Resource Allocation with Interference Information Sharing in Multi-Carrier Networks

This paper considers the interference mitigation problem in multi-cell networks based on Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). The approaches studied here rely on allocation algorithms exploiting base stations cooperation achieved by means of inter-cell interference information sharing. Our emphasis is concentrated on the terminals at the cell edge since, obviously, they are more affected and limited by interference. The paper presents results on several schemes of cooperation (centralized, semi-distributed, coordinated-distributed) combined with allocation algorithms characterized by the awareness of interference relations among users, achieved sharing channel state information among base stations in a typical multi-cell layout. The interference relations are revealed by processing particular graphs, either for partial frequency reuse or soft frequency reuse schemes. So the network realizes, in several forms, a dynamic fractional frequency reuse and the study highlights the main advantages of the best strategies in terms of cooperation and resource allocation.