  Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) communications are considered for the
fifth-generation (5G) small-cell networks as a tool to improve the high data
rates and the cell-edge throughput. The average achievable rates of the
small-cell base stations (SBS) cooperation strategies with distance and
received signal power constraints are respectively derived for the fractal
small-cell networks based on the anisotropic path loss model. Simulation
results are presented to show that the average achievable rate with the
received signal power constraint is larger than the rate with a distance
constraint considering the same number of cooperative SBSs. The average
achievable rate with distance constraint decreases with the increase of the
intensity of SBSs when the anisotropic path loss model is considered. What's
more, the network energy efficiency of fractal smallcell networks adopting the
SBS cooperation strategy with the received signal power constraint is analyzed.
The network energy efficiency decreases with the increase of the intensity of
SBSs which indicates a challenge on the deployment design for fractal
small-cell networks.
