Base Station Selection in M2M Communication Using Q-learning Algorithm in LTE-A Networks

A major problem faced by machine type communication (MTC) devices in machine to machine (M2M) communication is the congestion and traffic overloading when incorporating into LTE Advanced networks. In this paper, we present an approach to tackle this problem by providing an efficient way for multiple access in the network and minimizing network overload. We consider the random access network (RAN) between the LTE base stations and MTC devices in the cell. We propose an unsupervised learning algorithm, based on Q-learning, as a means of base station selection scheme where MTC devices continuously adapt to changing network traffic and decide which base station is to be selected on the basis of QoS parameters. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm helps MTC devices achieve better performance and, therefore, enhances the M2M communication performance.