A comparative study of different deployment modes for femtocell networks

Femtocell networks have the potential of significantly improving the capacity of next-generation cellular systems. However, interference to/from the macrocell network is a critical problem affecting the capacity. Co-channel operation with closed-subscriber group (CSG) access offers a large bandwidth to be shared by the users of the femtocell network; however, it also introduces significant interference to/from the macrocell network. On the other hand, femtocell networks using dedicated spectrum assignment and open access mode have insignificant interference concerns, with the trade-off of available spectrum limitations. In this study, we investigate interference vs. bandwidth tradeoffs in different types of femtocell network deployments through the help of channel capacity formulations. Related downlink simulation results are provided to compare the capacities of different deployment modes and the impact of key system parameters.