Capacity self-planning in small cell multi-tenant 5G networks

Abstract

Multi-tenancy allows diverse agents sharing the infrastructure in the 5th generation of mobile networks. Such a feature calls for more automated and faster planning procedures in order to adapt the network capacity to the varying traffic demand. To achieve these goals, Small Cells offer network providers more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions compared to macrocell deployments. This paper proposes a novel framework for cell planning in multi-tenant Small Cell networks. In this framework, the tenant's contracted capacity is translated to a set of detailed planning specifications over time and space domains in order to efficiently update the network infrastructure and configuration. Based on this, an algorithm is proposed that considers different actions such as adding/removing channels and adding or relocating small cells. The proposed approach is evaluated considering the deployment of a new tenant, where different sets of planning specifications are tested.