Abstract-We compare filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in the uplink of a multiple access network. Our study reveals that the high sensitivity of OFDM to carrier frequency offset (CFO) among different users and the need for interference cancellation methods to reduce this sensitivity leads to very complex and yet not very high performance systems. In FBMC-based networks, on the other hand, near-perfect performance is achieved without any need for interference cancellation, thanks to the excellent frequency localized filters used in the realization of FBMC systems.Index Terms-Carrier frequency offset (CFO), computational complexity, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA).