The next generation network aims to efficiently deploy low cost and low power cellular base station in the subscriber's home environment. For the femtocell deployment, frequency allocation among femtocells and macrocell is big concern to mitigate the interference, and to ensure the best use of the expensive spectrum. There are many sources of interference in integrated femtocell/macrocell networks. Lagging in proper management of interference reduces the system capacity, increases the outage probability, and finally users feel bad quality of experience (QoE). The cost effective interference management technique depends on the size of femtocells deployment. In this paper, firstly we present deployable various possible femtocell network scenarios. We propose the dynamic frequency re-use scheme to mitigate interference for femtocell deployment. For highly dense femtocells, we propose the functionalities of self organizing network (SON) based femtocell network architecture. The outage probability of a femtocell user is analyzed in details. The performances of the proposed schemes for various femtocell deployments are performed using numerical analysis.
With the rapidly increasing number of deployed LTE femtocell base stations (FBS), energy consumption of femtocell networks has become a serious environmental issue. Therefore, energy-efficient protocols are needed to balance the trade-off between energy saving and bandwidth utilization. The key component of the desired protocol to prevent both energy and bandwidth waste is interference mitigation, which, nevertheless, most previous work has failed to properly consider. To this end, in this paper, we manipulate user equipment (UE) association and OFDMA scheduling with a combination of interfere…
This paper proposes two interference mitigation strategies that adjust the maximum transmit power of femtocell users to suppress the cross-tier interference at a macrocell base station (BS). The open-loop and the closed-loop control suppress the cross-tier interference less than a fixed threshold and an adaptive threshold based on the noise and interference (NI) level at the macrocell BS, respectively. Simulation results show that both schemes effectively compensate the uplink throughput degradation of the macrocell BS due to the cross-tier interference and that the closed-loop control provide…
Wireless networks employing small cells like femtocells are considered to be the choice of network deployment for 4G or advanced networks. This hierarchical deployment of cells introduces the necessity of effective frequency planning for mitigation of interference between different layers of network. As the scarce spectrum resources are likely to be reused to increase spectral efficiency, interference free signal reception has to be guaranteed to ensure better quality of service (QoS). In this paper we propose a dynamic frequency reuse scheme for the deployment of femtocells within a macrocell…
Femtocell networks have become a promising solution in supporting high data rates for 5G systems, where cell densification is performed using the small femtocells. However, femtocell networks have many challenges. One of the major challenges of femtocell networks is the interference management problem, where deployment of femtocells in the range of macro-cells may degrade the performance of the macrocell. In this paper, we develop a new platform for studying interference management in distributed femtocell networks using reinforcement learning approach. We design a complete MAC protocol to per…
The femto-access-point (FAP), a low power small cellular base station provides better signal quality for the indoor users as to provide high data-rate communications with improved coverage, access network capacity and quality of service. Highly dense femtocellular deployments-the ultimate goal of the femtocellular technology-will require significant degree of selforganization in lieu of manual configuration as to mitigate unwanted handovers and interference effects. The deployment of femtocells with our proposed on-demand scheme in the multistoried building or home environment can solve the lo…
Femtocells represent a promising alternative solution for high quality wireless access in indoor scenarios where conventional cellular system coverage can be poor. Femtocell access points (FAP) are normally randomly deployed by the end user, so only post deployment network planning is possible. Furthermore, this uncoordinated deployment creates the potential for severe interference to co-located femtocells, especially in dense deployments. This paper presents a new femtocell network architecture using a generalized virtual cluster femtocell (GVCF) paradigm, which groups together FAP, which are…
Femtocellular networks will co-exist with macrocellular networks, mitigation of the interference between these two network types is a key challenge for successful integration of these two technologies. In particular, there are several interference mechanisms between the femtocellular and the macrocellular networks, and the effects of the resulting interference depend on the density of femtocells and the overlaid macrocells in a particular coverage area. While improper interference management can cause a significant reduction in the system capacity and can increase the outage probability, effec…
