Cooperative Base Station Switching Off in Multi-Operator Shared Heterogeneous Network

The dense deployment of high and low power nodes, i.e., eNodeBs (eNBs) and small cells (SCs), respectively, is expected to be the core element of fifth generation (5G) networks. Given the massive SC deployment, the aggregate power consumption attributed to SCs in the coverage area of a macrocell becomes considerable, thus raising issues for the network energy efficiency. However, the coexistence of multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) in the same geographic area fosters cooperation agreements that suggest further energy and cost saving. In this paper, with a view to address the aforementioned issues, we attempt to study the energy efficiency aspects in the case of next generation outdoor Long Term Evolution (LTE) heterogeneous networks (HetNets) owned by rival MNOs. More specifically, we propose a cooperative switching off scheme for low-traffic hours that applies to both eNBs and SCs and exploits roaming-based infrastructure sharing to guarantee the provided quality of service (QoS). To gain insights, we study the energy consumption impact compared to existing switching off schemes. It is shown that the proposed scheme achieves notable energy saving, without compromising the QoS to the network users.