A framework for mobile relay node selection for serving outdoor cell edge users

Abstract

Relaying has received significant interest in the wireless communication community and standardization bodies. It aims to improve the cell edge coverage and performance by extending the reach of the base station. Mobile relays can offer attractive advantages over fixed relays in terms of reduced cost and suitability to varying network connection demands, especially when exploiting the availability of public vehicles, such as busses, taxis, and delivery vehicles that roam streets at relatively low speeds. The use of Mobile Relay Nodes (MRNs) to enhance the indoor user signal quality has been studied in the literature, and shows that a significant coverage gain can be achieved. In this work, we explore the use of mobile relay nodes for outdoor UE connectivity enhancement. We propose a UE-MRN association framework and identify cases of relay distribution where the use of mobile relays can be most beneficial. We evaluate two association strategies, taking into consideration two interference scenarios. Our simulation results illustrate that the operator can achieve a significant gain by enabling mobile relaying using public transportation vehicles that could normally be found roaming within the area that is close to the cell edge. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.