Resource allocation with minimum rates for OFDM broadcast channels

Abstract

Abstract Downlink transmissions with minimum rate requirements over orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) channels are commonly done by means of scheduling algorithms. However, regarding it from an information theoretical point of view, this is not optimal since broadcast techniques can achieve higher rates. The drawbacks of the optimum broadcast algorithm are that the signalling overhead is larger than for scheduling and also the computational complexity is much higher. In this paper we propose an algorithm which overcomes these points. This algorithm is a hybrid algorithm combining scheduling and broadcast approaches. Thus, it combines advantages of both methods. Furthermore, we present modifications to this algorithm to avoid irresolvable decoding dependencies. We show by means of simulation results that the proposed algorithm operates close to the optimum performance and that it outperforms a pure scheduling approach. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.