User-Centric Overlapped Clustering Based on Anchor-Based Precoding in Cellular Networks

Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) is a promising technique for improving the performance of cell edge users, where a number of base stations (BSs) form a cluster to jointly process signals to the users within the cluster. Based on nonoverlapped clustering, dynamic clustering and intercluster co-ordination were proposed to mitigate interference to users at cluster edges. However, to further enhance the performance of cluster-edge users, user-centric overlapped clustering is more effective in providing multiuser MIMO and intercluster CoMP from multiple BSs belonging to different clusters. In this letter, on the basis of an anchor-based precoding scheme, an optimal user-centric clustering scheme is introduced together with a suboptimal clustering algorithm. The throughput performance is evaluated and compared with conventional nonoverlapped clustering in multicluster environments.