Multi-cell Coordination via Disjoint Clustering in Dense Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks

Conventional microwave bands are expected to encounter bandwidth shortage due to the ever-increasing demand for high speed wireless services. The use of millimeter wave (MMW) spectrum has been regarded as one of the promising solutions to support data traffic demands in future cellular networks. MMW cellular networks are envisioned to be densely deployed to attain acceptable coverage and rate. In dense networks, intercell interference emerges as the main factor of degrading the coverage and capacity. As such, coordination of base stations (BSs) should be implemented to improve the system performance. In this paper, we aim to quantify the performance of BS coordination via disjoint clustering in dense MMW cellular networks. Using tools from stochastic geometry, the coverage probability and area spectral efficiency are derived by incorporating the key features of MMW systems, i.e., blockage and directional antenna. Simulation results are provided to validate the accuracy of the analytical results under various system parameters and demonstrate the performance superiority of BS coordination via disjoint clustering over the non-coordinated case. The results suggest that the optimal cluster size to achieve the maximum area spectral efficiency (ASE) increases as the blockage factor, which is determined by the density and the average size of the buildings, decreases.