Performance analysis of full duplex self-backhauling cellular network

Recent successful demonstrations of radios for in-band full-duplex (IBFD) wireless systems offer interesting network-level case studies. The impact of such a capability on a cellular network as a whole is an open research area. IBFD self-backhauling for small cells is one interesting use case of such a capability proposed in this paper. It refers to the use of same frequency band for backhaul and access links, simultaneously. The advantage of IBFD self-backhauling is twofold - efficient reuse of channel resources along with convenient wireless back-hauling of dense small-cells without having to lay down fiber links every hundred meters. This work considers the case of a two-tier cellular network with IBFD-enabled small cells, wirelessly self-backhauling themselves with conventional macro cells. Analytical expressions for coverage and average downlink (DL) rate in such a network are derived using tools from the field of stochastic geometry. It is shown that DL rate in such networks could be close to double that of conventional time-division/frequency-division duplexed self-backhauling networks, at the expense of lower coverage due to increased interference. The interplay between increased interference on one side and high spectral efficiency on the other is captured through a mathematical model. Moreover, the proposed analysis is done jointly for backhaul (or fronthaul) and access links, in contrast to the largely available access-centric analyses.