Classification and Generation of Non-Uniform User Distributions for Cellular Multi-Hop Networks

The performance benefits obtained when using relays to forward transmissions between a base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) are strongly dependent upon the user distribution considered. This is because the signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) improvements offered by multi-hop provide the greatest benefits to users with low direct hop SINRs that tend to occur near to the edge of cell. If the user distribution is assumed to be uniform in area, a large proportion of UEs will be located in this region. When considering the constraints imposed by the physical environment and the tendency of people to cluster, the uniform distribution of users is clearly unrealistic for the majority of cases. This suggests a need for non-uniform distributions and hence a method of classifying and generating them. In this paper we present a novel way of characterising and creating non-uniform user distributions which are appropriate for analysing the benefits of cellular networks that employ multi-hop techniques. The user distribution metric and model is particular useful for characterising empirically derived user distributions in which there will be discrete discontinuities due to physical constraints of the environment such as streets, rivers and parks.