Cell Outage Detection in Heterogeneous Networks with Separated Control and Data Plane

In this paper, we propose a data cell outage detection scheme for heterogeneous networks (HetNets) with separated control and data plane. We consider a HetNet where the Control Network Layer (CNL) provides ubiquitous network access while Data Network Layer (DNL) provides high data rate transmission to low mobility User Terminals (UTs). Furthermore, network functionalities such as paging and system information broadcast are provided by the CNL to all active UTs, hence, the CNL is aware of all active UTs association. Based on this observation, we categorize our data cell outage detection scheme into the trigger phase and detection phase. In the former, the CNL monitors all UT-data base station association and triggers detection when irregularities occurs in the association, while the later utilizes a grey prediction model on the UT's reference signal received power (RSRP) statistics to determine the existence of an outage. The simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme can detect the data cell outage problem in a reliable manner.