FFR-Aided Coordinated Multipoint Transmission in Downlink Multicell MIMO-OFDMA Networks

Abstract

Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) is an intercell interference coordination technique that has become increasingly popular in the context of 4G systems. The combination of FFR with advanced multiple-antenna technology in the form of multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) and base station cooperation using coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP), paves the way to realize the ambitious goals in terms of area spectral efficiency contemplated within Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A). This work proposes an FFR-aided scheme suitable for multicell networks in which central users are served using MU-MIMO and edge users rely on CoMP, with both techniques depending on block diagonalization. A physical layer abstraction is provided in the form of signal-to-interference-plus- noise ratio (SINR) expressions that can then be used to derive optimal values for different parameters, most notably, the threshold SINR delimiting the central and edge areas of the cell.