Two-step load balancing scheme for fairness improvement in HetNets

The problem of load imbalance in HetNets among wireless access technologies is addressed in this article. A two-step strategy algorithm was adopted in this work, which considers both load and bandwidth. The first step is a randomized algorithm based on the Monte Carlo scheduling strategy while the second step was a load leveling algorithm that used the brute force method to classify the load on access technologies as average, below average and above average. The obtained results when compared to those of Least Connected Algorithm (LCA) performed better. The results achieved a global load balancing fairness of 0.9119 which was 12.37% better than LCA. The significance of the achieved result translates to better resource utilization among the wireless access technologies and better Quality of Service (QoS) for users.Keywords: two-step strategy, load balancing, least connected algorithm, quality of service, Monte Carlo algorith