ITU-T G.9903 performance against Middleton Class-A impulsive noise

ITU-T G.9903 also known as G3-PLC is one of the transmission systems using the power line channel. Technologies using this medium are very interesting for power utilities as they can use their own infrastructure. One of the resulting challenge is that the power lines were not designed to carry data since the performance of a communication may vary depending on many parameters such as the different types of load, the location and
the time of day. Moreover, every electrical devices are connected to the power distribution grid leading to various types of noise injection, especially impulsive noise. Finding an appropriate model for such a complex system is difficult, however, a commonly accepted model for powerline noise is Middleton's class A. It is a simple model (few parameters) and it takes into account both a background noise and an impulsive component. These features makes this model highly interesting for performance simulation
in the context of PLC. This paper will study the performance limits of ITU-T G.9903 PHY impaired by impulsive noise using an ITU-T G.9903 PHY layer simulator. This simulator is capable to emulate every aspects of a hardware modem comprising the correction mechanisms, the frame structure and the modulations as defined in the ITU-T G9903 standard. This paper discusses the results obtained for several values of Middleton's class A noise in order to define boundaries of acceptable performance.