Decoupled Heterogeneous Networks with Millimeter Wave Small Cells

Deploying sub-6GHz network together with millimeter wave (mmWave) is a promising solution to simultaneously achieve sufficient coverage and high data rate. In the heterogeneous networks (HetNets), the traditional coupled access, i.e., the users are constrained to be associated with the same base station in both downlink and uplink, is no longer optimal, and the concept of downlink and uplink decoupling has recently been proposed. In this paper, we propose an analytical framework to investigate the traditional sub-6GHz HetNets integrating with mmWave small cells (SCells) with decoupled access, where both the uplink power control and mmWave interference are taken into account. Using the tools from stochastic geometry, the performance metrics of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio coverage probability, user-perceived rate coverage probability, and area sum rate are derived. The impact of the densification of different SCells on the network performance is also analyzed to give insights on the network design. Simulation results validate the accuracy of our analysis, and reveal that mmWave interference can not be neglected when the mmWave SCells are extremely dense and that different kinds of SCells have various effects on the network performance and thus need to be organized properly.