Power and Channel Allocation for Non-orthogonal Multiple Access in 5G Systems: Tractability and Computation

Network capacity calls for significant increase for 5G cellular systems. A promising multi-user access scheme, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) with successive interference cancellation (SIC), is currently under consideration. In NOMA, spectrum efficiency is improved by allowing more than one user to simultaneously access the same frequency-time resource and separating multi-user signals by SIC at the receiver. These render resource allocation and optimization in NOMA different from orthogonal multiple access in 4G. In this paper, we provide theoretical insights and algorithmic solutions to jointly optimize power and channel allocation in NOMA. For utility maximization, we mathematically formulate NOMA resource allocation problems. We characterize and analyze the problems' tractability under a range of constraints and utility functions. For tractable cases, we provide polynomial-time solutions for global optimality. For intractable cases, we prove the NP-hardness and propose an algorithmic framework combining Lagrangian duality and dynamic programming (LDDP) to deliver near-optimal solutions. To gauge the performance of the obtained solutions, we also provide optimality bounds on the global optimum. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithmic solution can significantly improve the system performance in both throughput and fairness over orthogonal multiple access as well as over a previous NOMA resource allocation scheme.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, revisio

Feedback Allocation For OFDMA Systems With Slow Frequency-domain Scheduling

We study the problem of allocating limited feedback resources across multiple users in an orthogonal-frequency-division-multiple-access downlink system with slow frequency-domain scheduling. Many flavors of slow frequency-domain scheduling (e.g., persistent scheduling, semi-persistent scheduling), that adapt user-sub-band assignments on a slower time-scale, are being considered in standards such as 3GPP Long-Term Evolution. In this paper, we develop a feedback allocation algorithm that operates in conjunction with any arbitrary slow frequency-domain scheduler with the goal of improving the throughput of the system. Given a user-sub-band assignment chosen by the scheduler, the feedback allocation algorithm involves solving a weighted sum-rate maximization at each (slow) scheduling instant. We first develop an optimal dynamic-programming-based algorithm to solve the feedback allocation problem with pseudo-polynomial complexity in the number of users and in the total feedback bit budget. We then propose two approximation algorithms with complexity further reduced, for scenarios where the problem exhibits additional structure.Comment: Accepted to IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin

Radio resource allocation for multicarrier-low density spreading multiple access

Multicarrier-low density spreading multiple access (MC-LDSMA) is a promising multiple access technique that enables near optimum multiuser detection. In MC-LDSMA, each user’s symbol spread on a small set of subcarriers, and each subcarrier is shared by multiple users. The unique structure of MC-LDSMA makes the radio resource allocation more challenging comparing to some well-known multiple access techniques. In this paper, we study the radio resource allocation for single-cell MC-LDSMA system. Firstly, we consider the single-user case, and derive the optimal power allocation and subcarriers partitioning schemes. Then, by capitalizing on the optimal power allocation of the Gaussian multiple access channel, we provide an optimal solution for MC-LDSMA that maximizes the users’ weighted sum-rate under relaxed constraints. Due to the prohibitive complexity of the optimal solution, suboptimal algorithms are proposed based on the guidelines inferred by the optimal solution. The performance of the proposed algorithms and the effect of subcarrier loading and spreading are evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithms significantly outperform conventional static resource allocation, and MC-LDSMA can improve the system performance in terms of spectral efficiency and fairness in comparison with OFDMA

Energy-Aware Wireless Relay Selection in Load-Coupled OFDMA Cellular Networks

We investigate transmission energy minimization via optimizing wireless relay selection in orthogonal-frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) networks. We take into account the impact of the load of cells on transmission energy. We prove the NP-hardness of the energy-aware wireless relay selection problem. To tackle the computational complexity, a partial optimality condition is derived for providing insights in respect of designing an effective and efficient algorithm. Numerical results show that the resulting algorithm achieves high energy performance.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Two-Layered Superposition of Broadcast/Multicast and Unicast Signals in Multiuser OFDMA Systems

We study optimal delivery strategies of one common and $K$ independent messages from a source to multiple users in wireless environments. In particular, two-layered superposition of broadcast/multicast and unicast signals is considered in a downlink multiuser OFDMA system. In the literature and industry, the two-layer superposition is often considered as a pragmatic approach to make a compromise between the simple but suboptimal orthogonal multiplexing (OM) and the optimal but complex fully-layered non-orthogonal multiplexing. In this work, we show that only two-layers are necessary to achieve the maximum sum-rate when the common message has higher priority than the $K$ individual unicast messages, and OM cannot be sum-rate optimal in general. We develop an algorithm that finds the optimal power allocation over the two-layers and across the OFDMA radio resources in static channels and a class of fading channels. Two main use-cases are considered: i) Multicast and unicast multiplexing when $K$ users with uplink capabilities request both common and independent messages, and ii) broadcast and unicast multiplexing when the common message targets receive-only devices and $K$ users with uplink capabilities additionally request independent messages. Finally, we develop a transceiver design for broadcast/multicast and unicast superposition transmission based on LTE-A-Pro physical layer and show with numerical evaluations in mobile environments with multipath propagation that the capacity improvements can be translated into significant practical performance gains compared to the orthogonal schemes in the 3GPP specifications. We also analyze the impact of real channel estimation and show that significant gains in terms of spectral efficiency or coverage area are still available even with estimation errors and imperfect interference cancellation for the two-layered superposition system