Benchmarking the Cooperative Awareness Service at Application Layer with IEEE 802.11p and LTE-PC5 Mode-4

Vehicular communications hold the promise of disrupting mobility services and supporting the mass adoption of future autonomous vehicles. Regulators have set aside specific spectrum at the 5.9 GHz band to support Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) safety applications, for which a world-wide adoption of a standardized radio technology is a key factor to deliver on this promise. Two technologies are currently positioned to begin its commercial path, IEEE 802.11p and LTE-PC5 Mode-4. The main differences between these technologies lie on the design of their channel access mechanisms. This paper provides an analysis of the impact that the Medium Access Control (MAC) mechanisms included in 802.11p and LTE-PC5 Mode-4 will have on the performance of the applications using the Cooperative Awareness Service, applying two new application-level metrics used by safety applications: Neighborhood Awareness Ratio and Position Error. We have found that, even with an equivalent physical layer performance, the MAC layer of LTE-PC5 Mode-4 will mostly outperform the MAC layer of IEEE 802.11p (or its not yet ready enhanced version 802.11bd). However, IEEE 802.11p/bd results in slightly better vehicle positioning accuracy at lower distances.