Feasibility of Full-Duplex Dynamic Spectrum Management for PLC-DSL Coexistence

In this paper, we address the issue of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in indoor wired communication systems. In particular, we consider the electromagnetic interference between broadband power line communications (BB-PLC) and digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, and investigate a non-intrusive opportunistic dynamic spectrum management technique to enable coexistence. To this end, we examine the feasibility of power spectral density adaptation at the PLC nodes using spectrum sensing to estimate the DSL-to-BB-PLC interference channel. We consider the use of in band full duplexing to enable power line modems with superior spectrum sensing efficiency to simultaneously transmit PLC data and sense for the electromagnetically coupled DSL signal. We then determine the conditions under which sufficient signal-to-noise ratio of the known DSL pilot signal is achieved at the PLC node to obtain a satisfactory interference channel estimate. Further, we simulate a realistic indoor BB-PLC network and use real DSL-to-PLC interference channel measurement data to examine the viability of a dynamic spectral adaptation approach.