Self-optimizing mechanisms for EMF reduction in heterogeneous networks

This paper focuses on the exposure to Radio Frequency (RF) Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and on optimization methods to reduce it. Within the FP7 LEXNET project, an Exposure Index (EI) has been defined that aggregates the essential components that impact exposure to EMF. The EI includes, among other, downlink (DL) exposure induced by the base stations (BSs) and access points, the uplink (UL) exposure induced by the devices in communication, and the corresponding exposure time. Motivated by the EI definition, this paper develops stochastic approximation based self-optimizing algorithm that dynamically adapts the network to reduce the EI in a heterogeneous network with macro- and small cells. It is argued that the increase of the small cells' coverage can, to a certain extent, reduce the EI, but above a certain limit, will deteriorate DL QoS. A load balancing algorithm is formulated that adapts the small cell' coverage based on UL loads and a DL QoS indicator. The proof of convergence of the algorithm is provided and its performance in terms of EI reduction is illustrated through extensive numerical simulations.