Abstract

In this article we explore a system framework of cooperative green heterogeneous networks for 5G wireless communication systems. We first survey the state-of-the-art on spectrum efficiency (SE), energy efficiency (EE), and quality of service (QoS) based mobile association, multi-layer interference management and power control, network wide cooperation and dynamic resource allocation for heterogeneous wireless networks. We also present the system framework of cooperative green heterogeneous networks, which aims at balancing and optimizing SE, EE, and QoS in heterogeneous wireless networks. We discuss the design principles and show some preliminary performance results on the tradeoffs among SE, EE, and QoS. Finally, we identify the technical challenges that remain in the cooperative green heterogeneous network design. The presented wireless system framework is expected to advance the understandings of the critical technical issues toward energy and spectrum efficient 5G wireless communication systems.