Femtocells are an emerging technology aimed at providing gains to both network operators and end-users. These gains come at a cost of increased interference, specifically the cross network interference between the macrocell and femtocell networks. This interference is one of the main performance limiting factors in allowing an underlaid femtocell network to share the spectrum with the cellular network. To manage this interference, we first propose a femtocell architecture that orthog- onally partitions the network bandwidth between the macrocell and femtocell networks. This scheme eliminates t…
In a two tier cellular network -- comprised of a central macrocell underlaid with shorter range femtocell hotspots -- cross-tier interference limits overall capacity with universal frequency reuse. To quantify near-far effects with universal frequency reuse, this paper derives a fundamental relation providing the largest feasible cellular Signal-to-Interference-Plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), given any set of feasible femtocell SINRs. We provide a link budget analysis which enables simple and accurate performance insights in a two-tier network. A distributed utility-based SINR adaptation at femtocell…
A significant technical challenge in deploying femtocells is controlling the interference from the underlay of femtos onto the overlay of macros. This paper presents a novel interference control method where the macrocell bandwidth is partitioned into subbands, and the short-range femtocell links adaptively allocate their power across the subbands based on a load-spillage power control method. The scheme can improve rate distribution in the macro network while also providing opportunities for short-range communication as well. Moreover, the proposed scheme requires minimal interference coordin…
This paper proposes a self-optimized coverage coordination scheme for two-tier femtocell networks, in which a femtocell base station adjusts the transmit power based on the statistics of the signal and the interference power that is measured at a femtocell downlink. Furthermore, an analytic expression is derived for the coverage leakage probability that a femtocell coverage area leaks into an outdoor macrocell. The coverage analysis is verified by simulation, which shows that the proposed scheme provides sufficient indoor femtocell coverage and that the femtocell coverage does not leak into an…
Two-tier femtocell networks-- comprising a conventional macrocellular network plus embedded femtocell hotspots-- offer an economically viable solution to achieving high cellular user capacity and improved coverage. With universal frequency reuse and DS-CDMA transmission however, the ensuing cross-tier cochannel interference (CCI) causes unacceptable outage probability. This paper develops an uplink capacity analysis and interference avoidance strategy in such a two-tier CDMA network. We evaluate a network-wide area spectral efficiency metric called the \emph{operating contour (OC)} defined as …
The femtocell networks that use home base station and existing xDSL or other cable line as backhaul connectivity can fulfill the upcoming demand of high data rate for wireless communication system as well as can extend the coverage area. Hence the modified handover procedure for existing networks is needed to support the macrocell/femtocell integrated network. Some modifications of existing network and protocol architecture for the integration of femtocell networks with the existing UMTS based macrocell networks are essential. These modifications change the signal flow for handover procedures …
Two-tier networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with shorter range hotspots (e.g. femtocells, distributed antennas, or wired relays), offer an economically viable way to improve cellular system capacity. The capacity-limiting factor in such networks is interference. The cross-tier interference between macrocells and femtocells can suffocate the capacity due to the near-far problem, so in practice hotspots should use a different frequency channel than the potentially nearby high-power macrocell users. Centralized or coordinated frequency planning, which is difficult and i…
The femto-access-point (FAP), a low power small cellular base station provides better signal quality for the indoor users. The mobile users in the vehicular environment suffer for the low quality signal from the outside wireless networks. The deployment of femtocells in the vehicular environment can solve the low level signal-to-noise plus interference problem. In this paper, we propose new application of the femtocell technology. The femtocells are deployed in the vehicular environment. Short distance between the user and the FAP provides better signal quality. The inside FAPs are connected t…
The ubiquitous services of wireless communication networks are growing rapidly by the development of wireless communication technologies. While a user is roaming from one cell to another cell, an intelligent decision mechanism and network selection is extremely crucial to maintain the quality of service (QoS) during handover. Handover decision must be made precisely to avoid any unnecessary phenomenon like ping-pong, corner effect, call blocking, and call dropping etc. This work considered service types like voice, video, and data and their QoS requirements for handover decision using fuzzy lo…
