Uplink Inter-Cell Interference Coordination through Soft Frequency Reuse (original) (raw)

Classification and comparative analysis of inter-cell interference coordination techniques in LTE networks

2015 7th International Conference on New Technologies, Mobility and Security (NTMS), 2015

Frequency reuse-1 model is required to satisfy the exponential increase of data demands in mobile networks, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile Terrestrial radio access System (UMTS). However, the simultaneous usage of the same frequency resources in adjacent LTE cells creates inter-cell interference problems, that mainly affect cell-edge users. Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) techniques are proposed to avoid the negative impact of interference on system performance. They establish restrictions on resource usage, such as Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR), and on power allocation such as Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR). In this paper, we classify the existing ICIC techniques, and investigate the performance of reuse-1, reuse-3, FFR, and SFR schemes under various user distributions, and for various network loads. Performance of cell-center and cell-edge users are inspected, as well as the overall spectral efficiency. System level simulations show the advantages and limitations of each of the examined techniques compared to frequency reuse-1 model under different network loads and user distributions, which helps us to determine the most suitable ICIC technique to be used.

Load Distribution Aware Soft Frequency Reuse for Inter-Cell Interference Mitigation and Throughput Maximization in LTE Networks

2011 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2011

This paper proposes a novel load distribution aware soft frequency reuse (LDA-SFR) scheme for inter-cell interference mitigation and performance optimization in next generation wireless networks. Our proposed scheme aims to provide a solution to effectively achieve inter-cell interference mitigation while maintaining high spectrum efficiency to all users in the cell. The proposed scheme consists of two novel algorithms: edge bandwidth reuse and centre bandwidth compensation. Using the edge bandwidth reuse algorithm, cell-edge users can take advantage of uneven traffic load and user distributions within each cell to expand their resource allocations. The center bandwidth compensation algorithm, on the other hand, provides a protection mechanism for cell-center users to avoid exhaustive edge bandwidth extension. Applying LDA-SFR to an LTE network and comparing its performance against that of existing soft frequency reuse (SFR) and adaptive soft frequency reuse (ASFR) schemes indicates that LDA-SFR is superior as it achieves fairness between cell-edge users and cell-center users in terms of average throughput improvement.

A novel dynamic inter-cell interference coordination technique for LTE networks

2015

Inter-cell interference problems arise in dense frequency reuse networks such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). They have harmful impact on system performance, especially for cell-edge users or users having bad radio conditions. Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) schemes aim at mitigating the interference produced by nearby cells to enhance the performance of cell-edge users. ICIC techniques include static frequency reuse schemes and cellcoordinated schemes. In this paper, we propose a semistatic frequency allocation algorithm that exploits evolved-NodeBs communications via X2 interface to mitigate intercell interference. Each cell is divided into two zones: cellcenter and cell-edge. Cell zone satisfaction is tracked, and the unsatisfied zone gets more frequency resource blocks in a distributed manner. The scope of this work is on the downlink of LTE networks using frequency division duplex transmission mode. An LTE downlink system level simulator is chosen to compare the performance of the proposed technique with the frequency reuse-1 model and the fractional frequency reuse technique. Simulation results show that our technique improves throughput cumulative distribution function, achieves a better throughput fairness, and reduces the percentage of unsatisfied users. It is a dynamic technique able to adapt with non-uniform user distributions and traffic demands.

Non-Cooperative Inter-Cell Interference Coordination Technique for Increasing Throughput Fairness in LTE Networks

2015 IEEE 81st Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), 2015

One major concern for operators of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks is mitigating inter-cell interference problems. Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) techniques are proposed to reduce performance degradation and to maximize system capacity. It is a joint resource allocation and power allocation problem that aims at controlling the trade-off between resource efficiency and user fairness. Traditional interference mitigation techniques are Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) and Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR). FFR statically divides the available spectrum into reuse-1 and reuse-3 portions in order to protect cell-edge users, while SFR reduces downlink transmission power allocated for cell-center resources to protect vulnerable users in the neighboring cells. However, these static techniques are not adapted to non-uniform user distribution scenarios, and they do not provide guarantees on throughput fairness between user equipments. In this paper, we introduce a non-cooperative dynamic ICIC technique that dynamically adjusts resource block allocation according to user demands in each zone. We investigate the impact of this technique on throughput distribution and user fairness under non-uniform user distributions, using an LTE downlink system level simulator. Simulation results show that the proposed technique improves system capacity, and increases throughput fairness in comparison with reuse-1 model, FFR and SFR. It does not require any cooperation between base stations of the LTE network.

