A flexible wireless backhaul solution for emerging small cells networks

This paper introduces a novel backhaul architecture for LTE small cells, where the macro eNB transports backhaul traffic wirelessly to a small cell through a new type of backhauling component, referred to as Type-A Relay. Equipped solely with UE modules, a Type-A relay is capable of communicating simultaneously with two eNBs by leveraging the downlink resource of one as well as the uplink resource of the other, which effectively increases spectral efficiency and addresses the issue of DL/UL traffic asymmetry, a major challenge identified for future small cell networks. Compared with conventional LTE R10 Type 1 relays, Type-A offers increased architectural flexibility as well as significant backhaul throughput enhancement in typical small cell settings. Simulation results are provided to corroborate the merits of the proposed approach.