In fifth generation (5G) wireless cellular networks, millimeter wave spectrum opens room for several potential improvements in throughput, reliability, latency, among other aspects. However, it also brings challenges, such as a higher influence of blockage which may significantly limit the coverage. In this context, network-controlled repeaters (NCRs) are network nodes with low complexity that represent a technique to overcome coverage problems. In this paper, we introduce the NCR concept and study its performance gains and deployment options. Particularly, presenting the main specifications of NCR as agreed in 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Rel-18, we analyze different NCR deployments in an urban scenario and compare its performance with alternative deployments. As demonstrated, with a proper network planning and beamforming design, NCR is an attractive solution to cover blind spots the base stations (BSs) may have.
@article{arxiv.2403.09601,
title = {Network-Controlled Repeater -- An Introduction},
author = {Fco. Italo G. Carvalho and Raul Victor de O. Paiva and Tarcisio F. Maciel and Victor F. Monteiro and Fco. Rafael M. Lima and Darlan C. Moreira and Diego A. Sousa and Behrooz Makki and Magnus Astrom and Lei Bao},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.09601},
year = {2024}
}
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Submmited to IEEE Communications Standards Magazine