Distributed Initial Synchronization for 5G Small Cells

Time synchronization in a large network of small cells enables efficient interference management as well as advanced transmission techniques which can boost the network throughput. In this paper, we focus on the distributed initial synchronization problem and propose different solutions aiming at reducing the residual asynchronous interference while limiting the number of large timing reconfigurations at each node. Simulation results show the effectiveness of an ID-based approach in limiting the asynchronous interference, however at the expense of a potential high number of timing reconfigurations. A pathloss-based solution limits such reconfigurations but also leads to a higher residual interference than the ID-based solution. An hybrid solution is shown to be an effective trade-off between the two former approaches.