Decentralized Probabilistic Frequency-Block Activation Control for Inter-Cell Interference Coordination and Traffic Load Balancing

We propose a decentralized probabilistic frequency-block activation control method for the cellular downlink. The aim of the proposed method is to increase the downlink system throughput within the system coverage by adaptively controlling the activation of each multiple frequency block at all base stations (BSs) to achieve inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) and traffic load balancing effects. The proposed method does not rely on complicated inter-BS cooperation; it uses inter-BS cooperation only to share the temporal system throughput observed at the neighboring BSs. Based on the shared temporal system throughput information, each BS independently performs online activation control for the respective frequency blocks in a probabilistic manner, which autonomously achieves ICIC and load balancing effects among BSs. Computer simulation results, in which the mobility of the user terminals is taken into account, show the effectiveness of the proposed method.