Network-load dependent Partial Frequency Reuse for LTE

Inter-cell Interference (ICI) is a key issue in orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. Since OFDMA was proposed to be used in next generation networks several schemes have been investigated for mitigating the ICI. One of the techniques that promises improvement in reducing ICI is partial frequency reuse (PFR). In this paper we investigate a flexible bandwidth allocation (FBA) scheme for PFR depending on the network-load, which allocates bandwidth dynamically in the network. The scheme is based on the assumption that a cell is not loaded homogeneously. We develop a suitable network description to obtain the optimum PFR zone partitioning as a function of the dynamic bandwidth allocation. Thus, our paper presents a general framework for intelligent frequency planning in wireless networks. Compared to simpler PFR schemes, our simulation results show that the cell capacity for reuse-1 can be increased by 2 b/s/Hz when our scheme is used by exploiting the inhomogeneities in the load.