Access control mechanisms for femtocells

TLDR

Femtocells lower CAPEX and OPEX while improving coverage and capacity, yet interference—especially from access‑control decisions—remains a key challenge for deploying femtocells over macrocell networks. The article reviews existing femtocell access methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and argues for hybrid access schemes. It examines the business and technical effects of these access methods in femto/macro networks and proposes several hybrid models.

Abstract

Femtocells are a solution that helps to reduce the capital and operational expenditure of a mobile network while enhancing system coverage and capacity. However, the avoidance of interference is still an issue that needs to be addressed to successfully deploy a femtocell tier over existing macrocell networks. Moreover, interference is strongly dependent on the type of access control, which decides if a given user can or cannot connect to the femtocell. In this article the existing access methods for femtocells together with their benefits and drawbacks are explained. A description of the business model and technical impact of access methods in femto/macro networks is also provided. Finally, the need for hybrid access methods and several models are presented.