Optimal downlink control channel resource allocation for LTE systems

This paper presents optimal and efficient suboptimal resource allocation algorithms for the downlink control channel of the Third Generation Partnership Project-Long Term Evolution (3GPP-LTE) standard. A novel formulation of this resource allocation problem as a pure binary-integer program called the set packing problem is performed. This problem has been well-studied in operations research. In addition a greedy heuristic sub-optimal algorithm that reduces the processing complexity involved in finding the optimal solution and also approaches the optimal performance is presented. Performance comparisons of these proposed schemes based on Monte-Carlo simulations in a 5 MHz bandwidth LTE system are provided. The results prove that the proposed algorithms can significantly improve the system´s cell-edge performance.