Shared LTE Network Performance on Smart Grid and Typical Traffic Schemes

This paper investigates the possibility of delivering distinct smart grid (SG) demand response (DR) applications in a highly loaded LTE network. In a shared LTE network, the proportion of SG DR traffic is relatively low when compared to typical traffics such as voice over IP, Skype video call, FTP, Youtube video stream, and HTTP. The quality of service (QoS) requirements for the SG DR traffics have to be fulfilled by maintaining the network delays and the packet delivery ratios within certain limits, while not causing significant hindrance to the typical traffics. The Riverbed Modeler network simulations are performed using detailed physical layer propagation models, detailed LTE functionality, and a suburban topology. In the simulation scenarios, three distinct DR applications generate varying amounts of SG DR traffic to the LTE network while the LTE capacity is exceeded by the typical traffics. The results illustrate that satisfactory performance for the SG DR traffics can be maintained due to the constant traffic characteristics and relatively low traffic amount that facilitates the scheduling of channel resources. Typically, the more a DR application generates traffic the higher hindrance it causes for the typical traffics other than the voice over IP that applies the QoS class of highest priority.