Ad Hoc Resource Allocation in Cellular Systems

A fundamental question in a wireless cellular system is how to allocate base stations, radio transceivers, and channels in an efficient manner. This question becomes difficult when operators must react to burgeoning demand. This paper explores a pure ad hoc approach where call requests are given the first available channel that meets signal quality requirements, radio transceivers are added immediately to base stations without sufficient radios, and new base stations are placed immediately at a caller’s location when their request can not otherwise be met. This ad hoc resource allocation has the advantage that it requires no prior planning or assessment of traffic demands. We view this as a case that bounds current cellular resource allocation practice. We show that the ad hoc performance in terms of total required resources to meet a demand in a given area is similar to more carefully planned systems that are given prior information of the traffic distribution.