Optimal Carrier Loading Control for the Enhancement of Visual Quality over OFDMA Cellular Networks

A recent dynamic increase in demand for wireless multimedia services has greatly accelerated the research on dynamic channel adaptation of high quality video applications. In this paper, we explore a theoretical approach to cross-layer optimization between multimedia and wireless networks by means of a quality criterion termed ldquovisual throughputrdquo for downlink video transmission using a layered coding algorithm. We obtain the optimal loading ratio of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) subcarriers through an optimization problem balancing the tradeoff relationship between inter-cell interference (ICI) and channel throughput. Through numerical link capacity analysis, we show that the upper bounds of the visual throughput gain at the cell boundary is obtained at about 27%.