Cooperation for spectral and energy efficiency in ultra-dense small cell networks

Extensive deployment of small cells in heterogenous cellular networks introduces both challenges and opportunities. Challenges come with reuse of limited frequency resources, which always introduce both intra- and inter-interference among small cells and macrocells. The opportunities refer to more potential inter- and intra-tier cooperation gains, in particular for ultra-dense heterogeneous and small cell networks. In addition to current spectral efficiency optimization, energy efficiency will also be a critical performance requirement for future green communications, especially when small cells are densely deployed to enhance the user's quality of experience. In this article, potential cooperation gains are explored via a cooperative bargaining game to counter challenges of mitigating interference and saving energy, thus improving both spectral and energy efficiency. We survey the current optimization and trade-offs of spectral and energy efficiency, and introduce the basics of cooperative game theory. Then a utility function is presented with spectral and energy efficiency coupled together. Furthermore, we present the bargaining cooperative game theoretic framework to explore potential cooperation gains. Moreover, two applications are investigated for the dedicated and co-channel deployment cases, including cooperative relay with spectrum leasing and cooperative capacity offload. Finally, we conclude the article with potential challenges of the presented cooperative framework and some thoughts for future research directions.