Cell-Free Massive MIMO at Midband: Potentials and Risks: (Invited Paper)

This work addresses the exploitation of the midband frequency range (often called FR3) when deploying a cell-free massive MIMO (CF-mMIMO) network in a dense urban scenario. A multicarrier setup is considered where both bands, sub- 6 GHz and midband, can be leveraged. A user-to-band assignment is proposed that aims at matching the specific propagation environment each user is experiencing to the most appropriate transmission band. It has been found that the indoor/outdoor condition of any given user is a key attribute to take into account when managing the two bands efficiently.