Modeling and Analysis of Cellular Networks Using Stochastic Geometry: A Tutorial

• Published in: IEEE Communications surveys and tutorials Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 167 - 203
• Main Authors: ElSawy, Hesham, Sultan-Salem, Ahmed, Alouini, Mohamed-Slim, Win, Moe Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2017
• Subjects: capacity; Cellular networks; Interference; outage probability; performance analysis; Signal to noise ratio; Stochastic geometry; symbol error probability; Tutorials; Wireless networks
• ISSN: 2373-745X
• DOI: 10.1109/COMST.2016.2624939

This paper presents a tutorial on stochastic geometry (SG)-based analysis for cellular networks. This tutorial is distinguished by its depth with respect to wireless communication details and its focus on cellular networks. This paper starts by modeling and analyzing the baseband interference in a baseline single-tier downlink cellular network with single antenna base stations and universal frequency reuse. Then, it characterizes signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio and its related performance metrics. In particular, a unified approach to conduct error probability, outage probability, and transmission rate analysis is presented. Although the main focus of this paper is on cellular networks, the presented unified approach applies for other types of wireless networks that impose interference protection around receivers. This paper then extends the unified approach to capture cellular network characteristics (e.g., frequency reuse, multiple antenna, power control, etc.). It also presents numerical examples associated with demonstrations and discussions. To this end, this paper highlights the state-of-the-art research and points out future research directions.