What if 6G networks were fairer for everyone?

Imagine a 6G network where all users have the same connection speed, without any slowdowns. This could become a reality thanks to NOMA, a technology that optimizes the use of the electromagnetic spectrum. A new study has discovered that the use of improper Gaussian signaling (IGS) can improve fairness in broadband distribution, even when successive interference cancellation (SIC) is not perfect. Scientists used optimization algorithms and deep neural networks to demonstrate that NOMA with IGS outperforms traditional techniques. This means that in the future we could have faster and more stable connections for everyone, without exception.

NOMA (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access) is a promising technology for 6G networks due to its ability to use the spectrum more efficiently than traditional techniques. In a NOMA system, multiple users can share the same frequency resource, thus improving network capacity. However, successive interference cancellation (SIC) must be nearly perfect to avoid interference between users. The study explored the use of improper Gaussian signaling (IGS), which has an asymmetric distribution, to improve fairness in broadband distribution. Scientists used an alternate optimization algorithm to solve the max-min optimization problem under the assumption of perfect SIC. Additionally, they developed a deep Q network-based solution to handle cases of imperfect SIC. Simulation results showed that NOMA with IGS can significantly improve the fairness of the achievable rate compared to traditional Gaussian signals.