Geo-location based self-organization scheme for femtocell networks

Abstract

The massive and random deployment of Femto Base Stations (FBSs) by users generates several technical challenges. This work investigates self-organization in an LTE femtocell network. Specifically, each FBS self-configures locally unique Physical Cell ID (PCI) and Neighbor Cell List (NCL). As more and more FBSs are being deployed, PCI reuse is inevitable, which aims to minimize cell ID collision and confusion. In addition to PCI assignment, NCL management is also important for smooth handoff operation and reduction in call dropping. In this paper, we propose a PCI assignment and NCL management scheme based on geo-location information of each FBS. We also proposed Borrowing based Conflict Resolution method for conflict free PCI assignment in hierarchical femtocell and macrocell networks. The case with Geo-location error is also investigated. The simulation results show that even for a densely deployed femtocell network, our algorithm consumes a small number of PCIs owing to the benefit of our PCI reuse policy. Extensive Simulations show the performance gain of our algorithm as compared with other schemes.