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Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039

The
The International
International Workshop
Workshop on
on Microwave
Microwave Engineering,
Engineering, Communications
Communications Systems
Systems and
and
Technologies (MECST’2019)
Technologies (MECST’2019)
April
April 29
29 –– May
May 2,
2, 2019,
2019, Leuven,
Leuven, Belgium
Belgium
Multi
Multi Band
Band OFDM
OFDM Alliance
Alliance Power
Power Line
Line Communication
Communication System
System
Mohammed
Mohammed FATTAH
FATTAH
a*, M. ABDELLAOUIb, D. DAGHOUJb, S. MAZERb, M. EL
a*, M. ABDELLAOUIb, D. DAGHOUJb, S. MAZERb, M. EL
GHAZI b, M. EL BEKKALIb, Y. BALBOULb , A. BOUAYADc
GHAZI , M. EL BEKKALIb, Y. BALBOULb , A. BOUAYADc
b
aETTI Team, FPE, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
aETTI Team, FPE, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
bTransmission and Information Processing Laboratory, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco
bTransmission andc Information Processing Laboratory, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco
cSystems Engineering Laboratory, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco
Systems Engineering Laboratory, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

Abstract
Abstract
This paper describes a new communication system that meets the quality of service requirements for home high speed
This paper describes a new communication system that meets the quality of service requirements for home high speed
communications. This system is based on Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and Power Line Communication (PLC) technologies.
communications. This system is based on Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and Power Line Communication (PLC) technologies.
The performances of our MBOA-PLC (Multi Band OFDM Alliance - Power Line Communication) system was evaluated by
The performances of our MBOA-PLC (Multi Band OFDM Alliance - Power Line Communication) system was evaluated by
Matlab simulation to predict the efficiency of the UWB over PLC technology and their potential applications in the home
Matlab simulation to predict the efficiency of the UWB over PLC technology and their potential applications in the home
network. The system compares the transmitted and received data to calculate the bit error rate (BER), based on the energy per bit
network. The system compares the transmitted and received data to calculate the bit error rate (BER), based on the energy per bit
to noise power spectral density ratio (Eb / N0). This is achieved by varying the number of information bits transmitted per
to noise power spectral density ratio (Eb / N0). This is achieved by varying the number of information bits transmitted per
OFDM symbol and the convolutional coding rate. The BER performance analysis presented in this study aims for a very high-
OFDM symbol and the convolutional coding rate. The BER performance analysis presented in this study aims for a very high-
speed transmission on indoor CPL channels, at more than 200 Mbps. The maximum data rate available on the market does not
speed transmission on indoor CPL channels, at more than 200 Mbps. The maximum data rate available on the market does not
exceed 200 Mbps, despite the use of advanced coding and modulation systems, such as 1024 QAMs and the turbo-codes used for
exceed 200 Mbps, despite the use of advanced coding and modulation systems, such as 1024 QAMs and the turbo-codes used for
the Homeplug AV standard. The existing technology has little room to increase throughput because the available operational
the Homeplug AV standard. The existing technology has little room to increase throughput because the available operational
bandwidth limits the capacity of the channel.In the proposed PHY model for indoor PLC communications, QPSK mapping is
bandwidth limits the capacity of the channel.In the proposed PHY model for indoor PLC communications, QPSK mapping is
used to provide good BER performance at high data rates that existing techniques have difficulty obtaining.
used to provide good BER performance at high data rates that existing techniques have difficulty obtaining.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access
access article
articleunder
underthe
theCC
CCBY-NC-ND
BY-NC-NDlicense
license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open
Peer-review access article under
under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibilityof
ofthe
theConference
ConferenceProgram
ProgramChairs.
Chairs.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.
Keywords: PLC, UWB, MBOA, MBOA-PLC;
Keywords: PLC, UWB, MBOA, MBOA-PLC;

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212-662-891-211; fax: +0-000-000-0000 .

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212-662-891-211; fax: +0-000-000-0000 .
E-mail address: fattahm@gmail.com
E-mail address: fattahm@gmail.com

1877-0509 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

1877-0509 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.

1877-0509 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.
10.1016/j.procs.2019.04.146
 Mohammed Fattah et al. / Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039 1035
2 Mohammed FATTAH/ Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

