Latency in a 5G Network with Heterogeneous Traffic Containing Smart Grid URLLC Packets

In 5G and beyond wireless technologies, Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) is expected to accommodate several mission-critical use cases, such as smart grid protection. Due to smart grid traffic’s high cost and nondeterministic nature, they cannot be operated on dedicated channels. Instead, carrying out these critical communications in a shared network with other cellular users would be more desirable for maximum resource efficiency. This paper investigates the performance of mission-critical users and other cellular users when operated on shared infrastructure. The paper assesses if 5G URLLC can meet the latency requirements of smart grid protection applications, especially if the resource spectrum is shared among other cellular users in heterogeneous traffic. An open-source tool, ns-3, is used to perform realistic stochastic simulations of a 5G-based communication system. This paper evaluates a wide-area protection application for a distribution system integrated with large Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). The test results demonstrate that mission-critical applications such as smart grid protection can co-exist with other cellular users, provided careful design considerations are taken to ensure the performance requirements of all users in the network are met satisfactorily.