Resource Allocation for QoS-Aware OFDMA Using Distributed Network Coordination

Abstract

This paper considers resource allocation for downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). We propose a subcarrier and power-allocation method that differentiates users per service type to fulfill the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of each user. Network coordination improves the performance of users at the border of the cells and, thus, decreases the minimum sum power for users with guaranteed performance (GP). Best effort (BE) users are then scheduled to maximize their sum capacity. The proposed method only assumes causal coordination between base stations and can be seen as a generalized macro diversity scheme suited for distributed networks. Numerical results show that network coordination increases the ratio of satisfied GP users, as well as the average data rate of BE users.