Optimal OFDMA Downlink Scheduling Under a Control Signaling Cost Constraint

This paper proposes a new algorithm for downlink scheduling in OFDMA systems. The method maximizes the throughput, taking into account the amount of signaling needed to transmit scheduling maps to the users. A combinatorial problem is formulated and solved via a dynamic programming approach reminiscent of the Viterbi algorithm. The total computational complexity of the algorithm is upper bounded by O(K⁴)N) where K is the number of users that are being considered for scheduling in a frame and N is the number of resource blocks per frame.