Abstract
This paper provides a methodology for the dimensioning of the access network in remote rural areas, considering the progressive introduction of cellular services in these regions. A 3G small cell (SC) network with one or several carriers deployed at the SC, fed with solar panels and connected to a backhaul with limited capacity is considered for the analysis. Because the backhaul may be inexistent or very expensive (e.g., satellite-based backhaul) the network design pursues the minimization of the required backhaul bandwidth. The required backhaul bandwidth and the required energy units (i.e., the size of the solar panels and the required number of batteries) are then obtained as an output of the dimensioning analysis. Both the backhaul minimization objective and the constraints associated with each of the carriers (low maximum radiated power and low number of users connected simultaneously) require a novel methodology compared to the classical dimensioning techniques. We also develop a procedure for switching on/off carriers in order to minimize the energy consumption without affecting the quality of service (QoS) perceived by the users. This technique allows reducing the required size of the energy units, which directly translates into a cost reduction. In the development of this on/off switching strategy, we first assume perfect knowledge of the traffic profile and later, we develop a robust Bayesian approach to account for possible error modeling in the traffic profile information.
Highlights
Remote rural areas, characterized by low population densities, have generally been disregarded by cellular operators because standardized technologies that have been usually conceived for urban areas are not able to assure the return of investment
In our work we consider that both schemes are too optimistic and, we evaluate the quality of service (QoS) by taking into account jointly the two network capacity limitations, being this a major contribution of this paper
3.7 Network dimensioning beyond Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) In the previous sections, we have presented a methodology for the dimensioning of a network in rural areas
Summary
Remote rural areas, characterized by low population densities, have generally been disregarded by cellular operators because standardized technologies that have been usually conceived for urban areas are not able to assure the return of investment. This paper takes [16] as the main reference for the power consumption model that will be taken in the simulations section to evaluate the energy efficiency of the network and, more precisely, the impact of the proposed on/off switching strategy. These generation systems are more energy-efficient than 3G, there are other non-purely technical reasons that motive the use of 3G.
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More From: EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking
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