Throughput Gain Using Threshold-Based Multiuser Scheduling in WiMAX OFDMA

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of the throughput enhancement possible using threshold-based multiuser scheduling in WiMAX OFDMA. We consider a point-to-multipoint (PMP) WiMAX network where base station (BS) schedules downlink packets for simultaneous transmissions to multiple users using the WiMAX OFDMA system. WiMAX OFDMA standard specifies several subcarrier permutation options, such as the partial usage of subcarriers (PUSC), full usage of subcarrier (FUSC), and the band adaptive modulation and coding (band-AMC) among others, for mapping the physical subcarriers into logical subchannels assigned to users by the BS schedulers. In this paper, we propose the use of threshold testing prior to the process of subchannel assignment to users by the BS scheduler, as a means of throughput enhancement. In the proposed threshold-based multiuser scheduling scheme, the BS scheduler selects at any time instant users whose channel gains in the available subchannels equal or exceed a predetermined energy threshold. Thus, only users who can maximize BS throughput on the available subchannels are assigned data transmission opportunities which enhance the BS data rate, albeit at the expense of fairness to users. We quantify the throughput enhancement of the proposed system and illustrate its benefits by numerical simulations.