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Energy minimization by dynamic base station switching in heterogeneous cellular network

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Abstract

5G communication technologies are expected to provide high rate and low delay services. To meet the requirements, more base stations (BS), including macrocell BS (MacBS) and microcell BS (MicBS), have to be deployed. In this dense multi-tier heterogeneous networks, the user quality of service (QoS) can be significantly improved by shortening communication distance between base stations and users. However, the network energy consumptions of base stations have been growing quickly. How to save energy consumption in these dense layered network has become a problem we have to face. In this paper, we proposed a microcell BS (MicBS) switch algorithm to reduce the network energy consumption. The BS energy consumption is associated with traffic load, which is denoted as the number of users a BS serves. Considering the time-varying traffic load, we proposed a metric named coverage ratio to characterize how many users can enjoy the services. When the coverage ratio exceeds the upper threshold, a switch off algorithm is activated. MicBSs whose energy costs are higher than their economic profit will be switched off one by one. On the contrary, if this metric is below the lower threshold, a switch on algorithm is activated. A group of inactive MicBSs surrounded by multiple unserved users will be switched on simultaneously. After the switching operations, the network coverage ratio is expected to fall between the upper and lower bounds. Simulation results show that the coverage ratio is kept with the desired level. Compared to some existing algorithms, the proposed algorithm shows more flexible switching operation and more effective energy saving.

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Notes

  1. Note that the maximum transmission power of MacBS shown in the table is 100W. In the simulations, we have tried several power levels, such as 20W, 40W. According to the rules of 3GPP organization, wireless base stations are divided into four categories, namely macro base station, micro base station, pico base station and femto base station. The recommended power levels of single carrier transmission for based stations are above 10W. The typical power level of outdoor base station is about 43dBm (20W). However it depends on the coverage range and carrier frequency. For instance, to extend the coverage of base station or work at the higher transmission power is needed; while in the 5G applications, with the higher carrier frequency and high transmission rate requirement, the transmission power is also increased. China Mobile, for example, requires 64 channels with a maximum transmission power of 320 Watts for its 2.6GHz RF module to support high downlink speeds.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 62273298, 61873223, the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province under grant F2019203095, Provincial Key Laboratory Performance Subsidy Project under grant 22567612H.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Engineering,Yanshan University, Zhixin Liu is also with the Key Lab of Industrial Computer Control Engineering of Hebei Province, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, Hebei, China

    Yi Yang, Zhixin Liu & Heng Zhu

  2. School of Electronic, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xinping Guan

  3. School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, 6102, WA, Australia

    Kit Yan Chan

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Yang, Y., Liu, Z., Zhu, H. et al. Energy minimization by dynamic base station switching in heterogeneous cellular network. Wireless Netw 29, 669–684 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-022-03167-7

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