Channel-Correlation-Based Access Point Selection and Pilot Power Allocation for Cell-Free Massive MIMO

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Mohammadzadeh, Saeed, De Lamare, Rodrigo C., Cumanan, Kanapathippillai, Ngo, Hien Quoc
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Mohammadzadeh, Saeed
De Lamare, Rodrigo C.
Cumanan, Kanapathippillai
Ngo, Hien Quoc
author_facet Mohammadzadeh, Saeed
De Lamare, Rodrigo C.
Cumanan, Kanapathippillai
Ngo, Hien Quoc
contents This paper proposes a dynamic access point (AP) selection and pilot power allocation (DAPPA) framework for uplink cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CFmMIMO) systems, aiming to mitigate inter-user interference and improve overall spectral efficiency (SE). A hierarchical correlation-based clustering algorithm is developed to group APs according to their channel correlation, enabling each user to be associated with APs that simultaneously provide strong channel gains and low mutual correlation. This association ensures reliable connectivity, maximizes coherent combining gains, and reduces inter-user interference, while also allowing the number of AP clusters to be adjusted flexibly, without the need to reorganize the network completely. By maintaining links to low-correlated APs, the proposed scheme reduces the need for frequent channel state information (CSI) estimation and minimizes network-wide update overhead. To enhance scalability, a user-capacity constraint per AP is incorporated, preventing hardware overload and alleviating the effects of pilot reuse. Furthermore, an effective pilot power allocation strategy is introduced to boost the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) during channel training. This is formulated as a weighted sum-rate maximization (WSRM) problem and solved iteratively using a quadratic transform, which enables efficient optimization while ensuring fairness and high-quality service across all users. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method delivers significant SE gains, maintains performance in high-density multi-user scenarios, and converges faster than benchmark schemes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_18875
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Channel-Correlation-Based Access Point Selection and Pilot Power Allocation for Cell-Free Massive MIMO
Mohammadzadeh, Saeed
De Lamare, Rodrigo C.
Cumanan, Kanapathippillai
Ngo, Hien Quoc
Signal Processing
This paper proposes a dynamic access point (AP) selection and pilot power allocation (DAPPA) framework for uplink cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CFmMIMO) systems, aiming to mitigate inter-user interference and improve overall spectral efficiency (SE). A hierarchical correlation-based clustering algorithm is developed to group APs according to their channel correlation, enabling each user to be associated with APs that simultaneously provide strong channel gains and low mutual correlation. This association ensures reliable connectivity, maximizes coherent combining gains, and reduces inter-user interference, while also allowing the number of AP clusters to be adjusted flexibly, without the need to reorganize the network completely. By maintaining links to low-correlated APs, the proposed scheme reduces the need for frequent channel state information (CSI) estimation and minimizes network-wide update overhead. To enhance scalability, a user-capacity constraint per AP is incorporated, preventing hardware overload and alleviating the effects of pilot reuse. Furthermore, an effective pilot power allocation strategy is introduced to boost the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) during channel training. This is formulated as a weighted sum-rate maximization (WSRM) problem and solved iteratively using a quadratic transform, which enables efficient optimization while ensuring fairness and high-quality service across all users. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method delivers significant SE gains, maintains performance in high-density multi-user scenarios, and converges faster than benchmark schemes.
title Channel-Correlation-Based Access Point Selection and Pilot Power Allocation for Cell-Free Massive MIMO
topic Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18875