Improving Network Performance by Enabling Device-to-Device Communication over Heterogeneous Networks

Abstract

An overview of Device-to-Device (D2D) communication systems and the various roles of D2D in nextgeneration networks are presented in this paper. D2D communication will be the preferred choice of operators in the future, for its ability to improve the performance of the network without investing excessive resources in the base station (BS). Various configurations of D2D communication can be applied in the network to enhance the quality of service (QoS) in order to meet user requirements. The model presented in this paper can be used to test the connection quality of the mobile stations in various scenarios when they are communicating directly without the intervention of BS. Results have been collected for mobile stations with and without D2D communication and improvement has been observed when mobile stations are using D2D communication, compared to normal operation without any D2D communication available. The results showed that D2D communication could be used not only to meet the demands of users but also in order to expand the coverage area of the base station where either received signal strength is low or blind spots exist in the region.