We introduce a comprehensive analytical framework to compare between open access and closed access in two-tier femtocell networks, with regard to uplink interference and outage. Interference at both the macrocell and femtocell levels is considered. A stochastic geometric approach is employed as the basis for our analysis. We further derive sufficient conditions for open access and closed access to outperform each other in terms of the outage probability, leading to closed-form expressions to upper and lower bound the difference in the targeted received power between the two access modes. Simul…
We consider a general class of wireless scheduling and resource allocation problems where the received rate in each link is determined by the actions of the transmitter in that link along with a single dominant interferer. Such scenarios arise in a range of scenarios, particularly in emerging femto- and picocellular networks with strong, localized interference. For these networks, a utility maximizing scheduler based on loopy belief propagation is presented that enables computationally-efficient local processing and low communication overhead. Our main theoretical result shows that the fixed p…
A macrocell superposed by indoor deployed femtocells forms a geography-overlapped and spectrum-shared two tier network, which can efficiently improve coverage and enhance system capacity. It is important for reducing inter-tier co-channel interference that any femtocell user (FU) can select suitable access channel according to the path losses between itself and the macrocell users (MUs). Path loss should be estimated non-cooperatively since information exchange is difficult between macrocell and femtocells. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for FU to estimate the path loss between itse…
In two-tier networks -- comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with shorter range hotspots (e.g. femtocells, distributed antennas, or wired relays) -- with universal frequency reuse, the near-far effect from cross-tier interference creates dead spots where reliable coverage cannot be guaranteed to users in either tier. Equipping the macrocell and femtocells with multiple antennas enhances robustness against the near-far problem. This work derives the maximum number of simultaneously transmitting multiple antenna femtocells meeting a per-tier outage probability constraint. Coverage…
This paper presents a hierarchical approach to resource allocation in open-access femtocell networks. The major challenge in femtocell networks is interference management which in our system, based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, translates to which user should be allocated which physical resource block (or fraction thereof) from which femtocell access point (FAP). The globally optimal solution requires integer programming and is mathematically intractable. We propose a hierarchical three-stage solution: first, the load of each FAP is estimated considering the number of users connec…
Femtocells have been considered by the wireless industry as a cost-effective solution not only to improve indoor service providing, but also to unload traffic from already overburdened macro networks. Due to spectrum availability and network infrastructure considerations, a macro network may have to share spectrum with overlaid femtocells. In spectrum-sharing macro and femto networks, inter-cell interference caused by different transmission powers of macrocell base stations (MBS) and femtocell access points (FAP), in conjunction with potentially densely deployed femtocells, may create dead spo…
In this paper, we develop novel two-tier interference management strategies that enable macrocell users (MUEs) to improve their performance, with the help of open-access femtocells. To this end, we propose a rate-splitting technique using which the MUEs optimize their uplink transmissions by dividing their signals into two types: a coarse message that is intended for direct transmission to the macrocell base station and a fine message that is decoded by a neighboring femtocell and subsequently relayed over a heterogeneous (wireless/wired) backhaul. For deploying the proposed technique, we form…
Integrated femtocell/macrocell networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with femtocells, offer an economically appealing way to improve coverage, quality of service, and access network capacity. The key element to successful femtocells/macrocell integration lies in its self-organizing capability. Provisioning of quality of service is the main technical challenge of the femtocell/macrocell integrated networks, while the main administrative challenge is the choice of the proper evolutionary path from the existing macrocellular networks to the integrated network. In this arti…
Small cell networks are evolving as an economically viable solution to ameliorate the capacity and coverage of state-of-the-art wireless cellular systems. Nonetheless, the dense and unplanned deployment of the small cells (e.g., femtocells, picocells) with restricted user access significantly increases the impact of interference on the overall network performance. To this end, this paper presents a novel framework to derive the statistics of the interference considering dedicated and shared spectrum access for uplink transmissions in two-tier small cell networks such as the macrocell-femtocell…
