Empirical models of the communications performance of Multi-hop Cellular Networks using D2D

Multi-hop Cellular Networks (MCNs) can improve the quality of service, capacity and energy-efficiency of traditional infrastructure-centric single-hop cellular systems. MCN systems can exploit Device-to-Device (D2D) communications and utilize the communications and computing capabilities of mobile devices. However, the communications challenges resulting from the use of mobile devices and D2D communications require empirical solid evidences of their performance benefits, and the design of robust communications and networking protocols. In this context, this paper presents a unique set of empirical models of the communications performance of MCN systems that utilize D2D communications. The models take into account the impact of the distance, propagation/visibility conditions, number of hops, and communication settings. The set of derived models can help design, test and optimize communications and networking protocols for MCNs that utilize D2D communications.