NU 2016-208
Inventors
Dongning Guo*
Zhihi Zhou
Short Description
A radio resource management tool for improving large scale wireless network coverage and capacity
Background
Wireless networks have traditionally provided coverage to their customers using a distributed access point (AP)-centric resource management design principle. In this design, each AP optimizes its performance metrics independently with little input from other APs. In addition, in the past APs have been carefully placed and configured so that interference can be tolerated. However, with the large scale growth of mobile data traffic, more APs are required to keep up with demand, making it harder to manage these resources.
Abstract
It is predicted that global mobile data traffic will increase eight-fold between 2015 and 2020. As a result, wireless operators are investing heavily in infrastructure, including increasing the number of access points (APs) to improve cellular coverage and capacity for homes and businesses in urban, suburban, as well as rural areas. With an increased density of APs as the network grows to support demand, it becomes increasingly challenging to manage network resources efficiently. Northwestern researchers have developed a scalable solution that overcomes current network limitations and enables a large number of APs in a network covering a very large geographical area (hundreds of square kilometers or more) to fully coordinate their physical resource allocations. In this design, APs globally can coordinate their resources to enhance interference management and efficiently distribute network users. Importantly, this technology has the potential to reduce wireless network equipment/rent/maintenance costs by a factor of 2 or more. Initial simulations demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the new technology in a network consisting of a thousand access points and several thousand user equipments.
Applications
Advantages
IP Status
US patent applications have been filed.