Switched-based interference reduction scheme for open-access overlaid cellular networks

Femtocells have been proposed to enhance the spatial coverage and system capacity of existing cellular networks. However, this technology may result in significant performance loss due to the increase in co-channel interference, particularly when coordination between access points is infeasible. This paper targets interference management in such overlaid networks. It is assumed that the femtocells employ the open-access strategy to reduce cross-tier interference, and can share resources concurrently. It is also assumed that each end user (EU) can access one channel at a time, and transfer limited feedback. To reduce the effect of co-tier interference in the absence of the desired EU channel state information (CSI) at the serving access point as well as coordination between active access points, a switched scheme based on the interference levels associated with available channels is proposed. Through the analysis, the scheme modes of operation in under-loaded and over-loaded channels are studied, from which the statistics of the resulting interference power are quantified. The impact of the proposed scheme on the received desired power is thoroughly discussed. In addition, the effect of the switching threshold on the achieved performance of the desired EU is investigated. The results clarify that the proposed scheme can improve the performance while reducing the number of examined channels and feedback load. © 2012 IEEE.