Enabling long-term-evolution/wifi coexistence

1. A computer implemented method for improving Long Term Evolution (LTE)-WiFi coexistence in a network, comprising:

configuring one or more LTE nodes for asynchronous access and synchronous transmission to bridge LTE and WiFi access modes;

reserving a channel for LTE transmission in the one or more LTE nodes;

providing a supplementary WiFi module in the one or more LTE nodes for sensing the channel for occupancy and for broadcasting a reservation signal on the channel prior to the LTE transmission;

scaling contention window sizes linearly by increasing the contention window sizes proportionally to a subframe collision rate to maintain throughput fairness to the WiFi; and

performing synchronous transmission from the one or more LTE nodes to one or more User Devices (UEs) by activating the unlicensed carrier for a reserved time period.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying UEs to schedule on unlicensed carriers by measuring frame loss rates for each UE to determining a susceptibility of the UE to interference.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reserved time period is a duration of the LTE transmission.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reservation signal broadcast from the WiFi module includes a Clear-to-Send (CTS)-to-Self packet with a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) field set to a duration of the LTE transmission.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the WiFi module at the one or more LTE node senses the channel for on-going transmissions to determine an appropriate time to initiate the LTE transmission.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sorting a set of a plurality of the UEs according to frame loss rates of individual UEs.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein subframe resources in an unlicensed control carrier are assigned to the UEs in increasing order of the frame loss rates of individual UEs.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising extending a channel reservation by inserting successive Clear-to-Send (CTS)-to-Self frames.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing time gaps in a last LTE downlink subframe by avoiding scheduling any data transmission in the last LTE downlink subframe.

10. A system for improving Long Term Evolution (LTE)-WiFi coexistence in a network, comprising:

one or more LTE nodes configured for asynchronous access and synchronous transmission to bridge LTE and WiFi access modes;

a channel scheduler for reserving a channel for LTE transmission in the one or more LTE nodes;

a supplementary WiFi module in the one or more LTE nodes for sensing the channel for occupancy and for broadcasting a reservation signal on the channel prior to the LTE transmission;

a scaler for scaling contention window sizes linearly by increasing the contention window sizes proportionally to a subframe collision rate to maintain throughput fairness to the WiFi; and

a transmitter for performing synchronous transmission from the one or more LTE nodes to one or more User Devices (UEs) by activating the unlicensed carrier for a reserved time period.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising an interference detector for identifying UEs to schedule on unlicensed carriers by measuring frame loss rates for each UE to determining a susceptibility of the UE to interference.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the reserved time period is a duration of the LTE transmission.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the reservation signal broadcast from the WiFi module includes a Clear-to-Send (CTS)-to-Self packet with a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) field set to a duration of the LTE transmission.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the WiFi module at the one or more LTE node senses the channel for on-going transmissions to determine an appropriate time to initiate the LTE transmission.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the channel scheduler is further configured to sort a set of a plurality of the UEs according to frame loss rates of individual UEs.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein subframe resources in an unlicensed control carrier are assigned to the UEs in increasing order of the frame loss rates of individual UEs.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the scaler is further configured to extend a channel reservation by inserting successive Clear-to-Send (CTS)-to-Self frames.

18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the channel scheduler is further configured to provide time gaps in a last LTE downlink subframe by avoiding scheduling any data transmission in the last LTE downlink subframe.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer-readable program for improving Long Term Evolution (LTE)-WiFi coexistence in a network, wherein the computer-readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of:

configuring one or more LTE nodes for asynchronous access and synchronous transmission to bridge LTE and WiFi access modes;

reserving a channel for LTE transmission in the one or more LTE nodes;

providing a supplementary WiFi module in the one or more LTE nodes for sensing the channel for occupancy and for broadcasting a reservation signal on the channel prior to the LTE transmission;

scaling contention window sizes linearly by increasing the contention window sizes proportionally to a subframe collision rate to maintain throughput fairness to the WiFi; and

performing synchronous transmission from the one or more LTE nodes to one or more User Devices (UEs) by activating the unlicensed carrier for a reserved time period.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , further comprising identifying UEs to schedule on unlicensed carriers by measuring frame loss rates for each UE to determining a susceptibility of the UE to interference.