Cell selection game in heterogeneous macro-small cell networks

Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) which include macrocells with short range small cells proved a better coverage and higher user data rates compared to classical networks. Using the same spectrum as the macrocells, small cells would allow increased spatial reuse of bandwidth. In industrialized countries, the deployment of new small cells by another actor (tier) to cover the outage improves the service with a lower cost. In this paper, we investigate cell association issue in heterogeneous networks composed of small and macrocells operating in the same spectrum. In contrast to the related work, we consider that the small cells are a cellular network belonging to another tier. Hence, there is competitiveness between the two tiers in order to selfishly maximize the gain while respecting the User Equipment (UE) Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. We propose a model based on game theory in order to get the best distribution of user equipments among small and macro base stations.