Statistical Modeling and Probabilistic Analysis of Cellular Networks With Determinantal Point Processes

Although the Poisson point process (PPP) has been widely used to model base station (BS) locations in cellular networks, it is an idealized model that neglects the spatial correlation among BSs. This paper proposes the use of the determinantal point process (DPP) to take into account these correlations, in particular the repulsiveness among macro BS locations. DPPs are demonstrated to be analytically tractable by leveraging several unique computational properties. Specifically, we show that the empty space function, the nearest neighbor function, the mean interference, and the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) distribution have explicit analytical representations and can be numerically evaluated for cellular networks with DPP-configured BSs. In addition, the modeling accuracy of DPPs is investigated by fitting three DPP models to real BS location data sets from two major U.S. cities. Using hypothesis testing for various performance metrics of interest, we show that these fitted DPPs are significantly more accurate than popular choices such as the PPP and the perturbed hexagonal grid model.