Multi-layer cell deployment strategy for self-organizing LTE-Advanced networks

The newly released LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is currently being introduced as a further step to LTE and as the real 4G cellular standard on cellular networks evolution. Alongside with the increasing demands in mobile networks, the customers´ satisfaction with a ubiquitous heterogeneous network (HetNet) is going to be the main challenge for the network operators, and therefore planning a multi-layer network with different ranges of base stations seems to be an appropriate solution for this deficiency. Furthermore, the interference mitigation in such networks plays a critical role towards the appropriate bandwidth allocation to different categories of the network users -especially in case of sharing the available bandwidth- and needs to be highly considered when the network planning is under considerations. This paper proposes a novel multi-layer cells deployment with self-organizing approach, designated for the LTE/LTE-Advanced networks and the new releases beyond that. The proposed strategy focuses on femto application and implementation, to exploit the advantages of femtocell nodes, e.g. coverage enhancements, power consumption improvements, network satisfaction, etc. This paper presents the introduction, simulation and evaluation of a novel multi-layer LTE-A scenario, which allows both macro and femto applications to share the spectrum, taking into consideration interference management and network satisfaction.