Backhaul-Aware User Association and Resource Allocation for Massive MIMO-Enabled HetNets

Massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) and heterogeneous networks (HetNets) have been recognized as potential technologies for the fifth generation mobile networks. On the other hand, the backhaul capacity constraint has become increasingly stringent in HetNets. Consequently, we investigate joint user association and resource allocation to maximize the alpha-fairness network utility for massive MIMO-enabled HetNets with backhaul capacity constraints. The optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem and an effective algorithm is developed based on the Lagrangian dual method. Simulation results demonstrate the network utility performance improvement of the proposed algorithm.