Multi-Cell Resource Allocation Mechanism Based on Interference Control in Indoor Multicolor VLC-WiFi Heterogeneous Networks

Heterogeneous networks based on multicolor visible light communication (VLC) and wireless fidelity (WiFi) have been considered as a key technology to achieve the capacity target in the future 6G mobile communication. However, the inter-cell interference (ICI) pattern in the multi-cell VLC scenario degrades the performance of the heterogeneous networks. To solve this problem, a multi-cell resource allocation mechanism based on interference control (MCRAMIC) is proposed, which includes a preparatory phase and an execution phase. Firstly, according to the different locations and data rate requirements of varied user equipments (UEs), the VLC access point (AP) selection algorithm based on interference avoidance and the UE priority assessment algorithm based on the requirement of UE are proposed.Then, according to the influence factor and priority factor, the multi-cell resource allocation algorithm based on interference control is proposed. According to the algorithm, the candidate VLC AP sets of the UEs are determined firstly, and the VLC APs and lightwave bands are selected for the UEs in turn. Meanwhile, some UEs are connected to the WiFi AP. Finally, the lightwave bands are further allocated to the UEs. Numeric results show that the proposed MCRAMIC outperforms the centralized resource allocation algorithm based on link conflict graph (LCG) and the resource allocation algorithm based on hypergraph theory in terms of the system throughput, UE satisfaction and service fairness.