Interference avoidance and coordination for small cells in B4G cellular networks

Base station density in modern cellular networks is continuously increasing in order to cope with the exponential increase in mobile data traffic. Cellular networks which used to rely on macro cells for both system coverage and data transfer are now turning to small cells at an increasing rate. Small cells can complement macro cell dominant cellular networks by providing a cost effective means for offloading mobile data traffic. As in macro cells, communication performance in small cells is determined in large part by the inter-cell interference. Compared to macro cells, inter-cell interference can be much more severe for small cells due to their clustered deployment in urban hotspot areas. This paper discusses how inter-cell interference can be effectively managed in small cells with the use of a diverse range of interference avoidance/coordination techniques.