A Survey on Network Controlled Repeater Technology

Network controlled repeater (NCR) is a new type of repeater vigorously promoted by the international industry to supplement the coverage provided by regular cells. Compared to the legacy RF, NCR can perform the amplify-and-forward operation more efficiently with the assistance of side control information. Based on the side control information, the beam, timing, UL-DL, ON-OFF and power control configuration of the NCR can be optimized. The paper illustrates the structure, side control information, identification and authorization of NCR. Additionally, the numerical results show that NCR can provide noticeable improvement compared to legacy RF repeaters.