System Optimization in Relay Enhanced LTE-Advanced Networks via Uplink Power Control

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Relaying is a promising enhancement to current radio technologies, which has been investigated in the 3GPP LTE-Advanced study item and has been recently agreed to be standardized during the work item. Relay enhanced networks are expected to fulfill the demanding coverage and capacity requirements in a cost-efficient way. Yet, in order to fully exploit the benefits of relaying, the inter-cell interference which is increased due to the presence of relay nodes should be limited. Moreover, large differences in the received power levels from different users should be avoided. The goal is to keep the receiver dynamic range low in order to retain the orthogonality of the SC-FDMA system. In this paper, an evaluation of the relay based deployment within the LTE-Advanced uplink framework is carried out by applying the standardized LTE power control scheme both at eNBs and relay nodes. The power control is shown to be a crucial means to increase the cell edge and system capacity, to mitigate inter-cell interference and to adjust the receiver dynamic range.