Multiple Access Technologies for Cellular M2M Communications

[Abstract] This paper reviews the multiple access techniques for machine⁃to⁃machine (M2M) communications in future wireless cellular networks. M2M communications aims at providing the communication infrastructure for the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), which will revolutionize the way we interact with our surrounding physical environment. We provide an overview of the multiple access strategies and explain their limitations when used for M2M communications. We show the throughput efficiency of different multiple access techniques when used in coordinated and uncoordinated scenarios. Non⁃orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is also shown to support a larger number of devices compared to orthogonal multiple access techniques, especially in uncoordinated scenarios. We also detail the issues and challenges of different multiple access techniques to be used for M2M applications in cellular networks.

[Keywords] Internet of Things (IoT); massive access; machine⁃to⁃machine (M2M) communications; multiple access