Universal Intelligent Small Cell for Next Generation Cellular Networks

Abstract

Exploring innovative cellular architectures to achieve enhanced system capacity and good coverage has become a critical issue towards realizing the next generation of wireless communications. In this context, this paper proposes a novel concept of Universal Intelligent Small Cell (UniSCell) for enabling the densification of the next generation of cellular networks. The main motivating factors behind the proposed small cell concept are the need of public infrastructure reengineering and the recent advances in several enabling technologies such as spectrum awareness, adaptive beamforming, source localization, new multiplexing schemes, etc. In this paper, first, we highlight the main concepts of the proposed small cell platform. Subsequently, we present two deployment scenarios taking into account of both technical and business aspects. Then, we describe the key future technologies for enabling the proposed UniScell Concept and present an use case example with the help of numerical results. Finally, we conclude this paper by providing some interesting future recommendations.