5GNOW: Intermediate Transceiver and Frame Structure Concepts and Results

This paper provides intermediate transceiver and frame structure concepts and corresponding results for the European FP7 research project 5GNOW. The Unified Frame Structure concept is presented which supports an integrated 5G air interface, capable of dealing both with broadband data services and small packet services within the same band. Waveforms which tolerate higher levels of robustness, e.g. w.r.t. time-frequency misalignment than OFDM are required. In this paper encouraging candidate waveform technologies are presented and discussed with respective results. This goes along with modern multiple access technologies using multi-layered signals and advanced multi-user receivers. Furthermore, random access strategies are discussed, as well as 5GNOW networking interfaces. The intermediate results of 5GNOW lay the ground for designing a new 5G air interface beyond LTE-A, which suits the diverse needs of future applications, like machine-type-communication (MTC).