Integration of Small Cells with Smart Antennas in Macrocells for Improving the Performance of Mobile Telephone Networks

Abstract

In macrocellular networks, there are areas where it is difficult to have satisfactory connectivity. In practice, the delays for sending or downloading multimedia applications, or even consulting web applications can become quite long.
 
 One solution is to deploy cells with smaller ranges called small cells inside the macrocell, closer to subscribers in order to boost network capacity. Only, with the instability of electrical energy, the small cells may not be powered properly. A way should therefore be found to further reduce the energy consumption of small cells in order to facilitate their deployment in Cameroon. To do this, we opted for the solution of smart antennas to be integrated into the small cells; antennas that transmit at the request of users and according to their needs.
 
 In this work, we design and build an application that illustrates the performance of small cells with three key innovations:
 
 
 Smart antennas make it possible to estimate users’ directions and deliver a maximum radiation pattern in those directions, while minimizing interference.
 The capacity of a heterogeneous network is boosted compared to that of a homogeneous network.
 The signal attenuation in free space in a micro cell is a function of the user-small cell distance. The application that we propose is therefore a relevant decision-making tool for the engineering and planning of mobile networks.