This paper investigates the energy-efficient power allocation for a two-tier, underlaid femtocell network. The behaviors of the Macrocell Base Station (MBS) and the Femtocell Users (FUs) are modeled hierarchically as a Stackelberg game. The MBS guarantees its own QoS requirement by charging the FUs individually according to the cross-tier interference, and the FUs responds by controlling the local transmit power non-cooperatively. Due to the limit of information exchange in intra- and inter-tiers, a self-learning based strategy-updating mechanism is proposed for each user to learn the equilibr…
A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) provides health care services. The performance and utility of WBANs can be degraded due to interference. In this paper, our contribution for co-channel interference mitigation among coexisting WBANs is threefold. First, we propose a distributed orthogonal code allocation scheme, namely, OCAIM, where, each WBAN generates sensor interference lists (SILs), and then all sensors belonging to these lists are allocated orthogonal codes. Secondly, we propose a distributed time reference correlation scheme, namely, DTRC, that is used as a building block of OCAIM. DTR…
The notion of Total Interference Degree (TID) is traditionally used to estimate the intensity of prevalent interference in a Multi-RadioMulti-ChannelWirelessMesh Network (MRMC WMN). Numerous Channel Assignment (CA) approaches, linkscheduling algorithms and routing schemes have been proposed for WMNs which rely entirely on the concept of TID estimates. They focus on minimizing TID to create a minimal interference scenario for the network. In our prior works [1] and [2], we have questioned the efficacy of TID estimate and then proposed two reliable interference estimation metrics viz., Channel D…
For the current 5G era, the deployment of small cells in residential and commercial areas plays an imperious preamble in improving network coverage and the quality of service (QoS). Major technical problems associated with the mass deployment of small cells, such as femtocells are interference management and QoS provisioning. These are important for service-providing operators because the system capacity and achievable data rates mainly depend on interference. Future generation wireless networks will use autonomous and distributed architecture for ameliorating the efficacy and flexibility of c…
Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) are introduced by the 3GPP as an emerging technology to provide high network coverage and capacity. The HetNets are the combination of multilayer networks such as macrocell, small cell (picocell and femtocell) networks. In such networks, users may suffer significant cross-layer interference. To manage the interference the 3GPP has introduced Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) techniques, Almost Blank SubFrame (ABSF) is one of the time-domain technique in the eICIC solutions. In this thesis, we propose a dynamically optimal ABSF framework to e…
Heterogeneous hetworks (HetNets) have been introduced as an emerging technology in order to meet the increasing demand for mobile data. HetNets are a combination of multi-layer networks such as macrocells and small cells. In such networks, users may suffer significant cross-layer interference. To manage this interference, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) techniques. Almost Blank SubFrame (ABSF) is one of the time-domain techniques used in eICIC solutions. We propose a dynamically optimal Signal-to-Interference-an…
In this paper, we address inter-beam inter-cell interference mitigation in 5G networks that employ millimeter-wave (mmWave), beamforming and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) techniques. Those techniques play a key role in improving network capacity and spectral efficiency by multiplexing users on both spatial and power domains. In addition, the coverage area of multiple beams from different cells can intersect, allowing more flexibility in user-cell association. However, the intersection of coverage areas also implies increased inter-beam inter-cell interference, i.e. interference among b…
In this paper, we enable the coexistence of multiple wireless body area networks (BANs) using a finite repeated non-cooperative game, in which BANs are rational players but act selfishly. A game-theoretic based transmit power control scheme employing a novel utility function is proposed to maximize each network's packet delivery ratio (PDR) at low transmit power. The proposed utility function penalizes players with high transmission power, which reduces the interference caused to other coexisting BANs. Considering the purpose of inter-BAN interference mitigation, PDR is expressed as a compress…
The performance of wireless body area networks (WBANs) may be degraded due to co-channel interference, i.e., when sensors of different coexisting WBANs transmit at the same time-slots using the same channel. In this paper, we exploit the 16 channels available in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed international band of ZIGBEE, and propose a distributed scheme that opts to avoid interference through channel to time-slot hopping based on Latin rectangles, DAIL. In DAIL, each WBAN's coordinator picks a Latin rectangle whose rows are ZIGBEE channels and columns are time-slots of its superframe. Subsequently, i…
