A traffic allocation procedure based on channel quality indications provides multi-user diversity

摘要

In a TDMA cellular system, the downlink traffic channel 130 is shared between a plurality of mobile stations. The base station provides on a downlink traffic channel an indication 300 of the mobile user granted permission to transmit data on an uplink traffic channel during a particular timeslot, for example using a fast uplink state flag (fUSF). Other mobile stations transmit channel quality indications (CQI) 150, 152 in the same particular uplink timeslot, i.e. simultaneously with the uplink data 161 from the selected mobile device (#2). The base station receives channel quality indications and determines to which mobile station it shall transmit data on the downlink traffic channel in the next downlink timeslot, and which mobile station it shall grant permission to transmit on the uplink traffic channel. Although the CQI is based on downlink measurements, it can used to allocate traffic not just to the downlink channel but also the uplink channel, for example by using the power of the CQI signals as an indication of uplink channel quality.