Is the Optimized FFR Interference Avoidance Scheme Challenging the Future HetNets?

Abstract

As mobile data demand continues to increase exponentially, networks are evolving via a new paradigm called Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) that increases the network coverage and capacity, guaranteeing better UE performance. The deployment trend in the next generation systems is then high densification, which yields an Ultra-Dense Network (UDN). However, the Inter-Cell Interference (ICI) is a major challenge in the design and optimization of these networks. The common Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) schemes for ICI coordination are considered as one of the most efficient and cost-effective techniques to avoid interference. On the other, the Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) technique is more suitable to HetNets but need strict synchronisation between Macro and Pico nodes and feedback through X2 to set the optimum ABS patterns which is time consuming. In a recent work, we have studied the ABS and power control optimization to jointly maximize the number of satisfied users and minimize the power consumption. By analyzing the simulation results, we noted a similar performance when applying FFR instead of ABS for high density cases. Therefore, in this paper, we present the analysis and simulation results for the deduced optimized FFR scheme that maximizes the number of served users while minimizing the total consumed power. This provides useful insights into the development of optimized FFR techniques for future HetNets.