On Resource Reuse for Cellular Networks with Femto- and Macrocell Coexistence

Abstract

This paper studies downlink resource reuse schemes for cellular networks with coexisting femtocells and macrocells. We examine two reuse schemes, termed split reuse and shared reuse. In this paper, we develop an analytical model of resource allocation based on random graphs. In our model, arbitrarily chosen communication links interfere with each other with a certain probability, which depends upon whether the links belong to femtocell or macrocell users. Using this model, we establish asymptotic bounds on the minimum number of resource blocks required to make an interference-free resource assignment for all the users in the network for large numbers of users. We assess these bounds using a simple greedy resource allocation algorithm to demonstrate that the bounds are reasonable in finite networks of plausible size. By applying the bounds, we establish the expected impact of femtocell networks on macrocell resource allocation under a wide variety of interference scenarios. Further, we assess the efficiency loss associated with split reuse, as an aid to determining whether resource allocators should use the simpler split reuse scheme or attempt to tackle the complexity and overhead associated with shared reuse.