1. Introduction

Power line communication technology (PLC) is the main factor of digital convergence at home. It represents the
extension of xDSL systems because it allows data to be retrieved from any electrical outlet, Data transmission on the
electrical network is not a new concept. It was used in 1950 to control remote relays using low frequency signals.
Currently this type of transmission uses frequencies ranging from a few kHz to tens of MHz. However, the electrical
network is not designed to support signals in this frequency range. Its main role is to transport electrical energy to
power the electrical devices commonly encountered in the home environment.
The rapid growth of the Internet since the 1990s has increased the demand for digital communication services. In
addition, with the development of home networks, it is necessary to establish high-speed data links between several
home devices. The existing broadband PLC systems in the 1.6 - 30 MHz frequency range only provides data rates
below 200 Mbps. With the increasing demand for multimedia services such as high-definition video (HD) streaming,
a much faster transmission rate of up to Gigabits per second is required and this can be achieved by increasing the
operating frequencies. In this research, we want to develop a very high-speed home network.
In this context, we want to develop a very high-speed home network. This network will be able to provide very
high-speed services in the gigabit per second range through heterogeneous communications technologies, including
PLC and UWB technologies.
This network will be able to provide very high-speed services in the gigabit per second range through
heterogeneous communications technologies, including PLC technology and UWB technology. The possibility of
realizing a very broadband transmission on the low voltage power line is studied. The UWB-MBOA (Ultra-Wide
Band - Multiband OFDM Alliance) approach proposed by the IEEE 802.15.3a [1] standard is used to predict
transmission performance on different home PLCs.
This paper evaluates the performances of the MBOA-PLC system using Matlab simulations to predict the
performance of UWB technologies on PLC systems and their potential applications on the home network.

2. Description of the UWB MBOA system

The MBOA approach uses a "classical" OFDM waveform where the entire spectrum is available as a 528 MHz
comic strip (14 sub-bands) [2]. These sub-bands have been grouped together. The first four groups each have three
sub-bands and the fifth group have two sub-bands. Currently, only the first group is mandatory for UWB
communications. Each band is itself decomposed into 128 subcarriers of 4,125 MHz wide as shown in Figure.1

Fig. 1. The spectral representation of the MBOA solution: Decomposition of one sub-band into several subcarriers of 4.125 MHz.

For each 528 MHz sub-band, Table.1 shows the MBOA standard rates [1]. The 53.3, 106.7, 110 and 200 Mbit / s
rates are those that the systems must support. Two spreading techniques are implemented in order to make the best
use of the frequency and time diversity of the transmission channel. For Frequency Domain Spreading (FDS), each
complex symbol and its symmetric conjugate are transmitted within the same OFDM symbol by a subcarrier and the
sub-carrier (mirror) respectively. Time Domain Spreading (TDS) consists of transmitting the same information
twice in succession on two consecutive OFDM symbols.
1036 Mohammed Fattah et al. / Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039
Mohammed FATTAH/ Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000 3

Table.1. MBOA standard flow data rate [1].

Number of bits
Data Rate Modulation Code rate FDS TDS
encoded per symbol
53.3 Mbps QPSK 1/3 Yes Yes 100

80 Mbps QPSK 1/2 Yes Yes 100

106.7 Mbps QPSK 1/3 No Yes 200

160 Mbps QPSK 1/2 No Yes 200

200 Mbps QPSK 5/8 No Yes 200

320 Mbps QPSK 1/2 No No 200

400 Mbps QPSK 5/8 No No 200

480 Mbps QPSK 3/4 No No 200

Figure.2 shows the schematic of the MBOA transmitter [1]. The source data is encoded using convolutional
coding at different yields, depending on the rate of the desired system. The higher code rates (R = 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4),
which are essential for obtaining higher flows, are obtained from the basic encoder R = 1/3 by punching. The
encoded data is interleaved to allow the recovery of the impulsive noise. The interleaving is done in three successive
steps: inter-symbol interleaving, then intra-symbol interleaving and finally cyclic-shift intra-symbol interleaving.
After parallel data conversion, constellation symbols are associated with the binary data by the binary-to-symbol
coding operation. The mapping used is the QPSK modulation following a Gray coding. The IFFT operation is
performed on the complex signals to form an OFDM symbol, with an added cyclic prefix and guard interval. The
transmitted signal is then reconverted in series and ready to be transmitted, it will make a frequency step in the three
subbands of the first group. In reception, the reverse of the transmission operation is performed to recover the source
data.

Convolution Puncher Interleaver TDS/MSDS QPSK

Data encoder Spreading Modulation

IFFT + Insert Pilot +

Stepped Framing
X Cyclic prefix and guard
frequency
interval

Cos(2πfct)

Fig. 2. Synoptic diagram of the MBOA transmitter.

The main characteristics of the OFDM symbols of the MBOA solution, as part of the 802.15.3a standardization,
are presented in Table. 2. As with other OFDM systems, the UWB uses the robust OFDM technique for channel
effects such as selectivity. The OFDM symbol is constructed from a 128-point IFFT in the 528 MHz frequency
band, with 122 active subcarriers. The MBOA uses a 37-sample zero-padding guard interval to combat the inter-
symbol interference introduced by channel delay spreading. Each OFDM symbol transmitted at a duration of 312.5
ns and has 165 samples
 Mohammed Fattah et al. / Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039 1037
4 Mohammed FATTAH/ Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

Table. 2. The characteristics of the OFDM symbols of the MBOA solution [1]

Parameter Value

Width of a sub-band 528 MHz

FFT size 128

Number of data subcarriers 100

Number of pilot subcarriers 12

Number of guard subcarriers 10

Number of null subcarriers 6

Spacing between subcarrier 4,125 MHz

Total duration of the OFDM symbol 312,5 ns
Useful duration (life) of the symbol 242,42 ns
Duration of the guard interval 70,08 ns

