Resource Allocation for CoMP in Cellular Networks with Base Station Switching

TL;DR

This paper explores how coordinated multi-point transmission can offset coverage loss caused by base station switching in cellular networks, optimizing energy savings while maintaining service quality.

Contribution

It introduces new BSS patterns combined with CoMP, formulates a joint optimization problem, and proposes a heuristic solution for energy-efficient resource allocation.

Findings

Energy savings up to X% with maintained coverage

Optimal BSS and CoMP configurations depend on traffic conditions

Trade-offs between energy, coverage, and throughput can be effectively managed

Abstract

Base station switching (BSS) can results in significant reduction in energy consumption of cellular networks during low traffic conditions. We show that the coverage loss due to BSS can be compensated via coordinated multi-point (CoMP) based transmission in a cluster of base stations. For a BSS with CoMP based system, we propose various BSS patterns to achieve suitable trade-offs between energy savings and throughput. We formulate the CoMP resource allocation and user scheduling as a joint optimization problem. We derive the optimal time fraction and user scheduling for this problem and use it to formulate a simplified BSS with CoMP optimization problem. A heuristic that solves this problem is presented. Through extensive simulations, we show that suitable trade-offs among energy, coverage, and rate can be achieved by appropriately selecting the BSS pattern, CoMP cluster, and rate threshold.