The Impact of MIMO on IoT Network Coverage: Case Study with Smart-BEEM

Abstract

Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technologies have been widely deployed in order to realise 5G communication goals. Due to the large coverage and fast speed, cellular involved IoT backhaul with MIMO capability is becoming a popular approach adopted by many Internet of Things (IoT) systems. With more communication interfaces available, it is easy to see that the system will consume more energy. If considering network coverage is the most critical metric for an IoT system, and then the problem is: is MIMO always necessary and beneficial? Our argument is that the answer is highly depending on the deployment and applications. Through the demonstration of the management of Smart-BEEM, this paper has investigated the impact of MIMO on the network coverage. The results have revealed that the gain that MIMO can bring to an IoT network coverage highly depends on the energy cost for idle listening. Without proper sleeping scheduling mode implemented on the devices, using MIMO may undermine the overall network coverage. In an IoT network with specific tasks, involving massive communication interfaces may cause redundant communication capability problem and waste energy from unnecessary idle listening.