Coordinated location-based self-optimization for indoor femtocell networks

Abstract

Current indoor femtocell networks pose many challenges that could end up into a congested or non-operative cellular communication. In this context, widespread Heterogeneous Cellular Networks (HCNs) and smart devices can provide information that, if well-processed, could support the operation, administration, management and provision (OAM&P) procedures to improve the indoor network performance. Thus, a proposal based on the Self-Organizing Networks (SON) paradigm and context information is described in this paper in order to overcome network degradations and failures. In particular, a coordinated self-optimization system is proposed to enhance extremely overloaded indoor femtocell networks and to reduce the energy consumption. This approach, which is supported by geo-located measurements, automates the network OAM&P procedures and provides the intelligence to network elements for a quick adaptation. Finally, the system performance is analyzed in a realistic simulated environment, where the improvement in network capacity, coverage as well as the efficient use of energy, are discussed.