Intelligent relaying for future personal communication systems

This paper highlights the key benefits of using intelligent relaying (IR) for future personal communication systems. IR is a technique that incorporates direct mobile to mobile communication, allowing end-to-end connectivity in a network to be implemented via a number of short hops. A mobile can in theory reach any destination by transmitting only as far as its closest neighbour, bringing potential benefits such as an overall reduction in transmit power, and the possibility of increased capacity. In addition, the self-organising nature of the network may reduce the need for network planning and basestation infrastructure. Issues investigated in this paper include the definition of a suitable path loss model for use between mobile stations. Simulations using this path loss model in a test environment show that average total power savings of 21 dB are possible, compared with a conventional microcell not using relaying. It is also shown that area coverage in the test environment can be increased by 70%, due to the possibility of using relaying to extend services into shadowed areas