The work presented in this paper deals with the issue of massive demands for higher capacity. For that matter, we investigate the spectrum resource management in outdoor mmWave cell for the uplink of cellular and D2D communications. Indeed, we provide a first insight how to optimize the system performance in terms of achievable throughput while realizing a compromise between the large number of admitted devices and the generated interference constraint. We propose a mathematical formulation of the optimization objective which falls in the mixed integer-real optimization scheme. To overcome its…
In cellular wireless networks, user association refers to the problem of assigning mobile users to base station cells -- a critical, but challenging, problem in many emerging small cell and heterogeneous networks. This paper considers a general class of utility maximization problems for joint optimization of mobile user associations and bandwidth and power allocations. The formulation can incorporate a large class of network topologies, interference models, SNR-to-rate mappings and network constraints. In addition, the model can applied in carrier aggregation scenarios where mobiles can be ser…
In multi-radio multi-channel (MRMC) WMNs, interference alleviation is affected through several network design techniques e.g., channel assignment (CA), link scheduling, routing etc., intelligent CA schemes being the most effective tool for interference mitigation. CA in WMNs is an NP-Hard problem, and makes optimality a desired yet elusive goal in real-time deployments which are characterized by fast transmission and switching times and minimal end-to-end latency. The trade-off between optimal performance and minimal response times is often achieved through CA schemes that employ heuristics to…
Designing high performance channel assignment schemes to harness the potential of multi-radio multi-channel deployments in wireless mesh networks (WMNs) is an active research domain. A pragmatic channel assignment approach strives to maximize network capacity by restraining the endemic interference and mitigating its adverse impact on network performance. Interference prevalent in WMNs is multi-faceted, radio co-location interference (RCI) being a crucial aspect that is seldom addressed in research endeavors. In this effort, we propose a set of intelligent channel assignment algorithms, which …
Recent advances in Low-Power Wide-Area Networks have mitigated interference by using cloud assistance. Those methods transmit the RSSI samples and corrupted packets to the cloud to restore the correct message. However, the effectiveness of those methods is challenged by the high transmission data amount. This paper presents a novel method for interference mitigation in a Edge-Cloud collaborative manner, namely ECCR. It does not require transmitting RSSI sample any more, whose length is eight times of the packet's. We demonstrate the disjointness of the bit errors of packets at the base station…
When sensors of different coexisting wireless body area networks (WBANs) transmit at the same time using the same channel, a co-channel interference is experienced and hence the performance of the involved WBANs may be degraded. In this paper, we exploit the 16 channels available in the 2.4 GHz international band of ZIGBEE, and propose a distributed scheme that avoids interference through predictable channel hopping based on Latin rectangles, namely, CHIM. In the proposed CHIM scheme, each WBAN's coordinator picks a Latin rectangle whose rows are ZIGBEE channels and columns are sensor IDs. Bas…
We propose WiPLUS -- a system that enables WiFi to deal with the stealthy invasion of LTE-U into the frequency bands used by WiFi. Using solely MAC layer information extracted passively, during runtime, out of the hardware registers of the WiFi NIC at the WiFi access point, WiPLUS is able to: i) detect interfering LTE-U signals, ii) compute their duty-cycles, and iii) derive the effective medium airtime available for each WiFi link in a WiFi Basic Service Set (BSS). Moreover WiPLUS provides accurate timing information about the detected LTE-U ON and OFF phases enabling advanced interference mi…
Coexistence, and hence interference mitigation, across multiple wireless body area networks (WBANs) is an important problem as WBANs become more pervasive. Here, two-hop relay-assisted cooperative communications using opportunistic relaying (OR) is proposed for enhancement of coexistence for WBANs. Suitable time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes are employed for both intra-WBAN and inter-WBANs access protocols. To emulate actual conditions of WBAN use, extensive on-body and inter-body "everyday" channel measurements are employed. In addition, a realistic inter-WBAN channel model is simul…
Dynamic Time Division Duplexing (D-TDD) allows cells to accommodate asymmetric traffic variations with high resource assignment flexibility. However, this feature is limited by two additional types of interference between cells in opposite transmission direction: downlink (DL) to uplink (UL) and UL to DL interference. Therefore, using this mode with macro-cell deployments requires interference mitigation techniques to reduce the strong DL to UL interference. 3D beamforming is an efficient technique that minimizes interference and enhances performance by exploiting a large 2D array of antennas …
National University of Sciences and Technology（国立科技大学）；Kings College London（伦敦国王学院）；Air University（航空大学）；National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences（国立计算机与新兴科学大学）
