Resource Allocation in Cooperative Mid-Band/THz Networks in the Presence of Mobility

Abstract

This paper develops a comprehensive framework to investigate and optimize the downlink performance of cooperative multi-band networks (MBNs) operating on upper mid-band (UMB) and terahertz (THz) frequencies, where base stations (BSs) in each band cooperatively serve users. The framework captures sophisticated features such as near-field channel modeling, fully and partially connected antenna architectures, and users’ mobility. First, we consider joint user association and hybrid beamforming optimization to maximize the system sum-rate, subject to power constraints, maximum cluster size of cooperating BSs, and users’ quality-of-service (QoS) constraints. By leveraging fractional programming FP and majorization-minimization techniques, an iterative algorithm is proposed to solve the non-convex optimization problem. We then consider handover (HO)-aware resource allocation for moving users in a cooperative UMB/THz MBN. Two HO-aware resource allocation methods are proposed. The first method focuses on maximizing the HO-aware system sum-rate subject to HO-aware QoS constraints. Using Jensen’s inequality and properties of logarithmic functions, the non-convex optimization problem is tightly approximated with a convex one and solved. The second method addresses a multi-objective optimization problem to maximize the system sum-rate, while minimizing the total number of HOs. Numerical results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithms, cooperative UMB/THz MBN over stand-alone THz networks, as well as the critical importance of accurate near-field modeling in extremely large antenna arrays. Moreover, the proposed HO-aware resource allocation methods effectively mitigate the impact of HOs, enhancing performance in the considered system.