Scalable Cell-Free Massive MIMO Networks With LEO Satellite Support

This paper presents an integrated network architecture combining a cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CF-M-MIMO) terrestrial layout with a low Earth orbit satellite segment where the scalability of the terrestrial segment is taken into account. The main purpose of such an integrated scheme is to transfer to the satellite segment those users that somehow limit the performance of the terrestrial network. Towards this end, a correspondingly scalable technique is proposed to govern the ground-to-satellite user diversion that can be tuned to different performance metrics. In particular, in this work the proposed technique is configured to result in an heuristic that improves the minimum per-user rate and the sum-rate of the overall network. Simulation results serve to identify under which conditions the satellite segment can become an attractive solution to enhance users’ performance. Generally speaking, although the availability of the satellite segment always leads to an improvement of users’ rates, it is in those cases where the terrestrial CF-M-MIMO network exhibits low densification traits that the satellite backup becomes crucial.