Physical Cell Identifier assignment in LTE-advanced networks

In this article, a fully distributed mechanism of Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) assignment within LTE-A networks, where there are more than 504 femtocells deployed under one macrocell, is analysed. We propose a technique that can assign collision-free PCIs and work out any confusion event that may occur in the macrocell. Simulation results based on implementation of the algorithm proposed are presented and discussed. It is shown that the algorithm is capable of solving confusion events in dense femtocell scenarios.