Joint component carrier and antenna allocation for heterogeneous network in LTE-A system

In this paper, a novel multi-carrier and multi-antenna for a multi-tier cellular network is presented for Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) heterogeneous networks (Het-Nets) with carrier aggregation enhancement. First, we investigate a system model of frequency domain load balancing-based inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) to minimize the total interference, while satisfying the required quality of service constraints. To achieve the desired system performance, a heuristic solution by joint spectrum and antenna allocation is then proposed, which operates at the base station side to enable efficient interference management. The optimal deployment for component carriers and antennas at the serving base station is updated for specific time periods while passively receiving the system information transmitted from neighboring base stations. Furthermore, system level simulations are carried out to demonstrate how the throughput can be greatly improved by our solution, as compared to conventional methods such as the randomized and static ICIC approaches.