LTE Femtocell Density Modelling

BT Research and Innovation has been using MATLAB^® to gain insights into the likely performance of LTE small cell deployments. Using 3D geometry, path-loss models were created in order to calculate interference levels and hence to estimate system performance as the density of the femtocell deployment increases.

Realistic use-cases have been developed for voice, data, and video, and real premises data was used, derived from maps and internal BT databases of broadband line end-point locations. The model was used to estimate the highest femtocell deployment densities that could be tolerated in terms of outage probability for the different use-cases. It was also possible to derive guidelines for functions that the small cells should have, such as frequency selective scheduling. From the tolerable deployment density, it is possible to calculate the system throughput and the percentage of premises in the UK that can be provided with service.

In this session, BT Research and Innovation will present an overview of the statistical modelling techniques used, the assumptions made, and some example results.