Analyzing the application of inter-cell relay in CDMA cellular networks

Multihop communication has been proposed in cellular networks to overcome some inherent limitations. Congestion relief and load balancing are amongst the promised gains. In this paper, we investigate inter-cell relay - which means diverting calls from one congested (heavy loaded) cell to an adjacent less loaded cell for congestion relief (load balancing) - in multihop CDMA cellular networks. The application of inter-cell relay changes the resulting interference inside the heavy loaded cell as well as at the supporting BSs. Toward analyzing the gains from inter-cell relay, we derive formulas for interference experienced at the congested and supporting BSs. Upper bound on number of calls supported inside the area of the congested cell is derived based on interference formulas. We show that inter-cell relay can increase the number of accepted calls inside a congested cell.