5th generation networks are envisioned to provide seamless and ubiquitous connection to 1000-fold more devices and is believed to provide ultra-low latency and higher data rates up to tens of Gbps. Different technologies enabling these requirements are being developed including mmWave communications, Massive MIMO and beamforming, Device to Device (D2D) communications and Heterogeneous Networks. D2D communication is a promising technology to enable applications requiring high bandwidth such as online streaming and online gaming etc. It can also provide ultra- low latencies required for applicat…
Dynamic Time Division Duplex (TDD) has been introduced as a solution to deal with the uplink and downlink traffic asymmetry, mainly observed for dense heterogeneous network deployments. However, the use of this feature requires new interference mitigation schemes capable to handle two additional types of interferences between cells in opposite transmission cycle: downlink to uplink and uplink to downlink interferences. Among them, Cell clustering has been proposed as an efficient solution to minimize inter-cell interferences in opposite transmission directions and somehow responds to the requi…
3GPP LTE-Advanced has started a new study item to investigate Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) deployments as a cost effective way to deal with the unrelenting traffic demand. HetNets consist of a mix of macrocells, remote radio heads, and low-power nodes such as picocells, femtocells, and relays. Leveraging network topology, increasing the proximity between the access network and the end-users, has the potential to provide the next significant performance leap in wireless networks, improving spatial spectrum reuse and enhancing indoor coverage. Nevertheless, deployment of a large number of smal…
Heterogeneous small cell network has attracted much attention to satisfy users' explosive data traffic requirements. Heterogeneous cloud small cell network (HCSNet), which combines cloud computing and heterogeneous small cell network, will likely play an important role in 5G mobile communication networks. However, with massive deployment of small cells, co-channel interference and handover management are two important problems in HCSNet, especially for cell edge users. In this article, we examine the problems of cooperative interference mitigation and handover management in HCSNet. A network a…
This work addresses problems related to interference mitigation in a single wireless body area network (WBAN). In this paper, We propose a distributed \textit{C}ombined carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) with \textit{F}lexible time division multiple access (\textit{T}DMA) scheme for \textit{I}nterference \textit{M}itigation in relay-assisted intra-WBAN, namely, CFTIM. In CFTIM scheme, non interfering sources (transmitters) use CSMA/CA to communicate with relays. Whilst, high interfering sources and best relays use flexible TDMA to communicate with coordinator (C) …
Beamforming is an essential technology in the 5G massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MMIMO) communications, which are subject to many impairments due to the nature of wireless transmission channel, i.e. the air. The inter-cell interference (ICI) is one of the main impairments faced by 5G communications due to frequency-reuse technologies. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning (RL) assisted full dynamic beamforming for ICI mitigation in 5G downlink. The proposed algorithm is a joint of beamforming and full dynamic Q-learning technology to minimize the ICI, and results in a low-…
We focus on interference mitigation and energy conservation within a single wireless body area network (WBAN). We adopt two-hop communication scheme supported by the the IEEE 802.15.6 standard (2012). In this paper, we propose a dynamic channel allocation scheme, namely DCAIM to mitigate node-level interference amongst the coexisting regions of a WBAN. At the time, the sensors are in the radius communication of a relay, they form a relay region (RG) coordinated by that relay using time division multiple access (TDMA). In the proposed scheme, each RG creates a table consisting of interfering se…
The TD-LTE system is envisaged to adopt dynamic time division duplexing (TDD) transmissions for small cells to adapt their communication service to the fast variation of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) traffic demands. However, different DL/UL directions for the same subframe in adjacent cells will result in new destructive interference components, i.e., eNB-to-eNB and UE-to-UE, with levels that can significantly differ from one subframe to another. In this paper, a feasible UL power control mechanism is proposed to manage eNB-to-eNB interference, where different UL power control parameters are …
We exploit multi-path fading propagation to improve both the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio and the stability of wireless communications within electromagnetic environments that support rich multipath propagation. Quasi-passive propagation control with multiple binary reconfigurable intelligent surfaces is adopted to control the stationary waves supported by a metallic cavity hosting a software-defined radio link. Results are demonstrated in terms of the error vector magnitude minimization of a quadrature phase-shift modulation scheme under no-line-of-sight conditions. It is found tha…
