Cognitive radio based femtocell resource allocation

In this paper, we consider resource allocation in femtocell networks to maximize the throughput while minimizing interference to macro-cell users nearby. This can be achieved by dynamically allocating the spectrum resource in a cognitive radio way of avoiding the use of spectrum resources occupied by macro-users nearby. The proposed scheme comprises two steps; channel sensing and resource scheduling. The femto base station detects the channel occupation by estimating the energy in sub-channels in a group-wise manner and then allocates sub-channels with the lowest interference signature to femto-users. The proposed resource scheduling combined with channel sensing can effectively manage the heterogeneous interference problem. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified by computer simulation.