On the use of the millimeter wave and low terahertz bands for internet of things

Abstract

Two major wireless communication evolutions, the fifth generation (5G) mobile systems and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication boom, are imminent. A major 5G challenge is supplying the higher than ever data rate and traffic demands using the already crunched conventional spectrum, where the expected addition of billions of new M2M connections will worsen the situation. Millimetre wave (mm-wave) band offers one substantial solution, through the utilization of parts of its vast frequency range. Following a general overview and the theoretical background, this paper provides the first realistic channel capacity and bit rate analyses in the literature for the 60 gigahertz (GHz) and low-terahertz bands, and compares those with the sub 6 GHz band links from the perspective of Internet of Things (IoT) application deployments. It is found that, considering the network densification intrinsic to the M2M communications, the use of the mm-wave band is a viable method to form stable and high performance links which are capable of supporting advanced IoT services.