A novel architecture for LTE-B :C-plane/U-plane split and Phantom Cell concept

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel approach in increasing the capacity of LTE cellular networks. The solution is based on massive deployment of small cells by leveraging high frequency reuse at high frequency bands in conjunction with a Macrocell. The presence, discovery and usage of the small cells are controlled dynamically by a Macrocell in a master-slave configuration hence they are called Phantom Cells. To realize this concept, a new method of managing the connections between mobile terminals and small cell nodes is introduced. It is achieved by splitting the Control and User (C/U) planes of the radio link. The combination of C/U-plane split and Phantom Cells can achieve high capacity enhancement using small cells at the same time taking into consideration mobility, scalability and flexibility requirements for massive deployment. The advantages of this approach as well as the implementation aspects are described in the paper. Simulations were also conducted to verify the concept and the results show some promising capacity enhancements. The rest of the paper describes the Phantom Cell concept as well as the challenges of deploying small cells in LTE networks.