Q Cells in Wireless Networks

Abstract

For a given set of transmitters such as cellular base stations or WiFi access points, is it possible to analytically characterize the set of locations that are "covered" in the sense that users at these locations experience a certain minimum quality of service? In this paper, we affirmatively answer this question, by providing explicit simple outer bounds and estimates for the coverage manifold. The key geometric elements of our analytical method are the Q cells, defined as the intersections of a small number of disks. The Q cell of a transmitter is an outer bound to the service region of the transmitter, and, in turn, the union of Q cells is an outer bound to the coverage manifold. In infinite networks, connections to the meta distribution of the signal-to-interference ratio allow for a scaling of the Q cells to obtain accurate estimates of the coverage manifold.