Resource management in dense heterogeneous networks

Abstract

The installation of low power small cells under macro cells using the same spectrum is a promising approach to enhance the spectral efficiency and data-rate for the end users. These installations are becoming very dense in order to support the users' requirements (especially 5G networks) which make resource allocation using the same spectrum a very challenging problem. In this study, we address the downlink resource allocation problem for underlay small cell tier. We formulate the optimization problem for resource (channel) allocation in small cells while keeping the total interference to macro tier under an acceptable level. The objective of resource allocation is to maximize the throughput of small cells under the cross tier interference constraint. We employ matching theory to find a stable match for the resource allocation problem. We simulate our proposition to validate the stability of the network and the convergence of the resource allocation algorithm in terms of rate in a dense heterogeneous network. The matching results in an optimal solution which outperforms the existing sub-optimal resource allocation solutions.