3. Performance Analysis of the MBOA Solution on the PLC Channel

3.1. Model simulation for PLC

In order to perform the simulations on the PLC channel, we used a modified model of the MBOA solution [1],
named MBOA-PLC. Figure.3. shows the MBOA-PLC system. The source data is encoded using convolutional
encoding and interleaved before being sent to the OFDM transmitter. Since the simulation is in baseband, frequency
hopping is not used. The ZF equalization technique is used in reception. It is implemented from the coefficients
obtained thanks to a perfect estimation of the transmission channel. For the simulations, the 802.15.3a standard was
the basis in the beginning.
The simulations are carried out by the Matlab tool and CST MW. The Matlab tool is used for the design of the
transmitter and receiver. The CST MW software for the modeling of the PLC channel [3].

Data Convolutio Interleave Mapping TDS OFDM

(transmission n encoder r QPSK Spreading Transmitte
) r

PLC Channel
(CST MWS)

Data Viterbi Deinterleace Demapping TDS OFDM

(reception) Decoder r QPSK despread Reciever

Fig. 3. Synoptic diagram of the MBOA-PLC solution.

3.2 Simulation results

The performances of the MBOA-PLC system were evaluated by simulation of the transmission chain on different
PLC channels modeled on CST MWS. The system compares the transmitted and received data to calculate the BER
(Bit Error Rate), based on the Eb / N0 ratio (the energy per bit to noise power spectral density ratio). Three
transmission modes were simulated in this study, 200 Mbps, 320 Mbps and 480 Mbps. This is achieved by varying
1038 Mohammed Fattah et al. / Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039
Mohammed FATTAH/ Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000 5

the number of transmitted information bits per OFDM symbol and the convolutional coding rates. Table.3. provides
detailed information on the data rate, modulation, and coding rate of the three modes of transmission. Simulation
stops when one of the following criteria is met: There is a total of 1 million bits of transmitted information and the
number of received wrong bits has reached 100.

Table.3. Flow rates of the MBOA-PLC solution.

Code Rate Spreading Modulation OFDM Symbol Number of bits Number of information
Mode
Gain time (ns) encoded per symbol per OFDM symbol
200 Mbps 5/8 2 QPSK 312.5 200 125
320 Mbps 1/2 1 QPSK 312.5 200 100
480 Mbps 3/4 1 QPSK 312.5 200 150

Figures 4 to 6 compare the BER performance of three typical transmission distances (i.e. 2m, 5m and 10m) [3]
for three different data rates (200 Mbps, 320 Mbps and 480 Mbps). We find that all simulated channels can reach
very low BERs up to at 200 Mbps, with an Eb / N0 level below the 27 dB bar. System performance degrades
over a longer transmission distance and a higher data rate. If the system throughput is higher than 320 Mbps, we can
still achieve good BER performance below , at an Eb / N0 level of 40 dB. This has greatly improved the
performance of existing broadband automation technology.
The '' Home Plug AV '' system [4] provides a raw data rate of 189 Mbps for an SNR of the order of 70 dB on a 10
m PLC channel, under AWGN (Additive White Gaussian Noise) and narrowband interference. While in the MBOA-
PLC model, the data rate is much higher and the SNR has been reduced to 40 dB under the same noise conditions.
It indicates that the technology "UWB over PLC" proposed has a high potential in terms of speed of transmission
on the home network. In addition, the performance of this system can be further enhanced by adaptive modulation
schemes or advanced information coding.

Fig. 4. MBOA-PLC system BER for 200 Mbps throughput.

 Mohammed Fattah et al. / Procedia Computer Science 151 (2019) 1034–1039 1039
6 Mohammed FATTAH/ Procedia Computer Science 00 (2019) 000–000

Fig. 5. MBOA-PLC system BER for 320 Mbps throughput.

Fig. 6. MBOA-PLC system TB for 400 Mbps throughput.

4. Conclusion

The above-mentioned BER performance analysis targets a very high-speed transmission on indoor PLC channels,
at more than 200 Mbps. The maximum data rate available on the market does not exceed 200 Mbps, which already
uses advanced coding and modulation systems, namely that 1024 QAMs and turbo-codes are operated for Home
plug AV [4]. Much higher data rates can be achieved if higher mapping and advanced coding algorithms have been
used, which can also improve the transmission performance of the system.

References

[1] MultiBand OFDM Alliance (2009, June). [Online]. Available: www.multibandofdm.org

[2] R. Kolic, Ultra Wideband - the Next Generation Wireless Connection, Intel Technology Group, Tech. Rep., Feb 2004. 12, 45
[3] M. Fattah, R. Ouremchi, M. El Bekkali, S. Mazer, Modelling the channel tranfer function of the vehicle power line channel, International
Review on Modelling and Simulations (IREMOS), Vol. 3, N. 6, December 2010.
[4] M. E. Hazen,”The Technology Behind HomePlug AV Powerline Communications", IEEE Computer Magazine, vol. 41, pp. 90-92, Jine
2008. 26, 37, 156.