A framework for clustering LTE devices for implementing group D2D communication and multicast capability

In fluctuating mobile environments where operators have to confront the increasing demands of their subscribers, insufficient spectrum poses capacity limitations. This work studies the gain that cooperative multicast transmission provides when used to boost the data rate in Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, enabling data sharing among users. A multicast network combines the benefits of both a fixed cellular infrastructure and the flexibility of an ad hoc network. However, a challenging issue is the need to cluster devices in a way that yields good channel quality between the clusterhead and each one of the cluster members. In this paper, we propose a D2D clustering scheme that achieves the above goal and works within the confines of the LTE standard. Simulations conducted using Matlab show how direct communication within a group of devices, cluster, can improve the performance of a conventional cellular system.