# Rate-Splitting assisted Massive Machine-Type Communications in Cell-Free Massive MIMO

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.07508 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.07508/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 19 Jan 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Deep-Unfolded Massive Grant-Free Transmission in Cell-Free Wireless Communication Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.13390/) (2025)
- [Pilot Contamination in Massive MIMO Systems: Challenges and Future Prospects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.19238/) (2024)
- [Robust Precoding for Resilient Cell-Free Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.00531/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This letter focuses on integrating rate-splitting multiple-access (RSMA) with time-division-duplex Cell-free Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) for massive machine-type communications. Due to the large number of devices, their sporadic access behaviour and limited coherence interval, we assume a random access strategy with all active devices utilizing the same pilot for uplink channel estimation. This gives rise to a highly pilot-contaminated scenario, which inevitably deteriorates channel estimates. Motivated by the robustness of RSMA towards imperfect channel state information, we propose a novel RSMA-assisted downlink transmission framework for cell-free massive MIMO. On the basis of the downlink achievable spectral efficiency of the common and private streams, we devise a heuristic common precoder design and propose a novel max-min power control method for the proposed RSMA-assisted scheme. Numerical results show that RSMA effectively mitigates the effect of pilot contamination in the downlink and achieves a significant performance gain over a conventional cell-free massive MIMO network.