Cell shaping using pattern synthesis for a distributed load balancing scheme in cellular networks

The performance of CDMA cellular networks can be improved by contracting the base station antenna pattern around the source of peak traffic and expanding adjacent cells coverage to fill in the coverage loss. A novel distributed load-balancing scheme for cellular networks, which intelligently changes cellular coverage according to the geographic traffic distribution in real time has been investigated. A cooperative negotiation approach with semi-smart antennas for the real-time control of cellular network coverage is used. By the use of real time negotiations between adjacent base stations, optimum local coverage agreements can be reached in the context of the whole cellular network. In this paper we concentrate on the description of how the desired cell shaping can be achieved by using antenna pattern synthesis techniques. Results showing the advantage of such a distributed load-balancing scheme are also presented.