Load based radio resource management for UMTS picocells

A common approach to UMTS radio resource management is to base decisions upon the uplink and downlink cell load. The cell load is typically generated from a combination of intracell and intercell interference. In addition to increasing the received interference floor both intracell and intercell interference typically generate an increase in the cell load. In some scenarios e.g. a picocell located within macrocell coverage, intercell interference may increase the received interference floor without increasing the cell load. This is equivalent to the load curve rising above the background noise floor. Such rises may impact the performance of the algorithms used for the admission and scheduling of capacity requests. This paper examines the mechanisms for and the implications of this type of intercell interference. Simulation results are presented and practical solutions suggested.