  With the explosive growth of mobile data demand, the fifth generation (5G)
mobile network would exploit the enormous amount of spectrum in the millimeter
wave (mmWave) bands to greatly increase communication capacity. There are
fundamental differences between mmWave communications and existing other
communication systems, in terms of high propagation loss, directivity, and
sensitivity to blockage. These characteristics of mmWave communications pose
several challenges to fully exploit the potential of mmWave communications,
including integrated circuits and system design, interference management,
spatial reuse, anti-blockage, and dynamics control. To address these
challenges, we carry out a survey of existing solutions and standards, and
propose design guidelines in architectures and protocols for mmWave
communications. We also discuss the potential applications of mmWave
communications in the 5G network, including the small cell access, the cellular
access, and the wireless backhaul. Finally, we discuss relevant open research
issues including the new physical layer technology, software-defined network
architecture, measurements of network state information, efficient control
mechanisms, and heterogeneous networking, which should be further investigated
to facilitate the deployment of mmWave communication systems in the future 5G
networks.
