Energy Savings on the Uplink thanks to OFDM Cyclic Prefix Suppression

The OFDM waveform is almost always used with a cyclic prefix, which enables interference between OFDM symbols to be resolved very efficiently. The main disadvantage of inserting the cyclic prefix is a loss of spectral efficiency, which averages out at around 10% for most of OFDM-based radio systems. At a time when reducing energy consumption has become the main criterion for optimization in many areas, radio access systems must consider eliminating the cyclic prefix to save a significant proportion of the radio energy transmitted. This article presents an OFDM iterative receiver working without cyclic prefix. The amount of energy saved is analyzed, and constraints on the use of such a receiver are specified.