Performance of power control in inter-cell interference coordination for frequency reuse

The Journal of China Universities of Posts and Telecommunications, 2010

To mitigate inter-cell interference in 3G evolution systems, a novel inter-cell interference coordination scheme called soft fractional frequency reuse is proposed in this article, which enables to improve the data rate in cell-edge. On this basis, an inter-cell power control is presented for the inter-cell interference coordination, and the inter-cell balanced signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) among users is established for power allocation, which enables mitigation of inter-cell interference. Especially, the power control is based on a novel exponential kernel equation at higher convergence speed than the traditional arithmetic kernel equations. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme improves the throughput and reduces the blocking rate compared to the existing power control algorithms.

Autonomous Schemes for Inter-cell Interference Coordination in the Downlink of LTE Systems

International Journal of Wireless Information Networks, 2014

Inter-cell interference (ICI) is one of the key challenges that limit the performance of Long Term Evolution and Long Term Evolution Advanced cellular systems. One approach to deal with ICI is through interference avoidance. Unlike static avoidance techniques where a-priori frequency planning and/or explicit inter-cell coordination is used, dynamic avoidance techniques rely on adapting its frequency planning and allocation based on the current state of the network. However, this improvement in performance comes with the cost of an increased complexity due to the coordination and alignments needed among the base stations (eNB) to manage and allocate channels among the users. Accordingly, autonomous ICI coordination techniques are receiving much interest among the various interference avoidance techniques. In this paper, we propose an autonomous self-adaptive scheme (SA, for short) for radio resource management and interference coordination. We then extend the proposed scheme to become self-adaptive power-aware (SAPA) in order to optimize and reduce the transmission power of the eNBs. A key feature in the proposed schemes is that all computations are independent of the number of users and cells in the network. This allows the proposed schemes to adapt to networks of any size and with an arbitrary number of users. Extensive simulation confirms that the proposed SA scheme ensures efficient frequency reuse patterns that lead to significant performance improvements in the throughput of the edge users without affecting other users. Moreover, the SAPA scheme achieves significant improvement in the power efficiency, while maintaining the throughput enhancements achieved by the SA scheme for both center and edge users.

Understanding Static Intercell Interference Coordination Mechanisms in LTE

2011

Abstract This work identifies the factors which determine the behaviour of static interference avoidance schemes: SINR distribution shift, MCS mapping, and proportional MCS usage. The work goes on to challenge the common assumption that it is``best''to give resources with a high reuse factor to those at the cell-edge, by showing for a fixed rate service class, that it is best to be greedy and give these resources to those at the cell-centre.

Performance of Decentralized Interference Coordination in the LTE Uplink

2009 IEEE 70th Vehicular Technology Conference Fall, 2009

Interference management techniques like inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) will play a key role in enabling high spectral efficiency in future wireless OFDMA-based cellular systems. The aim of ICIC is to lower inter-cell interference by coordinating the usage of spectrum resources among neighboring cells. Especially for the cell-edge users, avoiding the reuse of the same resources in neighboring cells yields a significant increase in SINR and thus capacity. In this paper, we consider decentralized ICIC schemes for the uplink of an LTE system in which base stations perform selfish resource allocation decisions. System level simulations in a multi-cell scenario show the convergence of the distributed schemes towards Nash equilibria. The mean cell throughput as well as the 5% CDF user throughput are compared to those achieved by frequency reuse 1 and 3 deployments. The simulation results show that the proposed schemes adapt well to varying uniform and especially non-uniform traffic loads.

Joint Uplink Scheduling and Interference Mitigation in Multicell LTE Networks

2011 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2011

Uplink resource allocation with intercell interference mitigation in LTE networks is investigated. A non-cooperative probabilistic interference avoidance scheme and a pricing-based cooperative power control scheme are proposed. A scheduling algorithm is presented and used with the proposed interference mitigation schemes. In the absence of power control, scheduling with the probabilistic interference avoidance scheme is shown to lead to considerable enhancements over classical reuse schemes. When cooperative power control is added, the proposed approach is shown to outperform the standard LTE power control approach.