The aggressive spatial spectrum reuse (SSR) by network densification using
smaller cells has successfully driven the wireless communication industry
onward in the past decades. In our future journey toward ultra-dense networks
(UDNs), a fundamental question needs to be answered. Is there a limit to SSR?
In other words, when we deploy thousands or millions of small cell base
stations (BSs) per square kilometer, is activating all BSs on the same
time/frequency resource the best strategy? In this paper, we present
theoretical analyses to answer such question. In particular, we find that both
the signal and interference powers become bounded in practical UDNs with a
non-zero BS-to-UE antenna height difference and a finite UE density, which
leads to a constant capacity scaling law. As a result, there exists an optimal
SSR density that can maximize the network capacity. Hence, the limit to SSR
should be considered in the operation of future UDNs.Comment: conference submission in Oct. 201