Tutorial 1: Radio resource management in small-cell networks

The evolving small-cell (originally femtocell) networks are envisioned to provide improved capacity and coverage in next generation cellular systems. Small-cell deployments pose many challenges among which radio resource management (i.e., interference management, resource allocation, and power control) is the most significant one. The aim of this talk is to provide an overview of the radio resource management problem in small-cell networks considering OFDMA (e.g., LTE, WiMAX) femtocells, and the ongoing research on this topic. After a brief overview of the small-cell networks, we outline the major challenges in successful deployment of small-cells in next generation cellular wireless systems. In particular, the challenges related to resource allocation, co-tier/cross-tier interference management and power control are discussed. Then we provide a comprehensive overview of the different proposed techniques for resource allocation and interference management in small-cell networks. In this context, two different approaches are described: one based on clustering and semi-centralized computations, and one based on cooperative game theory. The requirements for strategic interference management via power control and resource allocation mechanisms are then discussed.