Neighbor cell list optimization for femtocell-to-femtocell Handover in dense femtocellular networks

Dense femtocells are the ultimate goal of the femtocellular network deployment. Among three types of handovers: femtocell-to-macrocell, macrocell-to-femtocell, and femtocell-to-femtocell, the latter two are the main concern for the dense femtocellular network deployment. For these handover cases, minimum as well appropriate neighbor cell list is the key element for the successful handover. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to make minimum but appropriate number of neighbor femtocell list for the femtocell-to-femtocell handover. Our algorithm considers received signal level from femto APs (FAPs); open and close access cases; and detected frequency from the neighbor femtocells. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme is able to attain minimum but optimal number of neighbor femtocell list for the possible femtocell-to-femtocell handover.