Relay-Assisted Handover To Overcome Blockage In Millimeter-Wave Networks

There is a growing interest in millimeter-wave (mmWave) technologies that can significantly increase the network capacity thanks to the availability of huge bandwidth and high-dimensional antennas. However, short wavelength and the use of narrow directional beams have made mmWave communications susceptible to blockages that could lead to high penetration losses. In this paper, we conduct two studies in mmWave networks: Firstly, we analyze and characterize link disruption due to two blockage scenarios, to efficiently explain mmWave channel dynamics. Next, we propose a Relay-assisted Handover (RHO) scheme to overcome the blockages by combining relay and handover schemes. Through a simulation study on two blockage scenarios, we prove the proposed scheme improves the link quality performance in an environment in which two blockage types, short-term blockage and long-term blockage, coexist.