Sleep-Wake Scheduling Scheme for Small Cell Base Stations: A Review

Energy efficiency is emerging as one of the key performance indicators for the next generation wireless communication systems. The motivation behind energy efficiency arises due to the current increasing energy cost of running access networks, which is a significant factor of operational expenditures. The total number of subscribers and the amount of traffic volume in cellular networks have increased exponentially. 5G network is aspired as the next generation wireless communication systems. In 5G networks, the width and depth of user services are expected to enhance significantly. Specifically, for this implementation to take place, the trend is towards the utilization of small cells to achieve the high data rate requirement. However, small cells can increase energy consumption if they are not equipped with intelligent power saving and distribution mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a review of energy efficient (or green) ways to deploy small cells in 5G networks.