor Environments) with Efficient THz-AP Placement

Abstract

The increasing demand for ultra-high throughput in ultra-dense networks might take a toll on 5G capacity. Moreover, with Internet-of-Things (IoT) and the growing use-cases for indoor killer-applications, it will be necessary to look beyond 5G technologies. One such promising technology is to move higher in the frequencies, such as the THz ($300$ $GHz$-$10$ $THz$) spectrum. THz has a massive number of greenfield-contiguous channels ranging from $10$ $GHz$ to $200$ $GHz$ (best case), which was not available in the traditional radio frequency (RF) or millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. Although THz has immense potential to cater to such demands, it comes with numerous challenges revolving around hardware, link budget, mobility, blockages, scheduling, and deployment. Terahertz access points (THz-APs) are sensitive to deployment and can critically impact a system\textquotesingle s dynamics (i.e., coverage, throughput, and efficiency). In this paper, we present Strategies for High-frequency INdoor Environments or SHINE, which focuses on efficient AP deployment in the THz spectrum and draws motivation from approaches used indoor to improve lighting conditions. Due to THz\textquotesingle s limited coverage area of a few meters, the number of THz-APs required to satisfy a densely populated room will be higher compared to today's single router/box/AP model. This increased number of THz-APs will not only increase the operational costs, but also (in some cases) can make the system inefficient. Through SHINE, we explore the deployment-related challenges and propose strategies to mitigate the same.