A combinatorial algorithm for base-station location optimization for LTE mixed-cell MIMO wireless systems

The optimization of base station locations started with coverage and traffic criteria. Nowadays, the increased demand for geographically inhomogeneous capacity leads to mixed cell structures as well as relay nodes, while the cost of the different deployments varies significantly. Furthermore, MIMO technology offers solutions to the ever increasing capacity requirements. The peculiarity of heterogeneous systems is that the optimum solution can be a small group of macrocells or a large number of microcells or anything in between. The algorithm presented here has been developed specifically for heterogeneous wireless systems, follows a combinatorial approach and the optimization analysis is based on the triplet coverage, capacity and cost. Results demonstrate the adaptive performance of the algorithm and the tendency towards the deployment of very small cells as capacity increases, as well as the considerable capacity increase and planning flexibility offered by MIMO techniques.