An FDM/PRMA cellular network with dynamic carrier allocation and distributed control

This work considers a frequency division multiplex/packet reservation multiple access (FDM/PRMA) technique. The proposed technique is in line with the guidelines marked out by European Community RACE (now ACTS) projects: the expected evolution of the frequency division multiplex/time division multiple access (FDM/TDMA) technique used in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is just the FDM/PRMA technique. The main enhancements of the proposed FDM/PRMA technique consist in the augmented spectrum efficiency and in the capability of real-time reconfiguration of resources; such enhancements are achieved due to the introduction, on the one hand, of dynamic channel allocation strategies which guarantee a real-time rearrangement of the carriers-to-cells assignment and, on the other hand, of PRMA techniques which guarantee an higher carrier exploitation. This paper proposes solutions to some important problems of the FDM/PRMA technique, namely the carrier management and the interworking between the DCA mechanism and the PRMA technique. The paper also shows simulation results highlighting a remarkable improvement of the carrier utilization, obtained thanks to the adopted PRMA technique.