Distributed Antenna aided twin-layer femto-and macro-cell networks relying on fractional Frequency-Reuse

Abstract

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and femtocells are capable of improving the attainable performance in the cell-edge area and in indoor residential areas, respectively. In order to achieve a high spectral efficiency, both the Distributed Antenna Elements (DAEs) and Femtocell Base Stations (FBSs) may have to reuse the spectrum of the macrocellular network. As a result, the performance of both outdoor macrocell users and indoor femtocell users suffers from Co-Channel Interference (CCI). Hence in this paper, heterogenous celluar networks are investigated, where the DAS-aided macrocels and femtocells co-exist within the same area.