Priority-Based Resource Scheduling in Hybrid-Access LTE Femtocell

Abstract

Femtocell technology is an emerging solution that is promising for improving indoor coverage problems and enhancing cell capacity. In a femtocell network, the overall system performance depends on the access method utilized, which specifies whether a specific user equipment can connect to the femtocell network. Three access methods are defined for long-term evolution (LTE) femtocell networks: open access, closed access and hybrid access. For fair and effective use of resources, hybrid access is preferred. Because some of the resources are shared among nonregistered users, it is essential to regulate their scheduling schemes. This study investigates resource scheduling for femtocell networks in hybrid access mode, which gives preferential access to the high-priority traffic of nonsubscribers. High-priority traffic metric (THP) is calculated for high-priority users, and low-priority traffic metric (TLP) is calculated for low-priority users. Then, individual sorted lists are formed for (THP) and (TLP). Nonsubscribers from the (THP) list are allocated initially, after which UEs from the (TLP) list are chosen for allocation based on resource availability, thereby increasing the overall average throughput of high-priority users in a network.