Fractional Frequency Reuse in Ultra Dense Networks

Ultra Dense Network (UDN) in which Base Stations (BSs) are deployed at an ultra high density is a promising network model of the future wireless generation. Due to ultra densification, reuse of frequency bands with an ultra high density is compulsory for this network. Conventionally, the research on frequency reuse technique such as Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) classifies the active users into only two groups. However, this approach is not suitable for UDNs where the signal experiences a huge amount of power loss over distances. Thus, this paper proposes a generalized model of FFR for UDNs where the active users are classified into more than two groups The paper introduces a simple approach to obtain the coverage probability of a typical user in the case of a general path loss model. In the case of stretched path loss model for UDNs, the closed-form expression of user coverage probability is derived. From the analytical and simulation results, it is stated that the proposed model can improve user performance without increasing BS power consumption. Furthermore, two additional interesting conclusions are found in this paper: (i) the user coverage probability increases to a peak before passing a decline when the density of BSs increases; (ii) an increase in BS transmission power may decrease the user performance. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.