FFR-Aided Coordinated Multipoint Transmission in Downlink Multicell MIMO-OFDMA Networks

Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) is an intercell interference coordination technique that has become increasingly popular in the context of 4G systems. The combination of FFR with advanced multiple-antenna technology in the form of multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) and base station cooperation using coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP), paves the way to realize the ambitious goals in terms of area spectral efficiency contemplated within Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A). This work proposes an FFR-aided scheme suitable for multicell networks in which central users are served using MU-MIMO and edge users rely on CoMP, with both techniques depending on block diagonalization. A physical layer abstraction is provided in the form of signal-to-interference-plus- noise ratio (SINR) expressions that can then be used to derive optimal values for different parameters, most notably, the threshold SINR delimiting the central and edge areas of the cell.