Enhanced Fractional Frequency Reuse in LTE-A Heterogeneous OFDMA Network

Abstract

With the increase of smart phones, tablets and internet-connected devices, data and voice traffic are increasing day to day. To address the current exponential growth in the demand for voice and data traffic, underlying low power femto-cells to an existing macro cells will increase operator’s network capacities. Due to densely deployment of femto network, interference becomes a challenge. Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) is a well-known technique use to mitigate interference in Heterogeneous Network (HetNet). In this paper we evaluate the performance of an Enhanced Fractional Frequency Reuse (EFFR) scheme using Genetic Algorithm (GA) in a HetNet scenario by simulations (in MATLAB) in terms of network throughput (or network sum rate), and spectral efficiency. The EFFR enhanced the throughput and reduced interference especially in the cell edge users. It is beneficial if the EFRR is applied to an OFDMA-LTE Network.