Employing 60 GHz ISM band for 5G wireless communications

Wireless data traffic is continuously increasing due to the steady rise in both connected device number and traffic per device. Wireless networks, traditionally confined below 6 gigahertz, are getting clogged and unable to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of its users. Already aware of this, telecommunications industry and academia have been working on solutions. One of the main methods for throughput increase is operation bandwidth expansion; however, sufficient spectrum is not available within the conventional frequencies. Following various considerations, 60 GHz industrial, scientific and medical radio band has been selected as the new spectrum to be utilized and wireless personal and local area network standards for the band are already completed. In line with the stated developments, this paper proposes the use of 60 GHz band for the fifth generation (5G) communication systems. After very briefly setting the scene of the current wireless communication networks, the physical layer properties of the 60 GHz band are presented. A representative indoor simulation between the fourth generation and proposed 5G cases is set and performed. The results are assessed and compared before concluding the paper. © 2014 IEEE