Dimensioning and Cost Evaluation of ”Two-Layers” Ad Hoc Cellular Systems

Ad Hoc multihop cellular access is considered to be a strong candidate for the next generation of public phone systems. In this paper, we present a novel approach for solving the dimensioning problem of an ad hoc system capable of twohops transmissions. In this respect, is presented and analyzed a method for comparing the expenditure levels, for deploying and running a cellular network, implemented through a multihopping system or through a standard cellular solution selected as reference. In particular, we describe the conditions in which the proposed multihopping solution is feasible, and quantify the performance/cost trade-offs that are achievable. Numerical results show that the spectral efficiency of currently deployed single hop systems can almost be doubled, if the user terminals are capable of multihopping and the cell planning is performed so that a critical mass of user per cell can be guaranteed.