Efficient multicast resource allocation algorithm with limited feedback scheme in single-frequency networks

Single-frequency network (SFN) can provide multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) over a large coverage area, so it receives more and more attention from both academia and industry. However, the application of SFN is still restricted by a large number of feedbacks. Therefore, the authors propose a novel multicast resource allocation algorithm based on limited feedback scheme. In the algorithm, they first design a user limited feedback scheme based on channel gain threshold to effectively reduce feedback load. The scheme determines to which base stations users should report channel state information. Next, to overcome the MBMS capacity limitation drawback, they encode the MBMS data into a base layer and multiple enhancement layers and develop a joint subcarrier and power allocation strategy to maximise the throughput of enhancement layers while guaranteeing the rate requirement of base layer. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces 83% of the feedback overhead while achieving a comparable multicast throughput performance to the case of full feedback.