Multiservice wireless network testbed design using SDR and RoF platforms

This paper presents a testbed design by using Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Radio-over-fiber (RoF) platforms for the next generation wireless access network. The proposed testbed supports concurrent multiservice transmissions, in which a heterogeneous network is emulated. The SDR is based on NI USRP RIOs, which generated both IEEE 802.11 and long term evolution (LTE) signals, and integrated with the RoF platform to demonstrate an end-to-end system transmission. The state-of-the-art polarization multiplexing technique is employed within the RoF system to enable multiservice transmission over single optical fiber with minimal interference. The advantage of employing SDR is to expedite the process of optimizing the network performance before replacing the system with commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) products. This technique drastically reduces the complexity of the overall prototyping development, hence enhances the time-to-market of a new network.