OFDMA Femtocells: Intracell Handover for Interference and Handover Mitigation in Two-Tier Networks

This work presents a novel approach for the avoidance of cross-tier interference in two-tier networks comprised of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) macrocells and femtocells. This new technique is based on the use of Intracell HandOvers (IHOs), and it makes possible that either a macrocell or a femtocell can reassign its sub-channel or power allocation upon the detection of cross-tier interference. Simulation results show that this approach is able to cope with the cross-tier interference issues intrinsic to closed access femtocells, and the increased number of HandOvers (HOs) resulting from open access femtocells.