Low density spreading multiple access

The need for ubiquitous coverage and the increasing demand for high data rate services, keeps constant pressure on the cellular network infrastructure. There has been intense research to improve the system spectral efficiency and coverage, and a significant part of this effort focused on developing and optimizing the multiple access techniques. One such technique that has been recently proposed is the low density spreading (LDS), which manages the multiple access interference to offer efficient and low complexity multiuser detection. The LDS technique has shown a promising performance as a multiple access technique for cellular systems. This chapter will give an overview on the LDS multiple access technique. The motivations for the LDS design will be highlighted by comparing it to conventional spreading techniques, including brief history of the early work on LDS. Furthermore, a background on the design of LDS in multicarrier communications, such as signatures design, a belief propagation multiuser detection, etc., will be presented along with the challenges and opportunities associated with the multicarrier LDS multiple access.