Capacity of Wireless Data Networks with Intra- and Inter-Cell Mobility

— The performance of wireless data systems has been thoroughly studied in the context of a single base station. In the present paper we analyze networks with several interacting base stations, and specifically examine the capacity impact of intraand inter-cell mobility. We consider a dynamic setting where users come and go over time as governed by random finite-size data transfers, and explicitly allow for users to roam around over the course of their service. We show that mobility tends to increase the capacity, not only in case of globally optimal scheduling, but also when each of the base stations operates according to a fair sharing policy. The latter approach offers the advantages that it avoids complex centralized control, and grants each user a fair share of the resources, preventing the potential starvation that may occur under a globally optimal strategy. An important implication is that a simple, conservative capacity estimate is obtained by ‘ignoring’ mobility, and a...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Sem C. Borst, Alexandre Proutiére, Nidhi Hegde
• Keywords: Base Stations, Communications, Fair Sharing Policy, Globally Optimal, INFOCOM 2006