Energy-aware configuration of small cell networks

We propose a new approach for jointly scheduling deep sleep and allocating pilot and data transmit power in small cells with the aim of minimising energy consumption while maximising user utility within a mixed macro/small cell network. Our approach exploits the relatively predictable nature of traffic load across each day/week and is demonstrated to achieve an average energy reduction of 37%, and peak energy reductions of 70% under realistic traffic loads and network topologies.