Energy Efficient Mobility Management for the Macrocell – Femtocell LTE Network

The demand for higher data rates and improved energy-efficiency have motivated the deployment of short-range, low-cost, consumer-deployed cellular access points, referred to as femtocells [1]. Femtocells are consumer-deployed cellular access points, which interconnect standard user equipment (UE) to the mobile operator network via the end user’s broadband access backhaul. Although femtocells typically support up to a few users, e.g., up to four users [2], they embody the functionality of a regular base station which operates in the mobile operator’s licensed band. From the mobile operator perspective, the deployment of femtocells reduces the capital and operational costs, i.e., femtocells are deployed and managed by the end user, improves the licensed spectrum spatial reuse, and decongests nearby macrocell base stations. On the other hand, the end users perceive enhanced indoor coverage, improved Quality of Service (QoS), and significant User Equipment (UE) energy savings.