An Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation and Interference Management Scheme in Green Heterogeneous Networks Using Game Theory

In heterogeneous networks (HetNets), energy-efficient resource allocation and intercell-interference management are important issues. In this paper, we address these issues using a two-level dynamic scheme. First, we assign the MUs with the optimum number of subchannels that achieves an operator's required balance between macro users' satisfaction and maximization of network efficiency. Then, the remaining subchannels are left to be shared by a number of small cells. In the latter step, a transmit power adaptation method using a noncooperative game-theoretic approach is developed to reduce cochannel interference in the whole network. The problem is formulated by allowing multiple neighboring small cells to share each subchannel (i.e., universal frequency reuse in the small cell level). We fully characterize the pricing factor in the penalty part of the utility function. The existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium (NE) are analyzed and proved. Then, a distributed iterative algorithm based on the fixed-point theorem is proposed to attain the equilibrium of the game. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in different network topologies.