Link and system level analysis, simulation and experimentation are central tools to investigate highly complex systems, such as, mobile cellular networks, and to efficiently evaluate the performance of novel technologies as well as newly developed signal processing algorithms and techniques. These tools thereby facilitate rapid prototyping and comparison of competing and complementing technologies, enabling to gauge the potential of such technologies early on in the development process. With the advent of a multitude of novel concepts and contender technologies within 5G and beyond mobile wireless communications, e.g., full-dimension/massive MIMO beamforming, mixed numerology multicarrier transmission, full-duplex systems, non-orthogonal multiple access by superposition transmission, dynamic spectrum access, and transmission in the millimeter wave band, analysis, modelling and simulation approaches, as well as, experimentation methods on link and system level need to be revised and enhanced. The objective of this special issue is to foster the latest developments and recent advances in analytic, experimental and simulation-based link and system level evaluation of mobile wireless communications.
Edited by: Stefan Schwarz, Quinghe Du, Miguel López-BenÃtez, Giovanni Nardini, Marco Mezzavilla