A generic interference model for uplink OFDMA networks with fractional frequency reuse

Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) has emerged as a viable solution to coordinate and mitigate cochannel interference (CCI) in orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA)-based wireless cellular networks. The incurred CCI in cellular networks with FFR is highly uncertain and varies as a function of various design parameters that include the user scheduling schemes, the transmit power distribution among multiple allocated subcarriers, the partitioning of the cellular region into cell-edge and cell-center zones, the allocation of spectrum within each zone, and the channel reuse factors. To this end, this paper derives a generic analytical model for uplink CCI in multicarrier OFDMA networks with FFR. The derived expressions capture several network design parameters and are applicable to any composite fading-channel models. The accuracy of the derivations is verified via Monte Carlo simulations. Moreover, their usefulness is demonstrated by obtaining closed-form expressions for the Rayleigh fading-channel model and by evaluating important network performance metrics such as ergodic capacity. Numerical results provide useful system design guidelines and highlight the trade-offs associated with the deployment of FFR schemes in OFDMA-based networks.