Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Cellular Networks with Energy Harvesting

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new mathematical model for multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks powered solely by energy harvesting, analyzing the availability of base stations and their impact on network performance.

Contribution

It develops a tractable stochastic geometry model incorporating energy harvesting dynamics and characterizes the fundamental limits of base station availability in uncoordinated operation.

Findings

Availability region characterized for different network configurations.

Existence of a fundamental limit on base station availability due to energy constraints.

No performance loss if optimal availability lies within the achievable region.

Abstract

We develop a new tractable model for K-tier heterogeneous cellular networks (HetNets), where each base station (BS) is powered solely by a self-contained energy harvesting module. The BSs across tiers differ in terms of the energy harvesting rate, energy storage capacity, transmit power and deployment density. Since a BS may not always have enough energy, it may need to be kept OFF and allowed to recharge while nearby users are served by neighboring BSs that are ON. We show that the fraction of time a k^{th} tier BS can be kept ON, termed availability \rho_k, is a fundamental metric of interest. Using tools from random walk theory, fixed point analysis and stochastic geometry, we characterize the set of K-tuples (\rho_1, \rho_2, ... \rho_K), termed the availability region, that is achievable by general uncoordinated operational strategies, where the decision to toggle the current ON/OFF state of a BS is taken independently of the other BSs. If the availability vector corresponding to the optimal system performance, e.g., in terms of rate, lies in this availability region, there is no performance loss due to the presence of unreliable energy sources. As a part of our analysis, we model the temporal dynamics of the energy level at each BS as a birth-death process, derive the energy utilization rate, and use hitting/stopping time analysis to prove that there exists a fundamental limit on \rho_k that cannot be surpassed by any uncoordinated strategy.