Joint path relay selection in 5G multi-hop relay networks

Multi-hop relaying has been considered as a key technology for future wireless communication networks to overcome coverage and capacity problems in 5th generation mobile networks (5G). Recently, there has been increasing interest from 3GPP operators to integrate multi-hop relaying functionalities into LTE-A standards. However, many issues remain to be resolved due to the complexity of the multi-hop relaying paradigm, specifically resource allocation and mobility management. In this work, we focus on the relay-selection problem, in which a user may have in his range several relay stations from which to choose. The conventional selection scheme is based on the channel condition between the relay and the user, such that the user will achieve a high level of throughput. Instead, we propose a novel relay selection strategy based on Markov Decision Process (MDP) for multi-hop relay networks. Our goal is to achieve significant performance improvement against legacy, centralized relay selection strategies such as the disjoint-path selection scheme. Simulation results show that our design has the advantage of reducing inter-cell handoff frequency and lowering handoff delay.