A heuristic approach to energy efficient user association in ultra‐dense HetNets using intermittent scheduling strategies

Abstract The ultra‐dense deployment of pico cells in 5G heterogeneous networks (HetNets) has raised serious concerns regarding interference and energy consumption. Both industry and academia are focusing on enhancing network energy efficiency (EE) while maintaining satisfactory quality of service (QoS) levels. However, finding an optimal solution to NEE is very challenging, especially in ultra‐dense HetNets. Here, a user association and power management algorithm is presented that follows a heuristic approach and aims to maximize EE while satisfying other network requirements. The proposed algorithm associates users based on criteria that consider the users’ EE and minimizes energy consumption by intermittently switching into sleep mode base stations with the highest impact on overall network EE. The performance of this solution is evaluated in a realistic multi‐cell two‐tier scenario considering both co‐tier and cross‐tier interference by comparing it with two other solutions: a heuristic approach based on standardized eICIC, and an optimization approach based on Lagrangian dual decomposition. The simulation results show that our solution outperforms benchmarking solutions in terms of EE, average user rate, and network throughput while minimizing energy consumption.