Design and performance analysis of scheduling algorithms for NB-IoT systems

NB-IoT is emerging as a new 3GPP air interface for massive machine-type- communications. It was conceived for offering connectivity for extremely low-cost devices with very reduced energy capabilities. At the time of this writing, different deployment options were proposed, that describe the set of frequencies allocable for NB-IoT communications. Three possible solutions include: LTE-inband, LTE GuardBand, and standalone GSM carrier. In all of these cases, it emerges that NB-IoT may leverage a reduced frequency band. Indeed, sophisticated mechanisms are required to properly distribute radio resources among machine-type- communications. Based on these premises, the thesis work aims at designing a novel radio resource scheduling strategy able to support a massive number of connected devices. The performance of the conceived approach will be evaluated through computer simulations, in order to highlight its pros and cons, as well as its capability to satisfy QoS requirements of typical machine-type-communications.