Modeling and analysis of an extended access barring algorithm for machine-type communications in LTE-A Networks

Simultaneous channel accesses from mass machine-type communications (MTC) devices may congest the random-access channels (RACHs) of LTE-A networks. Currently, 3GPP selects extended access barring (EAB) mechanism as the baseline solution to relieve the congestion of RACHs by barring low-priority devices. Different settings of EAB parameters may re-shape the arrival process of MTC traffic and thus, lead to unpredictable performance. This paper presents an analytical model to investigate the performance of the EAB algorithm on the RACHs in LTE-A networks. Computer simulations were conducted to verify the accuracy of the analysis. The optimal values of paging cycle and repetition period of system information block type 14 (SIB14) can then be obtained from the analytical model subject to a target quality-of-service (QoS) constraint.