The proliferation of connected users and downloaded applications has driven the development of a new paradigm in wireless mobile networks. Additional air interfaces operating in the unlicensed spectrum serving as supplementary downlinks (SDL) and enhancing end-user throughput are utilized by this paradigm. However, integrating these interfaces into licensed base stations can be challenging, as they are distributed across various domains. WiFi is a key technology for increasing capacity through the user plane interface. Traffic is buffered in WiFi when unlicensed channels become unavailable, and transmissions resume once new radio slots are free. To meet the strict round-time delay requirements of fifth generation (5G) networks, a new virtual controller that resides at the mobile edge cloud is defined in this standard. The multi-connectivity model and traffic sharing between licensed and unlicensed interfaces are coordinated by the controller based on the real-time availability of unlic...

This standard defines a mechanism for communications among entities operating in licensed and unlicensed spectrum. The mechanism includes interoperation among media access control/physical layer (MAC/PHY) protocols designed for unlicensed and licensed spectrum operations and a controller for coordination among communicating entities.