A power-saving resource allocation algorithm for D2D-assisted cellular networks

In a traditional cellular network, the base station (BS) plays a critical role in linking devices for communications, but the huge user demand, especially in cities, has become a cost burden to the BS. The technique of device-to-device (D2D) communications underlaying cellular networks solves this problem and adds benefits to resource utilization. Nevertheless, the issue of how to efficiently utilize both radio resource and power has become a challenge. In this paper, we study power-saving resource allocation for D2D communications underlaying a single-cell environment, where all devices are assumed to have ability to use the D2D linking mode. An innovative algorithm is presented to minimize total transmission power consumption while satisfying minimum data-rate requirements of all users. Simulation results demonstrate that the presented approach has better power-saving ability compared with that of conventional ones under all traffic loads.