Capacity Analysis of OFDM Systems with a Swarm of Network-Controlled Repeaters
Provides a capacity analysis for a practical repeater architecture, offering insights for coverage extension and energy efficiency in wideband wireless networks.
This paper analyzes the uplink capacity of SISO-OFDM systems with network-controlled repeaters (NCRs), showing that even simple activation strategies (e.g., activating only the closest repeater) can substantially enhance capacity while saving energy.
This paper investigates the uplink capacity of single-input single-output (SISO) systems assisted by a swarm of network-controlled repeaters (NCRs). We develop a rigorous wideband formulation based on OFDM signaling. Starting from the continuous-time passband model, we derive the capacity expression for the repeater-assisted OFDM channel, accounting for amplified noise contributions from multiple repeaters. Numerical results demonstrate that NCRs can substantially enhance system capacity even with simple activation strategies, and that activating only the closest repeater yields nearly the same performance as activating all repeaters, thereby offering significant energy-saving opportunities. These findings highlight the potential of NCR swarms as a cost-effective and scalable solution for coverage extension and capacity enhancement in wideband wireless networks.