Flexible Backhaul Resource Sharing and Uplink Power Control Optimization in LTE-Advanced Relay Networks

Type 1 inband relaying, as being standardized in 3GPP LTE-Advanced, supports a relaying mode where the backhaul link transmission is time-division multiplexed with the access link transmission, whereas macro users share the same resources with the relays. Hence, system performance depends strongly on the resource sharing and allocation strategy among and within the different links. Moreover, the set of subframes assigned for the backhaul transmission is semi-statically configured and thus a dynamic reconfiguration to adapt to fast-changing system conditions, e.g. relay cell load, is not viable. In order to tackle the above issues, we propose a statistic-based over-provisioned backhaul subframe allocation to be utilized for flexible co scheduling of relays and macro users at the donor eNB. In addition, a power control optimization is investigated to enhance overall system performance and to reduce the donor eNB receiver dynamic range. Performance evaluation is carried out within the LTE Advanced uplink context in urban and suburban scenarios. Results as well show that the proposed scheme achieves significant throughput gains.