Performance evaluation of relay-aided cellular networks by using stochastic geometry

In this paper, we investigate the potential benefits of deploying relays in cellular networks. We study the downlink coverage probability of relay-aided cellular networks, where the positions of mobile terminals (MTs), relays and base stations (BSs) are modeled as three independent homogeneous Poisson point processes (PPPs). Three association criteria with different implementation complexities are considered. Monte Carlo simulation results show that relay-aided architectures outperform their non-cooperative counterpart if the path-loss exponents of the dual-hop links are no smaller than the path-loss exponent of the direct link. In addition, it is shown that cell association criteria based on the highest average received power of the intended link may not guarantee the best performance for some network deployments.