Configurable 3GPP licensed assisted access to unlicensed spectrum

An emerging issue in the development of next generation mobile networks originates in the shortage of available licensed spectrum. This increasing demand for a large amount of bandwidth has recently driven the development of new technologies to utilize unlicensed spectrum. In 2015, 3GPP launched the standardization activity to deploy LTE-A networks on the 5 GHz unlicensed bands using licensed assisted access. To fully understand this crucial technology, in this article, we provide a comprehensive overview on the standardization of licensed assisted access, and raise specific open issues. Configurable radio operations to eliminate the transmission inefficiency and radio access inefficiency in licensed assisted access and a game-theoretic pricing strategy on the licensed and unlicensed bands are further proposed. The provided insights consequently strengthen knowledge of the practice of licensed assisted access.