Cell design and resource allocation for small cell networks

• Main Author: Ramanath, Sreenath
• Language: ENG
• Published: Université d'Avignon 2011
• Subjects: [INFO:INFO_NI] Computer Science/Networking and Internet Architecture; [INFO:INFO_NI] Informatique/Réseaux et télécommunications; Cellular networks; Small cell networks; Cell design; Resource allocation
• Online Access: http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00745594; http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/95/68/00/PDF/These_RAMANATH_Sreenath_9905944.pdf

An ever increasing demand for mobile broadband applications and services is leading to a massive network densification. The current cellular system architectures are both economically and ecologically limited to handle this. The concept of small-cell networks (SCNs) based on the idea of dense deployment of self-organizing; low-cost, low-power base station (BSs) is a promising alternative. Although SCNs have the potential to significantly increase the capacity and coverage of cellular networks while reducing their energy consumption, they pose many new challenges to the optimal system design. Due to small cell sizes, the mobile users cross over many cells during the course of their service resulting in frequent handovers. Also, due to proximity of BSs, users (especially those at cell edges) experience a higher degree of interference from neighboring BSs. If one has to derive advantages from SCNs, these alleviated effects have to be taken care either by compromising on some aspects of optimality (like dedicating extra resources) or by innovating smarter algorithms or by a combination of the two. The concept of umbrella cells is introduced to take care of frequent handovers. Here extra resources are dedicated to ensure that the calls are not dropped within an umbrella cell. To manage interference, one might have to ensure that the neighboring cells always operate in independent channels or design algorithms which work well in interference dominant scenarios or use the backhaul to incorporate BS cooperation techniques. Further, small cell BS are most often battery operated, which calls for efficient power utilization and energy conservation techniques. Also, when deployed in urban areas, some of the small cells can have larger concentration of users throughout the cell, for example, hot-spots, which call in for design of SCNs with dense users. Also, with portable BSs, one has the choice to install them on street infrastructure or within residential complexes. In such cases, cell design and resource allocation has to consider aspects like user density, distribution (indoor/outdoor), mobility, attenuation, etc. We present the thesis in two parts. In the first part we study the cell design aspects, while the second part deals with the resource allocation. While the focus is on SCNs, some of the results derived and the tools and techniques used are also applicable to conventional cellular systems.