Delay-based user association in heterogeneous networks with Backhaul

Abstract

The Internet of things (IoT) as an important application of future communication networks puts a high premium on delay issues. Thus when IoT applications meet heterogeneous networks (HetNets) where macro cells are overlaid with small cells, some traditional problems need rethinking. In this paper, we investigate the delay-addressed association problem in two-tier HetNets considering different backhaul technologies. Specifically, millimeter wave and fiber links are used to provide high-capacity backhaul for small cells. We first formulate the user association problem to minimize the total delay which depends on the probability of successful transmission, the number of user terminals (UTs), and the number of base stations (BSs). And then two algorithms for active mode and mixed mode are proposed to minimize the network delay. Simulation results show that algorithms based on mutual selection between UTs and BSs have better performance than those based on distance. And algorithms for mixed modes have less delay than those for active mode when the number of BSs is large enough, compared to the number of UTs.