Joint analysis of small-cell network performance and urban Electromagnetic Field exposure

The performance of several LTE-A heterogeneous networks are evaluated with the objective to identify network topologies and configurations that achieve a target Quality of Service (QoS) while minimizing Electromagnetic Field (EMF) exposure and energy consumption. Characterization of the EMF exposure relies on metrics taking into account contributions from both uplink and downlink. Results are obtained on a realistic two-tier urban LTE-A scenario with a dense outdoor small-cell deployment, using an advanced 3D coverage-based simulation tool. The main outcome is that, for a moderate user traffic, best QoS and minimum global EMF exposure are jointly achieved with maximum traffic offloading from the macro eNodeB´s to the small-cells.