SIR-dependent scheduling and static power preallocation for TDMA-based multi-cell wireless packet networks

We introduce here a new class of packet scheduling techniques for TDMA-based (pure or hybrid) cellular packet radio networks with full frequency reuse. These algorithms, which are suited for networks with both centralized and distributed control, assign the available resources according to the SIR predicted at each slot of the frame. Partial prediction of the interference is made possible by the static pre-assignment in each cell of a maximum transmitted power level to each slot of the frame. This technique, also named power shaping, exploits a set of suitably reused power profiles to partially organize the intercell and intersector interference in the available slots. Unlike traditional channel state dependent scheduling techniques, which are not able to deal with quasi-stationary location-dependent radio channel conditions, the proposed method is able to provide channel resources with different levels of SIR inside the frame, even in stationary environments, and to assign them to the packets waiting for service. We show that these techniques are able to increase the capacity of systems with and without centralized resource management control, while maintaining the capability of providing acceptable quality of service to heterogeneous classes of users.