Queue-Aware Power Consumption Minimization in Two-Tier Heterogeneous Networks

In this paper, we study the network average power consumption minimization problem in a two-tier heterogeneous network by optimally tuning the activation ratio of micro base stations (BSs) under the quality of service (QoS) constraints of the network mean queueing delay and the network signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) coverage. With the consideration of dynamic packets arrivals, each BS can either be busy or be idle depending on its queueing status. The network performance is thus critically determined by the traffic intensity of each BS. With the assumption of universal frequency reuse, the average traffic intensity of each tier is characterized by a set of fixed-point equations, which can be solved by a proposed iterative method. By using the approximation that BSs of the same tier have the same SIR coverage, the cumulative distribution function of the traffic intensity of each tier is further obtained. On that basis, the network average power consumption per area, the network mean queueing delay, and the network SIR coverage are characterized. Numerical results demonstrate that if the idle power coefficient is below a certain threshold, then the optimal activation ratio equals the one to minimize the network average power consumption per area; otherwise, the optimal activation ratio can be obtained according to the QoS constraints. It is further shown that universal frequency reuse outperforms spectrum partitioning in terms of both the network average power consumption and the network SIR coverage in the considered scenario.