Analysis and field trial results on C-plane and U-plane split scheme in virtual sectorization system

Capacity enhancement approaches are being intensively studied in the past few years to address the soaring capacity demands. The network densification technology is recognized as one promising solution. However, the ultra-dense network scheme suffers from severe interference and frequent handovers, which degrade the system performance significantly. In this paper, a virtual sectorization system leveraging a C-plane (control signaling plane) and U-plane (user data plane) split scheme is proposed to overcome these two fundamental problems. Besides, a well-designed field trial is conducted to evaluate its performance. The results show that the interference can be avoided, which leads to a tremendous increase in system capacity. In addition, the number of handovers is also greatly decreased. Thus, the trial results verify the huge potential of the C-plane and U-plane split scheme for system capacity and user experience enhancements.