A coordinated scheduling strategy in multi-cell OFDM systems

A novel coordinated scheduling algorithm for OFDM-based systems in multi-cell scenario is proposed in this paper. The studied algorithm based on the utility function is general for the downlink of networks. The algorithm coordinates the subcarrier assignment over the BS cluster. We first establish the framework for this inter-cell coordinated optimization problem through utility-based method. The goal of the scheduling algorithm is maximizing the aggregate utility of users. Then the globally optimal scheduling strategy is studied by solving the model. Subsequently, a sub-optimal strategy is proposed in practical for simplification. Finally, system level simulation is adopted in Mobile WiMAX system by comparing with existed strategies. The results show that better fairness among users in the network can be achieved by the coordinated scheduling strategy at the cost of a little degradation of average sector throughputs. Besides, the gain of the inter-cell strategy on cell-edge throughput increases with the number of users per sector.