Resource management policies for fixed relays in cellular networks

Mobile stations in the cell boundary experience poor spectral efficiency due to the path loss and interference from adjacent cells. Therefore, satisfying QoS requirements of each MS at the cell boundary has been an important issue. To resolve this spectral efficiency problem at the cell boundary, deploying fixed relay stations has been actively considered. In this paper, we consider radio resource management policies concerned with fixed relays that include path selection rules, frequency reuse pattern matching, and frame transmission pattern matching among cells. We evaluate performance of each policy by varying parameter values such as relay station’s position and frequency reuse factor. Through Monte Carlo simulations and mathematical analysis, we suggest some optimal parameter values for each policy and discuss some implementation issues that need to be considered in practical deployment of relay stations. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.