On the Benefits of Relays in a Metropolitan Area Network

The main motivation to deploy fixed wireless relays in a wireless communication system is to save costs while achieving a similar or better service level and coverage than with a base station only deployment. In this paper we study both aspects for a cellular network in a metropolitan area, modeled by the well known Manhattan grid. First, we show that a relay deployment can significantly increase the coverage area compared to a base station only deployment of similar cost. Secondly, we compare the performance and cost of selected BS only and relay deployments. The results show that for the given target performance a relay deployment is the most cost efficient deployment option.