Principles of Frequency Reuse and the Technologies for Achieving It

In every wireless network with multiple users and limited spectrum, the network operator
is forced to confront two conflicting demands: the need for aggressive frequency reuse and
the need to mitigate interference. Put another way, a channel can only be reused when interference
is reduced, but reuse of a channel inevitably increases interference levels! Frequency
reuse conduces to an expanded customer base and maximum exploitation of available spectrum,
but unless the mitigation of interference can be achieved in some measure as well,
the quality of service available to the subscriber will be unacceptable. The pleasant irony
here is that the technologies that improve frequency reuse generally reduce the effects of
interference as well, but trade-offs are always involved; in other words, very pronounced frequency
reuse will increase interference, and minimizing interference will limit the degree of
frequency reuse possible.