Cloud cell: Paving the way for edgeless networks

Next Generation Cellular Networks are likely to be characterized by hyper-dense deployments wherein small-cell base stations (BSs) will cooperate together to provide users with data rates of the order of Gigabits per second, regardless of their location in the cell (Gbit/s Anywhere). Meeting the goal of “Gbit/s Anywhere” will require rethinking the fundamental mechanisms for configuring access networks and mobility management. Today's networks have cell edges and these edges give rise to undesirable effects such as low throughput, high interference, service interruptions, and call drops. Denser deployments lead to even smaller cells which in turn will lead to increased number of edges. In this paper, we introduce a concept called Cloud Cell, suitable for addressing the needs of small-cell based next generation cellular systems. In particular, we show how several key traits of Cloud Cell work together to create edgeless networks.