Adaptive Modulation Based on Finite-Rate Feedback in Broadcast Channels

In a single-input single-output (SISO) downlink with multiple users, to obtain the multiuser diversity gain, the full channel state information (CSI) of all users is required for selecting the desired user and transmission mode. However, feedback channels are often capable of carrying only a limited number of bits. With such rate limited feedback links, we intend to maximize the average throughput of each user by designing transmit power levels, signal constellations and feedback thresholds jointly. Both un-coded adaptive M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (MQAM) and adaptive trellis-coded modulation (TCM) are investigated. A nested iterative algorithm is proposed to obtain a finite number of transmission modes and thresholds. Optimization in the heterogeneous network is also considered. Simulation results demonstrate a small number of feedback bits make the throughput approach to that with perfect CSI. As the number of users increases, the multiuser diversity gain is achieved and the average feedback load of each user is reduced.