Femtocells were proposed as a solution to improve the performance in dense networks. They complement the macro base stations (eNB) with a dense set of low power micro base stations (HeNB). However, they also bring increased interference problems and consequently more collisions and lost packets.
This paper considers the use of femtocells running the Single Carrier with Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE) trans- mission technique. It evaluates the performance of an Iterative Block Decision-Feedback Equalizer (IB-DFE) receiver employing Interference Cancellation (IC) techniques in the downlink chan- nel. Using the interference cancellation capability, it is possible to dynamically adjust the network deployment and reduce the network total energy consumption. This paper also proposes a HeNB control algorithm and evaluates the energy saving capabilities of the reception technique for different load levels. Results show that it is possible to turn off femtocells and still satisfy the user’s requirements, with significant energy saving.