Interference-Aware Decoupled Cell Association in Device-to-Device based 5G Networks

TL;DR

This paper proposes an interference-aware, decoupled cell association strategy for D2D communications in 5G networks, optimizing resource utilization and reducing interference through an ILP framework, validated by real-world LTE simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel ILP-based optimization for D2D cell association that leverages uplink and downlink decoupling to enhance network performance.

Findings

Significant interference reduction in D2D communications.

Improved resource utilization efficiency.

Performance gains demonstrated in LTE field trials.

Abstract

Cell association in cellular networks is an important aspect that impacts network capacity and eventually quality of experience. The scope of this work is to investigate the different and generalized cell association (CAS) strategies for Device-to-Device (D2D) communications in a cellular network infrastructure. To realize this, we optimize D2D-based cell association by using the notion of uplink and downlink decoupling that was proven to offer significant performance gains. We propose an integer linear programming (ILP) optimization framework to achieve efficient D2D cell association that minimizes the interference caused by D2D devices onto cellular communications in the uplink as well as improve the D2D resource utilization efficiency. Simulation results based on Vodafone's LTE field trial network in a dense urban scenario highlight the performance gains and render this proposal a candidate design approach for future 5G networks.