Multicell cooperation: evolution of coordination and cooperation in large-scale networks

Due to the large growth of mobile communications over the past two decades, the supporting cellular systems have continuously needed to expand and evolve in order to meet the ever increasing demand of wireless connections. While simple frequency reuse and power control were enough to manage the demand of these networks at first, multicellular cooperation and coordination have become paramount to the operation of larger and more highly utilized communication systems. This article discusses the development of different techniques for cooperation in large cellular networks, and offers insights into the need for such an evolution. We investigate various branches of multicell cooperation, including user-based cooperation, system-wide optimization, and the opportunity of multiple-base-station transmission. Furthermore, we offer an example of a recently proposed technique designed for multicell cooperation in full frequency reuse orthogonal frequency-division multiple access networks.