Relayer selection strategies in cellular networks with peer-to-peer relaying

We consider a TDMA cellular multihop network where relaying - via wireless terminals that have a good communication link to the base station - is used as a coverage enhancement technique. Provided that the subscriber density is not very low, relaying via wireless terminals can have a significant impact on coverage, capacity, and throughput. This is mainly due to the fact that the signals only have to travel through shorter distances and/or improved paths. In this work, we investigated the effects of relaying node selection strategies (essentially a routing issue) and maximum relayer transmit power level on coverage. Our simulation results show that with a very modest level of relaying node transmit power and with some moderate intelligence incorporated in the relaying node selection scheme, the (high data rate) coverage can be improved significantly through two-hop relaying without consuming any additional bandwidth.